Marvel's Druidic God ♾️

A Place Trapped in Time

Maplewood was the kind of town where time moved slowly—so slowly that some believed it had forgotten how to move at all. Days blended together, seasons changed without fanfare, and the concept of destiny was nothing more than a story parents told their children before bed.

Nestled between dense forests and winding country roads, it was a place where tradition reigned, change was unwelcome, and dreams faded before they could take root.

For many, it was enough.

A town where people were born, lived, and died in quiet obscurity, content to let the world beyond Maplewood's borders pass them by.

But for Ethan Carter, it was suffocating.

At seventeen, he had no reason to complain. His life wasn't tragic, nor was it filled with hardship. He had a home, a family, a future laid out for him.

But that was the problem.

Everything felt static, like he was following a path that had been carved out long before he was born. A script written by someone else, dictating a future that wasn't truly his.

He longed for something more. Not just adventure or excitement—but purpose.

A reason for the restlessness coiled in his chest like an unanswered call.

But in a town like Maplewood, there was no room for purpose beyond what was expected.

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The Weight of the Everyday

The halls of Maplewood High were always the same.

The same voices filled the air, the same lessons were taught, the same jokes were laughed at. Nothing ever changed.

"Another day of meaningless repetition."

Ethan moved through the familiar corridors, watching as his classmates carried on, absorbed in lives that made sense to them.

"They're fine with this. They don't feel it."

That was the part he couldn't understand.

"Why am I the only one who feels like something is missing?"

School wasn't difficult. If anything, it was too easy. He grasped concepts quickly, memorized facts without effort—but it never meant anything.

Math, history, science... all of it felt hollow.

Teachers often told him, "Ethan, you have so much potential. You just need to focus."

"Focus on what? A future I don't even want?"

Because how could he focus on things that felt so small compared to the vast, unshaped future he could almost touch, but never reach?

He wasn't an outcast, nor was he alone. He had friends, acquaintances, people he could talk to. But none of them understood.

Because how could he explain the way the wind sometimes carried a whisper he could almost understand?

Or the way shadows stretched just a little too long in the dying evening light?

Or the way the woods behind his house hummed beneath his feet, like something ancient was stirring beneath the soil?

"It doesn't make sense. It shouldn't be real."

And yet, he knew it was.

---

A Family That Loved Him, But Didn't Understand

Despite his isolation, Ethan had never lacked love at home.

His father, James Carter, was a mechanic—steady hands, simple truths. A man who believed in hard work, discipline, and practicality. He had built a life in Maplewood, just as his father had before him, and expected Ethan to do the same.

Not out of cruelty—but out of certainty.

His mother, Rachel Carter, was gentler. A school librarian, she encouraged his curiosity but often reminded him to stay grounded.

"Wonder is a beautiful thing, Ethan," she would say. "But you can't live in dreams alone."

And then there was Claire.

His fourteen-year-old sister. Sharp. Observant. Far more perceptive than anyone gave her credit for.

Unlike their parents, she noticed things.

One evening, as they sat on the porch, she spoke without looking at him.

"You always look like you're searching for something."

Ethan tensed.

"Like you're waiting for something to happen."

He had laughed it off.

But the truth of her words stayed with him.

He was waiting.

For what, he didn't know.

---

The Night Everything Changed

The attic was a place of forgotten things—dust-covered boxes, old furniture, relics of the past no one cared to remember.

Ethan never had a reason to go up there.

Until that night.

His feet moved without thinking, his body acting on an impulse he couldn't explain.

The wooden stairs creaked beneath his weight. The air was thick with dust, heavy with a stillness that felt… unnatural.

His flashlight cut through the dark, illuminating stacks of books, old trunks, faded photographs.

And then—he saw it.

A tome, buried beneath a tattered cloth.

Hidden.

Yet impossible to ignore.

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Prologue Part 2 - The Discovery in the Attic: A Rift Between Worlds

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The Tome That Shouldn't Exist

It was ancient.

Bound in dark leather that looked untouched by time. Symbols, etched into its surface, shifted beneath his gaze—changing, rearranging, almost as if they were alive.

Ethan's breath hitched.

He shouldn't touch it.

"But I have to."

His fingers brushed against the cover.

And the world changed.

---

The Awakening of Power

A pulse of energy surged through him.

Not painful. Not harsh.

But powerful.

The air grew heavy, charged with something ancient, something unseen.

The symbols glowed, their soft light spilling into the dark.

His pulse raced.

And then—

A whisper.

A voice without a speaker.

'You were never meant for an Ordinary life.'

His body locked in place.

'Your Destiny was alway something greater.'

The book opened on its own.

---

The Rift Between Worlds

Pages flipped violently, faster than his eyes could follow. A soft, golden mist began to rise, curling around him like living energy.

A tear formed in the air before him—a rift of pure light.

It expanded.

Grew.

Until it swallowed the entire attic.

The house.

The world.

Everything.

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The Last Moment in Maplewood

For a fraction of a second, he saw his reflection in the rift.

But it wasn't just him.

His eyes glowed.

Pulsing with the same golden-green energy that surrounded him.

"What… am I?"

And then—

The attic vanished.

Maplewood was gone.

And Ethan Carter fell into the unknown.

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