The Hexagon Trials

The night everything changed felt like the world itself was tearing apart. Jack had always thought he could handle anything. Fights in the alleyways, curses whispered by jealous rivals, even those weird visions that haunted him at night. But nothing prepared him for the fire, the screaming skies, or the monsters that came crawling from the darkness to steal the only person he truly loved. Anna. It started just like any other day, or at least, it tried to. Jack and Anna had been running again, hiding from the soldiers of the Cursed Empire. Their love wasn’t allowed—like, actually banned by blood-written laws. But love doesn’t listen to laws, and definitely not to emperors with dark magic. They’d been together since Jack could remember, through this life and… somehow… through so many others he barely understood. Jack didn’t remember every life clearly. They were like blurry dreams that faded when the sun came up. But the feeling never left him—the feeling that Anna had always been there. A smile in a different dress, a voice that called his name in a hundred different places, but it was always her. And he was always himself: reckless, stubborn, a little bit of a bad boy who’d fight the universe for her. That night, the sky split open. Literally. Jack and Anna were hiding in the ruins of an old stone temple, walls blackened with old fire scars. Anna kept glancing at him with those bright eyes, the ones that always made his chest feel tight. “They’ll find us here,” she whispered. “I know,” Jack said, his voice rough but soft just for her. “But I’ll keep us safe. I swear.” Before Anna could answer, the ground trembled. Cracks raced across the floor like lightning. Black mist leaked from the cracks, turning into shapes that shouldn’t exist—twisted shadows with burning red eyes. Jack grabbed Anna’s hand. “Run!” They bolted through the shattered halls, dodging falling stones and twisted columns. The shadows followed, screeching like dying beasts. Jack’s heart slammed against his ribs, but he didn’t care about himself—only Anna. The thought of losing her was worse than dying a thousand times. Anna tripped on a broken stone, falling hard. Jack spun around, catching her before she hit the ground. “I got you,” he said, forcing a grin even though fear stabbed at his chest. But the shadows closed in, curling around them like living smoke. Jack raised his free hand, shouting words he barely remembered—words from an old life, maybe his fifth or sixth. Light flared from his palm, burning the shadows back, but it hurt. His head throbbed, like something inside was cracking. Anna’s eyes widened. “Jack, don’t! The curse—” “I don’t care!” he yelled. “I’m not letting them take you!” The shadows screamed and retreated, but not for long. The light flickered, and darkness swallowed them again. Something huge rose from the mist, bigger than any nightmare Jack had ever seen—a beast made of bone and hate, crowned with horns dripping black fire. Anna’s breath caught. “What is that?” “Doesn’t matter,” Jack muttered. “Stay behind me.” But the beast wasn’t after Jack. Its gaze locked on Anna. Jack’s blood froze. He stepped forward, sword drawn, but the shadows slammed into him, wrapping around his body like chains. He struggled, muscles burning, but they were too strong. The beast opened its maw, darkness swirling inside. “No!” Jack roared. He broke free, running toward Anna, but the shadows pulled him back again. Anna’s eyes filled with tears. “Jack!” “I’m coming!” he shouted, but the darkness swallowed him whole. The last thing he saw was Anna reaching for him, her face breaking, and then nothing. --- Jack floated in nothingness. No ground, no sky, no light—just endless black. His body felt heavy, too heavy to move. He tried to scream, but his voice dissolved into the void. Where am I? he thought, panic curling in his chest. Memories flashed—running with Anna, her hand in his, the warmth of her smile, the softness of her voice. Then, that monster. The curse. The darkness. He tried to reach for her in the darkness, but there was nothing. His heart felt like it was being crushed. Anna… she was out there, somewhere, and he was trapped here. Time lost all meaning. Minutes, hours, maybe days—Jack couldn’t tell. His thoughts kept coming back to Anna. Was she safe? Was she crying? Did she think he’d abandoned her? That thought hurt worst of all. He whispered her name over and over. “Anna… Anna…” At first, there was no answer. Just silence, cold and cruel. But then, a voice—a whisper, not hers, but something older, darker. “You have been cursed, Jack,” the voice hissed. “Your love has defied the empire’s will. You shall be punished for eternity.” Jack’s jaw clenched. “I don’t care what you do to me. Let her go!” But the darkness only laughed, cold and hollow. “You have been sentenced to the underworld. There, you shall battle an endless war… until you forget why you fight.” Jack’s fists tightened. “I’ll never forget. Never.” The darkness wrapped around him, and the void split apart. --- He fell. Wind roared past him, though there was no wind. Below, an endless wasteland stretched out—black stone, rivers of fire, and towers of bone. The underworld wasn’t fire and brimstone like in stories—it was worse. It felt alive, hateful, like it wanted him to suffer. Jack crashed onto jagged rocks, pain exploding through his body. He groaned, forcing himself up. Blood dripped from cuts, but he ignored it. Pain meant nothing without Anna. Around him, shadows shifted. Dark figures with twisted shapes crawled closer, eyes glowing. Jack stumbled, looking for a weapon. His sword was gone, swallowed by the void. But then, buried under black sand, he saw something shine—a broken blade, cracked and rusted, but it felt familiar. He grabbed it, breathing hard. The shadows closed in, snarling. “Come on then,” Jack spat, voice raw. “You want to keep me from her? You’ll have to kill me.” The first shadow lunged. Jack sidestepped, swinging the blade. It cut through the darkness, and the creature howled, vanishing into smoke. Another attacked, clawing at his chest, but Jack drove the blade into its throat. Pain seared through him, but he kept fighting. Every time a shadow fell, two more took its place. His arms burned, lungs screamed for air, but he didn’t stop. Anna. For Anna. That thought kept him standing. --- After what felt like forever, the shadows retreated. Jack dropped to his knees, breathing ragged. Blood soaked his shirt, and the broken blade shook in his hand. “I’ll find you,” he whispered, voice cracking. “I don’t care what this place throws at me.” He forced himself up, limping through the black wasteland. The underworld felt endless—mountains of skulls, rivers that glowed with ghostly light, towers that twisted into the sky like claws. Everywhere, whispers followed him—promises of power, threats of doom, lies about Anna. But Jack didn’t listen. In the distance, he saw a structure—a ruined gate carved with ancient symbols. Maybe a way out. Maybe a trap. He didn’t care. He had to keep moving. As he walked, memories flooded back. Anna’s laugh echoing in old gardens, her hand brushing his hair, the warmth of her breath on his skin. Each memory hurt, like salt in a wound, but it also kept him alive. Suddenly, the ground shook. The cracked earth split open, and something crawled out—a creature of iron and bone, carrying a sword bigger than Jack’s whole body. Jack’s heart pounded, but he raised his blade. “I don’t have time for this.” The creature lunged, its sword crashing down. Jack barely dodged, pain flaring in his side. He rolled, coming up behind it, and slashed at its leg. Sparks flew, but the creature didn’t slow. It turned, swinging again. Jack raised the broken blade to block. The force knocked him back, rocks cutting into his skin. But he scrambled up, spitting blood. “Anna,” he whispered. “For her.” The creature roared, but Jack charged, slipping under its swing. With a desperate yell, he drove the blade into its chest. It cracked, then exploded into shards of bone and metal. Jack fell back, chest heaving. His body felt like it was falling apart, but he forced himself to stand. He stumbled through the ruined gate. Beyond it, the underworld seemed even darker, if that was possible. The air grew colder, the whispers louder. But he kept going. --- Hours—maybe days—passed. Jack couldn’t tell anymore. His body hurt worse than ever, but he refused to stop. He found water—black and bitter—and forced himself to drink. He found strange roots growing among the bones and ate them, even though they tasted like ashes. In his sleep, he dreamed of Anna. Her face, so clear it hurt. “I’m still looking for you,” she whispered. He woke up crying, but even that didn’t stop him. --- One day—if it was day—he reached a cliff overlooking a sea of shadows. Across it, a faint light burned, the first real light he’d seen since falling here. His heart leapt. Could it be…? A voice behind him hissed. “You will never reach her.” Jack spun. Another monster—bigger than the last, armored in black stone, with burning eyes. Jack gripped his broken blade, exhausted but unbroken. “Watch me.” The creature charged. Jack ducked under its claws, slashing at its arm. The blade cracked further but held. The creature roared, swinging again. Jack felt it tear across his back, pain flaring white-hot, but he kept moving. Memories of Anna flooded his mind—her warmth, her tears, the way she’d whispered “Don’t leave me” that night. “I’m not leaving!” he shouted, voice raw. With a final surge of strength, he leapt, driving the blade into the monster’s throat. It shrieked, black smoke pouring out, and crumbled to dust. Jack fell to his knees, breathing hard. The light across the sea burned brighter now, calling to him. “I’m coming, Anna,” he whispered. He stood, pain screaming in every bone, but he didn’t care. Somewhere beyond the darkness, she was waiting. And Jack would walk through hell itself to find her. Even lost in the void, love burned brighter than any curse. And the Hexagon Trials had only just begun.