"Stand down, Executioner. A walking corpse has graced us."
Solara sneered at the golden-armored knight across the way, although not much could be seen due to the mask covering half of her rotting face. She gripped her morning star tighter as the knight chuckled, acknowledging her fury. The muscular giant behind him, adorned in a duller, bulkier armor with a copper sheen, lowered his deadly hammer.
"Accursed," the knight continued, "what is it you seek in these halls?"
Solara paused, looking down at the exposed withering skin of her arms. After all of the hell, the hundreds-no, thousands of humans just like herself she had slaughtered, the swamps, the snakes, the demons…it was hard to remember why she was doing any of this. And still, after all of this time, her hands trembled at the prospect of another fight, another living being's blood to shed. She took a quiet breath and locked her gaze onto the knight. For a moment, she wished she could tear off that lion-shaped helmet and see his face, witness the emotions his voice conveyed so well.
To do that would humanize him.
"You know what I seek, Dragon Slayer," she replied calmly.
Ornstein shook his head. "Another shuffling corpse come to claim my life. And for what? The promise of a broken curse?" Silence passed between them. "What have you to gain?"
"What have I to lose? I am a living reminder of death, yet I cannot die. Surely, you would do the same."
She twitched at his snort, muscles trained to do little else at the slightest provocation. "You've paraded around Lordran, making yourself the champion of anyone with a mind intact enough to form coherent thought. They believe you will heal this land through the bloodshed of the powerful. And yet, you seek power yourself. A selfish means to an end. You are no better than the ones you intend to destroy."
Solara glanced at the sprawling arches above them, how they connected and weaved like webs in the ceiling. So, too, did her path forge in front of her. She looked back at Ornstein. The spear in his hand sparked with electricity. The Executioner behind him was poised to attack once more.
"Your lord has made you cruel," she muttered.
"No crueler than you, Accursed," he replied scathingly.
Her fingers curled tightly around her shield's grip, her right hand slowly tucking her morning star away. This gave Ornstein pause.
"Are you prepared to accept your fate?"
Solara said nothing, allowed the crackling of electricity to fill her ears. In seconds, he was upon her, spear jabbing towards her face. Her shielded arm deflected the attack. His weapon flew into her hands. She jammed the spear into his briefly exposed chest, wishing once more to see the face that accompanied the pained, gurgled cry.
"I am."