Mesopotamia, Uruk City, 5750 B.C.
He waited for Gilgamesh to evacuate without taking his eyes off the Deviants. Some, lacking consciousness, tried to follow him, but Perseus filled the area with lightning that disintegrated the insolent creatures instantly.
"So this is what Zeus felt," he thought with crazed eyes. Power roared through his veins; it was as easy as breathing, much more natural than resorting to cosmic energy.
—Impossible! —Metris roared.
Perseus silenced her with a bolt. The Deviant dodged it, readying her weapons to charge at him. He took off, feeling stupid for not having fought using flight from the start. He couldn't drag this out, as much as he wanted to; but, like a good Greek, he knew the value of a good message.
When the beasts tried to flee, Perseus cut off their path by creating strong air currents. He also had to dodge the bolts from the bull Deviant, but now it was much easier to keep up with it.
"Thanks, Hermes," he thanked in his head. He made a few more lightning bolts rain down, being careful not to kill the rest of the Deviants yet; he wanted them alive for his message.
A memory assaulted him: a little girl glued to the television screen, watching the villainess create a tornado of lightning. Perseus formed a smile that would have made Leo feel like a proud child.
Mesopotamia, Uruk City, 5750 B.C.
Watching the lightning tornado was paralyzing. Her hair floated and an electrical tingling ran through her entire body. Sersi had to cover her eyes against the blinding glare; her ears were bleeding and her lungs burned with every breath of ionized air. A reddish cloud covered the sky and shards of glass, formed by the molten sand, cut her skin. But there, in the center, she glimpsed Perseus's silhouette: a barely recognizable black smudge in the midst of the chaos.
A movement caught her attention. She tensed, expecting a Deviant; that would have been preferable. Kingo appeared carrying a small, slight body. Makkari was unrecognizable; only the red of her armor betrayed her identity.
—What happened to her?! —Sersi shrieked with a heavy chest, but her voice was drowned out by the deafening roar of the tornado.
Kingo was also shouting. Sersi managed to distinguish the word "Ajak" on his lips. She tried to read the rest, but there was too much sand flying. She saw her companion running like one possessed and, suddenly, Kingo shoved her out of his way. The wind lifted her several meters and threw her against the ground. The air escaped her lungs and she saw stars. She was barely beginning to recover when Gilgamesh appeared. He too carried a bloody body.
"Ishtar." Sersi struggled to stand as tears stung her eyes. She had to crawl back toward the Eanna. Once at the door, hands grabbed her by the hair and shoulders, dragging her body inside.
—Are you alright?! —Druig asked her.
Sersi nodded with difficulty. She still heard a dull hum and her vision remained unfocused.
—Ajak must check you —Druig carried her on his shoulder, taking her toward the Domo.
the humans watched her being dragged. Sersi couldn't recognize the faces; she could barely distinguish anything through the haze in her vision.
—Ajak! —Druig called.
She knew they had arrived by the sterile smell of the ship and the unnatural cold that contrasted with the suffocating heat of the planet.
—What happened to her? —Sersi recognized Sprite's voice.
"She shouldn't be with the humans," she thought as Druig let her fall like a rag onto the Domo's hard medical bed.
—Her eyes were burned by the light —Ajak responded.
—How?! —the Eternal child shrieked.
—Perseus made a lightning tornado —Sersi said in a weak voice.
—What?! —the voices in the room echoed.
Sersi explained what happened while Ajak covered her eyes with her hands. Warm healing energy filled her body, repairing the damage caused by the intensity of Perseus's light. When she finished, the ambient light hit her eyes again, still hurting her a little.
—Give it time —Ajak said softly.
—Can we talk about the elephant in the room now? —Druig asked, frowning.
—There isn't much to say, Druig —Ajak shook her head, resigned.
—What? Why?!
—Neither you nor I know our limits —she whispered. —I have read the reports; I know what other Eternals are capable of in other worlds. But we are young by our standards.
—Are you saying Perseus reached his limit before we did? —Sprite wrinkled her forehead.
—No, Sprite —Ajak shook her head again, showing a screen for everyone—. I'm saying he has discovered a new peak for his power.
—Oh —the girl said, stunned.
—And the others? —Sersi interrupted the conversation. All that was interesting, but right now she didn't have the headspace for speculations about power levels.
—Beside you —Druig replied in a "it's obvious" tone.
Sersi turned her head and found Kingo and Gilgamesh sitting on the floor next to her bed. Their armor was destroyed, charred in some parts. In the two beds adjacent to hers, Makkari and Ishtar dozed; their skin, now pristine, without scars but somewhat pale, showed through the remains of their shattered armor. Sersi winced in pain.
—What happened? —her voice trembled as she asked.
—Ambush —Gilgamesh muttered.
—Makkari...?
—We were on the other side —Gilgamesh interrupted her. —We split the approaches to repel the two fronts. They sent about twenty Deviants through the east and a smaller group through the west.
—Perseus ordered us to eliminate the less numerous ones while he held the east —Kingo hit his head against the wall, looking toward the ceiling.
Gilgamesh nodded. Sersi frowned; she couldn't understand that decision from their best strategist. But her burly companion seemed to read her mind.
—We ran into a dozen —he explained, looking at Ajak. —They were a very unpleasant group, but we were able to clear them with ease. As soon as we finished, we went to Perseus.
—They've been fighting for half an hour —Druig pointed out.
—I said "easy," not "fast" —Gilgamesh looked at him annoyed. —I suppose their leaders did their job; they sent the heaviest and most armored ones. That made Makkari quite useless against them. Ishtar and I dispatched them.
Kingo made a face. Sersi assumed he had also felt quite useless in that fight.
—When we reached Perseus, Makkari was already in battle —Gilgamesh continued, patting Kingo's leg. —She was opening a path for us to the center. But the Deviants had some with... powers.
The giant winced.
—We were barely breaking even when one of those things slammed her while she was trying to ease the pressure on Perseus.
—I was ordered to evacuate her —Kingo took over. —I killed two Deviants that were trying to kidnap her. I didn't risk bordering the wall and went through the Kullaba district toward the Domo... Sorry for knocking you down, Sersi.
Sersi made a dismissive gesture with her hand. At that moment she was being a fool; she should have retreated and made way for Kingo.
—Ishtar and I stayed —Gilgamesh returned to his story. —There we saw how they brought Perseus down and buried him in the mudflats. The brat lost her temper and received that wound from the same Deviant that hit Makkari.
Sersi looked at the girl. She seemed so small and fragile with that copper skin, now pale and sickly. Her nose stung. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Druig making a face while wrapping his arm around Sprite's shoulders.
—Afterward, Perseus returned to the fight —Gilgamesh's eyes became distant. —He really was like one possessed. I barely had time to withdraw with the brat.
Sersi swallowed hard. By the way things were, it seemed Perseus had really made a great effort to limit himself.
Mesopotamia, Uruk City, 5750 B.C.
The disgusting Deviant fell. Its skin was scorched, exuding a foul smell like a gas station. The molten sand and clay burned its flesh, making it roar in pain. Perseus could see it was missing an eye.
—Go —Perseus told it. —Sing the song.
The Deviant staggered away, limping through the incandescent glass. Perseus felt his chest burning; that burning of satiated anger seethed in his veins. He stood there, watching his enemy limp away and huff in pain. When he saw it no more, he limped away. His eyes watered when he saw what surrounded him: the entire district was buried in melted glass. The air was acidic, burning his lungs.
—Never again —he gasped. It was hard to breathe and a fine whitish dust fell like snowfall.
He hoped the message had been received. He didn't think it possible to do it again.
He walked toward the Eanna; he dragged his feet and his exposed skin was turning red. The temple was intact; Phastos's adjustments had ensured that nothing would bring it down. Upon entering, he was greeted by the humans; many had tears in their eyes and made way for him. Only the bravest reached out their hands to touch his arms.
He ignored them. He only wanted to reach the Domo. The sterile air from the interior hit him. Perseus hissed. His muscles protested, contracting from the change. His vision grew dark, the hallway staggered, and the lights were blinding. The infirmary was full. He heard voices, but nothing else.
"I really screwed myself there, didn't I?" he thought, letting out a drunken chuckle.
—Perseus! —he heard before hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Mesopotamia, eastern steppes, 5750 B.C.
—So you have created a new toy to stop me —Kro murmured.
He was sitting on a rock, in the hidden cave east of the mountain pass to the highlands. He was surrounded by his surviving brothers and sisters, listening to Kurú's account of this new Eternal of great power.
—...he killed Metris as if it were nothing —he said, huffing from his wounds.
Kro nodded. He approached his brother; Kurú shrunk back, bowing his head devoid of its curved horns. He placed his hand on the wounded one's head, letting power heal his body.
—Arishem hopes to intimidate Mother by exhibiting new pawns —he proclaimed; the Deviants roared and the cave shook. —This planet belongs to Mother, to her children. Arishem has no voice in these lands.
The furor died down little by little, leaving soft grunts and threatening purrs.
—Let the Eternals enjoy their victory —Kro looked at Kurú. —Go to the marine clans... let them prepare.
—Yes, brother —Kurú nodded, already fully recovered.