Chapter 2517: Story 2518: The Heart Forge Awakens

The battlefield dissolved into chaos.

Steel clashed against black armor as the Hollow Guard turned their weapons upon one another. The Abyss Walkers formed an unbreakable ring around the Corrupted Heart, refusing to yield even a single step.

Victoria Kane urged Midnight straight toward the massive crystal.

"We have to destroy it!"

The black stallion thundered across the broken courtyard, leaping over fallen barricades while the Marshal’s golden sword illuminated the smoke-filled battlefield.

Cole Mercer covered her advance from the fortress walls.

One precise rifle shot shattered the helmet of an Abyss Walker preparing to strike Victoria from behind.

"Keep moving!" he shouted.

Lucas Reed released a volley of flaming arrows.

The blazing shafts struck the ancient siege wagon, setting its wooden frame ablaze.

Dark smoke rose into the stormy sky.

The Corrupted Heart pulsed violently.

Boom...

Boom...

Boom...

Each heartbeat echoed across Blackstone Ridge like the pounding of a colossal drum.

Dr. Evelyn Brooks stared in horror.

"It isn’t just a crystal."

"It’s alive."

Father Gabriel gripped his silver cross.

"It remembers."

The wounded Crimson Rider fought desperately through his former soldiers.

Although blood flowed from the spear lodged in his shoulder, Elias Crow continued cutting down Hollow Guard who attempted to reach the crystal.

His crimson horse crashed through enemy ranks with fearless determination.

Victoria finally reached him.

"Why are you helping us?"

Elias blocked another spear before answering.

"I betrayed humanity once."

His voice carried deep regret.

"I won’t betray it again."

Before Victoria could respond, a deafening crack split the battlefield.

The Corrupted Heart floated into the air by itself.

Its crimson glow expanded in every direction.

Every Abyss Walker immediately knelt.

Every zombie beyond the fortress walls raised its head toward the sky.

The Hollow King’s laughter echoed through the storm.

"My heart..."

"It finally returns to me."

Dark streams of energy stretched upward from the crystal toward the crimson vortex hanging above the mountains.

The golden chains imprisoning the Hollow King began breaking one by one.

The first chain shattered.

Its fragments rained across the desert like burning stars.

Gideon Black watched in disbelief.

"The prison is failing."

Inside the Hidden Chamber beneath the fortress, the thirteen ghostly Marshals suddenly appeared around the Legacy Chest.

Marshal Isabella Ashcroft looked toward the ceiling.

"We have no more time."

Another iron lock sprang open.

Then another.

Five locks now stood unsealed.

Golden light poured from the chest, filling the chamber with ancient power.

Back on the battlefield, Victoria charged toward the floating crystal.

She raised the Marshal’s sword with both hands.

"For everyone who still believes in tomorrow!"

The golden blade struck the Corrupted Heart.

A brilliant explosion erupted across the fortress.

Golden and crimson energy collided, creating a shockwave that hurled warriors from both armies across the battlefield.

Midnight struggled to remain standing.

Cole was thrown against the battlements.

Lucas barely managed to cling to the watchtower.

When the blinding light finally faded, a long crack stretched across the center of the Corrupted Heart.

It had not been destroyed.

But it had been wounded.

The Hollow King’s furious roar rolled across the heavens.

"You dare wound my soul?"

Crimson lightning struck the battlefield repeatedly.

The cracked crystal began pulling countless streams of dark energy from every fallen zombie and Abyss Walker.

The dead rose once again.

Not as ordinary undead.

They fused together into towering giants of bone, armor, and crimson fire.

Dr. Evelyn stepped back in disbelief.

"It’s absorbing the battlefield itself."

Father Gabriel whispered an ancient prayer.

"This is the King’s Resurrection Rite."

High within the storm, the Hollow King’s massive silhouette smiled as another golden chain snapped apart.

Only seven chains remained.

Hidden deep beneath Blackstone Ridge, the hooded traitor reached the entrance of the legendary Heart Forge.

The enormous stone doors slowly opened.

A wave of golden fire poured into the darkness.

The stranger lowered the hood just enough to reveal a single glowing crimson eye.

"The final phase begins."