Finis Chaldea

One final request was made, and that same request was accepted. It was a reluctant acceptance, but also an immediate one. How strange. Enkidu chuckled once more before convulsing, the fist upon Artoria's forehead opening to palm her cranium instead. "I hoped you would say that," they stated. It had long since become obvious that Artoria had healing capabilities, so while a hand was upon her head, Enkidu offered what remained of their magical energy to speed along the process. Their body was crumbling, and just as quickly dispersing into particles. "You have my thanks. If I am to become one of those cards, burn or hide me. I would have no issue with you doing one or the other, even if I were to be summoned to your service down the line. As long as he doesn't know, I don't mind." There was much more for Enkidu to say, but no time at all to say it. They could have expressed satisfaction over the battle, or even acceptance of whatever relationship this woman had with their brother. None of it could be verbalized due to Enkidu being without even physical energy by then. It would take only a few additional seconds before the green-haired friend of Gilgamesh disappeared fully, producing a card identified as Lancer to land atop Artoria's outstretched blade.

Artoria's acceptance of the final request of Enkidu was met, by an open-palming of her recently reformed cranium. She'd come to understand this sort action was something done as a sign of understanding. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad. Enkidu had done nothing to deserve his first death, and she'd handed him his second for his own honor. Even while doing something so right, she was nothing but sad to have taken such a being out of the world again. He was dispersing into particles, his body was disintegrating and he had more to say. She figured not enough had been said there was never enough time to get out everything in moments like this. "If you do not mind, I might find reason to call you to my service... be sure to answer. Sleep well..." Artoria said her goodbyes as that one tear fell from her eyes. She looked down at her sword with nothing around it anymore, and saw the card for Lancer. She now had two, one for Archer which was Gilgamesh and one for Lancer which was Enkidu. Though they had not known each other in their previous life, they would have made an incredible duo, even in the video game version of this world. How much fun they could have had had which was denied by fate. Artoria held those two cards together within her hands, they could stay side by side in her care, until such a time as they could see each other.

Both cards together, her armor dispersed and she stood and looked out over this battlefield. It was almost unrecognizable as the place she'd come to... In the middle of the night she headed back in the direction of Uruk and she'd make her way to the throne room by sunrise the next morning. She walked up those long steps, with all the dignity she had. A smile on her face no visible injuries to show for her days of combat, though admittedly she still had a rather intense headache. It would be Jeanne d'Arc who ran for her sister. And Artoria who opened her arms after planting her sword. "I swore we would not speak of them. But I took care. There were two cards I will keep both..." she said to the young woman. "I would have words with the Holy Knights later, they cannot allow cards like that to run rampant. Imagine if one of them summoned me..." she said knowing Jeanne would understand the gravity of such a situation. Jeanne looked at her sister with tears in her eyes. "That is really sad. But if you swore I will not break it either," she said carefully. "I will make sure they come to see you. I do not know what we'd do besides the same thing I did this time, if it spawned you as you could be," she said carefully. She knew her sister to be using a great amount of restraint all the time. Still, it would be sad not to share the tales of that battle with the King of Heroes. Jeanne thought her sister too selfless to agree to something like that. But the amount of care she took of the situation meant, she could not be argued with. "Siduri, I have returned. I am going for a bath and breakfast... I could use some sleep but after, I will get back to work," she said to the attendant who'd been looking after her so well. "I am happy to see your healthy return my Queen. I will prepare breakfast for after your bath," she commented. It appeared the Queen's walk had gone well enough. And with that... life would go on, within Uruk.

And so, that continuation of life went on. Seven years it lasted, and seven years, King Gilgamesh spent wandering through the Underworld with the goddess Ishtar in tow. Enkidu wished for Artoria to say nothing about their appearance as a Heroic Spirit, but in truth, Gilgamesh may have known it would occur all along. He would likely never say whether the threat he foresaw was the spiritual version of himself or Enkidu. Oh well; it hardly made a difference. Seven years he spent seeking answers. Enkidu's soul did not appear in the Underworld, nor did any answers to Artoria Pendragon's eventual fate. The more he looked, the more it seemed he would have to tear apart reality itself to return the woman. Perhaps that should have been the choice he made long ago.

Still, Gilgamesh wandered. It was nigh time for his glorious return in a very different getup than he wore at his time of death. He had changed into garments taken from the Underworld itself. He was basically without clothes, bar a pair of harem pants and shoes, a belt of gold, earings and golden chains. Gold bangles adorned his biceps and wrists, and finally, a gold necklace and strange torso cage were in place to finish the look. Ah... but there was one more thing, wasn't there? The authority of an Underworld Judge had been flowing through him all along, and he tired of it. The king had that authority funneled into a small ruby, which he'd set into a piece that rested on his forehead. "Hmph. It seems this journey has reached its end," he commented, sweeping back his hair as he did in ages past. It had been quite some time since he last set eyes on Ishtar, though she was still being dragged around and violated by Underworld souls. A hand waved almost casually, snatching the gag from her mouth for likely the first time in seven years. "You have one final chance to be useful. Tell me, is there a method of preventing a fated death from which one will be kept from Irkalla and the cycle of rebirth?"

Seven years. Artoria sat upon the throne of Uruk for seven years, mostly without incident. Aside from that first fortnight she'd managed to keep Uruk running smoothly along with the rest of Chaldea for the sake of preserving the King of Heroes' realm. In that time, she'd become much more comfortable and more aware of herself and everyone else. She'd mellowed a bit more from warlord into ruler, and she'd done it so subtly it was hardly noticeable. "Rim-Sin is still quite busy, is this whole stack truly from him?" asked the Queen of Knights as she began sorting through a pile of requests specifically from the King of Nippur. Of course, he sent them periodically but they had a pretty decent working relationship at this point. "Yes my Queen. it seems he was serious, Nippur and Larsa both seem to be flourishing now under his rule with your help," she said with a soft smile. "Other city-states also seem to be mostly without complaint," she added as Artoria worked out what was needed. Certain animals sent from one place to another. Certain crops moved at normal exchange rates. Even making sure that things that didn't need to come from the desert didn't exclusively come from there. All in all it was being taken care of, one step at a time.

At the same time, some seven years of sexual abuse later, and Ishtar had nothing truly negative to say. Her body had been abused and she'd cycled through being upset to drowning in the pure pleasure of having her body taken advantage of. It of course would have been much nicer to have the person violating her body being the King of Heroes, but if Gilgamesh would reward her good behavior in the end obviously it would be fine. She watched as he dressed appreciated his form, experienced an orgasm and by the time he pulled that garment form her mouth she had nothing initially to offer but a moan. Gone was her idea of cleanliness she was covered in the filth of the underworld and had been for so long she almost couldn't imagine her way out of it. He was giving her a chance to be helpful? Could she though? Well... no, not really. To determine fate was the right of a god, to go against that was innately human. Those who were human and tried to go against fate were considered witches. "I... uh... there is no way to prevent a fated death. Anything that wouldn't come through Irkalla does not belong in the world. Those that go against fate cannot be. Only witches will even try and they cannot be considered human," that was the truth. The last person she knew of that tried to deny fate was the girl she'd blessed years ago, and that one had done things others thought were terrible. She hadn't heard anything about her in quite a while but made the assumption she was dead or something by now. "I'm telling the truth, it was helpful, right?" she seemed to be begging. She wanted to be rewarded, she'd put up with so much already. What was he even trying to do?

Damn. After seven years of searching, and seven years of judging and questioning denizens of Kur, Gilgamesh had one final hope that Ishtar could be the one to answer his question. What was the point of that milt-covered wench of a goddess being here, if she could bring literally nothing but the exact opposite of his desire? "Witches?" he repeated with an upward inflection. Bypassing fate was the plan, regardless of what that required. Witches could not be considered human. Fine; he was not properly human himself. Ah, but Ishtar claimed witches only tried to go against the will of fate. In that case, all he had to do was surpass the abilities of witches; it would be simple enough.

Still, this information was not satisfying at all. He didn't want another thing to try; he wanted something that would work. Even the King of Heroes had to admit, however, that Ishtar had been useful in the most technical, mediocre sense. She clearly wanted praise and reward, and... oh. He'd made her a promise several years ago, hadn't he? "H'oh? I suppose you were of greater use than I anticipated. It is time I repaid you then, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically. Gilgamesh would step around to Ishtar's rear while the Chains of Heaven tightened around her every limb, throat included. The souls that flocked to her were sent away with haste, and once they were gone, Gilgamesh opened a Divine Gate just outside Ishtar's line of sight. The hilt of Ea was what emerged from that portal, taken into the king's hand with a firm grip as the weight of his gaze on the goddess became something tangible. "Go on, whore goddess. Speak your wish once more."

Artoria had her work carry on. She'd become quite used to the shifts in her days and the amount of work she had to do. She'd become used to moving around things within the kingdoms to make sure everyone got what they needed. Of course, she missed the days when combat was all that was required of her, but she figured there were worse uses of her skills than a bit of administrative work. Besides, she still stretched her legs on a daily basis. She still trained her knights, the holy knights and entertained any other random fighter she felt like it. It wasn't at all the sort of battle she'd come to love, the ones that marred landscapes and completely obliterated life, but it was fun or at least it had the possibility of being so.

Yes. Witches. There were quite a few peppering the world. Those who went against fate. Those who meddled with it directly, those too obsessed to leave well enough alone. To be a witch was to be the sort of individual that could try to fight against every known notion of the world to make a thing happen. "Yes, witches..." she said with a swift nodding of her head. Of course, she wished to be useful and helpful, if for no other reason than to be rewarded by Gilgamesh. If only he'd quit resisting her so much, he'd already be under her control. But that was fine, if he went along with what she wanted now, she'd have control over him. Use him to escape this underworld and then offer him a proper reward for his behavior thus far. Yes, that made sense within her twisted mind. She'd make sure he killed that boy-queen as well, for good measure. What was this, the chains being moved him telling her to speak her wish. Okay, she could do that... she couldn't really do anything else with the weight of his gaze upon her as it was. "I want the King's gift. I want to be rewarded. I, glorious Ishtar am the only one fit to receive the king's divine tool!" Yes, that sounded right. That was exactly what she wanted to receive him after all she had been through it was well worth it to her to get it. She may even be willing to completely forgive the indiscretion of him dragging her around for seven years in the underworld, it hadn't been a bad time.

While business ran smoothly for one Artoria Pendragon upon the throne of Uruk, one particular god, Enki, had finally made his way out of AS-IKU in search of the goddess Ishtar. She had been missing for seven years, and many of her temples had been erected in that time. Where had she gone? He expected a quick return after a brief journey, but eventually discovered her location was... the land of Kur. Knowing he couldn't get away with meeting that goddess and freeing Ishtar again, he sought other means of doing so. She had his horn, so she could call him if she were in danger, no? Indeed. With that in mind, he had to shift blame to someone. That damned King of Heroes was a prime target, as always, so Enki made his way toward the strong-walled city-state of Uruk. There he would find not the king himself, but the very young woman Ishtar expressed hatred for. She sat upon that throne looking a great deal more womanly than he'd ever seen her before, but that was a matter to be addressed later. "No brat king, eh? What a shame. Welcome my arrival regardless, mortals. I am Enki, the divine one. Do not fear the presence of a god in your midst. I have questions, which you shall answer."

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh heard the only words required of Ishtar. Ea was pulled fully from the gate which held it, and subsequently had its tip aimed at the goddess' undercarriage. "Then you will receive the one tool of this world that goes beyond divinity itself. Taste the shaft of creation with your innards, Ishtar, and know the glory you deserve!" Misleading as always, Gilgamesh decided to stand in place while prodding at her backdoor with Ea's tip. This occurred only briefly, just long enough to potentially let the confusion kick in. If Ishtar made so much as a single utterance for any purpose, she would soon find all three segments of Ea crammed into her backside with all the vigor of a proper impaling. It was... quite the satisfying thing to do, frankly.

All the way through the stack of tablets from Nippur. That was good. She always tried to get those out of the way first, just in case the King came back. No need to cause undue tension on either side of that equation. With those said she'd gone on to different matters entirely. The tablet she was now reading did not require her full attention, so imagine her surprise when her reading was interrupted. The person standing before the throne claimed to be a god, and wished to be welcomed as such. A sigh escaped Artoria as she looked up from her work and took note of the man standing before her. The Queen of Knights rather instantly found herself with a dislike of this person. "The King is out, you deal with me," these were the first words spoken by Artoria Pendragon to the god known as Enki. 'I might get to kill someone today... what say you friend?' she gave a side eye and knowing smirk to her weapon. Siduri's eyes shifted just a little. She wondered if this was really an alright meeting for the Queen of Knights. Artoria was prone to fits of temper and she might actually murder this god if she was forced to spend too much time in his presence. But Artoria had mellowed just lightly and as such she would not immediately be reaching for a weapon. "I do not have time or patience for trivialities. Nor do I offer worship to gods I do not believe in. That being said I am not a rude host, state your questions that I might answer them if I can. Then you will leave." Yes, that was about all the politeness the Queen of Knights would muster. If she found out this one had any involvement in her now two decades back discomfort she might actually attack someone today. The hilt of her blade rested against the side of the throne she could pick it up at any point and be ready for combat in less than a second. She had little to fear from a situation like this.

As for Ishtar well, she was excited. It should be said that she was thrilled. The misleading words of Gilgamesh hit her ears like music. Gone were the filth and little ones who'd clung to her form just trying to get a piece. Now she alone would be taking his divine tool into her body and laying claim to him as a whole. She'd know the glory she deserved?! Yes, that was great, and now he was prodding away at her undercarriage, finding the entry he wished to take. She noticed nothing amiss and found her body gently shifting just a little, "Yes..." she started to tell him yes. To put it where it belonged in her person, but rather suddenly her body was filled in a way most unnatural. "HUUUHGFH!!!!!!!!!!!!" An utterance that seemed inhuman almost a scream but it couldn't be counted as such. The whole of Ea was shoved into her rectum, it hurt, it was painful. But somehow she did not hate it at all. No, she was being given a divine tool, it just was not the one she sought. She was sure she was bleeding in some way. Sure her body would break apart from such a violent entry, so why did she like it?

Ah, so the King of Heroes' filth had taken another one, had it? It certainly seemed so, given this mortal woman's attitude upon receiving Enki's introduction. Oh well. Enki didn't care much if this one served as other mortals did just yet. That could all come with time, but first would come the answers to his questions. Interestingly enough, she seemed willing to acquiesce to at least that. Enki moved forward with swagger in his steps, ever so slowly approaching the stairs to the throne. "I will leave when I please, and I may even forgive you overstepping your mortal authority, depending on how things go. Where has the boy, Gilgamesh? I have reason to believe he has assaulted Celestia and taken one of my sisters to Kur. If he's gone, I do wonder if he's been taken with her."

In the meantime, there were two sounds resonating throughout the Underworld. One was the outcry of Ishtar, and the other... "Fuhahahaha!" Indeed, it was the laughter of King Gilgamesh ringing out into the depths. In this particular case, he was more than willing to sully one of his most important treasures. In felling Ishtar, it served a divine purpose indeed. Now, what would he do once it was inserted? For starters, he would pass judgment on what seemed to be Ishtar's... enjoyment? How unsightly. "Lowly goddess, do you not know agony? To scream no differently than the mongrels I've bedded, the moniker of strumpet may even be too kind for the likes of you." With that said, Gilgamesh put Ea into action properly. Three segments it had, and three segments would begin rotating in opposing fashion while lodged in the goddess' anus. It would begin slowly, gaining rapidity as the seconds passed. Eventually, it would reach the velocity that began producing the winds of creation around it. "And now, it is time I kept my other promise. Shall I tell you a tale, harlot?"

Oh? This god called Enki said words which made Artoria's brow twitch and her eyes widen. He also rather casually swaggered over towards her throne. Did he realize he was stepping into strike range? Did he not care? She looked on this supposed god from the top of the throne she sat upon and wondered if he truly understood the kind of person she was. Obviously, he did not. If he did he would not have walked so close to her, he would not have put himself in strike range and he would not have tried to tell her what he would or wouldn't be doing when he was in her presence. She'd overstepped no Authority. While Gilgamesh was gone, there was no higher Authority than her own. "The audacity of those that call themselves gods in this world really should not surprise me, but I do not have words. Perhaps the number of temples I toppled was too few," she said this after hearing the first part of his sentences. This man was working himself up to facing a crusade, if Artoria felt annoyed enough and she was well on her way to that already. He wanted to know where Gilgamesh had gone, she was a knight and was holding to her Chivalry so she would answer his questions to the best of her ability. "I know not where the King is. I have not seen him in seven years," that was not a lie she could not be sure at this point. "I would hope he would not have done something like assaulting Celestia... without me. I would enjoy the exercise," she said without missing a beat. Siduri coughed just lightly, the Queen of Knights seemed to enjoy sacrilege. Moreover she did not believe the man standing before her was anything more than someone looking for a lost toy. She'd have no real commentary for him after such a moment and would go back to her reading soon after. "I have seen no goddesses and if I had depending on what they named themselves I might not have had anything pleasant to say or do as a reaction. Those are the best answers I can give to your inquiries," Artoria finished her sentences and felt a bit relieved. She'd gotten through the whole of that conversation without breaking Chivalry. it was damned difficult given how annoying the gods of this world made themselves.

That loud moan of Ishtar's and the laughter of Gilgamesh echoed in the underworld. Ishtar herself couldn't have held an explanation for what she enjoyed, even so, the now spinning of that tool within her rear was something else entirely. It hurt in a way that made her think of death. It was not pleasant and what was more the King was picking on her reactions. But he'd done this to her. Did it mean that he liked her? Surely he was enjoying himself right? He was laughing after all. He was going to tell her a tale? As that spinning started it was building a strange pressure within her body. Was it orgasmic? Maybe... regardless she had no words to offer the man now, only strange sounds from her mouth and body as she experienced something unlike anything she'd felt before. Was she going to die, while orgasming from this massive tool buried in her rectum, was this something she'd enjoy? As winds kicked up within her, maybe not? That was pain, true pain... unrecognizable agony.