IV. Above Your Head. The Emperor

    The previously beautiful deep blue of the ocean began to change into a muddy grey as you feel a shift in the water around you. Looking up, you notice that there's a disturbance on the surface of the water that's causing it to distort and begin to shake the ocean in a viscous way. A storm has begun above the water, forcing the waves to dig deeper into the ocean, shaking the world underneath them. The hug that you felt from the ocean before became suffocating now as the grey unknown causes your heart to race. As you look around yourself, you notice that the fish that were previously swiftly swimming around the reef are now taking shelter inside the many caves built within the reef. You are in their world, so you decide that you need to find a shelter for yourself as well and dive deeper to find an opening big enough for you. The storm wages on above the surface, the ocean slowly more abyssal in color, each direction containing black nothingness. You swim forward until you hit a cliffside and you swim down the side of it, running your hand down the rough rocks. The storm has stolen most of the light from the sun, causing the water to be easier to explore with your eyes closed. Eventually, you find it, a large enough cave for you to fit in and waste no time stuffing yourself inside of it, going as deep as you can to avoid the vicious shakes and roars of the storm.

    You feel grateful towards the ocean for providing you with someplace to stay as you attempt to calm your heart while the violent storm wages on above the surface, uncaring to the millions of lives underneath. You lay against the cave wall and keep your eyes closed as you listen to the frantic breathing of the ocean and the cries of the clouds from above. The ocean, which was previously moving rhythmically to and fro, now shakes with uncertainty.

    As you keep your eyes closed, you begin to recognize a pattern in the movements of the ocean in response to the storm above. Each time the storm roars above the ocean, it moves in retaliation to the screams and cries of the clouds. It's at this moment that you realize the storm is just another part of the cycle of life. Just as it has millions of times before, the storm will calm. The fish will eventually leave their homes in the reef to swim around it once more, you will eventually leave this cave; nothing stays the same. With this thought, you're able to begin calming your own heart, breathing deeply. You put your hand on your heart and feel it echo against your hand until it matches the movement of the water, calming alongside the storm above. After a few moments, you feel another shift in the water, signaling an end to the storm.