Chapter 22: A Mother Nursing Her Child!
"Splash—"
In the dark and silent depths of the deep sea, black mud began to spread.
Not long after, the black mud touched Akira's body. In the very next second, like water meeting a sponge, it was rapidly absorbed into him.
At first, it was only a small amount. But within just a few breaths, a massive quantity began to envelop him completely.
And so, a black "cocoon" slowly formed around his body.
Little by little, that cocoon descended into the womb of "Mother."
At the same time, within the sea of Tiamat's consciousness, Akira had already "fallen asleep."
He slept peacefully in the embrace of the Mother.
The children who had previously surrounded them vanished instantly, leaving that entire "world" with only Tiamat and Akira remaining.
"Such a good child… such a very good child…"
As a mother, Tiamat gazed at the "child" in her arms with a face filled with happiness.
She slowly released Akira, then knelt down.
She placed Akira's head in front of her.
"Children need nourishment so they can grow strong…"
Then, Tiamat gently embraced Akira's head and placed it before her large, viscous "slime." From there, a stream of special "nutrients" began to flow out.
Whether Akira was being controlled, or merely reacting on instinct, his body responded.
At this, Tiamat did not feel the slightest bit of anger.
On the contrary, she was delighted.
She was the Mother of all life.
For her, giving birth to life and nursing her children was the very meaning of her existence.
Right now, her child was still far too weak.
As a mother, providing nourishment to her child was something entirely natural.
And so, within the sea of Tiamat's consciousness, an extremely "harmonious" scene unfolded.
A mother… nursing her child.
—
Time passed unnoticed, drop by drop.
And in the blink of an eye, a full week had gone by.
At the center of the Kingdom of Uruk, the City of Uruk.
As of today, it had been seven full days without any news whatsoever from Shin Akira.
That alone made Gilgamesh's expression extremely grim.
Retrieving data from the water-quality observation station and collecting water samples was, by all means, not a difficult task.
Previously, however, because demonic beasts roamed the land, ordinary soldiers often met with disaster, forcing special orders to be issued for such missions.
But now, the situation was different.
For an entire week, Akira had not returned.
Had something happened to him?
As for betrayal, that possibility was basically impossible.
Akira had only just arrived in Uruk.
He hadn't even had the time to gather any meaningful information.
In fact, he had only entered the city of Uruk once.
"Merlin, it's already been seven days. Just how long must this King continue to wait?"
Today, Gilgamesh's face looked particularly unfriendly.
Ever since learning from Merlin that Shin Akira possessed the "Chain of Heaven," his attitude toward Akira had changed drastically.
Even though he understood that Akira might not be from this world, nor from this timeline—
The Chain of Heaven was his friend.
That was something that would never change.
Akira possessed the Chain of Heaven.
Even if he wasn't Enkidu, in Gilgamesh's eyes, he was still someone he cared about.
Now that he knew all this, he hadn't even had the chance to meet him again.
Yet, because of Merlin's "advice," he had sent Akira out to carry out a mission.
The result? The mission remained unfinished, and the person himself had vanished.
"King Gilgamesh, I truly didn't expect this either. In the current Mesopotamia, I cannot 'see' his existence at all."
"Damn it. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have disappeared in the first place."
"But didn't Your Majesty also approve it at the time? And now you're pretending you had nothing to do with it."
"Silence, Merlin! Go and find him immediately. This King wants to see him alive—or his body if dead. If you cannot find him, do not return."
"King Gilgamesh, Mesopotamia is this vast. How exactly am I supposed to search for him?"
Merlin's face immediately fell.
This was truly a job that would kill him from exhaustion.
It wasn't just because Mesopotamia was enormous.
One had to remember that more than half of Mesopotamia was now under the control of the Three Goddess Alliance.
On top of that, there was still an "Enkidu" wandering somewhere out there.
If he left and roamed about carelessly, there was no guarantee he'd find Akira.
He himself might end up dead instead.
"That is your problem. This King has only one request. The person must be found, alive or dead."
Those blood-red vertical pupils stared at Merlin without blinking.
If Uruk didn't still need this court magus, Gilgamesh might not have been able to resist punching a hole through the bastard's body.
To Gilgamesh, anything related to Enkidu was his one and only weak point.
"Understood, King Gilgamesh."
The pitiful Merlin could only nod and accept the order.
He knew all too well how easily this King could explode in anger.
Even though he now stood in the era of the "Wise King," it didn't mean he had ceased to be the Tyrant King of the past.
He was simply holding himself back—that was all.
Watching Merlin's back as he walked away with heavy, reluctant steps, even Siduri let out a soft sigh.
She had also briefly interacted with Shin Akira.
When she learned that Akira possessed the "Chain of Heaven," she had been just as shocked.
As a loyal attendant, she felt deeply grateful toward that beautiful, green-haired figure.
It was he who had helped the King, stayed by his side, become his friend, and served as the companion he trusted most.
If not for him, the King might have always remained alone.
For that kindness, for that gratitude, Siduri would always remember him.
And because of those feelings, toward this new "Chain of Heaven," even though she knew Akira was not Enkidu, like Gilgamesh, her sympathy and favorable impression toward him remained extremely high.
—
Far away, in the silent depths of the sea, beneath the dark ocean floor.
Compared to seven days ago, this place had barely changed.
"Boom—"
However, suddenly, a terrifying wave of magical energy and pressure burst outward.
Within Tiamat's abdomen, a streak of black light began to shimmer.
Then, a pitch-black cocoon slowly floated out.
It was the cocoon that contained Akira.
For an entire week, Akira had remained within Tiamat's womb, absorbing the "nutrients" she provided and continuously growing.
Today, that incubation process had finally finished.
Shin Akira had been "born."
A birth in two meanings at once—both physical and conceptual.
He was no longer born as a "human."
But rather, as Tiamat's child.
A "child" born from the Primordial Womb, after seven days of incubation.
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