Unmade Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Raging waves

Read chapter 28 of Unmade by churro on NovelPedia.

Beneath the five dark suns, two battles raged. The first was a clash of goliaths, a war between beasts and monsters. Three lone eidolons, embodiments of divine wrath, faced an army of abominations spilling from beyond the obsidian mountains. Outnumbered beyond reason, they did not falter. They could not be defeated; they were the equals of gods themselves. The monsters could only struggle, only survive for fleeting moments before being hunted down and erased like all the others that had come before. The second battle, though far more humble in scale, was no less mesmerizing. On the surface of the crimson sea fought two masters of battle: a young boy who had not aged since he was cast into this cursed realm Vale, who had lived through countless deaths, and the man who had delivered every one of those deaths. The chained man, weapons jutting like broken thorns from his body, had been Vale’s executioner for uncountable cycles. Yet through all those deaths, all those resets, the two had grown to respect one another. In time, the executioner had become Vale’s mentor. All Vale needed to escape this realm was a single victory. One kill, One moment where he struck the final blow instead of receiving it. Yet that victory felt impossibly distant, like a star burning faintly in the night sky. Every death, however, brought him one step closer. And now, after countless steps up that endless staircase, he was nearing the top. Their blades clashed in an endless storm of sparks. The chained man thrust his mighty spear forward, aiming to pierce Vale clean through. Vale twisted to the side, parrying the powerful blow and retaliating with a sharp arc of his blade aimed at the man’s neck. Instantly, the chained man released one hand from his spear, transforming it mid-motion into a massive sword. Metal rang as he blocked Vale’s slash with the gauntlet covering his forearm, then swung his new blade toward Vale’s throat. Vale ducked low and, without hesitation, transformed his weapon even as the chained man still gripped it. In a flash of twisting metal, it reshaped into a long morningstar, its chains tangling around the man’s gauntlet. A faint, victorious smirk crept across Vale’s face. Yes. Finally, an opening. He jerked the chain downward with all his strength, pulling the chained man off balance, and transformed his weapon again, back into a massive sword. With a roar he swung upward, the blade screaming toward the gap in the man’s cracked armor. It was the closest he had come in dozens of cycles. But the chained man moved. His posture shifted, an explosion of force erupting from his side. Vale’s eyes widened. 'Fuck' He lost his grip on the weapon a split second before the man’s kick connected squarely with his ribs. He was sent flying, skidding through the blood-red air above the sea before he twisted and landed on his feet, his breath ragged. Planting a hand on his knee, Vale let out a groan. “Can’t you let me win already?” The chained man only chuckled, leveling his blade past Vale, not at him, but toward the distant horizon. Vale followed his gaze. In the distance, the three eidolons clashed violently with the monstrous horde. Their roars shook the sea. “They are fighting so that we may fight,” the chained man said, transforming his weapon once more into a long glaive. “To hold back would be to insult their gesture.” Vale grinned, a sharp and reckless expression. “I see. Then I’ll make sure to kill you this time, old man.” He shifted his stance, raising his weapon like a spear, then transformed it into a gleaming trident. As soon as the tines locked into shape, both fighters sprinted toward each other with blinding speed, each motion barely trackable even to the most trained mortal eye. Their weapons collided in a storm of metal and shockwaves. Feet slid across the crimson sea, every step calculated, every shift of weight deliberate. Both fighters possessed an almost unfair advantage: absolute flexibility. With weapons that could transform