The sun began to set behind the western mountains as Arylos began collecting the umbrella and everything from the beach. Iris helped with cleaning the sand off of everything and collecting the various bags that were brought.

“Did you have fun?” Arylos asked as he picked the umbrella and began tying it shut.

“I did; thanks for taking us here,” Iris replied in a happy voice.

“Good, we can come back later in the week if you want to learn how to properly swim,” Arylos suggested while taking bags into his arms with the umbrella. “We have a whole month planned here so there’s no need to rush.”

“I’d like that,” Iris answered with a smile.

“Iris~!” a woman’s voice called out. Iris turned around and saw Eir and Bellona coming towards the duo.

“You ladies are finishing up too?” Arylos asked.

“Yep, we were actually on our way to the bathhouse and wanted to know if Iris wanted to come with us,” Eir answered while taking Iris’s hands.

Iris chuckled nervously as she turned towards Arylos. “I’d like to, but I have to help pack up here.”

Arylos laughed while shaking his head. “I got everything from here; you go have some fun at the bathhouse.”

“That’s not fair though,” Iris protested.

“I plan to bathe and meditate when I get back so it’s fine,” Arylos assured Iris while picking everything up. “Go now and have fun; I’ll be at the cottage when you’re done.”

“Come on!” Eir cheered with Bellona laughing in the background.

“Okay, I guess a bathhouse trip wouldn’t be bad,” Iris said with a laugh.

“See? I told you she can’t resist a bathhouse trip,” Bellona said while patting Eir’s shoulders and turning towards Arylos. “We’ll bring her back before it gets too late.”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Arylos said with a chuckle.

“Come on then, let’s go!” Eir called out while pulling Iris with her, all the while Arylos waving the women off.

“Why are you so insistent on going?” Iris asked while trying to pull free from the valkyrie.

“I’ve never been to a Kaiyumian bathhouse, and what better way to go than with an actual Kaiyumian?” Eir said with a big and excited smile.

“Wait, you don’t have bathhouses at Templarius?” Iris asked.

“Well, certain districts do, but not any of the Asgardian districts,” Bellona answered, thinking back to her home. “The Royal City has public volcanic bathhouses but the other districts usually rely on furnace-heated water. Doesn’t compare to natural volcanic springs.”

“That I can attest to,” Iris said while hiding a smile. “I haven’t been to a volcanic spring since I was a kid so this will be fun.”

“I’ve been to the volcanic springs of the Royal City once,” Bellona said while pounding on her chest. “They were really nice and definitely good for the old bones and muscles.”

The women continued their conversation as they walked through the streets until they came to a rustic building with dark wood and black metal frames. Iris followed the Templarians inside as Bellona made arrangements for the stay. An older woman led the group down the hallway and into a large dressing room complete with towels, robes, and boxes for items. As the women entered the room, Iris was assaulted by the humidity of the nearby bath that immediately made her sweat.

“Holy shit, I think my nose instantly cleared up,” Eir commented while rubbing her sinuses.

“That’s the power of a hot bath,” Iris said while taking in the smell of the damp air.

“Alright ladies, let’s get changed and I’ll get some drinks,” Bellona announced while grabbing another towel and undoing the straps of her swimsuit.

Iris blushed and grabbed a towel before ducking off into a corner. In the privacy of the corner, she began unstrapping her own swimsuit and quickly wrapping her towel around herself. “Uhh, let me know when you two are done in there,” Iris called out sheepishly while making sure the towel was secure around her body.

“Iris, are you being self-conscious again?” Bellona teased.

“I’m giving you guys privacy; that’s all,” Iris said while trying to shake her embarrassment.

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“Yeah, sure,” Eir said while laughing.

Iris groaned and slowly came out of her corner and she saw the half-naked Templarians still undressing. Iris covered her eyes for a moment until her eyes were drawn to Eir’s back. She felt her heart sink as she saw the deep scars Arylos left her with. The wounds had not healed over quite like Bellona’s; deep cavities of torn skin filled in by thin white skin that contrasted against her tanned complexion. The deep carving wounds made Iris cover her mouth as she pictured what it must have felt like; like having her arms physically torn off of her body.

Eir wrapped a towel around her body, hiding the scars as she turned and saw Iris staring at her. Iris quickly turned away, trying to hide what she was doing as she nervously rubbed her forearms.

“So, when do we jump in?” Eir asked with a smile, oblivious to Iris’s gaze.

“Hold on there girl, we don’t just jump into the water,” Bellona said while laughing sarcastically.

“S-She’s right,” Iris added while trying to revert to her normal self. “We clean ourselves and then we soak in the water.”

“Wouldn’t soaking clean us off?” Eir asked while approaching a sliding door to the bath.

“That would make the water dirty,” Iris explained while joining Eir in the room with the tub and pointing over towards a line of showers. “Therefore, we clean off and then we soak in the water to relax.”

“Sounds like a waste of water to me,” Eir commented while walking over towards the showers.

“Now now, I think it actually saves water,” Bellona said while coming over towards the showers and lowering her towel. Iris couldn’t help but stare at Bellona’s scars; not as deep and fresh as Eir’s, but still present. She noticed that the scars were longer and ran further down her back than Eir’s but Eir’s scars were wider and more vicious.

Iris shook the image from her mind as she ran towards one of the other stalls and ran the water, breathing in sharply under the heat of the shower. She kept her eyes towards the floor as she lathered soap in her hair, trying desperately to get the image out of her mind. She went into a meditative state for several minutes as she tried to forget what she saw.

Yet the image was still present in her mind. She remembered when Eir fought Arylos; how he tore her wings off with his bare hands and left her for dead. She remembered Eir’s screaming, the blood-soaked mud, the sound of flesh tearing like paper, the sound of bones cracking like wood. She remembered just what the Titan is and what he is capable of; the ability to strip a Templarian of their divinity is a testament to what he can do.

As Iris washed her hair, she slowly realised exactly why Arylos killed his people. If there was an entire civilization of people who were just like him and were willing to destroy her reality, she could only imagine what they would have been like if they succeeded. She gasped as she wondered just how strong Arylos had to be to eliminate his entire civilization. How he could have single handedly rendered the Titans extinct.

She slowly began to understand just what kind of creature the Titan is.

“Gah!” Eir called out in pain, breaking Iris from her trance.

“Are you alright?” Bellona quickly asked while Iris kept her eyes down.

“Yeah, it’s just my back,” Eir whispered while gasping while Iris ducked her head down, realising that the wounds still hurt even after a year.

“Here, let me help,” Bellona said as Iris could hear her walking out to help Eir. “Keep the towel tight to your back and keep the stream of water off of it. It will still sting, but it will hurt less.”

Iris swallowed a lump in her throat as she turned off the water and came over towards the Templarians as a half-naked Bellona helped Eir tighten down her towel. “Can I wash your back?” Iris asked softly.

“Eh?” Eir voiced in confusion as she saw the nervous Iris.

“Keeping it isolated can’t be healthy for the scars,” Iris said softly while trying to keep her emotions in check. “Let me wash it for you so it can be clean.”

Eir thought about what Iris was asking before looking towards Bellona. The two Templarians nodded and Eir sat down on a bench and lowered her towel. Iris grabbed a washcloth and lathered it with soap and water and gingerly placed it on Eir’s scarred back, warranting a gasp from the valkyrie.

“If it hurts too much, you can say no,” Iris said softly while gently rubbing around Eir’s scars.

“It’s fine; it’s gotten a lot better, especially since Bellona has helped me with treating it,” Eir assured with a soft laugh. “Before, it would hurt the moment anything touched. Now it’s not so bad.”

Iris ran her fingers along the scarred flesh, noting just how deep the scars ran and how much of the skin was damaged from what happened. Iris continued washing the valkyrie’s back while trying to contain tears. Bellona came over with a small bucket and gently washed Eir’s back with hot water and guided Iris’s hands over the wounds, showing her how to go gently over the scars.

“I’m sorry,” Iris whispered as her lips quivered. “I’m sorry that this happened to the both of you. It’s my fault.”

“Iris, honey, I had my wings cut off long before you were even born,” Bellona comforted Iris with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “There’s no way it’s your fault so stop blaming yourself.”

“But Arylos did this, and he’s my responsibility,” Iris said while starting to lose the fight against her tears. “And you specifically Eir; he did this to you because of me.”

Eir let out a sigh as she tried to find words for Iris. “You lost your village because of me. I lost my wings and can’t go home because of Arylos, effectively losing my family too. I’d say we’re just about even.”

Iris couldn’t help but to let the tears fall as she hugged Eir from behind. “I’m sorry that I destroyed Nageki,” Eir continued softly while reaching up to hold Iris’s hand. “I can only hope that you didn’t lose everything because of me.”

Iris separated from the valkyrie and rubbed the tears from her eyes. “And I’m sorry that you lost Templarius because of me.”

“Aww, look at the two of you finally making up with each other,” Bellona said while patting Iris on the back.

Eir turned around to face Iris and the two of them laughed for a moment. “Well, I’d say we’re just about clean,” Iris said with her mind back in the right place. “I’d say we get in that hot water and drink.”

“I have a mind to agree with Iris here,” Bellona said while wrapping a towel around herself.

Eir didn’t hesitate as she jumped up and awkwardly fast-walked over to the large volcanic spring with Iris in tow. Iris could not help but purge the sad thoughts from her; she wanted to live and be happy, to regain the life she lost.

And if that meant living with a creature like the last Titan, so be it.