SoulBound

Chapter 39: Multi-Dimensional Glitch

Daz lunges forward, his ember-lit machetes slicing through the air with a fiery arc. Iza responds instantly, drawing a glitch katana from the chaotic void around him. The weapons clash with a resounding clang, sparks flying as embers meet glitch. They lock in a fierce sword struggle, faces inches apart, each warrior straining against the other's strength.

"Why do you insist on helping me?" Iza's voice glitches, fragments of his words hanging in the air before fading.

Daz smiles, the intensity of the sword lock reflecting in his eyes. "Big Sis orders. She scares me more than you, bruv."

With a surge of glitch energy, Iza pushes Daz back, their blades scraping with a metallic shriek. As Daz stumbles, he opens a portal beside him, summoning an inky figure from the depths of another dimension. The being roars, its form twisting and turning as it morphs its hand into a deadly scythe. Together, Daz and the inky being lunge forward, slashing their weapons at Iza in a synchronized assault.

Iza's form flickers, and with a swift motion, he catches both weapons using his glitches, holding them in place mere inches from his head. His eyes narrow as he conjures two glitchy orbs, their surfaces crackling with unstable energy. The orbs let out a powerful blast, knocking Daz away and disintegrating the inky being into fragments of dark mist.

Daz grunts as he rolls to his feet, his determination undeterred. With a flick of his wrist, he summons multiple portals around Iza, each one emitting a blinding white blast. Iza attempts to dodge, but a pair of shadowy hands emerge from a portal beneath him, gripping his legs and holding him in place.

The blasts converge on Iza, their impact sending him hurtling backward. The ground beneath him warps and fractures from the force, reality itself bending under the strain of their battle.

Iza struggles to rise, his form glitching violently. He glares at Daz and grins, "Y-y-you know I c-c-can't d-d-die here, right?"

Daz smiles back, "Didn't I say that Big Sis is scarier than you? Killing you would kill me, literally."

Daz adds, "Fight it, Iza. Don't let the power control you!"

Iza grunts, "Shut up! This is who I am, and I don't need you to tell me otherwise!"

Iza teleports behind Daz and waves his hand, letting out a glitch slash. Daz dodges, but the slash hits his scarf.

"Oi! That was my favorite scarf, one of many," Daz says, his voice tinged with annoyance. He draws what looks like another blade from a portal, but Iza intercepts before Daz gets the chance to pull it out, grabbing the sword.

"Should have been aware of your surroundings," Iza says, a sinister smile on his face. Suddenly, the sword starts moving and binds Iza, immobilizing him. "What the—" Iza struggles to break free.

Daz smiles, "Should have been aware of your surroundings. I fooled ya, bruv." He summons a pair of sickles from a portal. The sickles glow with electricity. Daz dashes forward, slashing Iza and electrifying him. Iza struggles to move as Daz continues to strike, slashing him again and again.

Iza lets out a mad scream and unbinds himself, exhausted. He looks at Daz, "Daz... Help me... This hate is consuming me..."

Daz says, "Only you can free yourself from it. Let go of that hate! She can't hurt you anymore. Your mother isn't here."

Iza laughs maniacally, "Regardless if she's here or not, the pain burns just the same!"

Iza brings his hands together, interlocking his fingers. Slowly, he begins to pull his hands apart, and as he does, ethereal strings of glitchy energy start to form between his fingers, flickering with erratic, digital distortions. The strings crackle and hum with a strange, otherworldly energy.