A Titan. A powerful spiritual being beyond comprehension, outside of reality. A creature that transcends time and space and has no beginning nor end. The gods of the gods and forces of nature beyond any imagination. Life is nothing but a speck on the grandeur of their existence; flakes of dust spinning on balls of rust. A stark reminder that there are other worlds out there and where one’s place is in this vast and gorgeous universe.

To see a world in a grain of sand and hold infinity within the palm of one’s hand. Experience infinity in an hour and see the sun and moon dance through the sky and admire the beauty as one would admire the sunset. To watch mountains grow, wither, and collapse as one would watch a flower grow. Observers of a vast and endless ocean, infinite to some and yet finite to them.

That is their existence; limitless, formless, timeless. They have no fear, no sorrow, no pain. They exist at the peak of evolution, enlightened above the rest.

Arylos remembered all of this as he stared down the one true threat he had ever faced. He had wrestled with dragons, toppled civilizations, and destroyed worlds. He has no natural enemies. Even in his weakened state, he had nothing to fear; no one would dare approach a being that measures time in how many civilizations it had seen grow from farmers into an advanced people that inevitably died by their own world wasting away.

But this threat didn’t care. It returned Arylos’s disgusted gaze without any worry, willing to go toe to toe with this creature beyond comprehension. An enemy that Arylos couldn’t defeat.

“Tomatoes,” Arylos muttered, poking a small cherry tomato with his fork, trying to work up the courage to face this horrific beast.

“Don’t tell me you’re a picky eater,” Iris mocked, snacking on a tomato of her own with her breakfast.

“It’s the texture,” Arylos complained, not taking his eyes off of the threat. “The acidity is disgusting, it’s too watery, and it’s rubbery.”

Iris ran her hands through her messy bed hair, trying to understand what was going on. “I made breakfast as a thank you,” she reminded Arylos, unwilling to empathise with the Titan. “It’s a nice gesture, so you’re being very rude right now.”

Arylos’s eye twitched. “I know, and this little fucker is making me choose between you and it.”

Iris picked up a cup of hot tea and held it in both hands while watching Arylos intently. “Well, go on then. What are you going to do?”

Arylos felt sweat drip from his brow. He now had a new concern; making Iris mad. She’s scary when she’s mad, as those Reig-Human hybrids found out the hard way.

Suddenly, an idea came to him; an idea that only he could pull off, one that would satisfy Iris. He cleared his throat and quickly sucked in air, widening his throat. He held his breath and picked up the tomato and swallowed it whole, sparing him from chewing on the acidic rubber ball.

Iris’s face of interest changed to disappointment. “Whimp,” she commented while sipping her tea.

“Doesn’t matter; I still ate it,” Arylos returned while getting up and collecting dishes from the table.

“Tomatoes are good, you know,” Iris bullied the Titan. “I had them all the time in Nageki. They’re a staple food.”

Arylos scoffed and took the pile of dishes to the kitchen so he could wash them, leaving Iris alone with the realisation that Arylos is in fact a picky eater.

“You’re like a child,” Iris teased further from the dining room.

“I’m a man-child; get it right,” Arylos snapped back from the kitchen.

Iris puffed her cheeks before grabbing her cup of tea and heading towards the living room, specifically the torotsu. Her padded robe was nice for the winter, but did nothing for her hands and feet. She crawled down under the blanket and took in the warmth as it pulled her in.

Not long later, Arylos came out from the kitchen and sat under the torotsu across from Iris and rested his head down on the table.

“Isn’t it nice being able to rest for a change?” Iris asked with a smile, appreciating some time without fighting.

“Don’t jinx it,” Arylos muttered.

“Why do you say that?” Iris asked, situating her feet closer to the coals under the table.

“Because someone’s coming,” Arylos answered.

Iris felt confused for a moment that turned into shock when knocking sounded from the door.

“Who could that be?” Iris asked, looking back to the door.

“Who indeed,” Arylos wondered while closing his eyes.

The knocking sounded again, this time louder and more frantic.

“Guess we’ll never find out,” Iris answered while resting on the table as well.

“Hello? Arylos? Are you there?” a man’s voice called from the other side of the door, to which Arylos audibly groaned.

“You better get up; they’re calling for you,” Iris told Arylos, partly concerned.

“Of all of the freezing stupid luck,” Arylos groaned and started to pull himself out from the blankets and came up to the door and opened it. Arylos had a conversation with someone outside beyond Iris’s hearing. A couple of moments passed before Arylos closed the door and made his way back to the torotsu and set a collection of papers on the table as he climbed back under the blankets.

“Who was it?” Iris muttered, unwilling to open her eyes as sleep was starting to pull her in.

“Garris,” Arylos replied. “He dropped off a report he needed me to read as soon as possible. Mentioned something about an attack.”

Iris groaned and lifted her head off of the table. “Did you remind him that you were off today?”

“I did, and he didn’t seem to care,” Arylos responded, part of him wanting to read the papers while the other part wanting to ignore it all.

Iris watched him consider the paperwork, trying to see what he’ll choose. “Don’t do it,” she reminded him. “You’re off. You don’t have to do any work.”

“Yes, but what if it’s important?” Arylos questioned, still eyeing the papers. “He wouldn’t have brought them to me if it wasn’t important.”

“It doesn’t matter, you don’t have to work today,” Iris pushed forwards, part of her wanting to yank the papers away but that meant taking her hands out of the blanket.

Arylos stared at the papers, his curiosity growing. He resolved himself; he needed to at least know if it’s something bad or if it can wait until later. He reached a hand out of the blanket and set it on the papers, but it was snatched by Iris’s own hand before he could look through the papers.

“I’m a Khymr Lord,” Arylos reminded Iris. “I have to at least make sure everything’s alright.”

“You’re a man today,” Iris reminded Arylos. “You don’t have to do any of that. Just have a day to yourself for a change.”

Arylos laughed under his breath as he thought of a compromise. “Let me at least see what’s going on. I’ll read it to at least know that and then worry about it tomorrow.”

“I know how you think, Arylos,” Iris protested. “You’ll still worry about it in the back of your head.”

“Maybe, but I won’t do anything,” Arylos proposed.

Iris thought about it for a moment. She really wanted Arylos to herself for today so they could enjoy some kind of normal life. The last thing she wanted was for the two of them to get dragged into another battle when they just got out of one.

She let go of his hand with a sigh. “Fine then, but just so you know what’s going on. Don’t do any work until tomorrow.”

Arylos smiled and started reading the stack of papers and Iris set her head back on the table and closed her eyes. Time flew by as her nap brought her peace and rest. By the time she opened her eyes next, the papers Arylos was looking at were strewn about on the table but Arylos was asleep on the table.

Good, Iris thought. He didn’t rush up to do anything.

“Good boy,” she whispered under her breath as she took out a hand from the heated blankets and rubbed Arylos’s head, shocked by how warm his skin really was compared to the cold.

“I’m not a pet dog you know,” Arylos muttered, not opening his eyes.

“You are going to take my head pats and you are going to love it!” Iris teased, ruffling Arylos’s hair. “What did Garris need you to read so bad that he felt the need to interrupt your day off?”

“Just something about a Khymr inn that got attacked,” Arylos sighed in indifference. “The taskmaster for the inn and several veteran Khymr were killed. They were killed with swords so it was not a monster involved. Garris is trying to figure out what happened and wants help.”

“And what are you going to do?” Iris asked, concerned about Arylos’s potential answer.

Arylos lifted his head from the table and collected the papers back into a neat stack. “Do you really want my honest opinion?”

“You’re more than welcome to lie to me,” Iris responded.

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Arylos told Iris with a stern look in his eyes.

Arylos’s stern reaction shook Iris a little in a way she was not expecting. “Alright then, what are you thinking?”

Arylos set his head back on the table, settling back into the blanket. “All things die sooner or later, no matter how much they try to change that; it’s the very nature of life’s existence. I would not be surprised if some villagers nearby found out they were Khymr and somehow grew the balls to kill them. Concerning, yes. Interesting, absolutely. Surprising, not really. So I’ll look into it later.”

Iris smiled, satisfied by Arylos’s response even if it was a bit concerning. “Good boy,” she whispered while patting Arylos’s head again.

Arylos sighed, resigning himself to his fate.