Event 11: The Great Hollow
Three days. For the Undead to return to life, it takes three days. Three days of sitting by a dimly lit bonfire. Three days of sleeping on and off. Three days of staring into the flames, warmly lit fire offsetting cold blue eyes. Three days of waiting, waiting, and nothing else but waiting. When at last Jinta was reborn from the ashes, Seiko couldn't see a single bit of his flesh. His Paladin armor hid him completely. Before he said a word, he turned to the flame and offered a Humanity to the bonfire, reversing his Hollowing. When the entire ordeal was over, he took off his helmet, sat down, and sighed, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Good to see you succeeded..."
Seiko sat next to him, still quite unable to express herself properly.
"What... Did you see...?" she said, quietly.
"You mean after I fell? Well for a long time it was dark, and I couldn't see anything. But after I gave up waiting to hit the ground things began to go gray. Before I knew it, I was falling through these strange clouds, and the last thing I remember is seeing a branch bigger than a tree trunk rushing up at me."
"Arch tree?"
"If it wasn't, I was already dead and that was somehow a dream," said Jinta.
"To Blighttown?"
"To Blighttown."
Jinta put his helmet back on and held a hand up. Seiko took it after a second, then watched as Jinta reached into the fire and her vision filled with nothing but orange flames.
Seconds later, Jinta and Seiko came rushing out of the flames before The Fair Lady, the first bonfire after Blighttown. They stood to leave but stopped cold the instant they looked to the exit. There was a figure, wearing armor covered in thorny vines, standing in their way. It was the same figure that had tricked them in Lost Izalith, and the same that tried to draw them away from The Bed of Chaos. The figure stepped forward, thorned shield and barbed sword in hand.
"I am Kirk, Knight of Thorns. I am here in the name of my Fair Lady. Surrender your Humanity to me and I will allow you to leave. Attempt to resist and I will strike you down," said the figure.
"First, our own introduction. The pale woman by my side is Seiko, Blue Child, named so by Quelaana of Izalith for her blue Pyromancy, conqueror of The Abyss and daughter of Knight Artorias The Abysswalker. I am Jinta, Paladin of The Way of White, bless'd by my Lord, and Chosen Undead of this world. We possess few Humanity, and you will find a fight with the two of us a poor waste of your time and current life. You will step aside, or we will force you."
"I have issued a challenge, and by my honor, I will keep it. I serve The Fair Lady, for she is worthy of service. I take your lofty reputations as a refreshing change of pace. My previous offer remains," said Knight Kirk, raising his shield and sword, readying for battle.
Seiko looked up at Jinta, her piercing blue eyes almost glowing under her hood. Jinta looked down at her, understood, and nodded.
Seiko began walking forward, putting her hands into her hood to adjust her long hair. Kirk, having heard her reputation, did not drop his guard. He stepped forward, swinging to cut Seiko from shoulder to hip. A chain made of Abyss lashed out of her bare stomach and swatted his attack aside. The chain retreated so fast, Kirk wondered if it had been there at all. He stepped back two measured paces, shield still up. Seiko kept walking forward, her hands at her sides. She had no intention on fighting, nor surrender. Kirk stood his ground, raising his sword again. Chains of Abyss shot from the walls, binding his wrists and pulling him into the air slightly by his arms. Seiko was careful to contain the Abyss within the chains, trying not to corrupt Kirk's armor or the knight himself. She looked back at Jinta, walking right passed Kirk.
"I don't know how I was ever scared of anything else..." said Jinta to himself, walking forward to join her.
Kirk remained silent, his reasons his own. When both had passed him by the Abyss released him. Unseen, it rushed through the walls and floor, reentering Seiko through her boots.
Kirk turned to face the two, shield and sword down.
"Our Humanity is earned... Not stolen... I'm sure The Fair Lady would want the same..." said Seiko.
She and Jinta left, up the stairs and passed the Bell of Awakening, leaving Knight Kirk well and truly defeated.
"There. Can't miss it, huh?" said Jinta, looking at the massive dead tree on the other side of the gloomy bog. He stepped closer to Seiko, picking her up without warning. She flinched, not expecting it and ready to "counterattack."
"What?! You didn't plan on walking through all that, did you? I'm sorry I didn't warn you," said Jinta.
Jinta stepped into the muck, holding Seiko like a bride again. With few arrows left, Seiko was growing lighter with every fight. As the two traversed the swamp, Seiko tried to divert her thoughts to how she would continue to use her modified bow. With the way it was on her back it tapped Jinta's leg with every step, but didn't get in the way of him holding her. Without the arrows, Seiko would end up relying on only Pyromancy and the Abyss.
"Seiko," said Jinta, pointing at several large leeches beginning to head toward them. His arms were occupied by her, so he couldn't draw a weapon of use his talisman. Seiko raised a hand, aiming carefully, and fired one Flame Arrow for each enemy, burning right through them and killing them quickly. Beyond the leeches was a massive root that seemed to lead into the dead arch tree. Jinta set Seiko on the wood, stepping up on it himself and shaking his boots.
"Disgusting muck," said Jinta, annoyed.
"Sorry..." said Seiko.
Jinta looked over at her. "Oh! No, no! Don't be. I just hate mud. This is a white cloth outfit, after all."
Seiko nodded, still remorseful.
"Shall we, then?" said Jinta walking up the root toward the break in the arch tree's trunk.
Seiko followed, looking down and around the base of Blighttown. She thought she saw Quelaana seated by a pillar in the distance, out of the mud as always.
"Ahh! A chest!" said Jinta, spying one inside the arch tree. "Who would leave this here?"
He bent to open it, only to have it open and lunge at him first.
"What?! Another one!" said Jinta, jumping back. He drew his falchion, stepping in and striking off one of the beast's pale legs. Seiko looked on in confusion. It was a monster with a chest for a head, long skinny limbs, and human finger bones for teeth. It made strange, tortured sounds as Jinta took to slaying it. In seconds the ordeal was over, but the fight had revealed another oddity. As Jinta had struck off one of the beast's arms, it had flown through the wall.
"This place is full of surprises, isn't it?" said Jinta, sticking out his falchion to watch it pass through the wall. He walked forward, phasing through the wall completely. Seiko followed with caution, stepping right through the illusion. She saw Jinta examining a dead Hollow, one who'd sat so long he'd become almost part of the tree. Seiko noticed the edge of Jinta's rapier going through another wall.
"Jinta... The wall..." she said.
"I thought it was strange too," he said, straightening and looking at her.
"No, that wall," said Seiko, pointing.
"Another one? Someone didn't want this to be found," said Jinta, once again using his falchion to test the illusion and stepping through it. Seiko followed again, this time seeing a bonfire and the hollow innards of the arch tree.
"Well, then," said Jinta, looking down the huge hollow. "I suppose we have to use all these roots to reach the bottom. Jumping seems a poor idea, and even if we did, we'd just end up back at this spot. Do you need to rest? You've done far more than I recently."
Seiko shook her head, taking off her hood. There weren't any apparent enemies down the hollow, so Seiko freed her hair for a while. It grew a bit uncomfortable always brushing against her back.
"Then we should start walking. I don't think I need to tell you to watch your step."
Seiko and Jinta descended on one of the many large roots snaking up out of the center of the arch tree, slowly but surely continuing to the bottom. For a while they walked in silence, but Seiko felt it was a good opportunity to ask a few questions and say a few things.
"You killed the Asylum Demon...?" she asked, out of the blue.
"Hmm? Uhh, yes, actually. That was me. Why?"
"I saw... I followed you... Waited for the crow... But it dropped me... I landed in Blighttown... Quelaana found me..."
"I suppose that's when she trained and named you?"
Seiko nodded.
"And after you heard me ring the bell, you followed me out?"
Another nod.
"All the way to Anor Londo. I heard about your fight with the Iron Golem from Siegmeyer. Did something hold you up?"
"I was too late... You vanished at the bonfire..."
"That close...? I'm sorry... I wish I'd known. I would have waited."
"Better you didn't. I found my heritage. Killed The Four Kings..."
"Now that, I believe is an unbelievable feat. I've needed help with the other Lords, and yet you somehow managed to step beyond even Artorias and Manus. Perhaps it's your heritage, Artorias' clan was known for withstanding the Dark. Or perhaps it was something else? Maybe a combination of many things? I'd love to know the answer, but then, the reason doesn't matter so much as the result."
Silence for a while, both still walking.
"I chased you for so long..." said Seiko, looking at the root she walked on.
Jinta looked over at her. He looked straight again, speaking.
"I'm very grateful you did. I've only died once since we met. Before then I must have died almost a hundred times. I quit counting in The Painted World, honestly. Poison, falling, hordes of enemies, powerful monsters, you name it and it has probably killed me."
"Hollows?"
"Yes, I am ashamed to say, even Hollows have killed me. You'd be surprised what six or seven can do just wildly swinging their swords. For along time I had no direction. At first, I thought the cemetery above the catacombs was the right way to go. After a few deaths and broken weapons at the hands of those skeletons that guard it, I found the elevator to New Londo. Of course, I had no idea I couldn't harm the ghosts. So after dying there as well, I found the aqueduct and reasonable enemies. Before I knew it, I was growing stronger all the time, even in death I retained my experiences. I pressed on, further and further, eventually defeating the Belfry Gargoyles, and ringing the first bell. I was approached by The Way of White, by Rhea, and asked if I would serve them. They needed someone powerful to retrieve the Lordvessel. I had my own way of worship, the only memory of my old life, whatever that was, but I agreed because it meant I might have help. How hard could ringing the second bell be, after all? Very hard, as it turned out. I died many times to poison on the way into Blighttown. Solaire and I slayed the Gaping Dragon together, but he left after. I never saw him again until Anor Londo, where he was resting before moving on. It took Siegmeyer telling me of the shortcut to the end of Blighttown for me to finally challenge Quelaag, but not before killing an Undead Dragon in the Valley of Drakes. Escaping from below was much easier than descending from above. When I finally made it out, I was awarded the title Paladin and directed to Anor Londo. You know what happened from there, I believe..."
Seiko considered his story. It seemed he'd had a much harder time than she did.
"Honestly," continued Jinta, "I'm not interested in the titles I've been given. I'm not doing this because someone handed me a sword, pointed, and said 'greater good.' I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. Every enemy I've slain has attacked me first and ignored my pleas for peace. Everything I've earned, I earned being moral. There are things that weigh on me, like killing Quelaag, who I learned was only protecting her sister, The Fair Lady. But if I let the few wrongs stop me, I will never accomplish anything truly good. Becoming a Hollow again doesn't scare me. Death, real, true death, doesn't scare me. My only fear is not having done something meaningful before that time comes..."
Seiko looked up at Jinta, smiling.
"You pointed at the stars..." she said, quiet, but as if it meant the world.
"I what...?" said Jinta, confused.
"Another time..." said Seiko, rather done talking.
Jinta remained confused, but he knew he'd never fish it out of her, so he dropped it.
After having to drop from root to root a few times, Jinta and Seiko ran into basilisks. The curse-spitting beasts were weak against fire, so Seiko threw a few Flame Arrows and dealt with them at range. After a while, Jinta and Seiko reached what seemed to be a cap of dead wood or fungus and more basilisks. Descending through a gap in the flooring, Jinta and Seiko went down more roots and eventually began walking on mushroom tops. At the very base of the hollow, living giant mushrooms slowly approached, swinging short arms with massive strength. They were hearty, and even fire took some time to kill them. When the way was clear at last, Seiko spotted a break in the tree's trunk and the two walked out of it. Their feet landed on pure white sand. Over their heads were gray clouds and the branches of arch trees hidden within. All around, as far as the eye could see, arch trees were spaced out everywhere. Half a day of walking and one could travel between those furthest from each other. Here, however, another arch tree lay ahead, linked by the white sand. In every other direction, white sand met black water and dropped off. Jinta couldn't swim with his armor, and Seiko wasn't about to swim miles away to inspect a different tree. The two set their sights ahead and began walking, below all the world, in Ash Lake...
Event 12: Path Of The Dragon coming soon...
Author Note: The day draws near when we get to see Jinta as the main character for a while. In the mean time, he and Seiko are gonna be set up for some pretty interesting events. If you think you know what to expect in the next event, I suggest you think harder, and maybe go watch the Black Rock Shooter anime. Why? Because then you'll know what I mean when I say "Strength," two Dragon-Bone Fists, and The Path Of The Dragon all spell one tough Undead. And that's just what's coming next!
