8 Welcome to Uruk City (C: Finale of Gold)

[AN]

[To answer some of the questions; No, the MC didn't make all the SCPs from scratch. For example, the Leviathan and the Malfunctioning Destroyer are things he 'reused/recycled' from entities already in Nasuverse. The full-powered Tiamat in the prehistoric age which he named an SCP prototype is also a prime example.

PS. When the MC ate Tiamat, he released his 'preservation' to see what would happen. Not one of his brightest moments, yes, but he was buried alive for hundreds of years.

And yes, the legends of heroes who interacted with SCPs which are known to the world as 'real' would be indeed, 'indirectly' proven as at least, 'partially' real. For example, just because you interacted with an SCP doesn't mean you acted as legend says.

How will the Foundation affect modern mystery? Well, this chapter shall show you the answer.

As for the long wait...sorry, this story is very difficult to write. I mean, the scale of the Foundation universe is just massive, so it is quite difficult to incorporate it into Nasuverse. The reason why this is, I repeat, a one-shot. Even if it has eight chapters. Yeah.

...A long chapter all for you guys! Enjoy!

PS. I completely forgot to update. Things IRL didn't give me a break.]

..

..

...

..

To Gilgamesh's chagrin, the battle turned into a somewhat repetitive slugfest. Or a nervous breakdown from continuous shooting.

For one, there were hundreds of those clay monstrosities surrounding him, silent but waiting.

Gilgamesh tilted his head only slightly, and another hundred volleys of anti-divinity weapons bombarded the clay murder dolls.

By now, his palace was reduced to rubble. Gilgamesh stood on a hovering platform that resembled a futuristic design, a huge throne with six emerald membrane-like wings and several jet nozzles.

It was nonother than Vimana: Throne of the Heaven-soaring King, one of the ultimate treasures of Babylon. It was thanks to this artifact that he wasn't already swarmed by those ugly lightning-fast neck snappers, even if he would never admit it due to his pride as King.

He clicked his tongue. It infuriated him to no end that he was forced to stay above the air like a rat surrounded by a horde of cats, but he knew that was the only way to keep what was left of his kingdom alive.

The clay sculptures were somehow unnaturally attracted to him - he imagined it might have something to do with his divinity - and in this case, he actually drew their attention away from the few survivors left in his ruined kingdom.

Gilgamesh bit down so hard he felt his teeth crack.

Those things...he couldn't 'see' through their true nature, neither could he conceive a plan to put them down permanently with his current arsenal.

He had already tried creating a quicksand pit to swallow them up, though that didn't seem to affect them the slightest as they swam out of it with relative ease. Heating the swamp didn't prove much better, as they simply dug their way out of the hardened soil.

Gilgamesh noticed something flicker in the corner of his eye. His pupils dilated. It couldn't be...!?

"You...abominations...!", the king hissed. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead and down his chin.

The sculptures were growing something from their backs. Something that closely resembled a set of butterfly wings, interwoven from thin metal wires.

Gilgamesh didn't need his Clairvoyance to tell him what would happen next.

A buzzing, humming sound started to reverberate in the chilly night air. It echoed like the foul omen of sickness and death, sending a sense of dread into the king's heart.

There was no time left. Even if it means destroying his own city, he must take extreme measures. The time for observing was over.

"I shall perform this final blow as a parting gift to you O' bringer of death! I will tell you of the beginning. Heaven and Earth split, nothingness congratulated creation, my Sword of Rupture cleaved the world! Mortar of the stars, heaven's hell is the eve of creation's celebration. Now you shall die and be silent..."

The Sculptures' beady eyes gleamed. They seemed to be mocking the king's greatest weapon, the sword which cleaved the star! Gilgamesh opened his eyes wide, his lips contorted into a ferocious snarl.

Even their ash shall not remain from this ultimate display of power...!

"Enuma Elish: The Star of Creation That Split Heaven and Earth!"

The heavens seemed to split as the world itself fractured. The space twisted and time stagnated.

Borne of the winds drawn unto the revolution of the three cylinders of Ea, a spatial severance formed at the sword's tip, and a blast that resembled the birth of chaos erupted from the tip of his coiled sword.

The compressed and intertwined stratifications of wind forced a virtual dislocation of space-time into reality, annihilating the hundreds of sculptures that stood in its path.

The typhoon of destruction continued to grind the remains of the undying monsters, pulverizing them beyond recognition. After what seemed a full minute of complete power, the winds finally started to die down.

Slowly, Gilgamesh let the sword drop to his side. He was sweating heavily from the exertion. It was the very first time he released Ea's full power, and using it for an entire minute seemed to drain a significant amount of ether from the demigod king's reserves.

Gilgamesh raised one hand to wipe his brow. His hand froze midair. His jaw dropped.

"No...No...NO...NONONO...! It...it isn't possible...! How could it be possible...!?"

From the deep, deep crevice that reached beyond the depths of the underworld, a single clay hand reached out.

Another followed. Then another. And another. And another and another and another and another.

Dust accumulated and started to form bodies. Bodies of the accursed sculptures. Bodies without a single scar.

A roar, hideous and terrifying to its very core, a roar which made the entire city vibrate from its force alone, rang out into the night sky.

Gilgamesh looked up at the city walls. Perched on top of it, was the most hideous, most beastly, most horrifying, and most majestic thing he had ever seen.

It was a gigantic reptile with a mane that resembled a lion. Its scales were deep emerald with a hint of silver and black, and it was stained with fresh blood. However, what caught Gilgamesh's eye in the midst of his shock wasn't that.

It was its eyes. An aggregation of countless, golden eyes, glowing in the darkness like a million orbs of fiery suns, with eyes within eyes, and pupils within pupils. A translucent membrane covered each individual eye, protecting the organs beneath from any harm.

The eyes swiveled and twitched independently as if each eye was connected to a different brain. One of its eyes met Gilgamesh. It seemed to observe him for a few seconds, then looked away at the deep crevice which ran through the city, and back at him.

The eye seemed to mock him for his incompetence. The next second, it looked away, losing interest in the king. It didn't seem to regard him as a threat.

If Gilgamesh hadn't been humiliated by the sculptures beforehand, he might have lost control and fired Ea at the lizard monster. This time, though, he held back his rage and stayed calm.

"So...you have business with the sculptures.", the king realized with his supreme intellect.

The lizard jumped down the walls and onto the roofs and started to gallop toward the reviving sculptures via the rooftops.

The sculptures froze in place, unable to move one inch under the lizard's unrelenting gaze. It was almost hilarious how easily the lizard dispatched the sculptures.

One by one the lizard crushed, smashed, and tore apart the sculptures with uncontained glee. It seemed to howl in ecstatic joy as it did so, jubilant that its adversary was at its mercy.

Every time the lizard destroyed a sculpture, it gouged a piece of its flesh from its body which instantly regenerated, to literally keep an 'eye' behind.

The lizard was by no means stupid, Gilgamesh realized. On the contrary, it was strategic, cool-minded, and cunning. It was a highly intelligent creature, and the only thing staying Gilgamesh's hand from pointing Ea at it was that it was the only solution to actually containing the sculptures.

After half an hour, the lizard had systematically destroyed the hundreds of sculptures and contained them. It then dragged every sculpture to the center of the city and started to pile them up.

Gilgamesh quickly realized it was to guarantee its safety. The chunks of flesh the lizard left behind had stopped functioning, which left only the lizard and him as the sole spectators of these sculptures.

"What are you going to do now?", Gilgamesh asked the lizard. It was more of a question to himself than to the lizard. To his surprise, the lizard answered him back.

"Containment.", it said in its gravelly voice. Gilgamesh waited for it to elaborate, but it stayed silent.

"Containment by who? Surely you don't plan to sit there for all eternity as a watchdog over these filthy dolls?"

The lizard seemed to grin at his crude naming of the sculptures. It spoke.

"The Foundation. The Creator. 05-1. He is coming. No use to struggle. No use to run. He is...inevitable."

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. Was the lizard under someone's command!? Someone who could command this...beast!?

He opened his mouth to ask more, only to freeze when he felt something rest on his shoulder.

Slowly, he turned around.

What he saw, made him, for the very first time in his entire life, truly comprehend fear.

The thing was there yet not there.

It was a humanoid, it resembled a man, but that was it.

His entire image blurred, warped, and permeated into reality.

It was like an ever-changing phenomenon, yet it was stable and immovable, anchored by the sheer weight of its own existence.

He wore something that was a black metal mask with two round crimson eyes, and a needle that resembled a cicada's mouth on the lower half of the mask that reached down to his chest.

His body was also covered in black and silver armor whose design reminded Gilgamesh of Vimana, futuristic, sleek, and combative.

From head to toe he was armored in a metal Gilgamesh did not know nor could he analyze, yet the king knew on an instinctual level, that it outscored any other so-called divine constructs the gods take so much pride in.

"So...Gilgamesh. You failed to contain the anomaly as expected. My deepest apologies for arriving late. I shall rectify this loss of life."

His voice was so dissonant and deep, yet so alien and enticing, it took a full ten seconds for Gilgamesh to pull out from the trance which ensnared his soul and another five seconds to digest what the humanoid thing just said.

Apologies...? That meant...!

"Yes. We, The Foundation are responsible for containing these anomalies. A breach has occurred, resulting in the decimation of your city.", it said, as if reading the king's mind.

By all means, Gilgamesh should've been furious. Strangely, he could only feel a serene sense of assent. It was as if every word the thing said enveloped his very consciousness.

Below his eyes, he saw a troop of armored men clad with technology he didn't know, armed with weapons equivalent to Noble Phantasms of the gods themselves (he was numb to shock at this point), secure the towering pile of sculptures in groups of four.

The lizard seemed content, and the men did nothing to antagonize the lizard in return.

He saw a sign on the men's sleeve. A red fist. He looked up to see the thing stare down at him.

"Those are one of my best troops, the Red Right Hand. Now...I believe we have other businesses we must attend to."

Gilgamesh blinked in bewilderment.

"We do?", he asked. The thing nodded. It looked up at the sky and raised a single finger as if pushing something invisible to the eye.

And this time, when he spoke, a million 'voices' answered back.

"Wake up, A.L.A.Y.A. It's time for you to show me what you're worth. Commence Operation."

"Sleep Mode Deactivated. Master Authority recognized. Collective Human Consciousness Analysis and Arithmetic Processing Artificial Intelligence Program requesting permission to activate Genisis Protocol 025677A."

"Permission granted by 05-1 Founder. You may proceed."

It was at this moment that Gilgamesh realized, that this was the Founder the lizard spoke off. And to his own surprise, he no longer doubted the lizard's words. Not one bit.

"Activate SCP-2000 protocol OA6: Partial Release: World Tree Redacted: Singularity Prunning Overwrite: Area Configuration: Operation Password: Uruk City Revive."

The thing - the Founder turned towards the king. He slightly tilted his head as if contemplating something.

Gilgamesh felt his heart hammer in his ribs. His fist tightened around Ea, even though he knew it would mean little against the absolute inevitable standing in front of him.

Eventually, he looked away. Gilgamesh let out a sigh of relief.

"The protocol states that all personnel must have their initial memory cleansed before reset. However...I think a single exception should be appropriate on this certain occasion. ALAYA, enter Protocol Overwrite Code: Watcher of Humanity. Establish Fourth Dimensional soul recapture. Individual Identification Code: Gilgamesh."

"Order Accepted. Altercation input successful. Operation commence."

Once more, the Founder turned to Gilgamesh and put his hand - oh, how his mere touch chilled the king to his core - on his shoulder.

"I appoint you, Gilgamesh, as the Watcher of the Foundation. You shall be the eyes of the mortal world, the ears of its voice, and tongue of its desire."

A tremble passed through the king's spine. For a second, an immense pressure pinned him in place. He couldn't move a finger.

"Be it but a fleeting moment in the infinite flow of time, you shall still leave your mark as protector, and warn humanity of the great unknown. The world shall reset. However, the great beyond shall not. The anomalous is always watching, O' Watcher. Never forget this truth."

The king forced his mouth open, desperate to ask one question. He had a feeling it would be his last chance.

"What are you?"

The Founder's eyes, masked by the round crimson eyes on his mask, seemed to gaze into his.

"I am the Hope of all Humanity, and what follows behind."

"What-"

"SCP-2000 Partial Activation Complete."

The million voices whispered, and the king knew no more.

..

...

..

..

With a jolt, Gilgamesh awoke on his throne. Throne?

He jumped up and marched to the balcony overseeing his kingdom. The people worked and the children laughed. All was at peace, all was well.

There was no sign of destruction, no sign of the horrors which transpired.

He blinked, unsure what had transpired. What was real? What wasn't real? Had he gone insane?

A card fell out of his robes. He reached down, picked it up, and flipped it over.

Gilgamesh gasped as his fingers started to tremble in awe.

On the card, there was a sign. The sign of three arrows faced against one another, surrounded by a circle with three cubes protruding from it.

The sign he glimpsed on the Founder's chest. The logo of the Foundation.

Gilgamesh crumpled onto the ground. His shoulders started to shake. He threw back his head and started to laugh.

He laughed and laughed and laughed. He laughed till he could no longer breathe, till he could no longer shed tears of mirth. Even then, he laughed.

Finally, after what seemed a long, long time, Gilgamesh stood up and opened his arms as if to embrace the world before him.

"Gods...men...? How foolish! How utterly meaningless! To think that the singularity connected to the source of true omnipotence was on the face of this planet! To think I was so blind!"

Gilgamesh cackled, then wheezed.

"To separate men from gods!? It has long already been separated, the fools! The Founder is God as he is Man! He is both and he is neither! And he shall see to it, that those insignificant creatures who call themselves 'gods', stay in their place!"

"Lest they be considered...anomalous. Wouldn't you agree, O' gods above, you who trembled at his arrival?"

There was no response. It only made the king laugh harder.

Indeed, the Foundation is Order. The absolute staple of humanity's world.

One day, the numerous gods, ancient and new alike, shall perish and fade from the surface of the planet. However, one shall remain.

One God, who stands for the existence of Humanity itself. The Founder.

He shall be the bridge, the anchor of the old and new.

He shall be the accumulation of all mysteries and all human orders to come.

He shall be the principle of the world, and all worlds related.

"...And I shall play my part as his faithful watchdog."

Despite the self-deprecating title he crowned himself, it was said that King Gilgamesh was the happiest in his entire life on this day.

For a hundred and more he ruled Babylonia through wisdom and love, protecting it against invaders of all kinds with an iron fist and an army he named the Gold Left Hand.

His fame reached far and wide as the most humble yet arrogant King of Heroes, and gained his passage to the throne of heroes when he died, where he sat and waited.

Watching humanity grow in prosperity, under his faithful vow.

..

..

..

...

Somewhere far, far away...a screen flickered, showing two red words.

[Lobotomy Corporation]