Kaos stood in front of massive doors.
The dining hall stretched beyond them. A house inside a house. The ceiling arched high enough to fit multiple dragons in full form. Stone pillars thick as tree trunks held it all up.
In the middle of that space sat his mother. He still didn't know her name.
She waited at a table long enough to seat twenty people. Food covered every surface. Dishes he didn't recognize. Steam rising in thin curls.
The smell hit him before anything else.
His mouth watered.
"Are you going to join me or just stare?"
Kaos scratched the back of his neck and walked forward. "Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize to me for anything."
A small smile crossed his face but it was gone before it settled.
Don't get attached.
He repeated the words in his head. He was a sucker for people being nice to him.
He frowned and looked at the table.
Where was he supposed to sit?
She watched him.
He walked to the right side of the table where the biggest piece of meat sat. Right beside her.
He just wanted good food. That was the only reason. He hadn't had a real meal in forever.
Her eyebrow rose. She smiled.
"You don't have to wait for me."
Did she expect him to eat all of this? Maybe dragons had bigger appetites.
Kaos broke off a piece of meat and held it to his lips. Steam rolled off the surface. It smelled like chicken.
He took a bite.
His eyes widened.
"This is so good."
He took another bite. Then another. The plate emptied fast.
She watched him the entire time, smile fixed on her face.
Ten minutes later, the table was empty. Not a single dish left untouched.
Kaos sat back, surprised at himself. He hadn't thought he could finish all of it.
Then he remembered the woman sitting beside him. He'd forgotten she was there.
"So—uh."
He had no idea what to say.
She laughed softly. The sound pleasant in his ears.
"I'm glad you liked it." She shook her head. "Though your father might be a little hungry."
Father. Something he'd have to get used to.
"Where is he?"
"He had to take care of some business in the kingdom. He should be back in the morning." She paused. "But enough about him. I'm due some mother and son bonding time."
He didn't respond right away.
Her expression shifted. Happiness fading into worry.
"We don't have to. You can go back to your room and—"
"I would love to."
He didn't like the way seeing her sad made him feel. Like he wanted to put the smile back on her face.
And he had questions.
"Oh good. So what do you want to know?"
"Your names."
"So you don't want to call me mom?" Her tone turned teasing.
Kaos gave her a blank stare.
"Right. My name is Valera and your father's name is James. We're the Eldric family. The royal family of Planet 146."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why is it called Planet 146? Why doesn't it have a name?"
She gave him a weird look. "How do you know about planet names?"
He responded slowly. "I don't know."
"Right. Well, it's simple. There are eight universes and eight beings who rule them. Each universe has its own rules. Universe Eight's ruler had an idea for a tournament between all the worlds. The winner gets named permanently."
That sounds pointless.
He tilted his head. "What's so good about being named?"
"When your planet gets named by your ruler, the planet and the people on it evolve. We've never won, hence the name."
"Is that low?" He wanted to know how strong the planet was.
"No. The universe has about fifty thousand planets, so we do quite well. Just can't make top one hundred."
He got an answer to one question, but it left him with more questions.
"why is my name Kaos?"
Her entire demeanor changed. Like a switch flipped.
It stunned him. He was used to seeing her smile.
"It's quite a long story."
He didn't let her dodge. "We have time."
She sighed. "Well. When you were born, you came out healthy. We waited to find a name for you, but nothing seemed right. The problems didn't start until after a week, when your element awakened. Which wasn't supposed to happen for five years."
So I'm a genius.
He focused back on Valera, eager to hear more.
"Your element is Chaos and Destruction. The moment you awakened it, the whole castle was destroyed."
Panic crossed Kaos's face.
"Don't worry. Nobody was in the castle at the time. Just me and your father. We were strong enough to withstand it. But when we went looking for you through the rubble, we found you wrapped in orange light, floating. As we found you, you floated into my arms."
"We tried to wake you up." She took a deep breath, like the memory still bothered her. "But you didn't. Not the next day. Not the day after. Not after a month. Not after a year. At one point, you stopped breathing altogether. You looked so pale. Like you'd lost all the blood in your body. Like you'd lost your soul."
Kaos sat in silence.
"We went to other worlds. Other universes. Looking for doctors to help you. But they didn't know what was happening. They all said the same thing. Wait five years for the correct time your element was supposed to awaken."
He was glad he didn't have to relive his baby years. But his power was unstable. It could go off at any time.
He knew why he hadn't woken up. His soul hadn't been in his body.
He'd been worried he'd taken over someone else's body. Stolen someone else's parents.
He was glad that wasn't the case.
Though the name reason slightly baffled him. He'd destroyed their castle and they'd named him Kaos.
He couldn't argue. It felt right.
Valera stood abruptly. "Let's talk and walk. All this sitting is boring."
Honestly same, Kaos thought, standing up.
He was warming up to this new world