54 The King of Asura

In the following days after the last assassination attempt on Prince Gilgamesh, everyone noticed that his activities had been completely reduced, almost returning to anonymity. 

All his servants who had previously sworn loyalty were the only ones observing Prince Gilgamesh's movements. During the day, he would enter the library of the Uruk tower and not emerge until nightfall. However, as night descended, he would walk to the beautifully decorated garden and sit beneath a cherry blossom tree. 

That was the only place he chose to sit, and what he did next was simply close his eyes and rest, it seemed. 

Knowing his new routine, the servants were not overly concerned; after all, it was better than him being locked in his room without any sunlight. 

The eldest woman in the group of maids smiled fondly; she knew the fourth prince very well because she had been present at his birth. The boy's mother had been someone extraordinary, but it was a pity that she had been killed by an incredibly lethal poison. 

Since that day, the talented fourth prince had locked himself in his room and never emerged due to all the trauma. It was a surprise to her that after his kidnapping, he had changed so much. Perhaps he had grown weary of everything and planned to chart a new course for his future, which pleased her. 

Tonight, Gilgamesh was once again sitting beneath that cherry blossom tree, enjoying this somewhat artificial nature. In this area closer to nature, one could relish how the breeze gently caressed every part of their body. One might even be able to glimpse some parts of themselves if they concentrated enough and connected with nature. 

Inside Gilgamesh, that feeling he had known with his best friend was born anew—the one who had shown him so much in life and the only person who had ever truly understood him. Someone like him, a kindred spirit who had followed him to the ends of the world. 

"Even after obtaining the fruit of immortality, I don't plan on living for more than a thousand years..." Gilgamesh held the Fruit of Immortality in his possession, resting at the gates of Babylon. It had never been used before because that was when his own rebellion began. 

Indeed, this sense of tranquility was what he had been searching for. For him, who could easily be at the pinnacle of the world, the safest place would always be nature and those who could understand it. Perhaps he was a bit particular in choosing whom to marry, but only in that way would he have someone for the rest of his life, and from that moment on, he was sure to protect her until his heart stopped beating. 

That was his only way of viewing commitment, perhaps because he had never been in love before. If it came to that, maybe things could change for the better or worse in the future. That's what he liked about life—nothing about the future could be foreseen. 

As he gazed at the stars in the night sky, Gilgamesh suddenly felt as if he were always submerged in a dream. For the past couple of days, he had been preparing himself, learning the languages spoken in this world, and getting in perfect condition for his journey. He now had a rough understanding of the general situation on the continent. However, the more he understood, the more confused he became. 

If it weren't for the fact that everything was written in ancient books, Gilgamesh would have thought that this world was the same as his but in a completely different era. Of course, those thoughts were discarded when he found nothing about himself in the books. 

Everything had changed—the people, accents, culture, and clothing. Yet, many things here still seemed familiar to him. 

Gilgamesh sighed as he lay back on the green grass. He then thought in distress, "Why did I appear in this world? Why can I suddenly live another life after all I've been through? Perhaps this is a reward, but it's too cruel because the things that can be achieved here are as easy as taking the earth with one's own hands. 

The things I could achieve are beneficial; right now, I could even take over the world if I wanted to, and there would probably be very few people who could oppose me. 

Why are there so many continents and different races?" 

"Perhaps some idiotic god got bored and started creating different races one after another for some special purpose. But well, Gilgamesh had long convinced himself that he would keep things simple and live a peaceful life. Unless he also gets bored and decides to conquer the entire central continent as he had mentioned before. 

"Anyway, this time I'll live to be old." Gilgamesh was daydreaming with his eyes closed until he heard footsteps approaching in the distance. 

"Lord Gilgamesh, several knights have been sent by your father to fetch you," a maid who was an elf bowed gently and conveyed the message. 

"Does that old man want to talk now?" Gilgamesh asked as he got up, at least he would tell him that he planned to travel the world before leaving. 

... 

Capital of the Asura Kingdom, Aras. 

Silver Palace. 

"Have you been avoiding me, my son?" In front of Gilgamesh stood his father, the King of the Asura Kingdom, and he said, "I believe it's time for you to return to the palace, alongside your other siblings. The reason you have been the target of repeated assassination attempts is because you are not close to the family." 

Gilgamesh's gaze shifted to the King, and he replied sarcastically, "Even if you wanted to end my life, they couldn't lay a single scratch on me. By the way, dear king, I'm going to travel the world for five years." 

The King's eyelids twitched at the lack of respect his son showed him, and he said, "I refuse to let you go. You are still too young to leave the capital!" 

"I'll be safer out there than in this place where my stupid older brothers are trying to kill me. What do you think?" Gilgamesh asked as he paced back and forth with a calm smile on his face. 

"Are you speaking to me in that tone? Do you even consider me your father?" The King's anger began to seep through his gaze; his nose twisted, his breath grew short, and he shouted in an uneven tone, "Respect your brothers; they are family after all." 

Gilgamesh furrowed his brow and pointed out, "You were never involved in the internal struggles of princes, am I wrong? Therefore, you have no idea what that means. If I truly fight against my brother's factions, what you'll see in the capital and throughout the Asura Kingdom will be the heads of all those wretches on pikes. So stop bothering me and live out your remaining years peacefully. Don't let the little respect I have for you as a king fade away." 

"He has changed... I should have reached out to him when he was kidnapped; I lost my way long ago..." Gilgamesh's father saw the fierceness in his son's eyes and decided not to pursue the matter further. He couldn't do anything, and he didn't want anything to happen until he passed away. 

"Very well, I will assign special guards for you to travel freely," the King said after seeing Gilgamesh's fierce eyes. 

"It's not necessary, father. I have my own guards who can defeat armies single-handedly. I will leave next week; I just wanted to say goodbye." After saying that, Gilgamesh's body shimmered in golden hues and completely disappeared from the room. 

The king then slumped into his chair; there was no way that this Gilgamesh was the same as he was a year ago. He felt as if he were being watched by a great lion, and all the dignity he had amassed over the years as king had been destroyed by a ten-year-old. 

"If he sets his mind to it, he could be the next king... Still, I couldn't bring myself to ask him why he killed Darius."