Space didn't open.
It condemned.
Hex stepped out of distortion and into hell.
The planet crushed him instantly.
Not with heat.
Not with flame.
With weight.
His boots struck the surface—and Purgatoria tried to erase him.
His knees slammed down.
His spine screamed.
His lungs refused to fill.
The ground was black obsidian split by veins of molten crimson. Storms howled overhead like tortured souls. The air was thin—wrong. Every breath burned. Oxygen was scarce. Each inhale felt like glass in his chest.
Gravity here wasn't twelve times Earth's.
It was one hundred.
Every step was lifting a mountain.
Every heartbeat felt stolen.
Hex forced himself upright.
Muscles tore.
Bones protested.
Blood roared.
"...Tch."
Above him stood Kael.
Not floating.
Standing on space itself.
Golden eyes calm.
Long coat untouched by gravity.
Reality bent around him like a throne.
"This world doesn't train warriors," Kael said.
"It sentences them."
Hex rolled his shoulders under crushing force.
"Then stop talking," he replied.
"And try to break me."
Kael smiled.
And vanished.
Hex felt it a split second before impact—
Kael appeared in front of him and unleashed hell.
Not energy.
Not techniques.
Pure, god-level hand-to-hand combat.
Kael specialized in close combat.
Every strike perfect.
Every movement lethal.
Combo One — Void Flash Jab
A jab so fast it bent space. Hex's head snapped sideways.
Combo Two — Graviton Elbow
An elbow driven into Hex's ribs with planetary force.
Combo Three — Rift Knee Breaker
Kael's knee folded space inward and crushed Hex's stomach.
Combo Four — Spatial Hook
A hook that curved around Hex's guard and smashed his jaw.
Combo Five — Zero-Point Uppercut
Hex lifted off the ground.
Combo Six — Dimensional Heel Drop
Kael vanished above him and slammed him into Purgatoria.
The planet howled.
Hex cratered.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
And then...
He laughed.
"...You're insane."
Kael smirked.
"You're rusty."
Hex rose again under one-hundred-times gravity.
Lightning crawled over his tattoos.
They moved again.
Blow.
Dodge.
Counter.
Crash.
Recover.
Kael bent space mid-strike.
Hex cut through space itself.
Kael formed energy in his hands.
Two spheres appeared.
One blue.
One red.
The air screamed.
Kael spoke calmly:
Spatial Art — Blue Singularity (Attrition Orb).
The blue sphere distorted gravity and drained stamina on contact.
Spatial Art — Red Collapse (Incineration Orb).
The red sphere erased matter on impact.
Kael fired both.
Hex dodged Blue—felt his strength drain instantly.
Red scorched past his face and erased a mountain behind him.
Kael raised both hands.
Blue and Red fused.
Reality warped.
Spatial Cataclysm — Purple Oblivion.
A beam-orb of pure annihilation shot forward—faster than sound, faster than sight.
It rivaled Hex's Flame Arrow.
Hex barely deflected it with a slash.
The planet shook.
Hex's tattoos flared.
His voice dropped.
"Gate of the Sovereign..."
The storm froze.
"First Seal — Azure Cataclysm."
Blue lightning detonated from his body.
The pressure multiplied.
Hex vanished.
And Kael barely saw him.
Their fists collided.
Kael was launched across the planet.
⸻
Then—
Four presences entered Purgatoria.
The storm bowed.
Narrator:
The Nocturne siblings.
Each one a calamity in human form.
Each one born to rule a universe.
Umbrael — God of Darkness. Not shadows... darkness itself.
Aetherion — The only being in all galaxies who wields pure arcane magic.
Seraphyne — Phoenix Empress. Power rivaling their grandfather.
Lyra — The fastest woman alive. Poison and speed incarnate.
They landed.
Lyra appeared behind Hex.
"Still dramatic, big brother."
Umbrael smirked.
"Earth made you soft."
Aetherion laughed.
"Or emotional."
Seraphyne smiled sweetly.
"Let's remind him who he is."
Training began.
⸻
Umbrael vs Lyra — Darkness vs Speed
Umbrael raised his hand.
Abyss Art — Black Horizon.
Light vanished.
Darkness became solid.
Lyra moved anyway.
She blurred through void, daggers flashing with venom.
Umbrael's darkness grabbed her shadow.
She flipped.
Dodged.
Poison met oblivion.
Speed vs Night.
⸻
Aetherion vs Seraphyne — Magic vs Phoenix
Aetherion smirked.
"You're sloppy."
Seraphyne laughed.
"You're weak."
They clashed.
Arcane Scripture — Violet Singularity.
Reality twisted around Aetherion.
Seraphyne answered:
Phoenix Regalia — Solar Devastation.
Fire exploded.
Magic shattered.
He kept beating her.
Dodging.
Countering.
Striking.
"Too slow."
"Too emotional."
"Too weak."
Her smile vanished.
Her aura turned black and violet.
Her eyes went empty.
Phoenix Ascension — Eclipse Empress Form.
The world burned.
She attacked to kill.
Aetherion barely survived.
Hex and Kael moved instantly.
They restrained her.
Hex whispered:
"Seraphyne."
Her body trembled.
Then collapsed.
Silence followed.
The siblings stood breathing.
Bruised.
Smiling.
Training had begun.
And the universe...
Was about to learn their names.