Chapter Three – A World UnfamiliarThe ruins stretched behind them, swallowed by the quiet vastness of the wilderness. The sky had begun to shift into hues of dusk, casting long shadows across the landscape.
Gilgamesh walked beside them, his expression unreadable.
Despite his regal bearing, he did not appear lost or disoriented. If anything, he absorbed his surroundings with a quiet, analytical gaze—every tree, every breath of wind, every shift in the sky.
Fern stole a glance at him. He didn't feel like an ordinary elf. There was an immensity to him, a depth that seemed boundless. Even the air around him felt subtly different, as if the world itself acknowledged his presence.
"So…" Stark began hesitantly. "You were a king, huh?"
Gilgamesh did not immediately answer. His golden eyes remained forward, watching the horizon.
"A king, a ruler, a god," he said eventually. "The titles change. The essence remains the same."
Stark blinked. "A god?"
A faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched Gilgamesh's lips. "Once, perhaps. In the eyes of those who followed me."
Fern furrowed her brows. "And why did you sleep?"
Gilgamesh was silent for a moment. Then—
"Because I had already seen everything," he said simply.
There was no arrogance in his voice, no hint of superiority. Just a quiet statement of fact.
"I ruled, I conquered, I sought the limits of existence itself," he continued. "And yet, there came a time when there was nothing left that could stir my interest. So I chose to step away."
Stark frowned. "That sounds… lonely."
Gilgamesh gave a small chuckle. "It is the burden of the eternal."
His words held weight, something Stark couldn't quite put into words.
Ahead, Frieren suddenly stopped. She turned to face him.
"You say you've seen everything," she said. "Then why are you walking with us?"
Gilgamesh met her gaze. For the first time since awakening, something shifted in his expression.
"Because…" He paused, as if considering his own answer.
Then, he smiled—just barely.
"Perhaps I wish to see something new."
Frieren regarded him for a long moment, then nodded.
"Then keep up," she said simply, turning back toward the road.
Gilgamesh chuckled softly before following, his golden eyes glinting with something almost like curiosity.
For the first time in a long, long age…
Perhaps he was interested once more.