"I admit, I didn't expect that I would be hosting this many of the noble Eternals." I said from atop my throne as I watched the lineup standing before me.
Sersi and Sprite have both been long-term guests of my kingdom, and over recent months, my castle.
Sprite enjoyed the freedom Camelot granted her, the ability to be treated as an adult, even if she was given some funny looks. The Eternals had pretended to be humans since they retired, hiding their extraordinary nature.
For her, that came with massive limitations, she couldn't do anything a child couldn't do. Sure, she only had to pay child rates for stuff, but getting a beer? Impossible.
Even just walking around outside during the day was difficult, as people would question why she wasn't in school, and the same for being around at night, people would question what she was doing.
Yet in Camelot, people accepted that not everyone was as they seemed, and if they doubted, she was what she claimed, which was a mage; she could freely use her powers and pretend to be a human mage.
That allowed her so much freedom. For the first time in centuries, she could do as she wanted.
So, she had stayed around and forced Sersi to stay around as well, rather than go back to London.
But those two weren't the only ones before me. Phastos was here as well, having finally managed to not just produce the special element, but also set up proper production for it, and ensure my generators were up to speed.
You ask the guy to toast some bread, and he will reinvent the toaster, and make it fly, and shoot lasers.
He really had a passion for tech, and once he got going, he just didn't stop again.
And since he was done, it was time for me to uphold my part of the deal, which is why everyone was gathered here.
Sprite was buzzing with excitement, and only Sersi's firm hand held her back.
As for why Sersi was holding her back? Well, that was no doubt because of the others in the room.
From halfway across the world, Thena and Gilgamesh had shown up.
And to round things up, Ajak and Ikaris were here as well, nearly all the Eternals were here now.
"You can thank Sprite for that, she called around, wanting to celebrate, or just brag, and well, they came to visit." Sersi tried to explain.
"It is fine. What I will do is hardly worth keeping secret from all of you." I replied with a slight smile, letting my eyes linger on Ajak for a while longer than the others, remembering our earlier conversation.
[flashback]
I was instantly made aware of two new special guests setting foot within my city. And after casting my gaze out through the castle, through the city, onto the gates, I spotted them, two Eternals had walked through the great gates.
They were easy enough to recognize from other enhanced beings. Simply due to their sheer age. They might not have all their memories, but they were old, so while they didn't quite register as machines, they weren't entirely natural beings.
All together, it made them easy to spot for someone with my gaze.
I didn't pay much attention to them. I already had another two Eternals in the city, and a final one working for me out in Albion, so I figured they were just here to meet them.
But it didn't take long before my attention was back on them again. Because they came straight to my castle, requesting a meeting.
Curious about why they had some to see me, I allowed Bedivere to guide them inside.
"Your Majesty, I present to you, Ajak, Leader of the Eternals. Speaker of the Celestials and Ikaris, The Radiant Hawk and Unyielding Sentinel." Bedivere announced as he led the two of them into my throne room.
I watched the two from up close.
They both seemed surprised by their titles, Ajak most of all, after all, the Celestials were a great and ancient secret. And while if she was here, she likely already knew a good amount about me, she clearly had expected me to know about that as well.
As for Ikaris, he was a warrior, fierce and loyal, someone that I would have been proud to have among my own knights. Were it not for the fact that I knew he would betray the other Eternals in the worst way possible.
Even if that betrayal was born from his undying loyalty to the celestials themselves.
I had tasted betrayal before, and couldn't agree with it, not anymore. The tyrant within me wouldn't allow it.
"Before you sits Arthuria Pendragon," Bedivere continued, his voice echoing through the hall, a note of pride coloring his tone as he listed my many titles. "King of Knights, Ruler of Albion, Lord of Camelot, Wielder of Excalibur, Lord of Storms, White Lion King, and the Goddess of the Holy Lance!"
A slight smile crept onto my lips as he finished, his voice carrying a touch of the old fire I remembered so well. Bedivere had clearly taken a liking to the practice of listing off titles, much like Agravain did.
I leaned forward slightly on my throne, resting my chin on one hand as I regarded the two Eternals. They had come to my city, my kingdom, to speak with me directly, and that alone was enough to earn them a measure of my attention.
"Ajak, Speaker of the Celestials," I said, letting her title roll off my tongue with deliberate emphasis, "and Ikaris, the Radiant Hawk. To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?"
Ajak stepped forward, her expression regaining its earlier composure. She inclined her head slightly, a gesture of respect that felt genuine despite the weight of centuries behind her eyes.
"King Arthuria," She began, her voice clear and steady, as could be expected for someone who had seen as much as she had. "I wish to speak with the one who has promised to change the eternal form of Sprite and to cure Thena from Mahd Wy'ry."
I met her eyes briefly, and then looked over at Ikaris, then back to his leader. Clearly, he wasn't a fan of her request, worried on her behalf… Still I was curious about what she wanted to speak to me about in private.
"Very well, Sir Bedivere, if you would wait outside with Sir Ikaris." I finally agreed, though clearly Bedivere didn't.
"Your majesty, surely you shouldn't be left alone with a stranger!" he spoke up, trying to dissuade me off of my idea.
And while I respected his loyalty to me, I could clearly tell that Ajak wasn't willing to speak her mind unless it was just the two of us.
"Please, Sir Bedivere, I will not be in any danger. Trust in my strength; if anyone should be worried, it is I. I leave you alone with one of, if not the strongest, Eternal." I tried to soothe him.
Bedivere hesitated, his jaw tightening as he glanced between Ajak and Ikaris. His loyalty to me was unshakable, and the thought of leaving me alone with an unknown force, even one I had invited into my hall, clearly didn't sit well with him.
I gave him a small, reassuring nod, my eyes meeting his with a steady confidence. Whatever Ajak wished to speak of, I could handle it.
"Very well, Your Majesty," he said at last, his voice tinged with reluctant acceptance. He bowed deeply, casting a final, wary glance at Ajak before turning on his heel. "Call if you have need of me, and I will be at your side in an instant."
With a nod to Ikaris, he stepped back, his armored boots ringing against the stone floor as he made his way toward the grand doors. Ikaris followed, his sharp blue eyes lingering on Ajak for a moment before he too turned. The great doors swung shut behind them, their weighty thud echoing through the hall.
For a moment, silence reigned. The distant crackle of torches and the soft murmur of Camelot's ever-turning gears the only sounds.
I leaned back slightly, resting my hand on the armrest of my throne as I regarded the Eternal before me. Ajak, someone who knew the truth about her friends, yet kept it from them. she knew the fate of Earth, yet did nothing…
Not until she had seen humanity at its best, only then would she deem them worth saving, a decision that led to her death, and the fracturing of her people.
She was a tragic character, someone who stood alone on her own for the longest time, holding such a heavy secret, and then dying due to it. killed by someone she trusted.
"So," I said, letting the word hang in the air for a moment, "you wished to speak with me alone. What is it you wish to say, Ajak?"
For a moment, she remained silent, her eyes sweeping over the grand hall, taking in the towering stone pillars, the banners bearing my crest, the flickering torchlight that cast long shadows along the walls. She was taking my measure, as surely as I was taking hers.
Finally, she met my gaze once more. "I wished to see the one who claims to be both a king and a goddess," she said, her voice quiet but steady. "The one who promises to grant a child her long-lost adulthood and to free a warrior from the madness that has claimed her mind."
I arched a brow, a slight smile touching my lips. "You wished to see if I was worthy of the titles Bedivere so enthusiastically announced?"
"Not exactly," she replied, taking a slow step closer, her long robes whispering against the stone. "I have seen plenty of gods before, so it is not my place to judge them, for good or for ill, but when you claim to be able to change Sprite like you do… I can't help but be curious."
I nodded in understanding. She was not wrong to doubt my claim; she was well aware of her own true nature. And the limitations imposed on Sprite.
"I know what you are." I simply stated.
"What?"
"I know what you are, I know why you are here, I know the truth, I know about… Tiamat."
Ajak's eyes grew wide, a flicker of genuine shock breaking through her calm, ancient exterior. She took a small, instinctive step back, her head tilting as if trying to reassess the figure seated on the throne before her.
"You... you know?" she whispered, her voice tight, barely more than a breath.
I met her stare without flinching. "I do. I know what you are. I know what the Eternals are. I know why you were placed on this world, and what purpose you serve."
She hesitated, the faint tremor in her hands betraying the depth of her unease. She was a leader, a guide, a being who had shaped the fate of countless civilizations, yet here she stood, uncertain, caught off guard.
"You're not supposed to know," she said, her voice hardening, the edge of a leader returning. "Even the others don't know about this, aren't meant to know about it, it's—"
"I know, because I am the Goddess of the end, I exist here, and at the end of the world, the time, and the place." I interrupted.
Ajak's expression tightened, the brief crack in her composure quickly sealed. She straightened, drawing herself up as if remembering her purpose, her ancient role as the leader of the Eternals.
"You speak as if you understand our purpose," she said, her voice sharper now, the tone of a general addressing a potential rival. "But do you truly grasp what you are claiming? What it means to challenge the designs of the Celestials themselves?"
"I do," I replied, my tone steady, eyes locked onto hers. "I know the truth of your kind. I know about the cycle of destruction and rebirth. I know about the emergence that slumbers beneath our feet, the god waiting to tear this world apart from within."
For a moment, Ajak simply stared at me, her dark eyes narrowing as she searched my face for any hint of hesitation, any crack in my confidence. Finding none, she took a slow, steadying breath.
"You would defy the Celestials," she said, a hint of disbelief coloring her tone. "You would stand against the very beings who forged the stars, who shaped the galaxies, who created us to serve their will?"
"If I must… but as a Goddess, I understand the weight of such things… the cyclic nature of death and rebirth. I am… unsure If I should challenge the Celestials… I will change Sprite, but will your master mind that? Let us be honest, as long as Tiamat is born, the Celestials will care for nothing else." I explained.
Ajak, for her credit, paused at my words, as she stopped to carefully take them in. "You are right… even if we die, the others won't care, but… surely you don't, do you? If this happens, this world ends."
"I am a God, I am not limited to mortal thinking… can we not have both? A million new worlds born, while this one still lives? The end of Earth isn't the goal; it is but an accident, so if we can avoid it, I think it would be fine, even Tiamat wouldn't disagree." I could see she slowly understood what I wanted.
At this point, she had long forgotten her own purpose of coming here; now, I had her full attention.