The Eternals Pt. 1

**Hey guys!! I will be officially detaching from Malefice and gifting it to Mira Caplan, as she has a ton of enthusiasm for ways to continue it. Please read all continuations she makes!! This story was just so out of the blue and I was like "How on earth did I come up with this" but I can't wait to keep writing it. John Dee is an actual historical figure, and the Old Testament was written in ancient Hebrew. Enjoy!

February 4th, 1954

A gold suit had appeared on my doorstep three days before. It was satin, which I hated with a vengeance, but I forced myself into the sleeves with a fair share of grunts and curses. The smooth fabric felt like oil on my skin. It was time. I forced my legs to walk out of the home and to the trolley stop, the sickly green that painted the doors reflecting across my vision.

There were fifteen other people wearing gold suits on the trolley, all of them as rigid and uncomfortable as I. When it screeched to a stop, I toppled to the floor, wincing as I wiped the grime off on my pants. The fifteen other passengers bumped into me as they hobbled off the trolley, and I stuck out my tongue behind their backs. Fall on your backs, you snobs.

I was a younger member, only 548 years in age, so I was the puppy they all wanted to kick. Well, only a decade more. The clubhouse had silver edges, with a Victorian arch looming over everyone's head. I hated that arch, the perfect wood and shimmering edges. It was too pretty, almost to the point of disgusting. The entrance, a door that had been hanging around for millennia, made no creaking sounds when I pushed it open. The whole place was timeless. There were already at least a hundred in the Great Hall, taking their seats in the Jury chairs of the Court. Mine was all the way to the left, where barely anyone could see me, but I was happy to have one at all.

"We are called here to commemorate the 100,000th anniversary of the Eternals." The Grand Eternal, the founder of the entire society, sat at the forefront of the room. His chair was adorned with gold silk and jewels from ancient Mesopotamia. I glued my eyes to his face, watched the sagging skin fold as he talked. That would be me one day. Otherwise, I'd burn this whole place to the ground. As Nixon had said to me, "You don't get what you want, you get nothing."

"We will be accepting treasures of days past for our refurbished Vaults, specifically those from medieval France. Also, we will discuss the matter of promotions and demotions." His voice made me want to sleep, the monotone echoing out of his shallow skull.

Members began to shuffle to their various jobs. At the moment, I had the meandering task of filing the ancient documents. Every day, I had to read through the works of thousands of kings, thousands of visionaries. When you live forever, you work forever. That was our motto. Thank goodness you didn't have to.

I took the hall nearest to my chair and made my way to the Archives. The walls of texts and scripts were my own barricade, keeping the bad out and, well, everyone else. On the right was the very first copy of the Old Testament, which I had just finished deciphering. It was hard enough to learn ancient Hebrew, let alone weed through the erosion. I loved holding each text I handled, loved the way it crinkled lightly in my hands. It gave me a warm feeling to know that, despite my long tenure of life, I could go even further.

"How's the Qu'ran going?" John Dee was standing in the doorway, twirling an Elizabethan necklace around his frail thumb. He was one of the oldest, but more importantly, he was one of my favorites.

"Eh, I sent it over to Mikey. I'm not an Arabic person," I said. John pulled up a chair and grabbed my notes on the Bible. They were rushed, granted, but he nodded his approval.

"Jakob, I think you've done great work." I didn't meet his eyes, but I imagined myself smiling. John Dee, the legendary alchemist and immortal, had just praised my work! What a day. I nodded, took a deep breath. There was a draft coming from the side of the room.

"Hey, John? I... well... I was wondering if... since you're pretty famous around here... if you could give me some props?" John's head whipped back at me. I was scared for a second, scared he would indict me. Then his eyes softened, like someone squeezing a pie.

"Well, sure. You know, you've done a great job, so sure." I breathed a sigh of relief the second he exited the room and hugged the Old Testament to my chest. It was a great day to be immortal. What was my next document?

As I flipped through the pages of parchment, I mentally reviewed which languages I could decipher. There was, well, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Albanian, Cantonese, Sanskrit, Ottoman, Sumerian, Demotic Egyptian, Hieratic, Anglo-Saxon... what else? Oh, that's it! Maori. I picked up a piece of paper that had dropped to the floor, only slightly weathered. It couldn't be any older than 340.

I'd never seen it before. It wasn't even registered with the archives, it seemed. All documents that were to be transcribed had a sticker on them, they said. Well, why didn't this one?

I peered closer, narrowed my eyes as I tried to make out the words. It was Anglo-Saxon, I could see, but it had been written in my lifetime. The curls around the letters weren't faded yet, which made my work much easier. I immediately grabbed a notebook and began transcribing, even if it wasn't a sanctioned document.

My hands scribbling in a frenzy, trying to get the words down on the page. I don't know why I hurried, the words weren't going to die, but I still felt a sense of urgency. As I flew through the sentences, there were no pauses. I read and read and read until there was nothing left. Finally, once the beating of my heart had slowed and my eyes blinked for the first time in minutes, I took a deep breath. Shoving the document into my knapsack, I looked at what had appeared on my notebook.

Hell hath no fury for those whose clock does not run out. We have become all that is evil and cruel in the world. All shall fear us and all shall die before the power of the Eternals. Helheimr.

-John Dee