The Shapeshifter

When I was born, my mother said that I didn't cry.

She said that my eyes wandered around as if I was curious.

My mouth kept on babbling unintelligible sounds.

My father had the crazy thought of teaching me the Akkadian Language.

And I succeeded.

On my first try.

On the first day.

That I was born.

I was given books on the second day.

Learned how to read on the third day.

Learned what the whole library could offer in a year.

My father was a King; as well as a Shaman.

When I was two, I tried recalling all the knowledge that I have read.

Consolidating the numerous information.

Obtaining a great mind, yet a weak body.

I started to plan.

By the age of three, I started familiarizing with my body.

A child's body is incredibly fragile, so I waited until I turned four.

At four, I started learning the ways of the weapons.

Strengthening my core, my body. .

At five, I already gained a healthy body and a healthy mind.

Continually strengthening my Mana, whilst at the same time, strengthening my body.

At six, I was able to beat a twenty year old warrior, he was very skilled for a thief.

He must've been an ȧssassin.

At seven, I was already an Archmage.

At eight, when my father returned after a war, he saw through my secret.

He saw that I was already a King.

Shocked and scared as he was, he was unable to do anything to me.

I am as strong as him.

I am as intelligent as him.

In fact, all the knowledge that I have read were wrong.

That was what they call an experience.

My father didn't attack me as depicted in the stories of the old.

He didn't do anything to steal my body.

He didn't want to know the secret to my strength.

Nor will he get anything from me, as I, myself, don't know.

As a learned Shaman, he knew of things that cannot be written in the books or known to other people.

He grew curious.

So did I.

At nine, with shock clearly on my mother's eyes, she finally discovered our secret.

My secret.

At ten, seeing our persistence, she told us about the tablet of the Gods.

A tablet that records the past, the present and the future.

At eleven, my father started planning his journey.

At twelve, my father set off.

Whether it be mountains, he shall climb.

The sea, he shall sail.

That was what he said to me.

I could feel the passion burning inside my father.

To search for the unknown.

He was sincerely hoping to know how my existence came to be.

He left us.

A year has gone by without any news.

It was to be expected, so I simply continued my study and practice.

Two years with nothing.

It's alright. He should be coming back soon.

Three years, without a King leading his country.

So I succeeded the throne.

An unknown lad, who later became my friend, crashed the ceremony.

I fought him, punched him, kicked him.

He did the same to me.

We fought without weapons, only our bȧrė hands.

From dusk 'til dawn we fought.

I emerged the victor.

Exhilaration.

This was the first time someone fought me for so long.

What more, he was of similar age to me.

We smiled at each other like barbarians, as I looked down at him who was on the ground.

The marriage?

I threw it at the back of my head.

I wasn't ready for it anyway.

At age seventeen, I suddenly remembered my father.

Forgetting someone. I actually forgot my father.

His people as well.

They forgot my father, their King.

I don't want to be forgotten.

Like him.

So I started to formulate a plan.

I don't want people to forget me. Like they did to my father.

I need glory.

At age of eighteen, I told my people that I will slay the beasts in the forest of cedar.

Everyone cheered as I knew that the beasts of the forest are a huge threat to the people.

They offered to build a monument as a gift for slaying the beasts.

Exactly what I wanted.

I prepared my axe, took my new friend Enkidu, as well as my mother, who doesn't want me to lose my life.

We set off.

As we travelled I often had dreams that I cannot comprehend during the night.

So I asked my mother and Enkidu, then they interpreted all my dreams for me.

They said it was auspicious.

So we went killing all the beasts with renewed zeal.

Finally, we met the guardian of the cedar forest.

We caused so much raucous, it was impossible for it to hide forever.

After beating it, I plan to make a deal with the guardian.

A deal to make my people and the beasts to coexist.

A plan was a plan after all.

Unless executed, it only remains as a thought.

Then I saw it.

Humbaba the Terrible.

My mind was unable to process the appearance of this creature.

I thought I was the tallest. But it was only among the humans.

I was only a giant among men.

It had the body of giant humanoid lion, it had a snake as its tail, horns of a buffalo and claws of an eagle.

My body trembled. My body stood rooted at the ground.

I was shaking.

What was it?

A new experience that I was feeling.

Fear.

I felt terror, looking at me in the eye.

Gripping my throat slowly and it gets tighter each time.

All of a sudden, my fears vanished.

Light was shining all over my body.

I turned back and saw my mother with her hands clasped as if praying.

My blood was pumping intensely.

I could feel my body growing hot by the second.

Anger.

That was the first time that I ever felt what fear was.

I attacked the guardian of the cedar, Humbaba.

Each swing of my axe causes strong winds to ravage the surroundings.

Tearing the trees.

Razing the earth.

Humbaba's eyes were like death itself.

Its roar akin to a flood.

Its breath was fire.

The fight raged on.

Blood after blood spurted out of the monster's body.

It knelt, begged me for mercy.

I can't possibly kill someone who's asking me for mercy.

What more, I can feel it with certainty, it was genuine.

Then Enkidu said that Humbaba the TERRIBLE can't be trusted.

Remembering the fear and anger that I felt.

Remembering my promise to my people.

I shall rid this world of Humbaba!

At age eighteen, I finally killed someone.

Yes, I consider it as someone since it can talk.

At age nineteen, Ishtar asked me for marriage once again.

But I refused.

It's not time yet.

I still have things that I have to do.

At age twenty, I, along with Enkidu and my mother set off once more.

This time, to find my father who had been missing for so long.

Climbing the mountains.

Sailing the seas.

We stumbled upon a giant tree.

A tree so tall, we couldn't see its end.

Walking to the tree, we saw a pile of bones on the land.

It appeared to have not suffered any bone injury.

It was my father.

There was no need for further inspection.

I just knew that it was him.

Sadness.

Was what I felt.

Then I heard the sound of wings flapping.

I looked above and saw something nearing.

A humongous bird with the face of a lion.

It went down to the bottom of the tree with a tablet on its talons.

As it was descending, its height was similar to Humbaba.

It strangely resembles Humbaba as well.

Maybe it was because of their head and height.

I wanted to know how my father died.

The answer rests at its talons.

The tablet.

I rushed at it, giving it no time to speak.

My mother and Enkidu helped me in attacking the giant bird, who named itself as Anzu.

Anzu fought hard, it summoned wind with its wings, rained down lightning with its mouth.

Fortunately, it couldn't fight off three people at once.

It succumbed to my axe and fell limply on the ground.

Seeing the tablet all alone.

Something was brewing inside me.

Greed.

The Table of Destinies.

It was said that it contains the information of the past, present and the future.

With this amount of knowledge, there would be no need to fear, no need to feel anger, no need to be sad.

My greed for knowledge — no. It wasn't that. I knew, my fear grew.

I stretched out my arm and rested on top of the tablet.

As my hand landed on it, the earth quaked.

Tremors of unknown intensity ȧssaulted the surroundings.

My vision continued to shake when suddenly everything stopped.

A beautiful woman and a bull with four golden horns appeared.

This scene somehow felt familiar.

No!

No way!

Fear.

Everything I have read.

What I have read, I have seen.

I looked back at my mother and Enkidu.

I told them to stay back.

I rushed towards the bull with four golden horns.

It rushed towards me as well.

Anger.

I fought it head on.

I fought harder than I ever did.

I conjured the elements.

I swung my axe, causing strong winds to roar about.

Fire burned the trees.

Earth shook and separated the lands.

Water came out between the lands and ȧssaulted the Heavenly Bull.

Wood sprouted from where my mother and Enkidu stood, protecting them from our battle.

Metal came out beneath the earth and relentlessly attacked the Heavenly Bull.

I rampaged as I fought the bull.

I looked back and saw that my mother and Enkidu are lying lifelessly below the beautiful woman.

I saw the left side of their ċhėst with a hole.

I saw the woman's bloodied hand.

Anger.

Sadness.

They grew.

Why?

Their deaths weren't written like that.

They were supposed to die fighting the bull.

SO WHY!?

Calming myself quickly.

I arrived at the conclusion.

What will happen, will eventually happen.

So I ran away.

I can't fight someone who killed my mother and friend in the blink of an eye.

I ran away.

For fear of death.

For anger of knowing my death.

For sadness of my family and friend's death.

As I was running away from the past and the present.

There was something that I remembered from the future.

The secret of Immortality.

I headed east.

Far east.

Climbing the mountains.

Sailing the seas.

Finally, diving into the deepest of waters.

The coldest of waters covered my body.

It strangely reminded me of death.

The water felt as cold as death.

I raged on.

Death cannot beat me.

I will never bend.

I am the strongest.

Soon, I reached the deepest part there is.

Black smoke rising from the ground.

Obscuring my already limited vision.

I continued to look for it.

Seconds turned to minutes.

Minutes turned to hours.

Hours to Days.

Days to Weeks.

Weeks to Months.

Months to a Year.

I don't know how long I stayed on the coldest and darkest part of this planet.

I searched.

Finally.

I found.

The plant of Immortality.

I raced through the waters.

Picked it up and swallowed it immediately.

I felt the changes in my body.

Finally.

Death? I am no longer afraid.

As I was reveling on my own.

I felt someone's gaze on me.

Looking back.

Two huge eyes were staring at me.

What were the emotions it was conveying?

Is it mocking me?

Pity?!

HOW DARE THIS CREATURE!

I AM THE STRONGEST!

As I was about to attack, I saw its tail slapping me in the face.

Then my vision blacked out.