Marshmallow watched in horror as the Dragon Goat collapsed under BloodLust's relentless assault. His companion, who had stuck by his side through thick and thin in the Survivor Game, now lay motionless on the shattered white marble ground, scales dull and stained with blood. Marshmallow wanted to rush over and check on him, but before he could even cover half the distance, BloodLust was on him like he'd teleported. A cruel smirk twisted his face as he prepared to strike.

"Too slow, Marshmallow," BloodLust hissed. "Let me show you what real speed looks like."

In the blink of an eye, BloodLust vanished from Marshmallow's sight. An instant later, a fist with the force of a battering ram slammed into his gut. The impact was so violent that Marshmallow felt the air leave his lungs. He coughed up blood, a metallic taste filling his mouth.

Before he could even think about defending himself, a devastating kick to his side sent him flying. Marshmallow's body bounced across the ground several times before rolling to a stop. When he finally came to a halt, every fiber of his being was screaming in agony.

"Is that all you've got?" BloodLust taunted. "I thought you were tougher than this. Maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe you're not the opponent I hoped for."

Marshmallow desperately tried to get back up, but his body seemed to struggle to respond to his commands. The pain was blinding, and he felt like every bone in his body had been shattered and then put back together wrong. Despite wearing the Primordial Dragon Armor, he felt more vulnerable than ever.

The reason for this apparent weakness soon became clear. The armor, once indestructible, now showed thin cracks spreading like spiderwebs across its surface. BloodLust had found a way to corrupt the very essence of the armor. Each blow not only damaged Marshmallow's body but also the protection he had relied on.

"Wondering why your precious armor isn't protecting you, huh?" BloodLust said as if reading Marshmallow's thoughts. "It's simple. I've infused each of my strikes with a corrosive Unique Skill. It's slowly eroding your defenses, making each subsequent hit more devastating than the last. Soon, you'll have nothing left to shield you."

Marshmallow felt seriously outmatched. If BloodLust was telling the truth - and the searing pain he felt suggested he was - then he was in deep trouble. Much deeper than he'd initially thought.

It was at that moment that Parabellum decided to intervene. With a roar of anger, the fire elemental lunged forward.

"Marshmallow!" Parabellum shouted, his flames blazing ever brighter. "Don't you dare give up! Not after everything we've been through!"

Parabellum hurled wave after wave of fire at BloodLust. For a moment, it seemed like the attack might succeed. However, BloodLust moved with supernatural grace, dodging the flames as if dancing between them. Suddenly, BloodLust wrapped his arms in a cloak of crystalline water, shimmering with an unnatural, almost living light. When Parabellum hit him with another wave of fire, this time BloodLust didn't dodge. The water on his arms hissed and turned to steam, protecting him and preventing any damage. BloodLust showed no sign of pain.

"Water against fire," BloodLust said with a sadistic smile. "A classic, don't you think?"

BloodLust then lunged at Parabellum. His hands, still wrapped in crystalline water, moved like blades, striking the elemental at every point on his body in a barrage of hits. With each successful attack, Parabellum's flames seemed to diminish.

"No!" Parabellum cried out, his voice weakening along with his flames. "It can't... it can't end like this!"

But it was already too late. In a matter of seconds, Parabellum's fiery body returned to its original form. A stomp straight to the chest sent him flying next to the others, probably fracturing a good part of his rib cage. Now he lay on the ground, his pale human body shaking.

BloodLust turned to the last member of the group still standing: Lynx. The red-haired player had taken refuge inside the Tree of Life.

"Come out!" BloodLust roared like a madman. "Or do I have to come and get you?"

With a roar of rage, BloodLust leaped forward and delivered such a powerful blow to the Tree of Life that it shook to its roots, despite its titanic mass. Lynx, connected as she was to the Tree, felt every vibration, every crack forming in the vital wood. The trauma was too great.

Stunned and almost unconscious, Lynx emerged from the Tree of Life, staggering. BloodLust wasted no time. With impressive speed, he grabbed Lynx by the hair and delivered a powerful knee to her stomach. The warrior flew backward, landing heavily next to her fallen companions. She too suffered major fractures from the impact.

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Marshmallow, still on the ground, watched the scene in horror. In just a few minutes, BloodLust had decimated his entire group. The Dragon Goat, Parabellum, Lynx... they had all fallen. And he, despite all his determination, had been unable to do anything to prevent it.

BloodLust stood at the center of the carnage with a triumphant grin on his face. "It's over," he proclaimed in a booming voice. "The resistance has been annihilated. The Survivor Game is mine." He raised his arms to the sky as if to demonstrate to a non-existent audience that he had won it all. Then he turned to Marshmallow. "And so only you remain now. The last obstacle between me and total victory. Your friends are KO'd, only you still have the ability to get up. But tell me, do you have the strength left to do it? Or would you prefer I finish you here and now, sparing you further suffering?"

Marshmallow felt despair rising within him. How could he hope to win against such a powerful enemy? How could he protect his friends, his world, when he couldn't even protect himself?

Marshmallow struggled to stay conscious, but he felt darkness enveloping his mind. It couldn't end like this, not after everything they had been through. Yet, as his eyelids grew heavy, one last, desperate prayer escaped his lips:

"Help me."

And then, darkness.

***

When Marshmallow reopened his eyes, he found himself in a place that defied description. There was no up or down, left or right. It was like being suspended in total emptiness, yet he felt solidity beneath his feet. Darkness surrounded him, but it wasn't oppressive. It was... waiting.

"Where..." he began to say, but his voice seemed lost in this non-place's immensity.

"In the limbo between life and death," a familiar voice answered from behind him.

Marshmallow whirled around, and his heart skipped a beat. There, just a few steps away, was Raven. Not a shadow, not a faded memory, but Raven in the flesh, as if he were there, present in this moment suspended in time.

"Raven?" Marshmallow whispered, his voice heavy with emotion. "But how..."

Raven smiled, a smile that was at once full of pride, affection, and deep sadness. "It's not over yet, Marshmallow," he said. "I'm here for one last meeting, one last gift."

Marshmallow tried to move forward, torn between the desire to embrace his mentor and the fear that he might vanish at the slightest touch. "Raven, I... we failed. You were right, BloodLust is too strong. I had no right to judge you for what you did, for running away. I don't know how we can..."

"Shh," Raven gently interrupted him. "Listen to me, Marshmallow. What I'm about to tell you and show you will change everything."

Marshmallow nodded, still unable to believe his eyes. "Raven, I... I thought you were dead. How can you be here?"

Raven smiled. "In a way, I am. But death isn't always the end, Marshmallow. Sometimes, it's just a passage."

"I don't understand," Marshmallow admitted with evident confusion.

Raven nodded understandingly. "Let me explain. Remember my Negakinesis? The ability that allowed me to manipulate antimatter?"

"Of course," Marshmallow replied. "It was the most powerful Very Unique Skill."

"Exactly," Raven confirmed. "Well, what you didn't know is that the Overdrive you saw me use wasn't limited to that attack that allowed us to eliminate Ascension, it was much more. After that attack, I became stardust, and without you realizing it, I clung to you. Judgment Day is an Overdrive so powerful that it allows me to transcend the boundaries between life and death, even if only for a short period."

Marshmallow's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean..."

"Yes," Raven continued. "I used this Overdrive to bring you to this realm between worlds in case you found yourself in trouble. A place where time has no meaning and where I can reach you for one last, crucial meeting."

Marshmallow felt a shiver run down his spine. "Last meeting? Raven, what are you trying to tell me?"

Raven placed a hand on Marshmallow's shoulder, and Marshmallow felt that his touch was surprisingly warm and real. "I'm saying I'm here to help you. To give you what you need to eliminate BloodLust once and for all."

"But how?" Marshmallow asked desperately. "BloodLust is too strong. He defeated all of us like we were nothing."

Raven shook his head. "Not all of you, Marshmallow. You can still get up. And with what I'm about to show you and give you, you'll have the power to change the course of this battle."

Marshmallow felt a spark of hope ignite in his heart. "What are you going to do?"

"Listen carefully. What I'm about to reveal will change everything. Are you ready?"

Marshmallow swallowed, then nodded with determination. "I'm ready, Raven. Show me."