After some explanation, the Pantheon of Gods understood why Mother Goddess Tiamat maintained the form of a young girl.
"The Great Sacrifice! As long as the Great Sacrifice is completed, Mother Goddess can restore her former glory and bring salvation to this World."
Moon Goddess Sin solemnly reminded, and the Pantheon of Gods eagerly nodded in agreement as if grasping a life-saving straw.
This is the highest ritual connecting the sacrificer and the being sacrificed, symbolizing that they will thereafter share breath and Fate.
Now, we must spare no effort to invite this Mother of Origin back, so that we, seen as rebellious deities in Marduk’s eyes, can have a glimmer of hope.
"The Main Priest should be assigned to Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and Siduri."
At this moment, Luo En also presented his demands.
Naturally, the gods had no objections and swiftly began preparing this Great Sacrifice.
Soon, solemn chanting echoed through the Garden of Eden:
"e-nu-ma e-liš la na-bu-úšá-ma-mu
When the heavens above were not yet named,
šap-liš am-ma-tumšu-ma la zak-rat
The firm ground below was not yet called by name.
ZU.AB-ma reš-tu-ú za-ru-šu-un
There was turmoil, where existence emerged.
mu-um-mu ti-amat mu-al-li-da-at gim-ri-šú-un
Mother, deep and black, born out of herself.
A. MEŠ-šú-nu iš-te-niš i-ḫi-qu-ú-šú-un
The great flood, unified and harmonious.
gi-pa-ra la ki-is-su-ru su-sa-a la she-’u-ú
No web woven for shelter, no marshes visible.
e-nu-ma Dingir.Dingir lašu-pu-u ma-na-ma"
At that time the gods, faint and without form...
In front of the towering altar, the Three Goddesses knelt with folded hands across their chests, faithfully chanting the preamble to the Babylonian creation epic "Enuma Elish," recounting the grandeur and love of Mother Goddess Tiamat.
The entire Netherworld trembled in response.
Disgraced gods, struggling monsters, and departed souls all voiced themselves, joining this chorus, praying for the return of the former Mother.
Countless wills converged towards the altar, forming thousands of golden streams flowing towards the small figure atop the altar.
As the Divine Power soared, the small figure gradually extended, the aura belonging to the Origin God growing increasingly intense.
The Three Goddesses presiding over the ritual were greatly invigorated, decisively making the final call:
"Our Great Mother Goddess Tiamat, birth and Origin, your foundation has been reformed, hereby beseech you to return home!"
In the Garden of Eden, tens of thousands of bands of light rose, breaking through the barriers of the heavens, piercing through the Chaos beyond the World.
Under the draw of these "anchors," a towering figure with emerald wings and the touch of the earth on its brow began to materialize from the void, gradually merging with Tiamat on the altar.
But just as the ceremony neared its end, a sudden change occurred.
The sky shattered like a mirror, the earth split into deep ravines, and the entire World seemed torn and disintegrated by some fearsome force.
Soon, the gods, monsters, and even departed souls around the altar were caught up, their bodies starting to fragment inch by inch.
Panic and dread spread through the crowd, the air thick with the scent of Death and Destruction.
In a moment of crisis, the figure on the altar let out a high-pitched chant.
Layers of emerald ripples spread in all directions, the entire altar instantly reduced to dust, the Divine Will and Magic Power originally converging here losing their pull, returning to their original areas and positions, and the apocalyptic phenomenon in the Garden of Eden disappeared accordingly.
At the same time, Tiamat, the core of the sacrifice, spat out a mouthful of Golden Blood, uncontrollably falling towards the ground.
Luo En hastily rushed to catch this figure, quickly stabilizing the injuries, checking physical conditions.
Soon, he confirmed the results, his face darkening.
Not only did Tiamat fail to retrieve her Power of Origin, but she was gravely injured.
Likewise, the gods and monsters present suffered backlash from the Great Sacrifice.
"It’s Marduk. He used the [Heavenly Destiny Mud Tablet] to divide my Divinity, preventing me from completing integration, and planted a Curse against me within the World’s [Great Source]."
Tiamat explained the reason, her face showing a pallor of weakness.
Luo En’s heart skipped a beat, immediately recalling a passage in the Babylonian creation myth:
After defeating Tiamat, Marduk tore the corpse of the Creator Goddess into two halves, the upper part merged into the sky, the lower part molded into the earth, bodily fluids became clouds, and tears turned into the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Although in current history, Tiamat managed to escape from the Babylonian Divine Era, her Great Source had already been stolen.
Moreover, Marduk still held the [Heavenly Destiny Mud Tablet] representing Babylon’s Heavenly Destiny, he could easily guard against Tiamat’s return.
It seems that the King of Kings had already preemptively made contingencies against Tiamat and some unruly rebellious deities.
Therefore, it is impossible to bypass and attain the World Essence from him.
Realizing this, the gods were disheartened.
Their strength was already at a disadvantage, and now the backlash from the ritual made them even weaker against Marduk and other Deities.
Their fate seemed to lean only towards surrender.
"Sorry, children, I can’t help you."
Tiamat’s pale face showed a trace of helplessness and shame, a streak of shocking reddish-gold blood at the corner of her mouth.
To this, the gods felt no resentment, rather a sense of guilt welled up inside them.
As the Mother of Origin, with her rank and power, she could have forcibly seized the Divinity of the gods’ sacrifice to protect herself.