(Ereshgal POV)
Perfect. It went exactly as I expected.
I looked at Lureh.
She had done exactly what I asked. The same oath she had made to Liraya, word for word, without changing a single condition.
I kept looking at her a little too long, and she eventually avoided my gaze. Her shoulders were tense and her posture stiff. She was clearly worried about what I would ask of her next. I could see it on her face.
I felt a faint trace of regret. But it had been this or her death. I could not allow what happened here to spread beyond this place. If word reached the wrong ears, I would not be able to leave the city without consequences.
At least this way, she lived.
And it was not as if she had become a slave, the oath had limits. She would keep certain freedoms, just as she had before.
A faint laugh slipped from my lips.
Who am I trying to fool? That was how she would see it. In the end, it was slavery with a few extra steps.
Lureh looked up at me, confused.I shook my head slightly.
"It's nothing" I said. "Wait here. I'll be back."
She hesitated for a second, then gave a small nod.
There was still something I needed to take care of before going to find Darim.
I went back to where I had killed Belash and Nerak. Their bodies were still there, blood pouring from the wounds and spreading across the dirt, forming dark pools around them. In some places it had already soaked into the ground, while in others it remained thick and wet, faintly reflecting the moonlight.
For a moment, I simply stood there. The scent reached me before I realized it.
I swallowed as the urge rose almost immediately. I could drink it. They were already dead, and it would not change anything. No one would suffer because of it, and it would not even be difficult.
But another thought followed just as quickly.
Would I live through their lives the way I had with Liraya? I did not want that, not now, not after I had just regained control of myself.
Stepping closer to the bodies, I took Nerak's bow and Belash's daggers and stored them in the ring, along with the few coins they carried. There was no reason to leave anything behind. Once that was done, I lifted their bodies, one after the other, and picked up the oil lamp before heading back toward the warehouse.
Lureh was waiting outside when I returned.
The moment she saw me carrying them, surprise flashed across her face. It only lasted a second. She quickly understood what I was about to do. Without a word, she moved aside and pushed the door open. I noticed the hint of sadness in her eyes, but this was not the time to talk about it.
"Do you need help with anything?" she asked. I shook my head and stepped inside, laying the bodies down in a corner stacked with bundles of dried barley.
Then I turned toward Liraya. I removed the remaining rings from her fingers and took the necklace from around her neck. Once I was done, I dragged her over and placed her beside the other two.
I gathered more bundles of barley from nearby and covered the bodies carefully, layering the dry stalks over them until they were no longer visible. Then I set the oil lamp down on the floor, positioning it so the flame would catch easily.
I stepped back and left the warehouse.
The fire spread almost immediately.
Within moments, the entire structure was burning, the dry barley feeding the flames hungrily. The light rose into the night. From a distance, it looked almost like a star igniting in the middle of the empty land.
"Let's go" I said to Lureh, who stood beside me watching the warehouse burn. "After this, no one will recognize them."
"At your service, Lord Zimesh" she replied, bowing her head.
The flames continued to rise behind us.
"My real name is Ereshgal. And you can drop the honorifics if you want. We'll be working together from now on. It's better if we get along."
I gave her a small smile.
Lureh blinked, clearly not expecting that. It took her a moment to respond.
A quiet laugh escaped me.
"Let's go. We'll talk on the way."
There were things she needed to know, and this was the right place to say them. Liraya had made sure no one kept watch over this area, but the fire behind us would draw attention soon enough.
We headed toward the boat they had used to cross earlier. I already knew where it was, so there was no need to ask. Lureh walked a few steps behind me in silence.
"Walk beside me" I said. She quickened her pace and moved to my side without hesitation.
"First of all, I am the son of King Lugalbanda and the crown prince of Uruk." Lureh stopped walking immediately. Her eyes widened, and I could almost see the questions forming before she even spoke.
He was the unchosen prince?
Wasn't he dead?
What is he doing here?
I did not need her to say them aloud. Through Liraya's memories, I already knew what had spread across the land five years ago: the unchosen prince, the cause of the royal family's decline, the beginning of Uruk's fall.
"I know you have many questions" I said calmly. "But the explanation is long, and this is not the time. I told you so you wouldn't worry about my background. When I become king, you'll be at my side."
And.. for now, I would not tell her that I was no longer human. We would be separated for a few more days, and there was no need to complicate things further. After living through Liraya's life, I had thought much more about my own situation. I had accepted it more fully.
What I had become.
What I was.
But it was still strange.
In her entire life, she had never heard of anything even remotely similar to what had happened to me. There were humans who became monsters, some losing their reason like the wendigo, others keeping it like the Djinn. But nothing like me. This was something new.
I had also realized there was a point during my escape from Namur that I simply could not remember. Everything after that moment was fragmented, unclear. And then there was the fact that I had not been chosen, that healing runes did not work on me while others did, and that the cure for the wendigo's toxin had been conveniently absent. Then came the sudden appearance of the children of the guardian.
There were too many coincidences. One or two could be dismissed, but when they piled up and aligned so closely, they stopped being that. Something had to be behind it, and the only being capable of weaving something like this was a god.
But which one? And why?
One day, I would find those answers and discover who was responsible for so many misfortunes in my life. But Uruk came first. After that, I would deal with it.
We began walking again.
"In a few weeks, I will return to Uruk" I continued. "You will come with me. But before that, we need to deal with Urhen."
Urhen had been Liraya's right hand. Surprisingly, he was not chosen, yet he was capable enough to make up for it. Unfortunately, he had also been deeply loyal to her.
"Now I'll go find Darim. You go to Urhen. Tell him everything went according to plan, but that Liraya needs him at the usual place immediately. He'll understand."
We reached the boat not long after. Without wasting time, we crossed in silence, the only sound the quiet movement of water against the wood. Before we reached the opposite shore, when the bank was already in sight, I turned slightly toward her.
"We'll enter the city at different times. I'll run. You walk in normally."
She gave a small nod.
The moment the boat scraped against the shore, I stepped off into the shallow water and moved ahead of her toward the bank.
Entering together would invite questions, and questions were the last thing we needed. Even near the shore, it was risky. There were always people watching. And drawing attention was exactly what I wanted to avoid.
For now.
Before we parted, I reminded her to continue her routine as usual after speaking with Urhen. I told her I would contact her later.
She nodded, clearly unsure how that would happen, but she did not question it.
I pulled my hood up and made my way quickly toward the city. On the road, I crossed paths with several eyes of shamash still looking for signs of the kidnapper. A few of them had already noticed the warehouse burning in the distance and were heading toward it. I kept my pace steady and entered through the corridor of Light before going straight to the market. Ironically, Darim was being kept in a house not far from where he had been taken.
I moved fast while making sure I still looked desperate. As I approached the house, I slowed slightly and listened.
Two heartbeats.
One was steady and strong, an adult. The other was softer and quicker, a child.
Darim.
I already knew who the other would be before stepping inside: the bearded merchant Arisha had mentioned, the one covered in rings. He was another of Liraya's followers, though not a bad man. In fact, he had insisted on being the one to watch over Darim, afraid something might happen to the child by accident if someone less careful handled it.
The door gave way easily.
He did not even have time to turn around. I was behind him in an instant, striking the side of his neck hard enough to knock him unconscious. His body collapsed immediately before he could make a sound.
Then I moved toward the room where Darim's heartbeat came from.
I opened the door quietly.
He was there, asleep on the bed, breathing steadily as if nothing had happened. I stepped closer and lifted him carefully into my arms.
He did not wake.
I shook my head slightly.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?" I murmured. Of course, there was no answer.
For a moment, I simply looked at him.
And that was when I noticed it.
The emotions I had carried from Akhem had shifted. They no longer overlapped with my own thoughts the way they once had. They felt distant now, the same way Liraya's memories did. Their emotions had settled one level beneath my own, while mine remained dominant.
They were still there. But they no longer controlled me.
I turned and left the house, heading straight toward Arisha's home.