"Quetzalcoatl?"
"…Kingu? Why are you…?"
"The final battle is upon us. I have a request—a feat of strength that only you can achieve."
"—...?"
"I've made my choice to fight. I, too, will stand… if only to turn my Mother's grief and sorrow into a thing of the past."
"Kingu…"
"Please—I need you to believe in me."
Evening on the Euphrates
"Look well. Sear this image into your heart. This is my pride, the treasure I govern. The city of Uruk itself."
A lone skiff drifted lazily down the Euphrates. As the boat glided along, the passengers were treated to a slow-moving panorama of Uruk, its streets shimmering with the warm, flickering lights of daily life.
"Ah…—"
There it was: the hustle and bustle of human existence. The proof that people had lived. The tapestry of a civilization woven by mortal hands.
Before her eyes lay the blueprint of history—the very foundation of the civilization rooted in Mesopotamia. It was the light of a proud people who had struggled, writhed, and stood tall against the disasters threatening the foundations of humanity.
The moonlight shimmered upon the river's surface. Stars hung suspended in the pale blue of the night sky. A crystalline breeze brushed past, punctuated only by the gentle rocking of the boat.
Everything seemed to softly welcome them: the primordial Air and the Wise King. This was the landscape of the beginning—the dawn of the world when heaven and earth were still one, and man first began to act as man.
The Wise King had brought Air here to witness it. A human life that shone brighter than infinite wealth; a radiance that no jewel could ever hope to rival.
He wished to show her the "Happy City" he so loved. He wanted the city to speak for itself, to declare with silent eloquence: We were truly here.
"—..."
Air could only stare, motionless.
She kept her awe and her wonder locked deep within her chest. Swayed by the current of the Euphrates, she simply watched the passing streets of Uruk, her gaze unmoving—as if afraid that if she blinked, she might forget.
She would not forget. She would never forget the Wise King's treasure, nor the brilliance it cast.
"…Hmph."
While she was lost in thought, the Wise King, sitting opposite her, reached out and turned her face toward his, peering into her eyes.
"Ah—"
"…A fine expression. No hesitation, no fear. You wear the face of one filled with hope."
"Wise King…"
"It seems even a fool like me is a surprisingly capable guardian. ...Hmph."
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