**Volume 2: Upper World**

  **Chapter 97: Fake**

  March 11th, 2:14 a.m. – Villains’ Base (Outer Perimeter)

  Jason stepped outside alone.

  The rift pocket’s fake night sky was too perfect — stars too bright, no wind, no bugs, no real smell of rain or dirt. He walked slow — sandals dragging on the cold concrete — hands shoved deep in his pockets. The fight with Kira still buzzed in his veins — her blood on his socks, the way her eyes went wide when the glass shard went through her chest. He should’ve felt something. Victory. Satisfaction. Anything.

  But all he felt was… empty.

  He stopped under a flickering red emergency light — looked up at the fake stars.

  “Why now?” he muttered to himself. “Why do I remember this shit now?”

  The memories kept coming — uninvited, sharp. His mom’s face blurring in the mirror earlier. The way she used to hum while making ramen. The sound of buttons popping. The men laughing. Him frozen in the doorway at 6 — too small, too scared. He squeezed his eyes shut — tried to push it down — but it wouldn’t stay buried.

  He dropped to one knee — fist clenched so hard his knuckles whitened.

  “I should’ve done something,” he whispered. “Anything.”

  Tears came — hot, angry — dripping straight onto the concrete. He cried over and over — shoulders shaking — until his throat burned and his eyes stung dry. He wanted to be happy. Wanted to feel something real — laughter that wasn’t mean, a hug that didn’t come with strings, someone who looked at him and saw Jason, not a weapon or a tool. But he never got it. Not once.

  Leo stepped out from the shadows — no wings, just scars where they used to be. She stopped a few feet away — voice soft.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Jason looked up — eyes red, wet. He stared at her — really stared — like he was trying to see the girl from five years ago on that rooftop. The one who smiled sad and said “it’s okay” before he let go.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  He wiped his face with his sleeve — stood slow.

  “Nothing,” he said — voice rough. “Just tears of joy.”

  He forced a grin — crooked, empty.

  “We’re gonna win.”

  Leo tilted her head — eyes narrowing.

  Jason’s grin faded.

  “You’re not Leo,” he said quiet. “Not the same Leo I knew. So you’ll die.”

  Leo’s eyes widened — yellow flashing.

  “Jason… what?”

  Jason moved.

  Fast.

  He blurred — kicked her square in the chest. The impact rang out — Leo flew backward — crashed through the side of a concrete building. The whole thing groaned — collapsed in a cloud of dust and rebar. Leo hit the ground rolling — came up coughing — blood on her lip.

  “What’s up with you?” she rasped.

  Jason’s eyes turned blue — not light blue like Sky’s — dark, cold, almost black. His aura shifted — dark blue rolling off him like smoke, heavy and wrong.

  “No,” he said.

  He dashed — afterimages trailing at 100 fps — knife already in hand. Slashed at her arm — blade whistling — Leo tried to punch — fist going through an afterimage. Jason grabbed her legs mid-swing — yanked — threw her into a glass wall. Shards exploded inward — Leo crashed through — rolled — stood up bleeding.

  “Tell me right now,” Jason said — voice low, shaking with rage. “Who the hell are you?”

  Leo wiped blood from her mouth — smiled slow.

  “How’d you know?”

  Jason’s grip tightened on the knife.

  “I’m Nobaka,” she said. “I put my brain in someone — then I get to live in it.”

  Jason was about to lunge — then two cursed humans burst from the shadows — S+ rank, human-looking but eyes glowing wrong — one spoke in perfect Japanese, the other switched to English mid-sentence.

  Leo laughed — soft, cruel.

  “Checkmate, Jason.”

  Jason stared at her — then at the two cursed humans.

  “You think I’d die to a fake?” he said — voice dropping colder. “No shot, bitch.”

  He took it seriously.

  No grin. No taunting. Just movement.

  He dashed — afterimages exploding at 500 fps — punched the first cursed human’s face — skull caved — body flew. The second lunged — Azure Flash-style punch — Jason ducked — jumped — fist up — **Azure Flash 200%** — hit the second one’s chest. The cursed human flew — crashed into a wall — ribs shattered.

  Jason blurred again — afterimages scaling to 1,000,000,000 fps — punches raining on the first one — chest, face, throat — body jerking like a broken doll. He yanked — threw it into water — dashed in — dragged it under — stabbed with the knife — pulled it out — turned to the last one.

  It tried to stab — nails glowing — hit an afterimage.

  Jason appeared behind — backhanded its neck — grabbed its leg — threw it up high. Looked around — eyes scanning.

  “Where’s that fake Leo?”

  The cursed human fell — Jason teleported — kicked it in the face mid-air — body spun — crashed into a pole — spine snapped.

  He killed it — knife through the throat — dropped the blade.

  Then — Leo (Nobaka) lunged — sword aimed for his back.

  Jason moved just in time — dashed up — grabbed a parked car — lifted it with ease — swung — car slammed into her. She flew — crashed into water — body sinking.

  Jason stood over the edge — breathing hard — aura dark blue rolling off him.

  Ray stepped out from the shadows — white hair glowing faint purple.

  “Enough.”

  Jason turned — eyes still dark.

  Ray raised a hand — rift energy flickering.

  Jason punched — fist connecting with Ray’s jaw — Ray staggered back one step.

  “Back the hell off,” Jason growled.

  Ray wiped blood from his lip — smiled small.

  Jason lunged again — Ray sidestepped — rift opened — blade of void energy slashed — Jason jumped — it missed — hit Leo instead. She screamed — body cut open — fell back into the water.

  Jason drop-kicked Ray’s head — boot connecting clean — Ray flew — hit the ground rolling.

  “I told you,” Jason said — voice shaking. “Back. Off.”

  The chapter ended.

  To be continued…