King Gilgamesh immersed himself in the water, his eyes vacant as he carefully washed away the grime accumulated over his long journey.
Yes, Annanu and Enkidu would never place hatred and anger upon his shoulders.
Because they knew hatred did not suit him. It would only crush the shoulders of their king and turn him into a monster who knew nothing but revenge.
"This king has always remained clear-minded because of you."
"Annanu. Enkidu."
He cupped a pool of clear water in his hands and gently splashed it over his face.
The coolness swept across the king's cheeks and soul. He closed his eyes and slowly lay down.
He was too tired, both in body and in spirit.
And so, the king lay beside the stream and fell into a deep sleep.
At the very instant he fell asleep, a head poked out from the bushes not far away.
It was a snake, its body incomparably smooth.
As though it possessed intelligence, it looked toward the herb of immortality Gilgamesh had placed beside him.
The king dreamed.
Gilgamesh rarely dreamed.
Though he had now developed a certain disgust for the divine blood within him, he knew that his strength came from that very blood.
And because he possessed the bloodline of a god, Gilgamesh undoubtedly had certain traits of the divine.
One of them was revelation through dreams.
His mother, Ninsun, had received a revelation in a dream. That was why she came to Uruk and bore him with his father, Lugalbanda.
But this time, it did not seem to be an ordinary dream, nor was it a dream of divine revelation.
Gilgamesh opened his eyes.
He felt somewhat dazed.
For he was seated upon his throne as he had been in the past.
Even though there was only endless