His plan to tackle the test in front of him was simple. From previous observation, the green section was filled with poisonous gas that was coming out from the flower, so tearing it out should stop the spread of the mist and hopefully complete the first part of this room.
The purple flower stood tall at approximately one meter in height. Its stem appeared slender yet sturdy, supporting a bulbous head composed of several layers of delicate petals which were a vibrant shade of purple, each one slightly darker towards the center, with a small yellow stamen protruding from its core.
As John closed the distance to only a single meter, he noticed a glaring problem in his whole assessment. The flower was encased in a translucent barrier that allowed the gas to spread out, yet blocked all his attempts to get through. It felt like hitting a steel wall, and even after three powerful blows, he left no marks on its glass-like surface.
Forcing himself to calm down, he reassessed his situation by carefully observing the place from the inside.
The first thing he noticed was a clock-like object above his head. It was a single hand slowly rotating inside a large circle divided into four parts represented by a typical color palette.
The first quarter—the one the hand was currently in—was green. It was followed by yellow, orange, and the final part was red.
Hmm, perhaps I need to stay inside long enough.
The second thing he figured out was the nature of the green mist around him. Noticing a green sheen on his hands, he attempted to wipe it off, and that was when he realized that it wasn't gas at all. What was filling the air was a very fine pollen, and the problem was, it was already seeping through his skin and leaving red spots all over him.
Understanding that his hold-a-breath strategy was also a dud, he tore a sleeve from his white robe and used it as a simple breathing mask.
Anything that helps is worth it.
Finding a comfortable place near the walkway, he sat down with his back to the vine-covered wall and carefully observed the increasing impact the pollen had on his body.
By his estimation, the green part passed after five minutes, but just as the time slowly ticked by, so did the poisonous pollen penetrate deeper into his skin, leaving him covered in angry-red and very itchy welts.
A deep gong reverberated through the whole section, announcing the successful completion of the first quarter.
During the second stage, the areas around his welts began to turn black. His skin started to slough off in patches, revealing raw, oozing flesh beneath. The affected areas were extremely painful and sensitive, making even slight movement difficult.
Gritting his teeth, he persevered. He couldn't imagine in what state his body would be without the combination of Disease and poison resistance, Troll's blood, and Black heart of Sac'ratash, but with them, he trusted himself to survive.
In the third stage—also announced by the deep gong—the necrotic tissue continued to spread, and his breathing grew heavier and more strained. Each gasp was punctuated by a painful wheeze as his inflamed lungs and irritated airways fought for air. He was experiencing intense pain all over his body and the difficulties with breathing made it even harder to remain inside.
Right now, the only reason he stayed was the knowledge that nothing was actually real, and also his higher Vitality coupled with his increased self-healing will get him back into at least a passable condition to continue.
As the hand entered the red stage, the black spots spread over more than half of his body, morphing the feeling of intense pain into one of weakness and fatigue. He now struggled to remain conscious and was barely able to move as the toxic pollen continued to wreak havoc on his body.
The final gong reverberated through his delirious mind, and he lifted his limp head from his shoulder. The flower was lying dead on the ground, and the air was clear of the necrotic pollen.
Thank the gods I've made it.
Over the next thirty minutes, he remained sitting in the same spot, letting his body repair the accumulated injuries. He was lucky that his black blood proved entirely immune to the pollen's effects and worked tirelessly to block the spreading corruption. This protected his internal organs from the worst of it, leaving the majority of damage to his respiratory system, skin, and outer layers of the muscular system.
His legs felt shaky, but after half an hour he was able to stand up and walk back into the walkway right next to him.
Wait, what!?
He dumbly stared at the activated archway, showing the open path leading straight into the next antechamber.
Oh, for fucks sake… I just needed a quarter from each section.
Dejected, he headed out, but as he was about to step through the arch, an odd feeling welled up deep inside his chest, making him stop in his tracks.
Hmm? He looked around in confusion. Is this a trap? No, this is something different… not a trap, but… what am I missing?
This was the first time he felt this particular nudge from his Fate, and he once again explored the whole room. The section he finished was now a wasteland of dried weeds and dead grass, and the remaining three were untouched.
Could it be? No… I am not going through this three more times!
He stood there, trying to find all the possible reasons to convince himself to give up on this stupidity and move on. Yet… deep inside, he already knew it was futile. He was going through it, no matter what.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
In for a penny, in for a pound. John sighed and steeled his nerves because things were about to get chilly.
Stepping over the walkway into the sector before him, he immediately felt the biting cold seep through his soiled clothes and bite into his skin. Knowing what to expect, he looked above his head and noticed the same slowly turning timepiece. The first stage lasted for the next five minutes, during which John began to feel the chill in his limbs and his breathing became more labored. However, keeping himself in constant motion alleviated the worst of it, allowing him to persevere.
As the first gong came and went and the gauge was passing through the yellow quarter, the temperature continued to drop even further, reaching levels that would for a normal human being be life-threatening. However, his black heart continued to pump blood through his body, keeping his vitals warm. His extremities began to feel numb though, and he struggled to continue the constant movement that kept his muscles from stiffening up.
During the third stage, the cold became so intense that even the air itself felt like freezing in his mouth. Ice crystals formed on his skin, and his muscles began to seize up. He felt a sense of intense pain and weakness as his body struggled to maintain any temperature, but his heart diligently pumped the blood through his vital organs, keeping them alive.
He was no longer able to stand, but stubbornly remained lying just behind the dividing lane to the walkway. As a last resort, he could theoretically roll over it if things got out of hand.
His closed eyelids already froze over, but that didn't stop him from feeling the third gong announcing the beginning of the final part. The cold reached its peak, and his body was pushed to the brink of death. Breathing only came in shallow gasps, and he felt his consciousness slipping away. His head struggled to maintain its temperature, yet his heart refused to give up and continued to pump in sporadic intervals, pushing blood through his brain, and keeping him somehow alive. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the five minutes were up and the snow globe crumbled, letting heat once again caress his frostbitten body.
John didn't know how long he spent in limbo, but what brought him out was the unfreezing of his eyelids. Carefully opening his eyes, he noticed they became damaged. His vision was blurry, and he was unable to properly focus on anything. Trying to move the rest of his body proved futile, and he remained lying on his back, waiting.
At first, the ability to move returned to his neck, but over the next thirty minutes, he also regained feeling in his chest, back, and legs all the way to the knees. Unwilling to wait longer, he pushed himself up by his core and blanched at the horrific view in front of him.
His legs below the knees were only a disfigured mass of blackened flesh, and both of his arms below the elbows were just… gone. His self-healing repaired what it could, but it must have deemed the arms unsalvageable because it somehow cut the limbs off and closed the stumps.
Uhhh…
Looking at his mangled body was making him sick. Getting over the sight of his body covered in black necrotic welts was difficult enough, but this would remain in his nightmares for the weeks to come.
The dangerous problem with his self-healing became apparent as his body repeated the same decision, giving up on the lower half of his legs and forming new skin over the fresh stumps.
He was now as healthy as before—missing limbs excluded—and there wasn't much he could do but press forward.
Crawling out of the trial would be a waste, and he was convinced this was the last test he would be going through anyway.
At first, he wanted to do fire next, but the state of his body made him reconsider. He was certain the heat would fuck him up, so doing it last was a smarter choice.
By this point he suspected this whole room was being inspired by the four basic elements, meaning the section covered in darkness had something to do with air.
Or the lack thereof.
Pushing himself on all fours, he passed over the edge and rolled into it.
Exactly as expected, the air became much thinner, making him gasp for breath. To preserve as much oxygen as possible, he stopped moving, closed his eyes, and tried to calm down.
Breathe in… breathe out… breathe in…
The minutes flew by, the first gong was soon followed by the second, and then the third.
His breaths were nearly nonexistent, and the same happened to his thoughts. He didn't notice his heart beating only once every fifteen seconds. He didn't notice his body no longer trying to breathe in. He remained in this void for the remaining time, until the fourth gong reverberated through the room and all air rushed back in.
He somehow passed through the entire section but with almost no recollection of what actually happened.
Well, don't look the donkey in the mouth… or whatever they say… Fire, here I crawl.
Despite his enhanced Vitality, he began to sweat profusely as his body tried to regulate its temperature. The heat continued to climb up, causing his heart rate to accelerate and his breaths to become shallower, manifesting the first signs of dizziness and disorientation.
As the time ticked by, his skin turned bright red and his sweat began to boil off his body, leaving behind painful blisters instead. His vision became blurred and he felt his muscles starting to cramp. His sense of balance was lost, and he slumped down as his strength waned.
After the second gong, the temperature in the sector reached a dangerous level, causing John to close his eyes and grit his teeth before the horrors that were about to come. What previously prevented his body to freeze now quickly pumped cool blood, preventing the worst of the heat to seep in. His increased self-healing also slowed down the formation of blisters, but the heat was taking its toll, and in less vital areas his charred skin began to peel off.
In the final stage, the heat became unbearable. John's body could no longer compensate for the extreme temperature, and he started to feel his internal organs failing. His black blood continued to flow, but it was not enough to keep him going, and he lost consciousness. His self-healing was the only thing keeping him alive, but it was a very close call because the test finished mere moments before his heart.
The same feeling he felt previously suddenly blasted through his whole ravaged body, waking him up and making him gasp. He tried to open his eyes, but to no avail—he was blind.
He was also deaf and his sense of touch was very dull, making him barely aware that he was lying on his back.
His mind was still delirious, making him blank out, but another pang of that feeling woke him up.
John didn't know how, but he knew he had to crawl in a certain direction, so he pushed himself with every remaining scrap of his will and somehow wormed his way there.
[Congratulations!
You have successfully completed the final test in the Crucible of flesh.
Worthy feats:
Resilient Survivor
Requirements: Last at least ten minutes inside each of the four sections
Rewards: 5 extra points and an uncommon body modification card
Conqueror of the Unforgiving Elements
Requirements: Last at least fifteen minutes inside each of the four sections
Rewards: 5 extra points and an upgrade of the uncommon reward into a rare body modification card
Champion of the Fourfold Crucible
Requirements: Outlast each of the four sections and leave the last test alive
Rewards: 10 extra points and an upgrade of the rare reward into an epic body modification card
Your current score: 48 points]
The screen was perfectly visible despite his blindness, but he was way too tired to read through it, and collapsed to the ground under him, slipping into a blissful rest.