Within the grounds of the Forest-Gate Guardians' Society, not a single soul was capable of speech.
They had been shocked to silence, and were now struggling to understand what the implications of that battle could be.
Gilgamesh, a cultivator at the Condensation stage's Seventh Level, had killed the Sovereign of their Universe directly after a series of consecutive breakthroughs.
Breakthroughs which triggered tribulations strong enough to destroy their world multiple times over.
As a matter of face, if those tribulations were not solely focused on Gilgamesh and were left to run rampant, they were capable of destroying a large part of the Universe itself.
Now that he was at the Seventh level, his next tribulation would likely be capable of destroying multiple universes.
He absolutely could undergo such a tribulation here!
Wyg dispelled his seal, and Andromeda corpse fell to the ground. As it did so, the dagger image's shattered and returned to nothingness.
Wyg and Law were pleasantly surprised, but Wyg's eyes quickly widened as he remembered something.
With a wave of his hand, a minor dimension opened up, and out of it came the tiny figure of a young girl.
"You did it, Big Brother! I saw the whole thing!"
She ran to Gilgamesh, who suddenly remembered that he was covered in Andromeda's blood.
With a thought, his true energy eradicated all trace of the blood on him, while he also replaced his clothes with some new ones.
Little Feather ran into his arms and he scooped her up, holding her close.
"I'm so glad you're safe," he sighed emotionally.
The two of them stayed like that for a while before Little Feather suddenly said.
"Big Brother, I need to get stronger. A lot stronger, like you!"
Gilgamesh put on a fake frown, "Why? You don't think your Big Brother can protect you?"
In response, Little Feather put on an expression of 'are you serious right now?'
"I almost died earlier, Big Brother. If it wasn't for Wyg, I probably would have."
Gilgamesh seemed pained as he clutched his chest. "I'm sure I would have found a way to save you. I was just so angry that I couldn't think straight! Yeah! That's what it was!"
"Mhmm... I believe you Big Brother."
Little Feather clearly didn't believe his words.
Gilgamesh carried Little Feather with him as he walled over to Wyg and Law, and his soft expression softened further.
"Thank you for saving Ateah. Truly. I am eternally grateful to you both." Gilgamesh's eyes, which had already ceased glowing, seemed to sparkle with tears.
Little Feather also turned her upper body and bowed her head in thanks. She was still being held by Gilgamesh, so this was the best she could do.
Still, it was more than enough.
"I never thought I would have found such good brothers," Gilgamesh smiled.
Hearing Gilgamesh regard dem as brothers, Wyg and Law were deeply moved.
"It was the only choice we could have made. Andromeda brought a child into her fight, and we could not let it stand." Law stated with a nod.
"That fight was between the two of you- and might I say- your victory was quite satisfying."
Looking at Law with vague amusement, Gilgamesh said, "So you're Destruction? Is that your inherent nature, then?"
"Indeed it is," Law nodded. "The whole reason I gave you that cultivation manual back then was because my instincts told me we would have fun wreaking havoc together."
"You were right," Gilgamesh laughed before turning to Wyg.
"And you're Defiance. So heaven-fucking isn't actually your inherent nature?"
Wyg wore a complicated expression as he tried to piece together a response.
"Well, yes and no. Everyone who defies the heavens has a special method of doing so. My inherent nature is a nature of heaven defiance, but it does so through raping the heavens."
Gilgamesh listened and eventually started wishing he hadn't asked.
As they conversed, the disciples, servants and Guardians realized that the excitement was over.
Slowly, they all departed and tried their best to go back to their daily lives.
The mental aftershock of what they had witnessed, though, would leave a deep imprint in their minds forever.
The Forest Master and the Old Patriarch exchanged glances before the Forest Master flew over to Gilgamesh and the others.
They saw him coming, and watched as he landed.
"Seph," Wyg and Law acknowledged him with small nods.
The Forest Master bowed his head in response.
Gilgamesh flashed him a smirk and tossed something toward him.
When the Forest Master caught the small object, it reverted to its original size.
It was Andromeda's spear.
"Take that. Whether or not you can kill your enemy with it depends on you. Work hard young one, I look favorably upon you."
Gilgamesh then disregarded the Forest Master's existence completely.
Wyg and Law gave wry smiles, and watched as the Forest Master died on the inside.
"Thank you, Gilga-"
Turning his head to the side abruptly, Gilgamesh said, "Don't use my name. Call me 'Your Majesty,' or 'My King.' I'm already doing you a huge favor on top of not killing you."
"Don't be ungrateful, little brat."
The Forest Master tensed up before nodding like a chick pecking rice. "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will remember this for as long as I live, My King!"
Little Feather hid her face in Gilgamesh's chest as she giggled, and the Forest Master departed with haste.
"Now then," Gilgamesh twisted his neck, making a few cracking sounds.
"I think it's time to transcend some more tribulations."
Hearing this, a wave of unease set in, but Wyg and Law's excited faces triumphed over it.
Wyg couldn't wait to salivate over the seductive, sexy sight of Gilgamesh's tribulation. He felt a tingling sensation in his lower body as he thought about it.
Law was just excited to see Gilgamesh cause more destruction, so his thinking was a lot clearer than Wyg's.
"Where will you do that? Any of the universes in this dimension will be destroyed by your next tribulation."
Little Feather's mouth gaped as she stared at Law. "Wow... My Big Brother's already that strong?"
Law nodded, and Gilgamesh stuck his chest out proudly.
"That's right! Your big brother is the strongest there is! So you don't need to bother yourself with boring cultivation. I can protect you!"
Little Feather did not seem convinced, and her eyes narrowed.
"I still want to get stronger, Gilgamesh."
"Ahh," Gilgamesh clutched his chest again, acting as though he was in excruciating pain.
Law and Wyg were both taken aback.
Where was the Gilgamesh that had almost killed the Forest Master? Where was the Gilgamesh that had been prepared to burn his soul essence and die, just to kill his enemy?
Where was the arrogance? The overbearingness?
Where was the asshole?
All they saw was a doting, fatherly, kind figure, that absolutely adored the little girl in his arms.
They watched and waited for him to tell them his plans.
"Don't say my name like that, Ateahhh..." Gilgamesh pouted childishly. "You sound like you're mad at me."
Little Feather rolled her eyes at Gilgamesh's behavior, but couldn't help giggling.
Eventually, he turned to Wyg and Law and said, "I know the perfect place to do it."
"Once I go there, I should be exempt from the rules, right?"
Gilgamesh's malicious smirk revealed itself again.
"And if there's no more rules, that means they'll go all out. I can finally teach those Divine Ones a lesson..."
"...then snuff out their Light."
. . .
Under the Domain of Light, which was the 'heaven' of this dimension, were seven hundred universes.
Each of these universes were ruled by a sovereign, whose sole responsibility was to ensure no one became powerful enough to transcend their universe.
Each world was contained within a minor section of the universe, and once someone left a world behind, they would enter the 'blank space' of the Page.
This blank space would lead them to another world.
Think of it as a page in a book. On that page, filled with writing, would be a series of letters making up words.
The universe Gilgamesh was currently in was contained within a word at the bottom of the Last Page.
The Last Page of the Book of Existence was the very bottom of the barrel. The lowest of the low.
It was where Gilgamesh had descended to one he reset his life.
At the top of the Last Page, contained within a massive word, was the Domain of Light.
This was where The Light resided.
It was a domain of endless light, filled with stars and clouds that surrounded them.
Those clouds seemed to contain infinite variations of colors, and as they loomed around those stars, they received a steady supply of light energy.
At the center of this Domain, a single cloud hovered in place, atop which were four chairs, a throne and a table.
A game of cards was currently being played by the individuals that sat at those four chairs.
On one chair, a Hand of the Old Power.
On another chair, a massive white brain- Truth's Mind.
An spiral of black sat at another chair. The Endless Cycle.
A purple and eternal spark of light hovered over the last chair. This was, naturally, the Obscure Spark.
Seated on the throne, a man who was cloaked in the same infinitely colored light was watching their game with interest.
His skin glowed, as though the light was inside of him, under his skin and wanting to burst out.
His hair also glowed, but the color of its light was a solid white. It was not constantly shifting in color as the rest of his light was.
As for his eyes, they contained minuscule images of each of the Divine Ones. They were his true energy natures, which he commanded as the Domain Lord.
Suddenly, he frowned.
"Andromeda has failed me." His voice echoed throughout the Domain of Light.
"So Gilgamesh has already dominated that little universe?" The Old Power said.
"Even severed from Fate, his rise shouldn't be this quick. It seems you were right, Mind." The Obscure Spark deduced.
"Hmph! So what if his inherent nature is special? Once he comes here, nothing will prohibit us from destroying him- both body and soul!" Truth's Mind expressed a cold kind of excitement.
Suddenly, a breach was forcefully opened as the space just before them was torn.
Out of it, Wyg and Law stepped out into the Domain of Light, and The Light instantly stood up with a gasp.
"Senior Brother Defiance, Senior Brother Destruction! I wasn't aware that you would be visiting." With a hint of subservience, The Light stepped forward to greet them.
However, Wyg and Law both stepped aside.
"Hm?" The Light was confused, but his eyes suddenly widened and he immediately gathered his energy.
"No more rules! Anti-Divinity Slash!" A shout escaped the spatial breach before a terrifying arc of light came through, heading straight for the Divine Ones.
At the same moment, Gilgamesh stepped through into the Domain of Light, one hand holding his sword and the other holding Little Feather close.