The Great Flood
The moment Sunya struck Kingu down and destroyed the Tablet of Destinies in the same breath, the monsters and corpse-creatures scattered across every region crumbled and collapsed as one.
Though the flood itself could not be stopped, Enki — who had been watching the situation on the ground in real time through magic — let out a triumphant shout.
"He did it! That guy actually succeeded!"
"That guy?"
As Enlil looked on in confusion, Enki turned to face him.
"You saw it, didn't you? It's over. Stop the rain. Call off the slaughter of humanity."
Enki had expected that by this point, Enlil would halt the downpour. Whatever his true intentions, Enlil had justified the flood as a means of preventing the enemy's forces from growing stronger. Without that pretext, Enki assumed he would reverse the decision. Even if his half-brother was a fool, Enki believed he possessed at least that much sense.
"......"
But Enlil merely kept his mouth shut and did not stop the rain.
Not only Enki but the other gods stared at him for this strange behavior, yet Enlil remained silent. He showed not the slightest sign of retracting the annihilation of humankind. Still, the way he turned his face and averted his gaze suggested that even he recognized what he was doing was far from honorable.
"Enlil!!"
Enki's roar shook the palace.
"What the hell do you want? What do you gain from any of this?"
"......"
Still, nothing changed. Enlil did not open his mouth.
Everyone accepted humanity's extinction as a foregone conclusion — yet on the ground below, a sliver of hope still remained.
Rain fell.
It poured down like a waterfall, as if a hole had been torn open in the sky. No matter how one looked at it, both the volume and the duration were anything but natural.
By the time Sunya grasped the situation, it was already too late.
"Please, save us!"
"Mother!!"
"I-is this how it ends?"
"No!! I don't want to die like this!!"
Humans are not fish. Even those who could swim would lose their strength and body heat if left in the water long enough. It was a simple truth everyone knew. And so, from every corner of the world, screams and wails rose without end.
With the entire surface of the earth sinking beneath the waters, Sunya had to choose. Ascend to the heavens and resolve the cause of the disaster — or save the people right now.
He had a rough idea of who had ordered this, but even that was uncertain. If he went through the process of persuasion, the humans on the ground would all be dead by the time he finished.
Sunya searched for the place where the greatest number of people had gathered. Fortunately, the city of Ku'ar sat on far higher ground than the other cities, and humans from the surrounding regions had all flocked there.
Sunya spoke. His soul-voice cut cleanly through the torrential rain, the screams, and the wailing, reaching every person present with perfect clarity.
"Get down? In a situation like this?"
"Has he lost his mind?"
"You idiot! Does that sound like a human voice to you? Shut up and get down!"
"This whole thing seems like something the gods intended — should we really listen?"
"Even the gods don't all agree!"
Confused as they were, the humans crouched low against the earth at Sunya's command. In the midst of it all, only Adapa — with his keen eyesight — spotted Sunya standing far off in the empty air.
Sunya extended his arms as if to support something, then slowly began to raise them.
Kugugugugu—
The earth trembled. At the same time, the ground — Ku'ar included — surged upward.
"What's going on?"
"The ground... is it rising?"
The humans on the surface did not fully understand, but the gods in the heavens saw it clearly. From the earth, a hand far larger than any city erupted, lifting Ku'ar and the surrounding regions as it rose.
"Who is raising the land right now?"
Enlil turned to Ninhursag. The earth was her domain, after all. But seeing her face — bewildered, yet exhaling a sigh of relief — he realized she had not used her authority.
"Don't tell me..."
Rather, it was Enki who seemed to have some inkling.
"Speak! What is happening right now?"
"...I don't know. How would I know?"
Even the use of Command Power yielded little. Enki was merely guessing; he did not know the truth. Enlil knew this and was about to press him further — but before he could, he heard the other gods watching the ground cry out in wonder, and turned his gaze.
Another vast hand of earth appeared. Upon this second hand rested forests, mountains, and wetlands where all manner of beasts had gathered. The animals, as if entranced, all tried to climb onto the hand Sunya had created.
As the water level rose, the hands rose with it. Though called hands, they were already islands shaped like open palms. People and beasts alike scrambled onto them to survive, and indeed, no small number of those thrashing in the water managed to climb up and save their lives.
"Krrrrgh!!"
Even for Sunya, wielding and maintaining this much power was a tremendous strain. In exchange for lifting the earth, sacred blood streamed from his eyes, his mouth, his nostrils. His flesh — tougher and more resilient than any god's — tore and split open.
But Sunya endured. This degree of pain was something he had grown thoroughly accustomed to through years of ascetic practice. Knowing what true suffering was, he could hold on to the end.
And at last, the downpour ceased and the dark clouds parted.
On the surface of the earth, only two vast islands remained unsubmerged. Even in his exhaustion, Sunya did not withdraw his power. When he pressed his wrists together, the islands joined in the same way. Viewed from afar, they resembled two hands supporting something precious.
Having finished what needed to be done, Sunya exhaled a long, weary breath for the first time in ages, blood streaming from his entire body. Even so, he slowly rose into the sky and surveyed his surroundings.
"Haa... haa..."
His eyes went first not to what he had saved, but to what he had failed to protect.
Corpses. Corpses. Corpses. Corpses...
Wherever he looked beyond the islands, countless bodies filled the waters. Adding the carcasses of beasts made the number far greater still.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
The population of Kienkingir had reached into the millions — yet Sunya himself had saved only a few hundred thousand lives. Put another way, he had failed to save millions of people. The guilt threatened to choke him at any moment.
"Hooo... hoooo..."
He steadied his breathing. He tried to calm his heart as best he could, but looking upon that horrific scene, the nightmare of the past rose before him.
In truth, the nightmare and the present catastrophe differed in many ways. In the nightmare, the corpses of people had been far less intact than they were now. Here, the vast majority had drowned — but back then, the ways people had died had not been uniform. Even so, Sunya was recalling the nightmare of that day. The scene of the day he lost his precious bonds, the place he could return to, crossed before his eyes.
Just as he had done then, Sunya covered his eyes with his own hands. But covering one's eyes does not make something unhappen.
"Grrrrgh..."
Calm down.
Be still.
Be cold.
Had he not always told his disciples to maintain composure of mind? What good was it if the one who spoke those words forgot his own composure?
"Gyaaaaah... gahk!!"
He had to maintain peace of mind. Afflictions only torment oneself. What had already happened could wait — he could hold them accountable calmly later.
No matter how many dozens or hundreds of times he soothed himself, his heart would not settle. Seized by boiling emotion and affliction, Sunya clawed at his own face indiscriminately.
"Igigigik... krrrrrrrrgh..."
No. He could not endure it.
The knot that had been buried deep within him — forgotten during his long years with Inanna — burst open all at once.
The scream of one yet unenlightened shook the world.
The violent wave of emotion unleashed by a being of such power shook the entirety of Kienkingir — heaven, earth, and the underworld without distinction. Humans trembled in instinctive fear, curled up and shaking, while the beings of the underworld, infected by Sunya's emotion, raged and shed tears.
"Wh-what?"
"...This is just a single being?"
"Impossible..."
The gods of the heavens tensed at a presence most of them were experiencing for the first time — one so overwhelming it was nearly impossible to approach. The presence they felt on their skin was perhaps beyond even An, the father of the gods. In other words, it far surpassed the supreme deity himself.
"Sunya..."
Among them, only Inanna felt a pain as if her heart were being torn apart. For the suffering of a loved one wounds even those who love him.
"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"
After roaring for a long while like a beast more savage than any beast, Sunya shot toward the God-King's palace in the heavens faster than anything else.