Echo woke again an unknown amount of time later. He was no longer prone on a horizontal table, instead he was raised up to a slight incline, and he finally got a good look at the room around him. It was a square chamber that was lit by a single torch on the far wall, near a tunnel.
He was alone.
He resolved to attempt an escape, casting his transmutation spell once more, but again, he couldn't feel it take hold. He grunted in frustration and began pulling at his restraints.
"Tsk. I can't allow that." Echo looked up and saw Tiberius at the tunnel entrance. "Not yet when we have so many tests to do! I'm going to see just how far I can push your evolution."
He pulled out the cube again and Echo struggled as hard as he could against the chains. Every ounce of his being trying to pull away as the cube once more was pressed to his chest.
The purple sparks flew, and the excruciating pain began once more.
His mind went blank from the sheer shock to his system; he was in a world of agony as what felt like billions of ants covered him, biting and ripping flesh. He screamed until he was hoarse before the cube was pulled away.
The pain persisted, and he could feel insects burrowing under his skin, bumps moving within his body as if he was being eaten alive, little bite by little bite.
I’ll survive.
His world went dark once more as blissful unconsciousness took him.
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An indeterminate amount of time passed before Tiberius came back again.
Echo instinctively tried to pull away, every part of his being screaming at him to flee, but the chains held him tight and firm as the cube was placed against his chest once more.
"We are going to try something different today." He placed a hand gently on Echo's shoulder, "It will still be painful, don't worry."
He smiled and licked his lips as the artifact activated once more and the goop spread across Echo's body.
Echo went silent as the searing, biting cold consumed his existence. Like he was shoved into a frozen lake, the shock momentarily stunned his nerves before the pain began. A dull, spreading ache that caused him to stiffen and shiver as his voice failed him, and he couldn’t breathe.
"Hmmm…let's try fire next."
Echo’s lungs found air enough to wail once more as his skin began to blister and bubble, sloughing from his form as the muscle burned and charred. His whole existence was agony as he was charred to the bone only to be reknit together.
Echo lost himself to the white void of pain once again. One thought was crystal clear in his head before the darkness took him.
I’ll survive.
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This same routine played itself out repeatedly, day after day. Echo lost track of the passage of time.
Only pain and sleep existed for him in this nightmare.
He would wake up, try to cast a spell, try to escape his binds and be subjected to…whatever that cube artifact did to him.
Every time the pain felt different, and Tiberius began to grow impatient as the sessions continued. Freezing, burning, slicing, piercing, searing, melting…every type of pain describable.
Echo prayed to someone, anyone, who would listen to stop the pain, but no reprieve came. Even calling for Kalinor and Vythin to intercede was fruitless.
And every time the experiment came to an end, but before the sweet release of unconsciousness took him, he would think of his mantra:
I’ll survive.
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"I've tried every blasted combination. Why won't you change?"
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Echo just stared dully back at Tiberius, his brain attempting to shut out the outside world to retain its sanity. His mantra was the only thing tethering him to a reality of some sort.
He once again experienced the incandescent pain of his existence as electricity seared through his body and he twitched uncontrollably, a cascade of colors flashing across his eyes as his body was cooked in its skin.
Tiberius screamed in rage and slammed his fist into the table Echo was on, denting it.
"I don't get it! How can an adventurer be made of something that even Malvir's power can't change?"
Malvir…
That name stuck out to Echo and brought him back from the brink of madness.
He remembered Narya, and how she said that the same New god made her race.
This guy…serves him?
Tiberius stomped out and into the tunnel, ending their session early.
What he forgot to do was mend the table he had slammed his fist into.
The table that Echo was chained to.
Which now had the chains knocked slightly out of position.
Enough for Echo to wiggle around more than he had previously.
As silently as he could, he twisted his way out of the restraints until his hand was free. From there it was just a matter of being quiet and using his now freed hand to remove the other chains. He stayed as silent as he possibly could and eventually extricated himself from the table.
He rolled his shoulders and stretched. Finally, he felt something other than pain or fear rekindled in him.
Hope.
I could try and surprise him.
But he had no clue how strong Tiberius was. It was safer to flee while he could. Being captured again was not an option he entertained. He felt a twisted sense of gratitude to the madman. If he had not put together Echo's arm and somehow reattached all the pieces, he wouldn't have his pocket dimension ring still fused with the bone.
Echo whispered a spell, "Reshape to my will, Transmute Substance."
Fuck! Why did I do that without a Spell Tool?
The ring that was hidden within his bone came to rest upon the surface of his skin.
He tensed as he waited for his arm to explode again.
But nothing happened.
Why didn't it go wild?
He channeled some Quintessence into the ring and retrieved some clothes, quickly slipping them on, and grabbing his sword. He chose against equipping any armor to keep silent, slinking out of the room. Seeing the incomplete set of armor in the pocket dimension brought anger.
The memory of Rickard fleeing with his helmet flashed through his mind.
Traitor.
But he shook the thought from his head. If he survived, he’d find the cleric of Lux. And make him pay.
But the spell not going wild still made him wary. He'd have to rely on his physical capabilities, just in case.
He found himself in a maze-like system of tunnels with torches placed intermittently at various intersections. He reached once more into the pocket dimension and pulled out a compass. He could easily make out the points of it. He had perfect vision despite the darkness.
A low panting and the sound of clicking came from in front of him, down the tunnel and around a curve. He steadily moved forward, flattening himself against the wall.
The creature that was making the noise lumbered into sight. It looked like one of the wolves he had fought with The Sacred Swords, but instead of being a pure wolf it looked to be a hybrid monstrosity; the body of a wolf, the legs of a scorpion that skittered across the floor, and a stinger in place of its tail. It was covered in fur and had an odd, flat, secondary tail under the scorpion one.
One thought reverberated through Echo's mind as he saw the disgusting creature. Quiet, at first, but slowly increasing in tempo.
Kill…
It rose and fell with his breath.
Kill!
He slowly stepped forward, salivating as all rational thought left his mind.
KILL!
Nothing else existed in his mind as he rained death upon the creature, jumping forward with unnatural speed and slicing the beast in two with a single stroke.
The quality of the sword contributed, but Echo's swing was so powerful that the very stone of the tunnel beneath him was sliced through as well, leaving a deep groove.
He wrenched the sword free, and the feeling shifted. The need shifted. His only desire in that single moment.
Consume…
He leaned forward and carved down the chitinous exterior.
Consume!
He dropped the sword and split the carcass apart with both hands.
CONSUME!
He reached into the creature's husk and ripped out its heart, taking a bite out of it.
Blood gushed and squirted across his face and torso, and he swallowed a chunk of the organ.
He came to his senses and stumbled back with horror etched on his face as he looked down at his hands.
What did I just do?
He doubled over and winced in pain as his Regeneration kicked in, fixing his body as it began to rip and tear from the inside. He went on all fours, gasping and heaving; but the object he had swallowed was already incorporated into his body, fuel for the evolution he was undergoing.
It was a pain not unlike the pain that Tiberius’ cube inflicted upon him but was much quicker, localized to his torso. He was gasping for air, and after a few moments felt invigorated, the pain vanishing.
What the hell did he do to me?
He looked down at the corpse and his heart leaped into his throat. A blue glimmer of metal caught his eye. The color was similar to one he had seen before, hanging from a belt. He gently picked through the meat, slicing away when necessary, to confirm his suspicion as dread crept up his spine.
It was Aqua’s holy symbol.
The one that Ingrid was wearing.