In the Bone Fields outside of Kutha, Kigal dug under the raging midday sun. She was by herself, having told Nergal to stay behind in Ekkur and not sharing her whereabouts with any temple acolytes. This she wanted to do alone. She worked in the quiet, shoulders straining in rhythm with every pitch of soil to the side. Wiping sweat from her brow, she then looked to the shrouded body she had placed in the grave. Kigal expected to have to swallow back tears, but they didn’t come. She had already cried her eyes dry. He was gone. She had mourned him. Nothing more would bring him back, not this time.
That wouldn’t stop her from giving him a proper burial, though. Even if his spirit wouldn’t ever make it home to Irkalla, even if it no longer existed, shredded apart as a sacrifice to undo Mummu’s
