ARISTOS ACHAION // Awesamdude X Reader

19

Your skin was melting - the cells knitting together under the molten heat of Prosperine's hands, burning away the layers of your skin. The blistering heat seemed to radiate out from him now, causing the air around you to surge in waves, almost creating an mirage. You writhed under the contact, trying desperately to get away, to save your skin while there was still some yet-

Prosperine's other hand came down on your shoulder, gripping you and holding you in place. "Just give up." He said, voice low in your ear. "You can't hope to best me now - stop struggling, and I'll make it quick."

For a moment, you thought about it. It would be so easy, to just roll over and have Prosperine end it all now. A burst of flame would be painful, but you would be gone in an instant, and it would all be over. No more sleeping alone in that empty cell, no more taking your meals in silence, no more training to fight for your life. You had been ready to die since you had gotten caught in the agora - it would only be fate.

You picked your head up from the sand, and locked eyes with Sam.

He was standing at the very edge of the vestibule, one hand wrapped tightly around the handle of his trident. Even through a brief glance, you could tell every muscle under his armor was drawn tight with nerves, watching you like a hawk. All the rage you had built up came rushing back to you in that moment, reminding you of just how much you wanted to take another champion from the caesar - and how hard you and Sam had worked for it.

You couldn't die. Not now, anyway.

Throwing all your weight and strength into it, you wrenched yourself out of Prosperine's grip and rolled away in the sand, the places where he had touched you still steaming, and the smell of charred flesh in the air. You rearranged your grip on your spear, widening the space between your hands on the handle - the metal had melted some, from being within such a close distance to Prosperine's heat.

The burns littered over your skin throbbed as Prosperine lunged after you, bringing his aura of heat with him. His machete lay behind him in the sand - the far more lethal weapon were his hands, you knew now - and he simply reached out for you, dodging your attempts to jab him with the spear. You did your best to keep the length of the weapon between you - if Prosperine got his hands on you again, you didn't know if you would have the strength or the willpower to break free a second time.

You winced as a bit of melted bronze from your spear reached your hands. You needed to figure out what you were going to do before you lost your weapon completely-

You spun away from Prosperine again keeping your spear aimed at him. In the back of your mind, an idea was forming. It would take careful execution, but if you could get Prosperine close enough, it could work.

That wouldn't be hard though, with the way he was lunging after you.

"How long do you think you'll be able to keep this up?" Prosperine asked as you evaded another one of his lunges, keeping the head of your spear trained on him. It was a little difficult walking backwards through the sand, but sheer adrenaline kept you on your feet, eyes trained on your opponent. He tilted his head, his jaw clenched tight. "How much longer until you finally give in?"

You said nothing, simply shaking your head as you backed away from Prosperine again. If you could get him eager and desperate enough to finish the fight, it would only be a matter of time before he came a little bit too close - exactly where you needed him to be for this to work.

Prosperine all but growled, lunging for you again, a little bit closer than he had the last time. His aura of heat washed over you as you spun away, keeping yourself just out of reach - keeping the spear within the heat for as long as you could without it seeming suspicious. The bronze was beginning to go soft under your hands now, bending when you put any stress on it.

Perfect.

Prosperine lunged again - this time even closer - and you turned, slipping around his back and getting as close as you could. The heat blistered in the air around you, making your skin cringe back from the source of it. You forced yourself forward though, quickly bringing your spear up over Prosperine's head and holding the melting metal to his neck. Prosperine shunted backwards, trying to get away from the melting handle of your spear. You were already twisting the ends behind his neck though, pulling the softened bronze into a ring as tight as you could before darting away, the heat of being so close making you dizzy.

You collapsed into the sand, letting the cooler (though not by much) air of the colosseum wash over you as you watched Prosperine.

He fell to his knees, fingers digging at the metal curled around his neck, choking him. Plumes of flame left his mouth as he tried to get the metal to come loose, pulling at the twisted spear around his neck. It was no use though - the heat from his skin had soldered it closed, melting the metal into his skin. The plumes of flames he was releasing got bigger as he fell onto his back, whole body writhing now as he tried to pry the metal away from his throat.

You turned your gaze away from Prosperine. You knew how this would end - deprive the fire of air, and it will snuff itself out. Instead, your eyes found the caesar in his box, watching carefully as his grip tightened on the engraved railing he was holding onto.

You saw the moment Prosperine died, just by watching the expressions on his face.