What do you mean ‘oh no?’ Is it doubt I hear? Leo chuckled and continued to deflect everything that the Nightmare threw at him.

‘Not at all, just a healthy amount of skepticism,’ the feline said, but he didn’t believe her for a second. ‘I know you and your plans. Even if they succeed most of the time, they are rarely normal or safe.’

He hesitated for a moment. All right, fair. I can’t really argue with that, not considering what I’m about to do.

‘Oh dear.’

Leo rolled his eyes just as he sliced through another mist clone. The Reaper and its techniques were annoying, but it still failed to land even a single clean hit on him. The icy wind was the only real threat, but even that couldn’t leave a scratch on his scales.

Who is the overly dramatic one now? he teased. I thought that was my job.

Nyx’s groan filled their link. ‘Just tell me the plan, or finish this fight. You’re not even trying, and I’m getting bored. I will deal with the Nightmare myself if you don’t act soon.’

Fine, fine. I was just studying its capabilities… Now listen and don’t interrupt me. You can complain after I finish.

And so Leo explained his plan from A to Z, leaving no detail unsaid. Sometimes, he had to pause for a moment when the Reaper decided to try something new, but overall, he finished talking within a minute or so.

At first, Nyx remained silent, most likely considering his words. When she started speaking, though, it was with a hint of uncertainty. Not that he could blame her; his plan was far from safe.

‘Leo, are you sure this is a good idea? Especially now?’ she asked. ‘I remember what the System told you, but what if you need it later? We still have no idea what’s waiting for us on the other side of this gate.’

It will be fine as long as I do it slowly, step by step. Leo promised. And if I start feeling like it’s hurting me, I will stop. You have my word—I’m not trying to get myself killed, just gain a potential ally.

‘What if you fail? Last time didn’t go too well.’

He smiled. Then I will fail. That’s how we learn—by making mistakes. Besides, as I told you, I’m approaching this a bit differently. It might still not work, but at least I will have tried.

‘I still don’t like this,’ Nyx grumbled. ‘It’s just not the time for one of your experiments… But fine, as long as you stop the moment it becomes too much, I will help you. Void knows what would happen if I didn’t.’

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Leo snorted and refocused fully on the Nightmare before him. Until now, he had avoided harming it, but it was time to change that. Be ready on my signal, Nyx. Once my skill activates, it’s your turn.

‘You got it. Just give me a moment to prepare.’

He nodded and reignited Reinforcement while canceling active Spectral Fury. He didn’t want the skill to accidentally kill the Reaper after his next move—he was still working on controlling the specters it created.

All right, clones first.

In a burst of speed possible only thanks to Blink, Leo darted across the battlefield, slicing through every mist clone in sight. The original Reaper must have sensed that something was wrong because it faded out of sight and summoned a dozen more clones.

At the same time, the wind shifted from a minor annoyance to a full-blown blizzard. Larger shards of ice and even chunks of snow entered the fray, cutting through his Manifestation armor yet still failing against his scales.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Leo growled and disappeared in a flurry of Blinks, taking out clone after clone. A few more Caged Frostwraiths also stepped into the ring, but just like anything else, their corpses hit the ground after a few seconds. They were nothing against the fury burning in his veins.

The continuous failure forced the original Reaper to rejoin the fight again. This time, it rushed at him without a clone but wielding the full power of its ice. Each strike it performed summoned massive spikes that burst out of the ground, threatening to skewer him alive.

Like every other thing the Nightmare threw at him, this failed. Leo didn’t even bother dodging; he simply met the ice head-on with his fists and blades, shattering the elemental constructs. Nonetheless, the beast pressed on, giving him exactly what he wanted.

End of the road, friend.

Essence—a good chunk of his reserves—erupted out of his body in the form of dark smoke. It swallowed the small battlefield within the blink of an eye, blocking visibility for everyone but him.

Moonless Night. Try to get out now.

The Reaper, highlighted by Relentless Hunter, froze for a moment, but that was all he and Nyx needed. Hundreds of shadow tendrils dived out of the ground beneath the beast, piercing its ghost-like body in every possible place.

It tried to wriggle out of the trap, maybe even teleport out of his clutches, but nothing worked—just as Leo had planned. After all, he didn’t play around with the Reaper just for fun. No, he did that to find its weakness, something to help him ground the beast.

And he succeeded. The Voidling could only teleport away to somewhere it could see, and with Moonless Night active, that became impossible.

Game over, Leo thought, approaching the struggling monster. The shadow tendrils trapping it connected to his Manifestation, transferring control from Nyx to him.

“You’re here,” the Reaper spoke suddenly and stopped struggling. “I can feel you close. What did you do?”

Leo shook his head. There was no point in trying to answer; his voice wouldn’t reach the beast anyway. Moonless Night made sure of that.

We will talk once I finish. Please survive.

With that, he slowly opened the gates in his soul, allowing Ruination to spill into the shadow tendrils connected to his body. He controlled the flow with precision, looking out for any damage to his Pillars.

Once the first parts of Ruination reached the Reaper, it let out an ear-shattering wail. Bit by bit, its ghostly gray form filled with patches of red and black that claimed more space with each second.

After a few minutes of full focus, the creature before him transformed completely. It went from a ghost dressed in a tattered cloak to a hellish phantom straight from nightmares that glared at him with mismatched gaze—one eye crimson, the other ice-blue.

“You…” the Reaper muttered. “You broke it… How…”

For anyone else, those words would mean nothing, but to Leo, they confirmed what he already knew. Not that he needed any more proof—the System already told him all he needed.

Warning! Guardian of the Rift has been killed. This Rift Passage is collapsing. Find the nearest Void Gate if you want to survive. Time remaining: 37 minutes, 46 seconds.

I did it… its connection to the Rift is gone…

However, his job wasn’t done yet. A small part of the Reaper’s body had already begun turning to dust under Ruination’s corruption, and there was only one solution Leo could think of. He had been considering this idea ever since he accidentally transformed the Blessed Emissary.

Please work, he begged, allowing more Ruination to leave his body. It didn’t hurt yet, but he knew he was getting close to his limit. Minor Takeover.

Unlike any other time Leo used this technique, he didn’t let it run wild. After all, destroying the Reaper’s intelligence and personality was the last thing he wanted—he could get dozens of mindless drones anywhere.

No, this was something else.

He stopped the technique from suppressing the Reaper’s mind and instead focused it on creating a subordinate link. Maybe this way, the creature could survive the transformation. He could worry about the loyalty part of the skill later.

And so, more and more Ruination seeped into the Nightmare. Leo ignored the first signs of pain in his body and pressed on, watching as the link slowly took shape. The success was close—he could see the finish line.

But it was not meant to be.

His technique faltered, and the newborn link shattered into millions of pieces. Ruination spiraled out of control and sped up the consumption of the Reaper’s body. By the time Leo recovered, only its head remained.

“Ah… This is it…” the Nightmare whispered. “Freedom at last.” It looked up straight into Leo’s eyes despite the darkness surrounding them. “Thank you…”

Its final word faded along with the last breath of icy wind as the rest of its body turned to dust. Its frozen scimitar clattered to the ground while a small, blue-red shard landed on top of the pile, followed by the remains of the beast’s cloak.

Leo blinked and canceled all of his skills. The darkness vanished, leaving him standing in an almost empty chamber devoid of any mist. Only the hum of the now-active Void Gate broke the silence.

He sighed, shoulders slumping.

“Dammit…”