The [Blood Arts].
Unlike his other powers, the [Blood Arts] didn’t draw from mana, nor were they imprinted into his spirit alone, they demanded real, physical blood.
A material cost.
A cost that could not be faked, could not be replicated by something that lacked the essence of life.
And the nightmare Alex, flawless and terrifying as it was, could not bleed.
The realization hit him harder than any ability.
If the nightmare Alex couldn’t bleed, then it couldn’t use the [Blood Arts] either.
The faintest, dangerous smile formed on Alex’s bloodied lips.
Hope, slim and razor-thin, sparked within him.
As a test, he quickly formed a [Giant Blood Blade] from his still-fresh wounds and hurled it with brutal force toward the nightmare.
He watched carefully, his heart hammering, as the nightmare Alex shifted aside but did not respond in kind.
No retaliation with a superior blood blade, no mirror attack.
That absence confirmed it, the nightmare couldn’t mimic his [Blood Arts].
This was the advantage he had been desperately searching for.
This was the crack in the wall of inevitability that loomed before him.
Without wasting a second, Alex opened his [Blood Arts] panel, his eyes gleaming with newfound resolve.
[Blood Arts (Mastered): Blood Blades, Giant Blood Blades, Blood Clones, Body Regeneration, Blood Mist, Blood Chains, Blood Domain]
A solid lineup.
Enough to tip the scales, if he played this right.
He laughed, the sound raw and hoarse.
The nightmare version of himself still had a massive edge in terms of power, speed, endurance, and raw skill, not to mention the remaining orbs it carried, but now Alex possessed something it couldn’t replicate, something truly his.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Without hesitation, he began slashing at his own arms, his chest, even his legs, controlled wounds, deliberate and deep.
Blood poured from him in thick rivers, staining the void beneath them.
Each cut fueled his [Blood Arts] reservoir, and he needed as much blood as possible to turn this around.
Pain lanced through him, both from his deliberate wounds and the constant agony inflicted by the [Wings of Hatred] on his back.
Every beat of those cursed wings sent burning jolts down his spine, but Alex gritted his teeth and endured.
He cast a glance at the battlefield.
His Undead Lords were still clashing violently with the nightmare’s summoned forces.
The air reeked of burning flesh and ozone.
The nightmare Alex still held two [Universal Orbs]:
[Orb of the Unbreakable], [Orb of Balance].
Meanwhile, Alex also had only one left:
[Orb of the Unbreakable]
It wasn’t a favorable situation, but it didn’t matter anymore.
He wasn’t aiming for a direct contest of strength.
He had a different plan, one that relied on bleeding enough to drown this void in crimson.
Swash! Fwash! Slash!
More blood spilled as he inflicted deeper wounds, each slash calculated to maximize output without immediately killing himself.
He could feel the blood dripping from his fingertips, soaking into the nothingness below.
And then he acted.
“Blood Chains!”
[Blood Arts Perk #6: Blood Chains; Use a massive amount of blood to create chains out of it, which you can control to bind a target. The strength of the chains varies depending on the user’s vitality.]
Chains of coagulated blood burst from the pools around him, snaking towards the nightmare Alex.
But the nightmare was quick, immediately activating the [Orb of Balance].
Alex narrowed his eyes as the orb was thrown into the void between them.
[Orb of Balance: When thrown, this orb warps gravity around it, pulling in enemies before detonating in a controlled explosion that distorts space, briefly preventing teleportation and movement abilities.]
The world seemed to twist as Alex and his Undead Lord were yanked toward the center, unable to resist the immense gravitational pull.
The orb detonated half a second later.
Boom!
The shockwave obliterated the Undead Lord instantly, ripping it apart in a rain of fragmented bone and soul energy.
Alex barely had time to register the pain before he too was caught in the blast.
[Destiny Shift: Reviving…]
[Destiny Points: 20/200]
He gasped as his body reformed, his consciousness snapping back into his broken, bleeding form.
But there was no reprieve.
Fwish!
Without even a second to breathe, skeletal hands erupted from the ground, summoned by the nightmare Undead Lord.
They wrapped around his limbs, dragging him down, tearing at his flesh.
‘Shit,’ Alex thought grimly.
His body was ripped apart once more, bones snapping, muscles shredded.
[Destiny Shift: Reviving…]
Another agonizing revival.
Another breath stolen from the abyss.
Slash! Fwash!
Before he could even find his footing, the Undead Lord and nightmare Alex descended upon him with the [Undead Sword] and the flaring [Wings of Hatred], cleaving him viciously in half.
[Destiny Shift: Reviving…]
This was it.
His final revival. His [Destiny Points] had hit zero. No more second chances.
Even so, as his eyes opened for the last time, seeing the skeletal hands rising again and the two nightmare enemies charging at him, a wild grin twisted across his face.
Because he saw it. The blood.
Endless amounts of it, staining everything around him, pouring from his body, thick and heavy.
It was enough. He had met the condition.
“BLOOD DOMAIN!” Alex roared, his voice shaking the very air.
The world around him responded.
The void trembled as a deep crimson mist exploded outward, swallowing everything.
[Ultimate Blood Art Perk: Blood Domain; If the user bleeds so heavily they are on the verge of death, and the situation is almost hopeless, they can consume the entirety of their blood to send themselves and their enemies into the Blood Domain.]
[In the Blood Domain, both the user and their targets are trapped in an infinite dimension shrouded in crimson mist that blocks all forms of perception, including auras.]
[The user, however, is attuned to the domain, able to see clearly and freely use all Blood Arts without restriction.]
The entire bottom of the [Depths] was no longer just a battlefield, it had become Alex’s dominion.
The [Nightmare Undead Lord], the [Nightmare Alex], and even the [Guardian of Nightmares] were ensnared within it.
[What the…?]
Even the Guardian appeared disoriented, the thick mist clouding its senses.
Alex didn’t hesitate.
With a swift motion, he summoned his [Blood Chains] again, lashing them out in the blinding mist.
The [Nightmare Undead Lord] failed to evade, its vision too obscured, and was caught firmly.
Alex’s eyes gleamed with predatory fury.
Fwish! Boom! Boom! Boom!
He unleashed a relentless volley of [Giant Blood Blades], raining death upon the captured nightmare Undead Lord.
Each impact shattered its defenses, each explosion tearing away chunks of corrupted bone and spirit.
When it was weakened enough, Alex moved with lethal efficiency, his bloodied wings slicing through the mist like twin reapers.
In one fluid motion, he severed the nightmare Undead Lord’s head cleanly from its body, finishing it off.
Only one remained now: the [Nightmare Alex].
It stared at him from across the mist, taking a guarded stance, not flinching, not showing any fear.
Alex wiped the blood from his mouth and lifted his hand again, summoning even more of his [Blood Arts] perks.
“This ends now,” Alex rasped, his voice echoing through the crimson fog, thick with unyielding determination, “In this domain, you are at my mercy.”