"The Fate of the Undead..."
"Are you the next Monarch?"
"Ashen One."

He remembered these words clearly as they rang through his head. Three times he had awoken, each time seeming more dead than the last. The first in an abandoned cell of a demon kept Asylum. The second in the darkness betwixt what was, what is, and what will be. The third from an old, ashen coffin. He wasn't a hero, he never completed his journey either time before. Always he'd hit a point where his skill just could not see him through or his courage failed. And he'd go hollow, his mind slowly fragmenting into nothing. And then he'd awaken again, fresh of mind and body. Each time with different gear and strength, unable to truly remember the tales of miracles or the words of spells, unless gifted with them by whatever kept this cycle going.

As for the journeys, while he could remember the start, and the end, he never could remember the details too well. Oh, certain events stood out, such when he first met Solaire and felt the radiance of the Sun peeking through the clouds, seeming to bring a sense of hope that was reflected by the man's attitude. Or the meeting with Pate, though he still couldn't understand why. But that was it.

This ashen form, barely kept together by some will of fire, was pale and lean. He was not exactly weak, definitely dexterous, but his strength lay in his mind and faith. Calling forth an inner flame of great power and able to channel his faith of miracles. A pyromancer by trade, though adept with his chosen blade. If he ever wanted to, he could probably do alright with sorcery.

Holliander eyed the twin drakes guarding the way forward into Lothric Castle as he pondered over this in his mind. This was the furthest he'd ever gotten, the strongest he'd ever been. But it was difficult to continue and not just due to the fire breathing oversized lizards. The knights and soldiers were tougher here too. He looked down at the bonfire beside him, at the coiled sword inside it. Would this be it? Another mark on his list of failures. If so, then where would he find himself next? What body would the cycle provide?

Placing his hand on the sword, he willed himself away, back to the shrine. A brief rest at least, before he tried to continue. He briefly wondered if all who bore the Dark Sign bore the same curse as him. Or maybe completing the journey would break it. Perhaps, one day, he'd find out. Taking a seat by the Firelink bonfire while waving off the concern flowing from the Firekeeper, he closed his eyes and allowed himself a small nap, even if he truly did not need to sleep.

He felt it first in the darkness of his sleep. A odd sensation, though similar to using the bonfires to travel. It roused him slowly, his muscles stiff as if waking from hollowing. But he knew he never did this time. Perhaps he had slept longer than he meant to. Cracking his eyes, he rubbed them and stood, stretching to get feeling back in his limbs. That's when he froze. It was dark, too dark. The shock helped him wake up and he swiftly began looking around. No bonfire, no Firekeeper, no sound of hammering. No ash or stairs. No shrine. Where was he? Did the Fire fade? Had he failed again?

With a slap to his own face, Holliander did his best to calm down. This was not a place he knew. That already was cause for concern, but it also carried an odd sense of relief. While he was in darkness, it wasn't one that felt oppressive, like the Abyss or lurking with dangers like No Man's Wharf. No, it was just a place devoid of light, like many others he'd gone through.

'Another start it seems. I wonder if another set of Ash was able to lead Lothric to his throne.' He thought with some sarcasm. Reaching for the weight he felt at his side, he stopped when his hand gripped a rather familiar hilt. That couldn't be right. Lifting his hand, he frowned at the darkness and then closed his eyes, feeling his inner power. Fire and heat sprung forth from his palm, giving light to the darkened realm.

"Pyromancy's flame..." Holliander whispered, looking upon his lit form. This could just not be right. He was still wearing his Undead Legion armor, still carrying his Lothic Knight sword that he had imbued with the power of Chaos. He still had his Blessed shield gained all that time ago from the Undead Settlement. And his mind still raced with miracles and the weaving of the flame.

"Then I did not hollow? I did not start anew? Or is something worse ahead than I've ever faced, that this horrid cycle decided to keep me as I last was? Tch, what would they say, seeing you like this? The old handmaiden would laugh, that's for sure." Calming himself, after having decided that perhaps this would be a time to actually take advice from his odd friend Seigward, he sat down on tiled floor and went over what he had on him. A small box of holding had his Black Bow of Pharis and a quiver of arrows, as well as his Dark Corvian Great Scythe and collection of titanite. His belt still carried both of his Estus flasks, various bags and pouches carried a small supply of herbs and resin (He wasn't sure why he kept them on hand), the Bellvine Chime, a final Seigbrau, and the shard of the bonfire's twisted sword.

The Pyromancer stopped at the last item, staring at it. Should he try to use it and see if he could return to the Shrine and leave wherever this was, or should he explore first? After all, this wasn't the first time he'd been unexpectedly taken somewhere else. Birds, gargoyles, even painted scraps. He wasn't sure why they liked to do such things to him.

Shaking his head, he returned to the item on hand. Would it even work? Well, perhaps it would but better to find a fire. After all, he had no idea how he got to wherever he was currently, and if he left without a fire to warp to, he may never find a way to return. Thus a course of action was decided upon.

Putting the shard away, he sheathed his sword and looked about. Old shelves and rotten boxes sat about him, their pungent smell still well enough familiar, so much like so many others. Carefully treading, he kept an eye out for hollows, rats, or any other odd beast that would go against him. None appeared before he stopped in front of a rusty metal door. Taking a deep breath, not that he needed to breath, he bashed the door open with a shoulder, stumbling into the moonlight of a dead, abandoned village. Well, at least he could see now.

Still, the only time he could remember moonlight was Irithyll, but this place wasn't cold and snowy. It did have this sense of loss and despair though. Keeping his flame in hand, he made his way to a small square. No lights, no fires, no movement. It was rather unnerving, actually. Worse was the fact that there was no sign of a bonfire, when usually there was one rather early when he was taken somewhere. It was all quite bewildering, at least til he started scanning the roofs. That was the point he saw the moon.

In Irithyll, the moon had been big, white and round. A shining pale orb, lighting the cold city. While the pale light still was there, the moon was anything but an orb. It was sickled, looking slightly like the blade of the Life-Hunt Scythe, but with a ragged inner edge that crumbled out into jagged shards and clumps. How such could happen was beyond him. Even Aldritch, who devoured at least one god, could not do that. At least Holliander assumed the bloated Lord couldn't, for he had beaten the Devourer and no where during the fight had anything of such power been displayed.

Shaking his head, he started looking at other aspects of the sky, compared to the one he had known. The stars, for one, were not as numerous as he remembered. And there was definitely something in the air. His instincts, for whatever they were worth, told him to not let his guard down. That it felt like something could strike at any moment. Almost like when red phantoms would show up, though no warning from his black crystal. Either way, he'd go no where standing here. Nodding to himself, the best course of action seemed to be exploring this abandoned, ruined village.

An opening for a Dark Souls x RWBY crossover. Not exactly all that good and I'm not even certain where I would go with it. His 'inventory' is fairly limited to what I described above. Unless he's able to figure out a way to make a Bonfire to access his stash. But who knows what doing that may cause.

Honestly, I have had this written out and been refining it for awhile. I don't know if I'll continue it. Mostly cause I can't figure out where I want to drop him into the RWBY storyline.