Destiny Shift!
Alex should have died.
Varyn had struck him down, and with that fatal blow, the darkness had invaded his body, seeking to corrupt him entirely.
Yet, in that fleeting instant before death truly claimed him, Alex made his move.
[Undoing Varyn’s attacks…]
His thoughts raced.
He had one chance.
He had to be careful.
If he simply undid his death, there was a high risk the corruption would remain inside him, lurking, festering.
He didn’t know exactly what that darkness was, only that when Varyn had used [Darkness Pulse], he had felt something seep into him, twisting through his very being.
That was the true danger.
So, instead of undoing only his death, he chose to undo all of Varyn’s attacks in one decisive move.
Every wound and every trace of corruption was erased afterward.
And just like that, Alex was back.
His body twitched as he slowly pushed himself up from the abyssal ground, breath shaky.
The pain was still there, his soul had taken damage, something even Destiny Shift couldn’t heal completely.
He clenched his fists.
He would deal with it later.
[The Heart of Calamity reacts to the darkness.]
“…?”
A sudden alert flashed before him, making him hesitate.
The Heart of Calamity… that was the Hatred Demon’s heart, an organ belonging to a being so powerful it rivaled the gods themselves.
One of the few entities capable of outright defying fate.
Could it help him resist this corruption?
It had saved him before, when Daniel attacked, when all seemed lost.
Maybe, if the darkness inside him became too much, if it truly threatened him, the heart would react again.
But for now, nothing changed.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness around him.
The [Abyss Arena] was still a battlefield of chaos.
Astolf and Lorien clashed fiercely, their attacks shaking the void itself, while Valyr, standing in the distance, watched them with cold intent.
No.
Not just watched.
He was moving.
Alex’s eyes narrowed as he saw the god shifting, inching closer to the battle.
Valyr’s movements were silent, calculated, his presence nearly undetectable.
He was waiting for the perfect moment to strike the Undead King from behind.
‘Coward.’
To a god like Valyr, ego and pride meant nothing.
The only thing that mattered was victory, so he didn’t care about anything and what anyone said.
After all, even if he was a coward, all of those there to witness it would be dead and transformed into one of his puppets anyway, right?
Right now, his goal was clear, eliminate Astolf while Lorien was keeping him busy, then turn them into his puppets.
Alex exhaled.
‘Not gonna work if I keep doing it like that, he killed me instantly…’
This wasn’t a fight he could win through normal means.
No matter how many destiny points he had left, no matter what skills he could use, he knew he couldn’t match that.
The thing Valyr had become… Was this his true form?
A grotesque entity, larger than any being Alex had ever seen, its writhing tendrils stretching into the abyss.
A gaping maw where its head should have been.
In his past life, Valyr had never transformed into something like this, and he hadn’t even supposed Lorien at all.
Was it because this form was limited to when he was inside the Abyss? And the fact he could summon his chosen one too?
Most likely.
But none of that mattered now.
He had no time for doubt.
He had one move left, one last gambit he could use to win.
Alex hadn’t “truly” even started fighting Varyn, but upon receiving the first attack, he knew that trying to play it fair in a one on one was stupid too.
World Cleaver was his solution to that problem.
‘This time, it’s for real.’
No one was looking at him.
The golden outlines in his vision marked their sightlines, none of them paid him any attention.
‘Perfect.’
The Undead King was locked in battle, unleashing everything he had: [Skeletal Hands], [Undead Flame], [Dark Aura], desperate to hold his ground against Lorien.
He hadn’t even reacted to Alex’s revival.
Astolf knew Alex wouldn’t stay dead.
And he was right.
But this time, Alex wasn’t just getting back up.
Against the Primordial Dragons and in the Sixth Layer, he had started the process but ended it halfway because the situation resolved itself.
But this time, he would end this.
Closing his eyes, he focused, deeper than ever before.
WORLD CLEAVER!
His consciousness pulsed as he activated the skill, the divine aura around him swirling, ready to be unleashed.
Alex opened his eyes again, and inside his mind… he saw a flower.
‘What the…?’
A giant flower of darkness, blooming slowly within the abyss of his consciousness.
[This is the ‘Forsaken from Light’ flower. Once it fully opens, you will become a puppet.]
His [Cursed Eyes of Truth] had revealed the answer to him.
Alex’s expression darkened.
The abyss was spreading inside him. This was proof.
But there was no time to worry about it.
Ignoring the flower, ignoring the whispers of the [Abyss Watchers], Alex pushed forward.
WORLD CLEAVER!
Golden energy erupted within his mind, swirling around him as his destiny points burned away.
And then…
Fwish! Slash!
The [Blade of Destiny] appeared before him once again, illuminating the darkness.
It was just as beautiful as the first two times, and this time he was actually going to use it.
It was slowly rotating, awaiting Alex’s command.
But before Alex could reach for the hilt, the blade turned… toward the flower.
[I do not like it.]
“…Huh?”
Without hesitation, the Blade of Destiny attacked the dark flower, slashing it apart in an instant.
Then, it turned on the Abyss Watchers.
One by one, it cut them down.
In just a second, the once-shadowed landscape of his mind was cleared.
And then, as if nothing had happened, the blade returned to its original position.
[Let’s proceed, master.]
“…Alright?”
Ding!
[The ‘Forsaken from Light’ debuff has been removed.]
“…Damn.”
He hadn’t expected that.
But he wasn’t going to complain.
Without wasting another second, he reached for the Blade of Destiny, gripping its hilt.
The golden energy flared, consuming everything in his mind, turning it pure white.
[Time to cut down a god.]
The blade spoke.
Alex smirked.
“Yeah.”
His eyes snapped open in the real world as he grabbed the hilt of the blade, activating the skill.
Varyn’s head whipped around in an instant.
He had sensed it.
The corruption inside Alex was gone for some reason.
“You little shit…” His monstrous voice dripped with fury. “When will you FUCKING DIE?!”
He lunged.
But Alex didn’t move.
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‘Not yet.’
Because something was missing.
The Wielder of the Blade of Destiny, it was supposed to materialize.
Where was it?
Varyn was rushing toward him in his monstrous form, four arms swinging in unison, two wielding the [Scythes of the Damned], the other two crackling with magic, already unleashing devastating spells.
But Alex saw it coming.
Threads of Fate!
‘I need to hold it for a bit.’
Golden lines wrapped around Varyn, entangling him, revealing his every movement before he even made them.
Alex had started this battle with 138/150 Destiny Points.
He spent 100 for World Cleaver.
Another 10 for Destiny Shift.
That left him with 18.
Dodging Varyn’s attacks twice before added 2 Destiny Points, meaning Alex had just enough for [Threads of Fate].
And now, he could see everything.
Every move. Every strike. Every intention.
Varyn had no surprises left.
Alex weaved through the attacks with perfect precision, sidestepping each deadly blow as if he had choreographed the battle himself.
Even a God didn’t have any secrets now.
But Alex wasn’t thinking about that.
There was only one thing on his mind.
‘Just materialize already.’
And then, a golden spark flashed in his vision.
Alex smiled.
Even as Varyn unleashed a storm of attacks, even as death loomed inches away, he smiled.
‘Bingo.’
It was time.