Nymph visibly relaxed. She nodded, affirming Phos’s actions.

“Good. If that strange man approaches you again, shoot him in the heart!”

The Greater Lord of Nature was somehow even more violent than the Lesser Lord of Light. Phos was glad he carried around the white pistol Nymph had gifted him.

“Alright.

“How are you?” Phos put his hand onto his mattress, listening intently.

“Me…” Nymph sighed. “I lose my presence in the world each day.”

The conversation suddenly took a turn for the worse. Phos gulped down his words of comfort. He couldn’t say that everything would get better: Compared to just 100 years ago, the number of trees on Earth had gone down so much that Nymph was silently suffering.

“But, you know what, one day I’ll find the perfect place to plant this child. A place where it can grow big and strong and live for hundreds of years.” Nymph tilted her head in the direction of her white vase.

The small, thin willow branch trembled slightly.

“I’m sure you will.” Phos reached out to touch its long leaves. The branch accepted Phos’s hand.

After a while, Nymph dropped directly onto the bed.

“Do you have any ideas of the man that tried to attack you?” She pulled a pillow into her arms and glanced up at Phos.

“Not really… he had a really pretty sniper gun, though.” Recalling yesterday’s events, Phos suddenly grew envious of the stalker’s cool weapon.

“A sniper gun?” Nymph’s expression grew troubled. “Anything else?”

Phos lowered his eyes in thought.

Nymph watched Phos silently.

Minutes passed before Phos finally shook his head no.

“That’s alright. I have an idea of who it might have been, but it’s bad to convict others without solid proof…. Stay in Anima Mundi for a while; nothing can hurt you here.”

“Alright.”

Nymph suddenly reached out to touch Phos’s long hair, which glimmered when she brushed it. Phos didn’t move, used to Nymphs admiration for his glowing hair. He was fascinated by it too.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

When Nymph began braiding his hair into two pigtails, Phos decided to shift away. Nymph didn’t protest, and began playing with the small teddy bear at the side of Phos’s bed.

“You know the Lord of Metal, Kass?” Nymph started a new conversation.

“I’ve never met him before.” Phos gently undid the tiny twists in his hair.

“Oh. Well, he’s really tall. I think he’s cool. You’ll know when you see him; his silver hair shines almost like yours.”

“Tall, silver… got it.”

Burying her head in a pillow, Nymph continued to talk about Kass. Phos hadn’t heard her speak so admirably about anyone before. If he took her words in a certain context, he would have realized that Nymph likely had a crush on that Lord.

Romance wasn’t uncommon between Lords, even more so amongst gods. They couldn’t reproduce, so most affairs ended as flings. Everyone wanted to experience the human emotion called ‘love,’ after all.

“Did you know: Lords classified in the element ‘metal’ have the ability to create and forge things? That’s such a convenient skill.” Nymph rolled around on the bed.

“But, can’t you do that too?”

“All I can do is control and grow plants. And that doesn’t even matter anymore because those stupid humans keep cutting them down.” For a nature Lord, Nymph really seemed to hate humankind. “And that Fire Lord Pyre too! He thinks he can just let wildfires happen; that’s all he’s good for, plus he’s blind so of course he wouldn’t know.”

Phos jolted a bit. He still felt bad for taking the Fire Lord’s job. But the man being blind was something he never knew.

“Pyre…” Nymph repeated this name. “Pyre, when I catch you, Pyre….”

“Calm down.” Phos could practically see steam rising from Nymph’s head.

“I know, but when I see him, I’m going to give him a good scolding. You know, Pyre is a huge hermit. No one ever sees him, and when he’s spotted, he just ignores everyone and disappears! Who does he think he is, acting so important and mighty??”

This was also new information. No wonder Phos hadn’t seen Pyre for the 150 years he’d been alive. He felt glad that Pyre hadn’t chased him down yet.

“And those humans.” Nymph seethed. “Why humans… Can’t we serve birds? The Lord of Birds Ornis has such a great job; he gets to take care of such cute-looking animals.”

Phos was speechless. If the Lords of Earth served anything other than humans… the only reason they took on human forms was due to them being the majority species on Earth. But Phos somehow found that he wouldn’t mind being a bird.

His mind drifted to a world where everything revolved around birds: Ornis would practically be the God of Earth, and Nymph would have a greater influence. The Lords of other animals would have to be weary around birds, and they’d be much weaker too. Phos paled at the thought of a buff pigeon.

Buildings would be made of fallen sticks, food wouldn’t be complicated, and Phos…

Wouldn’t exist.

He slightly clenched his fists.

Nymph stood up, tired of talking.

“I’m mad now. I’m going to grow plants until I calm down.” She turned to leave.

“Stay safe; let’s talk again soon.” Phos just waved, digesting everything he’d just thought and heard.

He knew Nymph had a temper, and would say whatever came to mind, but she left Phos with more knowledge every time she left. He actually saw her as both a sister and a mentor with a spiky attitude, and appreciated the warnings and facts she’d drop every time she talked.

Kass, Pyre, Ornis. There were so many Lords he’d never met before!

This was partly due to how, whenever he wasn’t in his cottage, he was on Earth observing humankind. He’d given up on attending the annual conventions for Lords a long time ago. He just wanted to peacefully wander about and think deep thoughts about his existence.

So when he finally decided to take just one step outside and was greeted not by the warmth of the Sun but a metal bat to the head instead, he silently vowed in his heart to never explore the Anima Mundi again.