"Although times have changed, as you said, I did indeed find entrances to the Underworld in the ruins of Kutha and Uruk…"
Hassan-i-Sabbah stepped out of the dense night without a sound, leaning on his sword. He paused briefly, then continued in a low, steady voice.
"But the entire Underworld is empty. It looks like it's been abandoned for quite a long time."
"You're certain?!"
"With your divine seal, I passed through the seven gates of the Underworld, crossed the nine layers of Hell and the seven purgatories, and reached the final realm, Paradise Lost. Everywhere I went was in ruins, completely deserted…"
"And the souls?"
"Not just ordinary spirits. I didn't encounter a single incarnated Heroic Spirit or even a Gallû Spirit guarding the Underworld!"
How could that be?!
Samael's pupils shrank sharply, disbelief surging through him.
The birth of Persia's new god had already made him suspect that something might have gone wrong with the Underworld he, Ere, and Ishtar had built together. But for all of them to vanish without a trace was something he had never anticipated.
"However, I found no signs of battle. The dismantled Spear Cages were arranged neatly, and many of the plants in Paradise Lost show signs of having been carefully transplanted…"
Hassan-i-Sabbah's words eased some of Samael's tension.
No signs of conflict… dismantled Spear Cages… transplanted plants…
This didn't look like sudden destruction. It looked more like an intentional relocation.
Samael's narrowed pupils relaxed slightly as he sank into thought.
Plants? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Could they have all been moved there?
Could it be that ever since the last war with the giant gods, Ere and the others settled in Greece and never came back?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
The Areopagus led by Athena, along with the celestial pantheon of the eighty-eight constellations; the oceanic pantheon of the Eleven Offspring led by the Mother Goddess Tiamat; and the Underworld pantheon led by Ere… together, they would perfectly fill the void left after the Olympian gods withdrew.
Piecing together what he knew with his own deductions, the Ancient Serpent began to form a clearer picture of why Paradise Lost had been abandoned.
If that were true, then the rise of Persia's new god, Cyrus's ascent, and Zeus and the others withdrawing from Greece after the Trojan War to explore the Sea of Chaos would all make sense.
"Your Highness? Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Hassan-i-Sabbah's voice grew louder, pulling Samael out of his thoughts.
"Ah… old man, I drifted off for a moment. My apologies. Go on, I'm listening."
Samael came back to himself, offering a slightly awkward apology as he focused again.
"Your Highness, if Persia still refuses to give up, then a direct assault on Greece is their only remaining option. What are your plans next?"
"You and I are thinking along the same lines. Now that the anti-Greek alliance has been successfully dismantled and Rome's crisis resolved, it can continue to share the pressure from Persia and the Huns. The side fronts are stable. I think it's time for me to head to Greece myself."
Speculation was still only speculation. The truth would only be revealed once Samael reached Greece, found the entrance to the Inner Sea of the Planet, and reunited with Athena and the others.
"When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow. I'll go ahead first. You can finish your current affairs and follow later."
Hassan-i-Sabbah nodded slightly, readily accepting the arrangement.
The Divine Spirit before him, one whose origins were faintly tied to the Assassins, had earned his trust not through status alone, but through action.
In the battle on the Land of Nothingness, Samael had set aside personal interests and stepped forward to confront Angra Mainyu, carving out a slim chance of survival for countless lives. That alone proved his fairness and compassion.
Given the nature of this Angel of Death, even if Cyrus were defeated, he would never exterminate the Persians. At most, they would simply serve a new master.
At the same time, this god was not merely fair. He was not lacking in self-interest either. In everything he did, he always genuinely took care of his own people. The mountain folk would no doubt benefit from that in the future, and perhaps the rise of the Arab Empire spoken of in the prophecy would come sooner than expected.
Now that Ramesses II had quietly mobilized his forces and destroyed a Persian fleet in the Sea of Chaos, setting Egypt and Persia against each other, even if Cyrus the Great did not yet understand the full picture, he would surely have caught the scent of something unusual.
For that reason, it was indeed unwise for Samael and Hassan-i-Sabbah to travel together.
Moreover, as the pillar of these Arab mountain folk and of the entire Assassin Order, Hassan-i-Sabbah needed to make arrangements in advance for the people of the Vulture's Nest, just in case Persia moved to encircle and suppress them.
It was precisely because of all this that Hassan-i-Sabbah was willing to carry out this divine will in the name of destiny.
"Very well. We'll meet again in Greece. I imagine Ana will be very happy to see you."
With everything settled, the Ancient Serpent did not put on any airs as a god. Instead, he spoke like an old friend, teasing him a little before heading down toward the village under the old man's watchful gaze.
At the foot of the mountain path, the Amazon Queen stood beneath a tree, her clothes marked with traces of dew. She had clearly been waiting there for quite some time.
Samael walked toward her. A trace of softness flashed across his face, only to be replaced at once by faint helplessness in his eyes.
"Old friend, I plan to leave for Greece tomorrow. But there are still some things I simply can't stop worrying about."
"You mean... Rome?"
After nearly half a month together, Hippolyta had grown markedly more in sync with Samael and immediately understood what he meant.
"Exactly. Nero was pushed onto the throne in too much of a hurry. She has not even had time to reclaim the power of the Claudius family. Calling her an emperor with only empty authority would not be wrong.
What makes it even more troublesome is that she is not only a child, but also a girl..."
Samael nodded slightly and spoke bluntly, his brow furrowing.
"With external enemies pressing in, the six great families naturally had every reason to unite for self-preservation. In that situation, her title still carried some use.
Now that the danger from outside has receded, there is no telling what kind of trouble may erupt within. I want you to return to the City of Seven Hills as the daughter of Ares and the sister of Romulus. Take the Spear of Nation Building with you, command the Amazons, and help Nero suppress whatever unrest may arise and stabilize the situation."
A female emperor would be seen as an anomaly in any era, in any land.
Only ancient peoples like the Amazons, who had preserved their tribal customs, still retained such a tradition.
And at present, only Hippolyta and the Amazon warriors under her command were truly suited to stand at Nero's side and help the Rose Emperor deal with certain blind, overreaching schemers.
More than three thousand divine-blooded warriors would be more than enough to clean out whatever monsters and ambitious fools surfaced in the City of Seven Hills after the war.
"But your injuries..."
"Don't worry. I have my own plans. I can take care of myself."
"Very well. Since this is your command, I will return to Rome tomorrow and do everything in my power to stabilize the rear."
Hippolyta nodded solemnly, then turned and walked toward her room.
Samael watched his old friend walk farther and farther away into the lamplight, and for no clear reason, a faint melancholy and wistfulness rose in his heart.
She was the first old acquaintance he had met since his return.
But no feast lasts forever. In the end, each person has to walk their own road.
The Ancient Serpent tapped his forehead and laughed at himself for this sudden and unnecessary sorrow of parting, then turned toward his own little house.
What he did not notice was that after he turned away, Hippolyta looked back at him from afar, her eyes flickering uncertainly in the darkness.