"Enkidu, should we go back first?"
Right now, Ophis had no interest in meddling with the affairs of gods. She only looked at Enkidu with concern and was about to pull her back toward Uruk—but Enkidu held her hand instead.
Even though Enkidu had almost no strength left, Ophis still stopped.
"No, let's stay here."
From the hill overlooking Uruk, Enkidu spoke softly, tinged with melancholy.
"Rather than returning to that palace—beautiful but meaningless—I'd rather spend my final moments looking at this lovely world."
Ophis paused, then quietly sat down beside her.
"Say, Ophis."
After a long silence, Enkidu spoke again.
"Actually… I still have some lingering regrets."
When Ophis didn't answer, Enkidu went on in a low voice.
"I truly love… I've always loved this world."
Lying back on the grass, Enkidu raised her hand toward the sky.
"This world is so beautiful—the earth where I was born, the unreachable sky above, even the mysterious seas… all of it. The animals, the humans… So yes, I can't help but feel a little regret."
"Enkidu, do you regret it?"
"Regret…?"
Enkidu lowered her hand and shook her head.
"No. I don't regret it. It was my choice from the very beginning."
"Because you're a 'Chain'?"
Ophis suddenly asked.
"Ah… so you noticed."
Enkidu smiled, a touch of bitterness in it.
"You're right. I am the Chain. My role was to bind heaven and earth—to link gods and humans. But now, that purpose can no longer be fulfilled. My actions—my very existence—have denied the duty carved into the being known as Enkidu."
She was meant to be the bridge between gods and humanity, yet she herself had broken that purpose.
Because she loved the world—loved humanity—Enkidu had chosen the only path that could secure their future:
To cut off the bridge between gods and humans.
Yet she herself was that bridge—perhaps the strongest link of all.
And so, in the end, Enkidu chose to sever herself along with the connection.
Her death was not only the gods' lament or resignation—it was also her own decision.
"That's how it is. Though I wish I could've seen more of this vast world, I can accept an ending like this."
The bitterness faded from Enkidu's smile, replaced by the warmth Ophis knew so well.
"After all, I've already received more than I ever hoped for."
Enkidu was a weapon; her life had been meant only for battle—
"Just meeting you, Ophis, makes me feel I was lucky enough."
Just as Ophis found warmth and peace in Enkidu's smile, Enkidu too had found quiet happiness in their time together.
Enkidu's heart was pure and sacred, while Ophis's spirit was untainted and innocent.
In a way, the two were deeply alike, weren't they?
Yet… if it was truly as Enkidu said—
If it really was—
Then why…
"Then why, Enkidu, are you crying?"
Enkidu's smile stayed as gentle and sacred as ever, yet tears kept flowing uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
"Mm… you're right… maybe it's because…"
Wiping the tears away, Enkidu turned to look at Ophis, who sat quietly beside her.
"More than this world… maybe there's something else I can't let go of?"
Meeting her gaze, Ophis only tilted her head slightly.
She supposed Enkidu was talking about her.
Only—
"I don't understand. This body of mine will never truly die. Past, present, future—I am eternal. Enkidu doesn't need to worry about me."
"Ah… eternity…"
Enkidu slowly closed her eyes.
"Eternity… after I die, who else will understand someone as intangible as you, Ophis? Your eternity means you'll exist alone, forever. When I think of that, I can't stop these tears."
Ophis was untouchable, cut off from the world.
She was unreachable, endlessly chasing a goal even farther beyond her isolation.
Who could possibly walk beside someone like that?
"…Enkidu doesn't understand. I'm an Ouroboros. By nature, I'm an existence that neither interferes with nor is interfered with by others."
An Ouroboros was a closed loop, self-contained and untouched by the outside. Isolation was its natural state.
And yet—
"I knew that from the start."
Enkidu shook her head gently.
"Even if I don't fully understand what you are, from the moment I first saw you, I knew you were someone unreachable, someone who couldn't be touched or interfered with… even though I had no real reason to know it."
As she spoke, Enkidu shifted slightly, reaching toward Ophis's cheek.
"Yet even so, I still managed to touch you. At your weakest, most fragile moment, I took that chance—and touched the untouchable. In that instant, I felt as though I caught a glimpse of your heart."
Her cursed body was weak; midway through reaching out, her arm trembled and began to fall.
But before it could, Ophis caught it gently.
Holding Ophis's hand, the fading smile on Enkidu's face brightened.
"Even if you say an Ouroboros doesn't interfere, maybe it's not because you don't want to, but because you don't know how. Ophis, even if you can't be touched—no, because you can't be touched—you, who never learned how to reach out, must be terribly lonely, aren't you?"
"Even if Enkidu says so…"
Ophis shook her head.
Even if what Enkidu said was true, there was no need for her to reach out to others.
It was meaningless.
If she could endure that loneliness in the original timeline, she could do so again.
There was no need for something so unnecessary.
"…Hey, Ophis…"
At that moment, Enkidu spoke again.
"Can you promise me something?"
"What is it?"
"Love in my place… love everything that I loved."
The sudden, unrelated request left Ophis momentarily silent.
For a while, the air grew still.
Then Ophis slowly closed her eyes.
And in that instant, she understood.
So that was Enkidu's wish all along…
Then—
After a long silence, Ophis opened her eyes again and looked straight into Enkidu's.
And under Enkidu's astonished gaze, a smile bloomed on Ophis's face.
The answer had been decided from the very beginning, hadn't it…
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T/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH