Finis Chaldea

Control of that nigh-empty shell had switched with a single command, a single spell of three wasted. What came of it? Enki didn't seem too bothered. It was such a pitiful choice to come bearing Command Seals against him, especially when he still had three to use. Ah, but more important things were happening away from Enki at present, and that was the casual chat between Gilgamesh and his stilled queen. She wanted the filth washed away, after having it forced upon her? Of course, there was but one way to do so. "Then I say unto you again, as I did long ago: look upon my golden majesty!" With that said, the shield brought from Gilgamesh's treasury vanished... and so did his clothes. Every article, every metal, every jewel disappeared from the King of Heroes' body in a bright display of golden light. He stood before Artoria Pendragon in his prime, even more glorious than he'd been the day they met. The glow of his perfection did not recede, but such was the light of perfection renewed and maintained. He'd not been returned from a long journey; his journey had only been taken when the moment of victory was upon him. "Bathe your eyes in my light, Queen of Knights, and burn it into your retinas until all other things become ash!"

Enki suddenly seemed quite displeased─ enough that he rose from the throne and began yelling. Why had he done this? Well, the bare form of Gilgamesh was not only something he didn't deserve to witness; it was something he certainly didn't want to see. Who the hell made that partial mortal?! Whatever the case, he was still the clear victor here by simple mathematics. The first of Enki's seals was used with rage. "Stop that! Every part of you is my plaything; don't even look at him for another second!"

A casual conversation was a bit more than that to a clever person. To Nanshe it was like watching two people dance casually around each other while no one else in the room was allowed to interrupt. She'd participated in such dances herself, those moments of eye contact and closeness that only came with understanding on both sides. The golden form of Gilgamesh was bared before Artoria and upon realizing the intention of the King of Heroes, Nanshe rather casually found somewhere else to look. Artoria Pendragon did not look away however. Much like the first time she'd seen him she stared, but unlike that first time she wasn't staring impassively. That bright light and golden form, those perfect features and muscles, that divine tool he was so sure belonged to her alone that she was still only barely capable of fathoming... all of that spawned a single thought in the head of the Queen of Knights, 'Mine.' Her heart beat sped up for the first time in over a thousand years, a deaf man could have heard it beating in her chest. Oh? When had she gotten so possessive over the King of Heroes? She supposed it'd been quite a while since she started referring to him as her own.

Ah, but of course she wouldn't be allowed to gaze even as she used that light to guide her up from the depths of her consciousness. She'd only just reached the doors... her mouth opening as if to say something cheeky when a forcible command was activated. She wasn't to look? Every part of her was his plaything? Do not even look at him for another second?! 'The audacity of this thing... to speak to me in such a way...' she mused. So close to the surface yet so far away. The hideousness of the visage of his nudity was at least gone, replaced by the shining glory of Gilgamesh. Her eyes closed in the moment. That order was it being followed? One might think so... but a sigh escaped the Knight-Queen as the light still shined even behind her eyelids. It truly was burned into her retinas. She'd have to make sure she gave his body the same attention she gave all the tools at her disposal. "I am not yours! I have made it abundantly clear you cannot have me. I swore it on my honor and that has not changed!" her eyes opened and there was such burning fire in them, so much that they were almost clear again. Her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword, perhaps today was the day she'd personally fell a god.

Gilgamesh could see the shifting. Every little tremble of the eyes was something caught by his own, even as they closed in the wake of Enki's command. There was something new on the horizon of this encounter. It seemed the willful spirit of one Artoria Pendragon was beginning to go beyond Enki's command seals, and even that pendant. In seeing the expression of detest upon Enki's face, Gilgamesh snorted. Did he not think this would be a loss easily handed to him? Gilgamesh had not even wasted his second Command Seal as intended, leaving them matched by number once more. "H'oh? So quick to proclaim what you are not, yet so slow to declare what you are. Perhaps I should take it upon myself to have a bit of fun? Tell me, what is it you truly crave?" he questioned, wasting an entire Command Seal as if to ensure an answer was given. Seeing this, Enki was once again sent directly into a fit of rage. This woman could not deny him. He'd now have to show her what happened when she thought she could. "Tch! Enough of these stupid games. Woman, shut yourself away again! I won't have your annoying side bleed through any longer!" Enki demanded, burning through the second of three seals. In such a brief exchange, four total Command Seals had been spent on a single body. Whether this had an effect or not seemed to concern neither of the males, but Enki harbored the thought that he would know victory if Gilgamesh used his final seal first. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh stood with full confidence in his full birthday suit. Nothing was going amiss in his plan. In fact, things were going exceptionally well.

The King of Heroes would take it upon himself to have fun? Had Artoria been too quick to proclaim what she was not? Well no. She'd been saying exactly that for ages. Her last lingering thought in a thousand years, was simply that Enki could never have her. Her virtues were for herself and whoever she chose to give them to, and to put it simply he was not worthy of her. A wasted command on a question? Such a simple thing, but the King of Heroes was no less indulgent than he always was. "What I crave is what belongs to me..." Artoria would not even be allowed to finish a sentence before she was being barked at again. Enki was the lowest of dogs to get between her and what she was trying to do. Obviously all this thing wanted was a death but none too swiftly. Enki wished for her to shut herself away again. Would she? Well, her voice had already stopped. Enki did not like being denied, it made him angry that she would not comply with the later parts of is plans. It upset him beyond reason that she would not allow him to have his way with her truly. He responded like a spoilt child being told no at every turn.

She could almost push past the fog, she was so very close to escaping this darkness. Ugh, she did not wish to delve deeper into herself she wanted to burst free. She wanted this false god punished for his offenses against her, and then she wanted the one thing she'd been waiting a thousand years for, her King of Heroes. Artoria's eyes opened again and they shifted towards Gilgamesh. She'd been told not to look, but that simply wasn't going to happen not really. She cast her eye towards him as easily as she held onto Excalibur. It was almost second nature to her to steal such a glance after so long. Why was he so confident standing around stark naked... why did she enjoy that? 'I will be released from this fog, you joyless cur. And when I am I will have what I am owed,' There was still light in those eyes of hers. She was just at the door. It was like watching part of her personality peek out just at the eyes. That little burning fire of hers would not be extinguished. She could almost reach out, she sincerely wanted to, in truth she wanted nothing more than to clean her face and be wrapped up in the King of Heroes arms...

All the while there were a great many things Enki had yet to notice. Like the fact that Artoria hadn't replied directly to any order he'd given since Gilgamesh had made his proclamation. What was more she couldn't be certain the lass was actually following the orders being laid down by either of these men. If he wasn't on the verge of a tantrum that would make Ishtar proud, he probably would have noticed that Artoria's hand had not lost grip on the hilt of her sword and that those eyes of hers, kept taking subtle glances at the King of Heroes, and were still filled with fire. That one had a warrior's spirit, how dare Enki try to suppress her? He was a war god, Artoria was the kind of person who should have been adored and doted upon by an entity with his authorities.

Half a clause given, and silenced immediately. Oh well. The answer itself was of little importance to Gilgamesh, for he knew what it would be eventually regardless. Enki, however, would soon learn beyond a shadow of a doubt. "Pitiful. I came thinking to play a little game, but a tugging match is not to my taste," Gilgamesh stated as the final seal faded on his hand. "The rest?" he continued. When this act was performed, Enki found himself wondering how the demigod king could be so foolish. What was the point of wasting his precious seals on something so insignificant? Arrogance would get the best of him, and it would all begin with Enki's laughter.

"We relied on you to keep our place in the world?! Really? This is not war! You could have at least tried to make me expend the last seal before using yours, but now here we are... with me as the victor in this little 'game' you speak of. I could just have her kill you now." Enki's tirade and laughter warranted nothing but a raised brow from the King of Heroes. Ah... this was another time his arrogance was a matter of assumption, when in fact, it was sheer certainty. The three Command Seals he wore refreshed in unison, much to the god's surprise. In that same moment, the kingly garbs he acquired roughly a thousand years before appeared on his body. "H'oh? The gods have no memory, I see. Was it not Gilgamesh who acquired all treasures in this world? Is it not Gilgamesh who walked into your temple, needing none of these silly spells you use to break your pitiful little curse? I did say this was a game," the king announced, prodding Enki to consume his final seal. "Be silent! You, kill him now!" he ordered. Gilgamesh crossed his arms, his jovial demeanor disappearing as the more normal demanding nature returned. No further seals were used; he merely began yelling in a manner that could almost be considered his trademark. "How long do you intend to keep me waiting? I will not stand idly by for another millennium, Artoria Pendragon!"

Artoria found herself being tugged back and forth between commands. Neither of which she was answering at all. Right at the door the King of Heroes wanted his answer, and compelled it forth with the last command seal. She was honor bound to answer his honesty. She was about to open her mouth to speak again, when rather suddenly Enki was talking again. Did little dogs ever stop yapping? She could only wonder. Right at the moment she found herself incapable of getting in a word in edgewise against these two rather annoying people. Only one of these men was she willing to accept such a thing from, and even from him, she was annoyed. Enki was goaded into using the last of his command seals. After the King of Heroes returned his clothing to their place on his body. Artoria could not help but look at him now amazed and almost befuddled. He truly did look great in that attire.

Oh right, she was being ordered to kill the King of Heroes, under a command even?! A final push was necessary but she'd make it this time. That shining light at the end of a tunnel her grip on her sword tightened and it was brought up, pointing directly at Enki instead of anyone else. But her eyes those, were for the King of Heroes alone. He would not wait another millenia, she would not make him. "SHUT UP!" that was the first thing said and it was a command of epic proportions for both Enki and Gilgamesh in the technical sense. All she wanted to do was say what she needed to say. "I do not remember giving you permission to refer to me so freely," she said her mind was free of that darkened fog. She could see nothing but the light of him, this man she'd chosen as annoying as he was to her. She'd been waiting too, she hoped he realized. "Granted as the only one worthy of me, the one these eyes have been waiting to see is the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh... I suppose I can at least allow him the indulgence," she said a cheeky smirk on her face. "And if the desire to send him to the afterlife by my hand arises, it will not be because some untrained puppy pretending to be god demanded it of me! And if I do kill you, Gilgamesh you better return more swiftly than the last time or your second death will be carried out, expeditiously upon your return!" That was it. What a strange way to declare love. Well, Nanshe looked at the pair and she supposed for one of the Hoshimi that was about a ringing endorsement. A better sentiment probably could not exist in this world.

Well, if nothing else, one thing was certain to bring Artoria Pendragon back to her senses. Above all other potential solutions, she could always be annoyed until she exploded. Good. With her sudden outburst, the game had come to an end. Ah, but of course her words of dissatisfaction were for Gilgamesh no less than Enki. Surely she didn't think she had room to order him around─ especially in her current predicament. The indirect confession would be noted, but her ire was none of his concern. He could look away from her now. To do just that, he stepped forward until his treks carried him beyond the Queen of Knights, where he faced only Enki. Now, finally... he could let himself boil over. "To speak as if you could fell me is enough of an offense. Do not add to it the presumption that you are allowed demands in your current state."

There were numerous problems in the throne room of Ishval. This unexpected turn of events could not be recovered from via strategic retreat; he could sense that much. Eventually, he would have to deal with far more than these two alone. Wait... no, it wasn't even two. There were three? One of them was the former Metis, he believed. This was not very good at all, but if he was to be backed into a corner, he would not cower. "Really, you think thi─" "Silence!" The King of Heroes spoke only once to interrupt Enki's speech. As his eyes glowed golden, he seemed to have robbed the god of his ability to speak. "The game is over; didn't you hear? There are crimes to be answered to, and it will be done with your body." Before Enki could manage even a movement, or any method of quick assault on one of these three, his limbs were bound by the Chains of Heaven emerging from Divine Gates at his own rear. He regained the ability to speak in a matter of moments, but another chain wrapped around the god, its links passing between his open lips as his head became constricted as well. "Hmph. It seems gagging gods is becoming something of a habit for me. Oh well. I will take my time with this one."

Beyond the walls of this temple, he could hear the outcry of a thousand warriors, and of a thousand innocents deemed guilty of the ultimate crime. Gilgamesh stepped in tandem with the screams, approaching Enki as several dozen golden swords appeared around him. One came directly to the king's hand as he climbed the long staircase. What he intended to do upon arrival, was slowly bury one sword after another into the damnable deity's body. . .

Oh, she was not allowed to speak of felling him in a moment like this. She supposed she did look like a Star Wars reject captive, the Queen of Knights would hardly believe herself if she wasn't currently sure. "Hmphf, it was a warning," she said, knowing she hadn't been demanding anything. Right, there were things she needed to do for herself. Sword in hand a gentle ripping would be heard as she pulled at the lower ends of that ridiculous ensemble she'd been forced into. A clean strip of cloth and that water from Dozmary Lake which was poured down first her sword arm, because Excalibur deserved to not be touched by such unclean and unworthy hands and then herself. Water ran over the Queen of Knights' face washing away the filth left there by this disgusting man. Wiped away and tossed to the side, she felt quite a bit better. Though generally unbothered by everything she truly wished for a nice bath and some clothes more suited to her tastes. "I am sorry about that friend. When I have my bath... you can accompany me as well. I have missed you after all," Artoria's relationship with her sword was very strange indeed, but now being free of at least the immediate filth she could feel better about herself. And watch with wide expressive eyes as Gilgamesh slayed a god. The Queen of Knights was far from squeamish in fact there were parts of her soul that enjoyed killing more than anything else. And the death of Enki was one she looked forward to, for a number of earned reasons. His torture was a King's decision and well deserved by her own account, she would not argue about it.

The cries of thousands of lives rang out as they were judged and dying by actions taking place all around. The three inside this place knew what would come of the man known as Enki even if he was not certain of it already. Each one connected to Enki's selfishness was causing something strange to happen around Nanshe. Within her hand a giant arrowhead was forming and it seemed to gain an intensity of spikey protrusions for every scream occurred. Nanshe was tallying vengeance accumulating it into herself for everyone who died by being connected to this man. Every crime committed every island sacrificed to take the Queen of Knights, every innocent killed because this island had to fall. All of it. Chain Links were connecting and as her body took on this hatred, red lines erupted on her face and chest. She'd allow Gilgamesh his punishment but the world demanded the lives of those he sacrificed for his selfish goals be avenged. Whenever he was done with his punishments in the moments before Enki's death settled, she would be ready to force that chain spear up through his chin and out the top of his head, that was the plan.

Just as Gilgamesh declared, time would not be passing quickly. Slowly did he insert every blade around him into Enki's body. Screams were muffled around the Chains of Heaven, but Gilgamesh was focused on the god's eyes and how they danced with every insertion. Steps of lapis lazuli and clear crystal were stained red with running blood. Unbothered, Gilgamesh continued stabbing every possible inch of Enki's body, leaving intact only his head and core. How many minutes passed? Many. At least in the mind of Gilgamesh, and even in the mind of Enki, there was a second of thrusting blade for every year that passed. Gilgamesh didn't find it within himself to stop until he could no longer hear the screams from outside. "Ten," he said in that very moment. As he said when their group arrived, only nine would stand in Ishval by the time they were done. Many had been reduced to ten with the inclusion of Enki, so there was only one life left to take. Many minutes had passed, and now an eternity of hell would begin for the fallen god.

"How many seconds of eternity? Until time turns on itself and the universe is reborn a thousand times more, I order your suffering. I will not end you. Instead... I will be seeing you very soon." Those golden eyes of Gilgamesh's told only truth. He'd come to terms with Nanshe claiming Enki's life at the end, but... he was a Judge of the Anunnaki. What was another vacation to the Underworld to ensure another job was done properly? After all, he already had to sort through those who were slain for the crime of... well, essentially having functional eyes and living in Ishval at the time. "Nanshe," he stated while taking a single step away from Enki, whose eyes continued to tremble after hundreds of piercings. With only a name, he gave the Goddess of Wisdom clearance to do as she desired. Still, he didn't seem satisfied at all. Perhaps satisfaction would come some time later, when this was truly brought to an end.

A slow and agonizing punishment was coming for Enki and none present could even feel pity for the man. Nanshe for her part in this, could have only felt for her brother before the moment where he started interfering so hard in the lives of these mortals. The thing that ate away at him, was something which was obvious to her, it always had been. She supposed it became no more obvious than his feelings surrounding the Chains of Heaven. Those trembling eyes of his were noticed by the red haired woman but she had no real comfort to offer, after the count of ten and the step back of Gilgamesh, the end of that flowering chain shot outwards. It lodged itself straight up through his jaw and from below and through his brain, only after that did she aim to pierce his core as well, the movement of that chain coiling up and dragging out with them the Authorities which she would take from this man as his life ended. Though it would only end when every link one for each of those lives passed through his body... that was what it meant to be a spirit of vengeance. "The Authority of Justice, ones claimed from Enlil and those unneeded by one such as you..." she said carefully as the chain returned to her. When Enki died the count would be nine. What a stupid man she was... she had a realization when piercing his core, that it did not just belong to him... as disgusting as the idea of it was, his core was being shared with another. Given the state of this place and the type of thing he'd been trying to do, she was fairly certain that he was sharing his core with Ishtar. And while Ishtar couldn't front the blame of this whole thing, she was at least partly responsible for the level of depravity Enki fell to, disgusting.

And soon after the woman known as Nanshe who had officially just killed her brother began more proper work. Those Authorities that she did not herself claim would be channeled through her own Authority that of Wisdom. The serpent around her arm swallowed them whole, moving them about to the places they wished to go through the infinite space of its body. That was the right thing to do, and when it was done she could only rotate her shoulders. That chain disappeared and so did the marks on her body, "Thank you, Gandr. You were a big help~" she said while petting the serpents head. Artoria looked at that creature and felt the smallest tingle of aggression. But after watching one of the most gruesome deaths she'd witnessed on this side of the world, she seemed pretty decently satisfied by the sight. Her eyes had never left Gilgamesh during this entire time, she felt like it was satisfactory enough to watch someone else seem to enjoy a kill as much as she would have, though admittedly the King of Heroes seemed a bit discontent.