In a gray desert, Erold was walking with great difficulty due to extreme fatigue, eventually falling while muttering: "Damn this!"
Arthur’s voice emerged, enthusiastically urging him to continue: "Come on, come on Erold! You can do it! Come on... but—" Arthur’s tone suddenly shifted to confusion as he scanned the surroundings: "Wait, what is this strange place?"
Arthur looked toward a dead tree looming on the horizon and asked skeptically: "We’ve passed this tree more than 40 times, haven't we??"
Erold shouted: "You’re right! I feel as if I’m walking in circles in the same spot."
Dante’s mocking laughter rose from within Erold as he shouted tauntingly: "You fool! You are indeed walking in a circle. You are in a mirage. Just sit where you are, and you will get out after a while."
Erold flew into a rage and cried out: "You bastard! Why didn't you tell me this?"
Dante replied coldly, enjoying Erold’s suffering: "I wanted you to suffer a little."
Arthur tried to stifle his laughter at the situation, but when Erold looked at him with a glare, he quickly apologized: "Sorry, Erold."
Erold sat down and asked: "Dante, what is this place?"
Dante replied with boredom: "Don't you feel like you ask too many questions? How should I know? I felt the illusion you were walking in and told you. I don't possess the power to know the unknown."
Erold lay on his back and sighed bitterly: "Damn you, Dante." But something strange was happening to Erold, as if he were being swallowed. Erold lifted his head to find his hand had sunk beneath the sand. He tried to pull it out forcefully, but it wouldn't come.
He grew tense. He tried to pull with more force. At that moment, Dante’s voice rang out sternly: "Stop, you idiot! This is how you will get out of here." Erold began to calm down somewhat as the sand swallowed him. As the sand consumed him, he looked up to see the last source of light vanish; he closed his eyes and was pulled rapidly downward.
At that exact moment, in pitch blackness, Gilgamesh advanced with calm, steady steps toward a faint light emitting from a candle at the end of the tower. As he approached, a whispering female voice broke the silence: "Come, blow it out." At that moment, the darkness behind him began to take shape bit by bit until an alluring and mysterious female figure emerged from the gloom, shrouded in irresistible charm and eyes hiding deep cunning. She was a Jinn of enchanting presence, radiating seduction mixed with a veiled threat. Her skin was soft, with sharp features defining her jaw and cheekbones with deceptive beauty, and her eyes carried a brilliant golden spark mixed with a hidden purple, suggesting malice. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders in soft waves, giving her an aura of mystery. She wore a seductive robe of dark purple that draped gracefully over her body, highlighting her charms in an enticing manner, with light fabrics wrapped around her arms and waist. She carried no armor; she relied on her own magic and stunning beauty as her most powerful weapons.
She began to touch Gilgamesh, who looked at her with utter contempt. She stood before him and said: "I welcome you. My name is Sarris, the guardian of this tower. You are here for your trial. Blow out the light to begin your test, handsome sir."
Gilgamesh ignored her and stepped forward coldly to extinguish the candle with his hand. The moment darkness prevailed, Sarris lunged at him and placed her hand on his head. Gilgamesh stood indifferent, like a mountain. He heard Sarris whisper mockingly: "Another fool."
Without moving a muscle, Gilgamesh delivered a punch to Sarris's face with the back of his fist. Sarris vanished like dust, and the tower door began to open.
The light of a candle flickered from the exit, casting a shadow on the gateway wall. Gilgamesh began to feel anxious: "Is someone outside? And how did they get here?"
Gilgamesh moved forward and began to recognize the wall as if he knew it. He approached the exit to see the shadow of a woman extending onto the wall. He whispered with a trembling voice: "No! No, impossible!"
He rushed inside rapidly, his eyes clashing as if seeing something unreal. A tender smile began to form on his face, his eyes overflowing with nostalgia. He looked and said in a muffled voice: "Elia... is that you?"
Elia was lying on a bed, green veins covering her frail body, while fatigue shrouded her pale features. She looked at him with a weak smile and said: "Of course it’s me, Gamsh."
Gilgamesh's tears flowed profusely, while his face remained frozen from the shock, asking her bitterly: "How?"
Elia laughed and said: "What happened to you, my dear?"
Gilgamesh approached her. When Elia noticed his eyes, her expression changed and she asked anxiously: "What happened to you, Gamsh?"
She reached her hand out to him, and he approached until she placed his head in her lap. While Gilgamesh could not believe what was happening, he surrendered to the illusion he wished was reality. Elia began to stroke Gilgamesh's head gently and asked: "Has time not been merciful to you, my dear?"
Gilgamesh burst into heart-wrenching tears, saying: "No! No, it didn't... Could I not save...?"
Gilgamesh's features changed as if he had forgotten what happened to Elia. He raised his head eagerly, saying: "Wait, there is someone I heard of who might help you."
Elia placed her hands tenderly on Gilgamesh's cheeks and said: "I don't need that, my dear. All I want is to spend some time with you until I die."
His eyes began to shed tears strangely. Elia asked him: "Why are you crying, Gamsh?"
Gilgamesh replied, looking at her lost: "I don't know. It’s as if something inside me is doing this."
He wiped his tears, then Gilgamesh stood up and said: "I will return with your cure."
Elia held his hand and said: "Come closer."
Gilgamesh approached. Elia placed her hand over Gilgamesh's heart and began moving her fingers: up, then right, then left, then up, then down. Once she placed her full palm over his heart, a brilliant light erupted from it, filling the place.
Gilgamesh asked in astonishment: "What is this?"
Elia answered with a mysterious smile: "I don't know. This is a gift from me, my dear. My father gave it to me long ago, and you are the dearest person to me to take it."
Gilgamesh held her head and kissed her forehead, saying: "I will return. I promise! And I will have the antidote. They told me today that there is someone in the Kingdom of Bulgaros who can cure any disease. I will go to him. Please, don't..."
Elia interrupted with a smile: "Don't what? Don't worry, I won't die until I see the Prince who saved my life."
Gilgamesh interrupted her anxiously: "Don't say that! You won't die!"
Gilgamesh exited through the door with unbelievable speed. Elia said with a tender smile: "Everyone chased my father because of the Essence of Immortality, and I don't know if my father obtained it or not. If this is the Essence of Immortality, I wish you a happy life, my dear."
Elia's tears began to fall: "The greatest thing that happened to me in my life was you. You were my husband, my best friend, and my life. The thought of leaving you breaks my heart, but there is a way to be near you, my dear."
Elia began to clench her palms to form a transparent gem. Then she brought a paper and began to write:
My dear Gamsh. If you read this letter, I will be dead. Please do not grieve. You know I was suffering all this time, and nothing soothed my pain but your presence. Therefore, this is the gem of my soul; absorb it. We may be able to see each other. Thus, I will be near you. And in concluding my words, I will say something you already know: I love you, you stupid Prince.
After thirty minutes of continuous running, Gilgamesh was storming the walls of the Kingdom of Bulgaros. Gilgamesh grabbed one of the guards and shouted: "Where is the Master of Healing in this kingdom?"
The guard bowed respectfully and said: "Prince Gilgamesh, he is there," pointing his finger toward a small house. Gilgamesh wondered and asked: "How did you know I was looking for him?"
The guard replied calmly: "He told us today that you would come to him."
Gilgamesh advanced rapidly toward the small house. He entered. The place was strange. Gilgamesh shouted: "Master of Healing, I am Gilgamesh, I have come seeking an antidote for Mind Core poisoning!"
He heard a wicked laugh: "I know you are looking for this, boy."
Gilgamesh turned toward him. He was a short old man with a long white beard and a hideous face. Gilgamesh fixed his gaze on him and asked eagerly: "Do you have the antidote?"
The Master of Healing answered with a smile: "Yes, of course."
Gilgamesh's face brightened and he said: "Thank you!"
But the Master of Healing interrupted him with a sharp tone: "No, no boy, its price is more expensive than you think."
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Gilgamesh lost his temper and shouted: "You know I can kill you, right?"
The Master of Healing replied with deadly coldness: "Yes, but you won't get what you need."
Gilgamesh calmed down a little, trying to restrain himself, and said: "I will give you a hundred thousand gold pieces."
The Master of Healing laughed mockingly: "No, no boy, I don't want money."
Gilgamesh flew into a rage: "Then what the hell do you want? I don't have time to bargain!"
The old man extended his hand with an old paper and said: "This is a contract... sign it, and I will give you what you ask for immediately."
Gilgamesh looked toward the horizon; the sun was leaning toward sunset, and every passing second brought him closer to losing Elia forever. Without reading a single letter, he signed the contract with frantic speed and shouted: "Give me the cure, quickly!"
The Master of Healing handed him a bottle containing a glowing green liquid and said: "Go quickly. You have no more time to waste."
Gilgamesh exited like a hurricane, tearing through the air with his speed, his exhausted body pushing the limits of the impossible to reach Elia before it was too late.
Inside the small house, the Master of Healing laughed, then stood up straight, muttering with ecstasy: "Finally, the fool has signed! Five minutes, all I need. You will be under my control for five minutes!"
The old man's form began to shift; his short body stretched to become tall, and his tattered clothes vanished, turning into an elegant black formal suit. The white beard fell away, revealing that he was 'The Faceless'.
Gilgamesh reached the Kingdom of Uruk like a hurricane, only to find Elia in her final struggle, surrounded by servants and tears. Her withered eyes opened with a weak smile: "You’ve finally returned, Gamsh."
He approached her eagerly and gave her the green antidote, whispering: "Now, my dear, you will be fine."
Elia smiled and said: "Will we really live with each other, Gamsh?"
Gilgamesh closed his eyes with joy and said: "Of course."
Elia's head slumped; he opened his eyes to find Elia's eyes bleeding. He screamed with a terror that shook the castle foundations: "Elia! Please Elia! Doctors! Servants! Anyone!" He brought healing potions and opened them, giving them to Elia. But Elia narrowed her eyes and said in a faint voice: "Farewell, you beautiful madman."
Elia died on her bed due to disease, leaving behind a volcano that could explode at any time. Gilgamesh placed his head on Elia's body and wept. The servants' screams and wails rose in every corner of the desolate palace; their crying was not just a ritual of mourning, but a true tragedy in losing the one who was a mother to them before she was ever a future queen. For "Elia" was not just a kind lady, but the heart that expanded for everyone; she healed their wounds with her words and checked on the young and old among them with a tenderness beyond description.
One of the servants cried out, falling to his knees in collapse: "Lady Elia is gone! The one who possessed a heart overflowing with tenderness for everyone has died... The one who never made us feel we were servants, but rather in her eyes we were family, has died."
Gilgamesh covered his eyes, then remembered the Master of Healing; his features changed with a shocking transformation. His eyes ignited with a raging redness, and the features of his face, which were bleeding with sadness moments ago, hardened into a mask of hatred. It was no longer just sadness or pain, but a volcano of anger that exploded inside him, and promises of revenge for his beloved.
Gilgamesh shouted with malice: "That bastard! I swear I shall kill him!"
Gilgamesh headed to the Kingdom of Bulgaros to find one of the guards calling him: "Prince Gilgamesh, what are you looking for?"
Gilgamesh turned to find the Master of Healing standing before him. He grew angry and delivered a punch that pierced his stomach; the Master of Healing looked at him in terror and fell to the ground. Gilgamesh turned to find the Master of Healing running away, screaming in terror. Quickly, Gilgamesh delivered a punch that separated his body from his head. He turned to find someone closing the door of his house. He glimpsed the Master of Healing. He broke the door quickly to kill him, and found three people in the form of the Master of Healing on the ground, hugging each other. Gilgamesh killed them quickly.
Gilgamesh was blinded; he was killing the residents of Bulgaros, imagining them all to be the Master of Healing. Guards emerged and surrounded Gilgamesh. One of them shouted: "We’ve sent someone to the Kingdom of Uruk! Gilgamesh has gone mad!"
Gilgamesh jumped, his eyes burning, his fist surrounded by a golden aura. He struck, and the area exploded as if every blow of Gilgamesh’s was an explosion. Gilgamesh entered the houses, killing everyone inside. He did not distinguish whether it was a man or woman, old or child before him. All he saw was the Master of Healing.
Away from the screams of children and the wails of the Chiefly, and on the peak of a high mountain overlooking the stricken Kingdom of Bulgaros, The Faceless stood tall as if he were a director watching the final scene of a bloody play. The wind played with his robe. He looked at Gilgamesh as he slaughtered everything that moved, thinking he was killing the Master of Healing. The Faceless smiled a wide smile and spoke in a quiet voice: "The blindness of spite... what superb entertainment, boy." The Faceless turned and said quietly: "We meet later."
Three hours later, Gilgamesh destroyed the entire kingdom. He returned to his senses only to see the fire he had lit himself. He looked at his fist covered in blood, then realized his whole body was covered in blood. He fell, then looked at the sky which began to rain, and laughed lightly, then shouted with hysterical laughter: "I am the one who did this! I am the one who did this! I am the one who committed this crime!"
The sound of a horse neighing echoed in the place. General Mandul dismounted. He looked in shock at the place: "What have you done, Gilgamesh?"
The General shouted: "Gilgamesh!"
Gilgamesh looked at him and laughed madly, his eyes tearing: "I am the one who did this, Mandul, I did!"
Mandul approached Gilgamesh cautiously, but Gilgamesh did not move. Mandul advanced to Gilgamesh, who was looking at the sky. Mandul hugged him and said: "My deepest condolences, Gilgamesh. I understand what happened to you, but we must return to the kingdom."
With eyes drowned in disbelief, Gilgamesh looked at Mandul without showing any reaction; he was a body without a soul, a daze that transcended the limits of madness. Mandul advanced, grief tearing his heart, and placed the heavy shackles around the Prince’s wrists, saying in a faint voice: "I’m sorry, Your Highness... I know you can break these chains in the blink of an eye, but... I must do this."
Mandul led Gilgamesh behind him on the way back to the kingdom. Mandul kept looking back at Gilgamesh the whole way. Gilgamesh was just a body there, unaware of what was happening.
As soon as General Mandul entered the kingdom walls, the residents looked at Gilgamesh who was not in his senses. Then public anger exploded like a hurricane and their shouts rose: "Kill this vile criminal! He has shed the blood of the innocent... his presence is a danger to us!"
Someone asked: "Has a Prince ever been executed before?" Another shouted: "Yes, if he is mad!"
In the moment of unconsciousness, Gilgamesh heard what one of the commoners said, remembering Elia saying: "Farewell, you beautiful madman." He became aware of what was happening around him.
While the crowd shouted bitterly: "Execute the Mad Prince! Execute the Mad Prince!"
Mandul placed Gilgamesh in prison. He sighed, saying: "None of this stops you, boy... I recognize your true strength; no one saw what I saw there."
Mandul turned to find King Lugal standing with sad dignity along with the guard Lorn. The King advanced behind the bars and looked at his son with deep sorrow, saying: "After the death of the wise Herald, I thought you would understand the meaning of loss... but I did not realize the extent of your love for Elia, my son."
The King looked at Gilgamesh with sorrow, but Gilgamesh was unaware, his eyes dead. The King sighed: "Elia left you something."
Suddenly, the gem began to fly in the air and was attracted toward Gilgamesh's body until it merged with his heart, leaving everyone in a state of shock. The King added quietly: "And her funeral will be held today. Guards, take Gilgamesh to Elia's funeral now!"
The guards advanced to cover Gilgamesh's body with shackles, so Master Lorn, who was looking at him with great sadness, took him along with many guards.
Gilgamesh walked while submerged in the madness of his memories. He reached the royal tombs, the royal family cemetery filled with silence and awe.
Gilgamesh, the invincible Prince, was led shackled in chains to the funeral ceremony of his wife and beloved, Elia. His eyes were frozen, but his mind roared with the voices of the angry subjects and ministers: Voices echoed in his mind: "Was what you did not enough? You destroyed everything!" "Forget about her! She is dead and won't return! Be strong, Prince!"
The procession reached Elia's grave. The place was flooded with sadness and silence, and the luxurious marble surrounded soil that had not yet cooled, which the King had placed in honor of his son's beloved.
Gilgamesh spoke with a voice emerging after a long silence, directing his words to the guards: "Leave me. Please..."
The guards exchanged looks in confusion and bewilderment; the King's orders were to keep the Prince shackled, but the scene of absolute despair covering Gilgamesh's face was stronger than any law. Master Lorn sighed with sorrow and signaled his companions to move away a little, saying: "Go... let him spend his last moment with her."
The guards left the place. Gilgamesh took heavy steps toward Elia's grave and fell to his knees before her tomb. The golden chains made a faint sound on the marble. He placed his hand on the grave and felt the coldness.
Gilgamesh said with a broken calmness, whispering to the void:
"What is with your heart, O Madman, that it has been torn out... in a love from which death has separated you by greed? Blessed is the one whose companion you were in this world... for God has banished from them worry and anxiety. I envy the soil for embracing her and being a dwelling for you... oh, I wish I were that soil. I cannot cease my affection for her... and love does to me more than what it has already done. And my passion in love increased because she was denied... the most beloved thing to a person is what they are deprived of or denied."
Gilgamesh took his final breaths, his eyes shining with a lethal decision: "Life brought us together... and death separates us. Death shall not separate more than they have separated."
His eyes fell on a sword that had been left beside the grave as an old custom to honor the dead. He shattered his golden shackles, which fell around him with a loud metallic clatter.
He held the sword in his hand and pointed its cold blade directly toward his heart. He closed his eyes, a true smile of peace forming on his face.. He stabbed himself forcefully, the sword sinking into his chest up to the hilt.
His body fell slowly over the grave, and while he was waiting for the darkness to see Elia's face, the smile vanished, replaced by absolute terror. The deep wound that should have ended his life... but the wound was healing itself! The sword was pushed out of his body and then his cells renewed faster than the blink of an eye. The wound vanished completely.
Gilgamesh rose in terror: "No... No, how!"
Madness spun in his head once more. He grabbed the sword and placed it on his neck.. then he beheaded himself. His body regenerated in absolute madness; Gilgamesh continued his desperate attempts to kill himself. He stabbed, he cut, he pierced... every failed attempt led to his body renewing before the eyes of the tomb.
From afar, the guards saw that the soil around the grave had become a deep red. Some of them thought people had brought red roses as an expression of deep sadness.
But Master Lorn’s eyes narrowed; he knew Gilgamesh well: "Those are not roses!" He screamed in terror: "Gilgameeeeessh!"
Lorn ran at his top speed toward Gilgamesh. Lorn found Prince Gilgamesh fallen on the ground, the sword beside him, surrounded by his blood which was evaporating and vanishing. Gilgamesh was crying, not a cry of sadness, but a cry of despair.
Gilgamesh (raising his renewed head toward Lorn, his voice raspy and torn): "I cannot die, Lorn..."
Lorn was seeing absolute madness; a person sentenced to eternal life, alone, and mad, beside the grave whose soil he envied.
In the present, inside the "Tower of Illusions," Sarris was embracing Gilgamesh’s absent body and laughing with ecstasy: "You will stay in this memory forever, until all your Mind Core is drained, handsome boy.... this tower needs your magic."
But suddenly, Gilgamesh stood up with the coldness of ice. Sarris screamed in panic: "How did you do this? How did you get out?"
Gilgamesh wiped the remains of his tears and said in a quiet voice: "The only thing that will make me kill you quickly instead of torturing you, is that you made me see her again."
Sarris screamed in spite: "You bastard!" Gilgamesh delivered three lightning punches that pierced her body like a thunderbolt, and she fell screaming while her being began to vanish. Gilgamesh launched toward the tower gate and with one blow destroyed its pillars, exiting the floating tower which began to collapse, falling below the waterfall.
Gilgamesh emerged from the illusion of the tower after facing his past for the second time, returning this time reminded of the curse of immortality, unable to forget the one he loved or to die.