Arylos, Iris, and Moviron looked at the vacant air where Anoron once stood with three different emotions; the Titan with rage, the Templarian hybrid girl with confusion, and the Kaiyumian king with awe. Even in Anoron’s absence, his presence left a mark that would be hard to ignore. Iris found herself wondering about the similarities between Arylos and Anoron; their arrogant natures, their aggressive behavior, and their blatant hatred for one another. She knew Arylos couldn’t trust Anoron and the same may have been the same for Anoron himself, yet now that the danger had subsided, she began to realize that she was in fact in danger just being around the two ancients.

“Was that really wise, Arylos?” Moviron asked, breaking the silence.

“Him coming to me and insulting me? Not really,” Arylos said with a dismissive grunt.

“I meant you insulting him,” Moviron corrected while letting out a sigh like he had been holding his breath. “We just came off of an Eikon attacking us; I’d rather not see what happens when the two of you clash.”

Arylos grunted once more and looked towards Iris, eyeing her down for any injuries before turning back towards Moviron. “Are you alright?” he asked, motioning towards Moviron’s neck.

“I’ve had worse; trust me,” Moviron answered with a nervous laugh while covering the bruises on his neck.

“That was still not fair of me, and I’m sorry I lost control and lashed at you,” Arylos said while slowly approaching Moviron with concern painted on his face.

“Trust me, he gets under my skin too,” Moviron said while patting Arylos’s arm in a friendly gesture. “To be bluntly fair, he attacked my men so I was more afraid of him than you.”

“Wait, why would he do that?” Iris asked angrily.

“Fear is a strong motivator,” Moviron explained cryptically with a heavy sigh. “My men attacked him out of fear, thinking he was an Eikon. I guess for him, it’s easier to explain who you are with your sword.”

“That’s not a good way of explaining that he’s not a threat,” Iris grumbled while crossing her arms.

“That was not his point; he wanted to show that he is a threat,” Arylos cut in with a disappointed sigh. “There’s no explanation he could give those soldiers that would calm them down, but they would definitely understand that they were hilariously outgunned.”

“And of course the only thing that got their attention was me kneeling to him,” Moviron cut in, letting out a shuddered sigh.

“Ah; if the king bows, then you are to bow as well,” Arylos said with disdain in his voice. He glanced around, satisfied that no one was close enough to witness the whole ordeal before turning back towards Moviron. “We’re fine now, you should go to the men he attacked; you need to be with them more than us.”

Moviron let out a sigh before resting a hand on Arylos’s shoulder. “Thank you, old friend,” he said in a relieved voice before running down the stone road, leaving Iris and Arylos alone at the table as she cast a glance at the remaining cup of wine on the table.

“Don’t you think we should help Anoron?” Iris asked in a soft voice.

“Why the hell would I do that?” Arylos said in a sharp and sudden growl, keeping his back towards Iris.

“Because we can help people,” Iris said, taking a defensive tone.

“Help his people, and what will I get in return?” Arylos returned, his growling deeper as he finally looked towards Iris with burning rage in his red eyes. “The same people who ridicule and hate me, the same people who turned away when I needed their help. Why should I throw away my life of peace so they can enjoy theirs?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Iris cut in while approaching the Titan and grabbing his arm. “Wouldn’t you want them to do the same for us?”

“And yet they didn’t,” Arylos growled while pulling away from Iris and leaning against his staff. “I have to bear the weight of these deaths myself; they can shoulder the weight of their own dead without me.”

Iris shook her head and scoffed in disappointment as she continued to chase Arylos. “Seriously, what has gotten into you?” she shouted while grabbing Arylos’s arm and yanking him back to her. “This isn’t like you at all; do you really hate the Templarians that much?”

“I will not choose!” Arylos roared while pulling his arm back from Iris, staring her down with bloodlust in his eyes as he growled with bared fangs like a defensive wolf. “I will not choose between my family or them.”

“But Arylos, they’re innocent in this,” Iris said cautiously, resisting the urge to grab the raging Titan’s hand.

“And so are you; their lives are worth nothing compared to yours!,” Arylos howled with a scornful expression that made Iris find more wrinkles than she had ever seen him with. “Do not make me choose them over you,” he continued with deep draconic growls.

“I’m not asking you to choose them over me, honey,” Iris said softly while reaching up for Arylos’s face. Yet before she could touch him, he growled and turned away, denying himself his weakness to her.

“You are my priority, no one else will ever come before you,” Arylos said in a deep growl.

Iris grunted in frustration, losing control over her emotions. “So what, you would just leave Templarius to die just so we can live here in these caverns?”

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Arylos gritted his teeth as he looked back at Iris with a fire in his eyes. “If it meant your safety, I would happily burn Templarius to the ground and dance on its ashes.”

“And what of the families you’ll kill? Families just like us? Husbands, wives, children?” Iris asked in a borderline scream.

“Their lives amount to nothing compared to yours,” Arylos repeated in a deep growl but keeping his voice steady.

“Enough of that!” Iris shouted while shaking her head. “Are you really going to tell me that you are the monster I say you’re not? You think that’s love, but that’s obsession! If that’s how you feel, then you don’t love me!”

A nerve popped in Arylos as he howled as if in pain before punching a nearby stone wall with a thundering force, summoning the strength that had otherwise left him. Iris watched as cracks formed along his skin and black blood began to pour from the cracks yet the Titan kept his eyes locked on Iris. She looked into his eyes and could only see rage that churned with the burning red light of his eyes. She stood her ground but she felt an old scar open inside her. She knew calling Arylos out on his emotions hurts him, yet she felt that she crossed a line that she shouldn’t have. Her expression softened as she realized that he could tolerate being called a monster and his integrity questioned. But there was one thing that was off limits.

And the wrathful expression he wore told her that she crossed that line.

Arylos pulled his hand away from the wall and Iris could clearly see the broken bones of his fingers as they remained limp while gushing blackened blood. Yet even in the obvious discomfort, Arylos watched her with a rage in his eyes that Iris had never been on the receiving end of. Slowly, he unclenched his jaw and let out a deep sigh as he looked away from Iris. She watched his eyes dart around and she realized that he knew he had crossed a line himself; he never meant her any harm yet he did just threaten her. Iris found that the worst part wasn’t that he let out his anger; it was that she was unafraid of the monster.

“I’m sorry that I lost control again,” Arylos said softly while holding his broken hand close to his chest. “That was never meant for you, I just needed to clear my mind.”

Iris thought about his apology for a time before sighing herself, realizing that she had been holding her breath. “You do handle physical pain better than emotional pain,” she remarked softly while resisting the urge to take Arylos’s bleeding hand. “I’m sorry too. I stomped on how you felt and questioned something that you take seriously.”

Arylos grunted as he looked to Iris with a softer look to his eyes. “Do you really think I don’t love you?” he asked softly, almost ashamed.

“I–” Iris began before silencing herself, trying to form her words carefully. “It’s not that I don’t think you love me, but you don’t love me like a normal person,” she explained, still unable to find the right words. “Like, I would never ask you to murder for me to keep me safe. That’s not normal.”

“Is that not what I have done already?” Arylos asked in a confused voice, bringing up what he had done and the people he had fought so he could keep Iris safe. “Shouldn’t any husband be willing to fight to protect his family? Is that not my sole purpose in life?”

Iris opened her mouth to speak but silenced herself, unable to speak the words on her mind. She felt as though she dug herself into a hole and anything she said would only hurt him more. “And yet you wouldn’t do the same for me,” Arylos cut in, stealing the confession from Iris before she could say it.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t do the same,” Iris quickly jumped in to defend herself.

“Yet you would ask me to kill Eikons but not for your sake,” Arylos corrected while tilting his head as his red eyes pierced through Iris.

“It’s not like that,” Iris cut in while waving her arms. “If you stop the Eikons you’ll save everyone including me; think about it like that.” She slowly came closer to Arylos and reached for his broken hand but the Titan growled and pulled his arm away.

“You are my only priority,” Arylos reiterated in a deep growl that resonated in Iris’s ears. Iris was silent as she watched the Titan carefully, wondering if she could find something to say that would make it better. Before words could come to her once more, Arylos glanced behind her and Iris could hear running footsteps approach. She turned around and saw Bellona running towards the duo as fast as she could.

“Are you two of you okay?!” Bellona asked as she approached, gasping for air as she approached.

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Iris answered softly.

Bellona struggled to catch her breath as she held her arms above her head. “I heard a loud boom, are you sure you’re okay?”

Iris nodded before turning to Arylos and Bellona caught sight of his broken hand and she gasped. “Holy shit, what happened?!” she jumped in while rushing towards Arylos, yet the Titan kept his injury away from her and cast a glance towards Iris. In his eyes, Iris could see some of his anger return to him.

“24-hour rule?” he asked softly while keeping his burning eyes locked on Iris.

“Huh? What’s that?” Bellona asked while turning towards Iris.

Iris looked to the ground as she fought with the conflicting emotions inside of her. Slowly, she nodded while trying to fight back the sting of tears in her eyes. “24-hour rule,” she answered softly.

Arylos grunted softly with a nod and turned away from Bellona and Iris, walking down the cavern. “Wait, but your hand!” Bellona hollered after the Titan and took a few steps forward to chase him but she felt a strong force push her away, almost like a wall had been dropped in front of her. She reached out and her hand touched the magic and she could feel it bubble like sparkling water against her skin. It took her a while to hear the familiar growling in the air as she watched Arylos walk away, holding his broken arm close.

“What happened to him? What’s this ‘24-hour rule’?” Bellona asked, beginning to pelt her with questions.

Iris sighed and sat back down on the table nearby and began coughing softly into her sleeve. She looked back up to Bellona with sadness in her eyes. “It’s a rule so if we start to fight and we feel like we’re just going in circles and yelling or hurting each other, we stop talking about the subject until the next day,” Iris explained while motioning to the crater in the wall still dripping blackened blood.

“Wouldn’t that just be dodging the problem?” Bellona asked in concern while taking a seat next to Iris.

“It keeps us from hurting each other,” Iris explained while wrapping her arms around herself. “We had a very bad fight after Reyz attacked Sentoraya where we went around in circles rather than talking through our problems like adults. So we made the 24-hour rule so we can focus on the problem with clear heads rather than just shouting at each other.

“Wow, I’ve never thought the two of you capable of fighting,” Bellona said in concern and with awe.

“We rarely do,” Iris said softly before tears started to well up and she covered her face as she began to cry. “But I think I did it this time,” she cried while tugging on her hair.

“Oh come on Iris, it’s okay; you don’t need to beat yourself up over it,” Bellona said while rubbing Iris’s back.

“No, you don’t get it; I really messed up,” Iris continued crying as she dug her nails into her scalp. “I accused him of not loving me, and I know that hurts him.”

Bellona let out a sigh while taking Iris and hugging her tight and letting the girl cry into her chest. “It’s okay, Iris,” she whispered softly while rubbing her scalp, shocked to see that Iris wouldn’t lash out like she normally would. “You can tell mama-Bellona anything; so let it out, honey.”

Iris couldn’t help herself as she returned Bellona’s embrace tighter than the Templarian warrior was expecting. She howled as hot tears clouded her face and her nose began to run. For the first time in a while, she felt vulnerable and there was no Titan to keep her safe.

Only the surrogate mother that adopted her unknowingly.