The Underworld, Fire Temple of Meslamtaea.
The goddess stood before the Soul Cage, watching the fading glimmer inside with a grave expression. She immediately beckoned to Samael.
"Bring the Water of Life! Quickly!"
The ancient serpent, well-versed in the temple's layout and familiar with where everything was stored, dashed to a cabinet. He opened a hidden compartment and retrieved a silver pot filled with the special liquid, then handed it to Ereshkigal.
The goddess of the underworld cast a pained glance at the pot's dwindling contents. She closed her eyes and, aligning with the ritual, poured every last drop into the Soul Cage inscribed within the array.
As the flickering light slowly stabilized, showing signs of repair and strengthening, Ereshkigal let out a faint sigh of relief. With a gentle tap of her spear's tip, she sank the container holding Shamhat's soul into the temple's underground.
As the Master turned, she noticed Samael's furrowed brow and hesitant look. She opened her mouth to reassure him.
"Don't worry, it's alright now."
"With the underworld's environment and my authority, she'll recover gradually."
"And who knows, this misfortune might turn into a blessing. That Water of Life came from the abyss—my very last supply..."
As she spoke, Ereshkigal gazed at the now-empty pot in her hand with a hint of reluctance.
The Water of Life, essence of the earth's blood, held the power to bring about miraculous resurrections.
Once, when Ishtar descended into the underworld to provoke, Ereshkigal stripped her of her powers and had her impaled with spears. Without the goddess of fertility, love, and childbirth, life on earth could no longer reproduce.
Men couldn't impregnate women. Male donkeys ceased to mount females. Crops withered in the fields. Grass and trees in the forests died off in swathes.
(So the fact that Ishtar could stir Ereshkigal's desire and emotion, helping her "husband" wreak havoc on her sister—ridiculous.)
To restore the balance between life and death, the earth god Ea created two genderless messengers, Galatur and Kurgarra, capable of traversing the underworld.
They were sent to the Fire Temple to deliver the Water of Life, drawn from the blood of the earth, and the Food of Life, crystallized mana, to the deceased Ishtar.
Eventually, Ishtar returned from the dead, restoring creation and fertility to the world.
Using such a precious treasure—powerful enough to revive even a chief god—on a ghost she barely knew? Ereshkigal had paid a heavy price.
"Good thing Ere's here. You really saved us this time!"
Relieved that Shamhat had pulled through, Samael let out a deep breath. Overcome with emotion, he grasped his Master's soft hands, his gratitude overflowing.
In human form, such close proximity made the normally reclusive and socially awkward goddess of the underworld tremble slightly.
Blushing, Ereshkigal turned her head away, trying to downplay her role.
"Well, I just stabilized her soul. I can't promise her memories and emotions will remain intact, or how long her rationality will last..."
"I understand! You've already done more than enough! Thank you!"
Samael nodded seriously, not holding back his praise after spending more than six months with Ereshkigal.
Perhaps realizing she'd been too pessimistic, the goddess paused, then brought up a point she'd noticed earlier.
"Come to think of it, it's strange. Her soul was pierced by the Chains of Heaven—she should've collapsed instantly. That she lasted until the Underworld, still retaining vitality... it's unbelievable."
"Maybe it's that strange power inside her holding her together?"
Samael fell into thought, the answer already forming in his mind. His gaze shifted toward the place where the Soul Cage had been lowered, a faint relief in his eyes.
Chains of Heaven... Enkidu...
So the teacher's sacrifice hadn't been in vain after all.
With Shamhat's crisis temporarily resolved, a strange awkwardness settled in the room.
The ancient serpent's eyes wandered, landing on the wide bed and the steam drifting from the bath. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Back when he wasn't exactly "human," he'd done quite a few things that weren't exactly decent.
If his Master calmed down and started thinking about it...
He couldn't help but shiver, and names of dishes from his past life flashed through his mind—three snake porridge, ginseng snake soup, salt and pepper snake, braised snake, snake stew, pigeon and snake, stir-fried snake slices...
"Right, let's go sit over there for a bit. You can tell me how you managed to escape the underworld."
As she spoke, the goddess clapped her hands lightly, her tone casual.
The ancient serpent followed his Master's pointing finger—and immediately froze. The place she indicated was none other than the large bed where he had... done many unspeakable things.
Even though Ereshkigal seemed to be merely curious about his whereabouts, Samael, with his guilty conscience, felt panic rising. He desperately wished for an excuse to flee.
"Uruk, over there…"
"Oh, Gilgamesh and the others sent word. You don't need to return for now—they want you to stay in charge of liaising with the Underworld."
Ereshkigal let out a faint hum through her nose, eyes lowered, her fingers lightly twisting the hem of her cloak.
What the hell! Some great teammates you are!
You sold me out again!
Samael was about to cry from sheer frustration, overcome with resentment.
If I'd known, I would've just let that hedonistic lunatic die and taken the throne myself!
Driven by sheer survival instinct, the ancient serpent quickly scanned the room, rushed over to the table, grabbed the silver pot, and forced a laugh to change the subject.
"By the way, where can I collect more Water of Life? I'll go find a way to restock it."
Ereshkigal didn't seem overly concerned about the expenditure and even offered some reassurance.
"From the abyss beneath Mount Ebih."
"But it's not something you can just go and get. I waited millions of years to gather only that much."
"We were going to use it eventually anyway. No need to feel bad."
No, no, I very much mind!
If I stay here any longer, I'm afraid returning the water will be the least of my worries.
If she remembers the things I did before... she might actually skin me alive!
After several failed attempts to slip away, Samael felt like thunderclouds were already looming over his head.
Just as the sinful serpent was scrambling for an escape route, a strange tremor shook the area.
"Wait—there are earthquakes in the Underworld?"
Samael immediately gathered his scattered thoughts, his brow furrowed in alarm.
"This kind of situation... only started happening recently."
Ereshkigal shook her head slightly, her expression puzzled. She didn't know much about it either.
"Where exactly do the epicenters correspond to on the surface?"
Samael narrowed his eyes, his expression turning grave.
"There seem to be three main locations. The Cedar Forest to the north, Mount Ebih to the east..."
"And the last one is..."
Ereshkigal paused, raising her slender hand and gesturing toward a direction as she tried to match it with surface landmarks.
Before she could finish, Samael's eyes widened. He spoke in a low, serious voice.
"It's Eridu!"
At that moment, the ancient serpent's heart clenched. He turned his gaze back toward the place Ereshkigal had initially mentioned, a chilling image forming in his mind—a massive shadow rising from below.
Mount Ebih, once a bridge between heaven and earth, now a breach in the underworld's seal...
The Cedar Forest, straddling the headwaters of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, hiding the Blood Fort...
And beneath it all, Eridu—together forming a massive inverted triangle, blanketing the entirety of Mesopotamia.