It was here, I know it was, Arylos told himself as he walked along the shore under the light of the setting sun. The Titan walked along with determination, scanning his surroundings for any familiar landmarks. He had hoped that he wouldn’t be long, yet this search of his was stretching out too long.

Yet he needed to know; he needed answers.

Arylos clenched his fist as his pace quickened. He tried desperately to remember everything from all those years ago. Trying to remember his last fight against Reyz before Arylos sealed him away in the ocean. He tried to remember the details, the landmarks, the smells. The orange evening sky reminded him of the burning sky of old; when fire and brimstone rained down as the sky itself was falling.

The memories of the war pulled at him, remembering all of the screams of the dying that pulled the memory of Reyz from him. He growled under his breath as he tried to retain his focus and fight back against the screaming souls in his mind. He bit down, gritting his teeth to strengthen his resolve as his pace quickened further into a run; a desperate sprint to get away from the screaming.

Before long, he stopped as he gasped for air, trying to push air into his lungs under his tightening chest. He wanted to abandon this quest and return to Iris; where things made sense and the pain was dull. But he needed to know. He ran his hands through his hair and tried desperately to control himself. Under the crushing weight of his fears, he fell to his knees and covered his face. He could do little but quietly cry to himself as the memories came back to him, flashing and striking him like lightning.

Arylos pulled at his hair and tried to remember Iris and forget his nightmares. Between the flashes of red and white, her face was a muddled memory like looking through muddy waters. Yet even with this half image, Arylos could still feel her, he could still smell her. His tightening chest loosened as he slowly came to himself, focusing on rebuilding the image of her in his mind. He filled in her features; the shape of her face, the colour of her eyes, her double jointed finger, the hair that framed her face.

I love you, you big idiot.

He lowered his hands as he took deep breaths and the painful memories faded. With steady breaths, he rubbed tears from his eyes and let out a sigh as he looked up to the auburn sky. He shook his head as he tried to shake the desire for answers from him. He wanted to turn around and go back to Iris more than ever.

Arylos growled as he stood back up, deciding to turn around and head back. As he got up, he looked at the sands of the shore and found faint yet deep tracks in the sand. The tracks were old and had been eroded by water, wind, and foot traffic, but they were still there. Out of curiosity, Arylos followed the tracks until they led into a grassy area. Arylos could see the tracks more clearly from the damaged grass and upturned dirt; even under the growing grass it was still visible. Arylos continued following the tracks until he got the answer he came for.

At the end of the tracks rested a large metal coffin with one of the sides ripped open. Arylos remembered the coffin well; how he made it in one complete joint so it could not be opened. He ran his hands along the coffin and felt the metal, remembering the flames he used to forge the coffin. His hands went across carved markings that he remembered all too well and could still feel the boiling fury he carved the markings with; a curse made from his eternal anger, cursing the contents and those who open it.

It was the perfect prison for Reyz, and something strong broke him free from it.

Arylos ran his hands along the sections of metal cut away. He felt that the metal had been torn and melted by something strong. The thick metal coffin could not have been undone by mortal hands and even Templarius would struggle to open it. This was the question he needed answering; what freed Reyz from his prison.

Arylos ran through the possibilities but was cut short as he caught sight of something in one of the bushes; something dark yet reflective. He came over to the bush and knelt down while moving its branches out of the way. As he revealed the object, his chest tightened again as dark memories ran through his mind; darker than the Dragon Wars.

He locked eyes with a metallic face bearing four mechanical spheres in two sockets in the face that could only have been eyes. Despite being exposed to the elements, the silver and purple metal still had its sheen that contrasted against bleached bones. Bronze wires and silver metal ran along the bones, attached to various joints and sprawling out like loose hair.

Arylos’s mind went blank as he recognised the creature. His memories faded as he stared at the corpse, unable to find any words or any way to think about this. He had his answer and now that he had it, he didn’t know what to do next.

The realisation set in that Reyz had been awakened by the Eikons. Arylos’s hand clenched as he remembered his war against the creatures. His eyes began to glow a bright orange that shone against his dark slit pupils.

He only exists to kill Eikons; that is the only justification for his existence.

Arylos’s muscles twitched as he felt a deep and boiling fury run through his body. The anger was intoxicating as Arylos slowly began to laugh. His mind began swimming in the fury, drowning in a hatred burning hotter than a thousand suns. His laughter grew louder as he felt himself lose his grip on reality, falling deep into a spiralling maelstrom of blood and flame. The anger took away his fear and let him rejoice in the pain, drinking it like a fine wine as he took pleasure in the pain.

He had resolved himself to the fight; to embrace what he truly is, to drop the facade.

Before he could rise to his feet, Arylos could feel a warmth in him; a warmth he didn’t recognise. He growled as he wanted to break himself free from this foreign magic yet his body disobeyed any command to do so. The spiralling hatred slowly cooled and Arylos could feel the pain come back to him again. He gritted his teeth as the fear returned to him; fear of losing what he had, fear of the lonely ocean, the pain of his loss. He growled deeper as the sight of the red-haired Titan with a hole in her chest returned to him and he felt the dread return to him. The sight of the blackened earth and the dying star in the once beautiful heavens made him lonely and afraid.

He wished for the pain to go away as tears began to fall. He wished for his anger to overtake him as the pain dug into him like hot knives. As the pain set in, he could feel arms holding him tight from behind. He wanted to push himself free of the embrace yet he found himself too weak. His body shook in anger and sadness, lacking any strength to move.

“Are you alright?” a woman’s soft voice asked him.

Arylos snarled before he smelled a familiar scent of spring blossoms. Before he could do otherwise, his eyes returned to normal and his growls were replaced by a heavy panting as he tried to breathe once more. He was hypnotised by this sensation as it breathed life into him.

“I-I’m alright,” he said softly, trying to look away from the Eikon’s corpse.

He heard the woman sigh and felt the hold on him tighter and a soft kiss placed on his scalp. “You were taking so long, I was worried about you,” the woman said in a concerned voice.

Arylos felt the painful memories fade from him as he reached for the woman’s hands, feeling her soft skin that contrasted against the thorns of his anger. Tears came in a torrent as he held her hands, taking in the warmth of his love’s presence.

“Thank you for coming back to me,” Arylos said softly while choking on his tears.

Arylos heard the woman sigh and loosen her grip on him as she came close to him and Arylos could recognise her brown eyes. “Is everything alright? You’re not normally like this,” Iris said softly while rubbing Arylos’s cheek.

Arylos sighed as he glanced over at the Eikon’s body again, feeling the hatred well up in him once more but was quelled by Iris’s soothing touch. “The Eikons brought Reyz back,” Arylos explained in a shuddered voice. “They freed him and sent him after me. They don’t intend to leave me in peace.”

Iris sighed as she pulled Arylos by the chin to look at her, away from the Eikon. “And yet here you are with a life of peace, friends who care about you, and a girl who loves you. It doesn’t matter what they do; you have us now.”

“But for how long?” Arylos asked while clenching his fists. “How long until they take you away from me? How long until I’m alone again.”

“For as long as you’ll have me,” Iris said while pulling Arylos close, repeating his promise to her. “Death is inevitable, honey. All we can do is live every day so we’ll have no regrets when death does come. Like when you took me fishing earlier in the week. I regret not going with my dad but you took me; it’s not the same but it’s better than what I had.”

“What if that’s only for fifty years or less?” Arylos asked as his voice cracked. “What if my time with you is too short? What if this dream ends before I want it to?”

Iris sighed with a gentle smile and rested her forehead against Arylos’s forehead. “Then we take the days we do have and cherish them. Is that not what you’ve been teaching me?”

Arylos let out a shuddered sigh as he held Iris’s face, taking in the warmth of her skin and love. “Then promise me fifty years,” Arylos whispered with a soft laugh.

“Only if you don’t get tired of me,” Iris said with a laugh of her own.

“I would never,” Arylos responded softly. “I want you to take away everything that I was so I can be what you want me to be. Take away the monster and so I can be yours.”

Iris’s face went red as she chuckled. She held Arylos’s face and gave him a soft kiss and Arylos savoured the feel and taste of her lips, feeling a chill run down his spine as he felt a hint of cold with the warmth like a touch of mint. Iris sighed as her lips quivered before pulling away from the Titan. “You’re not a monster, but I’d love you anyway,” she said with a giggle.

Arylos let out a relaxed sigh as he turned back towards the Eikon’s corpse, no longer haunted by memories when he looked at it. He laughed under his breath as he felt Iris’s warmth in him.

“Are you feeling better now?” Iris asked softly.

Arylos cracked a smile as he clenched his fist. Without warning, he punched the Eikon’s face in with a strike that cracked the ground underneath, obliterating the machine’s face.

“Now I feel even better,” Arylos said as his smile widened.

Iris laughed as she put her fingers to her lips. “Well then, let’s head back, okay?”

Arylos nodded and reached for Iris’s hand, happy to enjoy his dream for another fifty years if he could. He began to wonder just how lucky he was to have someone who understands him and can pull him back from the brink.

Someone who can save Arylos from his demons.