Blank Fate

High Priestess Siduri, with black hair and black eyes, dressed in green Sumerian robes and wearing a white veil over her head, possessed a gentle yet intelligent air. Seeing Gilgamesh in high spirits, she helplessly accepted the wine cup, lifted her veil, and drank with her king.

Yet the alcohol did nothing to ease Siduri's worries. She could not help but ask Gilgamesh upon the throne.

"Your Majesty, what could possibly make you so pleased?"

The Heroic King gave a mysterious smile and casually tossed Siduri the clay tablet he had been idly playing with for some time.

The high priestess caught it in a fluster, looking somewhat clumsy and shocked. It had happened so suddenly that she nearly dropped it on the floor.

This king always liked to catch people off guard and disregard convention.

Siduri soothed her heart, which had leaped into her throat, silently grumbled a little, and only then lowered her gaze to the tablet in her hands.

However, the high priestess's eyes grew puzzled, and she could not help looking up to ask.

"Your Majesty, this tablet..."

"It was a note I made when I glimpsed the future in a half-dreaming state in Kusa, on my way back from searching for the Immortal Herb. It records Uruk's fate."

"The contents were rather interesting, so I brought it back with me after waking."

A Fate Tablet?!

Siduri's expression instantly turned to shock and suspicion. She turned the tablet over again and again, even running her fingertips across every inch of its surface, yet her face only grew more bewildered.

After a long while, the high priestess finally spoke with difficulty, her expression strange.

"But, Your Majesty, it is blank..."

The tablet Siduri held up had a slightly uneven surface, but there was not a single line of writing upon it. It seemed as though every trace once left behind had been violently erased.

Gilgamesh drained the nectar in his cup in one gulp, his smile deeply meaningful.

"That is precisely why it is amusing!"

The high priestess looked confused, unable to understand what he meant.

Gilgamesh rested one arm against the chair's back, propped up his chin, and lounged lazily upon his throne.

"Once, the future I saw was a stagnant pool. Its shape had long been fixed, rotten and dull within..."

"But now, the river of fate has strayed from its predetermined course. Anything is possible!"

At this, the Heroic King paused and glanced at the high priestess below, his eyes carrying an inscrutable meaning.

"You should be grateful for this, Siduri..."

"Only a blank slate, torn down and begun anew, can yield the most beautiful poem!"

However, Siduri did not possess the wisdom to see the future and remained utterly baffled.

But seeing King Gilgamesh so happy, the high priestess could not help curving her lips into a sincere smile.

Ever since that beautiful green one had passed away, such a pure smile had rarely appeared on the king's face.

The rumors of the Immortal Herb being devoured by a snake, along with the shattering of the king's desire for eternal life, had made Siduri even more worried about Gilgamesh.

Yet unexpectedly, since returning from Kusa, the ruler's mood had only improved. He had even been interested in asking her to drink with him.

Whether it was the Fate Tablet or a future of infinite possibilities, none of it mattered as long as the king could be happy and continue guiding his people as a wise ruler.

"Hahaha, delightful! Delightful! How truly delightful!"

"If things outside were not pressing so hard, I would declare a holiday for all of Uruk right here and now, so everyone could celebrate to their hearts' content!"

After drinking heartily for a while, Gilgamesh casually tossed his cup into the Golden Vortex behind him. Then he straightened up and summoned the guards who had been waiting outside for some time.

The priests presented basket after basket of clay tablets to the Heroic King. As Gilgamesh reviewed the information, they delivered concise reports.

"Your Majesty, the waters of the Persian Gulf in the south have risen sharply, and the rivers' water quality has become saline and alkaline..."

"In the Fir Forest region to the northwest, vast numbers of demonic beasts have broken through the Northern High Ground blockade. They have formed clusters around Babylon and begun nesting there..."

"In the eastern city of Kusa, an epidemic is spreading. One hundred and twenty-seven civilians have gradually weakened and died. The Astrology Platform suspects that the soil and water sources are the problem. We are organizing personnel to cover the evacuation of the survivors..."

"The southwestern rainforest has begun growing abnormally and rapidly spreading in all directions. Even the two banks of the Euphrates River have been divided into completely different landscapes."

"Not a single person trapped within Eridu has come out alive..."

"Additionally, according to soldiers' reports, scattered demonic beasts have already begun appearing on the roads."

"The shrine maidens' unauthorized summoning of the gods has also brought disastrous consequences."

"Goddess Ishtar, who possessed a human body, has not only failed to protect Uruk, but has instead caused trouble everywhere and plundered treasure. Some of the attacked herdsmen have suffered devastating losses."

Gilgamesh rapidly scanned the cuneiform writing on the tablets, his sword-like brows rising slightly.

"Tsk tsk, every direction—east, west, south, and north—is a complete mess..."

"Even the sky, the earth, the forests, and the sea have become enemies squeezing humanity's living space..."

"This is becoming more and more interesting."

Hearing Gilgamesh's ill-timed remark, Siduri gave a soft cough, interrupting the delighted king's reverie.

"Enough. My instructions are written above. Take them and carry them out!"

"Humanity is not so fragile!"

"Whether it is the southern rainforest, the flooding waters of the Persian Gulf, or even the epidemic in Kusa, the threats they pose are quite limited."

"The demonic beast tide from the Fir Forest is highly mobile and dangerously destructive. Dealing with it first is the priority."

"Therefore, immediately gather manpower and grain from Nippur, Kazaru, Sippar, Kish, and Ur. I intend to build a fortress at the North Wall to repel demonic beast invasions!"

Gilgamesh arranged matters in an orderly fashion, and the tense atmosphere in the hall gradually eased.

When the Heroic King delivered his final decision, a glimmer of amusement passed through his eyes, as though he had thought of something worth savoring. Then he slowly spoke.

"It shall be called—the Absolute Demonic Beast Front, Babylonia!"

After the priests accepted their orders and departed one after another, each heavy with worry, Siduri hesitated for a moment. Holding a clay tablet, she stepped forward and spoke in a concerned whisper.

"Your Majesty, the Shrine Maiden's Office received a revelation during its descent ritual."

"It seems that three goddesses are forming an alliance, unleashing disasters, hunting humanity, and seeking to destroy this entire age in order to become the eternal rulers of this land..."

Gilgamesh accepted the tablet and listlessly examined its contents, seemingly not particularly surprised.

"I thought that after such an accident, they might have made some progress. Yet it is still the same old routine?"

Siduri's expression shifted. She had clearly caught the implication in his words.

"Your Majesty, do you know the true identities and intentions of the Three Goddesses?"

Gilgamesh raised his head in thought, then casually shattered the high priestess's hopes.

"Perhaps I did before..."

"But now that the Hole of Heaven has been sealed and Babylon's Human Order distortion no longer exists, those meddlesome people from Chaldea will likely be absent."

"Tsk tsk, everything has changed. No one can see the future clearly amid such turbulent waves..."

"Not even I can..."

Siduri's face darkened, her expression filled with disappointment and unease.

Without the Wise King's clairvoyance to grasp the situation and provide far-sighted guidance, she had little confidence that Uruk could be defended.

Yet in the darkness, the Heroic King's lips curled in a cold sneer.

Was seeing fate clearly with one's own eyes truly a gift from heaven?

Foolish!

Once the outcome was fixed, it meant that no matter how one struggled, nothing could be changed.

The more clearly one saw, the tighter the shackles around one's body would become, until they strangled the puppet imprisoned within them.

For instance, some king in the future who claimed to possess infinite wisdom, who could see through all the joys and sorrows of the world, who supposedly had the power to resolve everything yet did nothing, was a fine example.

I am not like that pitiful wretch!

This time, I will write the answer myself upon the blank Fate Tablet!

The answer that truly belongs to me!

Unseen, Gilgamesh clenched both hands behind his back, his blazing gaze fixed upon the boundless void.