Her lips were pried open, her tongue entwined, their breath and saliva mingling.
Before Ophis could even process the bizarre intimacy of it, a surge of divine energy flooded into her through their joined mouths—and through the blade still lodged in her chest.
She didn't need to think long to recognize it.
This was the divine authority called Death.
Ereshkigal, knowing that pure death had little effect on Ophis, had chosen a subtler, more insidious method—guiding her toward death.
Make her long for it. Convince her she was already dead. Eventually, her body would follow her mind into oblivion.
Physical death meant nothing to Ophis, but if her mind truly accepted death, then even her immortal body would become meaningless.
Pinned beneath Ereshkigal, enduring both a kiss and the creeping pull of death, Ophis felt an oddly numbing haze take over her thoughts.
Neither of them moved. For long seconds—tens of seconds—they remained locked together, lips sealed, power pouring from one into the other.
Ophis didn't resist. She made no move to stop the unending tide of death energy flowing into her.
At first, Ereshkigal assumed her foe was simply paralyzed by the spell's effect. Satisfied, she continued channeling her power unchecked.
But then—she felt resistance.
The flow that had once run freely now met something solid pushing back.
And that opposing force… wasn't Ophis's power.
It was something utterly contrary to death—the essence of Life itself.
Impossible.
Ereshkigal's eyes widened.
She was certain Ophis had never wielded this kind of power before. The two forces—life and death—were fundamentally irreconcilable. Had Ophis possessed such a contradiction within her, Ereshkigal would have noticed it instantly.
Had she hidden it somehow? Or—
A wild, absurd thought flashed through Ereshkigal's mind, one even she hesitated to believe.
Lost in shock, her movements faltered.
Beneath her, Ophis gave her a sidelong glance, then casually pushed her off.
"You… you—!"
Ereshkigal staggered back, regaining her senses only when she saw Ophis rise.
"You… turned my Death into Life?!"
It sounded absurd even to her own ears—yet she couldn't deny what she'd felt.
Could that actually be true?
If it was… wasn't that far too broken!?
Shhk!
A familiar sound made her look down.
The same weapon she'd driven through Ophis's chest now jutted from her own abdomen—held firmly in Ophis's hand.
Ophis tilted her head slightly, as though puzzled by Ereshkigal's slow reaction.
"You—"
Ereshkigal barely managed to speak before a fist filled her vision.
Wham!
[Hmm~ That looked a bit too stimulating for you. Just watching it made me feel excited! Like a mother seeing her daughter grow up—]
"Inori."
[Yes?]
"Shut up."
[Yes, ma'am!]
Ophis exhaled softly, glancing at the unconscious goddess, then sat down amid the rubble.
Ereshkigal hadn't been wrong. In that moment of crisis, Ophis had instinctively activated her inherent ability—to transform death into life.
The principle itself wasn't complicated. Whether death came through decay or divine imposition, its nature remained the same: death.
But for an Ouroboros—death and rebirth were one.
Once she recognized the structure of Ereshkigal's authority, altering it had been simple.
Of course, Ereshkigal's lack of fine control helped. The energy she'd flooded into Ophis was unfocused, lacking any true killing intent—more like an uncontrolled transfer of mana. Except, instead of raw magic, she had poured divine death itself into Ophis.
By the time Ophis realized how to convert it, she could have broken free whenever she wished.
She simply… hadn't.
Not because she'd wanted to experience the kiss a little longer—certainly not. Well… perhaps a very small part of her curiosity played a role.
But mostly, it had been opportunity.
A goddess of the Underworld had personally injected death energy into her—an unparalleled chance to refine her own power, Self-Reference.
That ability allowed her to incorporate external energy into her own internal cycle—adapting and transforming it into something she could wield.
With Ereshkigal so recklessly pouring death into her, Ophis had skipped the usual step of "reading" that external information. She had absorbed it directly, folding it into her own circuit—converting death into life without effort.
[Although you can't fully master both Death and Life from a few seconds of… ahem, "energy exchange," it's still deepened your understanding. In the future, you'll have much higher resistance to similar powers.]
"Mm."
Answering absently, Ophis raised her hand. The Chains of Heaven materialized, wrapping around Ereshkigal's limp form and suspending her in midair.
A small magic circle appeared above Ophis's palm.
A violet flash illuminated the night.
Cough, cough, cough—!
"Wait! Hold on! Isn't that overkill!? You're waking a goddess by blasting her with magic? That's blasphemy! Totally blasphemy! And these chains—binding a goddess like this? Completely forbidden! You'll never be forgive—gahhh!"
Another small-scale magic blast silenced her immediately.
"I ask. You answer."
Ophis lowered her hand, voice even and unhurried.
"Ugh… looks like I really did get captured." Ereshkigal groaned, glaring down at the chains holding her aloft. "My stupid little sister can never find out about this… But seriously, what is that ability of yours? That's way too much of a cheat! It's absolutely a cheat!"
Seeing the countless weapons still floating ominously behind Ophis, she finally sighed in defeat.
"Fine, fine. Ask what you will. Though I can already guess—what you want most right now is information about the Three-Goddess Alliance, isn't it?"
"Correct. Their specific identities, objectives, and reasons for appearing—I need all intelligence you can provide."
Ereshkigal wriggled a little against the chains, shifting into a less uncomfortable position once Ophis slackened them slightly.
Only then did she begin to speak again.
"Hmph… During that little fight, I wasn't even in the Underworld, and I didn't even have my full body—so naturally I couldn't use my true power. The whole situation was absurd. But a loss is still a loss. So, as a goddess rewarding the victor, I'll tell you what I can… within the limits of what's allowed, of course."