Something You Need To See

Florence gasped as Gilgamesh all but cried out, not having been able to sense anything at all due to the fact that Dorian had used a power he could not understand.

Replacing the blank space this time was a small black hole, acting as a gateway to somewhere else.

"Scriptural power!? But how could you... there's no way you..." Florence was at a loss. It was clear that, in her mind, she was having a hard time accepting this.

The look on her face just screamed, 'I just got access to this power-- there's no way you should have it!'

As for Gilgamesh, he was merely being taken along blindly for a ride, with no idea as to where the twists and turns were. He just had to go with the flow, since he was now dealing with things that he could not understand.

Finally, Dorian spoke without looking again at either of them. Gilgamesh and Florence could only watch as this man that neither of them ever expected to come across, took charge of their situation.

"Come with me. There's something you need to see."

"Both of you."

He did not wait, and fell right into the black hole.

Gilgamesh and Florence looked at each other, then back down at the black hole.

"So... um..." Gilgamesh started.

"No way am I going anywhere with him." Florence added.

Gilgamesh took a breath and nodded, "Yeah, let's just g-"

Before either of them could say anything else, they were pulled into the gateway in less time than it would take them to blink. Before they could even properly formulate thoughts, they were brought through the gateway and entered wherever it was that Dorian wanted them to come to.

Florence stood, frozen, as expressions of shock and disbelief began to surface on her face. She stared off into space as she muttered words, attempting to get herself to believe that she was, perhaps, dreaming.

"...no fucking..."

"...there's no..."

"There's no fucking way!"

Her voice got out, but was lost to the space around them, not able to travel any further than her immediate surroundings. Gilgamesh just barely heard her before he looked around and found himself thinking the same things.

He only just realized what Florence realized; that Dorian had somehow brought them here against their will.

"No fucking way!"

Much to Florence's surprise, Gilgamesh uttered almost the same words that she did.

When they both really got to looking around, they saw themselves in a mess of swirling cosmos, ever-changing planets and fields of stars that were in constant realignment.

The course of events was constantly being altered; the very flow of time seemed inconsistent, as though it were still trying to decide what sequence it should follow.

There were alterations taking place that Gilgamesh and Florence could only assume were on a universal scale, but the proportions felt weirdly out of balance. It was as if the plane they were in now was much larger and more substantial than any other plane they had been in before.

The only thing they knew for sure was that, wherever this place was and whatever it was, it was a lot closer to The Outside than any other place they had ever been to.

They could feel the presence of something that existed beyond the 4th Wall. Having already come into contact with it, their senses were a bit sharper with regard to things of that nature.

Even so, they could not tell what it was that was interacting with the Library from The Outside.

Instead, they tried to better understand the space they were in. 

The worlds here were far different when compared to worlds elsewhere, and they were still in a period of development that Gilgamesh and Florence could not immediately understand.

Florence began to gaze around and develop her own theories, but there was little need to do so once Dorian materialized before them and spoke once again.

"The Scripture has been mobilized. The Hand of God is at work."

Dorian's back was to them, and his flawless, flowing white robe was motionless in the ever-evolving void. Gilgamesh and Florence exchanged glances before looking again at the space they were in.

"I don't recognize this layer..." Florence murmured, and Gilgamesh was taken aback.

Dorian huffed, "It was created a few years ago." Once he said this, he turned around to look at Florence. His nose scrunched up as he stared down it. "Your mother is going to create something, and it's all for you."

Gilgamesh blinked; Florence's ears drooped as she tilted her head. They were both confused, and both blurted out, "Huh!?"

Dorian sighed, and folded his thick arms in front of him. His back was once again to them, and he stared up at the work-in-progress universe.

"How do you even know about that? Did The Scripture tell you?" Gilgamesh asked, shocked at how much Dorian already seemed to know.

Florence's was tense as she looked at Dorian's back, but suddenly frowned and stepped forward, across the emptiness of space, to stand side by side with Dorian.

Not satisfied, she even took an extra step forward, and stared intently at a distant galaxy that was exploding to life once again. It was sure to vanish from existence once more, in an all-encompassing fit of erasure that was nothing more than the Mother of Scriptures changing her mind.

"The Scripture shows me many things, but everything I know I learned on my own, through my own abilities." Dorian said in a still voice, as if he did not notice Florence.

Instead, he actually turned around and faced Gilgamesh, then flashed a small and brief smile. "I've also seen the Fourth Wall. I know now that my destiny lies beyond the limits of this fantasy world. You and I are both being pulled toward The Outside."

Gilgamesh's own expression faltered; he tried to force a natural expression but just ended up looking like he was trying too hard, so he stopped altogether. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Dorian. How long has it been? A month or two?"

Dorian exhaled sharply, in a curt laugh, "Leave it to an immortal to have the most twisted, wacked out perception of time."

This time, both Gilgamesh and Florence faltered at his words. Neither of them had even taken a moment to think about time, so they really had no way of being certain just how long they had been in the layer of storylines.

In addition, time didn't even exist there, so it was even harder to gauge how long it had taken.

Dorian continued. "I've already ventured to and fro in the Beginningless Library, and have uncovered most- if not all- of its secrets. There may be a few layers that I have yet to see, but they are all ultimately useless for me and my goal, so it doesn't matter."

Gilgamesh gulped, Florence perked up and listened.

"I last saw you on the starting ground, after Florence destroyed that Omniverse and caused quite a ruckus."

"That was almost twenty thousand years ago, in Library time. For you, it might not have even felt like a day."

Gilgamesh's mouth fell open; Florence stumbled on empty space a bit, but eventually stabilized herself.

Just as they looked at each other and were about to express their shock at just how much time had passed, Dorian straightened up and his aura disappeared from Gilgamesh's perception.

This was a clear sign that he was using a power that Gilgamesh did not understand.

Florence looked over to Dorian first, then at what he was looking at. The sight of the universe-in-progress seemed somehow different, in a way that neither of them could put their finger on.

Dorian, however, seemed to know exactly what was going on. "She's finally made her decision."

He spat the words in a venomous tone, and seemed to get more and more angry as he watched the changes unfold. In his eyes were both the torment of thousands of years, as well as a grudge born of an endless hatred.

But it was more than just hatred.

Before all three of their eyes, a finger pierced the veil between what was real, and what they only thought was real. It entered into their world from a realm beyond their own sight, breaching the 4th Wall as easily as a knife sliding gently into butter.

With the appearance of that finger, the chaotic shifting of states ended. A calm peace was ushered into the violently evolving universe, and it became suspended in stillness.

A calm storm of cosmic existence, slowly coming together to create an image of unimaginable beauty.

Beneath the surface of the Library's many layers of reality, The Scripture was invoked by its counterpart. The Mother of Scriptures began to write anew a story unlike anything else she had written before.

In the confines of this strange new universe, Gilgamesh, Florence and Dorian heard a voice that they all recognized, in their own way, as the voice of the being they once considered to be God.

Gilgamesh was flooded with thoughts of his failures.

Florence was overcome with feelings of conflict within herself.

Dorian's face was a mask of pure, undisguised and impossible-to-fake hatred that arose from the very pit of his soul.

The Mother of Scriptures spoke into the silence, and that universe was never again the same. For once her words entered the Library, they became an unchangeable law, rooted deeply in the very foundational essence of reality there. 

This was what it meant to be God, even if she wasn't 'The' God. Her power was unmatched.

The universe took shape and form, and began to condense itself into a desired product.

As for the words that the Mother of Scriptures had said, they still echoed in all of their ears.

"Let this be... your final test."