Chapter 27: Ishtar, How Did I Become a Lightbulb?
It failed again.
Rowe did not need to think too hard. One glance at the situation told him everything.
The Underworld's aura had vanished without a trace. The life he had felt slipping away had returned in full. His body was youthful again, steady again, no longer staggering on the edge of collapse.
Ereshkigal had withdrawn the wind of Kur on purpose.
If she had understood what he was trying to do, that reaction made perfect sense. The kindness buried in her divinity would never allow her to watch a living man walk into death for her sake.
Still.
What exactly was this situation now?
Rowe's gaze drifted from the frostlit street ahead and lowered to the figure in his arms.
A dark golden crown sat slightly askew, spilling blond hair against his jaw. He could not see her face, but he felt the soft warmth of it pressed to his chest. The Goddess of the Underworld was holding him tightly, as if afraid he might vanish the moment she let go.
Rowe had the urge to pat her head and ask, Sis, what are you doing?
He swallowed the impulse.
That would shatter the mood so hard that even the gods would wince.
Rowe was not an idiot. He could not fully understand her actions, but he knew why he could not understand. He had never lived her eternity, never carried her loneliness, never worn her title like a chain around the neck.
He understood the reason for her change in heart.
His performance had been too intense again.
He rubbed his forehead, a little helpless.
But once things reached this point, Rowe never wasted time regretting. He would just keep going.
At the same moment, the evening breeze brushed past, and a soft murmur came from the goddess in his arms.
"Thank you…"
Her voice was quiet enough to dissolve into the night.
"Thank you for letting me know someone still remembers me. That someone still longs for a useless god like me."
The heat against his chest made the rest of her feelings obvious. Nervous. Shy. Overwhelmed by something she did not know how to hold.
Rowe was no saint.
His main goal was not romance. But if the world happened to hand him a beautiful story, he was not the sort to kick it away out of principle. A bond with a deity would not only be another proof of the road he had walked, it would be another piece of evidence that he was still human, not a hollow machine built only to chase death.
And for Ereshkigal, gentle and kind in a way that made even gods look crude, he admitted he had a good impression of her.
Unexpected, sure.
But not unwelcome.
"You really are useless."
The words landed in Ereshkigal's ears like a stone in still water. She froze, then instinctively lifted her head.
What she saw was a youthful, handsome face and eyes curved in a smile.
"I mean it," Rowe said lightly. "What kind of god refuses to answer the plea of an admirer?"
"Wh what, I was afraid you could not bear it. Yes, that is all."
She stammered through the excuse, then found courage inside it.
"I am the cruel goddess who symbolizes death. What right does a mere human have to face the embodiment of death?"
Rowe stroked his chin, putting on a thoughtful look.
"Does the embodiment of death cry?"
"Eh? Eh!"
Ereshkigal panicked instantly. She took two quick steps back and rubbed the corners of her eyes, almost frantically.
There was nothing there.
"You tricked me. You are hateful."
Her face went even redder. She looked like someone who had been caught trying to be brave.
No tears at all.
She had been played.
If this were Ishtar, she would already be shouting him into the dirt. Same face, completely different wind.
Rowe spread his hands innocently.
"I did not lie. Look, did you not cry?"
Something sparkled in his palm. Crystal bright in the dim alley, like a tiny tear caught in moonlight.
Ereshkigal blinked, stunned.
At first glance it really did look like a droplet.
But when she took it from him, she realized it was a small key sealed inside a clear crystal like frost and snow.
A key that could open the gate to the human world.
"No matter what happened before," Rowe said, "from now on you will have the tears of the human world."
Ereshkigal went blank, not sure what to say.
Had he prepared this just for her?
She curled her fingers around it, holding it tight as if it might evaporate. Then she nodded hard.
Rowe relaxed.
He had made this key using the Key of Heaven's power. It could open a door to wherever the key was located. And it worked both ways.
Ereshkigal could use it to try to step out of Kur.
And if she was in Kur, Rowe could use it to step in.
Another road to death had just been paved.
Rowe felt very proud of himself.
"Rowe's gift… I have received it."
A blush returned to the goddess's cheeks. She rubbed the warm crystal gently, and her crimson lips curved into a rare smile.
"I also want to give Rowe a gift."
"In the name of the Goddess, I bless you so that from now on you will no longer be eroded by death and the Underworld."
"This blessing is something I have never given before."
Rowe went silent.
If I cannot be eroded by death, how exactly am I supposed to die in Kur?
He was about to refuse when Ereshkigal, who had just stepped away, drew close again.
The golden haired girl rose onto her toes. Her fragrance drifted over him like a lullaby.
Her slender fingers touched his lips.
Then her moist crimson lips pressed gently against his knuckle.
Rowe's eyes widened.
Her skin was flushed, glowing faintly in the moonlight.
An immunity to death's erosion was not some casual divine favor. This was the Underworld's most sincere wish, an affirmation reserved for someone the goddess truly cared for.
Will you remember this moment?
Ereshkigal closed her eyes, asking herself in silence.
For her, this was beauty she had never tasted since her birth.
No.
She would not just remember this moment.
Because of the key clenched in her hand, because of him, she would remember every moment from now on.
Her lips lifted.
The Goddess of the Underworld smiled, like a flower that had never bloomed in Kur.
She has fallen already.
Deep within the shared vessel, Ishtar sighed.
It was not hard to understand. If she had been imprisoned in darkness for ages, alone for millions of years, and someone appeared who was willing to walk toward her even while dying, Ishtar's reaction would not be any better than Ereshkigal's.
But thinking about it carefully…
Suddenly, I feel so sour.
Ishtar's teeth practically ached.
She was so out of place she might as well be a giant lightbulb.
Unfortunately, Rowe had no idea what she was thinking. Even if he did, he was not about to tell the currently disembodied Venus Goddess, You came at just the right time.
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