Sersi was still lying there, in the middle of her cell, unconscious. When they had been placed in their cells, Phastos had explained how Arishem had come itself to Earth. In a second, the Celestial had taken them from their families and friends. The Eternals had not been able to resist even a second. Arishem had taken them back here on this planet. Olympia was a deception but obviously, it wasn't the worst part of it all. Arishem had been clear on what was going to happen to them. The Celestial was going to extract their memories which would ultimately cause their death. The procedure required the subject to be kept awake as long as possible.
Arishem wanted to extract every single memory, every single feeling they had been having in the last seven thousands years. Once the Eternals would be empty of memories, they would be nothing else but shells. Anything that had made who they were would be gone, leaving them literally empty. The body could be used again and sometimes the Celestial actually did. That couldn't be done too often. For a reason Arishem hadn't found out yet, if a body was used too much, older memories would surface. Arishem had invented the Mahd Wy'ry as to explain the problem. The leader would then be told to bring the defective Eternal to have their memories removed. For their own good. The ship would then send the data to Arishem. Thena's body would not be used again and discarded as soon as he would have taken everything he needed.
Arishem had started his experiments on Sersi first. She had been their active leader lately and the one to use her power against a Celestial. Sersi had always been the one who had displayed the most attachment to the human population. She also had been in love with Ikaris for about three millenia. At least, that was what Arishem was sure of.
Kingo and Phastos didn't know exactly what had happened in the other room but they didn't need to see it to know it hadn't been good. Sersi had been unconscious for quite a while now. They had called for her to no avail. They had been placed in two rows of cubical cells distanced from the other perfectly aligned in the middle of an immense room. They couldn't step out outside the force field around each and everyone of them. Phastos had tried his powers on the barrier that was making their four walls but nothing was working. He hadn't always been happy with his powers. At some point, it had brought horrors on the planet he had been sent to protect. Regrets had paralysed him at the time.
But he had found love, a family. Jack and Ben must have been worried sick by now. Phastos needed to get back to Earth. Maybe more than any other Eternal. Of course, they should be able to go back and certainly not die on that desolate planet. Especially not now. They had come so far and learned so much. He couldn't forget his own husband and son. Phastos would outlive them, he had known that from the very beginning. They should be growing old together, she should see his son become a man and be happy. The years they had to live next to each other were priceless. The memories of those years would be able to accompany him for the centuries to come.
The situation seemed totally hopeless. Only a miracle would be able to save them. The Eternals were used to be the ones to make them happen. They were the saviors. They had spent their lives rescuing others. Who would save them now?
Arishem should have been impatient to get his data but he seemed to take his time. Everything he did was happening over thousands of years. The Eternals were in his hands now. Arishem had no reason to rush things. His prisoner would need time to recover anyway if he wanted to take all they had inside.
Sersi stirred. She was out of it, looking feverish. Her eyes couldn't stay open but, at the very least, she seemed to remember their names. Unfortunately, whatever the procedure Arishem had used on her, it was harder than anything they had encountered before. Their Eternal body had been built to resist almost anything. Sersi didn't stay away long.
