Another Terrifying Tribulation

Within the tranquil forest valley, the wind crawled through the trees of the Forest-Gate Guardians Society, causing a slight flutter amongst the leaves. Numerous sect disciples and servants were out and about, including the disciple Gilgamesh had briefly encountered, Wyg.

He was out with some other outer disciples, and adjusted his glasses before speaking, "The Guardians have been spotted near the Forest-Gate, along with that guy who had a tribulation yesterday."

"The guy who's been missing for five years?" A male disciple asked.

Wyg nodded, "Yeah. His name's Gilgamesh and, apparently, he was stuck in the Ancient Forest-Gate Realm all that time."

"But wasn't there a search for him? If he was stuck in there, shouldn't they have found him," a female disciple frowned.

"That's not the only thing that's weird," Wyg remarked, sparking further interest from his group.

"He was at the peak of Condensation before he left, and is now only at the first level; he also seems to have lost his memory."

Wyg's friends turned to him with varying expressions of intrigue, each wondering how such a thing could have happened. They were already on their way to the Forest-Gate, and as their discussion continued they caught the attention of a cloaked disciple passing by.

He was brawny and quite gigantic, standing almost two feet above the average disciple, and he wore outer disciple robes over which was a brown leather cloak. His face was partially covered, but by looking up at him Wyg could see smooth lips pressed into a thin line.

"You say this Gilgamesh person went missing in the mystic realm for five years?" That disciple spoke in a gruff yet velvety, masculine voice that inspired both fear and awe in Wyg's group.

"Yeah..." Wyg gulped.

That tall disciple then removed his hood and reveled his face to them, causing looks of utter disbelief to rise up on the faces of those looking at him. Even Wyg was taken aback once he realized who it was that was standing before him- speaking to him- and couldn't help uttering their name.

"...Big Brother Feral..."

Big Brother Feral's features were exquisitely chiseled, giving off the impression that he was a finely sculpted stone statue come to life. His long black hair was tied up, and his deep brown eyes glistened.

"Tell me more about Gilgamesh."

Wyg and the others looked at each other for a brief moment before recounting all the details they knew.

Concurrently, Gilgamesh was standing beneath the Forest-Gate at the forefront of the sect with determination etched onto his face. His eyes were shut as he adjusted his breathing, meanwhile three individuals hovered in the air just behind him.

These were the Guardians, Hunter, Aerial and Pacifist.

Aerial huffed as his eyes surveyed Gilgamesh, "That's some aura he's got for someone at the First Level of Condensation."

Pacifist agreed, and Hunter said, "I'm glad he didn't object to us being here. I would prefer to see it with my own eyes instead of having to look in from afar with my divine sense."

"Hmph!" Aerial seemed to take issue with the idea of requiring Gilgamesh's permission, and his vine wings flapped a single time, releasing a subdued aura of violent wind.

Gilgamesh's eyes abruptly opened, and his aura exploded as he began to circulate his true energy, pushing it toward the second meridian.

At the same time, violent winds descended as thunderous booms exploded in the heavens, heralding the formation of horrible storm clouds. In a matter of seconds, those clouds had gathered into a amalgamation of heavenly wrath, blotting out the clear sky for miles.

Over a large portion of the sect, disciples could look up and see a fraction of those tribulation clouds, and they all subconsciously looked to the central area of the storm.

"Another tribulation!?" A female disciple exclaimed.

"I really hope it's Big Brother Feral this time!" Said another.

"Is it tribulation season or something? First that guy from yesterday, and now Big Brother Feral?"

"It might not be Big Brother Feral though," a random male disciple chimed in.

Hearing this, each of the female disciples in his vicinity glared at him, then came together to viciously berate him.

As such, a large number of disciples started arriving in the area near the Forest-Gate.

Looking up at the tribulation clouds, the Guardians faltered for a moment.

"This is a Condensation-level tribulation?" Pacifist gaped.

"This looks like the tribulation I had to face when I entered the Sea Expansion stage..." Aerial looked up at the raging storm and forgot all about his previous attitude, instead marveling at the sight and throwing an incredulous look at Gilgamesh's back.

Hunter Guardian folded his arms and looked on with the utmost curiousity, while also taking a moment to size up Gilgamesh's current aura.

"Do you guys feel that?"

Pacifist was the first to come out of her daze and nodded her head fiercely.

"His aura," she said, "is almost equivalent to the Ninth Level of Condensation..."

Aerial's eyes widened until they could widen no more, and his wings fell limp behind him. "And it's steadily increasing... Impossible."

Once their realizations set in, they looked to the tribulation with a newfound concern. In their minds, they were each having similar thoughts.

'Just what kind of a monster is this kid!?'

As the tribulation swelled, Gilgamesh could feel the meridian slowly beginning to be refined. However, the more he pushed, the more resistance he felt.

"Looks like I'll have to wait till after I'm battered by lightning bolts to get to the second level... sigh."

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed and he scowled before aiming a finger at the heavens, "Come on then! Don't you dare keep me waiting any longer!"

While Gilgamesh was shouting this, more and more disciples were arriving. Among them, Wyg and his group also arrived with a Big Brother Feral, who had put his hood back on to avoid being noticed.

All eyes were on the terrifying tribulation that was reaching a crescendo, and the one disciple fated to suffer it.

Big Brother Feral was quite interested, and his eyes never left the scene above him- even as the disciples were engaging in all manner of conversation.

"This guy's only at the Condensation stage? There's no way!"

"I just got to the Eight Level last month, and my tribulation barely spanned half a mile. You're telling me this guy was only at the First Level yesterday?"

"Impossible!"

Wyg was especially entranced by the scene playing out before him. He would never have guessed that the clueless-looking Gilgamesh he had briefly spoken to would shock him to this extent.

A massive bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, following which a heaven-rending peal of thunder shook the earth and silenced the spectators.

The time had come, and Gilgamesh knew it.

He focused on a single point in the tribulation, and saw the lightning begin to concentrate. White tendrils of crackling light took shape, wrapping around themselves and superimposing upon each other, creating a monster of a thunderbolt.

The soul-crushing aura of that single, monstrous bolt was enough to strike fear into the hearts of the majority of disciples present, and they all gulped involuntarily at the sight of it.

"I think I can handle that," Gilgamesh breathed, feeling slightly more relaxed.

As if the heavens had heard him, the storm clouds were pierced at another point, and a second beastly bolt of lightning began to take form. It received more and more power as time went by before it was just as powerful as the first, and Gilgamesh took a step back.

There were now two of them, and Gilgamesh wished he had shut his mouth.

Those two bolts gathered more power until Gilgamesh could feel an aura of death emanating from them. He knew that he was going to suffer a great deal, and he prepared himself mentally.

Then, as sudden as a flash of blinding light, the bolts of lightning were hurled from the heavens and struck Gilgamesh at the exact same time, leaving him no extra time to prepare.

The Guardians held their breath, the disciples gasped, Wyg stepped forward with wariness and Big Brother Feral was unmoving and steady in his gaze.

A guttural roar escaped Gilgamesh's throat, and he summoned all of his true energy as he attempted to resist. The pain was already beyond unbearable, and his skin was quickly burnt to a crisp.

Even so, his eyes remained wide and he continued to persevere. He could feel that the lightning was entering his body and assailing every part of him, while also forcing his true energy to resist with greater and greater vigor.

While that was happening, the resistance from his second meridian was slowly vanishing.

"This tribulation isn't meant to test his will," Hunter murmured, but the other Guardians heard him.

"Doesn't it seem like- but that's not possible is it?" Aerial was about to say something, but he stopped himself due to the fact that his suspicions were far too ludicrous.

"No, it shouldn't be possible, but it clearly is. This tribulation isn't testing his will, it's challenging his true energy. Use your divine sense and feel the way it moves once the lightning enters his body." Pacifist Guardian had her eyes shut as she continuously cast her powerful divine sense outward.

"She's right," Hunter said as he smiled, "The Nature of Heaven- the Heavenly Daos- whatever it is that drives these tribulations..."

"It wants to destroy Gilgamesh's sea of energy."

Silently, they all looked down at Gilgamesh as a torrent of lightning charged at him, forcing its way into his body without a care for how much damage it was doing.

A trace of panic soon set in though, as Gilgamesh felt the last of his true energy about to be used up. Once it was gone, there would be nothing left that he could defend himself with.

With renewed strength, he forced the last of his true energy to rush toward the second meridian, and prepared to engage in a last ditch effort to refine it and enter the Second Level.

It was his only option.