On the other side of the door was a much smaller room, a cube around 5 meters across on each side. It was well lit, but had no discerning features. Perfectly flat gray stone brick made up the walls, ceiling, and floor.
And standing in the center of the room… was himself.
A clone of himself, rather.
It was in hybrid form, a matte silverly-black color.
Nickel stepped over the threshold, entering the boss room.
Once he was fully through, a loud boom came from behind him, the doors slamming shut. He risked a quick glance back.
As soon as he took his eyes off the boss, he registered a much smaller booming sound. Nickel tried to turn back and lock onto the clone, but a scaled fist slammed into the side of his head before he could.
For the first time within the dungeon, his scales cracked.
He was sent flying to the left, spinning through the air.
He flared his wings to stabilize himself, landing softly on the ground just before the wall.
Nickel looked back up to see his clone speeding toward him, it's fist cocked back.
The clone closed in, fist descending toward Nickel. He swept his left hand up, backhand meeting wrist, deflecting the clone's strike to the side of his head.
He countered with a right uppercut, aimed for it's chin. The clone used the momentum of Nickel deflecting it's punch to spin away unharmed.
Now separated, Nickel and his clone observed each other warily, searching for openings.
They each seemed to detect one at the same time, shooting forward. They exchanged blows, fists meeting palms, elbows being blocked with elbows, knees intercepting knees.
Yet neither seemed keen on using their natural draconic weapons.
After a few dozen exchanges with no strikes landing properly, the clone and Nickel separated again.
'How do I defeat this thing?' Nickel's mind raced while he and the clone circled one another. 'How do you defeat something that has all the same abilities, thoughts, and precautions as you?'
He could see through the clone's actions quite easily. It reacted to his attacks the same way Nickel would have reacted himself. But, the clone could also see through Nickel.
It didn't help that their speed, strength, endurance, and ability to regenerate were perfectly equal as well. The only difference seemed to be that the clone had parameters it had to operate within.
NIckel's thoughts were interrupted as the clone charged forward again, this time using it's wings to propel itself.
Not willing to be put on the back foot, Nickel did the same.
Their exchange of moves began again, Nickel's brain moving all the while, trying to come up with a solution to his problem.
They moved rapidly around the room, shifting through the air to dodge kicks, elbows, punches. They began to incorporate their wings into their attacks as well, using the razor edges to try and cut away the other's scales.
So far, Nickel had been the only to receive a strike completely unguarded.
Despite this, the two were still sustaining damage. Nickel had begun targeting certain parts of the clone, slowly wearing down it's scales. The left shin, right forearm, left wrist.
The clone picked up the same behavior shortly after.
The battle drug on, and both had taken damage. Not fatal damage, truthfully not even major damage. But their scales had begun to crack further.
Yet still, they refrained from using their claws to directly attack.
'Why?' Nickel wondered during another exchange. 'It's already been showing initiative, why won't it use it's claws?'
Nickel finally came to a decision.
'I have to be willing to take more damage. It'll definitely use it's claws once I do. But at the rate we're going right now, I'll run out of energy before it does.'
During the next collision between Nickel and the clone, as the clone threw out a strike toward Nickel's head with it's left hand, he didn't block it directly.
Nickel used his wings to shift slightly to his left, tilting his head.
As the clone's fist shot past his head, he wrapped his right hand around it's wrist, and dug his claws in.
The clone's face contorted into a grimace for the first time. It tried to pull it's arm back, but Nickel's claws sunk deeper as it did, ripping further into it's skin.
Realizing it's arm was trapped, the clone punched toward Nickel with it's other arm.
Nickel parried with his forearm, shifting the strike over his head, and kicked the clone's damaged shin.
The claws of his foot gouged into the clone, forcing it back. Nickel loosened his grip around it's trapped wrist.
The clone escaped backwards, but not unscathed.
It's left hand hung limp, the muscles controlling it shredded by Nickel's claws.
It now favored it's right leg. Putting weight on it's left clearly pained it.
Nickel shot forward again, though this time, the clone retreated as he did. It drew back, likely trying to give it's regeneration time to work.
Nickel wasn't going to allow that.
He chased after it, always trying to circle to it's more injured side. As he did, he continued to inflict small amounts of damage to it's right.
Unfortunately for Nickel, the clone had also begun to use it's claws. It wasn't able to inflict much damage, however, due to it's left side being largely useless.
Eventually, he was able to corner it, and went in for the kill.
He feinted for its left. As the clone attempted to stop him using it's right arm, Nickel seized it's wrist, and dug his claws into it's now scaleless elbow.
He tore through, nearly severing it's lower arm.
The clone was now completely defenceless.
'No, it has one more attack!'
Nickel eyes widened as the clone's chest and throat began to glow.
Just as it opened it's mouth to release it's dragonfire, Nickel drove his thumbs into it's eyes.
His claws passed through them like a hot knife through butter, entering the clone's brain.
The one thing about dragonfire. It required focus to utilize.
As the clone died, the light burning beneath it's chest dimmed.
And so did Nickel.
He barely registered the voice of the system as the darkness took him.
[TRIAL COMPLETE; UNSEALING COMPLETE; RETURNING USER]