Ludos, The Goddess of Games

His body was back to normal. He didn't have any pain or visible wounds like he did when he died. His clothes had been replaced with an ensemble he wouldn't be caught dead in.

He had on a black Mouse E. Cheese t-shirt, baggy grey sweatpants, and pink bunny slippers. Where did these clothes come from? He didn't even own slippers.

And why was he alive? Or was he? This looked like something close to heaven, so maybe he wasn't alive. He was standing amongst a dense group of everyday looking people. Some were dressed formally, others had on pajamas.

Unlike those standing in the group, there were people on the fringe who stood head and shoulders above everyone else. They were wearing clothes from different cultures and time periods, some he recognized and others he didn't.

Something about them seemed very familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Until suddenly it hit him. That was Anubis. He was staring directly at Anubis, the Egyptian god of Death. He had the signature head of a jackal and the body of a man.

And there was Zeus! He looked like an older but very muscular man with white hair, wearing a toga, with a thunderbolt in his hand that he was using as a sort of staff.

As he started to recognize more of them, Alex realized the people not standing with the group were all gods of various cultures and mythologies. Most of them were talking to people who Alex assumed were ordinary humans or loudly announcing their offered blessings at people like they were merchants hawking their wares.

Alex turned to the group, "Does anyone know what's going on?"

A blonde woman in business clothes turned her head and said, "I have no idea. I was driving to work when I saw a flash of light, and then I was here."

"Yeah, me neither," said some guy who clearly just wanted to be included in the conversation.

Alex grabbed someone rushing by. "Can you tell me what's going on? What's with the gods, and why am I dressed like this?"

The man staring back at him looked like a runner, lean and fit. He wore winged sandals and a cap with tiny wings, a caduceus in hand. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he gazed at Alex, amused.

"I might as well. I am the messenger god after all," Hermes said, twirling his caduceus. "Fate decided that we, the gods, have to help humans fight the alien invasion. There's this whole thing about how without humans, we would cease to exist, and none of us wanted that. So we agreed to help. We're giving people some of our god powers to fight back. But you can only choose one god to power you up. No double dipping."

He eyed Alex's ridiculous outfit and chuckled. "Oh, and that getup? Blame the Olympus lost and found. It was either that or your old blood-soaked clothes."

Alex blinked, "Wait, heaven has a lost and found?"

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Olympus, not heaven. And duh, how else would people find their lost crap?"

Alex scratched his head, trying to make sense of it all. "Hold up. So you're telling me whichever god I pick just hands over their powers to fight aliens? But how do I level up?"

Hermes cocked an eyebrow. "Level up? What're you talking about?"

"You know, get stronger," Alex pressed. "In games, you start off weak and get stronger so you can keep fighting stronger enemies, until you reach the final boss. How am I supposed to beat the boss alien if I can't level up?"

The messenger god shrugged, clearly lost. "Divine powers not good enough for you? Sheesh, kids these days."

Alex sighed. "That's not what I meant. There's gotta be some kind of progression system, right?"

"Look, if you wanna yap about games, talk to her." Hermes jerked his thumb towards a woman sitting alone, eyes fixed on the ground. "She never shuts up about 'em."

"Who's that?" Alex asked, squinting at the figure.

"Ludos. Goddess of games or whatever," Hermes replied, already losing interest.

Alex frowned. "Should I know her?"

"Just go chat her up," Hermes said, giving Alex a shove. "Maybe she'll make sense of your gibberish."

"Alright, alright," Alex grumbled, stumbling towards the solitary goddess. As he approached, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of deity would be in charge of games.

As he approached, Alex could see what Ludos was staring so intently at. It was a game of solitaire. She had kaleidoscopic hair that shifted colors as she moved her head, and she wore a jester's outfit that rippled with different game interfaces.

It even looked like you could play Missile Control on her back. There was even a Start New Game button. Resisting the urge to play video games on this woman's back, Alex walked around to stand in front of her and opened his mouth to speak.

She raised a finger as if to tell him to wait. She sped through the game of solitaire at inhuman speeds, placing and flipping cards so fast that to Alex it looked like cards were just appearing and disappearing.

When she finished, she herself did the card flourishes and bounces that happen when you finish the game on the computer. It made a huge mess of cards on the floor that she chose not to clean up.

After clapping and silently mouthing, "Yay!" she abruptly stood up and extended her hand to Alex in greeting.

She was a lot shorter than she looked from far away. Despite that, she was gorgeous. Alex was blown away by her beauty, but then again, all the gods he had seen so far were good looking. It was probably part of what made them gods.

Alex grasped her hand and shook it. "Hi. I'm Alex."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Alex. My name is Ludos. I am the goddess of your obsession, games." Ludos said, a wide grin on her face.

"You make it sound like you know me. I don't know if I should be flattered or nervous." Alex laughed nervously.

"Perhaps both," Ludos said mischievously. "Alexander James Chen. 18 years old. World record holder for fastest 'Any % Completion' speed run of Finger Gunner 2: The Fingering, Toilet Man, Knitting God: The Yarn-inator, and recently, Eternity Quest 3."

"How do you know all that, and why do I feel violated?" Alex said.

"I'm the Goddess of Games, remember? Anything to do with games, I know," Ludos said with pride. "You feel violated because you think I invaded your privacy. But I didn't. Privacy is an illusion. Every god up here knows everything about everyone that has to do with their domain. It gets automatically downloaded into our brain, so to speak."

"Oh. Ok. That somehow makes me feel better and worse at the same time," Alex said. "But let's get back to the point. Alien invasion. God powers. What sort of powers do you offer? I'm looking for something with a progression system where I can continuously get stronger over time."

"So like an rpg," Ludos said.

"Exactly! Thank God, or gods, I guess, someone who knows what I'm talking about," Alex said, relieved.

"I know exactly what you're talking about, and I can do exactly that. I can give you an rpg system as your powers," Ludos said.

"That sounds amazing! Let's do that!" Alex said.

Alex's excitement faltered as Ludos held up a hand, her eyes glinting with mischief.

"Hold your horses, buddy. First things first. All you gotta do is sign over your soul to me, and I'll hook you up. Deal?"