For You, The World

Chapter The Thirteenth

The Amazon Rainforest, Peru, 2023 ACE

Kaia had followed as Seri, Sprite and Ikaris collected the rest of the Eternals, doing her best to keep them on the right path. Ajak's death had brought her no surprise, she'd known why it had happened since the attack in London, and seeing the Deviant, Kro, heal itself.

After Sersi's last vision of Arishem, she'd known she was close to succeeding. Now the Eternals that had gathered wanted the same thing she did, at least for the most part. The only part of her plan that Sersi seemed to have not taken on, was the part where Sersi herself stopped the emergence.

Now the Eternals were making their way down the thin and winding path that led to Druig's village, looking for him as a way to stop Tiamut. Kaia followed, illusions still drawn around her as she looked around. The Village had grown larger since the last time she had seen it.

A few villagers greeted them in passing, and Karun, who had remained filming since they entered the village, looked at Kingo in amazement, "This place is very nice, sir."

"Don't let them fool you," Kingo sighed, "Ignorance is bliss."

Sersi looked around at the expansiveness of it all, murmuring, "And to think... we didn't want him to let them live in peace."

Sprite shrugged, moving away from her to approach one of the men, asking in Spanish, "Hey, we're looking for Druig, is he here?"

The man frowned, "Yes... how do you know Druig?"

"We're friends... from college..." She lied.

Before the man could speak again, the wide doors of one of the central buildings were swinging open, and Druig himself was striding forward, a smirk on his face.

"I've missed all of you. Please, make yourselves at home..."

Kaia hovered in the corner as Sersi attempted to explain what had happened, with the Deviants, with Arishem's lies, and with the Emergence. To his credit, Druig listened intently, suddenly making sense of the mysteries that had plagued him for ages.

When Sersi had finished, Druig sighed, "Well, you've given me a lot of bad news in one go, Sersi."

"Will you help us?" She asked.

"Well I am glad that-"

He was cut off as Sersi's phone began to ring, cutting through the tense atmosphere in the room. Mortified, she dug it out of her pocket, hurrying to silence the call from Dane, "Sorry- sorry."

Kingo leaned towards her from the bench he sat on, "Hey, what's your service? I'm not getting any bars."

Thena shoved Gilgamesh's shoulder, waking him up as Druig sighed, trying to find his way back to the point, "Do you remember this forest? 'S beautiful. It was the last place most of us all lived together." He paused, trying not to glare around the room, "I've protected these people for twenty generations now; from the outside world, and when it's necessary, from themselves."

He had begun to wander through the room now, pausing when he got to Karun, "Your kind, my friend, you will be responsible for your own extinction one day, don't you think?"

"I think we must learn from our mistakes and do better sir." Karun replied, still angling his camera toward Druig, "You must not give up hope."

Druig looked down at the camera for a moment, before taking hold of Karun's mind, and making him throw it to the side.

"Oh no you didn't," Kingo muttered, standing up, "Okay, new rule, no more possessing people's valets."

"Oh, where is your sense of humor Kingo?"