NOVEL NEXT Chapter 437: Second Fallen
The Skybreaker moved.
Its first step sank into the valley like the fist of a god slamming down on the earth.
The entire battlefield lurched, the mountain quivering as snow avalanched down their sides.
Each stride of the colossal construct sent shockwaves rippling through Carthage's exposed layers, stone splitting and towers falling like toys in its wake.
Its blue-lit eyes fixed on the distant clash where Aurelius, Death, and Luna fought.
Its head tilted, the grinding of gears loud enough to echo across the battlefield. Then it began its march toward them.
Luna was the first to be distracted. Just for an instant, her attention flickered to the approaching titan. That was all Aurelius needed.
The Warden of Law twisted time with a step, appearing directly before her.
His gauntlet shimmered, his energy collapsing into the shape of a blade. He drove it forward, ramming it into her chest.
Luna gasped, blood spraying from her lips as she stumbled back, her vines writhing madly in defense, thorns lashing.
"Luna!" Death's voice boomed in fear.
His aura erupted, the world buckling as scythes of death sliced down at Aurelius.
The Warden met them with another sword, pulled out of time, sparks flying as they collided.
Death surged forward in its wake, and met Aurelius.
They exchanged a few blows in the span of a second, neither giving an inch.
But Luna was weakening. Blood streamed from her wound, her vines slowing down.
She tried to stand, tried to mend herself with sheer vitality, but Aurelius was merciless.
He snapped a moment in half, slipped behind her, and drove his blade through her back.
The sound was sickening.
Her body arched as the blade tore through her heart. Her silver hair spilled forward, purple eyes wide in disbelief.
For an instant, she turned toward Death. There was no fear in her gaze, only sorrow… and love.
Then she collapsed.
The Warden of Law withdrew his blade as her body crumpled into Death's arms.
"No…" Death whispered, his voice trembling.
He sank to one knee, clutching her limp body against him. His aura quaked violently around him.
He pressed his forehead to hers, his scythes dimming, the battlefield momentarily silent.
But Aurelius couldn't take advantage of the dropped guard.
The Skybreaker had arrived.
The titan's roar split the heavens, a sound like mountains being torn apart.
Aurelius rose into the air, temporal energy thrumming around him.
He hovered before the titan's chest, silver mask gleaming, cape whipping in the wind.
The Skybreaker swung.
Aurelius met it with a temporal strike, his blade shattering seconds into shards that carved into the titan's metal.
Sparks cascaded like waterfalls from the impacts, gouging out small flecks of the Skybreaker's skin.
The titan staggered, bellowing, then smashed its other arm forward.
Aurelius blurred, appearing above its head in a flicker of timelines, slamming his gauntlet down.
The impact rippled like thunder, snapping the titan's neck back.
But the Skybreaker's other hand slammed into him, sending him flying.
He seized control of his momentum, streaking back towards the Skybreaker.
They exchanged blows, the layers around them fragmenting to rubble.
Aurelius cut handfuls of metal away with every slash, but it was barely a bite to the Skybreaker.
Below, Death clutched Luna's lifeless body.
His hands trembled, blood staining his cloak. He stared at her face, so still now, her hair matted with blood.
He brushed a strand aside with shaking fingers. His lips moved soundlessly.
Then his body stiffened.
Grief curdled into rage. His aura surged outward, heavier than ever before, shadows rising like waves to blot out the battlefield.
The aura surged over multiple layers, and every living being in its radius died as the energy of death expanded to a scale none had ever witnessed.
He lowered Luna gently onto the broken stones.
For a long moment, he stood over her, head bowed. Then his hands clenched into fists.
When he raised his gaze, his eyes were pits of endless night.
Death inhaled once, shadows flooding into his lungs, then exhaled, his aura solidifying into wings of black energy. And with a beat from them, his body lifted from the ground.
He joined them in the skies.
The titan roared. Aurelius floated like judgment incarnate.
Death now rose between them, grief and fury crackling around him.
And with a loud cry, he unleashed his first attack.
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Atreides burned like a newborn sun.
His skin cracked with white fire, molten light bleeding from every wound Kant and Maren managed to land.
Yet even with half his body seared and probability twisting against him, his laughter shook the ruined layer of Carthage.
"Two shadows, and still you can't put me out!" He roared, fists swinging in blazing arcs that split the air.
Maren darted through his attacks, her sword trailing streams of light.
Equations scrolled across its surface, folding and unfolding like living scripture.
With each slash, probability bent, forcing his next motion to stumble, ensuring her attacks would always find flesh.
But Atreides refused the inevitable.
He met her with overwhelming force, his blows cracking the earth, shattering her dampening fields with sheer pressure.
His fist grazed her side, and the entire probability web she'd been building for almost a minute around her snapped like glass.
Kant's chains lashed from every shadow, a tidal wave of darkness coiling around Atreides's blazing limbs.
They wrapped his arms, tightened on his legs, and bit into his chest. They were like dark serpents pulling him down into the depths.
Atreides grinned through the pain, his teeth glowing in the radiance of his own fury. "You think you can bind the sun?"
He flexed, and fire ignited across his body, turning the chains red, then white.
They writhed, snapping one by one, their links exploding into fragments of lights, which dissolved into nothingness.
But Kant held on. He gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his mouth.
"I don't need to bind the sun," he growled. "I just need to hold it long enough."