Chapter 38: Disaster Finally Arrives
Siduri, truth be told, could not help feeling a quiet swell of emotion.
When she thought about it carefully, Gilgamesh and Rowe had not known each other for very long. Yet it felt as though they had crossed an age together. No, that was not just a feeling. They really had experienced far too much in a short span of days, and many of those experiences were things the King had never once faced before.
So of course he was pleased.
Of course he would acknowledge them as friends, and value that bond more than he realized.
Some changes were subtle, so subtle that even the King himself did not notice. But Siduri stood close enough to see them. The sharp, impatient youth on the throne was being tempered by conflict, by companionship, by the weight of choice. Without anyone saying it out loud, he was growing into a ruler who understood more than conquest.
It gave Siduri an odd sense of relief, the kind you feel when a storm does not break the roof, only sweeps the dust away.
"Then continue to convey this King's wisdom, Siduri."
On the throne, Gilgamesh waved his hand, stored the alliance tablets, and spoke with his usual arrogance.
"Though they are merely barking strays, they are still friends this King has acknowledged. The deeds of those who stand shoulder to shoulder with this King, as glorious and great as this King, must naturally be put to use."
"Yes, my King."
Siduri bowed, produced another clay tablet, and continued managing Uruk's affairs while the King dictated. His words came fast, and Siduri's stylus moved even faster.
"The eastern and western regions will each add three thousand guards. Establish a post every ten li and mark each one by lighting bonfires."
"All residents around Uruk are ordered to enter the City State, or at minimum live near the city walls."
"Issue a royal decree to all city states. Strictly organize all personnel and record every man, woman, elder, and child on clay tablets."
Gilgamesh spoke with his eyes half closed, fingers tapping the armrest in a steady rhythm. Siduri did not miss a syllable. Still, she felt the King's thoughts today were sharper, faster than usual.
Was it because he had matured through this strange season of crisis?
Or because he was in a genuinely good mood?
Her veiled gaze flicked toward him without meaning to. In the brief exchange of commands, the pile of tablets stacked beside her thinned out until only one remained.
Siduri picked up the last tablet, read the report carved on it, and her expression tightened.
"My King, this final matter must be handled with caution."
"It concerns the Bull of Heaven, and Humbaba."
At that, Gilgamesh straightened slightly.
Those two beasts, the symbols of the gods' punishment, were the center of everything. They determined how much time they still had, and how heavy the coming battle would be.
"The divine beast Bull of Heaven and the demonic beast Humbaba have both begun to show their forms. There is still some distance before they fully materialize."
So there is time left, Gilgamesh thought, keeping his face unreadable.
"But that is not the only issue." Siduri bowed with the tablet in hand, voice steady and grave. "As they appear, the disasters they represent are already spreading."
"In the east, near the Euphrates, a drought has begun. No rain falls. The sun scorches without mercy. In three days the land has turned barren, and animals and crops alike are dying."
"In the west, the plain has suffered floods and earthquakes. Villages and settlements have been destroyed."
The divine beast brought punishment from heaven.
The demonic beast carried the fury of the earth.
"Their formation speed is increasing, but our preparations still need time."
"So," Siduri began.
"So we need to slow their manifestation, and only this King can do that, correct?"
Gilgamesh finished for her, a cold edge creeping into his tone.
"Hmph. Those foolish gods are growing impatient."
"Siduri, issue every command I have given."
He lifted his hands from the throne and rose.
"It is time for this King to set out personally."
He meant to go east and west himself. He had been bound to the palace by endless affairs for too long. A fight big enough to shake the plain was exactly the excuse he had been waiting for to stretch his limbs.
"My King."
Siduri stopped him, carefully.
"Enkidu, once he heard the news, has already departed for the west, to the Cedar Forest where Humbaba is forming."
Gilgamesh sank back into the throne, slowly, eyes a deep crimson twist of shadow.
His face remained blank.
"Enkidu said," Siduri continued, and her eyes flashed faintly as she relayed the message. "As a weapon made by the gods, before he met Rowe and gained self awareness, he lived in the deepest reaches of the Cedar Forest in the divine realm, together with Humbaba, in the form of clay."
"He understands Humbaba well."
"His power is rooted in the earth. He can effectively seal Humbaba."
Reasonable. Difficult to refute.
At least the Bull of Heaven remained.
"Hmph. Since he is also someone this King acknowledges, I will not punish the grave sin of stealing my prey before I could enjoy it."
"Then this King will go east."
Gilgamesh started to rise again.
In the next instant, golden ripples spread across the air before him.
Siduri froze.
The young King froze as well. His hand reached out on instinct, catching the clay tablet that fell from the ripple.
Just like the five alliance tablets.
This one had been sent by Rowe through the King's Treasury.
Gilgamesh read the carving.
"Just passing by the east."
"I will handle the Bull of Heaven."
"Work hard, Gil."
Crack.
The tablet shattered in his grip the moment he finished reading.
"My King?"
Siduri had not seen the contents. She looked at him in confusion as he sat back down, expression shifting between thundercloud and knife edge.
A mongrel. A barking stray. Daring to meddle with this King's movements.
Gilgamesh was sure of it.
Rowe did this on purpose.
He could practically see that smug grin on the man's face while carving those words.
"Damn it…"
No, wait, those were Rowe's words. Fine. Everything in heaven and earth belongs to this King, including vocabulary.
Gilgamesh inhaled slowly.
"Siduri. Continue."
"Yes, my King."
She still did not understand what she had witnessed, but a servant's duty was obedience, not curiosity. She signaled for more tablets.
Gilgamesh closed his eyes, then opened them again.
His fingers crushed the armrest.
To drag those heavenly mongrels down a day earlier, this King will endure.
…
Far from the palace, on the open wilderness east of Uruk, Rowe let out a laugh that sounded like a man enjoying a private joke at the edge of the world.
"Hmph hahaha. Gilgamesh's face right now must be priceless."
He was not even trying to hide it.
Just as Gilgamesh had guessed, Rowe absolutely did it on purpose.
As a born King, Gilgamesh hated being caged in one place. Rowe understood that. The Hero King had been waiting for a reason to leave the center of power, not to justify himself to others, but to justify himself to his own pride.
Now Enkidu had already gone west to face Humbaba, something Rowe knew through the Key of Heaven he had given her.
So Rowe sent that tablet and cut off Gilgamesh's last excuse.
At the same time, he had arrived on the eastern flank of Uruk.
[TL: You can also check out my newly released fanfic, Bleach: Ichigo Takes Over the Soul Society – just visit my profile if you want to read it.]
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