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Section 1: Snow Falls in the Underground
This Christmas tale, more dire and bizarre than those that came before, begins with Chaldea suddenly having mysterious scorching Summer weather in the middle of Winter, compounded by an equally mysterious fever that swiftly brought the entire organization to its knees. Despite their best efforts to soldier on for Christmas' sake, Santa Alter, Jeanne Alter Santa Lily, Mash and even Fou soon find themselves collapsed. The Protagonist rushes to get ice for their fallen Servants.On the way, they encounter Caster Gilgamesh; despite trying (and miserably failing) to maintain a poker face, even the mighty King of Heroes has fallen ill... but notices that the Protagonist is strangely one of the few that hasn't shared this fate. Gilgamesh explains what he knows, for he is familiar with this illness: Sumerian Summer Fever! This fever pandemic combined with Uruk's relentless Summer heat is the leading cause of death in his Kingdom (other than Tiamat, of course), an invitation to the Underworld unto itself. Sound ridiculous for just a fever? Gilgamesh thinks so too, but unfortunately, he's not at all exaggerating: the sudden onset of relentless heat and sickness can only mean the Sumerian Underworld of Kur is attacking Chaldea. At the verge of passing out from the fever himself, Gilgamesh uses the last of his power to do something even he thinks is a bit much: hijacking the Rayshift system and sending the Protagonist directly to Kur so that they may fix the problem. He has only one cryptic hint to offer before the pass out and transport the Protagonist: "Gather the Sands of the Underworld! Its weight shall lead to your salvation!"
Things immediately appear strange in Kur. For some reason, the Underworld now has a starlit sky, and the Protagonist's plummet into the Underworld is oddly slow. They don't get much time to ponder this however, as they are immediately accosted by the native Gallû spirits... with strange hats. Thankfully, rescue comes in the form of this year's Santa Claus: Altera Santa, also known as Atilla the San(ta), riding her trusty sheep steed Zerco! After beating back the Gallû, Altera explains that she was advised by a "sheep" (not the one she's riding) to aid the Protagonist here as their goals align, and that their destination is the Abyss, the lowest stratum of Kur. Reaffirming her loyalty to the Protagonist, the two begin their descent into Kur to unravel the mystery of this deadly December, lest not only Christmas, but Chaldea itself meet an untimely end...
Section 2: Splendid Sacrifices
Having entered Kur proper, the Protagonist sees that the Underworld has made a drastic shift from a gloomy-but-calm cavern into a lively atmosphere dotted with snow, Christmas Lights and Christmas Trees all over. Altera having received a letter from the "sheep" to explain the situation, this is apparently the result of the Goddess of the Underworld having broken her oath, turning Kur into chaotic mess that is somehow assimilating Chaldea's knowledge into its own and time and space are out of whack. Chaldea is blamed, and the posited solution is for the Goddess to eradicate everyone in Chaldea who might know her. Furthermore, aside from the Holiday Mode, the Underworld's terrain undergoes a shift around this time of year, changing from the wide-and-labyrinthine maze the Protagonist remembers into a deep-and-narrow pit. When Altera is asked how she herself fits into all of this, she admits that she's not sure; all she knows is that history of Christmas, the Huns, the Underworld and God knows what else have gotten their wires crossed, but she nevertheless wants to bring some holiday happiness to those in need.Like the Protagonist's last visit into Kur, their progress is barred by the Seven Gates. This time, however, the Guardian of the First Gate is not an immaterial quizmaster, but an actual person the Protagonist knows well: Ana. The function of the Gates has changed from what they knew, behaving similar to the original myth: to pass through the Gates now, the Protagonist must either die by the Gatekeeper's hand, or sacrifice something of value... which the Holiday Mode has twisted into giving the Gatekeeper a present, as per Christmas tradition. Altera tells her that as Santa Claus, she can easily grant that request... though Ana is unimpressed by Chaldea's Santa being an "oddball". Altera then engages her to see if she's worthy of receiving a present from Santa. Ana and the Protagonist both are confused by this, but thankfully the answer turns out to be "yes" (along with the reveal that Zerco's wool doubles as a present sack). Altera doesn't give Ana quite what she wants (she's still new to this!), but she accepts it nevertheless and allows them to pass through the Gate.
Section 3: Stars at Dawn
Deep in the Underworld, there is a girl. A newly-awakened Goddess, this girl has big dreams for Kur. In this cold, desolate wasteland where all souls go after they shuffle their mortal coils, she wants to make a thriving civilization for the unfortunate dead, tilling fields, building homes, and flattening mountains so that their stay in the Underworld is a pleasant and fulfilling one... at least, that's what she said at first. Cut to 1,000 years latter, and despite the absolute power her Divine Oath grants her in the Underworld, the girl laments that she has accomplished very little; the duties of the Goddess of the Underworld are strict and demanding, and she hasn't the faintest idea how to give herself some wiggle room, nevermind make the Underworld more hospitable. She grouses at length at how the Surface has all of the things she needs, things that she simply isn't allowed to have, yet she fruitlessly tries to convince herself she doesn't need them after all...The Protagonist wakes from a nap. They dreamed about a girl who was lying to herself.
Having an opportunity for reprieve as they listlessly descend to the Second Gate, Altera decides to recount to the Protagonist how she became this year's Santa Claus. Her tale starts out much the same as the Protagonist's, wandering the halls of Chaldea and noticing the alarming amount of collapsed Servants. For a mercy, Altera herself has a strong resistance to the Sumerian Fever, apparently a combination of her Natural Body ability and her own innate resistance to things stemming from the Age of Gods, as diagnosed by Paracelsus... who collapses right after giving it. Altera grouses that her chance to see if Christmas was "good civilization or bad civilization" has been lost because of this pandemic.
It is at this moment that she happens across the "sheep" she has been talking about - a strange sheep indeed, for it has shining gold wool, can talk, and was apparently supposed to be invisible, but Altera can clearly see and hear it. She wonders if it was a Christmas decoration that got away... which gives the "sheep" an idea of how they may save the day. The "sheep" identifies himself as Dumuzid (though Altera mishears it, so they agree that "Doomzy" is an acceptable nickname). Dumuzid gives an... interesting explanation of Chaldea's dire situation to Altera (while not-so-subtly hitting on her), trying to convince her that this is all happening because Kur hasn't received any presents, and Santa Claus needs to fix it. Altera, not the most perceptive person and still eager to experience Christmas, jumps at the chance to fill the position of Santa herself. Dumuzid lends her some of his Divine Authority(!?) to this end, and Altera Santa is born. Dumuzid can tell immediately that Altera's interpretation of Santa Claus is... strange (not that he's ever seen Santa Claus either), but beggars can't be choosers...
The Protagonist bluntly tells Altera that she got scammed. She is aghast at the thought, but though she has nothing to disprove it, she affirms that the role of Santa Claus (even if done oddly) is suited for the current state of the Underworld.
They approach the Second Gate. Anyone who was expecting another Babylonia chapter character will be in for an unpleasant shock when the second Gatekeeper turns out to be Aŋra Mainiiu, calling himself "Shadow Santa." Unlike Ana's innocent quips about how Altera is a weird Santa, Aŋra Mainiiu outright rips into her interpretation and deconstructs the general mythology of Santa Claus by mimicking every behavior you'd ever expect from a Bad Santa. Altera engages him in battle out of genuine anger rather than her twisted interpretation of Christmas traditions. After his defeat, Aŋra Mainiiu admits that he was just doing his job as a Gatekeeper and trying to scare the intruders off, and proving that he can exhibit some real holiday cheer with his body lighting. He takes this opportunity to take a present from Zerco (or rather several presents, much to Altera's annoyance), satisfying the conditions of the Gate. He warns the Protagonist that what he's doing now won't be enough to take down Ereshkigal, and also tells them of the next Gatekeeper: a Goddess that's really into pro-wrestling. The Protagonist knows EXACTLY who he's talking about... but as Aŋra Mainiiu points out before disappearing, she'd probably be their best chance of getting to the bottom of this mystery, figuratively and literally.
Section 4: Poisonous Reunion
Deep in the underworld, someone is wandering around in the endless darkness, cold and alone. This being eventually happens across the newbie Goddess of the Underworld, who identifies herself as Ereshkigal. This being is the lost soul of someone who passed away, in danger of fading into nothing, and Ereshkigal informs them that they are now her property. The soul nearly fades away from fear, but Ereshkigal immediately backs off and apologizes, comforting the poor soul and promising that there is no danger of them fading away while she is here. The soul relaxes, feeling warm...Altera wakes up, this time the recipient of a dream that wasn't her own. There is little time to mull over it though, as she and the Protagonist are already approaching the Third Gate. Steeling themselves for what they're sure will be a rough encounter, they prepare to meet Quetzalcoatl...
...Only to find that the wrestle-happy Goddess is nowhere to be found. Not only that, but the Third Gate is already open. In her place is a different Goddess who is not content in letting intruders to the Underworld run free, and has no patience for another Goddess being in her turf regardless of their reason or role: Ereshkigal has shown up in person, having personally kicked Quetzalcoatl out.
That something is amiss with Ereshkigal becomes very apparent very quickly. The Protagonist has something of a history with the Goddess of the Underworld - that being that Ereshkigal fell for them with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. Having been one of the few living beings to witness her friendlier side, the Protagonist realizes something is very wrong when Ereshkigal seems to have no idea who they are; in fact, she's lacking a lot of the more tender qualities they're familiar with, having become the hard-ass Death Goddess she believed she had to be. Despite the Protagonist's attempts to reason with her, Ereshkigal simply does her job and moves to eradicate the intruders in her Underworld. The battle is not even remotely winnable. Unlike the last time when her heart wasn't really in it, this time Ereshkigal attacks at full force, and trying to take her down in her own Underworld is impossible. The Protagonist takes advantage of a lull in the battle to try getting through to her once more, and Ereshkigal becomes increasingly annoyed that this mere mortal she never met before knows so many things about her - and that's when she makes a connection:
- Ereshkigal: "...Why did my head start to hurt just now...? You're incredibly rude, but... I can see in your eyes that you're telling the truth... Could it be... Could it be that the things that I've forgotten... have something to do with you?"
The Protagonist is undeterred. While Altera tries to makes sense of what is going on, the Protagonist spells out what they know for certain: Ereshkigal is not the bad guy, and that they really need to talk to her again.
Section 5: Dog-eared Subscription List
And now for a history lesson. It's time for Gil and Santa's "Get to Know Uruk"!The tale of Ereshkigal and how she claimed so much Divine Authority is told through a reenactment, with Gilgamesh narrating, Altera giving side-commentary, and various other Servants acting out the parts of the characters. As is known, Ereshkigal is the twin sister of Ishtar, and as such commands a ton of Authority in the Underworld. Unlike Ishtar however, who was incredibly flighty and smug, Ereshkigal was strict and responsible to a fault. She typically kept to herself, trying to find ways to improve the Underworld under her own power, but her Authority just wasn't suited to the task. Thanks to monumental foolishness on their part however, Ereshkigal managed to gain Authority of two other Gods in an attempt to make the Underworld a better place.
One of these Gods was Nergal, the God of the Sun. In a departure from the original myth where Nergal was the husband of Ereshkigal, in Fate mythos Nergal was a prideful god who despised Ishtar for her rule over the heavens, and seeking to lay claim to the heavens himself, he decided disgracing her sister and gaining a foothold in the Underworld would be a good place to start. He believed that with the power of the Sun at his back, Nergal would utterly crush Ereshkigal's cold and lifeless domain, and slandered her name endlessly. Ereshkigal was none too pleased about this and called him out, and Nergal, not having expected her to snap back so readily, happily obliged her with the help of some borrowed Authority over Pestilence. It did not end well for Nergal as Ereshkigal gave him a harsh lesson in intruding on another God's domain. With her foe defeated and humbled, Ereshkigal agreed to let him live on two conditions: he must spend half a year in the Underworld every year repenting for his sins, and he must leave half of his Authority with her... but made the mistake of allowing Nergal to choose which Authority she got; she wanted the Sun, but what she got was the borrowed Pestilence. The bargain already struck, Ereshkigal moped.
Back in the present, it turns out that Altera was relaying this story to the Protagonist as they descended to the Fourth Gate. Once there, they finds its Gatekeepers having a dispute... with blades. It's Ushiwakamaru and Benkei, the former having a snippy over Ereshkigal being a slavedriver and the latter fruitlessly trying to calm her down (no thanks to his big mouth). Altera and the Protagonist intervene, and though Ushiwakamaru draws upon her Me's a Crowd powers she got from Tiamat (though she insists the Protagonist's eyes were playing tricks on them), they are defeated. Their dispute resolved and another pair of presents delivered, the Gate opens, and they allow the Protagonist and Altera to pass without further incident.
Section 6: Dreaming of the Nomadic Life
The Gatekeeper of the Fifth Gate is Jaguar Warrior... whose encounter is almost entirely skipped over. Altera says she was a fierce opponent, but the Protagonist is nonplussed. Now with time to kill as they make for the Sixth Gate, Altera decides to play the part of a flight attendant as she continues the tale of Ereshkigal.This part of the tale deals with the other God Ereshkigal gained Authority from: Dumuzid, the God of Shepherds. Dumuzid was not originally a God, but rather the previous king of Uruk before Gilgamesh... and an incorrigible Glory Seeker. Divine Authority didn't come to him naturally; instead he sought it out, and to that end married Ishtar, thinking that he would be able to amass more followers than her. Ishtar was a bit of a Fetishized Abuser and whether he truly loved her or not is up in the air, but it did secure him Authority over livestock.
Things were turned on their head one day though, when Ishtar made her ill-fated trip to the Underworld to visit Ereshkigal. True to the original myth, Ereshkigal showed her sister no mercy, and Ishtar was easily killed. But this came with an unfortunate side-effect: with the Goddess of Fertility gone, all crops on the surface would inevitably wither and die. While the God Enki resurrected Ishtar's body, Ereshkigal was not so willing to part with Ishtar's soul, citing that doing such a thing would throw off the balance of the Underworld just as badly as Ishtar's absence would screw up the Surface. She did, however, agree to relent if a suitable replacement soul could be found, and allowed Ishtar to reunite with her body and search for a substitute. Things looked hopeless for Ishtar at first; no other God would willingly become Ereshkigal's prisoner, and as vain as Ishtar could be at times, even at her worst she would never sacrifice her loyal followers. Her only apparent chance was for someone to selflessly volunteer to take her place, but that was wildly unlikely...
Just before Ishtar resigned herself to her fate, she decided to visit Uruk and her husband one last time. Unfortunately, what she found that day made her livid: Dumuzid was partying it up like it was the end of the world, and had done so every day since Ishtar died, happy that his bastard girlfriend was gone and he'd gotten away with his newfound divinity. Now, the other Gods may not have been crazy about Ishtar, but this flagrant disrespect of a fellow God was too much. So none of them saw fit to step in when Ishtar decided it was time for Dumuzid to pay the piper, and Ereshkigal happily accepted his soul as Ishtar's replacement after learning his story. It looked like Dumuzid was well and truly screwed in both this life and the next, until his elder sister Geshtinanna stepped in and asked to be the substitute soul in his stead despite his misdeeds. Ereshkigal, moved by her devotion to her sibling, permitted this - on the condition that Dumuzid agree to the same bargain she made to Nergal. Dumuzid agrees and beats a hasty retreat, leaving Ereshkigal with... his Authority over serpents and gazelles, when what she really wanted was sheep so that she could warm her lost souls with their wool. Ereshkigal was shafted once again.
Despite her best efforts to shift things to her favor, Ereshkigal seemed destined to rule over a cold and unforgiving Underworld. But rule over it she did, never once thinking about abandoning her duty simply because it was harsh, all for the sake of the lost souls under her dominion. There was truly no one more suited to the task than her. Thus ends the tale of Ereshkigal's history.
Understanding the story but confused about her current motives, the Protagonist and Altera suddenly realize that none of this gives Ereshkigal a good reason to attack Chaldea. It quickly becomes apparent that someone else is pulling the strings. Their theory is confirmed by the "Gatekeeper" of the Sixth Gate, Merlin under the guise of "Mister Sheep"; he reveals that Nergal is behind this... and that he also lay in wait at the Sixth Gate to attempt to assassinate the people he perceives as threats to his scheme. After being outed by Merlin, Nergal - the evil Gallû spirit that retrieved Ereshkigal at the Third Gate - attacks the party, but is defeated.
The imminent danger passed, Merlin provides the in-depth explanation of Ereshkigal's actions that the Protagonist and Altera sorely need. The Nergal they're dealing with is not the original Nergal, but the grudge and malice he left behind from his humiliation to Ereshkigal, trying to take revenge and turn her tranquil Underworld into a disastrous graveyard of eternal suffering. But though Nergal was beaten, it's not enough to resolve this incident: Ereshkigal herself is the one with the Pestilence Authority, and she's not going to halt her attack on Chaldea just because Nergal fell. Her real motivation is much more complicated: Nergal has put the idea in her head that because Ereshkigal had to break her oath to never help the living, that she is not fit to rule Kur and must cede her Authority to a more responsible God, consigning herself to oblivion in the process - and Ereshkigal agrees with him, believing her current Pseudo-Servant Spirit Origin to be a threat to her own Underworld if its heart can be so easily swayed by one friendly mortal. The rub comes from her reason to eradicate Chaldea: in an inverse of Gods Need Prayer Badly, her Pseudo-Servant body can't be easily erased so long as there is anyone, anyone at all, who knows her. And she'd do it too, because with her memories gone, she is no longer the Ereshkigal the Protagonist remembers, but more like the cold, ruthless and uncompromising Goddess of Death she was before she gained a human avatar.
The Protagonist decides they aren't going to be deterred: they have decided they will not only save Chaldea, but Ereshkigal as well. Merlin applauds their tenacity, and snatches a present from Zerco to fulfill the opening condition of the Gate, warning them that the seventh Gatekeeper will be "Mesopotamia's Greatest Demon". Now with a better grasp of the situation, the Protagonist and Altera continue their descent.
Section 7: Stars Shot into the Celestial Journey
We are given one final flashback of Ereshkigal, just before the time she lost her memories. She ruefully lists all the things that have went wrong with her attempts to improved the Underworld, trying desperately to invoke Believing Their Own Lies that she didn't want any of those luxuries of the Surface, but she's not fooling anyone, much less herself. Nergal's Gallû spirit appears before her, telling her that preparations for the ritual are ready. Lamenting that she didn't get to speak to the Protagonist one last time, she sinks into the abyss and kisses her memories goodbye...It was another vision Altera had, one she's not sure how to explain... but she suddenly seems certain of what she and the Protagonist need to do for Ereshkigal now.
They approach the Seventh and final Gate, to find it vacant... but not open like the Third Gate was. They don't get much time to analyze however, as Altera's sheep begin to panic as a resounding crash sounds out above them: something is descending fast and obliterating the previous six Gates on the way! The source of the chaos and of the sheep's distress lands right in front of the Protagonist, blocking their way: Ishtar has finally arrived.
After much conspicuous absence given that her sister is at the centre of the mess, Ishtar comes in looking completely badass with an outfit and markings that are more reflective of her from the Age of Gods. Ishtar gloats that her plan to gather power from above the Underworld and brute-force the Gates was a success, but she's none too pleased that the Protagonist nearly beat her to the punch somehow. She boldly proclaims that she is taking revenge for the shame Ereshkigal subjected her to on her visit to Kur in the myths and will take control of the Underworld after her sister fades away, and she refuses to let the Protagonist interfere. But when the Protagonist relays Chaldea's situation to her, Ishtar bluntly reveals there never was a danger... because the abyss would dissolve Ereshkigal before the Sumerian Fever killed anyone. Relieved but still irritated, the Protagonist reaffirms that he still wants to save Ereshkigal as well, despite Ishtar's claims that it's impossible. Seeing that they will not back down, Ishtar turns her full power on them, and they do battle.
Despite the power boost, Ishtar is beaten. Altera eventually coaxes the truth out of her: she was worried that Ereshkigal would make good on her threat to kill the Protagonist, and wanted to spare her sister the agony of executing her only friend. But having been humbled by the Protagonist's ability to overcome her at her prime, Ishtar admits that they may have a chance against Ereshkigal after all, and lets them go. After a faux pas with the presents (apparently a single jewel isn't enough to placate Ishtar's greed), they eventually satisfy the Gate's conditions, and the final path to the abyss opens. Ishtar states that she still doesn't believe Ereshkigal can be saved, but admits that if anyone can do it, it's the Protagonist. Bolstered by her confidence, the Protagonist and Altera descend to the final confrontation with the Goddess of the Underworld...
Section 8: Flowers Bloom in the Abyss
Ereshkigal is already deep in the abyss, fading away. She recognizes that the Protagonist has reached the surface, but recounts how whatever caused her to break her oath can only be a threat to the Underworld. Her only regret is that she can't remember why she broke it...The Protagonist and Altera finally arrive at the sprawling primordial sea that is the abyss. Ereshkigal is nowhere to be seen and can only be beneath its waves, but they find themselves unable to descend past its surface. It turns out the living cannot sink beneath them - as revealed by Nergal, who despite being defeated is still here as if nothing happened. He mocks the Protagonist's efforts to "save" Ereshkigal, stating that all they are doing is simply disrespecting her sacrifice, and decides to take the opportunity to kill the last people who know Ereshkigal so that she made fade away and he can claim the Underworld for himself. Nergal is defeated once more, but simply resurrects on the spot. No one but the ruler of the Underworld herself can quiet his malice, something that won't happen with Ereshkigal killing herself. But they can't descend into the abyss to plead with Ereshkigal because it rejects the living.
Just when the situation seems hopeless, help arrives in the form of King Leonidas (calling himself "Leonimas I"), courtesy of one last twist of fate from Merlin. He points to the Sands of the Underworld that Gilgamesh told him to gather along the way... which Nergal reacts badly to: it turns out the Protagonist has been collecting the keystones that guided Gilgamesh to the abyss in lore. With these, they and Altera are able to descend beneath the waves of the abyss, while Leonidas holds off Nergal.
Deep within the inky blackness of the abyss, they finally find Ereshkigal. Though her threat to end their lives has not changed, she commends the Protagonist for making it this far, and feels it only fair to hear them out... however there isn't much of her is left to listen: her dissolution has begun, parts of her body rotting and fading away as she speaks. Despite their pleas, Ereshkigal appears resolute in her decision to destroy herself - backed up by a second voice that is coming from within her; it's Nergal, taking advantage of Ereshkigal's weakened state to strip her of her Authority bit by bit like a parasite in her body, while his spiritual avatar above fights Leonidas. Goaded by him, Ereshkigal battles the Protagonist once again.
Despite her power fading, this battle with the Goddess of the Underworld goes no better than the last one; she is still invincible in her own realm. Nergal taunts the heroes, but Ereshkigal relents for a moment, recognizing that however fruitless this struggle is, they are doing it for her. Ereshkigal thanks them for trying, but she cast aside any reason for needing to accept the Protagonist's kindness... until Altera states that she has those reasons, and has been waiting for Ereshkigal to understand that the Protagonist is trying to help her.
It's time for Attila the San(ta) to deliver Ereshkigal's present: her lost memories.
Nergal flips his shit, and proceeds to flip harder when Ereshkigal actually displays curiosity over what she forgot. He performs a Villain Override on Ereshkigal and tries to strike Altera down right there and then... but finds his strike blocked by the timely arrival of Dumuzid, who gleefully rubs salt in Nergal's wounds by revealing that he used Enki's Water of Life to preserve Ereshkigal's memories after she threw them away. He convinces her to take her memories back, urging her to remember the warmth she wanted to give to her Underworld and telling her she could probably make it happen now, before fleeing the scene with Nergal cursing his name all the while. Ereshkigal accepts her memories, and Nergal is purged from her body, punctuated by the transformation of her spear, pulsing with a blazing Authority...
Ereshkigal is back. And the underworld finally has its sun.
As much as Ereshkigal would like to make up with the Protagonist, Nergal isn't quite done yet: his purged spirit appears and makes one last attempt on the heroes' lives. Alas, two prior losses (possibly three if his being walled by Leonidas counts) and Ereshkigal suddenly revoking his Resurrective Immortality and turning her newfound spear on him all but seal his fate. Nergal is finally defeated, complaining to Dumuzid that their shared grudge and slandering by Ereshkigal was worth avenging, but Dumuzid counters that the original Nergal did not bear such a grudge and had a respect for Ereshkigal in the end, something the malice that comprises the current Nergal could never comprehend. Nergal's malice fades away at last, and the heroes rise from the abyss...
The allotted time for a reunion is tragically short: with Ereshkigal restored and the Underworld changing to match, time and space are returning to normal, and there would be quite a Timey-Wimey Ball if the Protagonist and Altera were stuck here when that finishes on the eve of December 24th - which is only thirty minutes away! Flustered and panicked, Ereshkigal has no idea what to say, but a calming gesture from the Protagonist and wise words from Dumuzid allows her to get her head on straight. Though she'll have to wait a year due to the time travel shenanigans, Ereshkigal takes comfort in the fact that this will not be the last time she and the Protagonist meet, and gives them a heartfelt thanks for doing all they did to save her.
As the Protagonist and Ereshkigal finally have their heart-to-heart, Dumuzid and Altera have their own conversation on the sidelines (while he still tries to hit on her, still as a sheep). The danger having passed, Altera has only one final question to ask: why did Dumuzid do all of this? Wouldn't he have as much reason to seek revenge against Ereshkigal as Nergal did? But the lecherous Dumuzid has clearly eaten a large slice of humble pie, knowing that his disrespect to Ereshkigal and her sister was no less petty than theirs to him; he doesn't take sides, he only wanted things to end happily.
Thanks and farewells exchanged, Altera takes the Protagonist atop Zerco to flee the Underworld before the time-shift completes. Their work done, they leave with a shout of, "Merry Christmas!"
Tropes:
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Both the protagonist and Ereshkigal get distracted from their reunion by her new spear.Protagonist: On another note, that spear is pretty boss.Ereshkigal: I know, right!?
- Big Good: Dumuzid chose Altera to be Santa to stop the Sumerian Underworld from destroying Chaldea and lent Altera his power to help her and even kept Ereshkigal's lost memories to give back to her.
- Call-Back: Just like in the Babylonia singularity, the protagonist once again has to go through seven gates in order to reach Ereshikal in the Underworld, though the trials to pass through the gates are a bit different from last time.
- Call-Forward: At the end of the event after Nergal has been defeated and Ereshkigal has her memories restored, she states that she'll help the protagonist one day by coming in and looking awesome, which is exactly what she does during the Temple of Time, which canonically takes place after this event due to the flow of time being altered because of the heat incident.
- Continuity Nod:
- They bring up the first Christmas event when Altria Alter Santa skipped Gilgamesh with Altria Alter Santa fainting from the cold before saying she might have visited Gilgamesh this year. And later the protagonist meets Caster Gilgamesh who wants the protagonist to solve the cold that's affecting Chaldea so Altria Alter Santa can finally visit him for Christmas.
- The boss fight against Ushiwakamaru and Benkei at the 5th gate, is the version of her you fight after she's been corrupted by Tiamat's mud, and retains her Berserker class and gimmick of multiplying herself.
- Creepy Monotone: When the protagonist and Attila face an amnesic Ereshkigal at the third gate, her lines during the fight are completely emotionless compared to the playable Ereshkigal.
- Darker and Edgier: While it has its humorous moments, this Christmas event is about a heat fever that threatens to kill everyone in Chaldea and Ereshkigal's consequences for her Heroic Sacrifice during Babylonia and being manipulated by Nergal to kill herself to get her authority in the Underworld turning it more into hell.
- Debut Queue: Attila the San(ta) is the welfare Servant for this event and Ereshkigal being released as a limited servant.
- Description Cut:Gilgamesh: There, [Ishtar] saw her husband mourning the loss of his wife.
Dumuzid: Yahooo! Springtime is here again! Oh, I'm so sad about Ishtar going to the underworld! - Enemy Without: The true enemy of the event is the remaining malice of Nergal from when he lost to Ereshkigal. Dumuzid reveals that the real Nergal while sore about losing to Ereshkigal also gained respect for her power.
- Everyone Has Standards: Back in Uruk's time, after Ishtar died to Ereshkigal, her husband Dumuzid basically started partying like crazy in celebration. Notably, this ticked off all the gods, even the ones who didn't like Ishtar, and Ishtar herself when she found out was so pissed that, contrary to how she had originally not intended to force anyone unwilling to take her place in the Underworld due to her pride and nature as a God of Good, singled him out as her replacement with none of the other gods objecting.Ishtar: I wasn't expecting you to be sad, but I didn't expect you to turn my death into a freaking national holiday!
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: Inverted. Ereshkigal was driven to end her life due to breaking her oath, but because there were humans that still know about her, she couldn't. Her attack on Chaldea was an attempt to correct this.
- Hero Antagonist: Ishtar is the enemy of the final gate because she was scared the protagonist meeting Ereshkigal in her current state would result in the protagonist's death.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Ereshkigal has erased all her memories of the Seventh Singularity due to guilt over breaking her oath thus feeling she doesn't deserve her memories. Dumuzid was able to retrieve and return these memories to her at the climax of the event.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Ishtar appears with more armor and red tattoos say this is how she looked in the Age of Gods.
- Man Behind the Man: Nergal in a sense. The true Nergal is no longer on the Earth but his linger resentment from losing to Ereshkigal remained and is currently trying to take over Kur due to Ereshkigal's weakened state. It influenced Ereshkigal to attack Chaldea with Dumuzid revealing the real Nergal while bitter over losing also respected Ereshkigal for her power thus giving away half of his authority.
- Mr. Exposition: Both Gilgamesh and Merlin's roles are just to tell the protagonist what's going on in the event. While Gilgamesh explains the mythological background about Ereshkigal and her interactions with fellow Mesopotamian gods Nergal and Dumuzid, Merlin explains what's currently going on with Ereshkigal and the cause of the Sumerian Summer Flu outbreak.
- Mythology Gag:
- Attila the San(ta) can tell that Lancer Medusa is lonely and tries to give her a friend. Attila gives Medusa a Shinji CE, which Medusa destroys immediately due to Medusa loathing Shinji from her time as his servant.
- Sequel Episode: To the Babylonia Singularity; the event specifically deals with the fall out from Ereshkigal granting her authority to Chaldea against Tiamat in the climax and thus, breaking her oath of never assisting the living world. Naturally, you need to have completed Babylonia to participate in this event.
- Sick Episode: All of Chaldea except the protagonist comes down with the Sumerian Summer cold caused by Kur due to Ereshkigal's actions in the seventh singularity. It's up to the protagonist and Attila the San(ta) to solve this.
- Revenge: A Played for Laughs one, the given reason Ishtar is in Kur in the first place is to avenge her humiliation caused by her first descent by conquering the Underworld. Her real reason is much more sympathetic: she actually bears no major grudge against Ereshkigal and wants to preserve her sister's work.
- Too Desperate to Be Picky: Altera became this year's Santa simply because she was the only servant who is not sick.
