"Ananu?" Gilgamesh responded, looking to the side of his head.
Ananu opened his eyes.
His voice was no longer an unconscious murmur while walking, but he had become slightly awake.
"Jill, where are we...?"
Ananu's eyes could no longer see clearly, so he could only speak in Gilgamesh's ear.
He could feel a familiar scent, but he wasn't sure what it felt like.
"Ananu, this is the gate to the underworld. Just wait, I will take you into the underworld right away."
Gilgamesh said with a trembling voice.
Ananu's consciousness is clear, there is still hope, there is still hope!
"Hey, boy."
The old woman standing next to Utnapishtim spoke.
"Don't go over there anymore, it's the underworld."
She is Antrat Bebis, the wife of Utnapishtim. Although she does not have immortality, the long life of previous generations of humans means that she has not died yet, but that day is not far away.
But she was very open-minded. She just lamented why her husband couldn't escape this eternal fate like herself.
Living too long would really be a tragedy. If it weren't for her lover and husband not to be too lonely, she might have chosen to end this long journey.
"I just want to go to the underworld." Gilgamesh did not look at Antratbebis, he walked firmly towards the underworld.
but--
"It's no use, Jill..."
"Ereshkigal's guns cannot save me..."
There was a hint of bitterness and self-deprecation in Ananu's hoarse voice.
"No, I want..." Gilgamesh wanted to say something else.
"I'm sorry, Jill..."
Ananu's voice gradually became quieter.
He chose to loosen his hands and let go of Gilgamesh's neck.
"Don't let Ereshkigal see me like I am now."
"I gave her hope, but now I'm hurting her... I can't let her fall into despair again..."
Ah, the dead flowers in the underworld...
"What about me, Ananu, what about me?"
Gilgamesh's body was trembling, he could no longer shed tears, his eyes were blood red, and he asked Ananu tremblingly.
"Are you going to leave me?"
Ananu was silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Jill..."
"sorry......"
There was a cry in his voice.
Gilgamesh sat down on the ground, and Ananu lay in his arms.
Just like that day when Enkidu died.
"I can't continue walking with you, I'm really...sorry..."
His invisible eyes stared at his best friend, tears trailing down the contours of his thin cheeks, dripping onto the blue-gray rocky ground. They only wetted him for a moment, and then quickly dissipated.
Ananu tried his best to raise a hand and touched Gilgamesh's face.
"Don't say you're sorry, Ananu, don't say..."
Gilgamesh held Ananu in his arms and looked at Ananu's extremely thin body.
"In my entire life, Gilgamesh, I have only two close friends, you and Enkidu, only you two..."
"yes......"
Ananu sighed.
Best friends are never one-sided.
Both he and Enki are Gilgamesh's best friends.
Gilgamesh is naturally a close friend of him and Enkidu.
Enkidu has passed away, and he will soon pass away, but no matter what, this will not change.
"If you think about it carefully, my life is really short..."
Ananu knew that he couldn't see anything, so it didn't matter anymore. He put his head against Gilgamesh's chest with a smile on his face.
But his hand was always on Gilgamesh's face.
He couldn't see it, so he touched and felt it with his hands, so that he could still remember Gilgamesh's appearance.
"Don't be sad for me, Jill...you have more important things to do..."
Slowly taking her hand away from Gilgamesh's hand and face, Ananu stretched out a finger and gently touched Gilgamesh's chest.
Ding.
Such a sound was conveyed.
"I just went to find Enkidu..."
"He is now in a very dark, very cold, very scary place..."
"I'm his brother, and I'm her sister. How can I let him be alone in that place? I have to take care of him..."
Golden light appeared on Gilgamesh's chest.
Gilgamesh knew what it was.
That is...the Key to Heaven.
Ananu knew that the threshold of the underworld could not allow his soul to continue to exist. On his deathbed, he made... the same decision as Enkidu.
Entrust the Key to Heaven, the complete Key to Heaven, to Gilgamesh.
It's just that this Key to the Sky will no longer have life, it will just be a weapon.
"I won't let you do anything for me, Jill..."
"You have to survive...Jill, you have to...live..."
"No matter what you do with the Sky Key and the Sky Lock, they are already yours..."
"Ha ha......"
Ananu let out a pitiful laugh weakly.
But he was sincerely grateful.
"Enki and I are different..."
"I have no blessings to give to Shamhat, and no instructions to give to Siduli, because at this time I only have you by my side, Gil..."
"Uh-huh......"
Gilgamesh choked and sobbed.
"Thank you, Jill, for giving me such a complete life..."
"Enki and I will always be with you..."
"Remember, don't let hatred and anger obscure your wise eyes and disrupt your smart thoughts..."
"This is my request."
Ananu's expression suddenly became frightened and sad.
"woo woo woo woo....."
He used his last strength to struggle and hug Gilgamesh, sobbing.
"Why......"
"Neither Enki nor I can survive... We have obviously tried our best to survive..."
"Jill..."
"I'm leaving, you have to... be well..."
Ananu's hand fell.
He fell weakly on the stone.
After saying goodbye, he, like his brothers, turned into soil. The sea breeze blew the soil across the ocean and into his mother's arms.
The only thing Ananu left in this world was the golden key in Gilgamesh's hand, the Key of Heaven.
"Ahh——"
Watching Ananu leave, Gilgamesh tremblingly wanted to stand up and chase after him, but found that his legs no longer had the strength to walk even one step further.
He fell to the ground and cried silently.
Ananu, Enkidu.
Ananu, Enkidu...
He finally fell down and lost consciousness at the entrance to the underworld.
In his hand, one side is the Key to Heaven, and the other side is the Lock of Heaven.