It's not long after they land in the New World that the colonizers follow. And it's not long after the colonizers that the mahd wy'ry follows, too.
Is it because of the weight of memories from an eternal life? Or, is it because they are witnessing the mass casualty of innocent life? They suppose it doesn't matter anymore as they all look down at Thena, lost to the eternal madness.
When she finally wakes, they can't help but step back in fear. And when Ajak tells them that they may lose her entirely, they can't help but look away in dread for their futures.
"Why should she trust you?" Druig asks coldly of Ajak. Millenia of waiting for answers has made him resentful. And the ever-shrinking piece of him that clings to his faith in Arishem — well, it's gone.
"Druig, I know you're upset — "
"Upset?!" He raises his voice perhaps for the first time in an eternity, and it echoes painfully throughout the chamber in which they stand off.
"I've watched humans destroy each other when I could stop it all in a heartbeat. Do you know what that does to a person after centuries?"
Ajak cannot answer him. He steps out onto the precipice and stares at the tragedy down below.
"We're just like the people down there. Pawns to their leader. Blinded by their faith."
He says to himself: "It ends now."
Like a god looking down from the skies, he wills his wish into existence. And as he takes control over his people below, it occurs for the first time to his family that they know nothing about the extent of his trauma.
Except Ikaris. He doesn't hesitate to grab Druig by the shoulder and throw him against the wall. The glow in Druig's eyes quickly dies out as the glow in Ikaris' begins to burn. For a moment, Druig sees himself reflected in Ikaris' eyes; he wonders if it could be the last thing he ever sees. Instead, both their attentions are taken by another cosmic glow between them. A force sends Ikaris into the wall, fracturing the stone.
"Stop," Isis commands, energy still glowing in her palm. In spite of the shock on Ikaris' face, she walks directly up to him and questions, "Do you forget that we are a family?" She searches for answers in his eyes.
Instead, Ajak answers her: "You are not wrong, Isis. But neither is Ikaris."
"Yes, we are a family, and we do not harm one another," Ajak says, looking to them all. But to Druig alone, she says: "But, it is not our purpose to interfere with human conflict. You of all of us should know this."
He retaliates: "What purpose are we really serving, then? Could our mission have been a mistake? Are we really helping these people build a better world?" He, too, looks to others who stand in silence and in shame.
"You question Arishem's design?" Ikaris advances towards Druig again, but Isis stands in his way.
Druig turns his back to Ikaris. And with a certainty he has never felt in his existence until now, he quietly delivers his ultimatum to Ajak: "If you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me."
Isis faces him in shock. He sees the panic in her eyes, but even so, he will not let her stand in the way of his beliefs.
"Then go," Ajak whispers.
"Go?" The thought is so painfully unimaginable to Isis.
Without another word, Druig takes a step down from the so-called heavens where they all stand. But, he is stopped when Isis takes his hand. He looks back to say goodbye, but her fingers only intertwine with his.
"Do you forget that we are a family?" she says in a voice only he can hear. Without waiting for his response, she continues on the steps back down to the earth. And he follows.
YOU ARE READING
somewhere in time {Druig}
أدب الهواة'It's beautiful, isn't it?' she says. 'It is,' he answers. She's looking at the sky, but he's thinking about her. OC x Druig (Marvel's Eternals)
