'Gilgamesh is so cool, Marshall should strive to be as cool as he is.'
'Yesterday, I saw Gilgamesh meditating with his sword-- and what a cool sword it is, too. I can't believe he's not even twelve yet! He speaks so eloquently, and carries himself in such a mature way. He does let himself loose sometimes, but who doesn't? At least he doesn't do it all the time like Marshall.'
'He said that Miss Inanna is his fiancé, but I didn't ask about that. Maybe their families are just really old-fashioned and arranged the marriage. I should ask them about it some other time... Maybe... Maybe not...'
'They both don't seem to know much about this world; both Marshall and I have realized that, but I don't think it's a good idea to pry. They both seem so amazing, I just can't believe we got lucky enough to meet them.'
'I wonder if we can travel with them? I'm constantly imagining it; us travelling this nameless continent, learning and experiencing new things. That just seems like fun.'
'Maybe, after all that, Marshall and I can recover the bond that we lost.'
|Sylvia Hautaine's Thoughts As She Lays On The Couch|
"What does it say?" Marshall inched closer to Gilgamesh with every passing second, all-too eager to hear the specifics of this quest. Sylvia was also excited, but she did a far better job of keeping herself in check.
Gilgamesh looked at the new screen, seeing that there was a rectangular panel on the right with large text, and also a square window on the left with a lot more, smaller text.
As he arrived on that screen, the system began to speak.
"You have triggered the quest, 'Beginning a Search.' After seeking information regarding Game Masters, the prerequisite for this quest's activation was met."
As Gilgamesh heard, he repeated the words for them. They listened attentively, nodding as he went along.
"The details are as follows: Having met the siblings, Sylvia and Marshall, Gilgamesh continually learns a great deal about the world. With their help, Gilgamesh plans to go in search of a Game Master so that he may find more answers, and perhaps grasp the meaning behind his numerous Spirit Marks."
Hearing Gilgamesh repeat those words, Sylvia was overjoyed in her heart. It showed in her eyes though, and Ishtar noticed her excitement almost right away and smiled.
"Those kinds of quests are called 'Path Quests.' They are the ones that most directly guide you on your path, while many others act as bonuses or distractions, for when you need a change of pace or find yourself stuck."
Sylvia stood up and walked a little way into the grass as she explained, in an attempt to get some of her joy out by way of a bright smile. With her back turned to them, she looked into the evening sky and thanked her lucky stars.
"Well that's great and all, but Path Quests are usually the hardest to accomplish. You see this right here-- finding a Game Master? That's plain impossible."
Instead of continuing to ignore Marshall, the others instead turned to him and listened with varying expressions-- all solemn. Though it was just his pessimistic view, it was also a more realistic way of looking at it.
Sylvia knew enough to be sure that Marshall was not just spouting baseless nonsense; he was right. Lost in thought, she paced a bit in front of the house as Marshall continued.
"It's been almost seven million years since they were seen-- and that's only according to the words of fairy tales and myths meant to entertain children! It's not like we can just stroll on over to Game Master Island and- oh- what's up Game Master? Hey, how you doing Game Master? Fine! How about you!?"
Marshall's histrionics ended with a twitching eye and a grouchy expression, his hands extended like claws. When he remembered himself, he cleared his throat and sat down on the stairs.
Sylvia had stopped pacing by now and was looking at her brother with a complex expression. She had no choice to admit that he was right, and that seemed to pain her deeply.
"If it was impossible, his system wouldn't have issued the quest. The Creator knows all, and its system reflects its will. If Gilgamesh was given a quest to find a Game Master, then The Creator must desire that outcome."
Marshall frowned, "The Creator's desire was for its creations to grow in power, and that's why the system exists. Our desires have nothing to do with it. The Creator wouldn't stoop to our level."
Marshall said what he had to say and started walking up the stairs. He was about to pass Gilgamesh and Ishtar to enter the house, but Gilgamesh started speaking.
"I do not care what outcome your 'Creator' desires."
Sylvia's brows knit together as she tried to grasp a sensible reason for Gilgamesh to say such a blasphemous thing, but there was none. Marshall's eyes seemed to lose all respect for Gilgamesh as he turned and looked down at him.
Gilgamesh was still sitting on the landing, his eyes forward and his expression the same as always.
"Gods are all the same in the end. They alone must create, they alone must dictate and they alone must destroy. Is that not their doctrine? Them above all else?"
"Tch!" Marshall changed his mind, and instead walked back down the stairs and onto the grass.
"So that's the kind of person you are: a heretic, blaspheming your creator. Careful what you say, or the very God that you disrespect may strike you down. Remember that it gave the system to you, and it may just as easily take it away."
Gilgamesh smirk intensified and he almost started chuckling.
"I will excuse your ignorance; you are a child. You have not seen much- you do not know anything."
Sylvia couldn't say anything on the matter. All she knew was that the person that she was beginning to respect and- maybe- admire, had turned out to have a heretical, blasphemous side to him. She did not know how to react.
Marshall turned with a glare, "I don't know anything!? You're younger than I am! Just who do you think you are!?"
Gilgamesh stood up, only now his expression had underwent a complete change. Replacing his smirk was a cold indifference that echoed the true nature of his frigid heart- his complete and total lack of mercy toward those he deemed unworthy of it.
"I am Gilgamesh."
Though it was just a glimpse, Marshall and Sylvia could tell that Gilgamesh, truly, was nothing like they had come to believe. He was something different- something far more.
"Your Creator-- this entire world and the consciousness within its Source-- are nothing more than tools put in place by my perpetual desire to achieve my goal. Everything that crosses my path is a means by which I will one day accomplish all that I have set out to do."
Sylvia's expression went from crestfallen to one of utter disgust, as though she could not believe Gilgamesh- or anyone- would be capable of thinking in such a heartless way.
"What are you saying..." Marshall's eyes were wide with horror; he was prepared, in that moment, to take Sylvia with him and leave.
"Everything- even your creator- is mine to use. Why would I be grateful for it merely doing what it had no choice but to do?"
"Shut up!" Marshall had had enough.
"No, Marshall! Don't kill him!" Sylvia tried to step in, but she was too late.
Marshall withdrew a lance from his inventory and lunged forward, aiming to run Gilgamesh through. The latter also withdrew a weapon from his inventory, flashing a cold grin.
Gilgamesh's mind was all too familiar with such scenarios, and his reaction was all but instant. He twisted and the tip of the lance bypassed him and went in through the open door, while also rotating his sword hand and lining the tip of the blade up with Marshall's neck.
With barely enough time to stop himself, Marshall kicked at one of the steps and came to an abrupt halt. The tip of the Demiurge Blade pressed into his throat, just barely poking into his skin. Even so, it managed to draw a tiny bit of blood.
Ishtar yawned, having already expected such an outcome. On the other hand, Sylvia was unable to believe anything she just witnessed. She knew very well how proficient Marshall was in combat, as she had spent almost her entire life fighting against him.
She also knew what Gilgamesh's clear-headedness in the face of that attack meant. For Gilgamesh to react the way he did to her brother's attack while also easily exploiting its flaw, would have to mean that Gilgamesh's own ability surpassed Marshall's in some way.
In turn, that meant that Gilgamesh was also a much better fighter than she was, despite him being an eleven year-old boy.
Marshall retracted the lance and retreated to his sister's side, where he felt safest.
Gilgamesh took a moment to right himself, and cleared his throat. It was almost as if speaking was a little more difficult than usual.
"Don't misunderstand me, you two. Blasphemy hinges on the fact that I acknowledge the gods you revere, and I don't. I despise them. Now, think about it for yourselves."
"If your creator did not want someone with such a goal as mine to inherit this system, would I have ever been granted it when I stepped foot on this world?"
Not only did Gilgamesh bombard them with a complex sequence of thoughts, he also revealed a shocking fact about himself. They both felt their minds go blank as they tried to process the information but couldn't.
"If your creator is as intelligent as you believe it is, then giving me this system variant and this quest means it knows what role it must play in my life."
Gilgamesh put the sword away and prepared to go inside. With his back turned to them, he looked back at them out the corner of his eye and spoke his final words.
"If you two are as clever as I think you are, you'll understand. You two are meant to help me on this quest, and that means that even this system put together by your creator intends for you to travel with me. The fact that you two were fated to meet me already means that you are destined for great things, so don't let this opportunity go to waste."
Gilgamesh and Ishtar left to go have dinner, but the door remained open.
Once Gilgamesh was out of view, he suddenly paled and coughed up a worrying amount of blood.
Ishtar smiled knowingly, and brought a handkerchief to his mouth.
"You were easy on them, but hard on yourself," She smiled as he continued to cough.
"I just... didn't know... that I had so little spiritual power remaining..."
Once the coughing stopped, Ishtar brought out another handkerchief and wiped the remaining blood from Gilgamesh's face. They both looked at each other and laughed, then Ishtar helped him over to the dinner table.
They sat there and waited.
Ishtar saw that Gilgamesh was gazing expectantly in the direction of the front door, and she smirked. "I think you would make a great father."
He didn't say anything, but a smile crept onto his face nonetheless.
Sylvia and Marshall, alone with their thoughts, were silent in the twilight. The gentle breeze caressed them as it scurried across the grassland; nearly a dozen moons were visible, each of them more distant than the last until the rest could no longer be seen.
"He's a heretic, but he's not wrong." Surprising Sylvia, Marshall said these words with an exasperated sigh.
"We've both seen what happens to people who blaspheme The Creator, but he went even further than that. The Angels' Doctrine states that all heretics suffer similar fates, and not even Gods themselves are exempt."
Sylvia nodded. As Marshall returned the lance to his inventory, she took his hand and look him in the eyes. As they both stood at an equal height, their silhouettes in the dark, slowly melded into one shape as they embraced each other.
"I think Mother was right." Sylvia whispered the words, and Marshall tensed.
Hesitantly, he agreed, "I think so too... Before the Angel ruined her mind- those things she said... I think they were the truth."
They broke their embrace and both their heads turned to the open door at the same time. There was a light on inside, and it spilled out into the slowly darkening outdoors, appearing most inviting.
The two siblings took a step toward the door, echoing one another as they finished their sentences.
"What we know about The Creator..."
"What we were taught by the Gods and Angels..."
"...must be a lie."