Someone in the Multiverse, Transformed into Fu Hua at the Start Chapter 13

Night fell quickly, and the group found a suitable campsite, unimpeded because Ishtar had torn apart all the divine stone statues guarding Mount Ebif.

Facing Ishtar, who had become a companion, Merlin asked with concern, "It seems we'll have to camp out in the wild. I wonder if the goddess has any camping experience. If not, please don't hesitate—you're more than welcome to take over the night watch for all of us."

His scheme was practically slapping Ishtar in the face. "Regrettably, I have to disappoint you. I have quite a bit of experience sleeping outdoors. I don't mind helping you keep watch for one night, but because of your disrespect, I'll have Crimson Kite join me."

That suited her just fine.

Amber nodded. "I'll handle the night with Ishtar."

"A fake artifact that escaped from the garden, joining the chat group."

Today's last bit of collusion! Plus this third chapter, offered up with all due respect!

And then I'm begging for votes and collections—your support is my motivation to keep updating!

This volume's plot is too complete as is, making it hard for me to stretch my legs. A real misstep. I'll pick a volume that's easier to work with next time.

But I still have no clue.

About the tags and what I want to say.

So, over the past couple of days, some family members helped add tags. Thanks for the support and collections, and I appreciate the tag additions too. But this story isn't a male-to-female transformation—it's always been a female lead.

My author backend won't let me delete tags added by readers, only the ones I add myself. The tags up there are all mine.

I'll try asking the editor later.

(Five minutes later, I figured out how to fix it. Turns out it wasn't in the work editor. The author's a pig snout. Sorry.)

And about this story: the main plot is in the synopsis. Since the author isn't very mature, the choice for the first volume went a bit wrong, but the outline is already set. I'm stuck now and can't do much about it. I hope everyone can bear with me.

I haven't decided on the next world yet. I'll discuss it with a friend later.

Chapter 28: Ereshkigal

Though she'd said she'd keep watch, Ishtar wasn't the type to hold her patience for long. With Amber already there, she lost even more sense of responsibility. After just two or three hours, she left a remark about checking for danger nearby and took off.

Amber wasn't too worried either. The night was still long, and besides, Ishtar's departure gave her the perfect chance to show Fu Hua her Sword God in action.

As Fu Hua had said before, the Sword God wasn't an inconvenient thing, but for a sword to reach divinity, there was indeed a prerequisite.

It was like the Black Flash in Jujutsu Kaisen—the difference between landing it and not was enormous. Even if the amount of Cursed Energy itself didn't change, the manipulation and utilization of it were completely different.

Amber's Sword Heart was only at the first layer, which wasn't enough to support her use of the Sword God.

From small things like Fire Fly to great ones like Bright Moon, in theory, even with just a wisp of True Qi, one could use a wisp's worth of Sword God. But that came with a condition: understanding the 'flavor' of True Qi.

A low Sword Heart layer might mean knowing how to use the Sword God, but a low Sword Heart layer making it possible to use the Sword God was unlikely.

Anyway, Amber's current state was like a reincarnated great power—her hardware was lacking everywhere, yet she could still run the latest software, creating a strong sense of dissonance.

But none of that stopped Amber from feeling delighted at finally being able to freely use the Sword God. It even boosted her enthusiasm for training.

After all, her true strength lay within Feathered Dust. Though she'd knocked the Beast Goddess into a stupor with one blow just a day ago, that was actually borrowing Fu Hua's body's Sword Heart layer. Even if she hadn't directly used Fu Hua's Sword Heart, it was still far stronger than her own.

But while it was called borrowing Fu Hua's Sword Heart, it was actually Amber using Fu Hua's body through Feathered Dust to simulate Amber's own Sword Heart.

Without Feathered Dust, she couldn't even use Amber's Sword Intent, let alone simulate her Sword Heart.

So Feathered Dust really was too convenient. No wonder Xiao Shi herself said everything could be blamed on Feathered Dust.

Enough digressions.

Amber's greatest desire right now was to immediately raise her Sword Heart and Sword Intent, then unleash a very impressive Sword God. Not that a small Sword God was bad, but she loved big numbers, loved nuclear explosions.

But before she could enter Feathered Dust, she noticed Ishtar, who had just flown away, flying back.

"?"

Noticing Amber's puzzled look, Ishtar didn't explain and instead sat down beside her on her own.

"Not going to check the surroundings anymore?" Amber asked.

"There won't be any magical beasts around. After all, we're bound by a covenant—I won't attack them, and they won't attack me." 'Ishtar' said. "Besides... it's a rare opportunity. Rather than wandering around, I'd rather chat with you."

"True... we only had a brief meeting last time."

Amber nodded.

"Last time?" 'Ishtar' froze for a moment, then understood, but that understanding quickly sparked shame and irritation. "You...! You recognized me!?"

"Recognized?" Amber froze too. "Recognized what?"

"Huh...?"

They stared at each other for a while before Ishtar quickly waved her hand. "Nothing!"

But Amber, who had been focused on the Sword God, pulled her attention back and once again sensed the change in Ishtar.

"You... are that other Ishtar from before?" Amber guessed.

"So you did recognize me after all!" Ishtar shouted in embarrassed anger.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to tease you." Amber realized there was a misunderstanding between them and explained, "It's just that you and Ishtar have the same aura and body. Aside from an intangible intuition, I can't feel any difference between you, so I really didn't notice just now."

"So it was my own panic that gave me away..."

'Ishtar' sighed, then looked toward the distant moonlight. "But my desire to talk with you hasn't changed..."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze toward Amber: "You probably have something you want to ask me too, right?"

"Something I want to ask..." Amber thought for a moment, but it seemed there was nothing. In truth, she felt as though everything before her was separated by some barrier—a sense of distance like she 'wasn't in the same world,' which also prevented her from fully connecting with the others in this world.

Perhaps it was because she was communicating through Fu Hua's body, not as herself.

But more likely, it was because she was missing something.

"Are you Eresh?" Amber said after a moment of thought.

She had some impression of the names Ishtar and Ereshkigal, but since she wasn't particularly interested in Fate, she hadn't bothered to remember them. Even the name Ishtar felt unfamiliar to her—she was more familiar with 'Rin Archer' than Ishtar. But she did recall a friend going on a rant about them.

Something about calling Eresh a little angel.

"E-Eresh!? Eresh!?" She hadn't expected to hear such an intimate address. It wasn't that she minded being called that, but to use it without even exchanging names first—wasn't that a bit too fast?

After recomposing herself, Ereshkigal spoke hesitantly: "To address a goddess so directly, and with a nickname at that... as a human, that's far too..."

"Is it not allowed?" Amber's expression was calm, but inwardly she felt a bit awkward.

So her full name wasn't just 'Eresh'?

"W-Well... since you're a friend... I suppose I'll allow it!" Ereshkigal said quietly, then quickly changed the subject: "A-Are there any more questions!?"

"No." Amber shook her head.

"Just that one question?" Ereshkigal tilted her head in slight surprise, then looked back toward the distant moon: "I thought you might ask about my view of humans, or why I attacked Uruk..."

"..." She really wasn't that curious.

Just like how she hadn't asked Chaldea what they were investigating, she felt she could handle any crisis, so there was no sense of urgency.

Remembering Fu Hua's lesson, Amber couldn't voice that reason out loud, so she stubbornly said: "You must have your own reasons, and those reasons definitely aren't evil."

"...You... think so?" Ereshkigal bit her lip: "I can't fully understand human good and evil... but I can't accept the current state of Mesopotamia... You are both human and a guardian worshipped by humans—no, a guardian—so you should understand."

"Being human means you can't escape suffering and death. Human intellect has grown too much—too much to accept reality as it is."

"But as long as there are beings humans can't understand, they can blame all their irrationality and cruelty on those incomprehensible existences, and thus live with ease." Ereshkigal said: "So... the human world only brings humans more pain. That's why I want to turn the human world into a world of both humans and gods."

"Starting from Being Hated by the Band Girls"

A recommendation, also a male lead story, a GO fanfic. I wonder if everyone will like it.

Please vote and collect! Your support is also my motivation to keep updating!

Forgot to mention, Fu Hua is inside Feathered Dust. Since the protagonist already pulled her out, he definitely won't abandon her, so she'll definitely travel with the protagonist.

Chapter 29: Ereshkigal's Annoyance

"...I see."

Amber was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Is that... your approval?" Ereshkigal couldn't read Amber's stance and had to ask directly.

"I don't know."

To that, Amber could only give a non-answer.

"You are a guardian of humanity. Perhaps you understand human thoughts better than I do." Ereshkigal didn't give up pressing: "In your eyes, what do you think of my actions?"

"Though I've walked alongside people my whole life, I'm not as good at understanding others' thoughts as you imagine." Amber said. Whether it was her past self, her present self, or the Crimson Kite Immortal she played, none of them were particularly skilled at understanding the human heart.

"Is... that so..."

Ereshkigal sighed.

In the long years of being misunderstood and having no one to talk to, finally having a chance to communicate with someone and gaining a friend made her hope for recognition—a hope that her experiences would no longer be buried underground, feared and avoided, but instead praised.

"But at least, I know you are a kind and gentle goddess."

"Huh?"

Caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic, Ereshkigal froze.

"Because you became an enemy of the human world because you didn't want humans to suffer too much." Amber didn't look at Ereshkigal, still narrating in a calm tone: "You want to create a world of humans and gods, so you are an enemy of the human world, not an enemy of humanity."

"..." Amber's words made Ereshkigal's heart feel warm. Casual conversation between friends was a fresh experience she'd never had, and the fact that the other could sense her thoughts made it even more heartening.

"But if that's the case, then I am not a guardian of humanity, but a guardian of the human world."

Amber finally turned her gaze to Ereshkigal beside her: "Neither of us cares about the survival of a single human or a group of humans. We focus on humanity as a whole, but the paths we walk are completely different."

"But...! Aren't you also a goddess existing in the human world!?"

Her newly made friend had just spoken words that set their positions against each other, and Ereshkigal grew anxious.

"My (the Crimson Kite Immortal's) actions have already proven me wrong." Amber sighed: "Humanity in its infancy needs embrace and care, but when they grow to a certain point, continuing to coddle them only stifles their potential. After all, you can't protect them forever. Humans who can't survive alone in the world will be weeded out by a constantly changing world."

"...I can't accept that!"

Ereshkigal bit her lip and retorted: "Maybe so, but what I want to create is a world where humans don't need to grow to that point! In the world I create, humans won't face elimination!"

"Those humans would be nothing more than livestock kept in a pen."

"..!"

The atmosphere grew undeniably awkward. Ereshkigal was never particularly eloquent—or rather, even as she carried out what she believed to be good deeds, she had never been acknowledged or understood, and bore a sense of inferiority she herself didn't even realize.

This sense of inferiority did not make her think she couldn't achieve what she wanted—it only made her feel, 'As expected, no one can understand me.'

"I'm not denying your ideals or thoughts." At that moment, Amber continued, "To you, this might be a kind of good deed."

Hearing this, Ereshkigal's eyes sparkled, but soon a grievance rose within her. "Since you understand, then—!"

"But just as you cannot agree with my thoughts, I cannot agree with yours either." The gray-haired immortal's eyes held a serious glint.

Yet, after repeated emotional whiplash, Ereshkigal's crimson eyes tinged with gold. The purpose of divine power flooding her body was clear—she was never a goddess skilled in explanation. Compared to talking, action spoke louder and suited her nature better.

But remembering that the woman before her was her first friend in life, she forcibly suppressed the anger rising in her heart.

Failing to gain recognition and ending the conversation on a sour note, she was ultimately somewhat dejected. She could only leave behind a harsh parting shot: "Such great disrespect toward a goddess will be repaid sooner or later. When that time comes, you can repent properly in my Underworld!"

With that, she took Ma'anna and soared into the sky.

Amber: ...Did I fail the conversation mission? As expected, talk-no-jutsu isn't something a non-protagonist like me can pull off.

Fu Hua: 'At least your stance was clear.' She didn't hold back in praising her disciple: 'No matter what you want to do, a firm stance and unwavering resolve are essential conditions for standing on your own.'

Amber: Ah...? I just said it because it sounded cool...

Though Amber hadn't said it aloud either time, to Fu Hua, who could hear her thoughts, it made no difference.

Once again feeling a twitch in her brow at Amber, Fu Hua took a breath and directly decided to begin tonight's training, dragging Amber in and giving her a thorough beating.

Time passed slowly within Feathered Dust, yet training felt swift. Spending her hours differently from others, Amber finally finished a night of cultivation and welcomed the light of dawn.

Returning to the group, Ishtar had no memory at all of last night's conversation between Amber and Ereshkigal. After a night of grueling practice, Amber couldn't help but entertain the dirty thought that Ishtar was too weak, always getting her account hijacked. But unsure whether to bring it up, she simply shelved the matter.

The group followed the road back to Kusa City, then from Kusa City back to Uruk. After a full three days, they finally entered the Divine Tower again.

The Hero King, still holding a clay tablet in hand, saw the group's figures—especially Ishtar, who trailed at the back with a face full of misery—and immediately burst into loud laughter. Boredom driving him to seek amusement, he chose to taunt directly: "Welcome back, my outstanding champions! And as for that goddess who shamelessly ran away from home only to come crawling back, do tell me your thoughts on joining my command!"

Ishtar, who had been trying to downplay her presence, naturally refused to lose face before Gilgamesh. She shot back immediately: "Join your command? I only agreed to strategic cooperation for Ritsuka and Crimson Kite's sake, and to bring the sweetness of victory to a king who's been long without a win."