Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Drew popped into existence standing next to Hades, he was in what could only be described as a throne room, there were probably better names for it, but he couldn't think of any due to what was before his eyes. The room itself was instantly recognizable as a place of power, and yet, was far different than anything he'd seen in television, movies, or fiction. There were no bright or lavish colors, that was the first thing that stood out, and even though the colors of gray and black were prevalent at his current location, it was anything but drab. Somehow, even with such a limited color palette, the room still managed to feel luxurious and majestic.

Two rows of Roman style columns ran parallel to a gray and black speckled marble pathway, the columns themselves were a dark gray, bordering on the color of black, with blue and gold flakes sprinkled throughout the material. The rest of the flooring was a glossy, and highly polished black, that seemed to reflect the eerie blue flames which clung to life within wrought iron braziers that were attached to the pillars. A line of ethereal people stretched so far into the distance behind him, that he couldn't see the end of it before his eyesight gave out and refused to focus further. The beings in line were of so many shapes, sizes, and forms, that it was nearly impossible to find two of the same race within close proximity of each other.

He saw every race of beings imaginable, and some that defied all creative and evolutionary processes. There were men made of rocks that constantly crumbled and fell to become dust, flying fairies, gnomes and dwarves, and even people that looked to be entirely machine based. There were people whose forms looked like walking jellyfish, spiders with the torso of elves that felt similar to centaurs, curiously he saw no actual centaurs, but there were several cats. He did find several humans throughout the crowd of people as well, but when he tried to focus on them, it was as if all the details that made up a person, blurred together. Strange.

The line led up to a slight dais, where a throne of blackened wood sat. The material and construction was much like the bow that Hades had created for Amber, so Drew was considering whether the god had also weaved and constructed the chair. A woman sat upon the throne itself, The Baleful Lady if he was to guess. She had flawless and unmarked blue-gray skin; long white hair flowed from her head down to near her mid-back. Her eyes though, her eyes were a chilling bright blue that glowed like mana, as he gazed into them, he felt a shiver run up his spine as if he'd dipped his feet into a half-frozen swimming pool.

The lady quickly made eye contact with Drew, and he felt a slight pressure push down upon his shoulders, as if invisible weights had been placed upon them. Her gaze lingered for half a second before turning to her side and motioning towards a figure on her left. A being of coalesced shadow or smoke, Drew couldn't tell which, made its way from the point it had been lingering at, to the side of the Primordial. Its shoulders were set wide, wider than a human's would be, and pauldrons that were made from the same material as its body, were glued upon the being's shoulder.

The chest was also human-like, but very muscular, and Drew half expected it could bench press, and curl the weight of a skyscraper with those muscles alone. But the torso came to a point where the belly button would be, and a swirling smoke was ejected from that point and used to keep the creature afloat. The arms were long, and its fingers ended in pointed talons. The face... it was more of a blank slate. There was a pointed chin, and a ridge for its brow, and the jawline was practically a straight line, but other than those features, it had no mouth, nose, or ears. Instead, glowing blue light radiated outwards from the being's eyes. Bizarrely, it had two pieces of clothing on, a white bowtie of alternating shades of white, and a wrist cuff held by two black cufflinks above each hand, almost like a button-down shirt would have at its wrists.

The lady leaned over slightly and spoke quietly to where the being's ear would have been. The being then pulled out a... file? Yes, a large vanilla file, and handed it to the goddess. Maybe it was her secretary or it helped with administrative work? The lady started flipping through the folder as she read the contents held within, and the being of shadow moved behind her throne, and towards Drew and Hades. Once it was in front of him, it folded it's right arm, and slightly bowed to Hades, and then Drew.

"The Baleful Lady bids you welcome, and asks for your patience as she finishes her duties with the next soul." An echoing and hollow voice whispered out.

"Uh... thank you? That should be fine." Drew didn't know how to reply, so he kept his voice quiet as well.

The being bowed again, and moved slightly off to the side, but well within reach of him and Hades.

Drew noticed movement next to the throne on the right side, which was barely out of view, so he leaned his neck slightly to get a better look at the... dog? There was a three headed white, black, and tan dog waking up from a nap in its bed. How did he not notice it before? It stood up and stretched. Short, stubby legs, a round butt, and no tail. Its ears were large and pointed... was Cerberus a fucking corgi?! Drew turned his head to Hades, who had noticed the movement and made eye contact.

"Is that really Cerberus?" Drew asked in a whisper.

"Hm, oh. Yes, that's Cerberus." Hades answered back.

"I thought it was supposed to be this huge, massive hellhound with flames and spikes and shit? Plus, isn't it supposed to be guarding the entrance to the underworld or something?"

"Eh, people like to embellish the truth sometimes. He was guarding the entrance in my place while I had my vacation on Earth."

"What? That dog had been on guard duty for thousands of years while you were on Earth, doing...what exactly were you doing, besides making movies?"

"Cerberus is technically stronger than I am, and he's also a god. Although, he normally stays by The Lady's side when I'm on duty. I was doing the same things any human would do on vacation. Visiting the attractions, monuments, spending time on the beaches, I even taught some courses on architecture back in Greece. It was really relaxing, it had been almost forty thousand years since my last vacation, so it was long overdue."

"Forty...thousand?"

"Hm? Well, it was closer to thirty-nine thousand, eight hundred and fifty-three years. Give or take a few months. Long overdue, as I said."

Drew could only nod his head. Yes, obviously the guy needed a vacation after that...but still...he almost felt lazy after hearing it.

"Ezekiel Landon Wiggums?" A soothing, yet chilling voice broke the silence.

It was The Baleful Lady. A translucent blue figure stepped forward from the line of souls and stopped before the lady. He nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Do you understand your circumstances and where you currently are?" Her voice questioned in a calm manner.

The figure shook his head.

"My name is Raynalyr, and it's my duty to help you find your fate."

The man's head tilted slightly before opening his mouth to speak.

"But...I thought...why am I not in the Forest of Shalnelear?" The man asked.

"Yes, I understand your confusion, and there isn't a kind way to explain it, so I apologize now for what I'm about to say, as you will find it discomforting. The god you worshipped in life, Shalnelear, has forsaken your soul. This wasn't a decision made by him on a personal bias, to put it simply, he refused to spend the energy required to grant you eternal rest within his realm."

"I don't understand... I was faithful...my whole life. I prayed daily, and my family and I made offerings several times a year. Why has Shalnelear forsaken me, what sin have I committed?"

"None. You committed no sin, your faith was true, and your heart was pure. It was, as I said, not a decision he made based on you as a person, nor your faith. He simply didn't wish to spend the resources to create a space for you within his realm."

"...Why? My whole life..." The man said while sobbing, unable to keep his head up as it was buried in his hands.

"Fear not, you and I will work together to decide your fate."

The man barely nodded.

"Your first option, you may choose to reside in one of the many afterlives I provide for the residents of my realm. There are no costs to this, and I offer it to you freely, as I believe you truly deserve a peaceful rest. Your second option, you may choose to be reincarnated. You will be given a new life, and you may choose your future race. I have no control over the circumstances of your birth, and you may be born into a poor family, or you may be born as a prince. However, you will not remember anything of your old life, until you one day die. Lastly, due your faithful service to your god in life, I offer you the chance to join my Cadre. Whether you work within my administrative team, as part of my army, or as a skilled professional, is entirely up to you. No matter your choice, you need not worship me, I offer each choice before you freely."

The soul stood crying, but listening to The Baleful Lady that spoke to him. Beyond the quiet whimpers of the man's retreating sadness, Drew could tell he was considering his options. The minutes stretched on as the man internally weighed each choice, and the opportunity they presented.

"I understand. I choose... I wish to join your Cadre, to dedicate myself to the goddess who offered me mercy and kindness when my god had forsaken me. I hereby Renounce Shalnelear, and pledge myself to you, if you'll have me." The man said resolutely.

"I accept, Ezekiel Landon Wiggums. I bid you welcome to my Cadre. May you find peace in the path you have chosen."

A silver pillar light descended from the ceiling as The Baleful Lady held out her right hand towards the man. He, and the surrounding area within a five-foot diameter were completely engulfed in the God-sent light.

"Thank you..." The voice of the man called out.

The light disappeared, and the man was gone.

The shadowy being that lingered near Drew and Hades converged upon their location.

"The Baleful Lady will see you now." The voice echoed.

"This is where we part ways. It's been a pleasure speaking with you, please send your wife my regards." Hades said to Drew.

"It was nice to meet you, James...or Hades."

"Just Hades. I look forward to what you will accomplish."

Drew nodded his head to the god, and turned his head back to the smoky being. It nodded it's head and...

*POP!*

***************************************

He was in a sitting room, or some kind of lounge. It was a small, intimate room, with carpeted floors, two black leather couches, and a glass coffee table of some kind. There was a fireplace lit to his left, blue flames licked across black logs and the fire crackled and produced a soothing warmth, that somehow felt slightly brisk. Upon the table lay two mugs with...Drew lifted the cup to his mouth and inhaled through his nose...it was...hot chocolate? With floating marshmallow skulls? How adorable! He took a sip.

"Oh fuck, that's good shit." He whispered to himself.

"It is good, isn't it?"

The Primordial sat across from him on the opposite couch, holding her mug. She hadn't been there just a second ago when he'd turned his eyes to the beverage, yet there she was, right in front of him. She was wearing the same clothing she had while sitting upon the throne. Black leather armor, adorned with dark silver edges, a matching silver breastplate, pauldrons, leg armor and greaves. Yet, despite all the metal, as she leaned back into the couch and took a sip of the hot cocoa, he couldn't hear a single sound made by the armor's movements.

"Uh...yes, it is."

"I believe Jeeves makes the best hot chocolate in the entire multiverse, oh, he's the man you met earlier in Chamber of Fates."

"...The shadow guy?"

"Yes, that's him."

Drew shifted his eyes to the table, as to not stare at the goddess or to come across as overly rude, especially after he basically checked her armor out. Oh! There was a plate of cookies! The invitation's note had been true! Drew leaned forward and grabbed one off the plate. He brought it to his mouth and bit into it.

*CRUNCH*

He put the mug down and covered his mouth with his hand to chew. It was crispy on the outside, yet soft and warm on the inside. The chips were gooey and semi-sweet. He was totally in fat kid heaven right now.

"As you can see, I prefer a more relaxed and casual atmosphere when I'm not working with the souls of the forsaken."

"Hmmm? ...Oh, yes... It's a very comfortable atmosphere in here." Drew said, trying not to talk while chewing.

"Don't worry about manners in here, feel free to relax."

Easy for her to say, he was still in the presence of a Primordial being that transcended the powers of literal gods. But...ohhhh, that hot chocolate was hella good.

"So, down to business." She sat her mug down.

Drew quickly put his down to match hers, which earned him a slight smile at the corner of her mouth.

"You probably have worked this out for yourself already, but I'm Raynalyr, otherwise known as The Baleful Lady. It's a fanciful title, but I rather enjoy it. As you come from a recently integrated world, allow me to explain a bit about the multiverse, gods, and our role within it. Gods, are beings of extreme power. This strength allows them to greatly influence the multiverse and the mortals that reside within it. We may create our own parallel dimensions, realms, and even afterlives for souls. There is very little that lies beyond our ability to influence. However, at the end of the day, many of us are very similar to mortals, as at one point, we were mortal as well. We simply grew in power and strength within The System for a long enough time that we transcended mortality and became...something else."

Drew nodded his head as he listened, to show his understanding of what she was speaking of. Even though it all went so far over his head, that he wouldn't even be aware of it, if it wasn't being actively pointed out to him.

"Now, something most gods wouldn't want mortals to know. We are not infallible, nor are we flawless. We also are not omniscient, nor omnipotent. Although, from someone at your standpoint, it would seem like we are. Lastly, the point I'm wishing to make is this, gods can be dicks."

Drew coughed abruptly as he choked on his own spit. The Primordial chuckled, but continued.

"Gods grow in power, much like mortals do, however we also earn power from our mortal followers. In general, the faith a soul generates over their lifetime grants us power. It's a metaphysical energy, and not one you need to concern yourself over. The important part is this, more powerful souls grant us more power, and weaker souls grant us less. The soul of a mortal grows in power as they level, evolve, surpass new grades, or bring new worshippers to our sides. That said, weak souls provide us with barely a trickle of energy, and when those people finally die, they may find themselves here, in my realm, rather than their promised afterlife."

"Like what happened to that Ezekiel fellow in the throne room?" Drew asked.

She nodded.

"Exactly. Gods can be dicks. The energy to sustain a soul in an afterlife for most gods is an overhead expenditure that most will not allow for, unless the mortal in question was sufficiently powerful in life, brought many people to the faith of their god, or worked directly under their god at their behest. To put it simply, most souls that worship faithfully, never see their promised afterlife, and instead, they end up here."

"Why do they end up here though?"

"They end up here, because I built my realm specifically for this purpose. To offer the souls of the Forsaken a place to rest, a place to reenter the mortal plane, or a place to be damned to should it be called for."

"Doesn't that drain your power considerably then? If you're getting every other god's rejected souls, then you never even received energy from them throughout their lives. Yet, you still have to spend the energy to sustain them within an afterlife, or reincarnate them."

"Normally, you would be correct, if I was any other god. However, I'm different than every other god out there. For one, I'm a Primordial, a being that surpasses even other gods. I've been around a very, very long time. Additionally, and the most relevant part of the equation, I embody the aspect of Death. For the whole multiverse. Every death, from any being, anywhere in the cosmos, generates power for me, and because I am so closely aligned with that aspect, the energy I receive is not insignificant. Regardless of the strength of the individual souls in question, the act of dying creates a very large amount of energy, compared to a lifetime of worship."

"I'm not sure I fully grasp everything you've said, but basically every death fuels your power, and the energy death creates is vastly more than a life spent in worship, so you can afford to sustain them and still remain net positive?"

"Correct."

"And the other gods...are okay with that? They're totally fine with you being a super powered being that surpasses them due to their greed?"

"Ha! No. No they are not. But, much like how mortals have politics, so do the gods. They bicker and fight amongst each other, they send their followers against other god's followers, they wage war, it's... drama honestly. They can't do anything about me though, I've been around for so long, and I have so much... It's easier to say that I've been the foot to their anthill for so long, that the foot is now the size of a large star. Even if they all somehow put down their weapons and worked together, I'd simply burn them all until nothing was left."

"Oh, yeah. I bet you don't receive many Christmas cards then."

"No, no I do not." She chuckled.

"Why do you do it?"

"Why do I do what?" She asked raising an eyebrow of silver.

"Create afterlives for people, even after they've been thrown away by their gods. It still drains your energy, right?"

"Ah. Because I want to. Because, the alternative is the souls being tossed into the Abyss that you saw outside my realm. They'd be thrown out, floating in pure nothingness, forever. They're not truly alive, but they'd be unable to move, to breathe, to eat, to do anything but think. For eternity. They would slowly be driven insane, trapped within their own minds for hundreds of thousands of years, until finally, nothing. They'd just cease to exist as their last maddening thought escaped their mind, and they drifted into a sleep they'd never wake from. It would be torture, the worst torture in all of the multiverse."

"Well, that's fucking horrifying...Oops!" Drew quickly covered his mouth

The goddess chuckled.

"Again, relax."

"So, uh...no offense, but what am I doing here?"

"You're here for two reasons, Drew Wright. The first, I wish to offer you a job. More precisely a profession."

"Oh cool, I was hoping to get one of those soon. What's the second reason?"

"I require a date to my cousin's wedding, and I wish for you to accompany me." She said seriously.

"Sorry, come again?"