The Tablet of Destinies
Enlil had succeeded An, the god of the heavens, as King of the Gods — yet he lived forever hemmed in by anxiety and inferiority.
He had never forgotten how, before his ascension, the other gods had measured him against his half-brother Enki and openly questioned whether he possessed a leader's qualities.
What rankled worse was that Enlil himself knew, in those very respects, he fell short of Enki.
An, Enlil's father and the first King of Gods, had been a magnificent deity who imposed order upon chaos — but he had been blind to the workings of the human heart. Of course he had been. A being who never needed to read a room or care about his reputation could hardly be expected to understand such things. And the sole reason he had named Enlil his heir was the single Authority Enlil possessed.
Whatever the cause, the result was a god who was prickly and emotional in all things. In a human society, such a temperament might have invited rebellion or betrayal more than once. In the relatively stable society of the gods, however, such upheavals were vanishingly rare. The most that had ever happened was a revolt by the Igigi, exhausted by labor — and that had been crushed.
"Tsk."
Alone in his chair, draining a cup of wine, Enlil clicked his tongue. Of late he had been far more irritable than usual. There was no particular reason — or perhaps he simply had not recognized it. Either way, he could not pinpoint exactly why his temper kept flaring.
"…Come to think of it, it started when that one appeared."
Enlil thought of a certain god who had married Inanna. A strange fellow who went about with his eyes closed. His name was Sunya.
At first Enlil had found it curious that his granddaughter — who loved everything flashy — had brought home a man of such modest dress as a husband. Then he had learned there were reasons for all of it. That Sunya's name had remained unknown for so long was itself a mystery, given how many talents the man possessed. Outstanding aesthetic sense and clever hands were one thing; building an entire city in half a year was something else entirely. On top of that, he could conceal his divinity and blend seamlessly among humans, and he had a natural gift for captivating people.
At some point, most of the people living in Ku'ar had begun wearing the same monastic robes Sunya favored. Travelers who passed through Ku'ar likewise took up the robes and spread his teachings far and wide. There were even a great many who came to Ku'ar for no other reason than to see Sunya himself. Watching Inanna preen as her own worship deepened in tandem left a bitter taste in Enlil's mouth.
"I never liked him from the start."
He could not name a precise reason. From the first impression, Sunya had simply rubbed him the wrong way. That faintly smiling face, that unreadable way of speaking, the plain clothes, the unhurried air — all of it grated. It was much the same distaste and wariness Enlil felt toward Enki.
"…Ah. So that was it."
Only then did Enlil understand why he had never liked Sunya. He was jealous of him.
Enlil himself spent most of his time scowling. His speech was high-handed; he fretted constantly over how others saw him and strained to project dignity at every turn. It never quite worked. And so he had envied Enki — a god who moved with ease and informality, yet was acknowledged by everyone. Enlil had soothed himself by insisting that, having inherited their father's throne, he was the ultimate victor and Enki the loser. Deep down, the inferiority had remained.
And Sunya was Enki's superior in every respect. Ease overflowed from every light gesture and attitude. He grinned and acted the fool, yet fundamentally he moved people's hearts — and he was genuinely, remarkably capable. Was there a single god among them who disliked Sunya? The humans who wished to follow him were so numerous they could not even be counted. If he ever set his mind to it, he might gather more faith than any god alive. That was not logic. It was pure, unshakable instinct.
"…He's still just some nobody without a pedigree. He'll never threaten my seat."
He tried once more to console himself. The inferiority and jealousy did not fade so easily. Frustrated, Enlil drained his cup in a single gulp.
"Aren't you drinking a little too much?"
Ninlil approached and sat beside him. She knew perfectly well what was eating at her husband.
"It's nothing."
"Nothing, he says. After all the years we've lived together, do you really think I wouldn't know?"
"…"
Enlil was foul-tempered, a mass of inferiority complexes, and petty to boot — yet the love he bore Ninlil was entirely genuine. So genuine that Ninlil, despite the fact that he had once raped her, had come to love him truly in return, moved by the care he showed her.
"You know, it makes me think of the first time we met."
A little residual resentment remained, and so she needled him now and then like this.
"…Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
Enlil, pricked by conscience, looked away.
"I was bathing in the river, and you came charging at me out of nowhere. Do you have any idea how startled I was?"
"…I was in the full flush of youth back then."
Even Enlil knew how pathetic that excuse sounded. It was still the only thing he could say.
"I was a virgin who didn't even know what a kiss was, and suddenly your thing was pushing inside me, thrusting in and out — do you know how much that hurt?"
"…I'm sorry."
In the end, the King of Gods apologized. Even an arrogant divine sovereign was, before his wife, merely an awkward, devoted husband.
As they spoke, Enlil too found himself remembering their first meeting. Even allowing for the heat of youth, she had been so beautiful that he had forgotten the dignity he so carefully guarded and thrown himself upon her. Ninlil's back, especially, had been exquisite. Her breasts were modest compared to goddesses like Ninhursag or Inanna, but her waist was slender and narrow beyond that, her whole frame lean. Enlil had always preferred women built like Ninlil — long and lithe.
"Ninlil…"
Enlil took her wrist and drew her toward him.
"Oh my."
"You are… still utterly lovely."
"Isn't this a little sudden?"
She said it, but there was no real reluctance in her. If anything, she seemed to want it. She was just beginning to shed her clothes, about to dance naked for him, when—
—BOOM!
A sudden impact shook the palace. Enlil and Ninlil hastily righted their clothes and hurried toward the source of the noise.
"What is happening?"
Enlil demanded of a group of soldiers racing past. The captain of the guard spoke for them.
"An intruder has appeared near the royal vault, Your Majesty."
"…What?"
Enlil's face went visibly pale. The vault held the Tablet of Destinies — the symbol of the King of Gods and a weapon of immense power in its own right. Layers of security magic and devices protected it, of course, but the mere fact that an intruder was targeting the Tablet filled him with dread.
"What in the world were you doing while this invader reached this far?!"
"Most of the lesser gods on guard have been killed."
"…What?"
"The royal guard is pursuing the intruder, but he is too fast and too strong. With our strength, the best we can manage is to slow him down."
"…"
The captain was not merely whining before his master. He was saying he needed Enlil's help — and it was true that Enlil was stronger than any of them.
"…Understood. I will go myself."
"Darling…"
"Don't worry. Stay inside. I will handle everything."
Leaving the anxious Ninlil behind, Enlil moved out. As a precaution, he assigned most of the remaining soldiers to guard her, then headed for the vault.
—BOOM!
Another explosion. Moments later, pieces of royal guardsmen's bodies rained down in front of Enlil. This was clearly no ordinary opponent — not a thief who stole in secret, but a robber who announced himself with open violence.
"You miserable vermin!!"
The King of Gods was furious. Enlil shoved soldiers aside and strode forward. Just as the intruder was about to lash a massive tentacle at the remaining men, Enlil stepped into its path.
—THOOM!
The tentacle rebounded off a barrier of wind.
"Wh-what? A wind barrier?"
For some reason, the sight startled the intruder. Enlil found that odd, but studied the man's face nonetheless. A god he had never seen before. Like Enlil himself, the stranger was a handsome man with long hair and skin so pale it held a bluish cast. More striking than his looks, however, were the stitch-marks visible all over his body. And from the way he had swung that tentacle, he seemed to possess an Authority that let him reshape his form.
"What? It's not him."
The intruder looked at Enlil's face, decided this was not the person he had expected, and exhaled in relief. That did not sit well with Enlil.
"Who are you?"
"Who am I? Do I look like enough of an idiot to just tell you that?"
"State your name."
Then something strange happened.
"My name is Kingu. Wait, what?"
"Where did you come from? What is your purpose?"
"I was hiding in the consciousness of humans, and I've been revived just now. My purpose is the Tablet of Destinies… Why am I telling you all this one by one? Ah — so this is your Authority?"
Among all the gods, only Enlil possessed the Authority known as the Word of Command. It was a formidable power that could compel obedience from anyone who heard his words — anyone except An. And it was the very reason he had been able to succeed An as King of Gods.