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1531 AD
TENOCHTITLAN
"I THOUGHT MAHD WY'RY WAS A MYTH."
Iara turned her head to look at Sersi. An uneasy silence had fallen over the group, and she was glad that someone had taken one for the team and spoken.
"There is no cure," Phastos replied uncomfortably. "So no one really talks about it."
Thena awoke with a start and everyone immediately crowded around her. Iara saw Kingo push Sersi away from Thena, and a frown tugged at her lips.
"What happened?" Thena asked, clearly confused.
Ajak placed her hand on the edge of the stone slab where Thena was lying. "Thena. You attacked everyone. Wounded Sersi, Phastos... you nearly killed Makkari."
"I don't remember," Thena confessed. The frown on Iara's face grew. Thena had always been one of the strongest among them, and not just physically. Many of them had been worshiped as gods by humanity, but in Iara's eyes, Thena had deserved the title of goddess more than anyone else here. And seeing her like this... it broke Iara's heart. Thena didn't look like a goddess anymore. She looked like a scared little girl.
"You have Mahd Wy'ry," Ajak explained. "Your mind is fracturing under the weight of your memories. And all I can do is erase them so that you can start over." Ajak paused. "I will have to inform Arishem and take you back to the ship where we have the technology to help you."
But she won't be Thena anymore, Makkari signed.
"What if it happens again?" Kingo replied. "She could've killed you. She could've killed all of us.
But she didn't, Iara added silently.
"Please," Thena pleaded. "Please. I... I want to remember. I want to remember my life."
"Thena, I love you." Ajak shook her head as she spoke. "But listen to me. It's not important if you remember or not." She placed her hand against Thena's breastplate. "Your spirit will remain. You will always be Thena deep inside. Trust me."
"Why should she trust you?" Druig stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against. "You're asking her to let you erase who she is."
"Druig," Ajak replied carefully, "I know you're upset, but -"
"Upset?" Druig's yell echoed through the temple. "We've trusted you for 7,000 years, and look where you've gotten us. I've watched humans destroy each other when I could stop it all in a heartbeat." He froze, and when he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Do you know what that does to someone after centuries? Could our mission have been a mistake? Are we really helping these people build a better world, huh?" He turned and stepped away from Ajak, staring down at the battle below. "We're just like the soldiers down there. Pawns to their leaders... blinded by loyalty. It ends now."
