I saw countless worlds. Their possibilities. The tapestry of human life woven across those worlds.
They were so, so beautiful. Do you know, Fou? Even in the night, the earth is filled with stars. There are worlds where people no longer freeze in the cold or collapse in the heat.
I was so happy. And... I was so sad.
I was overwhelmed by the foolishness of my own heart—how I had tried to deny those people through hatred and sorrow, forcing my own love upon them.
But even that sadness was fleeting. My body was decaying; I was dying.
I even felt a sense of luxury. To see my children's departure and glimpse their achievements at the moment of my death... what a lavish gift.
I tried to pass away with those memories as my only companion—but my wish was not granted.
"...To think the Primordial Mother would end up here. Only a shred of rationality has drifted through, but... what a strange turn of fate."
Before I knew it, I was in a space beyond comprehension, speaking with someone.
"Even for me, this is unexpected. What am I to do with an existence like you? ...Hm?"
"A... Aa..."
I lamented. I grieved.
"Aaaaaa! Aaaaaa! Aaaaaaaaaaa—!!!"
Why had I survived?
Why was I still here?
Why... was I unable to reach total nothingness?
There is nothing on this planet that needs me.
There is no immature thing left that requires my love.
Moreover, for me to exist... for me to be here... it is an insult.
"..."
It is an insult to every living thing that staked everything to defeat me. I regretted my survival. I blamed myself for not reaching the end.
I should have known I was a hindrance.
I should have accepted my fate. That is why I sealed myself away.
So why... why...?
"Aaaaaaaaaaa—!!! Aaaaaa—!!!"
I continued to curse my own existence...
"Countless lives face their end with confusion and bewilderment. Souls that gain self-awareness after death are rare. But... this is a first. To see an existence that laments and regrets its own being."
That "someone" spoke to me again.
"Life remains—it stays within the universe—because there is 'unfinished business.' No matter how perfect a life one leads, something always remains. That is why humans reincarnate, and why heroes are summoned back to the world."
"...Aaaaaa... Aaaaaaaaaaa..."
"Primordial Mother. If there is a reason you came here, is it not because you have 'unfinished business'? Even if you have no regrets, do you not still have lingering attachments?"
I looked up at the voice.
Unfinished business. Lingering attachments. The things I wanted to do. The things I couldn't do.
"Your role as 'Human Evil' has been fulfilled. The path to the Return is closed forever. If so—what is it you wish to do? For what reason does your rationality continue to shine?"
"..."
"Consider it a favor for an old acquaintance. I suppose I'll look after you. I'd rather not get involved, but once a connection is made, it must be honored. It wouldn't be fair to give all the perks to Chaldea, after all."
I thought about his words.
A wish. A prayer. The wish I held now.
"If you wish to manifest again, I do not mind. Do as you please. Now, what do you wish for? What do you want to do? I am the one who records and weaves the threads of causality. —Though it's quite odd for such an existence to have a personality. I won't tell you the details. I only reveal them to those who have reached the end of their journey. ...Now."
I—
"What do you wish for?"
...I remembered the humans who challenged me.
The people who built cities, took up arms, gathered heroes, and defied me.
...I thought they were magnificent.
I thought they were something to be proud of.
...If a wish... if a prayer were permitted...
...My wish...
I spoke my heart to that mysterious stranger.
...To be... under the protection of humans. To give... strength to the first of my children... and...
This time. This time, for certain...
...I want them... to grant me my end... with their own hands...
A complete, absolute rejection. A total parting.
This time, let it be by the hands of humans. By their hands.
"I have heard your plea. Very well. I shall take your rationality and 'reincarnate' you into the version of yourself in that world. I shall let you manifest as an independent mind. What you do from there is up to you."
...Ah, I was at peace.
With this, the "me" that I was could truly, finally perish.
And—at the very, very end, I could be an ally to humanity... I could imagine no greater happiness.
I had fulfilled my "Evil" and my "Love" to the fullest.
So, this time, I will use everything I am to watch over the lives that inhabit this world.
...Please. Let me reach that wonderful conclusion, where I do not lay a hand on a single child I love, and where I alone am destroyed. Let me live again for that sake.
Oh, people of the world I am returning to...
"Well then, have a safe journey, Mother of All. May that world truly... become your abyss."
...Please—do not lose heart to despair—...
And so, I stepped foot into this world...
（...So, it's the same as my story.）
Fou nodded quietly after hearing her tale.
"...Once I was reincarnated, all I could do was send warnings to her soul. Images in the form of 'dreams.' Vague shapes of the disaster to come. ...But through the network, the connections between worlds grew stronger. I was able to join the gathering of Beasts... and then... the First Beast touched my 'soul.' Finally, a 'bond' was formed. ...And then..."
（And so you transferred your entire consciousness into the vessel of the digital Tiamat. ...What a foolish thing to do. If reincarnation were truly possible, you could have become a completely different lifeform... You could have even become human.）
Tiamat shook her head.
"I am a Mother. Even if there is no one who loves me... I cannot run away from loving my children."
That was a Mother's pride. A Mother's duty is to watch over her children until the very end.
In the end, though Tiamat had known hatred and sorrow... she had never truly "disliked" a single living thing.
"...I am actually grateful to Marduk, as well. Truly. ...He tore my body apart and used it to create the heavens and the earth. He gave me—who was nothing but a hindrance—the role of watching over those who live between the sky and the ground. ...That made me... happy."
She had even quietly accepted the rebellion of the gods. There was sorrow, and there was resentment.
But there was no rejection. A child's actions are a necessity; if that is what they chose, then she had no grievances.
"I believe the choice of those who tore me apart to create the world was not a mistake. Because..."
Tiamat gently lifted Fou into her arms.
"Because at the far end of time... Man and Beast were able to understand one another."
That was Tiamat's salvation.
Humanity had finally... through their own goodness alone... repelled the calamity.
That heart was the very answer Tiamat had prayed for, believed in, and loved without end—the answer that "living things" were meant to attain.
The Primordial Mother had truly witnessed her children's growth.
（...）
"—The battle is near. The time of judgment for this world approaches."
（Tiamat...）
"Let us go, Fou. Show this Mother. —Show me that Man and Beast can walk hand-in-hand. Show me that the love of a Mother and the laws of Genesis are no longer needed..."
Fou nodded in silence.
Tiamat smiled with a sense of deep fulfillment.
"...As I learned more, I realized that I even appear in a 'game.' ...That might have been what made me happiest of all. To know that I have been woven into your 'culture.' Knowing that alone makes me glad I came here."
（...Japan is just eccentric like that. They turn everything into something 'cute.'）
"...It is a wonderful creativity. Truly, humans are... magnificent."
As the two Beasts faced the coming decisive battle...
They continued their quiet, peaceful conversation.
Next: The Seventh Refinement
"Look, Air."
—Ah...
"This... is the shape of the world you desired."
The Splendid Heroic Chronicles of Gilgamesh
—To be continued soon.
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