THE REALM OF THE DEAD
As Ishtar was dragged into the depths of Kur. It was a place of eternal darkness, a realm where the dead wandered, and the souls of those who had sinned were trapped forever. The divine chains that once held her power shimmered and disappeared, leaving her vulnerable. The ground beneath her was thick with an unnatural chill, and it got even colder as she descended, her body weightless, but her heart heavy with the knowledge that her fate was now in the hands of the one person she had wronged first.
Deep within the heart of this realm, in a chamber carved from black obsidian and adorned with runes of true judgment, Ishtar now sat chained. Her once-gleaming divinity was now faint, a shadow of its former brilliance. Despite this, Ishtar held her head high, her expression defiant.
Ereshkigal watched from her high throne with a mix of disdain and an unsettling calm. Her dark red eyes sharp as they lingered on her estranged sister. She wore black silks, a veil, and her midnight hair pinned in black crystals. Around her, the room was forged from black stone that glowed within its cracks, jagged and sharp, surrounded by the howls of lost souls who had been condemned to eternal torment.
"Ishtar Rimat…" Ereshkigal's voice echoed. She paused. Her lips twitched. "Oh, wait… just Ishtar. It becomes taxing to keep up with every time you remarry." She smiled thinly. "But you won't have that problem anymore. So yes—Just Ishtar.The god of nothing."
"I am still a god—" Ishtar snapped.
"I am aware." Ereshkigal stepped forward, shadows bending around her. "Which is why you will receive the punishment of a god."
Ishtar smirked faintly, though her eyes were hollow. "Spare me your gloating, sister."
"Sister?" Ereshkigal's voice cracked like thunder. "You dare claim me after betraying me, your purpose. The bond we shared, the respect we once had—everything."
"What was I supposed to do?" Ishtar hissed. "Stay here for eternity with you? We've had this conversation every hundred years—I had a chance to be what you could not, and you hate me for it! Admit it!"
Ereshkigal stared at her with a grief older than empires."I have never hated you."Her voice softened, barely. "Mother never hated you. Father. Her husbands. The only person who hates you here…is you."
Ishtar froze.
"You stole from me," Ereshkigal continued. "For centuries, you hid, plotted, deluded yourself into believing you were untouchable."
"I am untouchable." Ishtar lifted her chin. "You can't kill me. You can't kill yourself. Either way, Rhyssand won't allow it. I'm the only family he has left."
Ereshkigal stopped, then leaned in close. "You and I both know that is not true."
The smirk faltered. Cracked.
"He's still my son," Ishtar whispered. "Blood or not."
Ereshkigal's gaze softened, almost pitying. "That poor boy…" she murmured. "To find love in a realm devoid of it."
Ishtar remained silent—for the first time in centuries.
The Queen of the Underworld raised her hand. The River of Sorrows churned, black water frothing. "If I had it my way," she said, "I would make you feel every pain you inflicted—slowly, creatively. But fate has stared my hand towards mercy. And— I—follow fate." A cruel smile flickered. "You see, Fate is what brought us both together again after so long…I've waited twenty-two years for this. Thanks to one of the souls you had the misfortune of meeting—who was quite clever, by the way—you walked right into my hands, just as predicted."
Ishtar's breath hitched, then the ground cracked beneath her, swallowing her feet, her legs, dragging her downward. The cold seeped through her bones, into her soul. The voices began the moment the icy water rose around her legs, her body resisting the pull, but it was futile. She was forced deeper into the water until it reached her chest, the coldness seeping into her very soul. She instantly heard every voice she had ever wronged. Where she relived their greatest regrets, trapped in an endless loop of her own mistakes.
And her biggest one? Her greatest betrayal? The moment she manipulated Demeter into marrying her, knowing the cost it would bring. She saw it over and over again. She opened her mouth to scream, to plead for mercy, but no sound came out. She tried to speak, but her words were swallowed by an invisible force. A vow of silence, leaving her quiet.
"You will drown in this regret in silence," Ereshkigal's voice echoed from above, "And only when you have suffered long enough to fully grasp the destruction you have caused, will you move on to the next…and do remember, this is mercy…"
Ishtar's vision blurred slightly.
"Never again will you taste the thrill of power, the joy of conquest. You will stand vigil over your sins for all eternity."
Ishtar, trapped in her punishment, could only feel the cold grasp of regret closing around her, knowing that no matter how long she waited, there would be no escape from the pain she had caused.