It seemed that when Ananu came ashore, the sound of water flow was a little loud, which made Utnapishtim react.
His gaunt and thin body trembled and lifted up slightly, revealing his face from under the black cloth.
Ananu had never seen such an old face before. It seemed as if there was no flesh, only bones and an outer layer of skin. The eye sockets were sunken deeply and it was so dark that Ananu could not even see a trace of it from inside.
Not a trace of light or white can be seen.
But Utnapishtim is still very tall. From Ananu's perspective, if Utnapishtim stood completely upright, there might even be two Ananu tall.
Tall, dry, thin, but still alive - is such a life really reasonable?
Ananu couldn't help but think of this.
"Who are you?"
Utnapishtim looked at Ananu and asked. His voice was like a water glass that had not been used for decades. It was dry and hard to the extreme, and it sounded uncomfortable and unpleasant.
"Oh...look, what a beautiful body..."
Before Ananu could speak, Utnapishtim came closer, looked at Ananu with his deep-set eyes, and then started talking to himself.
"Hey, did you know that Antrat Bybis also has a face as beautiful as yours? Her hair is longer than yours and even hangs down to the ground. It's so pretty..."
Utnapishtim kept talking, and Ananu blinked.
"I am Ananu." He interrupted Utnapishtim, "I am here to go to the underworld."
Utnapishtim seemed to be stunned by Ananu's sudden interruption. He scratched his face with his sharp but cracked nails, feeling a little helpless.
He hasn't communicated with anyone other than his wife, Antrat Bebis, his wife for too long.
However, he still used his little remaining hearing to capture the more critical part of what Ananu said.
"Underworld? Are you coming to the underworld?"
He moved closer to Ananu and poked Ananu's face with his nails.
Ananu suddenly felt a creepy feeling and subconsciously took a step back.
"Well, he's still alive." Utnapishtim seemed to be talking to himself and came to this conclusion.
Ananu's face twitched, and he felt a creepy feeling for some reason.
But there was still no problem with Ananu's senses. After thinking about it for a while, he knew why he felt this way.
That's twilight.
There is no doubt that Utnapishtim is alive because the gods have given him eternal life. No matter whether he commits suicide or lets others kill him, he cannot die.
He has been erased from the concept of "death" by Enlil, and there is no possibility of his death.
But, does he really want to live?
He probably thought about it at first, but it has been thousands of years since the birth of new humanity. Does he still think about it?
Being rejected by both humans and gods, he had no choice but to come to the entrance of the underworld with his wife. Does he still want to do it?
What God gave him was immortality, not immortality.
And he can't die.
But his soul has died long ago and has become what it is now, a living corpse.
This is undoubtedly a frightening thing. Even Ananu has felt this terrible emotion and power.
"Why do living people come here? Why do they come here?" Utnapishtim couldn't figure it out. He was completely trapped in his own world, shaking his head without any flesh at all.
"Where is the gate to the underworld?" Ananu just wanted to leave Utnapishtim quickly. He didn't want to stay by Utnapishtim's side even for a second. This made him
It was so scary that I even wanted to vomit.
His body was shaking a little and his palms were sweating.
"Over there." Utnapishtim's body reacted mechanically, as if his mind was still not quite clear.
Ananu quickly left in the direction Utnapishtim pointed.
Walking in the thick fog of the island, Ananu could feel the cold, bone-chilling cold.
The island made of a huge boulder under your feet is like a piece of solid ice that has not melted for many years. Ordinary humans may lose their lives just by stepping on it. Only people like Ananu will not suffer too much.
's influence.
After walking for a while, Ananu saw a huge pit.
Ananu understood the moment he saw the deep pit.
That is the entrance to the underworld.
But there seems to be something else at the entrance to the underworld.
It was a chair. Ananu had never seen such a chair before. It had a backrest that leaned back. There was a person lying on it, as if he was asleep. There was food and water next to the person.
The things were dirty and smelly.
Ananu understood that she was Utnapishtim's wife, Antratbebis. This old woman did not have as "good" luck as her husband. Her life span was only a short time.
It grows, but it is not immortal, and it also needs metabolism.
She is even older than her husband Utnapishtim.
Ananu ignored Antratbebis, although the old woman seemed to be aware of him. He went straight to the big pit, which was the entrance to the gate of the underworld, and looked down.
With the body of Ananutian Key, he felt a sense of dizziness and fear the first time he saw the gate of the underworld.
Ananu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
He looked up at the lightless sky, took a deep breath, opened his arms, and made a gesture of embracing everything.
then--
Moving forward, the gate to the underworld fell down.
——He is going to the underworld!
...
Uruk.
"Um!?"
Enkidu was about to get up. As soon as he got up from his bed, he suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart, and then his whole body became cold and trembling.
"Ah, ah..."
A feeling of discomfort filled Enkidu's whole body, and he stood up uncontrollably, groaning in pain.
Ananu, Ananu—
How much pain have you endured?
Even I feel freezing cold, even I feel creepy.
And I am in Uruk, but you have reached the underworld - what kind of pain have you endured?
Enkidu's eyes widened, he suppressed his pain and took a few deep breaths.
And Ananu, after enduring the pain at the gate of the underworld, he finally arrived——