Finis Chaldea

[Bloodedge]

Sacrilege in bursts? "Perish the thought!" Gilgamesh said giddily. "There will be no more sacrilege. Soon, there will be no gods standing in humanity's way. The closest thing to a god for the people of this world will be none other than me, Gilgamesh! Fuhaha!" Perhaps there was a bit of sacrilege in the king's speech, but he fully intended to do away with the gods' reign. Whether they were displaced or simply locked in their realm of Celestia for all eternity, he didn't care. Only one had managed to spare herself from his ire, and that one had done so very much indirectly.

As the event of felling the White Titan came to a close, the gods above were discussing... apparently their own fate. Kur followed in the footsteps of her sister Metis, it seemed. Meanwhile, Enki remained indifferent to the overall plight of their family. With Atlantis standing strong in spite of its presence in Chaldea, he hadn't a single worry. "Atlantis answers to no one but me. As long as it stands, and as long as people keep dying, you and I won't get stuck here like the other four. We could start a religion of our own if that happens~" Enki said jovially. As far as he was concerned, the council of the gods was no more, and there was nothing to be done about it. They were all best off cutting their losses and taking advantage of whatever they could while everything fell apart. "Speaking of Ishtar, where have she and Enlil run off to now?" he asked, though he didn't seem to care very much at all.

[Apollymi]

"Oh? Well, who am I to interrupt another's spring cleaning..." Artoria said shrugging off the man's behavior. She only had issue with one who would call themselves a divine. No matter what, she tended to only offer violence to those who offended. Regardless she eventually found that piece of Excalibur and with both it and its lower half in her hands she made her way over to a shallow and empty sinkhole. It would be here, she poured the water from that crystal phial and sent over to the other side of the world, given the nature of these waters her broken copy of Excalibur. In the same moment Artoria took a deep breath and prepared herself for her elder sister's ire. This would happen almost instantly, as the Lady of the Lake emerge from a puddle with nothing but ire, in her eyes and the two sides of Excalibur in her hands. "What the fuck is this?! How? How did you do this?!" she exclaimed looking at Artoria who managed to look completely passive. At the same time, Jeanne called out across the battlefield. "Language!" Much to Vivian's dismay. "No. Not today, did you see this? This is a holy sword, a relic. 14,000 years old you uncultured savage. How did you break it?!" Vivian was furious and though Artoria was stoic in her face, beneath the surface of her person, she was laughing hysterically. Getting under her older sister's skin was normally such a hard thing to do. Aloof and often full of chiding advice it was nice to see her so worked up, at least once in a while. "I used it. It broke. Fix it." Yes, short answers, would only serve to infuriate the Lady of the Lake. "I am an artificer not a miracle worker!"

The words that came from Enki made Kur shake her head. He seemed to be on a bit of a spiral lately. She normally was only one to judge those who acted against her directly, but refusing to admit something so simple was almost suicidal in the modern climate. If he truly gained the ability to be worshipped as a godking... he acted as if he didn't know that he could be slain like everyone else. Whatever, she'd given all the advice she was going to. Kur wasn't Metis, she wouldn't simply talk until her head fell off. "I am not interested. People shouldn't worship death," she said that with a curt nod. "They need only accept it." Yes that was the way Kur considered herself. Because of this she didn't have a problem of followers or anything like that. As for the whereabouts of the others. "I have not seen Enlil in quite a while. I figured he was keeping to himself now. As for Ishtar, she's been trapped up here since the destruction of her temples. I assume she is up there watching the mortals she finds amusing..." she said giving a casual shrug. "Anyway, if there is nothing else, I am returning to the Underworld." Kur's words were final and with nothing else she'd disappear from this room wrapped in shadows the same as she'd arrived.

[Bloodedge]

The send-off of Excalibur did not come without a strange turn of events. Shortly after the broken blade was slipped into the waters, the Lady of the Lake herself emerged in a fit of rage. What sort of problem was she having down there? Apparently, the weapon being broken was quite the issue for her. During Gilgamesh's descent, he snorted. That thing, Excalibur, was broken as any tool would be. He could agree with Artoria's rebuttal undoubtedly. Weapons were to be used until there was no further use of them, and then, they were to be either replaced or repaired. Why did the Lake Fairy have gripes to offer? "You are Fae, are you not? One should consider the Lady of the Lake as close as possible to those who originally forged that blade." Gilgamesh spoke while his eyes were trained on no one in particular. In fact, he gazed quizzically at the space previously inhabited by the White Titan. There was a furrow to the brow above those glowing eyes as he continued speaking. "Take that blade into your lake, and see it repaired. If it is an extensive matter of time, have another made. One would not see the Queen of Knights without her Holy Sword." In these words, there was deeper meaning. The king could see a future threat as a result of this battle's outcome, and for it, Excalibur would once again be a desired thing to have on hand. That eventual future was nothing he cared to discuss presently, though. There was victory to bask in; all things in the distant future were to be saved for another day. . .

As for things saved for another day, it appeared Enki would have to hold off on his plan to bring Kur along to Atlantis. What a shame; she could have saved herself from that boring old Underworld. He'd been thinking of inviting the others along as well, but half of them weren't even here in this meeting. Enlil could never be found unless he wished to show himself, what with his disappearing pocket dimension or whatever it was. As for Ishtar, perhaps she could be located. There was nothing else to see here anyway. "Fine, fine. I'll also be leaving, before I start growing a meter-long beard," the god declared while hopping out of his chair. He supposed then, he'd be headed upstairs to find Ishtar. Sin would neve say a thing, and Anu would be busy trying to keep Celestia as it was. Ishtar had about a thousand issues, but she could at least provide several forms of entertainment, and had no reason to reject his offer. So, he'd go out in search of the goddess already trapped in this realm. . .

[Apollymi]

"Come now Fae Princess, you cannot be this upset." Artoria managed, though she was still more than a bit bemused. Her sister was always like this, pretending not to care about anything, but then being exceedingly upset at the most random things. Here and now it wouldn't just be Artoria pushing her buttons it was the King of Heroes as well. Since when were they so close to being on the same page? "Yes I am Fae, but that is not the point!" she claimed. Of course, she knew it was possible she'd have to repair this blade, but it was still rather annoying to have to do it now. Still the words of the King of Heroes gave the older of the Hoshimi children a bit of pause. If he saw into the futures so well, he should know she was busy. "I plan to, I am just busy and she is always like this!" claimed Vivian who could just see the smug amusement behind the eyes of her sister and it only made her furious. "Busy with what? I am raising your children!" Artoria said with near outrage in her voice at the audacity of her sister. A deep breath from Vivian ensued. "Fine. Point made, I am still furious but you are right. I have been abusing you for free childcare. Just take better care of your weapons, please. It is complicated getting such relics from one place to another..." said Vivian. She sank into the puddle thereafter but not without sticking up her middle finger at her younger sister. "Bite me, Fae Princess." And just like that the commotion settled down. Artoria rolled her shoulders, that was fun. Killed a new thing, argued with her sister, broke another sword. The world seemed to want her to have a bit of a good time.

It seemed that all were gone from this room except for the Mother and Father and then after even a few minutes the mute woman stood and began to walk away from this room. She hadn't been capable of liking being around this man in quite a while, for several reasons not the least of which having to do with his wayward eye. There was no way she'd have a meaningful conversation with him now. In the meantime, Ishtar was pacing around her temple, scheming. She had to figure out a way to get down a level. She needed to be able to send monsters or men or something to attack that cutesy boy princess. She had to keep her away from the object of her affections. He was supposed to be hers, no one else could have him. It didn't matter what he thought he wanted he should and would want her if she removed all other distractions. That is how it always worked. Even that sheep herder had eventually done his part to make sure she rose again. The King of Heroes should acknowledge his place beneath her and acknowledge her as his one and only Queen and Goddess. Then and only then could he have happiness. And she'd be sure he didn't find it at all before then.

[Bloodedge]

The Lake Fairy was... busy, as she put it. Gilgamesh actually had no clue what constituted as business to one such as her. It was surely not something that could affect him, so he'd never care to look. Simply put, she had the ability to make something happen, so the responsibility for doing so would forever be on her. "You being Fae is precisely the point! You have a matter of weeks to fix this issue," he demanded. What he foresaw was close─ too close. The Lady Vivian took her leave, and Gilgamesh was content to let her depart with that information. Things would be quite tedious without Excalibur in the near future. Now then, their victory was behind them, and a new thing ahead. What he desired earlier in this day, or rather... six days before, had been ruined. What would he do about that? Well, he'd leave the matter to Artoria herself. Whatever her intentions, he would go about the normal day-to-day. This event was sure to result in a thousand more tablets making their way to the ziggurat. "Tch."

Meanwhile, Enki was climbing the quarts stairs of Celestia en route to Ishtar's chambers. He'd been doing so well for himself as of late, he thought to enter without so much as a knock. Swaggering his way right in, the divine male even had his eyes closed and a confident grin upon his face. Would he wait for acknowledgement before speaking? Absolutely not. Today, he was victorious. He alone had a method of furthering his (or their) survival at the end of an age, and he alone wielded the sort of thing Ishtar happened to be seeking. "Oh Ishtar~! I hear you've encountered quite the problem. Your king had some little girl ruining all your temples, and you are now the first to be stuck in Celestia? You're in luck. I've come with an offer you can't refuse."

[Apollymi]

Whatever Vivian was busy with, was going to be put on hold while she fixed Artoria's weapon. What was this, she'd need it in a matter of weeks. Ugh, that wasn't nearly enough time for her to reforge Excalibur properly. She'd have to make another one and that was going to be difficult. She paced around in her own lake thinking about the necessity of fixing the old blade and forging the new. Without Mystery in the world, it was impossible to make a blade with the strength and size of Excalibur. It would be unwieldy for the small girl if nothing else. Whatever, she'd have to make due until the re-forging process was finished. And as far as she knew, such a thing would take at least seven years. 'If I put everything I have into it, I can make her a second one in seven days. But it will also set me back on my other project the same amount of time...' she thought. Looking down at a small box which contained the personality of a certain female Knight, taken without her consent during the night of the celebration of Artoria's Ascension. It was tough being the sort of person she was, fine. She was the big sister. She'd make it happen.

Moving on, there were now several matters to attend to. Much like Gilgamesh Artoria saw her problems as six days past, though a nagging annoyance set at the back of her mind. She had plenty to do with her own Kingdom between now and then. Her eyes cut to the King of Heroes for a moment and she remembered everything of their passing time together. She didn't experience regret so much as she experienced shock at her own actions. What had possessed her to think she was ready for such a thing? And why did she still find herself staring at this man periodically? She needed someone to explain this to her, and maybe to get some advice, work up her nerve? Now that she was sobering she definitely didn't have it anymore. Oh and she was unarmed now... that wasn't helping at all. She couldn't help that sideways glance which came with a touch of appraisal on her part. She needed to stop, someone actually might mistake her for a school girl. Where was her dignity? She'd force it here and now. "I am going. I have preparations to make and there is the matter of my nagging knights and my now six day absence to take care of. I will see you, when I raise Albion, King of Heroes." That was her final word on it. That would likely give her more than enough time to work up her nerve and figure out how she felt.

Meanwhile, there was a green haired, green eyed goddess who knew exactly how she felt. Jealous that such an insiginificant little girl had the adoration of the King of Heroes. Surely, it was simply misguided. It was now Ishtar's life work to get rid of the Queen of Knights and make it so Gilgamesh knew she was the only one who could accept his gifts. It would be pointed to realize that she did not love this man nor feel for him particularly. She was attracted to his physical form and wanted all of his love, attention and adoration as well as access to everything he had. He was truly the King of the World and she wanted him to figure out how to get rid of the remaining gods and give her the rest of Heaven and to go along with her need to have everything. But she wanted to do nothing, but sit around and do what she wanted in the meantime. Why did no one get this? Speaking of being ogled the audacious Enki entered her temple no knocking eyes closed and seeming to be smug as all get out. That sort of attitude was normally appealing but Enki was never truly attractive to her, for whatever reason. "That is a boy. It hardly matters," she said her own nose turned up in the air. "If you have something to say make it quick I am busy," she said haughtily, crossing her arms under the ridiculous mounds which were her breasts. Truly she was only busy scheming against her very concept of influence, but it didn't matter, as giving too much attention to one like Enki without him actually being able to provide anything of worth would be annoying.

[Bloodedge]

Yes, leaving matters to the Queen of Knights was the best course of action. Of this, Gilgamesh was certain. He'd done enough pushing, enough proving his intentions. None of that would matter if he only continued pushing until she gave up. A bit of leeway was to be given, all to ensure Artoria made the decision herself, rather than let herself be broken. No shell of a woman could truly call herself Queen of the World. Alas, what was she to do with this freedom? She'd announce her leave right away. How very... annoying. He would not oppose this decision, even though he was visibly displeased. Oh well. Another chance would present itself on one side or the other. He'd see her whenever Albion was risen, he supposed. Nothing more had to be said about the matter.

As for events occurring within Celestia, Ishtar was none too pleased with Enki's entrance. He didn't really seem to care; he finally had the advantages he sought for so long. Even the partial mortal Gilgamesh would mean nothing to him soon enough. Enki's eyes opened and fell upon the green-haired goddess, wasting no portion of his gaze on anything but her impeccable physique. "You can't be too busy. There's nothing you can do but sit here," he countered. Right away, Enki sauntered his way over to the goddess' throne. He did not intend to waste any time, but he was quite thoroughly enjoying himself for having such a leg-up on all of Celestia. "To keep it simple, my influence over my empire is greater than any god's influence has ever been. That little king and the boy-queen you hate so much are going to either take down Celestia directly, or cut all influence it has over the world eventually. If that happens, only Kur and myself will be able to get out of here... and you two don't seem to get along very well at all. Ah, but I miss those temples of yours with all their curvaceous statues. I could spread your name all across an empire in Chaldea, for the right price~♪"

[Apollymi]

Artoria would return to her duties, because she needed to. She also figured Gilgamesh would do much the same. She felt strangely about leaving him... but she also wasn't sure she was in the right headspace to make the decision to stay. Obviously, it was the best decision to withdraw. She needed to strategize, get more information, learn for herself what it was to 'like' someone in the sense she figured she'd started liking the King of Heroes. Maybe then, she could interact with him better. As she walked off she began to wonder, when had she started to care about how she interacted with the King of Heroes? Truly Artoria Pendragon was out of her depth and unsure of herself in a moment like this. Even in the wake of a great victory she needed to figure out herself.

Ishtar was quite used to men's gazes being locked upon her like Enki's currently was. If the King of Heroes had any sense he would be looking at her as such and would have claimed her already. Yes, she wouldn't have allowed him to claim all of her, but not many in any realm could say they'd had the pleasure of bedding the Queen of Heaven. That was title held by the few, a few of which Enki was obviously trying to weasel himself into. "Yes, it isn't like I wish to have pointless conversation either. I'd rather watch the mortals play..." she said scoffing. This man was something of an annoyance. He was never very big and Ishtar often wondered if his attitude was his way of compensating for something he might have lacked at base. Whatever the case, it seemed Enki was feeling talkative. He claimed that if Artoria and Gilgamesh had their way, Celestia would be properly cut off. If such a thing happened the only ones who would be able to get out would be Kur, which made sense given she was in charge of death. Damn shame that, she'd turned down death initially because she didn't want the responsibility of dealing with only dead people. She didn't realize the amount of influence Kur would end up with being in charge of such a thing. And by the time she went to take it from the girl, she'd grown so much nerve that she'd assaulted and killed her. Never again, would Ishtar be stepping into death without losing something so she didn't plan to try using Kur again anytime soon. So instead, Enki was apparently offering to spread her influence to whatever little land he had tucked away for himself. In exchange for something... of course he would be trying to make such demands of hers. People like him always reaching beyond their means, never understood that what they wanted to give they should offer freely, especially when women like her were involved. She was perfection incarnate and he should be vying for her attention, not trying to bargain with her like she was some random prostitutes' roaming the streets. The audacity of this man!!

She stared at him in silence for a few seconds. If he could up her influence even a little bit... she could freely attack the King of Heroes as she wished. Even without her temples a bit of extra power would be all she needed to send her pets forth. And if she could do that, she could at least manage to keep him and the boy-queen separate until she could fully manifest in his area again. Surely he couldn't actually say no to her if she was present again. So then, was this ability to do as she wished, worth going along with whatever little plan Enki had? Not really, she wouldn't accept anything resembling an equivalent exchange... no matter what he thought she was supreme here, he'd need to make proper offerings to her, to get her attention. Just like everyone else. "Oh? It sounds like you've been busy, Enki!~" she said seeming to give it a bit of thought. "Still if you have that much influence and you wanted my attention you probably should have just made a few temples to me to start with. I'm always generous to those who make proper offerings," she said leadingly. "If you really can, I'd definitely be willing to make it worth your while~" she said. All the while she'd crossed the room and had a hand trailing ever so gently up this man's left thigh, of course she'd go on to take hold of his manhood if only to confirm or deny his standing on actually getting anything real out of her. Until then non-committal leading statements, would likely be all he got. "But only if you make it worth mine."

[Bloodedge]

Gilgamesh would indeed be returning to his duties because he needed to. With nothing else to do, he lowered the golden ark Jeanne stood atop to take his place upon its throne again. His disappointment at fate itself was immeasurable, but it, like everything else, would last only so long. Assuming Jeanne d'Arc abandoned Vimana, he would be returning to the Citadel of Uruk posthaste. Many, many tablets awaited him there. Did he have any desire to deal with them now, after all he'd been through today? Not one bit. Still, it had to be done, and he was the one who had to do it.

Ishtar would rather watch the mortals play, she claimed. From the sound of things, she'd just finished storming around the room over the recent events down below. "Boring," Enki said. "You're a goddess, Ishtar. If you're watching mortals, you should be watching them as they crawl over to kiss your feet. That's what I've been doing lately~" he said, ever so satisfied with this truth. What would Ishtar think of his initial offer, though? She seemed to be letting the gears turn in her mind, likely in some attempt to turn things around. Would that not result in precisely what Enki wanted, though? They would soon find out. He'd been busy, she observed. Yes, yes he had been. Ah, but Ishtar went on to claim he should have already erected temples in her honor, and that she was always generous to those who made proper offerings. Nonsense. He would not be giving her any more than she already had without any surety, after all. Only with the belief that he would be victorious, would he be upholding his own end of the bargain. Now, Ishtar was guiding a hand up his thigh, taking hold of his trouser snake upon reaching the bulge that contained it. Was this some attempt to rile him up, or an inspection? Surely it was the former. Surely she didn't believe he could be compared with those lowly mortals who threw themselves at her daily. "Ishtar, I can make anything worth anyone's while. My empire can easily see a hundred temples erected, with statues in your image to strengthen the link. If I were to do that, though, accuracy is a must. I wouldn't see a single curve out of place, so... here I am. The price is simple, no? I gain the knowledge necessary to have your perfect image molded, you have a new link to the mortal world, and then we may both have a way out of Mother and Father's stupid little crumbling heaven. Who knows? Perhaps we can eventually reimagine the heavens and solidify a new seat of power. What say you, Maiden?"

[Apollymi]

Jeanne hopped off Vimana and seemed content to go on about her day. Even so she gave a happy wave to the King of Heroes as he headed off. She knew her sister wouldn't do it, but seeing her reactions recently, she knew this was just a cover. Whatever the case, Jeanne would tend to Siegfried and go back to the Holy Knights Headquarters. After all, there was bound to be a bit of fall out.

But as the citizens of Chaldea seemed to go back to their daily lives. Ishtar was being strangely spoken to by Enki. He knew the right things to say to her at least, that was working out in his favor. At the very least, he understood what it was she wanted out of life. She supposed it wouldn't be too farfetched to use him a bit. At the very least, she could get her own influence up and then she could either take over his land or move on to her own. Actually that didn't sound bad. And having a feel for his manhood at the very least, she could get a decent lay out of it. He wanted to learn her body, she didn't mind having sex. She got free temples out of it and likely the ability to better control this man... was there a loss to be taken here? Not really. Besides, she could definitely use his as ammunition to get him killed later, Enki was about the type to challenge Gilgamesh and lose. She was sure of this. "Hm, well I wouldn't really want to be trapped up here forever... and my form is perfect," she said seeming to give it a bit more consideration. "Fine, I will consider this an offering. And graciously allow you to have your study. My form is perfect it shouldn't be misrepresented," she said. It was as if she was talking herself into something. But that wasn't it, this situation wasn't at all out of her control, laying with her was generally enough for her to gain whatever she wanted from the man in question. Having another god under her control was always a good idea, she probably could have taken it up before. Annoyingly, he wasn't exactly her type, but she supposed she could get away with imagining someone else while he lay with her.