Finis Chaldea

[Bloodedge]

Unfair was the name of the game for Sukuna. He didn't believe in any balance other than that of the world, so Ereshkigal calling his treatment of her unfair was an excuse for him to continue. As such, he'd do exactly that. Even while continuing to address Ishtar, one hand would be repeatedly used to send those minor concussive waves in Ereshkigal's direction.

It was made clear that Ishtar was some sort of anomaly among Creators. She was elated by sensations of sheer pain, but Ereshkigal was quite firm in her disinterest of the same treatment. Now that made a reasonable amount of sense. Far beyond the fact that claws were inserted into the most sensitive part of the body, Sukuna's seal would turn even pleasure into agony. Ereshkigal was right; Ishtar was gross. She even thought she was being looked down upon, when she was the one moaning from pure pain. This was an inconceivable occurrence as Sukuna understood it, and if anyone truly understood dishing out pain... it was him.

Ishtar once traversed the underworld and, somehow, received a sword in the ass. Based on what he was experiencing now, he could assume she enjoyed it then, and would enjoy it again. Why was something like that supposed to make her magnificent? "The fuck is a Gilgamesh?" Whatever the answers to these questions were, a decision had been made by Sukuna. One of his hands took a break from tormenting Ereshkigal, briefly taking up the purpose of... chopping off the hand resting inside Ishtar. Good thing he decided to torture this one mentally; he'd have wasted the entire day if he went the physical route. Actually... maybe that was the warning. "Eagh!" he blurted out, entirely in disgust as opposed to pain. "What am I even supposed to do with it now? Half my plan is wasted now!" he complained, giving his remaining hand one more break to slap Ishtar across the face. It may not have registered properly for her, but he needed to let out the annoyance somehow.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that complaining did Ereshkigal little to no good. She continued to be teased and taunted even while Ishtar was 'tortured' if one could call it that. What was more the speech of Ishtar was only the type of thing that made her more abusable as time went on. Actually, the more Ereshkigal thought about it, the more the stories of the Gallu made sense. When Sukuna asked about Gilgamesh, he seemed to be thinking through a different activity and before even hearing out the answer, he went about removing his own hand from his body. It was probably the right choice. Ereshkigal couldn't disagree with it for any reason. "Gilgamesh is a glorious beast of a man who possesses everything in the world and is the only one worthy of me. I will possess all he has and all of him. He simply hasn't realized it yet!" These were the words of Ishtar.

Ereshkigal looked at her even as that woman's face was being smacked recalling that all she'd ever seen Ishtar do in the entirety of her life was sit down, give orders and receive gifts. "That was a terrible answer. Gilgamesh is King of Uruk and by title King of Heroes. He is the first Hero this world has seen. A few have come after but he is the start. A bit obnoxious but a reasonable person. He is the one who stuck a sword in her butt and then blew up her body with it..." she said. "He also has an entire chapter in his epic devoted to calling her names," she said about Ishtar. Of course, Ishtar didn't know that information was recorded. She didn't read tales or anything of the sort. Though she was there and she did remember him having choice words for her. But obviously that was just because he was not ready yet to accept her. Those slaps to her face also didn't hurt her and she didn't seem to care very much about it happening even if it was hard. "Is it great. You can't torture my glorious self!" she laughed hysterically but Ereshkigal seemed to think about it a bit more. "Well, if we kill her, she'll quick cycle through the underworld and lose something from her body. She seems to dislike that enough to avoid death as much as possible. She also doesn't seem to like when I pluck her bones out or make her experience the emotional pain she causes others. It is why I went with penance..." Ereshkigal was full of information for the torture of Ishtar. But it wasn't just that she liked torture. She just happened to hold a special hate for Ishtar in her soul. "Shut up, Ku-" once again the woman bit her tongue. Still seeming not to understand why it kept happening. "Che~"

[Bloodedge]

When Sukuna asked about whatever this Gilgamesh was, he wasn't looking for an answer from Ishtar. Upon receiving it, he was just as annoyed as he had been every other time she spoke recently. He'd seen multiple individuals of her ilk, but none so entitled as Ishtar herself. Some 'glorious beast' who possessed everything would surely not want for a needy thing like her. "Kehehaha! Dream on, brat! Even I can tell you nobody with a lot of options is going to put up with your entitled ass!" he proclaimed. To think, Sukuna didn't even know he wasn't the first to say such a thing to this woman.

Kur, or rather Ereshkigal as she was now called, gave a more appropriate description to answer his question. Apparently, this Gilgamesh was a Hero. Sukuna previously thought he'd sensed one or two of their kind on a higher plane of this planet, but to hear one was of this world was interesting. He hadn't gotten his hand on a Hero in quite some time; maybe he'd pay that one a visit and see what he was made of. "Sounds like a new victim to me~" he declared. Anyone who thought it fitting to shred Ishtar's body via a magical sword in the ass was suited to a lovely little competition of affliction with Sukuna. Alas, that was something to consider for another time.

Ereshkigal may not have been innately interested in the pain and suffering of others, but she was very keen on torturing Ishtar. It wasn't worthwhile to simply kill her in Sukuna's mind, but the threat of death and a little dismemberment seemed to do the trick. "So we pull her bones out until she dies? Do you think you could ma─ugh!" How annoying. Sukuna had become capable of ignoring that constant thumping, but there it was again, getting in his way. At this point, he'd find a way to start torturing Ishtar just as a distraction until Ereshkigal's Source finally found balance.

[Apollymi]

Sukuna and Ereshkigal were on the same page as far as Ishtar and her constant entitled hounding of Gilgamesh. Beyond all other things, Ishtar's entitlement was something which knew no bounds and it made perfect sense that those with options wouldn't want her. "I'm irresistible. No one says no to me. The only reason you aren't doing exactly as I say right now is because Ku-" another bite to her tongue. She still hadn't caught on to the inconvenience of that particular utterance. At the same time Ereshkigal could only smile and laugh. It was too much fun to have inflicted her with such a curse, she didn't know why she thought of it, but she definitely didn't regret doing it. Besides that she took note of how many hoops Ishtar was willing to jump through to not admit that she hadn't been chosen by this man, perhaps that information could be useful?

Moving on from this, it seemed that Sukuna had some interest in fighting Gilgamesh. For her understanding of the sorts of people who enjoyed challenging people and testing their mettle, she could only shrug. "I can't really discourage you, but he's become a bit complex as an existence so a bit of caution would be advised. Besides, I am pretty sure you'd get along at least a little." For Ereshkigal to say it like that she knew a great deal about Gilgamesh truly. Mostly that she'd made him a judge in the underworld and he fell under the concept of people she couldn't literally lift out of death, as such he had a soul type she couldn't easily manipulate. Maybe she'd have an easier time of that now? In a moment like this Ishtar spoke up. After all she had to try and break whatever hold Kur had on him. "See, look. She doesn't believe in you. I'd let you fight Gilgamesh and all you'd have to do is promise not to kill him because I want him for myself. Fight off her curse and I will allow you to have the battle you seek!" she said triumphantly. In a moment like this Ereshkigal found herself wondering if Ishtar ever actually listened to the kinds of things other people around her were saying. Did she really think she could just abuse this demon to get what she wanted, have sex with him and then he'd just hand her off to a man he could beat enough in fight to make him submit to her? Especially now that he'd found out it wasn't truly possible to torture her?

Whatever the case, when the conversation moved to methods of torture that could be used against Ishtar it seemed that Sukuna had a couple of ideas past just the physical ones he'd wanted to do. Before he could fully get out his sentence though he'd apparently felt a great deal of pain, still related to their connection. Ereshkigal could not presently feel pain. She felt only tingly and constantly on edge, even so, she seemed to show some genuine concern for Sukuna. "I still don't feel it. I'm shaking inside but it doesn't bother me. I'm sorry you're feeling the worst of it," Ereshkigal managed as her hand extended making contact with his chest and having her face reddened as the increased contact seemed to send euphoric feelings through her body because of the seal applied to her person. "See, she's just using magic on you or something... death can't actually care... she's nothing. She's faking it..." a pause happened because Ereshkigal had enough words from Ishtar for a few moments. A phantom scythe swiped in front of her face producing the woman's lower jaw as her face and tongue collapsed on themselves and her words turned to mush. "Oopm myp fasche!" She seemed genuinely distraught about the disfigurement to her face in a moment like this. She did think herself beautiful options for torture were starting to increase again. Ereshkigal looked at the jaw bone on the end of the blade and held it out for Sukuna. "You want this since you lost an arm today?"

[Bloodedge]

Understanding anything properly was seeming more and more impossible for the likes of Ishtar. She still couldn't fathom that no curse had been applied to him, apart from the technical two-way path applied to what would have been a one-directional seal. Even if he had been cursed, it would have nothing to do with any refusal to answer Ishtar. "Might want to worry about that tongue, brat. I'm not even cursed, but I don't remember you having any control over me regardless. Why would I listen to something I could kill with one finger?" he asked.

Apparently, Sukuna would likely get along with the one called Gilgamesh. That wasn't the easiest thing to believe; he didn't recall getting along with many individuals since the previous world. He still wanted to try his hand at tormenting a Hero of this world. Someone so pompously called the King of Heroes sounded like a prime target. Sukuna would find his way to that one eventually... though from what Ishtar had to say, she'd be one to send him right along to the man, provided Sukuna didn't kill him. Ishtar's entitlement was beyond the scope of reality; of this he was sure. "So stupid. Why would anybody take that deal? Besides, I'm not even cursed," he stated plainly.

The annoyance in his Source was not shared by Ereshkigal, it seemed. Of course it wasn't. Even in such a case, there was a very real chance she would have felt it as yet another pleasant sensation. Her hand made contact with his chest while she shared some needless sympathy. Sukuna shrugged it all off; it was more an annoyance than an inconvenience or pain. In fact, he was more bothered by Ishtar continuing to speak. She alleged that death could not care. Not being a member of the old world, maybe she had a legitimate reason to be ignorant... at least partially. "You sure about that? I've seen what happens to the lesser Heroes or... humans when they go on for just a few thousand years. Forced aging used to be a favorite of mine for those types. Conscious clay is fun to mess with," he said, managing laughter once more. As for caring or not caring, Ereshkigal obviously cared enough about Ishtar's repeated yapping to end it swiftly. A strange and magical scythe easily plucked Ishtar's jawbone out, though Sukuna had seen no physical damage. Oh... and Ishtar kept trying to speak, making herself even more disgusting. "Gross," he griped.

Ereshkigal's blade tilted toward Sukuna, Ishtar's jawbone at its end in offering. He'd lost an arm, but that didn't matter. That severed limb was left crammed inside Ishtar while the wound on Sukuna's body sprouted a fresher arm to use. With that same new arm, he plucked the bone from Ereshkigal's sickle. "I've got a habit of picking up my own trophies. This one hasn't suffered enough to be thrown in my pile." With that said, Sukuna squeezed the bone in his fist. This simple effort popped out all the teeth, and from there, Sukuna's mana became palpable throughout the continent. A continuous stream of his energy flowed into the bone and morphed it, the pressurization of demon mana forming adamantite as he morphed the 'soul' of the bone to reshape it slightly. In the end, Ishtar's jaw had become something like a tiara or... crown. Still, he wasn't quite done.

A few more things were necessary. Sukuna's free hand reached out and swiped away the veil of Ishtar's crown. He knew those things to be symbols of purity or something of the sort, which this one obviously didn't possess. So, what used to be Ishtar's lie became a veil affixed to that crown of black. Maybe the new headdress could use something else, though? A single indentation would be made to fit a jewel; Sukuna would get to that later. First, he levitated Ishtar's fallen teeth and focused his attention on the goddess' chest. "You've got a lot of energy stored up in there, huh? Yeah... that's a nice size," he said about her breasts. Ah, but why did he go and say something like that? Time would tell. . .

[Apollymi]

Ishtar held a special brand of insanity. In her particular case she tried acting the same way over and over again with no real way of getting past it. Beyond that she was always willing to assume that no man could resist her nor choose another without the woman being at fault for it somehow. Thus, she saw men as the strongest things in the world while women (not her) were weaklings. But she also saw other women as crafty for being able to garner sympathy. Because of the way she was, she assumed that not a single person was genuinely nice, and that woman only played at it to attract men. This was why she hated Kur. She saw her as trying to steal affection from her, and she seemed to be having some success with it, given Sukuna's own actions. "Because I am the only one worth listening to! Obviously you're deluded poisoned against me by Ku-" there was a snap there and then another tongue bite. It seemed that glorious as she was, she did not understand that it was possible to be resisted. Men should always want her, always.

Even with the man plainly saying that he wasn't cursed and everything he was doing was of his own volition, Ishtar was willing to forgive his acts against her, if he acted in her interest. Why would anyone take a deal like that? Wasn't the answer obvious, "Even a single instance of my favor is worth forsaking all others! And I am forgiving so I am willing to assume Ku-" another bite to her tongue in before her lower jaw was removed for her final outburst. It was amazing to Ereshkigal, that she'd given her name aloud for the other woman to use, and yet somehow she still managed to keep using the wrong name and keep hurting herself. It was almost sad really.

Whatever the case, Ishtar was very ignorant making claims about the 'false kindness' of death. But Ereshkigal, formerly Kur had never been anything but kind. It seemed that though her own extension of sympathy was being shaken off, even by the one man who should receive it from her with the most ease, he understood her quite a bit. Ishtar never listened to her lessons, she never heard the words of her mother other than whatever random bit she passed off as important. With her jaw gone she couldn't really answer she only managed to look long-faced as she watched the bone of her mouth be crushed. He also took her veil why would he even want something like that? Ereshkigal understood and had to stifle another chuckle "Che~" She wondered then if they were planning to remove all her bones and just play around with her flesh. That was a frightening thought. If she couldn't take back her regular form that'd be terrible. She'd have to call in her own demon to help her if this situation didn't turn around soon.

Whatever the case, Ereshkigal watched as the jawbone she handed over was crushed in a newly grown hand of Sukuna's. His claimed that he collected his own trophies and Ishtar hadn't suffered enough to part with one made her chuckle. "As you like, I totally understand liking to do your own work. It's pretty rewarding~" Ereshkigal mused. In fact, her favorite thing she'd done to Ishtar in the last few hours, was the curse that had her biting her tongue every time she tried to speak the former name of the goddess of death. Meanwhile Ishtar seemed to perk up a bit. She was being paid a compliment she was sure. Maybe he just needed time to think, much like Gilgamesh. She'd silently implore him while trying to make the most of her best features, pushing her own chest forward as her breasts hand her own floating teeth in front of them. In the meantime Ereshkigal also understood the appraisal of Ishtar as a storage container, she was holding a lot of mana. She managed not to be afraid enough of any potentials as she tried to use her body to try for attention in the way she wanted it.

[Bloodedge]

Sukuna had eyes on the mounds of Ishtar's chest, and she assumed his interest in her again. Now, even Sukuna wouldn't lie and claim she wasn't desirable. If Ereshkigal hadn't filled out the way she had, and if Ishtar hadn't proven such mental incompetence, he would have considered keeping the second goddess as a receptacle whenever Ereshkigal busied herself elsewhere. Alas, that reality was completely worthless... just like the strung-up goddess trying to win him over at this very moment.

"Oh?" Sukuna muttered as Ishtar's chest jutted forward. "Kehahah! Hey brat, those are pretty big! Almost as big as hers," he said while gesturing toward Ereshkigal. A little jab like that was always worthwhile before someone's suffering, and he knew precisely how Ishtar would suffer soon. As if to take her protruding bosom as an invitation, Sukuna flung her lost teeth directly into her flesh bags, where they would proceed to absorb much of the mana she wasted over time. What mortals of the modern day called mammary glands were originally a method of providing mana to the young who could not build it themselves. Ishtar was obviously not sharing enough, so it would have to be taken from her by force. "Credit to you, I guess. It'll still take some time for that to work," he spoke casually.

The absorption of Ishtar's mana would slowly morph those teeth into something more... demonic. They'd grow, they'd sharpen and become jagged, and they'd pulse with power reminiscent of the Void. All the while, Sukuna would be taking care of something else. He had a plan for the teeth, but he needed... a fabric of sorts. "Something to weave..." he mused. Of course, he was just building anticipation, already knowing what he would do. Pretending to have a bright idea in the moment, Sukuna slashed again to rid Ishtar of those long, silken locks of green hair. Those, too, would be assaulted and corrupted by Sukuna's mana until they became malleable adamantite. Sukuna had some ability to create through the earlier mana transfer with Kur, but... the next part wasn't his forte, so he passed the adamantite threads along to Ereshkigal. "You should have a cape. People in charge of stuff have capes, right?"

[Apollymi]

Ishtar wasn't the type who understood the futility of her own actions. She wanted an outcome, she'd kick and scream at the universe until it happened for her. Why everyone didn't seem to understand this already she didn't know. Here and now... she'd pushed her chest forward and it seemed to have given her a bit of extra attention and a compliment. This made her hopeful for a single moment and then... it was dashed away. Ishtar's chest was noted as being... almost as big as that belonging to the newly named Ereshkigal. No. There is no way this runt had outgrown her in anyway that could be considered good... and then she looked and she could see it. It made her furious. But her fury had no where to go, her disappointment was immeasurable. Regardless her own teeth were thrown into her chest for some sort of magic she didn't understand. She received a compliment but it wouldn't really be working in her favor. Something she didn't notice, was as those teeth absorbed her mana and transformed into their demonic form... the size of her chest shrank drastically. Because she on longer contained the ability for her body to properly reform itself, it'd leave her with a sudden sagging bit of flesh where once plump breasts used to be.

And now he was looking for something to weave. This entire time Ereshkigal had been rather quiet, but in truth she'd been experiencing a few of those random pulses from the center of her chest. They didn't hit her as pain though, only as pleasure and she needed quite a bit of time, just to avoid exploding all over herself. She'd distract herself with an assessment of the emotional state of Ishtar. She honestly seemed to be responding in a way which was significant for her. Cycling through proper emotions when she couldn't do anything but sit there. Here and now she was quite afraid of what was about to happen and when those locks of her own beautiful hair when falling in front of her face she screamed with only her throat. A sound like that of a wounded animal, almost a squeal of sorts. Ereshkigal's eyes widened, but this was because of the color change of the material. It became Adamantite and she was told to make a cape of these new threads because rulers have capes. "Oho? I've never seen Adamantite of his quality before. It's so strong! I mean usually it doesn't have the ability to hold mana, it's just physically strong. But this... it's practically bristling with mana. It's amazing!~" she said happily appraising the material. She was actually quite excited to create something with a rare and valuable material. Though she was left with a question or two about what Sukuna had been witnessing to think that people in charge of things required capes. She'd not been able to hide childlike glee at this new thing. And found herself getting to work to weave together a cape for herself as Sukuna had claimed. Watching this Ishtar was only more annoyed more destroyed by what she was seeing. This pair was literally shaving things off her glorious self to give them to each other. How could they? How could Kur, the goddess of death, be so happy just to make something. It was obviously a trick, another moment of childishness so she could make the man be nice to her and ignore Ishtar since she had no interest in making things.

[Bloodedge]

Ishtar could have quite a bit of Sukuna's attention at any given time. It may never have been exactly what she wanted, nor would it be positive in any way, but she'd certainly have the attention. Even now, he'd keep at least two eyes on Ishtar most of the time, at least to keep watching those teeth transform within her chest. Eventually, he'd be able to physically see spike-shaped lumps as those tiny bones grew into large, fanglike chomping apparatuses. "Looks like I was wrong about the almost part! You'll be a child in a few minutes!" he chimed with great joy while watching the goddess shrink away.

Ah, it was only made better the moment she became bald. If she hadn't noticed the shrinkage of her chest yet, she certainly noticed the removal of her hair. If only she still had a jaw, Sukuna was certain he'd hear the best screaming this woman could offer. Instead, he had to settle for what she could manage while passing her removed locks on to Ereshkigal. Well... it couldn't really be called hair at this point; it was sheer adamantite made with a catalyst that would allow high flexibility. Based on what he sensed of Ereshkigal and the amount of mana she still had in excess, he assumed she'd be capable of doing something with it. Moreover, she appeared excited by the prospect of this rare opportunity. Few Creators had ever been able to work with adamantite; it was even possible she'd be the first one in this cycle to even attempt it. "This stuff is fresh. I doubt any of the adamantite you've seen in this world is younger than I am. It would never be able to do anything if it's that old," he explained as he understood things.

Now then, what more would he be taking from Ishtar? She was minus her jaw, minus her veil and minus her hair. "Hmm. Maybe I could use the skin? Or maybe I should pluck out her eyes. . ."

[Apollymi]

Strange, Ishtar usually wanted every man's attention all the time. Here and now though, she wasn't sure what other kind of demoralizing injuries she was going to take. She was frightened by the prospect of losing something else important to her. Looks were so important and hers were already fading. So imagine her surprise, when she looked down at her body and found her breasts steadily shrinking in size as lumps started to appear within those smaller bags as the teeth grew within them. The light in her eyes was horrified and another one of those strangled screams. How could he say such mean things to her while causing her to look so hideous?! Ereshkigal found those sounds much better than the ridiculous claims, shrill laughter, and annoying insults that normally fell from Ishtar's mouth.

Ah, today was such a harmonious day, for Ereshkigal. According to Sukuna the reason this Adamantite seemed so much better than any other she'd come in contact with was because it was fresh. That was interesting to note. "It does seem to have a fairly high rate of decay. It doesn't surprise me that most of what is found around the world is small sheets with only its physical attributes left. But this is so soft and flexible. Squee!~" She was already weaving threads together, her red eyes glowing with a mysterious and happy light. The threads fit together so nicely, and as they were woven they seemed to maintain the energy of each individual strand. Each threat was long and flexible and they seemed to want to be touching each other. As she created, it was first a large sheet, then it was textured folded and layered until it made something that would have been a proper cape on her form. Something she could drape over her shoulders and hold in place with a few magical accessories. It was even large enough to have a very high collar to cover her neck. It was cute, and fundamentally quite perfect. It was strong and with the threads woven together the way she'd managed it, their rate of decay had been all but stopped. She looked at it with her eyes wide. "I have to show Mom! This is great!~" she said holding it up and appraising it more. Surely the former mother of the gods would actually appreciate how amazing this material could be.

All the while, Ishtar seemed to be quite afraid. She didn't even have time to be truly disparaging to Ereshkigal. She was so busy keeping an eye on Sukuna almost shaking where she was. She couldn't lose more of herself, but he claimed to be thinking about taking an eye or using her skin. Would he really remove the skin from her person? She was quite scared of that. She didn't want to experience something like that, nor find out what it she would look like to be without an eye or her own skin. Legitimate fear made tears stream down her face, but she'd garner no sympathy from Ereshkigal who was now looking at the woman with her head tilted to the side. Also staring at her center. It was almost like there was something in her chest, behind those teeth Sukuna was making for whatever reason and it was calling to her power.

[Bloodedge]

Sukuna had always been the type to thrive on the horror in others' faces. When Ishtar finally looked down and took note of her physical changes, her expression was absolutely incredible to witness. For one to be so vain that these simple approaches took them to such a normally life-ending state of mind was almost perfect. There was but a single thing missing from this scene. Sadly, that meant Sukuna would soon have to restore Ishtar's ability to speak. First and foremost, he witnessed the sheer glee of Ereshkigal. He couldn't blame her for that. She was a Creator who enjoyed creating, much like her foremothers and forefathers.

There was but a single known way to acquire adamantite that could be manipulated like thread. The only viable method was for it to be created by a Destroyer's energy pressurizing an already flexible material, without overdoing it and stiffening the whole structure. Either way, the adamantite was in Ereshkigal's possession, and she easily wove them into a cape of fair size. She thought of showing the end-product to her mother, strangely enough. Creators were odd. Regardless, the obsidian sheen of her new cape proved her ability to manipulate the ancient and fabled Ore of Destruction. "Better work than I expected," Sukuna commented before averting his attention once more... at least half of it, anyway.

Ishtar's fear was palpable, but incomplete. If she didn't want to be picked apart piece by piece, she should be able to make that clear. Crying and shaking only made Sukuna laugh with unrivaled hysteria. He didn't even seem to realize the same thing Ereshkigal did within Ishtar; he was far too busy laughing just as loudly as Ishtar screamed─ perhaps louder. "KEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA!! What's the matter, brat? Don't worry, I wouldn't take out your eye unless there was nothing left for you to see. Maybe the skin then! I did say I'd put your insides on the outside for all that garbage you keep spewing." Once Sukuna finished sharing this clause, he utilized a curse to reshape Ishtar's soul, specifically around her face. Doing so would result in her body following suit, filling in her jaw with new bones and restoring the structure of her jaw. Meanwhile, he was watching those teeth/fangs reach their maximum density and size, thinking it was about time to pluck them from her chest. "Those are almost ready. I thought they'd be a nice ornament on the cape."

[Apollymi]

Ereshkigal knew she was being observed. Unlike people like Ishtar who were lazy beyond belief, Ereshkigal formerly known as Kur, always tried to be good at what she did. She looked for critiques of her works as she tried them out. She'd developed something that looked like a strange habit and that was showing her work to those older than her as she made her great works. Each of her siblings (Ishtar aside) had creative works she liked and as such she often found herself showing them anything random she made that she thought they could appreciate. The same was true of her mother as well... She was always very excited when she made something new and now as no exception. For his part in this Sukuna seemed to be watching her and after she'd finished he said something. It was better than he'd expected. Ereshkigal had her eyes widen and her face flush. That seemed like a pretty great compliment when one considered this man had seen works of the previous world. "I... well..." she seemed to be thinking of the right response. "Thanks..." she managed turning her eyes away from him.

So easily embarrassed was Ereshkigal, that she'd still revert to rather childish behavior. The exact opposite of the 'self-assured' Ishtar whose confidence outweighed her usefulness by a great deal. Here and now, Sukuna was laughing at the woman and she was too busy being terrified by what might happen to her to notice that Ereshkigal had started staring directly at her now as well. She couldn't be as disparaging towards her youngest sibling as she wanted to be but one good thing did come of this other interaction. Sukuna reserved her ability to talk... did that mean he didn't like looking at her face while it was astray. Did that mean she'd suffered enough of this 'punishment' and he was now going to turn his attention back to Kur? Still... he was saying something about skinning her alive because of his earlier promise? All of this over the fact that she referred to herself as glorious? "I... I... I didn't spew garbage. it is a fact. You can't punish me for being honest. You've had your fun now, right? You'll now make it clear you don't want her and restore me... the rest was just teasing right? You can't take from me just to give to Ku-" she was begging and horrified but it still wasn't as far down as she could fall. Obviously, Sukuna just took a bit of offense to how she referred to herself and all of this was just to teach her a lesson. He'd restore her fully and stop taunting her soon, obviously! He'd given her back the jaw Kur had taken so obviously he didn't intend to leave her that way!

"And suddenly, I miss just the screams..." Ereshkigal said still appraising this new cape of hers. It was a good work, she was certain of this, but Ishtar's return to speech didn't contain enough... penance for Ereskigal to be satisfied by it. No. Apparently, something about the restoration of her jaw had led her to believe the situation was turning in her favor once more. She also kept talking down to a man who'd ruined her physically but that was all fine so long as he'd restore her... or at least that is what Ereshkigal took from it.

[Bloodedge]

A simple offering of thanks came from Ereshkigal. Well, it wasn't so simple in actuality. It was best to call it an acknowledgement of her existing embarrassment, which Sukuna rather enjoyed. This, too, was a form of torture that he didn't even have to put forth effort for. It was far from the most exciting, but had a very nice exchange rate for value of investment.

Ishtar's ability to speak was restored with her new jawbone. As anyone who knew of this goddess could/would expect, she didn't waste a single moment before blabbering away. Much to Sukuna's chagrin, his hopes were trampled upon just as quickly. Ishtar didn't beg for life, limb or freedom. No, she argued against his earlier assertion, she made demands, and she made obvious her belief that this was all some test or ploy. Sukuna couldn't even think of anything to say. All he could think to do, was slit his own wrist with one nail. That same wrist bled as one could expect, but the blood oozing from his wound was far darker than anything normal. Sukuna flung his blood at Ishtar. Upon contact, a floral pattern would spread across the goddess' skin, and the effects of Sukuna's blood would begin to erode her body. Her skin would suffer quickly, but it wouldn't stop there. If left alone for a few hours or so, only bone would remain on even a goddess' body. Sukuna wondered if this was another type of pain she misconceived as pleasure. "I'll take from you just to take from you. I don't need excuses or reasons~" he said in a seemingly happy fashion.

Ereshkigal missed when Ishtar only had screams to offer. Sukuna, on the other hand, missed something else. One thing was satisfying about Ishtar's ability to speak again, and it was something caused by Ereshkigal. "I missed the tongue-biting. I'm getting some of what I want. Fucking brat should be begging like they normally do, though." Ever so casually, Sukuna called forth the bones lodged in Ishtar's breasts... whatever was left of them. With her decaying flesh, he gathered things would be even easier... especially with those sharp, jagged teeth emerging point-first on their way to Ereshkigal. "It still counts as insides being on the outside if insides are all you have, right?" he asked rhetorically, pure amusement in his visage.

[Apollymi]

Whatever enjoyment Sukuna took from the embarrassment of Ereshkigal, she wouldn't deny him. She didn't really get his whole torture schtick, but if it was his nature, denying it would only be bad for him. She was fine with how he was for the most part, so long as his urges were properly pointed in directions where it was useful. Perhaps this was the real balance to be found between Creators and Destroyers.

A point of imbalance however was the attitude of Ishtar. Upon getting back her ability to speak, she immediately went back to her own self-centered version of reality. Strangely it didn't seem to register to Ishtar that her speech was problematic. According to Sukuna, he would take from Ishtar because he could, he didn't need a reason. and such words were only spoken after he slit his own wrists and flung blood at her. Of course the initial sensation of this, wasn't negative but she could feel her skin shriveling and decaying in the moment and it was immediately horrifying. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" a scream escaped her after a few moments. Would she beg though? Time would tell.

All the same, apparently the return of Ishtar's jaw had been accompanied by the return of her tongue biting behavior. "It's amazing to me that she's done it so many times and still hasn't realized why. I am sure small animals would have already learned to take a different path by now..." Ereskigal stated. She was amused by the tongue biting, she'd decided it after all as a way to keep the green haired goddess from constantly saying her name in such a derogatory way. Still, Ishtar was listening after that initial scream, and though she didn't fully process what was being said by Kur, Sukuna seemed to expect begging from her. And now her chest was being ripped open large teeth being pulled from her center. Her body was shredded and more screams came from her, along with begging though not fully to the extent that one like Sukuna would want. "No. No. No. I'm supposed to be most beautiful. Stop making me uglier than Ku-" she said once again biting her tongue. She was getting even more scared by the moment though, what if Kur ended up way better than her. That was something her psyche couldn't handle. But it wasn't as deeply emotional as it might have been. Perhaps because she couldn't really see how gross she looked in a moment like this, maybe because she was still holding out hope that Sukuna was only testing her. She'd jumped through the mental hoop that obviously she had to be made worse than Kur. Kur was a jealous individual, always wanting things that belonged to Ishtar, including this new demon that should join her. "I'm surprised that tongue is still attached to her mouth... " she said watching as more of Ishtar's flesh decayed away. The woman did always have an interesting bone structure. She'd be worth it for someone like Ereshkigal to stare at soon enough. "What is that?" she asked pointing past flesh of Ishtar towards that power which had been catching her attention since the goddess started more earnestly showing fear.

[Bloodedge]

Ah, that was the sort of scream Sukuna was hoping for. Hearing ishtar's wailing while she didn't have a jawbone was lovely, but it could never be the same as a proper scream when it came to expressing terror. "Ahhh! That's so much better! It's been so long since I've heard something like that, and it's still the best hearing it with my own ears!" Sukuna rambled. The best thing of all was having a physical body to enjoy these things with.

It was a fact that Ishtar's brain left much to be desired. Lesser creatures knew better than she, who continued to speak a name that constantly resulted in the immediate biting of her tongue. "That's my favorite part. I like when dumb decisions like that are made. Suffering can sometimes be better when someone is the cause for their own," Sukuna asserted. He enjoyed his time spent watching Ishtar decay bit by bit, though it seemed Ishtar didn't appreciate the changes so much. Of course, this came from a perspective of believing she was ever superior to the pink-haired goddess. "I didn't make you anything. You were uglier when you showed up; you just had more meat to knock around," he clarified. With current information at Sukuna's disposal, he determined that Ishtar wouldn't have even been fun to torment sexually. He couldn't imagine trying what he'd attempted with the former Kur on Ishtar, especially as the latter would have been praising herself more than suffering any of his torment. How she focused so much on herself in general, was baffling. Ah, but speaking of focusing on Ishtar, Ereshkigal seemed to be doing so after wondering how the woman's tongue remained attached. Something was inside Ishtar's chest, and Ereshkigal couldn't identify it. Sukuna could, but he knew of things this world had yet to see and fully acknowledge. "Eh? Oh, that. That's the start of her Source. It looks like she's started suffering enough to wake it up. I'm not sure how it's supposed to work; you'll have to ask somebody else about that. I just know getting rid of that Core thing and some suffering can usually do the trick."