Realizing he had overestimated this woman's sense of restraint, Samael rolled his eyes internally. Still, he spoke with conviction and gave Ishtar an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
"As long as you're in, I promise—you won't come out of this empty-handed."
Wait... did I just sell myself?
Ishtar's lips twitched. Her mind started racing with thoughts and fantasies. As her eyes lingered on his soft, elegant features, her heart pounded. Blood rushed to her face, painting her cheeks with a deep, rosy blush.
If it's with him… maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
They already had a contract, after all. A small "sacrifice" might just seal this holy marriage. Once Gilgamesh stepped down, wouldn't all of Uruk be hers?
Lost in daydreams, her eyes sparkled more and more, her thoughts running wild. The image of Samael reflected in her pupils looked like a golden maneki-neko waving her over, glittering with the shine of treasure.
With her head spinning, Ishtar was gently ushered out of the Divine Tower by the glittering cat behind her.
...
Now, only Samael and Ana remained in the vast, empty hall.
The ancient serpent picked up a silver pot, poured a cup of milk, and handed it to the girl. As she took small sips, he pulled over a chair and asked gently.
"You've merged with Gorgon's authority?"
"...Yeah."
Ana lowered her head and gave a soft, uneasy answer, like a child who knew she'd done something wrong. She quickly added,
"But I didn't want to do anything bad. I never meant to hurt anyone!"
"Silly girl. Of course I trust you."
"You're still you. Gorgon is Gorgon."
Samael chuckled and reached out to gently ruffle her hair in reassurance.
Seeing that she wasn't being scolded, the purple-haired girl let out a breath of relief and resumed drinking her sweet milk.
Then Samael hesitated, his expression turning awkward.
"By the way… I've got to ask. Do you, uh... know how to hatch eggs?"
"Pffft!"
Startled, Ana looked up and accidentally sprayed milk right into Samael's face. Her cheeks flushed instantly as she delivered a hard kick to his shin.
"No!"
Samael wiped the milk from his face and watched her stomp off, slamming her cup on the table as she stormed out of the tower. He muttered under his breath.
Apsu only awakened thanks to Gorgon's incubation.
Considering how young she is, I wasn't asking for much. Just one Tiamat egg...
Look—I even brought the Holy Grail...
He pulled out the Holy Grail and looked dejectedly at his own reflection in the mirror, his cross-shaped pupils blinking back.
If Gorgon's power isn't enough, does that mean only someone with the Mother of Genesis can do it?
Problem is—I'm a male serpent. Not exactly compatible with that whole "birthing" thing. I can't hatch anything!
And even if I could—where? How? Who the hell knows!
Since the Mother Goddess granted me Authority Separation in the Underworld, she's been in deep sleep. No matter how loudly I call, she won't wake.
Samael looked gloomily out the window at the downpour, slumped over the table, fiddling with the Holy Grail in his hands.
"All waters are divided above and below, with birth and death on opposite ends."
Now that Apsu had returned, he was beginning to understand the meaning behind Ziusudra's first prophecy.
Tiamat and Apsu were opposing yet complementary forces at the dawn of creation—life and death, birth and annihilation, upper and lower waters.
In the past, Tiamat came from the Imaginary Sea above as the beast that brought ruin to Uruk. The only way to stop her was to use the powers of the Underworld to suppress her vitality and impose the concept of death.
And beneath that Underworld lay the prison that held Apsu.
Maybe it was the presence of this freshwater god that suppressed Tiamat's power all along.
But now that Apsu had revived, the abyssal waters below had become the driving force behind this new world-resetting calamity.
In contrast, only the power of Tiamat might be able to neutralize Apsu's divine nature.
To put it simply—releasing Tiamom was probably their best shot.
But saying it was one thing, doing it was another.
He had thought of summoning the Mother Goddess using the Holy Grail, but it simply wouldn't work—unless it was an incomplete, degraded version of Tiamat. Then, maybe there'd be a sliver of hope.
If there really had been a way, he wouldn't have gone around asking Ana.
But clearly, that idea was a bust too.
Forget it. He'd find a new approach later. Right now, more urgent matters demanded attention.
Samael pushed away the wild thoughts in his mind and focused on reviewing the current battlefield situation, silently running simulations in his head.
According to Kingu, Apsu would awaken in about seven days.
Before that happened, the first priority was to reduce the rainfall and delay Uruk's transformation into a wasteland—to slow down the revival of the God of Creation.
As things stood, only Kukulkan and her Piedra del Sol could alter the climate on such a wide and lasting scale.
So Samael had sent the Mayan goddess back to her temple to dismantle her second Noble Phantasm and bring it to Uruk—to dispel this cursed weather.
But the problem was, Apsu wasn't just a higher-tier god than Kukulkan—he also had the advantage of native divinity and a [Mandate of Heaven] buff. On top of that, Quetzalcoatl had lost nearly half her divine authority.
According to the ancient serpent's assessment, this method was only a temporary fix. At best, it would buy them a bit of time.
Hopefully, with that extra time, the order he'd placed would be completed and delivered before Apsu awakened.
Ziusudra, old man... whether Sumer survives now rests entirely on you.
Samael silently offered a prayer, then shifted his gaze to the cracked clay tablet in his hand, eyes narrowing slightly.
It had been slipped to him—almost imperceptibly—by Kukulkan during their parting hug. And what was written on it… gave off a deeply unsettling feeling.
If what it said was true, the trouble Apsu brought might only be the beginning.
...
Night deepened. The doors of the Divine Tower creaked open.
Seated at the sand table, deep in thought, Samael looked up at the sound. When he caught sight of that golden hair, he smiled faintly.
"Ere, you came..."
"Yeah. I heard your call and got a little worried. Go ahead, tell me what's going on."
Inhabiting Ishtar's body, Ere—whose consciousness had risen to the surface—glanced at the red-black divine crest on Samael's hand. She feigned casualness as she replied.
"I need your help gathering Enkidu's memories."
"But his soul was scattered by the gods' curse. Where am I supposed to gather them from?"
Ere looked troubled, clearly at a loss.
Samael tapped his temple and gave a knowing smile.
"His soul may be gone, but Shamhat, Gilgamesh, Siduri... and all of Uruk—those who remember him—are still here."
"Memories are connected. Why not try to draw out the moments Enkidu shared with them, from inside their minds?"
"Sometimes, we only exist through the eyes of others."
Ere's eyes lit up with sudden clarity and excitement.
"That's brilliant! You really are something, Samael!"
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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