Chapter 24 - Importance

Phos didn't react for a couple of seconds. Did the Fire Lord just call him important??

Pyre, on the other hand, continued to stare at Phos. The Light Lord looked like a sad hamster, and with the chains keeping him bound, he reminded Pyre of a hamster unwillingly locked in its cage. Amused, he continued his explanation.

"Because of this light, the Sun God was furious. He'd learned from the last time someone took his role—namely, me—and this time ordered someone to execute the new Light Lord." Pyre glanced away for a second. "And that executioner was also me."

When Pyre looked back at Phos, he found the Lord wide-eyed and too stunned to speak. Pyre sighed and shook his head—shouldn't the Light Lord have pieced everything together at this point? Why was he acting like this was new news?

"That answers two of your questions, Little Light Lord. If you don't have any more, I'll continue talking."

Phos obediently shook his head no.

"Alright then, let's see…. Are you not curious why Helios didn't come to find you directly?"

Phos, having finally connected many of the loose threads surrounding his and Pyre's relationship, visibly relaxed. He already had some clues as to why Helios was absent in the Anima Mundi.

"Is it Halley's Comet?" He remembered hearing about an important event from Kass. "Something about a convention every 76 years."

"If I could clap my hands, I would. Good job, Little Light Lord." Pyre smiled. "Did Kass tell you?"

"You told him, didn't you?" At the time, Phos had thought it strange that such an airhead like Kass would know so much about the Solar System's events.

"Mhm, I do recall teaching him—how did an 11,000 year-old Lord of Metal turn out so stupid? I—" Pyre bit his tongue to keep himself from saying: 'I guess there's a correlation between Lords' ages and their intelligence.'

"Ahem. Anyways, because Helios couldn't find you directly, I was tasked with eliminating you. Helios thought that if you were erased from existence, the Sun and Fire would continue to rule over humanity forever. But this reasoning is flawed.

"The modern era is already upon us. There are more man-made innovations than ever. Do you really believe that, in such a world, humans wouldn't be able to make new sources of light?"

Phos's eyes widened for the umpteenth time. What Pyre said made sense!

"Even if I killed you, the Sun's next target would pop up all-too-soon. Therefore, I went easy on you that night in the alleyway."

"Easy?! You call that easy?"

"I didn't kill you. That's proof enough."

"Then when we met, why did you keep calling me dead?"

Pyre lowered his head and thought for a moment.

"I was afraid that other Lords sent by Helios would be listening. If they ever caught me, I could knock you out and say that I'd been rambling to myself. Helios knows that I like you, after all."

Another sudden confession? This time, Phos didn't shrug it aside.

"You like me?"

"Yeah. When I first heard rumours about a nice new Lord who went around spreading light and helping people, I couldn't help but be a little bit intrigued."

Oh. So it was that type of like. Phos was a bit disappointed.

"Then… last question, why do you keep calling me 'Little Light Lord'?"

This one, Phos just had to ask.

"That's because…." Pyre's voice suddenly quieted.

"That's because you're very… short."

After seconds of processing, fires erupted in Phos's orange eyes. He was so enraged that the chains binding him were practically melting.