CHAPTER 863: NOT ALONE

Before Vlad could even comprehend the meaning behind those words, the nightmare universe around him began to tremble.

It wasn’t the trembling of fear—it was the deep, resonant vibration of something ancient and vast shifting its weight, preparing to strike. Instead of retreating or resisting the pull of the ascended Depravita Moon, the entity surged forward with terrifying intent. The motion was like the fury of a flood breaking through a dam, an unstoppable wall of force determined to obliterate everything on the other side.

Inside the Depravita Moon, Vlad’s consciousness quaked beneath the sudden assault. Pressure—so crushing it felt like the weight of an entire planet—pressed in on him from every direction. The Moon’s devouring power was immense; it could consume all the negative psychic energy that formed this realm and convert it into growth, forging something far stronger from the darkness.

But that transformation needed to be controlled. Measured. Step by step.

The nightmare knew this, and it sought to exploit it. Its plan was brutally simple: to drown the Depravita Moon in such a colossal wave of psychic force that it would rupture under the strain, shattering into fragments.

And judging from the tremors shaking its surface and the hairline fractures beginning to crawl across its obsidian-and-silver glow, the plan was already taking effect.

"Damn it!" Vlad’s voice thundered inside his own mind.

Once again, just as he stood on the edge of triumph, the enemy had turned the tide. Demon lords, angelic generals, human champions, earls from the Viking realms, the Voroes from Doomsday Worlds, even gods themselves—Vlad had faced and overcome them all. He had endured the crushing weight of their might and broken their will.

But this thing... this nightmare made manifest... was unlike any opponent he had faced before.

It wasn’t merely strong—it was limitless.

Every possible solution flashed through his mind, only to be cast aside in the same instant. If he stopped absorbing the nightmare universe now, the entity would simply isolate the Depravita Moon and crush it from the outside, ending him instantly. But if he continued taking in this flood of psychic venom at its current rate, the overload would consume him from within.

"I can’t endure this much... not alone."

The thought burned like a coal in his mind—until something shifted. The faint but undeniable pulse of connection.

"No... I am not alone."

In the next breath, Vlad called upon his Gift—Samsara Typhon. The ability to retrieve the scattered fragments of his soul and connect with those who carried them. Until now, he had used it mainly to fuse with the other True Depravitas, pushing his power to its uppermost limits.

But this time... he sought something deeper.

He reached for the soul-threads that bound him to Jormungandr, Ouroboros, Fafnir, and Freya.

The cracks on the Depravita Moon widened. Pressure mounted to the brink of destruction. But Vlad’s focus did not waver. His will was a blade, and that blade cut through the storm until it found the connection.

Outside, in the waking world...

The forces of the Xaos Kingdom fought without pause, their weapons and magic striking the colossal abomination in the sky. The nightmare mass had been falling for minutes now, blotting out the light, filling the air with the reek of blood and decay. They had sworn to fight until their last breath, even if all they could do was scar it before they fell.

Then—without warning—the entire sky froze.

Confusion rippled through the army.

Their questions were interrupted by a rolling thunder of explosions.

"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"

The detonations came from the True Depravitas themselves. But the power spilling from them was not destructive—not to their allies. It was overwhelming, oceanic, a tide of psychic energy so vast that even seasoned warriors stumbled under the weight of it.

Freya, Ouroboros, Fafnir, and Jormungandr gasped as rivers of negative emotion and psychic might poured into their Depravita Stars, flooding them with nourishment. The Stars swelled in size and brilliance, obsidian and silver light spilling from them in radiant waves.

The pressure was right at the edge of what they could bear, threatening to crush them if it grew any stronger—but still, they endured.

Their minds reeled with questions. This energy was coming from Vlad—of that they were certain—but what did he want them to do with it?

"Continue to strike!"

The sharp command cut through their confusion like a sword.

Overlord’s eyes blazed with clarity as he stared into the sky.

"Prima Master is devouring it from within," the Divine Avatar declared. "We must destabilize it from the outside!"

Without hesitation, his own power detonated outward in a blinding surge, lancing into the nightmare’s form.

The other True Depravitas snapped into action instantly, their gazes sharpening as they unleashed everything they had. No holding back. No hesitation. Just raw, unfiltered annihilation.

Not even a second later, the rest of the Xaos Kingdom’s warriors joined in.

The sky lit up with destruction. Beams of pure will, storms of magic, steel weapons burning with psychic fire—everything slammed into the frozen monstrosity.

And for the first time, the nightmare reeled.

Before, it had regenerated faster than they could damage it. Now, under the combined weight of Vlad’s internal assault and their external barrage, it faltered.

"...It’s recovering slower."

No one knew who spoke first, but the words spread like wildfire through the ranks.

Hope flared.

Before, they had fought knowing their blows were meaningless. Now, each strike left a mark that lingered just a fraction longer.

Whatever their king was doing inside—it was working. And it was bringing them closer to victory.

"Harder!"

"Faster!"

"Put everything you have into it!"

"Victory is within our grasp!"

The war cries rolled across the battlefield like the roar of an ocean storm. Soldiers hurled themselves into the fight with renewed fury, drawing on every last scrap of energy. Spears of light punched through walls of flesh. Spells carved gashes in the nightmare’s skin. Psychic blasts shattered its countless eyes one after another.

It was no longer a battle fought out of desperation.

It was a siege. A calculated, unrelenting offensive.

The air burned with ozone and the stench of charred meat. The ground quaked under the force of their united will. The soldiers of Xaos Kingdom had been pushed to the brink of despair, but now their eyes blazed with defiance.

They had stared into the maw of the impossible... and refused to be swallowed.