The [Moon] above them, once whole and divine, now loomed with jagged fractures across its surface, damage left behind by Alex’s devastating use of the [Orb of the Unbreakable].
And yet, despite the celestial wounds that marred the sky, it was already too late to prevent what had been set in motion.
The ritual, it had succeeded.
Selvaron and Lunareth stood at the heart of it, their forms brimming with divine energy as if crowned by the very light of the shattered moon.
The air around them shimmered unnaturally, reality bending as their domain prepared to descend.
Meanwhile, scattered throughout the ruined colosseum, the [Moon Soldiers] raised their weapons, motionless but ready, waiting only for the order to strike.
Kaelios, still standing at Alex’s side, glanced at him and spoke in a low voice, “Undead?”
It was a fair question.
Calling forth his undead forces, especially the [Undead Lord] and the ferocious [Undead Reapers], could offer them a shot at matching their enemy’s summon army.
In raw numbers and strength, few options matched that.
But Alex didn’t even hesitate.
“No,” he replied simply, his voice calm but cold.
The reason was instantly clear to anyone who looked closely, Alex’s eyes, which often flickered between shades of shadowy black, divine gold, and deadly red depending on his power state, now remained fully black.
There was something wrong. A whisper in his soul.
And though he couldn’t explain it in words, something deep inside told him that whatever they did now had to matter, truly matter.
“You’ve wasted all of your chances,” Selvaron said suddenly, his voice echoing with eerie finality.
He raised his hands toward the cracked moon.
“Goodbye… forever.”
FWISH! BOOM!
Without warning, a burst of silver mist erupted from the sky, wrapping around the arena like smoke given form.
It twisted and twirled like a serpent made of light, spreading fast, and heading straight for them.
“You are now trapped in MY domain,” Selvaron declared with laughter, his voice growing distant as if coming from all directions at once.
Alex didn’t respond.
Neither did Kaelios.
“…Shit.”
There were many dangers in Universal Descent, but one of the most feared was this, being dragged into a god’s domain.
It didn’t guarantee death, but it might as well.
Unless you had a trump card, some power beyond reason, you weren’t escaping with your life.
Inside a god’s domain, the rules bent to their will.
Every inch of the battlefield favored them.
Every advantage, every buff, every manipulation of space, it was theirs.
And in this moment, there would be no mercy.
Just as the silver aura began to wrap tighter around the arena, time itself seemed to slow.
Alex’s dark eyes flared, his body stiffening for just a moment as something clicked.
[Focus] had activated.
The world dimmed. Color vanished.
Everything became stark black and white, except for the white outlines, the cracked colosseum, the towering figures of Selvaron and Lunareth, the army of [Moon Soldiers], and the broken moon above.
Alex could think more clearly in this state, calculate faster, feel sharper.
And now, within this moment of intense clarity, a dangerous thought began to rise in his mind.
If they were pulled into Selvaron’s domain now, they were doomed.
Too many enemies. Too little preparation. No stockpile of Destiny Points to burn. No guaranteed escape route.
They would die. But even then, something inside told him they still had a chance.
Something deeper than reason, more primal than logic.
It was a whisper from the part of him that refused to ever give up.
And that’s when the idea hit him.
What if he activated his own domain first?
Not the theoretical one he might gain as the [God of Determination], no, that would come later, if at all.
Right now, he had only one real domain.
One forged in pain, will, and sacrifice.
The [Blood Domain].
He was already meeting one of the two conditions, standing on the edge of real death.
The only thing missing, was blood. Lots of it.
The moment the thought was formed, [Focus] dropped, and the world rushed back into motion.
The silver aura was already mere meters away, swallowing the outer edges of the arena.
Alex exhaled, not in fear but in decision.
“Here goes,” he muttered to himself.
Then, without hesitation, he plunged the [Bleeding Dragon Claws] into his gut, again and again.
Crimson sprayed from his wounds, dripping onto the stone below.
Not done, he tore into his own shoulder and side using the sharp edge of the [Wings of Hatred], carving deep enough that the ground around him quickly turned red.
“What the hell is he doing?” Lunareth asked, pausing mid-step as she stared in confusion.
The silver aura pressed closer, uncaring of their shock.
“Is he… trying to die before the domain even takes him?”
Selvaron’s eyes widened.
“No…” he whispered.
His mind raced.
“I met him once before. Back in the [Blood Valley]…”
Lunareth tilted her head, puzzled, “So?”
“That’s where he—” Selvaron’s eyes snapped wide, “HE GOT THE [Blood Arts]!”
“What?”
“SHIT!” Selvaron roared, “KILL HIM! NOW!!”
Too late.
They surged forward, casting spells, throwing blades of moonlight, sending the [Moon Soldiers] charging in.
Even the broken [Moon] above pulsed with power, trying to crush him with a beam of silver light.
But Alex didn’t waver.
He was already coated in blood.
His vision blurred, his body barely standing.
And still—he smiled.
He raised his arm, blood dripping from every inch of him, and shouted the words.
“BLOOD DOMAIN!”
A crimson wave exploded from him like a detonation of rage and sacrifice.
The [Colosseum Arena] was instantly drowned in red mist, thick as fog and carrying the scent of iron and fire.
Kaelios, caught in the middle of it all, let out a short laugh.
“Nice one, human.”
But even he wasn’t safe.
Because the silver aura hit at the exact same time.
And as both waves met, one of blood, one of silver moonlight, there was no cancelation.
Instead, they clashed.
Ding!
A divine system message echoed through the arena like thunder.
[Domain Clash Detected.]
Everyone heard it.
Even with their vision clouded, Kaelios blinded by silver light, Selvaron disoriented by the mist, they could hear the mechanical, authoritative tone clearly.
[A rare phenomenon has occurred. Both domains possess sufficient strength and resonance to withstand one another without immediate override.]
Alex’s [Blood Domain] was powerful enough to stand against Selvaron’s [Domain of the Full Moon].
Which meant they weren’t hopeless after all.
[Domains are compatible. Fusion has been initiated.]
“Wait, what?” Alex blinked, stunned.
Even after everything he had experienced, the Ascension, the power, the pain, this caught him off guard.
Selvaron and Lunareth looked equally confused, their expressions hardening.
And then—
FWISH! BAM!
The world around them erupted.
Color twisted. Space shattered. And they were all pulled in.
Alex and Kaelios landed first, feet slamming onto solid ground that hadn’t existed a second before.
Silver grass bent beneath their weight.
Across the field, far, far away, Selvaron, Lunareth, and their summoned [Moon Soldiers] also landed, the distance between them now vast.
[You have entered the “Domain of the Blood Moon.”]
It was a fusion of both domains, Alex’s [Blood Domain] and Selvaron’s [Domain of the Full Moon], and somehow… it worked.
The air shimmered with both red mist and silver glow, blending into something eerie and unnatural.
The sky was pitch-black above, and hanging in the heavens… was the [Moon].
Not the normal one from before.
But a crimson moon, entirely smooth, with a single giant eye open in its center, staring down at the battlefield like a silent judge.
Another panel appeared before them.
[Your domain has fused. You retain full access to all domain-based powers. However, so does your opponent.]
A battle of domains. A war between two gods, and all who stood beside them.
Alex’s gaze sharpened.
His wounds still bled, but his posture remained firm.
He extended both arms, and dozens of [Giant Blood Blades] erupted from the air around him, massive, crimson, and humming with destructive energy.
Selvaron responded in kind.
He raised his blade, now larger and brighter than ever before, and pointed forward.
His [Moon Soldiers] surged ahead, each one pulsing with the [Moonlit] buff, their power doubled, speed tripled.
On one side, silver light. On the other, endless blood.
And standing in the middle, Kaelios, his own power rising like fire, preparing to assist Alex.
And Lunareth, stepping beside Selvaron, her eyes locked onto Kaelios with burning hatred.