Heartstone - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Far across the sea of trees and mountains, beneath a steel sky lit by harsh red lights, General Ryker Voss stood atop a black metal platform in Fort Arkanis, the secret military facility carved into the mountain.
Below him, the labs buzzed with activity. Engineers, biotech surgeons, and weapon technologists moved like ghosts—silent, fast, and deadly focused.
Behind thick glass panels, creations were being tested.
> Sky Machines—sleek, hovering assault drones with plasma turrets and AI tracking systems.
Synth Soldiers—genetically enhanced humans, stripped of pain, loyalty-programmed, and injected with experimental strength enhancers.
And worse—Wraith Units. Shadow like humanoids with cloaking abilities and cybernetic enhancements. They were built for stealth—and silent death.
Voss turned to his chief scientist, Dr. Elira Sand, her coat stained with chemical soot, her eyes too bright.
“Are they ready?” he asked, voice low and menacing.
“They’ll obey,” she replied, pressing a button on the tablet. On the screen, a prototype soldier ripped through five human test targets in seconds. “We’ve removed fear. Hunger. Even sleep. They live for command now.”
Voss smiled.
> “Good. Send the first wave in three days. Level the forest villages.”
A lieutenant stepped forward, hesitant. “And the boy… Dalen? We believe he’s alive. He disappeared near Sector 7. Ashen spared him said one of the soldiers that went on surveillance with him.”
Voss's eyes narrowed like razors.
“Then Ashen has failed me.”
He turned slowly.
> “Find him. Kill him.”
He walked to the viewing window where the massive Sky Carrier stood—an airborne battleship outfitted with railguns, bombers, and troop transports. Lights flickered across its surface like a living machine.
Below, in holding tanks, more than a hundred Synth Soldiers stood frozen in their containment gel.
> The war to conquer the Heartstone… had begun.