video; [KINGOFHEROES]

[babbylon]

[The feed opens to Gilgamesh lounging on a couch, wine in hand, smirking faintly at nothing in particular. A snowy white lion which some of you may recognize lies curled on the floor, napping away; as for Gilgamesh himself, he's as relaxed as could be. Quite a far cry from his time in imprisonment.

And indeed, when he speaks, he sounds confident as ever—albeit in a lazy sort of way, words flowing like syrup.]

What does "heroism" mean to you?

[An open-ended question he allows to hang, for a moment or so, before continuing on.]

Would you consider what we're doing here to fall along those lines? Or, perhaps... yes, I'm aware some of you are new to this little group activity of ours, regarding the sun. And doubtful that you're all as sincerely invested as ALASTAIR wishes us to be. It does seem a bit trifling.

[Only Gilgamesh could consider the death of light itself to be trifling. He yawns, then rolls over, kicking his feet impatiently like a child awaiting entertainment.]

If they all died, it wouldn't really matter, would it? ALASTAIR would spirit us away to the next grand adventure and the cycle starts anew.

[In his obstinance, Gilgamesh dumps his wine right on the floor. He seems to revel in it, in the mess he's made. In the mess he intends to make.]

So I suppose what I'm asking is [smile blossoming into a grin] do you believe it's possible to save everyone, at the expense of yourself? Is that the proper way of a hero, or just someone naive enough to pursue "goodness"? To those we put atop pedestals, were they ever worth admiring at all?

[His eyes narrow at his jewelry. To call them serpentine would be an understatement.]

To those who believe firmly in the principles of justice—do you earnestly think you were doing the right thing all along? I wonder.

Comments

[babbylon]

[...!

...someone actually understood straight away. How bizarre.]

Of course. I've lived for much longer than the rest of you, so one might say I've seen all there is to see.

[hideyourself]

[what could he say, you sounded your age!]

i had a hundreds-year-old ghost tell me that line of thinking was the worst any person could fall into. [he doubted Gilgamesh would care much, but see: "wasting time."]

do you even remember what you thought when you were young?

[babbylon]

I was different. That's all I remember.

[All he really needs to, and all he prefers to.]

[hideyourself]

fair enough.

no present, no past, barely a future... what's it matter ?

[babbylon]

[Is he being toyed with here? If this person's human, they're an awfully strange one. Gilgamesh regains his composure and furrows his brow.]

I paint my future with my own strokes. It matters.

[hideyourself]

[but it's boring! -- to be fair, Hideyoshi was easily labeled a strange one.]

[in any case, he continues the trend of being contrary for seemingly contrary's sake. it would be a lie to say he wasn't somewhat interested, but mostly he wanted to see what this guy would keep saying (for, well, future purposes, too).]

are you saying you haven't actually given up on the world...?

[babbylon]

[Hideyoshi may be unwittingly presenting Gilgamesh a stage for all his worst traits... he leaps at the question like he was born for it. And maybe he was.]

Not when I can simply remake it as I see fit. It's the right of a King, you know. Or rather, the right of one who oversees humanity.

[hideyourself]

[p a u s e.]

[the rest of the qualities were making sense, honestly. narcissistic play at being God, huh... it was far stranger in real life.]

the "right."

i see.

--- quick question!

how would you define a megalomaniac...?

[babbylon]

I cannot say I am familiar with the term.

[Which would explain a lot, really.]

[hideyourself]

that's unfortunate! it's always good to be self-aware.

so why do you think you have the right to all of mankind? power? ability? totalitarian dictators don't usually go well- oh, but you said you'd "remake" the place. would you kill all but the worthy?

[babbylon]

That's just the way of the world, isn't it? Humanity has changed. Once, I could not sacrifice a single servant, so valuable they were; now, insects flood the planet. You could step on a thousand with no great loss.

[So really, what he's saying is yes, I would.]

My right originates from my purpose. Through chaos comes order. Through judgment comes salvation. Through destruction comes rebirth.

[hideyourself]

[at the risk of sounding dangerously like he was trying to convince the man otherwise, he threw in a play at being the devil's (humanity's?) advocate.]

you admitted yourself that you've changed since the beginning.

maybe it's less that the world's changed, and more the years on whatever makes up your essence.

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh acknowledges a worthy opponent. He smiles, just a little, just enough to reveal an exhaustion beyond words.]

Maybe so.

[hideyourself]

[a long, long pause before the next reply.]

[he isn't sure what governs the man's immortality. truthfully, much of the magic talk went right over his head; he found himself relying on video game set-ups, which included mana and elemental limitations and adding ga to indicate a stronger spell. it wasn't appropriate. it didn't often work in practice. the concept-- just... he could barely wrap his head around it.]

[so: the question took a bit, but he meant it honestly whether or not he got a decent response (he didn't expect one).]

why can't you pass on?