The Curator
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Chapter 266: Escape Tokens...
🕑 Added 2025-06-23 07:50:31 +0000 UTC"What is that?!" Kai exclaimed, his voice laced with disbelief as Thalion appeared before him like a phantom stepping from a nightmare. Though usually composed under pressure, Kai now felt an unfamiliar chill of helplessness. His curved blades, wicked as they were, seemed laughably inadequate against the towering figure cloaked in darkness. Thalion's claws, elongated and wreathed in pure darkness, glinted with lethal intent as he activated Shadow Claw and brought it down in a savage arc.
Kai froze, paralyzed by the sudden surge of dread. Sylas, quick on the draw, hurled him out of harm’s way with a gust of wind just in time. Thalion's strike tore through the earth, carving five deep scars into the cracked ground, black smoke hissing from the gouges.
“Unfair!” Sylas barked as he ascended into the air, frustration thick in his voice. “There’s no way someone gets this lucky. He must’ve just claimed that form after someone in his camp killed it.”
"You can't win," Thalion said, his voice rumbling like it emerged from the void itself. Oily smoke drifted from his lips and eyes, and the shadows clinging to his body ignited into black flames, growing wilder, obscuring his silhouette and making it harder for Kael to get a clear shot.
“Oh yeah?” Sylas scoffed, forcing a shaky laugh. “You’re outnumbered, and your own people aren’t even backing you up!”
"Because you're a fool," Thalion growled in response. Without warning, the shadows beneath Kael writhed, and razor-sharp spikes of pure darkness erupted. Kael escaped death by a hair’s breadth, rolling away—only to snap his bow in the process. The sharp crack echoed louder than it should have. Thalion's smirk widened as he lunged toward Kai, who was retreating from the creeping black mist.
But Kai’s reaction wasn’t fear—it was something deeper. Defiance, maybe even madness. The blade he now held shimmered with unsettling power. It looked ancient, corroded by time, yet the air warped around it. Faint screams and ghostly whispers echoed from its edge. A cursed weapon, no doubt.
There was no room for retreat. Thalion poured more power into his Shadow Claw and slashed down. Kai met him head-on with the cursed blade. Ethereal energies curled from the weapon just before their clash, and Kai’s aura flared violently. The impact shook the earth. Kai was thrown backward, sailing into the air, while Thalion anchored himself with tendrils of darkness lashing from his back and into the ground.
Before he could give chase, lightning crackled through the air and struck his back, jolting him mid-step. Screams echoed in his mind, foreign and agonizing, but Thalion forced them out with a pulse of pure soul energy to cleanse the interference. He’d won the clash—Kai’s shoulder was ruined, white bone jutting from torn flesh.
Without hesitation, Thalion seized control of the shadows beneath Kai and sent a spike lancing upward. But the cursed swordsman had already produced an escape token. In the blink of an eye, he vanished. Gone.
Thalion clenched his jaw. So close. Those damn escape tokens were absurdly overpowered. How could he kill anyone if they could vanish with nothing more than a flicker of thought? Fine. If he couldn’t end them here, he’d make sure they feared ever facing him again.
Now that Kael's bow was broken, there was no reason to stay grounded. Thalion surged into the air, returning to Eagly. As he ascended, the black inferno consuming the battlefield shifted into a crackling azure blaze, electric arcs leaping between tongues of flame. He directed the fury toward Kael, who had been trying to circle around the fire to reach Kai.
“The flames—again?!” Sylas cried out above, eyes wide in disbelief as Thalion morphed mid-air. “Oh no… not the bird again,” he muttered under his breath, clearly remembering what had happened last time.
Thalion now cloaked himself in Tempest Glide, and with a howl of wind, he rocketed toward Sylas like a living bullet. Panic flashed in Sylas’s eyes as he looked to Kael for help—who merely shrugged in helplessness. Thalion almost laughed. Of course, Kael didn’t have a spatial ring. His arrows had likely been stored elsewhere, and now? He was completely exposed. A mid-battle theft of a spatial ring was a stroke of genius.
If Thalion had been even luckier, maybe the escape token hadn’t been in the ring either. If that were true, Kael was well and truly doomed. Thalion grinned. Even if Kael was somehow faster, he wouldn’t last in a prolonged chase. He lacked the endurance and the fear now clinging to his heart would do the rest.
Thalion had to suppress a smirk as he watched Kael fumble to reassemble his shattered bow. The air around Thalion and Sylas crackled with tension, and though Sylas scrambled to put distance between them, it was a hopeless effort. He wasn’t nearly fast enough, and Thalion barely needed to try. With Tempest Glide cloaking his form, lightning coiled around his limbs, propelling him forward like a thunderbolt given shape.
Sylas realized too late that flight wouldn’t save him. In a desperate move, he transformed into wind itself, vanishing in a blink as he teleported several hundred meters away. It was a trick similar to Thalion’s own Mistform, though born from wind rather than blood. But even this clever maneuver wasn’t enough. Thalion was fast—far faster—and closed the gap again in seconds.
He could have used his lightning beam, but decided against it. Charging it would make him vulnerable, and besides, he preferred the thrill of close combat. His talons surged with power as he activated his claw skill, arcs of energy dancing along their edges. He wasn’t here to win efficiently—he wanted to make it hurt.
Sylas tried to push him back with a wave of blue fire, but Thalion tore through it like it wasn’t even there. The flames had become his own. His affinity and passive abilities rendered him completely immune. As he emerged from the blaze, talons aimed at Sylas’s face, the young mage barely had time to react.
Sylas turned to wind mid-flight, but not fast enough. Thalion’s claws raked across his shoulder, tearing a chunk of flesh free before the transformation completed. The wind mage reappeared beside Kael and slammed into the ground, twitching violently as lightning surged through his body. Blood poured from the fresh wound in his chest like a ruptured vein. He screamed, writhing but unable to move.
Thalion hovered above, the air around him shimmering as he began to gather power. Azure fire flared into existence, dancing across his limbs while energy surged. He was charging the lightning beam—this time, there would be no escape.
Kael looked up at him with wide, horrified eyes. His expression was a mix of disbelief, helplessness, and pure hatred. It wasn’t the face of a man ready to die—it was the face of someone forced to watch fate unfold. And then, just as the final surge of power gathered in Thalion’s hands, Kael pulled out a shimmering token. Another appeared in Sylas’s hand.
In an instant, both were gone.
The lightning beam struck empty sand with a blinding flash. The desert floor exploded, the heat fusing grains of sand into molten glass and throwing dust high into the air.
"Damn it," Thalion hissed under his breath. If they were hiding now, he’d never find them. Worse, the tokens they used bore the same markings, which meant they’d likely teleported to the same safe location. Linked escape tokens—the expensive kind.
He’d failed to kill his former comrades, and now they knew almost everything. Every form, every strength, every trick he’d used was burned into their memories. That knowledge was dangerous. Once the tutorial ended, they could inform their gods. And that was something Thalion couldn’t afford.
If any god discovered what he had done, he might be finished. Outsiders weren’t supposed to exist here. Still, the divine couldn’t yet descend into this world. There were restrictions. The level caps in place were brutal, and even the gods were bound by them. For now.
A voice boomed from above, snapping him from his thoughts.
"Welcome, new people! You now have the chance to become full citizens in the greatest and fairest empire of them all!" Jack’s voice thundered from one of the floating skyships, magically amplified by a wand pressed to his neck. "Thalion, our ruler, is a charismatic and powerful leader who will protect you from all evil! Don’t hesitate—join us now!"
His words echoed across the desert, powerful enough to make the very sand vibrate.
Thalion raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I thought you were staying in the catacombs."
Jack shrugged, perfectly at ease. "I was, but it got boring. And when we heard Kael was charging ahead, they sent me to check things out. Just in case."
Thalion sighed and turned away. "Fine. Let’s return. We don’t have much time left. Ankhet’s resurrection is only hours away."
He shifted back into his human form, walking toward the catacombs. But before joining the next battle, he needed to confirm one last detail. What item had Kael received from his god? Something had allowed him to alter the Sanguine Thorn, now transformed into the Crimson Virethorn.
The answer came in the form of a mythic item:
Heartroot Elixir (Mythic)
This elixir was crafted by the god Aeta, one of the most powerful divine beings across the infinite realms. His domain spans vast territories, and his followers are many. Aeta does not concern himself with the weak. Only those marked by destiny receive his blessings. To create the Heartroot Elixir, more than a thousand Sanguine Thorns were sacrificed—an offering that must have taken centuries to collect. And even that was not enough. Dozens of other ingredients, each unimaginably rare, were added to the mix. The Sanguine Thorn is nearly impossible to replicate. Only a handful in the multiverse have managed to manipulate the plant’s essence. Aeta is among them. And though the Thorn was not made for him, he altered it—for you, his chosen. This elixir allows you to bestow a new elemental affinity upon the Crimson Virethorn—one that could surpass even the power of blood. The plant will no longer need blood to cultivate. Instead, it will draw strength from something else. Something more available to you. Go now. Lift your head high. You were chosen.
Thalion rolled his eyes as he finished reading.
“What a ridiculous wall of praise,” he muttered. Ninety percent of the message was just self-congratulatory drivel. Only one sentence had any actual use.
Still, the elixir was powerful. With it, he could reshape the Crimson Virethorn, unlocking new affinities and new potential. He’d consider which affinity would benefit him most—ideally something his current forms lacked. His Tidecaller Serpent form already let him burn even beneath the sea, so fire was more than covered. He needed an affinity that added utility, something that wouldn’t interfere with his blood arts or his human form.
But that could wait. For now, there was a pillar that needed to be destroyed.
And time was running out.
Comments
Luis Guerrero
I truly don't understand why people are mad about something that was clearly hinted to happen it has been stated time and time again that elites will have escape token ..... now knowing that the only real issue here is that Thalion showed way to much of his abilities when he knew they had a chance to escape
WriteMeNot
Utterly disappointing and unsatisfying. So many chapters of set up and singing Thalion's praises for him to make the dumbest decisions and exposing his every form which was never once needed against the strongest of opponents. I wish I hadn't read this now.
Nigel Harrison
And he could develop the ability to store things with his own space affinity
Falsius
Even the dumbest of your reader can see it and your story will take a massive hit from this sadly, you should have just killed them, they are worthless and are no longer revelant in your story even the fight you clearly nerfed the MC, he should have steamrolled them with out the use of any of it's form, it's too forced...
Falsius
My main problem with this is that you force to much on this he could have just killed them in the catacomb but you made him wait OUTSIDE, you make the MC dumb as fuck for the plot and it's like you are insulting the intellect of your reader and no nobody give a fuck about them after it's little speach in the camp in fact he didn't even need to go up there 🤦♂️
ManguKing
I knew this was coming, but wtf!??? Not even one killed? Mr planning ahead failed to plan to place trackers on them? Bro... dont force the plot so much cause it only hurts your story. Had two escaped I would have said nothing, specially had you shown Kai betraying them at the end, but for all 3 to escape makes me want to drop the story. I hate it when authors keep old antagonist alive.
Johannes Röhrl
I never said there wouldnt be new ones?
Berrypuncher
Definitely thought Kai was going to be seraphina in disguise and that’s why people were disappearing around him.
Alexander B.
I am really disapointed with the chapter, it is once more sensless survival of already worthless antagonists that so many other books annoyingly do, you should have let them die and introduce new and more interesting antagonists. If Antagonists always survive it is just crap.
Saru Yama
Thanks for the chapter. Also am disappointed that not one of them got ripped to ribbons. At least Sylas would have been enough for me. And Thallion almost had him also. For the elixir i think space would be the perfect fit. A garden of hungry space vines and flowers where the stupid escape tokens do jack shit.
RedWolf17
It was nice to see the beatdown that occured but I am frustrated at least one didnt die. There better be an even better beatdown and execution when the war of the catacombs is over. TFTC.
Tragedy
Hopefully he uses the crazy one from the vampiress because it is probably hatd to evolve the changed one if he uses a base form of the thorn takes
Tragedy
Is he able to take a second plant for his human Form with that (maybe soul or something) or only for one of his other forms because the phrasing sounded like he wants to change his existing one into another Element
Johannes Röhrl
I think the gods perspective comes later. The next weeks will be war in the catacombs, where the escape tokens dont work. So no more running for either side
Lan
I really hope next chapter is Aeta POV.
Zmandemon3
So unsatisfying for no reason.
voidofsmiles
Im not happy 😡👿, I wanted skulls for the skull throne and after a week of cliff hangers and build up no real blood was given and no skull where taken. TFTC but I feel like I was on a cool roller coaster and just be for the main drop of the ride I was told it had to stop for maintenance...and get to the back of the 2hr long waiting line.
Adhoah Cinnidhlaoch-McCoinnich
What a disappointment. 5 chapters of combat, and a betrayal that set off this conflict from ages ago, and they all get away just like that. Nothing i hate more than a cockroach villian and they've officially gained that title. I hope there's some sort of payoff soon cause there is nothing worse than a constant conflict with scummy villians and zero resolution. I was really looking forward to at least Kael getting what he deserved. But all of that for nothing is sickening
M van Dongen
Was one kill too much to ask ? Especially Sylas.
Belias Harkonnen
God dammit!! But these arrogant mofo's got one hell of a beating, that was so satisfying to read. I think now that they know his skillset, the next confrontation will be quite dangerous tho... Thalion better suits up and gets stronger fast. I am very excited about what he'll do with that elixir! Thank you for the chapter my dude!
