As Cordayl and Prince land on a tiny island, they walk towards the only house in sight.
"What kind of restaurant is this?" Cordayl ask.
Prince chuckles. "My bad, I never told you we were having dinner with my old man. This here is his place."
They walk into the house, hearing a soft guitar melody in the living room. Not surprised, Cordayl notices that the guitar is actually playing itself.
A few seconds later, a tall, well-fed man comes walking out of the bathroom, drying his hands.
"Hey, Prince. Late as usual," the man says, throwing the towel at Prince.
"Hey, Pop," Prince catches the towel and throws it back. His dad doesn't bother to catch the towel, letting it hit him in the face.
"Who's your friend?" The man asks Prince, staring at Cordayl. He coolly brushes the towel off his face, and it lingers on his shoulder like it was thrown there from the beginning. Cordayl holds the eye contact as Prince introduces him.
"Pop, Cordayl. Cordayl, my father, King. Also known as the god of rock and roll." Prince introduces them to each other.
Both men shake hands, and Prince's father smiles warmly. "You can just call me Gorr. It's nice to meet another Melatonin warrior. You wouldn't happen to have known a man named Corday, would you?"
Cordayl's eyes widen at the mention of the name. "Yes, I do. He's the father of my grandfather. But I only know of him through stories and tales. How do you know of him?"
"Probably the same way you two met. Through sheer coincidence." Gorr laughs.
"Am I lucky I did, though! I had a concert to do at a supermax prison, and he tagged along. I mean, as expected, shit turned for the worst, and thanks to your great-grandfather, not a single string on my guitar was touched.
"It was wild! He probably knocked out as many as 200 of those vagabonds. Freaking insane! I've never seen someone fight like that. Incredible. I wrote the song '1 man army' because of him." Gorr concludes, chuckling at the memory.
Cordayl is stunned. He's heard many stories of his great-grandfather. Tales of battle and war. How Corday would try to defeat armies by himself, always refusing backup, but this unexpected tale of his adventure with the god of rock and roll! Cordayl's respect for his ancestors grows tremendously.
"Small world," Gorr says, still staring at Cordayl. Cocking his head to the side but never taking his eyes off Cordayl, Gorr ask Prince, "It's him, ain't it?"
Prince, busy stringing his guitar, replies, "I think so," and continues his work.
"Man, that's some heavy stuff. So I guess this is like our last meal, " Gorr says.
Cordayl is confused and asks, "What are y'all talking about?" But Prince interrupts before Gorr can answer.
"Don't be so dramatic," Prince says, standing and stretching his limbs.
"I guess I'll go get dinner started then," Gorr says, smiling at Cordayl before leaving to start cooking on the grill. Prince walks outside to the back patio right behind his father, and Cordayl follows.
Still wanting an answer to his question, he waits and stares at Gorr's backyard, amazed.
It's the whole open galaxy in his backyard. Cordayl stares in wonder at the beautiful background.
"Amazing isn't it? The only proof that the world has an end and this man barbecues on it," Prince chuckles, lighting up a cigarette.
Staring at Prince, who ignores the stare, Cordayl asks, "What were you and your father talking about back there?"
"One thing you'll learn, my friend, is that coincidences are excuses for the inevitable. Allow me to explain," Prince says, walking to the table.
Taking his seat, Prince tells Cordayl, "I'm not immortal, but me and that old man are probably one of the closest things. Something about our musical gifts has slowed down our aging. Take a guess at how old I am."
"At least in your early 20s". Cordayl says.
Prince smiles. "Thank you, but I am 126. And the old man is nearing 250," Cordayl's eyes widen at this information, but he just nods.
Prince lets out a deep sigh. "But now, sadly, that same gift is making me sick. I don't love music anymore," Prince admits, strumming his guitar.
"You remember what happened to me after the concert? My heart isn't into it, but my mind says I owe it to the fans, and my body takes the punishment of that dispute," Prince sadly tells him.
"But how did it get that way?" Cordayl ask.
"I can't say the exact moment. Whether it was after a fan tried selling my autograph right in front of me or after I caught a woman trying to sneak a pic of me in bed with her. Or the constant fucking vultures that have been after me since I learned how to hum. One day it just hit me that I didn't love this shit anymore."
"So why keep playing?"
"Like I said, I owe it to my fans, but honestly, I don't know how to stop. I'm sure you understand. You're a Melatonin warrior, but when those vultures attacked, I heard fear in your voice. And naturally, you defended yourself. You don't love fighting, but what else can you do?"
"It's not that. I just don't have a reason to fight anymore. I lost the ones I fought for," Cordayl says sadly, a silence taking over the table.
"You never told me about the coincidence and fate thing," Cordayl reminds Prince.
"Right. So, after a performance that could be considered one of my greatest, I hit my all-time low. Drifting from bar to bar, I found myself at some random counter contemplating suicide when this older woman sat next to me. We shared a drink and talked about her growing up a fan, and she sang one of my very first songs for me. That's when I knew she was old old.
"But then she told me that suicide won't work. It was as if she had read my mind before approaching me. I told her what was going on, and she said that although my body would grow weak and my mind would crave death, the lack of love I felt wouldn't kill me. She said only when I met someone who could walk in my shoes and shine the way I shine would I find a reason worth dying for. Sacrificing my life for theirs," Prince says, changing his voice to mimic the old lady.
"And you think that's me?" Cordayl ask.
"I have a pretty good feeling it is. You literally walked through a path intended only for me. I'm sure her prophecy is a little more complex than that, but that was a clear hint to me," Prince tells him.
"And what was the second hint?" Cordayl asks, not believing any of this prophecy.
"When those vultures attacked you. Their eyes only see originality, meaning a true 1 of 1. They saw in you that you were truly special. The same thing they see in me," Prince explains.
Cordayl just shakes his head. Gorr comes to the table with all of the food. "Do you believe in this prophecy?" Cordayl asks him.
"Knowing how Prince feels, I don't want to. But prophecies can be some pretty accurate things. I got a prophecy once, and trust me, even though I did everything to oppose it, it came true." Gorr says, putting the dishes on the table
"How do you know that if you fought to prevent it?" Cordayl ask.
"Because it brought you to dinner tonight." Prince and Gorr laugh.
"Look, I'll never tell another man what to believe, but if you think you'll ever be in a situation to save my life, then I gotta tell you now the prophecy is wrong."
"And why is that?" Prince ask.
"Because I haven't met anyone that makes me feel in danger," Cordayl and the voice say in unison.
Gorr smirks. "Spoken like a true Melatonin warrior," Holding up his mug, he toast with his guests, and they dig in to eat.
Cordayl and Prince are soaring through the sky when Cordayl asks Prince where they are heading now.
"Sorry, I'm late for a show. Don't mean to keep dragging you along," Prince tells him.
"All good," Cordayl says. Curious, Cordayl asks, "Are you always late to everything?"
"Yeah, I am," Prince laughs at the question. "I was even born late. But it's not like I do these concerts for money anyway."
"So for what then?" Cordayl ask.
"What else can I do? I'll strum till my dying breath. The fact that I have people willing to hear what I'll play anyway is just a bonus," Prince says as they enter the atmosphere of the mountain.
Prince floats over them, announcing his arrival. But Prince doesn't seem too enthused about seeing them.
"Something wrong?" Cordayl asks, throwing a T-shirt with an image of women's lingerie on the front and back down to the masses.
"Do you hear that music?" Prince asks as they land on the stage.