**Volume 2: Upper World**

  **Chapter 114: Each One Fighting for Earth**

  **(Arc: Beginning of the End)**

  July 4th, 1:28 a.m. – Shinjuku (Ruins of Ray’s Realm)

  Sky was still on his knees in the puddle — Max’s blood mixing with the rain, the green Gem dim and cracked beside his split body. Sky’s hands shook — fingers digging into the wet concrete — tears falling fast, mixing with the red water. He couldn’t breathe right. Couldn’t think. Just kept seeing Max’s last smile, hearing “thank you for this journey” echo in his head like a knife twisting deeper every time.

  Ray stepped forward — purple aura rolling slow — kicked Sky in the face. Sky’s head snapped back — blood spraying from his lip — body tumbling backward into the mud. He hit the ground hard — vision blurring — but didn’t stay down. He pushed up slow — one hand on the cracked pavement — other clutching his side — eyes red, swollen, burning.

  Then Jason came back.

  He blurred in — dark blue-pink aura steady — kicked Ray square in the face. Ray staggered — purple energy flickering — Jason didn’t stop. He grabbed Sky under the arm — pulled him up — steadying him on his feet.

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  “We can’t let Ray win,” Jason said — voice low, rough, almost gentle. “Not after everything.”

  Sky looked at him — tears still falling — voice cracking.

  “There’s nobody left. Really. Everyone is gone. Only person that could be alive is Taka. I can’t…”

  He broke — shoulders shaking — head dropping — sobs tearing out quiet and raw.

  Jason looked at Ray — Ray smiling now — wide, joyful — purple aura glowing like he was watching the best show of his life.

  “They were weak,” Ray said — voice calm, almost kind. “Weren’t good enough.”

  Sky’s head snapped up — eyes blazing through the tears.

  “They weren’t weak.”

  He got up — slow — shaking — but up.

  Sky ran — fist pulled back — punched Ray as hard as he could. The hit landed — Ray’s head rocked back — purple aura cracking — blood spraying from his mouth. Jason dashed back far — afterimages trailing — hit **Azure Flash** — fist glowing dark blue-pink — slammed into Ray’s side — ribs snapping inward. Ray flew — rolled across the ruined street — crashed into a burning car — metal crumpling around him.

  Sky kept coming — kicked Ray’s face as he tried to rise — boot connecting clean — Ray rolled again — blood trailing behind him.

  Ray got up — slow — purple aura flaring brighter — smiling wider.

  Sky and Jason looked at each other — no words — just a nod. They were the last two standing.

  Then Jason saw him.

  Josh — in Cam’s body — stepping out from the smoke — black-red glow in his eyes — grin wide.

  Jason moved — fast — toward him.

  “I’ll go kill him,” Jason said — voice cold.

  Josh lunged — fist snapping — Jason ducked — punched Josh’s face — blood spraying — then kicked him in the stomach — Josh doubled over — staggered back.

  Taka woke up — eyes snapping open — sword still in his hand — pushed up from the car he’d passed out against. He saw Sky — ran to him — stood next to him — blade raised.

  “Let’s do this,” Taka said — voice steady, tired, but alive.

  The chapter ended with the three of them — Sky, Jason, Taka — standing side by side — facing Ray and Josh — each one fighting for Earth, for the ones they’d lost, for whatever was left of themselves.

  To be continued…