33

A low, bassy chuckle began to echo all around me. It was a voice filled with power and a metaphysical taste I barely recognized as divinity. A pathway cleared in the darkness as clouds were pulled apart at some unknown god's whim.

Yeah, no, fuck that. I'm definitely not walking into such an obvious trap. I had just turned around and gathered Warpfire in a wedge in front of me, intending to break through the clouds like an icebreaker, when the god spoke.

"Son of my mother. Descendant of the Primordial Chaos. Come before me. I shall- hey, wait what are you doing?! Get back here you little shit!"

Instead of listening to a god monologue, I had started chipping away at the storm keeping me trapped in the sky. I had made a bit of progress before the god noticed and lost his composure. Air currents gripped me and dragged me down the path in the clouds.

My struggles were futile. Eventually I just went limp in the god's grip. The sky started to lighten the further down the passage I was dragged. Golden clouds that looked like the sun was shining through at all angles made up the edges of the path.

Eventually the path widened into a grand throne room. A fountain of clouds spewed more clouds, and somehow I had no trouble telling the difference between the fountain and the 'water'. The distinction between different clouds was impossibly clear.

Sitting on a throne in the back of the room was the god. He had a long, thick beard of dark hair, capped at the end by a gold ring. Gold was woven into his cloth tunic. He carried a staff with a top made of the essence of Wind.

"I have been waiting for you, young devil. I am Anu, Lord of the skies and supreme god of the Mesopotamian pantheon. We have much to discuss."

Fuck. He wasn't just a god, he was the lead god of his pantheon. He was way out of my league in terms of power level. Even my connection to Chaos wouldn't be able to save me if he wanted to squash me like an ant.

I tried Warp stepping away as a last ditch effort to escape. It didn't work, and I was struck by divine lightning for my efforts. The divine lightning seared every inch of my body and soul. Only the King's immunity to pain allowed me to stay conscious.

"Ow," I deadpanned.

"Myself, boy, didn't anyone ever teach you manners? Don't try to run away while I'm talking to you. This is a serious matter!"

"Right, sure, and you had to ambush and kidnap me to talk to me about it? You couldn't have sent a text or called or something?" I retorted.

"This is a matter of your birthright! This is not something to be talked about over some silly mortal device."

Fucking ROB backstory. I knew the godliness they gave me wasn't worth the trouble. "Oh, I know! Let's make Taylor half god! I'm sure that won't come back to bite him ever!" I could just imagine Rob laughing at me for getting kidnapped again.

As I grumbled internally, I waved my hand for Anu to continue.

"Do you know who your mother is, boy?" I shook my head and Anu continued. "Your mother is the goddess of the Primordial Sea, the waters of Creation. The Primordial Mother of Creation, Tiamat."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up a sec. Tiamat? Isn't she one of the Five Dragon Kings? As in, not a goddess, but a dragon?"

Anu waved me off, "Bah! Sure, people today know her as a Dragon King, but before that she was the Mother Goddess of the Mesopotamian pantheon. The Primordial Sea has been around since before Creation, and Tiamat is its incarnation."

"O…K… Why are you telling me this though? And, forgive me my Mesopotamian mythology is a bit rusty, didn't you kill Tiamat at one point?"

Anu sighed in nostalgia, "Ah, the good ol' days. Back when us gods could be killed one day and resurrect the next without issue. Nowadays, if a god wants to come back from the dead there's so much bureaucracy and paperwork involved. Tch, such a pain."

"Right, forgot that gods have a different view on death then mortals do. Still, why are you telling me this?"

Anu snapped out of his nostalgia trip and boomed, "Because, boy! It's about time you joined your real family!"

"Uh… how about no? I've got a good life here. I don't think becoming a god is worth giving up all this," I declined.

"Why you little- Come here and let me awaken your spark of divinity, boy!"

Anu lunged at me with his hand outstretched. I used raw magic and Chaos to propel me out of his reach. He obviously wasn't taking me seriously, but he didn't really have to with the power advantage he had.

A cat and mouse game took hold of the throne room. I was burning through my inexhaustible supply of magic and Warp energy to turn myself into a magically propelled rocket. Maneuvering like Iron Man but with magic instead of armor became almost second nature.

Anu swiftly grew annoyed at my constant evasion. He clapped his hands with a thunderous boom, and wisps of clouds started reaching out to grab me. I ducked under one tendril, and then immediately had to turn on a dime to avoid another.

"Some supreme god you are. You can't even catch a lowly devil," I taunted him. This was quickly proven to be a stupid idea when he roared and upped his game.

Pillars of lightning started to obstruct my path, doing their best to box me in. I actually had to fly through one of them after he cornered me with his cloud tentacles and lightning. It stung like a bitch, but I gathered my will and pushed through the pain.

I blasted around the back of the throne, breaking the sound barrier in the process. My danger sense warned me of an incoming tendril with just enough time to dodge. The cloud shifted direction at the last second and managed to clip my arm.

The collision sent me tumbling through the air. Before I could get control of myself, another of the impossibly solid clouds stabbed through my stomach. The penetrating tentacle held me in the air as I tried my best to dislodge it.

Anu stood over me, his face twisted in a scowl. Suddenly, his presence seemed a lot more imposing, looming over me like he was. He reached out with his hand and divinity at the same time, and I closed my eyes and said a silent goodbye to my friends.