"Um, that is..."
Ereshkigal and Annanu stood side by side atop the clouds, looking down below.
The gray ocean was eerily devoid of even the slightest ripple, its stillness frightening.
The Persian Gulf. Annanu had visited this place twice before: once, he had walked here on his own two feet; the other time, he had been carried here on Gilgamesh's back.
Annanu had no clear memories of the second time, but his impression of the first time he came to visit the Underworld was exceptionally vivid.
Tiamat had been roaring without cease, gray waves streaked with white foam crashing against the equally gray rocky shore with earth-shaking force.
Back then, Tiamat had undoubtedly been weeping in grief. She had been in pain, in sorrow, unable to understand why she had to endure all this.
She was merely a mother who loved her children.
At the time, Annanu had even kissed that rocky shore, hoping to soothe Mother Tiamat's pain through his own insignificant actions.
Now, Tiamat was no longer in pain. She had entered a state of tranquility.
But Annanu and Ereshkigal both knew that beneath this calm, something far more vicious was surely lurking.
She truly was a loving Mother Goddess, who had created this world with her love. Yet at this very moment, she had clearly fallen into a [Beast], becoming an Evil of Humanity through humanity's love.
Her love and desire would destroy everything.
"There isn't much time left."
Annanu's eyes were grave.
"The last time I came here, the black mud hadn't spread this far. Mother Goddess's full awakening... won't be long now."
Though the sea's surface was without a ripple, Annanu could clearly see something like a black stain floating atop the still water. It seemed as though something was peering out from within that