Chapter 74: The World's Embryo!
Time ticked away, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During that window, Akira took a moment to head down to the Underworld, hoping to meet the solitary flower blooming within that realm of the dead.
Unfortunately, after wandering through the depths of the Underworld, Akira never actually crossed paths with her. It was crystal clear—she simply didn't want to see him.
Ereshkigal. She held the Authority of the Underworld, serving as its central pillar and its absolute ruler.
She, who would govern the Underworld until the very end, was effectively the Underworld itself. At the same time, she was a Queen protected by the very realm she watched over. As long as she remained within those borders, she held the absolute position of the host.
In the end, Akira had no choice but to give up.
Though he felt a twig of regret, if the other party refused to see him, there wasn't much he could do.
It almost made Akira want to punch Fujimaru Ritsuka one more time. It was all that guy's fault; his "Goddess Charmer" skill level was just way too high.
After that, Akira and Mother—Tiamat—began their work on creating a new world.
With Akira leading the charge and Tiamat assisting at his side, bolstered by the Holy Grail acting as a "Magical Hearth Core" and Tiamat supplying the mana, the grand process of "Genesis" began.
For three full days—seventy-two hours straight—Akira and Tiamat remained in a state of high-intensity mana output.
Thankfully, he had Tiamat as his support. If it had been Akira alone, even with a Holy Grail, creating a world would have been an impossible dream. Even if it was just the newborn "embryo" of a world, a hundred Akiras wouldn't have been enough to pull it off.
Finally, with Tiamat's full backing, a new world was born.
However, this world was incredibly primitive. It didn't even have the concepts of "rules" or "laws" yet; it simply existed.
But that was enough. Tiamat herself stepped into this newborn world.
By making herself the foundation, she began to weave the laws of the world. As the "Beast of Creation," Tiamat was essentially on the level of a Creator God; supporting a fledgling world was hardly a difficult task for her.
However, while this allowed the world to evolve at a rapid pace, there was a catch—Tiamat became tethered.
Until this world was truly "complete," Tiamat, acting as its pillar, could not leave.
Because she was the lynchpin, the world was born and existed only because of her. Should she be lost, the entire world would crumble into nothingness.
In that regard, her situation was remarkably similar to the Soul King from the Bleach series.
As the anchor between the World of the Living, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo, the moment he died, the worlds would face total collapse.
Everything was starting to move along the right track. In this particular world, the journey was finally nearing its end.
Unlike all the worlds he had visited before, Akira had gained a mother here—and a very doting one at that.
"Are you leaving?"
At the edge of the Persian Gulf, Akira and Gilgamesh stood side by side.
"Yeah. This journey is just about over."
"Hmph. Then hurry up and begone. Both you and those people from Chaldea are foreign objects that do not belong to this era. Return to your own time at once."
"That way of speaking really leaves a guy feeling helpless. Even now, your tongue is as sharp as ever."
"Being able to stand on the same soil as this King is already a blessing granted by the King himself."
Glancing at Akira, Gilgamesh spoke slowly, his words dripping with absolute pride.
Before him, the kings of this world received their power from the gods. But after him, that would no longer be the case. The era of humanity was about to begin.
The only thing was, he wouldn't be around to see it.
In this era of the separation between man and god, Gilgamesh—a demi-god who was two-thirds divine—surviving until this day was a miracle among miracles.
"Is your time running out as well?"
"Tch. So you noticed."
"Of course. Don't forget, I am the 'Chains of Heaven.' The original purpose of my existence was to bind yours."
"The 'Chains of Heaven,' huh..."
At the mention of the chains, a flash of longing flickered in Gilgamesh's crimson eyes.
His true friend, Enkidu, was the previous generation of the Chains of Heaven.
In the current Mesopotamia, there were two "Chains of Heaven," and yet neither of them was his dear friend.
"Don't worry. With your achievements, you'll definitely become a Heroic Spirit. And within the Throne of Heroes, which exists outside the axis of time, Enkidu is surely waiting for you."
"Indeed. This King's one true friend must be waiting for this King."
Those words carried a heavy weight of certainty. Both Akira and Gilgamesh understood that both Enkidu and Gilgamesh were destined to be etched into the Throne of Heroes.
If that was the case, the two might truly be reunited within that eternal hall.
And just like that, the two stopped talking. They simply enjoyed these final moments in quiet tranquility.
"Very well, this King shall depart. Uruk now lies in ruins, but the survivors still need to rebuild their homes. This King still has a mountain of affairs to settle."
Suddenly, Gilgamesh spoke up and turned to leave.
"In that case... see ya, Gil..."
"Hmph..."
Hearing the casual nickname "Gil," Gilgamesh paused for a split second. Then, the corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly, showing that the King was in a surprisingly good mood.
A moment after Gilgamesh left, a folded stone tablet remained on the spot where he had stood.
Picking it up instinctively, Akira immediately broke into a smile.
It was a Grimoire. Recorded within were a vast number of spells from the Age of Gods, and it even contained summoning techniques for calling forth Servants.
"What a total tsundere. Whether it's Gil the tyrant or Gil the wise king, they're both high-level tsunderes."
This item was a priceless treasure, and there was no one else who could have left such a thing behind other than Gilgamesh.
As he tucked the Grimoire away, Akira realized he might not personally use the spells or the abundance of knowledge inside, but he accepted the gift nonetheless.
Vrrr—
"Hmm? Kingu?"
Suddenly, Akira felt a specific sensory vibration. In the next second, his figure vanished from the spot, reappearing in a world of endless gray.
This was the interior of the newborn world. Since the rules hadn't been established yet, it was primitive in the truest sense of the word.
Within this gray expanse, there was a floating island. Upon it were blooming flowers and the sound of birds chirping, looking like a literal paradise on earth.
This had been created by Tiamat using her omnipotence, and it was where she resided.
Also present was Kingu, Tiamat's most loyal and obedient daughter.
"Onii-chan, Mother is looking for you..."
The moment he arrived, Kingu approached him to deliver the message.
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