After their small camp the previous night, the group continued northeast to Sentoraya, the northern capital until they found a small bathhouse for the group to rest for the night.

The room they rented was bright with a burnt ombre shade of stain on the wooden walls and sunlight shining in through cream coloured screens. The centre of the room had one wide and short table with cushions surrounding it and even a torotsu, a table with a small coal heater underneath the table and a skirt of thick sheets, sat near a screen door at the far side of the room. This room had a private bath as opposed to the normally public one.

The hostess recommended Arylos and Iris share a room due to Iris’s immobility so Arylos can assist her. While improving since the fight, she was still relatively defenceless.

The two sat at the edge of a tall bed at one side of the room, taking a moment’s respite after carrying in their things.

“Can you move your legs?” Arylos asked, kneeling in close.

Iris kicked her legs, but couldn’t keep them raised or kick hard. An improvement compared to her nearly immobilised state yesterday, but still not fully recovered. She relayed this to Arylos who nodded.

“What happened to me?” Iris asked.

“You took Helion’s power into your body, something your mortal body has never had to do,” Arylos answered. “It was sort of like an adrenaline rush, but with the power of a Templarian.”

Iris looked down at her hands and at her sword tucked away in its corner. “I could do that?” she asked, trying to process that she wielded such power.

“Surprised me too,” Arylos responded. “But for now, leave the divine power heroics to me. My body, while still mortal, can cope with that energy a lot easier than you can.”

Iris nodded. She didn’t even know how she did it, much less how to control it. So it probably is best saved as an extreme last resort. Especially with the fact that using it for those brief moments leadened her body and knocked her out for three days.

“Arylos,” Iris called out in a soft voice, “you don’t have to treat me like a feeble child, you know.”

Arylos sighed. “I’m sorry that’s how I’m coming across,” he told her. “You’re like this because of my own weakness; my own inability to fight properly.”

Iris muttered to herself as Arylos set a towel next to Iris and got up, taking off his cloak and laying it on the low table in the centre of the room. “I don’t know about you,” he said with a sigh, “but that hot water sounds really good right now.”

Iris nodded. Despite her emotions, she did want to soak in the hot water, if not to relax so she can process everything with a cool head. She closed the screen door to the small bedroom and began undressing, her sleepwear now needing a good wash before it could be used again. Her skin felt clammy with old sweat and her hair a knotted mess even with the braid undone. It really has been a while since she had a proper cleaning, even if most of that time was spent unconscious.

She tied her hair in a loose ponytail and wrapped the towel around her body and tucked it in. “I’m ready when you are!” she called out to Arylos, ready to enjoy a nice relaxing time.

A few moments later, a towel-clad Arylos opened the screen door. He had his hair tied back in a loose bun and nothing but a towel around his waist. For the first time, Iris noticed that the tattoos and scars covering his body even stretched down to his legs. Intricate patterns of foreign make that seemed alluring and yet haunting and all seeming to follow the muscles bulging under his pale skin that bore more scars. The writing along the tattoos came in various languages, none of which Iris recognised. She silently wondered what all of these tattoos meant.

But she couldn’t help but chuckle; Arylos looked a lot like a grizzled warrior who had seen ten too many battles and was headed for a bath, which really isn’t too far off from the truth in hindsight.

The two walked over to the screen door on the back side of the room. Arylos opened the door and Iris’s eyes sparkled with joy as she admired the small natural hot spring, the sound of the water bubbling and the steam filling the air. Dark, natural stones surrounded the spring’s edge and a lush green garden beyond it complete with a set of small showers off to the side for cleaning before jumping in the spring water.

Arylos guided Iris over to the showers and went to the other side so he could shower. Iris turned the faucet and enjoyed the soothing feeling of the water on her skin. Finally, she could be clean.

Almost half an hour passed and Iris still couldn’t shake the feeling that this seemed out of place. That or the fact that thirty minutes later and she still doesn’t feel as clean as she would like. Spending days without a proper bath after fighting an undead that had mud for blood really takes its toll.

Another doubt plagued her mind; if Arylos didn’t save her, she could have ended up just like Myrra. If Arylos got away and Yokubo had his way, does that mean Arylos may have come back to Nageki to kill her if she became an Arkin? Could he bring himself to do that?

I’ve seen the man stare as he cut out the heart of his best friend with emotionless and dead eyes.

Keratos’s words came back to Iris. Maybe Arylos wouldn’t have cared and instead saw her as a monster just like he saw the Arkin in Torasu. Arylos has been the man to do what he needs to do; to hell with the consequences.

Iris heard the other shower turn off and footsteps come over and so she wrapped the towel around her as she prepared herself.

Arylos came around the corner with his fists on towelled hips and his beard and hair white and full of soap, but his hair spiked like he was some kind of ragamuffin, and a big and goofy fanged grin. “KYAAA HA HA HA HA!” he laughed loudly in a deep voice.

Iris stared. Then she coughed. Then she started choking on her own laughter. She threw a bucket of water at Arylos’s head, landing perfectly to cover his face and dousing him in water. But he still stood strong and proud like nothing would move him from that spot.

“Who the hell are you, Berudora?” Iris asked between bouts of laughing.

Arylos removed the bucket from his face. “That’s Veldora to you,” he told Iris with his tongue sticking out.

Iris slowly contained her laughter as best as she could. “Whatever the case, why do you do that?” she asked accusingly. “You’re all mean and cool one second and then the next you’re a man-child.”

“I could say the same for you,” he replied with a laugh. “You’re all sad and sombre one moment and then you’re a giddy little girl the next.”

Iris couldn’t help but blush. “I’m still an adult you know!” she complained.

Arylos only resumed his goofy laugh and the two went over to the spring and the hot water made Iris’s skin feel like it was going to melt and become one with the water. She gasped as the water took a hold of her from the cold air and would never let her go.

Arylos went over out of eyeshot and returned with a set of small towels and a bucket. He slowly stepped in the waters, groaning in relief as he sat down and let go of the bucket, letting it float between Iris and him.

Iris saw inside the bucket was a bottle of nozomi, a kind of rice alcohol that she had only once before, and two small cups. Arylos soaked one of the towels in the waters and rested it on his forehead while opening the bottle of the drink.

He poured the drink into one of the cups and offered it to Iris, which she gratefully accepted with a big smile and Arylos poured himself a cup.

“Hey Arylos?” Iris asked. “If you hadn’t helped me in Nageki, could I have become an Arkin just like Myrra?”

Arylos took a drink of the wine, savouring its flavour. “It’s possible,” he responded. “I had an idea of what Yokubo had planned for you; whether or not your anger could turn you into an Arkin is another matter entirely.”

Iris stared into the small cup of wine. “If that happened, would you have to kill me?” she asked him. “Could you kill me if you had to?”

Arylos sighed and poured himself another glass. “Do not dwell on such matters,” he replied. “What’s important is that you’re here and alive now. So don’t worry too heavily about what could have been and focus on what is.”

Iris thought for a moment and took a drink. The wine was dry with a touch of sweetness. The alcohol burned but went down smooth like warm honey. A pleasant experience that could send shivers across the skin; a sensation Iris felt she could become addicted to as she felt her cheeks fluster.

Iris exhaled sharply as her body took in the alcohol and she could feel herself loosen up. Arylos handed her a small towel soaked in the spring water and she rested it on her forehead. The heat of the towel accompanied with the alcohol, the spring water, and the cold afternoon air was all too much for her; a feeling of relaxation one could lose themselves in. Iris realised that Arylos definitely knows how to relax.

Arylos let out a deep sigh as he let himself fully stretch out in the bath water. His three millennia old bones were finally showing their age for the first time. This water was exactly what he needed, although now he could feel just how worn out this body had become.

Iris looked to Arylos again as he instinctively poured her another glass without even looking. She wanted to ask what the tattoos and scars are, but she felt that now was not the best time. For now, forget doubts and worries; this was time to relax, their worries to be drunk deep and turned into laughter just like the wine they were drinking.

“You didn’t!” a very drunk and blushing Iris yelled to Arylos.

“I did!” a just as drunk Arylos replied, flexing his arm muscles. “Cleaved it, as I’ve been saying, in twain!”

The sun now had long set and the duo enjoyed the three-mooned night sky from the open door while sitting next to each other under the warmth of the torotsu, freshly changed into clean yokuis; Iris her black and red one she got in Kajisho and Arylos wearing a blue and black one that was given to him for the night that was sized just a little loose and left his upper chest exposed. Several empty bottles of nozomi littered the table; a sign of a night well spent.

“There’s no way you can cut through a boulder with a sword!” Iris said, eyes shining in awe.

Arylos grinned. “Maybe not with those noodle arms of yours!” he joked with a big grin.

Iris gasped and punched Arylos’s arm repeatedly. “Take that back!” she ordered, all the while Arylos was just laughing at this girl.

Iris eventually stopped her barrage and took another drink of the wine. She couldn’t remember the last time she had this much fun with someone and it was enough to drown her sorrows.

“Hey Arylos?” she called out, starting to hiccup. “I wanted to thank you for being here.”

“What do you mean?” Arylos asked, taking another drink.

Iris blushed, both from the alcohol and embarrassment. “I’ve never had a friend that I could just drink and laugh like this with. It’s kind of hard when you’re the village elder’s daughter; everyone either respects you too much or doesn't want to anger my father. Or someone tries to marry you so they can be patriarch. You don’t get normal friendships like this.”

Arylos took a moment and pondered what Iris was saying. She was drunk but she was speaking honestly.

“I can understand,” he replied, gently petting Iris’s head. “It’s kind of hard when you’re the last Titan; everyone either fears you or worships you. Or someone tries to kill you. You don’t get a normal life like this.”

Iris’s heart nearly exploded; she had her friend, her first real friend. He wasn’t just staying around because of a promise he made; he was genuinely there for her. The only people who were there for her like this were her parents and they weren’t the type to get stupid drunk. And now Arylos was showing his soft side.

Iris smirked; he was showing his vulnerable side.

With all of her strength, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Arylos and the two drunk idiots fell backwards to the floor.

“Gotcha,” Iris whispered with her face in the matted floor, muffling her chuckles.

The two laughed until Arylos could feel his mind slip, his vision blur, his senses dull. He slowly lost feeling in his body as it felt like it was sinking into the floor. Suddenly, his vision went black and it felt as though he fell into a deep black ocean, the view of the room above the water’s surface rapidly fading from view.

Arylos had lost all connection to his body and all that remained was a small flame in the endless black. It was as though he was freed from his mortal body and now formless. Did his mortal body die? Did he hit his head too hard when Iris knocked him down?

No.

He had simply lost consciousness. This was the same sensation when Iris’s ancestors bound him. He was still in that body, but now losing awareness of the outside world. He had to remember to not panic; this had all happened before. More than likely, he drank himself into slumber. He’s now reduced to a bodiless flame; if anything, this state is natural for him. So he allowed his mind to drift through the dark ocean; he won’t fight back.

Titan.

A dark voice called out from the ocean; sinister and rumbling. Glowing purple eyes stared at him from within the abyss, each time a new pair appeared, another voice called out. He found himself set on all sides by the glowing eyes and for once, Arylos felt fear; a deep dread of a sin he cannot shake. His mind was being surrounded by this evil presence, clouded by his own doubt.

No, he told himself, the war is over. It’s all over. I won’t have to do it again.

From the abyss, he could see six hooded figures with similar purple eyes.

No, he reminded himself, it’s never over, is it?

The voices responded as one. Never, not so long as one of us lives.

Arylos roared and the dark abyss was consumed with fire, burning away all of the eyes around him.

Arylos felt his consciousness return to him in that moment and he opened his eyes. Through an incredibly blurred vision, he could tell he was still on the floor in the room at the bathhouse. Sunlight was pouring in from the outside; daylight had come.

He turned to his side and saw a sleeping Iris, mouth wide in a big smile, snoring, and using Arylos’s arm for a pillow.

Arylos shook his head. It was just a dream, and should it come to pass, he won’t involve Iris; the girl has had enough fighting and torment. He wanted to see her keep that smile, he would make sure that she wouldn’t cry like when her father died.

As if on cue, Iris woke up, looking at Arylos with obviously hungover eyes. “Good morning,” she greeted in a hoarse voice as she tried to get herself up.

“Good morning,” Arylos returned in his low growling voice, now suddenly aware how inhuman his voice sounds; Iris almost sounded like him for a moment. He pulled his arm back and sat up. He had all but forgotten what time it was, losing track of his internal clock entirely.

A soft knock sounded from the room’s door and Arylos, begrudgingly, got up to answer; groaning as his ancient joints cracked and rubbing his eyes. He slid open the door and a part of him groaned as he laid eyes on Keratos.

“Did we sleep in too late?” Arylos asked, still trying to get his eyes to focus.

Keratos shook his head. “In fact, I think you woke up just in time. I’m heading out to get the carriage ready but we won’t have to leave for another couple of hours.”

“I appreciate you checking in first,” Arylos told Keratos. “We had a long night and we just woke up.”

“I can see that,” Keratos chuckled. “I’ll be out getting ready, let me know when you’re ready to head out.”

Arylos bowed his head and closed the door. When he turned around, he saw that Iris was on her feet and holding her weight; more improvement from the previous day.

The two gathered their things and got ready to hit the road. It was still at least three days until Sentoraya so it was time to get going.