A/N: Ishtar « spoke to me » this morning, God of war and current All-Father of the primeval gods, he's guilt-ridden for what he did. Ayasha sees her as the knight in her chess game (despite wearing a crown, he's no king)
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Blood of my blood, Flesh of my flesh.
Why did you betray me?
Since Elpis scratched the seal, Ishtar couldn't find any sleep. He already had to live with the guilt of stabbing his sister and cursing her into an eternal cycle of reincarnation. At least, he thought that she would never come back and since her curse made other gods and even mortals forget about her, then his crime would be his and his alone to bear. It did spark a civil war among the primeval gods for one side was against his actions, saying that he should have let her be with the sin for it probably was the solution to their problem. They resented him for what he did to Elpis and started a war in order to punish him. Many lost their lives, brothers and sisters Ishtar loved died because of him, and it haunted him to this day. The other side was supporting his decision to punish the goddess for her foolish ways. How could she fall in love with an abomination and try to make him her soulmate? How couldn't the last born of Chaos and Gaea realize the errors of her ways? She was compromised and therefore had to die.
She was fierce and more resilient than he thought she was. Elpis found a way to scratch the seal and make herself known to every living god, sin, and human. He would have applauded the feat if it didn't put his work in jeopardy. Ayasha convinced him to kill the All-Father, she convinced him to become the new All-Father and even that wasn't welcome by everyone. They filled the gaps and realized what truly happened. First, he cursed Elpis and a civil war started. He then killed Chaos and became the new All-Father so he could rule and he was hell-bent on crushing the rebellion against him now that they remembered everything. He was seen as a villain, as a god who only wanted to conquer and rule while it was far from the truth. Ishtar was good as just the god of War. He found his purpose and enjoyed being on the battlefield. He enjoyed influencing humans and watch them worship him. He didn't need all the fuss and trouble his new rôle created. The All-Father? He wasn't meant to be the All-father. He wasn't meant to rule and yet here he was, ruling the Primeval gods.
Blood of my blood, Flesh of my flesh
Why did you have to make it complicated?
How could he breathe when he had to fight his own brothers and sisters? When he had to worry about Elpis coming at him because the Sin found her and was determined to set her free? How could he breathe when his pantheon was on the brink of destruction and his guilt didn't seem to leave him? Because yes, he felt guilty and he hated that feeling. The truth was since she scratched the seal, Ishtar had been thinking of Elpis. He thought of her more than in the last couple of millennia. He still remembered the soft goddess she used to be. Eager to please him, eager to help him on the battlefield and always looking for ways to make him happy. She put his and her siblings' happiness above all and would always uplift their moods. He remembered when a war with another Pantheon (the Greek one) left him injured because Ares was more powerful than him at the time. -Blame it on men who forgot the gods who created them- Crippled and with his ego seriously injured, Ishtar wouldn't have recovered if it wasn't for Elpis care and support. How could she go from this to the woman who would selflessly give her life for a creature that could never love her properly?
Pride could never give her what she deserved. He was unable to. Gaea admitted to Ayasha that she believed Pride had a soul and was capable of more than people believe he was able to do but Ishtar didn't believe her. Nobody did. Sins were unable to feel anything for anyone but themselves. By loving him, Elpis was giving it away like pearls to swines. He could never appreciate her devotion, her care and her genuine feelings for him but Ishtar would. He would have. It angered him to know she chose an abomination over him. The god of War was the best suitor. War and Peace, War and Love. War and Hope! They went hand in hand and he could feel it on the battlefield. She felt it too, he was certain and maybe it scared her away. Ishtar would have done anything to be with her, he fought off Leviathan when the latter tried to force a marriage on her. He fought him off once again when he tried to force himself on her, thinking that claiming the unclaimed would make her his. Ishtar protected his sister and she rewarded him by leaving him for a sin. How could he forgive her? How could he? When he stabbed Elpis, he did so out of jealousy for the Sin. If he couldn't have her, then nobody would ever. He punished Elpis for loving another but the minute he stabbed her, regret and guilt filled his broken heart.
He still remembered when she fell on the floor, gasping for air, shocked at his betrayal. He still remembered his own tears, his voice begging for forgiveness. She didn't give it to him. Actually, she let him know that she knew what he did and would come at him once free. He had to see anger and disgust on her face before her body vanished and her essence went into a human body. It haunted him until now and a ghost of her kept waking him her. He imagined his beloved sister with a scythe in her hand, waving it at him, unleashing hell on the last remaining primeval gods. Of course, after a while, he had to leave his realm. He went to Earth to find some rest but even there, everything reminded him of her. Now that humans were allowed to have Hope again, the face of the World changed. It became more positive, more alive and at each and every turn, the All-Father felt his sister's presence. Ayasha assured him that everything would be alright, Leviathan would get rid of Pride and Elpis and everybody would forget about Hope all over again. His rebellious siblings would fall in line once again and he would rule. Oh, he would rule.
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