Fwish! Fwish!
[Determination Meter: 100/100]
A burst of light exploded outward from Alex’s body, blinding and raw, swallowing the battlefield whole in a blinding mix of crimson and gold.
The shock of it left even Nocteron and Lich stunned in place, their expressions locked in a moment of disbelief as they tried to understand what was happening.
Lich, who had been casually spinning the head of Alex’s fallen [Undead Lord] like a toy, suddenly froze.
The bleached skull spun once more in the air, then he flung it forward like a bullet toward Alex.
But before it could reach him, before it could even land a blow, the skull shattered into fragments, disintegrating midair.
The moment it got close to him, it crumbled away as if it had touched something it was never meant to.
Alex’s body, still burning with his signature [Pure Hatred] aura, now shimmered with streaks of gold running through the crimson.
The mixture of a blazing, divine force entwined with his own unyielding rage.
The light pouring off him was so overwhelming that even those watching from a distance had to shield their eyes.
“What… what the hell is going on?”
“Is this a last burst before death?”
“He’s going to die. Nobody survives this kind of pressure, I can’t stand people who don’t know when to give up.”
The crowd watching from afar couldn’t hide their disbelief.
Doubt hung in the air like smoke, suffocating and sharp.
None of them believed Alex could survive this, not against these odds, not in this broken battlefield that was slowly collapsing into the grip of the [God of Death] himself.
The cracked terrain was starting to open wide beneath Alex’s feet, signs that soon, he would be trapped in Hades’ own domain.
And yet, Alex didn’t move.
His body stood firm.
His aura surged stronger, steadier.
His eyes burned not with panic, but with purpose.
He wasn’t giving up. He never did.
And now that his [Determination Meter] had finally reached its peak, there was no turning back.
Lich’s eyes narrowed and he pointed his scepter forward, his skeletal voice cutting through the golden haze.
“Kill him. Now.”
Nocteron obeyed without hesitation.
In a blur of movement, the ghostly specter closed the gap between him and Alex.
Twin flames erupted in his hands, bright, green, violent, ready to crash into Alex and end everything once and for all.
At the same time, Hades roared in fury, his rage fueled by the memory of Alex severing one of his arms.
His remaining three limbs raised high, fingers stretched to the sky as if summoning judgment itself.
From every deep crack in the battlefield’s broken surface, thousands, tens of thousands of silver spirits began to rise, transparent and silent.
Their empty eyes locked onto Alex, hovering like a swarm ready to descend.
Nocteron’s own spirits shifted too, taking more solid forms, twisted beasts of smoke and malice.
Alex was now completely surrounded.
Outnumbered. No allies left. No way out.
Throwing the [Random Potion] would do nothing here.
The [Scythe of Hatred] and [Wings of Hatred] might buy him a few seconds, but not enough to survive this many enemies, not forever.
But something deep inside him stirred.
Something older than power, deeper than instinct.
[You are the most determined out of them all. Get rid of them =).]
“I…” Alex whispered to himself, but then stopped.
He clenched his fists. Shook his head.
“You’re right.”
He didn’t know who, or what, was speaking to him through these strange system-like messages.
But he knew now. It wasn’t some god or external force. It was his soul.
It had always been there, burning at the center of who he was.
The soul that survived even when Kaelios fell.
The soul that refused to vanish, even when hope had died.
It was him. It was his will. And it didn’t want to stop.
It didn’t want to give up.
[Let us end this entire ordeal. Nothing else matters. Our determination shall overpower them.]
Alex opened his eyes, gold and red flashing across his vision.
And just as his enemies lunged forward, ready to crush him once and for all,
FWISH! FWISH! BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion ripped through the battlefield again, shaking the world.
For one second, just a second, everything went dark.
The colors vanished, the sounds vanished, the movement halted.
And then, Alex was standing there, his aura pushing everything around him back.
The ground beneath him trembled.
His eyes were closed again.
His body, still covered in the crimson aura, was now streaked with glowing lines of gold, pulsing like veins of raw energy.
He looked at his own hands, watching the light swirl through his fingertips like rivers of molten fire.
Nocteron’s voice pierced through the stunned silence.
“What the hell did he just do?!”
“It doesn’t matter!” Lich shouted, preparing his scepter, “Just kill him already!”
But they wouldn’t get the chance.
Because Alex, his soul and body fully united, released everything.
[THEY SHALL REALIZE.]
BOOM!
From the sky, a divine golden beam shot down and engulfed the entire battlefield.
The moment it touched anything unworthy, it began to erase it.
[Let us reach the end, partner. It’s all or nothing now.]
“I know,” Alex whispered, watching the light wrap around him too, gently pulling him upward.
And he wasn’t the only one rising.
His enemies were caught as well, ascending, helpless against the force drawing them toward the light.
Then, just like that, in a single instant too fast to track,
FLASH! DING!
[You have entered the “Domain of Determination,” where the most determined person reigns as king, no matter what.]
Alex, Nocteron, and Lich arrived in the new realm at the same time, and even Alex paused in awe.
The domain wasn’t chaotic, it was perfect.
Golden skies stretched on endlessly with no clouds, no sun, just steady, divine light.
The ground was smooth, polished white stone without a single crack.
Towering pillars of glowing light surrounded the battlefield, their brightness reacting subtly to each individual’s presence.
At the center was an arena, massive and flat, framed by a transparent golden barrier.
Floating above it was a spinning ring of light with one word written in every language, shifting as it circled the space.
[Determination.]
For nearly a full minute, no one spoke.
They simply stood there, taking in the sheer scale and weight of this place.
It was undeniable now. This wasn’t just some skill or trick. This was Alex’s domain.
As a god, he had always known he would someday awaken it.
But even he hadn’t expected it to manifest this way.
Then, without warning, a voice echoed across the space.
[2:30 minutes.]
It was Hades, his massive demonic form glaring at Alex, fury in every breath.
[The feeling of death is stronger here. This is the place where it ends.]
That meant one thing, this was real.
“But it doesn’t matter!” Lich shouted, laughing as he raised his scepter, “He can’t kill us in two minutes, we still have too many lives!”
“True,” Nocteron said, stepping forward.
His spectral eyes locked on Alex.
“And my determination is no less than yours. Let’s settle this, once and for all.”
Alex didn’t answer.
He simply stared at them, calm and neutral.
Inside this domain, the energy flowing through him felt different.
He wasn’t being consumed by hatred or rage anymore, only clarity. He had one goal.
And he would see it through.
But then, another voice.
Not from any one person, but from the very domain itself.
[Oh, and there is one final rule in the ‘Domain of Determination’ that everyone must follow.]
They all looked up.
A panel appeared high above them.
And the moment they read it, everything changed.
[Since this is a battle of determination, each person’s soul will be their health.]
“…What?”
“What does that even mean?”
Before they could question it further, three powerful pulses rang out, and then something surreal happened.
Alex’s soul floated out of his chest, glowing crimson, a heart-like shape with two white, glowing eyes.
It hovered calmly just above his head.
Lich watched, wide-eyed, as the same happened to him, a twisted, cracked heart made of bone and skulls emerged, carved like a cursed totem.
Nocteron’s soul followed last, black and burning with sickly green fire.
Now, each of them had a visible soul floating above their heads.
[Soul is linked to determination. In this realm, it is everything, your power and your life.]
And then, the final rule appeared.
And with it, the true stakes of this battle became clear.
[If your soul shatters, you die for real. No extra lives. No resurrection.]
[Your soul = your determination.]
[Each attack will damage your soul. Protect it. There are no second chances.]
[Let the most determined one win.]