"Ah…"
Though countless thoughts and questions filled Rovi's mind, all he did was nod slightly.
Gilgamesh had matured, yet hadn't changed at all.
Because he wished to greet his old friend wearing a familiar face.
For Rovi, successfully entering the Netherworld was already the first step toward his goal. Reuniting with Gilgamesh was unexpected, sure, but still something worth celebrating.
After all, Gilgamesh wasn't Eresh. If Gil dared to casually give him immortality or prevent him from dying, Rovi would happily knock him out cold.
That'd neatly settle the score for Gil shamelessly spreading Rovi's embarrassing past all over the place.
But before that…
Visiting old haunts wasn't a bad idea either.
Uruk was his first stop after arriving in this world, practically a second home by now.
Yet, Rovi's nod still carried an undertone of confusion.
He knew Gilgamesh had ruled Uruk until the end of his mortal days. As planned, he had guided his entire kingdom into the Netherworld. Rovi knew that Gilgamesh ultimately became the Non-Divine King of the Netherworld.
But he had no clue what Gil had been up to since entering the underworld—or why he was now here, ruling a place clearly not within Mesopotamia's boundaries.
He soon got his answer.
"After I entered the Netherworld—the realm you left behind—I simply continued expanding like I always did aboveground," Gilgamesh announced proudly, clearly seeing Rovi's confusion. "Even here, beneath the earth, my brilliance must blaze like the sun, until every corner belongs to me!"
Gilgamesh's words held true.
Expansion in the Netherworld.
That's precisely what he'd been up to since arriving here. Marching steadily westward through countless years, he'd finally taken ownership of this corner of the Greek underworld.
Indeed—from none other than the Greek King of the Netherworld himself, Hades.
"Bwahahaha! That Greek God-King isn't weak, but why would I challenge him head-on when I have my peerless wisdom?" Gilgamesh crowed. "All treasures beneath heaven belong to me, but even guardians of my property deserve rewards."
"What exactly did you give him?" Rovi asked curiously.
"Your Sage's Tablets," Gilgamesh replied smugly.
Rovi: "?"
Goddammit, Gil. Are you just handing out my tablets everywhere!?
"Since the rabid dog's wisdom was already carved into stone, how could I not generously share it with the world?" Gilgamesh wasn't even remotely guilty—he seemed thrilled instead. "Those Greek humans and gods worship your sage-like sayings! I've traded those tablets for countless treasures. Bwahahaha!"
"Hey, Gil."
"Hm?"
"I'm gonna beat your ass."
"A braindead mongrel dares bark in my presence?"
"You glittering bastard—"
Clearly, Gilgamesh had read—and even memorized—those tablets himself.
The usual insults echoed comfortably through the Netherworld's halls. Yet honestly, embarrassing history aside, Rovi had to admit: Gilgamesh was genuinely impressive.
After all, those tablets had become "priceless" precisely because Gil had endowed them with such deep Mystery through his actions.
To trade insults with Greek deities while alive, and then exchange a single tablet for an entire piece of the Netherworld in death…
Gilgamesh really was something else.
"Those fools thought they could prevent our reunion! Did they really believe I'd let them?" Gilgamesh continued proudly. "Hades himself tried to block my way here just moments ago. One mere tablet, and he obediently handed me this territory."
That explained why Rovi hadn't sensed Gil's presence earlier—he'd literally just taken over this area.
"Makes sense," Rovi muttered.
"Now, come! Since you're finally back, let's return to Uruk!"
"Behold the glory of the kingdom we built!"
They walked onward, chatting leisurely as they ventured deeper into the Netherworld. Blue ghostlights flickered softly, illuminating armored Uruk soldiers standing guard at the borders. Beyond them, nestled in the underworld's depths, rose a magnificent city, as grand as Uruk itself once had been.
For a moment, Rovi felt he'd returned to the Mesopotamian plains, to the land they'd built together.
The people were familiar, the buildings too.
"Impressive," Rovi murmured.
"You share credit for building this place," Gilgamesh replied, glancing at him. "I've always reserved thrones for you and that other one. Your deeds stand equal to my own."
Whether in the past, present, or future, Gilgamesh always saw Rovi as the only being worthy of standing as his equal.
Ahead lay the palace.
"My King," greeted a woman who'd clearly been waiting.
Veiled lightly, young in appearance—
It was Siduri, in her afterlife incarnation, Grand Judge of Uruk's Netherworld.
"Vizier Siduri, it's been a long time," Rovi greeted warmly.
"Sage Rovi, indeed it has. I'm relieved to see you safe," Siduri replied gracefully, her smile gentle, bearing the familiar dignity of old. Yet beneath her reserved exterior, joy clearly brimmed.
At last, after countless years…
My king, you've finally reunited with your closest friend…
Siduri, as royal advisor, knew well: all Gilgamesh's expansions since entering the Netherworld had been solely in preparation for this day, awaiting Rovi's return.
Gilgamesh's Clairvoyance had shown him this future clearly.
He'd waited patiently, preparing ceaselessly.
Yet still, the Three Kings' reunion lacked one final piece.
"En? I've already found her," Rovi said confidently. "She'll wake soon, and we three will finally reunite."
"Naturally. I always said my judgment was flawless," Gilgamesh nodded proudly. "Only you, among all existence, could locate her."
"Ah, my King," Siduri suddenly interjected. "Hades, King of the Greek Netherworld, is already waiting inside the hall."
Gilgamesh seemed unsurprised, merely waving his hand dismissively.
Rovi, however, grew intrigued.
He'd met Zeus and Poseidon already. Zeus's unmatched power and Poseidon's eternal serenity both left vivid impressions. What about Greece's third God-King?
Could this god kill him? Wait, he was already dead.
Never mind then.
More interestingly—was Hades here because he'd realized the truth behind those tablets and wanted answers?
God-Kings weren't ordinary deities, after all.
Despite their profound Mystery, a simple tablet shouldn't have been worth a chunk of the Netherworld…
The pair ascended the towering palace steps, Siduri trailing closely behind.
The throne still towered above, the pillars still stood grandly, the hall unchanged.
But at the foot of the steps leading to the throne stood a shadowy figure, back turned, exuding a chilling, deathly aura.
"King of Uruk's Netherworld," the figure spoke softly, turning slightly to reveal pitch-black eyes. "What did you intend by giving me those tablets?"
He really was here to settle scores?
"Such wisdom-filled treasures, straightforward yet courageous—do you really think them worth a mere corner of my Netherworld?"
Rovi immediately reconsidered.
The guy's just naturally gullible, isn't he?
"Bwahahaha!" Gilgamesh laughed heartily. "They're gifts from this King—their value decided by none but me. If I say they're priceless, then so they are!"
"Harsh words, yet your generosity is clear."
One shamelessly deceiving, the other willingly deceived.
Rovi silently labeled the Greek Netherworld's supreme ruler an honest fool.
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T/N: im sobbing i love when gil is around makes me smikle