A/N: I wanted to try this short Dark Souls story I've had for some time. For those who aren't familiar with the game, the lore is very loose. Item descriptions are the narration of past events, and it's up to the player to piece together the lore. That said, this is something that I wanted to write out so different opinions on the actual events may exist. This is just my interpretation of what happened in the past with Artorias. I'll try to explain everything at the end as well as separate absolute truths from my own speculation, and hey I may even be wrong about a few things.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy my interpretation of the tragic tale of the Abyss walker. A little short, but hey, I had fun writing this.

Artorias the Abyss walker, having both an unbendable will of steel and the ability to traverse the abyss...

Unfortunately titles aren't reality, and the daunting task I was faced with loomed ever so fierce as I approached another lift to descend further towards the plague of this world.

The spread of the abyss threatened everything, consuming all in it's path and engulfing the afflicted worlds in darkness. Lord Gwyn's age of fire withered in the path of this vile beast, and I took it upon myself to end any further spreading of this atrocity.

My loyal companion, Sif, entrusted me with both her life and well being. Why else would my most trusted compatriot follow me into such a hostile and unforgiving environment? Only more reason not fail, lest the downfall of my companion and myself become a reality.

However one thing ebbs to the back of my mind, yet I can not cast it away. How could one such as Manus become the father of the Abyss, spreading and producing such darkness, when one was human once himself.

My short digression, however, ended prematurely as our descent towards the chasm of the Abyss ended. One last sanctuary in the form of a bonfire, courtesy of the great lord Gwyn, would serve as my last stop before venturing into the darkness.

I turned my attention to Sif, for there was an unnerving vibe protruding from Great Grey Wolf. Her loyalty and company was what I trusted most in times such as these, for it was in her that I retained my sanity in this unforgiving world. Undoubtably I would go hollow and lose sight of my humanity without her, and for her to accompany me in the most dangerous of tasks meant the world to me.

The path ahead seemed so uncertain, yet with my friend at my side, my trusty great sword, and the ring that symbolized the covenant I formed to protect myself against the Abyss, I had hope in halting the spread of destruction.

A looming ominous feeling crept over me as I stared off into the tendrils of darkness that threatened to pull me into their depths. The small hope and glimmer of the bonfire was all that I needed to muster up the courage to continue, however.

With ring, now equipped, in hand to protect me I barred my spirit and iron will as I stood to my feet, reaching for my legendary great sword and shield. At least with my shield, I had one last defence against the insanity in the event of all else failing. The pure cleansing attribute of my shield as well as my silver pendant was the last line of defence I possessed.

Upon me collecting myself and readying my equipment, Sif too rose to her four paws, ready to follow me into the depths of darkness and insanity.

The Chasm itself almost made me stumble as endless darkness spread as far as I could see. From the top, one could not discern the full length or depth of this hell, yet I am sure it stretched almost infinitely.

Cautiously I raised my great shield, ready for anything, as I proceeded down the chasm of pure darkness.

From the moment I set foot into the Abyss, I felt a pull at my soul. It was as if the very essence of my being was threatened to shatter and dissipate into the darkness that surrounded me.

Yet, despite this, I ventured downwards.

I couldn't help but be a little nervous, but ultimately my goal was too valuable to turn my back on, yet the stakes were unfathomably high. Still I continued, down and down I went into the darkness.

It was Sif who first spotted the atrocities that inhabited the Abyss. Immediately she stopped dead in her tracks and went rigid, prone to strike. A low growl resonated from her and the second I caught on I, too, raised my defences.

Silhouettes of dark beings floated along in the distance, very faint, yet there was no doubt they were there. Yet something about these beings, something about their shapes rang a bell within me and it took a short while for me to put definition to the creatures.

But the epitome I endured was something that struck me very forebodingly. These dark beings, they resembled that of the black sprites known as humanity, the very thing that keeps one from going hollow and undead.

These shadows lingered off far vast in number and various in size, yet what my eyes conceived was probably the tip of the iceberg. I watched almost in shock as these beings vied with one another, absorbing each other and breaking down in a vicious cycle for power.

Somehow these dark shadows that resembled what held together the sanity of humans called out to me, as if something deep inside me wanted them; to obtain, to grow, to achieve more through them.

These dark sprites beckoned to me, and I nearly lost all control. Yet with the aid of my silver pendant and the companionship of Sif, I was able to snap out of the short lapse of a trance I endured and push further.

The mission of stopping Manus and halting the Abyss must continue, yet these dark sprites loomed ominously ahead.

Sif nudged me forward, encouraging me to encounter these dark shadows. Upon closing my proximity, these humanity creatures bore devilish gazes at me and charged (albeit at a slow but steady pace)

With one swing of my great sword, I successfully dealt with the first sprite, one of medium size. The humanity creature phased out of reality as the blessed metal slashed through it and cleared to the other side. A few more quick swings and I was able to clear a small path through the crowd of humanity that lay before.

Defeating all of them seemed almost impossible as their numbers were so large it was as if they were growing by the second, looming in from the distance and gathering around me and my companion, Sif.

Yet something called out to me with each defeat of a sprite, almost compelling me to continue slashing through the mass of shadows. Yet with the threat of being overwhelmed, I pushed past the crowd and descended further into a small clearing.

With Sif behind, we descended further and further. With each passing step I felt something tearing me within, overwhelming me almost as if my soul itself was being corrupted. Yet the ring I bore ensured such a thing would never happened. Still I felt conflict within myself and I began to question my decisions up to this point.

The tearing within grew, becoming more and more intense as I progressed, holding on to my silver pendant to cleanse the dark. It became apparent that my pace had slowed considerably, and I had to stop completely in attempt to diagnose the problem.

Sif gave my a low growl, but I couldn't help but stop. I dropped my great sword to my side as I inspected the pendant again, surely, I thought, surely I am not going insane. Surely I can withstand the Abyss and continue onward. I must... for the good of the world.

One moment of weakness, one stumble and the lowering of my guard was all it took. A mistake most fatal, as three humanity sprites managed to spring upon me, phasing through me and dissipating, but the damage had been dealt.

I felt my soul shatter in two, cracking in half as I fell to my knees. The call of the Abyss was too great, and the primal instincts of the Abyss appealed to me.

Consume, fight, and dominate. I felt my soul collapse under the unstable weight, and in that moment one thing became dreadfully clear.

I was not making it out of the Abyss. It was clear that I was going to lose all control over myself and that the Abyss was going to corrupt me.

Oh how cruel was fate? In under the most cautious circumstances, I had failed to even come close to achieving my goal, condemning not only myself but my companion too.

I heard Sif growl viciously before I looked up and watched her fend off more sprites, desperately trying to buy me time to recover. Yet I knew such a thing was impossible, and my mind raced a million miles before coming back with one dreadful revelation.

These humanities... they were being formed here in the Abyss. They are shards of the Dark Soul, which corrupted Manus in the first place, causing him to spawn humanities and spread the Abyss indefinitely. If this was the case, could humans themselves originate from the Abyss? Do they come from such a place and reside in darkness?

I couldn't be sure, but it was sickening revelation and the fact that it was possible only sent more dread through me. Coupled with my mistake, my unbendable will shattered. It was clear that the Abyss itself was too much for me...

My mistake and recklessness also killed my most loyal friend, Sif. Call it unintentional, I had basically lured her to her doom, betraying her trust.

And yet to see her still fight with the unwavering loyalty... it gave me hope.

Hope is sometimes foolish, but when faced against an unconquerable foe, it's all one has to hold on to.

In a last ditch effort I abandoned all self preservation and casted my shield towards Sif, dispelling the cleansing magic that was stored in it and putting up a barrier around my friend.

At least this way, my recklessness won't be the downfall of you...

Sif, now immobilized, sat watching me hopelessly as I went insane, losing my withering grip on reality and my humanity.

"Sif, forgive me, for I have availed nothing." I called out with the last shred of sanity I possessed, and the darkness consumed me.

Alright so, there were three key things that are fact that I based this off of.

1. Artorias and Sif traversed the Abyss in an attempt to defeat Manus and stave off the darkness

2. Artorias was corrupted by the Abyss despite having the ring.

3. In a last ditch effort, Artorias saved Sif by giving the wolf his shield.

Those are the key points in the story, and that is known to be the past events of what happened before you encounter the corrupted knight Artorias in battle in the game. The whole humanity creatures are actual mobs in game, for people who haven't played that far in. However the true nature of humanity still remains a mystery as well as the connection between humans. There's a lot of grey area and speculation here (or maybe I'm just ignorant to the truth, but whatever the case), yet the purpose of collecting souls and humanity in the game is to prevent going insane and hollow. It is, however, proven true that the crystal sprite humanities are shards of the Dark Soul, which is what caused Manus to corrupt and is causing the Abyss to spread.

TL;DR:

Take the story for what it is, everything in the game Dark Souls as far as lore is very open ended and up for interpretation. I could be wrong about a few things here, but hey, it is what it is.

Oh and for the three people out there who understand the full story and everything above, I hope I did good ;)