The world around them blurred. The Nightmare General moved like smoke, his blade striking faster than light. Rey blocked, barely keeping up. Each strike sent shockwaves through his arms, his sword cracking from the force, the air shimmered with each impact as if the word itself flinched.
"You can't win," the General said. "You fight a battle that was lost long ago."
Rey gritted his teeth, pushing back. "I don't care."
He dodged left, bringing his sword down in a powerful slash—but the General vanished, reforming behind him. The temperature around Rey dropped instantly, like death itself exhaled on his neck.
Rey barely turned in time as the blade drove toward his chest—
An axe intercepted it. Rhys. The old man grinned, his second axe already slicing toward the General's throat.
But the Nightmare General caught it midair, twisting Rhys's wrist at an unnatural angle.
The sound of bone snapping echoed. Rhys groaned, stumbling back.
The General raised his blade, about to finish him—Rey charged.
Steel met steel, sparks flying.
Rey's rage burned. This wasn't just a battle anymore. This was war.
The General pushed forward, his strength inhuman—Rey was forced to his knees.
"Die," the General said with a horrifying glance.
Rey summoned all his strength and managed to jump away from the General.
"This is where the real fight begins."
The General dashed with such speed that before Rey was about to land, the General was in front of him.
The General punched Rey's face. Rey flew up, his eyes white, and blood rushing down his nose. The General moved so fast that he was at the back of Rey the moment he punched him, kicking Rey to the ground.
As Rey fell, the whole area was swept clean and a massive hole appeared.
The General smoothly walked to Rey and said,
"Just as my comrade fell to your hands, so will you fall to mine," his voice heavy, cold, calculated, and menacing.
Rey was out cold as the General raised his sword, ready to kill him. Then—a flash of blue light.
A new sword blocked the General's blade. Alastor.
His blue eyes burned. "You forgot about me."
"Rey, get up."
"Get up, Rey."
"Get up."
Rey's eye snapped open. With a heavy breath, he coughed up blood again and again.
"What happened, old man… d-did we win?"
"No. Alastor is fighting him alone, and from the look of things, he's not doing well. We need to team up to beat him."
"And how are we going to do that?"
"I got a plan. Let's move."
Alastor's blade clashed with the Nightmare General's, the impact shattering the ground beneath them.
"You're all ghosts clinging to light," the General said coldly, pushing Alastor with one hand.
"I was forged in the dark. Let me send you there."
Before his blade could strike again—
BOOM.
Rhys appeared in a flash, his arm wrapped in glowing veil-threaded bandages, spinning both axes in a cross.
"Surprise, bastard."
His axe collided with the General's sword, sparks flying. The General was momentarily pushed back—
"Now, Rey."
Rey slammed down from the sky, his eyes glowing red, his sword cloaked in unstable energy.
"You said this was war?"
The three surrounded the Nightmare General. The air grew heavier. And then—Arinn arrived.
OH GREAT GOD OF FIRE AND GOD OF WIND, CREATE IN MY LEFT ARM A BALL OF FIRE AND MY RIGHT A GUST OF WIND
Spears made of fire and wind pierced down from above, forcing the General to raise his blade.
"I'm late," Arinn smirked.
"But don't worry. I did my part."
"We're not done yet," Rey said.
Rey charges with shadow steps, warping space behind the General. Arinn hurls spears of wind and fire in a delayed circuit, creating traps in the air. The General deflects Rey—but the spear traps trigger mid-swing, blasting the General in all directions.
"Can you summon either an ifrit or a sylph?" Rey screamed.
"No, I can only summon an ifrit."
"Then do it."
Arinn knelt and touched the ground with his hands and started summoning.
OH GOD OF FIRE I PRAY THEE HELP ME WITH THY SON SO I CAN OVERCOME THE OBSTACLE IN MY WAY
Arinn summoned an Ifrit.
"No matter what, keep blasting at the Nightmare General," Arinn told Ifrit.
Ifrit flew to the sky and started blasting fireballs as big as meteorites from all over the place. And Arinn's spears were raining down too.
A fireball hit the General and a spear went through him. While he staggered, Rhys spun in, launching veil-charged seismic strikes, cracking the ground and keeping the General grounded.
OH SEA GODDESS I ASK THEE CREATE IN MY HAND A DIVINE WATER BLADE
Rhys channeled Divine Water Blades that bent like ribbons mid-air, binding the General's legs and arms in sharp tendrils.
"You're not moving until we say so."
The General screamed and screamed, trying to break free from the seal.
Rey, Arinn, and Rhys shouted in sync:
Arinn summoned fireballs above the Nightmare General—Rey jumped and used shadow energy to siphon it into his sword.
Rhys coated Rey's sword in a divine barrier. Rey slammed the charged blade toward the General—
But the General caught it with one hand.
Everything went still.
He raised his other hand, mouth opening.
"Your combo was impressive… but I am war incarnate."
"Now… Alastor!" Rey screamed.
Then…
BOOM—
Everywhere went silent.
Alastor used the sword he created from light magic and stabbed the General.
The impact sent a shockwave that obliterated the entire area.
The final strike landed.
"W-we did ittttttttttt," Rey screamed in excitement.
The ground was littered with corpses, both human and nightmare-born, as Alastor used light magic on his sword and pierced through the General's heart. Rey walked up to the General's body and said,
"I haven't tried this skill yet, but Observer could make it happen." Rey took a deep breath, cold eyes and a menacing look. He said."
"AWAKEN."
Observer scanned the General's dead body, and with that, for an instant, Rey transformed into the General and transformed back to human.
Rey panted, his body aching, his hands shaking.
Rhys said, "What was that?"
Rey answered, "I have this skill called Observer, so anything I kill I can just simply say the word AWAKEN and it would scan what I killed, then I could transform into that exact thing."
"I hope he has PRIVATE NEXUS SANCTUARY. I haven't fully mastered my own yet," Rey said.
Alastor wiped his blade. "What, why haven't you mastered yours yet? How can a boy born without a soul sword, without any drop of magic and without a system easily pull off a stunt like that?" Rey said.
Alastor laughed. "You don't have any drop of magic? Either way, this was just a test."
"I'm not that much of a fighter, but I've mastered my P.N.S," Arinn said.
"Trying to show off in front of your big brother, aren't you?" Rey said. "And besides, since when do you give short names to things?" Rey asked.
Rey looked at Alastor. "What? How is this a test?"
Alastor's face was grim. "Seth is watching us. This wasn't a real attack—it was a message."
Arinn swallowed. "Then what happens next?"
Alastor turned toward the misty horizon. "Next, we go to Newsville."
Rey turned facing up, his gaze fixated in the sky, he couldn't shake the feeling that the words the general said before he died meant something.
"You carry defiance like a torch. I once did too. But fire fades when there's no one left to hold it."
Just as Rey was about to walk towards Alastor, he felt it. The general's pain.
He couldn't hear anything at the moment, his vision blurred as he held his chest squeezing it.
There were a few moments where multiple voices call out.
"Rey, what's happening" Rhys's voice shook desperate."
"What's going on. Rey"
Slowly and slowly the voices of the people around him faded.
"Rey please, what's happening"
He could only hear the echoes of his own hearbeat.
Beating one... by... one.
He fell to the ground, and was unconscious, the generals' memories were flooding inside his mind.
As Rey opened his eyes. He saw a child weeping in a battlefield of glass. He didn't know who the boy was—but his heart cracked anyway.
But one thing he knew for sure, he wasn't in the real world, this was the generals' memories