Li Lin rubbed his aching forehead, cursing inwardly. He turned to look at Ishtar and saw her watching him with a half-smile, as if enjoying his predicament.
"You knew this would happen all along?" Li Lin asked, his voice filled with resignation.
Ishtar shrugged, a smirk playing on her lips. "Of course. Why else would I be so calm? But I have to admit, you walking into that wall was pretty funny. Although I'm a bit annoyed you were planning to abandon me, seeing as you made me laugh, this goddess will magnanimously forgive you."
Li Lin: "..."
凸(艹皿艹)!!! [middle finger emoji]
At that moment, Li Lin felt a stampede of ten thousand alpacas rampaging through his mind. If it weren't for the need to protect his identity, he would have given this goddess a spanking she'd never forget.
"Sigh." Li Lin looked around and saw that the cedar forest was now enveloped by a mysterious power. Even if he could break through the barrier, he would only find himself in a labyrinthine forest, similar to a Reality Marble.
"So, what do we do now?" Li Lin asked. "You don't expect me to stay here with you forever, do you?"
"Hmm..." Ishtar tilted her head, feigning thought. "Since we're both trapped here, why don't we think of a way out together? After all, you don't want to be stuck in this hellhole forever either, right?"
Li Lin: "..."
What's with that weirdly suggestive Japanese line?! Does that sound appropriate coming from you?
Wait a minute. Li Lin stared at Ishtar. He noticed that her golden hair, a symbol of her divinity, was gradually turning black. Combined with that Rin Tohsaka face... Oh, I get it. It was a line from a fellow countryman. Never mind then!
Li Lin rolled his eyes, ignoring her comment. Instead, he grabbed her small hand and walked straight towards the barrier. As a proper god, especially one acknowledged by the Authority of the Underworld, a mere barrier couldn't stop him. Using the corrosive nature of the Underworld's power, he quickly melted a large hole in the barrier.
The two of them stepped out of the central area of the forest and began exploring the woods, which had now transformed into a Reality Marble. To his disappointment, the forest truly seemed endless. No matter which way he walked, he could not find its edge.
"Tsk, it seems the only way out is to find the master of this mental landscape," Li Lin concluded, stopping under a large tree. Throughout their journey, Ishtar, who had been following him, was unusually quiet, like a well-behaved kitten. It was so out of character that he couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.
"What?" Ishtar asked, tucking her now completely black hair behind her ear and looking away guiltily.
"No, nothing. I was just thinking that your hair probably isn't ever going back to blonde." Li Lin looked at her guilty expression—like a child who had done something wrong and was afraid of being found out—and stated the harsh truth. "You've lost all your divinity. The rules of this domain are branding you as a sinner, and this black hair is the manifestation of that. As for the future... have you ever seen someone take out their own heart, wash it, and put it back in?"
"Ngh..."
Hearing this, Ishtar's face fell, and she couldn't hold it together anymore. She had held onto a sliver of hope that her golden hair would return once her divine power was restored. But Li Lin's words shattered that hope, nearly bringing her to tears.
"Waaaaah, please, kind big brother, you saw the problem at a glance, you must have a way to fix it, right?" Ishtar pleaded, unleashing the ultimate technique of a goddess of beauty: pouting and crying. "Please! Can you bear to watch such a cute girl be pointed at and whispered about for the rest of her life?" She grabbed his left arm and began to shake it back and forth, tears welling in her eyes.
Li Lin rolled his eyes again. He was tempted to say, "No." But considering this goddess held a mean grudge, he sighed. "It's no use begging me. The sinner's brand has already been applied. It's too late for anything now. However..."
He paused. Seeing Ishtar's anxious expression, her cute little fangs showing, he continued, "I can probably conceal the aura. But from now on, you'd better think of a good excuse to explain to people why your hair is suddenly black."
"Mmm~..." Ishtar pouted, sitting down on the ground dejectedly. "Even though it's not a complete solution, I guess it's better than nothing."
She looked up at the sky. Night had fallen in the forest. Li Lin gathered some branches and started a bonfire in front of her. The orange flames flickered, their warmth chasing away the night's chill and illuminating her face.
Ishtar sat by the fire, hugging her knees. Her pale face was stripped of its usual arrogance and condescension, replaced by a delicate, cute, and vulnerable look.
Seeing this, Li Lin felt a pang of emotion. Are Ishtar and Ereshkigal truly twin goddesses? When they're quiet, they look like they were carved from the same mold. Of course, the unfortunate thing was that Ishtar had a mouth. The moment she opened it and arrogant words came out, you knew exactly who was who.
But even so, she was quite different from the Ishtar he knew from his memories. Li Lin was a transmigrator. His knowledge of mythology came almost entirely from his previous life. In that life, Ishtar had a rather terrible reputation, both in official mythology and in derivative games. That's why, when he found out his simulated identity was Ishtar's runaway husband, his first thought was to never see her again.
But now, it seemed that view was too one-sided. Ishtar was still the arrogant goddess. But compared to the promiscuous woman he had learned about, the Ishtar before him was far, far more innocent. Just the fact that she had braved the cedar forest to steal from the gods' treasury just to find him, her runaway fiancé... that alone was enough for him to call her a "beautiful girl."
P.S. In fact, even in proper mythology, the early Ishtar wasn't bad. She was very devoted to love. It was only after being forced by Utu that she changed.
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