Dungeon Sovereign

"Nice to meet you, Calle. My name is Gilgamesh. And special just for you, I'll allow you to just call me Gil."

"Gilgamesh? Wait, you mean you are that one guy from ancient times who fought against the gods and lost? Is that why you don't like them?" Calle asked the man in front of him.

"Me? Really? I didn't know such a thing ever happened. There are a lot of people with the same name in this universe, you must have mistaken me for the wrong guy. And besides, I lost? To those puny gods? Yup, that's definitely not me." Gilgamesh scoffed while rolling his eyes.

"Okay… I'll believe you," Calle said, nodding his head.

'From his mocking tone of voice and that visible, unconcealed disdain towards these so-called gods, there's a really small chance that he should be the same Gilgamesh that was in the stories. But the more likely scenario is that he has some unsettled beef with those gods.' Calle thought in his mind.

"Whatever, you're free to make up your own theories about my identity. And to some extent, you're correct. I do have some things that I need to settle with those beings you called gods." Gilgamesh chimed once again, responding directly to Calle's thoughts.

"Haa… I gave up trying to tell you not to pry into my thoughts…" Calle said, heaving a sigh.

"But Gilgamesh-"

"Just call me Gil, Calle."

"Alright Gil, although we've talked about gods. I don't really know about them. I have never seen them and I have never met them before. I even doubted that they existed in the first place. But I guess I believe that they really exist now. The fact that we're talking to each other right now in gods-knows-where, is a sign that there's a lot of things that I didn't know about."

"Don't worry about it, you will meet them soon enough," Gilgamesh replied shortly.

Calle wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he wasn't able to do it as Gilgamesh opened up his mouth first and talked,

"Calle, I don't have too much time. I'm here to give you an offer." He said with a serious tone. His carefree eyes also turned sharp as he locked them with Calle's own eyes as if demanding Calle to treat whatever he was about to say next is very important.

Noticing the major change in Gilgamesh's demeanor, Calle understood that he also needed to put his full attention on the unknown being in front of him.

"Calle, your world is about to change. And it will never return to what it used to be. There will be major changes that will affect all aspects of your lives."

"Buildings will be destroyed, cities will be turned upside down, and mountains will be flattened. There will be chaos, there will be anarchy, there will be deaths, the strong will eat the weak, and the weak could only swallow their words, abandon their dreams, and erase their desires as they either accept a dog's fate or die."

"But of course, there's always a different story on the other side of the coin. Everyone will be given a chance to seek strength and fight against their predetermined fate. People will get stronger as they rise above others. They will get the power to level mountains, topple cities, and wreck buildings all using their very own hands."

"Their dreams will be realized by the weaks as their desires become limitless, and the only thing that will be limiting them would only be themselves as the others have fallen beneath their feet."

Calle listened closely to Gilgamesh's words as an image was painted clearly on his mind. A world where strength will become the absolute ruler that dictates whatever and whoever is living in that world. And he couldn't help but think about his current self.

He might have a lot of money and he was living quite a peaceful life. But he knew better than anyone that he didn't have any real power whatsoever. Be it literal power that his body could exert or figurative power that enabled him to stand above the laws, he didn't have any of those.

And if Gilgamesh's words turned out to be true, he could only imagine himself becoming one of the weak people that would be licking the boots of the people who had real power, a real strength that was able to stand above the others.

He hated that feeling. The feeling of not having control over his own life. Whether it was against fate or against circumstances, Calle couldn't accept it if he were to go back to his past self.

Being manipulated and used by his aunt without him knowing, having a mindset that he wouldn't be able to have his own happiness as he was already prepared to sacrifice himself so that his sister will get her happiness. He didn't mind doing that back then since he thought that it was the only way that one of them could be happy, and for that, he was willing to be the one who suffers.

He might be able to take it and just swallow the bitter pill if his life hadn't already changed to his current one. But now that he had tasted the feeling of freedom after learning what money can get him, his view about the world changed as countless possibilities opened up themselves for him.

Just remembering the difference from back then when he had to spill his blood and sweat just so he could grasp onto one tiny opportunity, compared to his current life when opportunities came running to him without him even trying, Calle was sure that he didn't want to go back into his weak, powerless state.

As the image of suffering became clearer and clearer in his mind and the desire to fight against that fate surged from the depths of his heart, overflowing to every inch of his body, Calle suddenly heard Gilgamesh's voice, very loud and clear as it erased all the other thoughts inside his head.

"I can help you change that," Gilgamesh said, still looking straight into Calle's eyes.

"Calle, I'll give you the opportunity to fight against all of that. Not only will I give you the power to be the strongest and never be the weak, but I will also give you the power to fight against the system itself. You will have enough power to destroy that very system of the strong eating the weak."

"The weak will worship you as the strong will obey you."

"Your power will be so great that no buildings will crumble, no cities will be toppled, and no mountains will be flattened as long as they are under your wings."

The moment Gilgamesh finished saying those words, the image that had disappeared from Calle's mind reappeared once again, but this time, instead of suffering and despair, Calle could see himself standing straight and tall in the midst of the hails and storms. The sky would be broken and the earth would crack, but the sky above his head and the ground where he stood would all be safe from the chaos and calamities as he stood against them all.

"Calle, hereby I ask you. Will you accept my offer and become my successor?"

"Will you become the next Dungeon Sovereign?"