FATE: The Man with Divine Keys

"Please, I beg you, please don't hurt them..."

Ereshkigal pleaded tearfully at Arkhan, her voice trembling with sobs.

"No matter what you do to me, even if you kill me, I beg you, please don't hurt them anymore..."

'Have I... gone too far?' Arkhan's mouth twitched slightly, feeling a pang of guilt in his heart.

"Ereshkigal, are you ready to confess?" Gilgamesh asked in a deep voice.

"..."

Ereshkigal remained silent for a long moment before speaking in an ethereal tone.

"Confess? But what crime have I committed?"

"I am Ereshkigal, mistress of the underworld, entrusted with the realm of the dead, where all human souls are brought. This is my fate."

"I have devoted myself entirely to fulfilling my duty, without regret or self-blame."

Ereshkigal looked up at the pitch-black ceiling.

"For all this time, I have nothing of my own—no joy, no sorrow, no friends. I always manage the souls of the dead right here, day after day, watching half of myself soar freely in the sky. Meanwhile, I remain trapped in this dark, cold, dismal hell."

"Ereshkigal..." Ishtar's eyes reflected complex emotions.

"If you truly believe I am guilty..." Ereshkigal opened her arms wide. "Then punish me."

"..."

After a brief silence, Arkhan gripped Abyss Flower and approached Ereshkigal step by step.

Standing before the goddess, he pointed the tip of his lance at her forehead.

Ereshkigal calmly met his gaze, making no move to resist.

"I see liberation and relief in your eyes." Arkhan said, studying her gaze. "If you truly have no regrets about your duty, why show such eyes?"

Ereshkigal's eyes flickered slightly.

"Do you know, Ereshkigal, you are not very good at lying..." Arkhan remarked.

"What do you mean?" Ereshkigal frowned slightly.

"Ruling over a realm of the dead is never an enjoyable affair..."

Saying that, Arkhan shook his head.

"My mother, or rather my foster mother, is the ruler of the Land of Shadows, but she never liked her duty because it's too dull and boring."

"No skies with light, no vibrant lands, completely cut off from the world of the living. Not even a single colorful flower to see. It's just dealing with those aimless ghosts day after day—the loneliness, the solitude, the despair—even gods would find it unbearable."

"Ereshkigal, you envy Ishtar's freedom... You've said you yearn for it... How could someone like you willingly accept being trapped in the underworld?"

Arkhan's voice softened as he said that.

Ereshkigal remained silent, saying nothing.

Seeing her silence, Arkhan continued.

"Even so, you still intend to create a kingdom of the dead, where all souls of the living will be gathered."

"It's not because you hate them; on the contrary, you want to protect them, to be their sanctuary."

"You... still deeply love humanity, don't you?"

"I... I... I..." Ereshkigal stuttered and didn't know what to retort.

As the thoughts buried deep within her heart were suddenly laid bare, a slight blush tinged her graceful face.

*Snap!*

Arkhan snapped his fingers, causing Ereshkigal to shudder as she realized that all the souls that had been 'eliminated' were actually unharmed.

"This..." Ereshkigal was momentarily stunned, then quickly caught on. "Illusions...?"

"Correct." Arkhan smiled faintly.

"Thank goodness, they're all safe..." Ereshkigal murmured to herself, but as if realizing something, she suddenly widened her eyes slightly. "Wait, did you see through my true intentions from the beginning?"

"Before coming here, I spoke with Ishtar." Arkhan nodded toward the Goddess of Venus beside him. "She said that despite you joining the Three Goddess Alliance, she still believes you aren't an evil goddess."

Ereshkigal paused, turning to look at Ishtar.

"What are you looking at me for?" Ishtar shifted uncomfortably. "I just spoke my mind, that's all."

"Thank you, Ishtar."

As Ereshkigal said that, a smile appeared on her face.

"I used to think you were just a gem-obsessed, greedy goddess, but now my impression of you has changed greatly."

"What did you just say?!" Ishtar gritted her teeth. "What do you mean by 'gem-obsessed, greedy goddess'? Explain yourself at once!"

"With this, are the misunderstandings resolved?" Gilgamesh intervened.

"Not yet, there's one last thing..." Arkhan said, inserting Abyss Flower's lance tip into the ground.

Soon, the lily patterns on the lance lit up, exuding a vast vitality.

Moments later, tiny green shoots emerged from the ground, growing visibly fast. Shortly after, colorful flowers blossomed one after another, as if laying a vibrant carpet upon the earth.

"Th-This is..." Ereshkigal was momentarily awestruck.

For the desolate underworld, abandoned through endless ages, it was the first time such beautiful flowers had bloomed.

===

Uruk, Central Ziggurat.

Kingu leaned against the wall, legs drawn up and arms wrapped around them, their head buried in their knees, silent like a statue.

During this period, inexplicable images kept flashing through their mind, each featuring that blond man.

They knew clearly these were not their own memories but belonged to the body's original owner.

At first, they felt unsettled, angry, and even a bit afraid, but as time went on, they gradually calmed down.

'Perhaps this is the price I have to pay...' Kingu sighed quietly.

"It seems you've been doing well."

A strange voice suddenly echoed through the spacious room, instantly jolting Kingu awake from their reverie.

Instinctively, they tried to channel their body's magical energy, but their magical energy reactor felt as stubborn as a stone statue, giving no response.

Raising their head, Kingu noticed a cloaked figure standing in the room, their features obscured, only discernible as male by their tall stature.

"It's... you?"

As Kingu squinted their eyes and tried to identify the figure, surprise appeared in their eyes as they realized who the figure was.

"How did you manage to enter here?"

"Gilgamesh's soul got dragged into the underworld, and now Ishtar and that Arthur from another world are off looking for him. So, inside Uruk, it's just those two mages from another world who need to be kept an eye on. Sneaking in here without them noticing wasn't too hard."

To Kingu's question, the cloaked man answered casually, his voice deep and resonant, as if multiple voices were layered together.

"So, you're here to rescue me?" Kingu narrowed their eyes.

"To be honest, the development of this Singularity has completely deviated from my control. So, I must set it back on the right track."

Unseen by Kingu, the cloaked man spoke with a hint of a sneer.