Death is supposed to mean something.
I've died before, obviously. Millennia ago, when my mortal body finally gave out. And then again in that pathetic Grail War, when Saber's holy sword slice through my chest. Both times, I knew what came next. The Throne of Heroes would pull me back, and I'd sleep in that void until some desperate magus summoned me again.
This time was different.
This time, I felt hungry.
I opened my eyes to find myself face-down on disgusting cobblestones, breathing in the stench of what could only be described as concentrated poverty. Around me were wooden buildings that looked like they'd fall apart if I sneezed too hard. I pushed myself up and immediately wanted to burn everything I was seeing.
"What is this garbage?" My voice echoed off the alley walls. The buildings were too close together, the streets too narrow. Everything about this place screamed "we have no idea what urban planning is."
I checked myself over. My armor was gone. My royal attire was gone. Instead, I was wearing some kind of athletic clothing that looked like someone had given up on life. A tracksuit. I was wearing a tracksuit.
Unacceptable.
At least the Gate of Babylon still worked. I opened a portal and pulled out a mirror, because I needed to see what fresh hell this was. The face looking back at me was wrong. Too young, too soft. I looked like a teenager.
"Someone," I said slowly, "is going to suffer for this."
I tossed the mirror back into my treasury and took stock. Gate of Babylon, fully functional. Ea, still there and ready to tear reality a new one. But there was something else, something that made my skin crawl. A scent that wasn't actually a scent, more like a spiritual stench that clung to me.
It felt like obsession. Like some desperate fool had marked me with their insanity.
Great. Just what I needed.
I walked out of the alley into what passed for a marketplace. People were everywhere, selling junk to other people who wanted to buy junk. They moved out of my way automatically, which was good. At least their survival instincts were intact.
I pointed at the nearest merchant, some fat guy selling vegetables. "You. What's the name of this dump?"
He looked confused, then scared. Good. "L-Lugunica, milord. The capital of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica."
Dragon Kingdom. Fantastic. They probably thought having a dragon made them special. I'd dealt with dragons before. They die just like everything else.
"And the date?"
"The fifteenth day of the fourth month, milord."
I waved him off and kept walking. I needed information, and standing around talking to vegetable salesmen wasn't going to cut it.
That's when three idiots decided to try robbing me.
They came out of a side street, all swagger and poorly hidden knives. The big one had a scar on his face and that special kind of stupid confidence that comes from never meeting anyone who could actually hurt you.
"Well, well," he said. "Fancy clothes for a lost little boy. Why don't you hand over your coin purse and we'll let you run home to-"
I opened the Gate and put a sword through his neck.
He was dead before he hit the ground. His friends just stood there, staring. I didn't even slow down.
"Mongrels," I called back. "Tell everyone that a new king just arrived. One who doesn't tolerate stupidity."
The walk through the city gave me a decent picture of what I was dealing with. Lugunica was big, I'd give it that. But it was a mess. Wealth in some areas, absolute squalor in others. No organization, no planning. Just people doing whatever they wanted with no strong hand to guide them.
It was disgusting. And fixable.
By evening, I found a tavern. Information flows in taverns, and I needed to understand this world's power structure before I started breaking it.
The place went silent when I walked in. Everyone stared. Some looked confused, others looked scared. The scared ones were the smart ones.
"Your best wine," I announced, sitting at an empty table. "And information. Tell me about this world's rulers."
The bartender looked like he wanted to object, then thought better of it. Smart man. The wine he brought me was terrible, but I'd had worse during campaigns.
People started talking. About the Dragon Kingdom and its covenant with some dragon named Volcanica. About the dead king and the royal selection happening to find a replacement. About the Witch's Cult and their attacks. About a sword saint named Reinhard van Astrea who supposedly couldn't be killed.
That last part was interesting.
"This Reinhard," I said, interrupting someone's rambling story. "What makes him so special?"
"Divine protections, sir," an old soldier type answered. "Blessings from the world itself. He can't lose. Can't die. Can't be beaten."
I smiled. Can't be beaten. I'd heard that before. Usually right before I proved them wrong.
Although, if he really did just come back from death, that would be annoying. Not impossible to deal with, just annoying. Maybe I'd need to seal him away somewhere. I had plenty of chains for that kind of thing.
The evening wore on. I learned about the half-elf in the royal selection who everyone hated because she looked like the Witch of Envy. I learned about the various lords and their territories. I learned that magic was common here, not hidden away like in that modern world I'd been in before.
This world was stuck in a medieval mindset, but with magic everywhere. It was almost refreshing. No technology to deal with, just straightforward power structures that I could dominate and rebuild.
When I left the tavern, the moon was high. I could have found an inn, but sleeping in a commoner's bed wasn't happening. Instead, I walked toward the forest outside the city.
That's when I felt it. Someone, or something, watching me. The source of that disgusting scent.
"Show yourself," I commanded. "I don't have time for cowards."
The air rippled. For a moment, I saw something. A woman, maybe, but wrong. Too beautiful and too broken at the same time. Eyes that held centuries of madness.
"You're not..." Her voice was ancient and cracked. "You're not Subaru."
"Obviously." I crossed my arms. "I'm Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, King of Uruk. The oldest and the best. And you're the source of that pathetic mark on me."
She recoiled like I'd slapped her. I felt confusion radiating off her, then panic.
"Wrong," she whispered. "I chose wrong. The door was supposed to- I wanted-"
"You wanted this Subaru person," I finished. "And your summoning grabbed me instead. Congratulations on your incompetence."
I felt her trying to retreat, to pull back into whatever hole she lived in. But I also felt something else, a gift she'd given me without meaning to. The knowledge flooded into my mind. Return by Death. The ability to rewind time if I died.
I almost laughed. As if I'd ever need that. As if the King of Heroes would ever be in a position where death was the better option.
"Wait," I said, and the command in my voice actually made her pause. "You made a mistake. Fine. Deal with it. I don't care about your plans or your Subaru. I'm going to rebuild this world, and if you get in my way," I opened the Gate, letting weapons materialize around me, "I'll find whatever void you're hiding in and teach you what happens when you inconvenience a king."
She fled. Gone in an instant.
I stood alone in the clearing, feeling the power flowing through me without any limits. No servant container restricting me. No artificial master draining my strength. I was complete.
And I had this Return by Death thing that I'd never use because I'd never need it.
I started laughing. This world had no idea what just landed in it. They had their dragon, their sword saint, their witch cults.
None of it mattered.
I was here now, and before I was done, every ruler would bow or burn. Every corrupt noble would be culled. This kingdom would be remade into something that actually deserved to exist. And if anyone tried to stop me, they'd learn what every god and hero in history learned.
No one stands equal to me.
"Let them come," I said to the moon. "All of them. I'll show this world what a real king looks like."
The Gate opened fully, golden portals materializing everywhere, weapons floating in the air around me. Each one a legend. Each one proof of my supremacy.
Tomorrow, I'd start conquering. Tomorrow, I'd begin tearing down these pathetic power structures and building something better.
Tonight, I'd plan.
The King of Heroes had arrived.
Meanwhile, in the Royal Capital - Third Person POV
Roswaal L. Mathers sat in his study, reviewing reports from his network of informants. The royal selection was proceeding according to plan, more or less. Emilia's candidacy was established, though the prejudice against her was proving more difficult to manage than anticipated.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in," he called, not looking up from his papers.
His steward entered, looking unusually pale. "My lord, there's been an incident in the capital. A murder. In broad daylight."
Roswaal glanced up. "That's hardly unusual for the capital's less reputable districts."
"The method was, my lord. Witnesses say a golden blade appeared from nowhere, killed the man instantly, and vanished. The perpetrator was described as a young man with red eyes who spoke like royalty."
Now Roswaal's full attention was engaged. Golden blades from nowhere. That sounded like spatial magic of a type he'd never encountered. "And this young man? Where is he now?"
"Unknown, my lord. He visited a tavern, asked about the kingdom's power structure and the royal selection, then left. Several patrons said he had an presence about him. Some said it felt like meeting royalty. Others said it felt like meeting a predator."
Roswaal leaned back in his chair. This was not in the gospel. Nothing in Echidna's writings mentioned anyone like this appearing now. A variable. An unknown element.
How interesting.
"Keep watching," he ordered. "Find this young man. But don't approach him directly. I want to know more before we make contact."
"Yes, my lord."
After the steward left, Roswaal returned to the window, looking out over the capital. Somewhere out there was someone new. Someone powerful. Someone who hadn't been predicted.
Either a problem to be eliminated, or a piece to be added to the board.
He smiled. Either way, the game had just become more interesting.
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