THE NORTHERN UNDEAD ASYLUM

"Thou who art Undead, art chosen… In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords… When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know."

The words of the knight Oscar had haunted the Undead since the beginning of his journey. Until now, he had fought through gargoyles, fellow undead, fallen knights and was even sent back through time. But now he felt as if it had all been for nothing. His curse would continue no matter what path he took. That damned serpent Frampt was using him as a pawn to continue the old gods' plan, and Kaathe would see him plunge the world into an even greater darkness than before. Oscar's words had stirred the knight to strike out on his own, and for a time he had just a shred of hope to end his curse.

But it was all a waste. No matter what choice I make, my suffering will never end. Sacrifice myself to appease 'gods' who care nothing for my people, or play god myself and doom us all. The Undead thought that going back to the Asylum would help, but there was nothing here. Then again after all the trouble he caused here, the knight was not surprised everyone was gone. He sat down at the courtyard bonfire and removed his gloves. The armor he wore was a loose collection of leather and iron pieces, with a helmet taken from a hollowed soldier he encountered in Lordran.

I'm going to have to find something new, and soon. He placed his hands out close to the fire. Warmth was something that he barely noticed anymore, but it still held a special place in his heart. One of the few memories he possessed of his human life was sitting with his family in his youth around a small fire pit. But he could not remember their names. All he knew was that he was a knight who had fallen like so many others to the plague of undeath. Even his own name was lost forever.

A scraping noise caught the Undead's attention. Reaching for the scavenged short sword at his hip he listened closely. The pitiful wail of a Hollow soldier broke the silence of the courtyard. It charged at the Undead from behind the ruined wall but in a flash his sword was out. Moments later the soldier's head fell to the cobblestones followed by the rest of its corpse.

Several more zombies and soldiers emerged as if they had been waiting for the Undead. Picking up his shield and raised his blade, the 'Chosen' snarled in defiance. Even as his brief moment of peace was shattered the sorrow and guilt was replaced by the familiar anger. The Undead envisioned the faces of Frampt and Kaathe on the Hollowed enemies before him and charged.

Quelaag's Domain

"So you are sure he's gone to the Asylum?" Quelaan the Fair Lady nodded to Solaire of Astora. "Yes. Whatever he was saying did not make much sense, but he was rather morose when last I saw him..." Solaire was visibly worried himself. "I've always known the Chosen Undead to be rather grim but the last time we met was after he retrieved something called a 'Lordvessel'. For the first time he seemed… well, hopeful. The Chosen actually seemed to know what he was doing! Something terrible must have happened." A sigh escaped Quelaan and she placed her hand on Solaire's shoulder. "Then find out what happened to him. He was there for me when I needed him most. Now he needs us..."

The knight of Astora bowed his head. "Of course."

Author's Note: I thought I would try my hand at Dark Souls fanfiction. The Dark Souls games are so engrossing and addicting in their challenge, and I'm a sucker for dark fantasy stories. In this story, I'm going to write my own twist on the first game's last few stages and resolution. After much research I've figured out the ideal ending for both the Chosen Undead and Solaire of Astora. They're two sides of the same coin, and in this little fanfic I'll explore that to the end.

P.S. I know, Solaire shouldn't be able communicate clearly with the Fair Lady and she shouldn't be able to tell who anybody is. That will be addressed in another Dark Souls story, where our hero the Chosen forms a rather cute friendship with her. She was one of my favorite characters, and helping her got me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.