Old Problems

Once Gilgamesh left, the Guardians returned to the Forest Master's tower.

Aerial and Pacifist had a lot to say, and they bombarded Hunter with their observations. In response to it all, Hunter smiled, laughed and nodded.

"You don't seem surprised, Hunter," Pacifist Guardian suddenly pointed out.

Hunter shook his head, "On the contrary. I am quite surprised."

His lackluster response warranted unimpressed gazes from the other Guardians; they knew he was keeping something from them.

Unfortunately, they also knew that if he didn't want to tell them, he never would.

Aerial sighed and left, but not before making it clear where he was heading to.

"I'm going to visit the Temple of the Slithering Vine and see the Holy Shaman. Someone needs to keep her up to date on what's been happening."

Hearing this, Pacifist nodded absentmindedly and Hunter gave a slow bow of the head to express is acknowledgement.

Once he left, Hunter closed his eyes and began to adjust his breathing.

Pacifist played with her fingers and looked around, patiently waiting for something.

"You know me too well, Fae." Hunter's warm, albeit self-deprecating smile evoked tinkling laughter from Pacifist.

Apparently, her actual name was Fae.

"So are you going to tell me now that he's gone?"

Hunter nodded, but his smile quickly vanished, replaced by unshakeable solemnity.

"I will, as long as you promise- really promise- to keep these things a secret. No one can know I told you."

"Especially our Master."

At the mere mention of their Master, Pacifist tensed up and the words she was about to say got stuck in her throat. She managed to nod eventually, and Hunter cleared his throat.

"The truth is, Gilgamesh is something of a person of interest, but only those closest to the Old Patriarch know this. We have watched and lightly interacted with him ever since he was a child, but were always careful never to let him know he was being observed."

Pacifist nodded excitedly as Hunter continued.

"As I'm sure you know, his parents died and he came to us as a baby, where he was raised by servants to be a servant. One day, he managed to make friends with an Outer Disciple called 'Law,' and was given a basic cultivation manual."

"Then, for a few weeks straight, he did his best and cultivated almost nonstop-- well, that's what we found out from 'little sister,' at least."

Pacifist recalled the girl that had run out to meet Gilgamesh, and gave a smile as she thought back to their relationship.

"They seem close."

"They are. Extremely. Gilgamesh saved her from the hands of a perverted Outer Disciple, which was also the one and only time Gilgamesh ever battled publicly in the sect."

"At that time, he defeated two Outer Disciples at the Peak of Condensation, thus leading the disciples of the sect to believe he was at that level himself."

"However," Hunter swallowed, "I came to realize that he was only at the second level. Since I had already reached the Expansion stage at that time, my divine sense allowed me to see deeper into him."

Pacifist followed, but then faltered and shook her head, "Wait. You found out? You were watching him?"

"The order came through Master from the Old Patriarch himself. I didn't question it."

Pacifist felt like this made sense. If she had gotten such an order, she would have simply carried it out without question, not daring to fail.

"I was instructed to keep Gilgamesh's true level a secret, and also to surreptitiously ensure that he did the same. I approached him pretty directly, and gave him a cryptic message."

"Oh? And did he understand the message?"

Hunter laughed a bit sourly, "He did, but not before ridiculing me for my efforts. I believe his words were: You think I'm worried about myself? What a joke! Worry about yourself!"

Pacifist gave a wry smile, "Heh... That sounds like him."

"So what happened next. He cultivated for a few weeks, acheived strength equivalent to the Peak of the Condensation stage, then became an Outer Disciple?"

"Indeed. Shortly after he received his Outer Disciple abode, he took on a mission to look for some kind of herb in the mystic realm. He was joined by a nondescript team of disciples."

"That was the last time he was seen until now. The rest you know."

Hunter wrapped up his recap and took a sip of wine. Pacifist brushed her hair with her hands and fell into thought.

"So do you think the Holy Shaman found out that the Old Patriarch was observing him? Is that why you've been less trusting toward Aerial these past five years?"

"Pretty much. With the Forest Master gone, the Holy Shaman must want to use him to plant seeds throughout the sect; people that can be swayed to her side." Hunter sighed, swirling the wine in his cup.

Pacifist's expression suddenly brightened and she gasped, "That must mean he's on his way to tell her about Gilgamesh's return! He must have only stuck around the sect to see whether or not Gilgamesh was still just as amazing!"

Hunter nodded with a grave expression.

"Without an order from the Old Patriarch or our Master, we cannot bring harm to the Holy Shaman. Therefore, we must keep tabs on Gilgamesh and ensure his protection until the Forest Master returns."

"He is simply too special and, unfortunately, that attracts attention."

Pacifist and Hunter sat on the short grass and discussed their plans, meanwhile a certain disciple was going through an intense internal conflict.

Wyg paced around outside of the closed gate of an Outer Disciple abode. At times, he would glance at the plaque and contemplate knocking, but would proceed to change his mind and continue pacing.

Of course, this was the 'Still Winds Residence' where Gilgamesh lived.

Wyg had to repeatedly remove his glasses in order to wipe the sweat on his face; his messy hair seemed even messier and crazier than usual.

As for the usual calculating, shrewd look in his eyes, it was now replaced with anxiety and nervousness.

"How am I supposed to tell him?" Wyg suddenly pulled at his hair as he groaned in frustration.

"What if he thinks I'm a pervert and beats me to death?"

"Er, well, I'm already at the Formation stage, so I doubt he could but.... What if he tries to?"

"Bah! I don't know how to go about doing this at all!"

As he continued to batter his brain, the gate was slowly opened as a pair of bright, pure eyes peered out through the opening, blinking innocently.

Little Feather had just had lunch and left Gilgamesh's lunch in the kitchen since he had fallen asleep. She was just about to leave when she noticed the oddity that was Wyg, pacing about outside Gilgamesh's home.

"Hello, Sir Outer Disciple. I am Little Feather, Gilgamesh's little sister. Can I help you?"

When he heard the sweet, delicate voice coming from behind him, Wyg almost fell over on his face.

"So sorry if I startled you, honored little sister. I was just trying to psych myself up to knock."

"Hm?" Little Feather tilted her head in confusion.

"You see, I was hoping to speak to Gilgamesh about an extremely important matter." Wyg confessed after much deliberation.

"Oh! Well Big Brother's asleep right now, but I'll give him a message and you can come see him another time. He also has a visitor coming later today, and another one coming tomorrow."

Hearing this, Wyg was both dejected and relieved. He was given more time to think about how he would go about with it, but a part of him wanted to get it over with sooner rather than later.

Sighing, he gave a respective bow to Little Feather, "Please do that then, honored little sister. I'll take my leave immediately."

After that, he scurried off as though he were being chased away.

"What a strange guy," Little Feather mused.

After that, she left the abode and went about her duties as a servant.

As time passed, Gilgamesh stirred in his bed and slowly woke up, yawning.

He looked around and saw that Little Feather was gone, so he got himself cleaned up and ate the lunch that she left for him.

As he thought back to the events of the day so far, his mind ran on a few things.

Firstly, he picked up the ring he had gotten from Pacifist Guardian and proceeded to inspect it.

After injecting his consciousness into it, he realized that the action probably came a lot easier to him now that he had spent countless years in the mystic realm, relying on his spirit for everything.

Thinking about it now, it was almost funny.

His spirit was no more than the power of his consciousness- his divine sense and such.

If it was powerful enough, and world around him was pitifully weak, them of course he could wreak havoc with just his consciousness, and cause all manner of phenomenon.

After refining the void ring, he saw that the space inside was about the size of his bedroom, which he felt was already quite good.

He then went to his bedroom to retrieve an item from under his pillow.

It was the tiny, planet-shaped object that had been ejected from the mysic realm along with him. When he saw it, he smiled and placed it near his chest.

"One day, when I'm powerful enough, I'll use this to return to you all. Then, I'll bring you all to come live with me in this world."

After staying in that position for a few minutes, he placed the object in his void ring and prepared to continue with his cultivation.