The Bloodline System

Chapter 1464: You Left Us To Die!

Authorʼs Note: Unedited Chapter

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”He was...” Gustav confirmed, his eyes scanning his group, ensuring he had their full attention.

”From what Iʼve pieced together, Karis made a deal with a criminal group to secure her escape and retrieve the Rion. But their plan seems to have had some kind of mishap with Thalos being left for dead.”

Falco frowned at the complexity of the situation.

”So since he survived, whatʼs his move now?”

”Thatʼs where it gets interesting,” Gustav continued. ”I suspect Thalos is desperate to regain the Rion. He will likely convince Karis to take him to its location. If we can keep track of him, theyʼll lead us right to it.”

Aildris looked up. ”So we use Thalos as our unwitting guide. When Karis takes him to the Rion, thatʼs our window to strike. Weʼll need to be ready to move on a momentʼs notice.”

Gustav nodded immediately while responding.

”Exactly. Weʼll need to maintain constant surveillance on Thalos but since that canʼt be done, Life Signs Track will help me keep tabs on him without needing to get close.”

Endric chimed in with a steady voice. ”What about the criminal group Karis made the deal with? Wouldnʼt they try to save Karis or something?”

”Thatʼs a valid concern,” Gustav acknowledged.

”We need to be prepared for interference but at the same time...” he paused while his eyebrows furrowed.

”...I have a feeling theyʼre no longer in play.”

”You mean...” Riaʼs eyes widened slightly.

”Yeah. They may all be dead already. Thalos may be the last survivor. He did call her a traitor before vanishing with her,” Gustav analyzed.

Everyone felt it made sense. Although they didnʼt know the full story, if Karis had sabotaged the group and escaped with their spacecraft after taking the Rion, anyone would have been very pissed.

...

...

...

In an ethereal dimension where reality seemed suspended, Karis and Thalos floated amidst a shimmering expanse that reflected fractured images of their past.

The surreal space, bound by the fabric of memory and time, pulsed with translucent, glowing lines that ensnared Karis, holding her captive. The lines wrapped tightly around her, their luminescence casting eerie shadows across her anguished face.

Around them, echoes of past events played out like ghostly scenes from a film—flickering images of their heist, the escape, and the catastrophic explosion that had changed everything.

Thalos, his figure free from the bindings that held Karis, paced before her, his voice filled with bitterness and betrayal.

”You left us to die, Karis! You betrayed our trust, and you ran with the Rion, alone!”

Karis, struggling against her glowing restraints, replied with a mix of desperation and sincerity in her voice.

”Thalos, I thought you were all dead! The vessel was coming apart; there was no time. I had to escape, or I would have perished with the ship.”

”Youʼre a liar!” Thalos shouted, his voice echoing in the dimension, distorting as it rebounded off the memory images.

”You caused that explosion on purpose to rid yourself of us and take the Rion for yourself!”

Karisʼs eyes, wide and filled with pain, met Thalosʼs accusing gaze. ”No, thatʼs not true! I never intended the explosion to be so powerful. I didnʼt know any of you had survived. I wouldnʼt have left if Iʼd known.”

Thalos paused, his anger momentarily giving way to grief as images of their former comrades—friends, and allies in their clandestine activities—flickered around them.

”They trusted you, Karis. We all did. And they died because of it. Iʼm the last one, the only survivor of your betrayal. And for what? For a cursed artifact that has brought nothing but misery.”

Karisʼs voice broke as she pleaded, her words tinged with a profound sadness.

”Please, Thalos, you have to believe me. I know how betrayal feels; I wouldnʼt inflict that pain on anyone. Iʼm so sorry.”

Thalos, unmoved by her pleas, his features hard as stone, continued relentlessly.

”Where is the Rion, Karis? If you truly regret your actions, prove it. Where did you hide it?”

Karis shook her head slowly, her voice a whisper lost amidst the swirling memories.

”I canʼt... I canʼt tell you.”

Thalos scoffed, his disbelief evident.

”Convenient, Karis. Always thinking of yourself, even now. You say you feel remorseful but the truth is you donʼt.”

The dimension around them seemed to pulse with increased intensity, the images speeding up, replaying their last moments together on the vessel, the escape, the explosion, and the aftermath that had led each of them to this point. The air was thick with the weight of unsaid words and unresolved grief.

”Itʼs not like that, Thalos. The Rion... itʼs dangerous, more dangerous than we ever imagined. I will save everyone the trouble with what Iʼve done. You have to leave the Nereus Sector.”

Thalos turned away from her, his figure silhouetted against a particularly vivid replay of the explosion. ”I wish I could believe you had good intentions, Karis. But in the end, weʼre all just crooks. You will tell me where the Rion is... Willingly or unwillingly.”

As he spoke, the dimension began to dim, the images flickering out one by one, leaving them in a growing darkness. The glowing lines that bound Karis started to fade, her figure becoming less distinct.

”Thalos, please,” she called out to him, her voice echoing in the now nearly empty space. ”Donʼt leave me here alone...”

The space around them vibrated with the echoes of loss, past misdeeds, lives, and how she lost her baby, each memory replaying like a tormenting specter.

”Thalos, please, donʼt leave me here alone with these memories,” Karisʼs voice trembled with despair as images swirled around them relentlessly.

Thalos, his expression torn between resentment and a lingering sense of former camaraderie, paused at the threshold of the dimensionʼs exit.

His voice, when he spoke, carried a cold finality, ”I will return when you are ready to tell me the location of the Rion. Until then, you have your memories for company.”

Without waiting for her response, his figure dissolved into the ether, leaving Karis alone in the echoing void.

As Karis was engulfed by the relentless playback of her past, in another realm of existence, Gustav observed the unfolding events through Thalosʼ eyes.

He watched, with a mix of strategic calculation and empathetic concern, as Thalos departed the dimension, his location now a beacon on Gustavʼs mental map.

Gustav stood before a large digital map, his eyes fixed on a particular location that he believed was Thalosʼs current physical location. Around him, his team and several Triton guards coordinated efforts, their faces etched with concentration and urgency.

”Thatʼs Thalosʼs location,” Gustav informed them, pointing at the map.

”But hold on about moving in. He is yet to receive the Rionʼs location from Karis.”

Falco, leaning over the console next to Gustav, frowned. ”How long do we wait? Every moment is dangerous based on what Karis said.”

Gustavʼs gaze remained fixed on the screen, his mind racing through scenarios.

”We wait until he meets Karis again. Itʼs our best shot at getting the Rion and stopping whatever they plan to use it for.”

(”This would have been much easier if you had just used Memories Siphon to get the location of the Rion the moment you got her,”) The system voiced in his head.

ʼYouʼre back... And no. If I had done that and we headed off to the location together then, Thalos wouldnʼt have played his hand.

If he had managed to lay hands on the Rion and used that mirror thingy to vanish, things would have gotten way more complicated. But at least now we canʼt be taken by surprise since we already know of his abilities,ʼ Gustav responded.

(”You could have tried to salvage the situation.”)

ʼYou just got back and youʼre already arguing with me... Typical,ʼ Gustav felt the urge to pull her ears.

(”Hmph! When we leave the Nereus Sector, I have something to tell you,”) The system voiced in response.

ʼOh? Alright then.ʼ

...

In the streets and shadows of the Nereus Sector, Triton guards patrolled relentlessly, their scanners humming softly as they searched for any trace of the Rionʼs distinctive energy signature.

Despite their technology and training, the elusive artifact remained hidden, as if shielded by unseen forces.

”Any luck with the energy signatures?” Gustav called out to a guard stationed at a monitoring station.

The guard shook his head, frustration evident in his terse reply.

”Nothing, sir. Itʼs like chasing a ghost.”

As another day bled into night, Gustav remained vigilant, occasionally watching Thalos through Life Signs Tracking.

Ria approached Gustav, ”You think Karis will actually tell him?”

Gustav sighed, ”People under pressure make surprising choices, Ria. Karis might hold out, or she might crack. No one is truly absolute when it comes down to a play of emotions.”

...

...

...

In the strange and ethereal dimension of memories, Thalos re-entered to find Karis looking more desolate than ever before.

The space, charged with the echoes of her past, seemed even darker, the air thicker with the weight of her sorrow. Karis floated amidst the glowing lines that held her, her face etched with deep lines of misery.

Thalos approached her, his expression hardening as he prepared to confront her once again.

”Karis, tell me where the Rion is,” he demanded, his voice echoing slightly in the memory-filled void.