Finis Chaldea

[Bloodedge]

Ah, he could feel it. Just on the other side of that shield, there was an opposing power to his ultimate force. How could she fare? He would soon find out. The Shield of the Gods returned to his treasury, and there it was. In Gilgamesh's right hand was the Sword of Rupture, its three segments rotating in opposition of one another, winds whipping out from the cycle and distorting space-time around Gilgamesh as the Sword of Rupture and the Sword of Promised Victory screamed at one another across the open field. "I will tell you of the beginning. I speak of genesis. Heaven and Earth split, nothingness congratulated creation, and my sword cleaved the world!"

What Gilgamesh utilized could be described as the wrath of nature itself. Frankly, he always wondered how the hopes and dreams of mankind would fare against it. Sadly, he had to show restraint. It would not do well to erase the world and his bride before their wedding night came. So then, what would he do? Well, he could at least offer fair warning, if Ea's power alone somehow did not manage as much. "Enuma..." The start of a chant would be the only additional warning Artoria received. In speaking that phrase, however, the cylinders of Ea spun faster. Compressed and intertwining stratifications of wind became a visual reddish torrent of energy that erased even the sands around him. His sword was lifted, soon to be brought down. . .

[Apollymi]

Artoria held tight to the light that was victory, as she always did. Once raised in the air, there was usually nothing that could stand in her way. This was so much the case that eventually restraint was placed upon her blade, she could not keep an exact count at any moment but she knew in most cases full power was nigh impossible to reach. Still, she could use it. Regardless of the power of the 'sword' across from her, she could rather suddenly see it, a path shining towards victory. A road of light to travel along even the darkest and most unknown space, she could go. She'd previously thought her own instincts could not reach so far, but now she was absolutely certain she could do it. Even while looking at those spinning cylinders.

The King of Heroes stood above her, bearing down with the weight of creation on her. And once more, if only for a second that little smirk appeared at the edges of her lips. That was no sword, surely? It in no way resembled a proper weapon, there was no blade. But that power was still obvious and she should have had reason to fear it. She did not though, and perhaps that would be her folly this day. No sharpness was lost to her eyes, and no purpose lost to the swing of her sword. Was he truly warning her of the coming attack? Well, she could clearly see it. "EX-" the start of the light show would grow just a bit brighter as Artoria held on to that final moment. She'd need to be careful, because it would require precise timing to launch herself after fending off something so ridiculous as this. It would be worth it though... she could do it. See that one clear moment which would place the light of victory squarely within her own hands. But that would be in the aftermath of his next attack.

[Bloodedge]

Artoria bore the strangest light in her eye. How interesting; she'd also become the second to witness the Sword of Rupture without hopelessness being what she experienced. What was going through her mind, he wondered. He saw no future in which she overcame him, but he supposed she would always be so resilient. The Queen of Knights could be nothing less, after all. "ELISH!" The downward swing of his sword sent forth the full force of Ea that had been built up thus far. Winds that tore apart reality were unleashed as a beam from the sword's tip. His other treasures had been successfully returned to the vault, leaving only this. How would she fare mentally with this being what she was up against? She hadn't so much as dented the ultimate defense, yet she still strived for more. So then, he'd give her a sample of the ultimate offense instead. He never blinked, he never let his eyes waver. The power of Excalibur would truly be put to the test, and the same would be said of Artoria's resolve.

[Apollymi]

The world was being torn asunder. Even so, Artoria had let go of nothing, no... she was content enough to face down death, destruction or whatever else and search for victory. That golden glowing sword of hers swung down in brilliant light. "CALIBUR!!" The battle cry which won a thousand battles was uttered once more. And what would it accomplish? Holding off rampant destruction with mana as the fuel. It felt like years, but even so... what was Artoria if not defensively capable? A light that was most practically human ambition fended off the power that once split the world and that strange light remained, while Artoria used her own body to absorb the shock. Well, such a statement would make it sound like she did it on purpose, but it was a side-effect of fending off an attack so powerful. All she had to do after the smoke cleared was move forward but...

Not today. In her own mind Artoria clearly saw the use of Avalon and the follow up attack after she was proven still capable of continuing. In that moment, some three steps ahead, she could have reached her target. She could have found the victory she was trying to accomplish but just because she could see the victory, didn't mean her body was capable of seizing it. Right. She hadn't slept in weeks, her body couldn't quickly recover from the recoil of several moments. She barely had the energy to power her armor, it shattered as her body took wounds to balance out the pressure. Artoria had been touted as invincible, how long had it been since she'd been so hurt in battle? Probably not since her battle against the Usurper. There wasn't enough magic left for Avalon to passively heal her and she could barely open her mouth to activate it. Of course this would happen, she'd never hear the end of this from the smug King of Heroes. That shining light in her eyes that held so much certainty, faded as her consciousness went along with it. There were several steps she could have taken before now, that would have contributed to her victory, but as far as she was concerned she'd made the point she'd intended. If she were to fight gods, odds against her with only the sword in her hand and the armor on her body, she'd do it to her last breath and that little smirk on her face, her eyes forward and her honor intact. One last thing, one small uttered word as she realized her current limitations were her own fault. "Fuck." Whoops, she could practically hear the Queen of Saints telling her not to curse. She could see nothing else. The light was fading from her eyes as she lost consciousness sword planted in the ground her hands on the hilt. She would not fall. Even as her wounds bled it seemed she was still upright waiting for the next. So far she reached, and so close she came. Maybe next time.

[Bloodedge]

Suddenly, there was a clash between two things that should never have met. Enuma Elish against Enuma Elish had once made glass of a desert, but Enuma Elish against the light of Excalibur seemed to erase the very atmosphere for just a moment. Had he been a bit more serious, and Artoria been without the restrictions applied to her weapon, perhaps all of Mesopotamia and beyond would have suffered. Instead though, only Artoria suffered heavily from the collision. She deserved a great deal of credit for even surviving, though he expected that much. Surprising however, was the fact that she was still holding onto that sword when the struggle came to an end... as well as the vulgarity passing her lips the moment she lost consciousness. When would she fall? It seemed she wouldn't. Bleeding, beaten and armorless, an unconscious Artoria Pendragon still upheld the visage of a knight ready for the last stand that would never come. How noble, yet how foolish. How unsightly, yet how absolutely stunning. Ea vanished, and Gilgamesh stepped forward to reach for the queen. His hand first went out to her face simply to touch its cheek, and soon enough, he was lifting her into his arms and walking to the Citadel of Uruk once more.

Sir Tristan had not been completely idle all this time. He'd listened to the commotion, and he'd observed the ensuing battle. He was there to meet King Gilgamesh while Artoria was being carried off. His bow was at the ready, though it seemed Gilgamesh expected this interjection. "Arrogant king, release my queen immediately. This battle is over," he insisted. Gilgamesh, however, continued moving forward. "H'oh? And what will you do? Loose your paltry little arrows and risk killing the queen you serve before dying yourself? I will forgive your empty threat just once, but hear this. This queen is mine, whether she has come to realize this or not. You are in her charge, are you not? Stand aside as I tend to this sleepless girl," Gilgamesh demanded. By the look in his eye alone, Tristan... could not stand against him. There was something in there, something beyond the pomposity of an old king... something even beyond the fury with which he spoke.

Gilgamesh would not halt once on his way inside. He did hesitate just briefly upon entering the throne room though, choosing to address... "Siduri." That word was the only one he spoke, meaning to have her follow along to his personal chambers. Within was all the lavishness expected of the hedonist king, including but not limited to a bed large enough to accept a full harem, velvet and lions fur adorning it. That bed was where he placed Artoria, gently upon her back. Just as gently, he aimed to wrest the sword from her hands. His free hand took the time to sweep hair from her glorious face, which once done, freed the king to press his lips upon her forehead as a doting parent would do upon tucking the child in for the night. With that out of the way, he spoke his order to Siduri at last. "The queen has been taken by the filth of combat. Have the murk stripped from her body, and the sands washed from this magnificent flesh. Three days, you have. In three days, this beautiful woman shall wake in Uruk's finest dress, to consume only the freshest meat and bread, and the sweetest wine made by your own hand. In three days, she shall want for nothing but the next bowl or cup to fill her hand. Care for her as you once did for me, at journey's end."

[Apollymi]

Artoria's last stand was one she would have regretted but also one she would have enjoyed. If this had still been that game she streamed, she would have restarted and demanded a rematch. That was how she was, if she wanted to do something, she did it. And if she lost she took her defeat and then went back and fixed said mistake. No victories were easy and no kills were messy, this was her nature. What else was her nature? Well, her men and those under her caring for her to great extremes. One such was Tristan who was accompanying her during her sleeplessness. His encounter with Gilgamesh would have been one she stopped if she was conscious enough. Actually, if she hadn't just gotten mad about it, she probably would have relieved him of his duty to her for a while given she was about to fight. Oh well, Tristan had been worried about the tyrant king, but it seemed he could at least understand what Artoria had meant when she'd vouched for him.

Whatever the case, Siduri was soon in Gilgamesh's room as he laid Artoria to bed. The man did say he wished to marry her, and to Siduri's approximation he was now taking the right steps to make that happen. Still as he tried to wrest the sword from her grip she seemed to hang on to it a bit tighter, Artoria did not sleep without a weapon, this was something Siduri was made privy to, "My king you are going to have to put a dagger into her hand, if you want the Queen of Knights to release her hold on the Holy Sword. She will not sleep without a weapon..." she advised. She knew this because of her vacation, she'd spent quite a bit of time in the company of the Queen of Knights and the Queen of Saints, she knew them pretty well now. As for the things he wanted her to do, she could take care of those things without question. "I will do as you ask, of course. And if I have three whole days. I might actually get through the whole process without her pulling a knife on me..." she mused ever so lightly. Siduri would have no problem taking care of Queen Artoria, and she found the King's doting tendencies with the woman to be a good show of his true intentions. That bed large as it was, more than anything Artoria would have ever slept on herself. She could barely differentiate between her own room and those of her Knights.

[Bloodedge]

Apparently, his queen would not sleep without her weaponry at the ready. What sort of nonsense was that? For Siduri to know this, it could not have been as recent a development as the attempted assault on her person. No, this was something discovered some time ago. "How foolish," he mused. "Such a knight, never truly a queen. When does one rest, if one can only do so with cold steel pressed to their bosom?" A curiosity indeed. Whatever the case, she would not be resigned to grasping the full weight of the Holy Sword Excalibur. Gilgamesh's treasury produced a ceremonial golden dagger with a lapis lazuli handle. Deft fingers crept between Artoria's own digits and the hilt of Excalibur, forcing room enough for the dagger to be slipped underneath. "Very well. On this day, the first gift will be given," he said.

Glowing eyes overlooked the Queen of Knights while Siduri spoke further. Three days were slated to pass, and in that time, the queen would be cared for. "Artoria Pendragon, Queen of Knights, Goddess of the Holy Lance and my future Queen of Alaya. Siduri, you shall never be harmed by this woman, least of all while she lies immobile within sleep's sweet embrace." With this speech came another meeting of his hand and Artoria's cheek. "Ironic, isn't it? This woman's first night in this bed, and it is not even for the sake of consummation. When will the day come, I wonder. . ."

[Apollymi]

Apparently Gilgamesh found it foolish that the lass only slept with a weapon in her hand. Siduri could only smile about the information and she watched dutifully as a dagger was produced and the weight of it given to the Queen of Knights instead of her Holy Sword. A chuckle escaped the veiled woman as she watched the King of Uruk finally wrest a the sword from the Queen of Knights. "I do not believe this is a knightly quality, the Queen of Saints also has this habit," Siduri mentioned. When questioned both mentioned it being a habit of their family. Siduri decided the family must be strange, but since both of the young women were nice, she figured it had something to do with whatever the family profession entailed. Regardless, Artoria's hand clutched at a lapis lazuli handle on an ornate straight bladed dagger, and her body seemed to relax a bit more in the moment. She truly couldn't sleep without protection. "Excellent choice, my king. She does enjoy her weapons~" the lass said.

Now Artoria was all tucked in and weapon in hand, according to Gilgamesh Artoria would come to have a great many titles and under none of them would Siduri have to worry about the lass drawing a weapon against her. This was a comforting thought, she'd grown a bit fond of the blonde haired lass while she wasn't working. "That is comforting to know..." she said of not being harmed by the Queen of Knights. Of course, beyond this there were words shared, as Gilgamesh continued doting upon the young woman in what would eventually be their bed. "It is just a little ironic, but the Queen of Knights is a different sort of individual, normal is unexpected." Siduri commented. Whenever Gilgamesh left she'd look after the lass. Cleaning her up and putting her in much more comfortable clothes, brushing out her hair and redoing it for the sake of its cleanliness. All the while, she slept peacefully with her hand clamped around that dagger. And in three days time, Siduri would have a cup and vase of wine at Artoria's bedside, for the woman to enjoy when she finally woke.

[Bloodedge]

Ah, so something was wrong with the lot of them. A curse, he'd lay upon the fate of a family for producing this situation. "A knightly quality it remains. Knights and dogs are much the same. To the world I ask, who looked upon this breathtaking thing and chose to make her submit to a routine fit only to those who heel." A few moments of thought, and Gilgamesh rose. He kept Excalibur in hand, leaving the lightweight dagger in its place. Excalibur would be held for three days until she was ready to reclaim it. "This one has not lived a single day of her life as a woman. Of course, it is my responsibility to break the wheel. Another journey is ahead of me."

With that said, Gilgamesh would take his leave of the bedroom. Siduri could be trusted with the tasks given, and he would not gaze upon his future queen's bare form with his own eyes quite yet. That was something to savor in the future, however far ahead it lay. Gilgamesh returned to the throne room to handle additional matters of state, carrying Excalibur all the while. It truly was a marvelous weapon; he found himself studying it numerous times over the course of three days. Ah... three days was actually quite long, wasn't it? On his long journey, Gilgamesh lost track of the days with great ease. Now though, only three days was a mountain of tablets and a sea of visitors, ages spent between each moment taken to view the slumbering queen. That is, until the third day began. Before sunrise, Gilgamesh would appear once more with... strangely, a tablecloth in hand. Excalibur and that cloth were to be taken with him as he sat at Artoria's bedside, awaiting the moment she woke.

[Apollymi]

Siduri had no real response for the King of Uruk. He wished to know why someone like Artoria had been looked upon and determined a knight. It seemed a bit cruel as a fate for a girl so pretty to be turned into something so harsh. But if anyone could change the outright strangeness of the personality of the Queen of Knights, she was sure Gilgamesh could do it. In what Siduri had personally witness of Artoria, she passed for a knightly prince instead of a queen in most cases. "I can agree she does not spend her life in the way women do. It will at least, be interesting to see..." she commented. And soon after the King of Uruk left to go about his work and Siduri went about hers. At sunrise three days hence she left a pitcher of wine, she knew the lass to like and a filled goblet at her bedside as per the King's request of her initially and then the King himself joined once more.

Siduri excused herself and Artoria was left to wake as naturally as she always would. Shortly before sunrise the blonde lass rose her grip on that dagger shifting as emerald eyes opened for the first time in days. Strangely enough the Queen of Knights felt refreshed and quite different. And what would be the first thing she did upon waking? Take a peek at the weapon in her hand. An ornate dagger with a lapis lazuli handle she sat up in bed inspecting it. She tossed it around in her hands, inspecting its weight. It would make a pretty good throwing knife. Yes, this was her first thought. But with a weapon in hand she actually looked around her surroundings and found herself in the middle of the largest bed she'd ever inhabited. Who needed a bed this big?! Wait. She remembered, she'd recently fought the King of Heroes in a sleeplessness induced rage and lost. So... she was in his bed sleeping? How long was she out for? Well, she didn't feel any differently. Lie. There was a gentle breeze across the back of her shoulders, as such she found herself inspecting her own form that knife being twirled around her fingers. 'My back is out...' she thought while flexing her shoulders. Artoria opened her mouth and found her voice unable to be forced out. She needed a drink, surely she could find some at her beside. Still, her eyes hadn't even fallen yet upon Gilgamesh so imagine her surprise to find him sitting at her bedside. Her eyes widened gently but then narrowed immediately. Didn't he have something better to be doing? Oh well... she reached for the goblet at her bedside. And sipped from the cup seeming not to be fearful at all about drinking from said cup. Sips later her parched throat was soothed and she had only praises to sing. "Siduri, you star-blessed wine-maker~" she murmured seemingly pleased. "Where is Tristan and how long have I been asleep?" she asked two questions the first of which was unrelated to her own well-being.