NOVEL NEXT Chapter 433: I'll Hold The Line
"What are you doing here, Tam?" Noah stepped forward. "You should—"
Their reunion was interrupted as the ground rumbled. Everyone stumbled, trying to regain their balance.
"What the hell?" Thorn exhaled as a giant hand speared its way out of a valley on the horizon.
They all watched, the ground trembling beneath their feet as the behemoth of metal made its way to its feet.
"Skybreaker." Ren breathed.
The Skybreaker looked exactly as it had when he'd been playing Eternal Souls. A titan that had been made in the image of humans, but was anything but human.
Sitting in its eye sockets were two orbs of blue. Its mouth opened unnaturally wide, revealing a row of jagged teeth as it tilted its head back, then roared into the sky.
"Shit." Ren swore. "We're running out of time."
"Running out of time?" Tam tilted his head where he stood. He hadn't moved an inch, and the puddle around him was growing. "This is the end of the road for you."
"Tam, I—" Ren was interrupted as a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked to his side to see Thorn walking forward with a smile.
Thorn walked until he was ahead of Ren. He turned to look at them behind him. "You just said we're running out of time. You both can go look for the Flame. I'll take care of Tam."
Ren frowned. "Are you sure?"
He wasn't doubting Thorn's ability. Rather, he was worried about leaving his friend behind in the middle of a war.
"Don't worry about me, Ren." Thorn grinned. "Go on. I have things to take care of with Tam anyways."
Ren stared at his friend, noting his determined expression. Thorn had been the one who'd been closest to Zuzu among them. And now, her brother was before him. This was his chance for closure.
"Okay." He nodded, before glancing at Lilith. "Let's go."
Ren and Lilith zipped to the side, rushing to bypass Tam and get to the tower.
"Where do you think you're going?" Tam snarled, and the puddle beneath his feet exploded, sending him flying through the air towards them.
Thorn dumped all his available charges into speed, rocketing to intercept Tam. As he neared Tam, he felt the blood in his veins react, and his eyes widened.
He quickly shifted three charges into his blood, keeping them from being ripped out from him.
An instant later, he collided with Tam, a loud crack filling the air as the two were sent flying.
They skidded over the rubble, before each digging their feet into the floor, spraying soil into the air in a furrow as they stopped their momentum.
"What have you done!" Tam snarled as he watched Ren and Lilith race in the distance towards the tower.
"Exactly what I was meant to do." Thorn straightened.
Tam exhaled, the rage that he'd displayed bleeding away unnaturally fast, leaving behind a dangerous calm behind. "I see. So you have chosen death."
"On the contrary." Thorn chuckled. "I choose life. I'm not here to convince you of anything. I can already see from that... golden eye that you're too far gone to be reasoned with. All I'm here for is to give Zuzu's brother a clean death, so that he can rest in peace."
"Leave her name out of your mouth!" Tam snarled.
Thorn exhaled, the motion sad. "I understand your pain." He said. "I felt it too when she died. I loved her, you know. She was like a bright spot in what had otherwise been a mediocre life. But I understood that Zuzu would not want me to become a monster after she died."
He looked up, meeting Tam's gaze. "And I won't let you become a monster too."
In response, the water dripping off Tam's back exploded with a crack, propelling him forward.
Thorn's eyes widened at the speed. It wasn't something he'd come to expect from a Tidecaller.
He stepped forward, using as many charges as possible to match Tam's speed. With the four charges he had left, he dumped two into strengthening his body as a whole, and the remaining two into his bones.
His bones grew, spearing out of his skin to cover him in an off-white armor.
He stepped forward, catching Tam's fist in his palm. He grinned at the sight
That was when the water covering Tam's fist exploded, cracking the bone armor covering the hand he'd had around the fist and snapping it back.
Thorn's whole arm snapped back from the force of the small explosion, breaking open his guard.
Tam stepped forward through the opening, and placed a hand on Thorn's chest. And with a snarl, he seized every drop of blood in Thorn's vein, and yanked it out.
Thorn's eyes widened as he realized what was happening, and redirected four charges to his blood, holding it in place.
"Urk!" Pain slammed into him from both the internal and external forces exerting on each other, keeping his blood in place.
Seeing him preoccupied, Tam drew back his left fist, and punched. The punch landed on Thorn's chest with the force of the sea.
There was a wet thunk as the force cracked his bone breastplate, traveled through his chest, rupturing his heart, and bursting out of his back, sending blood spraying through the air.
Thorn was sent flying, and he coughed, blood spraying out of his mouth. As he sailed through the air, he shifted charges to regeneration, his organs knitting back together.
But Tam was not content to give him time. He exploded his water, sending himself streaking towards Thorn.
Seeing the incoming man, Thorn stretched a hand, splaying out his fingers. The bones covering his fingers lengthened into short barrels, mimicking something he'd heard from Ren's stories.
Tam streaked closer, fist pulled back in a punch.
Thorn's grin widened. There's no way he'll be able to dodge this. "Gotcha."
With a muffled whump, his fingers began firing bullets of bones.
Tam's eyes widened, and in an instant, water streaked out of his sleeves to form a shield before him.
The bullets of bone impacted, tearing through the water. The unending barrage slammed against the shield, slowing Tam's momentum.
Some were stopped by the shield, and others streaked through, slamming into his body.
One clipped him in the shoulder, sending him spinning. He slammed into the ground, skidding for a few more meters before coming to a stop.
Thorn finally hit the ground, bouncing a few times before standing to his feet. His bone armor closed at his back with a clink, his healing complete.
He stared at Tam's immobile body. 'Is he dead?'
As if in answer, Tam coughed, stumbling to his feet. His torso looked like it had been shredded, and his shoulder was simply gone, his arm hanging by a strip of flesh.
Tam looked down at himself, then up at Thorn. Then his wounds began bubbling, water streaming out of them and slowly becoming flesh, healing the damage.
Thorn's eyes widened. "Oh, shit."