And so I did as gil instructed, for that week the discussions were about the topics of the principles of nature, not of the nature we appreciate in daily life but the metaphysical aspects of it, the origin and design of phenomena, the nature of divinity and the relations to mortality, the very basic understanding of the how, the barrier of the walls worked and the importance of the concept crafting and bending, that which was called in his time as magecraft.

the plan was in its simplicity, to interrupt the flow cannon events leading to the end of the world, and put a stop to the reign of the supernatural over human life, for the human realm was that THE HUMAN realm and the hilibilies had made the farce to keep control over everything they could from the shadows, lurking and feeding of humanity like we were cattle.

The so-called gods of the inner realm were either a projection from some hippie in the outer ones, wanting to anchor themselves to the world, or made a construct of a lower category that got sentience and structure by the assimilation of a mythos, that can only be done by the consumption of human souls, or the derivative product of them, faith, for faith is a manifestation of the will, and will power is the main source of human might, devils somewhat were made to feed off other aspects far less potency, the sins, the waste product of the soul decay.

and so, much, made sense after his explications, the contracts of the devils, the need for followers, and the territorial disputes of the godly factions in DXD were of this nature, to get as many humans as possible to feed from.

there could be no one better to shed light on the problem than the original god slayer, it was a surprise at first that the epic I knew of him was a modified version of his tale, for when uruk fell he was already a matter of ancient legends, his legacy stood alongside the original walls for 10 thousand years before the ransacking and fall.

In his version of things, after the death of enkidu, and his return from the journey in search of immortality, the gods saw to re-set humanity again in order to make it a more docile bunch, but gilgamesh learned of this form the one he respected, ereshkigal the queen of Kur, and so he rebelled, setting to destroy the blight of the world as he saw them, killing all the gods of the inner realm and banishing the likes of anuk and inanna to the outer beyond, the egyptian gods were also destroyed to the last, as akkadian and Assyrian as well, only ereshkigal, survived out of the respect he cultivated for her during his journey. the current egyptian deities of dxd world were shadows that filled the void of the originals because of the belief of their people bringing them back during the long thousand years of egypt´s history.

The information was too much to get into any deep meaning of the things, just enough to ensure there could be something done, being a soul got his perks and gil could see unlike me at the moment, the changes in the world compared to his living time, the world was unstable, the foundations remained but too much of the supernatural were out of place, the age of gods should have ended long ago and he suspected of someone throwing a wrench at the cosmic gears that kept everything working.

a revelation came near the end, a revelation that changed the outlook of cannon.

"There is no such thing as the trihexia, some stupid mongrel got the oh so wonderful and I guess divine idea to meddle with the dead, That thing is the humbaba, guardian of the cedar, and no surprise that the vermin mongrels could not stop it, it took enkidu and myself at full power to kill it the first time by decapitation and we almost didn´t make it alive."

The killing of humbaba was arduous and it came above in difficulty than the bull of heaven that shitt-star threw at them in a fit of anger, I guess throwing others at her problem is a very Ishtar-ish thing to do.

"The thing is a guardian entity, made to keep the cedar forest, the home of the wanna-be gods, safe, it was called "humbaba the terror" because of its immense might and lack of control, someone, somehow stamped a dragon head in him and was brought back to life, to it, all gods, and all supernatural are trespassers in the domain, We could stay inside the walls of uruk and watch the vermin mongrel struggle, but I don´t know what else they did to him, it could consider humans as aggressors because the forest it kept is no more, it was unstable on the best of days, after the meddling his presence is a threat on itself specially if there was something extra attached like the title of apocalypse dragon"

as he said that the head of the king lowered in pain as if a headache were there, and gave a look of exhausted exasperation

"that is why we killed him and the mongrels did not retaliate for that, humbaba is ancient, from before the time of the universal flood, they could not control it with their magic because it was made with aspects of mortality and a full soul, damn retarded mongrels"

"yeah damn the hippies"

somewhere along the way, we made an equivalence of the use of mongrel and hippie, quality bonding of the best type, gilgamesh was prone to fits of rage when the topic of the devils and supernatural supremacy came but he was a man of patience outside of the sore points, far more than I could have imagined of him, giving how type-moon characterized him, maybe when he was a young boy he would be, but this was a wise king, a man that commanded respect and gave respect in return.

In the last days we could spend together, we had a serious discussion about the future far more serious than before, without the coming and going of the gi-laugh, this was a question of, IF issei and gang stopped the things from happening, then what happens to US? a devil dominated world where all factions came to submit and partake of the rating games, slowly being assimilated by devils meant that the world would stagnate even more and if corruption of the devil-type found its way to the outer forms of the retarded, pandemonium would ensure, same with the release of humbaba, It can not see the outer, for many universes were not ready for something of the caliber.

The show did it best to portray devils in a good light and to make them the heroes of the world to some ridiculous extent some time, from what I remembered, but, the reality is not so soft especially considering the whole and if gilgamesh said the demonic power of devils corrupts and erodes then I believe in him.

The way everything works is way too similar to a fiction of Warhammer 40k, and if it can go that way, maybe it may be better to put a stop before something else found its way inside, god forbids the emperor's children from coming along because the devils were a beacon to them.

"I came to this place to give my thanks, and to grieve the loss of the uncounted to battle inanna, but the situation is dire, I can not remain much longer here marcus acker, the weight of the future and the correction of the past must fall on the shoulders of you, the last of my people, you denied me as your king, and I respect your determination"

his tone was severe and sad while I got to straighten the back on reflex

"You are no warrior, not a true one at least, but you must fight"

I got an invisible arrow to the chest at that.

"you are no king, and will never be one, it is not in your nature but you must lead"

damn, it hurts another arrow to my ego.

"you are no general, but you must be the pillar that guides in this effort"

I would be dead for the number of arrows I got there, I was a major Y´know

"But I must ask of you, the last living hero of uruk to take this burden nonetheless, you can not wield my treasures, for you are not worthy of them, you are not a noble warrior for me to command, you are not a genius magus of any order, and you are no general to lead the armies to victory"

I am but a pale sheet undulating on the wind at this point, It hurts.

"stil. I believe in you marcus, because I chose to. Because you must find the strength to do it, so I ask of you, will you end the age of the gods for us? "

That was a large order, I would have made a snarky of salad with that if not for the dead seriousness in his eyes

"humbaba must be placed to rest, the solution for your needs resides in you, in the courses that you were given by inanna, the defective skill will find its purpose"

the half resurrection of humbaba was more personal to him than just an old enemy returning, but it was an enemy he respected, that was profaned in his resting place, corrupted by an unknown dragon head in its corpse, and defiled by making him a tool of destruction, while it was a very unstable tool, he was a protector, a guardian.

"I do not know if it can be done, but I will try"

I told him with uncertainty, I had a better chance at beating sirzechs on hand to hand than to actually destroy the abomination of humbaba´s corpse, if things were as we suspected I would stay trapped in a child´s body, un-aging, for as long as my life remained, Ishtar sent me as a ´child´ and so long my body remains I will be a ´child´

"True, you have not the weapons to do it, but that had never stopped us from achieving the greatest of things, (a proud smile adorning his face at that) look at them mongrels, imitating us, who they think nothing of but cattle, the way they live, the way they speak, the societies they built, in this and any other world that I had lay my eyes to, is the same, take pride and push for the human spirit knows no limit, YOU WILL find the way, so the king proclaims"

"I will bite you on this one, MY king, but still, how? I can barely trust anyone here, they are either devil contractors or fallen agents, do you know of something I could use?"

there was desperation in my voice, the task at hand was monumental, and my time with a guide of any-sorts was running low, I was no stranger to war, and this was going to be a long war if the nagging in my mind was something to go by.

"The chains of heaven must be re-forged, and a sword to embody the beginning and end are needed once more"

I was dumbstruck... re-forge enkidu? is he insane? scratch that non of us both was normal but.

"re-forge enkidu?" I asked with some trepidation

"of course, not, you mongrel, are you a hippie? enkidu is my friend, you can not re-make him, I have tried this to no avail, do as I said the "chains of heaven" are a weapon that I made to restrain the gods after my friend died, I made it with his spirit and mine, you will need the spirits of two opposing forces, one of nature, one of civilization, one of the divine and one of man to make them work together they must share purpose"

crap he turned the hippie card on me.

On that same night, I couldn't sleep, and so was rolling over myself and contemplating what must be done, It would mean war, the start of an even greater war than what kokabiel tried to ignite, even with the help of the original fragments, he could not re-forge excalibur, so how am I supposed to re-forge something on the scale as EA? the sheer absurdity of it was daunting.

"what troubles your mind my warden? you are already nothing but bones and skin"

And that was true, I had been losing even more weight, a diet of critters and water is not very healthy, and half toasted scarabs are getting tedious, my lizzard hunting had to be cut short to keep up with the teachings of the one that declared me his warden of the throne, a title fitting considering i am the only remaining in uruk, might as well hold the title of royal janitor while at it.

"It is nothing to worry you about, your smugness, just some things"

"since when have you grown the courage to such? I will allow it for I am smug about my good choices"

who would have known gilgamesh king of heroes, the "golden bastard" had a sense of humor as broad as the sky to let me live after that?

"spit it out under this barrier only myself and the stars bare witness to you, might as well let it out"

at that, the walls gave a reassuring hum as if confirming they would be keeping the secrets back until the end of living time

"I was wondering how, how to forge the chains, I am no master black-smith and you saw what happened with the excali-bits and the alchemist, and how am I getting a soul into them?, just how do i get EA to work?"

i left out as a petulant child throwing a tantrum, maybe my childish body was affecting me, I will blame shitt-star for it

"by making one link at a time, I had the people of uruk make them, and then the royal magus to engrave them, you alone CAN not succeed, for no human, even myself can not achieve it on my own."

he was proud of that, the people of uruk under the guiding of the king had made the impossible with the sweet of their own hands and chained the gods and he reveled in the achievement, another thing to add to the gil is more than what he looks like.

"and about the sou, I didn't say a soul did I? such a preposterous thing is what the god would try, and those vermin mongrels most likely are making with the evil-pieces, such stupidity shows how much have the epoch fallen, truly the changing of times"

and I agree to it wholeheartedly, when the times change some times we gain something some others we lose something else.

a spirit is not a soul, it is why the realm of souls and spirits is named like that, a soul, belong´s to an individual being, and a spirit can be shared, grown, and passed down, like a parent giving his spirit to a son, like the people of the land giving spirit to a wonderer that had naught but his skin, as I am giving you, a part of my spirit and the spirit of uruk"

I quickly snapped back at him like a fish out of water gasping, he what?

"that is more a fitting face for a commoner learning there is a sword he can not "trace" even in that ridiculous thing got it right, EA is a sword of concept that is why it can not be replicated without the "spirit".

and he was right I guess making my best impression of shirou is not the most appropriate thing at the moment so I shut my mouth.

"that's more like it, spirit, can be passed down, that is correct but it can also be called back as long as the memory is cherished, I had seen yours and a part of your spirit dwells in my soul now, so is time to share you mine, come at the edge and sit"

getting thee memories of the king of heroes might be a bad idea, remember a certain ainsworth? but still, I went, curiosity was a bigger temptation than her ruby eyes...

'This mind corruption is getting worse '

I told gilgamesh of it and with a flicker of concern he looked at me in narrow eyes,

but still, he placed his hand on my chest and we went, on a travel into his memories, the huntings, the fight with enkidu, and man, he was buffed, no trap clay in here, the fight with humbaba, the trip to the underworld, and the fight with the ancient mongrels

more than just watching it I could feel as if I were physically there, the grieving at enkidu´s death, the joy at ciduri firstborn, the dread of knowing the fight was coming against anuk, tiamat, and many others, Ra was a pain to watch but the thing that stood more was the calmness that flowed from the chains at all time, they pulsated giving him peace of mind, they were indeed the spirit and representation of their friendship, and the raw impact of the pressence of EA taring down, god, monster and man alike, gilgamesh wielding all his treasures and his most guarded was a sight to behold, and thus I unceremoniously passed out.

"and you had to fall on the pond, damned warden of mine"

sighted the king as he placed the unconscious body away from the water, into the edge of the pond.

the next morning came with a terrible headache as if a hang-over from the cheapest alcohol I ever tasted back in ireland, but there was no time to contemplate the bad taste of it, today was the last day with the king.

"wasted no time getting the critters today, your hunting skills impress me, shall you be called warden and master of the hunt? buhahahahahha"

he wholeheartedly laughed, I will miss this easy-going moment, that I am missing already my only companion that is a ghost of millennia gone king tells I'm not precisely right in the head.

"I will get you one day, in one form or another, your highness, mark your warden´s word"

I could not muster venom to it but I will... maybe

"Remember what you learned, for it will serve you well, it is the stone and foundation for what is to come, for your concerns and troubles my dear, wonderful warden (he smiled with a devious expression, he is either pulling another prank or throwing a world-shattering reveal... again...crap), names and titles hold power, as do age and time, the more "solid" is a concept, the more power it can be put to it, that is why the mongrels can not conceptualize EA, is too old and there is always something missing, there is no creation without destruction and no destruction without renewal, to find the spirit needed you must look into the oldest as possible"

with this last piece of advice, he absorbed himself in contemplation as the fire in the pond was shrinking, our time coming to an end.

"This world's humanity may be lacking in resources to do as I asked of you, but we are not as limited for you have the "call of ordinance" use that dimmed imagination of yours and keep trying, if magic won't cut it, then maybe another thing will, it is part of you, embed into your soul, and once you open it, the vastness of other worlds will be there to support you, for the human spirit is one, a contradiction in itself but in all realities, is the same, and all of humanity counts on it"

he had to, the last arrow at the worst time, be still my soul, he is right and you know it my imagination is that of a cricket.

"I will miss you, your smug-ness, thank you, for everything"

"Forget not that I will be watching over you, in spirit, in your heart, and try to be rid of the mental pollution for if you become a shrimp for the useless, I WILL COME FOR YOU IN PERSON"

And with that silence seated in the temple, were the last warden of uruk stood, giving his regards and final goodbyes to what he considered his mentor, his king, his friend.