Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 137 of the story! Before we start, R.I.P to Pope Francis. May God have him. Kinda poetic that it happened the day after Easter and on the supposed mythological day Rome was founded. Life really has this type of curious coincidences.
Also, by the time you'll be reading this, we'll be a few days short of OC IV release, soooo, I wish all the best of luck to those of you who are playing on the JP server and ready to embark on a christian journey through hell with Dante and whoever the vampire/demonic girl of Ordeal Call poster is.
With all that aside, let's get into it!
DISCLAIMER: All of the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author
Fate Grand Order OST- Silent Voice
"O children...My...swe...et...chil...dren..."
From the deepest abyss of the primordial dark waters, from when the world was nothing but a full sea of salt water in the empty void, painful woes echoed on its body. Someone, something, weeping for her offsprings.
"Why...have y...ou forsaken...me?"
The mother questioned in sorrow as her body was split in half by the end of the conflict. One to craft the sky and stars. The other, to craft the earth and plants. The children act of rebellion.
"WhY..!? Wh..Y...dId...You...AbaNdO...Ned MotHeR?"
She yelled out in anguish and despair, the tears of her two eyes meant to travel upon miles and miles into the horizon, running their course into unknown destiny.
A yell of exesperation so loud that it got to awake the attention of the dormant master of humanity that was drifting aimlessly amidst the black sea before then. "Hmm...Eeh? This voice..."
"wHY wOn't...You ComE B...Ack mY...ChilDRen? PlEaSe...ReTUrN...tO mOth...Er...I mi..Ss yOu..."
"This voice. It sounds so hurtful..." The master of humanity thought to himself, feeling a benevolent pity for the anguish guttural cries of the identity that echoed below on the black sea. Such empathy that caused him to iniciate a conversation with it. "Who are you? Who exactly abandoned you?"
An answer that came in the form of a red light, emmanating deep down on the primeval ocean, the master of humanity getting a response from the enigmatic, grievous voice.
"I am...one of mankind's oldest evil...the Original Second Sin..."
"Original Second Sin?" The muddled master speaked back, puzzled by the voice's response, staring down at the ominous vibrant red light of trepidation at the bottom of the watery abyss. "Ghg!" He covered his ears in pain, the head aching once the voice loudly echoed.
"The Sin that was...molded with...Paradise's abandonment..! The children...never to return..!"
"P-Paradise?"
"Behold! My most ambitious work! The vision torwards a paradisiacal beggining!"
"Aaghr!" Feeling an even bigger headache surge in as a quick memory played out on his brain, the master of humanity helded his head tight as the throbbing pain was going away. Despite how menacing it looked, the sight of the red light also looked what could be described as lurid and impressive, drawning in the curiosity out of the master of humanity. It made him wonder, if he swimmed closer, would he better understand the voice-
"No. Don't go any further." An identity appeared behind the master of humanity, grabbing his hand, preventing him from swimming torwards the red light. "This scent...It's all of the same kind." The avenger noted, this not being the first time they were facing an identity of the same nature. Something...deeply disturbing and sinful.
"The Sin...that shall come to surface...! OnE T..haT wiLl Ag..itAtE tHe...WaveS fRo...M wIthIn GodDesS Nammu's WoMb...wHer..e AlL lIfe iS..bOrn!"
The voice exclaimed loudly with some rage. A rage of someone who felt wronged. The tone being so sharp and high that it almost sent the master of humanity and his servant back and away, enduring their bodies against the strong currents.
"Aaah...my children...my sweet children...Mother will return...to love again..."
"Now the voice went back to being sadder..." The master of humanity commented, the voice sobbing and crying in low lament, the red light losing some of its potency. It all led to believe that whatever was the being he was dealing with, was one that felt agonized. Uncomfortable. Forlorn and heartbroken by the children. Slained and abandoned at the dark depths of the primordial ocean. Chaos contained and sealed.
"All of this hurt..." The master of humanity's eyes almost tear on their own, the voice's grief touching his heart on a sentimental level alone. That whoever was the owner of this voice, was in a profound state of misery and sorrow, desiring endlessly for the day to be reunited with its offsprings once more.
"Don't listen to it any longer." The avenger behind him advised, eyeing the red light down with caution. "You'll have to wake up now, master. Before you immerse yourself too much in."
As the servant was telling him that, the mournful voice continued the speech, the red light proceeding to shine brighter, so bright that started to encompass all of the depths of the dark sea around them. It was a sign.
"Please...allow Mother...to love again..."
An omen that something ancient and beastly, was waiting to emerge back to the world.
"To embrace her children forever."
.
.
.
"!"
Opening up his eyes in a snap, Ritsuka had awaken from the deep lucid dream he just had, finding himself back on his bed from his improvised bedroom within Chaldea's embassy.
His mind had just been left in confusion, the saddening cries and laments of the voice having stuck on him for a bit. "The voice of a broken mother, eh?" Ritsuka whispered to himself as he passed his hand on the mantle he used as sheet to sleep. Unconsciously, he had to be thankful to Dantés for having intervened in the dream when he could, maintaining Ritsuka save from whatever the consequences could have been if he stayed in that dream longer.
Still, the master of humanity wished to know more of the context behind the voice's pleading. Its name and the message it delivered. "Original Sin II..."
Before getting too much time wondering and theorizing about such mystery, Ritsuka heard knocks coming from his bedroom's door.
"Master! Are you awake? May I come in?" It was Mash, waiting on the other side of the door, seemingly having went there to wake him up as another new day arrived.
"You can, Mash!" Ritsuka responded, with the shielder opening the door and entering his room. A smile was visible on her face. "You look happy, Mash. Did something happened?"
"Oh, if it did, Senpai." Mash said, about to explain the motive for her joy to him. And it was a very comprehensive one as it would soon be revealed. "Siduri-san gave us news of receiving an order from King Gilgamesh himself requesting our presence at the ziggurat! We finally got his attention!"
In no time and two hours after, the chaldeans and Ana, accompanied by Merlin, where back to the place they first went to when they had originaly arrived to Uruk almost a month ago. It were long weeks of hard work and dedication. But in the end, it seemed it paid off well, judging by the mild face of amusement of Gilgamesh when listing all of the chaldeans reports.
"Collect harvests. Detain criminals. Deliver of manufactured products. Even got to aid on the construction of the new watchtower at the east sector of the city's walls." Gilgamesh's voiced their deeds with some satisfaction upon analyzing it all the way up until their most recent day of work report. "I'm not afraid to admit, chaldeans: Altough I was detached from your reports at the beggining, they were able to slowly capture my interest in your duties. You have performed the tasks Uruk's people gave it to you fantastically." The king of Uruk stated, lying down the last tablet on the pile by his side. "And here I thought you would end up forfeiting of such tiring and mundane tasks in a week at most. Guess I was wrong." The bemused smile on his face then came off as he now looked at the group more seriously. "I commend you all for your well done contribution on the stability of my nation, people of Chaldea."
"See? I knew King Gilgamesh would inventually show interest in less than a month's time!" Nala speaked once Gilgamesh finished talking, smilling to the others.
"To think it's already been a month..." Mash commented, thinking on the overall time that it passed since their first day in Uruk. "We've got so used to working and walking around Uruk that it felt like it was becoming our hometown at a certain point."
"In a way, doing those daily tasks made us see almost everything that it had to show us." Peko added, sharing the same thoughts. "Perhaps it's me reading too much into it, but it felt as if Your Highness had made us go onto a trial for these past weeks without telling." The boy bringed up to Gilgamesh, remembering of what Siduri told them back on their exit from the ziggurat on the first visit. "Was connecting up with the people of Uruk and relate to the city first a way of Your Highness to test our ability and compassion to actually aid others before aiding King Gilgamesh yourself?"
Not a far-off observation from the boy overall, would be Gilgamesh's thought. Despite having been important details shared by Siduri to them, the king of Uruk was content that the party understood the message and intention he wanted to give them. Altough the bit prideful ruler would not admit it. "Don't know. Maybe you are really reading too much into it, child." He rested his head while looking to Peko.
A response that was enough to tell Peko about if his guess was correct or not. "I see." The boy smiled softly to Gilgamesh, his expression and the way he answered already being enough indicators on the true answer.
"King Gilgamesh, it is an honour that we were able to make Your Highness change his general opinion on us." Ritsuka talked to the king of Uruk politely. Despite the feel of having provened him wrong being nice, the master of humanity knew to also not appear disrespectful in the face of King Gilgamesh. They were politely invited to his temple again and so far being treated courteously by Gilgamesh. Thus, the chaldeans would retribute the behaviour back. "The people Your Highness rules over are really lovable, as well as the city. Who knew that even in ancient times, the people could appear so lively." He said to Gilgamesh, having genuinely grew a sense of appreciation for how majority of Uruk's population was really kind and likeable. "Per example, in one of our last missions this week, we..."
"Refrain yourself from speaking every minor detail of your trial, Ritsuka Fujimaru." Gilgamesh interrupted and called him out. Surprisingly, doing so with his actual name instead of an usual 'mongrel' or other type of nickname for him. But no. A royal and important figure like Gilgamesh, was not only giving the chaldeans more attention now, but also to use their actual names directly in a conversation. It was rather a big surprise for the party.
"Did we really climbed up that high in your-I mean, in King Gilgamesh's consideration by simply doing all those tasks?" Nala was a bit addled torwards Gilgamesh. "I kinda expected that we'd need to get through one or a couple more sort of trials before reaching that level of approvation."
A remark that made Gilgamesh's lips smirk. "Eh. It's incredible how on point you were while being purely unintentional. It reflects rather well on that behaviour of yours, girl."
A comment that didn't left a great sensation on Nala. "Uhh, Your Highness will sent us on one more type of 'trial', won't he?"
"Precisely the main reason why I called for your presence here today." Gilgamesh responded, confirming the girl's hunch. "Thanks to your efforts, a bit of the workload that was put on me got a bit 'lighter' per say, allowing me to focus on more external problems that are happening beyond Uruk's walls. The mysterious jungle's emergence on the south of Mesopotamia, to be more precise."
"Hm, so that's what all of this is about." Nala replied, now having the motive for why Gilgamesh requested their presence to his palace besides their good work.
"Ushiwakamaru-san and Benkei-san had told us previously about that issue." Mash speaked up, she and the team having been informed about that topic before by the king's two servants. "According to them, King Gilgamesh has already sent previous reconnaisance teams to investigate the reasons behind its mysterious appearence but none of them came back, was it?"
"You stand correct, Kyrielight." Gilgamesh told her. "For the few months since its existence, every attempt I tried to understand more of it through exploration, no reports or men that I'd sent there ever came back. But since you are of a different background, I'm clinging on believing that you chaldeans may have better chances of coming back alive with a report perhaps."
"If we do end up coming back successfuly from that mission, will Your Highness accept our aid at last?" Ritsuka asked to Gilgamesh, seeing the mission, possibly the first one he had for them, as the last test before proving and corroborate their value to the king of Uruk.
"It shall be so as testement that you have showed yourselves to be worthy enough of it." Gilgamesh replied, his stare shifting to Merlin. "As measure to oversee you from up close and make you don't fumble on such crucial mission, I'll be sending Merlin to accompany you. Perceive him as an 'helping hand' as well."
"Your Highness wish is my command." Merlin bowed down consideratly to Gilgamesh. "Altough the territory we are about to venture to is an uncharted one, I'll do my best in making sure they all return from the jungle alive."
"That's what I like to hear." Gilgamesh told to his servant, having another type of task for him. "And if by any case, even in the slimmest of chances, you know what I'll ask you to tell me if you end up findin it during the expedition."
"Yes, my king. The Tablet of Destinies." Merlin replied, guessing it from the get-go. "I too have a good bet on the hypothesis of its location being there. Whether I find it or not, our trip to that place will still be important to better know what we could be up against with." The wizard then turned around to chaldeans and Ana, smilling. "But fear not. In any circumnstance of extreme danger, I can use my spells to bail us out. Not that I think we wll have to reach that point with a skillful and united team of fighters as you are. So? Ready to go to your first mission on King Gilgamesh's behalf? Be sure nothing's missing!"
"..." With that in mind, Peko gave an hesitant, contained look to Gilgamesh. In his head, he knew exactly the question he wanted to do to the king. He really wanted to. But remembering of his private conversation with Siduri on the other day made him think twice for a bit.
"Hm? What is that glance of yours for, boy?" Gilgamesh slightly raised an eyebrow as he noticed Peko's brief stare torwards him. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"...No. Not really, Your Highness." Peko responded, ending up deciding that he didn't want to pressure Gilgamesh about the document, holding the trust that when the king deciphered something about it, he would tell him and the rest of Chaldea as promised. "Well, I'm all ready to go straight to the jungle by me! How about the rest of you, guys?" The boy asked to the rest of the party.
"You already know your sis here! I'm all up to go to the jungle at this precise instant!" Nala responded.
"Then should I assume we are all feeling ready here?" Mash asked, seeing that the twins were ready to embark on the mission. "Master?" She gazed to Ritsuka as a way of asking him if he was prepared to go or not yet.
"More than ready, Mash." Ritsuka responded. "But I feel there's still someone who has to give their veredict here." He smiled, leaning over torwards Ana. "What do you say, Ana?"
"If this mission gives us more information about certain things such as our enemies, then I don't see any reason for us to wait." Ana responded, usually calm but with her head having some more thoughts. "Specially when we have spirits taking the souls of the people in their sleep. We have to do something about it fast."
"Ah, everyone on the same page! Which means our mission has started right now!" Merlin, upon seeing all of them were ready to head to the jungle, stared to Gilgamesh one last time before leaving. "We'll be on our leave, Your Highness! May we be able to return to a still prosperous Uruk by the end of it!"
"I make your words my own, great mage of Britain." Gilgamesh responded back as he stared to the assembled party tasked with exploring the depths of the jungle in the south. "Now proceed to move onward! Remember that each passing day of this conflict counts! So be haste! Whatever details or aspects you may find in it, be it bizarre, interesting or even shocking, I want you to create a log of all noteworthy things about that location for future report! Do I make myself clear?"
"YES, KING GILGAMESH!"
The entire party exclaimed in unison.
"Then you're dispatched! Off torwards your destination!" Gilgamesh ordered, sending the party to leave the temple.
Once they stepped outside, it appeared Siduri was waiting for them. "About to go on the mission already?"
"Yep! Did King Gilgamesh told you to give us something before leaving?" Ritsuka asked her, assuming that the secretary was there waiting for them at the exit for some good reason.
"Hmm, more-or-less. It was by my ineciative however." Siduri responded. "As His Highness told you, you were tasked with the endeavor of investigating the jungle down south. But, you weren't really expecting to head there by foot, were you?" As soon as she finished saying that, the loud noise of a neigh was heard by all of them as Siduri gestured to something that was waiting for the party down at the ziggurat's staircase.
"Oh! It's a cart!" Nala said once she saw it was two horses with a simple wodden cart strapped behind them.
"In other words, our transport!" Ritsuka added.
"To make your travel a bit faster and less exhausting." Siduri told them with a generous smile on her face.
"It will surely come in handy! Thank you for that, Siduri!" Ritsuka thanked her in response alongside everyone else.
"Amazing how ready and reliable you always end up being, Lady Siduri." Merlin took a step further on his gratitude, kneeling down in front of Siduri and kindly holding her hand, much to Siduri's own surprise. "I see why King Gilgamesh holds you in such high regard besides being his secretary. A lady like you should be treasured every day solely for existing."
"Hehehe, that's very sweet of you, Merlin." Siduri smiled in flatter to Merlin's praise of her. "I do think that was a bit unnecessary however."
"It was completly unnecessary."
All the others said in their own minds, wondering if the great wizard was doing this just to annoy them or he really had a overly romantic side.
"Oh oh? So the rumours are true? King Gilgamesh is really sending you on a mission?" Reaching to the top end of the staircase, Ushiwakamaru appeared, having heard their conversation alongsdie her loyal retainer.
"Then it's a good thing we were able to arrive before your departure." Benkei added, the duo now standing in front of the group.
"Ushiwakamaru-san! Benkei-san! You two came here to wish us good luck?" Mash asked them, pondering if they were here because of that.
"We were just strolling around on our morning routine when we catched word that His Highness had requested an audience with all of you." Benkei explained, the two only having knowledge of that fact just recently.
"And by the looks of it, you'll be on a long trip to your mission. The jungle in the south, isn't it?" Ushiwakamaru frowned sadly. "Wish we could go with you to give more help. Unfortunately, our hands are already busy for today."
"Got more tasks of fighting off wandering Demonic Beasts from reaching too close to Uruk?" Peko asked them.
"No. Our task for today is to meet up with Commander Leonidas at the Demonic Front." Ushiwakamaru responded, informing them of what she and Benkei would be doing today.
"He wants us to be there due to things having seemingly 'agitated' a bit on the battlefield with the Demonic Beasts." Benkei said, the situation at the Demonic Front seemingly having gotten a bit more intense. "But since you are heading to the jungle, do be careful. All of our soldiers that went there have never came back, so it can be a very treacherous territory. Anyhow, me and Lord Ushiwakamaru wish the best of luck to you."
"That's right! Don't go missing or dying now, Fujimaru-dono!" Ushiwakamaru told Ritsuka with a bright smile, the conversation they had that night still in her head.
"We won't. Our speciality is running into and surviving danger!" Ritsuka replied to the young samurai.
"Good luck to you too on the Demonic Front with Leonidas as well." Peko wished good luck back on the duo.
"By the way, where exactly in the south is that jungle located?" Ritsuka asked, not being quite aware of its location besides it being in 'the south'.
"From the very few intel of what we got from it, in the area of the city of Ur. One of Mesopotamia's and Sumer's oldest." Merlin told to Ritsuka and the rest its precise site. "According to the reports, Ur has now been totally swarmed and engulfed by its biome."
"Ur used to be just a few kilometers away from Mesopotamia's coast. Just follow down the Euphrates." Siduri gave the instructions to the party. "Once you spot a zone with more vibrant green and humid trees and vegetation, it's the jungle. By then, you'll only have to cross the river to reach to the other side where it's in."
"To go all the way down the river! Got it!" Nala nodded with her head.
"Take care you. Uruk has become a slightly happier place with you helping its inhabitants. It would be tragic not only for yours and King Gilgamesh's goals, but to all of Uruk's population if we were to lose you." Siduri expressed, feeling that it would be a shame if the chaldeans died on their first day out of Uruk after giving so much help to its citizens for weeks. A bit pessimistic, Siduri put both of her hands together in apprehension. "But, if you aren't able to come back, then I want you to know that-"
"We will come back. No stress." Ritsuka interrupted Siduri, giving her a smile of confidence alongside the rest of the party.
"..." Seeing them, Siduri saw how determined and capable this group of youth could be, already used to this despite their appearences. It made her feel a little bit more confident on their capabilities, smiling at the chaldeans as well as Ana and Merlin. "If that's the case, then I'll believe you! Good luck ahead, everyone!"
She said, waving goodbye alongside Ushiwakamaru and Benkei to the group that would head to the jungle, with them waving back at the three as they descendes the temple's stairs, heading to the wodden cart. Once there, the horses begun moving, heading to where the party appointed them to go. In this case, torwards their destination in the south of Mesopotamia.
The city that had been infected by the mysterious jungle: Ur.
"Done! That was all of them!"
Romani informed the party as they now stood in the vast landscapes of Mesopotamia, far away from the comfort and safety of Uruk's defenses. A sign that made clear they were no longer in a safe area was the battle they just happened to have on their way to Ur against a group of Demonic Beasts. Except in this fight, they battled against a few more new types of that kind. Raging from the first type the chaldeans had encountered on their first fight in here, to other bizarre and terryfying looking beasts that were in the mix of serpents, lions, star-fishes with spikes and amogst other creepy creatures.
"Hmm, these Demonic Beasts...there are more than just one variety by the looks of it." Ana said as she crouched down, inspecting the corpse of one of the slained monsters.
"And they all have the consistency of looking like deformed creatures from nightmares! Eugh!" Nala contorted her face in disgust as she tipped one of the Demonic Beasts face with the tip of her shoe.
"The Three Goddess Alliance would clearly need to have more type of Demonic Beasts if they wanted a strong army since the start." Romani observed. "I wonder how they're being mass produced in order for almost the entirety of Mesopotamia to be riddled with them."
"I do think I can have a good hypothesis on that." Merlin commented, walking torwards Ana who was still inspecting the corpse.
"Hm? You have a theory on where these beasts are coming out from, Merlin?" Peko asked to the wizard. "Or at least, how they're being created?"
Looking to the same corpse as the servant girl, Merlin proceeded to make the following question. "Are you thinking about the same deity as I, Ana?"
"Yes." Ana responded, getting her legs fully up, having finished taking her conclusions. "This is a Mušmaḫḫū, one of Tiamat's offsprings."
"Tiamat?" Ritsuka's brain spiked up a bit in confusion, wondering who that was.
Romani on the other hand, looked more serious. "T-Tiamat? You actually mean THAT Tiamat?"
Peko rubbed his chin. "I think I've heard about that name before somewhere in Mash's books before." He then looked to the shielder by his side. "Tiamat...She's what people call a 'Mother Goddess' due to the deity's primordial status, correct?"
Mash nodded. "She is. Tiamat is said to have been one of the two primordial beings that gave birth to the main gods of the mesopotamian pantheon in the Myth of Creation of this region."
"Myth of Creation? What is that exactly?" Nala asked, trying to keep up with this new information. "Is it supposed to be like an origin story of sorts to the whole Mesopotamia?"
"Right on the money." Merlin replied, looking sincere. "Myths of Creation are the labeled designation that the world chose to attribute the origin and birth of various mythologies around the world with. It is basically the foundation and cornerstone on how many important regions that were once filled with pure magic, Mystery, and divine beings, came to be. In Mesopotamia's case, the goddess , Tiamat, is directly connected to it."
"And what exactly is Mesopotamia's Myth of Creation? Does it have a specific name?" Ritsuka asked to Merlin.
"It does, in the form of an epic. And to all historians of basic knowledge, it is the most famous and most important work and piece of civilization from all Mesopotamia, surpassing even Gilgamesh's epic." Merlin told to Ritsuka with seriousness. "It's called, Enuma Elish."
"Enuma Elish..." Ritsuka muttured, making sure that the name would get stuck on his head.
"The epic that tells us how the world of Mesopotamia was created in the way we know as of today." Romani speaked, ready to give Ritsuka and even the rest of the team a brief but understandable summary of Enuma Elish. "Back when the planet was just a huge ocean with no skies or land, there existed two primordial deites. The couple whose intimacy would bring the existence to the first gods of Mesopotamia. They were: Tiamat, the female counterpart and mother goddess that would give birth to all the first generations of mesopotamian gods, usually depicted in many versions as a sea serpent or dragon, associated with the salt waters of the seas and oceans. And the male counterpart and her husband, Abzu, god of fresh water of the rivers and lakes. Together, it would seem they were in for a radiant future with their children. Alas, it couldn't be further from the truth."
"Children can be unruly and noisy, even if those said children are gods." Merlin continued with the story of Enuma Elish. "In the first tablet out of the seven that tells us this tale, Abzu, the male primordial god, became tired and annoyed with the disruption his children brought to his life. Thus, he decides to kill them."
"Wha-...That's..." Peko was left speechless, in total shock.
"He wanted to kill them because they were being noisy? Just like that?" Ritsuka also reacted a bit weirded out.
"That is how the epic goes. Deities sometimes can feel relatable to human mindset and then on the next moment, have such unrational behaviour and actions." Merlin told to Ritsuka, placid. "Such complexity and worldview is why they are gods in the first place, wouldn't you agree?"
"Still...for a father to want to murder his children for such trivial reason..." Peko replied, feeling that Abzu's action was way too extremist.
"Well, it isn't like he didn't gave his children many warning but they just ignored his words like any rebel child does when not wanting to comply with their father. Eventually, it must have taken a tool on him." Merlin replied, believing the drama to have been a little bit more deeper than that. "Still, Abzu didn't managed to kill his children as planned. Instead, the children, or rather one of them, killed Abzu. Enki, the god of wisdom and underground waters, upon discovering his father's intentions, anticipated to him and killed the primordial god first. Needless to say that, having woken up from her resting sleep with the tragix image of her husband's corpse, Tiamat went into an uncontrollable and chaotic rage, plunging the world of Mesopotamia at the time into chaos, getting a thirst for revenge against her rebel children that slained the father."
"And in order to retalliate against the mesopotamian gods, Tiamat gave birth to her last eleven offsprings, being horrendous creatures borned out of malice and evil in order to form her army. They were: Mušḫuššu, Ušumgallu, Bašmu, Laḫmu, Ugallu, Uridimmu, Girtablilu, Umū, Dabrūtu, Kulullû amd Kusarikku." Romani spelled out all the eleven names of the last horrific offsprings Tiamat birthed. "Some of the Demonic Beasts you have fought up until now are those Eleven Offsprings, seemingly having been multiplied in this Singularity to create an army."
"Having been in this conflict since the very start basically, our side has already witnessed every type of these demonic offsprings." Merlin told them, remembering the appearences of each type. "Every type except one: Lahmu. They are the only ones who have yet to appear in Mesopotamia. All the others however are already known by me and King Gilgamesh. One of them, Girtablilu, was even one of the three generals that composed the Three Goddess Alliance army." Fortunately, thanks to the sacrifice of one of our Heroic Spirit companions, he is no longer a problem for us."
"So Tiamat, the mother, originaly created eleven of this abominations as her last children to kill her first ones for revenge for having killed their father and her husband who was also planning to murder them." Nala gave a brief synopsis of all that they heard of Enuma Elish so far. "Wow. When you put it like that, it sounds...like a 'complicated' family. But how does that war ends?" She asked to both Merlin and Romani. "Assuming that the Mesopotamia we're stepping in right now exists, is it because the gods won against Tiamat, correct?"
"Hehe, it wouldn't be a glorious epic and Myth of Creation if it didn't end that way, would it?" Merlin chuckled at the girl's observation. "Altough yes, the original offsprings and mesopotamian deities were the ones who ended up coming out on top. Despite of having powerful beasts and even a god that became general of her army with the promise of becoming ruler of the world, Kingu, Tiamat's chaotic nature, side and forces, ended up falling at the feet of the powerful deity that would establish the good and order of the world as well as become the chief god of the mesopotamian pantehon."
"Marduk." Romani name dropped the deity who killed Tiamat in the Enuma Elish. "With his axe in hand, Marduk landed a fatal blow that splited Tiamat in half, killing her instantly. With the conflict won, Marduk shortly after used the two halves of Tiamat's body to create the skies and land of what is now known as Mesopotamia, being from that point where this region's Myth of Creation was forged. In the aftermath, Marduk attributed many of the world's physical aspects and phenomena to the other deities, progressingly giving order and balance to the world. The sun cycles to Shamash. The moon cycles to Sin."
"Marduk even created the humans. But for that, the blood of a sacrificed deity was necessary." Merlin told them of an interesting and important detail of the epic. "Not knowing who to chose, Enki advised him that the blood used to mold the man should be from the deity who persuaded mother Tiamat and led her army into battle. So it obiously ended up being the treacherous god, Kingu, who ended up being sacrificed against his will and his blood utilized to finally create humanity in Mesopotamia alongside the clay."
"That sounds fascinatingly eerie." Ritsuka said, imagining how gruesome Kingu's 'sacrifice' must have been.
"Myths of Creation are usually like that, master. The supernatural and awakwardness of it is meant to be a huge part of them." Mash said to Ritsuka, having read the Enuma Elish for quite the some time ago. "And the Enuma Elish ain't even the most awkward Myth of Creation that I've read if I'm being honest."
"Hahaha, that's right!" Merlin laughed amusingly. "The Age of Gods was truly a 'peculiar' era. The Enuma Elish being the main mesopotamian 'snippet' of many more out there during the age."
"Me and Leonardo can fill you in on some more once you come back to Chaldea." Romani told them as he then changed his gaze to the deceased Demonic Beast. "But if all of the Demonic Beasts that we fought so far are supposedly the Eleven Offsprings Tiamat had during her revenge on the epic, does that mean that one of the Three Goddess Alliance, the Goddess of Demonic Beasts, is Tiamat herself?"
"Tiamat herself or a deity-like figure with the same magic skill as her." Merlin replied, contemplative. "Namely, Tiamat's type of Authority: 'Potnia Theron'. A skill all mother goddesses possess."
"What does it do?" Nala asked him.
"The gift to birth off hundreds of monsters almost relentlessly with little cooldowns in-between." Merlin responded, revealing the skills dooming gimmick. "Being a magic spell that can be nicknamed 'Womb of a Hundred Beasts', Potnia Theron can be seen as a twisted punishment applied to humanity by mother goddess-type deities that went astray and cruel on their children."
"That sounds like a really terrifying spell. Conceptually and as an obstacle." Peko commented, seeing that if one of their major enemies in this Singularity had an ability like that, then dwindling the number of units of the Demonic Beasts army would be a waste of time and resources. "Now I see why the Demonic Front has been attacked for months despite Leonidas and the others great efforts in stopping them."
"And as long as the user of Potnia Theron has enough of the mana resources and conditions, it means she can also be able to produce thousands of Demonic Beasts in just a single day." Romani added an even more dreadful fact about it. "Basically, the Three Goddess Alliance shall continue to have an endless number of these monsters to compose their army as long as Tiamat, or whoever is the goddess with the same ability as hers, keeps on living and undefeated."
"So the Demonic Beasts army mainly draws its sheer quantity on the goddess who's birthing them at an alarming rate." Mash pointed, seeing the dynamic. "If we were to bring that goddess down first, it would certainly put a stop on the mass production of Demonic Beasts and their army having finally a limit. Perhaps, out of the three from the alliance, the Goddess of the Demonic Beasts should be the one with the priority to bring her down first?"
"Don't go planning and strategizing already." Ana told to the shielder, showing to disagree. "How can you determine that when we know little about Ishtar's deal in the alliance and nothing at all about the third one? I think we should rather spend some more time knowing our enemy better and gathering information on them overall. Then, we can prioritize about who goes down first."
A bit surprise at Ana's explicit opinion, Mash still replied. "Hm, actually, that's a very reasonable way of thinking you made, Ana. While so far, the Goddess of the Demonic Beasts sounds the more threatening and dangerous out of all three, it's true tht we still have to understand Ishtar's role in it as well as figure out who the third goddess of the alliance is."
"That's the better and most reasonable approach overall." Ana replied, slightly lowering her face down. Her eyes looking reflective. "It could be too soon otherwise..."
As the conversation was going on, Romani calculated and visualized the distance that there was still left for the party to reach the jungle. "For now, let us concentrate on what's important. From what I'm seeing here in the map, Ur isn't so far away from your current location. I foresee your arrival there in about two hours."
"Let's go back to the 'road' then." Peko replied, looking to their transport. "We got lucky that none of the horses that moves the cart ended up wounded, dead or fleeing. It would be a pain in the butt having to do the rest of the travel on foot." He then stared back to the group, mainly Ritsuka. "If you want, I can use Árma Hermes to escort ahead and tell you if there's any enemies or even the jungle itself up ahead. What do you think, Ritsuka?"
"That's a nice method!" Ritsuka supported his friend's idea. "But be careful up ahead. If you find some enemies or anything suspicious, get immediatly back to us."
"Got it, Ritsuka!" Peko nodded in affirmative, proceeding to lay down the silver disk and transform into the motorcycle, getting up on the vehicle. "See you up ahead! I won't take too long to come back!" He said before starting Árma Hermes engine, sprinting away into the distance as the rest of the group stayed behind but soon to move forward as well.
"Alright! Everyone, back on the cart!" Ritsuka said as he and the rest hoped up into their own transport, that while the horses weren't as fast as Peko's vehicle, they still beat having to walk on feet.
"You're thinking...hum...You're thinking of..."
With an hour having passed, the group decided to spent the time playing a short guessing game with the exception of Peko who would do short back and forths with Árma Hermes to report the others of the situation ahead, whether it had enemies or not and if he had already spotted the jungle. The guessing game so far was being generaly normal, like any average guessing game could be.
That was, until it came to Merlin's turn to make the others guess what he was thinking about. Whenever they thought they had finally reached to the object, fruit, plant or mineral that the wizard was thinking about, Merlin would always reveal they had fallen for his curveball, actually thinking on another thing. What annoyed them more, was that the things Merlin actually thought would still fall in the description of his clues, meaning that he wasn't lying or cheating in the game. And being the humorist that he was, Merlin took turns on each of them to figure out a specific thing on his mind.
It was now on Nala's turn to guess, and needless to say that the girl was on the brink of giving up.
"It's..hummm...oh please, HOW IT CANNOT BE ORANGES!?" Nala yelled, having reached on her limit with Merlin, having failed so far in guessing what the wizard was thinking.
"Because it is not. Simple as that." Merlin responded calmly, maintaining his smile.
"Really? Then what other thing is a fruit, a citrus fruit at that, round, citrine and orange IF NOT FOR FREAKING ORANGES!?" Nala exclaimed, feeling that she was already losing her mind.
"There's actually a few more that I can think of." Merlin's eyes rolled up as he chuckled. "But I'm not telling." He winked at her, saying in a singing tone.
"You're cruel." Ritsuka told to Merlin while giving a deadpan stare.
"Fou fou!" Fou said, probably agreeing and adding more obscenities directed at the wizard.
Mash was also feeling pity for her friend at this point. "Nala, do you really mind if I whisper to you the-"
"Yes I do! No need to intervene, Mash! I'm doing this on my own!" Nala stubbornly refused Mash's help, having already been on this for quite some minutes by now. But she swore to herself that she would figure out and guess it right. For the satisfaction of victory and to rub it in Merlin's brazen face, altough the wizard was smilling as normaly as he could.
"Eheh, that's the spirit, Nala-chan!" Merlin laughed kindly. "I on the other hand do not mind hearing all of your next tries."
"Grrr! You..." Nala's entire head was fuming, giving her more fuel to try and guess correctly this time.
"This is such a torture..." Romani said, being there to watch as well. And if it wasn't for Nala's request, he would have long told her the fruit Merlin was actually thinking about.
As that was happening, Peko had once again came back from one more recognition with Árma Hermes. But this time, it seemed the boy had something very important to tell them, judging by his face. "Guys! I spot- what's Nala doing?" His face quickly changed from agitated to awkwardness, seeing his sister with her eyes closed, fingers both pressing the temples of her forehead.
"We're still playing the guessing game. It's Nala's turn." Ana atualized their gaming situation to Peko.
"Oh." Was Peko's response, putting Árma Hermes on the same speed as the cart the others were going in. "So, what's the thing that she's trying to guess?"
"A fruit, round and of orange colour." Ana told him.
"So an orange." Peko replied, thinking that was the answer at first.
"No. It's another citrus fruit similar to it." Ana clarified.
"Similar to an orange?" Giving just a few seconds of thought, Peko was immediatly able to reach to the answer. "It's...no. No way that you haven't figured it out yet!" Peko said in disbilief to Nala, finding shocking how she wasn't able to figure out something so easy.
"Shut it! You're not the one using the head here." Nala responded to her brother, trying to concentrate.
"Because I didn't need to use it at all for this! It is literally easy!" Peko insisted, wondering how Nala didn't figured it out. "If it ain't oranges but something simillar, then it can only be..." He left out hanging, hoping it would make Nala remember the fruit.
Instead, he was met with more agressiveness from his sister. "I'm trying to concentrate for a moment! Will you?"
Peko could only look at her in disgrace. "I think I don't have a sister anymore..."
As more seconds passed, Nala did more and more effort to remember what the actual fruit was, contorting her face in excessive thinking. "Hmmmmmm!"
"Eeh, I think you should stop before a vein pops off." Ritsuka told to the girl with a nervous smile as he was seeing Nala forcing her head to think, but no answer popping in her brain.
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm- Yeah. I give up." She suddenly stopped pressuring, doing a defeated face as she let her face fell on the floor of the cart. "Damn you, Merlin. You win this one." She admitted in a low voice, sulking while looking to the other way.
"A good player is one that gives their all and still admits and accepts defeat." Merlin said in all his virtue. "It was a good game you gave."
"Yeah, whatever." Nala responded, not caring about the message. "Now that I given up, will you tell me what was the fruit you were actually thinking about?"
"With pleasure." Merlin replied, proceeding to take out of his back, the fruits that were simillar to oranges except smaller and less round. "Ta-da!"
"Uh?! That's..." Nala's eyes widened, suddenly remembering the name of the fruit Merlin was holding.
"Tangerines!" Merlin exclaimed. "That's the fruit I was thinking about. Tangerines."
"..." Nala just stared agape and speechless, unsure of what to say while the others around her either covered or turned away their faces in shame.
"It was obvious." Romani sighed.
"So so obvious." Peko also said in dissapointment.
"Tangerines..." Nala murmured, stunned. "Eh...ehehe, tangerines..." Giving a small chuckle and forced smile, Nala's eyes went souless as she gave an eerie yet normal looking smile. "Well played, Merlin. Well played. I hope you sleep with one eye open tonight." She said coldly, threatening the wizard.
Not that Merlin cared that much, still in his usual chill behaviour. "Hm, I sure wouldn't mind having some company to talk at me at night. But let's save that for later. If I recall, Peko here had something grand to share with us by the looks of his face."
"Huh?...Oh yeah! That's right! Thank you for reminding me!" Peko gave an embaressed smile, having forgotten about what he saw ahead for a moment. "But yes. I do have something important to tell you."
"What is it, Peko?" Mash asked to the boy.
"I spotted the jungle!" Peko revealed, getting all of the group's attention's more up than they already were.
"Where?" Ritsuka said, getting up on his feet.
"Right some miles in the distance, slightly to the right!" Peko responded, moving his hand and pointing at a zone full of dense and humid green trees and exoctic vegetation in the distance, amidst the natural dry meadows of Mesopotamia and on the other side of the Euphrates. "There!"
"Wait a sec." Romani said, as he quickly went to check on the map of his screen. "Oh my god! It is indeed the jungle! You are just a few kilometers away from it!"
"Then what are we doing with this pace? Let's go faster to there!" Nala exclaimed, wanting them to quicken up the pace now that their destination was on sight.
"Don't need to say it twice!" Ritsuka replied. "Let's hit the gas!" And so, the master of humanity ordered to the two horses to gallop faster as Peko also increased the speed of Árma Hermes, all of the party heading torwards the mysterious jungle that was waiting for them.
Reaching to the coast of the river, the group checked its condition and situation before crossing it.
"The currents seem to be flowing at a moderate speed." Mash leaned over to observe the waters of Euphrates. "And it doesn't look too deep as well in this area. We can definetly cross it with the horses and cart without problem!"
With that verified, the party ended up heading to the other side of the river, stopping the cart right in front of the jungle's entrance, hearing the ambiant sound of the noises someone would usually hear in a tropical jungle. Whatever was in there waiting for them, it was for the party to discover with their own eyes once they'd step inside. Having walked some good meters in, they suddenly realized how strange and out of place the entire jungle felt.
"Hmm, there's something about this jungle that doesn't feel right." Peko said, sensing a subtle shift in the air.
"It could be paranoia, but I also have to agree." Nala replied. "The climate here feels way more...dense."
"As well as the humidity and moisture in here." Ana replied, clearing some of the path with her scythe. "It truly doesn't match with Mesopotamia's generally more drier biome."
"This entire jungle has the entire characteristics of a rainforest." Ritsuka looked around to the wild vegetation. "And I hardly believe there used to be rainforests in Mesopotamia."
"There really weren't. These type of rainforests are more common of something from Central and South America." Mash pointed out. "It's so different from the whole region that if our Rayshift had dropped us here, I would've believed that we were actually in an other entire different region of the world."
"Just like the beggining of our mission at the previous Singularity." Da Vinci appeared in her hologram, hearing the conversation. "The location where it happened was Jerusalem, in the Levant. But when we arrived, we had found ourselves in the middle of a huge desert from Egypt. I think I'm seeing a pattern here."
"That much like the egyptian desert in the previous Singularity, this jungle also feels like a total different world that was transplanted at a minor scale in other region of the planet?" Romani told her, the two holograms standing next to one another. "Because I and everyone else is with that sensation I believe. Just the mere sight of it...It looks far more ancient than the Sumer civilization from this period. As if it was pre-historic."
"Any indicator for thinking that?" Ritsuka asked to Romani.
"I think the mana's magical density in here speaks for itself." Da Vinci replied, checking the charts she and the Chaldea staff were getting once the party entered the jungle. "They have increased way high the moment you stepped in there. It's clear that jungle on itself is a completly different realm from the one of Mesopotamia."
Staying mostly silent since they had entered the jungle, Merlin just resorted to move his eyes around, as if he was analyzing every inch of their perimeter, guard up and cautious, trying to detect something.
"Are you alright, Merlin-san?" Mash asked to the mage, finsing weird how someone as extroverted as him was now being quiet for the most part.
"I am, Mash. Do not concern about my more wary posture. I know it can be quite unusual." Merlin smiled to the shielder. "It's just that this jungle looks so mystical that I can't help but to be in awe of its unique wilderness. I have heard quite the lot of elements tropical rainforests like this one contains." Merlin walked a bit more ahead with his staff in hand. "Exoctic birds, tasteful bags and fruits, distinctive plants, deadly insects, venomous animals, predators, ancient traps and tribes that will try to kill you. Ah, such a welcoming place that it is a home full of danger." Merlin let out a breath to the air, his head lifting up as he took in the moment of beauty of the jungle. Or rather, the moment he detcted a presence with Clairvoyance. "Specially when it's near us!" Turning around, Merlin got serious, looking to the trees behind the group.
"!"
"!"
Detecting the presence at the same time, both Peko and Nala were swift in summoning their swords as some sort of spinning object came flying torwards them from the bushes at an high-speed.
"What a-!?"
"We're being attacked!"
Mash exclaimed as she and Ritsuka reacted in startlement. Luckily, a single beam from Merlin's staff was enough to deflect the flying object, with Nala releasing a slash from her sword torwards the vegetation from where the object came out. Doing so, resulted in a fast figure to dash out from its hidden place, with Peko firing a light bullet at it while it was in the air and Ana to throw her scythe at the supposed enemy. The figure whoever grabbed back the flying object that came back to it and parried both Peko's bullet and Ana's scythe, all of this fast action having happened in the span of just five seconds.
Going back to the ground, the figure landed on its feet and behind the group's back. "Ahahahaha! Not bad! Not bad! Those reflexes alone already tell me you are quite seasoned with getting surprise attacked!"
"Shit! It's an Heroic Spirit! Be careful and ready everyone!" Da Vinci exclaimed as the party's situation stopped being calm and cautious to one of possible confrontation.
"We just got its signal now! How was it able to avoid being detected?" Romani said, seeing the signal of the Heroic Spirit only appearing after it attacked the party.
"It was really just a question of time until we'd be attacked in here!" Nala commented, adopting her fighting stance alongside the rest. "And they decided to attack us sooner by the looks of it!"
"At least it get us prepared for what we can expect to find here in this jungle!" Mash replied as she stared at the servant in front of them. "You there, Heroic Spirit! Who exactly are you?"
"Hm? Who am I, you ask?" The Heroic Spirit that attcked them by surprise smirked before giving a chuckle. "Is that a question that you even need to make..." Revealing themselves to the group, the servant, a woman with short orange hair, brown eyes, wearing a goofy tiger onesie and white and yellow sneakers speaked with energy and enthusiasm, carrying the object she threw at them, a club with a shape of a cute tiger paw at the end of it.
Needless to say that her appearence alone, made Ritsuka and the rest look all wierdly at her. "What a-..."
"When in the presence of the great guardian and warrior of this jungle, Jaguar Man!"
To be continued...
And that was it for chapter 137!
Jaguar Man...Jaguar Man. Taiga, Jaguar Man. Like, it isn't as if I hate Taiga, by the contrary, I do like of her character in the original Stay Night timeline. But hell, if I have to admit that her appearence as Jaguar Man doesn't kinda look ridiculous. (Not her 3rd Ascension thou. Her 3rd Ascension is dope). Liking Taiga or not, I say this without hesitation that Jaguar Man is definetly one of the weaker aspects of Babylonia. Like, you can clearly see that her main purpose in the story is to mainly be a comic relief character besides being kinda of Quetzalcoatl's proxy as well. And like that's fine. As I stated previously, not every character has to be this super explored and focused on the story chapters. If I were to remove Taiga (Jaguar Man) from it, it just wouldn't sit right with me. I only wish that her design could be a bit different than...Taiga just wearing a tiger onesie. It just feels so random idk.
Tiamat also makes her 'appearence' or rather, the build up for when she actually appears for good at the end. And funny thing about the section where they were explaining Enuma Elish in this chapter: I just had a college exam about Mesopotamia's mythology two weeks ago. So basically, a good part of the explanation of Enuma Elish synopsis is the answer I made for that exam lol. Being a Fate fan while taking an history course in college is an interesting experience, I tell. You're just taking appointments of a specific class and then the teacher name drops an historical character that is in Fate/FGO and my mind immediatly goes 'Pff, noobs. To not know that the mythical king Arthur was actually a cute anime girl with love for burgers!'. But yeah, it's kinda funny.
Anyways, that's all I wanted to say, and see you next time on chapter 138! Peace!
P.S:
Sugitani: Hm? Oi, Nala, is it? What are you carrying there in that bag?
Nala: Oh, nothing of important. Just the ingredients for the dinner may brother is going to cook later tonight.
Sugitani: That sounds interesting. May I take a look?
Nala: Sure thing! (Show the content inside the bag to her, being all just...)
Sugitani (PTSD Flashback triggered): B...Bam...Bam...boo...!
Nala: Eeeh, are you alri-
Sugitani: BAMBOO! BAMBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!