Yes, I kept my promise, no year-long wait for the next update! I hope everyone is still alive out there. Sure, being stuck inside can be boring, but at least we have the internet. Thank you for your lovely comments and dedication to patiently wait for my updates. I am planning to finish this story, even if it'll have to take a few years. I want to deliver a good story, so please bear with me and my slow updates. It's worth it in the long run.

A million thanks again for my lovely beta MidoriKurenaiYume

"Are you sure about this? The moment you pull out that sword, you will cease to be human and there will be no way back. No matter what you do, the future is set. Your reign will end in a tragedy. In spite of knowing this, you still want to choose to walk down this path?"

The mage locked eyes with his charge, his thoughts unreadable.

The girl, garbed in common-male clothing, silently observed her mentor then shifted her attention to the sword in front of her. The weapon looked beautiful. Its golden decoration glowed brightly in the twilight.

"I have made my decision. It is my fate. I do not want to run away from it," the girl answered.

She placed both hands on the hilt of the sword and narrowed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the moment that would forever change her life.

With a firm grip, she pulled the sword from the stone and a blinding ray of light shot to the heavens.

It was the indication that the king of Britain had been chosen.

Arturia slowly woke from her slumber. In a daze, she stared at the ceiling, to which she had become accustomed. She had dreamt about the past, but why? The woman sat up, only to groan as her body fiercely protested at her sudden movement.

"You're awake!"

Enkidu immediately entered her field of vision. They sat next to her on a chair. Relief was written all over their face as they scanned the woman for any irregularities. "Everyone was getting worried since you didn't wake up."

Everyone? The woman surveyed the room. To her surprise, Siduri was also present. The priestess was looking as relieved as Enkidu.

"For how long was I unconscious?" Arturia asked, surprised.

"You have been asleep for three days." It was Siduri who answered her question. "It's a miracle that your injuries were not that severe. According to witnesses, the Edimmu you fought was a fierce one."

"Edimmu?" Artoria repeated.

"Yes," the priestess nodded in confirmation, "Edimmu are evil spirits of the deceased who envy the living. They possess humans to unleash their wrath and create chaos. The most vulnerable humans are commonly being targeted. About three months ago, we received reports of people falling ill. As time passed, they began to lose their sanity. It started with the elderly being the only victims. However, those cases resulted in deaths. It has only been a few weeks since the relatives of the deceased began to suffer from similar symptoms."

"The Edimmu which you speak of, take advantage of the mourning relatives?" Arturia wondered.

"That appears to be the case."

The knight kept silent and pondered over the information she had received. She remembered the conversation between Enkidu and the kind vendor from the other day. "Is there any chance for the host to recover from a possession?"

"Unless they find someone they deem more suitable, the Edimmu do not release their victims until they die," Enkidu replied.

Arturia peered into Enkidu's eyes. There was one more thing she was suspicious about. "Was that the reason why you kept dragging me back every time I tried to sneak out? You thought I was easy prey for those demons."

"No, that is a given." Siduri silently glared at Enkidu's honest response. Enkidu, on the other hand, ignored her warning and elaborated on their answer. "Sometimes, you make me feel like I am talking to a corpse. You hardly eat or sleep. The time you don't spend on practising with your sword or on your studies, you mope in a corner or doze off. While it wasn't the main concern, it did play a part."

"I do not mope!" Arturia fiercely protested. Her cheeks flushed, turning into a deep pink shade. "As I explained before, I am not accustomed to this climate. If any of you were to spend one week in Britain during the winter months. I can assure you, you would be as exhausted as I am no— ugh!" The woman winched and unconsciously reached for her ribs.

"Do not exert yourself too much," Siduri warned her. "Your wounds have not completely healed. Your shoulder was bleeding severely, your ribs suffered from a minor fracture and caused internal bleeding. You also sustained a slight concussion on your head and sprained your ankle. For the next few days, rest as much as you can. You should also refrain from those morning exercises— do not look at me like that, Enkidu has informed me of your routine." The priestess chastised the shocked knight strictly. "For now, recovery should be your main priority. Although I am amazed by how quickly your body regenerates, it would not make any difference if your wounds were to reopen." Siduri let out a sigh. Her expression became much softer as she expressed her worries.

Arturia awkwardly avoided the priestess's gaze and looked at her own body instead. The armour, which she was wearing before, had already been replaced by her sleeping gown. Her right shoulder was bandaged. The throbbing of her wounds, which she had not paid any attention to, began to make itself known. The woman lifted her arm several times to test her strength. It felt heavy, but it was not something that she could not remedy by moving around and exercising. The woman reached for her forehead, where she was again met by bandages neatly wrapped around her head.

Her regeneration was fast due to her dragon heart. Nonetheless, she had indeed strained herself too much during the fight against the Edimmu. She still had not mastered control over her mana. As a result, she overexerted her body and core. The woman silently cursed her own carelessness. But at the same time, she did not regret it. She hated feeling powerless. She had to prove that she could still stand up to her opponents instead of rotting away in a cage. Even if she let the opportunity to escape slip, it had not been in vain.

Arturia took another look at her injuries. It was odd; her wounds were severe. But the pain did not appear to be as severe as it had been three days ago. Her gaze lingered on her injuries until she noticed an unfamiliar bracelet. The woman closed her eyes and decided to question it later. "Despite these injuries, I do not feel bad at all. The wounds do bother me, but the pain is actually bearable."

"His Majesty has given you one of his potions that helps with regeneration and alleviating pain," Siduri answered. "Just because you do not notice the pain does not mean that you are unharmed. If you are not careful, your wounds could worsen."

The woman did not comment further. She did not want to know how the potion was applied to her. "Is there anything else I have missed?" she asked after clearing her throat.

"Do you want to know how we kept you hydrated?" Enkidu asked eagerly.

In contrast to Enkidu's enthusiasm, Arturia was not amused. "No!" she responded flatly.

"You really have no sense of humour." Enkidu sulked as they sat back on their chair.

Their comment was met with another disapproving look from Siduri. "You should realise that she is a patient and not in a position to enjoy jokes unless you want her injuries to become worse."

"I'm being bullied by you two. How mean."

To her surprise, Enkidu's childish comment and pouting put a smile on her face.

"Well then, I will inform His Majesty of your improvement." Siduri stated, "I will also tell the servants to prepare your meal. You must be famished."

She had not noticed, but now that Siduri mentioned it, her stomach did feel empty. What bit of energy she regained for her outburst had quickly melted away into nothingness.

Arturia sent a silent thought of gratitude as Siduri left the room. An awkward silence lingered when she and Enkidu were the only ones left. The woman unconsciously fidgeted with the sheets. Her mind had become blank after all the information she had received.

"Enkidu, what happened after the battle?" she finally asked. She silently locked eyes with them and waited for a reply.

"Well, the carpenters will have more work to do. Since they have to rebuild all the destroyed buildings."

Arturia gritted her teeth, scolding herself silently at the damage she had allowed to happen.

"But the casualties were kept minimal. A few civilians got injured. But there were no severe wounds," Enkidu continued, a proud grin plastered on their face as they looked at the girl. "Usually, there would have been more victims. So on behalf of the citizens, thank you very much."

The woman was speechless. A strange sense of fulfilment ran through her. She had done the right thing, even if she could not escape. As long as she could protect the innocents, it was a sacrifice worth making. "What about the family of the victim?" Her voice sounded insecure and meek.

"Don't worry, the mother and daughter were able to reunite safely. It will be difficult for them since the mother lost her husband. The temple will aid them to prevent the same tragedy from repeating itself. Their relatives will also help. Cheer up. There was nothing you could have done to save him. You tried to give him a quick death and that was for the best."

While listening to Enkidu's story, Arturia blankly stared in front of her. There was nothing she could have done. The little girl survived. That was what mattered. Furthermore, the majority of the people were saved. She did well and made the right decision in a tough situation. Nevertheless, part of her still thought it was not fair, that maybe there could have been a way to save the man. She was sure Merlin would have easily found a solution.

"Do you know the source of these incidents? Siduri mentioned that it does not happen often. Obviously, humans fear death, but they cannot avoid the inevitable. Just losing one's life should not create resentment towards the living. Otherwise, everyone would become a vengeful spirit after passing. What is it that what makes these spirits so vindictive that they turn into demons and attack the living?"

Enkidu did not answer immediately. Instead, they continued meeting Arturia's gaze without changing their expression. A small smile then graced their features. "Who knows? I do agree that these incidents are not natural. Edimmu tend to appear during epidemics or wars where lives are cut short before they properly end. However, for these spirits to appear now of all times…" Enkidu paused and contemplated the strange events before continuing, "Their appearance and behaviour also seem different from usual. The Edimmu are wind spirits and normally prey on children. And I don't remember them being black and rock-hard. The one you fought resembled an Utukku."

Arturia gave Enkidu a questioned look before they continued, "Utukku are an ambiguous class of demons. They can be both good or evil. Edimmu can be classified as a type of Utukku. But the Utukku most people are familiar with, are far more dangerous and sinister."

"Could it be a new type of demon?" Arturia pondered.

"Who knows. There haven't been any witnesses. All of them were killed. The only characteristics we know is that their body is pitch black and devoid of light. They possess a lethal poison and unleash deafening cries."

"But the one I fought was purple and not black. It did not secrete any poison either."

A frown crept on Enkidu's face. "How strange-"

The doors slammed open and interrupted their conversation. Gilgamesh entered with Siduri behind him. The man carefully eyed the two people in the room. "I do not know whether I should be amused at your foolish performance or sad," he stated. "Nonetheless, it was still a spectacle worthy to behold."

Was he ridiculing her? Arturia had not forgotten their previous encounter. Yet this time, there was no sign of mockery in his tone. She was not sure if she should feel insulted or not for his words. Instead of rebuking his comment, Arturia stayed quiet.

Gilgamesh observed the woman carefully before continuing. "It would be better if you stay put and rest. Your little show has caught the attention of someone unpleasant." The man spat out almost bitterly.

Arturia glanced sideways towards Enkidu. They appeared slightly uncomfortable with what Gilgamesh had mentioned. "I would prefer if you would be direct instead of keeping me in the dark with indistinct information," she stated.

"Hmph, I did not imagine you would be that ignorant." Gilgamesh' sarcasm made Arturia glare in irritation. "Did you honestly believe that the magical energy you released during your little fight would go unnoticed? Just because Enkidu and I did not mention it does not mean that we were unaware."

The woman was speechless. Did they know all along? While Arturia was not trying to hide anything, she did not feel the need to reveal her abilities either. Having a few surprises that could aid her in escaping could come in handy, but if they knew all along that she possesses mana, what else could they be aware of?

"The gods have noticed your little actions. However, you were smart enough to keep the amount of mana you unleashed to a minimum. It would have been different if that blade broke due to the pressure of your mana. For now, you should be careful to suppress your magical energy until the situation calms down— and the gods lose interest."

"The gods? Why would my fight with the demon impact anything aside from the city and its citizens? On the contrary, wouldn't it be much better to deal with the man like I did rather than letting it run loose and create havoc?" It made no sense to her. Why was he talking about Uruk's gods? Did she accidentally destroy one of their temples? She was certain that there were no Zigurat near the vicinity. Furthermore, the original cause of the incident was the demon and not her. The woman could not understand what was going on. The gods did not have any physical influence on the city, aside from the religious ceremonies and any blasphemy that would be committed.

According to Merlin, when the Age of Gods ended, all the gods lost their physical appearance and could only observe the world as spectators. Whatever would happen on the lands, they had no means to interfere. She did not understand the king's words. Arturia felt there was a piece of the puzzle she was missing. Something that was right in front of her but too obscure to grasp.

At the same time, something in the woman's mind began to click. A foreboding feeling, something she refused to acknowledge, but at the same time would answer many of the questions she had. Arturia tensed as she pondered over the answer— which she refused to accept.

"Gilgamesh," the woman called out, her voice was calm, but her eyes held the bubbling anger that could erupt the moment she heard the answer she was dreading to hear.

It was the very first time Arturia uttered his name and possibly one of the few moments she would. Whether or not it would be seen as an insult to call him so directly, she did not care. "What is the current state of the mana in the lands? What kind of presence do the gods have? Why would they be interested in my actions?"

Siduri frowned upon hearing such a strange question. She exchanged a questioning glance with Enkidu, who did not seem to bother to answer whatever was plaguing her mind.

In contrast to Siduri and Enkidu's behaviour, the king's eyes narrowed, clearly not pleased with her demeanour. But he did not seem to place too much weight on it as he met the woman's fierce stare with one of his own. "To think that you still have not figured it out. Not only are you ignorant, but also slow and impertinent. Unless you are just in denial." His serious tone almost sounded mocking. "Have you not noticed the reason why your body has been feeling sluggish? Why, aside from being unaccustomed to the heat, your body exhausts itself so quickly? A normal human from your home would have been dead by now. However, your body is resilient enough to withstand the large amount of aether that resides in these lands."

"Aether…?!" The highly condensed mana that filled the air hundreds of years ago during the age of gods? "That is impossible!"

"Which is why there is no reason for you to be worried about your home - since it has yet to be created."

Arturia froze as the realisation— which she refused to accept— began to sink in.

That explained why Merlin had not contacted her, why no one appeared to have heard of Britain and why she had never heard of Uruk or Gilgamesh. Merlin's clairvoyance could only perceive events of the present. He could not see into the far past and thus could not discover her whereabouts. It all made sense. During all her escape attempts, the security was lax. Not because of her condition, but because Gilgamesh knew that even if she were to escape the palace and the city, she would have nowhere to go.

The woman clenched her hands until she dug her nails into her skin. Her breathing sped up immensely as her mind tried to process her recent discovery. "No... No, no... NO!" She scowled at Gilgamesh. The wounds began to throb, but she paid no heed to the growing pain. "This cannot be true! You— You! You removed me, not just from my home. But plunged me into an era unknown to me! How dare you!"

"Arturia, your wounds! Please calm down!" Siduri warned her as she desperately tried to prevent the knight from hurting herself.

"I will never forgive you! NEVER!" The woman continued to shout as she struggled against Siduri and Enkidu, who tried to hold her down. She wanted to stab him with her sword so bad. But she did not have the strength nor energy to unleash her mana.

To Arturia's surprise, Enkidu grabbed both her wrists firmly. Before the woman knew what was happening, she was restrained in golden chains. "Wha— what in heaven's name is this?!"

"I'm sorry, but it was the only solution I could come up with. Unless you calm down, you will have to stay like that for a while." Enkidu explained almost apologetically. "At least this would put a stop to these escape attempts of yours."

Arturia let out a frustrated scream as she struggled with the chains in vain.

Gilgamesh silently waited until Arturia was finished with her outburst before continuing with his explanation. "Until now, the gods have never shown interest in anything except their own games. Nevertheless, that does not mean that they are not aware of the events happening here in Uruk or the other city-states of Sumer. Moreover, the mana you released exceeds even the amount of the common Phantasmal species. They would become wary of a possible threat."

"Then you better send me back to my time!" The woman hissed vehemently, "If you do not wish to anger your gods!"

A burst of loud laughter erupted from the king. It almost sounded like a mix of anger and amusement. Gilgamesh peered at the woman with a feverish grin. "You still spout such nonsense after everything that has happened?! Hahahahahahaha!"

Gilgamesh's laugh echoed in the whole room. Arturia's glare deepened at the king's amusement.

"I do not care about the gods. Of course, if they dare to meddle in my affairs, I will not sit still," the man finally answered. A cold tone of disgust was vehemently present in his voice. "For your own wellbeing, I order you to put an end to your rebellious behaviour and focus on your recovery. I have sealed your mana with one of my treasures. That should prevent you from attracting any kind of disturbance for the time being."

How far did the arrogance of this man reach?! To even spout such blasphemous words about his own religion?! Arturia was so angry that she did not even know what to make of it. Furthermore... The woman stared back at her bandages and the unknown bracelet on her arm. Gilgamesh obviously liked doing what he pleased without consulting the concerning parties. Nevertheless, she could not help but wonder if there was something behind his strange attitude. According to Siduri, Gilgamesh possessed divine blood, but he regarded Uruk's gods with contempt.

Whatever the problem may be, it was of no concern to her.

"Well, this will also allow you to stabilise that erratic mana of yours."

Despite the woman's own train of thought, she still listened to what he was saying. A frown creased her brows at the man's words. "Concern is unnecessary," Arturia replied coldly, "I would have noticed if something was amiss with me."

"You are currently stable because my treasure is keeping you from collapsing." The man answered smugly. "You are free to test it out yourself if you so desire."

"Your Majesty, please. It took us a lot of effort to calm her down," Siduri warned.

"Very well. You can use this time to rest. Your wounds should be healed by the time of the ceremony."

Before Arturia could say anything, Gilgamesh left the room. There was an awkward silence between Arturia, Siduri and Enkidu.

The knight who had been pondering over the information she had gotten looked at the two people. "Were you aware?" She asked. Her voice was calm despite her recent outburst.

"Siduri was not aware," Enkidu answered. "I kept quiet because I knew you would be upset when you found out. Gil was thinking the same, which is why he also kept quiet all this time. You have seen the damage caused by the Edimmu. Whether you agree or not, your disquieted mind is very tempting for demons."

"Yet, he seems to have no trouble to inform me about it now," the woman answered sarcastically.

"The situation has changed," Enkidu murmured. "You may not believe it, but Gil has his own unique way of caring for others. As long as you carry conviction, you won't end up like that possessed man in the street. Besides, it's better to hear it from Gil than from the gods if they were to find you."

"His Majesty is still reckless and thoughtless." Siduri let out a sigh. "I cannot believe that he desires to wed a woman from the future! Has he not realised the controversy behind it and how dangerous it is?! Not only for the future but also Uruk!?" The woman cast an apologetic glance at Arturia. "My apologies for not being able to be of any help."

Despite the situation, Arturia could not help but smile. "Your concern is more than enough for me."

It was odd how her turbulent thoughts had suddenly calmed down. She had been so angry and distressed to the point that she wanted to curse the world. But now, all of those thoughts had melted away like snow at the beginning of spring.

A moment later, the woman heard a knock. In order not to make much noise, the servants entered quietly, carrying plates with food.

"I'll release you. It would be difficult to eat if you were bound like that." Enkidu stated.

To Arturia's surprise, the chains loosened from her body and disappeared in thin air. She gave Enkidu an incredulous look.

"Sooner or later, you would have found out," Enkidu mumbled. "Don't overthink it. The chains are part of my body. I was created by the gods as the chains that bind their linchpin." An almost sad look graced their features as Enkidu spoke, however, Arturia did not catch it.

The woman sighed from exhaustion and nodded. "I understand." Unlike the age of mysteries, the age of gods allowed the possibilities of many miracles.

"I'll tell you the whole story after your recovery," Enkidu commented. "Anyway, until your recovery, I will explain to you the state of Uruk and the surrounding city-states instead of focusing on your usual writing and reading lessons."

Enkidu and Siduri left the room to let Arturia rest and give her some privacy to think. She stared at the many delicacies in front of her. Without much thought, she grabbed the meat and tore off a large piece. To the woman's surprise, the juicy-rich flavour filled her mouth. How long had it been since she had been able to taste something properly? She took another bite and then another. Before she knew it, she had devoured every piece of it. The woman proceeded to pick up a piece of bread and finished it in seconds. Her hasty actions made her almost choke. Arturia coughed and forced down the food with milk. She waited for a short while until she was sure she had caught her breath. Her gaze hovered over the food she still had not touched. She was definitely famished after eating so little for the past couple of weeks. Everything tasted so good that it was hard for her to restrain herself. Arturia continued to eat the remaining food while taking a few sips from her drink between the bites.

"What have I been doing?" the woman mumbled to herself. It still felt like she was captured in a dream. A dream that was slowly leading her towards something unknown. The path, while unclear at the beginning, slowly started to disperse the fog that clouded her subconscious and revealed the direction she was heading. The further she went, the harder it would be to go back. Arturia's gaze hovered over the goblet with milk. Its white colour stood out, but it was impossible to see the bottom until she finished the last drop.

"The Age of Gods..." She mumbled. It was the age where magic and phantasmal beings still roamed the era, where the lives of men were controlled by the will of the gods. Britain did not exist yet and with that knowledge, even if she was stuck in the distant past, if she waited long enough, she would arrive at the age of man and find the way back to Britain sooner or later. Caliburn had halted her ageing. No matter what would happen, she would not change.

But all that waiting was not an acceptable solution for her.

Arturia closed her eyes. She could not wait for thousands of years to return to her home. But she did not know how to go back on her own either. Whether she liked it or not, the king of Uruk was the only clue she had to find out a way to return home. The woman took one last gulp from her goblet and finished the milk. "If I cannot see the end, then I will have to carve it myself," Arturia declared.

As she finished the last bites of food, Arturia noticed a table not far from her bed. An unfinished board game laid on top of it. It contained several checker-shaped game pieces and— what appeared to be a four-sided, tetrahedron-shaped dice. The game board was composed of two rectangular sets of boxes that were connected by a narrow bridge. She did not know what kind of game it was, but it reminded her of the Gwyddbwyll board games that Merlin enjoyed. Were they playing the game while waiting for her to wake up?

Arturia carefully laid down on the bed, her gaze fixated on the ceiling. She was left with nothing to do. Her movements were restricted by her injuries— and with no one to converse with, the only thing she could do was stare into nothing and let her thoughts run wild.

"I miss Merlin."

I just need to add that I really love writing Enkidu. There's so much to our fav clay's character. We all know how sad their story is, but that part of the charm. Like every well-written-character, there are so many layers of their personality that we can explore and I am looking forward to doing that with all of them, especially Enkidu.

Anyway, we are nearing the ending of the introduction arc. After the next 1 or 2 chapters, the real stuff is going to start. I hope you're all prepared... to wait a few more months since I still need to focus on studying.

Thank you for reading, if you haven't checked any of my other works. I have 2 GilxArt one-shots which you can devour. See you next time.