The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife as BloodLust stood tall in front of Marshmallow, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous, unnatural light. The world around them began to warp as if reality itself had been thrown into a vortex of chaos. BloodLust raised his right hand, wrapped in a pulsating aura of darkness.

"You see, Marshmallow," BloodLust began, "what you're about to experience is beyond your comprehension. This is the true power of Overdrive."

Marshmallow felt the ground beneath his feet tremble, and a sense of vertigo hit him as the surrounding environment seemed to jolt him back and forth. BloodLust continued his explanation, more excited than ever.

"This Overdrive can only be activated when you obtain more than 50 Unique Skills. It's something so superior that it can decide the outcome of a battle in minutes. Get ready, Marshmallow, because it'll be the last thing you see in your life."

BloodLust's dark hand moved with a fluid gesture, and the darkness expanded instantly, swallowing everything around them. Marshmallow felt the ground vanish beneath his feet as if he'd been lifted by an invisible force.

The arena, with its decorated walls and cracked floor, disappeared in the blink of an eye. In its place materialized a seemingly infinite plain of white marble under a starry sky. Marshmallow looked around. There were no more walls, no ceiling. Just a black space dotted with twinkling stars stretching in every direction.

It was then that Marshmallow realized he wasn't alone. Turning around, his heart skipped a beat seeing familiar figures materialize beside him: Lynx, Raven, Parabellum, and the Dragon Goat were there, just a few steps away.

"Guys!" he exclaimed, surprised and confused. "What are you doing here?"

"What are YOU doing here!" Lynx shouted at the top of her lungs, her face as red as her hair. "You disappeared out of nowhere! You left us alone against that thing, don't think it was easy, we all nearly bit the dust."

The rest of the group remained bewildered, not understanding where they had ended up. They only saw this immense dark expanse made of white marble and starry darkness. But they knew it was no bueno.

"Okay, okay, let's connect the dots," the Dragon Goat chimed in. "What's the last thing you remember, Marsh?"

Marshmallow sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. "I was led straight to BloodLust, and after a long staircase, I found him waiting for me. I faced him, but he was really tough. I had to use Eldrin's potion and barely scratched him. What about you guys? You were dealing with that weird tentacled beast."

His companions exchanged glances as if deciding where to start. Finally, the Dragon Goat spoke up first.

"It was a real nightmare, Marshmallow. That thing was stronger than anything we'd faced before. It probably could have destroyed Serthar with relative ease."

"But in the end, we made it," Parabellum added as a flash of pride lit up his eyes. "Even if the cost was high."

Lynx sighed heavily. "We had to use all of Eldrin's potions. It had reduced us all to near death, they were our ace in the hole. If we hadn't used them, someone would have surely died."

Just as Lynx finished speaking, Raven brought attention back to the present moment. "Look over there!" he exclaimed, pointing behind them. Miles away, an imposing figure was slowly manifesting from the darkness, and just then BloodLust's voice resonated through the infinite space, charged with infinite power.

"You'll feel the real pain. Come, Ascensione!" BloodLust shouted with a call that seemed to make the stars themselves tremble.

And the monster manifested suddenly.

It was a winged colossus, with a stature that seemed to touch the sky itself. Its body was an unsettling fusion of flesh and metal, standing like a living mountain. Multiple angelic wings extended at its sides so vast they obscured entire constellations. Its eyes were pools of molten lava, glowing with an infernal light.

Marshmallow and his companions were left breathless at this sight. The creature was a living incarnation of power and destruction. Its skin seemed made of interwoven metal plates, reflecting starlight unnaturally. Every movement of the monster made the air itself tremble as if its mere existence was an affront to the laws of physics.

Lynx was the first to break the stunned silence. "For all the gods... what the hell is that thing?"

The presence of that monster, which seemed to be called Ascensione, had made the air itself heavy and difficult to breathe. "Guys," the Dragon Goat said with a tense voice. "I think we're in trouble."

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Ascensione raised an enormous hand towards the starry sky. The surrounding stars seemed to darken as if their light was being sucked into the creature's palm. An energy of blinding blue began to gather in a sphere of light, growing in intensity until it became almost unbearable to look at.

Marshmallow and his companions felt a growing pressure as if the sky itself was about to collapse on them. The air vibrated with power, and the ground beneath their feet trembled alarmingly.

No doubt, if Ascensione had hit them with that blow, the Wyolanders would have died instantly.

"We have to do something!" Parabellum shouted, his voice barely audible above the rumble of accumulating energy.

The group instinctively prepared to launch into attack, but it was at that moment that Raven stepped forward before all the others. His face was dark, as if something wasn't right with him. With his eyes fixed on the growing sphere of energy in Ascensione's hand, he closed his eyes for a moment, as if making the toughest decision of his life.

When he reopened them, his gaze was loaded with iron resolution. "We can't allow this monster to unleash its fury," he declared with a firm and grim voice. "I have to stop it, at any cost."

Marshmallow turned to him, bewildered. "What are you saying, Raven? You can't face it alone!"

Lynx grabbed Raven's arm. "Are you crazy? It's suicide!"

But Raven shook his head with an unyielding expression. "There's no other choice. I recently obtained my Overdrive, but it's not like yours. It's different. More powerful. But it requires a high price."

Parabellum looked at him with wide eyes, understanding. "You're saying that..."

Raven nodded slowly. "Yes. It will cost me my life. But if that's what it takes to stop this thing and give you guys a chance, then I'll do it."

A silence laden with shock and horror fell over the group. Lynx let go of Raven's arm, tears streaming down her face.

"Raven, please," Marshmallow whispered, his voice broken with emotion. "There must be another solution."

Now it was no longer a matter between nations, it was a matter of global calibration. If BloodLust won the Survivor Game, sooner or later he would take over the whole world and could do whatever he wanted with it.

Raven turned to the others, smiling on his face despite the moment's gravity. "Lynx, your compassion and strength have been the backbone of our group. Never lose that light inside you. Parabellum, I know we've had our differences, but I've always respected your dedication and intelligence. Use them to guide the others. And you," he addressed the Dragon Goat, "as long as you can, protect Marshmallow as you've always done. You're a valuable ally and a loyal friend."

Finally, Raven turned to Marshmallow, his eyes full of affection and pride. "Marshmallow, you've grown so much since I first met you in this world. You've become a formidable warrior, a true legend. Now it's up to you. Finish the game, and prevent that monster from winning. Save our world."

With these words, Raven turned towards Ascensione. A bright light began to envelop him, his body started to shine intensely. The energy grew, pulsed, until it became blinding, more than Ascensione's.

"Goodbye, my friends," Raven whispered. Then, with a thunderous voice, he shouted:

"Overdrive: Judgment Day!"

The energy imploded towards Raven for an instant, then exploded in a wave of pure power—the beam of light-headed towards Ascensione with unimaginable speed and force.

The attack hit Ascensione with such force that it shook the entire dimensional plane. Half of the monster's body was instantly disintegrated. Ascensione let out a raucous scream of pain and the final blow it was about to deliver dispersed into the air in myriad sparks of light.

The sky itself seemed to tremble from the impact and the stars flickered like candles in a storm. Then everything returned to calm and at the center of it all, Raven, having used all his life energy, collapsed to the ground.

Marshmallow and the others rushed towards him, their eyes already swollen and blurring their vision. Raven's body was already beginning to disintegrate, transforming into particles of light that floated upwards.

With a final effort, Raven looked up at his companions. A weak but affectionate smile lit up his face one last time. "Take care of yourselves," he whispered. "The battle isn't over."

So, Raven dissolved completely, and the last particles of his being scattered in the air like stardust.