Humans always imagine the earthly dwellings of gods as extremely luxurious, built from the most precious and even unheard-of materials.
But to place such imagination in the dwelling of the Goddess of the Underworld is a great mistake.
"Close your eyes, Neos."
Adam took Neos, eyes closed, and entered the dwelling of Ereshkigal.
Sight was instantly swallowed by absolute negation. All senses were systematically stripped away.
Vision disrupted. Sound silenced. Space distorted...
It was impossible to judge distance. The concepts of up, down, left, and right were even more reversed. Everything that belonged to the living was extracted.
Here, you were simply "inside," and the "inside" itself was a precipitate.
But this was not the hostess's malice toward her guests, merely the fluctuations caused by the unconscious distribution of her power.
After all, the land she ruled was the eternal place beneath the light—dark, windowless, and covered in dust.
In such a place, there was only a crowd of the dead, bearing eternal hunger, thirst, and nothingness.
Who would tell her to restrain her authority?
"Not to mention, I might be her first guest."
As these words fell, tongues of flame appeared on Adam's body, once again giving this void color, sound, and temperature... Everything returned.
Like an empty grid, two children applying colors with their watercolor brushes.
This dwelling contested the authority of Adam and Ereshkigal.
With only a snort, the competition abruptly ended.
Ereshkigal—
The Goddess of the Underworld, the Lady of the Earth, the Queen of the Netherworld, was fiddling with a flower condensed from flame, gazing at Adam with complicated eyes.
As for Neos standing aside, he was naturally ignored.
"Adam, are you the God of Fire?"
"I am not a god."
Without hesitation, Adam replied: "I am human."
As a god, the supreme and sole ruler of the Underworld, she had certainly seen humans.
Humans with short lives. Humans who feared darkness. Humans who struggled for food...
But she had never seen a human like Adam.
In other words, she had never seen a god who considered himself human.
This thought crossed Ereshkigal's mind, and the unsmiling god could not help but raise the corners of her mouth.
But the smile of the goddess of the underworld was not something humans could glimpse.
Like the texture of silence, the weight of cold, the geometry of death—her appearance was simply impossible to describe.
Moreover, Adam had not come for a kiss.
He wanted to meet the gods of this world.
He wanted to understand the difference between such a god and the chaotic forces of the Immaterium—who was stronger, who was weaker.
Now, he knew the answer.
It was far worse than he had imagined.
Adam's question was answered, but Neos's question was not, nor was the tribe's question.
So he made a request to Ereshkigal: "O Supreme Ruler of the Underworld, could you grant my friend your aid and allow my tribesmen to receive an answer to their question?"
Ereshkigal did not answer immediately.
Instead, she extended her hand.
She was the impassive accountant, seated at the edge of the world on a throne forged from dark matter.
She would not be overly emotional like other gods, nor would she bestow gifts at the slightest compliment. She adhered to an invisible balance of fairness.
Since Adam had asked for help and an answer, he must give equal help and an answer.
Adam, without hesitation, also extended his hand.
This was an agreement between realms and a witness to fate, without any coercion, yet it would inevitably be written across the years.
He had no intention of breaking this agreement and was prepared to pay the price first:
"Lady of the Underworld, you are the cold, absolute, and indisputable pillar of the mortal order, ruling the realm of the dead. As great as you are, what help can I offer, and what answers do you seek?"
Ereshkigal did not speak.
She simply took the flower condensed from flame, planted it in the ground, and placed it within her dwelling.
Then she replied: "I want a flower that can bloom in the Underworld, not a flower made of flame."
Perhaps thinking there was something wrong with such words,
She added: "It's not that I don't like the flowers you give. It's just that fire will always burn out someday. Real flowers can bloom in the Underworld day after day, year after year."
Adam nodded in agreement.
He knew why the goddess asked for such help.
In her kingdom, kings and slaves alike were but unconscious shadows of dust after death, equally bearing eternal hunger, thirst, and emptiness.
But Ereshkigal, too, had to endure eternal hunger, thirst, and emptiness.
So each year, she took precious time to come to the earth, wishing to appreciate the vitality and joy of life.
Unfortunately, even this desire could not be fulfilled.
Because of her arrival in the world, winter came, filling the gap in the cycle of four seasons and allowing nature to enter the cycle of life and death.
This was good for the world, but not good for Ereshkigal.
It meant that even when the Underworld was still within the human world, she had to endure eternal hunger, thirst, and emptiness.
That was why she needed this help.
But now, Adam had no good way to achieve it.
Nevertheless, he confidently promised that within four thousand years, flowers would bloom in the Underworld.
Next, he needed to answer her question.
Unexpectedly,
The Goddess of the Underworld had no questions.
She had planned to be perplexed when she left that day, and to seek answers to her questions then.
Well, it was time for Neos to open his eyes.
Thanks to Ereshkigal's promise, Neos felt that the Goddess of the Underworld was seated nearby.
But he still could not see her. He had only a vague sense.
After all, he was still very young, far from the brave and powerful Emperor tens of thousands of years later.
And now, he could not even think about that.
After Neos solemnly thanked Adam, he said anxiously and excitedly:
"I want to enter your land. I want to find my parents, bring them back, restore them to life, be with me forever, never be separated again, never meet death again!"