"How are you feeling?", Dirtha wasn't really asking to understand how Diego was feeling. Instead, it was a subtle way of checking that he hadn't somehow fallen asleep with his eyes open.
"I don't know", the revenant answered, wearing his full costume. His eyes were locked onto his mask, waiting for him in his hands, "Odd".
"It'll be enough", the marble-skinned woman then turned to another of her employees, "Fio, get him ready".
"On it!", the woman stepped towards Diego with a weird uncoordinated rhythm. At first, she jumped ahead in a wave of enthusiasm, only to remember mid motion that she had to look professional and held back. Or maybe, it was just that the big, pointy hat on her head was that hard to balance.
"I'm not sure if you've met before, but this is Fio, our resident magus", the woman suddenly raced passed Dirtha, catching her by surprise, "She can sometimes get overly excited".
"I specialize in illusory magic, for special effects and other things to help you wow the audience", she moved her hat to a more comfortable spot and extended her hand towards Diego, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance".
"Nice to meet you", The revenant answered, taking her hand. Not a second after the formalities were over, Fio pulled his arm to her and began to move her finger over the stitches that covered it, "This is some quality work you've got here. Has anyone told you before?".
"Really? I thought the parts came straight out of the discount bin".
"Oh, then you're lucky that you didn't get a pair of eyes with myopia", She then lunged to his faced to inspect his eyes, too close for Diego's comfort.
"Yeah", with a nervous laugh, the revenant made it clear that he didn't know how to react to that situation and pleaded to Dirtha for help with his eyes.
"Fio", the businesswoman intervened, "I remind you that we've got an appointment".
"Ah, yes, sorry. You know how much I enjoy watching other people's work. Just the stitchwork Vialdi and his people do is top notch, and I think they've tried new stuff for this body. Last week, I heard that they were making changes to their assembly line", the magus then turned back to the revenant, still grasping his arm despite how he was trying to move it away, "Do you mind if I give you a good look later? For professional purposes, obviously".
"Fio", Dirtha repeated, making it clear that her patience was running thin,
"Sorry, I'm rambling", She finally let the young kravist free, and with the same hand pointed at a sign on the wall, "Could you tell me what it says there?"
"Fresh paint, do not touch", Diego couldn't help but notice that someone hadn't read it before leaving a handprint on the wall.
"Great, we can rule out any sight problems! What about nausea or any unusual pains?"
"Nothing of the sort".
"Perfect, looks like we can get started", the woman then pulled a cylinder out of her bag and opened it with a flick of her wrist, "Just sit still while I put this lotion on your chest, we can't let you out showing the copper plate".
"What is that thing even?", every time Diego took his shirt off, he stopped to look at that thing poking in the middle of his chest, wondering what the hell it was doing there. And now, he finally had a chance to solve that mystery.
"You don't know yet?", something lit up inside Fio's eyes and her fingers stopped in front of the revenant's body, "You're in for a treat."
"Fio", the businesswoman said, even more exasperated than before.
"It's another part of the check-up", the woman improvised as she went along, "Just think what would happen if it broke down in the middle of the match".
"Didn't you just say that Viali's work was top notch?"
"It's standard inspection routine, better safe than sorry", Fio said with the most professional smile she could manage to come up with. Instead, she looked like something trying out a face for the first time.
With the cold expression of a stone, the businesswoman grumbled and took an L-shaped key from the pocket of her jacket, "Make it quick".
Fio snatched it and rushed to insert it in the copper plate, opening it. She then pulled a small handle inside, releasing the glowing coil held inside Diego's body.
"Do you remember that you got struck by lightning?".
"Hard to forget something like that".
"Well, that was done to power up this thing. Basically, it's an engine that gives a treated body the energy to bring it back to live and keep it moving".
The coil glowed with a cold blue hue, hypnotizing Diego. Every day, he learned something new about the world that made him want to collapse, and what worried him the most, is that he was getting used to it. The fear and confusion were still there, but he was also impressed by the device, and trying to dissect it with his mind.
"Impressive, isn't it?", the woman asked when she saw how Diego looked at it.
"What matters is if it's in good shape", Dirtha was out of patience, "Is it?"
"Yes boss, it's in perfect condition":
"Good, get him ready".
Without any retort, Fio did her job silently and with her head down, unwilling to continue challenging her boss. She dipped her fingers inside the cylinder and meticulously spread the lotion around the revenant's chest. In seconds, the plaque disappeared, and a large vertical scar appeared in its place. Now, he looked like someone had opened wide his chest and then sewed closed again in a hurry.
"The lotion should last for a few hours before it starts to fail, more than enough for the match", she said timidly, "Avoid touching it as much as you can, or people might notice your finger going through the scar".
"What about my skin?".
"I want it to stay like that", their bosses cut in, "It fits well with your character".
Diego wondered if he was about to enter a match or a freakshow. To be honest, even back home, wrestling was a mix of both. He looked back into the empty sockets of the mask, and the anger stirred inside. He clenched his fists and grind down his teeth at how in this new world, for many, he was less than a human, than any other living being that wasn't cattle.
"Are we ready?", Dirtha asked, eyes nailed against her revenant, digging deep inside his soul.
Silently, Diego put the mask on, enveloping his head in green fire. The anger shook inside of him, desperate to find a target to lash out against and loud enough to drown his empathy. Now, being forced to be a wrestler didn't look so bad. At least he had an excuse to punch someone without consequences.
"Yeah", Hellmask answered, "We ready".