Speaking With the Wyrm Lords

Gilgamesh went back into the house and stood at Ishtar's bedside. He watched her as she lay unconscious, and finally decided to wake her. She slept a lot more soundly than she did before, likely due to the fact that she had lost her divine spirit.

She was now functioning with a new kind of spirit that Gilgamesh had crafted for her from the Obscure Spark, something that the world had guided him to do.

"What is it, Gilgamesh?"

"I am coming to understand the powers that have always poked at my life from behind the scenes. Even in my first life, their schemes have been playing out. It seems they run deeper than I had imagined."

"How- What- I... I don't understand..."

Gilgamesh smiled and put a hand on Ishtar's cheek, admiring her face and the smoothness of her skin.

"I think Truth's Mind might be the consciousness of this world itself. You said that this world predates The Collective which your family created, and also that neither Anu nor any God of Heaven could step foot on this world no matter how hard they tried."

Ishtar nodded, rubbing her eyes with one hand while holding Gilgamesh's hand in place with the other.

"Yet, this world allowed you to accompany me here. It gave me its system even though I was not born here, and has inadvertently guided my path ever since then. Most importantly, it showed me how to save you, and in doing so showed me an application of the Obscure Spark that I had not bothered to try figuring out."

Gilgamesh's bright smile was a sight that Ishtar could not get enough of, and she absentmindedly nodded as she listened to him. She could see him the way she remembered him, but with a newness in him that reminded her he was no longer the same.

The innate confidence and kingliness of his being was impossible to hide, but there was something in him now that had not been there before.

"On top of that, the Hands of the Old Power have also acted on my behalf. I have seen it. I do not think that I came here to discern the laws of this world, Inanna."

Gilgamesh sat next to Ishtar on the bed and took hold of her face with his other hand. He leaned in and guided her closer to him, their gazes locked.

Ishtar's breathing quickened and her face reddened just a bit, but as her eyes widened she saw that Gilgamesh had stopped coming closer. Part of her was relieved, while another part of her was dissatisfied.

"I think I came here to acquire this world itself- or its consciousness- I haven't figured that out yet."

"So ...do you know why they have set this path for you to follow?"

Gilgamesh sighed and shook his head, "Unfortunately, that also eludes me. I just can't understand what part I could have to play in this grand scheme."

"There is a history here that I need to understand, and I think finding Truth's Mind will reveal it all to me."

Ishtar straightened, "So how are you going to do that?"

"By following the clue it left for me-- by finding a Game Master."

Ishtar shook her head, "But you heard what Marshall and Sylvia said. That is not going to be easy."

Gilgamesh smirked, and Ishtar suddenly remembered who she was talking to.

"It may not be easy for the young heirs of the Silver Wing Academy, but surely the children of the Scaled Emperor will know something that those two do not."

Gilgamesh suddenly hopped up from the bed; Ishtar silently lamented that he had let go of her face.

"I'm going to speak to them. Will you accompany me?"

Ishtar giggled and stretched a bit before nodding, "Of course, my love."

Before long, they were dressed and leaving the house. Sylvia and Marshall were both awake at that time, and decided to join them.

Ishtar noted that Sylvia seemed exhausted, while Marshall appeared a bit restless. She did not pry, and instead walked ahead of them.

Gilgamesh wore a new kind of outfit for the first time in a long while. His pants were long and fitted, entirely black. As for his top, it was a loose fitting jacket, with all its buttons undone, meaning that most of his torso was exposed.

Ishtar was wearing a long blue dress, and had her hair tied up. There were no sandals or shoes on her feet; she preferred to feel the earth with her feet.

They headed down into the clearing, where the signs of Gilgamesh's short battle with Crimson remained. The Wyrm Lords were all camped there with their armies, though some had more soldiers remaining than others, while some had no soldiers whatsoever.

Sitting at the extinguished campfire, Crimson meditated in silence. It was early, so a lot of the soldiers were still asleep. Even so, the ones responsible for the watch saw Gilgamesh and the others approaching, and reported to their respective commanders, who in turn reported to their respective Lords.

Gilgamesh walked, unhindered, into the camp and took a seat at the campfire where Crimson was. Ishtar sat beside him, looking every bit relaxed, while Marshall and Sylvia sat together on another log.

"I did not think we would be speaking again so soon," Crimson all but whispered.

"Count yourself lucky that all I want is to speak with you," Gilgamesh looked around, "all of you."

Marshall and Sylvia were only just noticing the other lords. They had gathered around the campfire in silence, and heard Gilgamesh say he wanted to speak to them.

Ishtar and her peculiar aura attracted the gazes of most, leaving them breathless in the face of both her beauty and majesty. Her countenance seemed to be the perfect counter to Gilgamesh's temperament, while also matching it in an ironic way.

Just seeing how they sat together revealed a lot to the perceptive Lords.

Some of the Lords took one look at Marshall and Sylvia, and recognition surfaced in their eyes as well as confusion. The ones that recognized them seemed to want to know why two Hautaine children were with Gilgamesh. 

Verdant came up on Crimson's right, and eyed Gilgamesh perplexedly. With the glistening of his eyes, he slowly gleaned the truth and his entire expression underwent a drastic change.

"...three..."

That was all Verdant managed to say, and as he slowly stepped back his siblings started noticing his weird behavior.

"Verdant," Crimson turned around to regard his little brother with concern.

The others were equally worried, but Violet and Azure soon glared at Gilgamesh, their energy spiking.

"What did you do to him!?" Azure's arm transfigured into a watery limb, changing shape to resemble a long, curved blade.

Violet said nothing, but a rotating orb of purple mist was already present in her hand. The others were slower to lose their heads, mostly because they knew that even together they stood no chance against Gilgamesh.

"That's enough." Crimson opened his eyes and slowly stood up. The murderous fire in his eyes was directed at his sisters, and this cowed them into neutrality once again.

Crimson went over to Verdant, who had walked back a few feet from the campfire, mumbling things no one could hear. He put a hand on his brothers shoulder and tried to console him.

Marshall and Sylvia were just as confused as everyone else, and even Ishtar was unable to understand why the Wyrm Lord had reacted this way. Gilgamesh was the only one who had some idea, and he smirked.

"Calm down, Verdant, and tell us what you see."

Gold chuckled, "Our Big Brother, the only man who can try to kill you, yet care for you all the same."

Silver sighed as Black chuckled, "It's just his nature, I guess."

Verdant finally managed to calm himself, and joined the others as they sat.

Gilgamesh remained silent because he wanted to hear what Verdant had to say; he wanted to know for sure that he was right about Verdant.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it." Verdant apologized and all nodded, then he swallowed and tried his best to look Gilgamesh in the eyes. The young lord suddenly felt like doing so was impossible-- or, at least, far harder than anything else.

"I told you all that G-"

Verdant paused; his siblings frowned and eyed him strangely.

"G-G-Gi-"

Shocked at his own inability to speak Gilgamesh's name, Verdant regarded the young boy with wide eyes, feeling himself shrink in his presence.

"I told you all that 'He' is still Level 1, and that he possesses eleven Spirit Marks, right?"

The other Wyrm Lords nodded, some even throwing assessing gazes his way. Gilgamesh did not mind it; Ishtar and the others sat with him and looked at the Wyrm Lords with indifference.

Sylvia, however, found that her eyes kept wandering in Crimson's direction. He was still standing where Verdant had retreated to, and slowly inched forward along with his brother.

"I also told you that he possesses two natures, something only our father has accomplished. But, that is no longer the case."

There was a moment of silence among the Wyrm Lords as they tried to ascertain what Verdant meant.

Gold looked between his siblings and Gilgamesh and leaned forward, "So his spirit has regressed?"

Crimson's eyes found Gilgamesh's, and he saw the smirk playing out across the young boy's face. "No," Crimson said, yet he did not know if he was right or wrong.

"You can't mean," Silver started, but chose to cling to common sense instead, thus denying the answer she had arrived at.

More of the Wyrm Lords were coming to similar conclusions, and were similarly brushing it off as an impossibility. Crimson himself had fought against Gilgamesh, and felt how common sense faded away in his presence, but still couldn't be sure.

Verdant was the only one who knew it to be absolute fact. All he needed to do was acquire the ability to believe it. "He now possesses three natures; the third is just as potent as the other natures within him."

"Each of them are more potent that what our older brother and Father can wield."

If Verdant's words were not already synonymous with 'the truth' to his siblings, perhaps they would have doubted him. How could they, though, when they knew that it was impossible for him to lie.

They were all silent once more, staring at the ground, the scenery or the sky-- anywhere that was not in Gilgamesh's direction. It was almost as though they were fearful of him, in that moment.

The ever-burning flame in Crimson's eyes was essentially extinguished, save for a few hopeful cinders. His were the only eyes that looked to Gilgamesh, transmitting a spirit of melancholy that did not miss the boy's shrewd perception.

Gilgamesh's narrowed eyes seemed to remind Crimson of what he was doing, and he cleared his throat to speak up. "His path is not our own. Do not let this weigh on your spirits; you do not want to lose sight of your natures."

Crimson acted as the voice of reason for his brothers and sisters, reminding them of this truth. Gilgamesh was already anomalous, meaning that their paths were not meant to entwine, but only to intersect.

He would soon leave to chase the end of that path, wherever it led him.

"Perhaps it is an act of fate or destiny that we were able to meet him here, of all places. Here, where our Father has sent us."

Gilgamesh took note of the way Crimson dragged on the word 'father,' and continued to listen.

Verdant gasped as he turned to face his brother, and instantly started shaking his head. Their siblings were taken aback by this, and the more astute among them started to deduce some things.

Black was one such person, and she folded her arms with a wry chuckle.

"It was never just a conquest, was it? All that talk of 'striking while the iron is hot' was just bullshit."

Her words guided the more clueless of her siblings- namely Gold and Silver, the youngest- toward piecing things together.

Gilgamesh revisited the question he had asked himself when he had first come across the Wyrm Lords, regarding why there was even any competition among the siblings.

He felt that it was, perhaps, a desire to please their father, the Scaled Emperor.

Azure spat on the ground with eyes trained on Crimson, never looking away. "Now is as good a time as any, Crimson. Tell us what happened at your Investiture. Why were we not allowed to attend?"