Gaming in the Underworld: Βασιλιάς

"Mom?"

A cacophony of surprise and shock echoed in the throne room. My mother smiled warmly at me after she addressed everyone else with a glance. She looked the same as when I had last seen her before coming to this world. Only difference now was the fact that she was wearing a flowing black dress that seemed to be made up of galaxies that swirled around her form. 

Concentration broken, Dark Sister returned to the sheath at my hip. The Three Fates disappeared in a flash of light making my mother frown. I could have cared less, I was still shaken by the fact that my mother was supposedly 'Lady Chaos'. 

She snapped her fingers teleporting us to what looked like the library of the house I had grown up in. Two steaming cups appeared along with comfortable looking chairs. I glanced at my mother again making sure that I wasn't hallucinating. She took a seat and sipped at the drink. 

"I take it that you want me to explain?" 

Hesitantly taking the available chair I sniffed at the cup and grinned when I recognized the smell. It was hot chocolate, only it was in a fancy tea cup. Sipping the hot beverage I let out a sigh as nostalgic memories surfaced of when I was still a kid. Focusing back on the moment I set the cup down. 

"Obviously… are you even my real mother?" 

Gamer's Mind did a good job but it still didn't mask all of the pain I felt at having been lied to for decades. 

"Of course I'm your mother, I- I just didn't know how to tell you."

"Yeah, I'd have a hard time explaining to my son that I'm literally God too. I'm getting that this may be a long story but I also know that you can manipulate time just as easily as you manipulate the universe. So let's start at the beginning. Why would 'The Lady Chaos' have a mortal son?" 

She looked a bit hurt at my implication that she had a hand manipulating me as well. It was surprising given that she was the most powerful being in existence. 

"Eons will do that to you, I had created the universe, the gods, the planets, humans, animals, countless other things so small that you'd never knew they existed. For thousands of years I watched my creations grow, evolve into something more. I watched the gods I created have children, then those children proceed to have their own children." 

"Hold up a sec, if you're going to tell me that you decided to have me out of boredom, I'm going to actually lose my fucking mind." 

She smiled at me apologetically, "Maybe at first. I wanted a child of my own. Not one that I created with power, but one that I grew with my own flesh and blood.

"I can't step onto the mortal world without some precautions, mainly inhabiting a mortal body and limiting my power." 

"So you're no better than the Olympians. Seducing mortals based on your whims." 

I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. Anger flashed across my mothers faces. Her power exploded outward before she restrained it. I had a feeling that she could have easily turned me into a stain on the wall had she attacked me. 

"I am not like the gods," She took a calming breath. "I sent a fraction of my being down to earth. There I took over the body of a stillborn girl. I lived as a mortal along side my adopted family. Eventually I met your father." 

I frowned, I had few memories of my dad. A warm smile, kind eyes, a booming laugh. He had disappeared when I was four years old. My mother had never explained what had happened. She simply told me that he had gone to a better place. As I got older I assumed that he had either run off or had died. 

"I can see in your eyes now that you don't hold your father in very high regard." 

"How can I? Asides from fleeting memories and your stories I've never known him." 

"Jonah was a kind man Blake. I met him when I was in my last year of schooling. We became fast friends since we shared so many similar interests. Eventually he worked up the courage to ask me on a date. 

"There he revealed that he had known what I really was from the moment he met me. It was shocking to say the least, to learn that a mortal could see through my mortal form. We became lovers, we traveled the world together. We shared many moments in love and soon you were born." 

"Charming love story mom, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he's gone." 

"He didn't leave foolish boy." 

I flinched at the sudden wave of power that washed over me. I had never seen my mom so angry before, then as quick as it came it was gone. Her features softened and she sighed.

"Then…"

"I was getting to that part, no hush. Stop interrupting." 

I sighed and waited for her to continue. Admittedly it was nice learning about my father. Even if it took me dying and more than two decades for her to tell me. 

"We married soon after your birth. Our wanderlust never faded. We took you on our travels as we set across the globe. Sadly all things couldn't remain perfect. You were hardly three years old when it happened. 

"You were abducted by a cult that had learned of your origin. As my son you were a perfect host for their dark god. Jonah and I raced to find you. When we did it was too late. They had performed a ritual that had summoned their god into the world. Jonah, the brave man dealt with the cult while I held off the god." 

My mother touched a finger to the side of my head before I could stop her. It was like a spark igniting a tub of pitch. 

Memories long buried surfaced in my mind. Flashes of cloaked figures fighting a man wielding a sword. My mother, straining against an onslaught of dark energies. The man shouting as he was hit by a dark figure. 

"We fought with all our might but my mortal form couldn't access my full power. Your father was dealt a mortal blow. The dark god attempted to possess you, in a desperate attempt to save you Jonah pulled the gods essence into himself as he lay dying. With his final breath he begged for me to erase him so that the dark god could not return." 

My vision blurred with unshed tears, more memories played out in my head. Witnessing my fathers last moments as he smiled through the pain while he proclaimed his love for my mother and I. My grief was replaced with white hot rage that Gamer's Mind could not suppress. 

"I- I had to obey his last request as his death would have released the god once more. I put blocks on your memories of that day. I hid away all your memories of your father in the fear that you would seek out revenge. I wanted you to live a normal life, was from the supernatural world. So I sent us across dimensions, away from everything to start fresh." 

"Fat lot of good that did, I got involved in the supernatural world without trying to and it was all because of gods you created." 

My mother sighed, "I can't stop you from seeking out revenge. I can see that now as I look into your eyes. Your mind has been made up. Just know that your father loved you just as much as I love you." 

I beat back my anger and let Gamer's Mind do the rest. Once a modicum of calm had returned to me I considered my position. 

"So what now? I have a promise to keep to the demigods. The Fates seemed convinced that I had to help deal with this Earth Mother and I'm the King of the Gods." 

"Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos may be manipulative but they have never been wrong in their warnings. The Earth Mother, Gaia, is waking up. Should she fully awaken, the world would be in a lot of trouble." 

"And I can't kill her, yeah I know. What do I do then? All I'm really good at is killing things." 

"Seven demigods will put her back to sleep. Your task is to help them and make sure that they don't fail." 

"So I'm really stuck doing this then? Where do I even start, what am I supposed to even do, go around and kill all the monsters?"

"An unfortunate part of being the King. You have to do things you don't want to do. One of which is letting the weavers of fate do what needs to be done." 

"I never wanted to be king… you're technically their god. Can't you do something, maybe give the crown to someone else?" 

"This was always your destiny son." 

"Fuck destiny, I just want to go on adventures and have lots of sex with my wife." 

"Be that as it may be, you're still king. Look at it this way. The sooner you deal with this issue, the sooner you can go back to hopping around through the multiverse."

"So I won't be forced to stay here once Gaia goes back to sleep?" 

"You're king, you can do whatever you want. Within reason of course." 

"Then why can't I leave?" 

"You can, no one is going to stop you. Accomplishing this task will unlock some new abilities though. Abilities that you'll find… entertaining." 

"Are you trying to bribe me with perks?" 

"Is it working?" She grinned. 

A drawn out sigh escaped my lips. "Fine, but I want something from you." 

My mother frowned, "I have a feeling I know what you want, and I'm almost tempted to deny your request but knowing you, you'll probably just do it anyways. What do you want?" 

"Give me the name of the dark god that killed my father."