Hundreds of feet below the churning surface of the ocean swam titanic creatures of truly harrowing length. Hidden in the cold, dark depths, these leviathans ruled the season without any competition. Any living soul who dared to come close to those crushing, dark depths would face certain and absolute death.
But Gilgamesh wasn't just any other person; he was built different.
With a slow, languid yawn, he climbed out of the high-tech, top quality sleeping pod that he had bought, located far below the surface of the ocean bed.
Massive, profane monstrosities swam through the currents above him, remaining completely unknowing of his presence in their domain.
"Home sweet home."
He muttered to the empty chamber.
This was the desolate place he was now residing in after being hunted multiple times by the assassins sent by the Sovereigns.
Gilgamesh would much rather stay here than be trapped in the Dream Realm without a physical body, thank you very much.
He had no desire to spend anymore time than strictly needed in such a precarious place. Even though he had secured and reinforced the underwater space thoroughly, it was still not a good experience to live with the knowledge that you were only one tiny leak away from being spaghettified by the pressure.
Gazing one last time at his current residence, Gilgamesh activated his power and teleported himself directly above the surface of the shimmering water.
...
His previous apartment looked like it was frozen in time, presevered carefully.
After a series of swift teleportations, Gilgamesh had finally arrived at his apartment, the original home of his predecessor.
The window was wide open, casting bright, golden sun rays through the frame as the gentle wind fluttered the drapes. The desk had been left unorganized, cluttered with various pens, textbooks, and notebooks left wide open as if the owner had just stepped out for a moment. Dust had collected in thick layers on almost all parts of the small, cramped room.
It was weirdly melancholic to witness, even though he hadn't technically lived here himself.
Gilgamesh's hand brushed the sparse layer of dust that had collected on one of the textbooks. Staring at the title, he realized that it was a grade tenth history book from a life that felt not like his own.
Dusting his hand off, he looked around at the various other knick-knacks that the room contained.
For the most part, the space lacked personality, featuring barely any personal touches at all. Not that he could truly blame the OG Gilgamesh; not everyone would be able to function particularly well after losing both of their parents so tragically.
The only other notable thing in the room was the small, neat collection of webtoons lined up on a shelf.
He hadn't had the time to actually visit this place after returning from the Dream Realm. Sorting things out—he really should probably get an assistant at this point—paying the government the mounting bills for keeping the apartment under his name, and many other logistical things had taken up most of the brief time he had spent in the real world.
Having to constantly watch over his back even while trying to relax hadn't helped his case either.
To be honest, he was actually surprised that his apartment wasn't already rigged with lethal traps waiting for him to walk in.
Walking towards a cupboard, he opened it, Gilgamesh peered inside to find something to his liking. Picking up a simple shirt, he examined it, realizing with a start that he had outgrown his old clothes in such a short amount of time.
"I guess it's finally time to go shopping with Cassie and Sunny," he mused.
Gilgamesh had a certain public appearance to keep up; he couldn't be seen walking around in clothes that were much too short for him, especially now that he was officially rich.
Pursing his lips, he pulled out a normal-looking black shirt. It would have to do for now.
...
Yawning deeply, Sunny pulled herself out of the Dreamscape simulation pod, leaning against the its edge with a grimace. Who would have thought that a digital simulation would be this physically exhausting?
Taking a moment to right herself, she got back up and headed towards the kitchen to fill up her starving body.
The Dreamscape realm was actually quite good—perhaps not perfect, and way too easy for her—but it still allowed her an opportunity to practice her Shadow Dance against multitudes of people without having to wait.
Splashing cold water on her face, Sunny opened the fridge to see what she had stored inside of it.
"Hey doofus! What are you cooking for us today?"
An annoying voice interrupted her rare moment of peace. She turned around, watching Effie walk- ehh... more like, roll towards her on her wheelchair.
It still came to her as a shock that the powerful amazonian-like woman would be stuck in a wheelchair in real life, though it was not a surprise considering the amount of time she had spent in the Dream Realm.
With an ever-present grin on her face, Effie rolled towards the dining table, eagerly waiting for her food like a young child.
Shaking her head with a exasperated sigh, Sunny turned back towards the fridge, picking out some readymade waffle batter and some of the stored fruits.
"Tell me again, why did I decide to allow you to stay in my house?"
Even though Sunny wouldn't admit it to anyone, the fact was that she didn't really mind Effie staying over in her home. With Gilgamesh off on his own adventure, Cassie having her own family to worry about, and Nephis stuck somewhere in Clan Valour in the Dream Realm, she dearly missed interacting with all of them, especially after spending months together.
Effie might be a little annoying, lecherous, and teased her far too often, but she was still a good friend.
Sunny paused as she was prepping the food. Huh. Who would have thought that the little outskirts rat would actually have friends that she truly cared about, and who in turn cared about her?
"Because I am awesome, perfect, and a total delight to be around! Who wouldn't want to keep me?"
Effie scrolled through her communicator mindlessly, briefly glancing up at Sunny to throw her a cheeky grin at her annoyed look.
Shaking her head at the crippled woman's words, Sunny went back to plating the food, taking the waffles and arranging them neatly on the plates.
Making sure that Effie had more than enough food on her plate, Sunny walked towards the dining table with both their plates in her hands and set them down on the table before sitting across from her.
With a quick, muttered thanks, Effie dug into her food, shoving it down with vigor, as if she hadn't eaten in weeks.
"Your waffles..." She shoveled more bites down before taking a long sip of water. "They are to die for. If all this Awakened business doesn't work out, you should definitely consider opening a cafe."
Hmm.. Sunny's Brilliant Emporium. It didn't sound so bad. Maybe she could even sell Memories that she herself had weaved in her emporium?
Gilgamesh had told her that she would be able to weave memories in the future after consuming another heritage of Weaver that was located somewhere near the Chained Isles.
She had tried to search the place, but for now, she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. More than that, however, how did he even know that there was a part of Weaver's legacy over there? The ever-growing list of mysteries about him kept getting longer by the day.
Gulping down a piece of waffle, Sunny couldn't help but wonder what he must be doing right now. There was barely anything she could find about this Nightmare Desert that he had ventured into.
All he had told her was that it was a dangerous Death Zone, and had refused to bring her with him no matter what she said.
Scowling, she felt her mood sour. Gilgamesh hadn't even answered properly when she asked why he wanted to build the base of his clan there, simply muttering some random words about "aesthetic" and "cool."
"You're thinking about our boyfriend, aren't you, doofus?"
Effie's boisterous voice pierced through the haze of clouds that had gathered in her mind.
"Yes, but he's not my boyfriend!"
"Suit yourself then, I'll just have him all to myself."
Effie licked her lips with a perverse, playful expression.
"That's not fair! You can't have him all to yourself!"
The words broke out before she could think, her flaw having nothing to do with it. Only one moment later, just when Effie's grin grew wider, Sunny knew that she had committed a great mistake.
She was never gonna let this one go, was she?
Groaning in her mind at the unfairness of it all—first Gilgamesh, and now her—why did they both tease her so much?
Just then, Sunny felt someone's strong forearms snaking their way on her shoulders, locking her in place even though she wanted to bolt straight up.
"Hm? Who are you girls talking about? I bet he's handsome as hell."
It took her a split second to recognize the voice, and she relaxed as soon as she did
Gilgamesh was here!
Just then, he stepped away from her shoulders—much to her secret disappointment—walking across toward the dining table to pick up a fresh apple from the fruit basket.
He took a bite out of it with his annoyingly perfect lips, his eyes staring into hers with visible amusement.
Sunny quickly averted her gaze, feeling heat rush up into her cheeks. She couldn't help it!
It was completely unfair just how good he looked.
Almost everything about his face was perfect, from his sharp eyebrows to his defined jawline and full lips. And of course, there were those scarlet hypnotizing eyes that she could easily lose herself in.
A second passed before she realized that she was staring at him without saying anything at all.
Wanting to hide her embarrassment, she pulled him into a sudden hug, launching up from her chair, burying her face in his chest.
"When did you return? I missed you."
Feeling the warmth of his body as he wrapped his arms around her, Sunny couldn't help but smile.
She had missed his presence, even though it had only been a few days. It was a bit embarrassing to imagine just how attached she was to him.
Could she really blame herself, though? Gilgamesh was the first person to show her genuine kindness in the years since her parents died; he had taken care of her in the Dream Realm without asking for anything in return.
Her precious moment with him was interrupted by Effie's loud voice.
"Hey! I need my hug too, you know?"
Taking a deep breath of his scent, Sunny took a step back, staring up into his eyes before moving back into her chair hurriedly.
Gilgamesh turned his amused eyes towards Effie, pausing for a moment before recognition flashed through his eyes as he stared at her extended arms.
"Effie.. of course you will get your hug as well."
Moving towards her with long strides, Sunny watched as he leaned down to hug her as well, deftly swatting her arm away as it slid down to grip something it shouldn't have.
Had they met in the real world before? Otherwise, it would have been almost impossible to recognize her. In this world, she was frail, looking very different from how she did in the Dream Realm due to the lack of muscles, height, and basically everything else.
Her voice and personality were pretty much the same, however.
"I may not be able to use my legs and arms as much, but my mouth is still functioning very well," Effie joked.
Gilgamesh leaned back from the hug, a surprised expression—one that rarely appeared—flashing on his face. He broke out into chuckles, walking back to sit on a chair that dropped out of thin air from his ability, [Gate of Babylon].
Sunny felt her eye twitch at the exchange.
"I'll certainly keep that in mind, thank you very much, Effie."
Winking at him, Effie quickly shoveled down the rest of her remaining food and opened her communicator with a raised eyebrow.
Sunny quickly turned her attention back to Gilgamesh, scrutinizing him with her dark eyes.
"Where have you been? Did you succeed in finding the Citadel?"
He picked up the apple that had dropped on the table when she had hugged him, chewing it thoughtfully.
"Oh yes, I did manage to find the Citadel. It's called the Black Skull Citadel, by the way. It's pretty neat; doesn't quite match the aesthetic I am going for though, but it will suffice for now."
Gilgamesh took another bite of the apple, staring into her eyes as the juice proceeded to drip down his soft lips. How would it feel to have them pressed against her own—
"Look what I found! A perfect boyfriend for that Echo of yours. What's it called again? Saint or something?"
The bright screen of Effie's communicator was turned towards her, breaking her out of her temporary reprieve.
Raising a delicate eyebrow, Sunny stared at the screen with growing horror.
Caught in stunning quality, the recording of her short duel against the young man in azure armor was playing on a loop, set to menacing and epic music. The caption read "Mongrel Victorious." Sunny stared at it for a while, then slowly lowered her gaze and looked at the astronomical view count beneath the video.
"S-seven zeroes... H-how is that even possible?"
"What are you girls staring at?"
Snatching the phone out of Effie's hand, Gilgamesh looked at the video playing on the screen. Realization dawned on his face.
Keeping the phone down, he laughed.
...
No double chapter today unfortunately, gotta prepare for my exams.
Also I put more pictures of characters in chapter one and two so if you're an old reader check it out.
Word Count: 2348