Finis Chaldea

The term 'virgin' remained the same as it had been in previous cycles. Though this was not wholly to Sukuna's surprise, it was odd to think about when viewing this lineup. Two of these goddesses were connected to fertility, and they were both the plainest examples once one looked past their physical appearances. If he were choosing based on potential sexual ability alone, his decision would already be narrowed down to two. Alas, he had more criteria than that. If all he sought was endless fornication, he could just fuck his way across the planet seven times over, killing all he encountered with the act alone. "So that's what he was getting at," he mused, reminiscing on an age-old conversation with the Demon King Anos.

Another question required an answer of all four goddesses. The first to speak was, unsurprisingly, Ishtar. She wanted... everything. Moreover, she was right back to calling herself 'glorious' as if she had more value than rodent shit in his presence. "One more time out of you, and I'll put your insides on the outside," he said in an eerily calm manner. The one who commented on her cleverness spoke next, talking again about her harem and a frank lack of compatibility between them. She was right, at the very least... but that wasn't among Sukuna's concerns presently. "I thought about that. I figured if it came down to you, maybe I'd just curse that harem out of history. No memory, no problem," he said as if it were a normal thing he was discussing, as opposed to something this world would see as impossible. In truth, Sukuna could manage something of that magnitude with just a few more fingers.

Kur was the third to answer. She wanted nothing, and didn't even accept the validity of her presence among this group. That wasn't much of an answer, though she turned the question on him. What did he want after calling them all here? Well, Sukuna thought that was clear. "I─"

"If you're in charge of death, why will you not get rid of this monster already? None of us should be here, answering to some pervert demon who just wants to. . ." The blonde goddess' sentence ended abruptly. Why? Well, she interrupted Sukuna, so he simply did the same. Of course, his interruption was a bit ruder than hers was. All he'd done was casually swipe the air with two fingers, and the blonde was severed into ribbons in a moment. Strangely, she wouldn't be joining the cycle of rebirth by any conventional means. "Where was I? Oh, right." Sukuna began sauntering about in front of this line of three, acting as if nothing had occurred mere moments before the present. He was to answer Kur's question for the remaining three, and he'd do so with purpose. "Like I said before, I'm here to find out which one of you I'm bending over and ravishing for the rest of time. One of you is gonna become my favorite person when we're done here. I'm gonna make you suck my dick for breakfast every morning, and I'm gonna pump you 'til you pop every night! You'll go back to what Creators are supposed to be, instead of being weak trash like that dead girl over there. You'll be a real god. You probably won't have any sense in your brain most times, but for the times you do, I guess you'll be better for it."

Whatever was going on in the mind of this demon, it seemed that he'd come to his own understanding of this particular situation. The black haired woman saw in the moment that light of recognition in his eyes. Good. It would be bad if everything coming out of the Void was also stupid. And another point in his favor was that he didn't seem to like stupid either, Ishtar once again referred to herself as glorious and when she did, she was given a rather calm threat which sent a chill down her spine. "Eeep!" she shut up immediately. It would be a few moments before she recovered from that one, and though she often challenged people, she did not currently trust in her own power to protect her. She planned to use him to protect her from Kur. Perhaps it would be better to get him to kill her. That would be good. That little scheme in her mind was not very well hidden on her face after a few moments, but that was a problem for a different time.

What was more pressing immediately to the black haired woman was that this man had considered that he didn't want to be part of her harem and thus he'd decided if it came down to it, he'd curse the whole of it out of existence. What a strange thing to say with a straight face. "Old world types are so extreme, but somehow that is simultaneously flattering but also psychotic. I don't know how to feel about it," she explained of herself. If he didn't remember her men, she'd likely accept him, but that wasn't really the outcome she wanted for herself, especially not when it was obvious his more viable match was literally right here.

Oh but there was a bigger problem, Kur had been here and mediating the entire time. So here and now she was doing the same but the blonde goddess decided to interrupt this man while he was speaking. Doing so only to try to egg Kur into attempting the death of this man for everyone else's sake seemed to be the last straw for her. She was cut into ribbons immediately and strangely though Kur felt her death she didn't sense her soul recollecting in the underworld. Her own power didn't even activate to send the woman down. "Oh? She's really dead. I mean I am a god of death and I am fairly certain I can't do anything about that... which is exactly why we don't go making people mad when they don't know what they're capable of," said Kur. Whether she thought she could actually do something about this man wasn't really the point. She had enough power that within the underworld she was a god unchallenged. That being said, if things could go amicably there was no reason to escalate things. The death of the big breasted blonde seemed to shock Ishtar a bit, enough even that she didn't even laugh about it which she normally would have. She was exactly the type to speak against any and everyone but with her life so far in danger she wasn't sure of what she should do. Fear was a powerful motivator even for her. His words hit the ears of the remaining three and it registered to two of them in the same way and the last one in a different way. "Constant mana transfers and the fun of sex, you're looking for a wife..." these were the words of the black haired woman. "I mean I guess that makes sense but this is an extreme way to go about it..." said Kur whose face was exceedingly red. Granted she saw nothing wrong with the ideas he presented she still didn't understand why she was here.

Ishtar on the other hand, heard she'd receive power and that was what she needed to further her goal. Damned to being tied to him forever, she was obviously winning so she'd make her stance known here and now. "No one would ever agree to such a thing. But if there is power it belongs to me... there is no one else deserving!" she proclaimed. A sigh left Kur at a moment like that speech. She'd heard something similar quite a long time ago. "She really never changes, it doesn't even matter who the guy is if she thinks she's going to get something out of it." she said shaking her head. Ishtar heard and scoffed. "And you wouldn't even know what to do with it. Why does it matter, no one wants you when they can have me!" that marked superiority of hers coming back vehemently. "Anu didn't want you in Celestia and cast you to the underworld and kept me. Enki didn't want you and came looking for me. Even that bull of a man you were supposed to marry was mine..." she was intentionally pushing at Kur trying to get her to crack so he'd kill her like he had the blonde. It was her solid plan. Kur was beyond done with Ishtar at this point, but had the sense to keep her own temper under control, lest she risk herself in some way just to kill her sister again.

It was only natural that Kur be incapable of doing anything here. Her existing status may have been that of a death god, but the extent of her influence was the world itself. The death that blonde experienced did not adhere to the world's rules. She would have been fine, had she done something other than show the limits of her own insolence. Oh well; Sukuna didn't care about the status of her existence anyway. He'd only kept her in the top four as a backup for the potential negatives of his first pick. Here and now, numbers two and three were making themselves much more viable options than he originally anticipated. Even if the more lithe of goddesses before him had become confused as to how she'd take the potential plan for her, and even if the death goddess didn't believe in her own purpose, their demeanor and ability put them on par with the other one... at minimum.

Two of the remaining three goddesses made an assumption about his goals here. It was the clever one who presumed he was here to find a wife, and the death goddess seemed to be of similar mind. "However you wanna look at it, I don't care. The point stands. One of you three isn't gonna know up from down in a little while. But, I'm only taking the best. I have to be careful with that part apparently." He sighed once more. Why couldn't he just take the group and be done with it? He could see a purpose in each of these final three, but he definitely couldn't go spreading his mana around like that without some very annoying side-effects. Now then, about a certain strange reaction he kept seeing. "You, with the red face. Been thinking about what I said earlier? Sounds good with the context, doesn't it?" he asked teasingly.

One of the three didn't seem to care for the same assumption as her peers in this little challenge. Ishtar thought of the power, and further thought she was the only one deserving of it. Her admission led to a little spat between herself and Kur, which Sukuna proceeded to watch in only mild annoyance. By the time Ishtar was prattling on about being chosen over her competitor in previous instances, Sukuna found himself standing closest to the black-haired goddess. "Am I gonna have to off another one just to shut them up?" he wondered aloud. One of these three was obviously more refined than the other two. He didn't much care about that, but at least she wasn't in the middle of this pointless argument. "So until they shut up, you can make your chances better. Wanna get a feel?" he asked, his eye wandering up and down the more silent woman's form.

The death of the blonde seemed to rock no one particularly hard. Ishtar was trying to use it as a method of getting under the skin of someone like Kur, but that also wouldn't work out the way she wished. Before that fight started out properly, there was a bit of conversation being had between Kur and Sukuna. Whatever that man had whispered to her before, he brought up again in a moment, pointing out her reddened face and asking if his strange proposal sounded better with context. This did not bode well for her composure. The rather sudden spike in her body temperature was accompanied by something of a stutter. "I-ah... well..." would she managed to get a sentence out? "It isn't like I had a problem with it in the first place!" Weird, those probably weren't the words she'd have used if she'd remained calm, but that was nearly impossible to do at this point. A chuckle escaped the black haired woman as she seemed to find something innately amusing about that little reaction. And while she'd been rather quiet this entire time... there was obviously something going through her mind.

As it stood, beyond this point there was a certain argument still happening between Kur and Ishtar and while it occurred the pink haired male began a casual conversation with the black haired woman. he offered her a feel in an aim to up her chances, she could only smirk. "Well, it seems turning down such an offer wouldn't actually benefit me. And I need a distraction before the dim witted goddess becomes something I also want to kill..." she mused. When she reached though, she didn't aim to touch his body, no she felt his mana more directly than anything else, in fact she was playing with it in her right hand. In her left the one she'd extended to be picked up by Kur she played with a bit of hers as well. "This mana of yours is invasive and a bit creepy, " she murmured... Still she'd play with the two in her hands. Combining them eventually until they held a certain harmonic balance.

"Your memory is terrible. You convinced the father of the gods to force out a child you felt threatened by because your lazy ass didn't want to do any actual work. Not that I think you'd be capable of it in the first place considering you don't even understand how to properly create. But apparently this just works because you throw your body at problems and hope they won't notice what you're actually like when you open your mouth!" that was a snap, one which made Ishtar recoil. "Need another, Enki, tried to rape me when I was young, and I drug him down to the underworld and told him to get out while he was stripped of his powers as a punishment... he learned force couldn't work with me so he took the weaker option. It's also how he knew how to get you out of the underworld when you were strung up there when you decided you wanted to steal from me even though you were the reason I had dominion there in the first place!"

Another snap. "Enki is mine you can't have him! And he wouldn't want you, some runt bitch when he could have all this!" she said while losing steam. "I don't want him but... the funny thing about death is... it comes for everyone. Enki is in the underworld right now being punished for the wrongs he committed against everyone...but please tell me how much you claim the selfish rapist god as your favorite." Kur stated. "As for Gugalanna, no one suffered more than the Bull of Heaven and all the other Celestials you turned into animals for their decisions to bed you. You may not know it, but I can hear it, all of their regrets... how about you feel it too!" In that moment Kur did something rather direct. She stared into Ishtar's eyes, and the weaker goddess was forced to experience empathy her soul didn't understand. The regrets of those being punished or locked away in the underworld for their connection to her, but also those of the beings turned into animals that they felt in their very souls. And then... there were screams as Ishtar fell to the ground. The glowing quality of Kur's eyes didn't stop at all, well that one would be worth savoring too, as Ishtar writhed on the ground. "Help me! She's hurting me, you can't let her do this to me!" Of course, when everything was said and done, she'd beg the strongest man in the area to save her from what was happening to her. Ishtar felt this kind of torment would help her, obviously this man wouldn't want his goods damaged right? He'd kill Kur and her body would win her out over the smart one... and everything would be fine! And Kur would suffer the ultimate price for daring to stand anywhere near something Ishtar had decided she wanted.

Intriguing. Kur's response to the goading of Sukuna led him to believe she had been thinking of his earlier statement, at least a little. She was so very embarrassed; it was adorable. More and more, she was proving herself to be a top candidate, when Sukuna originally deemed her such because he figured she could be fun to ruin forever. "I might wreck you," he mused almost absentmindedly before the argument between goddesses took off.

The goddess not partaking in said argument agreed to a distraction, lest she join in. The clause that it would be against her benefit to deny him, though, was a bit off. "You could say no, if you want. I don't really care, as long as you're not an intolerable bitch like that one," he said, alluding once again to the... well, he supposed she was the goddess of ribbons now. Moving on, this one reached out not to grab Sukuna, but to pick at his mana. Oh? That was an interesting change of pace, but what Sukuna took exception to was her effort to combine two mana sources. He recognized one as being not her own, but the pink-haired woman's. So, that's what she was. He'd been wondering which Creator this one was supposed to be, but having it made clear in this particular moment left him wanting to see no more of what she'd been trying. Sukuna's fingers swiped again. He wasn't going to be slicing her apart; she was still a prime candidate for his claiming. He was, however, going to shred the mana in her hands before she made something else of it. In doing so, his extra pair of eyes opened. That wasn't very pleasing to witness. "No cheating. I don't want to see any mixing until I do it myself. You just got more interesting, though. . ."

That argument was still ongoing, even after Sukuna took a break to address the black-haired woman. Well, it couldn't really be called an argument anymore. Sukuna's attention was brought back to that pair by none other than Ishtar, writhing about and screaming for help. Interestingly enough, she claimed Kur couldn't be allowed to do this to her. Sukuna likened this odd effect upon Ishtar to a curse, making it a simple matter for him to undo it. Would he, though? "Wrong idea. I think you look even better squirming on the ground. That's the sort of break in your personality I was looking for. I could let that one keep going," he said, closely observing the anguish of Ishtar. Alas, he did eventually dispel her affliction, once he was satisfied with the view. Ishtar managed to be even more visually appealing for a few moments, but a different sort of interest had been sparked in Kur. Four eyes were soon shifting to one side, gazing upon the pink-haired death goddess. "That was pretty effective. What did you do?"

"Eh?!" There was so much surprise in Kur. Whenever this man spoke to her like this she wasn't sure what to make of his statements. She didn't hear them wrong but didn't he seem to be too interested in her for what was obviously him choosing between a couple of other people? Whatever. That was a question to ask another day. But here and now, there was the matter of the black haired woman who was given permission to technically deny him if she wished. His only gripe was not being intolerable about whatever she decided to say. "Well, I don't in general possess that sort of attitude to start with. Those old fertility goddesses have been getting by on looks alone, their personalities always leave a lot to be desired," she stated plainly. She knew this as the truth and shared her opinion, while she played around with the mana in her hands only to not be able to properly combine them because, this man did away with them. He claimed he did not want to see any mixing until he was the one actualizing the situation which made the black haired woman chuckle. Of course this happened to come along with a bit of raised brow at those extra eyes. "Gomen gomen. I'm goddess of Arcane Wisdom, it feels natural to explore in such a way. I will not spoil your fun..." she mentioned seeming to give up on her little activity but knowing by feel alone that those things could mix into something legitimately glorious.

Speaking of glorious there was a certain amount of divine justice being meted out against Ishtar as she writhed on the ground by the workings of Kur alone. Her powers extended quite a bit and it seemed that Ishtar had conveniently forgotten that making mad a person with variable powers and the knowledge to use them was a bad idea. She was screaming in agony begging for help. Ah, and this man claimed he could undo it, but he liked the look of this better?! 'He's like Gilgamesh!' what a shining thought in the mind of Ishtar, perhaps if he enjoyed her suffering he'd eventually dispatch Kur and torture her himself instead. Yes, obviously this was the supreme plan, she'd have to play along right? All the while her mind was tortured by the agony and regrets of those who still owed penance to the underworld. Kur for her part in this burned into her memory this particular scene as she felt her magic being dissipated.

Strangely enough, Sukuna had saved the goddess, just shy of the amount of mental torture that would have led to her death. Still she was left crying, really playing up her pain as she tried to garner his attention. Kur closed her eyes and exhaled a gentle breath. He was speaking to her wasn't he, the effectiveness of her power? "I made her suffer the penance of those who have died with regrets surrounding her in their hearts. Like tying their emotional pain into her body and translating it directly into physical pain... if that makes sense. If she'd been in one of those mortal forms she normally uses, she likely would have died before you stopped it... that was a pretty close call there," Kur mentioned. Looking to her side. "You have four eyes? That's an interesting choice... I mean I make a couple that people consider strange so it's pretty interesting..." she mused. "Why only four?" And just like that she moved on from the call of death magic upon Ishtar though she still hated the woman, she'd willing ignore her. "Ugh! What she wants to know doesn't matter, she should be punished for hurting me!" this was Ishtar's demand of the demon who'd summoned them. Obviously, if he could undo her magic he could actually kill her, it shouldn't be a problem at all.

Ishtar was right about one thing. With the gap between their proper selves, Sukuna could have eliminated any of the so-called goddesses in this world. Two of the specimens here, however, may have required claiming another finger or two first, but otherwise he could have rendered any of these three nonexistent. If nothing else, there could be punishment delivered... but why would he do that? For harming Ishtar? No, no, the way Kur delivered that pain was the most interesting thing Sukuna had seen since incarnating himself.

Hearing Kur explain the affliction, Sukuna became more certain of his earlier thoughts. What she utilized was closer to him than... probably anything in this world presently. She wasn't sure if her explanation made any sense, but if anyone would be able to understand it, that person was Sukuna. "Oh I get it. That's a curse. Curses come from me," he explained, leaning forward until he was uncomfortably close to the pink-haired goddess' face. There was a wide, sick grin on his own visage as she questioned the number of eyes he possessed. "Because I had two faces before this," he stated plainly. There may have been more to say regarding that, but he couldn't get over the indignance of that green-haired brat. "Oh. Right."

Erecting his posture, Sukuna paced to and fro between Kur and Ishtar. He seemed to be in contemplation about something. What was it? Well, he'd mentally gone back to a few things that had occurred thus far. "You're saying I should punish this one, who uses my magic, because you let yourself be affected by it? Why shouldn't I just kill you for being weaker? Ah, you know... fuck it. I'm a reasonable guy. I haven't done that whole 'deal with a devil' thing in this life, so go ahead. Make me an offer~" More than any other moment thus far, Sukuna appeared... giddy. This was the sort of opportunity he'd been waiting for, and based on multiple examples given by Ishtar herself today, she'd make an excellent candidate for his first deal. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong... but that was the fun of moments like this, wasn't it? The absolute carnage that could unfold based on a single moment, a single decision, a single request─ that was something the Demon Lord of Obscenity found more fun than almost anything else.

Kur explained the workings of her magic to Sukuna and the black haired woman listened as well. The girl's grasp of magic was superb by her own standards, and her ability to use the magic within her own body for such a purpose was undoubtedly good. She'd say that as far as Kur was concerned as an individual, her leaning in the grand scheme of things was a bit closer to the former Destroyer Gods than the Creators, but she somehow managed to do a fair bit of creation regardless. 'This little sister is quite interesting... I wish I could have known her when she was young,' she mused just a little. That little thought was allowed to fester as Ishtar claimed Kur should be punished for asserting herself after an argument that Ishtar herself started.

All the while, Kur had gone back to having a somewhat pleasant conversation before this moment. According to Sukuna her use of magic in this case, worked like curses. He claimed that he understood them because curses stemmed from his own existence. "Eh... I guess I remember mom saying that in the old days people had that sort of control. I suppose I borrowed them from you then. It's been quite useful to me... so thank you," she managed seemingly happy to have use of a distinguished sort of magic. Ah, and what was this about his eyes, he had two faces before this point? "Really? That sounds like it'd be useful..." she said. His build suggested he may have liked to be physically inclined being able to see in multiple directions would have been a boon in such cases, so Kur thought that to be pretty reasonable. But he didn't have two faces now... And she wouldn't get a chance to question it either.

"You really want me to be punished because you started a fight with me that you couldn't win?" A scoff escaped Kur, the audacity of what should have been her elder sister was boundless. In fact, she was certain if she had even half as much brain as she had audacity she might have actually managed to accomplish something with her obviously miserable life. And here she was about to make a grand declaration. As far as she was concerned deals with demons were easy to manage, they'd get payment and she'd get what she asked for. And given the constant high and mighty attitude of Kur the youngest of the Seven she had a doozy in mind. How dare she stand there with her head held high? How dare she look down upon her? She was the one who was chosen by all, how dare she try and twist things to make herself look good? Well no more! Obviously, this demon knew what he wanted, and now he was going to get it! "I will grant you the greatest deal. You can do whatever you wish with me, and in return I want Kur tortured for how she treated me!" she said, her own head held rather high for her to currently just have pushed herself out of the dirt again. The moment those words left her lips, she was sure Kur would suffer and was almost giddy at the thought. Meanwhile, Kur looked at this woman with a raised brow. Of all the things to ask for... why that? Meanwhile, the black haired woman had her eyes widen, did she have any idea what she'd just asked for?!

... Oh. The pink-haired one chose to thank him for curses, because they had been useful to her over time? That was new, and somewhat odd. Curses were made to torment, to cause as much suffering in the world as possible. Many a plague had been inflicted by Sukuna's own hand over the cycles, all for his entertainment and... well, he supposed the overall betterment of the world as a result. To be thanked was strange in general. Oh well.

Ishtar desired from him a form of penance delivered to Kur. In following the old ways, demands of that nature, when delivered to one's superior, required tribute. Rare was it for a demon to be anything but one's superior, so the only answer was something patented by Sukuna himself: the binding vow. Deals with the Devil, they were called in modern times. All Ishtar had to do was produce an exchange weighed in his favor, and he'd proceed to exploit the absolute hell out of it to his greater favor, and to her detriment. What she offered was... anything he wanted to do with her. Her exchange, very specifically, was that Kur be tortured. Had his influence over the world truly fallen? It should have been expected that any person making a deal like this would fall into one of two criteria.

Normally, those who fell to desperation would offer anything for the life of another, riches, fame, or something ridiculous like that. Others thought themselves capable of taking advantage with specific words and phrases in the deal. Ishtar... was neither type he'd become accustomed to. Sighing yet again, Sukuna stomped the roof they were standing on. A small crater was made by this maneuver, the rubble rising enough on one edge for Sukuna to sit atop it. "... Ehehahaha!" After a long silence, all he could do was laugh. This was the easiest deal he could ever make, and he didn't have to put an ounce of effort into it. "You'll give away your soul for me to torture that one? I'd do that for fun," he said, beckoning Ishtar in his direction with one hand. As if it were a natural occurrence, the palm of his right hand began bleeding at the center. This was a deal he'd make an old-fashioned way. "I'll torture her for what she did to you alright. I'll do that for my own sake. Go on; sweeten the deal for yourself a little."

Ishtar was always going to try and maim someone. It was simply her way... she wanted other people to suffer so that she could continue to feel better about herself. What was more, she never really expected to be denied anything she wanted. And to no one's surprise, she was given exactly what she wanted. Sukuna at her declaration laughed hysterically, and then claimed that he would torture Kur for nothing, that Ishtar should ask for something else all the while beckoning the green haired woman forward. She stumbled her way to her feet looking particularly excited by the prospect. Taller than Kur by a bit she looked down at the younger girl while she passed looking well beyond pleased to see the look on the other lass' face. Kur for her part in this didn't even seem too surprised by this, over all she was just kind of disappointed. She'd take this thought with her whenever she made it back to the underworld, and make sure that none who favored this woman ever got released within a sizable amount of time. Any who served this woman willingly deserved an extended term in the deepest depths. Ah, but when they were truly apologetic even she couldn't have done anything about it. Such a weakness to be as she was. "Great. I'm not even supposed to be here and once again the bane of my existence manages to ruin what was otherwise a good day for me," she muttered. Kur was no coward, she wouldn't run. It wasn't like torture alone would kill her... she'd suffer and go back to the underworld and maybe not leave again for a few lifetimes.

"Ohohoho, you lose again, runt!" That insult was one which would likely haunt Kur for some time to come. She'd done nothing to deserve this sort of day. "One day, you'll realize you're just miserable and everyone else will see it too..." that was all Kur had to say about it. Upon reaching Sukuna she reached out her own hand, to take his deal. "I guess if I want something else, I want to understand curses." she said those words and had the thought that she could use something like that to make easier her goal of getting to Gilgamesh. It would also make it easy for her to harm her enemies form a distance, yes, just understanding them would be way better and Kur's explanation in the earlier moment had gone in one ear and out the other. All the while that black haired woman watched. She saw the look on Kur's face and knew the lass didn't really understand, but she'd also promised not to ruin this man's fun. It was time then wasn't it. "Respectfully, I think its about time for me to bow out. It's obvious you've made your choice and out of respect for my little sister, I'd rather not watch..." she said. "Oh, and I'm Miwa... after all this is over if you have free time, either of you is welcome in my city. Not the dunce though..." she said gesturing towards Ishtar. "I wouldn't want to visit your shitty place anyway." she said turning up her nose. She'd found female run kingdoms were always annoying for her to be in anyways. All the same Kur took solace that at least all older goddesses weren't complete trash in this world. In fact, most were fine, what had gone so wrong with Ishtar?