The cold stone floor bites into his knees as he kneels in the dimly lit laboratory, the blue glow of his vial earring casting sharp flashes across scattered equipment. His beaked black mask conceals his eyes, but his jaw remains clenched tight beneath it.

The Tenth Harbinger stands before him, boot pressed firmly against Dottore's groin. Each shift of weight sends waves of pain radiating through his lower body. His bladder aches with a desperate fullness he has been ignoring for hours, too absorbed in his research to excuse himself. Now that choice has become a cruel joke.