### Volume 2: Upper World
**Chapter 10: Mist and Mirrors**
Sky burst out the mall’s shattered side entrance, glass crunching under his boots, rain hitting his face like needles. The street was a warzone—demons crawling over wrecked cars, devils perched on rooftops, wings dripping black sludge. Mara was already moving—fast, silent, Yami no Ken drawn and low, the black blade drinking every stray light from the flickering streetlamps. Sky didn’t wait. He charged.
Fist cocked. Will energy surged blue-red around his knuckles.
He punched—straight, no feint, full force Echo Fist aimed at Mara’s chest.
Mara sidestepped—just enough. The sword came up in a clean arc, Mist Sword trailing faint gray vapor like smoke off dry ice. The blade kissed Sky’s left forearm—shallow cut, barely an inch long, but it burned like acid. Mist curled into the wound, numbing the skin instantly. Sky hissed, dashed back three steps, boots sliding on wet pavement.
Mara didn’t pursue. Just watched, void eye glowing soft.
Sky pressed his thumb to the cut—blood welled up fast. He flicked it forward.
“Blood Gun.”
The blood compressed mid-air—red-black orb, spinning like a bullet. It shot straight for Mara’s chest.
Mara raised the Mist Sword horizontal. The blade shimmered—gray mist thickened into a mirror-like sheen.
Stolen story; please report.
The Blood Gun hit the flat of the sword.
And reflected.
The orb ricocheted back—same speed, same force—straight into Sky’s own chest.
Impact like a sledgehammer. Sky’s ribs flexed inward, sternum creaking. He dropped to one knee, vomiting blood onto the concrete—thick, dark, splattering in a wide arc. The Heart thumped once, amused, but didn’t take over. Not yet.
Sky gasped, hand pressed to the hole in his shirt. Blood seeped between his fingers.
Meanwhile—
In another building half a block away, an abandoned department store turned mirror maze by shattered glass and flickering emergency lights.
Yami no Ken walked slow, boots quiet on cracked tile. His black coat blended with the shadows, only the glint of his sword and the faint glow of his veins giving him away. Mirrors everywhere—broken, whole, angled wrong—reflecting him a hundred times over. Each reflection moved a half-second slower, like echoes lagging behind.
He stopped.
“I don’t have all day, kid.”
From somewhere in the maze, Max’s voice—low, edged with anger.
“Yes you do.”
A bang—sharp, like a gunshot.
Yami spun, sword up.
But all he saw was his own reflection—dozens of them, each holding a sword, each staring back with void eyes.
He kept walking. Slow. Patient.
Then Max struck.
**Blood Pipe.**
A thin red line shot from the shadows—compressed blood-energy pipe, whipping through the air like a harpoon. It hit one mirror—shattered it—ricocheted to the next, then the next, bouncing at impossible angles through the maze.
The pipe finally slammed into Yami’s back—right between the shoulder blades.
Yami grunted—staggered forward one step, coat tearing, blood blooming dark across the fabric. He dashed back—rift-step shadow, vanishing into darkness, reappearing ten feet away.
He wiped blood from his lip.
“Gurth Technique: Shadow Reversal.”
Shadows around him twisted—absorbed the blood pipe’s momentum, spun it back like a boomerang. The red line whipped toward Max’s hiding spot.
Max rolled out—shadows flaring, Loyal Shade blocking the reversal just in time.
Back with Sky—
Mara advanced—slow, deliberate, Mist Sword trailing gray vapor.
Sky forced himself up, knees shaking, chest burning. Blood dripped from his mouth, staining the white pants darker.
He thought—fast, desperate.
**Spatial Surge**—Azure Pull to yank Mara in, Push to blast him away.
**Chain Bind**—lock the sword arm, restrict movement.
**Echo Fist**—stack punches, delayed explosions.
**Blood Gun**—reflected once already, too risky.
**Blade Fracture**—spatial cuts from the knife.
**Frame Bind**—slow Mara’s time in frames.
**Echo Resonance**—internal damage waves.
He had options.
But Mara was already closing—sword raised.
Sky’s eyes narrowed.
He flexed his fingers.
The chapter ended.
To be continued…
