Chapter 332. Portals and Departures
"Magic?" Noah repeated, a faint, knowing smirk playing on his lips as he caught the lingering spark of curiosity in Gilgamesh's eyes. "Well, if it's a demonstration you want, it would be rude of me to decline."
"What?" Gilgamesh blinked, his massive shoulders tensing instinctively. A part of him wondered if Noah was challenging him to another round. His wounds had vanished under Ajak's touch, his strength was returning, and his warrior's heart was always ready for a second chance. If this human wanted to show him a different kind of power, Gilgamesh was more than willing to meet it head-on.
But Noah didn't raise a sword. Instead, he made a sharp, casual circular motion with his right hand.
In an instant, the solid red earth beneath Gilgamesh's boots vanished, replaced by a swirling, sparking ring of azure energy. The Eternal's eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated confusion.
"What in the—!"
The sentence died in his throat as gravity reclaimed him. Gilgamesh plummeted into the glowing void before he could even flex a muscle. The world became a kaleidoscope of rushing colors and humming vibrations, his senses reeling as space itself folded around him.
Thena and Ajak stood frozen, their mouths slightly agape. Before they could even cry out his name, a second portal—identical to the first—snapped into existence directly above the spot where he had disappeared.
Gilgamesh tumbled out of the ceiling of the sky, looking utterly bewildered, his arms flailing as he tried to catch his bearings in mid-air. He hadn't even finished his previous thought when the ground rushed up to meet him—or rather, the first portal did.
"What is—" Whoosh. He vanished into the bottom portal.
"Happening—" Whoosh. He fell out of the top one.
"—to meeeee!" Whoosh. Back into the bottom.
Gilgamesh was caught in a relentless, infinite loop of falling. Every time he gained a fragment of situational awareness, he was sucked back into the azure ring on the floor, only to be spat out of the one hovering twenty feet above. It was a vertical carousel of cosmic humiliation.
Desperate to break the cycle, Gilgamesh roared, his golden cosmic energy erupting from his body in a violent burst. He tried to project a blast downward, hoping the recoil would launch him sideways out of the loop's trajectory.
It was a valiant effort, but futile. The portals weren't static; they moved with him. No matter how he twisted his massive frame or directed his energy, the lower ring drifted like a hungry predator, positioning itself perfectly to catch his fall. He was a prisoner of geometry.
"Alright! Alright, Noah! I~~ get~~ it~~! Stop~~ this~~ madness~~!" After the thirtieth or fortieth trip through the loop, the Strongest Eternal finally waved the white flag, his voice trailing off into a dizzying echo as he plummeted yet again.
The moment the plea left his lips, the bottom portal snapped shut. Gilgamesh, falling with considerable momentum, performed a frantic mid-air roll, his instincts screaming at him to avoid a face-plant. With a grunt that shook the nearby trees, he stuck the landing, his boots carving deep furrows into the dirt as he stabilized himself. He straightened his back immediately, trying to reclaim some shred of his shattered dignity.
Remarkably, despite the long fall, his speed hadn't reached terminal levels. The magic of the portals seemed to reset his kinetic energy with each pass—a mercy, perhaps, or a specific constraint of the spell. Had it worked like a true vacuum drop, he would have hit the ground with the force of a tactical nuke.
"So, Gilgamesh," Noah said, waving his hand to dissipate the upper portal into a shower of harmless sparks. He leaned back slightly, a teasing glint in his eyes. "How would you rate the hospitality of Kamar-Taj?"
"Effective..." Gilgamesh grunted, rubbing his lower back and glaring at the spot where the portal had been. "Very... impressive. And deeply irritating." He let out a long breath, secretly relieved that Noah hadn't used that particular trick during their actual fight. He could smash mountains, but you couldn't punch a hole in the air.
With the sparring concluded, a quiet settled over the group. Thena stepped forward, her eyes bright with a competitive fire. As a Goddess of War, Noah's intricate blade-work had fascinated her; she wanted to feel that steel against her own golden constructs, to test her ancient techniques against his modern mastery.
Noah caught her gaze and nodded. He was curious too. Thena was a living legend of combat. However, before the first spark of a new duel could fly, Ajak and Gilgamesh stepped in, their voices firm.
"Thena, no," Ajak said gently but with the authority of a Prime Eternal. "You've only just recovered from the Mahd Wy'ry. Your mind needs rest, not the strain of a high-level battle."
Gilgamesh stepped beside her, placing a supportive hand on Thena's shoulder. Though she looked disappointed, she didn't argue. The weight of their concern was enough to make her yield. The sparring was over.
They retreated into the small, rustic house to gather their few belongings. Gilgamesh and Thena had decided: they would follow Ajak. The era of their isolation was over; the time had come to find the others.
Noah stood on the porch, watching the sunset bleed across the Australian horizon. He didn't intend to stay with them. His role as a shepherd was reaching its temporary end. He had brought Ajak to the muscle of the Eternals, ensuring she was protected.
With Gilgamesh—the unstoppable force—and Thena—the peerless weapon—at her side, Ajak was no longer a target. Even Ikaris would hesitate before challenging the three of them at once.
His plan was simple: let the Eternals be Eternals. Ajak would find the others, reveal the dark truth of the Emergence, and rally them against their celestial creators. Once the board was set, Noah would return to handle the sleeping giant in the Earth's core.
The future held battles with entities that made even the Celestials look like footnotes. He looked at his hands, thinking of the Dark Star Thresh. He needed to be ready. If the cosmic judges decided to descend in a swarm, he wasn't sure even his current power would be enough to hold the line.
"Noah, what are your plans now?" Ajak asked, stepping out of the house.
"Will you come with us to Asia? We could use your insight."
She truly wanted him there. Having a human of his caliber as an ally wasn't just a tactical advantage; it was a bridge between her people and the world they were supposed to protect.
Noah turned to her, the wind tossing his hair. "Asia first? No, I won't be joining you for this leg of the journey. There are things I must attend to. Find the others. Gather your strength. When the family is whole, find me."
Ajak hid her disappointment behind a nod of understanding. "I see. You have your own path. Very well, Noah. We will do as we discussed. If the world begins to shake... know that you have friends among the stars."
"Everything's packed, Ajak. We're ready to move," Gilgamesh announced, emerging from the shadows of the doorway with several massive, weathered bags slung over his shoulders as if they weighed nothing. Thena followed, her gaze distant but focused.
"Then let us begin," Ajak said.
"And how exactly are we traveling?" Gilgamesh asked, looking out at the endless miles of scrubland and desert. "It's a long walk to civilization, and even longer to the coast. I don't think Ajak wants to spend the next month trekking through the bush."
Noah stepped forward, his fingers already beginning to trace a familiar pattern in the air. "I believe I can provide a shortcut."
"Thank you, Noah. Truly," Ajak whispered.
With a wide, sweeping motion, Noah tore open a massive gateway. Unlike the small traps from before, this was a shimmering, stable bridge of light, wide enough for the three of them to walk through abreast. One by one, the Eternals stepped toward the threshold. Gilgamesh and Thena paused at the very edge, casting one final, lingering look at the humble home they had shared for centuries, before stepping through the golden ring and into the unknown.
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