Not yet
(A slow, creeping horror. The feeling of being watched.)
Hex wakes up gasping for air, his body drenched in cold sweat. Blood coats his hands, but he has no wounds.
The alley is dead silent. No wind. No sound. The world is too still.
The flickering streetlight barely illuminates the fog-covered figure standing at the end of the alley.
It doesn't move. It doesn't breathe. It just watches.
His status screen flickers to life in his vision, but it's broken, words jumbled like a corrupted file:
> ERROR: Soul Fragment Not Found.
Vitality… ERROR… Stability… 23%
Death Count: 0
That last part sticks with him. Why is there a counter?
Wait, where has this screen come from?
Before he can figure it out a whisper slithers into his ear:
"Not yet."
A sharp, icy blade slides into his back.
As he collapses, the last thing he sees is the shadowy figure—closer.
__________
He's back. Same alley. Same blood. But… something's different.
The shadowy figure is gone.
But the whisper remains: "Not yet."
---
~Wrong Hex?~
(A waking nightmare where Hex isn't sure if he's himself anymore.)
Hex wakes up violently shaking. His body feels… off.
He looks at his hands. They aren't his.
The blood is still there, but now it smells wrong—like rot.
The flickering streetlight hums, and the alley stretches—longer than before.
This time, instead of a shadowy figure… there's a mirror.
Hex stares at his reflection. His face is missing.
His body twitches, like something inside is trying to escape.
His reflection moves on its own, raising a knife.
The mirror-hex grins. "Not yet."
The knife plunges into Hex's throat.
_________
He wakes up choking on blood.
The mirror is gone. But now, he hears his own voice whisper: "Not yet."
_______
The world starts glitching. Hex is trapped in a decaying reality.
Hex wakes up, but the alley has changed.
The walls are melting, shifting like wax.
The streetlight flickers faster—a broken strobe light effect.
The alley feels too narrow, suffocating him.
A sound. A wet, shuffling noise.
The shadowy figure isn't at the end of the alley this time.
It's behind him.
A deep, guttural voice, layered like multiple people speaking at once: "Not yet."
Hands—too many hands—wrap around his neck.
Hex is dragged into the darkness.
_____
He wakes up with bruises around his throat.
This time, he's not alone. Something is breathing right next to him.
---
Hex isn't just dying—something is watching, studying him.
The alley is full of people.
They all wear the same clothes as him.
They stand perfectly still, facing away.
The streetlight flickers, and every time it does, they get closer.
Hex tries to move, but his legs feel nailed to the ground.
The crowd slowly turns toward him.
They have no faces.
A hundred mouths whisper in unison: "Not yet."
They swarm him.
________
He wakes up gasping for air—but this time, someone is whispering directly into his ear.
__________
(Reality isn't just glitching—it's decaying around him.)
Hex wakes up but something is wrong with the air. It's thick, humid, and smells like spoiled meat.
The walls of the alley pulse, like they're alive. The bricks are soft. Wet.
The streetlight flickers faster, but this time, it doesn't turn back on. The alley stays dark.
Then, from the darkness: a scraping noise. Like nails dragging on bone.
Hex tries to move, but his legs sink into the pavement like quicksand.
A figure crawls out of the wall. Its body is stretched wrong, limbs bending in ways they shouldn't.
It shouldn't have a face, but Hex can still feel it grinning at him.
The thing reaches into his chest and pulls out something wet and pulsing.
Hex chokes as his vision darkens.
The last thing he hears?
> "Still not yet."
_______
He wakes up vomiting blood.
The air is still thick with rot.
The walls are still pulsing.
The loop isn't resetting properly anymore.
---
Hex wakes up in a version of the alley that feels too perfect—like a replica.
The walls aren't melting, but they feel… fake. Like they're made of painted cardboard.
The streetlight flickers, but there's no buzzing sound.
The air is too clean. No scent. No wind.
Then he notices: his shadow is missing.
The Wrong Hex:
He sees someone at the end of the alley.
It's him. Standing there. Watching.
His doppelgänger smiles. But the smile is too wide, too unnatural.
The doppelgänger whispers: "You're not supposed to be here."
Hex blinks—and he's already dead.
_________
The doppelgänger is still there.
It didn't reset.
---
(Hex isn't just trapped in the alley anymore—something bigger is breaking through.)
This time, he wakes up and looks up.
The sky is gone.
Instead, something massive is watching him.
It has no form, just writhing shapes and countless staring eyes.
The City is Changing:
The alleyway is stretching endlessly.
The buildings are breathing.
In the distance, bells are ringing—but they don't stop.
The ground splits open, and something drags him down.
The last thing he sees is a message on his status screen:
> "WARNING: ENTITY DETECTED."
"RESPONSE: ESCAPE IMPOSSIBLE."
"DEATH COUNT: 7"