The stele had the image of a man in a kneeling position. Vide sat in contemplation, was he supposed to emulate what the man on the stele was doing? Vide thought that there was little harm in trying. He walked onto the altar and assumed a position similar to the one on the stele. He went down onto one knee and held up his hands.
The whispers that had stopped when he entered the stairway appeared again, this time he didn't understand what they said. They almost seemed to be laughing. A strange wind began to pick up, considering they were deep underground it was alarming to Vide to say the least. Vide began to have second thoughts and tried to move off the altar, but his body wouldn't move an inch. Panic was building up inside him but there was nothing he could do to stop what was in motion. The whispers were so loud it sounded like shouting in his ear, the wind picked up pace and was whipping around the cavern. Whatever was happening was reaching its peak and that's when everything went silent. Vide almost preferred the whispers screaming in his ears, the silence was somehow more deafening. Amidst the silence of the cavern from a seemingly random stalactite, a single drop of a liquid fell.
The drop was such a deep red it looked black. It fell with pinpoint precision directly onto the tip of Vide's horn. It soaked his entire horn. The effect this had was instantaneous. Vide was finally able to move and the first thing he did was clutch his horn. He was acutely aware of what had happened and from how intense the ritual was, he was worried the drop would have adverse effects on him. His horn was hot, unbearably hot, and the burning feeling was spreading through his entire body. It slowly and agonizingly moved towards his back. The heat traced a pattern on his back. The smell of burning flesh filled Vide's nostrils and gave him a sensation of panic he had never felt before, not even when faced with the threat of death from Kaya. This was something he would never forget. The feeling of being burned alive, figuratively burned itself onto his memory.
It was a face.
A face was burned into the back of Vide. It was eerily similar to Vide's and if he could see it, he would have recognized it to have the unique features of a Pyrean. However, unlike normal Pyreans this face had nine horns instead of one. There were four horns on each side of the horn in the center of his forehead. They all were angled toward the center horn forming a kind of crown. The face had a regal air to it and despite the expression of rage on its face, it had the poise of an emperor. His mouth looked like he was in the middle of yelling. It's expression looked like it could only be made by someone being struck down by a person they had sworn to kill.
The blood underneath the burn was still boiling, causing intense pain to shoot throughout his body. His pupils constricted. Steam was emanating out from the wound, it was a truly horrific sight. The horn that had previously sent a shocking heat throughout his body, sent out a chill as if to counter the burning sensation. The wounds started to heal at a shocking pace, leaving a scarred version of the face covering his entire back. It looked like someone had taken a massive cattle brand to his back. All of this was unknown to Vide, however the burning and chilling had definite effects on him. The tempering of the ice and fire had strengthened his bones and tendons by a shocking degree. Despite only being a juvenile, he now had the strength of a full grown Pyrean. Wincing, he got onto his knees. The rapid healing of his injuries had taken nearly all of his remaining energy. The rumbling of his stomach seemed even louder than the whispers from earlier. He knew that if he didn't recover his energy soon, he would likely die.
He nearly gave into desperation right then and there. Where was he supposed to find something to recover down here? He was deep underground, and in the middle of the Enti forest. The Enti forest was filled to the brim with magic creatures of almost all ranks. It was a miracle he didn't run into one on the wave to the cave. The only reason his family had been safe was because they lived directly on the edge of the forest in conjunction with some minor warding magic that came from a pendant his father had. Even if he somehow made it up the dizzying flight of stairs, he still had to swim under the lake and hunt something. In his condition, where he thought he might pass out at any second, there was no way he would even be able to put up a fight, much less kill something. He swept his eyes over the dark cavern, and he saw the patches of blood red plants. His eyes shone in hope, He remembered the plants had an overwhelming amount of life force in them, so much so that even holding them caused the blood in his hand to roil. In his normal state he would never be able to consume them, but in his energy starved condition, he had to try. He had a certain measure of confidence it would work due to his newfound strength. He used what little energy he had left to crawl over to the nearest patch of grass.
He picked up a bright red flower. He stared at it for a long while, trying to work up the nerve to eat it. He closed his eyes and threw it into his mouth. The flower had tasted like iron at first and Vide resisted the urge to spit it out. After swallowing it, the strong lifeforce filled his body and caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood. His body no longer hurt and he felt better than ever. A powerful sensation of drowsiness came over him, and his head slammed into the rocky floor. He was asleep before his head hit the ground. The face made of scars on his back stared up at the ceiling, still with its face full of rage.