Chapter 3: Lord Of Wrath

Anger is power, and I got plenty of it,

Don't provoke me, you won't like my rage,

~Lir~

In the Kingdom of Ira, where wrath is a way of life, dwells Lord Lir, a demon whose rage knows no bounds. Lir's subjects fear for their lives everyday, knowing that even the smallest transgressions could result in execution. However, out of public's eye, Lir is plagued by memories of his past and the family he destroyed in a fit of rage.

I would never have honored that summon if I had known ahead of time that it would be about this barbaric ritual, he thought. But what was done was done and he had clearly heard when Alaric told them to prepare for it.

Now back to the present...

Lir glared at the quivering figure in front of him, his chest heaving with rage. Sent to spy on his brother Eros, the messenger had returned with news that made Lir furious.

I gave you one simple task to complete, and you were not even able to manage it? Lir snarled

"I'm... I'm sorry, your majesty! He was... he was right here, and then he was gone! I d-didn't see how he did it, but he disappeared, just like that. I'm sorry, my lord. Please, forgive me!" The messenger knelt down shivering.

Given his reputation for brutality, how could Lir possibly be merciful?

Lir stood up from his throne and walked towards the messenger, and with each step, the messenger felt as if death was approaching him, and it did.

"Gorgon?" Lir, wiping his bloody claws, called out.

Yes my Lord, Out of nowhere, a man with two heads appeared.

"Dispose the body and find out who Eros went to see," Lir walked out of the room like he wasn't the one who detached the head from the body of the messenger.

Lir, still seething with fury, goes to the seer's chambers. The blind woman sat motionless in her chair, waiting.

"Well?" Lir demanded, his voice a low growl. "Have you seen anything?"

The seer raised her head, her eyes milky and unseeing. "It's Her, Your Majesty," she whispered, her voice raspy and low.

"Within her chest beats the very essence of life, the beating heart that holds the key to all that is to be attained. The secret to completing it all lies within her—the entirety of your quest is bound within her heart's rhythm."

Lir's eyes narrowed. "And who is this 'Her' you speak of?"

The seer opened her mouth to speak, but instead a gurgling sound came from her throat. Blood flowed from her mouth, and she slumped forward in her chair, unconscious.

Watching the seer slump, it took all the little patience he had in him not to walk towards the useless woman and break her neck

She can't even see properly, He scowled and walked away.

Things are getting really complicated, looks like I have to pay a visit to Invidiae to see Cian, Lir contemplated as he walked towards his bedroom and disappeared.

In the Grand palace of the kingdom Invidiae, Lir materialized from thin air. "Cian? I need to speak with you immediately," Lir bellowed.

Lord of Envy, seated shirtless on his regal throne, with one leg over the other and his left elbow resting on the chair arms while supporting his god-like face, said lazily, "I'm right here, why do you shout? Do you want some tea?" He switched the elbow supporting his face from the left to the right.

Lir scowled, his eyes blazing with anger, "I've come to propose a truce," he said, his voice dripping with false sweetness, a clear contrast to the killing intent in his eyes."I believe that if we work together we can achieve our goals faster, what do you say?"

Cian, putting on an expression of someone in deep thoughts, "Which flavor do you like? Green tea? Black tea? Chai tea? But then, with how upset you look you should try out herbal tea it'll help soothe your raging nerves."

Lir closed his eyes and started chanted, only he knows how many times he chanted in his head to not attack his brother as he needed his help at the moment but thankfully it seemed to help because the next moment Lir opened his eyes the killing intent was gone replaced by neutrality.

"Brother would you work with me or not?"

Cian stretched his hand towards the fruits platter and casual took a few blue berries and ate them so sensually. Even Lir couldn't help but be a little bit affected by the way Cian ate the berries

How can a person eat berries this way, he thought

"Lir tell me something, are you in love with me?" Cian asked all of a sudden.

Lir was astonished to the point he couldn't form a sentence for two seconds, "Wh-what do you mean by that? "

Cian smirked, "I mean its 1am in the morning yet you came to see me so late. Don't you know it's improper to meet someone at this ungodly hour except you want to roll in the sheets and explore each other.

To say Lir was flabbergasted was a understatement, he stared at Cian speechlessly.

Cian continued, "But unfortunately I'm completely straight,I won't be able to reciprocate your feelings, Cian sighed, looking so sad. But off course, his glowing eyes betrayed him.

"Go to hell you piece of sh*t!" Lir had already lost all reasoning at this point and created a ball of fire from his hand, he threw it at Cian who used a flick of his hand to stop it.

"That's not how you treat the person you love Lir sweetheart," Cian smirked and blew a kiss which only seemed to infuriate Lir the more.

Lir once more closed his eyes and started chanted once more, he really regretted coming to Invidiae but he had no other choice. Why was his life so hard, he thought.