'You didn't know!' Kuerolong shouted from somewhere far away.
A moment of doubt crossed Ranno's mind. 'I didn't know,' he repeated in a quiet voice that grew stronger over time. 'I couldn't act on facts I didn't have. The failure wasn't mine!'
The Takawock slowed, its rings juddering out of phase as his body became whole again, but the smell of burning blood still rose from the flames below.
'I did everything I could to keep Lord Hades safe. I never sought power for myself like the others. I existed only to serve.'
You became bodyguard to a sky lord.
'That was never my aim. I abide by the laws. I supported her only because she ordered me to do so. She didn't know what I was. She thought I was human - an old man with knowledge that she sought. I did not fail, and neither did she. We acted on what we knew, within the laws of our world.'
The rings slowed, turning in a different direction. Ranno spun, feeling himself change into his human form. He hadn't changed himself. The Takawock had changed him, reducing him to a physical form without power over the world around him. It felt strange and restrictive. He was mortal, fallible, made of flesh and bone. It could leave him like that or tear him asunder on a whim. He was entirely within its power, his fate balanced on the wind.
* * * * *
The world changed around him once more and he found himself standing on an icy plain with Lord Malkor walking towards him. The sky was dark, covered in wispy grey clouds that periodically obscured the stars behind them.
Malkor charged towards him, his black spear appearing in his outstretched hands as he ran. He swung it in a circle above his head, angling it down as it sliced through the air before him. Ranno rolled across the rocky ground, evading its lethal tip. The rocks felt unusually hard against his shoulders, and when he rose to his feet he was surprised to see blood trickling down his upper arms. He felt a stinging sensation where his skin had grazed against the rocks.
'I can feel pain,' he said, surprised at his own words.
Malkor laughed and surged forwards, the spear gliding forwards in his hands. Ranno tilted his shoulders and the spear slid under his armpit. He trapped it between his arm and body, and then spun around, pulling the spear with him.
Malkor lost balance, staggering to one side. He released the spear but then held out his hands and it reformed across his open palms. Ranno dashed forwards, pulling a short sword from his belt. Malkor thrust out his palm, deflecting the blade with a wave of air. The two struggled until Malkor grasped Ranno by the throat, crushing his windpipe. The pain was real this time. Ranno fell to his knees, choking, wondering why he couldn't regenerate like before. Panic rose inside him as he realised he was human now. His injuries wouldn't heal.
Malkor laughed, lifting Ranno off the ground with one strong hand. Ranno reached down, grabbing Malkor's hand as it choked him. He stared at the sky in incredible pain, wondering where it had all gone wrong. Pulling twin daggers from his belt, he stabbed them into the war lord's chest. Malkor cried out, dropping Ranno onto his knees before bringing his fist down on his head. They fell together as darkness gathered around them.
* * * * *
Ranno opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in the Takawock chamber once more. The fire pit roared beneath him, and he grew in strength as a storm of nanoparticles erupted from the black void at the Takawock's heart. His worthiness had been proved beyond all doubt, and his reward was to receive the essence of all those who fallen before him.
A great surge of power erupted inside him as dozens of druros flowed up from the darkness below. They brought not just strength but memories and experience, joining with him like never before. They transformed him, making him stronger and more powerful, and yet somehow he knew he remained Ranno at his core. He was many centuries old but he felt young once more, like a new life had sprung up inside him, filling him with energy.
He was the first guardian to successfully prove himself against the Takawock, the first to stand accused and return to the realm of the living once more. Its rings slowed, falling flat on the floor as his body reformed like granite around him. When he stepped out onto the chamber's black rock once more, he felt as tall as a minotaur, but his appearance was the same as it had been before. His transformation had been mostly internal.
Flames erupted around him before going out once more. Even without the Takawock he felt a raging fire inside him. He was something new to the laws of creation, a guardian of a very different kind.
The minotaurs stamped their hooves, pounding the rock floor in appreciation as they stood around the perimeter of the chamber. There were more of them now, perhaps two dozen in all. The pounding of their hooves was a sign of respect, something Ranno hadn't been expecting at all. He had stood his ground and proven himself worthy in their eyes.
Kuerolong stepped forwards to greet him, slapping one large hand upon his shoulder. 'You did well, Ranno' he said. 'None have passed this test before.'
Ranno nodded. 'Perhaps now you will consider my request.'
Kuerolong threw back his head and roared with laughter, his huge black chest expanding as he held his arms out wide. 'Let's talk,' he said finally.