"Mother Goddess! No! Go back!"
The ancient serpent's pupils widened, scales flaring up in layers as its soul trembled violently. Its desperate roar surged along the interconnected anchor lines, echoing through the Sea of Imaginary Numbers to the Goddess of Beginning.
This rift carved into the sky, a passage to the inner side of the World Egg, bore too many marks of human interference.
Once she stepped in and the rift closed, there would be no turning back for Mother Goddess Tiamat—only a path of total war against humanity.
And even without that, in the annals of recorded history, despite her overwhelming power and vast army of magical beasts, the Goddess of Beginning was fated to fall under the combined assault of countless forces.
Even if Ian joined the fray, using his foresight to crush humanity...
Then what?
The barrier between heaven and earth would collapse. The gods of ancient Babylon would return. At that point, Tiamat and Ian wouldn't be facing a ragtag group of human heroes, but a full-fledged army of gods!
Once, even at the height of her power, Mother Goddess Tiamat was slain by Marduk, King of Kings.
Now, with most of her divinity stripped away, how could the Goddess of Beginning possibly stand against the siege of her rebellious children?
Besides, he had already sensed a more secure path to bring her back.
So no matter what, Ian couldn't let Tiamat fall into this trap.
If she did, everything would be lost!
Just as the ancient serpent raised its head and cried out in anguish, the anchor line binding them began to hum and blur, fading from existence.
In an instant, Ian's consciousness was drawn into a white mental space.
Ahead stood a graceful figure clad in garments of blue-green scales. She slowly turned, her head bowed, long green hair tied behind her, and her beautiful cross-shaped eyes tinged with sorrow. Arms crossed over her chest, lips softly murmuring.
"I gave life to so many... and once, all living beings loved me..."
"But my children used me as a stepping stone and drifted away…"
"I just wanted to love them forever... to keep them close by…"
"Was my love... all wrong?"
"Must we truly part ways when children grow up?"
The soul, now in human form, quietly stepped forward and embraced the goddess, whispering softly in her ear.
"Mother Goddess... maybe we've grown up, and don't need you to hold our hands anymore."
"But true growth isn't about leaving everything behind—it's about carrying the past with us, and treasuring what we once had!"
"So in this world, there is no excuse—none—for them to hurt you, or abandon you!"
Tears streamed from her crimson eyes. Stirred by the Sky Rift, a trace of rationality flickered in the Goddess of Beginning. Clutching her chest, she trembled with inexplicable sorrow.
"Don't leave me… don't abandon me…"
"And don't love me anymore…"
"Because... it hurts too much…"
At that moment, the clarity in her cross-shaped eyes faded. The pure white mental space trembled violently, spiderweb cracks spreading from beneath Tiamat's feet, threatening to consume everything.
Ian looked around at the growing fractures, then closed his eyes briefly to steady himself. When he opened them, he leaned even closer into Tiamat's embrace.
He had already died once. What did it matter anymore? If need be, he would return even his life to her.
The soul's hand gently stroked her soft green hair, head bowed, voice low and tender.
"Mother Goddess, don't be afraid…"
"Even if this world abandons you, I'll always be here—by your side!"
"I'll love what you love, think what you think, and never let you face the loneliness alone again!"
He looked down, eyes tracing the shattered cracks around him. Through them, he gazed at the Sea of Imaginary Numbers, at the towering figure walking toward the Rift in the Sky. He raised his hand, gently cradling Tiamat's cheek.
His serpent-like eyes, brimming with emotion, met her empty, void-like cross-shaped gaze.
"Don't be afraid to be loved…"
"I'll always be with you. Forever!"
When he first arrived in this world, he was lost—confused and gripped by fear, drifting aimlessly. But it was Tiamat who gave him the purest love and protection.
So in return, he would offer everything to fulfill her deepest desires.
"Still, this isn't the right time to return."
"So please, just wait a little longer. Don't go—okay?"
At that moment, as the two figures clung to each other, the towering presence rising from the Sea of Imaginary Numbers was already just a breath away from the Rift in the Sky.
Buzz!
As those pale green fingers approached, colorful ripples spread across the outer wall of the World Egg.
"Please, Mother Goddess..."
"I don't want to watch you die with my own eyes..."
Ian pressed his lips tightly together and slowly closed his eyes, but the white mental space around him was fracturing inch by inch. His consciousness plummeted, and his heart sank to the bottom.
If this is your decision... then I'll respect it.
Just as the ancient serpent revealed his resolve to face death, a flicker of awareness caught sight of the massive rift connecting heaven and earth—beginning to slowly close!
The colossal figure outside the wall of the world drew back her hand, then quietly sank once more into the Sea of Imaginary Numbers.
Could it be... the Mother Goddess had been repairing the Rift in the Sky just now?
"I'll wait for you to come back..."
The whisper that traveled through the anchor line and entered Ian's mind sent a surge of ecstasy through the ancient serpent.
It worked!
It actually worked!
To convince the Goddess of Beginning to suppress her instincts and choose silence—it was nothing short of a miracle!
But before he could fully celebrate, a wave of intense vertigo crashed over him.
The bizarre sensation of body and consciousness blending together pushed Ian, already mentally drained, to his limit. His skull throbbed as if every nerve were being stabbed by red-hot needles.
Hiss!
The ancient serpent writhed and thrashed on the rocks for a moment, then rolled onto its back and passed out cold.
Ereshkigal hurriedly scooped up her pet, transformed into a streak of red light, and rushed toward the temple.
Before Ian's consciousness completely dissolved into chaos, a faint sense of relief bloomed in his mind.
Thankfully, he had managed to stop Tiamat. She didn't step into the trap—at least she would live. That alone made it all worth it.
But then, a wave of confusion and unease surged in.
If the Great Rift closed... and Tiamat never returned to the surface...
What would become of the Three Goddess Alliance hunting humanity, the Chaldea travelers working to restore the foundation of humanity, and the Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, singing of human resistance?
Who could possibly know?
In the end, filled with a flood of conflicting emotions, the ancient serpent blacked out.
But the storm he'd stirred up left behind ripples far and wide.
Like a stone dropped into a lake, its distorted ripples spread outward, until they churned the entire surface into an undercurrent of darkness...
A few days later, roaring laughter echoed through the Divine Tower of Uruk's royal palace.
"Fascinating! Fascinating!"
"This is truly fascinating!"
"Hahahaha! Such irresistible delight!"
The King of Heroes, playing with a clay tablet in one hand and rubbing his sore abs with the other, caught his breath, curled his lips into a grin, and waved toward the courtyard.
"Siduri, come. Have a drink with me!"