So We Finally Met

"You want to do... what?"

Gilgamesh blinked, at a complete and total loss. He refused to believe that Dorian had said what he thought he said.

Dorian's smile widened, and he finally looked away from the Beginningless Library. "I mean it. I want to replace God herself. I'm gonna claw my way to the top and dethrone her! Heh, heh!"

Gilgamesh's eyes had never been as wide as they were now. He now truly believed that Dorian needed some serious help, and he instantly felt like he was the only one that could provide the right advice. 

Even so, he hesitated.

"Are... you sure about that?"

Dorian nodded like a chick pecking rice, and perked up. "Of course! Isn't that the only thing I can do now that I now for sure that God is a piece of shit?"

Gilgamesh gulped. 'Yup. This kid's insane.'

Dorian nodded with confidence, as though his way of thinking was flawless. He even started bobbing his head in a little kind of prideful dance, like an impatient child.

"Dorian... um... do you understand just who God is?"

Dorian frowned, "What do you mean? God is God, isn't she?"

Gilgamesh nodded slowly and carefully, "Yes... but do you know what exactly that means? Do you properly understand what God is?"

Hearing this, Dorian seemed confused, and a slight bit offended. "Of course I do!"

He leapt to his feet and started listing things with his fingers.

"God is the Mother of Scriptures, which I know thanks to the real you, which means that she likely wrote the stories of every Book Collection in the Library."

"I know that she wrote the rules for cultivation, meaning that she's above cultivation itself, so I can never become as powerful as her by cultivating. Dream You told me that a long time ago."

"I also know that if she wanted to, she could eliminate me at any given moment. Especially if she decided that I was a threat to her existence."

Dorian smirked again, and Gilgamesh was shaken to his core.

"I know that I have no chance. I know that I'm nothing. Don't you see?"

Gilgamesh felt like Dorian was hiding a meaning under the surface, but he just couldn't see it yet.

"What are you saying?" Gilgamesh leaned forward.

"We're both nothing, aren't we? You and I were thrown here, into the Beginningless Library, and we've been given lives that we didn't ask for. Don't you think that's something?"

A trace of something imperceptible flashed in Dorian's eyes.

"I think that, for people like us, who are nothing in God's eyes..."

"The only way for us to progress, is to hold on to hopeless dreams like those. If we don't do at least that, then we run the risk of discovering hope again."

Gilgamesh scoffed, "Then you're saying you want to replace God as a joke? You don't believe you can, but you're saying you want to just so you can stop yourself from feeling useless?"

"Don't kid yourself?"

Dorian giggled. "Don't kid myself? Think about it yourself!"

Gilgamesh faltered as he tried to figure out what Dorian wanted him to think about.

"No matter what I decide to do in this Library, there's no way for me to be anything more than what I am: nothing. Isn't that so?"

Gilgamesh gave a slow nod and tried to get a sense of where Dorian was going. His dim red eyes slowly started to shine with the sheen of realization.

"So if no matter what I do, I'm still going to be nothing but a toy to God, why not aim for God's position?"

Gilgamesh suddenly sucked in a breath. "But you didn't always want her position, did you? What exactly changed your mind?"

Dorian giggled again. "To be honest, I wasn't being exactly truthful with you earlier."

"We did meet in my dreams every year, but we talked about a lot of things. And I mean a LOT of things."

"I already knew your name, and a lot of stuff about you. I also knew what you would think about my goal. In fact, you disagreed with a lot of my ideologies. I also knew that you were immortal."

"Then why did you lie?" Gilgamesh asked.

"You asked me to lie. You told me that I would meet you one day, and told me how to go about talking to you. It kinda all feels preordained, doesn't it?"

Gilgamesh gulped. His pupils quivered and his mouth fell open.

"You mean to say... the Gilgamesh in your dreams knew that you would meet me? What did it tell you to say to me?"

Dorian stroked his smooth chin and sat, folding his legs.

"It's more like what you told me not to say. You told me to keep some things from you, and also to make it seem like I don't know what I know."

'Why would I say that... No... I can't even be sure that it's the same me...' Gilgamesh was already in a chaotic state of mind as he thought of the possibilities.

"But the most important thing was that name. You told me that I had to mention that name to you."

There was a gasp that escaped Gilgamesh's lips. "You mean... that name...?"

Dorian nodded with a pained expression. "Dream Gilgamesh prepared me for one of two things. The first possibility was that you would try to kill me, and the next was that you would scream and shout and cry and break down. I'm glad it wasn't the former."

"What was the point of that? Did Dream Gilgamesh want to be sure of something regarding me?"

Dorian shrugged, "I don't know. Dream You didn't say. Only that if you didn't try to kill me, I should tell you more of what I knew. He also said that I could trust you a lot more-- which makes sense given that you didn't try to kill me, haha!"

Gilgamesh ignored Dorian for a little, and tried to piece things together. There was no possible way for Dorian's dream to make sense. Was he lying?

What reason would he have to lie?

But then how could he explain the dreams? How did the Dream Gilgamesh know that Dorian would meet him? Why did Dream Gilgamesh ask Dorian to test him with Ateah's name?

He could not figure it out, and it was beginning to weigh on his mind.

"There were some things that Dream You made me promise never to say, but I guess that's about it. Sorry for lying, but I had to keep my promise to the you in my dream. It's weird, I know, but that's how it is with dreams."

Gilgamesh sighed. "This is too much, and I have no interest in playing God's game anymore."

Dorian instantly interjected. "You don't have a choice, do you? Like I said, you and I are nothing. So if we're nothing, nothing we do matters, does it? Heh!"

Dorian stood up, and Gilgamesh followed suit.

"Well, I was thinking that I would invite you home with me, but now I think I'll wait a bit. When I'm ready to leave the starting ground behind, I'll come find you again, okay?"

Gilgamesh sighed and shook his head, waving his hand in a non-committal way.

"Good luck with your meaningless goals, Dorian. I doubt we'll ever meet again."

Dorian laughed, "And good luck with your life of nothingness. May you find the amusement to discover your own goal. Maybe you'll decide to come with me at that point."

Gilgamesh gave a scoff, seeming annoyed with the fact that he felt like laughing.

He looked Dorian in the eyes, and the boy did the same.

They reached out, and their fists met in a solid bump, a show of their mutual respect after having learned a bit about each other.

However, upon touching Dorian's fist with his own, Gilgamesh vision swam and his mind ached. His soul itself felt as if it were straining to contain something, and he passed out on the grassy hillside.

Dorian flew into a panic, and fell at his side, shouting his name in worry.

"Gilgamesh!? Gilgamesh, can you hear me?"

He checked for a pulse and to make sure that Gilgamesh was still breathing, and he was only relieved once he found that both tests proved that Gilgamesh was still alive.

It was only then that he remembered Gilgamesh's immortality, and fell back with a dismissing laugh.

"Worried for nothing... Maybe immortals just pass out sometimes? Dream Gilgamesh never told me anything about that, though."

As Dorian lay there waiting for Gilgamesh to wake up so he could return home, Gilgamesh was, once again, having an experience in the world of dreams.

Only, this time, there were no streams of incomprehensible visions, and his mind and soul were at ease. When he opened his eyes to view the dreamscape, he saw the deep, dark woods.

All around him, eerie rustling and nocturnal nature abounded, instantly ridding him of his sense of safety. Fear set in, and for some reason the fact that he knew was immortal did him no favors.

He was still just as afraid.

As he involuntarily took steps back, he gasped as a flaring warmth scorched his back. As he scampered to turn around, he only then realized that the light of a campfire had appeared behind him.

Looking at it, he saw two chairs arranged around the fire. One of them was empty, and in the other he saw a familiar, youthful face.

This person had somewhat long brown hair, fawn colored eyes, but had a level expression that seemed to ooze patience.

Gilgamesh knew that this person was Dorian.

He also knew that this person was not Dorian.

Dream Dorian looked at Gilgamesh and blinked, saying nothing. Gilgamesh looked at Dream Dorian and also blinked, then took a seat on the chair.

They each stared at one another, then at the fire, then back at one another.

Tired of waiting for someone to break the silence, he opened his mouth, "What is this, Dorian?"

As soon as he said this, Dream Dorian seemed to be overcome with comfort and relaxation. He leaned back in the chair and even smiled with his lips.

"You know who I am then. I was afraid it had come too soon- before we had a chance to properly talk."

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed.

"So we finally met. I was beginning to think things were veering off course."