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Unrelenting. The deviants continued in waves, the swells of their army growing as they passed over the grassy hill — the soil churned up under their talons.
At the bottom of the hill, past you, stood a village already half torn apart from the monsters. It awaited its fate against the gnawing fangs currently bared toward you and the other Eternals fighting to hold them back.
And as your power coursed through your veins and muscles, down into your marrow — searing fire erupting from your palms into a wall to keep the deviants contained — you thought of your team.
Your eyes had long been squeezed shut as you held the army back, the swirling flames rising high into the smoky air. The creases between your brows only fueled the pounding in your head, making images stark behind your eyelids. Images shimmering with the aching memories of the only family you’d known splitting apart — splintering like your mind under the weight of your straining power.
Most of your team had been apart for hundreds of years, separated by oceans and long-worn arguments that came to a bitter end. Few saw eye to eye when things became tense, and while you had tried to see each of them occasionally, the visits felt too short and all too quiet without the others. Like visiting your childhood home once you’ve moved out — you once belonged there, but the decorations felt different, the walls long bare of your voice.
And yet.
When you were called together once again, they’d come back to fight side by side, as if none of that lonely time had passed — or had left an ugly scar on your memories.
You knew that they’d probably go their separate ways again after it all finished, happier apart, but for now, you relished in it all. The whipping of wind around your body as Makkari ran past and the sound of Kingo’s sarcastic remarks as he shot lasers past you. Even as your arms began to shake, exhaustion settling into your limbs, you were glad to be by them once more.
Strengthen the left side. Put that extra nap you took to good use.
A hint of a smile graced your face as the lilting voice of your husband Druig filled your head. He fought somewhere out of view to your right as you sent more fire out left, keeping the wall of flames steady.
Each hit the deviants sent against it reverberated back into your body, chattering your teeth against each other. But the others were attacking from other sides, thinning out the army — all to give Phastos time to build something from nothing like he always did.
Thousands of years ago, your team handled the monsters with little effort, but there were so many concentrated here — and they weren’t going down as easily. So Phastos’ expert hands crafted an explosive so strong that it’d reduce them to nothing, but they had to stay contained in one area for it to work.
So you kept them back using the only way you knew how. After all this time with your abilities, you’d learned to welcome the heat breathing from your palms — to settle into the warmth it curled around your body.
The sweat, the exhaustion, the pure power rocking from you in waves matched your rapid heartbeat — it all meant that you were alive. But as the deviants beat against your flames with no pause or mercy, your knees shaking and bones aching, it felt like you were dying. Each breath felt too shallow, the strength of the monsters too strong.
You heard their growls aimed at you — could feel their anger against your fire. As you forced an eye open, blinking away drops of sweat, you couldn’t see any of your teammates for a moment, and your heart jolted.
A brief thought passed your mind, worrying whether they had abandoned you — had left you like discarded remnants of food to be feasted on by these monsters. But just as you’d slipped down onto one knee, your leg giving out, you saw Gilgamesh and Sprite fighting stray deviants back from the darkening corners of your vision.
As a groan ached to leave your mouth, you only hoped Phastos would finish soon enough.
But your flames began to flicker, leaving holes in the wall for the deviants to slip through. You caught a flash of light as Thena tried fighting some, but there were dozens all waiting for this exact moment. Even with the whole team together, the fight had begun to shift.
As they broke past the smoldering fire, you dropped to the ground, the dry grass biting into your palms. Ragged breaths ached through your lungs, scratching along the inside of you with each inhale. Your vision began to blur, your head spinning as you struggled to stand back up.
Even in this state, you saw a deviant stalking toward Phastos. Glancing around, you found everyone else occupied and overwhelmed — so you raised your shaky palm.
But your powers sputtered, spent from trying to hold so many back. Your throat, so painfully dry, cracked as you tried to scream to get his attention. Nothing came out but a whimper.
Still, you stumbled toward him with your body burning too hot, your steps much too slow to make it there in time. Your legs kept moving.
Come on, I know you’ve got more in you.
The voice came from inside your head, from your mind that begged you to rest. But it was Druig again. Each word sounded strained as he fought a deviant much too far away to get here in time.
He needs you. Just a little more, sweetheart. Then you can rest.
Please.
His last plea to you trickled through your brain, dripping down your spine and out to your fingers. You thought of Gilgamesh wrapping Thena in his arms the way he did, smiles etched onto their faces. You thought of Makkari’s gifts, all of them stolen relics she “found” along the way. You remembered the weddings, the dances, the births, and the funerals you attended of all the humans you’d come to love along your long lives.
And you quickened your steps as you felt the gentle caress of Druig’s fingers brushing along the apple of your cheek — as kind as the way he whispered into your mind.
Your power began to surge again, your feet pushing your body forward to help your team. But as you commanded pure fire to burn from your hands, the deviant lunged at Phastos.
The world shifted, your steps stuttering, as you watched its long teeth sink into Phastos’ body.
Only a weak grunt left his lips as blood began to pool along his shoulder. Watching his face twist, you sprinted to him with panic closing around your throat. The unforgiving exhaustion and screaming in your mind fell away, leaving just an ache in your chest as hollow as Phastsos’ ragged breaths.
He pushed the deviant away, falling to his knees from the monster’s bloody maw. His red-stained fingers continued working on the explosive device, even as Makkari guided him away from the fight.
In that instant, with painful fire burning beneath your skin, you knew you’d be no help to healing Phastos. Your vision instead tunneled onto the deviant responsible.
White-hot rage clouded your senses as you leapt onto it, grabbing its head with a furious grip. Fire pulsed through your body, its power searing new images behind your eyelids.
The monster roared beneath you as you saw Druig leaving the group all those years ago, the pain of his helplessness worn on his sleeve. The broken look on Thena’s face flashed as bright as the fire exploding from you. An image of you, sat alone in your home, alone, while Druig was away — your family nowhere near.
And you wouldn’t let that happen again, not because of these monsters.
Your teeth clenched so hard against each other you thought they might shatter. On the edges of your awareness, you felt your knees hit scorched earth.
Even though it was gone, burnt beneath your body, you stood up again while more deviants came at you. Without thinking, your hand raised to them, unrelenting as you created another wall to protect your team. It didn’t just keep them back, it burned them into nothingness. Even with shaking arms, you refused to give them an inch.
You thought hearing Phastos completing the device would be a sigh of relief — a soft voice telling you that you’d done enough. But as a wave of air pushed past you, the rush of Makkari speeding to the center of the deviants, you found no solace.
Even when the explosion flashed bright and shook the ground seconds later, sending you back down to your hands and knees, your rage refused to die out.
You shielded your eyes, finding many of the deviants evaporated into dust. But the few that were far enough away from the explosion continued their fight. Their dark eyes and unforgiving claws just reminded you of how many they’d hurt
Their agonized screams only made your mind want to keep going.
Stop. We’ve got the rest. You need to stop.
You didn’t. Couldn’t. Wouldn’t? Who knew. You could only see the reds and oranges dance around one another, seeking revenge where it was needed.
The power pulled and pulled at you, draining from your veins until it threatened to smother you forever.
You were going to burn out, reduce yourself to cinders amongst clouds of smoke.
Druig’s begging voice continued to echo through your mind, but you couldn’t focus on any specific word. It all mushed together, smoldering along with the rest of the world.
You wanted them to pay, but it was hurting you. Tears ran down your dry cheeks, searing a trail through the ashes caked onto your skin.
“Please,” you whispered from cracked lips. Your body swayed as you asked Druig to fill your mind with hope. You needed him to stop you.
The flames continued to spill from your body until you felt a trickle at the back of your brain. The floating sensation bled forward and pulled you away from the cliff your mind was about to fall over.
Your hands dropped to the ground once more, fingers clawing into the rubble to keep you steady. You hadn’t realized the ringing in your ears until it faded, letting in the sounds of your teammates fighting off the last deviants.
Phastos is okay. You protected him. We’re okay.
You trusted Druig with your life, and his with you. So you knew he took no offense as you turned over to see it yourself, see Phastos with your own eyes. He sat with his back against one of the village’s buildings, giving you a thumbs up and tired smile.
You returned it, the edges of your mouth lifting just enough. As you crawled from the circle of burnt ground around you, your heart slowed. They were all still here.
From behind, you felt your husband’s presence, caught his deep exhale as he sat among the grass.
His hands wrapped around your body, moving you to rest your back against your chest. “Rest, my love,” he murmured along the curve of your ear, smoothing his palm down your leg. And you did, sitting with your legs bent and feet planted as you relished in the weight of him encircling you.
Your throat felt too parched, so you whispered in your mind, I was so angry. I thought he was gone for a moment.
Druig leaned his head against yours, his thumb rubbing along your skin. “Aw, no way he’d go down that easily. He knows you’d kill him if he died on ya.”
His chuckle reverberated against you, drawing out your own laughter. An easy smile made its way onto your face, turning brighter as a wafting breeze washed over you.
The rest of the team made their way toward the village, each holding varying injuries from the fight. Gilgamesh patted a heavy hand onto your knee as he passed, his other hand encircling Thena’s arm. You watched as Sprite and Kingo joined them too, the latter making a fuss about how his suit didn’t match his complexion well enough.
The short beat of silence after they walked away felt painfully familiar. It made your heart heavy knowing their presence wouldn’t last.
“They love you, you know,” Druig said, knowing exactly where your thoughts went without having to read them. Turning your head to look at him, you admired the way sunlight carded its fingers through his hair and kissed freckled spots on his irises.
You nodded, giving his arm a squeeze in thanks. He pressed his forehead against yours, eyes fixated on you.
“And I love you, but please don’t ever pull a stunt like that again. Scared me half to death,” he breathed against your skin with a grin, lightly pinching your side to make his point.
It brought out a squeal from your lungs, your jaw dropping. “Are you sure you love me?” you laughed, shaking your head. “Because someone who loves me wouldn’t do that.”
You jokingly tried pinching him back, but he caught your hand, bringing it to his smiling mouth. With a gentleness that made you pause, he kissed your palm.
I love you more than anything… more than life itself.
His words caressed along your mind, filling your body with a warmth that didn’t pull at you or demand energy — it just settled deep into your ribs, breathing life into you. The comforting presence of his voice pulled you in, telling you that even when the team eventually left, your home would always be with you.
I love you too, Druig.