(Ereshgal POV)
I looked at the man who had once forced me to flee on the edge of death. Now he was tied to a chair, unconscious. His heart beat slowly, almost peacefully, as if he were trapped in a calm dream.
So vulnerable. I could end him easily. All it would take was one clean cut, or a few seconds of pressure on his throat, and my revenge would be complete.
But I would not do that. That would be too easy for him.
So I waited.
I had told Hadan I wanted to deal with Namur first. I just had not expected it to happen the next day. Not that I had any reason to complain. If we were going to move forward, we needed to know who we could trust, and Namur knew exactly who we could not.
After a while, the rhythm of his heart changed.
He was waking up, but his eyes stayed closed, so I stayed silent and watched him. After a few seconds, he finally lifted his head slowly and opened them.
I leaned back in my chair and looked at him.
Then I smiled.
"Do you remember me?"
He looked around.
There was no one else inside. The room was large, but it felt even larger because it had been stripped of everything except two chairs: the one he was tied to and the one I had been sitting on.
The only way out was the stairway behind me, dark and silent.
His eyes returned to me.
"Should I?" His face was as emotionless as it had been that day.
He raised one finger slightly and traced a small rune, without even trying to hide it. I raised an eyebrow, but then again, we were alone. Maybe he saw no reason to bother.
The rune gave off a glow, and his expression changed. Emotion returned to his face. I waited for something else to happen, but nothing did.
That was the only change. So that was what one of his runes did?
I stood and moved closer, leaning down until my face was near his. I held his gaze without blinking.
"Still nothing?"
"No." His voice carried just enough confusion to sound natural. "Who are you? Where are Azel and Hadan?"
He even managed to sound worried.
I laughed and stepped back.
My name had probably crossed his mind already. But to him, it should have been impossible. He had every reason to believe that.
He began straining against the ropes, testing the bindings around his wrists and ankles. But he was acting too. If he wanted, he could have broken them at any moment.
What surprised me was his heart. Even in this situation, it remained calm. I brought a hand to my chin, pretending to think.
"How was it again?" I murmured. "Ah, yes."
I raised one finger, as if I had just remembered.
"To those I betray… to the ones I am going to kill, I must give a chance. A chance to survive."
He stopped struggling at once. The emotion vanished from his face again, and even his heart seemed to pause for a brief moment.
"Where did you hear that?" he asked coldly.
I smiled again.
"You do not remember? You told me yourself… six years ago."
"Impossible" he answered immediately.
"Oh" I said softly. "I am sure you believe that."
For the next few seconds, he only stared at me. His face remained empty, without even the smallest crack in it.
"I don't know who you are" Namur said, his voice tighter now, "but I am not a traitor."
He did not even hesitate before returning to the act. In a way, it was impressive how genuine his expressions looked. Almost anyone would have believed him.
"You must have thought about it by now" I said. "What do you think would happen if the true heir to the throne returned?"
Namur began struggling against the ropes again.
"True heir? I don't understand anything you're saying. I'm innocent. Untie me."
Then I reached behind my back and drew his daggers from my belt. The moment he saw them, surprise crossed his face.
Fake, of course.
"Those are mine, give them back."
I nodded.
"Of course. Why not?" He opened his mouth to answer, then stopped.
I stepped closer and cut the ropes around his arms. Then I freed his legs and placed the daggers on his lap.
"If I am still alive, Kudur can still lose his claim to the throne" I said.
I pointed at the weapons.
"Kill me, and that threat disappears. Or leave."
I took a few steps back and watched him.
"Your choice."
It was almost poetic. He had given me a chance once. Now, it seemed, I was doing the same for him.
At first, he did not move. His eyes lowered to the daggers on his lap. For a few seconds, he simply stared at them.
Then he picked them up and stood. He walked toward me slowly.
He moved without hurry. His shoulders stayed loose, his face calm, almost tired. If I had not known him, I might have thought he had accepted the offer and was going to walk out.
He passed beside me.
Then he leaned close enough that only I could hear him.
"You always choose the worst path" he whispered. "You should have stayed hidden"
I saw his arm move clearly.
The dagger came toward my side. I could have avoided it if I wanted to. I could have caught his wrist before the blade even touched me.
But then, how was I supposed to make him talk?
So I let it happen.
The blade entered below my ribs. I felt it cut through flesh, slide deeper, and pierce something inside me. Pain spread through my side, and my knees weakened beneath me. My hand went to the wound, pressing against the blood already soaking through my clothes.
I fell to the floor, one hand gripping my side.
"I don't know how you're alive" Namur said. "But even if they discover me after this, it will be worth it as long as you stay dead this time."
He crouched down to my level.
"Do you want to die that badly?" he asked, almost tired. "Good thing you will never become king. Uruk would be lost."
He turned the other dagger in his hand, almost lazily. "But do not worry. The true king will take the throne in five days."
Then his fingers tightened around the dagger. Spiritual energy gathered around his arm before he struck straight for my throat.
This time, I did not let him. I raised my hand in front of me and focused spiritual energy into my ring. My sword appeared in my grip, and I caught the blow with the flat of the blade. Metal rang through the room. I pushed his dagger aside and forced him back a few steps.
Then I dismissed the sword, rolled backward, and drove both hands against the floor with enough strength to launch myself away.
I landed beside the stairway.
Namur stopped.
"How?" he asked. His eyes moved to the dagger still buried between my ribs.
"This?"
I grabbed the handle and endured the pain as I pulled it free.
Blood ran down my side for a moment. Then I lifted my tunic and let him watch as the flesh drew itself together. The bleeding stopped, and a few seconds later, only unbroken skin remained.
I let the tunic fall.
"That was my first rune."
Namur said nothing. He just kept staring at me. I turned my head slightly toward the stairway behind me.
"Did you all hear everything?"