There were no other sounds here.
No birdsong, no beasts' roars, nor human voices.
And yet, it was not quiet.
"You are not creations that belong to me."
A gentle-looking man with lake-blue hair wore a faint, serene smile as he looked at the thing before him.
"So I will not tell you what you are meant to do, either."
It was—
A ball of clay.
"By order, Utu borrowed from me the soil I had brought back long ago from the remains of Father God Abzu, and then bestowed upon you what is known as consciousness."
The ball of clay wriggled, seemingly quite restless.
A ripple spread across its surface, brimming with activity.
"Hehe, what a mischievous little life." The man smiled. His smile was beautiful, giving off a feeling of... vibrant life?
But he seemed to recall something. His eyes lowered, his smile faded, and he let out a soft sigh.
"Forget it. Even if you are not my creations, I still cherish you. But just like the lives my wife and I created from clay, you will eventually have to leave the protection of the gods."
"For... the mission bestowed upon you by the gods."
With gentle, tender movements, he raised his hands and held up the ball of clay.
The clay ball left the god's hands, then slowly split in the air into two smaller balls of clay.
One was stable and round, while ripples covered the surface of the other.
Enki looked at these two creations and smiled gently.
"You must understand."
"What humans are."
As Enki spoke, his finger traced a circle before lightly touching the two clay balls.
"Utu created [perfect humans] in Enlil's forest."
Enki's expression was somewhat strange as he said this.
But... what else could he do?
Shaking his head,