"Wait, Barry."
"What is it?"
Just as Barry was about to step onto the stage, Krisdan called out to him, her voice laced with worry.
"Can you win?"
As someone who possessed dream-related powers, Krisdan might not have been strong, but she could still sense it—
Freddy had deeply invaded and reshaped this dream world. He completely dominated the terrain.
Could Barry really handle such an overwhelming disadvantage?
Did he have enough strength and strategy to win this fight?
The answer—absolutely yes.
Barry kept walking forward, his body transforming into a streaking arrow as he launched himself straight into the sea of fire.
As he vanished into the flames, one final sentence, filled with absolute confidence, reached Krisdan's ears:
"I'll win."
Barry's figure disappeared into the inferno.
Even though worry still lingered in her heart, all Krisdan could do was silently pray.
This was no ordinary battle anymore—it had gone far beyond what mortals could interfere with.
Getting this far was already a miracle.
Now, all they could do was calm their minds and wait.
Maybe… this would be the last time they ever faced Freddy.
Win or lose.
Knowing their limits, the other patients moved to the empty seats, wanting to watch the battle more clearly.
Then, from within the raging fire, a figure leaped out and landed on the ring.
Behind him slithered a massive creature—the White-Faced Golden Python.
It was the result of the spiritual connection and twin-bonding power Barry had absorbed from Maria.
His body had become a vessel for spiritual summoning—he could fragment his own desires for short bursts, letting the anger entwined with his soul grow and evolve.
Two beings—one mind—eventually becoming a weapon of shared will.
It was a move that felt like splitting his own consciousness apart.
The dream's creative reconstruction had simply completed the puzzle ahead of time.
---
The two stood opposite each other, eyes locked.
"Barry, you actually dared to show up?"
"Freddy, if I didn't come, who else would kick your ass?"
Ding! The bell rang.
Freddy retracted his signature steel claws.
With a metallic shing, two white bone blades extended from his forearms—
identical to Barry's own.
At the same time, Barry's arms sprouted a pair of bone blades as well.
Damn it—he's still copying me!
Barry's eyes turned cold. He lunged forward, arms crossed, slashing through the air.
In an instant, several glowing X-shaped blades shot toward Freddy.
Freddy smirked, swinging his bone blades in retaliation.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Matching arcs of blade light slashed out from Freddy's weapons, colliding midair until they both dissolved into sparks.
He's exactly like me!
Barry's brow furrowed. He charged again—his left arm cut through the heat toward Freddy's throat, his right blade slicing for Freddy's chest.
CLANG!
Their bone blades locked together, sparks flying from the friction.
But Barry wasn't done.
"Go—Wrath Incarnate!"
The python spirit lunged forward, its bladed limbs slashing across Freddy's body.
Crack! Crack!
But instead of the sound of flesh tearing, a chorus of fine, brittle bone fractures echoed out.
Barry's eyes widened.
Freddy had armored himself with a thick white bone carapace—
the same skeletal defense Barry once used.
It absorbed the attack completely.
"Barry! Your powers are incredible!" Freddy grinned, feeling the surge of strength and protection coursing through him. "Feels real good to be this strong!"
"Fake knockoff! You dare show off with my moves?! Die!"
Barry rushed in close, blades flashing.
Metallic crashes and bone cracks tangled together in a violent symphony.
"Two-on-one, huh? Good—just how I like it!"
After more than ten rounds, Barry and his wrath avatar moved like perfect twins—synchronized and relentless.
Freddy was barely holding on.
Even with his control over Barry's bone manipulation, his body was covered in gashes—
only his dream's resurrection ability kept him on his feet.
But the cracks in his defense were widening.
Barry twisted his left arm unnaturally and stabbed at an impossible angle—
the blade darted forward like a viper's fang, piercing Freddy's chest.
Then the wrath avatar struck from behind, its tail slamming him forward—
driving Freddy straight into Barry's blade.
"Gaaahhh!" Freddy screamed in agony.
The blade went clean through, puncturing his chest and exiting through his back.
"Crush him."
At Barry's thought, the wrath avatar responded immediately—
it coiled around Freddy's body, its outer blades folding inward.
The sound that followed was sickening—
a meat grinder chewing through flesh and bone.
Moments later, Freddy was shredded into unrecognizable pieces.
Only a charred head remained, still screaming,
"Waaahhh! Uncle Freddy's dying! It hurts!"
Crack!
Barry sliced the head in half with a single swing.
"Stop it! Nooo! Don't kill me—ahhh, it hurts so much!"
But the two split halves of Freddy's face shouted different things, one crying, one laughing.
Freddy's twisted chuckle echoed again—
"Hehehe... time for Surprise Number Two!"
---
Barry didn't answer. His eyes scanned the surroundings, alert and searching.
Meanwhile, in the stands—
Ignoring the fake audience cheers, Krisdan and the others jumped from their seats in joy.
"He did it! Freddy's finished!"
"The nightmare's finally over!"
"Woohoo! We're free!"
"Yeah! Finally!"
The other patients hugged and cheered, imagining a bright future ahead.
But Krisdan and Nancy weren't smiling.
They noticed it first—
Freddy's body was still twitching.
And then—something strange happened.
The crowd suddenly erupted in deafening cheers.
"Freddy! Freddy! Freddy!"
Nancy and the others froze, hands over their mouths, faces pale.
Because on the stage—
Freddy's half-destroyed body began to morph.
One half turned into Barry, and the other half became the White-Faced Golden Python.
Barry tried to interrupt the transformation, but it was too late.
It happened in an instant.
The dream itself resonated with Freddy, feeding him power—
or perhaps, Freddy had prepared a secret backup source of energy all along.
"How's it feel, Barry?" Freddy's grin widened. "The more of your tricks I copy, the stronger I get. I'm becoming you. And tell me—what's the hardest thing for anyone to beat?"
He raised his claws, laughing madly.
"Themselves."
"So tell me, Barry—how are you gonna win against you?"
With a roar, Freddy lunged forward, his fake python clone charging beside him.
"Hmph. A cheap imitation."
Barry met him head-on without hesitation.
Win or lose—it didn't matter.
He only understood one thing: fight.
---
The battle raged fiercely until, at last, there was only one standing.
Barry stood bloodied but unbroken.
His wrath avatar flickered beside him, nearly transparent.
Beneath him, Freddy lay crumpled, his voice faint and rasping.
"Shhh... can we call it even?"