Chương 529: Chapter 498: An Unlucky Flower

"Ricarda, do you have another mana potion in your robe?" Thalion asked, holding the queen in an iron grip. After chasing her through the chamber for over two hours, she had finally run out of mana. For Thalion, that was unfortunate—it meant his feast had come to an end. A mana potion could easily fix that. Otherwise… he would have to wait for her to recover.

"Thalion, are you serious? I'm not handing that thing one of my limited mana potions. We're also on a timer. Did you forget we're in a System Event? Over three hundred thousand have already died, and you're thinking about playing with that queen?" Ricarda shouted, clearly annoyed. Right, right. They didn't have time. Still, opportunities like this didn't come often. Before he could act, Pikar intervened.

"Wait. We still have questions. Tell us why you want to open the portal. Who was the girl who gave you the black flower? What happened to this kingdom?" The queen took a few slow breaths. For a moment, Thalion thought she wouldn't answer—but then she spoke.

"Her name is Aeterna… and she brought the seed of freedom. My people did not believe. They betrayed me and sealed the seed within that portal, so none could ever be influenced by it."

"On the mural, Aeterna looked like a child—but I assume she's far older?" Pikar asked.

"I thought that was obvious," the queen hissed.

"Why did she give you the flower? And why lock it in the portal instead of this chamber?" Pikar pressed. This time, the queen hesitated longer.

"They never understood the gift. They were not believers. They ruined my empire." Pikar nodded, then spoke again—his tone colder now.

"She's trying to manipulate us. Kill her. Then we open the portal and take the reward." Time was already against them. Thalion didn't argue. Four tendrils shot forward, piercing her body and consuming it within seconds.

"Wait—shouldn't we have asked how to open the portal? I have no idea what those runes do," Ricarda exclaimed, but it was already too late. To be fair, if Thalion hadn't known how to activate the ritual, he wouldn't have killed the queen.

"No worries. I'll handle it," he said, shifting into his human form. All he needed was enough blood in each circle, and the ritual would complete itself. The blood couldn't be the same—but as a blood cultivator, that wasn't a problem.

"Wait, you can't weaken yourself. Whatever is behind that portal is likely the real enemy," Pikar interrupted.

"I'll be fine. You two might want to get some distance—you don't want to be in direct line of sight when it opens," Thalion replied, already guiding the blood into the circles. The moment the blood touched the runes, the entire formation came alive. Thalion immediately shifted back into his Eclipsari form. If he was dealing with something on the level of early D-grade, he needed the right setup. The queen likely would have defeated his other forms. A bit much for a trial like this… Had they missed something?

Before he could dwell on it, the portal activated. At its center stood the dark flower. It had grown, towering over three meters high. The plant itself didn't move, but its aura pulsed outward, darkness gathering and thickening around it. Slowly, steadily—like something waking from a long sleep.

"Ricarda… could you come over here for a moment?" Thalion asked, unsure what the next step should be. The plant would likely attack soon, which was fine—but there was one problem. This was their reward. They needed to store it in a spatial ring, and normally, that wasn't possible with living beings… even plants. Ricarda immediately understood.

"I think you need to destroy it. Inside the flower, there should be at least four seeds—that's the real reward. Like this, it's useless to us." That worked perfectly for Thalion. As Ricarda retreated to a safer distance, the plant began to gather power. Its aura intensified, the darkness thickening until it felt like the entire chamber was vibrating. At this point, Thalion wasn't so sure he should simply facetank the attack. The plant was definitely D-grade—and in terms of raw power, it stood far above the queen.

There was, however, one major weakness: it couldn't move. It could unleash devastating attacks while rooted in that dark space, but that was all. Not willing to take unnecessary risks, Thalion stepped away from the portal instead of meeting the attack head-on. A moment later, spikes of darkness roared past him and tore a hole into the wall behind. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. That gave him an idea.

So far, there had been no way out, with the indestructible boulder sealing the entrance. Could this plant be the key? If he killed it now, they might end up trapped—unless another path revealed itself.

"Hey, can you look for a previously sealed exit? Maybe we can use the plant to blast it open," Thalion called up to his two companions, who were hovering near the ceiling like the queen had before. They didn't need to be told twice. Both immediately understood and began sweeping through the chamber. Meanwhile, Thalion approached the dense spikes of darkness embedded in the wall and absorbed them. The moment the plant noticed him, it began charging another attack.

While his teammates searched, Thalion had the time of his life. He would step into the plant's range, provoking it into charging—only to sidestep at the last moment. The resulting spikes and blades would tear into the surrounding walls, and Thalion would calmly walk over and absorb the remnants. Then the plant would notice him again, and the cycle would repeat. This went on for hours. While Ricarda and Pikar were on the edge of a mental breakdown, Thalion couldn't have been happier.

Over time, he discovered that entering the black space around the plant provoked it even more, causing it to unleash waves of liquid darkness. Those were far less dangerous than the spikes—and much easier to absorb. If things continued like this, he might even gain another mutation. Unfortunately, Pikar eventually found something. Thalion moved over, giving the plant a brief respite. It seemed they weren't the first to reach this place. Hidden within the chamber was a sealed crypt filled with bones.

"These must be the builders of this place," Pikar said. The crypt was bathed in bright neon light—likely the reason the queen had never entered. There were over fifty skeletons. Among them lay several large crystals, a small book, and a rune-carved stone slab blocking what must have once been an entrance. The runes on it radiated immense power. With the plant, they might have been able to destroy it—but there was one problem. Thalion wasn't sure how to lure the plant down here. Still, there was another option.

As an Eclipsari, he had yet to encounter an obstacle he couldn't turn into darkness. Multiple tendrils shot from his body and pressed against the sealed stone. At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, they began to seep into it—like ink through water.

"Holy shit… no wonder Eclipsari are feared," Ricarda gasped as the massive slab collapsed, revealing the passage beyond. A staircase led upward—but that wasn't where Thalion wanted to go yet. The flower still remained within the portal, and he intended to consume every last trace of its darkness… and claim the seeds.

"Mind waiting a bit? I don't want to miss out on all that darkness," Thalion said, already turning back.

"Fine…" Pikar and Ricarda sighed, less than pleased. To provoke the plant further, Thalion leapt back into the portal and struck it. The reaction was immediate. The plant unleashed wave after wave of liquid darkness, flooding the space. Thalion absorbed it all. Meanwhile, his teammates focused on strengthening their summons. Getting thrown around by that monstrous plant wasn't pleasant, and at one point, the force pressing against Thalion became so intense that his skin began to crack.

Still, the surge of power didn't last long. From there, the plant steadily weakened. Thalion cut into it again and again, trying to force it into using more of those waves of darkness—but eventually, it had nothing left to give. After a full day, it was over. The plant died. But it had been enough. Thalion felt it immediately—another mutation awakening within him. Like before, his mind was dragged into the void. This time, he witnessed something different.

A creature moved through the darkness—something that looked like a twisted fusion between a human and a manta ray. A nightmare given form. Its mouth was lined with long, black teeth, and with every motion, power rippled through the void. It was impossible to judge its speed in that endless darkness—but if this vision represented something far beyond his current grade, then it was likely moving faster than anything he had ever seen. It didn't take long before they spotted the first signs of life within the darkness.

An entire civilization. A vast disk of dark marble drifted through the void, and upon it stood a sprawling metropolis. Some buildings reminded Thalion of skyscrapers from old Earth, while others were utterly alien—spiraling towers, warped structures, and shapes resembling metallic mushrooms. As they drew closer, the true scale became apparent. There had to be over a billion inhabitants living on that disk. They noticed the approaching creature as well.

Like a disturbed swarm of bees, countless figures shot into the sky. Towers rose from the surface, unfolding into massive constructs that resembled gigantic laser cannons. Beams of energy tore through the darkness, striking the creature again and again. But it didn't matter. The manta-like being simply dissolved into pure shadows. The darkness surged forward, expanding rapidly, stretching wider and wider—until it dwarfed the entire disk. The attacks tore holes through it, but they meant nothing.

The damage was insignificant. Then the darkness descended. It crashed down upon the disk, swallowing everything—city, people, defenses—devouring it all in an instant. Just like that… the vision ended and Thalion returned to his body. Voidtide Manifestation (Divine) Transforms the user into an ever-expanding mass of living darkness, spreading outward like a sentient ocean. Within this domain, the user loses any fixed form, allowing attacks to pass through or be absorbed into the abyss.

Enemies caught within are slowed, disoriented, and gradually consumed as the darkness seeps into them. The user can manifest limbs, maws, or tendrils anywhere within the domain, striking from all directions at once. Everything within the area is continuously devoured, strengthening the Voidtide Manifestation. Thalion had expected that advancing further as an Eclipsari would bring changes—but he hadn't thought it would go this far. He doubted there would be many more skills waiting for him.

This mutation alone was absurdly powerful, granting him both a divine skill and a title. That was far beyond what anyone else gained in the entire E-grade. With the plant now drained of power, it was time to collect the reward. Hopefully, they had found something worthwhile—something they could bring back to New Earth. If Ricarda managed to plant the seeds near their base, he could use them to push his mutation even further. Now that would be interesting.

Thalion began tearing the plant apart piece by piece until he uncovered three black seeds, each one pulsing with power. He stored them in his spatial ring, instantly securing first place in the treasure hunt with 150, 000 points. No one else had gained any so far. Then a new notification appeared.

Congratulations You have discovered the first forgotten treasure After a certain number of trial participants have been killed, hunters will be able to purchase a device that reveals your approximate location This is a one-time use item Hunters receive more points depending on the value of their target Be aware: hunters will prioritize the strongest prey You will be notified if your location is revealed Good luck