All In A Moment

Gilgamesh stepped through open, hilly land, experiencing the sensations of the environment around him.

The wind. The feel of the grass on his feet. The sound of tranquility.

There were moments where he would go out of his way to kick a rock with his bare feet or drag his hand along some sharp grass, but in those moments he felt nothing.

Dejected though he was, he was not bothered. It had become easier to accept that there was no hope for him.

He wondered why he even bothered to walk at all. If not for the fact that he felt pulled to it, he would not have been walking at all.

There was something he wanted to find, perhaps. Or something that wanted to be found.

Maybe it was not even that.

Maybe something was looking for him, and he was only helping it find him.

Nevertheless, he kept moving forward through the land.

Despite the powerful shockwaves coming from the distance, Gilgamesh did not notice Dorian's arrival.

Even as the winds picked up and the earth shook, all Gilgamesh did was keep walking.

Dorian's body dragged to a halt, digging out a long trench in the earth, scattering earth and dark, loose sand.

Dorian shook some dust off before scouring the area for Gilgamesh, who was just strolling by. When he saw him, he flashed a beaming smile and ran over to him, waving his hands crazily.

"Mister Descended Immortal Sir! Mister Descended Immortal Sir!"

Gilgamesh heard him calling, but his mind did not really register what he heard. With his head held low, he walked on without stopping.

Dorian ran closer.

"Mister Descended Immortal, would you please spare me a moment of your time?"

Dorian was just behind Gilgamesh now, and reaching for his shoulders. Gilgamesh suddenly stopped, and Dorian froze, his fingers just inches from Gilgamesh.

He blinked, and watched as Gilgamesh bent down and reached for something in the grass. Coming around, Dorian saw Gilgamesh pick up a little black snake that had been hiding under a somewhat flat rock.

He picked it up and let it bite him continuously, just studying it as it tried to defend itself. Dorian frowned with his lips, and furrowed his brows.

"Are you right in the head, Mister Descended Immortal Sir?"

Gilgamesh had not looked at Dorian. Though he knew that someone was talking to him, he simply refused to accept it.

Perhaps this person would go away once they realized he wasn't worth their time.

"I think its so cool that you're immortal and everything, but are you really a descender?"

Gilgamesh started walking again with the little snake. Dorian followed.

"You might not believe me, but I've seen you before. In a dream I had-- well, have. You see, I get the same dream on my birthday every year, and in it you're always there talking to me about things."

Gilgamesh seemed to have a small reaction to that, so Dorian continued talking.

"We talk about really weird obscure things. Like that I'm still asleep. I mean, its a dream, you know, so of course I know I'm still asleep. But sometimes I feel like you aren't talking about that."

"We talk about the Library a lot, too. About God. Personally, I think God must be extraordinary-- just completely unfathomable! I mean, God created this Library, didn't they? Anyone that can do that has to be just the most amazing person ever."

"Don't you think so? Hm?"

Dorian realized that Gilgamesh had stopped walking.

He bent down and released the snake, which was incredibly calm by now, and then straightened. Without looking at Dorian, he said, "That God doesn't exist. She's just a monster."

He started walking again, "A monster with more power than anyone."

Dorian blinked, but some traces of excitement started to grow on his face.

"You spoke to me! You actually spoke to me!" He raced behind Gilgamesh, only slowing down when he was on Gilgamesh right side. He stared up at his face with his enthusiastic grin.

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes.

"Your voice sounds different in my dreams, though, but I guess that's just how it is. Anyway, you said God is a 'she?' Is she pretty? How do you know her? Does she have a name?"

Gilgamesh massaged his eyes and sighed. He regretted ever opening his mouth, but he was not annoyed or angry. For some reason, he felt like talking.

In truth, he had not said a single word to anyone after the incident where he tried stealing clothes. Since then, he just avoided people and interactions. Even if he was spoken to, there was nothing in him that was motivated to respond.

Till now.

"I don't know her- and yes, God's a 'she'- and I don't know her name, only what she called herself."

"The Mother of Scriptures."

Dorian gaped in marvel. "The Mother of Scriptures? That makes so much sense!"

He suddenly looked around at the world as though he was seeing it in a new light. "So how did you meet her? I wish I was that lucky."

Gilgamesh scoffed. "Hope that you're never as unlucky as I was?"

Dorian faltered slightly, "Hm?"

Gilgamesh still had not looked at Dorian-- not even in his direction. However, he knew that the boy was now going to beg him to explain, and he suddenly felt like being tight-lipped again. "It doesn't matter now. Just pray that you never suffer the fate of meeting her."

Suddenly he chuckled, "I guess you can't pray about it. Just hope, then, if you can manage to do that much."

Dorian blinked. "In my dreams, you have the same attitude about God. You never tell me anything about how you met her, or why you feel the way you do about her, but you did mention something strange."

Gilgamesh frowned and gave an exasperated sigh, "Oh yeah? What?"

Dorian stopped and Gilgamesh kept walking without realizing.

Suddenly, though, Dorian spoke his next words and Gilgamesh's feet ground to a halt. 

"You always mutter someone's name... Ateah?"

Gilgamesh spun around, already tearing up with all the sweltering emotions inside him, "You shut up! Never speak that name in my presence, you hear me!? Never--"

His rage was cut short the moment he looked into Dorian's startled eyes for the very first time.

In that moment, the very walls of Gilgamesh's reality crumbled. His perception creaked and croaked until, like a screen of glass, it shattered into trillions of pieces and gave way to the field of the soul-- a world of visions that anyone could visit if they imagined hard enough.

This was a world of night dreams, day dreams, imagination and wonder.

Gilgamesh had no idea how or why he was seeing this world, but he had no time to ponder this. The moment he arrived in this world, his vision was plagued by countless flashing images that he could not hope to comprehend.

A stone drifting through the cosmos, a scroll without words that possessed a beating heart, a blade that could cut nothing, and a shield with such sharp edges that it seemed more like a weapon.

He saw glimpses of his past, of other lives he had not lived, of the Fairies that had been with the Mother of Scriptures, of truth, of lies, of what could be and what could not be.

He saw far too many images to even commit to memory- visions of things that were impossible for him to fully grasp. His mind and soul were in agony as the experience dragged on.

It felt like it had been going on for hours-- days, even.

In the end, the final image was of a woman with hair made from strips of paper, on which endless words were being written by millions of floating hands.

Then, as suddenly as it had left him, his perception of reality returned and he woke to see Dorian's startled eyes staring at him. Gilgamesh's last word had only just left his mouth.

Whatever had just happened, had happened in just a moment. He paused, forgetting his emotion. It had been so long since he felt such powerful emotions, though, that the tears kept coming even though he had forgotten what he was feeling.

"Damn, I'm sorry. I won't ever say that name again." Dorian hurried to bow his head and apologize, seeming extremely sincere.

Gilgamesh looked away from Dorian. A part of him was scared to look into the boy's eyes again.

'What the hell was that... Why... I don't...'

Even his thoughts were a mess. It took him a short while to collect his thoughts and steady his breathing, then he wiped his eyes.

Dorian waited in silence. He thought that Gilgamesh was taking time to calm down, so he just did nothing. He realized he had touched a sore spot, and so he felt extremely apologetic. He would not ever do anything to upset Gilgamesh on purpose.

When Gilgamesh finally managed to gather himself, he gingerly turned his head and slowly looked at Dorian again.

"?" Dorian pursed his lips and tried to look placid, but he was very confused by Gilgamesh's actions.

When he realized that looking into Dorian's eyes was safe, Gilgamesh seemed relieved and he exhaled.

"Are you okay, Mister Descended Immortal Sir?"

Gilgamesh straightened up, staring straight into Dorian's eyes.

"My name is Gilgamesh. What is yours?"

Dorian's fawn colored eyes lit up, "My name's Dorian! If you like, you can call me by my nickname, 'Vesa,' if you like. It means 'sapling' or something."

Gilgamesh chuckled dryly as he shook his head.

"Listen, Dorian... I need to ask you a favor."

Dorian stepped forward, looking every bit like he was about to burst with excitement. "Of course! I'll do anything I can to help!"

Gilgamesh took a deep breath.

"Can you please tell me more about your dreams?"