Jalen exhaled sharply. His vision wavered, but he forced himself to stay focused. “What is this?” he rasped.
Ember’s flames flickered weakly. “Jorm…” He hesitated, then gestured towards the outside of the barrier. “It’s him.
Jalen’s breath hitched as he finally registered what Ember was pointing at. The barrier separating them from the rest of the room was now encased in water—a massive, undulating tide that stretched from wall to wall.
And within that submerged battlefield, Jorm was locked in a vicious struggle against the Nyx Puppet.
The serpent’s massive form coiled and twisted, dark tendrils of abyssal energy surging through the water. Jorm’s movements were fluid, precise—each flick of its body sending devastating currents that should have shredded any opponent. But the Nyx Puppet…
It was still smiling.
Jalen’s mind reeled. He had seen himself die in every scenario. He had witnessed the puppet cut through him like paper. But now—this wasn’t in the visions. The puppet hadn’t fought Jorm in those outcomes. Jorm had simply phased through it.
Yet here they were, locked in battle.
Jalen turned to Ember, who lay slumped on the ground, his normally brilliant flames flickering like dying embers. His entire body had dulled to an ashen red, wisps of heat barely clinging to his form.
“What happened to you, Ember?” Jalen asked, kneeling beside him. His voice came out hoarse, the exhaustion starting to creep into his bones.
Ember coughed—a dry, crackling sound. “Jorm happened,” he rasped. “That’s not just water, Jalen. It’s him. The entire room—he’s flooded it with his domain. The mana is so thick, so heavy… I can’t—” He let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “Fire can’t burn where the abyss has already claimed.”
Jalen’s stomach twisted.
Jorm wasn’t just summoning water. He was transforming the battlefield itself.
It was his domain.
But if that was true…
“Why isn’t the puppet ignoring him?” Jalen murmured, his mind racing. In every vision, Jorm’s attacks passed through like an illusion, like he didn’t even exist. But now? The Nyx Puppet was reacting. Its movements were sharper, more deliberate, countering Jorm as if it saw him as a real threat.
Did my refusal change something?
Jalen clenched his fists. If the system—or whatever was manipulating it—had planned for his defeat, then something had forced a deviation.
Was it Jorm?
Or… was it something else?
A deep, distant rumble echoed through the barrier, shaking the ground beneath them. Jalen and Ember turned back toward the water-filled room just in time to see Jorm’s coils constrict around the puppet, abyssal energy crackling through the water—
Then, in a single, unnatural motion, the puppet turned its head towards Jalen.
Even as it fought, it was still watching him.
Jalen’s breath caught in his throat.
Something was very wrong. Jalen’s breath hitched as he finally registered what Ember was pointing at. The barrier separating them from the rest of the room was now encased in water—a massive, undulating tide that stretched from wall to wall.
And within that submerged battlefield, Jorm was locked in a vicious struggle against the Nyx Puppet.
The serpent’s massive form coiled and twisted, dark tendrils of abyssal energy surging through the water. Jorm’s movements were fluid, precise—each flick of its body sending devastating currents that should have shredded any opponent. But the Nyx Puppet…
It was still smiling.
Jalen’s mind reeled. He had seen himself die in every scenario. He had witnessed the puppet cut through him like paper. But now—this wasn’t in the visions. The puppet hadn’t fought Jorm in those outcomes. Jorm had simply phased through it.
Yet here they were, locked in battle.
Jalen turned to Ember, who lay slumped on the ground, his normally brilliant flames flickering like dying embers. His entire body had dulled to an ashen red, wisps of heat barely clinging to his form.
“What happened to you, Ember?” Jalen asked, kneeling beside him. His voice came out hoarse, the exhaustion starting to creep into his bones.
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Ember coughed—a dry, crackling sound. “Jorm happened,” he rasped. “That’s not just water, Jalen. It’s him. The entire room—he’s flooded it with his domain. The mana is so thick, so heavy… I can’t—” He let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “Fire can’t burn where the abyss has already claimed.”
Jalen’s stomach twisted.
Jorm wasn’t just summoning water. He was transforming the battlefield itself.
It was his domain.
But if that was true…
“Why isn’t the puppet ignoring him?” Jalen murmured, his mind racing. In every vision, Jorm’s attacks passed through like an illusion, like he didn’t even exist. But now? The Nyx Puppet was reacting. Its movements were sharper, more deliberate, countering Jorm as if it saw him as a real threat.
Did my refusal change something?
Jalen clenched his fists. If the system—or whatever was manipulating it—had planned for his defeat, then something had forced a deviation.
Was it Jorm?
Or… was it something else?
A deep, distant rumble echoed through the barrier, shaking the ground beneath them. Jalen and Ember turned back toward the water-filled room just in time to see Jorm’s coils constrict around the puppet, abyssal energy crackling through the water—
Then, in a single, unnatural motion, the puppet turned its head towards Jalen.
Even as it fought, it was still watching him.
Jalen’s breath caught in his throat.
Something was very wrong.
[System Prompt] 30 seconds to error can be removed. An Additional reward will be granted if error is defeated before error is removed. Jalen’s breath turned sharp. The system message flickered across his vision, but this time, it wasn’t just a simple notification. The system was trying to bribe me into letting my guard down. Into stepping into the range of the puppet but I don’t in particular feel like dying so no. The error doesn’t seem very defeatable and my strongest tool is completely outclassed.
[Name: Spirit Sword]
[Type: Summon]
[Subtypes: Equipment, Weapon]
[Summoning Cost: 1Mana]
[Activation Cost: 1 Energy]
[Effect: Equips a spirit sword. Lasts for 8 turns. Can temporarily transform into a spirit weapon]
Can a spirit weapon damage the puppet is another question. (
Jalen’s breath came in shallow, measured exhales as he read the system’s new prompt.
30 seconds to error removal.
An additional reward will be granted if the error is defeated before error is removed.
The words flickered in his vision, lingering like a whispered temptation.
The system is trying to bribe me.
That alone was enough to make his stomach twist. The system—if it even was the system—was dangling a reward in front of him, urging him to act before the countdown ended. Before the Nyx Puppet simply disappeared.
If he ignored it, he lived. The puppet vanished, and whatever "intervention" the system had promised would arrive.
But if he fought…
His eyes flicked back to the battle unfolding before him.
Jorm wasn’t winning.
The serpent lashed out with abyssal energy, turning the water into a crushing vortex, yet the Nyx Puppet moved with eerie precision. Its body contorted, limbs twisting at unnatural angles as it evaded each strike with that ever-present, grotesque smile. The moments Jorm did land a hit, the puppet barely reacted, its body absorbing the force like a thing that didn’t truly feel pain.
Jalen’s grip tightened.
This thing had killed him a hundred times over in those visions. He had seen every possible outcome, every attempt ending in his demise. He had no reason to believe this fight would go differently.
And yet—
Why offer a reward?
The system wouldn’t dangle something impossible in front of him. Not unless—
Not unless it thinks I have a chance.
His mind warred against itself. His rational side screamed at him to wait. To let the clock run down, let the puppet be removed. It was the safest option, the smart option.
But then there was the other part of him.
The part that was angry.
Angry that he was being toyed with. Angry that the system—or whatever was pulling its strings—was trying to manipulate him. Angry that this puppet had forced him to watch himself die, over and over, as if his life was just a story being written for someone else’s amusement.
His fingers twitched as he glanced down at the card still in his grasp.
[Name: Spirit Sword]
[Effect: Equips a spirit sword. Lasts for 8 turns. Can temporarily transform into a spirit weapon.]
Would it even work? Could a spirit weapon harm something that was essentially an anomaly?
Jalen swallowed hard.
If he was wrong—if he stepped in and failed—then there wouldn’t be another vision of his death. There wouldn’t be another chance to choose differently.There would just be an ending.
And yet…
He wanted to try.
Damn it.
His heart pounded in his chest as the timer ticked down, each second feeling like an eternity. He clenched his jaw, fighting the hesitation, the rationality, the pure fear that threatened to root him in place.
He had to decide.
Was he going to risk everything for a chance at a victory he wasn’t even sure was possible?
Or—
Was he going to let the system win this round? So let’s measure my options. I have around 15 seconds to decide. Maybe another card could destroy the puppet.
[Name: Thunderbolt]
[Type: Spell]
[Summoning Cost: 1 Mana]
[Activation Cost: 1 Energy]
[Effect: Fire a bolt of thunder mana. Deals damage equal to Magic Power.]
This one won’t work because its damage is the same as Jorm’s and Jorm can’t destroy it. It’s a different element so it might have… Wait a minute if I use this card it will send a current through the entire lake of water Jorm created.