Chapter Summaries

Enlil and Ishtar confronted each other over a Council of Destinies decision made in Ishtar’s absence, until Enki intervened and stopped Enlil’s storm. Ishtar left after cursing Enlil, who dismissed the gods and returned to his sleep.

• Enki stopped Enlil and Ishtar’s confrontation by dispelling the storm and calming the divine realm.
• Enki revealed that Nanshe had sought his help to protect Annanu and Enkidu before they came to stop Enlil’s potential atrocity.
• Ishtar challenged Enlil for convening the Council of Destinies without her and inscribing its decision on the Tablet of Destinies.
• Enlil asked what Ishtar proposed, noting that the Tablet of Destinies could not be changed, while Ishtar and the others avoided a fight.
• Ishtar cursed Enlil, then left with Maanna.
• Enlil repaired the Great Temple, dismissed the gods, and shut himself inside to sleep.

Gilgamesh carried the dying Annanu toward the underworld, determined to find Enkidu and save his remaining friend. As Annanu’s strength dwindled, Nanshe followed from a distance, while Siduri governed Uruk in Gilgamesh’s absence.

• Gilgamesh left Siduri and Shamhat in charge of Uruk and carried the unconscious Annanu toward the underworld, holding the earth Enkidu had left behind.
• Siduri took over as regent with Kurgarru, Galatur, and Adekate assisting her, while Shamhat resumed her duties as high priestess.
• Ishtar returned to Uruk, then set out to seek a way to overturn Enlil’s rule after recognizing him as her true enemy.
• Ishtar gave Gilgamesh a ride on Maanna, and Nanshe followed him as he carried Annanu across Mesopotamia.
• Annanu asked Gilgamesh how much longer it would take to find Enkidu, as his life continued to fade.

Gilgamesh carried the fading Annanu across the sea toward the Underworld with Nanshe’s help, while Nanshe remained behind grieving for him. They reached the island entrance, where Utnapishtim and an old woman awaited them, and Annanu softly called Gilgamesh.

• Gilgamesh reached the shore with Annanu on his back and realized he could not cross the sea without setting him down.
• Nanshe lifted Gilgamesh and Annanu with spring water and sent them across the sea toward the Underworld entrance.
• Nanshe collapsed on the beach, kissed the pebbles, and wept over her love for Annanu and his fate.
• After many days, Gilgamesh saw the Underworld island and Utnapishtim waiting on its shore.
• Nanshe’s power faded as Gilgamesh reached the island, where he saw Utnapishtim beside an old woman.
• Annanu softly called out to Gilgamesh.

Annanu died at the entrance to the underworld, unable to be saved by Ereshkigal's Spear Gate, and entrusted the complete Key of Heaven to Gilgamesh. After Annanu turned to dust, Gilgamesh collapsed and lost consciousness holding the Key of Heaven and the Chains of Heaven.

• Gilgamesh carried the newly conscious Annanu toward the underworld, but Annanu said Ereshkigal's Spear Gate could not save him.
• Annanu apologized to Gilgamesh and said he could not continue walking with him, while Gilgamesh grieved over losing another close friend.
• Annanu entrusted the Key of Heaven to Gilgamesh and asked him to keep living without letting hatred and anger cloud his judgment.
• Annanu died in Gilgamesh's arms and turned to dust that the sea breeze carried away.
• Gilgamesh tried to follow Annanu, collapsed, and lost consciousness at the underworld entrance with the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven in his hands.

Gilgamesh left Utnapishtim’s island carrying the Herb of Ageless Immortality and his departed friends’ weapons, the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven. As he returned to Uruk, he resolved to challenge the gods and break their rule over humanity.

• Gilgamesh woke on Utnapishtim’s island and found the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven in his hands, left behind by Annanu and Enkidu.
• Utnapishtim declared that the gods controlled everything in Mesopotamia, while Antarat-Babisi urged Gilgamesh to accept his friends’ deaths.
• At Antarat-Babisi’s request, Utnapishtim gave Gilgamesh the Herb of Ageless Immortality and told him to leave.
• Gilgamesh rowed away from the island and continued toward Uruk on foot after reaching shore.
• Gilgamesh looked toward the Anunnaki Divine Realm and vowed to challenge the gods for humanity and for his friends.

While Gilgamesh slept after washing in the stream, Ruslan appeared to him in a dream and revealed that he had traveled through seven eras as an observer. Ruslan said his mission was nearly complete and began telling Gilgamesh about the stories he had witnessed, leaving the tale of a demigod protagonist about to begin.

• Gilgamesh washed in the stream, lay down exhausted, and fell asleep beside the herb of immortality as a snake emerged from the bushes.
• Ruslan appeared before Gilgamesh in a dream, and Gilgamesh recognized him and demanded to know what he was.
• Ruslan explained that he was an observer who had traveled through seven eras, with Gilgamesh's era being his last before he faced his true fate.
• Ruslan confirmed that Siduri was his sister in every era and asked Gilgamesh to keep his death at the Demonic Beast Front from her.
• Ruslan praised Uruk but said he could not rank it against the other eras, then began to tell Gilgamesh one of his six completed stories about a demigod.

Ruslan's story made Gilgamesh reconsider sacrificing himself to attack the Anunnaki, and the vanished herb of immortality and a snake's shed skin helped him understand what path remained. Back in Uruk, he resolved to summon Ishtar and use the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven to end the current era.

• Ruslan told Gilgamesh a story about a hero and his companions who killed the chief god at the cost of their lives, prompting Gilgamesh to reconsider his own plan.
• Gilgamesh woke to find the herb of immortality gone and a snake's shed skin beside him, then laughed as he realized what it meant.
• Gilgamesh returned to Uruk, heard the city's situation from Siduri, and ordered Kurgarru and Galatur to bring Nanshe.
• Gilgamesh asked Shamhat to summon Ishtar, saying he had a way to overthrow the Anunnaki.
• Gilgamesh looked over Uruk with Siduri and recognized how the city had changed under his rule.
• Gilgamesh raised the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven and called on Annanu and Enkidu to help him end the era.

Gilgamesh joined the Key of Heaven and Chains of Heaven to seal divinity out of Mesopotamia, despite Enki’s attempt to stop him. He sacrificed his bond with the weapons and sent the gods away, beginning an era belonging to humanity.

• Gilgamesh asked Nanshe and Ishtar to help him use the united Key and Chains to seal divinity out of Mesopotamia, and both agreed.
• Enki arrived from Eridu and tried to dissuade Gilgamesh, but Nanshe and Ishtar stood against him.
• Gilgamesh attacked Enki with the united weapon, which stripped Enki’s water of its divine power and left him unable to resist.
• Nanshe and Ishtar poured their remaining divine power into the Key as Gilgamesh called farewell to Annanu and Enkidu.
• Gilgamesh rose into the sky and unleashed the Key, sealing the Anunnaki, the gods, and divinity beyond Mesopotamia.
• Gilgamesh fell back to the land as the divine realm vanished, leaving Mesopotamia to humanity.

Gilgamesh’s seal ended the rule of the gods in Mesopotamia, while Ereshkigal mourned Annanu and Enlil awoke to find himself trapped in the sealed Anunnaki realm. Enlil’s storm could not break the seal, and his Tablet of Destinies was gone.

• Gilgamesh sealed the concept of gods in Mesopotamia, ushering in the Age of Man and preserving Annanu and Enkidu’s legacy as heroes of Uruk.
• Ereshkigal mourned Annanu among the withered flowers covering the Underworld, then continued her duty to guard it.
• Enlil awoke in the Great Temple and discovered the Anunnaki realm sealed and desolate, with the gods’ corpses scattered outside its gates.
• Enlil blamed Ishtar for cursing him and unleashed a storm, but it could not break the seal.
• Enlil discovered that his Tablet of Destinies was gone and remained trapped as the storm raged uselessly around him.

The author reflected on the Anno arcs, their strengths and failures, and the completion of the Lancer An arc. They left the story’s future unresolved, saying they would use the next two days to decide how to revise 1.7 before the truth was revealed.

• The author said they would keep writing through the end of 2.0, despite the book no longer earning much income.
• The author explained that Lancer An’s ending was decided late and described the arc’s tragic conclusion as acceptable, while thanking Lemon for advice and friendship.
• The author reviewed the Anno arcs, identifying Sakumura and Norla as their strongest work and criticizing weaknesses in several other arcs.
• The author said they had finished the Lancer An arc without giving up, but felt uncertain about the future and how to revise 1.7.
• The author announced that the next two days would be the “?” arc, during which they would work out how to write 1.7.

At the Entrance to the Root, ANNO confronted the Counter Forces, Gaia and Alaya, and explained that the Root had never been under their control. He declared that they had lost their qualifications, leaving their fate in his hands.

• ANNO offered Gaia and Alaya wine while recounting his story at the Entrance to the Root.
• ANNO introduced the silent figures of Anno, Lawrence Anno Falgao, Sakumura Anno, Oceannus, Norla Broll, Xiang An, Annanu, and Enkidu.
• ANNO told Gaia and Alaya that he had returned to the world because they brought him back, but condemned their lack of reverence for the Root.
• ANNO asked Gaia and Alaya why they had assumed a self-aware fragment of the Root would let them manipulate it.
• ANNO declared that Gaia and Alaya had lost their qualifications and kept them restrained within the Swirl of the Root.

The chapter recounts the lives and deaths of six men: a knight, an artist and physician, a warrior reformer, a demigod captain, a transformed child, and a machine who became a king. Each story ends with the loss of something precious, and the sixth man returns to the Yellow River after outliving everyone else.

• The first man protected his island kingdom through countless wars but grew old and lost the final war, though he kept foreign races from occupying his home.
• The second man abandoned his life as an acclaimed artist to study medicine, defeated the demon that ruined his fate, and died after leaving behind a legacy.
• The third man became a reformer and warrior, lost his closest friend and love, and leaped from a mountain after laying down his swords and teaching ruler.
• The fourth man led companions on a seaborne adventure, killed his divine father in their final battle, and died laughing beneath the sky.
• The fifth man was abducted and mutilated by a magician, transformed into a monster, and killed after destroying half a city.
• The sixth man became a general and later a king, parted from his elder brother, and returned to the Yellow River after everyone else had died.

Thread of the Root recounted the tragic seventh story of the twin weapons, then told Alaya and Gaia that their independent thoughts had disqualified them from serving as the Counter Force. Anno of Britain interrupted him as he continued speaking near the end of his time.

• Thread of the Root finished recounting the twins’ story, in which they sided with humanity, killed a divine beast, and died under the gods’ curse.
• Thread of the Root told Alaya and Gaia that the seven lives he had experienced had left him with lasting memories and pain.
• Thread of the Root argued that Alaya and Gaia had become individuals through their independent thoughts and actions.
• Thread of the Root declared that Alaya and Gaia had lost their qualification to serve as the Counter Force.
• Anno of Britain asked Thread of the Root whether he was going to keep talking as his time ran out.

Thread of the Root reunited with Anno, Lawrence, Sakumura, Oushen, and Norla, hearing each of their wishes as they returned to him. Norla was the last to merge, wishing for a loving family and afternoons playing with his friends.

• Thread of the Root told Anno he would enter and make up for the Root, but had decided to kill Gaia and Alaya, then asked Anno for his wish.
• Anno wished for Britain to enjoy lasting peace and prosperity, then merged with Thread of the Root.
• Lawrence wished to live happily with his wife Harley and son Adelson, then merged with Thread of the Root.
• Sakumura wished to seek true change and usher the nation into a new era, then merged with Thread of the Root.
• Oushen wished to relive a voyage filled with song and returned to Thread of the Root.
• Norla wished for a happy, loving family and to play with his friends again, then hopped into Thread of the Root.

Xiang An and the remaining annos returned to the Thread of the Root, each expressing what they wanted for the world or for those they loved. As Flower of Annanu and Enkidu joined the Root, the seven annos became whole.

• Xiang An told the Thread of the Root that he wanted to see a world belonging to Chu before returning to it.
• Flower of Annanu and Enkidu reunited with the Thread of the Root, reflecting on Gil’s choice and their feelings for Ereshkigal and Nanshe.
• Flower of Annanu asked who Ruslan was, and the Thread of the Root admitted it did not know.
• Annanu wished for Enkidu to live happily forever without being threatened by anything, then joined the Thread of the Root alongside Enkidu.

Thread of the Root returned to the Root, which erased Gaia and Alaya before using their remnants and part of its waste to create Anno as the new Counter Force. The Root then cast out the malignant waste accumulated over seven lifetimes and began returning to its original state.

• Thread of the Root declared himself whole and merged back into the Swirl of the Root.
• The Root's surging tides erased Gaia and Alaya, the former Counter Forces.
• The Root gathered the remnants of Gaia and Alaya and combined them with part of its waste to create Anno, the newborn Counter Force.
• Anno departed from the Root to carry on the world and assume the Counter Forces' responsibilities.
• The Root cast out the malignant inert waste accumulated over seven lifetimes, describing it as an evil tied to humanity.
• The Root began returning to its original state as a structural component of the world.

A newborn Counter Force exiled the Root-cast inert waste to another dimension, then created a soul named Ruslan to witness the Annos’ seven eras. The chapter left Ruslan arriving in the past as a local introduced him to a knight as a strong young man seeking work.

• The newborn Counter Force discovered inert waste cast out from the Root and realized it could not destroy it without causing it to be reborn.
• The newborn Counter Force exiled the inert waste to an alternate dimension and considered recruiting agents to deal with it if it became evil.
• The newborn Counter Force reviewed the inherited employees, including three named Emiya, and decided to make new agents of its own.
• The newborn Counter Force created a soul, named it Ruslan, and sent it into the past to observe the Annos’ seven eras.
• Ruslan arrived in the past as a local offered him to a knight as a strong young man who could work as a steward or manservant.

Ereshkigal struggled to keep a giant beast from escaping the Underworld, but her Servant strength proved insufficient. Annanu appeared amid the revived Flowers of Annanu and struck the beast with the Keys of Heaven, then offered Ereshkigal his hand.

• Ereshkigal used her Underworld authority to attack the giant beast, but it broke through her restraints and advanced toward the surface.
• Ereshkigal realized the Underworld was part of a Singularity and feared the beast would destroy it if she could not stop it.
• The giant beast shattered the Underworld’s stone wall and knocked Ereshkigal to the ground, leaving her unable to resist.
• A withered Flower of Annanu revived, and Annanu appeared behind Ereshkigal as the surrounding flowers bloomed.
• Annanu unleashed “[O Children of Man, Unlock the Key unto the Starry Origin] (Enuma Elish),” knocking the giant beast off the wall.
• Annanu offered Ereshkigal his hand, and she took it in disbelief.

After Chaldea’s losses in the sixth Singularity, Roman neared completion of the seventh Singularity’s coordinates while Lawrence operated on Mash to extend her life. With Mash still under anesthesia, Fujimaru Ritsuka prepared to head to the control room for the next mission.

• Liao Ye noted that the Lion King had never apologized, then went to visit Lawrence while Roman continued analyzing the seventh Singularity’s coordinates.
• Leonardo da Vinci comforted an anxious Fujimaru Ritsuka as Lawrence worked to extend Mash’s operational lifespan in surgery.
• Leonardo da Vinci asked Fujimaru Ritsuka about summoning more Servants, but he declined because doing so could jeopardize Spiritron Transfer.
• Lawrence emerged from the operating room, and Roman summoned Fujimaru Ritsuka to the control room because the seventh Singularity’s coordinates were nearly complete.
• Fujimaru Ritsuka and Lawrence exchanged a relieved look over Mash, then prepared for the approaching mission.

At Adekate’s funeral, a summoning circle appeared above his corpse and brought him back as a Servant. He accepted Gilgamesh’s contract and prepared to resume overseeing Uruk’s defenses as the city faced growing oppression.

• Gilgamesh attended the funeral of Adekate, Uruk’s first general, and prepared to give the old commander a dignified burial.
• A Servant summoning circle appeared above Adekate’s corpse, and Gilgamesh ordered the strange-looking people to evacuate the civilians.
• Adekate emerged from the circle in his prime, agreed to form a contract with Gilgamesh, and called his return a chance to help Uruk.
• Ushiwakamaru welcomed Adekate back, and Gilgamesh asked Siduri to arrange a visit with his descendants before he resumed supervising the Demonic Beast Front.
• Gilgamesh watched Siduri and Adekate depart, then looked over Uruk as oppression once again settled over the city.