those eyes of yours
could swallow stars,
galaxies and universes.
what hope did i ever have?
━━ david jones.

THE CELESTIAL, ARISHEM THE JUDGE, created Ares to kill. To murder. To shed the blood of his mistakes. The Eternal had killed countless of Deviants. But with each mission, with each world they fought to protect, their memories were erased and he would never remember the life he spent on that plant or how many Deviants he had truly slain in battle. (It was a terrifying number.) And he loved every bit of it. But there was one thing that Ares loved more than killing, and that was her.

Sersi was beautiful in every way possible, and he had loved her since the very first moment that he laid eyes on her. He tried so many times to tell Sersi how he felt, but always feared that she wouldn't return his love, and so Ares said nothing. But when his sister, Thena, encouraged him to finally confess his love for their fellow Eternal, it did not go as the God of War had hoped it would and the entire universe came crumbling down around him.

Because it was not his heart that Sersi desired. It was Ikaris that she loved, and Ikaris that she wedded, and Ikaris that she wanted until the end of time.

It broke his heart to watch them fall deeper in love over the centuries. Ares tried to ignore how his heart would tighten in his chest and how he felt like punching a hole into the core of the Earth every time he saw them together. But he couldn't. The pain in his heart was loud. It screamed and screamed and clawed and clawed. Always there, always reminding him she wasn't his to love. It was a pain that not even their Prime Eternal, Ajak, could ever heal.

When the last of the Deviants were eventually killed and the Eternals went their separate ways in the world, Ares was grateful for the newfound freedom. It gave him the chance to get as far away from Sersi and Ikaris that he could so that he would never have to see the woman he loved in another man's arms ever again. Both he and Gilgamesh left with Thena, vowing to protect the woman from her fragile psyche as it suffered under a crippling state of Mahd Wr'ry.

Ares tried to focus only on Thena and her health for centuries. He protected his sister from the fragility of her mind, and whenever something triggered the Mahd Wr'ry feasting on her soul, he would do everything that he could to help Thena return to a normal and calm state. Both he and Gilgamesh had come up with various methods over the centuries, and every time they used one of them, it would work and Thena would always remember.

But no matter how hard Ares tried to focus only on Thena, no matter how hard he tried to forget about Sersi, and no matter how much time had passed, he would never forget about the woman that had captured his heart with a single glance on the Domo as it drifted through space on the day that they arrived on Earth. She was always there. In his dreams, in his heart, in his soul. Ares knew that his love for the beautiful Eternal was everlasting. That she would haunt him forever.

Centuries later in the year 2023, Ares was still with Thena and Gilgamesh. And though Thena continued to suffer from Mahd Wr'ry and they would have to subdue her so that she wouldn't kill them as she mumbled things that never made much sense to either of them, they were happy together. They missed their family, of course, however the life they had built together in Australia was peaceful. But the peace they had together was disturbed when familiar faces arrived on their doorstep carrying dark news.

Ajak, the Prime Eternal, their mother figure, was dead. Killed by a Deviant on her beloved farm. The creatures had returned, and with them had come the devastating truth. Truth about their Purpose in the universe. Now the family must come together from across the globe to stop the Emergence from happening. Along the way, they are faced with difficult choices, betrayal, sacrifice and heartbreak. And Sersi? Well, she was still just as beautiful as Ares remembered.

And maybe this time, since they're faced with death and the destruction of their beloved Earth, Ares will finally open up his heart and tell Sersi just how much he loves her. Just how long he has loved her.

Maybe, just maybe, he will.

But . . . would she ever love him like Ikaris?

STARRING

michiel huisman　　ARES
( GOD OF WAR AND BLOODLUST )

gemma chan　　SERSI
( PROTECTOR OF HUMANITY )

WITH
　

aiysha hart ━ cythera
jurnee smollet-bell ━ kalliope
melisa aslı pamuk ━ eleos

&&

evan peters ━ eros / starfox
the hoah cast ━ their characters
other mcu cast ━ their characters

scan code to list on spotify

disclaimer: i do not own the marvel cinematic universe or any of its characters. all rights respectfully belong to the creators and owners. i do, however, take credit for all the original content found within this story. this story is also part of a series which means that some characters from other heart of a hero books may appear or be mentioned.

trigger warnings: violence, blood, death, vulgar language, grief, sexual content, etc.

dedicated to: christy sierra kelly destiny catie liz daniella elaine grace ashton rayna chloe eleanor haz amara tempestt clair kendi bee

author's note: well, here we go. a sersi fic. i went into the movie loving gemma and came out a sersi stan. can you blame me, tho? she was such a loveable character and her power was so cool to watch on screen! and the fact that she had both of my men (richard and kit) wrapped around her finger in the movie made me so happy hehe. however, in this fic, sersi won't be getting with dane. he is actually paired up with my other oc, eleos, whose fic will be posted soon. but sersi will still work with and be friends with dane bc eleos lives in london and sersi set them up together!

now, since i have ares in this fic and an oc based on aphrodite (cythera), their history together is going to be different than what we already know. yes, they'll have a connection, but it'll be strictly platonic between them. it was sprite that made up the stories about them being in love and all that. and sure, maybe at some point ares and cythera did have a small crush on each other, but their hearts always belonged to sersi and druig (yes cythera is paired with druig hehe) and so they just remained friends over the years

also, yes, ares is thena's sister. i honestly adored thena in the movie and wanted to give her a love interest but considering i already split up druig and makkari (who i stan) by giving them love interests, i decided not to separate thena from gil and instead gave her a platonic relationship in the form of a protective brother that will always be there for her. and i freaking love their sibling dynamic so much! like, they make killing deviants a competition and it is the best thing ever. you'll get heavy legolas and gimli vibes when they're in battle together lmao. and sersi and ares? well, maybe she will have some undiscovered feelings for him after all. or maybe she won't. i guess you'll just have to read this fic to find out what happens hehe 😉