Gilgamesh landed softly on the dirt, feeling the rough texture beneath his bare feet and the cool air on his skin. He was still completely naked, but he paid no mind to his exposed state.
His attention was on the being that was heading toward him, focused only on what it was doing while trying to discern what it would do.
Again, it spoke, sounding like every breath brought a deathly strain on its vocal cords.
"To test... the way..."
Its words were carried by the wind, and meshed together with the forces of nature, becoming one with the world before reverberating in Gilgamesh's ears.
In every direction, tiny rippling soundwaves came together to attack Gilgamesh with great force, and he instantly reeled, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
This time, the being held less back.
In awe of its strength, Gilgamesh took a couple steps back as he scanned the horizon. For a moment, he wondered if he would be able to run.
For a moment, and not an instant longer.
Recognizing his own cowardice, Gilgamesh playfully laughed, and his eyes returned to the being that was still slowly approaching. "This isn't the time to be afraid."
Standing firm, Gilgamesh wiped the blood from his face and stared ahead.
"I can act like a coward when doing so affords me a chance at survival. Right now, there's nothing I can do."
The wind grew still. The armored being lifted its heavy sword and brought it to lie on its shoulder, looking every bit relaxed. It hovered in the air just a few feet away from Gilgamesh, and looked down at him through the dark opening of its helmet.
"You... are wise to stand before me... and not run..."
"Heh," Gilgamesh snickered, "perhaps. Or I'm too big a fool to even try."
The being descended, and its metallic boots struck the ground as it landed, the sheer weight of its armor causing the earth to give way and the ground to shake.
It was monstrously heavy, despite the fact that it was barely three feet taller than Gilgamesh, and did not appear much larger body-wise.
"When Heaven mentioned a test, I assumed I was going to be struck by lightning or something. Why not just do that?"
The armored being seemed confused at first, and it shifted its stance before dropping the sword from its shoulder. It, too, crashed into the ground with a massive thud.
Putting both hands on the large hilt, it took a more relaxed position.
"The Color of Light... is used to temper martial artists. It attacks the body with... purifying power... and, if those martial artists survive, they are... stronger for it. But... to test the way of someone like you..."
"Lightning is ineffective."
Enlightenment played across Gilgamesh's face as he listened. "Then, in what way are you going to test me?"
The being raised a finger, "I am not here... to test you. I am here to test... the way..."
"Your... way..."
"Heaven mentioned that too. My way... what does that mean?" GIlgamesh asked, frowning.
"If you do not know that, then... you are more in need of... testing... than most. Talking... is a waste of... time." The being straightened up, and seemed ready to pull its sword free.
"Wait... what? Am I meant to know what it means?" Gilgamesh was both trying to stall for time while also getting as much information as he could.
He was doing his utmost to figure a way out of this based on any clues the armored being sent from heaven would give him, but there was very little to go on. Even worse, it seemed as though he should know something that he clearly did not.
"Thematic Beings thrive... because they understand their way... better than anyone else possibly can. If you do not even understand your way... then I'm afraid you will be unable to pass my test, and... will die."
Gilgamesh tensed up, seeing that the being was pulling its sword out of the ground, about to do something.
He got jumpy, panicked, and started to scramble for a way to give himself some more time.
"What are you talking about? Thematic Beings? What are those? And what about this test of yours that I know nothing about?"
"I can't be tested if I don't even know what the test is about or what I'm being tested on, right?"
The armored being straightened up, and brought its sword high above itself. At the same time, a decimating aura of something Gilgamesh did not recognize, but that felt stifling, arose from its body.
As that energy came, pouring out from under the armor, it travelled toward the sword and was absorbed by it in torrents. The blade visibly repaired itself before Gilgamesh's eyes, and returned to the splendor of glistening midnight metal.
"Come on. There's no way this is fair. At least give me a lil something to go on."
The being brought its other hand to the hilt, and exhaled a hot, steamy mist as it tightened its grip. Gilgamesh could not see, but he felt the explosive power of the body that lay under the armor.
"Please?"
Before attacking, a soft sound came from the helmet that Gilgamesh swore sounded like a sigh. Then, in that same guttural, grating and deathly voice, it offered its last words to Gilgamesh.
"You should not have... come here. Leaving the solace of all-matter to escape to this place... it was not the right choice. Now... because you do not understand your way..."
"You will not survive."
Gilgamesh's eyes widened while, at the same time, the being brought its sword down with devastating power. Black and white energies danced across the heavy blade that cut into and burst open Gilgamesh's chest.
Aside from the obvious appearance of blood and bone, there was a spiritual fragment of Gilgamesh that seemed to be knocked out of him as well, as though the attack was far more than just a physical one.
Gilgamesh was unable to make a sound as he was struck, and he instantly fell into an unconscious state.
Once the blade made its way through, and the armored being straigtened up again, Gilgamesh's limp body fell to its knees.
"Or... perhaps..."
The being stood and looked at Gilgamesh for a few moments, before its giant sword came to rest on its shoulder again. Then, without finishing its statement, it aimed a palm at Gilgamesh and activated a different kind of power than what was channeled into the sword earlier.
This power bent space, time and matter, and crafted a one-way gate to an unknown location.
"This shall be your trial. Should you live... we will meet again..."
Then, Gilgamesh's body was kicked in through the gate, and he vanished along with the closing of the gate. The being made another soft sound like a sigh, and then it vanished as well.
Just like that, all was well with the world once again.
Meanwhile, inside the Library...
The Mother of Scriptures holed herself up in her room and refused to acknowledge any of what was happening outside. Whenever the fairies tried to ask her about it, she would harshly silence them and go on pretending like none of it had ever happened.
Eventually, once both Gilgamesh and the armored being were gone, the atmosphere regained a kind of placidity and normalcy, making it possible for her to finally relax.
"Sigh... I can't believe I actually got to see the Phantasm with my own two eyes."
"And survive!"
The Mother of Scriptures sat back in her chair and rubbed her ears as she massaged her head, trying to alleviate the pain of a deadly migraine. While she did so, the page that she had constantly been looking at started to change again.
One of the fairies noticed it, and immediately called out to her to get her attention.
"What now!?" She stood up, and winced when the migraine only worsened. Looking at the page, she saw several shining characters appear to form a single word.
A name. 'Dorian.'
Scoffing, she watched at the words came together to create a glowing drawing, which was of Dorian.
"Just as I foresaw, then? You really were a waste of time." The Mother of Scriptures seemed disappointed, but also relieved that another mess was not created.
She was already doing her best to forget everything that she had witnessed with Gilgamesh, and was already accepting that she had absolutely nothing to do with it. If she did, then Heaven would have targeted her.
Since the Heavenly Daos seemed to let her get away scot-free, it could only mean that Gilgamesh becoming real was in no way her fault.
'Yes. That makes sense.' Convincing herself thusly, a small smile played across her lips.
The drawing of Dorian started to move and wave its tiny fist about as it raged, then a string of text as well as a text bubble appeared above him, indicating that he was speaking.
"I challenge you, God!"
"Pffftt!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!" The Mother of Scriptures sputtered as she broke out into hearty laughter, then she waved her hand and erased Dorian entirely.
Such was his end.
Florence was the last to come out, a full day after Gilgamesh and Dorian. This did not seem to surprise her, though, since the Mother of Scriptures knew exactly what kind of test she had put her daughter through.
When Florence emerged from the Beginningless Library, the page was instantly incinerated, indicative of what Florence had to do to come out.
Florence saw her mother and became tense. As she looked around the room and did not see Gilgamesh, she frowned, and melancholy simmered in her eyes as she felt an even stronger sense of regret.
Her smile was far from here in that moment.
"So... he did not make it out..."
The Mother of Scripture knew that she was talking about Gilgamesh, but she was afraid to even think too much about that freak.
"Nope. Anyway, I'm glad to see you made the right choice. You have finally become the person I always knew you could be."
Florence was not at all pleased to hear this, and she shut her eyes to hide the pain she was feeling. "It was a choice. Maybe it was the right one... but now I will never know."
The Mother of Scriptures sucked her teeth in annoyance, "Come now, Florence. Words on a page? They don't deserve that much sympathy. You must have come to understand that, considering that you did what you did to get out-- regardless of how long it took you."
Florence fists tightened. Hearing her mother's words only added insult to injury. She was still coming to grips with the choice she had made.
"You sought to free them, and I showed you how. No matter how you looked at it, there was only ever one option. In the end, you did what I always wanted you to be able to do."
The Mother of Scriptures walked over to her daughter, and put an arm around her. The fairies gathered around and watched closely, though one of them was visibly pissed.
Florence did not try to shake her mother's arm off. Instead, she covered her face and took several deep breaths. "Even if they were just words on a page... they were still living, breathing beings. Their stories were just as important as mine..."
"And yet... I erased them all. The entire Beginningless Library... gone because of me."
The Mother of Scriptures shook her head with a smile, caressing Florence's head. "Silly girl. You did not erase them. You freed them, as you always wanted to do."
Suddenly she frowned, "However, do not belittle your own life."
She pulled away from Florence and turned her body around. Startled, Florence uncovered her face and saw her mother staring directly at it with a stern expression.
Sniffling, she asked, "What do you mean?"
The Mother of Scriptures smiled and as she stroked her daughter's face her gaze seemed to travel back in time.
"You are your father's only heir. There are few whose lives will ever be as important as yours."