As Nergal finished talking to Carl in absentia, he started speaking the ancient language again, though much slower than Carl had been able to do with his various parts working together.
Gradually the gates played out the same pattern in reverse, the six at the back splaying out to form a circle around the speaker, then tightening to form a complete circle and then sinking into the ground one-by-one.
When the final one disappeared into the ground, it revealed the last face Nergal wanted to see, that of Gilgamesh.
"Gilgamesh, leave. Things will get messy if you stay."
"True, even one-armed, you are too much for me. I simply felt a strange power of familiar origin and came to investigate the source. How much death could have possibly happened on this already dead rock to bring you here and make you open all your gates."
"I believe around a trillion over the years between all sentient species..."
