Chapter Summaries

Annanu told his warriors he would travel to the Underworld and return, then found a new love letter from Nanshe and confronted her about its sentimental wording. He left Nanshe in the river, where she insisted that feelings should be expressed bravely.

• Annanu told his warriors he would go to the Underworld and return, and Adekate and the others tried to dissuade him by expressing their gratitude and concern.
• Annanu entrusted the warriors' training arrangements to the High Priestess and Siduri, then flew away after asking Ruslan to pass on the message.
• Annanu returned to his room, read Nanshe's love letter, and flew to find her fishing in the forest outside Uruk.
• Annanu struck Nanshe with the clay tablet, sending her into the river, then criticized the letter for being overly sentimental.
• Nanshe admitted she had written the mushy letter on purpose and declared that feelings should be expressed bravely.

Annanu rejected Nanshe’s feelings and told her he was going to the underworld, then met Gilgamesh and confirmed he would leave the next morning. Gilgamesh tested the power of the Key of Heaven and the Chains of Heaven but decided not to unleash their full strength as Annanu prepared to depart.

• Annanu rejected Nanshe again, explaining that he did not care about race and questioning whether the gods could lecture him about ethics.
• Annanu told Nanshe he was going to the underworld and flew away, leaving her worried.
• Gilgamesh tested the Chains of Heaven and the Key of Heaven, using them to restrain and blast the wilderness.
• Gilgamesh considered unleashing the Key of Heaven’s full power but decided against it because he feared the consequences and worried about Annanu’s journey.
• Annanu arrived at Uruk’s walls and told Gilgamesh he would leave early the next morning, promising to return.

Annanu left Uruk on foot to travel to the Netherworld, intent on showing the gods his resolve. Nanshe intercepted him and offered to go along, but he refused and continued alone, leaving her to return to Uruk and trust that he would come back.

• Annanu departed Uruk on foot, following the route to the Netherworld while Gilgamesh and Enkidu watched him leave.
• Nanshe appeared beside a stream and told Annanu she was worried about him and wanted to accompany him.
• Annanu refused Nanshe’s request, threatening to suppress her divinity and send her back to Uruk if she followed.
• Annanu urged Nanshe to ask Gilgamesh, Enkidu, or Ishtar about the purpose of his journey, then told her she could wait for him in Uruk as his friend.
• Nanshe watched Annanu walk into the forest and decided to return to Uruk, trusting that he would come back from the Underworld.

Annanu crossed Mesopotamia and the sea in search of the Underworld’s entrance, reaching the island hidden in the fog. There he found Utnapishtim cursing the gods by the shore.

• Annanu passed Lagash, crossed the Euphrates, and traveled through the Zagros Mountains without food or hardship.
• Annanu reached the sea, knelt to kiss the shore in honor of Mother Tiamat, and walked across the waves.
• Annanu searched the sea for a month until he found the fog-shrouded island that held the Underworld’s gate.
• Annanu came ashore and recognized Utnapishtim, who stood by the sea cursing the gods without noticing him.

Annanu reached the entrance to the underworld, where he met the immortal Utnapishtim and saw Utnapishtim’s wife, Antarat-Babisi. He leaped into the pit and arrived in the underworld, while Enkidu felt the pain Annanu endured from far away in Uruk.

• Utnapishtim awoke when Annanu came ashore and rambled about his wife before learning Annanu had come to enter the underworld.
• Utnapishtim pointed Annanu toward the underworld’s gate, and Annanu hurried through the freezing fog to find it.
• Annanu saw Antarat-Babisi resting beside the enormous pit and then jumped through the gate into the underworld.
• Enkidu woke in Uruk with a sudden pang and chill, sensing the agony Annanu suffered as he entered the underworld.

Annanu descended into the Underworld to seek Ereshkigal’s permission to leave. After surrendering parts of his life force at seven gates, he reached the goddess’s presence, weakened and worried about Enkidu.

• Annanu realized he was trapped in the Underworld and began descending toward Ereshkigal’s dwelling.
• A gallu gatekeeper told Annanu to wait seven days while he asked Ereshkigal whether she would receive him.
• The gatekeeper returned with Ereshkigal’s permission and took one fragment of Annanu’s Key as he passed the first gate.
• Annanu passed through seven gates, losing life force and fragments of the Key at each one.
• Annanu reached Ereshkigal, the mistress of the Underworld, while weakened and concerned that his losses were also weakening Enkidu.

Annanu pleaded with Ereshkigal to restore his vitality so he could save Enkidu, and she returned three portions before listening to his explanation. As Annanu recounted his experiences and plans, Enkidu began to stir in Uruk, while Ishtar learned he had awakened and grew anxious.

• Annanu asked Ereshkigal to restore his vitality, explaining that Enkidu was suffering the same pain and had fallen unconscious in Uruk.
• Ereshkigal returned three portions of Annanu's vitality, and Gilgamesh watched over the still-breathing Enkidu in Uruk.
• After regaining some strength, Annanu found Ereshkigal in her true form, and she asked him why he had come to the underworld.
• Annanu told Ereshkigal what he had experienced and described the plans he, Enkidu, and Gilgamesh had made.
• Gilgamesh noticed Enkidu stir, and Ishtar grew doubtful and panicked after hearing that Enkidu had awakened.

Ereshkigal showed Annanu the soul prisons of the underworld and explained how Geshtinanna took Dumuzi’s place there for half of each year. She told Annanu that the underworld was her only home and that the Anunnaki’s attempts to take it from her had fueled her hatred of them.

• Ishtar, unsettled by Enkidu’s awakening, ordered Shamhat to summon Kurgarru and Galatur for an important task.
• Ereshkigal led Annanu deep into the underworld, where she revealed that every lantern along the road imprisoned a soul and had been made by her.
• Ereshkigal showed Annanu Geshtinanna, who served half the year in the underworld so Dumuzi could be free for the other half.
• Ereshkigal told Annanu that she had never left the underworld and regarded it as her only home, despite the Anunnaki trying to take it from her.

Annanu refused Ereshkigal’s offer to stay in the Underworld, arguing that her attachments and desire for companionship showed she was still alive. Ereshkigal learned that two new guests had entered the Underworld by an unauthorized route, and Annanu reaffirmed that he would keep pursuing his chosen path despite its likely cost.

• Ereshkigal asked Annanu to stay in the Underworld with her, but he refused.
• Annanu told Ereshkigal that her cherished things and desire for companionship made her alive, unlike Utnapishtim, whom Annanu feared as truly dead.
• Ereshkigal sensed two new guests had entered the Underworld by a route other than its gate and returned with Annanu to her throne.
• Ereshkigal identified Kurgarru and Galatur as possible intruders who could bypass the Underworld’s laws, and grew angry at Enki for creating them.
• Ereshkigal asked Annanu whether he regretted coming, and he said he would keep walking his chosen path without hesitation, whatever the ending.

While waiting for Kurgarru and Galatur, Ereshkigal chatted with Annanu, who realized how lonely she was and showed her two flowers held in his memories. The brothers arrived with Ishtar’s greeting, and Ereshkigal angrily threw them out, threatening to drag Ishtar into the Underworld if she provoked her again.

• Ereshkigal spent several days asking Annanu questions as they waited for Kurgarru and Galatur to arrive.
• Annanu realized Ereshkigal was lonely and showed her two flowers that existed only within his soul.
• Ereshkigal reached for the flowers, but Annanu stepped back as Kurgarru and Galatur arrived.
• Kurgarru delivered Ishtar’s greeting, and Ereshkigal insisted Ishtar was her sworn enemy.
• Ereshkigal hurled Kurgarru and Galatur away and warned Ishtar not to provoke her again or she would drag her into the Underworld.

Annanu said goodbye to Ereshkigal after showing her flowers and affirming that she was truly alive. Ereshkigal let him leave the Underworld so he could return to his younger brother, Enkidu.

• Ereshkigal threw Kurgarru and Galatur out of the Underworld, then thanked Annanu for showing her flowers.
• Annanu asked to leave, but Ereshkigal pleaded with him to stay and asked to see the flowers again.
• Annanu showed Ereshkigal the white and red flowers and asked whether anyone had ever told her about the surface world.
• Ereshkigal explained that she knew only a little about the surface and believed she could never leave the Underworld, her home and prison.
• After reflecting in silence, Ereshkigal asked whether Annanu had meant it when he called her alive, and he affirmed that she was.
• Ereshkigal embraced Annanu, permitted him to depart, and thanked him for letting her see flowers.

Annanu returned from the Underworld with a Gallura Spirit Hound following him, while Enkidu and Gilgamesh sensed his return and waited in Uruk. At the city gates, Annanu prepared to resolve the Underworld’s demand for a substitute without sacrificing anyone.

• Annanu left the Underworld with the hound and returned to the surface, where Antarat-Babisi greeted him and Utnapishtim begged to be taken back below.
• Annanu refused Utnapishtim’s request and flew toward Uruk, leaving him despondent on the shore.
• Enkidu sensed that Annanu had escaped the Underworld, and Gilgamesh was relieved to learn he was coming home.
• After nearly a day and night of flight, Annanu reached Uruk and remembered that the hound still needed a substitute.
• Annanu said he would use something to take his place, then took it out.

Annanu sent Ereshkigal a yellow flower grown from his life force as a blessing before returning to Uruk. There, he found Gilgamesh beside a sleeping Enkidu and attacked him after misunderstanding the scene.

• Annanu asked the Hound of the Underworld to deliver his life-filled yellow flower and message to Ereshkigal.
• The Hound accepted the flower and ran off toward the Underworld.
• Gilgamesh watched over Enkidu, who had continued living in his room after recovering from his unconsciousness.
• Annanu returned to Uruk and found Gilgamesh holding Enkidu's robe as Enkidu slept in his bed.
• Gilgamesh tried to explain, but Annanu drew the Key of Heaven and attacked him.

Ereshkigal received a yellow Flower of Annanu and Anannu’s message, finding comfort in his thoughtfulness as he returned to Uruk. There, he reunited with Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who welcomed him back, and Gilgamesh admitted he had been worried about him.

• Ereshkigal grieved over Anannu’s departure, then welcomed the Underworld hound when it returned carrying a yellow flower and Anannu’s message.
• Ereshkigal thanked Anannu and promised to cherish the flower and let it bloom throughout the Underworld.
• Anannu teased the bandaged Gilgamesh over their earlier misunderstanding while Siduri fed Gilgamesh and Enkidu laughed about what had happened.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu expressed relief that Anannu had returned, and Gilgamesh admitted he had been very worried about him.
• Anannu hugged Gilgamesh and gently assured him that he was back.

Annanu returned from the underworld to Uruk, where Nanshe rushed to see him but was knocked unconscious by the Key of Heaven. After waking, she realized Annanu was gently rejecting her feelings and called him an idiot.

• Ishtar panicked after learning Annanu had returned from the underworld, while Nanshe hurried to Uruk after hearing the news through the streams.
• Annanu summoned the Key of Heaven, and Nanshe crashed into it and fell unconscious.
• Annanu and Enkidu waited beside Nanshe, then disguised themselves in altered forms to tease her when she woke.
• Nanshe woke, saw Annanu and Enkidu in their altered appearances, and asked whether Ereshkigal had changed Annanu.
• Annanu told Nanshe he preferred being friends with her, and she understood that he was rejecting her feelings while trying to comfort her.
• Nanshe punched Annanu and called him a big idiot.

Annanu returned to Uruk after a year away and reunited with the professional army, whose soldiers had grown stronger under intense training. Before nightfall, he was expected to visit Ishtar, who reacted with unrecognized panic when she heard the news.

• Nanshe stomped away after bumping Annanu, and Enkidu clung to Annanu as he said their company was enough, with Gilgamesh possibly joining them.
• Ruslan told Annanu that the army had completed its missions, killed several Demonic Beasts, and wiped out bandits who had raided Uruk.
• Annanu arrived at the military camp transformed into a hulking, muscular giant, and the warriors recognized and welcomed him as their commander.
• Ruslan joined the soldiers in embracing Annanu, resolved to face his own unknown journey and eventual end calmly.
• Kurgarru told Ishtar that Annanu would come to see her before nightfall, and Ishtar showed a hint of panic.

Annanu confronted Ishtar about why she had tried to send him to the Underworld, learned that she wanted Gilgamesh as her husband, and warned her to consider whether others had incited her or whether she was acting from prejudice. He returned to the palace for dinner and laughed about Ishtar’s feelings for Gilgamesh, only for Gilgamesh to enter and hear him.

• Annanu visited Ishtar’s temple and taunted her for surpassing her achievement in the Underworld.
• Annanu asked Ishtar why she had tried to make him go to the Underworld, and she cited her dislike of his reputation and her desire to marry Gilgamesh.
• Annanu warned Ishtar to consider whether she had been incited or was acting from prejudice, then flew to Gilgamesh’s palace.
• Annanu joined Enkidu and Siduri for dinner and called Ishtar an idiot while discussing her confession that she liked Gilgamesh.
• Gilgamesh entered as Annanu said he had nearly laughed at Ishtar’s confession, leaving Gilgamesh, Annanu, and Enkidu frozen.

Gilgamesh learned that Ishtar had likely fallen in love with him after he rescued her from Humbaba, and he was horrified by the prospect. Annanu and Enkidu advised waiting to see what Ishtar would do, while Gilgamesh insisted he would reject her.

• Gilgamesh asked Annanu to explain why Ishtar had fallen in love with him, and Annanu noted that she had kept her feelings hidden for over a year.
• Gilgamesh told Annanu and Enkidu that Ishtar had stayed near Uruk and had visited Nanshe, while Enkidu warned that she might act now that Annanu had returned.
• Gilgamesh said he would never accept Ishtar, and the others agreed that forcing him to do so was not an option.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu traced Ishtar's feelings to the time after the Cedar Forest, when Gilgamesh rescued her from Humbaba.
• Annanu recommended making no move until they learned whether Ishtar would propose or remain quiet, and Gilgamesh reaffirmed that he would reject her.

Gilgamesh learned that Ishtar had left for the divine realm, carrying news that Annanu had returned from the Underworld. As Gilgamesh, Annanu, and Enkidu prepared for the gods’ possible response, Ereshkigal tended a field of flowers named after Annanu.

• Gilgamesh told Annanu and Enkidu that Ishtar had been gone for two days and had flown away beneath the moonlight.
• Gilgamesh concluded that Ishtar would spread news of Annanu’s return, making the gods wary, though he warned that the Anunnaki might still act.
• Annanu worried that the gods could use Ishtar, but the three acknowledged they could not control what she did.
• Ereshkigal cheerfully tended her Flower of Annanu field in the Underworld while continuing her duties.

Ishtar sought advice from Nanna about her conflict with Ereshkigal, but he brushed her off, so she decided to visit Enki. Meanwhile, Annanu watched Uruk's army fight Demonic Beasts, then went fishing with Nanshe and admitted he liked her as a friend, leaving her stunned and grabbing his hand.

• Ishtar asked Nanna what she should do, but he evaded her question and told her to follow her heart.
• Ishtar left Nanna's home and decided to seek advice from Enki instead.
• Annanu watched Adekate lead Uruk's army against a Bashmu and several Mushmahhu.
• Annanu approached Nanshe and invited her to talk, but she asked him to go fishing with her.
• While fishing above the Tigris River, Annanu asked Nanshe about her stance toward him and the Anunnaki.
• Annanu told Nanshe he liked her as a friend, and she widened her eyes and grabbed his hand.