The heat stopped.
Fate released a shuddering breath as he opened his eyes. He was greeted by the tear-streaked face of Seri Vedavo, who stared at him with a mixture of pride, hatred, and relief. His back was still inflamed and scorching; while the metal had ceased its task, the lingering heat within himself was still present.
"You should've given in," she spat.
"You're welcome," Fate wheezed.
The straps binding the two released and they fell to the floor, Seri from her legs being asleep and Fate from his legs refusing to respond.
Seri got up first, rushing to the window separating them as she peered through worriedly at Fate.
Fate tried to stand, but his arms and legs were as helpful as limp noodles. Against his better judgment, he looked down to assess his condition.
It wasn't pretty.
His wrists were so damaged that he could see the bone in some places, which explained why he couldn't move them. His legs were sore and aching from his constant pain-flexing, but they were spared the brunt of the slab's heat.
His torso, though, looked horrible. Welts as big around as his eyes dotted the landscape of exposed yellow fat and rough red flesh.
His shoulders were in slightly better shape than his wrists, with minimal exposed bone, and the part of his waist where the metal band had been was like someone had put a belt of fire around him.
Which, he supposed, was close enough to what had happened.
It became obvious very quickly that he wasn't getting up any time soon.
As if it couldn't get any worse, the Azure Anarchist appeared on the window again.
"Well, Fate. I must say, congratulations," the man in the mask said. Fate was shocked to hear the sincerity in his words, having expected dripping sarcasm or blind rage.
"You've proven the strength of your character, and survived as well! As a peace offering, here's a little pick-me-up."
The room flashed, the Imprints shining with a faint blue as Divine Energy poured itself into Fate's pores and into his body.
As he watched, the burns and blisters across his flesh receded, healthy pink skin slowly spreading from his legs, up his waist, and throughout his arms, chest, and back like fungus.
In moments, he was fully healed. He pushed himself to a stand and rubbed his wrists, trying to assuage the slight tenderness present within them.
"The two of you may leave now," the Azure Anarchist announced, reaching out to the side.
A portal opened on the wall in each room, a swirling mass of blue and white lights in the shape of an arch.
As Fate and Seri staggered over to their portals, their captor cried out.
"Wait!" he shouted.
Fate turned back with a raised eyebrow, only a step away from the portal. Seri didn't turn back, merely tilting her head to the side to better hear him.
"Have anything you wanna say to those watching at home?" the Azure Anarchist asked.
The two captives exchanged a glance before simultaneously stepping through the portal.
Seri stepped out into the bottom floor of a dimly-lit parking garage, the sun shining through the gaps of concrete yet doing little to change the surroundings from the murky, dreary atmosphere that it was.
She glanced around. Fate was nowhere to be found.
'They must've led to different places,' she concluded. There was no reason for the Azure Anarchist to have the portals share a destination.
She took a breath, calming herself and pushing the past three hours to the back of her mind before striding purposefully to her family estate.
One way or another, this man was going to go down.
Fate stepped through the portal, arriving back at Yntok's mountain. He heard the portal close behind him with a WHOOSH, the wind swept up from the action ruffling his hair and licking his scales.
He knew immediately that his horrific burns were gone, and his memories as Fate of Styx were now the dominant ones in his mind. Fate of Crexya was now only one of four lives that Fate had within his mind.
The breakthrough he had undergone in the Azure Anarchist's torture room had increased his progress through the Avatar Level by 0.5%, bringing him a step closer to the Personification Level, and now he had finished all three trials.
His eyes landed where Yntok usually rested atop the mountain's peak, but he found nothing.
A cry shook the sky and disturbed the clouds, and Fate turned to see Yntok's massive figure in flight, the limp carcass of a giant dragon-scaled serpent in its beak.
The magnificent creature landed on its typical perch, sending tremors through the land that threatened to knock Fate off of his feet.
As the beast dug into its meal, a stream of Divine Energy latched onto Fate's forehead and projected the Dracok's thoughts.
'Congratulations,' the beast projected, his voice so deep that it rattled Fate's skull. It was infinitely more powerful than the Azure Anarchist's ruse, and yet as gentle and peaceful as a still lake. 'You have completed all three trials set forth by I, Yntok.
'In doing so, you have gained my acknowledgment. So long as you do not mistreat young Kravoss, the two of you are free to remain partners.
'But beware: though the terms you humans use are "Familiar" and "master," the two of you are equal in standing. Rather than a servant, he is now your brother, and you are expected to treat him as such.'
"Why even put me through all of this, then, when you could've just said that from the beginning?" Fate asked the Dracok as the latter skillfully peeled off the serpent's scales and dug into its flesh. "Didn't you mention something about commanding Kravoss or something along those lines?"
'I did,' Yntok replied, staring at Fate out of the corner of its eye. 'And you are expected to, at least for now. Humans have always been better at the concept of strategy, a fact that has felled many beasts.
'Until young Kravoss learns to think on his feet and adapt to any situation, as humans are so skilled in, then he must rely on you in combat. THAT is what the master's role is. And this was to test if you were worthy of such a task, capable of placing him before yourself when the time arises. Something you have shown to be true.'