Damon stared at the guy in silence. Every instinct screamed to drive his fist through that lying face. But this wasn't the same timeline. This wasn't the same Damon who died trusting him. This was the fairy king's doing. Piece by piece, he brought himself together and settled down.

A slow grin spread across his lips. "Sure," he said, his voice steady. "Just like old times."

Aiden nodded curtly, turning his focus toward the towering boss. "Good. We can end this in one go if-"

He didn't finish.

In a blink, Damon vanished from where he stood. The next instant, Aiden's instincts screamed danger, but it was too late. A crimson hand shot out from behind him, gripping his throat like a vice.

"What?!"

Damon's face appeared inches from his own, eyes glowing with a predatory crimson gleam. "Funny," he whispered. "That's exactly what you said the first time."

Before Aiden could react, Damon slammed him into the cavern wall with bone-crushing force. The impact echoed through the chamber like thunder. The blood clone paused, as if even it was startled by the sudden violence.

"Let's skip the act this time," Damon said coldly. "No fake commands. No backstabbing mid-fight. Just you… and me."

Aiden coughed, blood dribbling down his lip. His expression was one of confusion. It then suddenly changed into one that Damon recognized very well. The same polite smile the man wore all the time in this lifetime.

Aiden's polite smile never reached his eyes. "How did you find out?" he asked, calmly stepping out.

Damon did not bother talking to him. What was the point in talking to an illusion? Instead, he paid attention to the giant boss standing in front of him. Every little slip of attention could cost him everything, and he was not going to lose again.

Blood meteors started falling all around him, causing explosive booms that shook the entire cavern. The runes on the cave wall pulsed, glowing bright crimson. If it were not for them, the whole place would have been destroyed by the boss's attack. Every impact of the meteors splattered crimson fire across the floor. The entire place became a death trap in an instant.

Determination shone in Damon's eyes. The whole fight was more difficult than he remembered, but he was not going to lose again. He moved through it like a phantom, his body dissolving into ribbons of shadow between each explosion. He then erected his domain, but the red storm was shattered and dispersed by a single meteor hit.

The clone roared, a deep, ancient sound that made the runes tremble. A dozen new blood orbs ignited around its body, each one pulsing with unstable energy.

Damon kicked off the ground, once again dodging everything. He was only barely making it in the nick of time, but he did. Behind him, Aiden's voice cut through the chaos.

"Ignoring me, are you? You always did that when you were angry." His tone was light, conversational, as if they were discussing old times instead of standing inside a death trap.

"But tell me something, Damon. Are you sure that I betrayed you? Are you really happy with the cursed power inside your body? Don't you think that it is pulling you down instead of helping you?"

Damon did not stop and continued focusing on the main boss.

"What has this power even given you? You could have obtained the same things by following a different path! It has only made you weaker and more vulnerable. Don't you see? I have always been your friend. I have always tried to protect you!"

Aiden's voice echoed louder, sharper, worming its way through the sound of shattering meteors. "That rage, that hunger, you think it's yours? It's theirs, Damon. The bloodline is using you! You think you're the master of it, but every time you kill, every time you feed, it devours another piece of who you are."

The words crawled under Damon's skin, burrowing where reason couldn't reach.

He's right…

A thought flickered unbidden, and the Blood Reign clone struck. A meteor clipped his shoulder, flinging him backward. Blood sprayed across the cavern, sizzling where it hit the floor. "Fuck me." Damon gritted his teeth and shot back up.

Fighting blood with blood seemed to be futile, and the illusions were only making everything worse. He needed to do something else.

Damon summoned the [Bastion of the Condemned] and [Radiant Wellspring]. He then directly shot towards Blood Reign's clone to end the fight once and for all. Divine power exuded from him as he directly punched the damn clone.

A hole was ripped in her huge form's heart. The hole quickly began to heal itself, but Damon did not let it. He punched again and again and again, taking out all of his frustration on the blood clone.

In that moment, a mix of blood and divine power crackled around Damon's arm as he instinctively combined both of them. Each flicker of energy screamed with contradiction, purity clashing with corruption, divinity wrestling with damnation, and yet when combined together, they resulted in catastrophic power levels.

The clone lunged forward with a massive scythe of living blood, the weapon howling as it swung. Damon met it head-on. His hand, still burning with divine energy, caught the blade mid-swing. The entire cavern trembled from the collision, runes along the walls exploding one by one.

Behind him, Aiden's illusion spoke again. "Damon! Wake up. Don't fall for it. Greed is the biggest sin. It will make you lose yourself. There are other paths to power, paths that don't demand your conscience. Please stop and listen to me."

Damon gave a fuck all to his words. He pulled his fist back, channeling everything, every drop of power, every ounce of fury into one single strike. The punch landed like a divine meteor.

The clone's chest exploded outward, the radiant bloodstorm engulfing her in holy fire. Her scream shook the dungeon to its core, fragments of her body melting into liquid rubies before bursting into light.

***

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