"That shouldn't be possible," Nocteron muttered, his voice cracking with disbelief as he stared at the figure rising from the smoke, "Kaelios is dead. You're supposed to be gone..."
"Who cares?" Alex interrupted, his tone flat as he took a single step forward, crimson eyes locking onto Nocteron's.
"The only thing that matters now is that I'm going to erase both of you."
Nocteron's expression darkened.
"Surviving annihilation doesn't make you immortal. You'll die just like the others. We still have millions of lives left."
"Sure," Alex replied with a dry laugh, already lowering his stance.
Across the world, others were asking themselves the sa question that plagued Nocteron.
They hadn't spent much ti alongside the Chosen Ones, but one thing had always been clear, when the god a Chosen was tied to died, their existence was wiped out, erased without a trace.
And yet, sohow, FateBreaker still stood.
The mont Kaelios fell, everyone expected Alex to vanish.
But instead, a single notification had appeared in front of those watching,
[But it refused.]
That was all it said.
Just a blunt, final statent that made no sense at all.
How? Why? Had his soul truly refused to die out of sheer anger? Was that even possible?
Or was there sothing deeper at play, sothing that even the highest entities didn't understand?
Even the [Creators], those who sat at the peak of all existence, were silent for a long mont before they finally reacted.
"Vexum," one of them said, his crimson eyes narrowing with curiosity, "you were skeptical about Alex's survival, even after annihilation struck. You knew sothing."
The erald-eyed Creator nodded, "It's strange. There should've been no way."
Vexum simply shook his head.
"I don't know anything. This is, new."
"I still think the [God of Death] has the upper hand," the azure-eyed one added, a faint smirk tugging at his lips, "Alex didn't gain anything from surviving. It's still two against one. And the enemy has millions of lives to spare."
"I wouldn't be so confident," the grey-eyed one muttered quietly, "I said it before. I've got a really bad feeling about this."
"Hah, the first ti you've spoken this much," Vexum chuckled, "That alone makes think you might be right. But as I said, let's watch."
Their attention returned to the grand projection in front of them, eyes locked, hearts stilled, wondering what kind of storm was about to begin.
Back in the battlefield of the trial, Nocteron was still laughing.
"I admire your resolve," he said, slowly clapping, "But determination alone won't be enough."
"In fact," Lich added, a grin stretching across his decaying face, "watching you struggle only makes want to destroy this world even more."
Alex didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Instead, he let his eyes drift shut, allowing the sounds around him to fade into nothing.
Sothing was stirring. Sothing inside of him.
He didn't understand it fully, but he knew one thing, he needed to be ready.
When he opened his eyes again, the world was gone.
He stood not in the trial's ruined battlefield, but in the depths of his own mind, where he typically went to access [World Cleaver].
But this ti, he wasn't here to activate anything.
He was here to witness.
"...What the hell," Alex whispered, stunned.
His mind, his soul, was now fully consud by hatred.
There wasn't a single spot of white left.
The light that once glimred in the distance was now gone.
Crimson aura pulsated across his body.
His arms trembled. His hands twitched.
He could feel it building inside of him like pressure in a dam that could no longer hold.
And then, he saw it.
The colossal, looming figure of the [Hatred Demon] standing far ahead, its enormous form hunched over, glowing eyes staring directly into his soul.
"This is the end, human," the demon's guttural voice echoed, a low laugh following soon after, "Your mind has been completely overtaken. Which ans, I will disappear soon as well."
Alex said nothing.
The demon laughed again, extending a massive hand forward as crimson fire erupted in its palm.
"But before that happens, let's give them a true taste of what hatred is capable of."
Alex hesitated just for a mont.
Then he nodded.
"…Sure."
And the mont he did, the Hatred Demon's massive body shattered into crimson mist and shot forward like a torrent, piercing into Alex's chest and vanishing within him.
The sensation that followed was unbearable.
It was as if sothing ancient and monstrous had just taken root inside him, twisting everything that made him human.
[Wake up, human. The hatred is here.]
FWISH! BOOM!
He was ripped out of his mind instantly, hurled back into the real world like a missile breaking through dinsions.
The mont his vision cleared, he saw death.
The massive [Grim Reaper] summoned by Lich was swinging its scythe down once more, while Nocteron closed in with both hands aid straight for Alex's chest, ready to drain him again.
But just before impact, sothing inside Alex shifted.
A stillness. Then, an explosion.
Every emotion he had, fear, sorrow, joy, guilt, grief, all of it faded into nothing.
And in its place, one thing surged forward: Hatred.
Ti slowed. A notification appeared in his view.
[Hatred's Fury (Forbidden Skill): When the situation becos nearly impossible, and the user's will does not falter, this skill may activate. Unleashes the user's hatred, granting imnse power at the cost of soul corruption. Cannot be manually triggered. Conditions must be t.]
He already knew what that ant.
[You face death, but your will remains.]
[Your soul is drenched in hatred.]
[Let it guide you. Destroy all that you hate. Let nothing remain.]
And just as the scythe of the Grim Reaper was about to cleave him in half,
FWISH! BAM!
Crimson energy exploded outward from Alex's body.
Veins of pure hatred spread across his skin, his eyes turning into twin crimson flares, his entire figure wrapped in a swirling vortex of wrath.
"What is—" Nocteron tried to ask, but the wave of aura slamd into him like a wall, launching him backwards with imnse force.
Even the Grim Reaper was hit.
It flickered violently, and then disintegrated into red dust.
"This… isn't normal," Lich whispered, slowly backing away.
Nocteron stabilized himself midair, already preparing to dash again.
But it was too late.
Alex was gone. Or rather, the one standing there now wasn't just Alex anymore.
["Hatred's Fury" Activated.]
The aura wrapped tighter around him, covering his entire body until nothing recognizable remained.
All that stood now was a being made entirely of crimson energy, a tall, pulsing silhouette with white glowing eyes and jagged horns rising from its head like a crown of death.
He had beco hatred itself.
Every thought drowned in rage. Every mory twisted into vengeance.
The world around him was nothing but targets.
[Kill them all.]
"I…" Alex trembled, voice distorted, "will… kill… you…"
He locked eyes with Nocteron, and the God of Death instinctively took a step back. He should have.
Because at that mont, Alex raised his hand sideways.
Crimson energy gathered in his palm, coiling violently like a storm barely contained.
"You've taken everything…" Alex growled, "Most of my skills… my ally… but I still have this."
From the hatred, a weapon began to form.
Its edges sharp. Its body vast. It pulsed like a living thing.
The [Scythe of Hatred].
[A fusion between the "Abyss Scythe" and the "Sword of Hatred." Grows stronger by consuming souls and hatred. Can evolve further under Hatred's Fury. It is among the strongest weapons in Universal Descent.]
Its edge glead with terrifying power.
Its presence shook the air.
Alex lifted it.
"Let's end this," he roared, his eyes leaking aura like molten fire, "I'll avenge them all… every single one of them."
He glanced briefly at Kaelios' lifeless body in the distance, pain flashing for just a second.
"Here… we… go."
Even speaking hurt.
His very existence scread for blood.
For death. For vengeance. And this ti, he wouldn't hold back.
He couldn't. They would all fall.
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