"Ana..."
The ancient serpent raised his hand to caress the eggshell, whispering softly, his eyes filled with tenderness and longing. As he pressed closer, he could feel the three distinct heartbeats of the fetuses pulsing against his palm.
Right, he almost forgot—within this egg were the three Gorgon sisters: the eldest, the "Goddess of Strength" Stheno, the second, the "Goddess of Flight" Euryale, and the youngest, Medusa.
This egg held true triplets, and Ana was none other than Medusa's alias in the Mesopotamian world. Yet she was also the most perfect of the three.
Among all the divine beasts created by the Mother of Serpents, only Ana had perfectly inherited her appearance, her form, and her twin Authorities over creation and death.
That was why, in the future, when the three sisters fused into one and became the Gorgon, the Goddess of Demonic Beasts, she would wield both Mother of Genesis (creation), granting her the ability to mass-produce Magical Beasts, and Pandemonium Temple (death), the power to dissolve all things.
By contrast, the rest of their twisted and malformed siblings bore more beast than reason, lacking the divine essence necessary to become a true Divine Spirit.
Even Stheno and Euryale, with their goddess Spirit Cores and immortal demonic bodies, could not compare to Ana. Their growth was already fixed, their development destined to stagnate, leaving little hope for real change.
Ana, however, was different. She would grow taller, mature, and could even refine herself further by devouring the power of her sisters.
What had once been only a vague suspicion now crystallized as Samael touched the eggshell and observed the other young divine beasts.
Just like the Eleven Offspring created by Tiamat, raw power without intellect could only leave them as tools.
The only one truly born with the potential to become a god had been Kingu—ancestor of Mesopotamian mankind, commander of the demonic beasts, and the first to wield the Tablet of Destinies.
And now... it seemed Ana was to be the new child of divinity, the vessel of the Mother Goddess's nature and hope.
Samael's hand moved more gently across the shell, his touch growing softer.
The more he compared, the more he realized how alike Echidna and the Goddess of Beginning, Tiamat, truly were. And likewise, how much the path he and Ana were meant to walk seemed to converge.
Suddenly, Samael halted in a corner, his nostrils flaring. A faint, lingering trace of scent brushed him with an oddly familiar feeling.
He had smelled this before—somewhere.
Leaning closer to the rock wall, he spotted a streak of golden-red residue, already fading.
Blood. More precisely—divine blood.
His eyes narrowed, thoughts deepening.
Just as he prepared to investigate further, a rustling sound rose behind him. At once, he straightened, back stiff, scanning the surroundings with feigned calm like a dutiful caretaker inspecting a nursery.
The Mother of Serpents swam over, her tail trailing behind her. Her gaze immediately darted to the corner, and upon confirming the purple egg was intact and the fetal movements steady, she let out a subtle breath of relief.
Samael kept his composure, but inside his suspicions only grew firmer. Ana's bloodline—and the meaning of her birth—were far from simple.
Still, in front of her mother, he had to maintain restraint. They had only known each other for a day or two, and despite the instinctive closeness between them, proper decorum was necessary.
Otherwise, being cast out as a creep would be a small problem. If this ruler of the Cilician Marshes grew enraged and decided to tear him apart for coveting her daughter, he would have nowhere to argue his case.
After a short exchange of casual words, Samael managed through indirect questions to learn a little about the younglings' condition.
According to Echidna, divine beasts grew quickly. In just a month or two, those born earlier would already be capable of surviving on their own.
As for the few remaining unhatched eggs—the harpy, the Teumessian Fox, the Sphinx, and the especially important Gorgon sisters—they would most likely hatch within the next one or two months.
After a brief moment of thought, Samael decided to remain in Echidna's lair a little longer under the pretext of caring for the young, using the chance to deepen their relationship.
Tina, who had a natural fondness for looking after children, eagerly agreed, and the overwhelmed single mother Echidna accepted with relief.
Thus, Samael and Tina became, in name, the divine beast nannies of Arima, helping to tame the unruly little ones while waiting for the rest of the eggs to hatch.
The two goddesses, who quickly found common ground, tended the younglings in the upper layers of the cavern.
Samael, staying near the incubation nest, looked at the egg containing the Gorgon sisters. Rubbing his chin with a strange smile, his thoughts began to wander.
Witnessing little Ana's birth... that would be a moment worth remembering.
But before that—it was time to return something to its rightful owner.
His expression sharpened as he stepped forward, raising his hand and spreading his fingers. The purple scale he had long treasured glimmered with a dim, ghostly light.
At once, the egg below responded, faint lights gathering across its shell, the movements inside resonating in answer.
Samael closed his fingers around the scale, crushing it with his nails until they pierced his palm.
Golden-red blood mixed with the scale's purple glow and seeped into the shell, merging gradually with the small curled figure within.
Fate... oh, fate.
I suppose I should thank you for this, Marduk.
Samael slowly lifted his gaze, the corners of his lips curving faintly.
Fate inscribes the path of all things and the cycle of life.
Through this scale from the Gorgon, Ana's shared past with the Goddess of Demonic Beasts would be reflected within her consciousness under fate's light.
In other words, from the very moment of her birth, she would remember everything she experienced in the Mesopotamian world—clear as a dream.
Gilgamesh, Siduri, Merlin, Leonidas—those vivid names.
The Northern Hill, Nippur, Uruk, the Cedar Forest, Eridu—those places rich with memory, another life she once lived.
Never forgotten. Indelible.
As the last thread of light was absorbed by the tiny form within, Samael nodded in satisfaction and gently tapped the trembling, glowing eggshell.
"Don't rush. Sleep soundly. I'll be here when you wake, Ana."
His gentle voice carried a strange soothing power, and the trembling violet-red egg gradually stilled. Within, the embryo drifted into the egg fluid and curled into a small, quiet ball.
...
Meanwhile, in Daphne's home, Themis sat alone in a wicker chair, leafing through her manuscripts. Suddenly, she raised her head. Beneath the black veil, her eyes shone like sparks, fixed on the distance.
From the darkness, the prophet Prometheus and the seer Epimetheus stepped out from the bushes, arriving together.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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