Chapter Summaries

Annanu confronted Ruslan about seeming out of place among humans, revealing that Enki had warned him something was wrong. Ruslan described himself as a harmless observer who moved between eras, and Annanu realized he did not want Ruslan to die.

• Annanu asked Ruslan about his time in Enki’s domain, then told him he seemed different from other people.
• Ruslan recalled how Hephaestus had once detected something strange about him and wondered whether he had exposed himself again.
• Annanu said Enki had sensed Ruslan was out of place among humans, and admitted he had stopped Enki from informing Gil and Enkidu.
• Ruslan asked whether Annanu would kill him if he refused to explain, and Annanu said he needed to confirm Ruslan posed no threat.
• Ruslan said he was a human observer who traveled between eras and would live and die as a human in his own time.
• Ruslan exposed himself to Annanu, who felt agitated and realized he did not want Ruslan to die.

Annanu confronted Ruslan over the sense of familiarity between them but could not bring himself to kill him, and the group departed Eridu for Uruk. As they rushed home to face the coming resistance, Nanshe resolved to fight for Annanu’s wish for humanity, even at the cost of her life or divine status.

• Annanu asked Ruslan who he was and whether understanding the answer required Annanu’s death, but ultimately released him and left the room.
• The next morning, Annanu formed a boat from the Key of Heaven and hurried the group out of Eridu toward Uruk.
• Ruslan reflected that Annanu and Enkidu together formed the complete last Anno, their souls divided between them through their shared creation.
• Enki told Nanshe he was going to Anunnaki, while Nanshe declared she would go to the sky and fight for Annanu’s wish for humanity.
• Nanshe took up her fishing-rod sword and flew toward the sky, resolved to face death or the loss of her divine status.

Gilgamesh prepared Uruk to withstand Gugalanna’s drought and the Demonic Beasts while planning to confront Ishtar. Nanshe challenged Ishtar over her actions, but Ishtar said fate compelled her to bring Gugalanna down upon the land.

• Nanshe set out to confront Ishtar despite Gugalanna’s drought weakening her, and Gilgamesh ordered Uruk to prepare its defenses.
• Gilgamesh told Siduri to store water, assigned Adekate and the Kurgarru and Galatur to fight Demonic Beasts, and planned to use Divine Authority Seals and treasures against threats in the sky.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu agreed to restrain Gugalanna while Annanu confronted Ishtar, and Enkidu prepared to use the Chains of Heaven if needed.
• Nanshe asked Ishtar whether her actions truly reflected her own desires, and Ishtar admitted she had no choice because fate drove her to bring Gugalanna down upon the land.

Ishtar realized the Anunnaki gods had manipulated her into awakening Gugalanna so they could eliminate Annanu, Enkidu, and Gilgamesh, then pose as humanity’s saviors. As Gugalanna advanced, Enki confronted Enlil over breaking his promise not to destroy humanity, and their conflict neared a clash.

• Ishtar recognized that the Anunnaki had used her to awaken Gugalanna and planned to have the monster kill Annanu, Enkidu, and Gilgamesh.
• Ishtar told Nanshe she could not stop Gugalanna and urged her to warn Annanu, Enkidu, and Gilgamesh before returning to Gugalanna.
• Nanshe left after considering Ishtar’s words, uncertain whether their conversation had succeeded.
• Enki confronted Enlil in the Anunnaki Hall, accusing him of directing Ishtar to bring Gugalanna down and breaking his promise to spare humanity.
• Enlil warned Enki that someone had to pay for provoking him, and Enki answered that Enlil could not defeat him as water surged around him.

Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Annanu fought to stop Gugalanna from reaching Uruk as the Bull of Heaven descended in a storm. Annanu flew to Gugalanna’s head and found Ishtar’s chariot, Maanna, with the goddess seated atop it.

• Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Annanu recognized that Gugalanna’s storm meant the conflict between Enlil and the water god had erupted again.
• Gugalanna arrived amid thunder and rain, and Enkidu lifted Gilgamesh into the air so they could fight it away from Uruk.
• Annanu blocked Gugalanna’s lightning with the Key of Heaven and flew toward its head after Nanshe pointed him upward.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu attacked Gugalanna, but it broke Enkidu’s Chains of Heaven and resisted Gilgamesh’s weapons.
• Gilgamesh gave Enkidu a fragment of Annanu, strengthening him, and then used another fragment to draw out chains of his own.
• Annanu reached Gugalanna’s head and saw Ishtar seated atop Maanna.

Annanu overwhelmed Ishtar in the sky, sealing Maanna’s power and punching her after she pleaded that he spare her face. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh and Enkidu struggled to restrain and damage Gugalanna as Uruk’s defenses held back the advancing Demonic Beasts.

• Annanu dodged Ishtar’s arrows and used the Key of Heaven to attack her as she fired from Maanna.
• Annanu surrounded Ishtar with Key of Heaven fragments, sealed Maanna’s power, and punched her in the eye after she asked him not to hit her face.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu continued restraining Gugalanna while preparing to create an opening for Gilgamesh to unleash Ea.
• Enkidu used chains empowered by the Key of Heaven to pin Gugalanna down and tried to snap its neck.
• Uruk’s defensive line held against the Demonic Beasts advancing alongside Gugalanna.

Adekate led Uruk’s soldiers against the Demonic Beasts while Gilgamesh and Enkidu restrained Gugalanna and Annanu dealt with Ishtar. With Ishtar subdued, Annanu joined the fight and brought down the Key of Heaven on Gugalanna.

• Adekate led Uruk’s expanded army and volunteers as Demonic Beasts charged the city, then killed a Bashmu with his spear.
• Ruslan fought alongside the soldiers but wondered what he was doing as the battle continued.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu held Gugalanna in place for nearly six hours while Ishtar used Maanna to evade Annanu.
• Annanu caught Ishtar, beat her, bound her with Key of Heaven fragments, and threw her toward the ground.
• Annanu joined Gilgamesh and Enkidu against Gugalanna and swung a massive sword formed from Key of Heaven fragments.

Annanu and Enkidu fused the Key of Heaven with the Chains of Heaven to pierce Gugalanna’s skull, finally creating an opening for Gilgamesh. Gugalanna remained alive, and Gilgamesh raised Ea to deliver the finishing strike.

• Gugalanna’s roar forced back Annanu, Enkidu, and Gilgamesh, while its skull withstood their attacks.
• Gilgamesh told Annanu and Enkidu that Ea needed even a small wound in Gugalanna to unleash its full power.
• Annanu joined hands with Enkidu, merging their magical signatures and combining the Key of Heaven with the Chains of Heaven.
• Annanu and Enkidu struck Gugalanna with a colossal spear of fused chains and keys, blasting through the top of its head.
• Gilgamesh raised Ea and declared that his next strike would end the battle.

Gilgamesh defeated Gugalanna and separated Annanu from Enkidu, but the three fell unconscious before Nanshe saved them. After waking in his palace, Gilgamesh learned the Demonic Beasts had retreated and Ishtar was waiting to meet with him, Annanu, and Enkidu.

• Gilgamesh destroyed Gugalanna, then pursued the falling Annanu and Enkidu and realized he had to separate them.
• Gilgamesh pulled Annanu, in the form of the Key of Heaven, from Enkidu’s chest, briefly waking both of them.
• Annanu and Enkidu fainted again, and Nanshe saved all three from the fall by creating a spring beneath them.
• Gilgamesh woke in his palace the next day and learned from Siduri that the Demonic Beasts had retreated and Annanu and Enkidu were recovering.
• Siduri told Gilgamesh that Ishtar’s divine power had been sealed and that she was waiting to meet with him, Annanu, and Enkidu.

Gilgamesh learned the front-line casualties included Ruslan, comforted Siduri as she mourned her brother, and held firm that Gugalanna had to die. Meanwhile, Enki confronted Enlil with the Water of Life against the Tablet of Destinies as Enlil vowed to destroy Gilgamesh and his companions.

• Gilgamesh asked Siduri about the casualties, and she reported that twenty-one volunteers had died, ninety-eight were severely wounded, two hundred and twenty-two were lightly wounded, and one soldier had fallen.
• Gilgamesh comforted Siduri as she broke down, then learned the lone fallen soldier was her younger brother Ruslan and gave her time off to bury him.
• Gilgamesh checked on Annanu and Enkidu, was driven out by Nanshe, and decided to postpone visiting Ishtar until the two had awakened.
• Gilgamesh resolved that Gugalanna had to die despite the Anunnaki Divine Realm's likely response, since leaving it on earth would prolong the land's destruction.
• Enki faced Enlil with the Water of Life, while Enlil wielded the Tablet of Destinies and vowed to bury Gilgamesh and his companions alongside Gugalanna.

Enlil threatened to use the Tablet of Destinies to kill Annanu and Enkidu, prompting Enki to prepare to fight him. Anu intervened and stopped the clash, then blamed Enki for disrespecting his elder brother.

• Enlil explained that only he could wield the Tablet of Destinies and that anything written on it would become reality if the tablet acknowledged him.
• Enlil told Enki he would convene a Conference of Destinies to decide who would bear his wrath, and Enki realized the vote would likely condemn Annanu and Enkidu.
• Enki threatened to wash away any curse on the tablet with the Water of Life, and Enlil sensed that Enki was ready to fight him to the death.
• Anu descended from the sky and ordered Enlil and Enki to stop, and both gods put away their powers.
• Anu rebuked Enki for disrespecting his elder brother, and Enki recognized his father's familiar favoritism.

Enki left the Anunnaki Divine Realm after Anu sided with Enlil and planned to seek Nanna’s support at the Fate Conference. Meanwhile, Ishtar told Annanu and Enkidu she wanted revenge against the Anunnaki, but the conference began without her.

• Enki left the Anunnaki Divine Realm and decided to try to win Nanna’s support before the Fate Conference.
• Nanshe confirmed that Ishtar meant to oppose the Anunnaki Divine Realm and urged her to explain herself to Annanu and Enkidu.
• Ishtar admitted she wanted revenge and began recounting what had happened before Annanu entered the underworld.
• The Great God convened the Fate Conference without giving Enki time to prepare and without Ishtar present.

Enlil and the gathered gods prepared to use the Conference of Destinies to write Annanu and Enkidu’s deaths onto the Tablet of Destinies after they killed Gugalanna. Ishtar told Gilgamesh about the gods’ plan and, despite losing her divine power, offered to cooperate against them.

• Enlil presided over a Conference of Destinies where the gods planned to make Annanu and Enkidu’s deaths an irrefutable fact.
• The gods’ plan followed Annanu and Enkidu’s killing of Gugalanna, after the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven merged and unleashed terrifying power.
• Ishtar explained to Gilgamesh how the gods had used her and intended to have the Great God kill Annanu and Enkidu.
• Gilgamesh challenged Ishtar over whether she would still cooperate as he planned to sever ties with the gods.
• Ishtar said she still intended to act as she always had and wanted the gods who used her to pay.

After Enki left the Great Temple to search for Gil, Gilgamesh and his allies waited for the gods to act, while Ishtar told Gilgamesh she planned to leave Uruk after the crisis. Enkidu went to comfort Siduri and Shamhat, but froze when he felt pain in his heart.

• Enki left the Great Temple and resolved to find Gil, Annanu, and Enkidu before the gods made their next move.
• Annanu asked Gilgamesh what they would do, and Gilgamesh said they could only wait for the gods to act and respond.
• Enkidu went to visit Siduri, and Annanu left to find Nanshe.
• Ishtar told Gilgamesh she would leave Uruk with her worshippers, laws, and temple once the crisis ended.
• Gilgamesh admitted he wanted Ishtar gone but called her the mother of the city, and he left her alone to consider her future.
• Enkidu found Shamhat with Siduri and froze when he suddenly felt pain in his heart.

Annanu and Enkidu were struck by unbearable soul pain, while Ereshkigal discovered that the Flowers of Annanu were withering throughout the Underworld. Ereshkigal realized Annanu’s life was in danger and cried out for him.

• Annanu collapsed in Uruk’s palace corridor from sudden soul pain and desperately tried to reach Enkidu.
• Nanshe found Annanu convulsing on the floor and rushed to help him.
• Ereshkigal noticed that a Flower of Annanu had withered while she tended her flower field.
• Ereshkigal saw that more Flowers of Annanu were withering across the Underworld and understood that Annanu’s life was threatened.
• Ereshkigal cried out Annanu’s name, and the Underworld trembled beneath her mournful cry.

Annanu and Enkidu collapsed in agony as their souls began to disappear. Ishtar identified the cause as the Tablet of Destinies' Curse of Death and said their deaths were already a fact.

• Annanu and Enkidu collapsed in pain, and Gilgamesh's physician could not determine what was wrong.
• Annanu woke and found Enkidu still unconscious, then sensed that both their souls were disappearing.
• Ishtar examined Annanu and Enkidu and identified the Tablet of Destinies' Curse of Death.
• Ishtar told Gilgamesh and Annanu that they were going to die and that their deaths were already a fact.

Ishtar explained that the gods had written Annanu and Enkidu’s deaths onto the Tablet of Destinies, leaving them little hope of escape. She departed for the divine realm to challenge the gods, while Annanu clung to the weakened Enkidu and pleaded for him to live.

• Annanu confronted Ishtar, who explained that the Meeting of Destinies had decreed his and Enkidu’s deaths through the Tablet of Destinies.
• Enkidu regained consciousness in great pain, and Annanu tearfully promised that he would not die.
• Gilgamesh asked Ishtar to return to the divine realm and seek an explanation from the gods for holding the meeting without her.
• Ishtar agreed, boarded Maanna, and flew away to question the great gods.
• Annanu confessed that he had always known they would die, but begged for Enkidu to survive and live happily.

As Enkidu’s life faded under the gods’ decree, he asked Anunnu and Gilgamesh to take him outside, while Nanshe resolved to seek help from her father. The rain began as she hurried away, determined to save Anunnu.

• Enkidu explained that the dying Flower of Annanu was connected to Anunnu’s fading life force and that sharing life force could not save him.
• Enkidu told Anunnu and Gilgamesh he did not want to die in the bedchamber and asked them to take him outside.
• Gilgamesh carried Enkidu out as Anunnu walked ahead, while Siduri and Shamhat followed in silence.
• Nanshe put away her third unsent love letter and flew to find her father, determined to prevent Anunnu from dying.
• Rain began to fall as Nanshe wept and hurried through the downpour.

Enkidu said his final goodbyes as Gilgamesh carried him beyond Uruk, then gave Gilgamesh the Chains of Heaven before dying in Annanu’s embrace. Gilgamesh, Annanu, Shamhat, and Siduri were left mourning his death.

• Gilgamesh carried the dying Enkidu out of Uruk as the people gathered to mourn them.
• Enkidu blessed Shamhat and asked Siduri to remain by Gilgamesh’s side and help guide Uruk.
• Enkidu gave Gilgamesh the Chains of Heaven, revealing it as his true form and final gift.
• Enkidu asked Annanu to hold him, then turned to dust in his brother’s arms as Annanu wailed.

After Enkidu died, Annanu collapsed, and Gilgamesh carried his fading friend. Ishtar confronted Enlil for holding the Meeting of Destinies without her, then bombarded the Great Temple until Enlil emerged, leaving the two gods facing off.

• Enkidu died, and Annanu collapsed as his life force continued to drain; Gilgamesh caught him and lifted him into his arms.
• Ishtar returned to the Anunnaki realm and demanded to know why Enlil had held the Meeting of Destinies without her.
• Nanna questioned Ishtar about whether she wanted the two rebels to die, while Anu told her Enlil had fallen asleep.
• Ishtar summoned the power of Venus and bombarded the Great Temple, shaking the Anunnaki Divine Realm.
• Enlil rose from the ruins and confronted Ishtar, who demanded an explanation for his decision to exclude her from the Fate Conference.