Chapter 11: Dialogue and Choice Before Death

"A minuscule civilization, intelligent beings no larger than ants."

Xu Zhi looked down at the intelligent species he had painstakingly cultivated and evolved, observing the weeping, white-haired old man with a hint of melancholy.

That fervent young man who, as a callow infant worm-ape, had once nestled in his palm, then stood atop the giant tree, wielding the Sword of Damocles and roaring at the sky—he was now in his twilight years, approaching the end of his life.

His ambitious, fervent, and arrogant youthful demeanor felt as if it were just yesterday... and indeed, it had only been two days ago.

What seemed to them like endless, long years was merely a brief moment in his eyes.

"Gilgamesh, how have these years treated you?" Xu Zhi asked softly, his voice piercing the vast clouds and descending upon the prosperous royal city of Uruk below, landing directly in its central palace.

Gilgamesh, leaning on his Holy Sword, trembled.

"Me? I... I suppose I've been well enough."

His throat dry and hoarse, he gazed at the towering giant reaching into the clouds.

Even though it wasn't his first sight, he was still moved by the magnificent spectacle: a colossal, ten-thousand-zhang-tall giant piercing straight into the heavens, its body seemingly propping up the entire world. Intense radiance obscured its face, yet a faint, pure white, sacred light shimmered through the clouds, hinting at its majesty. Its eyes, glimpsed between the clouds, were infinitely profound.

The giant overlooked the entire city of Uruk.

Imposing, great, solemn, sacred—no words in the world could adequately describe its awe-inspiring beauty!

"Oh my god!"

"It truly exists!"

Millions across the city—merchants in luxurious leather robes, ragged slaves, women in noble gowns, commoners, and artisans—all dropped their work, emerged from their shops and homes, and stood in the streets, gazing up at the colossal giant piercing the sky.

"The intelligent species of legend, the wise giant beast that bestowed civilization upon us..."

"A colossal giant, ten thousand zhang tall."

"What a great and vast being, comparable to the sun, moon, and stars in the sky!"

They were all submerged in shock, their minds blank, a complex intertwining of longing, fear, and awe, ultimately transforming into unparalleled admiration.

The surrounding palace ministers were equally awestruck, a sight that made Gilgamesh smile wryly. He recalled his own first encounter, a moment of similar profound shock.

After a moment of silence, Gilgamesh looked up, his eyes filled with longing. "Wise Giant Beast, I have fulfilled the legacy of civilization you entrusted to me more than a hundred years ago."

Xu Zhi, like a vast giant from eternity, spoke with a mighty voice that pierced the clouds and descended upon the royal city of Uruk below. "Your great achievements will be recorded in the Sumerian epic *Genesis*, which you commissioned. You will be the greatest first king in the history of Sumerian civilization, Hero-King Gilgamesh. Future generations will compose hymns of history in your honor."

"No, glory for thousands of years after death, living on in an orally transmitted epic—that is not what I desire." Gilgamesh suddenly grew agitated.

"Then what do you desire?"

"I desire eternal life, just like yours!" Gilgamesh looked up at the towering giant, his longing immense. "I am willing to abandon everything, to give everything. Please, bestow upon me the three treasures of immortality!"

Xu Zhi was silent for a moment.

At this moment, King Gilgamesh had seemingly acquired everything in the world: glory, women, power, wealth. The world was his, yet he remained unsatisfied.

Longevity—Xu Zhi desired it too!

Xu Zhi, afflicted with a terminal illness and constantly on the brink of death, was filled with envy for Gilgamesh's magnificent life, a life chapter like an epic.

"Gilgamesh, you are too greedy. I do not possess the three treasures of longevity." Xu Zhi calmly gazed at the aging king. "The birth, aging, sickness, and death of a species are natural laws that I cannot alter."

At the end of life, everyone yearns to continue living.

At this moment, Xu Zhi seemed to be lamenting his own fate as well.

Identities and statuses were flattened in this instant, the scales of countless civilizations transcended. He and Gilgamesh were merely two pitiable beings, silently awaiting decay, both facing the fear of death.

Whether emperor or ant, all ultimately turn to dust and bones.

Xu Zhi suddenly wanted to say:

I am like you, also facing death.

However, he did not, only looking down at the royal city below with immense emotion.

"No... no..."

Gilgamesh's voice emerged as a hoarse croak. Gazing at the giant, sacred face enshrouded in clouds, he cried, "No, you are deceiving me! You can do it, you clearly can!!"

His eyes blazed as he looked at Xu Zhi's sturdy, youthful body, towering like a mountain range and robust as bedrock. Over two hundred long years, he had aged, but time had left no trace whatsoever on the great giant.

For him, time seemed as if it were yesterday.

To him, the Wise Giant Beast, as the most mysterious intelligent species, was immortal.

"What immense power this is! What an enviable, long life..."

Gilgamesh's lips trembled as he spoke in a low voice, then suddenly threw his head back and roared, "So you came in response to my call, to witness my death? The trembling, pathetic death of a lowly life?"

"I have come to see you off. I do not possess the ability to extend your life. I am also here for the second handover of civilization and to deliver a warning." Xu Zhi sighed and said, "Your civilization is too cruel. You exterminate surrounding life, destroy forests, slaughter giant beasts. The entire land is trampled underfoot by you. True civilization is neither cruel nor barbaric. I demand that you cease your slaughter!"

"Cease... the slaughter?"

Gilgamesh, his robust body now white-haired but still strong, suddenly began to tremble, his entire frame shaking. A flame seemed to ignite in his eyes, growing more vibrant, burning fiercely.

The white-haired old man abruptly took a step forward.

"No, the slaughter cannot stop, and my progress cannot halt!" he roared. "Do you realize that the Sword of Damocles you gave me all these years ago has hung high above my head, granting me immense power yet also instilling unparalleled fear? Today, I shall personally draw that hanging sword from above my head!"

"Akad."

"Your Majesty," the chronicler responsible for compiling *Genesis* stepped forward.

"Record the history of our civilization at this moment," Gilgamesh declared, his voice resolute. "I speak, you write."

At the red desk, Akad silently picked up a quill pen and unrolled a scroll of gray animal skin. "Your Majesty is speaking."

"The history of humanity's struggle against nature is a history of courage and hymns... My original intention in commissioning *Genesis* was to preserve history for future generations, to let them understand the courage of their ancestors in their fight against nature."

"Now, let history record my courage in this very moment."

Gilgamesh took a ragged, heavy breath, his aged body leaning on the Sword of Damocles. He chuckled softly as he declared:

"Genesis, Year 175 of the Sumerian Dynasty: After slaying Fenba, the most powerful legendary giant beast in history, Hero-King Gilgamesh, who had sealed his sword for over a hundred years, acted once more. With the might of the entire nation, he lured the transcendent Wise Giant Beast into appearance, intending to wield his sword against it and strike it down!"