A tin house stood alone in the middle of the dense forest, its metallic walls reflecting faint glimmers of moonlight.
Inside, the air was thick - a suffocating mix of cold steel, the faint scent of rust, and the sickening hum of electricity coursing through advanced machines.
General Hard stood before Sylvia, his dark, cold eyes fixated on her as if she were nothing more than a lab specimen.
Her arms were tied tightly above her head with a rope of metallic fibers, leaving her feet barely touching the ground. The roughness of the bindings had already cut into her wrists, thin trails of blood seeping down her arms.
Her body ached from the earlier battle, and the "tests" Hard was running only made things worse. He had strapped sleek metallic devices - his own inventions - to various points on her body, each buzzing with energy.
One device clamped onto her shoulder, sending sharp, electrifying jolts through her arm every few seconds. Another was fastened around her ankle, pulling it with just enough force to twist her leg unnaturally. Hard was fascinated by the delicate balance of pain - never enough to kill, just enough to break a person down, bit by bit.
"Interesting," Hard mused, his voice cold and clinical. "Your nerves are responding well to the electricity. Not as fragile as I thought."
Sylvia bit her lip, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a scream - though the pain was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Each jolt made her muscles twitch involuntarily, sending shockwaves of agony through her limbs.
Hard smirked. "You Nature tribe types - always so proud of your resilience. Let's see how long that lasts."
He pressed a button on his gauntlet, and the devices tightened around her, sending another wave of pain through her body. Her back arched as a small, choked sound escaped her throat - but still, she did not scream.
Instead, with labored breath, Sylvia forced a shaky smile. "Is... that all you've got?" she rasped. "I've... endured worse."
Her words were a lie - this was torture unlike anything she'd faced - but she wasn't about to let him know that.
Hard chuckled softly. "Oh, I like you," he said. "So defiant, even when you're dangling like a broken puppet."
He twisted a dial on his wrist, and a thin, needle-like appendage emerged from his gauntlet, glowing with a faint red light.
Sylvia's heart pounded.
Without hesitation, Hard dragged the needle across her skin - not deep enough to cut, but enough to leave burning trails along her arm. It felt like fire dancing on her skin, but still, she clenched her teeth and refused to scream.
"You're strong," Hard admitted, tilting his head as if she were an interesting machine he was studying. "But everyone has a breaking point."
Sylvia's vision blurred from the pain, but through it all, a single thought lingered in her mind: This is it.
She was going to die here.
She had failed her duty - not just to her people, but to the neutral ones she had tried to protect.
And worst of all...
She thought about Arson.
He was out there, free - likely burning everything in his path. If she died here, there would be no one to stop him.
The thought twisted something deep inside her - not fear for her own life, but fear of leaving the world without someone to challenge him.
If I die here... who will stop him?
Her head slumped forward, and her body trembled from the ongoing pain, but she refused to cry out.
Hard watched her in fascination, his sadistic grin widening. "You really think you can outlast me?"
Sylvia, through the haze of pain, slowly lifted her head and met his gaze.
"I know I can," she whispered, her voice hoarse but steady.
Hard's smile faltered - not from anger, but from sheer enjoyment.
"Oh, you're going to be fun to break."
And the torture continued.
Sylvia's world was a blur of agony. The relentless torture - both physical and mental - seemed never-ending. Hard was no longer just experimenting with pain; he was prying into her mind, taunting her with her failures, and twisting her thoughts like a cruel puppeteer.
"You couldn't stop Arson," he whispered mockingly, tightening the metallic devices around her wrists again. "You couldn't protect the neutrals. You couldn't even protect yourself."
Sylvia's body trembled with a mix of pain and fury, but her lips remained sealed - no screams, no begging. Just her burning resolve, flickering like a weak candle.
Hard leaned closer, a sinister grin etched across his face. "Tell me, Princess... how does it feel to be powerless?"
Before Sylvia could respond, the door to the tin house suddenly exploded inward, a deafening bang echoing through the room. The force sent metallic shards flying, clanging against the walls. Smoke and heat flooded in - and at the center of it all stood Arson.
His crimson flames crackled around him, casting a fierce glow across his battle-worn face. His signature smirk curled on his lips, but his crimson eyes blazed with something more intense than usual.
Hard didn't even flinch. He simply smirked, as if he'd been expecting him. "Ah, the mighty Prince Arson," Hard said lazily. "Here to save your precious princess?"
Sylvia's head weakly turned towards Arson, her body still hanging from the ropes - bruised, bloodied, and utterly exhausted. But her pride burned just as fiercely. "I didn't... need saving," she muttered through gritted teeth.
Arson's smirk deepened. "Didn't look like it," he teased, his voice calm but carrying an undertone of rage.
With a flick of his wrist, Arson's flames surged forward, burning through the metallic ropes in an instant. The sudden release made Sylvia collapse, but before she could hit the ground, Arson caught her - one arm under her back, the other beneath her legs.
For a brief moment, their faces were inches apart - Sylvia, breathless and weak, and Arson, glaring at her like she'd done something to inconvenience him.
"You're heavier than you look," he muttered.
Sylvia, despite her pain, glared back. "And you're more of an idiot than I thought."
Hard, still leaning casually against the wall, laughed. "Adorable," he mocked. "You pretend you don't care about her, but here you are - playing the hero."
Arson's jaw tightened. "Don't flatter yourself," he snapped. "I didn't come here to save her."
Hard arched an eyebrow.
Arson gently set Sylvia down near the doorway, his flames still crackling around him. "I came here because you interfered with my game," he growled. "She's part of the challenge - without her, burning this world isn't fun."
Sylvia's heart twisted at the absurdity of it - this guy had literally just saved her, only to call her a challenge like she was a piece in his destructive game.
Hard chuckled. "So... you want her alive because she makes your 'game' more interesting?"
Arson's flames flared brighter. "I'm not letting you ruin my fun."
Without another word, he lunged at Hard, his fist igniting into a fiery blaze before slamming straight into Hard's gut.
The impact echoed like thunder, sending Hard crashing into the back wall, leaving a dent in the metal.
Sylvia watched from the floor, clutching her injured arm, stunned by the sheer power Arson was unleashing.
Hard wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, a wicked grin spreading. "You really are something else," he chuckled.
Arson's eyes burned like embers, his voice low and menacing. "Stay out of my way or I'll make sure you never experiment on anyone again."
Sylvia realized something strange.
Despite Arson's cruel words and relentless pride...
He had come for her.
Arson's fists ignited as he charged towards Hard immediately, large walls of flames crashing towards him.
Hard was barely able to absorb it due to the intensity.
But Arson didn't just stopped there. He was preparing more flames around him and started to land a flurry of attacks.
The battle was getting intense.