A couple of days had passed since then, with Kass overtaking Phos’s household chores. Lords didn’t need to eat, but Kass would come up with something new every day, and Phos marvelled at the man’s intelligence when it came to anything other than… intelligence.

One morning, the twittering of birds and the fine weather made Phos feel both confident and reckless. He tore off the cast bound tightly around his arm and forced open the door, storming to Kass who was working at the kitchen.

“Teach me how to cook.”

Kass looked up, surprised.

“You want to learn how to…??? But light-bro, you’re not fully healed yet!!” Kass pushed Phos down onto a sofa. “Did you take your cast off??? Pyre will kill me! Put it back on this instant!”

Deadpanning, Phos hooked the tin whistle around his finger. He leaned back, one arm resting on the arm of the sofa, his entire body languid and relaxed. Sunlight shone on his delicate face, giving it a soft shimmer. Coupled with the pure white pyjamas hanging loosely from his body, Kass inexplicably froze.

“Scared?” Phos chuckled, twirling the whistle about.

Kass swallowed back a ‘no.’

“Light-bro, has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?” He changed the topic, omitting the fact that his trauma with the whistle had been resolved when it left Pyre’s control. He’d long been alright, simply playing along with the Lesser Light Lord’s commands.

Although…. The whistle did hold great power. Kass felt more obliged to agree to Phos’s requests, rather than directly shutting him down as he usually would.

Phos’s expression towards Kass was strange. He wondered if a ghost had possessed the Lord of Metal.

“Me? Beautiful?? After you scarred me—” He tugged open the cleavage of his pyjamas for emphasis.

There was no scar.

“...”

His chest and arm didn’t even hurt anymore. The ragged line streaking red and bloodied across his body had vanished into thin air.

From when? How?? Questions barraged Phos’s mind, and he fell backwards in his chair.

“Light-bro!!” Kass’s arms extended, reaching out to catch him.

As he stabilised himself, Phos resolutely slapped Kass’s hand away. He pulled open his shirt, glaring up at the Lord of Metal with wide, confused eyes.

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“The scar—you—what—” His breath shook. “Where did it go?”

Kass frowned slightly and brought a hand to his chin, thinking. After a while, he straightened his back and shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

Outside the open window, birds gathered on a branch and twittered to each other.

A certain Lord of Birds held out his hand, and a tiny sparrow stepped lightly onto it. The Lord had tufted black hair tied into a braid, and his eyes shined red like a crane’s. He had the appearance of a playful child, with feathers around his eyes and on his back, pretending to be an overlord as he lay high above in the sky.

A small smile played on the boy’s lips. He turned, planting a kiss on the sparrow’s tiny head.

Both Phos and Kass didn’t know that they’d been seen, and that a rumour was going around the Anima Mundi:

That the Lesser Lord of Light had seduced the Greater Lord of Metal into becoming a house-pet bedwarmer!

Pyre’s grip on his coffee cup tightened so much that it burst into pieces and scattered like poultry feed.

Meanwhile, Phos marvelled at his beautiful skin. He stood before a mirror, patting across his arm, to his wrist—everywhere Kass had once disfigured.

“How did Pyre do this? He must have some sort of magical medicine.”

“This is the fifth time you’ve asked.” Kass watched Phos wearily.

“But—but, isn’t this just amazing??” Phos twirled, his orange scarf billowing out with the design of an open flame.

“This is the fifth time you’ve twirled too, light-bro.” Kass deadpanned. “I didn’t even touch your back.”

He shut up when Phos glared up at him.

The little light lord sure was intimidating, for a being who stood at only 163 cm—or 5’4— without his heels. Kass was nearly a head taller than Phos, but the pressure that a single gaze from the light lord held was intense.

This was so different from the Light Lord Kass had heard about in stories that he felt a little bit surprised.

“Light-bro, I’ve always wanted to ask this.” Tentatively, Kass held his arms akimbo. “Why are you so nice outside? Both here and on Earth, people are calling you the ‘Harbinger of Light.’ Not just because you glow, but also because of your contributions to nature and Gods and Lords and…”

“They call me ‘nice?’ ” Phos’s eyes lit up.

“You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t!” The Light Lord’s personality shifted 180 degrees. “Well, to be honest, I didn’t even help out that much… just whoever needed it, you know?”

Kass somewhat understood the meaning of the phrase ‘two-faced.’

“Mhm…” He nodded his head, afraid.

A thought flashed through his mind.

“Right, light-bro, are you going to attend the ‘Summit of the Lords?’ ”

“Maybe.” Phos had gotten so used to Kass’s calling that he just accepted it.

The ‘Summit of the Lords’ event was a large social gathering for Lords specifically. Both Greater and Lesser Lords could attend to discuss worldly events, trade special items, or just to catch up with old friends. Phos had long abandoned this festivity, feeling that finding a greater understanding for his purpose in life was more important. Furthermore, with this mindset, Phos thought that many Lords would look down on him for his position, stolen from both the Sun God Helios and the Fire Lord Pyre.

He shook his head, getting rid of these thoughts.

“Do you want to go?” Phos asked Kass in return, trying to be considerate. If the Lord of Metal could shield him from socialising too much, he’d definitely take another look around the venue.

“Mhm, I’ve decided to go to find Nymph.” Kass huffed proudly. “I know where she lives, but it’s not nice to barge into a Lord’s home.”

Phos stepped away from Kass.

“Well.” He raised his hands and sighed. “I’ll go too, if you protect me from evil Lords.”

“It’s settled then, light-bro!” Kass replied immediately, his energetic smile lighting the room up more than Phos’s hair.