What a spine-chilling tale this has been! We’ve been hoping the duo find their way out of this loop, but it’s not looking good at all right now. We need to see how this ends. Are they trapped, or a miracle’s gonna get them out? Let’s find out!

Jordan and Jamal trembled with fright as the hooded figure loomed over them, his shadow stretching unnaturally and enveloping them in its cold embrace. Every cell of theirs screamed in horror as they struggled to process the revelation.

They had never stood a chance of escaping in the first place. It now made sense why circumstances always worked against them whenever they were so close. Jamal had yelled it out of frustration, but that moment showed he had actually spoken the truth: they just couldn’t win.

Because this loop was manipulated enough to ensure they never won.

“You pathetic, insignificant fools!” the figure snarled. “You thought you could walk into this curse and walk back out? Never!”

“I-I-I can’t believe it. Y-y-you’re the sorcerer?” Jordan whispered, his voice barely audible.

“Of course I am, you blundering fool!” Okron replied sharply, his tone dripping with pure malevolence. His hood tilted back slightly, revealing glowing crimson eyes that burned with unbridled hatred. “I am the great and mighty Okron, and this is my masterpiece of suffering. A monument to my vengeance against Aric the Valiant.”

Okron’s voice grew louder and more venomous with each syllable. “That arrogant bastard defeated my master, destroyed all that I held dear, and dared to laugh in the face of my pain. So I ensured that his desire for a peaceful retirement would never last. He and all his loyal subjects were doomed to relive their final moments for all eternity, their precious legacy reduced to one of endless torment. And anyone foolish enough to interfere, like you two, is doomed to suffer alongside him.”

Jamal shook his head, tears already spilling out of his eyes. “P-p-p-please, Mr. Okron! We… we didn’t interfere! We—we didn’t know what we were doing! Please forgive us! Please!”

Okron’s laughter burst forth again. “You did not know? Spare me your feeble lies, fool! You knew enough to mock my inscription. You knew enough to defile this place with your arrogance. That was interference enough.”

“Please, sir, please!” Jordan pleaded. “We beg of you, let us go. We made a mistake, but we’ll make things right. Please, we-we’ll tell the whole world never to toy with your curse! We swear on our liv–“

“SILENCE!” Okron roared, his yell booming like a loud clap of thunder. Jordan instantly went mute, covering his mouth.

Glaring at them for a moment, Okron’s expression then twisted into one of malicious glee.

“Ah, the joys of deceiving every bumbling scoundrel that falls into this trap! Every time someone stumbles upon this cursed place, I become the little boy. Innocent, hopeful, a guide through the chaos. And every time, I dangle salvation in front of them like a carrot before a donkey.”

Jordan and Jamal were too terrified to utter a word.

“That vortex… it was never taking you back. Never. But, what is the point of suffering without hope? Watching your pathetic little faces light up as you think you had found a way out… oh, the joy it brought to my soul. And then…” He raised a hand, making a grasping motion. “I take it away. Just as you reach for freedom, I snatch it from your grasp.”

The two shook their heads. No doubt about it, this was pure evil standing before them. If only they had known this was what lay on the other side of their quest to stick it to Abryann and live life on the wild side…

Jamal was right. I should’ve just moved on and found another babe, Jordan thought bitterly. Why, oh why, did I have to let my anger drive me like this? I could’ve just found another babe and had fun with her while Jamal banged that Daisy chick… we would’ve been safe…

The air around them suddenly grew colder, like a winter blast had descended over them.

“Say goodbye to everything you have ever known,” Okron intoned, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. “Because after the next massacre, your fate is sealed. You will become servants of Aric. Forever bound to this palace. Forever trapped in this cycle of blood and despair. There is no escape, no mercy, no end in sight.”

Jamal and Jordan screamed for mercy, their breaths visible in the icy air.

“PLEASE, SIR, PLEASE!”

“LET US GO, PLEASE, WE BEG YOU! DON’T DO THIS!”

Okron’s laughter erupted again, echoing across the land like a death knell and rendering their impassioned pleas fruitless.

His form began to dissolve into black smoke, dissipating into the air. The last thing they saw was the glint of his glowing, crimson eyes beneath the hood before he vanished entirely.

A heartbeat later, time snapped back into motion.

The attackers, previously frozen in place, began to surge forward. The archers standing by the ship loaded up their bows and let fly.

Arrows rained down from above, piercing their bodies before they could react and try to run. The pain was sharp and searing as they landed in their guts and chests, but it was nothing compared to the despair that had settled in their minds. As they bled out, their final thoughts were consumed by the chilling truth…

There would be no escape.

This was it. Their lives as they knew it… were over.

The last sound they heard was the echo of Okron’s cruel laughter in their ears, as darkness claimed them once more.

***

Jordan opened his eyes.

He sat up slowly, his back aching from another restless afternoon nap on the servant’s cot. “Dear me,” he muttered, “I must inform my lord about this most discomfiting cot. Surely I require one that gives me a little more comfort…”

“Jordan!” a familiar voice called sharply.

He turned to see Jamal already dressed in the simple tunic of a servant, holding a tray laden with polished goblets. “What on earth are you waiting for? Do be quick and help me place our lord’s goblets in the kitchen before we begin scrubbing the floors.”

Jordan blinked, momentarily disoriented. “My apologies,” he mumbled, shaking off the haze. “I will join you shortly.”

Jamal rolled his eyes. “Just hurry up before Mistress Helena notices and docks our rations again. We do not need that.”

Jordan scrambled to his feet, pulling on his plain garments and tying them in practiced movements before following Jamal. His thoughts were strangely calm, his mind empty of any memory beyond the palace. He only knew that he was a dearly cherished servant of Aric the Valiant, and that his life revolved around the rhythms of palace servitude.

As they moved through the bustling corridors, they passed a grand mirror. For a fleeting second, Jordan paused, staring at his reflection.

Something flickered in his chest—an unnamable feeling, like the ghost of a memory long forgotten.

“What are you doing?” Jamal hissed, grabbing his arm. “We do not have time for this! Mistress Helena is waiting!”

Jordan tore his gaze away from the mirror and nodded. “Apologies once again,” he murmured, falling in step behind Jamal.

As they entered the kitchen and placed the goblets in their rightful places, they immediately got to work, scrubbing the floors as diligently as possible.

Blissfully unaware that in a matter of minutes, the floor they scrubbed would be stained with their blood and the blood of their fellow servants.

Blissfully unaware that they would be back to do this job, and would get slaughtered.

Again and again and again.

Jordan and Jamal, like so many curious other before them, had been consumed completely by the warrior’s palace. The lives they once knew were erased, and they knew nothing of what they once were.

No longer were they Jamal Pierce and Jordan Pacer, twenty-something-year-old guys on a trip to Seluna Island. No longer did they have memories of living life on the edge.

They were now servants of Aric, doomed to eternity in the loop.

Living and dying with no end.

***

EPILOGUE

The gathering at the security checkpoint was as quiet and solemn as the evening currently was. Abryann, Kenny and the security officers stood around, grimly waiting to see what the specialist, who had gone in to search for them would say.

As the specialist emerged from the ruins, brushing dust from his weathered jacket, Abryann, whose facial expression was a mix of anger and worry, quickly asked, “Nothing?”

The older man shook his head solemnly. “Nothing. No trace of them. It’s clear they’ve vanished. Just like those before them.”

As Abryann’s expression grew darker and Kenny put an arm around her, one of the security guards shook his head. “They knew exactly what they were doing. Setting up that fireworks distraction to throw us off guard and all.”

Abryann’s nostrils flared. “Of course, they did! Jamal and Jordan thought they were invincible. Thought it was all a big joke.” She threw her arms in the air. “And now look where that got them!”

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but her voice cracked slightly as she continued. “I warned them. I warned them not to go there. But no, they couldn’t listen. They had to prove something. To me? To themselves? Who knows!”

Kenny placed a hand on her shoulder. “Baby, take it easy. You did everything you could. Everyone here knows that.”

The specialist nodded in agreement, his expression grave. “Abryann, I know you well enough to know you certainly did what was necessary. I know you gave them every warning. Just remember this: this old cursed palace… it has a way of calling to the reckless and the foolish. If they chose to ignore the signs, there’s nothing anyone could’ve done to save them.”

Abryann’s gaze softened, but the fire of her anger lingered as she shook her head. “They didn’t just ignore the signs—they mocked them. They mocked me. And now the palace has claimed them, just like the others before.”

Everyone sighed as they stared at the ruins in the distance. Indeed, this scourge of Seluna Island had done it again.

“I’m done,” she said quietly. “I’ve done my best, and it’s not enough. If this palace wants more victims, I can’t stop it. I’m not going to let this place haunt me anymore.”

The others nodded in somber agreement. One of the guards muttered, “They chose their fate. You can’t save everyone.”

Abryann gave one last look at the ruins. “No, you can’t,” she agreed softly. “All I can do is continue to warn visitors. Those who listen will listen. Those who won’t… there’s nothing I can do.”

Turning to Kenny, she added, “Let’s go, my love. There’s nothing left to do here.”

Kenny nodded. “Let’s get to bed. Another long day ahead.”

The two walked away slowly, their backs turned to the warrior’s palace ruins, an unyielding sentinel of its own dark history. Once again, as the curse stated, it had bound those who dared to dare it.

Jordan and Jamal were not the first to be caught up in this curse. And as long as another curious person ignored the warnings all around and dared to venture into those ruins and invoke the curse of Okron…

They certainly would not be the last.

THE END

Sigh, an unfortunate end there. The boys lost the race to escape the loop, and now they’re stuck forever. Well, they ignored the warnings and bulldozed their way into this awful fate. It’s easy to feel bad for them, but hey, they can’t say they weren’t warned.

Thank you for reading, and as always, continue to enjoy yourself around the State!