Author's note:
EMIYA has amnesia.
Indeed this is what he said to Rin Tohsaka just after his invocation.
But, you believe him just because he says so?
EMIYA is not exactly a man who never lies. He lies to Rin several times. He also lies to Caster. He even pretends to be dead after Gilgamesh's attack only to reappear at the final battle. One can doubt EMIYA's amnesia also because in Unlimited Bladework Route he tells his life story and gives his real name (Emiya Shirou).
In Fate Hollow Ataraxia, we even have the opportunity to see Archer remember Saber's invocation... at the time he was still Shirou.
Unlimited Bladework's anime also allows us to see a long flashback about EMIYA's life before his death, then the missions he performed on behalf of Alaya.
On the internet, there are many theories where fans try to explain that EMIYA only regains his memory in UBW route but... there is no scene that can be interpreted as 'EMIYA regaining his memory'.
I have always been taught that if there is no evidence to the contrary 'the simplest assumption is always the most likely ' (Occam's razor, also known as Principe of Parsimony).
And the simplest hypothesis is that EMIYA lied to Rin.
Why?
Imagine, for a little while, this modification of Archer's invocation scene:
"My True Name is EMIYA Shirou... yes I'm the future self of the stupid redhead in your school... a coincidence? No! I went back in time to kill my past self... and stop me from doing many stupid things... like, for example, preventing an attack on a nuclear power plant that would have killed millions! Rin? Uh... why did you activate your Command Mark?"
Shirou can't Trace Avalon, without Saber's presence.
So, yes, this statement is 100% Canon! It's entirely true. Bravo! You are fully right.
Except that...
Do you know the origin of this part of the Canon?
This is an interview given by Kinoko Nasu, just after the release of the original Fate Stay Night LN. In the same interview, Nasu also explained that Barrier of the Wind's King was an invisible scabbard created by Merlin to replace Avalon...
However, this point of the Canon was invalidated after the release of Fate Unlimited Code because Saber Lily (uniquely armed with Caliburn) can use Barrier of the Wind's King.
I could answer you that this point of the Canon is questionable since some part of the original material (the interview) has already been contradicted in ulterior official Type Moon products.
But that wouldn't be very honest of me.
Let's assume that what Kinoko Nasu says is the pure truth.
Shirou can't Trace Avalon, without Saber's presence.
This is the limit of Shirou in the universe of Fate.
But... you know... Shirou is no longer in the Fateverse.
In Fateverse, Tracing is limited by several factors: the lack of ambient magical energy, as well as the presence of Alaya and Gaia.
On the contrary, in the Campioneverse, the laws of magic are different and less restrictive, and there is more ambient magic energy. Unlike Alaya and Gaia, the entities present in the Campioneverse help the mages (for their own reasons).
Can you really affirm, with absolutely no trace of doubt, that Shirou's abilities in the Campioneverse are exactly the same as when he was in the Fateverse?
Black Prince Alec can't have Time Reversal's Authority.
Canonically, Gascoigne should not have this Authority yet, indeed.
But it's not Campione! LN. It is Moonchid and the story has completely derailed in recent months with cascading consequences. Specifically, you forget that Altera contacted every Heretic God on the planet to recruit them and use them in her own plans. The clash near Las Vegas and the clash in London both took place because Campiones interfered with some of these diplomatic openings.
I talked about these two battles because Shirou and the goddesses took part in them. But there were other battles within Campiones and Heretic Gods that I didn't share.
Note that this is nothing new.
I already explained this (briefly) in previous chapters.
Sisters
A stargate opened in the sky.
Floating beside Maanna, Ishtar discovered the spectacle of desolation left by the explosion that the sacrifice of John Pluto Smith had caused. A huge and deep glowing crater generated waves of heat waves that made the air tremble. Up to the horizon, the landscape was leveled, flayed, blackened...
There remained no trace of human constructions, even the course of the rivers or the contour of the hills had disappeared.
The Mistress of Heaven turned to her Bow-Boat and her sister. Ereshkigal held Hakuno against her. The caramel-haired teen girl still trembled under the effect of retrospective fear. She almost was disintegrated by the heat wave. Fortunately, Ishtar had caught him at the same time as the Queen of Kur and together they had taken refuge on the other side of the world.
"Hakuno is... is Shirou..."
Unable to finish his sentence, the Mighty Goddess of Heaven offered a pitiful appearance. Turning her eyes to hide her tears, she rubbed her arm with an anxious gesture.
His thoughts were deeply bitter.
Was she cursed? Was she condemned to see the men she loved die in absurd conflicts or for other stupid reasons?
Did she pay for her past crimes by the loss of those she cherished?
"He is alive."
Ishtar flinched and turned to Hakuno. Sitting on one of Maanna's bows, the Inheritor of the Moon had opened several virtual windows. One of them was a map with a green dot on it. Others showed scrolling pages of text. As it was written in the strange language of the Moon Cell, the Queen of Venus had no idea what it said.
As for the last window, it was an image filmed by some sort of virtual camera. The film shows Shirou, wounded, with clothes charred, burns on his hands and face, and hair turned into blackened stubble. Shirou. Alive.
Ishtar's relief lasted only a moment, however.
She suddenly realized that the redhead's moronic cheek was resting on cushions... uh... the kind that males preferred.
"But who does this pretentious woman think she is?! This is my Shirou! Nobody touches what belongs to Ishtar!"
It was amazing how quickly she recovered. Moreover, the Goddess of Venus was well known for her brutal change of mood... a real roller coaster.
But, on the bright side, it was impossible to be bored in her divine proximity. Ishtar was the perfect antidote to gloom ... at least if you have nothing against the risk of being boiled alive at one time or frozen to death the next moment!
Turning away from her sister, the forehead wrinkled with anger and who clenched her fist while murmuring threats only half understandable, Ereshkigal looked at Hakuno.
"More seriously, do you perceive the presence of Rama?"
The Last Master closed several windows... opened others... scrolled through menus by checking options with the finger, read some texts, and...
Shook her head.
Sometimes even Ere had trouble communicating with Hakuno. What was she supposed to understand?
"You don't see Rama anywhere. Is that it? You really don't sense his presence?"
"No."
Hakuno's answer was short but clear.
A little relieved by her anger eruption, Ishtar crossed her arms on her chest after pushing one of her pigtails over her shoulder, one of her usual mannerisms.
"The opposite would be surprising! Even the Strongest Steel cannot survive such an explosion."
Ere smiled with embarrassment. Despite all her claims that she was a 'mighty goddess', the Queen of Irkalla was very shy and introverted. Her complete opposite from the point of view of the character, the Mistress of Heaven was self-confident and outspoken. In fact, as soon as the discussion started, Ishtar forgot that the goal was to add the opinions of every participant to gain a full view of the situation. Out of pride, the Goddess of Venus sought to have the last word, to impose her opinion on others. This spirit of competition was suffocating. And often, Ere gave up debating to have some peace of mind
"If you say so."
Still, Ershkigal was uncomfortable. Until then, the King of the End had survived all attacks without suffering more than a few scratches. Yes, the fight had been long, and turbulent, and only the sacrifice of a Campione had made it possible to defeat Rama... it was impossible to think that it was an easy victory.
Yet...
Yet this was exactly what Ereshkigal thought: this victory seemed too easy!
Absurd.
She shook her head.
Her sister must have been right.
Without paying attention to the troubled look of the Ruler of the Underworld, Ishtar smiled at Hakuno.
"Show me Shirou's position!"
The cute doll-like teen frowned, suspicious.
"Do not attack Lancelot!"
Looking at Kishinami with a perfectly imitated innocent behavior (Ishtar repeated every morning in front of the mirror), the goddess put a hand on his chest in a gesture of crinkled pride.
"But I'm not going to attack Lancelot. I just want to nicely chat with her... she must have a justification for daring to poach on my land... and as a civilized person, I will listen to her."
... at least to begin with, added internally Ishtar.
Although always suspicious, Hakuno displayed the map.
"All right I see where he is. Let's go find moron."
Strangely, the expected explosion did not occur.
After pulling Shirou from Lancelot's (too) protective arms, Ishtar examined him from every angle. Not only was the redhead burned, but he also had muscle injuries like an athlete could get for pushing his training too hard. Rin Tohsaka had already had to treat Shirou for similar injuries... OverReinforcment... The Strengthening Magecraft used Prana to fill the tiny gaps in the structure of bones and muscles. But a Magus could not strengthen his body beyond a certain limit... very variable... the body hardens after years of using this technique, but can also be weakened by being too stressed.
Fortunately, Shirou held Avalon between his arms, and the sheath of Excalibur was currently treating his wounds. Ishtar's face twitched as she saw the darker strips of skin on the Faker's face and arms.
Ereshkigal had just examined Guinevere, the Witch Queen who suffered many painful burns, and Marquis Voban. The latter was soul wounded... and it was to be taken in the most literal sense without any romantic connotation, though a goddess who captured and imprisoned souls, the Mistress of the Underworld had never seen anything like it. Nevertheless, she had some ideas to help the Balkan King.
As the Queen of Kur returned to her sister, she saw her worried face. Approaching, Ere looked at Shirou...
"I hesitate... he looks more like a Dalmatian dog or a zebra?"
The remark startled the Mesopotamian Goddess of Love. She looked at her former enemy with a furious look.
"This is no joke! Shirou once again damaged his Magic Circuits... Each time this moronic moron damages them, their ability to transform Od into Prana decreases and each time he must push his Circuits harder during the Projection process, increasing the chances of damaging these very same Circuits... it's a vicious spiral."
By saying these last words, Ishtar's voice broke on a desperate note. She remembered many of Fate Rin's lives. In most of them, Shirou ended up sacrificing his life to save others.
Ere coughed while waddling from one foot to the other.
"Calm down, I know all this. In fact, I know even more about this than you do."
Despite the fact that the situation was serious, Ere had a proud smile that she hid behind an affected cough.
"I hate to say it, but this time, I know more about a subject than you do." The Queen of Kur pointed to Hakuno, busy manipulating the virtual screens generated by the Regalia. "Don't you know that during the Lunar Grail War, I healed her Servant? His magic circuits had been damaged by Assassin's Noble Phantasm, No Second Strike. An attack that disrupts the internal Magic Circuits like a tornado, and in a Servant's case, the magical energy connection to one's Master can no longer function properly."
She smiled, nodding her head.
"It was a complex case and 'Rin Tohsaka' saved the patient. The Great Goddess of the Netherworld could do no less than save your Shirou Emiya."
She draped herself in her cape in a flashy movement... that was just ridiculously theatrical.
Ishtar bit her lip not to laugh, Ereshkigal was easily offended.
She bowed... in a gesture of humility, rare with this arrogant goddess.
"Thank you."
Surprised by the obvious sincerity of her sister, Ere blushed and began to look at the ground while playing with the fabric of her cape.
"It's okay, we're sisters and... friends... aren't we?"
The Queen of Venus nodded with a smile.
"Yes, we are sisters and friends."
But Hakuno Kishinami interrupted this rare moment of complicity between the two Mesopotamian goddesses.
"We have a visitor."
Serious again, they materialized their weapons and put themselves on the defensive.
"Rama?"
"No. Black Prince Alec, Lord Salvatore, Godou, and his girlfriends" replied the Last Master.
The two goddesses sigh with relief before turning to Hakuno to look at her with annoyance and anger.
The latter blinked her eyes, not understanding their silent reproach.
Salvatore Doni and Godou Kusanagi were dressed in crumpled and dusty clothes, but they were in much better condition than Alexander Gascoigne. The British Campione was hardly recognizable, he who was usually dressed very elegantly wore only lacerated rags soaked in blood.
Yet it was not the Godslayer who was the most to be pitied.
Sasha Dejanstahl Voban moaned on the ground, barely conscious... as for Luo Hao and John Pluto Smith, both had died in the battle.
Black Prince Alec looked at Guinevere and then Lancelot with anger... but aware that he was not in a position to engage in combat with his old enemies, he bit his lips and turned his head, ignoring them.
As for Lancelot, she had materialized her armor and weapons before posting herself near the Witch of Brittany.
Interestingly, Lancelot's actual armor was very different from what this Heretic Goddess had worn so far. Her armor was a Divine Authority (like her spear and her Greek shield) that took any form the peerless knight imagined. Until then, Lancelot du Lac had only used medieval armor with a white tabard and a helmet (open or not) adorned with swan wings. Such equipment fit seamlessly with the legend of the 'Chevalier du Lac'.
However, she was wearing a carved bronze Greek breastplate, greaves also in bronze, and leather wrist guards with fingerless gloves. Her clothing was complemented by a blue cloth loincloth that fell between his legs and left her thighs uncovered, as well as a blue and silver hooded cape.
If her armor reflected what Lancelot was, then the queen of the Amazons had completely renounced the masquerade that presented her as a Knight of the Round.
Yuri Mariya examined Sasha Voban before shaking her head.
The young and pretty Hime-Miko smiled sadly at Ereshkigal.
"There's nothing I can do for the Balkan King."
Yuri looked at the old king with a troubled expression... years earlier she had been his captive. With other Hime-Miko she had participated in a forbidden ritual to summon a Heretic God... under duress.
Most of the Hime-Miko had gone mad... some had even died. Yuri had been one of the few to be spared.
If Goudou hadn't come to save her, fighting the Balkan King for her sake, she would have been forced to participate in another ritual...
The perfect Yamato Nadeshiko had every reason to hate Marquis Voban and rejoice in his current weakness. But as a member of the History Compilation Committee, her duty came first. As the Campiones were the protectors of the world, the death of two of them was already a tragedy. Caring for Voban became a priority.
Ere smiled.
"I told you. Healing souls is beyond mortal power, but this Mighty Goddess of the Netherworld is capable of it!" With her finger, she pointed to Shirou. "Can you help him?"
Yuri Mariya bowed with grace and in a gentle manner.
"The golden object on his chest already heals his physical wounds, noble Sumerian Goddess of the Dead. My help would be useless." She hesitated briefly and bowed even deeper, blushing with embarrassment." And I humbly apologize for my inexperience but these... 'Magic Circuits'... I don't know how to cure them" she said in a nervous voice.
Ere missed a heartbeat and felt particularly uncomfortable... Yuri had the strange talent of exacerbating the protective instincts of the one who approached her.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it!"
Returning to her usual behavior, the Queen of Kur made her cloak flutter by throwing it over her shoulder before putting her hand on her chest and standing proudly.
"This Noble and Powerful goddess will heal the Devil King Sasha Dejansthal Voban and the mortal Emiya Shirou! For this is the extent of her sapience. No one can claim to know souls and Magic Circuits as well as the mighty Goddess of the Netherworld."
—as she did not look at her feet, Ere stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Flustered, she looked around with an anxious and terrified expression.
Fortunately, only Yuri was watching her at that moment. And the young Hime-Miko had remained perfectly serene... It must be said that the sweet girl never mocked anyone. Bowing deeply, she answered without raising her eyes.
"Thank you for your help, noble and powerful Queen of the Underworld."
A whistling alarm startled everyone.
All eyes turned to Hakuno. She had frozen, one hand raised, as if changed into a salt statue.
In the middle of the multiple immaterial screens floating around them, there was a red color window with hatched outlines of black lines.
She pressed the flashing yellow icon in the middle of the warning window. Immediately, several windows appeared... all of them were red.
Hakuno's eyes widened under the effect of surprise and terror...
She looked at the images, quickly read the texts, and observed the diagrams...
"The King of the End!"
On the ground a few dozen meters from it a circle of golden light decorated with trigrams of the Yi-King and sinograms formed on the ground.
When Ishtar said that even Rama could not survive against Tezcatlipoca Living Fire's Incarnation, the goddess was probably right... or maybe she was wrong, because Athena had said that the Strongest Steel could survive several attacks of the Divine Sword of Salvation at full power.
But in any case, it was not today that one could see who was right...
The Monkey King had the same reaction as the Mistress of Heaven. At the sight of Smith, transformed into a fireball, he had immediately teleported safely... with the Strongest Steel.
And they just came back to finish the job.
This time, Rama Chandra was determined to finish the fight in one fell swoop.
As soon as he appeared, the Heretic God used Excalibur.
"White Star!"
A kind of mini sun appeared. Like an automatic battery, it began to spit projectiles of light toward the three Campiones still capable of fighting.
Weakened and slowed down by his wounds, Alec was hit several times... Goudou had more luck and was hit only once. As for the Italian Devil King, his reflexes saved him. He waved his sword in front of him, cutting all the projectiles before counterattacking. Brandishing his blade with his arm covered with a silver film, Lord Salvatore cut the mini-sun in two. The two severed parts immediately exploded into a shower of sparks.
Unfortunately, the damage was done...
The small meteors had hit two of the Godslayers.
In addition to physical injuries, the light projectiles had the ability to poison Campiones and block their magical energy, preventing them from using their Authorities.
At the same time, Sun Wukong began to run towards the goddesses, determined to avenge the defeat he had suffered by their fault shortly after his release.
Holding his spear firmly in his hand, Ereshkigal screamed without turning back.
"Ishtar, go help the Campiones, I'll take care of him."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, I have a plan!"
The Queen of Venus threw a brief glance at Goudou and Alec. The first was kneeling, gasping, and trying to straighten while the second was on the ground, unconscious... dying. Only Lord Salvatore Doni was still fighting.
"Okay, I trust you!"
As the Mistress of Heaven ran away, Ere focused.
[Hakuno, I need your timing. ]
[OK!]
Ready for battle, the Goddess of the Dead waited without moving... she had only one chance to win, and she wasn't gonna ruin it.
The Monkey King leaped and in his hand, his gold Divine Staff stretched out fabulously. He was about to strike with all his might. Then...
[Skill! ]
Hearing the order of the Last Master of the Moon, Ere extended a hand forward.
"Code Cast: (Mind Blast) Anti-Mind Trap."
On the ground in front of her appeared several square and transparent plates, barely visible, which floated just above the ground...
[Jump back! ]
Ereshkigal complied and...
[Jump aside!]
Ruyi Jingu Bang hit the ground where she stood, digging a long trench, the cloud of dust raised by the shock as violent as an explosion, and the well of rubble that fell in any direction hid the landscape from the eyes of all.
But Old Sun had not lost track of the goddess, however, he swerved towards her, accelerating further and... passed on the trap she had prepared.
"Ahrrrrrrggggg!"
The cry of pain shook the air for miles. Wrapped in electrical arcs, Sun Wukong fell to his knees... he let go of his Divine Staff... it had become too heavy for him.
"How... how... is that possible?"
The Monkey King stood up and failed. He really had no strength left. and his nerves were damaged, not responding properly.
"Oh, it's simple," replied Ereshkigal, it's a trap that cuts off its victim from any access to Chi, the breath of life... which is the origin of your strength." (1)
Ere paused and nodded.
"Now is the time for the Goddess of Death to judge you for your crimes..."
She focused on, leaving the end of his sentence in suspense.
"A sky without light..."
Metal cages appeared around the goddess. The blue flames they contained began to shine louder and louder.
"A surface without reflection..."
Ereshkigal struck the ground with the heel of her spear. There was a sound like a cymbal crash and a red circle of fire formed around her.
"Mud without bubbling flower..."
The goddess's hair was shaken by the wind whirling around her as a dozen or so lances made of red electricity came out of the ground.
"There is nothing here! I don't even understand what the souls are saying."
Around Ere the electric spears continued to grow ever bigger, ever larger, collecting more and more mana.
"Even then, I will create!"
The spears converged towards the weapon that the Queen of Netherworld held in her hands and merged creating a weapon proportionate to the true form of Ereshkigal... an eerie skeletal specter about ten meters high!
All around her were dazzling scarlet electric arcs and the air smelled of ozone. The brightness of the lightning strikes forced the few witnesses to protect their eyes.
"Nammu Abzu Gugalanna!"
Deprived of his reflexes by the effects of the Anti-Mind Trap, the Monkey King could not dodge and was hit head-on by the fabulously bright red lightning; his body only resisted for a brief second before disintegrating.
All that remained of him was burning ashes that fell on the ground like rain...
Leaning on Alexander Gascoigne, Yuri Mariya uttered a small cry of sorrow as she searched for the pulse of the Campione without finding it.
"He is dead... Black Prince Alec is dead!"
A few steps away, Goudou was kneeling on the burning ground, one hand on his chest and he was breathing with difficulty. Drops of sweat ran down his face.
Yuri got up and ran towards him.
"Sorry, Godou, I... I have to... to... kiss you."
It was the only way to pass the anti-magic barrier that protected a Godslayer. As the barrier spread to the surface of his skin, magic had to be injected into Godou's body.
—which meant he was going to have to kiss the lovely Yuri...Campione's vocation really required great sacrifice.
A few steps away, Lord Salvatore Doni attacked the Strongest Steel again.
"I do not believe in the existence of something that I cannot cut off," he shouted at the top of his lungs.
And he struck with all his strength. When the sword created by the Ripping Silver Sword Authority hit the Divine Sword of Salvation there was a true explosion of light.
... on the ground fell a piece of sword ... then a stream of blood... before Salvatore Doni collapsed to his knees, squeezing the wound that opened into his chest.
With a swift movement of the wrist, Rama released Excalibur and lifted the bloody blade above his head.
"Poor fool; I am the Fate Warrior, and the Destiny's Chosen One, even a blasphemer and a profaner as impious as a Campione should know that one cannot challenge fate."
As he was about to strike, the expression on his face changed... Rama jumped aside.
The wheels of a war wagon traced two furrows in the ash that covered the ground.
In an infernal noise, the antediluvian war machine veered and returned to its target. It was a chariot of cedar wood, lapis lazuli, and gold. Its wheels were gold and its horns were amber, driving lions in a team and onagers of great size (2).
Holding the reigns in one hand, brandishing a silver spear decorated with cuneiform letters in the other, Ishtar encouraged the beasts that pulled the battle chariot.
Rama raised the Divine Sword of Salvation.
He selected his targets.
The first on his list was Ishtar. She was a potent opponent and the death of a Mother Goddess would make him more powerful.
Next, Goudou Kusanagi. The Campione was treated by a Hime-Miko, the Strongest Steel could not allow her to finish.
And finally, Salvatore Doni, the blasphemer was seriously wounded but he was still alive. Rama was not one of those who took risks with his enemies, he even intended to finish Voban after eliminating the Campiones still able to fight.
"Divine Sword Mandala!"
Suddenly, the air was filled with beams of platinum light that cut the air into cubes... There was in fact only one attack. But the ray of light moved so fast that it crossed its own path, cutting it regularly at right angles. So all the people present had the illusion of being inside a 3D wire-frame model made of stacked cubes...
But...
Suddenly the scene seemed to tremble. The threads of light wavered, disappeared, reappeared.
Instinctively, the King of the End turned to Lord Salvatore, feeling that it was his doing.
Indeed, the Campione had straightened up... transformed into an iron statue!
He also used Divine Confusion, a power stolen from Dionysus that distorted any form of magic... including Authorities.
Even weakened, Divine Sword Mandala was Rama's ultimate attack.
Struck thousands of times in the space of a single second, Ishtar's war chariot vanished into a whirlwind of Prana...
Ishtar did not even have time to realize what was happening to her, she collapsed unconscious and seriously injured.
As for Godou... he was barely conscious at the time of the attack. After that, he lay on the ground in a pool of blood. Dead.
Only Lord Salvatore could still fight, Man of Steel Authority had sealed his wound and made him strong enough to survive Divine Sword Mandala.
He was the last Campione still able to fight... but he had no chance against Rama.
But before the Strongest Steel could attack a cry of rage interrupted him.
He turned around and recognized...
"Ishtar?"
Indeed, it was the Mistress of Heaven wearing her usual very revealing white clothing, with a top bra that is outlined with gold and exposes a bit of cleavage along with her lower back and stomach.
But it wasn't possible
The King of the End turned his head sharply to take a look towards the place where the Goddess of Venus had stood at the time he had attacked her and... she was still there, barely breathing and unable to move!
Confused, no longer understanding what was happening, Rama looked again at the newcomer, noting that she was holding a red spear in one hand and a torch lit in the other. This 'Ishtar' had blond hair!
"Ereshkigal?"
Why did she wear the same clothes as her sister?
The gods of the Sumerian pantheon had limited the powers of Ereshkigal.
She was the goddess who reigned over the world of the dead, but it was not she who guided the individuals who had just died to the Underworld.
Therefore, her main Noble Phantasm, Kur Kigal Irkalla, could not really open a door to the world of the dead, just create an ephemeral 'kingdom' in the world of the living, a mere 'buff' zone.
In Mesopotamian mythology, it was another goddess who led the dead to the afterlife... the goddess Ishtar.
Indeed, Ishtar was a psychopomp goddess (a guide of the dead).
A power she had gained after she died and came back to life through the sacrifice of her husband Dumuzid.
Ironically, during the time Ishtar was dead, Ere had fashioned the Hidden Great Crown, an artifact that had allowed the Ruler of the Netherworld to usurp her sister's powers... After the Queen of Venus came back to life, the Crown only worked when Ishtar was unconscious or asleep.
Thus, when the Mistress of Heaven was unconscious, Ereshkigal combined the title of Goddess of the Dead AND that of the Psychopomp Goddess...
It therefore had the power to open a passage to the world of the dead.
Floating above the ground, in T pose, Ereshkigal held with one hand the blazing soul of Meslamtaea and, in the other, one of the torches that Ishtar brandished as the guide of the dead.
When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice reflected strangely, although Ere murmured, everyone heard her as if she were near them. At first, Rama fell to his knees.
Frightened, the King who Rule at World's End tried to stand up, but he saw that his hands were glued to the ground while swirls of particularly sinister violet light were circling around him, faster and faster; At times, a red lightning hit the ground near the Strongest Steel.
"To lead you captive to the house of darkness, seat of Irkalla:
to the house which none who enters ever leaves,
on the path that allows no journey back,
to the house whose residents are deprived of light,
where the soil is their sustenance and clay their food,
where they are clad like birds in coats of feathers (3),
and see no light, but dwell in darkness.
On the door and bolt the dust lay thick,
on the House of Dust was poured a deathly quiet.
In the House of Dust, you will enter (4)
Kur Kigal Irkalla! "
Goudou opened his eyes, slowly... he felt weak and clumsy. He looked around... but there was nothing to see. The Campione was in a sort of nothingness as made of luminous mist. He frowned, he had already come here... but did not remember what occasion.
"Awake?!"
He looked up and saw an upside-down face bent over him... an adorable teenage girl with pink hair and pointed ears... Godou's head rested on his knees.
"Pandora? I'm dead?"
"Once more" confirmed the goddess. She took her cheeks in her hands "Listen to your mother and enjoy her wisdom. I'll explain how to defeat the King of the End... "
Author's note: yes, the chapter ends here.
In the next chapter, Rama (prisoner of the kingdom of Irkalla) will face the Queen of the Underworld (while she is boosted by the powers usurped from Ishtar). Who will win?
(1) For the record, Extraverse Rin makes a magic landmine using this Code Cast and entrusts it to Hakuno Kishinami (male version) during his second fight against Li Shuwen in the manga adaptation of the game Fate Extra.
(2) This is Ishtar's war chariot, described in Tablet 6 of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The so-called Standard Version says that the chariot is harnessed with lions and mules (two by two). A friend who is a zoologist opportunely reminded me that the Sumerians had never domesticated the horse. They harnessed onagers (Equus hemionus onager) to their war chariots.
(3)... so (in a less poetical language) like birds trapped in cages. Until then, I had thought that the vision of Kur, like an afterlife country filled with cages, was a pure invention of FGO with no mythological basis. Reading this, I thought "Wow... Type-Moon people do their homework really well, hats off!"
(4) The text is based on Enkidu's dream (where he first met Ereshkigal, this dream is also the premonition of his death). Tablet 7 of the Epic of Gilgamesh.