Chapter2:The Curse of Thorned Shadows.

The air in Ashport reeked of burnt salt and decay. Thalion Grimward leaned against the splintered hull of a derelict skyship, his breath ragged. Black vines coiled around his right arm like serpents, their thorns biting deeper with every heartbeat. The curse. It had begun as a faint mark on his palm—a relic of his ancestors' folly—but now it slithered up to his shoulder, its hunger insatiable. He clenched his teeth. Pain was an old companion, but this… this was a slow devouring.

Valenor's trail had led him here, to this rotting harbor at the edge of the Shattered Realms. The dark hunter's sigil—a twisted spiral etched in blood—marked the tavern door. Thalion adjusted the grip on his broadsword, its blade dulled from years of cleaving through shadows. He'd spent a lifetime hunting Valenor's kind, yet here he was, no closer to breaking the curse. Pathetic.

A crash echoed from the alley. Thalion froze. Through the haze of ash-choked fog, a figure stumbled into view—lean, ragged, with a dagger in hand and a creature of living smoke coiled around his arm. A Void Beast. Thalion's sword rose instinctively.

"Stay back," he growled.

The stranger—Veythar, as Thalion would later learn—paused, his eyes narrowing.

"You're the one who should step aside,"

he shot back, voice edged with exhaustion.

"Unless you want to dance with whatever's chasing me."

Behind them, the tavern door exploded.

[Core Memory: The Vines' Whisper]

Valenor's lackeys poured into the street, their armor glinting with corrupted Void energy. Thalion moved first, his blade arcing through the air. Metal clashed, sparks illuminating the fog.

For a moment, he forgot the curse—until a searing pain lanced through his arm. The vines twisted, burrowing deeper. He stumbled, a guttural scream tearing from his throat.

Veythar cursed. "What in the Void—?"

Thalion's vision blurred. The world narrowed to the agony in his veins, the vines now snaking toward his neck. He collapsed against the skyship, his sword clattering to the ground. Through the haze, he saw Veythar raise a hand—the Void Core in his chest flaring cold and bright.

"Don't… touch me," Thalion rasped.

But Veythar wasn't listening. The light lashed out, severing a vine midair. Black ichor sprayed, hissing as it struck the ground. Thalion gasped. The pain ebbed—just enough to let him breathe.

"You're welcome," Veythar muttered, already turning to face the advancing thugs.

[Unique Mechanic: Fractured Time]

The fight turned frenetic. Veythar's dagger danced, but the odds were against them. Then, a flicker of shadow—Flicker, the juvenile Void Beast, uncoiled from his arm. Veythar's Core pulsed, its light merging with Flicker's smoky form.

Time stuttered.

For three heartbeats, the world froze. Veythar moved like a specter, his blade slicing throats before the enemies could blink. But as the effect faded, Flicker shuddered, its glow dimming to a sickly gray.

Too fast, Veythar realized. It's killing it.

Thalion, half-slumped against the skyship, watched the creature's struggle. "Whatever you're doing—stop," he croaked.

"That thing's suffering."

"You'd rather die here?" Veythar snapped.

"I'd rather not trade one curse for another."

The words hung between them, sharp as a blade.

[Emotional Climax: A Pact Forged in Ash]

Valenor's thugs regrouped, their leader—a hulking brute with Void-scarred eyes—lunging forward. Thalion forced himself upright, his sword trembling in his grip. The vines writhed, but he ignored them. One last stand.

Then Veythar was at his side, the Core's light mingling with the gloom. "You want to live? Trust me."

Thalion's laugh was bitter. "Why?"

"Because I know what those vines are." Veythar's gaze locked onto his. "They're not a curse. They're corrupted Void energy."

The revelation struck like a hammer. Before Thalion could respond, Veythar grabbed his wrist—the one tangled in vines—and pressed the Void Core against his skin.

Agony. Light.

The vines screamed, retreating as the Core's radiance purged their rot. For a heartbeat, Thalion saw it—a flicker of his father's face in the storm of memories, a secret buried in Void-touched blood. Then it vanished.

When the light faded, the vines lay severed at his feet, lifeless. Thalion stared at his unmarked arm, breathless.

Veythar slumped against the skyship, Flicker's form barely visible.

"Told you… it wasn't a curse."

Thalion's voice was hoarse. "Why help me?"

"Call it a down payment." Veythar's grin was weary. "You owe me now."

In the distance, Valenor's laughter echoed.