"What do you wish to talk about, Isaac?"
"Did something bad happen in school?"
"No, Mom, everything is fine at school. What I wish to talk about, Dad, is related to my powers."
"You're powers?" x2
"Yes" We are currently in the living room of the house, and due to my sudden comment at dinner, we eat in silence. I didn't wish to be a burden to them, and I'm pretty aware that this is my own problem, but if I don't seek help now, I don't think I ever will.
"Do you guys remember how I told you how I increased my powers?"
"Yes, you say by doing something called quest..(Ha..Ha..Ha), which I find pretty funny, how just by doing some chores you can acquire extraordinary abilities"
(Giggle)"Indeed" Mom and Dad started laughing about the absurdity of the system, and to a certain extent, it's true.
That's why the system rewards me more for doing dungeons than for doing daily or weekly quests.
"Well, there's more to it than just doing chores. It's something that I chose not to tell you at the time because I didn't know how to explain it to both of you."Seeing my seriousness, they stop laughing.
"What do you mean, Isaac?"
"Exactly what I say, Dad, there's a more efficient way to obtain power. It's called [Dungeon Delving]."
"Dungeon, like in those video games?" Due to her son having superpowers as his brother, Martha tried to inform herself about the terminology that her son was using. That's why she asked Clark to teach her video game slang.
"Yes, Mom, like in the video games, only that it's not the same. I'm transported to a memory of a different world, where magical creatures and different people lived."
This was a lot to take in for the Kent couple, but they believed in their son, and they guessed that whatever he wants to talk about has to do with these so-called dungeons.
{Ok..it's time, oh god, I don't know how to say it.
(sigh){F**k it}
"In my recent dungeon delving, there was a group of people; those people were bad people, and my mission was either to capture them or kill them."The change in their faces said it all.
"What did you do, son?"
"The.. They had a group of hostages, 5 women. They were doing not so nice things to them. I had no choice.
I'm not fast like my brother, nor am I immune to anything like him, so my only option for me to rescue them was to kill them.
"..." Mother just started crying, and Father had a hard face, like when we mention the last name Luthor.
{I'm in deep trouble, aren't I?}
I tried to think of many ways to say it differently, but at the end of the day, I killed someone, and that's the end of it.
I don't feel bad about it; that's the reason I wish to seek help.
Although at the time I vomited and felt the physical response of seeing a dead body, afterward I understood my actions and deemed them lawful, but I don't feel good about them either.
"Did you know that your grandfather was a war veteran?"
"Eh? No, I didn't know about it."
"Because I never mentioned it, the same way my father never said it to anyone else."
{Ah, I get it now.}
"My father only spoke to me about his days in the army one time; it was enough for me to understand the deep burden that my father was carrying."
{so the reason why I couldn't find words to tell them about this was because..}
"He said to me, Jonathan, the day you take another man's life will be the day that you will destroy your peace."
{...I was Ashamed}
"My father lived until he was 70 years old, and since the war, he didn't know true peace."
"Jonathan..(Sobbing)"
"I'm sorry, son. I'm sorry that I wasn't there with you." My father had tears in his eyes.
"W...hy?" I couldn't speak well; I felt a knot on my throat.
"It was my decision. I wanted power to protect you, Mom, and even Clark. I don't regret it." By now, my eyes were red, and I was crying so much that my vision was blurry.
"My boy.." Mom just stood up and came to the couch with me and hugged me.
"Silly Child, that was supposed to be my job." Dad also stood up and came to the couch with me and mom.
**********
It has been 2 days since our talk in the living room. I explained in more detail what had happened in the dungeon.
They were relieved that it was just a type of illusion, but as far as I can tell, maybe this is no illusion, but for that, I need to investigate more.
Still, they were horrified when I told them my experience with the Goblin Settlement, the massacre, and me dying a horrible death, which, thanks to my skill, I remember everything with perfect detail.
I told them that I will not stop and that maybe in the future it will be more about the places that I will go and the decisions that I will take.
{In order for me to not be consumed by guilt and shame, I need to educate myself}
Until now, I haven't used the skill [photographic memory] to its full potential, so that needs to change.
That's why I proposed this plan to my parents.
"I will go to the library every day to read some books. My main concern right now is psychology."
"That maybe could work."
"Yeah, instead of paying someone money, you will be your own therapist."
Apparently both of them were on board with this idea; maybe they had a bad experience with them.
So today I went to the library to look for some psychology books. Surprise... surprise, smallville. It's really a little town, and the public library is pretty small. Luckily, I managed to find some books that I think will help.
Like that, two Months had passed, and I understood something: having photographic memory doesn't make you smart; it just makes you capable of remembering something really, really well.
So instead of focusing on understanding what I'm reading, my new task was to gather as much information as possible in my brain; it doesn't matter the content.
Another thing is that I began to take personal defense classes and started running every morning in order to improve my physical condition.
"Huff. Huff..huff, this is tough."
"Come on, Isaac, one more lap." My father, Jonathan, has taken the time to supervise my runs every morning.
I think he is worried about my mental health, but although I'm not free of guilt or shame, I understood what I felt and that I need to move on.