He sat up straight rubbing his hand through his scarlet hair feeling an unusually utter lack of residual sleepiness. The bed in which he lay was comfortable and familiar to his body and he could instantly tell that the mattress was the exact one that he had awoken upon for the last few years. Looking around the room he could tell that it wasn't the only thing familiar. Every single thing in the room stood exactly like he had left it in the morning, or the prior morning he should say as he was fairly certain that midnight had long been passed. While the accustomed setting would normally set him at ease, he had not forgotten that he had recently stood in the ruins of his house. Whatever this was it was not his home.
"Somebody's playing tricks here," he said to himself, almost hoping for an immediate response. "Well I'm probably not going to figure out anything while I'm in bed.
He got out of his bed, casting an eye around the room once again to see if he could spot any imperfections, a task that proved futile. Walking to his closet he decided that firstly he wanted to change out of his striped pyjamas, there was no way in hell he was going to fight in them. Besides the humiliation they were a gift from Arcueid and she would most likely sulk if they got ruined. Opening his closet his eyes grew wide as he saw something that wasn't like his room. Instead of his fairly standard, fashionable and modern clothes he was confronted by a wardrobe filled with garments of silk, linen and wool. At the top of his closet were many golden accoutrements that surrounded a similarly golden crown with two horns attached.
"Huh," he said as nostalgia thrummed in his heart. In under a minute he had changed into the garments of a high priest. Atop his head the brilliant gold crown contrasted against the darker blue of his outfit. Walking over to a mirror hung up on the side of the room he took a long at his appearance noting that the scales that had appeared sporadically on his face and hands now fully covered his body giving him a shimmering ethereal appearance.
"Well it's an odd look, but I can pull it off," he muttered to himself, fully aware of the benefits of being a deity of fertility and masculinity. "Now for the most important part," he said walking to the window. A quick glance outside indicated a perfectly normal dawn in the city of Fuyuki, with no signs of life in the streets. He felt for his circuits and what he found instead staggered him.
The high quality circuits that he had been so proud of all of his life were gone, but what replaced it was even more fearsome. His already large pool of Od that had grown, no grown was too mild a term, it had exploded far past its original amount. With some slight amusement he became aware at the moment that the amount of life-force that he had within his soul exceeded the grail, the object that so many had fought over. But in the end wasn't it right for a god to be at least that powerful. He could feel the enormous weight of his soul, a vast freshwater ocean, strong and ready to emerge from the fragile earth and provide springs of pure water to good and a destructive flood to evil.
Utilising a fraction of a fraction of a percentage of his Od he created a ball of water, a metre in diameter and floating two metres above the ground, with less effort than it takes to breath. He accessed his magic and with a quick thought made the ball of water [hot] [cold] [dark] [light] [loud] [quiet] [sharp] [blunt] [hard] [soft] [light] [heavy] [invisible] [intangible] [poisonous] [venomous]. With but a thought he removed the ability for the water to move forward in [time] and with another thought he removed the ability for the water to experience [death] and with one last thought he removed the ability for the water to [exist].
His head was clear and light as he looked at the empty space where the water used to be. Not even the slightest onset of a headache that he got for changing the concepts that made up the foundation of the World. In the end it was wondrous what you could do when you were no longer restricted by the human brain.
"I died," he said to himself remembering oceans of water that crushed his body breaking his bones and shredding his muscle, water seeping into his body and rupturing his organs as he tried to muster a defence while completely off guard and low in prana. "Tiamat killed me," he said remembering the god who mercilessly executed him. "Then where am I now. Obviously not on the World anymore or I wouldn't be able to access my power," Shirou, no Enki mused. While the two of them were virtually the same person in heart and mind, Shirou was not a god and Enki was. With the destruction of Shirou's body he found it unlikely that he could go back to being Shirou for a while then.
Ishtar was… He didn't want to think about Ishtar right now. She wasn't dead of course; an imitation of a famous hero did not have anywhere close to enough power to kill a god. No in the end her link to the World was severed and she was forced back to the Reverse Side of the World. He would think under most circumstances that he would go to the same place but this certainly didn't feel like the reverse side of the world.
His eyes drifted towards the sole door in the room. His instincts told him that beyond that lay the answers to all of his questions and so after double checking the state of his body and magic and finding them impeccable he moved towards the exit to his room with purpose. Sliding down the handle he found the door to be unlocked as per usual.
"This better not be a void with random objects floating in an eerie fashion," he said feeling some small bit of amusement despite the terrible situation. "I don't think my heart could take something so cliché."
"How is this then?" the musical voice hit his ears at the same time as his eyes feasted upon the beautiful girl in front of him. Red eyes sparkled as she smiled mischievously at him with such beauty that she could have stopped the heart of most males. Truly Gilgamesh was amazing for resisting her despite the obvious threat of death. There were many men that would have considered their life a very worthwhile trade-off for just a night with Ishtar. "What do you think of the décor," she said pointing to the intricacy of the work of art that he found himself upon.
"Blue is my favourite colour," he admitted as he looked upon the walls that were glazed with the colour of lapis lazuli. The golden animals that were depicted in the mural were nigh perfect and Enki wondered if any gods had assisted in making sure that the wall created in their honour was flawless. Still he didn't care much for these ostentatious displays then and he certainly didn't care for them now.
"The fact that you chose to wear that specific face now is really pissing me off," Shirou said suddenly while still looking away from the girl who spoke to him.
"I was told that a familiar face sets people at ease," the being wearing Ishtar's face said frowning slightly as she did so, an act that didn't mar her beauty in the slightest.
"It depends on a lot of factors," Enki pointed out as he pointedly stared straight at Ishtar's Gate. "I would be happy right now to see the real Ishtar. Seeing a copy of her face just reminds me of the circumstances in which we were separated. "
"Having her vessel destroyed," the incomparably beautiful woman said. "That would barely affect her. You more than anybody else would know how tough a god actually is. After all wasn't your body destroyed by a goddess who should have been long dead?"
"You know I've been thinking about that," Enki mused to himself, ignoring for now the fact that his fellow conversationalist was still wearing the face of his friend. "I think that girl must have had some connection to the Akashic Records. And somehow Tiamat used that connection to manifest herself inside the poor girls head."
"What was she doing in the Root anyway," the charming mouth of Ishtar formed those words causing Enki to take a glance at the speaker and then just as swiftly move away. "Shouldn't she be in the Reverse Side of the World?"
"You have to remember that she died," Enki replied as if it would be obvious. "When she died her body and soul was thrown into imaginary number space. Trust me none of the gods would have liked to risk the chance that she would meet them on the Reverse Side. It would not be a stretch to believe that from there her soul returned to Akasha as all souls are wont to do eventually, except as a god she can retain her memories and identity. From there she must have used that girl's connection to Akasha as a conduit to influence her and in future to enter the world."
"I think that's a bit of a stretch in logic," his companion said as she shook her head. "But I can't think of a better explanation. By the way she's already entered the world," his companion said as she leaned against the Ishtar gate casually, an act made irresistibly seductive by the body that she was wearing. Unfortunately he didn't have any time whatsoever to appreciate the beauty of his favourite goddess.
"What, are you serious," he said reflexively before he bit down his disbelief. If she wasn't serious then she wouldn't have told him. Despite her bad habit of taking annoying forms, the person in front of him was not in the habit of telling untruths. "Damn what perfect timing," he said to himself realizing that not only did Tiamat catch him off guard when there were no more vampires to interfere but that she could immediately manifest into the world without long preparation.
"Can you show me her," Enki said turning towards his acquaintance.
In response she nodded once and pointed to the sky where the bright blue of the heavens was being replaced by an overhead view of an exceedingly familiar town, if a lot worse for wear. Before his eyes Enki watched in trepidation as the water of the Mion as well the sea that surrounded Fuyuki turned black.
"The Primordial Sea," the charming voice of Ishtar dragged Enki's attention away for a moment. He nodded in agreement before looking back at the screen in time to wince as he saw something he hadn't seen for a long time.
"Girtabilu," Enki said as he watched a massive scorpion man emerge from the black mud in a manner reminiscent of a Godzilla movie. He easily towered over the remaining skyscrapers of Fuyuki and Shirou winced at the thought of the damage they could do.
"Bad memories?" his companion inquired.
"Never fought him," Enki immediately rebutted. "He was one of Tiamat's eleven horrors that she used in her war against us, but I had already slain a primordial deity by that point so I was tired and refused to participate in that conflict. I've only met the descendants long after the war and that was only smaller domesticated ones. I mean look at that size. He's nearly as big as Gugalanna."
"He's not the worst though," her companion said and Enki turned to look only to jump back at the new sight. Arcueid was standing before him in her standard jersey and skirt. "Really Alaya," Enki said shaking his head. "Is now the time?"
"If not now, then when Enki," Alaya said shaking Arcueid's head. "This world's become a lostbelt. I might as well tease you now while I still have the opportunity." The mood died a swift death as Enki pondered the implications. "It will be a few centuries at the least before this world gets its own Alaya," Alaya continued despite the bombshell she dropped. "I assume that since you've taken such an interest in this world you'll show my replacement the ropes.
The god nodded to the incarnation of humanity making a silent promise to himself to do just that if they survive the next day. He looked up at the sky and gently took control of the magic that Alaya used. A few seconds of trial and error allowed him to understand and move the view from Fuyuki to the wider world and allowed him to see that his true fears had come to pass. Fuyuki was by no means an isolated incident, as the black mire that had infected its water sources had spread throughout the wider world, until no blue could be seen from the surface. That was a lie, he thought immediately as the lakes and rivers that divided the landscape, all freshwater, remained clear. His domain remained mercifully untainted by the saltwater goddess.
Still he winced as he realised the damage done to the earth's ecosystem by the goddess. Even if only the top layer of the oceans were infected by Tiamat, countless fish species would have just gone extinct. Not to mention ocean dwelling mammals and birds which are dependent on those food sources. Even humans would have taken a knock due to the sheer number of people who depend on the bounty of the ocean. Lucklily he was one of the few gods that would actually have the power to fix the current situation. Unfortunately now was not the right time. He would have to grit his teeth and wait.
"So what are you waiting for?" the incarnation of humanities' will to survive asked him. "Surely you must have some plan to turn the tables on that goddess. Surely the great Lord Enki isn't afraid."
"Not for myself," Enki replied. "Hey Alaya, you're still connected to the vast majority of humans. Can you tell me who Tiamat has summoned so far?"
"Well you've seen Girtabilu," Alaya began as her face morphed into Arcueid's concentration look, a truly cute sight. "Basmu and Musshussu are rampaging through North America and have been engaged by the Canadian and United States armies. Usumgallu has wiped out several settlements in Africa, although thankfully no large population centres have been hit. Kusarikku has attacked Beijing and is currently being fought by the Chinese army. Musmahhu is slowly invading the European Union although no lives have been lost to that creature."
"Lazy snake takes a while to warm up," Enki said in explanation. "Eventually it will be as destructive as the others."
"That's all I've seen so far," Alaya said smiling in that contented expression that Arcueid always had. "The others are either avoiding humanity or have not entered the field yet."
"Likely the latter," Enki responded instantly. "They were birthed by Tiamat for the sole purpose of destruction. While posterities of their species can be reasoned with or confined, with those deadly forbearers there is no room for negotiation or compassion. Either you destroy them or they will end you. So that means that six are currently summoned. In total there are twelve beings that Tiamat will summon," Enki said looking serious. "The eleven monsters will require all of the Worlds power to combat, but the very existence of the last one is the largest threat to the human race."
"Kingu," Alaya said simply and Enki felt some gratification that he was standing next to somebody who was thinking on the same wavelength.
"Yes, Kingu's blood was originally used to create the human race. I'm afraid of what effects his presence could have on humanity. He may be unable to die as long as humans are alive, or the World might reject humanity due to his presence killing the species off, or nothing could happen at all. That's why as soon as he appears I will immediately kill him."
"And how are you going to get back?" Alaya asked him. "Tiamat accessed the world through her connection with the girl. While it's possible for you to survive in the atmosphere of the world even without a nifty body you still can't pierce through the textures of the world."
"Are you okay?" Enki said for the first time looking at his face-stealing friend in concern. "You're a lot slower than normal Alaya. Is something wrong?"
"Enki, I'm literally disappearing from this world," Alaya said with some exasperation. "Would it help if I started turning translucent and fading away?" she asked adopting a Cheshire Cat's grin. In a second she shed Arcueid's body and revealed her own. Her original form was composed of trillions of appearances, and her body flickered through all of them with an intensity and speed that left any single one from being able to be discerned. "I'm barely here at all, there's no way I can devote any significant computational power to any of your plans," she with a thousand voices.
"Very well," Enki said. "To summon somebody to the world you need an anchor and some power. That's pretty much the only requirement," he said as he grinned. "And when I left the World not all of me passed over."
"I see," Alaya said, and the multitude of voices that made up her speech all seemed to all convey skepticism at once. "Do you think that aspect will ever aid you?"
"Yes," Enki replied without hesitation. "While we may be at odds with each other," he said ignoring Alaya's disbelief. "In the end, when you get down to it, we'll both always give our all to save humanity. That's what the name Enki means. That's what the name Ea means. For now Arcueid, Satsuki, everybody, please survive until then."
xxx
In the wreckage of a torn city amongst melted stone, craters the size of caverns and black fog, as the black mud evaporated under the intense heat polluting the air, the ruins of a house were barely visible. In that carcass of a house well-lived in sat a cylindrical pillar in a pristine condition, unaffected by the madness around it. Slowly it began to spin.
Author Note: Ugh, this chapter kicked my ass. No fighting, just a lot of talking and being forced to delve into, and take liberties with, the deepest aspects of both Fate and Mesopotamian lore.