Cold Heart

Chapter 07

"Isla?" Sersi asked nervously. My head shot to look at her, blinking myself back to focus and bringing a smile to her face at the comfort of knowing I was still with them.

"I thought we were heroes. Turns out we're the bad guys." Gilgamesh sighed.

"We're not the bad guys, okay? We've helped the Celestials expand life across the universe. That's not what bad guys do. That's what good guys do." Kingo defended the celestials.

"Every time innocent lives have been sacrificed for the greater good, it turns out to be a mistake. We have to stop the emergence." Sersi stated with determination, mind set on this.

"Sersi, we have no right to stop the birth of a Celestial." Kingo shook his head in disagreement.

"There has to be a way Tiamut can emerge without destroying the Earth. We just have to delay it until we figure out how." Sersi explained her view, always looking on the bright side.

"Could Druig control its mind? Maybe put it to sleep?" Gilgamesh offered an idea as my eyebrows furrowed at the name.

"Put it to sleep? Are you serious?" Sprite questioned his idea with doubt.

"Druig put Isla to sleep once" Thena reminded them of when I first attacked them all, looking to me briefly to gauge my reaction.

"We're talking about a Celestial, okay?" Kingo argued, Ikaris standing back in the dark listening from a distance.

"We have to try. Come on, we're not gonna let everyone on Earth die, right?" Sersi prompted enthusiastically.

"Right." Karun backed her up with a cheer, the rest of us staying silent. "I'm human. I'm a little biased." He shrugged and I smiled, feeling a distant pull towards humanity's safety.

"The world is ending. You need to go home." Kingo told Karun in Hindi.

"And do what? Watch TV?" Karun countered in english. "When I could be with the Earth's original superheroes as they try to save the world?"

"Fine. If you want to, stay." Kingo told him, siping the beer again without a thought.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"Gilgamesh, could you please get rid of the saliva beer?" Kingo set the mug back down after spitting into it again with disgust after his realization.

"I thought you like it, man." Gilgamesh teased back.

"We need to go. Now." Ikaris gave out orders sternly, causing me to glance over at him. "Find the others. Once we're all together, we'll decide what to do about the emergence." He sent a nod to Sersi who nodded back in agreement.

"Ready to see Druig again?" Thena questioned with a smirk when we both stood up to leave.

"Yeah" I nodded along, mind distant from the present moment.

~~~

"Druig" I closed my eyes, sitting criss cross on my bed with focus. "If you can hear me—If you're listening" I began to think, hoping that he could hear me. " Its been 2999 days since Tenochtitlan. I don't know why I still do this every night" I continued with slight defeat, shoulders slumping slightly. "Maybe its my way of staying sane. Ive been wanting to see you again for a few years now. So why haven't I?" I let a sigh fall from my lips, eyes opening as I laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling after getting the same cold and empty feeling.

"Im sorry, Isla" Druig spoke softly, deep within the Amazon rainforest where he had listened to my thoughts every night. Druig stepped outside, hoping the cold air around him would keep him grounded, but it only further brought his thoughts to me.