“Good work.” Kaelios clapped his hands, his grin smug as usual. “Now, onto stage three. Read the third description.”
Alex nodded, already feeling a mix of frustration and determination.
He still had three more skills to master, but he couldn’t deny how effective this training was.
As much as he hated to admit it, Kaelios’ method was working better than anything he could’ve done alone.
If he’d just received [Threads of Fate] or any of the other skills and been left to figure it out on his own, it might’ve taken weeks, or even months, to understand it.
Fighting the clone, testing himself repeatedly, and hearing Kaelios’ occasional snarky comments during his failures had sped up the process considerably.
‘This is probably what every chosen one goes through,’ Alex thought as he prepared to move forward, ‘They all must have mastered their skills before being let loose. No wonder they’re all so strong.’
He pushed the thoughts aside and opened the description of the third skill.
[Destiny Shift (Artifact+)]
[This skill allows the user to undo any single event that has occurred within the last 5 seconds.]
[Whether it be reversing the user’s own death, nullifying an enemy’s devastating attack, or altering the outcome of a significant world-changing event, this skill erases the chosen event entirely.]
[Upon activation, the undone event leaves no direct consequences in the timeline. However, those involved in the event will sense a disruption. Enemies may feel as if their actions were mysteriously cancelled, find themselves halted mid-action, or even teleported slightly away.]
[Cost: 10 Destiny Points per use, will not work if the attack is much stronger than the Destiny Shift.]
There was obviously no cooldown too, since it cost Destiny Points.
Alex scanned the description several times, carefully absorbing every word.
“So,” he muttered to himself, “I can undo any action that happened within the last five seconds, even my own death.”
It even specified he could undo his own death if it came to it.
But his limit was of 100 Destiny Points right now, meaning that he could do it up to 10 times in a row.
Snap!
Kaelios snapped his fingers, and suddenly, Alex’s Destiny Points shot to the max.
[Destiny Points: 100/100]
“How?” Alex asked, narrowing his eyes at the god. “Do you have an infinite amount?”
Kaelios shook his head. “Not quite. My cap is 300, three times yours. But in my domain, I can regenerate Destiny Points instantly. You can too, as long as I allow it.”
“Of course.”
“Now then,” Kaelios grinned, clearly enjoying himself, “stage three begins now.”
[Third Stage: Destiny Shift]
[Rules: Both you and the clone will always start with 100 Destiny Points, you can regenerate them during the battle.]
Alex’s goal was clear: defeat the clone.
The catch? Whoever ran out of Destiny Points first would lose.
This was probably teaching him to spend his [Destiny Points] with efficiency while also using his skills.
“Go!” Kaelios called.
The clone launched forward immediately.
Alex dashed to meet it, eager to test his new ability.
But just as he raised his arm to strike—
Fwish! Ding!
Alex suddenly teleported back to his starting position, cutting his own attack short.
“What the—?”
Before he could react, the clone didn’t stop.
Its momentum carried it straight into Alex, and a devastating punch sent him flying.
[You have died.]
Alex’s body froze mid-air, and everything went black.
But this time, instead of being removed from the fight entirely, he felt something pull at him.
“Destiny Shift!” Alex called out, his voice firm.
A golden glow surrounded him as the system kicked in.
[Undoing user’s death.]
His eyes snapped open, and he found himself back in the fight.
Though still mid-motion, he quickly recovered and landed on his feet.
‘It works with death too,’ he thought, impressed, ‘It did say that after all.’
He couldn’t believe that such powers truly existed.
This wasn’t immortality or anything of the sort, it was just… revives.
Alex glanced at Kaelios.
If what he said about having 300 Destiny Points, it meant that the [God of Destiny] pretty much had 31 lives before dying.
Were all the gods so difficult to kill? Probably.
The [God of Abyss] hadn’t revived, but that was probably because he wasn’t in his domain, aka the [Abyss].
Kaelios smirked from his perch.
“Not bad, huh? Of course, the skills only get stronger as you progress through the stages. The fourth and fifth ones? Those are on another level.”
Alex didn’t respond.
He refocused on the clone and activated [Threads of Fate].
Golden threads instantly appeared, wrapping around the clone’s limbs, head, and torso.
Each thread revealed a potential movement or attack.
The clone didn’t hesitate, it activated [Threads of Fate] as well.
With both of them using the skill, the fight became a game of wits.
Every move Alex made was countered perfectly, and every feint he attempted was predicted.
Likewise, Alex countered everything the clone threw at him.
Neither could land a decisive hit.
The stalemate lasted for a full minute, at which point the [Threads of Fate] ability timed out.
The moment it did, the clone struck first, landing a clean hit on Alex’s chest.
[You have died.]
Alex immediately activated [Destiny Shift], undoing his death and returning to the fight.
The clone did the same when Alex managed to strike back and kill it.
Back and forth they went, both relying on their skills to keep the battle going.
Each time one of them landed a fatal blow, the other would revive, undoing the damage entirely.
The several fights dragged on for hours.
Alex would keep losing, though.
This stage seemed way easier than the others thanks to the revives and the fact Alex was better at fighting, but even then.
Both Alex and the clone carefully managed their Destiny Points, earning more by dodging, deflecting, and landing hits.
Finally, after ten exhausting hours, Alex saw his opening.
[Destiny Points: 67/100]
[Clone’s Destiny Points: 55/100]
He’d been keeping track of their points carefully.
When the clone’s points dropped below 60, Alex launched a powerful attack, forcing it to use [Destiny Shift] to revive itself.
“Destiny Shift!” Alex called immediately after.
[Undoing revive.]
The clone froze in place, confusion flickering in its expression.
Kaelios leaned forward in his seat, his amusement turning into genuine surprise, “What?”
Normally, undoing a revival wouldn’t work if the target had an immortality skill or item in play.
But in this case, the clone wasn’t immortal, it relied entirely on [Destiny Shift] to return.
And using this skill was considered an action, wasn’t it?
Alex grinned, realizing he had the advantage.
The clone tried to revive again.
[Reviving…]
“Destiny Shift!”
[Undoing revive.]
Over and over, Alex cancelled the clone’s attempts to return, using his remaining Destiny Points to stay one step ahead.
When the clone’s points dropped below 10, it was clear it had no way to recover.
Alex landed one final blow, forcing the clone to attempt its last revive.
“Destiny Shift!”
The clone shattered into light, unable to return this time.
[Stage Three Complete.]
Kaelios burst into laughter, clapping his hands.
“You’re insane, human! I didn’t think anyone could pull that off!”
Alex exhaled heavily, finally letting himself relax.
“Two more to go,” he muttered, staring at the timer in the corner of his vision.
[3 Days, 10 Hours, 58 Minutes Remaining.]