บท 443: It's Time.

59:59...

59:58...

59:57...

...

20:02...

20:01...

20:00...

...

01:01...

01:00...

00:59...

...

00:02...

00:01...

00:00...

*SHIIING!*

A ray of light shines down from the sky in Mehrunes Dagon's realm, the Deadlands, illuminating the suddenly appearing form of Michael.

He sucks in air voraciously as he drops to his knees, patting himself all over as he erratically thinks about what just happened.

"I died..." he mutters through harried breaths, utterly confused and mildly horrified by the void-like blackness he'd experienced. The single timer in the corner of his vision was the only thing that'd stopped him from going insane from sensory deprivation, along with his abilities that strengthen his mind.

The abrupt flooding of sensations that he'd been hit with once the timer had ended had almost knocked him unconscious... It was like using a foghorn directly into someone's ear after they'd taken out earplugs.

Not only that, but he felt like he was burning alive from the air itself. His lungs felt like they were being cooked, and his skin was quickly turning red and blistering from the heat of wherever he was.

"Charlotte... You really killed me..." he mutters in disbelief, having trouble even processing the information.

Was the kiss a lie? Just a distraction to get a chance to end him? Was she even in control then, or was it Clavicus?

What would happen now that Clavicus had won the Hunt?

"This can't be fucking happening." he growls, punching the dark rocky ground and leaving an imprint of his fist in the scorched stone, the blood he leaves behind instantly sizzling from the heat terminating from it.

'How was he even still alive?' he finally thinks to himself as he forcefully pulls his thoughts away from the betrayal that was boring a hole through his chest.

Michael looks up and squints slightly as he looks up and catches a glimpse of the magma surrounding him and the small scorched island he was knelt upon.

"FINALLY NOTICED? YOU ARE A STRANGE SPECIMEN, WORLD-HOPPER. RECOVERING YOUR BODY FROM ONLY YOUR SOUL. ARE YOU A DENIZEN OF OBLIVION? OR SOMETHING ELSE?" the voice of Mehrunes Dagon says from behind him.

Michael gets to his feet and turns, ignoring his burning body. He has to force himself to keep his legs straight when he locks eyes with the god. Mehrunes Dagon stood hundreds of feet tall, with crimson skin, four arms, and a devilish horned visage.

Michael felt like he was face to face with Sargeras again, though, he wasn't feeling as oppressed... Was Sargeras simply more powerful than Mehrunes Dagon? Or was the being before him hiding his true abilities?

"What do you want? Why am I here?" Michael asks, inwardly patting himself on the back for the fact that he hadn't antagonized this Daedric Prince... Aside from finishing off his Champion of course...

The Daedric Prince gives a fanged grin as he stares down at Michael, "YOU LOST ME THAT FOOLS HUNT! SO, YOU WILL REPAY ME IN FULL, AND YOU WILL USE YOUR NEW BODY TO DO IT." he commands with his voice causing the volcanic lands around Michael to shudder and shake.

"Clavicus' Champion took your victory, not me." Michael retorts with as much strength as his voice could carry.

"CORRECT! BUT YOU ALSO PLAYED A PART. YOU ARE MINE NOW! AND YOU WILL OBEY!" the god of destruction commands.

...

When Michael doesn't immediately drop to his knees and start worshipping his feet, Mehrunes Dagon crooks a brow and scowls, "KNEEL AND OBEY ME, MORTAL! OR FACE ETERNAL TORTURE!"

"No." Michael answers. Lord or not, King or not, God or not, he refused to serve anyone ever again!

"OBEY ME OR ELSE, MORTAL!"

"NO, I REFUSE!" Michael exclaims, even while his throat and face burned from the rediculous ambient temperature.

The god growls, "THEN SUFFER!" he roars, throwing a single hand out and causing Michael to disappear.

Michael reappears under an ocean of lava, immediately letting out a muffled scream as the liquid rock scorches his body. He was lucky that his Ebonthread and Ebony robes were so durable, otherwise, they'd have been burned off instantly. They aren't saved completely however, as the ends of it are singed and scorched.

His body wasn't doing any better as the flesh melts from his bones at stupidly fast speeds. Were it not for his Pain Tolerance and Affinity to fire, he'd have gone insane or been rendered ashes already.

He's unable to Blink, unable to move, unable to do anything but suffer... Well, except... Pushing through his pain, he summons the Book of Legends and forces his mind into it despite being unable to see which Spirit's world he was headed into.

He blinks and his burned eyes are healed, the terrible feeling of burning being replaced with the slight chill of Auroth's cave.

"AAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!" he cries out and drops to his knees as the phantom pain of burning continues, despite having temporarily escaped it.

"M-Michael!? What's wrong!?" the Wyvern exclaims as it tumbles from the mountain of books under it and rushes to him.

"E-Everything!" is all he can get out as he continues to writhe in agony. The chill licking his skin was the only reprieve, but even that was fleeting.

Suddenly, he's locked in place and held in a block of ice, the Winter Wyvern had cast Cold Embrace onto him...

Thirty minutes later, Auroth lets Michael out from the block of ice, gently depositing him on the pile of books afterwards. "Will you explain to me what has happened, Michael?"

...

"I... Challenged an evil god, what you saw was the result." he admits, hands still trembling despite the torture only lasting a few seconds.

The Wyvern lets out a disturbed sigh as she drapes her wing around him in the dragon-version of a hug. "Forgive me, but that seems like a foolish thing to do."

He nods, "Yeah, I know. I knew it when I challenged him, but I did it anyway." he mutters.