"Old… Shamhat, cough, cough, don't look at me like that, you're scaring me…"
The ancient snake coiled in the crevice gave a dry cough and lifted its head, assuming the poised stance of a reptile ready to strike at the first sign of danger.
"Call me Teacher!"
The sacred prostitute squatting at the cave entrance demanded solemnly.
"Oh… Teacher Shamhat…"
Faced with this enigmatic woman, Ian suddenly felt a headache coming on.
But then, Shamhat, standing at the entrance, broke into a bright, pure smile upon hearing the ancient snake's response. She began repeating her student's earlier words with conviction.
"Do not show understanding to those who harbor hatred."
"Do not show approval to those who harbor joy."
"Do not show appreciation to those who are in pain!"
"She has her choice, and I have mine."
Ian initially thought his teacher was having another one of her irrational episodes.
However, these weighty words were, according to established history, originally spoken by Ziusudra, a near-immortal survivor of the Great Flood during the Golden Age.
More accurately, they came from the Grand Assassin who descended upon Mesopotamia through the Rift in the Sky, using Ziusudra as a vessel to aid humanity during its time of crisis.
His strength was not to be taken lightly.
This lone-wolf assassin stood at the very pinnacle of Human Heroic Spirits, able to easily discern the complex dynamics between gods and mortals.
So, although his advice came off as a bit severe, it was nothing short of sage counsel.
In essence, he urged people to abandon all delusions regarding the Three Goddesses.
Only by demonstrating the unyielding resolve of humanity could their lofty heads be lowered, allowing them to acknowledge the seemingly insignificant beings of this earth and build a foundation for mutual understanding.
Naturally, the ancient snake wasn't about to let such a powerful ally from the friendly faction slip through his coils.
He was counting on clinging to this Grand Assassin's leg all the way to the Three Goddesses, maybe even sipping tea and chatting about dreams with them.
Even if the real Ziusudra wasn't actually a Grand Assassin with unmatched skill, his survival of Enlil's Great Flood and his identity as a human from the Golden Age were reason enough to win him over.
That's why Ian had originally planned to track down this mysterious elder. Even if he couldn't learn any deadly assassination techniques, at the very least, he wanted to establish a good rapport—just in case.
But even with Ereshkigal's divine aura aiding him, Ian scoured the entire underworld, even made a loop through the depths of Kutha, and still didn't encounter the elusive old man.
It was during this time, while investigating Enkidu's tomb, that Ian accidentally ran into the sacred prostitute Shamhat and ended up dragging her onto his metaphorical pirate ship.
Now, as his thoughts drifted, the ancient snake noticed the clarity and emotion gradually emerging in Shamhat's eyes, and wisely chose to remain silent.
"Good!"
"Very good!"
"Truly excellent!"
"To speak of humanity with a god in an unequal relationship—how pathetic! How foolish!"
"Recognizing that… you're already ahead of me!"
"You possess wisdom far beyond this era. When it comes to understanding the world, there's nothing more I can teach you."
Now visibly moved, Shamhat extended her hand with gentle grace and softly patted the top of the ancient snake's head, bestowing upon her student the highest praise.
Then, the sacred prostitute murmured to herself with a self-deprecating smile.
"I've always wondered—what exactly did I do wrong?"
"Be it the Wedge of Heaven or the Chains of Heaven, they were gifts from the gods to Mesopotamia, meant to guide humanity's chosen ones."
"To give him love, let him feel love, and learn how to love."
"Then, loving humanity, loving his country, and loving the world should have made everything better."
"And yes, with Enkidu's help, Gilgamesh did change from a tyrant into a wise king."
"To protect his people, he was guided to slay Huwawa, the divine beast of the Cedar Forest."
"To end the disasters of beasts and drought, they joined forces to dismember Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, and restrain the goddess."
"But in the end, the child who saved Uruk—no, all of Mesopotamia—couldn't save himself. He died under the gods' curse."
"We sing praises of his kindness and thank him for his deeds, but all we did was hasten his end."
From Shamhat's calm words, Ian could still hear the deep-seated hatred buried beneath. He sighed and spoke in a low voice.
"Because that was what you wanted him to be—not what the gods wanted."
Moved by the ancient snake's words, the sacred prostitute, now baring her heart, let out a bitter laugh.
"Exactly. Just like how people don't bother reasoning with ants, the gods have no interest in listening to human pleas."
"Did you know? When our king watched his dearest friend die in his arms, he held the boy's body in the pouring rain for seven days and seven nights."
"After that, he went mad trying to bring Enkidu back. He emptied the royal treasury, offering one grand sacrifice after another to the gods."
"Once a king so proud, yet he knelt in the temple, praying and repenting to the gods for his friend."
"Nash, Kutha, Eridu, Babylon… all of Sumer in Mesopotamia offered up gold, silver, cattle, slaves, even magical beasts—hoping those high and mighty gods would show a shred of mercy and spare the child."
"But not a single god responded. They all watched with cold eyes."
"In the end, the king gave up. He laid his friend's body to rest in the underworld, hoping he might find peace there."
"But even so..."
Shamhat looked up at the pit blown open by force, her eyes tinged with sorrow.
"People don't reason with ants because we can't communicate—there's no shared understanding."
"But gods and humans? They're so alike. There's no barrier between them."
"It's not that they don't understand. It's that they're not listening. They don't even care to listen."
The ancient snake flicked its tongue and replied coldly. Then it slithered out of the cave and crawled up to Shamhat's knees, its expression serious.
"Teacher, if you really did anything wrong... it was only that you weren't strong enough."
"At the very least, not strong enough for the gods to be unable to ignore you."
At that moment, Ian recalled an old sarcastic joke, and a glint of mockery flashed in his eyes.
"Enkidu only lost his life. But what the gods lost—was their pride and authority."
Such biting sarcasm made a shadow flicker through Shamhat's gaze.
Huwawa devoured travelers, withered plants at will—and no one cared.
Gugalanna ravaged the land, brought seven years of drought, caused mass starvation—and you all remained silent.
But when our hero rose up to end the disaster, suddenly it became a crime!
After a long silence, Shamhat's tightly furrowed brow finally eased, and a smile surfaced.
"Samael-chan, come see me before you leave."
"Absolutely."
The tall and short figures nodded at each other knowingly.
One sought to lay the dead to rest and bid farewell to the powerless self of the past. The other was determined to act, to force his Master to confront the truth—before it was too late for regret.
Dismantling the alliance of the Three Goddesses and rewriting the destiny of Mesopotamia was a shared goal.
With interests aligned, they were in the same boat now.
Boat?
As that word crossed Shamhat's thoughts, she looked the slender figure up and down with a peculiar expression.
Until Ian felt unsettled by her stare again, and finally, the sacred prostitute spoke with suspicion.
"Hey, Samael-chan. I can't shake the feeling that there's another reason why you're breaking up the Three Goddess Alliance and siding with humanity."
Ian grinned, eyes narrowing.
"Gilgamesh himself acknowledged me as a free citizen of Uruk. Can't I stand with my own country?"
"But you're a snake. Your blood is closer to magical beasts..."
"Can't I be human in spirit?"
Shamhat scrutinized the slender figure from head to toe, completely unconvinced.
"You? Who are you trying to fool!"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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