Eternal Love [Druig]

Twenty-five

The ground started rumbling. A dull thrum at first but it was stronger than anything Ira had ever felt before.

He looked to the side as he started making his way forward to see thick ground-like fingertips begin to emerge from the depths of the water around them. Sersi. He thought, wondering if the woman had been able to make it up the mountain. Or if Sprite had gotten to her first.

His legs pushed him into a run as he went, world around him speeding by as his eyes focused on the top of the mountain where he could briefly see two shapes.

"Ikaris no!" Ira shouted as he figured out who the shapes belonged to. Sersi was there, on her knees, palms spread out and lain across the golden ground of the Celestials palm. Ikaris, whose eyes were blazing gold, ready to send his lasers towards Sersi and finish the job looked at him, the man's gaze centered on Ira as he sent the gold beams towards him.

Ira dove out of the way, rolling on his side to avoid getting hurt.

"Ikaris." He heard Sersi say as he lifted his head to take in the sight.

She was crying now, eyes glistening with tears but there was no air of the usual sadness tears typically held. This was different. Ira knew it right away that every single emotion Sersi was feeling was a mixture of dozens at once, each communicating how she felt and each connecting to one another in so many ways that Ira had never seen before. It was nearly contagious for he felt some of it brew in his stomach. Hope, he realized. And faith. And love. So, so much love.

Ikaris stilled, his eyes returning to their normal color as his lips twitched, eyes dipping in remorse as he took in the sight of the woman he once loved; still loved even now.

Ira was silent, refused to move from his place on the ground as he observed. His hands started to vibrate, but not from the Celestial threatening to take them personally onto the next planet, but because of the energy inside of him. He let it grow, let it develop, and shake until it blended in with the shaking of the ground.

The pair stared at one another for a moment more before both a saddened and happy smile took over her lips, tilting them over slightly in a way that told Ira that Ikaris had given up.

She lifted her hands and took a deep breath, placing them firmly back down with the force of so many shared moments, memories, hopes, and dreams.

Ira felt it right away, felt it hit his heart, his limbs, his very core to its deepest depths the moment Sersi made contact with the earth. Something within her had changed and Ira didn't doubt for even a second that she wouldn't be capable of finishing this.

Ira channeled every single emotion he had stored then and didn't bother transferring it into something more containable as he began to rise. Body rising into the air and he spread his hands wide, letting his head tilt to the sky where he watched the golden tendrils connect themselves once more to him, watching it pulse with emotions, so strong it was nearly blinding.

He counted eight beams coming from all over the island they were on, eight powerful energy sources all joining in the middle above Sersi as she rose and continued to rise, raised until the cluster of energy dropped, sending Sersi down with such a force that the energy sprung from her hands like it had been waiting for this moment for centuries. And maybe it had. Ira would never know and could only watch in wonder as the world around him turned white, the glossy material spreading quickly over the Celestial's palms and fingers.

Ira held his breath as he descended and his feet met the cold ground, scared that even a single small change would somehow disrupt any work that had been done. He exhaled a moment later though when he realized. Realized that it was over, that they had won. Realized that now, Ikaris looked so vulnerable that he couldn't bear to watch what happened next although he had an inkling of what was to come. Realized that he had counted eight. Eight energy sources all joined in the middle to end this all. Eight. There were only seven of them after Druig died.