The moment the panel appeared before Alex’s eyes, the void surrounding him seemed to ripple even more violently, as if reality itself was being stirred.
The ground beneath his feet, filled with deep purple veins and cracks, trembled faintly before something burst from its depths with a sharp sound.
Fwish! Boom!
The object shot upward with a surge of energy, stopping just a few feet in front of Alex.
It floated silently in the air, spinning slowly, almost as if waiting for him to take it.
It was the Token of Nightmares.
Its image was that of a single opened eye, staring outward without blinking, its surface shimmering with an eerie purple hue.
It made sense, in a way, nightmares always watched, always lingered.
But Alex didn’t waste time analyzing it.
With a smooth, practiced motion, he reached out and swept the token into his hand, gripping it firmly in his palm.
A long breath escaped his lips, the weight of the moment sinking into him.
After everything, he had finally secured it.
Ding!
[You have acquired the “Token of Nightmares.”]
The token, now firmly in his grasp, pulsed once before dissolving into a mist of purple light and seeping into his system panel, just like the others before it had.
And then—
Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!
A large panel materialized before him, far bigger than any normal system notification.
It was a new interface labeled simply:
[Tokens:]
At its center was a complex ritual circle, beautifully carved with glowing inscriptions, and within the circle were five distinct slots designed to hold the tokens.
Four of them were already filled, each one displaying its corresponding token with their unique images proudly facing forward.
[Token of the Tower] [Token of the Abyss] [Token of the Undead] [Token of Wrath]
Their names were written neatly beneath them, glowing faintly.
Only one spot remained unfilled, a dull gray circle sitting empty at the bottom of the panel.
In the very heart of the ritual circle stood two massive golden doors, closed tightly.
Their design was intricate, majestic even, and although they were nothing but a panel representation, Alex instinctively understood what they represented.
The [Door of Destiny].
This was it, a progress marker, a visual confirmation that he was standing at the very edge of everything he had worked toward since the beginning.
“Now that I have the final token…” he whispered, voice low but steady.
At that moment, the [Token of Nightmares] floated forward within the panel, sliding smoothly into the last empty slot.
Click!
The token settled in place with a solid sound, its open eye image facing outward like the others.
And then—
Fwish! Ding!
All five tokens began to glow simultaneously, each one emitting a soft hum of power.
The golden doors at the center of the panel started to creak open, light spilling out from the growing gap.
There was no real passage beyond them, of course, this was still just a system panel, but the message was clear.
[Tokens Acquired: 5/5]
[You have obtained all the Tokens of the Door of Destiny.]
The panel lingered for a moment longer, then faded away into mist.
No urgent prompts. No warnings. No commands.
The system wasn’t forcing him to move forward, it simply informed him and left the choice in his hands.
Ding!
Another notification popped up, catching his attention.
[You have completed the first part of your Tier-10 Hardest Advancement Task: Enter and conquer the “Tower of Nightmares.”]
Alex blinked at the message.
“Oh, right,” he muttered, realizing he had almost forgotten about that particular task amidst the chaos of the tower.
Finishing the Tower of Nightmares had completed only the first step of his advancement, though.
There were still three parts in total, and the second part was already listed:
[2. Open and survive inside the “Door of Destiny.”]
A small grimace crossed his face.
Of course it wouldn’t be easy.
Just reaching the door wasn’t enough.
He had to open it and survive whatever lay beyond.
[The Crown of Calamity advises the user to not think too much about it. The end is near.]
“Right,” Alex sighed, brushing a hand through his hair, “I just need to open the door… and not die. Simple enough.”
He chuckled dryly to himself.
Since the very beginning of the game, back when he had stumbled into the [Church of the Dawn]’s basement, the existence of this door had loomed over him.
So much had happened since then, but the final destination had always remained the same.
With everything ready, Alex pulled up his [World Map].
The map of Universal Descent unfolded before him, a vast and familiar layout stretching across the system panel.
[So, are you going to go now?] the Crown of Calamity asked, its voice filled with an odd mix of amusement and curiosity.
Alex didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, his eyes shifted toward the top corner of the map, where a timer was quietly counting down.
[Time before the Chosen Games: 18 Days, 23 Hours, 21 Minutes…]
He had spent three days just traveling to the Tower of Nightmares, and another three or four battling through the depths, finding the nightmare temples and confronting the terrors within.
It made sense.
Time was slipping away.
And now, only a little over eighteen days remained.
“I have no time to waste,” Alex finally said, his voice firm, “I’m going. I don’t need rest.”
There was nothing else he needed to prepare.
No side tasks to complete. No lingering doubts.
Only the [Door of Destiny] remained between him and the next step of his path.
Still, he reminded himself to be cautious.
The system hadn’t said “complete” the door, it said “survive” it.
A very deliberate word choice.
And after he conquered the door, he would need to return to the [Garden of Destiny] to coordinate with Kaelios, since the two of them would be fighting side by side during the Chosen Games.
That would be critical.
Strategy mattered even more than raw strength now.
Shifting his focus, Alex scrolled down on the map until he found [Dawn City], then tapped the icon for the [Church of the Dawn].
Thankfully, his [World Map] allowed teleportation to any place he had already visited, even locations he had explored before he had officially unlocked the map function.
Even better, there was a specific marker labeled [Door of Destiny] within the church, meaning he could teleport directly to the chamber itself.
“Good,” Alex muttered, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Without hesitation, he tapped the panel.
Ding!
[Teleporting to “Door of Destiny” inside of “Church of the Dawn.”]
His body began to dissolve into shimmering particles, his form unraveling into the void.
Within seconds, the Tower of Nightmares was left behind, its dark halls and endless horrors fading from existence.
Alex didn’t look back.
There would be no reason to ever return.
By the time the Chosen Games ended, the God of Nightmares himself might be dead, and if that happened, this entire domain, the tower included, would collapse into oblivion.
Good riddance.
…
Ding!
The world around him reformed, and his body materialized once more.
Alex found himself standing in the familiar, dimly lit basement of the [Church of the Dawn].
The heavy scent of old stone and dust hung in the air, unchanged despite all the time that had passed.
In the distance, standing tall and imposing, was the [Door of Destiny].
It looked exactly as he remembered, massive, ancient, wrapped tightly in thick black chains that pulsed faintly with power.
A slight sense of satisfaction filled him, he had finally returned.
But before he could even take a step forward—
“You are… back.”
The sudden voice behind him made Alex freeze for a second.
Slowly, he turned around.
Standing across the chamber, partially cloaked in the shadows, was a figure he hadn’t thought about in a long time: Aldritch.
[Aldritch, Leader of the Church of the Dawn]
The man looked almost exactly the same as before, tall, imposing, and shrouded in a kind of unsettling serenity.
His gaze wasn’t hostile, but it wasn’t friendly either.
Alex said nothing.
He simply stared back, a neutral expression on his face.
He remembered Aldritch’s obsession with the door.
How from the very beginning, the man had been bound to this place, watching and waiting for someone to open it.
It seemed he had never left.
“Wait,” Aldritch said, stepping forward slightly, his voice low and hoarse, “Wait a moment.”
Alex didn’t want to wait.
He had no patience left for side distractions.
He turned back toward the door, determined to finish what he had started almost a year ago.
But just as he took a single step forward—
Fwish! Boom!
A burst of energy exploded across the room.
“I said… WAIT,” Aldritch growled, his aura flaring outwards and filling the chamber with heavy pressure.
In an instant, his hand clamped down onto Alex’s shoulder, his grip iron-tight.
“You seem… different.”
Alex’s eyes darkened.
He could feel it too, Aldritch’s growing tension, his suspicion, his unwillingness to simply let Alex pass.
But there was no time to waste on him.
There was only one way to deal with this quickly.