Ishtar and Ereshkigal exchanged a glance, understanding passing silently between them, and both nodded.
"Hey, take this!"
The great goddess of Uruk hesitated for a moment before reluctantly pulling out a brilliant, transparent ruby necklace. She tossed it to Samael.
"Keep it safe! This is my favorite piece from the Seven Sumerian Divine Adornment Set.
If you lose it, I won't forgive you!"
The so-called adornments were the seven types of jewelry worn by Sumerian women—headdresses, bead strings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and so on. For goddesses, these ornaments often carried sacred power.
Ereshkigal's [Secret Great Crown] and Ishtar's [Shining Great Crown] each bore seven symbolic points. Both divine treasures were formed from the elevation of adornments into sacred relics, granting them extraordinary functions.
The necklace Samael now held was clearly Ishtar's most cherished piece, dismantled and replaced from her Shining Great Crown.
After the pained Uruk goddess barked her fierce reminder, Ereshkigal also unfastened the Soul Cage from her waist and handed it to Samael.
"And this. Protect yourself."
The serpent instinctively accepted it, his gaze shifting between the two items, lingering. Slowly, understanding dawned in his eyes. He pressed them against his chest and spoke with solemn sincerity.
"Don't worry. Once things are stable, I'll definitely contact you as soon as possible.
Wait for me!"
In the world of Mystery, it was common knowledge that whether crafting directional communication spells or attempting the more complex ritual of Spiritual Descent to target a specific individual, a special medium was required.
Typically, this medium was referred to as a holy relic.
By entrusting Samael with treasures infused with their own divinity and essence, Ishtar and Ereshkigal clearly intended for him to be able to reach them in the future. And should he find himself in danger, or in need of aid, these items could even serve to summon them across lands, enabling a Spiritual Descent if conditions permitted.
"Tch, as if I care! He'd better not bother me!"
Watching Samael's figure fade slowly into the dense fog, Ishtar curled her lips and let out a sharp snort.
"Right! We don't care about that guy at all!
If he doesn't come back, all the better—the bed will be bigger, and we can finally sleep in peace!"
Ereshkigal pumped her small fists into the air in mock defiance, but the atmosphere around them grew thick with the sour, bitter tang of unripe fruit.
Yet before long, the goddess of the underworld broke first. She bit down hard on her lower lip, her eyes shadowed with loneliness.
"What if Samael really doesn't come back?"
In a flash, Ishtar slipped behind her. Her hands suddenly clamped down on her sister's modest chest, and with a mischievous grin, she blew into her ear, her expression nothing short of that of a shameless hooligan.
"Then I'll sleep with you! He won't get a share anymore!"
Ereshkigal let out a soft moan, her body going weak as her sensitive spot was teased. The playful muttering of her wicked younger sister in her ear only deepened the flush burning across her pretty face, leaving her unable to show herself.
"We're almost the same age, and you feel just as good.
So why does he get to touch you more at night than I do?
Discrimination! Outright discrimination!"
As she continued shamelessly teasing her elder sister to vent her dissatisfaction, Ishtar suddenly recalled something. The corners of her lips lifted into a smug, triumphant smile.
"But at least I've been watching you. You didn't get your way with him this time!
He's my sacred marriage partner—and no matter what, this goddess is taking first place!"
Ereshkigal's face flushed as she pulled Ishtar's claws away, lifted her chin, and snapped irritably.
"He's probably headed there. The Mother Goddess's return won't be something completed in a day or two.
And when that time comes… will it really be your turn?"
Ishtar blinked, spread her hands indifferently, and shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. As long as I get there first."
"Hmph. Losing to anyone else, fine—but losing to you? That's a matter of principle."
So that's it? You just want to fight me? Just for the thrill of it?
Ereshkigal was dumbfounded, her blood rushing to her head, lips twitching in frustration.
"Don't move. Let me feel again—see what's different between us.
If I lose without knowing why, I can't accept it."
The Great Goddess of Uruk muttered to herself as she absentmindedly reached for her sister's slender waist.
But Ishtar failed to notice the slowly twisting smile forming on the underworld goddess's face.
The moment her fingertips slid lower toward Ereshkigal's abdomen, Ereshkigal lost all patience. She raised her spear and smacked it down hard on the head of her little troublemaking sister.
"You'd better… stop it already!"
Boom!
The ground split open. Half-buried in the earth, Ishtar's vision swam as golden sparks burst before her eyes.
Ereshkigal invoked her authority over the earth, burying her unruly sister until only her head remained above ground.
"Hey, hey! Ereshkigal, why are you throwing a tantrum again? Didn't we agree—fair competition, only charm allowed? Using your spear is cheating!"
"You just can't handle losing! Admit it—you can't!"
Ishtar, buried alive, glared at the Gallû Spirits floating around her and shouted in protest.
"Go reflect on your behavior, idiot!"
Ereshkigal's face darkened. Clutching her spear in anger, she turned sharply and strode back toward the temple.
Mother Goddess, you saw that, didn't you? So much for sisterly love, so much for unity against outsiders—it's all a lie!
In the end, I can only rely on myself. Whoever reaches him first, wins.
...
A few days later, in the cedar forest, within the ruins of the Blood Temple.
Samael, dressed for travel, casually shifted aside a pillar weighing hundreds of pounds and stepped into the dim corridor.
Inside, vines drooped low, stones lay scattered, and purple-red, vein-like tubes hung along the walls. Most had dried and crumbled away, but a few still pulsed with a faint, strange rhythm.
From his robes, Samael drew out the violet serpent scale Ana had given him. Following the faint, flickering glow it emitted, he advanced deeper inside.
Using it as a medium, he unraveled layer after layer of defensive wards, winding through the passages until at last he reached the core of the old Blood Temple.
At the center of a vast array for Spiritual Descent lay a thick carpet of crystal dust that crunched beneath his boots.
Dozens of "umbilical cords" twisted together, endlessly channeling Mana into a giant purple-red egg, its thin membrane nearly two meters tall.
As Samael approached with the scale in hand, a heartbeat-like rhythm throbbed from within the egg, growing louder, stronger, more insistent.
Through the hazy amniotic layer, a complete human silhouette could already be seen.
Pressing his palm to the warm, elastic surface, Samael let a golden radiance from the Holy Grail blaze out against the membrane.
The being inside stirred, stretching. Dense patterns of light bloomed and faded across the surface of the egg, beating in time with the heartbeat within.
The ancient serpent lightly patted the supple, living shell, the corners of his lips curving upward. Leaning close, he whispered in a soft murmur, as if lulling an infant to sleep.
"Mother Goddess… it's time for us to depart."
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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