Part 12: Epic

 

--Trace had fallen asleep thinking of their fight with Gilgamesh. He couldn’t get it out of his head—the feeling that he knew him. He drifted into dreams, standing in a forest, at one with the plants and animals. Then he was in a strange city, wrestling with someone whose features weren’t clear. A crowd had gathered to watch. No matter what he did, Trace couldn’t beat his opponent. They were too evenly matched. They fought for hours, using every trick they could think of until they both finally collapsed from exhaustion. Dirt and sweat clung to them, making them look ridiculous. Trace looked at his opponent, and seeing his own disheveled appearance in the other, laughed. The other man began laughing with him. They sat there in the middle of town laughing heartily. When they finally stopped, Trace stood up and offered his hand to the other in friendship. His opponent accepted and Trace pulled him to his feet.

His face! He could see it now! Gilgamesh—youthful and unscarred. Suddenly they were in the woods again, fighting the fearsome Humbaba. Trace felt bones break as Humbaba struck him from behind and tried to crush him. Gilgamesh saved him by decapitating their enemy, but the pain didn’t go away. His injuries didn’t heal properly, but he fought again by Gilgamesh’s side against another horrifying enemy. But then he couldn’t fight anymore—his pain incapacitated him. Gilgamesh refused to leave his bedside as he mumbled with fever and hallucinations. Trace was dying. What would his friend do without him? He looked into Gilgamesh’s eyes, "Why am I to die, you to wander on alone? Is that the way it is with friends?"

--"Hey Trace! Trace, man! Are you okay? Wake up!"

--At first Trace didn’t know where he was. Everything felt foreign to him. Then he realized he was awake, in Mia’s house. He looked around to see the guys all staring at him and Sage standing next to his bed with a worried look on his face. "Trace, did you hear me? You okay? You were having a bad dream or something and started yelling."

--"What was I saying?"

--"No idea. It didn’t sound like any language I’ve ever heard. What were you dreaming about?"

--"I…it’s hard to explain. It had to do with Gilgamesh. This will sound weird, but…I don’t think he’s our enemy."

--Ryo snorted in disbelief. "Yeah? Well I wish somebody would tell him that! He almost had us today and he helped the Dark Sisters get away with the Jewel last night."

--Trace was frustrated. How could he make them understand? "I know what it looks like. I’m not sure I can explain it. I just don’t think he’s really a bad guy that’s all." They all looked at him like he was crazy. "I need some air." Trace got up and went out onto the deck. He looked out at the water, trying to recall all the things he’d seen in his dream. It had seemed so real, so right somehow. Was he crazy? A voice behind startled him out of his revelry. Anubis.

--"We all have our own insights, Warrior of Gaea, things that we accept instinctively that others do not. If you feel with all your heart and soul that your dreams are speaking truth to you, do not let others discourage you. Follow your vision. As I told the Ronins only days ago, death, like most things in the universe, is not permanent. Sometimes, we get a second chance." He abruptly turned away and disappeared into the darkened house.