Headed by a Snake

Elle leaned towards Tycondrius, her eyes closed in expectation.

Tycon obliged her with a gentle kiss... one almost different from the others.

The first kiss they shared was... one of exploration and hope. Since then, they'd shared kisses of passion, of lust, and of arrogant possessiveness. Then, there were kisses of simple pleasure and of playful teasing.

But that one...

Was it... love? Of the Tyrion concept of 'philia', a connection of the soul? Of shared values and an implicit trust?

It was a somewhat foreign concept to Tycon... to feel that way towards a lover.

He took a moment to look over the woman sharing his bed... and she averted her gaze, pulling the covers up to hide her chest.

...as if he hadn't already seen everything.

⟬ Haelvia of Ezyria. Titanblood. ⟭

Elle had already reached maturity for her species.

However, one of Tycon's closest friends was a Titanblood, Dragan, the 'Barbarian' of Sol Invictus. From what he knew, that man's patience and temper had evened greatly over past decades.

People change. With Elle's and Tycon's bloodlines, their lifespans could easily surpass two centuries. Yet... they had known each other for less than twenty-four bells.

Logically, such feelings... such a 'connection of the soul' was hopeful to the level of foolishness.

No... thinking of the future was useless. All Tycon could do was present the most ideal version of himself he could muster... and hope for the best.

"What's on your mind?" Tycon asked.

Elle bit her bottom lip... "I... I was just thinking about my past."

"I'd love to hear it," Tycon adjusted his posture, laying on his side to face the woman as she spoke.

"I had... some friends," She continued-- "Two actually. N-nothing to be jealous, about, though."

"You're mine now," Tycon raised a hand in a half-shrug, "I couldn't care less about any other men you dealt with before me."

Also, with as much experience in intimacy that Elle had... if she had previous lovers, they were worth less than dirt.

"Hah," Elle blew air in Tycon's face, causing him to narrow his eyes.

It was something she enjoyed doing to fluster him.

"They weren't that kind of friends, you." Elle giggled.

She shot forward to deliver a quick peck on the cheek.

Tycon's mood was immediately restored. He liked to think he was a simple man.

"Go on."

"Well... the three of us made a promise when we were little--" Elle hesitated, pouting her lips. "Yes, I was little."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

"I was not," Tycon frowned.

...He really wasn't, "You were saying?"

"We made a promise..." Elle took a deep breath... "That we'd join Sol Invictus together."

"Lofty goals," Tycon mused.

Since he'd first awoken in the Realm a few years prior, Sol Invictus had not opened their recruitment. All new members since then, he'd contracted personally.

As Tycon was adventuring across the various nations, the goal of Elle and her friends could only be achieved by luck. Obviously, the fates had smiled upon Elle. But the others...

"Where are they now?" He asked.

"I d'nno," Elle sighed again, rubbing her cheek on Tycon's chest and draping an arm across his abdomen... "I think you'd like them, though... Justus was strong, but he was always humble."

Tycon's eyes shot open.

Justus.

That... was a name he hadn't expected to hear.

"--He always wanted to help people," Elle continued in a soft voice filled with nostalgia... "didn't matter who they were. That's just how he was."

Tycon took a breath through his nostrils... "Your... village?"

"Oh," Elle perked up. "It was a little Ezyrian village called Leopardon. Ah-- and besides Justus, there was Rena."

Tycon grimaced as he sat up in the bed... "Rena..."

"She was my best friend," Elle explained with a nostalgia-filled smile... "She was always running after Justus... trying to make sure he didn't get hurt."

She laughed to herself, but her smile was notably without the curves at the ends of her lips... "I always played the older sister... even though I was younger than either of them.

"Rena tried to keep Justus out of trouble-- then I... watched over her."

Elle folded her palms behind her head and plopped back down onto her pillow, "Wasn't always successful, though. Could be on me. I like to think it was on those two~"

"I... see..." Tycon whispered.

"They joined the... the Rhodok adventuring company?" Elle puffed up her cheeks, "If I'm remembering their name right, anyroad. I heard some rumors though... that they went missing."

Tycon kept silent... focusing on slowing his breathing and his quickly rising heart rate.

The rumors were true.

They were classified as missing because Tycon made certain that none of their members lived to speak of the monstrous creatures that once settled in Isidor's Mountain. He'd heard of adventurers sent to search for them... but by that time, Isidor and the others had long since vacated.

"Tychon, have you heard anything about that?"

Tycon... could tell her, but... did she have a right to know?

Would she even want to know the truth?

That Rena lost half of her body in a clash against a cruel manticore? That he built her funeral pyre with his own bloody hands... burnt her body to ash... and buried her on that nameless mountainside?

"Tychon? Did... I say something wrong?"

...Should he tell her about the grief that befell Justus after Rena's death? That he personally slit the boy's throat to advance his own selfish agenda?

Empty f*cking night. If he hadn't had anything to do with either of them... it was possible that both would be alive.

Granted, he doubted the Rhodok adventuring company would have been able to complete their Gold-Rank quest. Not even half-way to their destination, over half their company was wiped out by Iredar.

Would Centurion Cyrac have seen reason? Their entire chain of command was filled with nothing but blind and deaf fools.

It would have been impossible for them to continue without Tycon's help...

If... Cyrac had called the mission off... perhaps the deaths of Justus and Rena of Leopardon would not have been so tragic.

"Tychon... say something... please."

Tycon closed his eyes.

If he hadn't met those two, back then...

...perhaps they would have become his... two powerful Holy Classes, fighting under the banner of Sol Invictus.

Instead, Rena died without a complete corpse... and Justus... his remains served to feed millions of flesh-eating spiders.

"Tychon... I'm sorry... Please... talk to me."