The black battlefield had descended into complete chaos, a maelstrom of violence and raw power as Alex and his army clashed with their own nightmare counterparts.
The air itself trembled under the countless spells being unleashed, waves of dark magic and elemental fury rippling across the void.
The ten elemental foxes Alex had summoned darted across the battlefield, sending bursts of fire, lightning, water, and shadow at the nightmare foxes, who retaliated with their own vicious counterattacks.
Each copy was not only identical but enhanced, throwing back Alex’s spells with even more ferocity.
In less than thirty seconds, Alex’s foxes were overwhelmed.
One after another, they fell, extinguished in bursts of elemental energy, until none remained.
On the other side, six nightmare foxes still stood, their darkened forms bristling with corrupted energy.
However, their triumph was short-lived.
As they leapt into the battle between the two undead armies, Alex’s undead, though battered and struggling, turned on them with brutal efficiency.
Despite their strength, the nightmare foxes couldn’t withstand the overwhelming might of Alex’s elite summons.
One by one, they were torn apart, cut down by skeletal warriors and grim reapers fueled by immense stats.
Even amidst the chaos of the armies colliding, the real spectacle remained the battle between Alex and his nightmare self.
They clashed again and again, their [Bleeding Dragon Claws] sparking with each furious strike.
Their [Wings of Hatred] weren’t just for show either, the razor-sharp feathers became lethal weapons, slicing through the air as the two mirrored figures fought to gain the upper hand.
There was no pause, no room to breathe.
Both fighters summoned [Universal Orbs], hovering deadly constructs that crackled ominously above their heads.
Alex didn’t hesitate to act.
[You have selected “Orb of Cataclysm.”]
Without missing a beat, he hurled it at his nightmare counterpart.
The orb shot forward, emitting a low hum before exploding near the nightmare Alex with a vicious blast, sending out dozens of jagged spikes.
The crimson spikes pierced into the nightmare’s body, sending it crashing to the ground.
Alex stood still, his expression unreadable as he watched, his heart hammering in his chest.
For a moment, just a moment, it looked like he had succeeded.
The nightmare lay unmoving.
‘Alright…’
It wasn’t over, not yet.
But at least he had confirmed that the nightmare wasn’t invincible like the illusions above, it could be hurt.
Yet, just as he started to prepare for the next move, a chill ran down his spine.
Fwish! Fwish!
Dark energy erupted from the nightmare Alex’s fallen body, surging around it in violent waves before turning a deep, ominous crimson.
The energy then seeped back inside the nightmare’s body, and slowly, it began to rise.
Its pure white eyes snapped open once again, brimming with merciless power.
‘It used Destiny Points…’
Alex clenched his jaw, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down even more heavily.
It wasn’t just that the nightmare could copy his powers, it could even replicate his ability to revive.
And judging by the guardian’s earlier words, it had probably started with far more Destiny Points than Alex currently had.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, another brutal war was unfolding.
Alex’s undead army faced their mirror images, each composed of two hundred [Undead Skeletons], five [Undead Reapers], and a towering [Undead Lord].
The nightmare versions were grotesque, their skeletal forms darker, thicker, twisted as though the Depths themselves had fed them some corrupt strength.
It was clear from the first clash that Alex’s forces were being pushed back, their enemies hitting harder, moving faster, coordinating better.
But Alex wasn’t surprised.
‘Lich’s army is probably going to be even stronger when I get there,’ he thought grimly, ducking under a barrage of spears launched by the [Orb of Annihilation] his nightmare version had deployed.
Quickly adapting, Alex activated his own [Orb of Annihilation], and realizing that attacking aimlessly would only lead to defeat, he diverted the raining spears from his orb toward the nightmare undead instead of just using them defensively.
Each spear struck with devastating force, explosions shaking the ground as one nightmare skeleton after another was obliterated.
Even so, he was careful, very careful, not to summon more undead.
He had realized something important early on, every time he acted, the nightmare would mirror him, often doing it even better.
Summoning new forces would only invite the nightmare to do the same, and if that happened, he would lose ground even faster.
It was a twisted trial, cruel in its simplicity.
Fight yourself. Fight the perfect version of yourself. And lose.
No wonder no one had ever cleared this tower.
Minutes passed in a grueling deadlock.
Alex and his nightmare self clashed again and again, each exchange brutal, each revival draining precious Destiny Points.
[Destiny Points: 29/200]
Alex’s reserves were frighteningly low.
And while he had been able to claw back some Destiny Points with each clash, he knew it wasn’t enough.
Not when the nightmare could do the same.
The battlefield had become a wasteland of broken bones and charred remnants.
The only units still standing were the [Undead Lords] and two surviving [Undead Reapers] on Alex’s side, while the nightmare still had three.
The reapers’ scythes, coated in malevolent darkness, gleamed in the dim light, carving arcs of death through the void.
Both Alex and the nightmare version of himself had already died multiple times during the battle, each time yanked back to life by their respective destiny powers.
It was a brutal stalemate, and Alex knew the longer it dragged on, the worse it would get.
He didn’t dare make a reckless move either.
If the nightmare ever realized that it had more Destiny Points than him, it could start intentionally preventing his revivals and end the fight permanently.
Only one thing was saving him, the nightmare’s complete lack of emotion.
It could react perfectly, but it couldn’t think creatively.
Fwish! Boom!
A huge blast shook the void as the [Undead Lords] clashed at last, their massive swords clanging together, black energy roaring outward from each impact.
Alex’s [Undead Lord], battered but defiant, summoned its weapon with a burst of dark magic from the ground, the [Undead Sword].
Its blade gleamed with the light of the underworld itself.
Predictably, the nightmare version copied it, forming a grotesque sword shaped out of blackened skulls and despair.
Their auras clashed violently, sending shockwaves that rattled the space around them.
Above it all, the [Guardian of Nightmares] watched from high above, its colossal purple eye staring coldly down on the fight.
It didn’t look concerned.
After all, it had seen countless challengers fall here before.
They would fight, they would struggle, and then they would die, crushed by their own perfect reflections.
But as the guardian gazed down at Alex, for the first time in countless fights, it felt uneasy.
Something about this man was different. It made no sense.
The nightmare copy was flawless, able to recreate any power, even soul-based attacks, but better.
Victory should be impossible.
And yet…
On the ground, the two [Undead Lords] were locked in a vicious duel, slashing and hacking at each other with relentless fury.
Meanwhile, the two Alexs stood a short distance apart, facing each other in silence.
Alex’s mind raced desperately, searching, hunting for anything, anything that could give him an advantage.
‘What do I have that it doesn’t…?’
He glanced at the undead lords, at the nightmare Alex, then finally, at himself.
And then he saw it.
Something so simple, so natural, yet so vital that it made his heart skip a beat.
A slow, wild grin spread across Alex’s face.
‘Crown of Calamity, I think I found it, a way to win,’ Alex sent through their bond.
[Oh? Then use it.]
Fwish! Bam!
The nightmare Alex beat its wings once, crossing the gap between them in an instant, its claws poised to strike.
And at that moment… Alex answered.
“The Blood Arts,” he whispered.
Crimson aura exploded around him, his blood reacting instantly to his will.
Because of the [Wings of Hatred] constantly injuring him, blood was already freely flowing, and now, it answered his call.
BOOM!
A [Giant Blood Blade] surged into existence behind Alex, forged from the blood pooling out of his wounds.
The massive crimson weapon shot forward like a spear, embedding itself into the ground between Alex and the charging nightmare.
The nightmare Alex halted instinctively, sensing something off.
But nothing happened afterward.
There was no attack nor retaliation from it, it didn’t copy his ability back.
And that nothingness was exactly what made Alex’s grin widen even further.
‘Bingo,’ he thought, his heart pounding.
He had found it. He had found the nightmare’s fatal flaw.
And now, he would turn this impossible fight into his victory.