Samael the Deceiver

After a long while, the anticipated terror did not arrive. Shamhat, pale-faced with the flame of her soul flickering, let out a long sigh of relief, her complexion gradually regaining some color.

"You almost got us killed just now! Idiot!"

The man looked at Shamhat's genuine fear and immediately lowered his head to apologize, his eyes full of remorse.

"Sorry, teacher."

The Holy Harlot, her anger slightly subsided, spoke sternly and advised him with deep emotion.

"It's fortunate we were still in the underworld just now. This place is a self-contained system that can block the will and powers of the gods. Otherwise, we'd be in big trouble!"

"We'll be returning to the surface soon. If you want to live a long life, you must remember my advice."

"The true names of gods must not be spoken lightly!"

"Especially when you harbor hostility or when it involves major secrets!"

"This can easily form a resonance. If any of those high-and-mighty ones notice a freak like you, they'll definitely stew you the first chance they get!"

The man nodded solemnly. True names indeed possessed extraordinary power, especially in the Age of Gods. His actions just now were indeed a bit reckless, and he must take this as a warning and be more careful with his words and deeds in the future.

In the past, although Ereshkigal was forced to become the pillar guarding the underworld, she was also granted immense authority. Even Ishtar, the mistress of the heavens of the same rank, who intruded upon it, had her powers sealed without any ability to fight back, and was ultimately taught a harsh lesson.

Thanks to his master's protection and his own nature as a snake, who rarely spoke, he had been able to break taboos several times without being noticed by those hidden existences. Now, the surface world was in chaos, unlike the self-contained underworld, its protective capabilities were not as strong. This era was one where gods and humans were heading for a farewell, but their connection had not yet been completely severed. How much attention they paid to the current Mesopotamian world was anyone's guess. Unfortunately, as far as he knew, most gods were sometimes very petty. In the future, he would no longer have Ereshkigal to cover for him with the underworld's authority.

However, thinking about it now, he had unintentionally done one thing right. Changing his name and hiding his true past! Samael, the name he had given himself, was a deception, capable of protecting his secrets and hiding his tracks. If they wanted to take action against this name, as long as they didn't connect it to the shedding of that serpent's skin, they likely wouldn't be able to investigate further. To be safe, from the moment he walked out of the cave, the past Lin Xian no longer existed. He only needed to remember his future title. The ancient serpent whispered in his heart, burying the traces of his past deep within his soul.

(From this point on, the ancient serpent who transformed into a human will be referred to directly as Samael, which will also make it easier for everyone to understand. After all, the character 'Xian' was only used to hook Tiamat, and it is no longer necessary.)

What seemed like a complex thought process actually took only a brief moment. When Samael looked up, the Holy Harlot, whose emotions had also calmed down, slowly began to speak.

"The original Tablet of Destinies appeared during the creation war that opened Mesopotamia..."

"This item was worn by Kingu, the son of Tiamat, symbolizing the authority and proof of ruling the world."

"But you know the outcome of this battle. The Tablet of Destinies subsequently fell into the hands of the King of Kings as spoils of war."

"From then on, during the Age of Gods, the succession of authority from the Primordial Mother Goddess to the King of Kings was established."

As Samael walked briskly, he listened intently to his teacher Shamhat's account, gradually piecing together the fragmented history of the Mesopotamian Age of Gods. According to the mythological epic Enuma Elish, after the Babylonian gods committed the atrocity of patricide, they incurred the wrath of the mother goddess Tiamat. This primordial goddess created the Eleven Demon Beasts to confront the Babylonian gods. Deeply aware of Tiamat's power, the Babylonian gods united in their hope to find a deity who could help them win the battle. At that time, Ea's son, Marduk, responded to the call and participated in the war, with the reward for his success being to be honored as the chief of the gods, the King of Kings. Due to Tiamat's soft-heartedness, and the fact that these rebellious gods understood her weakness and were well-prepared, this primordial mother goddess was ultimately defeated and stripped of her divinity. Afterward, Marduk, who grew stronger with each battle, clashed with Kingu, who continued to lead the Eleven Demon Beasts in resistance, completely dominating him. In the end, the new era's Marduk achieved a complete victory and unjustly seized the Tablet of Destinies worn on Kingu's chest, placing his mark upon it and wearing it on his own chest. In mythology, this symbolizes the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy. After the battle ended, the surviving Kingu's flesh and blood were reshaped into humans after his death, to bear the burden of labor in his stead. And under Marduk's rule, the Babylonian gods enjoyed leisure and ease, while humans were burdened with the weight of life from birth and were made to please the gods in the heavens. Gradually, the context of Babylonian mythology in Samael's mind became clearer, and he gained a rough understanding of the meaning represented by the Tablet of Destinies. A divine seal, the destiny of all things! Shamhat's summation of this item was quite accurate. The original Tablet of Destinies maintained the legitimacy and justification of the gods' seizure of power, serving as proof of their ability to remain aloof and enjoy all resources. The King of Kings, Marduk, was not only the new owner of the Tablet of Destinies but also its greatest beneficiary. Concurrently, as the world took shape, this supercomputer managing the Mesopotamian world server also recorded the destinies of all things. The prophecies and divisions of the four great eras of human civilization—Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Black Iron—were the programs written by the Fate Tablet.

Therefore, the gods were fully aware of the three storms that swept across Mesopotamia this time, and even adopted a laissez-faire attitude to maintain the operational system of the Fate Tablet.

Only by allowing destiny to continue would their vested interests remain unaffected.

As for the lives and deaths of the two-legged beasts on the ground, if one group disappeared, another would emerge to fill the void.

When have gods ever needed to concern themselves with the thoughts of ants?

Furthermore, Samael's review of Mesopotamian history and his observations of its irrationality could also support this viewpoint.

The Sumerian civilization on this land was actually a collective term for various independent city-states that merged.

Due to their polytheistic beliefs, almost every city had its own patron deity.

For instance, Kish was Ereshkigal's territory, and Uruk worshipped the urban god Ishtar.

The ruined capital of Babylon, destroyed by the demon beast tide, was protected by the King of Kings, Marduk.

If Uruk, which was not significantly attacked in the early stages of the great catastrophe, had priestesses performing rituals to communicate with and summon spirits from the gods.

Then, how could Babylon, already surrounded by demon beasts, not have prayed to their protective deities?

Yet, ironically, until Babylon fell and became a den for demon beasts, their city god never showed the slightest reaction.

Expanding the scope, it was impossible for all Sumerian city-states like Nash and Eridu to have hidden such a catastrophe from the gods.

But no matter how they pleaded, prayed, or wailed, the gods that humanity once worshipped offered no response.

Instead, Uruk, which remained in a safe zone, successfully summoned Ishtar.

The answer behind this was quite intriguing.

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