Chapter 178: The Turning of a Page, The End of an Era

- Central Abelis, Nondescript Battlefield – Rose's POV –

Looking back on the darkness streaming into the sky in the distance I sighed in relief that we were nowhere near the being that was currently attempting to kill a being that, from what I’d been told, had been basically untouchable in a war with literal, capital G, Gods. Papa said that he was his eldest brother but, based on our first meeting, I doubted we’d get an opportunity for any family bonding.

[That’s enough rest. I know that you’re tired baby girl but we’re not nearly out of danger yet.] - Robert de la Amchier

[U-Umm? W-What about him?] - Mary

[Yeah, we can’t leave the old man behind!] - Rose

[Rose... Baby girl... I’m afraid that he’s...] - Robert de la Amchier

[He’ll live, he can’t... he can’t die... he just-] - Rose

[Ugh!] - Gilgamesh

[Old Man!] - Rose

Glancing at the reason for us stopping in the first place I could see the sympathy in his eyes as he forcefully hardened his gaze, intent on leaving behind the man that he was sure was already dead or on his way there.

Not that I didn’t understand his stance. From his perspective, slowing down even a second more than necessary for someone that was already dead only put the rest of us at risk and, if I really believed in his immortality, I should have just left him behind as well and waited for him to show up later completely uninjured.

But something was nagging at my brain that it was different this time. It had been nearly a half hour since Gilgamesh had been injured and even after all this time, he showed no signs of healing and hadn’t even made a single noise in all of that time as well. I’d seen him heal from seemingly fatal injuries before, many times in fact, which is why his complete stillness kept bringing in doubts that it might be different this time.

And then he suddenly groaned, his burned and bleeding hands reaching out for something invisible.

[Elizabeth! Elizabeth, is that you?!?] - Gilgamesh

[Old Man, Ol- Gil... It’s me, Rose...] - Rose

[Elizabeth... my daughter... I found you... after so long that papa has forgotten the years, I’ve found you.] - Gilgamesh

[O-Old man?] - Rose

Something was wrong. His eyes unfocused as he grasped my hand tightly, he seemed to look through me as if he was looking a million miles away. Starting to cry as I realized that something had gone wrong and he wasn’t healing, I trembled as he continued to speak.

[I met a talented young lady. You would have liked her. She was... koff! She was always so similar to you... koff koff! I even thought... I even thought she might be your reincarnated soul a few times... I’m so... I’m so sorry for not being there when you needed me. I was there this time... I... I saved her... I saved you... this time... this time your papa didn’t let you die... I’m so sorry Elizabeth... I...] - Gilgamesh

[Gil! No! Don’t die! You can’t die! You’re supposed to be able to heal from this! From everything! You told me! You-!] - Rose

[Rose? You’re alive... Thank the Gods, you’re alive! I wasn’t... koff koff koff! I... I don’t think I’m coming back from it this time little Rose... I can feel it deep inside of me... something is different this time... this time I’m not going to come back...] - Gilgamesh

A sob wracked my body as he said the words that confirmed the fears deep inside of me. I’d known that something was wrong from the moment he hadn’t immediately gotten back up after being hit, I’d known that something was different. And his words only made that deep pit of despair that had been growing inside me grow even deeper as I vaguely acknowledged my Papa’s and Mary’s arms around me, my focus completely on a man that I’d thought would always be around. A man that was being ripped away from me.

[No! I’ll... I’ll save you! I’ll find a way! We can- We can find something that will-] - Rose

[Let me go... koff! Little Rose... just let me go... I’ve spent the last 2,000 years yearning for death, trying every method I could think of to die yet death never came for me. I’d even given up on being freed from this unending agony only for... koff koff! Only for something unexpected to happen... I finally, after these thousands of years, I finally found a reason to live. I found you. It is my greatest joy, after so long, that I was able to fix the mistake that set me on this path. That I was able to save you... That I could... Elizabeth...? Honey...? Where... I’m... I’m finally coming to you... I’m finally.... haaaaaaaah...] - Gilgamesh

[Old man? Old man?!? No! No, you can’t be dead! You can’t! Wake up! Please wake up!] - Rose

Dread filled me as the old man’s eyes unfocused. The brief period of time that he’d been able to talk to me draining him of everything as I saw the light leave his eyes, my cries falling on deaf ears as I tried, in vain, to shake the man that had become my mentor in this new life, the man that I viewed as family. The man that had finally gotten the one thing that he’d wanted in his long, long life.

- Central Abelis, Nondescript Battlefield, Several Minutes Later – Rose's POV –

I don’t know how long it took for my tears to finally stop, numbness filling my body in its place, but however long it lasted the old man’s corpse, a fact that I was still refusing to acknowledge, was beginning to cool when I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me away from the body of my long-time mentor and into a deep hug, the familiar scent of my papa soothing my numb mind as the tears threatened to spill from my eyes once more.

[Papa... Papa... he wasn’t... he wasn’t supposed to die... he wasn’t...] - Rose

[I know, I know baby girl. But he did this to save you. He sacrificed himself because he loved you, just as I love you. I don’t know the whole story, and I’d love to hear it from you... but not now. We need to leave, baby girl. We can’t stay here. It’s too close... I’m so sorry but it’s too close...] - Robert de la Amchier

He was right, I knew he was, even now I could feel the ground tremble from the massive battle taking place only a few miles away, I could see the explosions resembling nuclear bombs going off in the distance. I knew we were far too close for safety to what was likely a battle beyond any that this world had seen in thousands of years, if ever.

Yet I couldn’t leave him. He was gone yet some part of me believed that he’d spring up like always, completely fine, and even though it wasn’t logical I felt like leaving now would somehow stop that from happening. So, I stayed put, even as the explosions in the distance got closer, even as the ground’s shaking strengthened. I would’ve stayed even if the world ended around me if not for an unfamiliar voice breaking the stalemate between Mary, my father, and I.

[So, he’s finally passed... Even though it’s been his goal for thousands of years I still hoped that he would never succeed... Still though... I’m glad that he’s found the peace he sought for so long... He’s with his loved ones now...] - Unfamiliar, Pale-skinned Man

[How dar-! Grandpa?!? Grandma?!?] - Rose

[Hello, baby girl, hi, Robert... and this is...?] - Grandma Daisy

Turning towards the voice as I readied myself for a fight, I froze midturn as I saw two familiar faces among the group of 9 that had somehow snuck up on us without any of us noticing. Standing among a group consisting of several demis, humans, and even a cerulean slime girl with green eyes was my grandparents, their eyes filled with grief as they glanced between us and the cold body of what was once the Old Man before coming to a stop on Mary, recognition passing over their eyes.

[M-My sister! She’s my sister! Besides that, who are you to say that he’s with his loved ones?!? He has... he has loved ones he...] - Rose

I sounded selfish, I knew I did. I knew about Gilgamesh’s family. I knew how long he had already been alive; I knew that he, more than anything, wanted to die, that he wanted to join his wife and daughter in the afterlife, but I still wanted to keep him here, even knowing all of that I didn’t want him to die. So, I turned on the one person that had reminded me of my shameful selfishness, trying to punish him for daring to remind me. Only to stop midsentence at the look of immense grief in his eyes as tears ran down his face. He... He was in just as much pain as me?

[Who are you?] - Rose

[A friend. At least... I believed that we were... I hope he did too... Even so... I feel like a terrible friend... to wish for him to continue to torture himself with life despite wishing it would end. It’s why I feel glad that he’s finally at peace, despite my wish to the contrary...] - Unfamiliar, Pale-skinned Man

[...] - Rose

[He... He loved you; you know... saw you as almost a second daughter... He hadn’t intended to interfere in this war at all until you got into danger, said he was... he said he couldn’t force the views of a dead man on the world... I’m glad that, in the end, he was able to save you...] - Unfamiliar, Pale-skinned Man

[I felt... I felt the same... He was like a second father to me... I was... I was so grateful towards him... I was...] - Rose

[There, there... It’s okay baby girl... let it out.] - Robert de la Amchier

Feeling the tears threatening to overwhelm me once again I felt Papa’s arms around me once more, followed by several more pairs of arms as my grandparents joined in the hug along with Mary herself, despite her not knowing the whole story yet, the distant explosions reminding me, even in my grief, that we were running out of time.

[A-Ahem! I’m sorry for interrupting but shouldn’t we get a move on? Or are we just gonna give up on saving the continent for the sake of a dead man?] - Cerulean Slime Girl

[Dammit 3rd! At least try to choose your words more carefully! You know who that person was! What he meant!] - Giant Lizardman

[Of course I don’t! I’m not some ancient monster like the rest of you; I’m a dainty young lady after all.] - Cerulean Slime Girl

[Stop fooling around 3rd, 5th, we have work to do. 7th, I know how you feel but we can’t spend any more time on the Hero Gilgamesh. He’s gone, and unless we want to join him, we have to do something about those foolish dragons over there. 8th and 9th, be ready to join us, we’ll leave you some time alone with the rest of your family. Follow after us when you’re done, we’ll need you.] - Leader-like Human

Nearly turning to tell off the rude woman I was stopped by a shaken head and a hand on my shoulder from grandpa as he mouthed “wait” at me, all while the rest of the group bickered amongst themselves before finally telling my grandparents to follow after them as they left individually, the last to follow the one they’d called 7th, the one that had introduced himself as a friend of the Old Man’s.

[Grandma, grandpa, what was-?] - Rose

[I know you probably have questions but now isn’t the time. We’re about to enter the deadliest battle on this continent in written history and neither of us would be able to give it our all if we’re worried about your safety.] - Grandpa Richard

[Wait! But- I-?!?] - Rose

[Robert. You know what to do.] - Grandma Daisy

[Got it.] - Robert de la Amchier

[Wait, Papa?!? What are you doing?!? Put me down! We’re not going anywhere! Papa!] - Rose

Realizing too late what was happening I was scooped up by Papa before I could even react, forcibly leaving the cold body of the Old Man behind as we retreated swiftly, Mary following behind us quickly after a quick bow to my grandparents. Not that I was in any condition to recognize that as my mind was filled with images of my grandparents following the Old Man into death, the recognition that they were about to fight the being that had killed him hitting me as I saw relief fill their eyes in the distance, their forms becoming indistinct as we moved further away.

- Central Abelis, Church Ritual Site – Dragon Lord Mortem Restisis' POV –

Dodging yet another blast of void that my eldest son released towards me I inwardly smiled as I felt the distance between our battle and the souls of my youngest and his daughter start to increase quickly once again. They’d paused for quite a while for some reason, too close for me to unleash anything close to my true power without crushing them with my sheer presence but now that they’d started moving again I could do more than just defend myself and my surroundings from becoming pure void. Luckily, I’d dealt with a God that had been tainted by the Void once during the War so I knew how to handle the energy from it, as long as I didn’t take a direct hit I could resist it’s influence and my eldest, while powerful, was nowhere near capable of actually hitting me when I focused on avoiding. I’d long since shrunk to a size more capable of fast movement without destroying my surroundings and my preparations for a counterattack were nearly complete.

At least, they were until a group of foolish individuals suddenly interrupted our battle, the 9 of them together barely enough to catch my notice, none of them even the equal of that false immortal that I’d fought hundreds of years ago...

[Oh, great dragons! It may be presumptuous of us lowly mortals, but we have come to ask that you cease your conflict before you cause irreversible harm!] - Hero-like Human

[Who are these fools? Pawns of yours, father?] - Vetust

[I know them not, foolish son. However, I do agree with them on one thing. It’s time to end this before your tantrum bothers my youngest granddaughter. Prepare yourself Vetust!] - Dragon Lord Mortem Restisis

Deciding to ignore the barking mortal fools we resumed our battle, the group seemingly shocked by the sheer force of my movement as I ceased being on the defensive and rocketed forward, slamming into my eldest with the force of several mountains, interrupting another beam of void that he’d been preparing to blast away those interlopers with. I didn’t really care what happened to them, but something told me that they were important to my beloved grandchild somehow so I’d do what I could to keep them alive. Also, their interuption had given me time to finish preparing so the least I could do was stop them from going to the afterlife unceremoniously. Although, considering what Void did to the soul that was the least of their worries this close to our battle, but that was their problem for interrupting their betters.

[Die Father! I’ll surpass you!] - Vetust

[You’re a billion years too early to speak of defeating me! Foolish son!] - Dragon Lord Mortem Restisis

Letting loose an earth-shattering roar I bit down on my foolish son’s arm as he tried to loosen my grip on his neck, I needed to end this soon, before something happened that I couldn’t fix. So, I decided to use a bit more power than usual as the ground literally vibrated from the weight of my aura.