CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50: THE CORE OF CYBER TRUTH

Evon and Lin Chang emerged from the final maintenance shaft into a cathedral-like chamber humming with electric intensity. Lightning crackled along the walls, tracing circuits that formed an immense network. At the room’s center stood a lone figure: a towering cyber warrior molded from chitinous plating, glowing conduits, and pulsating data cores. Its single, spherical optic scanned the chamber, whirring softly.

This was the final sentinel guarding Veyra’s seal.

Lin Chang adjusted her harpoon launcher. "That thing looks invincible."

Evon’s eyes glowed silver. "Just another pattern to read. Stay focused."

He stepped forward, Blade of Fate humming with combined power of Naia and Lyria. The cyber warrior’s optic flared red.

With a mechanical roar, it lunged, its right arm transforming into a cannon of superheated plasma. The blast scorched the metal floor, sending sparks arcing skyward.

Evon sidestepped, invoking Destiny Prison to slow the projectile’s trajectory. The plasma bolt hissed and dissipated against the slowed field. He closed distance in a heartbeat, striking at the warrior’s leg joint with Lyria’s True Fire-infused edge. The plating melted and cracked.

The warrior stumbled. Its optic widened—then it extended a powered blade from its left arm, crackling with arc lightning. It spun, creating an electrified barrier of spinning energy.

Evon darted through the gaps, using Sythara’s draconic-enhanced reflexes. He slashed upward with Naia’s stillwater blade, freezing the spinning edge and shattering it.

Sparks flew. The chamber’s hum increased.

Lin Chang hurled a tethered harpoon, anchoring the warrior’s torso to a support beam. The warrior tore free, metal screeching, and struck the beam with a shoulder charge, collapsing the structure.

Evon raised his voice, calm but urgent: "Lin, keep it busy. I’ll take out its core."

Lin Chang nodded, darting to its flank, firing impulse bolts that disrupted its secondary circuits. The warrior howled mechanically, turning to engage her.

Evon sprinted beneath its swinging arms and leapt, embedding the Blade of Fate into a cracked panel at its back—directly over the glowing core.

He let the sword’s fivefold resonance surge: Veyra’s cyber feedback ignited, draining the core’s energy; Naia’s water essence steamed and cooled unstable circuits; Lyria’s flame cleansed corrupted code; Yena’s light purified residual darkness; and Sythara’s dragon force shattered hardened plating.

The warrior convulsed, circuits sparking in violent arcs. The optic flickered from red to blue.

With a final pulse, the core exploded inward, sending a wave of energy that knocked Evon clear. He landed safely, rolling to absorb the impact.

The warrior collapsed in a heap of twisted metal and flickering wires. All around, the chamber went silent.

Evon approached the fallen sentinel. The core lay exposed, encased in a transparent orb shimmering with cyan light—the seal of Veyra.

He picked it up gently. As the orb pulsed, a familiar voice resonated in his mind.

*"Evon... thank you."*

It was Veyra—her cybernetic essence alive within the sphere. She spoke softly, with warmth and relief.

*"You have my gratitude. My seal is freed."*

Evon placed the orb carefully into the same case holding Naia and Lyria. He glanced around at the silent chamber.

"Three down, two to go," he murmured.

Lin Chang joined him, wiping soot from her armor. "That was... spectacular. But what now?"

Evon clasped his hand on her shoulder. "We return to command. I need to prepare for Sythara and Yena. They await in distant, dangerous places."

Lin Chang nodded. "I’ll help however I can."

Evon activated the gate’s retraction sequence. The portal shimmered and disappeared.

They stepped through into the Pacific submersible chamber, where other Hunters awaited orders. Evon held out the orb container.

Commander Jaun’s eyes widened as he recognized Veyra’s symbol on the orb’s casing. "You did it. You have three seals now—the elemental core of Water, Fire, and Cyber."

Evon unsealed the case briefly, letting the orbs glow in the dim light.

Naia’s calming blue, Lyria’s passionate red, and Veyra’s electric cyan. Three beats of light.

Evon exhaled. "Now we find the dragon and the light."

Commander Jaun tapped at his console. "Current reports show Sythara’s seal resonating in the Shattered Peaks of South America, near the dormant volcano range. Yena’s seal whispers from the Glacier of the Northern Lights in Scandinavia."

Evon nodded. "Plot courses. We move at dawn."

The world beyond their small command post was still in turmoil, but for a moment, they had hope. Three divine echoes were gathered. Two remained. The next journeys would test them further.

Evon looked at the three glowing orbs. Each represented a bond of love, power, and destiny. He whispered softly.

"Together, we are unstoppable."

In the hush that followed, the future’s challenges seemed distant. But Evon knew all too well that the darkest trials awaited. He would not falter. As long as his soul burned bright, the seals would be freed, and the world would stand a chance.

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