The greatest misfortune in the world is to become unneeded,
…
"I birthed countless lives and was once loved by all. But my children treated me as a stepping stone and left me. I wanted to love them forever, to keep them by my side always. Is my love… wrong?"
As the womb of primordial life, the foundation of progress, Tiamat established a complete ecosystem for the planet. But once that system stabilized, she, the Mother Sea was deemed useless and banished to the Imaginary Number Space, a void without life, not even a parallel world.
With a stable ecosystem in place, her ability to randomly create life became obsolete.
Worse, as life gained intelligence suited to the planet, Tiamat became a hindrance.
When the planet's ecology was complete, her value as a mother vanished.
Betrayed by her children, then abandoned by the world she created, she was ultimately cast into the World of Imaginary Numbers by the Sumerian gods' conquest.
Yet, Tiamat still loved every child in this world.
She yearned to return, to stand again on the land she created, to shower her children with her love once more.
But this distorted love, born from the perspective of a goddess, was not true love to humans or gods, it was a shackle, a source of pain.
They craved progress, a future, selfhood, and freedom, not to be born and perish mindlessly in a mother's embrace.
Love isn't so cheap, nor is it possession or control. In her confusion and pain, Tiamat was betrayed by these future-seeking children, killed, dismantled, sealed, and utterly expelled from the world.
On the land she built, her children ignited the spark of civilization, birthed new races, and forged a new future.
Tiamat once resented these betrayers but never sought their destruction. Over endless ages, watching them, she saw her children, those fragile lives, grow from nothing to strength, from weakness to prosperity, taking their first steps on this continent with their fleeting lives.
Her angry heart and emotions gradually calmed…
Tiamat, as in the beginning, fell in love with these fragile children.
Perhaps it was best to sleep, to remain absent, quietly watching their lives…
As a true mother.
Perhaps Tiamat never truly hated her children. Her resentment was likely aimed at herself.
Gurgle… gurgle…
Ripples broke the eternal stillness of the Imaginary Number Space, as if something foreign had stirred the syrupy void.
Something intruded, connecting with Tiamat's consciousness.
"Aaa… aaaaaaa?"
"Who… are you?"
Tiamat stirred, puzzled.
"…It's me, Mother. Your most loyal child, Kingu."
A faint voice reached her, and a tattered, broken shadow slowly appeared before Tiamat.
Though his body was lost time and again, his soul warped by the Demon God Pillars' tampering, seeing his beloved mother, the one he'd protect at all costs, Kingu rallied, striving to show his best self, as a child would before their mother.
"It's been so long, Mother… Forgive me for coming late."
"A… aaaaaaa…"
"Kingu… Kingu…"
Tiamat remembered this child's name and would never forget it.
When her children betrayed her, she fell into madness and rage, birthing Kingu and the eleven Beasts to protect her and exact vengeance on the gods.
That battle was brutal, the most horrific divine war in Sumerian myth.
But her soft heart and refusal to kill her children tilted the battle in favor of the Sumerian gods.
Her old and new children clashed, killing each other repeatedly.
The loss of life, the dirge of death, the tragedy of her children slaughtering each other drove Tiamat to despair.
She considered ending the senseless war, accepting death, if only her new children could live.
But her children didn't share her view.
Led by Kingu, the eleven Beasts, sensing her intent, felt pity.
For the first time since their creation, they defied their mother's will, vowing to fight the Sumerian gods to the end.
They would not let her die or allow her betrayers to triumph.
Kingu rallied his siblings.
Before the final moment, they amassed all their forces for a decisive battle against the Sumerian gods, the first Song of Creation in Sumerian myth.
They slew countless gods, decimating the original Sumerian pantheon in their frenzied, relentless vengeance.
By the war's end, the original gods were nearly wiped out, at a horrific cost.
Yet the cost was mutual. The eleven Beasts, led by Kingu, were annihilated under the Sumerian gods' onslaught, leaving only Kingu.
His body, ravaged by Marduk's divine power, returned to Tiamat.
With his life, he upheld his resolve, defending his mother's final dignity.
Before dying in her arms, he gasped his final words: "I'm sorry, Mother… I failed your mission. I couldn't… kill those who betrayed you… I've reached my end, unable to protect you any longer…"
"But, Mother… don't yield to these traitors… One day, we'll take back… everything…"
Tears in his eyes, he died in Tiamat's embrace, closing his eyes forever.
That day, Tiamat wept.
The tears of the Goddess of Beginning flooded the world, sweeping away nascent lives and unaware gods in a sudden deluge.
With Kingu's death, the Beasts lost their leader and were no match for the Sumerian gods.
In brief battles, their forces collapsed like a landslide, and the gods' victory was only a matter of time.
Until they reached Tiamat…
On the day of the final battle, the Sumerian chief gods, led by Anu, faced their mother, the creator of all, ready to meet her wrath.
Enki and Anu were even willing to atone with their lives.
But Tiamat didn't lash out. In pain, tears in her eyes, she asked, "Why? Why did you betray me… my children?"
"I loved you from the beginning, truly loved you. Is even my love… wrong?"
To this, Enki replied:
"We're sorry, Mother. Your love is pure, true, but it's not what we need."
"We seek a future, dominion, hierarchy, to live by our own will, not to fade into nothingness. We know your love, but it's yours alone. It's cheap, equal for us, this world, everything. To you, we're dispensable!"
"You did well, truly. We'll always respect and love you as our mother, the source of all. But… your children have grown and have the right to choose their future. So please, let go and sleep forever… Mother!!"
In Tiamat's pained, guilt-ridden gaze, Enlil, from afar, drew his ultimate weapon, the Sword of Rupture, piercing her throat. Anu wielded his scepter to suppress her movements.
Finally, Marduk's great axe slew Tiamat, her body and head dismantled by the Sumerian gods, forming the heavens, earth, and underworld.
Fearing her vengeance, Enki sealed her soul in the restless World of Imaginary Numbers.
In the days that followed, her soul drifted in silence.
She dared not make a sound, fearing she'd trouble her children or bring destruction to the lives on this land.
She accepted the gods' actions and her fate, but doubts lingered.
Was her love truly so cheap? Was it worthless, merely a shackle of duty?
Today, seeing her long-dead child Kingu before her again, the emotions she'd suppressed stirred once more.
A yearning for return.
A subtle malice and hatred tainting her love.
The malice stemmed from her self-blame, and the hatred…
Perhaps Tiamat still couldn't fully accept her children's betrayal.
[Beast II Manifestation]
[Self-Seal Released: 18%]
***
Hi guys, I hope you're all doing well! I want to share that I'm currently working on a new project related to Lord of Mysteries.
If you're interested, feel free to visit my profile and start reading. Below is a brief summary:
[Lord of Mysteries: Incarnation of Chaos]
Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone from a Lovecraftian world got isekai'd into another world built on Lovecraftian themes? Well, it's absolute chaos.
Meet Alaric, a human(questionably) survivor of the madness and chaos caused by a certain crawling chaos, who, thanks to the kindness of a certain bubble daddy, got isekai'd into the "fake it till you make it" world.
What will he do in this strange new world? Climb the ladder of power to become that impossible god unless you're just a pawn of a certain russian priest or a certain goth mommy?
Or become a cheshire cat, leaping onto the 4D chessboard to disrupt the schemes and mind games of these bizarre folks?
For Alaric, it's not a tough choice. But before he picks either path, he must, of course, uphold the time-honored tradition of isekai'd victims(questionably) that forms the foundation of this world.
What's that tradition?
Keeping a diary.
---
[Alaric's Transmigration Diary]
[Day 1: I encountered Amon. Used a special technique to summon a projection of the Ancient Sun God, who personally delivered a heavy slap to Amon. Hope Amon appreciates this weighty paternal affection.]
[Day 2: I received an invitation from the Aurora Order. Told them I want it all... looks, brains, and combat prowess... and invited them to join my newly founded Joker Club.]
[Day 3: I met Leonard and acknowledged Gramps Pallez. Declined Leonard's enthusiastic suggestion for the old man to move in with me, as I'd rather not have a old man critiquing my every move, even in private moments.]
[Day 4: I told Klein I plan to pray to a deity named The Fool. Watched his eyes widen in shock and kindly offered him some eye drops.]
[Day 5: I listened to Medici perform a two-hour comedy routine. Suggested he go professional and invited him to share a meal.]
.
.
.
[Day 666: I fully absorbed a certain crawling chaos fragment within me. From now on, I am the Fifth Pillar.]