Passing Time [4]

I just sat there in the endless plain of white while staring at Tiamat's crimson eyes.

I really didn't know what to say and she appeared to be looking me up and down, trying to evaluate me in some way.

I didn't say or do anything. How is someone supposed to react to meeting a Primordial Goddess?!

"Uh... hey?" I tried my best to start a conversation.

Tiamat's eyes finally looked back at mine. "How did you get here?" She asked.

"I... uh... swam down here and saw a... crack?" I explained.

"Who and what are you?" She asked again while tilting her head. "You are not one of my children," That was a statement, not a question.

She wasn't exactly wrong. I wasn't either human or God, and elementals are born from the world itself rather than born from external sources like deities or created from something.

The exception was only the Vampires born from Crimson Moon, and even then he had Gaia's help.

"I'm an Elemental," I said, completely used to being one right now. "I heard your crying and I came here."

"You are a child of the Heavenly Body?" She asked looking over me again.

Heavenly wha- oh, right! That's what planets are usually called, isn't it?

"You are not like the ones I've seen before," Tiamat commented while looking me in the eyes again. "I sense no mystical properties from within you."

"Yeah, I'm pretty unique," I commented while changing to my tree element, causing her eyes to widen.

"You... changed form?" She asked before narrowing her eyes. "No... you changed your element itself. How did you achieve that? Other children of the Heavenly Body are unable to do that without a great amount of effort."

"I seem to be able to bond with the elements themselves. A friend described me as 'the elements given a conscious," I explained to her with a shrug. I still didn't know what I am exactly, but Enkidu's description of me is the closest thing to being right,

So...

"Ah, so that is how you heard my voice," she said and I tilted my head at her in confusion, which she obviously noticed since she kept talking. "I am connected to the ocean, but my connection is specifically to the waters that bring life. That is why no god of the sea should hear my voice.

"You, however, are a being made purely of water, as such I am connected to you as well." That... kind of makes sense? I don't know. Honestly, it DOES seem like the norm for the Nasuverse.

By the way, now that I'm in my tree element, I can sense the magical energy around. Most of the magical energy I sense are coming from the chains that are holding Tiamat, but her own power was nothing to scoff at.

It was faint.

The power itself wasn't that strong, but it was still wide. It was honestly borderline endless. I guess the seals on her are keeping her power in check, but they still can't hide how big it is.

If the seals weren't there, I'd probably not even be able to think straight if I tried to sense her power.

"Why are you here?" Tiamat asked while tilting her head again. "Are you here to... help me?" Her voice sounded hopeful.

"Ah, well, I was trying to find out where the crying was coming from," I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "As for helping you... well..."

What was I supposed to say? I mean, she seemed relatively... sane, I guess. Though, releasing her would undoubtedly have a LOT of negative drawbacks like gaining the attention of a lot of gods. The bad kind of attention.

Wait, can I even help her? I don't know any way to break those chains or undo her seals.

(Maybe... maybe I can use the magic draining seeds to loosen the chains enough for her to move?) I thought to myself as I looked at the chains and raised my hand, preparing the seeds at the tips of my fingers.

I moved my finger closer to the chain and Tiamat looked at me curiously as I-

"No!"

My hand jerked back as the echo of a thousand voices speaking together rang in my head.

A figure was standing behind Tiamat. It was just... a figure covered in red shadows with a large white dot in the center. The figure was only there for a second... and just like that it was gone.

I recognised the figure... The Counter Guardian... not A Counter Guardian like Shirou and Kiritsugu, but THE Counter Guardian...

I never managed to understand why that thing personally showed up. It should be guarding The Root 24/7.

... that's right. No matter how sane Tiamat looks, she's still one of the Seven Beasts. A threat to history as a whole. The world, quite frankly, doesn't want her to be free.

"I'm... I'm sorry, but... I can't help you..." I hung my head in shame as I admitted that.

Tiamat just lowered her head and tears began running down her cheeks. "Why... why do my children hate me so much?"

"They don't hate you," I tried my best to consult her. "They've just... moved on."

"Do not speak as if you understand my pain!" Tiamat yelled at me as the aura around her started getting dark.

I hung my head and looked away. "You're... you're right. I don't understand your pain. I've never really been in anything like your situation to even claim that I understand. But... but I can still offer advice and try to help you," I looked back at her and strengthen my resolve. "Let's say that you do get out and gain freedom, then what? Do you even know what will happen or what you'll do?"

"I... I don't... " she hung her head again and the dark aura around her started vanishing.

"Even if you get free, are you saying there's still won't come a time where you'll have to let your children go?" I asked.

"Yes-no! I don't know!" She hugged her knees and her head went further down, "I don't... what did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," I stated firmly, making her look at me. "Like I said, there's just a time when a mother just... has to let go of her children. You've already done your part. Now, it's time for them to live their life. How they turn out is the result of your work."

Tiamat looked down again and seemed to be deep in thought. I just sat there and hoped that trying to sound like Uncle Iroh worked.

"Are they... Happy?" She eventually asked, still not looking at me.

"They're... struggling with a few things, but they're managing!" It didn't really take a genius to know what she's asking about. "They have people to protect them now. Gilgamesh is known as the king of Heroes and he told me that he saw in his Clairvoyance many more heroes that will come after him."

Technically not a lie. Gilgamesh undoubtedly saw a few heroes from the future. He just never told me about them or even mentioned them. But, if it helps put Tiamat's mind at ease, than I'm willing to make up a few stories.

"I see..." for the first time since I got here, Tiamat smiled, even if it was a small one. "It is... Good to know they are safe..."

We just sat there in silence after that. I didn't exactly have anything else to say and Tiamat didn't have anymore questions.

After maybe an hour or so, I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Uh... how do I... how do I get out of here?" I asked while awkwardly scratching the back of my head.

Tiamat looked at me. "The same way you came in," she motioned with her head to something behind me, and I turned around to see the crack from before.

"Ah, alright," I said before standing up and turning to my water element. The crack leads to the bottom of the ocean, after all. "Well... I'll see you later, I guess? I honestly will see if I can visit again,"

I really meant that. I might not be able to free her, but there's nothing wrong about visiting her.

That got another smile and a nod from Tiamat. I just walked into the crack and touched it to find myself at the bottom of the ocean.

Today, I had a meeting with the Primordial Mother Goddess and had my first encounter with the Counter Force.

I'm definitely asking Enkidu for some time off.

=========================

All credits to XanaShadow on wattpad

Stones and Reviews please