The Forgotten Godking

Galen Vaelthorn

In the vast starry sky...

A powerful soul fragment has been travelling for thousands of years, crossing countless light years before eventually reaching its destination — one of the many worlds housing intelligent life in this universe — Earth.

Entering Earth's atmosphere , the soul fragment made a straight beeline towards one of the public hospitals nearby, where a young woman of around 22 years was about to give birth to her child.

Unbeknownst to anyone present there, the incorporeal soul phased right through her stomach and entered her womb, settling deep inside the unborn child's body.

Just then, from the depths of existence itself, a chime sounded, echoing inside the baby's unconscious mind.

[ Ding ! ]

[ Necessary prerequisites fulfilled. ]

[ Awakening the Forgotten God's System… ]

— —

[ Starting fusion of the Godking soul fragment with the mortal soul fragment… ]

[ Fusion failed… ]

[ Analyzing the cause of failure… ]

[ Cause found: excessive disparity in strength between the two soul fragments. ]

[ Searching for solutions… ]

[ Solution found – Slow and gradual fusion over time – Probability of success: 99% ]

— —

[ Implementing the solution ]

[ Estimated time till complete soul fusion occurs– 25 years ]

[ Counting down…

24 years, 365 days 23:59:59

24 years, 365 days 23:59:58

24 years, 365 days 23:59:57

. ]

— —

[ The system will be going into sleep mode (temporarily) to preserve the remaining energy ]

***

24 years and 364 days later…

"Gasp..."

Galen jolted awake from sleep with ragged breaths, feeling a sharp pain stabbing through his chest.

"UGHHH...."

Fucking hell... It's this again.

Groaning, he gritted his teeth to endure the agonizing pain, trying to not make a noise.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided, leaving behind a dull ache that would eventually settle after sometime.

With bloodshot eyes because of his recent ordeal, Galen grabbed his phone from a nearby table and squinted at the screen.

2:00 AM

"SIGHHHHH..."

Letting out a tired sigh, he laid back on his bed.

It was his mysterious illness acting up again.

He had this thing since his birth.

Because of it, he would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night feeling unbearable pain in his chest, that would last for about 10 minutes.

At first, it had been rare, once or twice a year at most. But as he grew up, the frequency of these painful episodes had also been steadily rising.

During his childhood, thinking it might be a medical issue, his adoptive parents brought him to all kinds of hospitals.

But no matter where they went, the results were always the same— the doctors declaring that he was perfectly fine, whether physically or mentally.

Not wanting his parents to worry about him any further, Galen decided to lie, saying that he wasn't having those episodes anymore.

Over the years, he had learned to silently endure the pain without screaming. That's how he was able to fool them into believing his empty words.

Meanwhile, he swore to find a solution for his affliction, himself.

Dedicating himself to his studies, he spent countless sleepless nights before finally becoming a respected doctor.

Brimming with hope, Galen started his career.

But reality — was far from kind.

Even after becoming a doctor and doing all kinds of research in the medical field, he couldn't find a single clue about his illness.

And to make matters worse, the pain had started tormenting him daily without a single break, even depriving him of his much needed sleep.

With frustration gnawing at his insides at the thought, Galen shut his eyes, trying to get himself as much sleep as possible in the remaining time before morning arrived.

After all, He still had work to go to.

Tossing and turning for hours, he finally slept, barely managing two hours of sleep before his alarm woke him up at exactly 7:00 AM.

Dragging himself out of bed, Galen forced his sluggish body into motion.

Freshening up, he dressed himself into a set of presentable clothes, had breakfast, and then left for work.

Taking the subway train, he began absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.

That's when he noticed the date.

' June 4 '

"Tomorrow's going to be my birthday, huh..." Galen muttered to himself.

"Just great... Yet another year of torment in this miserable life."

A mirthless laugh escaped his lips, when he recalled the heartwrenching pain that had started recurring every night.

Closing the phone, Galen started reminiscing about his life so far.

***

Galen Vaelthorn - that was his name. A young man of 24 years, at the prime of his life.

With somewhat short black hair, and light golden eyes, he could be considered quite handsome, that is if his hair didn't cover half his face all the time.

Abandoned soon after birth because of poverty, he was raised in an orphanage.

He had learned from his caretakers that he had a habit of constantly muttering in his sleep – especially the name Galen Vaelthorn – which eventually became his own.

That's why he was the only one with a different last name in the orphanage, while everyone else had the same last name – Jones – taken directly from the orphanage director's.

At the age of 5, Galn was adopted by a kind couple that didn't have the fortune of having their own child.

As he grew up, they showered him with unconditional love, filling the void in his heart, left behind by his birth parents when they abandoned him.

For Galen, living with his adoptive parents was the happiest time of his life, even with the unknown illness still plaguing him.

But his happiness didn't last long.

In an accident last year, he lost both his father and mother, falling into depression as a result.

Even before that, because of his recurring episodes, Galen had always been a quiet boy in school, not interacting with others too much.

Those occasional friends he had in school, just for the sake of it, only lasted till his graduation.

Fortunately, even if he was a total introvert, his top grades in school had somewhat saved him from the excessive bullying.

As for having a girlfriend... 🤷🏻‍♂️

That was totally up in the air.

If there was anything he was ever grateful for in his bland school life, that would be meeting his purple haired goddess — Rhea Everlight.

As a teacher, Rhea was the perfect example of grace and kindness shaped into a beautiful woman.

And not just for him, she was the goddess for everyone in the school.

Remembering her smile alone, soothed Galen's pained heart, even if by a little.

After graduating from high school, he had to focus on his college studies and the following research to find out about his condition, leaving him no time to meet her again.

"It's been years since I last saw her smile." Galen recalled with slight regret.

With that final thought lingering, he arrived at his workplace - a private hospital.

Six hours later...

After finishing his shift and grabbing a quick lunch at the cafeteria, Galen headed out.

But on his way back, he suddenly stopped at an intersection.

Instead of going back home, he changed his direction and went to the local cemetery.

There, standing in front of his parents' graves, Galen felt like a lump was forming in his throat.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and crouched down. With meticulous care, he began cleaning their graves.

When he finally finished and looked up, his gaze landed on the slightly blurred words, carved into the tombstones.

"Here lies the Mother and Father of the brightest soul in the world."

read the Epitaph, causing the tears that he had been holding back since arriving, to start streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.

When he found them at the hospital, that was the last thing his parents had asked of him — to etch those words in their tombs— before closing their eyes forever.

Saddened beyond words, Galen knelt on the soil with his head lowered, letting his tears fall on their graves.

When his eyes didn't have anymore tears to shed, he wiped his face with his sleeves and sat down on the ground.

Sitting beside his parents' resting place, he talked about his life so far-

his struggles,

his exhaustion,

his unanswered questions,

everything.

As he kept talking, minutes turned into hours, and the sky started darkening.

But only when night had fallen completely did Galen finally rise from his position, leaving the place with a lighter heart.

Returning home, he ordered a simple dinner and, almost as an after thought, added a small piece of cake.

At 11:59 PM,

Galen took out that small cake and lit a candle on it.