A Trial in the Melting Teapot

The world vanished.

The volcanic wasteland, the three Wolf Beastkins, even the infernal pedestal upon which the charred crown had rested dissolved into countless embers that drifted silently through the darkness. For a brief moment Helmut felt as though he were weightless, his body suspended between existence and oblivion, carried only by an endless current of warm air.

Then his feet touched solid ground.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The world before him had changed once again.

There was nothing.

No mountains, no sky and no horizon. Only fire.

An endless ocean of crimson flames stretched farther than the eye could see, rising and falling like waves upon a sea. Pillars of living fire erupted from the ground without warning, illuminating an otherwise empty world whose boundaries could not be perceived. The air itself shimmered with unbearable heat, yet strangely enough, Helmut no longer felt the agony that had nearly consumed him.

Instinctively he looked down at himself.

The horrific burns were gone.

The blackened flesh that had covered his body moments earlier had disappeared completely, replaced by the same appearance he had possessed before his execution. His hands were whole once again, unscarred save for the faint outline of the flaming skull branded into his palm. Even the pain that had haunted every breath had vanished.

Only one thing remained unchanged.

His falchion rested comfortably in his right hand.

"…Where am I?"

His voice echoed into the sea of flames before being swallowed by silence.

No answer came.

Helmut slowly turned, carefully surveying the endless inferno surrounding him.

He then sensed someone behind him.

His body reacted before his thoughts did. He spun around, raising his falchion instinctively.

A solitary figure stood several paces away.

At first glance she resembled a woman draped in flowing robes, her posture elegant enough to remind Helmut of a dancer awaiting the first note of a forgotten melody. Long hair cascaded gracefully down her back, gently swaying despite the complete absence of wind.

Yet that was where every resemblance to humanity ended.

Her body possessed no color.

Not in her skin and not any of her features.

She was nothing more than a silhouette carved from living darkness, as though every ray of light had been devoured by the shadow she wore. Only her eyes remained visible.

Two brilliant flames.

One burned deep orange.

The other glowed crimson.

Their piercing gaze settled upon Helmut with unsettling calm.

The surrounding inferno answered her presence.

Fire gathered within her outstretched hand, twisting and folding upon itself until it slowly hardened into the shape of a magnificent spear. Its blade burned with white-hot flames, while rivers of molten light coursed along its shaft like flowing veins.

The mysterious woman regarded Helmut in silence.

When she finally spoke, the very flames trembled.

"Helmut Bernstein…"

Her voice was unlike anything he had ever heard.

It sounded as though countless voices spoke simultaneously, their words layered atop one another until they became impossible to distinguish. Some sounded gentle, others commanding, while many carried an age so ancient that even language itself seemed insufficient to contain them.

Together they formed a single sentence.

"Let us determine whether you are worthy to bear the fire."

Without another word, she lowered her stance.

Helmut tightened his grip upon his falchion.

He had no idea who she was.

Nor why she wished to test him.

But one thing was certain.

She intended to fight.

He muttered "I don’t understand what’s happening, but if this is the only way…"

He raised his sword.

"I’ll survive."

The woman’s fiery eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Then she drove the butt of her spear into the burning earth.

Cracks spread across the ground beneath Helmut’s feet before skeletal hands burst violently through the blazing surface. One after another, armored skeletons clawed their way from beneath the inferno, empty eye sockets glowing with molten embers.

Ancient knights.

Dozens of them.

Perhaps hundreds.

Their rusted armor scraped against brittle bones as they slowly surrounded him, raising swords, axes, and broken spears blackened by centuries of flame.

Without hesitation they charged.

Helmut barely managed to parry the first strike.

Steel collided with rusted iron, sending sparks dancing through the inferno. He twisted aside just as another skeleton swung a massive axe toward his shoulder, retaliating with a swift slash that shattered its ribcage.

The skeleton collapsed into a pile of bones.

Only to stand again moments later.

"…What?"

Another emerged.

Then another.

Every skeleton he destroyed simply reconstructed itself from scattered fragments before resuming its relentless assault.

Helmut gritted his teeth as he blocked another blow.

"No matter how many, they just keep coming!"

The woman remained perfectly still, calmly observing the battle from afar.

Understanding dawned upon him.

These creatures weren’t the true enemy.

She was.

With renewed determination, Helmut burst through the encircling horde. He knocked skeletons aside with his shoulder, kicked another from his path, and forced his way toward the solitary figure standing beyond the sea of bones.

The woman finally moved.

She stepped forward only once.

Then thrust her spear.

Helmut barely caught the attack with his falchion.

The impact alone sent him flying backward.

He crashed violently into a towering wall of living fire.

Flames erupted around him.

Pain immediately spread through his back.

"…Damn it…"

He forced himself upright.

The mysterious woman hadn’t pursued him. She simply watched.

She was waiting, as though measuring his resolve.

Helmut charged again.

The inferno suddenly dimmed.

Only for the briefest heartbeat.

When the light returned…

The woman was gone.

Standing in her place, was Luger.

His childhood friend regarded him with the same face Helmut had trusted for years.

The same face that had smiled before condemning him to death.

"I always loathed you, brother."

Those words echoed once more inside Helmut’s mind.

Something snapped.

Every emotion he had desperately buried erupted at once.

"You…"

His voice trembled with fury.

"You betrayed me."

The skeletons closed in once again, but Helmut no longer cared.

He forced his way through them. Blades slashed across his arms. Spears pierced his shoulder. Axes carved deep wounds into his back.

He ignored them all.

Every step carried only one purpose.

Luger.

He had to reach Luger.

No matter the cost.

The skeletons became nothing more than obstacles.

He struck them aside without hesitation, refusing to slow even as blood stained his clothing.

Pain no longer mattered.

Only revenge.

Luger simply waited. Watching in deep silent.

Helmut roared as he swung his falchion with every ounce of strength remaining.

Their blades collided.

Repeatedly.Each clash sent showers of sparks into the inferno.

Finally Helmut knocked Luger’s sword spinning from his grasp.

The weapon disappeared into the flames.

For the first time since the execution…

A smile spread across Helmut’s face.

It was a bitter smile.

The smile of a man standing before the one who had destroyed his life.

"I finally…"

He raised his falchion.

"…found you."

The blade descended.

Straight toward Luger’s heart.

Yet, there was no resistance.

The sword passed effortlessly through his chest.

Like cutting through a smoke.

Luger’s body dissolved into black mist.

The familiar face melted away.

The shadow woman stood before him once again.

His entire right arm had passed through her body.

Before he could pull away, he found himself unable to move.

His arm remained trapped within the living darkness composing her form.

She slowly looked down at him.

Then, a faint smile appeared.

It wasn’t cruel, nor mocking, It was almost… Amused.

The mysterious woman gently lifted one hand.

Her fingertips brushed beneath Helmut’s chin.

The unexpected gesture caught him completely off guard.

She leaned closer.

Close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body despite her being nothing more than living shadow.

Helmut instinctively averted his gaze.

His heartbeat quickened for reasons he couldn’t understand.

The woman chuckled softly.

"So…"

The countless voices spoke as one.

"You still seek revenge."

Her fiery eyes reflected within Helmut’s own.

"Good."

She moved even closer until only a breath separated them.

"It means your flames have not yet died."

Her fingers slowly released his chin.

"It is time."

The inferno surrounding them suddenly fell silent.

The skeletons vanished.

The woman placed her forehead gently against Helmut’s.

For the briefest instant…

The darkness enveloping her body disappeared.

Helmut caught only a fleeting glimpse.

Long flowing hair the color of molten gold.

Graceful features that possessed an almost otherworldly beauty.

A regal crown formed from living flame.

Eyes ancient enough to have witnessed civilizations rise and fall.

Then, the vision vanished.

Fire exploded around Helmut once more.

The inferno engulfed him completely as the woman’s voice echoed from every direction.

"Embrace the flames. Seek that which your heart desires. If revenge is your answer, then let the fire decide whether it is worthy."

The world dissolved into blinding crimson.

And Helmut was swallowed by the inferno once again.