The answer was given almost as soon as the question was asked: Endyr was thrown in a hole in the ground, where she would remain until dawn and upon which she would be dragged to the temple and publicly sacrificed in the Almighty's name before millions of cheering faces.
'Some "Golden Age of Humanity" this is' Endyr thought bitterly, nurseling her body that had been bruised by the chains. 'This shit is as barbaric as they come.'
The method of execution was relatively clean, at least. They would tie her down and slit her throat, collecting all the blood in her body before burning it and her corpse on a pyre. Not the worst death, but she would like to avoid it all the same. 'Death shouldn't faze me at all, since I should just respawn back on the mountain. But will the Almighty be able to stop that? "He" already has the power to interfere with the System, so if it's the one bringing me back then this death might very well be permanent.'
However, Endyr was certain that the key to completing her Quest was in the temple, not here. Call it bestial intuition, or simply being in sync with the System, but she knew that exploring here was pointless. Her goal lay in the city, hidden beyond those golden walls. The problem was getting to it without dying or being captured. 'Should I take the risk and attempt suicide now?' she thought to herself, tracing her neck with the nails. The main issue was whether or not she had to strength to kill herself, or if anybody was secretly watching her from the shadows. If so, they would certainly interfere and stop her. 'I thought the appeal behind suicide was that it's simple' Endyr jested to herself.
Ultimately, she shelved the idea of suicide, at least for now. While the citadel held no value in terms of completing the Quest, it was certainly filled with historic value. How much of this world was a genuine reflection of the past, and how much was simply speculation remained to be seen though. But even so, when would she get another shot at conversing with the Almighty, Serapis or Fallacy?
'I can always kill myself after gaining everything I want to know'. With that thought, Endyr became the typical protagonist of a Time Loop story.
.....
It was after several hours (Endyr's guess since there was no windows or clocks in the hole) that someone came to get her. She looked up to be greeted by a beam of light to the eyes, causing her to yelp and fall backwards. As she angrily rubbed her dazzled eyes, the chains on her body began to be pulled upwards, lifting her out of the hole. She struggled momentarily before settling down, allowing the chains to pull her up towards the figure. After leaving the hole, she got a good look at him.
His appearance was surprising: an old man that seemed to be over a hundred garbed in a dirty black cloak. His skin was as dry and wizened as wood, and his skeletal structure was clearly visible. His eyes were so sunken she doubted he could even see, and what few clumps of hair he had were white and tattered. Looking like a taxidermized corpse someone had dug up, his aura was surprisingly stable and there was no frailty in his brown eyes. He observed Endyr with a cold and mechanical gaze, unbothered by his proximity to a monster with lethal capabilities. "So" he spoke, his voice low yet sharp. "You are to be my new experiment."
Endyr met his eyes, ignorant of what had been said to her. For unlike with the Almighty she did not recognise the language this man spoke! Or rather, his level was not high enough to transmit his intentions through his words like the Almighty had been. Realizing this, Endyr pegged him as a Legendary or lower, though she doubted he was weaker than Epic. Someone like that wouldn't be in the Almighty's service.
Not caring if she understood his words or not, the man turned away and began walking, the chains on Endyr pulling her with him. They walked in silence for several minutes through a dark corridor until reaching light, revealing a white laboratory full of equipment that also seemed to function as a morgue, if the cadavers were anything to go by. Endyr would have sighed if she had vocal cords, but had to settle with a shake of the head. 'Being experimented on, huh? Man, this brings back memories. Those damn silver bastards stuck as many apparatuses up my ass as they could fit. Not that they learnt anything of course. As if a Denizen of Infinity could be deciphered by such a puny civilisation.'
Endyr conveniently forgot that such a "puny civilisation" that successfully captured her Avatar, but that was neither here nor there.
The old man walked over to a table, where various scalpels and vials were placed neatly arranged. Everything in the laboratory seemed sterilised to the extreme, and Endyr struggled to find anything even an iota out of place. 'This dude has some serious OCD' she mused, not overly surprised. Most Ascenders displayed mental illnesses the higher they climbed. All the death and violence tended to get to people after a while, who would have guessed?
*My name is Bartholomeus Istrian and I am the head researcher and physician in the Order of Light. For your short duration in my custody you will be subjected to horrific, painful and possibly unnecessary experiments that may or may not produce anything worthwhile but will certainly be quite a grim experience. Do you consent to this?*
Endyr blinked at him innocently, not understanding a word he just said but catching his name. She had never heard of a Bartholomeus Istrian, so she assumed he was a small fry during this time period. At the same time, Bartholomeus seemed to take her silence as affirmation of consent, because with a flick of his finger she was sprawled out on a cold operating table with her arms and legs pulled taut at either end.
He came up to her, gloves on both hands and a surgical masks covering his lower face, as the lights overhead focused their beams on her. *My orders were to make sure nothing remains overly visible to the crowd you will be executed in front of tomorrow. Naturally, I also have to avoid killing you. Apart from that though, my scaled friend, nothing is really off-limits. While certainly bad news for you, this is quite good news for me. I have been longing to dissect a living Abomination ever since I learned of your kind's existence. Take solace in the fact you will soon quench my curiosity, if you will.*
As Endyr realised that the good doctor might not be so good after, she saw him reach under the table and pull out...a chainsaw.
'Oh fuck me!!!!'