Author's Notes:
This chapter will continue topics such as prostitution. I will not show or act out any of the acts that the mother does, but I will imply some of it and focus on her emotional experience. You'll see what she's feeling, the emotional toll it takes on her, and how she copes with it. Other topics in this chapter include death of the son and the acts the father takes to try and be better. I'll also explore how Ryan's illness continues to affect the family, and how the mother and father handle the overwhelming grief and helplessness that comes with knowing their son is slipping away.
As the story progresses, these themes of sacrifice, hope, guilt, and emotional numbness will weigh heavily on the characters. Once I think of any other topics that need to be mentioned, I will add them, and please if this isn't something you can handle do skip this chapter I will add a recap to the next one to allow thoes who do skip this chapter, now with that out of the way let's start.
The Mother's Perspective
The inside of the car reeked of stale cologne and sweat, the scent clinging to her skin like an unwelcome reminder of where she was. Her hands gripped the seat tightly, knuckles white, as she focused on the rhythm of her uneven breaths. Another night, another faceless client.
The man beside her barked commands, his tone sharp and devoid of humanity. Each word sliced through her pride, leaving wounds that no one could see. She obeyed without hesitation, her movements automatic, her mind numbed to the humiliation. Every action was a transaction, every degradation a necessary evil.
Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill, but she swallowed them back. Not here. Not now. Crying wouldn't fix anything it wouldn't heal Ryan, it wouldn't pay for the medicine keeping him alive, and it wouldn't bring back the life she once dreamed of.
The windows fogged as time crawled forward, the air inside stifling and thick with shame. She tried to focus on anything else on the blinking dashboard clock, on the faint hum of the car engine but her thoughts always returned to Ryan. His face swam in her mind, bright despite the pallor of his skin, his smile unshaken even as his body grew frail.
"I'm going to win, Mom. I'm going to beat them all."
His words echoed in her memory, filled with such determination that it made her chest ache. He was so small, his arms so thin they seemed like they might snap under their own weight, yet he radiated a strength she envied. He believed in a future she couldn't see a future where he could conquer worlds and slay dragons in The Gods' Games, it might be fake or childish but that was the only thing he had to look Forward to.
Her teeth sank into her lip as a tear slipped down her cheek, hot against her cold resolve. She clenched her fists, the sharp edges of her nails digging into her palms. She wouldn't let him down. The doctors said his illness was incurable, that the medicine was only delaying the inevitable. But they didn't know Ryan. They didn't understand the fire in his heart.
Or the sacrifices she was willing to make.
The man grunted, his indifference cutting deeper than any insult. She kept her eyes locked on the dashboard, counting the seconds until it was over, her breaths shallow and controlled.
When the ordeal finally ended, she adjusted her clothes with shaking hands and grabbed her coat, her fingers fumbling with the buttons as she stepped out into the cold. The night air bit at her cheeks, but it was cleaner than the suffocating stench inside the car. She inhaled deeply, letting it fill her lungs, even as her stomach churned with shame.
The money felt heavy in her pocket, its weight sinking into her soul. She clenched her fists and started walking, her feet moving on autopilot toward home. She hated what she'd done, hated what she'd become, but she couldn't hate the reason why.
For Ryan, she would endure this. She would endure anything.
When she reached their small apartment, she paused outside the door. Wiping her face, she forced a smile. Ryan couldn't see her like this. He needed her to be strong, even if she was breaking inside.
Pushing the door open, she heard his laughter from the other room. He was playing the game again, his voice filled with life as he shouted commands to unseen allies. For a moment, the sound made her smile a real smile.
But as she stepped inside and saw his frail body slumped against the bed's headboard, with the headset stuck to his head, it made her heart sank. She knew the truth, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Time was running out.
She wasn't sure how much longer she could fight. Sitting by her son's bedside, Clara clutched his frail hand, her thumb brushing over his pale, bony fingers. She had prayed, begged, and pleaded for a miracle to heal him, but deep down, she knew it was a childish wish. The doctors' words echoed in her mind like a death knell: There's nothing more we can do.
Still, she watched him, refusing to look away. Ryan was her world, her reason for enduring everything. He lay motionless now, the soft hum of the VR headset strapped to his head filling the room with an eerie quiet. The thin blanket did little to hide how small he had become, how fragile.
Her gaze flickered to the clock. Jason should've been here by now. She wanted to believe he would show up this time, but in her heart, she didn't. He had made too many promises before empty words that always shattered when the weight of life bore down on him.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Jason had arrived.
Jason's Perspective (Flashback)
Jason's alarm blared, dragging him from a restless sleep. He groaned, his body heavy with exhaustion, his head pounding from another night of tossing and turning. The small apartment was silent, an oppressive kind of quiet that pressed down on him like a weight. He turned to the empty space beside him, the bed cold and undisturbed.
He didn't need to ask where Clara was. He knew.
Sitting up, he rubbed his hands over his face, as if trying to erase the guilt etched into every line. He knew what she was doing, and it tore him apart inside. But what could he do?
Jason pushed himself out of bed, ignoring the pain in his joints as he got dressed for work. Bills were piling up, and Ryan's medication wasn't getting any cheaper. He splashed cold water on his face in the bathroom, avoiding his reflection in the cracked mirror. The man staring back at him wasn't someone he was proud of.
"You'll do better," he whispered to himself, gripping the sink so tightly his knuckles turned white. "You have to do better."
Jason's day was a relentless cycle of grueling labor. At the factory, he lifted heavy boxes, sorted parts, and loaded conveyor belts, his body aching from hours of repetitive work. During his short lunch break, he barely had the energy to eat, let alone make small talk with his coworkers.
When the factory shift ended, Jason headed straight to his second job at a fast-food restaurant. The smell of grease clung to him as he manned the fryer and flipped burgers, the hours dragging into the late night. By the time he clocked out, it was past midnight. His entire body screamed for rest, but he trudged home, the icy wind cutting through his thin jacket.
When he finally opened the door to the apartment, Clara was the first thing he saw.
Back to the Present
Jason stepped into Ryan's room, his heart sinking at the sight before him. Clara sat slumped in the chair by their son's bedside, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. Ryan lay still, the VR headset glowing faintly over his pale face.
Jason's throat tightened as he approached. "Clara," he said softly.
She flinched, quickly wiping her tears before turning to him. Her red, swollen eyes met his, and for a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the hum of the headset.
"You came," she whispered, her voice raw, eyes still wet with tears.
Jason nodded, his voice steady but laced with regret. "Of course I did. You made it clear yesterday if I didn't change, you'd leave. I couldn't let that happen."
Ryan's Perspective (Inside the VR World)
Ryan sat motionless on the bed, his real-world body weak and failing, but here inside The Gods' Games he was alive. The battlefield stretched endlessly before him, scattered with the remains of fallen monsters and champions. His avatar stood tall, radiant with power he had earned through sheer will.
The clouds above churned as another god descended, its colossal form blotting out the sky. Its voice boomed with fury. "Mortal! Your defiance ends here!"
Ryan smirked, gripping his weapon a blade forged from the gods' own power. "You're scared," he muttered. "You've never faced someone like me before."
The battle was fierce, every blow shaking the ground beneath him. Lightning cracked, fire roared, but Ryan stood firm, his strikes relentless.
"You think you can defeat me?" the god sneered. "You are nothing but a speck in our grand design!"
Ryan's voice was calm, steady. "You're right. I'm a speck. But I'm the speck that rewrote your rules." He dodged another attack, his blade glowing brighter. "You might call yourselves gods, but you bleed. And if you can bleed… you can die, so I guess that makes me the godkiller.
With a final, devastating blow, Ryan struck the god down. Its form disintegrated, its cries echoing into the void.
But as the world began to shift, Ryan's vision blurred. Pain surged through his chest, pulling him back toward reality. The VR world flickered and cracked around him as his body convulsed violently.
"Ryan!" Clara screamed, grabbing his shoulders as blood sprayed from his lips. Jason was at his side in an instant, his hands trembling as he tried to steady his son.
"Ryan, hold on!" Jason pleaded, his voice cracking.
Ryan's lips moved faintly, his voice a weak whisper. "I won," he murmured, a small smile playing on his blood-streaked lips. "I beat them…"
His chest heaved one final time, and then he went still.
Clara collapsed against him, her sobs shaking the room. Jason held them both, tears streaming down his face as the weight of his failures crashed over him.
In the quiet that followed, the faint glow of the VR headset finally dimmed, leaving only darkness.
Authers notes; well that was sad don't you think, that is enough for now because i kind of ran out of ideas for the next chapter but I am hoping by reading other story's I might be able to think of something to create for the new chapter