Babylon (4): The calm before the storm.

Apologies for the delay in releasing this chapter; I finished posting a chapter on (P)(A)(T) that required some attention.

As always, I hope you enjoy it. If you'd like to support me, I have a (P)(A)(T) with three chapters ahead, both for this story, the Hunter's story, and the Devas' story, for two dollars.

(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori

Well, having said that, good night to everyone, and happy reading.

[...]---[...]

POV: Doll.

When the Good Hunter moved, there was no sound. In one moment, he was by my side, observing the interaction between the king and the goddess; in the next, he was already behind the goddess.

Everyone seemed surprised by the Good Hunter's movement, including the goddess, who looked at him, frozen.

It had been many years since I had seen the Good Hunter with that look, not since he returned to the dream with a small bow stained with blood and a broken ruby necklace...

Something inside the Good Hunter seemed to break that day; the gleam in his eyes seemed to diminish...

I had conflicting feelings in my chest at that moment. On one hand, it saddened me to see the Good Hunter's angry gaze; I didn't like to see him like that. I wanted him to have peace, to not suffer anymore.

On the other hand, a part of me rejoiced because such anger was fueled by the Good Hunter's desire to protect me.

Was I a selfish person, a selfish doll, to have such feelings?... Did I truly deserve such protection?...

I didn't know... And maybe I didn't want to know...

"You're not going to answer, Goddess?" The king's voice contained traces of amusement. "You treat the Hunter's companion like merchandise and yet, you don't even have the decency to answer a single question he asks you?"

The sarcasm in Gilgamesh's voice was something that could almost be physically touched.

"It seems that such a grand 'lady of the heavens' has not received proper education." He mocked even more. "What would your subjects think if they saw such a show?"

The goddess, Ishtar, frowned, her gaze becoming angry again with the king's taunts, but still, she dared not look away, let alone let her energy run wild as before.

Being stared at by the Good Hunter, the goddess didn't even dare to move.

"What are you?" Ishtar squeezed the words between her teeth without answering the Good Hunter's question.

Perhaps she didn't even realize it, but her body trembled slightly with proximity, as if wanting to escape.

"Just a hunter currently residing in Uruk." Even without the goddess's response, the Good Hunter maintained his composure and answered her with naturalness and courtesy.

At no point did the Good Hunter's angry gaze leave her face.

The goddess frowned even more at the Good Hunter's response and took a step forward, distancing herself from the Good Hunter before turning around.

"You're lucky." The goddess said, her voice slightly trembling, something she noticed, as she seemed humiliated. "This lady is feeling magnanimous today; I will forgive your offenses." The goddess tried to act haughty, which only made Gilgamesh laugh, humiliating the goddess even more.

Still under the predatory gaze of the Good Hunter, the goddess slowly walked to the exit of the palace and quickly mounted her strange flying mount, flying away rapidly as if fleeing from something.

I knew that the gods of this world were petty creatures, both from the reactions Naram and his men had to confuse me and the Good Hunter with such gods, and from the stories I had heard.

But still, seeing for myself was something entirely different.

It wasn't just pettiness; it was cruelty for the sake of cruelty, a complete lack of empathy, something that, in a way, disgusted me.

Moments after the goddess's presence had disappeared, the palace guards began to snap out of their trance; at the same time, Enkidu lifted the protection he had placed around Miss Siduri.

"A spoiled brat, as always, much bark, little bite." Gilgamesh said with scorn.

"We need to prepare." Enkidu's voice sounded moments later. "The only thing bigger than Ishtar's ego and pride is her pettiness. She won't accept this without any retaliation."

"She poses as much threat to me as the food on my plate. No matter how petty she is, she does nothing for herself." A strange and somewhat arrogant comparison in my opinion, but it made some sense.

"She may not pose a threat, but Anu does." Enkidu replied back, making Gilgamesh hesitate for a moment.

"The spoiled one will probably run to beg her father for vengeance." The king clicked his tongue. "Siduri, increase the guard around the kingdom."

While all this was happening, the Good Hunter approached me again and stood in silence by my side as he observed.

"I want reports if anything out of the ordinary happens." The king ordered without getting up from his throne.

"Yes, your majesty." Siduri replied, even though she seemed confused by all the events, she still maintained a professional demeanor.

"And the day had started well." Enkidu sighed.

"Don't take blame for the pettiness of the gods; that path is treacherous." The Good Hunter advised.

"You seem to speak from personal experience." Enkidu replied back after a few moments.

"Maybe." That was the Good Hunter's response before turning around and starting to walk out of the palace.

I followed him calmly. The goddess's visit had ruined today's plans.

"Hunter." The king's voice echoed. "As Enkidu said, Inanna's aspect will not accept today's events without retaliation..." He warned.

I heard Enkidu snort slightly at the king's words. As arrogant and proud as Gilgamesh was, he still acted more friendly at times.

This statement proved it; it was a warning, practically him saying: "Enkidu and I can defend ourselves, and you?"

The Good Hunter halted his steps for a moment.

"I spared her only out of respect for her authority. I am just an outsider, a foreigner in a place I don't belong to..." He explained, stopping his words before finishing them.

The Good Hunter might not consider Gilgamesh his king, but he still respected him as such.

Not attacking Ishtar at that moment was how he showed it. Gilgamesh hadn't attacked her, so the Good Hunter held back his hand.

"She will come back." Gilgamesh said. "And she seems to have gained an interest in your companion." He pointed at me.

She would come back for me, it was obvious... Something about me seemed to catch the goddess's attention...

The Good Hunter chuckled lightly at the king's warning, something low and deep that seemed to resonate throughout the entire palace.

"I spared her only out of respect for her authority." The Good Hunter repeated. But his next words were different. "I've been a foreigner before, in another place, in another city..." In another world. Yharnam.

The Good Hunter had been all these things when he arrived in Yharnam, just as he was now in Uruk, just like me, accompanying him, was now...

"If the goddess chooses to return... I will simply repeat my actions..." The Good Hunter said before resuming his walk. "After all, even gods fear..."

And what became of Yharnam?

"And what would that be?" Gilgamesh asked curiously. Everyone in the hall shared such curiosity.

There was a saying in Yharnam, one that everyone knew, something ingrained in all Yharnamites.

A warning, an alert against ambition, the desire for more, the desire to break the chains that limited them.

A warning to fear...

The Good Hunter answered, without stopping his steps, his voice seeming to echo not only throughout the palace but throughout all of Uruk, like a warning, an alert.

"Fear the Old Blood"

...Fear the Old Blood

 ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

Even with the entire city on alert, the next week was calm and passed slowly.

"Rotate your body gently and try to keep your wrist firm, but not stiff." I calmly taught little Nanaya and corrected her posture.

Since the Good Hunter had given me the idea of taking Nanaya as my apprentice, I had started teaching her.

Not just how to fight, but everything in general.

How to behave, to be polite, how to fight.

Nanaya was a quick learner and had the drive to learn, to try to improve. In the words of the little child: "I want to protect daddy, just like he protected me, just like mommy protected me."

A sweet child, with a beautiful purpose.

I even taught her to read and write in Sumerian, something I was surprised I knew myself.

I went to the Good Hunter with this doubt, and his answer was simple but explained everything.

"You speak all languages, read and write all languages in a dream." He explained.

I could still feel the connection with the workshop and the dream, and the Good Hunter was now the owner of both.

It would be simple for him to do something like that.

"Aren't you going to teach her Lady Maria's techniques?" The Good Hunter asked me, watching Nanaya train with a replica of a hunter's axe.

"I thought it would be better not to." I replied.

I had Lady Maria's techniques in my memory, I knew how to teach them, but for Nanaya, they would only be a hindrance.

Nanaya would need to have a hunter's contract to use the techniques with real effectiveness or have a greater regeneration than she currently had.

"I trust your judgment." He said without asking more.

After a few more minutes of training, I told Nanaya to take a break.

The child, if not warned, would continue training all day until her body couldn't take it anymore.

Discipline and focus were good qualities, but as important as those were rest. Something I saw Gehrman have to explain many times to the Good Hunter.

How many times had I seen him train until he fainted? Come back after a long hunt exhausted, with a tormented look in his early days...

"Take it. Drink and rest for a few minutes." I offered the cup of water that the little ones brought for Nanaya.

As always, they were helpful and cute.

"Strange little creatures." I heard Enkidu's voice from the entrance of the training area where we were.

When I started teaching Nanaya, Naram was more than happy and started building this training area moments later to help his daughter.

It was something simple, but still well done.

"I don't think I'll get used to them anytime soon. They are natural, yet not natural at the same time. Confusing little things." Enkidu's voice was curious as he looked at the little ones.

"You had said they were connected to you by a contract, right?" He asked.

"They are good messengers." The Good Hunter replied, shaking his head. "I offered them freedom, they refused. They are very loyal beings."

"And you? What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" The Good Hunter asked. "The usual?"

"The usual." Enkidu affirmed. "I came only to talk, kill time, observe nature."

The Good Hunter just nodded slightly in response.

None of us asked Enkidu why he wasn't at his guard post, after all, we knew of his capabilities, being blessed by the world.

Guarding all of Uruk was something simple for him.

"A week passed, and I thought she would act faster." Enkidu said, looking up at the sky.

"She is still a war goddess." The Good Hunter affirmed, his eyes shining with Insight. "As impulsive as she may be, she still needs to prepare before acting."

"That's what I fear." Enkidu's voice sounded sad. "I don't want nature or humans to suffer because of the upcoming battle."

"Innocents always end up getting caught in conflicts beyond them." The Good Hunter's voice was vague, as if he were reviewing memories.

Memories of Yharnam.

The disease that affected the city, the blood. Many innocents died in the hunts, many more when the moon bled.

It was a sorrow, something that saddened Gehrman, saddened Lady Maria, and saddened the Good Hunter.

As much as the hunters tried, it was still impossible to protect the entire population.

Even though they often denied it, what they were hunting was not just beasts...

... They were people.

 ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

POV: Inanna/Ishtar.

That golden king will pay for refusing my proposal. How dare he refuse me? Refuse to be my husband.

Men would kill, have killed, and will kill for this opportunity, and yet he had the audacity, the arrogance to refuse me?

Who did he think he was? We, the gods, made him king, it was as easy as taking that title away from him along with his kingdom and his life.

I will show him what the punishment for such an act would be, for such blasphemy and offense to me. For him and for that... thing.

That being, the Hunter, as the goldie called him, was not something natural.

Those yellow eyes... It was only for a few seconds, but I could see how horrible that being was, something twisted, ugly.

He might have surprised me before, but I would make sure to kill him myself... I would look into his horrible eyes while I saw the light fade from him and despair take over his being.

A happy and cruel smile appeared on my face when a better idea came to my mind.

No, I wouldn't kill him, not before showing him the sweet show I would make with that doll.

Something so beautiful and refined, something so lovely with such a delicate appearance...

I would love to see her on her knees between my legs, serving me while I see the look of despair on the face of that abominable being.

The doll also seemed resilient, much more resilient than the last men who served me and ended up disappointing me.

As much as I liked playing with them, I still wished they could endure longer, that they could satisfy me for a longer time.

They barely lasted a week before breaking. Mortals, so... fragile and brittle.

As I walked through my father's palace, I took a few seconds in front of the throne room door to prepare myself.

It didn't take long for fake tears to start falling from my eyes and a sorrowful look to appear on my face, a look that would make men do anything to make me happy again.

"Daddy!" I shouted with a crying voice as I entered the throne room. "I need you to help me!"

My dear father resisted about ten minutes before giving in and letting me free my dear familiar. I will reward him later; he deserves it, has always been one of my favorites...

With my dear familiar, I will not only get revenge but destroy everything that king and that monstrosity love and would come to love.

Even if I have to burn Uruk to the ground myself.

[...]---[...]

As always, I'll be quick with the author's note.

Well, first of all, Hunter only respects Gilgamesh as a king, not serving or obeying him. Ishtar wasn't hunted just out of respect for Gilgamesh's authority; if she returns, that will be quickly corrected.

Doll has been teaching Nanaya for some time; well, maybe something will happen in the future...

Lastly, Inanna/Ishar. It's not the version tamed by Rin's personality; it's the actual goddess, the one described in the epic. So if anyone was expecting an Ishtar/Rin, unfortunately, that's not something that will happen for now.

Well, that's it. Good night, everyone, and happy reading!