Heartstone - Chapter 66: Chapter 66

As the flames from the exploding relay lit the horizon, Avera stood tall atop the village’s highest ridge. Her breath formed clouds in the cold air, but her eyes burned with fierce determination. The time to defend their home—and honor Ashen’s sacrifice—had come.
“Gather the warriors!” she commanded, her voice sharp and steady.
Marah rallied the soldiers, and from every village, the allied clans surged forward, horses pounding and swords gleaming. Drums thundered through the valleys, echoing the heartbeat of war.
A era led the charge, mounted on her horse beside Marah, the ancient symbol on her hand glowing faintly—a sign of the bloodline and the power she was just beginning to unlock.
Ahead, Ryker’s ground forces—a brutal mix of chemical-enhanced soldiers and mechanized war machines—advanced, relentless and cold.
But Avera raised her sword high, shouting, “For our ancestors! For the ! For our future!”
The warriors roared in answer, their battle cries tearing through the dawn mist as they clashed with the enemy.
Steel met steel. Arrows darkened the sky. Explosions rocked the earth as Dalen’s sabotage slowed Ryker’s aerial support.
In the thick of the fight, Avera moved like a storm—her sword a blur, cutting through enemies with fierce precision. Around her, warriors fought not just for survival but for hope.
Suddenly, a deafening roar split the air.
Ryker appeared on the battlefield descending, his eyes glowing unnaturally, muscles bulging with the dark energy from the chemical infusion.
he growled, “your rebellion ends here.”
Avera met his gaze, steady and unyielding.
The fate of the mountain, the , and their people hung on the edge of that fierce battle.
The battle raged fiercely as Ryker unleashed devastating fire, cutting down warriors left and right. His chemical-infused strength made him nearly unstoppable, and his monstrous soldiers advanced like a tide of destruction.
But Dalen, steady and focused, aimed his gun at Ryker’s AG59 as it hovered menacingly above the battlefield. With a sharp crack, the bullets found their mark, piercing the jet’s hull. Flames burst from the engines as the craft spiraled out of control.
Ryker screamed in fury, struggling to regain control, but the jet crashed violently near the mountain’s edge, sending shockwaves through the ground.
The battle momentarily paused, all eyes turning to the smoking wreckage.
Dalen and Avera exchanged a determined glance—this was their chance to end the war once and for all.
From the flaming wreckage near the mountain’s base, silence fell for a moment—then the metal groaned and twisted.
A surge of unnatural energy burst from the crash site, throwing debris into the air. Ryker emerged, his body no longer fully human. The liquid coursing through his veins had mutated him beyond recognition—his skin pulsed with a sickly glow, and metallic veins writhed under his armor like living wires.
His voice boomed, distorted and monstrous.
“You think you’ve won? This... this is only my true beginning!”
His massive arms cracked with unnatural strength as he tore a large shard of his downed jet and hurled it like a spear, impaling a tree near Dalen. Warriors fell back, shocked by the terrifying form Ryker had become.
Avera stepped forward, her eyes narrowing.
“Whatever you’ve become... you’re not unstoppable.”
The on her palm glowed faintly as if responding to Ryker’s transformation. The final confrontation was near—and the power within Avera was beginning to stir.