What does the sun taste like?
For many creatures living under its light, it's hard to give a precise answer.
The sun is the sun, a blazing orb hanging in the sky, radiating light and heat.
If pressed to describe it, the only sensation might be its searing intensity.
But today, Ereshkigal found her answer.
A unique answer, just for her.
The sun's taste was warm, serene, a warmth no flame could replicate.
It carried a scent… intoxicating.
Like an embrace.
In the dim underworld, Ereshkigal, stripped of her skeletal goddess shell, basked in the sun's warm embrace. Her body, long accustomed to darkness, trembled involuntarily as it felt this unfamiliar warmth.
Sensing a presence so unlike the underworld's chill, Ereshkigal's amber eyes widened. She stared in shock at the mortal daring to embrace her, then, realizing the situation, her face flushed red, her heart racing with panic…
"Y-You… hugged me…"
"Aaah… he actually hugged me! What do I do? What do I do? A mortal hugged me!"
"So embarrassing, so embarrassing…"
But…
It was so warm.
Like a tranquil sea of flowers bathed in sunlight, was this the sun she'd always chased?
She stole a glance at Roy's profile, her face burning even redder.
In this moment, her mind nearly short-circuited. Ereshkigal didn't know what to do, so she sat obediently on the ground, letting Roy hold her gently, closing her eyes to savor this hard-won warmth.
Until Roy stood, extending his hand to her with a smile. "Need me to help you up, Lady Eresh?"
"Eh?! Eh?!!"
Ereshkigal, legs numb from kneeling too long, looked up in a panic at Roy's outstretched hand.
She wanted to take it and stand, but her shy body, still reeling from his embrace, seemed too weak to move.
This was way too embarrassing!!
She screamed inwardly.
Seeing this, Roy just smiled, shook his head, and took her hand, lifting her gently and setting her steadily on the ground.
So light…
"Tch… Thank you!!!"
Ereshkigal, suddenly lifted, grew even more flustered. She quickly steadied herself, pulling away from Roy and stumbling back several steps, her panic even more evident…
"Am I that scary? I'm the one who's been taking the brunt of it, you know?"
Seeing her flustered reaction, Roy's expression dimmed with a touch of disappointment, then he teased, "Your battle stance earlier was pretty imposing, though. It gave me quite a scare."
"Ah… I, um… I'm sorry."
Ereshkigal waved her hands, stammering a response.
She was genuinely afraid of Roy, not of his power, but of facing him after her actions.
He was the only one who'd come to understand her, yet she'd treated him so harshly, nearly killing him.
Sure, it was partly because Ishtar's taunts had set her off. But now, calmed down, Ereshkigal felt she'd gone too far.
She'd actually tried to kill him.
A wave of indescribable guilt welled up. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just… I just…"
Ereshkigal fumbled to explain her actions, but seeing Roy's smiling face, she lowered her head, murmuring, "I'm sorry… It's all my fault. I was too impulsive…"
"Haha, it's no big deal, Eresh-chan. You did get a bit carried away, but we're all fine, right?"
"No one's blaming you. You just threw a tantrum in your own home. Letting it out like that probably felt good, didn't it?"
Roy looked at Ereshkigal, her head bowed in remorse, and didn't press or blame her. Smiling, he said, "As an apology, I went through some trouble, but seeing your true face and getting a hug from the most beautiful goddess? Totally worth it."
"And now, I can finally answer your question properly, Lady Ereshkigal."
Roy gazed into her amber eyes, saying earnestly, "You are the most beautiful goddess in my eyes, the fairest flower blooming in the underworld. You, and you alone."
"Eh…?!!
At such close range, feeling Roy's breath and seeing the sincerity in his icy blue eyes, Ereshkigal felt her brain overheating.
Her face turned as red as molten iron, steaming, her eyes and words losing all reason. She had no idea what to do.
Unlike Ishtar, these near-confessional words were a first for her.
Though she'd heard of lovers' tales from departed souls, this was happening too fast! They'd only just met.
Agreeing now, wouldn't that make her seem too forward? But rejecting him, wouldn't that hurt him?
And with her skeletal form…
Right, her skeletal shell.
"…"
She touched her face, then her body.
"No way…"
The sensation wasn't the ugly skeletal shell but smooth skin. She was in her true form.
In Roy's view, she was a beautiful goddess with long golden hair, strikingly similar to Ishtar but clad in a distinct black cloak and undergarments, with soft, plump legs. Her face was nearly identical to Ishtar's.
Ereshkigal suddenly realized, "Right, I dropped the underworld's disguise earlier."
Awakened by Roy's words, still caught in shame and guilt, she noticed her disguise was gone.
Her earlier emotions had been shown in her true form.
Which meant…
Ereshkigal collapsed to the ground, her expression frantic. "You saw it, didn't you? You saw everything, right? My embarrassing state, and…"
"You already knew my true appearance and who I was, didn't you? You weren't surprised at all."
"Haha, you caught me."
Roy looked at the mortified Ereshkigal, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Of course he knew her true form.
Golden hair cascading like a waterfall, a black cloak starkly different from Ishtar's attire, soft legs, and a face nearly identical to Ishtar's.
She was summoned alongside Ishtar but was usually too busy with underworld duties to share a body.
"I knew from the moment I saw you."
"Why didn't you say so?! That makes my disguise look as foolish as Ishtar's!" Ereshkigal covered her flushed face with both hands.
If Roy already knew, her skeletal shell, conjured with underworld power, must've looked like a child's tantrum in his eyes…
"So stupid… Did you think it was funny?" She pressed.
"Hmm…" Roy thought for a moment, then replied, "A little, but you seemed to be enjoying it, so I played along."
"Aaaaaaah…!!"
A pained, marmot-like scream echoed through the underworld from Ereshkigal.
"This is…" Roy covered his ears, bending slightly with a helpless expression. He was about to comfort the near-mortified Eresh when…
"Shut up! Who told you to act so stupid from the start?"
Ishtar, with zero sense of timing, popped up behind them.
"How long are you two going to flirt?!"
"Skull-crushing grip!!"
Roy roared, grabbing Ishtar's head with one hand and shaking it vigorously.
"Can't you read the room? The mood was perfect!"
"Ow, let go!! Who's the one deceiving innocent maidens? Messing with me, a goddess, wasn't enough, you're going after Ereshkigal too? Don't get greedy, human!"
"I haven't even settled the score for you picking Ereshkigal over me! I'm clearly the more beautiful one!"
Ishtar grabbed Roy's arm, retorting fiercely.
His response was a flawless throw, learned from Quetzalcoatl.
"Waaah!!"
Grabbing her shoulders, he sent the screaming Ishtar flying.
"Well…"
The perfect mood was thoroughly ruined.
He'd been so close to winning Ereshkigal's heart and securing her help, but that blasted Ishtar always found a way to mess things up.
Was he cursed to clash with her?
Roy sighed helplessly.
"F-Flirting?!"
Ereshkigal, meanwhile, was lost in thought over Ishtar's "flirting" comment.
"Eresh-chan?"
"Eh?! No, no flirting! That's… way too fast!!"
"…"
Roy fell silent, unsure what to say to her, lost in her delusions.
Ishtar, undeterred, returned to Ereshkigal's side, sparking a heated debate.
He vaguely caught snippets about whether he was a scumbag, warnings not to fall for a bad guy like him, and suggestions to lock him in a spear cage for slow taming and training.
Such ferocious words left Roy, the third party, speechless.
But seeing the usually discordant Sumerian sisters now standing together, chatting and laughing, he couldn't help but smile.
If only they'd shift from discussing how to guard against him to how to save this Singularity together.
Seeing Ishtar and Ereshkigal deep in conversation, Roy didn't interrupt their sisterly bonding. Shaking his head, he turned to handle what he needed to do, walking off.
The underworld temple, blasted to pieces, was reduced to scorched earth, cliffs, and scattered debris, making the already desolate underworld even bleaker.
At the temple's edge, amidst the chaotic rubble, Tezcatlipoca sat on a boulder, smoking a cigarette.
"Yo, Master, good to see you alive. Lucky those goddesses didn't split you in half."
Seeing Roy approach, he teased.
"You've got some nerve. A Servant abandoning his Master to escape early? That's bold."
Roy grumbled, "As an Aztec chief god, you're somehow less useful than Merlin."
"Hahaha, sorry, Master. I didn't want to get mixed up in your goddess drama. Plus, I knew with Avalon's protection, the underworld goddess couldn't hurt you, so I left with peace of mind."
"Besides, I'm still here waiting for you, aren't I?"
"Fine…"
Hearing Tezcatlipoca's flimsy excuses, Roy sighed, exasperated by the shameless Grand Servant.
But he wasn't here to chew him out. He had more pressing matters and wanted to consult this expert.
Getting straight to the point, he shared his next plan with Tezcatlipoca, asking for advice.
"Oh?"
Hearing Roy's idea, Tezcatlipoca's eyes widened. He spat out his cigarette, his expression turning odd. "Master, I didn't expect you to plan something this wild."
"What do you think? Can it be done, Berserker?"
"Well, it's a hassle."
"But, Master, you asked the right guy. Can it be done? Who do you think I am? I've got plenty of experience with this."
"Then I'm counting on you."
…
…
"No matter what, that guy's a scumbag! A liar! So rude to me from the start, and now this… Neither Father nor Gramps treated me like that."
"If I weren't indebted to him and couldn't beat him, I'd teach him a lesson!!"
"What? That's your fault for acting reckless and getting punished." Ereshkigal retorted after hearing Ishtar's embellished tale.
"You've caused enough trouble with your reckless flying. Why haven't you learned, Ishtar?"
"Tch, mind your own business! You hid in that skeleton, too scared to show your face. You were so eager to strip me, but when it came to facing him, you chickened out." Ishtar bristled.
"Eh…?!!
"That's still better than you, the clueless, troublemaking goddess who needs Roy to save and protect her!"
"You…"
Watching the sisters' passionate bickering and exposing each other's flaws, Roy, observing from afar, didn't know what to make of it.
He wasn't sure if their relationship could be called "good" now.
But at least it had thawed, hadn't it?
As they debated whether Roy was a scumbag and whether to lock him in the underworld for reflection, reaching a fever pitch, Roy and Tezcatlipoca began their plan.
"Born of light, shining in darkness."
Roy raised his palm, a dazzling white light gathering at his fingertips, spiraling upward under his precise control, coalescing in the air.
"Light, vibration, heat, mana stability, the transformation between soul and matter."
He closed his eyes, recalling Tezcatlipoca's instructions, and began shaping the white orb according to his vision.
As Roy's hands worked, the white light grew larger with surging mana, forming a massive white sphere tens of meters tall, which he released into the underworld's sky.
"Coalesce, newborn sun-"
He poured vast mana into the orb, the white light seeming to brew something in the sky.
The spectacle drew the attention of Ereshkigal and Ishtar, still arguing.
They stared, stunned, at the white orb rising in the underworld, followed by light, heat, or rather, warmth.
"What a pain… Making a sun, even a simplified one, is no easy feat…"
Nodding at the released white sun, Roy leapt down, looking drained.
Creating that pure white sun had cost him significant power, and even he needed time to recover. Still, he immediately handed a milky-white spark imbued with Third Magic energy to Ereshkigal, saying, "Take this spark and light it yourself. It's my gift to you."
"You… you made a sun for me?" Ereshkigal realized what Roy had done.
"Go, Eresh. Thanks to that guy, we finished it. It's just a simulated sun, not a true star, but it's enough."
"Go on."
Roy smiled, patting her shoulder. "Light your sun."
Clutching the Third Magic spark, Ereshkigal took deep breaths, tears welling in her eyes, unable to express her feelings.
She floated up, approaching the newly risen white sun, and placed her hand at its center.
Instantly, a blinding white light erupted in the underworld.
The endless darkness plaguing the underworld for millennia vanished, the realm bathed in radiant sunlight, yet, strangely, it wasn't hot.
The dead, seeing the rising pure white sun, knelt in reverence. In this era, the sun symbolized light and hope.
This new sun rising in the underworld gave these souls renewed hope.
"Let's praise the sun together."
Under Ishtar's shocked gaze, Roy turned, raised his arm high, and praised the newly risen pure white sun.
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