Tiamat's Dream (248)

Ainz's dive into the rolling Black Sea turned out to be quite the mundane experience. Insofar as it could be expressed in such a way, anyway – Ainz hadn’t found himself drawn into some kind of incredible maelstrom of magical events, for instance. 

Instead, he felt exactly what he expected to feel from such an immersion into the thick, black oily liquid; it felt quite unpleasant as the liquid immediately seemed to grip his body, pulling him down deeper into its depths. But nothing more than that. 

And he was not drawn into some kind of depthless abyss, the bottom is not too far, most likely.

The Gorgon, although monstrous in size, was unlikely to have the ability to fly, since it hadn’t just flown off of the Black Liquid rather than being forced by the small Medusa to resist the Black Sea’s pull. In fact, in Ainz’s estimation, looking at the appropriate scale of the large Medusa, Ainz would actually be reaching the bottom of the Black Sea soon…

Only to find that he was stuck, as in he was not going deeper in the liquid, being suspended in the midst of the liquid. It’s good that he could fly and teleport then, since the tar-like liquid would probably prevent him from moving about.

‘Hah, it can’t just be that easy…’ Sighing to himself, Ainz started exploring the Black Sea, the only place in the Abyss that could probably hold the answer he wanted. Plus, it made for a good excuse to delay interacting with the two Medusas – Ainz could already feel the awkwardness that that action would entail.

‘That’s right, this Black Sea is connected with Tiamat somehow, it’s the correct decision to explore it fully before interacting with the Medusas.’ Ainz lied to himself as easy as he breathed… So he planned to spend the next few hours exploring the ‘depths’ of the Black Sea.

It’s at least a much better idea than just waiting the millennia it is required for Humanity to progress to be able to beat back the Black Sea’s tide of monsters once and for all.

Therefore, Ainz immersed himself in the Black Sea, looking around him as best he could, even though he didn’t even know what he was looking for exactly. Maybe he should dive deeper to find the bottom? He could at least revise his idea on how the large Medusa was remaining unconsumed by the Black Sea if it turned out that the Sea in question actually didn’t have a bottom.

Sure, it would make no sense whatsoever, but physics has definitely vacated the realm of the Dead. Plus Magic, all things are possible with Magic. This Singularity, even when compared to the total strangeness of the past Singularities, has definitely taken the cake in being inscrutable. 

Swimming through the black liquid, easier said than done when he didn't know how to swim in the first place, Ainz had to admit that he was not finding anything. Even diving deeper hadn’t given him any answer, as it seemed like he was not going to find the bottom. 

‘Some kind of magical effect like when I had jumped into the Abyss?’

Of course, he could just do another blind jump… But then there are still things that he could check out first.

Surfacing from the Black Sea, a bit disappointed by his lack of findings, the peculiar nature of the Black Sea showed up again. Stretching upward towards his floating form, a tendril of the ‘waters’ seems very reluctant to let go of Ainz’s form, covering him from head to toe. Finally, after having to float above the surface of the Black Sea a good few meters, the ‘liquid’ finally slid off of his form without leaving a single drop.

Seeing that diving into the Black Sea has not given him any answer, Ainz could only swallow his nervousness and made his way to the two Medusas.

The first inkling that something was wrong with the two was the fact that neither had reacted when Ainz had flown towards them. Sure he was doing it slow enough while making sure that he didn’t appear dangerous, no need to surprise the two after all. But Ainz could only quirk his eyebrow when neither the large Medusa nor the small one noted his sudden presence.

At first, he just thought the two were too preoccupied to notice his presence, the small one in making sure that the large Medusa was not swallowed, while the large one is too preoccupied in saving herself. With nothing else in the Abyss to distract them, it is quite easy for them to lose all track of their surroundings.

He was not expecting that, when he laid a hand on the shoulder of the small Medusa, to attract her attention, for her not to react at all.

Ainz was not sure what kind of reaction he expected, but he definitely expected some kind of reaction.

His bony hand rested on the shoulder of the small Medusa, but she had not reacted in any way. She continued to hold on to her scythe, prepared to continue her routine of stabbing the large Medusa just under her sternum. She didn’t even move an inch.

‘An automaton…? No, the small Medusa is definitely a living being.’ Feeling the warmth under his hand, Ainz could only feel even more confused.

As a test, Ainz slightly pulled on the girl's shoulder, and she moved accordingly – and yet the little Medusa continued ignoring Ainz’s existence. Ainz was unsure on what this meant, nor on what he should do next.

‘Although…’ Looking towards the large Medusa, the Gorgon, an idea popped into Ainz’s head.

The Gorgon was the exact opposite to the little Medusa – although she also ignored Ainz’s existence, she was most definitely emoting, even if it’s just screaming out in pain. But then, how would he be able to elicit a reaction from the Gorgon?

Even if whatever strangeness is happening to the small Medusa is only limited to her, the Gorgon would probably not notice Ainz trying to attract her attention, she was in too much pain to do so. 

There is an idea… But he was reluctant to have to do it. And so, trying to attract the small Medusa’s attention for several minutes more, rubbing her head and pinching her cheeks, to no avail, Ainz could only sigh.

“I have to resort to actually attacking the little Medusa then…” Of course, it would be much easier for Ainz to just attack the large Gorgon to attract her attention rather than hurting someone that looked so much like a younger Medusa… Which is a bit weird considering what he did to Stheno and Euryale, but this is different. But back to the current issue.

Unless he wants to resort to something drastic, he doubts that the Gorgon would notice his attack.

Of course, there’s every possibility that the small Medusa would react to Ainz’s attack, even if as non-consequential as a paper cut, very negatively and attack Ainz back. In fact, Ainz had no idea what would happen if he attacked the little Medusa.

But he was quite stuck…

Once again Ainz was stuck in between a rock and a hard place, worse in fact, he didn’t even know what the rock is made out of!

“Really, this Singularity… is making my head hurt!” Just like the rest of his experience with this Singularity, the problem is obvious, no one is trying to hide information from him, he didn’t even have any trouble getting into the Abyss. His allies are, comparatively speaking, quite open to Ainz just solving the Singularity, giving him a carte blanche to go wherever he wishes, and the enemy is not ever trying to hide… And he still didn't know what he needed to do!

Any ideas that he could come up with right now are quickly discarded because they wouldn’t work, or that he needs more information to even think that they wouldn’t work… Or worse, just backfire completely.

Still, Ainz flew around the Gorgon’s head, trying to see if the Gorgon would notice him, or if there was something that could be seen on the Gorgon that could show Ainz what to do next. It didn’t surprise him that the Gorgon didn’t even notice him as he landed on her shoulder, having to balance himself as the Gorgon moved quite erratically in her struggle to avoid the source of pain.

No matter how he contemplates it, turning the facts he knows, as little as they are, over in his head, he sees no simple solution to his troubles.

Perhaps, if Ainz himself was truly the powerful, but most importantly, smart mastermind as his Servants considered him to be, then he would not be stuck, would not have this issue become a significant obstacle for him. He would have nodded to himself a couple of times, muttered to himself something like ‘ah yes, it's all like that time with the dragons and gods’, after which he would have solved this whole problem in no time. 

In general, he would have done exactly what the Ainz from the fantasies of all his Servants could do, this invincible genius, master of all sciences and types of magic.

Unfortunately, instead of this brilliant Ainz, in this Singularity there was only the usual Ainz, who only had commands over his spells as they were in Yggdrasil. He only knows of their cooldowns, their effects, their weaknesses and strengths, how much damage the spells would do to what enemy and which spells to use at what time. Sure, he could speak with complete confidence about the lore of his most used spells, but that’s all.

He has no idea whatsoever on how his spell would interact with the world. It’s easy enough to tell that a Tier 3 spell like Fireball would throw out a fireball that would deal fire and explosion damage, even how much it would and could affect certain monsters. But, as has been demonstrated with his use of the Super-Tier magic Creation would have on the world, he knows very little on how his stronger spells would affect the world. He certainly didn’t expect to create a permanent Island, for example.

As for how the New World’s magic works? Even with the books he had acquired from the remains of the Clock Tower from the London Singularity, he had not become any closer to understanding it. The books are way too thick, too advanced, too convoluted in their language, for him to even understand the bare basics… But he couldn’t exactly ask someone to teach him the basics either!

It would be against his image as the Great Mage Ainz Ooal Gown, after all… And so, not even knowing what he doesn’t know, Ainz was once again stuck, with no good ideas coming to his mind right now.

Sighing once again, he has been doing a lot of that recently, Ainz just stared at the other two people in this unending black Abyss. The two versions of Medusa… Ainz scrunched his non-existent eyebrows, as if by changing his expressions, he would suddenly become smarter. Until he remembered that, as a skeleton, he didn’t have eyebrows or a forehead in the first place right now. 

In his desperation, Ainz even thought of something quite unthinkable for him.

Using a consumable. One that he had to buy using real money transaction at that.

It was a decision that Ainz had to wrestle with very heavily, having to argue quite vehemently with himself – the collector and miser within him fighting his common sense.

After all, isn’t this the exact moment that he had prescribed to himself, the best time to use such an item? Right now, isn’t it that exact ‘difficult situation’ that he had used as an excuse not to use an item when it would have made his life much, much easier? There are no more ‘rainy’ occasions than right now – where he has been completely stumped without any actual way out. 

After a long grueling debate with himself… Ainz decided against using any Items. And so, with that avenue closed, Ainz decided to re-survey his current options.

There are two workable ideas that Ainz had thought of, both with equally disastrous and unknown side effects.

Plan A, use Mass Teleport and teleport out with the little Medusa out of the Abyss. Workable, as Ainz would then have a great source of information, unusable, as that would mean that the Gorgon would then be absorbed by the Black Sea. God knows what would result from that.

Plan B, dispel the rather obvious mind control on both the little Medusa and the Gorgon. Better, as it would mean two sources of information, even if he would probably have to restrain the Gorgon from killing the little Medusa, but still possible. Another unusable plan, as Ainz has no idea how regaining their mind would affect their current function in restraining Tiamat.

Plan C… It was still to be determined. 

Those are the two, hopefully soon three, plans that Ainz had thought workable after his failure to get anything as he plunged himself in the Black Sea. Despite their current actions and inability to perceive anything outside of their current assignment, they are completely healthy… Well, minus the constant regenerating wounds on the Gorgon.

There is something that is affecting their minds, and if physical means could not provoke a reaction from them, perhaps mental means could. And in this case, Ainz did not mean using fear or charm spells – although he left those in his reserve. Instead, Ainz decided to do the simplest of possible actions.

"Message," Ainz used the simplest ability that all Yggdrasil players possessed, even changed as it was in this new world. A spell with no Mana costs that provides telepathic contact between two minds. 

A simple spell, with simple prerequisites. Ainz simply needed to either know who he was trying to telepathically contact. So, standing in front of the two people that he wanted to connect to, Ainz did not expect at all… 

That his spell would simply not work.

“Well, shit…” It was a very strange error, and Ainz had no idea what had gone wrong.

[Message] is a very simple spell, one that he had used many times before with many people, both Servants and even ordinary humans in the new world. Now, while in Yggdrasil the spell would have either opened up a message board, or even a simple voice chat, one that is quite easy to intercept, but it was quite brain-dead to use. In the new world, its function somewhat changes, although it functions exactly the same way.

It is quite the instinctive feeling, where his consciousness would connect with another person, and he could communicate with them.

When he had used it on the little Medusa and the Gorgon, something strange had happened. The spell hadn’t ‘failed’ per se, nor did the connection get rebuffed as if he had encountered one of the more basic counter-spells for [Message]. No, instead it was something even more confusing… It was like he was trying to send a [Message] to a non-existent GM.

Not a target that had gone ‘private mode’ where all oncoming [Message] was rejected, not even a sudden cut in the connection… But a non-suitable target.

To say that Ainz was confused is putting it very lightly – he was effectively knocked out of balance. Were the call to be rejected by a spell or even a violent outburst from both or either of his targets, Ainz could understand it. Heck, even having his spell blocked would have given him something to work with…

But such a reaction? It was not just strange – Ainz, even with putting his brain on overdrive, could not imagine what exactly could provoke such a response.

For a moment, Ainz thought that he had somehow come under the influence of an illusion. Unlike mind control, the Undead were not completely immune to illusions – although they do have excellent resistance to them. But it was an easily disproved possibility.

Even if the two Medusas in front of him were illusions, that is, literally nothing more than an image being overlaid over an empty space, then [Message] simply would not have been activated, as there would be nothing to [Message]. It would not have told him that [Message] was fundamentally unable to contact this target.

Once again, he was stumped, forced to do one of his most hated pastimes – to think. Blindly, that is, with a puzzle that he has no idea how to solve.

Sure, his latest action had brought him some usable information, that the two Medusas are unmistakably living things, but that’s it – the fact simply giving him more questions

The two Medusas in front of him still existed as a semblance of living beings, but were in such a form that it was impossible even in theory to contact their minds. Given that the message had previously allowed Ainz to communicate with various non-human Servants whose minds differed significantly from humans, the reason for this was not simply because of some kind of alien mind. 

Given that he was capable of communicating with the minds of Berserkers, the reason was also not in their possible madness. 

“Could it simply be because they lack a conscious mind…? No.” Shaking his head at the conjecture, Ainz tried to think of other possibilities. If they were indeed lacking a thinking mind, in such a case, his abilities would simply refuse to activate at all. It is not the reason for the strange reaction to Ainz's abilities

There is only one possibility left,

Some kind of full-fledged transformation that changed not just their way of thinking, but their very nature. At least, Ainz could only imagine such a possible answer about what exactly is preventing him from using [Message] on the two Medusas.

But then, what could change something as fundamental as one’s being? Frowning once again, Ainz tried to collate what he knows about the two Medusas, and what he knows about them.

The two Medusas not responding to him, their different form of existence, and Merlin's words that…

Ainz's eyes blinked, for a second the two crimson lights in his eye sockets faded, before blazing like an open fire as a realization struck him like lightning.

According to Merlin, Tiamat continued to toss and turn in her sleep, as if in a feverish delirium, not fully waking up or falling asleep, but she continued to sleep… 

“So then, where else but in her dream could I be? This perfectly explained everything! The surrealistic surroundings, the violation of the laws of nature, and the strange reaction of his abilities.” 

Finding out that he might be in a physical manifestation of a dream, answered all of Ainz's questions and confusions. 

Except for one…

“What should I do with this information?”

Flying around the two once again, to see if something had changed after the failed [Message], Ainz had found the same thing happening – the two completely ignored him.

Ainz was unsure if he should be rejoicing or cursing his luck, Ainz had indeed found his Option C, he just had no idea what would happen if he were to go ahead with the idea. He could wake Tiamat up, quite easily in fact.

The ways to cure a [Sleep] debuff ran the entire gamut of both Spell Tiers and even Artifacts or times – ones that specialize in it, in fact. From the weakest Tier 1 Spells to even Super-Tier spells, if a Player wanted to waste one on a simple [Sleep] debuff anyway. Heck, even a World Item!

But then, should he do it?

This entire Singularity, and all the actions of Merlin and Gilgamesh in it, were to prevent exactly such a thing from happening – the awakening of Tiamat in her full strength. In that case, the fact that he was in Tiamat's dream was definitely interesting, but that was all. Ainz in fact, should do nothing…

However, even as someone that has no understanding of the Magic system of this world, acting solely on intuition, couldn’t he do something here? If he was, in fact, inside of Tiamat’s half-waking dream, whatever form it took, then couldn’t he do something? After all, isn’t he, in some sense, already connected with her mind like the function of a [Message] – that is, he could interact with Tiamat’s mind. 

Connected with Tiamat's minds, could he not influence his surroundings, like some kind of lucid dreaming?

Coming to that conclusion, Ainz briefly paused for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. It was quite likely that the only reason he was in Tiamat's mind in this form at all, was because he was Undead. Isn’t that how he had made it past the rather incredible barrier of the Abyss?

As something that is dead and yet alive, he is not a being connected to the source of all life, that is Tiamat, in fact, connected in no way whatsoever to life. He was immune to assimilation into Tiamat's swarming Black Sea, and so, in a sense, he was also immune to dissolving in Tiamat's mind. 

That's why he was able to penetrate into her dream and continue to interact with it without dissolving. 

Which means he should also, hopefully, survive another type of contact with Tiamat's mind. 

After all, he was immune to Mind Control, and even highly resistant to other Mind-affecting effects and spells… 

And no other ideas came to his mind anyway.

Therefore, taking way too many risks for him to ever be comfortable with, Ainz raised his hand then placed it on his ear. He preferred to go ahead with his harebrained plan before his good sense could convince himself to do otherwise. Of course, his spells had no gesture requirement, it was a combination of instinct and even a hope that by doing so his spells would become stronger… Or even protect him from unforeseen consequences.

With a sense of finality and a chant that was too short and said with a confidence he didn’t feel, a spell was realized.

“[Message].” Though, this time, rather than targeting anything or even either of the two Medusa, Ainz targeted… Everything else. 

A moment later, Ainz's mind felt a connection establishing… And found himself stuck, somehow.

It was yet another complication. Rather than the usual impression of feeling and words, he could imagine in his mind the expression the other person had on the connection. This time, Ainz felt as if his mind had fallen into a huge sticky web. 

Multiple voices rushed into the connection. One, the loudest, responded with a deluge of impressions, indescribable thoughts, inexpressible in any human language, instead transmitting pure emotion. Anger, hatred, sadness, regret, love, joy, agony, confusion… All emotions at once.

Ainz hardly even had the time to parse the message, before a deluge of hundreds of other thoughts followed them. 

Whereas the loudest voice responded with an incessant beating stream of all sensations imaginable by the mind and all other trillions of unknowable emotions, alien to human nature and reality itself – billions of smaller voices and minds echoed it. 

Where the loudest voice was like a vast painting created from the mixing of all colors possible and impossible in the world, all the other smaller voices were singular, petty, and amazingly simple. As if capable only of transmitting the simplest thoughts in binary format, a ‘no’ and a ‘yes’. 

However, despite their simplicity, their number was unimaginable. So much so that even Ainz's mind, capable of cutting off all strong emotions due to his Undead nature, automatically turning them into logical facts, froze, unable to withstand the deluge of emotions coming from the other side of the connection.

With both cases of the loud but singular voice, and the numerous, but whisper-like voices in comparison to the singular voice, Ainz was instantly able to realize the nature of Tiamat herself, the unknowable mother of all things. Quite easily, he was also able to continue the logical chain and determine that the billions of petty sparks were in fact Tiamat's Black Sea, different and yet inexorably linked to Tiamat. 

Each simplest ‘cell’ of this Sea was capable of only the simplest emotion, if it could be called an emotion at all – but the simple metric of numbers, was in itself too grandiose to be comprehended by the human mind.

Fortunately, before Ainz would abandon the attempt to connect with Tiamat's mind, recognizing the attempt to interact with it as completely useless, Ainz's mind was able to catch several, literally, a couple of exceptions. And it was precisely because they were the only exceptions in such an incredible number of similar voices, they became such bright guiding stars for Ainz.

Two of them turned out to be connected to each other, intertwined as if one, similar to each other, but at the same time, despite their absolute similarity, like single-pole magnets, they only repelled each other more strongly. In other words, it was easy to recognize in the two sources of agonizing Polarity, the two versions of Medusa he had seen in the ‘Dream’. 

Medusa Junior herself, as Ainz decided to call her now, and the Gorgon. 

If Ainz planned to determine exactly how the Medusas and Tiamat were connected to each other, and how Tiamat's manifestation began in this world, and how exactly Merlin had trapped Tiamat, he had no better avenue to follow. 

However, at this moment, something else drew Ainz's attention even more strongly – a voice, or perhaps a consciousness, an unknown. Answering the mysteries that had drawn him into the Abyss was tantalizing… But then again, he could always find the answer to that at his leisure – it was not like the Gorgon, or Medusa Junior was going anywhere after all, and neither is Tiamat.

The mystery however? Well… It worked like catnip on Ainz. After all, perhaps it was in the unknown details that lay the possible answer to Ainz's question about how exactly he could resolve the current problem before him.

Therefore, not fully understanding how exactly he was doing so, completely relying on his intuition and instinct, Ainz reached out with his mind toward another mind that, for lack of a better description… Was wandering in the darkness.

Ainz could not describe what he was feeling or doing right now, only in his measure to reach the mystery, all sense of direction was lost.

It was as if, while he was connected to Tiamat, the nexus where all living beings are one, his connection… tilted. Passing slightly askew from Tiamat's consciousness, he had ultimately got lost against the backdrop of the primitive and simple minds connected to Tiamat's nature. As if he was simultaneously both connected to her and not connected at all, as if on some level he simply could not be connected to Tiamat…

However, if Ainz's previous encounters with Tiamat's titanic mind, completely alien to all humanity and the very nature of the living world, ultimately ended without problems, then why should he restrain himself at this moment? The mysterious voice, almost lost in the deluge of similar thoughts, and yet all the more unique for it, awaits him.

So, he extended his mind to the single lost voice among the million consciousnesses in Tiamat's mind. 

And instantly, upon touching it, heard a single voice that could easily belong to either a man or a woman, so androgynous it was, that it erases any distinguishing features. 

"My mother… Why did you abandon me?"

***

Jacques watched as, once again, just like yesterday, tired and wounded soldiers made another circuit along the high walls, either prodding at fallen pieces of blackish slimy mass, the remains of Tiamat’s army of monsters. Or, finishing off those that are still alive, occasionally throwing chunks of the destroyed creatures' bodies off of the walls. It was a dangerous job, as if even one drop touched their bodies, then their life would be forfeit.

Still, it was a much preferred job than having to drag away fallen comrades for burial and most often than not, needing their family and comrades to identify them. 

It was the exact same scene that Jacques had observed many times after the end of battles, in the morning, in the evening and then again at night. Each and every time, those lucky enough to survive the day would laugh, drink themselves stupid and tell each other tales of their bravery, only to repeat it again and again each day. New faces would arrive each morning, reinforcements of newcomers who had never held a sword in their life, while old faces would be buried each night. 

But again and again, they would plunge into the never-ending battle again. And again, and again, and again – day after day, like an endless loop.

Without any hesitation, one could say that from the perspective of fulfilling its function, the state created by Gilgamesh was definitely close to perfection. An effective system of garrison rotation and supply organization was honed and ready, each day, without fail, the supplies and the men to use it arrived at the walls no matter how many died or how many weapons were lost. Gilgamesh had created a magnificent machine for opposing Tiamat, capable even with imperfect and weak humans, opposing a being far superior to the gods. 

This fact alone meant that Gilgamesh had essentially achieved the impossible. 

However, no matter how effective the state, its administration and perfect its King’s rule, it would break sooner or later, simply because of Humanity’s nature. Just as a person living guided exclusively by the rational underpinnings of all actions, only acting according to logic, their nature meant that such a person will never be able to be called a full-fledged human. 

Which is why a machine, even one that is so similar to a human, would still be completely incapable of understanding their emotions or aspirations. Trying to mimic such an existence is alien and wrong for humans. 

After all, even if such a creation turned out to be perfectly honed for performing a single function… 

What will happen after that function is fulfilled?

Of course, it would be easy to say that Gilgamesh was completely uninterested in answering this question. That he saw Humanity, even one under his rule, exclusively as cogs in the mechanism for protection against Tiamat. 

However, surprisingly, this was not the case. 

A King, who would advocate sacrificing all for the safety of all mankind, would be regarded as a righteous King. Gilgamesh himself was infinitely far from it.

One could endlessly talk about how tyrannical Gilgamesh was, how little he cared about the lives of his subjects and with what contempt he treated them, and this would undoubtedly all be absolute truth. But no one could say that Gilgamesh was not human. 

On the contrary, where celebrated heroes seemed distant from humanity as shining symbols, Gilgamesh, reveling in his power, strength and emotions, was paradoxically incredibly close to humanity. He simply could not fail to understand that humanity needs to find not only a way to live, but also a reason to live for.

Ironically, this was the thing that made Gilgamesh, a tyrant without equal throughout all time, kindle a strange friendship with a figure seemingly utterly unlike him at first glance.

"Hurraaaaay! We won! I mean…" A bright ringing voice of a goddess, perched atop her flying bow, Ishtar, rang out cheerfully before she caught herself saying something unbefitting for her persona of a mighty and wise deity. Clearing her throat, she attempted to speak much more solemnly and in a slightly deeper voice. All in an effort to save her image.

"Ahem, rejoice mortals, for you have witnessed how the great Ishtar, patroness of all Babylonian lands and the city of Uruk, has cast the hordes of enemies back into the abyss where they belong!"

She, of course, failed miserably.

After these words, having used every cliché about gods that Ishtar could imagine, she stuck her nose up in the air, causing a few awkward chuckles from the soldiers below on the walls. This immediately made Ishtar angrily glance down, trying to find that ignorant fool who dared to not admire the perfect beauty of the most beautiful goddess in the world.

Of course, the fact that most of the World is dead right now, is not taken into account.

Just a few hours ago, Ishtar was demolishing Tiamat's armies with her bow, and as she would be quite unlikely to lose that ability in the hours since, no one would be so foolish as to raise their hands. Of course, if the Goddess was not Ishtar anyway. 

Right now, Ishtar's downward gaze, though she tried her hardest to appear angered and wrathful, showed more of a human emotion of annoyance rather than divine wrath. No matter how weakened or reduced Ishtar was when she was turned into a Servant, she could still easily smite a mouthy human. 

If she was actually a deity that her legend that described her as, or really, just like the average god, Ishtar would have already incinerated all the Humans on the battlements. What? It was only one person that had mocked a god? Well, that would mean that the whole kingdom needs to be smote, just in case. 

Killing thousands of people for even a hint that one of them might have shown her disrespect, is what the old gods were often known for. Being noticed by a god, either their favor or disfavor, are mostly known as a tragedy for a reason. But then again, Ishtar is not exactly what one would call very ‘godly’ at all.

No Divinity, would join the humans in their struggle against extinction, or ‘serve’ under any King, Gilgamesh or not. A Divinity’s pride is just as high as their mercurial nature.

Likewise, the people right now awkwardly trying to look anywhere but at Ishtar's frowning red face didn't resemble those who had offended a deity and were about to suffer cruel punishment for their irreverence. At best, they looked like people trying to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of an outraged ‘young lady’. And although Ishtar was indeed the ‘Lady of Heaven’, to the people of Uruk, it didn't quite match that interpretation of her divine title.

In other words, Ishtar, who regarded Gilgamesh with significant contempt, Jacques knew this fact from mythology, as well as the fact that Gilgamesh returned her contempt with great mutuality, was similar to him in her closeness to humanity.

Ishtar was petty, frankly greedy, and quite foolish, one could even say childishly naive. She is completely unlike the unknowable horrors of the cosmos or the elevated and all-forgiving crucified god, but that's exactly why she was so close to humanity. 

Because humanity's essence wasn't lofty ideals and base vices, not of heroic epics, but instead the petty bustle of human relationships. 

Everything that one of humanity's most ancient goddesses, Ishtar, embodied. 

Who else but her was so perfectly suited to humanity, who, having just washed off blood and black monstrous slime, were already bragging to each other about how many enemies each of them had killed today. They paid no mind to those lost in defense, instead thinking about how they would get drunk tonight rather than how they would die fighting tomorrow morning…

"Hey, Jacques!" Ishtar's voice pulled Jacques from her contemplation as she found the goddess hovering in the air right above her as she stared down at Jacques, confused about something. Her outrage at the people from just seconds ago was completely forgotten in child-like fashion, just as the people on the wall had already forgotten about the battle that took place mere minutes ago. "Will you go…"

After an instance of throat-clearing, Ishtar pretended she hadn't said anything, before using her most pompous voice possible to continue. 

"That is, this exalted goddess commands you to appear at a celebratory dinner with me!"

Jacques, observing this touching innocence, just nodded her head, then smiled slightly as her gaze quickly slid over the heads of people already moving away from her, discussing their latest feats and accomplishments in loud voices. She looked quite eager to join up with them, boasting about her own achievements.

Indeed…

Humanity was so fascinating a subject to observe.