Divine Authority Seal, Destiny of All Things!

The Underworld's crimson light blazed as usual, with squads of Garuda Spirits patrolling the different regions divided by the seven gates.

"Hoo!"

As they proceeded into a certain secluded valley, an inexplicable gentle breeze stirred, light as smoke. Traces of it brushed past a squad of Garuda Spirits, causing a slight ripple.

At the tail of the squad, three undead soldiers, armed with sword and shield, spear, and bow and arrow, paused slightly and looked towards the dense death qi.

Their mandibles parted slightly, and the red light in their eye sockets, within their skulls, flickered. Their left hands instinctively reached towards their newly-formed neck vertebrae.

Just now, did something seem to pass by?

Yet, even if they wanted to think and recall, their empty skulls couldn't piece together the slightest impression.

But a tremor and disgust, originating from instinct, suddenly arose.

It was as if something had stirred their primal fear.

"Roar!"

Just as the three distracted Garuda Spirits, on the verge of falling behind due to confusion, were stopped, an Underworld Guard, twice their size and clad in bone-like armor, turned its head.

It ground its mandibles together, its soul fire flickering intensely, emitting a sharp, eerie tremor.

The three new soldiers, frozen in place, hurriedly snapped back to attention and, with their two thigh bones, which bore clear signs of biting and breakage, hurried to catch up.

What that previous illusion was, they would set aside for now.

If they continued to space out, they might very well have their bones directly dismantled by their leader, their soul fire absorbed to fill the ever-present hunger of the Garuda Spirits.

Of course, for them, the most delicious food was undoubtedly the exceptionally fresh aura of life.

To actually encounter a familiar face who had beaten them up? What a coincidence.

Deep within the secluded valley, a human figure, who had activated the beastly authority to blend with the ecological aura, turned his head and looked back, merging with the death mist.

In an instant, the man calmed his emotions, severed that thread of nostalgia, and resolutely turned, continuing to stir the breeze as he moved rapidly between the rocky cliffs.

Several hundred breaths later, the man broke through the gray mist barrier at the valley's entrance and skillfully leaped into a certain secret realm.

Sitting alone on a green stone, Saint Shamhat, who was in the midst of her daily grooming, turned her head upon hearing the movement. She appraisingly sized up the human who had intruded into Enkidu's tomb.

"You've arrived? Faster than I anticipated..."

Anyone who could withstand the corrosion of the death mist and evade the perception of the Garuda Spirits to reach this place could only be that little thing, no matter how their appearance had changed.

Well, perhaps now, they couldn't be called little.

Saint Shamhat rubbed her smooth chin with her fingertips, her strange gaze lingering for a long time on a certain indescribable part between the man's legs.

That inexplicable sense of heat seemed capable of easily piercing the man's thin clothing, revealing certain indescribable things.

I heard snakes have two of those things, I wonder...

"Slap!"

With a crisp sound, Saint Shamhat's white claw was casually slapped away by the man, his face darkened.

"Teacher!"

The man's mouth twitched, and he squeezed out a dry reminder through gritted teeth, his gaze towards the woman filled with intense wariness.

Tsk, no fun...

The old driver, having failed, withdrew her hand with disinterest and, at her student's signal to turn, stepped forward.

Immediately, the man lifted a birdcage-shaped woven metal object and waved it forward.

A crisp ringing sound, from no discernible source, traveled outwards. The cuneiform inscriptions carved on it rippled with golden-blue waves, drawing Shamhat, who was in a soul state, into it.

The Soul Cage was a special container that the Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal, had once used to preserve spirits.

This item could both shield them from the perception of the Garuda Spirits, preventing them from rioting upon smelling the aura of fresh souls.

At the same time, it could also ensure that the souls entering it would not be harmed under most circumstances and environments.

Because of this, the Ancient Snake dared to bring the soul-state Shamhat onto this pirate ship, preparing for a grand escape from the Underworld together.

Wrapped in the dense gray death qi, the Ancient Snake moved rapidly. Due to the excessive motion, Shamhat's complaints soon came from the cage.

"Hey! Little Samael, stop shaking me! I'm getting dizzy..."

"Bear with it, we don't have much time. I have to rush out of the Underworld before the temple's afterglow fades."

"Otherwise, Ereshkigal will be back, and it'll be over!"

The Ancient Snake lightly snorted, his brow furrowed. Not only did he not slow down, but he madly accelerated into a long-distance sprint.

The black, jagged rocks on both sides, the ethereal blue ghost fires floating on the wilderness, and the Garuda Spirits brushing past them were all rapidly receding.

However, to alleviate Shamhat's so-called dizziness, the man still split a portion of his aetheric factor to encase the cage and intentionally threw out a topic.

"Teacher, how much do you know about things like the Fate Tablets?"

Last night, during his final conversation with his mistress, the Underworld goddess had been cryptic about this item.

"Oh? The Fate Tablets? Heh heh, which one do you want to know about?"

Shamhat, inside the cage, playfully twirled a lock of green hair on her shoulder with her right index finger, her tone carrying an unclear, playful curiosity.

"Which one? Are there many Fate Tablets?"

The vertical pupils of the snake-like eyes of the man contracted slightly, his expression growing solemn.

"Of course!"

"In Mesopotamia, humans were tools and livestock serving the gods, but there was a separation between the two."

"Their communication often began with the gods bestowing revelations, after which priests and shrine maidens, through interpreting the Divine Will, would engrave the announcements onto clay tablets for public display."

"These tablets, which listened to the voice of heaven and conveyed the Divine Will, could be called [Fate Tablets]."

Leveraging her professional knowledge, Shamhat spoke eloquently, twirling her beautiful hair.

Divine Will is Destiny?

The man frowned slightly, gaining a new understanding of the oppressive relationship between humans and gods, but these were not what he wanted to know.

"Anything else?"

"Ah, there's a second type. These are records left on tablets by those with precognitive abilities who accidentally glimpsed the future or were inspired by the world."

Shamhat paused and continued to explain to her student.

This undoubtedly would be like the Fate Tablet left behind by King Gilgamesh when he passed through Uruk in history.

However, the man was not satisfied. His gaze was intense, and his voice gradually deepened.

"Teacher, you know I'm not asking about these..."

"What is the most important Fate Tablet?"

"If you are still hiding something from me now, then I will have to reconsider our cooperation."

Shamhat's faint smile instantly vanished. Her eyes flickered as she looked up at the dark dome of the underworld, her expression a mixture of complexity and apprehension.

"The Divine Authority Seal, the Destiny of All Things!"

"Legend says this item is inscribed with the beginning and end of the entire Mesopotamian world. After creation, no power could surpass it!"

Suddenly, the man recalled Ereshkigal's lesson, and a thunderclap erupted in his mind.

"The Fate Tablet in King of Kings Marduk's hand, which recorded the four ages of humanity!"

"Shut up!"

In an instant, Shamhat's face turned pale. She cried out sharply, her eyes filled with intense fear and despair. The repeated murmurs of the Ancient Snake revealing the answer felt like a death warrant being handed to her.