New chapter, as promised. Thanks for the support.
...
Free-falling through the vast, empty darkness of the night, Gilgamesh plunged from the sky.
To his surprise, he hadn't landed inside Bastion as he had expected. Instead, after calmly gazing at the dark, murky water swirling beneath him, he was fairly certain he had landed in the Forgotten Shore.
'No way [Golden Rule] is malfunctioning. It threw me right into one of the death zones.'
At least he wasn't thrown into the Underworld.
Without waiting to touch the foul water—wasn't it a Great Titan?—Gilgamesh opened a portal beneath himself. As he fell through it, he opened another portal a few meters away. After falling through it, Gilgamesh opened another portal beneath himself, allowing him to scan for land while continuously dropping between the two portals.
Finding nothing with his normal senses, Gilgamesh unleashed his enhanced eyesight, zooming in to locate a piece of land above the water. With his Demigod senses, everything became clear.
Finally, Gilgamesh spotted what he was looking for: a small island a couple of kilometers away. The island lay to the North, and if he wasn't mistaken, Cassie was there too.
Just as Gilgamesh was about to move, he felt something dart toward his head from behind. A portal opened where the strike was aimed. When the creature was halfway inside the portal, he closed it.
As he equipped his [Golden Armor], realizing he was naked, Gilgamesh opened another portal a short distance away to observe his attacker. The thing—which he now realized was a tentacle—thrashed wildly through the air, frantically spilling blood from its severed tip.
Annoyance flashed through his eyes at the sheer audacity of this creature to attack him.
"Die, mutt."
Curling his lips cruelly, Gilgamesh opened a portal behind it. The wooden sword that he had 'borrowed' shot through the air, slicing through the water at immense speed.
With his eyes piercing through the dark water, Gilgamesh could see the grotesque monstrosity that had attacked him.
It was a monstrous, fleshy pink creature, as big as a school bus, although compared to the creatures lurking in the deep depths of this black ocean it was nothing. Its body was bulbous and elongated, supported by multiple thick, sinewy limbs that resembled a cross between tentacles and legs, propelling it through the water with an unnerving, almost slithering gait.
The creature's skin was corrugated, covered in wrinkles and folds. Its most repulsive feature was its head—or what passed for one. A gaping maw, filled with rows of jagged, predatory teeth, dominated its face.
Above this terrifying orifice, a single, unsettling eye peered out, starkly contrasting against the pale, almost translucent flesh. Several more tentacle-like appendages emerged from its upper body, curling and writhing as it moved.
It was truly a pathetic being, deserving of his mercy: death.
Before the creature could react, the wooden sword pierced its grotesque eye, the sheer speed of impact causing its upper body to explode.
[You have slain an awakened monster, Blind Depth Dweller]
[You have received a Memory: Sword of the Deep.]
[Your treasury grows deeper]
The emotionless voice of Spell resonated in his head, line after line.
With the Nightmare Creatures dead, Gilgamesh decided against venturing underwater to collect the soul shard, instead opening a portal directly onto the island he had spotted.
The island was a flat piece of land, slightly above the dark water. It was likely connected to something, but he'd have to investigate later.
Cassie was curled up on the ground, tears rolling down her face, wearing nothing.
Avoiding her nakedness, Gilgamesh gently touched her palm.
"Cassie, I'm here, alright, just as I promised. You will be safe now."
Softly speaking those words, Gilgamesh gazed intently at her face. Groggily, Cassie raised her head toward the sound, disbelieving his words.
"Gil-gilgamesh, is it really you?"
"Yes, it's really me, Cassie. You know, I have an ability that lets me store things safely. How about I teleport you there? There's a bed with spare clothes, and I'll wake you up when it's morning, alright?"
The trembling of her hands lessened as she heard his reassuring voice. Not trusting her voice to work, Cassie just nodded her head.
Mentally moving the clothes onto the bed, he opened a portal beneath her, watching as she fell through it.
Once he confirmed she had fallen asleep, exhausted, he allowed himself to rest.
Gilgamesh had 'borrowed' the bed from his room, anticipating this situation. He had also acquired clothes, along with enough food and water to last a month.
The portal opened, dropping a gallon-filled water bottle into his hand.
Sipping the water, he leaned back and stared at the starless void in the sky.
What was the story of the Forgotten Shore again? Something about a Nephilim falling from the sky, the people killing it for some reason, and its death releasing a surge of darkness.
Gilgamesh took another sip of water.
Then the darkness began killing the people. Seven heroes took on the task of rallying their people and sealing the darkness, in which they succeeded.
There were a lot of things he was misremembering, but he couldn't do anything about it; it had been years since he last read Shadow Slave. The history of the place was incredibly interesting, especially to someone like him who loved reading about history.
Sealing the cap of the water bottle, he put it back inside of [Gate of Babylon].
With his thirst for water satiated, Gilgamesh got up to look at the armor that had taken a whole ten seconds to form.
Clad in his [Golden Armor], his entire body exuded an aura of regality and royalty.
The armor was a meticulously crafted full plate ensemble. Broad, layered pauldrons protected his shoulders, while vambraces and gauntlets encased his arms and hands.
The breastplate was sleek and form-fitting, leading down to a segmented waist-guard, allowing him to maintain flexibility.
A long, flowing crimson cape draped from his waist. Hints of deep blue and purple accents were visible within the golden plates, due to the form-fitting bodysuit beneath.
(Image)
Overall, it was very well-crafted, truly fit for a King like himself.
In essence, it would allow him to farm even more aura.
Running a hand through his hair, slicking it back, Gilgamesh's eyes shone with mirth as he laughed.
(Image)
The sound of his heartbeats increased at what he was going to do next. After weeks of preparing himself, Gilgamesh was finally going to summon Ea.
Why hadn't he summoned it before? Mainly due to two reasons: first, he wasn't sure if Ea would damage his surroundings; and second, not only would he be awakening the Sword of Rupture from its slumber, but he also didn't believe himself worthy of wielding it. Even after subjecting himself to rigorous training, day and night, Gilgamesh still didn't consider himself ready to properly wield Ea.
Yet, there was nothing he could do now. He had to conquer ten thousand foes with Ea for its ascension. While he wasn't sure what exactly would happen after doing that, he was certain it wouldn't be something small.
With anticipation, Gilgamesh opened the Runes of his Memory [Sword of Rupture].
Memory: [Sword of Rupture]
Memory Rank: [???]
Memory Tier: [???]
Memory Type: [???]
Memory Description: [Forged in fire hotter than the code of the Sun by the God [UNKNOWN], this Divine Construct is truly one of its kind. With the power of Heaven, Earth and the Underworld imbued in it, it has the potential to destroy the whole of cosmos itself. Initially used by [UNKNOWN], it has now somehow, someway fallen into the hands of the Usurper, Wedge of Heaven.]
Memory Enchantments: [???], [???], [???], [???], [???].
Conquered Foes: [0/10000]
The excitement coursing through his veins increased. Without further delay, he did it.
Gilgamesh summoned Ea, the Sword of Rupture.
The golden particles floated through the air, slowly but surely coalescing into a form.
Gilgamesh waited, with his right arm extended, palm open, ready to grip the sword.
After an agonizing twelve seconds, Ea, the Sword of Rupture, took form for the first time in the world of Shadow Slave.
Reality cracked.
Time had frozen.
Light was stolen from the world.
Ea released its chokehold on the world.
The Strings of Reality reattached
themselves hurriedly, time started flowing again, and Light reasserted itself over the Darkness.
With a world-shattering crack, Ea announced its arrival to all who could hear.
It pulsed aggressively, challenging the very concepts of the world.
"Forgive me for awakening you from your slumber, Ea."
Holding the sword with an arrogant grin on his face, Gilgamesh admired the beauty that was the Sword of Rupture.
Its design was utterly unique among swords. Not a normal blade in any sense, its form was that of a cylindrical, drill-shaped pillar, slightly tapering toward the end.
The pillar was composed of three distinct segments, each intricately engraved with crimson lettering—which he thought was gibberish—. The three segments were rotating violently, akin to querns, with the middle portion spinning clockwise while the top and bottom sections were moving counterclockwise.
Ea's hilt had a uniquely elegant, almost regal design.
It looked like it was crafted from polished golden material, adorned with dark blue accents. It featured a weird, fan-like or wing-like guard, difficult to describe, which flared out from the base of the blade.
(Image)
Adrenaline coursing through his body, Gilgamesh roared his challenge to the world.
"Come and attack me, you filth! Here I stand before you, Gilgamesh of Uruk, Leader and Defender of the last coalition of Humanity, owner of the Gate of Babylon and Ea, the Sword of Rupture. So come, attack me with all your might!"
The [Golden Armor] glowed brightly in the darkness, amplifying his words at the same.
Making Gilgamesh was the sole source of light and sound in the Dark Sea.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, the winds started to pick up, and the waves of the ocean became increasingly more tumultuous. The winds shredded the ground around Gilgamesh, yet couldn't harm a single hair on his face.
The Nightmare Creature, a being of wind, invisible in form, came first. Even then, his eyes could still perceive it. With Ea vibrating harder and harder in his hand, Gilgamesh slashed.
Ripping the fabric of reality itself, the Nightmare Creature ceased to exist.
Simultaneously, multiple dark forms began moving through the water, having heard his declaration of challenge.
Amidst all this, Gilgamesh stood alone on the island, accompanied by a mad grin, a sword, and an armor.
...
Gazing at the dawn breaking, Gilgamesh felt a sense of satisfaction.
With Ea's tip on the ground and using its pommel for support, he couldn't help but proudly gaze at his collection of Soul Shards.
Seven Soul Shards of Dormant creatures, nine Soul Shards of Awakened creatures, and Two soul shards of Fallen Nightmare Creatures.
Gilgamesh felt a deep sense of calmness down to his bones.
After he had finished slaying all the Nightmare Creatures who had responded to his call, he extracted their Soul Shards and threw their carcasses into the water, disgusted at the mere sight of them.
'Man, my ego has definitely doubled—no, tripled—in size after fighting all of them.'
Yawning, Gilgamesh desummoned the [Sword of Rupture], looking west toward the huge statue where Sunny was supposed to land.
Gilgamesh then looked towards the East, on the cliff where Nephis was supposed to be.
Since Nephis was significantly closer than Sunny, he decided he'd go to find her first.
Finally looking down, he gazed at the incredibly complex, maze-like arrangement of red corals.
'No way I'm going to waste my time traveling through that crap.'
With his mind made up, Gilgamesh first stepped into the [Gate of Babylon] to check on Cassie.
...
Word Count: 1953.