Which One Is More Beautiful?

As Arkhan and Ishtar descended into the cavity and dropped thousands of meters before, they finally landed on the soil of the underworld.

As expected, the aura of death in this place was thick. For ordinary people, a few minutes here would mean the end of their lives.

Naturally, Ishtar and Arkhan were no ordinary people.

One had stormed the underworld before and was familiar with everything here, while the other had grown up in a similar environment. They felt surprisingly comfortable in this eerie atmosphere as if they were in their own home.

Arkhan looked up and saw a glowing orb, where the soil of the underworld connected with the surface world.

In the Age of Gods, the heavens, the earth, and the underworld were all woven together, not separate realms. In other words, mythology was not just stories but a tangible reality for those who lived in this era.

The ground in this place floated in a surreal manner, appearing precarious but actually quite sturdy, supported not by physical laws but by the rules of the underworld.

Following Ishtar, Arkhan walked down, passing many iron cages with blue flames flickering inside.

"These are the souls of humans who died on the surface." Ishtar said calmly. "Ereshkigal will imprison the souls she fancies in cages, keeping them close unless she grows tired of them, in which case these souls will never find release."

"It seems like the souls of humans who died because of curses on the surface are here too, huh..." Arkhan remarked.

"Seems so... There are indeed more souls here than before..." Ishtar observed the surrounding iron cages, her eyes revealing a hint of complexity. "These must have increased after she joined the Three Goddess Alliance. Is that woman trying to build a kingdom of death or something?"

"Why not just ask her directly about it?" Arkhan looked ahead, his supernatural sight already revealing some unusual things. "Well, we'll be seeing her soon anyway."

After a while, a massive stone gate blocked the only passage ahead, adorned with various engravings.

As if sensing Arkhan and Ishtar's approach, these engravings began to emit an intermittent glow.

"Answer me, answer me..."

An ethereal voice suddenly emanated from the gate, echoing in the vast underworld.

"Answer me, where dost thy soul reside..."

"Alright, here comes the multiple-choice question." Ishtar remained calm, evidently expecting this scene. "The gates of the underworld question the morality of souls. It's a fair and rational gate. If you fail its test, you'll face punishment... I lost my authority when I barged into the underworld before because of this gate."

"Answer me this, o otherworlder."

'Specific question?' Ishtar was slightly taken aback upon hearing the gate's words.

"Standards of beauty vary greatly but remain absolute."

"Darkness prevails over light, earth over sky."

"With that said, Ereshkigal and Ishtar, which one is more beautiful?"

"Hold on a second, this is different from the previous question!" Ishtar exclaimed.

Ignoring her, the gate persisted stubbornly.

"Answer me, answer me..."

"There shouldn't be much hesitation about this, right?" Ishtar rested her hand on Arkhan's shoulder, her face sporting a 'friendly' smile. "One is the goddess of death, the other is the goddess of beauty and harvest. From this, the answer isn't hard to see, right?"

While most people might have yielded to the seductive aura of a goddess, Arkhan clearly wasn't falling for it.

"Did you forget? This is Ereshkigal's territory. Are you sure you want to mess with her?" Arkhan raised an eyebrow.

"I don't care!" Ishtar gritted her teeth. "Remember, I was the one who brought you down here. If you've got even a shred of gratitude, give me a nice answer!"

Shrugging nonchalantly, Arkhan glanced at the gate and answered.

"My answer is... Ishtar."

*BOOM!*

A lightning bolt struck out of nowhere, knocking Ishtar flat on her back.

Ishtar rolled her eyes and passed out instantly.

"Wrong answer..."

The voice from the gate responded leisurely.

"See? I told you not to do that." Arkhan remarked, spreading his hands helplessly with a faint smile on his face as he looked at Ishtar, who was now emitting smoke from her mouth.

Truthfully, this was his real reason for dragging Ishtar down here.

It was known that Ereshkigal never quite fancied Ishtar. Although there wasn't any deep-seated enmity between them, Ereshkigal always harbored envy and jealousy toward her 'twin sister'.

As a result, when Ishtar barged into the underworld, Ereshkigal used rather cruel methods to punish her.

Arkhan bringing Ishtar here this time was like presenting her as a gift to the queen of the underworld.

In a sense, Ishtar was serving as a punching bag this time.

As long as Ereshkigal's mood improved, the success rate of this trip to the underworld would significantly increase.

As for Ishtar's safety, there was no need to worry.

Although Ereshkigal disliked Ishtar, she wouldn't actually kill her.

Moreover, even if something went wrong, there was him to handle it. Although the underworld could restrain Ishtar, it didn't affect him as much.

"Answer my question, otherworlder... Ereshkigal or Ishtar, who's more beautiful?"

As the voice from the gate echoed again, Arkhan turned his gaze from Ishtar to the gate and answered calmly.

"My answer is... Ereshkigal."

"Very good..."

*Rumble—*

Amidst the heavy creaking, the stone gate finally swung open.

Just as Arkhan had believed before, as long as one pinpointed the weaknesses of these goddesses, handling them was a piece of cake.

===

"Finally, it's almost over..."

Ishtar drifted lazily in the air, looking rather listless as she remarked.

"I mean..." Arkhan's expression turned slightly odd. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Do I look okay to you?!"

Ishtar glared at him fiercely, then glanced down at her drastically shrunken body, now the size of a palm, before sighing in resignation.

"But I've anticipated this kind of situation long ago. Every time I pass through one of the underworld's gates, my divinity gets weakened bit by bit. I already experienced it once when I stormed through the underworld before."

In the next moment, Ishtar waved her tiny fist, her face full of indignation.

"How else could that woman have taken me down so easily!"

"Who told you to be so stubborn, insisting on barging through the gates of the underworld?" Arkhan shrugged, speechless. "According to the logic of any sane person, if they knew their power would be weakened, they wouldn't have forcefully pushed through."

"I didn't expect the pressure from the underworld on gods to be so terrifying, okay?" Ishtar sighed. "Back then, I had just conquered Mount Ebih, full of confidence, but who knew I would encounter such a situation..."

"That's why you should be grateful that Ereshkigal didn't really go all out against you back then." Arkhan remarked casually.

"Hmph, you—"

"Guhahaha! As expected of you, Arkhan! I knew you would come to rescue me!"

As Ishtar rolled her eyes and was about to retort to Arkhan, familiar laughter suddenly echoed in the surroundings.

From the depths of shadow, Gilgamesh's figure emerged, wearing a satisfied smile on his face.