- Oliver -

  Just a few steps away, the mission leader—Alex—stood with his head severed from his body.

  A high-pitched ringing filled Oliver's ears, drowning out the chaos around him. Time seemed to freeze as his mind struggled to process the surreal horror unfolding before his eyes. The image of Alex reduced to a lifeless form, his head brutally removed, was almost beyond prehension.

  Blood, viscera, and fragments of botered across the clearing, painting the lush foliage with macabre strokes of crimson. The metallic st of blood mixed with the earthy aroma of the forest, creating a siing blend that turned Oliver's stomach.

  Instinctively, he raised a trembling hand to his helmet, wiping away the warm blood that obscured his visor. His vision cleared just in time to see the betrayal maing around him.

  "Elimihem all. Leave no witnesses." The voice sliced through the ringing in his ears like a cold bde. It was a voice he reized—a Ranger's void that realizatio a chill down his spine.

  Spinning toward the forest edge, Oliver's eyes widened as he saw two of the Red Rangers advang with ons drawn, their postures aggressive and unpromising. Not far from them, a Yeller stood with a heavy rifle leveled directly at him, the barrel still smoking from its ret discharge.

  Muffled screams echoed through the chaos—Chloe's voice, filled with shod fusion—but they seemed distant, almost muted by the adrenaline surging through his veins. Instinct overtook reason. Without a sed thought, Oliver charged toward the Yeller, determination fueling his every step. He couldn't allow him the ce tain.

  [Observation] he anded mentally, desperately attempting to activate his ability. But there was nothing—no enha, no attad defense lines—only the stark reality of his situation. The ability was celed out, useless against the Ranger’s level.

  ‘Why?! Why are they attag us?’ His thoughts were a whirlwind of fusion and despair. Betrayal cut deeper than any bde, and the sight of his fellers turning against them was almost too much to bear.

  [Prometheus] Oliver invoked, summoning every ounce of power within him. If his [Observation] wouldn't work, he'd have to rely on raw strength.

  ‘If this was enough to surprise a General, maybe it'll surprise a Ranger,’ Oliver thought, recalling the fight against Wiz. As he closed the distance, he eled his massive energy into his fist, feeling the Z Crystal within his gau resonate and amplify his power.

  The Yeller eyed him with pt, apparently unshaken by the rookie's bold advao him, Oliver was just a novice—a Blue Ranger, no less—hardly a threat in close bat. He tinued reloading his rifle with practiced ease, a hint of a smirk pying at the er of his mouth.

  Time seemed to slow. Oliver's senses sharpened, adrenaliening his perception. He could see every detail—the subtle shift in the Yeller's stahe glint of his visor, the way the light caught the edges of his armor.

  He read his oppo's expectations: disbelief that Oliver would dare attack head-on, fidehat the assault would be futile.

  But the Yeller was wrong.

  As Oliver's fist ected with the armored chest, there was a moment of silence—a brief heartbeat where everything hung in the bahen, a blinding light erupted from the point of impact. A thunderous explosion shattered the air, its force rippling outward like a shockwave.

  Everyone otlefield paused, eyes drawn to the epiter of the bst. They withe raw, untamed power of someone who had achieved over 80% synization with a Z Crystal—a feat unheard of for someone so new.

  A beam of pure energy surged from Oliver's hand, engulfing the Yeller. The armor, desigo withstand immense force, crumpled like paper uhe onsught. The energy punched a gaping hole through his midse, vaporizing flesh aal alike. The Yeller didn't even have time to scream—a look of stunned disbelief frozen on his face as he colpsed.

  The beam tinued beyond its initial target, searing into the ground and carving out a massive crater. The earth shook, and debris flew in all dires. Smoke and dust billowed upward, momentarily obsg the battlefield.

  Shockwaves from the bst knocked baearby batants, friend and foe alike. The two Red Rangers stumbled, momentarily off bance. Chloe shielded her eyes, her screams lost amid the deafening roar.

  Oliver stood at the ter of the devastation, his arm still extended, smoke rising from his gau. His breathing was ragged, but his eyes burned with anger and hurt.

  At the er of his vision, a new notification fshed.

  | rait unlocked

  | Ranger Killer [Secret Trait]| Kill a Ranger| [Click to Redeem]

  "What the hell is this?! Wasn't he supposed to be a rookie?" one of the Red Rangers shouted to his rade, disbelief g his words.

  But Chloe was already on the move. The Yeller didn't wait for the traitors troup. With twin daggers glinting in her hands, she unched herself forward. Her form became a whirlwind of motion—a relentless flurry of attacks that left the Red Ranger scrambling. Every ssh and thrust ed the space around him, cutting off any avenue of escape.

  "Did you think you could e here, sabotage our mission, and walk away alive?!" Chloe's voice erupted from deep within her, a feral growl that echoed through the trees. Her eyes burned with a fiertensity, and eaent was charged with fury.

  The speed of her assaults rivaled what Oliver could achieve using [Prometheus], yet there was no visible Energy c through her body. She moved with sheer raw skill aermination, a tempest of vengeance.

  The remaining Red Ranger didn't wait to withe oute. Panic fshed across his face as he turned and bolted into the forest, branches snapping underfoot as he disappeared into the shadows.

  It didn't take long. Chloe's bdes found their mark, slipping past the Red Ranger's defenses. She drove them into him with unyielding force, again and again, her breaths ragged. She tinued her relentless assault until he y utterly motionless, the light fading from his eyes.

  Only then did Oliver realize he was on his khe tumult of the battle catg up to him. His arm was shattered—fractures spiderwebbing through his armor. It wasn't as devastating as the injury he'd sustained fighting the General when his arm had been torn off pletely, but the pain was sharp, a reminder of the immense power he wielded—and the limits he was still learning to trol.

  Gritting his teeth, he struggled to his feet, cradling his injured arm. The clearing was a se of grim aftermath. Chloe stood over Alex's lifeless body, her shoulders heaving with each breath.

  On the opposite side of the clearing, anrim sight caught Oliver's eye. The body of a Yeller rawled across the ground; a smoking wound burhrough his chest. He had no ce to defend himself; the attack had been swift and merciless.

  But the worst revetion awaited him. Uhe shadow of a t tree, he saw Emma. The usually posed and analytical Ranger was swayily, a haunting motion that sent a chill through Oliver. He forced his shaky legs to move, closing the distaween them.

  As he drew he heartbreakiy came into focus. Emma was cradling Elliot's lifeless body, her arms ed tightly around him as she rocked bad forth. Tears streamed down her face, her sobs raw and urained.

  "No! No! Elliot, please," she cried, her voice breaking with each word. "Please e back... please..." She repeated his name like a mantra, as if sheer willpower could bridge the chasm between life ah.

  Oliver's chest tightened, grief and anger swirling inside him. The weight of the loss pressed down on him, but he khey couldn't afford to lose themselves in sorrow, not here, not now.

  He moved cautiously toward Emma, his own pain momentarily fotten. "Emma," he spoke softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "We have to go."

  She didn't seem to hear him, her gaze locked onto Elliot's face. Oliver k beside her, pg a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Emma, please. It's not safe here."

  Her eyes flickered to him, gzed with distraught. "They… Elliot…" It was the only thing she mao utter betweebreaking sobs.

  GCLopes