"Are you not satisfied? You have unimaginable power! The Divine Ones chose you, didn't they? Can you not just let me be!?"
As Anu knelt, he pled for his life in pure desperation. Gilgamesh's cold expression did not waver, instead it only deepened as Anu's histrionics continued.
Gilgamesh took hold of Samael, and slowly pierced Anu's shoulder. There were no spiritual fluctuations on the blade, meaning that its nature had not been activated. Thus, it stabbed into Anu's body just as any physical sword would, causing great pain.
As Anu cried out, Gilgamesh channeled a little of his true energy into the sword.
"What is happenin- GAH!"
A tiny portion of Anu's spirit was reaped, and with it a large amount of his true energy. Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed when he sensed this. It seemed Anu had truly been successful in grasping power from the outside world.
His eyes subconsciously glanced at Anu's dead children, and he grimaced.
Ishtar had been looking on all this time, collected and undisturbed. She had taken the time to go to her brothers', and said her goodbyes.
"That first one was your punishment for ever being born," Gilgamesh started.
"This," he said as he stabbed into Anu's other shoulder, "is your punishment for coming here in the first place."
"No, no. no, wai- AAHHH!"
Anu's body wanted to flail, but it could not resist the power of truth acting upon it. He had to kneel; he could do nothing else.
"This is for my father," Gilgamesh said while his sword stabbed into Anu's chest.
"This is for Enkidu," he said before dragging the blade from Anu's chest all the way down to his stomach. Despite the horrific nature of the wounds being inflicted upon him, not a drop of blood escaped Anu's body.
His physical body had reached something of a pinnacle- at least as far as this minor universe was concerned- and thus he had achieved perfect physicality as well as perfect spirituality.
'Bleeding' for him was actually the loss of his energy, since there was nothing else inside of him that he could lose.
Gilgamesh leaned forward until his face was mere inches away from Anu's, and stared into his distressed eyes.
"Count yourself lucky, however, that you did not kill my mother. You took so much from me, and forced me to walk a path that, I thought, would damn my soul for all eternity."
"I know now, that you were nothing but a minor chess piece in this game. The so-called Divine Ones were truly responsible. They thought they could make use of my hatred for you to manipulate me."
Anu's eyes widened and narrowed at random intervals, and he murmured as if he was trying to speak.
"Surely you realized that even though you surrendered the power to them, you were still trapped. I'm sure they were the ones that told you you could escape if you stole my fate, but that was actually what sealed yours."
Gilgamesh put Samael away, and placed a hand on Anu's head. "For all my life, I considered you my life's greatest enemy. I thought that our final battle would shake heaven and earth, and in the end I would destroy you and everything you built."
Hearing Gilgamesh speak like this, the slightest trace of hope sparked in Anu's eyes.
Ishtar bit down on her lip and closed her eyes; she knew better.
"In light of that, I no longer feel like submitting you to the kind of torture I once dreamed of. Instead, I will offer you a painless death."
With his hand still on Anu's head, the images of tiny quills and pages flashed in Gilgamesh's eyes. Moreover, as he channeled more and more true energy, the images appeared at his back, creating an intimidating and powerful aura.
Gilgamesh stole all of Anu's knowledge regarding the outside world, a feat that was many times easier than reaching out into the void to gleam that knowledge instead. The last time he had tried that, he had unknowingly almost killed himself.
Once Gilgamesh did this, he used the true energy of the Old Power to instantaneously kill Anu. Having all of his spirituality absorbed, Anu's physical form lost all color before his body hit the floor.
In this world, Anu would no longer exist.
Gilgamesh finally released a deep and heavy sigh, and he turned to Ishtar with a bitter smile.
"It is finished, Inanna."
Ishtar smiled as a few tears fell from here eyes, and she went over to embrace Gilgamesh. When she did so, she felt as though Gilgamesh had suddenly become infinitely lighter.
To her, it appeared that a massive burden had been lifted from him, and she could not help but feel the same way.
"I miss them," Gilgamesh sniffled, and buried his face deeper into Ishtar.
"Your parents?" Ishtar asked, caressing his head.
"Father... and Enkidu... I miss them both so much." Gilgamesh shed a few silent tears as he held onto Ishtar; they stayed that way for a rather long period of time.
Gilgamesh suddenly had a thought, and he escaped Ishtar's embrace at the same time that she was beginning to have the same thought.
"What if I can get them back..."
"In this minor universe, as you call it, you command the power of the four Divine Ones. Perhaps you can defy both Life and Death."
Gilgamesh looked around for a moment, and asked, "Would you like your brothers back as well?"
When she heard this question, she knew that Gilgamesh had asked this purely for her sake; it was out of no desire of his.
"No, it's alright. They deserve this rest. I think it would be best to let them sleep."
Gilgamesh frowned a bit and made sure that Ishtar was certain before he went about trying to do something he had never done.
"My father, Lugalbanda, shall stand before me."
Invoking truth, Gilgamesh saw that there was no reaction. He immediately decided to coat himself in all four of those true energy natures, and tried again.
This time, a chaotic and cold wind was spewed from the void itself, and the image of Gilgamesh's father appeared before him for just a moment.
His and Ishtar's eyes instantly lit up, but before long, the image vanished.
Using the Omniscient Author, Gilgamesh tried to ascertain how he should go about doing it, but instead he found something that irked him.
"Within this mystic realm, I have all control. However, it seems that the rate at which this realm is decaying has increased-- no doubt because I angered the Divine Ones."
Ishtar folded her arms across her chest, "So what does that mean?"
"I means that this realm is slowly reverting to what it once was, and full control of it will return to the Divine Ones."
Gilgamesh suddenly glared upward into outer space, a sense of urgency in him now that was not there before.
"If I don't work quickly, you will all fall under the Divine One's control again. I do not know what kind of fate awaits you if that happens."
Gilgamesh grabbed Ishtar's hand and invoked truth. Just like that, they were gone.
They appeared in the void above a dismal and almost entirely lifeless world. Looking down at it, Gilgamesh saw a sight that warmed his heart.
Logan and Angelica, still in horrible states after the battle, were thriving in the wilderness. Maximus, their most loyal aide, had stayed with them all this time, as well as Volsung. Surprisingly, Seha had survived being tossed into the planet, and had found them.
They all lived together, awaiting Gilgamesh's return.
He could wait no longer, and instantly appeared before them.
All eyes were on him from the moment he appeared, shock present in all of them. None of them knew what to say, and Logan and Angelica immediately started weeping.
"Are you real...?" Angelica asked through sniffles and wails.
"Silly woman... If we can all see him, then he must be real."
Gilgamesh laughed a most heartwarming laugh as some tears fell from his eyes, "I promised I would return, and I have returned. Mom, Dad, your son has come home to you."
Gilgamesh and his parents held onto each other and refused to let go.
"My son... My little Gil..." Angelica could only repeat this as she cried, and Logan could not even speak; Gilgamesh did his best to console them both.
"Yes. I will always be your son... Always."
Even Maximus, Volsung and Seha teared up at the sight of this reunion. Maximus in particular was unable to keep his emotions under control.
"Waah! Welcome back Young Master!"
As for the others, they could not make the connection between this version of Gilgamesh and the one that had mercilessly slaughtered a nation.
Ishtar covered her face as she too smiled and cried. Quite some time would pass before Gilgamesh's parents even noticed her presence.
...
"Mom, Dad, this is Ishtar, your future daughter-in-law."
Their jaws fell when they heard that.
"Huh!?"
Angelica grabbed Ishtar's arm with a smile and pulled her off to the side, meanwhile Logan came up to Gilgamesh and gave him a surreptitious thumbs up as well as a pat on the back.
"Tell me," Angelica whispered, "what is it you like about my Gil, hm?"
Ishtar blushed and opened her mouth to speak but ended up stuttering, evoking blissful laughter from Angelica.
Gilgamesh took a moment to look to the skies, and his expression finally returned to a solemn, determined one.
"Is there trouble," Logan asked.
"Nothing I can't handle right now. However, there are things I need to do in order to make sure you guys stay safe. I'm going to turn this universe into a singular world. An unsullied, pure world that is fit for you both to live in, and prosper."
"Our family will thrive there, and, for as long as I live, that world shall stand."
Logan ruffled Gilgamesh hair with a chuckle. "I've missed hearing those bold claims of yours. Well, I guess coming from you such a claim isn't bold, is it? If anyone can do it, it's my son Gilgamesh."
Logan put a hand on Gilgamesh's shoulder before he frowned slightly and looked down at him with a measuring gaze.
"Have you gotten that much taller already?"