That afternoon, Annanu returned to the training grounds.
He had originally planned to take the warriors into the forest today, so they could begin adapting to an environment different from the wilderness. But Ishtar, that idiot, had delayed him, so they never went.
When Annanu returned, he found that Enkidu had not slacked off. He had indeed been training the warriors according to the clay tablet Annanu had given him.
Annanu was not surprised, because anything he wanted Enkidu to do, Enkidu would certainly do.
And anything Enkidu wanted him to do, he would certainly do as well.
But.
"Can you not go?"
Enkidu was immensely worried by Annanu's decision to travel to the Underworld.
Even the Chains of Heaven, who had only existed in this world for a few years, knew how dangerous it was to enter the Underworld. It was where life returned to, where all things met their end. Not even gods were exceptions.
Enkidu was not referring to Ishtar, who had died at Ereshkigal's hands, but Abzu—the great father of all Mesopotamia, father god of fresh water, and father of all the Anunnaki gods. His corpse lay in the deepest, darkest reaches of the Underworld.
And beside Abzu's corpse, his two children, Lahmu and Lahamu, eternally produced red clay in boundless delight.
Even the father god of all things slept forever in the Underworld. What would not die there?
Enkidu did not want Annanu to go.
"I won't die, Enkidu." Annanu lifted both hands and cupped Enkidu's face, a faint smile on his lips. "Do you remember? We're meant to stay together forever. We won't be separated."
"So I won't die. Even for your sake, I won't die."
He rested his chin against Enkidu's forehead and spoke softly.
"But there are some things I think must