“I want you to cut the nightmares,” Alex commanded, his voice hoarse but steady, carrying the weight of everything he’d endured up until now.
The [Angel of Destiny] remained still for a moment, silent and poised in the air like a blade on the verge of descending.
Then, slowly, it nodded.
[…Very well.]
The angel moved with grace, drifting forward with calm purpose, as though it already knew how this would end.
Its wings spread slightly, radiating that same golden aura Alex had come to rely on in moments like this, an aura that seemed to push back against the very existence of the nightmares around them.
It raised the [Blade of Destiny], gripping the hilt with both hands.
The weapon pulsed with a soft light, growing stronger by the second.
The angel crouched low into a stance, lowering the blade until it ran sideways across its face, eyes glowing beneath its helm.
And then…
[Goodbye, nightmares.]
With a voice that echoed like divine judgment, the angel took a single step forward and slashed.
SLASH!
There was no sound at first, just the eerie silence of the cut as a single, gleaming arc of light expanded from the blade.
The slash carved through space itself, a line of pure golden power that didn’t explode or shake the ground but instead cut with terrifying precision.
It sliced straight through every nightmare on the field, each and every one.
[I will go now.]
And before it could even watch the result of its attack, the angel left, unbothered.
The [Hell Abomination] lurched violently as the slash cleaved its twisting, nightmarish mass in two. Its tentacles recoiled, spasmed, and then disintegrated.
The [Undead Lord]’s skeletal form was also severed down the middle, his empty eye sockets glowing dimly as his body dissolved into ash.
[Isolde, the Grand Mage Master] collapsed in silence, his robes turning to shadowy threads as his form unraveled.
[Varyn, the God of the Abyss] let out a low hiss, his divine scythe falling from his hand just before his form burst into black mist.
[Xyrran, the Primordial Space and Time Dragon] had no resistance either, the arc of the slash cut through his entire body in a single, smooth line, slicing his colossal draconic shape in two before it too vanished into darkness.
And then, there was only one left.
The [Hatred Demon].
It stood there silently, its tall shadowed form flickering slightly as the light passed through it.
At first, it didn’t move. Then slowly, its body began to tremble.
White glowing lines appeared across its body, fractures spreading from where the blade had struck.
Its eyes didn’t move, pale light leaking from them as if something deep inside had been forcefully stirred.
It looked down at the wound, as though trying to understand what had just happened.
Then it looked at Alex, eyes burning yet no emotions in them.
It didn’t scream. It didn’t attack again.
Instead, it simply raised a hand and pointed at Alex in silence, and faded away like the rest.
All of it had happened in seconds.
All the entities that had pushed him to the brink of death, all erased in a single swing from the angel’s blade.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Alex just stood there for a moment, his breath shaky, mind trying to catch up with what his eyes had just seen.
He used his [Body Regeneration] blood arts perk to fix his destroyed hand as well.
And then, one after another, system notifications began to flood in:
[You have received a “Nightmare Echo: Hell Abomination”]
[You have received a “Nightmare Echo: Varyn, God of the Abyss”]
[You have received a “Nightmare Echo: Isolde, Grand Mage Master”]
[You have received a “Nightmare Echo: Xyrran, Primordial Space and Time Dragon”]
[You have received a “Nightmare Echo: Undead Lord”]
[You have received a “Nightmare Echo: Hatred Demon”]
That was it. The final six.
Combined with the others he’d already collected, Dawn, Lucas, Sato, and Daniel, it meant only one thing.
[You have acquired all ten “Nightmare Echoes.” Return to the “Nightmare Temple” to head to your final challenge.]
Alex exhaled slowly, lowering his head for a second as the realization settled in.
‘Of course. There’s always one more step.’
This wasn’t over. He’d known from the start.
Everyone who had ever reached this point, if any had even made it this far, faced something else.
Something worse. A final nightmare beyond all the others.
The trial after the trial. That was why the success rate of the [Depths] remained a perfect zero.
No one had ever completed it.
Taking a deep breath, Alex slapped both of his cheeks lightly and rolled his shoulders.
He walked forward, weaving his way through the now-empty battlefield and retracing his steps toward the [Nightmare Temple].
It wasn’t far, just a short path flanked by crumbling pillars and eerie silence.
Once again, he passed through the two massive statues guarding the temple’s entrance.
The area hadn’t changed, that same circular platform stood at the center, and the eerie black mass still hovered over the pedestal, waiting.
[The “Altar” of the Nightmare Temple has been detected. Absorbing Echoes…]
A dark aura rose around Alex.
One by one, six shimmering orbs of black energy floated out of him, each containing a Nightmare Echo, and slowly drifted toward the mass above the display.
The orbs sank into it, merging as though being consumed.
And then, six piercing rays of shadow shot out from the altar, streaking across the air with violent speed.
Each one slammed into one of the remaining unlit statues with a burst of energy.
CRACK!
The stone of each statue groaned and shifted as though something inside had awakened.
Each one began to change before Alex’s eyes, morphing into exact replicas of the nightmares he had just defeated.
Their features, though still shrouded in shadow, were disturbingly clear.
Every detail was there, from the hatred in the demon’s gaze to the chaotic tendrils of the abomination.
Now they all stood in a circle, surrounding him. Ten in total. All staring.
Their glowing eyes locked onto him with a lifeless intensity.
And then…
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The entire area shook.
The ground beneath his feet quaked, and a deep vibration rumbled through the walls of the [Depths].
Alex staggered slightly but remained standing.
[You have acquired all the “Nightmare Echoes” and brought them back to the “Nightmare Temple.”]
The ground cracked, and the black mass atop the pedestal suddenly twisted.
Its shape warped violently, transforming into a massive, swirling lance of shadow.
The lance spun once in midair, and then drove itself downward.
BOOOOOOM!
It pierced the pedestal like a hot blade through ice, continuing its plunge through the stone floor.
The earth split open in response, tearing a hole straight through the center of the temple.
The noise was deafening.
Dust and chunks of stone rained from the ceiling as a gust of cold, dead air rushed up from the new opening.
[You have unlocked the “Final Nightmare.” Please head down.]
Alex stepped closer, peering into the newly formed chasm.
It was pitch black inside, no light, no bottom, no sound.
Just a descent into the unknown.
The void stared back at him, offering no clue as to what waited below.
But even then, Alex didn’t flinch.
His gaze swept across the statues one last time.
These nightmare figures, once impossible to defeat, were now nothing more than silent guardians, watching him in stillness.
It was strange. Standing there, Alex didn’t feel fear.
He felt… calm.
There was something about facing every nightmare, every pain, every regret he had buried deep inside, something about surviving it all, that brought him a strange sense of peace.
He didn’t know what was waiting in that final darkness.
But whatever it was, he would face it. He had to.
Because beyond it, lay the final token, and with it, he would finally open the [Door of Destiny].
But of course, before doing any of that, Alex waited twenty minutes to allow his skills to cooldown in case he needed them.
Once the time was over, though, he clenched his fists and took a deep breath, then he jumped.