"It's a bold hypothesis," Da Vinci's voice broke in, "but Tiamat is the Mother of all life. Paradoxically, that means 'so long as her children exist, she cannot die.' As long as there is life on Earth that she birthed, she remains immortal. Only by becoming 'the last thing to die on this planet' can she finally accept the physical laws of mortality."
"That's... but that makes no sense!" Mash cried out. "If we have to wipe out all life on Earth just to defeat her, then we've already lost!"
Mash was right. It was a self-defeating prophecy. If the price of killing the Mother was the extinction of her children... the entire struggle was for naught.
—...What do we do...
"Why do you hesitate? Ea, it was you, none other, who showed us the 'Path to the Stars.'"
Ea looked at the Hero King's profile. Even facing this despairing data, his face was radiant with absolute, unwavering confidence.
"We shall sing of that later. For now, let us enjoy the struggle and the frantic efforts of these mortals."
With a playful air of leisure, the King took a sip of divine wine.
"Everyone, look at Tiamat's legs," Olga Marie commanded, pointing at the display. "Her estimated height is sixty meters, but her legs are far too slender to support that mass."
As she pointed out, Tiamat's legs had no terminal point. No toes, no heels. She lacked any part meant to touch the earth.
"She cannot walk, let alone support her own weight. It's more natural to assume she can only function upon the sea."
"I see... so Tiamat will erode the land, turning it into a sea of mud to glide toward Uruk," Ushiromaru noted.
The two Kings shared a knowing, sharp laugh at the insight of their subordinates.
"Not only that. She will likely aim solely for Uruk, the heart of the land. The actual extermination of humanity will be handled by her children—the 'Lahmu,' the new humanity born from the dawn-mists of the sea."
(...)
At that name, Fou's expression tightened. Inside Ea's mind, he gave a slow, grim nod.
(...Let's settle this once and for all. Let's see who is destined to be trampled this time.)
—The new humanity... I wonder what they look like, Fou?
(Ea, it's better you don't know. If only to save you from a visceral sense of revulsion.)
Ea felt a slight shiver at Fou's words. Were they... really that grotesque?
"The simulations suggest their numbers exceed a hundred million," the Sage King added. "Unless we unite every ounce of Uruk's strength, we stand no chance."
"...Hmm. A 'Sea of Black' and 'Mud of Chaos.' It has an unpleasant ring to it," Benkei muttered.
"Touching that sea is forbidden," the Hero King warned. "Through Tiamat's authority, 'Amino Geas,' any creature that touches that water is forcibly rewritten into her kin. The sea is Tiamat. To touch it is to be remodeled into an enemy of humanity—a fate worse than death. It is the Mud of Blackening that violates the very essence of life."
"The Mud of Blackening... hmph. I've never heard the term, but it is utterly repulsive," the Sage King groaned, perhaps feeling a premonition of a dark future far beyond his era.
"So this is Tiamat... an apocalypse that guarantees our ruin the moment she wakes. My King, is this the future you saw...?" Siduri turned pale.
But then, a voice spoke up.
"If she can't die while on the surface... why don't we just fight her somewhere where there is no life?"
As if waiting for Ritsuka's words, the Sage King broke into a wide, predatory grin.
"Precisely, Ritsuka! To think you'd have the same flash of brilliance as I—how cheeky!"
"Indeed. The environment is everything. To have the masters of both Heaven and Earth appear at the final hour... this is what one calls divine revelation."
The "Double Kings" laughed in unison. Immediately, the Sage King raised his voice.
"Ereshkigal! Ereshkigal! Are you there, Ereshkigal?!"
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