SHE WAS GLAD DRUIG WOKE her up, the two walked to the funeral site, to see how what had happened when they left. The morning sun just painted the sky, light colors of blues and yellows come around.

They stop to see the fire had gone out of flame, just burnt bark ash was left on the sand. Druig let go of Perse's hand when seeing that she was slowly making her way to Thena.

Thena stood in the ice-cold river, as she held to the box of Gilgamesh's ashes, debating whether she should let him go.

Perse sat on the sand, waiting for Thena to come out of the water so that she could be a friend and comfort her. She didn't care if Thena took all day, Perse wasn't going to move without Thena by her side.

As Druig watched the two, Sersi's presence came beside him. He said, "When I left, I thought about taking over the minds of every human on this planet. Violence, fear, greed, all
gone."

"Why didn't you?" asked Sersi.

"Because without their flaws, they wouldn't be human."

As his eyes looked to his beloved, he began to think that maybe it was a mistake to let humans be humans. From what he had known of what the humans did to Perse, he could've stopped it all from happening, if he had just gone with his gut and done it.

But he could never actually go through with it, as every time he looked that them, he thought of Perse. Thought of how she shaped their world, and if he were to disrupt it, was disrupting her image.

The woman beside him begged, "Please, Druig. You can't stay here anymore. These Deviants are trying to keep us from killing their own kind. They have a conscience now. That makes them more dangerous."

"No, Sersi. That makes them us," Druig stated, "Eternals and Deviants. Arishem's children. But you are asking me to take control of a mind of a Celestial. I do not have that kind of power."

"We'll need Phastos," Sersi nods.

Referring to the smartest of them all, the man sighed, "Well, good luck. He gave up on humans a long time ago."

"So did Perse. She's here with us."

"Not for the reason you and Ikaris are here." He turns to Sersi. "Why is she here?"

Looking to Perse and back to Druig, Sersi explained, "Because we swore to never bring her back. To not call her to join the fight if a Deviant comes back, to not be involved with anything that has to do with our mission. She's retired after this."

"Retirement," Druig smiles, "Sounds peaceful."

"I do think a small part of her wants humans safe," She said.

Perse closes her eyes as seeing Thena drop the ashes into the water, saying her final goodbyes to Gilgamesh.

"What makes you say that?"

Thena hugs herself with the box in her arms, silently crying to herself and for her broken heart. Perse opens her eyes and had to wipe her eyes, feeling water pool in them already.

"Because she never gives up on a person... even you."

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16TH CENTURY
EDEN

     EVER since Ajak allowed the Eternals to separate into their own people, Perse always had a core idea in her mind. She thought to grow her own place — a sweet haven — for herself, that she can do whatever she wanted, use her power however she wanted.

So, in territory that hasn't been claimed, Perse created her land. Where trees surrounded the area, and a grand meadow in the middle, the sound of a flowing river and a fall added peace to her mind, how fields of wildflowers grew and fruit trees sprouted for her to eat.

It didn't take long for the wildlife to find this place. Soon, animals thrives in her haven, they respected each other and the way their cycle of life was. Foxes, bunnies, and deer came, bears, moose, and even wolves enjoyed their time here.

Perse smiled as Ajak and Phastos visited her safe place in awe, amazed by the beauty of it, the number of creatures that lived together in harmony, the scenery looked as if it was from a painting.

They were proud of her work, and she was proud that she could create a place. Sitting in the meadow of snap-dragons, she looked up to her clear sky and imagined what the rest of her family would think. More importantly, what Druig would say to her.

Perse walked into the woods, making sure her land wasn't being observed by the conquerors. As she adventured out, an echo of a soft cry was heard in the forest.

Immediately, she knew that it was a child. No animal would make such a definite sound, so she carefully made her way over to the cries, investigating what had happened.

She hid behind a tree, as she was behind the human boy, who simply was crying between his knees. The kid had dark blonde curls, his clothes were a bit dirtied but nothing too bad. He didn't seem hurt nor in danger to any animal. But Perse's heart pounded to see that the boy was skinny, unhealthily skinny.

She didn't think he would make any night if he stood there.

The words of Druig's mind played in her head, his warning about humans, reminding her of how they can be dangerous, and how they're not what they used to be.

But this was just a boy...

"Are you okay?" She calls for him.

The boy's body shakes, as he turned to her, tears drying, his skin sunk to show his cheekbones and deepened eyes.

"Help me," He cries, "Help me, please."

Perse walks over to the kid — no older than 8 years old — and carefully carries him into her arms, as he didn't protest and even hugged her while she held him.

The woman carried him off and into her Eden, where the light of his eyes brighten from the sight of her land.
He had never seen such a beautiful place.

"Am I dead, Mother Mary?" He asked her.

Her mind was puzzled by his name for her, but she tells him, "No, but let me help you."

In her large home, she fed him soups and meats, to help him go stronger by the day. She bathed him, cleaned his clothes, she played with him, and comforted him. He never spoke to her and she didn't mind, Perse was simply happy to see him grow healthier by the minute. It took the boy two days for him to finally talk to her, about how he got there.

"I was trying to find food for my family," He spoke, in a raspy voice, "And then I lost my way home. I was scared the Indians are gonna come after me."

"The natives don't come here," Perse assured, "They know whose land this is, they won't bother us."

"Thank you, Mother Mary."

Perse didn't have the heart to correct the boy, he seemed content with her being called 'Mother Mary', he was proud and happy to call her it.
He had soon introduced himself as Hugh, a son of a butcher.

Seeing the sunset down, she walks the boy to the bed and settles him down. "Where do you go, Mother?"

"I'm protecting us from the natives," She played, "I'll be back when you are far asleep."

Truthfully, she was on the lookout for his kind. Natives never created trouble with her, because they know better than to mess with the creature in the woods. A creature that bent the will of the Earth and even some of their goods, so they avoid her part and she stays out of theirs.

Hugh's kind, they don't know when to stop. There will be occasions when men would try and hunt deer too far into her woods, so she would always trick them and lead them back to their homes.

Seeing the boy close his eyes, Perse went out into the night and into the woods. But of course, the curious mind of Hugh, he didn't fall asleep. He stood wide awake to watch when she would return, awaking the Blessed Mother.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

IT didn't long for Hugh to become full, his body wasn't a skeleton, and he looked happier than ever.
Perse watched as Hugh tried his best to catch the rabbits that outran him, she didn't want for him to go, she liked him. He was nice and gentle, an innocent boy. But he did have a family, a family that missed him, that had been looking for him for the past 2 weeks.

So she stood tall and walked over to the kid. Hugh stopped and walked over to Perse, seeing that she wanted to speak with him.

"Hugh." She bent down to his level. "Do you like it here?"

"Yes!" He answers, "Mother, Eden is beautiful. I wish to stay here forever and ever."

Her brows rose. "Really?"

"Of course! I must bring father and my brother, they will like it here."

Immediately she stopped his train of thought. "Hugh, they cannot come here."

His smile dropped. "Why not?"

She wanted to say that she didn't trust them, that she feared humans would hurt her Eden. But she bit her tongue.

"Because Eden isn't for them. I'm sorry, Hugh. You must make a choice," She explained, "You can go home and be with your family, or stay here with me. But once you leave, I'm afraid, you won't be able to come back."

Tears formed in the boy's eyes, he cried, "But, I thought you loved everyone. You're supposed to love all of God's creatures."

Her face furrowed, within the time she knew Hugh, she had been spying on the churches near her woods. She learned about the religion, the religion of God, and the Virgin Mary — Mother Mary —  the Garden of Eden, and Paradise of Heaven. She learned all of this for him, to understand him, and it didn't take long to realize why he stuck around her for so long, even after his health got better.

Hugh thought Perse was the Virgin Mary.

Shaking her head, the woman said, "Hugh, I'm sorry, sweetheart. You have to choose. I can't keep you here when your family is looking for you unless you want to be found."

It was heartbreaking putting a little boy on a pedestal, by making him choose a fork in the road: one to a blissful life of health and beauty or one with his family.

Hugh then sobbed when realizing his choice. Perse immediately hugged him, consoling him, as he cried, "I want my papa, I want my papa. I want papa."

"Hey, hey." She stood the boy up and wiped the tears off of his face. "There is no need to cry, I'm taking you home."

It didn't take long for Perse and Hugh to walk alone together, holding hands as the Eternal guided him back to his homeland. The boy looked back at Eden and his heart dropped when he couldn't see its rays of light and innocents, but they were now alone in a dark forest.

Taking him to the middle point, the woman stops and stretches her arm out. Hugh's breath hitched when seeing that colorful wildflowers created a road that lead out of the woods and into the nearest town, where he and his family lived.

"You remember not to tell anyone about this place, about me, you understand?"

He didn't say a word, only staring down at the dirt, as his eyes were pooling by the second.

"This is as far as I go," She states, bending down to him, "I'm afraid this is goodbye, sweetheart."

The boy bites down his lower lip, to keep himself from shedding any more tears. "I'm not gonna see you again?"

Meaning, will he return to Heaven?
Perse smiles, "Of course, you're going to see this place again. I promise you that."

The kid hugged her, tightly, before pushing off and walking where the flowers guided him, with every step he took, the flowers behind him disappeared.

Perse stood tall as she waved him goodbye, not caring if he had even noticed her standing her guard until he was out of her sight. The woman knew she would miss Hugh, he was the first human she had spoken with since she had separated herself from the Eternals. Hearing the way he talked of his town, where most were starving and couldn't survive, it broke her heart, and it hurt even more that she could help them.

Hugh followed the wildflowers and was out of the woods in no time, he turned himself around to see that the beautiful flowers that guided him were now gone. His stomach sunk in seeing that he wouldn't be able to return there again.

The kid had returned himself to his home, and his father and brother welcomed him back in open arms. They cried when seeing the boy returned, as the town simply assumed he was probably killed when he was missing on day 3. But seeing that he was alive, they were dumbfounded to see him differently.

He was freshly cleaned, his clothes were mended perfectly, he wasn't so much as a skeleton of a boy. That meant someone cleaned him, fed him, and helped him out... but who?

"What happened out there, son?" The man bend down to his kid's level. "It's only me, son, tell me."

As Hugh looked to his father's eyes, he grew angry. His father was nothing but good, he was practically a saint. Why couldn't he be in Eden? Why did she dictate who is and isn't allowed, that was the Lord's job?

"She told me not to tell you," Hugh admitted, crossing his arms.

His father retorted, with a sudden unknown strength to him, "Was it a witch?"

Again, Hugh didn't answer.
His father shuttered, to imagine his son near a witch, seeing and hearing the witchcraft. With his son's stubbornness, the man became desperate for answers.

"Hugh, if you don't tell me, the Lord would not let you into his paradise. You are keeping this evil alive if you don't tell me."

The boy's eyes widened.
But Mother Mary did say he would return to Eden... would she really lie to him? After the time spent together, she would lie to his face. Lie to his faith?

"But she promised I'd be there," The kid whimpers.

"Who son?"
"Mother Mary."

The father scoffed, "You saw the Virgin Mary? Hugh, you can't see her, she only comes to you in paradise when you're dead."

"B-But I saw Eden too! I saw it all, she kept me alive. I promise, papa, I would never lie about this."

And the boy didn't seem to be lying.
The man knew when his son was lying, and that kid didn't speak falsehood. Maybe his childlike mind made him believe in something different, different from reality, maybe there was something more to the story.

"Then show me, son."

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

     ONLY a week passed from Hugh's absence and Perse, again, alone. She thought about the kid, and how it might be possible to share her land. She always loved to show the humans her abilities, and she loved their company.

The only reason why she wasn't so keen on humans was because of Druig's untrust of them, how our guidance would change them for the better, and maybe that is what the villagers needed.

Perse walked into the woods on her patrol, she liked her walks in the night. It helped her clear her head, it reminded her of all the times Thena would train her, Makkari explaining her latest discovery, and all the celebrations they attended.

She missed them dearly.
As much as she loved them, she wanted her own independence, but she never imagined it to be so lonely; mostly because she always imagined Druig by her side.

As she made her way back home, she felt uneasy. Something in her felt off, like a shift in her body came to her.

Suddenly, she covered her face with her arms to see bears and deer run away, they scatter out and away, leaving Perse to look confused.
That was until a little doe fell away from her, she ran up to it, and shuttered.

The poor babe had small bullet wounds on its legs and one to the chest, it laid its head to the group before taking its last breath.

Before Perse could do anything, more animals ran. Foxes, buffalo, and rabbits were running in any direction, birds, coyotes, hollered their cry as they take off.

They sounded the call of death, the calls of grief.
With a snap, Perse could only think of the one place where they resided.

The woman ran in the direction of her Eden. She dodged through the trees and animals, she made the trees move for her and guided the animals out of her way. Tears were in her eyes and sweat pooled at her forehead. The sounds of her animals felt like knives to her heart, her mind pounded by their grief. She could feel their suffering, their loss. She didn't want to feel that again.

Reaching to her home, her body stopped in her tracks. Humans.
Her home was burning, the wood burnt with flames. Her cottage was engulfed with the fires, as did her plain fields. Humans were taking her crops, taking her food, and they started to burn what was left.

Her heart stopped when seeing her animals, her children. They butchered them, killed them, and dragged them out. Some just lay dying on her land, others hurt and crying. They used their guns and axes to hurt them, cutting into their flesh, even if they were alive to feel the pain.

Perse dropped to the ground and sobbed. She hunched over to the ground, holding her chest — where her heart was — and yelled in her pain. Her bitter tears stained her cheeks, as the drowning feeling of hopelessness swept her.

This was her home. This was her life.

Looking to the humans, seeing them cheer and holler in joy. A burning rage filled her chest, her breath holding nothing but the breath of dragon fire.
They destroyed her home, killed her family, and killed her in the process.

Hearing their cheers felt like acid in her ears, the humans laughed to the chaos, they laughed to her misery.
Perse stood up off the ground and walked over to the townspeople.

As they were celebrating, they started to notice the woman making their way over them. Some held out their muskets toward her, seeing as she was a witch that cursed Hugh, while others watched with smug smiles and smirks.

That was until the ground beneath them. They gasped and screamed at the roots of the trees wrapping around her and raising her into the air.

"Witch! Witch!" They screamed at her.

Before they could run away, the trees around them banded together, the barks becoming one as their branches weaved together in strength. It was as if a wall was placed, keeping them in with the angered woman.

As they all pounded at the trees, tried shooting their way out, Perse's eyes held bright gold as her tears fell down.
Her gold glowing hand swiped toward her land, as her gold wisps consumed into the dead.

The animals that were once dead soon had gold points in their eyes, as they slowly awakened from their death.
The humans noticed and grew even more terrified. They saw how the once dead animals stood tall and waited, waiting for their master to say the word.

As the humans looked up toward the 'witch', they knew that no amount of pleading or sacrifice would please her. Their hearts grew in fear, their bodies shaking like a leaf in fall, they had to face their fate of death today.

"No mercy," whispers the Eternals.
All the animals began to charge toward the settlers.

She watched as they began the fight, a fight made to lose. Bullets couldn't kill it again, they screamed in fear as their bullets didn't stop them again, and their future grew dimmer by the seconds.

Bears became to maul what they can, moose and buffalo trampled what they could, deer stabbed with their antlers, as the rest bite and scratched whatever they had.
Bones crunched under their paws and hooves, skin pierced and ripped out. The forest echoed with the screams of the men, filling the air with ash ember and terror.

Perse lowered herself down.
Their screams felt numbing to her, she didn't feel happy that they were dying, she didn't feel bad about it either, all she could feel was an absolute betrayal.

She trusted the boy, she trusted that he wouldn't tell anyone. She trusted one human... it cost her home.

Raising a hand, a bear grabbed onto a man's shoulder, using its teeth, and hauled it toward Perse. The man screamed in pain, as he could only watch behind him as the last of his friends cried out to die.

The bear threw the man at the feet of Perse and ran off. The father lay in shock at her golden eyes, the same ones that the animals possessed.
The roots beneath them wrapped around the man, holding him by the neck and hoisting him to face her, tightening to make him choke.

"I saved your son," She tells him, "I saved him from death... and you believe this is my payment."

"D... Demon," He responds.

"And yet, you have the audacity to throw insults at me." The root tightened around him. "You humans are so stupid."

"You... killed them. You killed... my friends."

"And you destroyed my home. My Eden. You killed and destroy for fun, I kill for justice! You and I, it's not the same."

The screams were no more. She looked over to the animals to see that all the settlers were dead, piled to a wall like scared mice. The animals then began to drag them all to her burning cottage, to place them inside.

Perse looked back down at the man, just seconds away from death. She leaned and whispered in his ear, as her tears flowed down. "I should've let Hugh die in the woods."

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

     AJAK, Phastos, and Sersi stood in the ashes of Eden. They came as soon as they heard the news of a witch burning the woods, knowing it was Perse. They stopped in horror, seeing that there was no green grass or beautiful flowers, no more animals reigned there in harmony. There was no beauty, no joy, only the aftermath.

They walked over and could see the only thing alive was Perse. She kneeled in front of a grave, of every animal that died in and around her Eden.

"Perse," calls out Phastos.

The Eternal didn't do anything, just continued to stare at the big grave of more than 60 of her children dead because of her.

Truly, Sersi was scared. They had all never seen her like this, they had never seen her completely lose everything she had. After Druig, Ajak knew Perse would never be the same. Ajak was about to step toward her, that was until Phastos walked up to her.

The man sat down beside Perse, seeing that her face was stained with tears, her eyes red, and her face paled with ash brushed on her cheeks. Yet her eyes held so much pain, it was almost as if she was a shell of Perse.

"I'm sorry," Phastos said, "I'm so sorry about your home."

"I killed them," Perse stated, "I killed them all."

Hearing her words, Sersi whispers, "Oh my god."

"They deserved it. Every one of them."

Ajak said, "Perse, this path you created, it's going to lead you to a dark place."

"They killed my Eden." Perse stood up, turning to them. "I have no home, no children, no one. What worse can happen to me?"

"We just want you safe," Phastos tells, "I want you safe from them."

"What you should be worried about are them. Because I am one incident away from killing them myself."

"Perse——"
"LOOK AT MY HOME."

They stood silent. "Everything I built, everything I did, is gone. They burned and murdered my home. I trusted one person. I trusted one kid. And look where that got me. I am done with humans. I. Am. Done."

Sersi calls to her, "Perse, please."

"I can't do this anymore," She cried, "They took Druig. They took my home. I can't do this anymore now. You guys can go on ahead, but as far as you know, I am not an Eternal anymore. I'm not a Protector of Humanity, I'm not Arishem's solider. I will not stop myself from interfering with them if they even think about fucking up my home again."

Phastos couldn't speak. He knew her heart was broken, and he didn't know how to fix it. Sersi didn't blame her, after all of this, she would too hate the humans, but not to the extent of disregarding her duties as an Eternal.

As Perse walked passed them, Ajak rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "You'll always have us," Ajak reminded, "We are still your family."

The woman walked on, letting the trees move away as she had to walk away from her Eden to find and rebuilt a new one, one away from humans and isolated to herself.

Her heart would never be the same in trusting humanity.