The Four Trials

The ritual circle was drawn in an abandoned subway tunnel, far beneath the city where no one would stumble across it. Ariel had produced the necessary components from seemingly nowhere—chalk that gleamed with inner fire, candles that burned with cold flame, and symbols that hurt to look at directly.

"Everyone ready?" Dreyl asked, standing at the center of the circle.

"Define ready," Saint muttered, checking his weapons for the dozenth time.

"I mean, are you sure you want to do this? Once we go through, there's no guarantee we're coming back."

"Kid," Saint said, "I've been cast out of Heaven and rejected by Hell. If I'm going out, might as well be in style."

"I've been running assassination contracts my whole life," Viper added. "Time to try something different."

"And I've been a slave for three centuries," Ariel said quietly. "I'd rather die free than live in chains."

Dreyl nodded. "Okay then. Let's go storm Hell."

He drew his knife and cut his palm, letting the blood drip onto the symbols. The moment it touched the chalk, the circle erupted in hellfire.

The flames rose higher and higher, forming a doorway that showed not fire, but darkness. Not the darkness of night, but the darkness of void—the space between spaces where Hell touched reality.

"Well," Saint said, "that's not ominous at all."

"Together?" Dreyl asked.

"Together," they replied.

As one, they stepped through the portal.

The last thing they heard before the flames consumed them was the sound of running footsteps.

"Wait!" a familiar voice called out. "Wait for me!"

Yumi burst into the tunnel just as the portal began to close. Without hesitation, she dove through the shrinking doorway.

The flames winked out, leaving only empty darkness.

And somewhere in that darkness, Dreyl's voice echoed with a mixture of terror and fury:

"YUMI! What the hell did you just do?"

Her reply was lost in the roar of Hell's winds as they fell into the abyss.

But if anyone had been listening closely, they might have heard her say:

"What I had to do."

The portal sealed itself, leaving no trace that it had ever existed.

In Hell, the real trials were about to begin.

They fell through darkness for what felt like hours before hitting solid ground with bone-jarring impact. Dreyl rolled to absorb the landing, hellfire cushioning his fall. Viper twisted mid-air like a cat, landing in a crouch. Saint hit the ground hard but came up with both pistols drawn. Ariel landed gracefully, her swords already singing from their sheaths.

Yumi landed last, tumbling ungracefully and nearly face-planting before Dreyl caught her arm.

"Are you insane?" Dreyl hissed, pulling her to her feet. "This is Hell! You could die!"

"So could you," Yumi shot back, brushing dust from her school uniform. "Someone has to make sure you idiots don't get yourselves killed."

"This isn't a game—"

"Neither is watching your friends walk into Hell alone."

Before Dreyl could respond, a slow clap echoed through the chamber. They spun to face the source, weapons ready.

The figure approaching them was tall and gaunt, dressed in robes that seemed to be cut from midnight itself. His face was ageless but ancient, with eyes like burning coals and a smile that belonged in nightmares.

"Welcome," the figure said, his voice carrying the weight of eons, "to the Antechamber of Judgment. I am Bael, Hell-Judge of the Fourth Circle, and I will be your... guide."

"Guide?" Saint's pistols tracked the demon's movement. "More like executioner."

Bael laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Oh, my dear fallen angel, if I wanted you dead, you'd never have made it past the portal. No, you're here for something far more interesting than death."

He gestured, and the chamber around them transformed. The walls stretched impossibly high, carved with screaming faces and twisted symbols. Torches erupted into flame along the walls, casting dancing shadows that seemed to move independently.

"The Trials of Hell," Bael continued, "are older than most civilizations. They exist for one purpose: to determine if a challenger has the right to negotiate with Hell's hierarchy as an equal."

"And if we fail?" Viper asked, his whip coiled and ready.

"Then you become property of Hell. Forever." Bael's smile widened. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. Allow me to explain the rules."

The air shimmered, and suddenly they could see through the walls—into four separate chambers, each more terrifying than the last.

"Four trials," Bael said. "One for each of your... companions. Each trial is tailored to test the deepest fears and greatest weaknesses of the participant. Success means freedom and the right to bargain. Failure means eternal servitude."

"What about me?" Dreyl asked.

"You, dear boy, are the stake. Win all four trials, and you gain the right to challenge Hell's hierarchy directly. Lose even one..." Bael's eyes gleamed. "And you take your father's throne immediately, whether you want it or not."

Dreyl felt ice in his veins. "You're saying if we fail, I become the Devil?"

"Oh, you'll become so much more than that." Bael's voice dropped to a whisper. "You'll become everything your father wants you to be. And your friends will serve you for eternity, completely loyal and completely broken."

The team exchanged glances. They'd known this was dangerous, but the stakes were even higher than they'd imagined.

"So," Ariel said quietly, "who goes first?"

"That would be you, my dear Hell Ronin." Bael turned to face her. "Your trial awaits."

The floor beneath them began to descend, revealing that they stood on a massive platform. As they sank into Hell proper, the walls fell away to reveal the first trial chamber.