The Wedge of Heaven, responsible for completely connecting humanity and the gods, had led humanity away from the gods.
And at a time like this, the Chains of Heaven were needed to bind everything together.
So Enkidu had come, and he and Gilgamesh had erupted into battle.
Gilgamesh had naturally avoided the earlier chains. Their battlefield had shifted drastically, and the two of them were now far from Uruk's walls.
Chains and weapons filled the sky and covered the ground, colliding and shattering without end.
Yet both combatants wore faint smiles.
But even smiles could differ.
The smile on Enkidu's face remained unchanged—gentle and calm, as though even the fiercest battle could not stir a ripple in his heart.
Gilgamesh's smile, on the other hand, was filled with arrogance and intoxication. The crimson markings on his body, symbols of his divinity, flickered brightly and dimly.
He was excited. Enkidu could clearly sense the emotions radiating from him.
However—
Though they both smiled, their thoughts were vastly different.
Gilgamesh could unleash his emotions without restraint—
The exhilaration of finding a worthy opponent, an evenly matched enemy who finally allowed him to release his full power!
But Enkidu...
He could actually suppress Gilgamesh with ease.
Even without relying on the suppression of divinity inherent in the Chains of Heaven themselves, Enkidu was confident that he could swiftly defeat the current Gilgamesh.
But—
Hesitation. Confusion.
Such emotions drifted through Enkidu's soul and mind.
Just as he had thought before exchanging wills with Shamhat, Enkidu watched the hard-fighting Gilgamesh and found himself involuntarily considering that question.
Was this meaningful?
Annanu, back when he had been a clay figure, had been unable to think through this question. Yet now, after gaining a true human body and intellect through Shamhat, Annanu still could not understand it.