oxygen | druig

Chapter XXII

"The time is ripe, and the future is too.
We made it through difficult moments, yet we will survive the worst.

But I can feel how your suspicion lies, your restlessness increase.
I dare you, do it.
Try turning on me and I will enjoy the look on your face, chisel it into the stones of eternity.

After all, even you know who to bow to."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

They all stood gathered in the laboratory, none of them being able to sit still.
A foot tapping against the ground there, another person nervously nibbling at their fingernail.

Suddenly, Ikaris marched into the room, armor tight just as his face was carved in stone.

Phastos looked down from him work,
"I'm close to figuring it out-"

Beams of energy shot out of the man's eyes, echoed through the silence until it mixed with the metal clanking to the ground, the gold fading.

Energy collected in the center, pathing through the room and blowing everything on its way back.

Phastos was hit too, thrown across the room. He whimpered and gave off a cry, curling up as he heaved for air.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Kingo asked, stepping up with wide eyes.

"I have let this go on long enough."

Sersi ran into the room right up to Phastos and urging him to get up again.
The man whimpered as she touched his side.
"Don't hurt him!"

The others were frozen in shock, able to move a muscle.

"He lied to us." Sersi breathed heavily, almost coughs wrapping around her words and drowning them in pain.
"He already knew about the Emergence."

Kingo shook his head, lowered his eyes.
"No he didn't."

Ikaris swallowed, eyes darting towards the Eternals.
"Ajak told me everything when we left Babylon."

The other man blinked, mouth bobbing open.
"What?"

"You wouldn't have let us stop the Emergence."
Phastos pushed himself from the ground, the tone to his voice bristled yet so much more put than the others.

"No," Ikaris lowered his eyes, voice resounding against the walls and running shivers down their spines, "I only ever wanted to protect you from the Deviants."

"If Ajak wanted you to take her place, why did she choose me?" Sersi questioned, pushing for an answer as she noticed the way his jaw tightened, a small purse to the lips.

She got further up, gasping.
"What have you done?"

Druig pushed from the back, raising his eyes as he avoided them looking up before.
"He killed her."

Sprite's eyes filled with tears, her gaze juggling between Druig and Ikaris.

"I had to." Ikaris exclaimed, causing a wave of sickness, a wall of disbelief to rush over them.

Sersi lightly rocked her head from side to side. "She loved you."

A cry weakly coursed around them.

"Did she?"

"She loved you." The woman squeezed, taking all inside herself to elevate her voice.

Her heart twisted in her chest, gripping at the fabric to stop it. But it only got worse with each passing moment.

"Do you think it was easy to live with the truth? To know all of this would end?" he had tears imparting his vision, heart twisting the longer he looked at Sersi.
"To keep on lying to you?"