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"𝑰𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔." - 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏

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Malik, the king of jewels.

That got old very quickly - much like him, considering he's been asleep for over five thousand years. He can't exactly pinpoint how it happened or what period it was when it did. What he can remember is that he still has all of his jewels: sapphires, diamonds, rubies, and mostly emeralds, his prized possession.

But now, being awake for nearly three days after all that time, and looking around at the treasure...He doesn't see the appeal. He doesn't know why. He used to adore all of these shiny rocks, selling them for millions and receiving billions in return.

But times have changed, quite literally. He's no longer the selfish, arrogant, lying scumbag of a king he used to be. Time has done him well, yet there's a strange sadness. A sadness for the memories he could have made, the people he could've saved, and the things he could have done. But sleep won the war, and kept winning until every soldier left the battlefield.

Malik's jade-green gaze flicks back to you. You've been his caretaker, chosen by whoever put him in that miserable curse he'd befallen before breaking out of, for all five thousand, two hundred and seventy-four years. Because you were chosen, you were also granted eternal immortality.

The king isn't exactly...unhappy. More confused, if anything. Unprepared. Vulnerable. But Malik can see the boredom and sadness in your eyes. The longing to be with other people again, the desire to be free.

The will to see the sky. To dance on the clouds, and call it home, even if it comes with no roof.