What do you do when the world you live in and the person you are end up completely incompatible? Would anyone have the courage to stand up against the world for their identity? For their soul?
There was an incongruence with the self and the world, something that couldn’t ever be bridged unless the self reflected the world it lived in. To become a mirror that existed only to express the world around you was the only solution to the disconnect. Well, that wasn’t really true. There was another option: to make the world reflect only you, to shape it in your image, to make it to where you were the only true resident. If you were asked to be honest, you’ve likely felt the desire to throw away the world for your own happiness many times.
I wonder if Gilgamesh knew the hell he was unleashing, speaking a fairy tale into truth. It started fifty years ago, when the Villain of the World led a band of shepherds, a group of outlaws who forgo law and order for their desires, to the center of Paradiso. Nobody knew what they had found, but they knew that after they returned from their adventure, they were changed men. Only on his death bed did Gilgamesh speak of what they had seen that day.
“Your reality is far closer to what you disregard as fiction. If you desire paradise, follow the path. The Lamp is waiting.”
Those words expected to only be heard by a chosen few were broadcast the globe over, spreading like a disease. The allure of paradise was not something that could be easily resisted. The only thing standing between you and all you’ve ever wanted was the unparalleled might of the Church, which for most was a notable deterrent. However, if you already didn’t have much to lose to begin with, then you couldn’t care less even if it would kill you. Many took to the skies, unflinching in the face of danger, just for the chance to make their dreams come true. This is the era we find ourselves in now, the Age of Exploration, where the fate of the world would be altered forever, but all journeys must begin with a single step.