Inanna’s body began to radiate a vivid light. Buds sprouted and burst into full bloom in moments creating a beautiful array of colors to decorate her crown. A green moss began to coat her bark and flowers began to shoot up from beneath her roots. Her leaves turned a vibrant green, and her whole body grew at a visible rate. Inanna exuded a vitality that made Enki’s heart palpitate.

What type of test is this? How can she exude so much vital essence? Where is it all coming from? Is she being tested by life or blessed by it? Enki wondered in awe at the majestic scene before him.

However, his fantasy was abruptly shattered by an agonized screech from Inanna. She was in excruciating pain. Her body felt like it was being endlessly twisted and mangled. This amount of vital essence was no blessing. It was simply impossible for her body to contain it all. The nature that bloomed around her was a result of her body’s inability to accommodate it. She was like a sealed barrel being filled past its limits. She had begun to rupture and leak vitality to her surroundings. Why had she awakened to such torment? What had she done to deserve this level of suffering? All she wanted to do was escape. She would do anything to leave this wretched body; anything to escape this torture.

“F… father, p… please, help,” she whimpered, “p… please m… make it s… stop.”

Enki’s heart felt like it had been dipped into a frozen lake. His body turned cold. What could he do? He was powerless to intervene in a tribulation. He may be a mighty sage, but to the laws, he was less than insignificant. He could barely feel their presence, barely fathom them. Controlling them was out of the question. How do you tell someone you love that you can’t end their suffering? How can you watch as your child is tortured in front of you? The simple answer was that Enki couldn't do either of these things. His body acted on its own.

Enki scrambled to his daughter’s side as an ancient tablet full of incomprehensible characters appeared in his hands.

"Don't worry child, I'm coming!" He shouted.

Viciously slapping his palm across the text, he screamed, “If she is important to you then you will end her suffering here!” The characters on the tablet began to glow a prismatic tint and Enki's divine energy drained from him in seconds. However, the relic wasn’t satisfied with so little energy, so it began to harvest from a different source as well; it began draining his vitality. Enki's body began to shrivel, and his skin took on a sallow appearance. His cheeks hollowed to pits, his face began to sag, and his hair grew wispy and thin.

“Accursed leech! At least aid me if you’ll take from me!” He growled.

Suddenly, Enki's surroundings began to change. He found himself in a world of white with enigmatic characters flowing endlessly in the sky. The characters were painted in every color imaginable, and just looking at them made Enki’s soul tremble.

“Unless you planned on becoming an invalid, I don’t recommend you stare at them for much longer. Direct your gaze at me,” A monotone voice woke Enki from his trance.

Enki turned to quip back at the speaker, but what he saw caused him to swallow his words. Standing before him was a colossal tablet full of enigmatic inscriptions. Its very presence caused his knees to buckle beneath him. He kneeled in awe. He kneeled in trepidation.

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“I wouldn’t stare at that too long either. Eyes on me you imbecile!” The voice rebuked coldly.

Enki shifted his gaze down towards the speaker, and he was greeted by an unfriendly pair of eyes colored in a prismatic tint. This pair of eyes made his pulse quicken.

A boy, at the foot of the colossal tablet, glared at Enki over the top of his scroll. He exuded an even more majestic presence than the tablet behind him.

“Who… who are you?” Enki asked in alarm.

The boy cut his eyes at Enki in annoyance.

“I should be the ‘accursed leech’ that you seek aid from,” he snorted in disdain.

“You’re, the tabl…” Enki began before the boy cut him off.

“I go by many names, but ‘tablet’ is not one of them. You may call me Shai. What you see before you is my avatar. And what you hold in your hand is the manifestation of my will.” The boy said while pointing to Enki’s side.

Shocked, Enki looked down at the tablet clutched tightly in his palm.

“Now tell me, child of the life-giving waters, what gave you the guts to seek an audience with me?” Shai inquired with a menacing aura.

That question woke Enki from his reverie. He didn’t have time to be awestruck. He couldn’t afford to panic or hesitate. His daughter was counting on him.

“I need your power.” Enki almost commanded as he struggled to his feet.

Shai raised an eyebrow at Enki’s tone.

“And what is it you need my power for?” He asked curiously.

“I need you to help me free my daughter from the tribulation of life,” Enki said seriously.

“And why would I do that?” Shai countered.

Enki paused, lost for words.

“Be… Because you favor her,” he blurted out.

“Just because she has my favor does not afford her my protection. Especially during a tribulation. Do you realize the price I’d have to pay for interceding in life’s trial?” Shai snapped.

“How can I convince you?” Enki despaired.

Shai shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to the scroll in his hands.

“With a proper exchange of course,” he replied unconcernedly.

Enki began to lose his calm.

“What more would you have from me? You have already made use of my energy and my essence! I stand before you a husk of my former self,” he growled through his teeth.

“What has been taken can always be restored with time. Regardless, you are lucky I spared your useless life. You are eons too young to dream of utilizing my will you sniveling welp,” Shai retorted sharply.

“Then what else can I offer you? Do you want my life? If so, then take it. What would you have me do? Should I have heartlessly stood by and watched her suffer?” Enki sighed helplessly.

Finally, putting down his scroll Shai advanced toward Enki. And with each step, his presence grew.

“If I wanted your life, could you stop me from taking it? I have even less use for that than I do for your pitiful divine energy, your useless vital essence, or your senseless whining!” He yelled in exasperation.

“There is nothing you can offer me in exchange for this favor! So, will you leave on your own, or shall I send you on your way?” He thundered while shaking his head in disappointment.

However, something about Shai's last words stirred a thought in Enki's mind. A possibility he had not yet considered.

“What of my future? What of my fate?” He asked the boy solemnly.

“I already…” Shai began to roar a rejection, but Enki cut him off.

“I wasn’t talking about an exchange with you," Enki said with cunning, "you told me I needed a proper exchange to convince you, but you never told me I had to exchange with you. I choose to exchange my fate for my daughter’s,” he declared stoically.

Shai grinned mischievously.

“So, you figured it out. I always knew you were shrewd, but your bravery is surprising. You’re sure you wish to do this?” He questioned.

Enki cheekily smirked at the boy before responding, “I have no idea what the future holds, so how am I brave? I only know what this tablet represents,” Enki looked at the tablet he held in his hand before continuing. “so, I can assume my future should have been quite glorious. But I can't say I was ever quite suited for any glory. Yes, I am quite sure. Please exchange our fates and end her suffering.”

Shai gave Enki a look of admiration. “You’ve become someone far greater than even I could’ve ever envisioned.”

With those words to see him off, Enki found himself in front of Inanna once again.