'What the hell is this!?' Nadar thought to himself as he struggled to push his arms up. Whatever he was buried in was shifting, making it difficult to get a sense of direction. He began to claw his way out, trying to push the stuff away as he felt his eyes burn more. 'What kind of game starts you buried like this!?'

He didn't know how long it took, but he eventually managed to push enough away and sit up gasping for air. His waist down was still buried, but he was grateful to just get out of whatever he was in.

Reaching down, he took a handful of what he was buried in, feeling a faint warmth between his visibly armored fingers. "Ash?" He said to himself, letting the diming embers fall as he stood his full height. By his guess, he was around the same height he is in real life, possible a few inches taller. Looking at himself, he saw he was covered in shiny silver armor, appearing like a traditional knight minus the helmet. Aside from the armor, his equipment on him was a short sword on his waist and shield on his left arm.

"So, a simple knight huh?" He commented, rolling his shoulders as he looked around him. He appeared to be in some kind of cemetery, surrounded by walls of jagged rock, worn down by the elements and battle. The graves around his were all in horrible shape, even his own barely appearing to have survived some battle.

"This place doesn't look anything like a hub for new players." He said as he took a few steps, not even feeling the weight of his equipment. He then swiped his hand down to access his menu, and was hit with momentary fear when nothing happened. He tried a few more times, nearly panicking before swiping his index and middle finger to the right, opening a horizontal menu.

"Right, this is what the menu looked like in the older games." He sighed as he first went to the options, seeing his Log Out where it belonged. "Well at least I won't have to deal with that shit again. Now then, let's check these stats out." He remembered the stats of Dark Souls being a large assortment, but with it being in VR he had to double-check everything.

Opening his stats menu, he saw that it was almost identical to SAO, aside from a Faith and Attunement options added in. Thinking of how lazy that was for a second, he was surprised when he saw that his stats were exactly the same as they were in Aincrad, the only thing missing his Marauder's Malice skills.

"Wow, another broken game." He commented before smirking, going to his items menu. "Won't see me complaining about that though. Beat's grinding to get up enough." Opening the items, he was hit by disappointment as he saw almost everything was appearing as unrecognizable, not surprising since it came from a completely different game. "Guess I'm not missing too much, really all I had that could help was some armor and a couple potions leftover."

Browsing through everything, he eventually found a single item that the system apparently recognized. The label was MHCP001, which confused him. He had no memory of having a ridiculous named item in his inventory, unless it was kept in his never touched Miscellaneous section. Selecting it, his menu went away and a small blue gem appeared in his palm.

He was even more confused at seeing it, tapping on it to see if it'd have an affect like most random items did. It then began to glow brightly, blinding him and forcing him to look away. The light began to hover on it's own, taking form before slowly dimming away. When Nadar was able to see again, his eyes widened in shock as he saw Yui's form floating in the air, curled in a ball as she appeared to be sleeping.

The girl's eyes then slowly opened as she was regaining awareness, appearing equally surprised at seeing Nadar standing below her. "Un… Uncle?" She was slightly confused, seeing Nadar's features different from what she recalled. His face was similar to his SAO avatar, the skin paler and his hair scarlet red. But aside from that, he appeared just the same as she remembered.

"Yui… you're okay." Unable to fight against the game's programming, Nadar felt tears begin to form as he held his arms out to the girl. A strong sense of relief overcame him as he caught the girl before she touched the ground, the two embracing each other as her light went away.

The two remained in the embrace for several moments, both relieved to see the other after two months apart. As far as Nadar was aware, her programming was locked in someone's data, while for her she saw him shatter at the hands of Kayaba.

Eventually the two moved to sit on a stone casket, Nadar speaking up as he looked down to Yui. "So what were you doing in my menu exactly?"

"When you and auntie left to find Kibaou, mommy and daddy decided where to put a copy of my programming." Yui explained. "They said you were the best option to put it in, believing you'd make it to the end."

"Guess that changed when I got iced." Nadar muttered before shaking his head. "Well I'm glad to see you're still around. It must have been scary not knowing what would happen after my avatar was destroyed." He then smiled as he patted her head, ruffling her hair a bit. "I heard you helped everyone take it to Kayaba, way to show everyone what you're made of."

"I was only able to stop the paralysis, but I'm happy it worked." Yui returned the smile, before looking around in confusion. "Where are we uncle, and where are mommy and daddy?"

"Right, gotta bring you up to speed." Nadar groaned. "Well, first thing's we're in another game. Dark Souls Online, a dark fantasy game with medieval weapons and magic. As for your parents, Sachi's back in the real world recovering. She's doing well, but I didn't want to bring her back into VR after the two years we spent in SAO. As for your father… Kirito's the reason I'm in here."

"Is something wrong?" Yui asked in concern, getting a disappointed nod from her uncle.

"Kirito hasn't woken up since we got out of SAO, and Asuna's been in the same condition. I'm hoping that we'll be able to get them out, but right now Asuna's in a bad situation. I need to get to Anor Londo in six days or else she'll be married to a scumbag of a person. But I didn't end up in the right place, otherwise we'd be at some kind of hub area."

Hearing all this, Yui placed both her hands on her head, closing her eyes as she began to concentrate. Configuring all of the data around them, she was able to learn everything of the game's code near instantly, coming to a conclusion. "You did end up in the right area. It appears this is a spawning area for new players, but has special traits to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently, you're avatar has the status of Ashen One. It's a rare effect that only a handful of players receive, their purpose is to serve as the one who will link the First Flame for their faction."

"That would explain me being buried in ash." He thought, opening his menu as he looked at his equipment. He had deleted all of the equipment that had transferred from SAO, leaving him with what he had from DSO. "Hey Yui, can you tell me what these Estus Flasks are?"

"Of course, they're the equivalent of health potions here." Yui answered. "They have a limit to their use, but they can be refilled at a bonfire. Since you're a Knight, you start off with three. You can upgrade them too if you find Estus Shards and apply them at a Fire Keeper."

"So keep them close, got it." He said, looking down to the glowing orange bottle on him. Aside from it, he has five simple bombs and ten throwing knives to go along with his sword and shield. "Are we able to get back to the main hub from here?"

"According to the map data, we're in a separate server currently." She explained as he stood up. "We have to find the bonfire at the end of the area to enter the main server."

"Alright, so I guess we better get to it." He responded, unsheathing his sword as he looked at the set path. "Since you don't have a weapon, I'm going to need you to stay behind me. Guide us through the area and I'll take care of anything we run into. I expect a few enemies for this tutorial."

"But I can help!" Yui argued, jumping up to her feet as she looked up to Nadar. "My avatar still has active player options, I just have to activate them and I'll be recognized as one to help."

"Are you sure?" Nadar asked. "We're not in SAO anymore, how could you keep those privileges?"

"The CARDINAL system is still active, it needs updating but it's running the game." She then closed her eyes and was surrounded by flames, shocking Nadar for a second before it vanished. Her white dress was gone, replaced by a set of blue and black cloth armor, a white rope around her waist and a white undershirt finishing her basic gear. "Based on the stats daddy gave me, the system designates me as a cleric."

"Huh, well would you look at you." Nadar smiled as he knelt down next to her. "You're already looking like a fighter, although it doesn't look like you have much protection. What can you do?"

"As a cleric, I have a high starting Faith and Attunement, followed by Strength. I can cast Miracles with my chime. Since I haven't bought any, I only have Force and Heal." She held up the golden chime, motioning to her waist where a mace was held. "I also have a mace, but I've barely had any combat experience."

"I'll handle the fighting Yui." Nadar said, standing back up. "You just focus on healing me if I get hit."

"Right!" Yui cheered, getting a chuckle from her uncle.

"Man, where is he?" Klein spoke as he looked around, standing at the main hub. His avatar appeared to be nearly identical to his real life appearance as well, even keeping his stats from SAO too. The only difference was the red scales on the sides of his face, having selected the Beast race and chose Path of the Dragon covenant, making him a dragonkin.

He got into the hub nearly ten minutes ago, and he's been waiting for Nadar and Leafa to show up. But aside from the occasional new player, he hasn't seen head or feet of the people he was looking for.

"This isn't a good sign, maybe he's gotten backed up or something?" He guessed, crossing his arms as he tapped his foot. His set class was Knight as well, making his gear identical to Nadar's. However he appeared comfortable in the armor, his only problem so far with the weapon and shield. "Hopefully Leafa shows up soon, then we could maybe go look for him if something happened."

"Excuse me." Hearing someone call out to him, he turned to his right to see a woman in brass armor speak, a straight sword connected to her hip. She didn't have a helmet on, revealing her short blonde hair and silver eyes. "I couldn't help but notice you've been standing here for some time, are you waiting for someone."

"Yeah, me and a friend are… starting out and another was offering to help us." Klein explained, noting her match of description to what Nadar said Leafa looked like. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Leafa would you?"

"My user? No, sorry I'm not. My name here is Anra, although I do know a Leafa." Anra revealed. "We're both in the Warriors of Sunlight, and we're even in the same guild. I could message her if you like."

"Yes, please!" Klein responded. "Sorry, but me and my friend are in a hurry and I don't have a way of communicating with either of them."

"It's no problem, our faction's known for helping people out no matter the circumstances." Anra said, opening her messenger menu. "I'll send her message that you're waiting. What's your name?"

"Oh, it's-"

"Anra, there you are!" Klein was interrupted as another voice called out, the two turning to see a group of players approach. At seeing the players, Klein's jaw dropped as he jumped back in shock, recognizing all of them.

"You're here Sai-oops." Anra stopped, correcting herself before she made the mistake. "Sorry, Hachiman, it's good to see you all here."

"Took awhile to figure everything out again." Hachiman admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Behind him was Sachi and Silica, all of them having similar looking avatars to their real appearances. The only notable differences between them was Hachiman's green hair and scales, Silica's red eyes and Sachi's pointed ears.

They were all a different class, with Hachiman having the equipment of a sorcerer, covered head to toe in white robes with a magic staff on his back. Silica had selected the thief class, wearing dark ragged clothes, a knife on her hip with a hood finishing her appearance. And Sachi had on a mix of armor and cloth, having chosen the mercenary class that gave her a single curved sword.

"I'm sure it was, what factions did you pick?" Anra asked, no one noticing Klein's shocked expression.

"Well, I obviously had to pick the Sun Bros. What else am I gonna do?" Hachiman responded with a smirk.

"I wasn't too sure on which ones were good, but Blade of the Darkmoon sounded good so I went with it." Sachi admitted. "Although half of them were blocked from me picking to be an elf, guess that means some can't be in others."

"I didn't know what to do, so I picked the Forest Hunters." Silica said, pulling her hood back to reveal cat ears on her head. "Apparently since I chose Beast it made me part cat."

"Well I think you look adorable Silica." Sachi said, rubbing her head. "Although we have to get you into something not so evil looking. Black doesn't really suit you."

"We'll settle that when we get to Volrun." Anra promised, turning back to Klein. "Before we go, I have to message one of my friends. Apparently she promised to help out this guy and one of his friends."

"Hopefully it's a quick response, we don't know how far ahead Nadar and… Klein… are…" An awkward air filled in as Hachiman trailed off, the four SAO survivors all staring at each other. "…Klein?"

"He-Hey guys, fancy meeting you here." Klein responded, chuckling lightly as he felt all three stare at him. "Now I'm sure you might have, a few questions for me."

"A few would be putting it lightly."

"Ha!" With a shout of power, Nadar swung his sword at a Hollowed warrior and cleaved it in two, a gush of blood shooting out before everything of it turned to dust. Nadar has been fighting the monsters for roughly ten minutes now, and since then he's been able to figure out some of their patterns and traits.

Hollows, as Yui called them, appear to be the main enemies of this game. Humanoid esc creatures that appeared shriveled up to where their skin wrapped around their bones. Their flesh was rotten, a mixture of green and black due to extensive time out in the direct sunlight after death. In lore they were once human, burdened by the Dark Sigil until they lost their free will, becoming the zombie like creatures they are in a desire for souls.

After the latest kill, Nadar took a moment to collect himself, panting as he had dozens of injuries across his body. He was rusty when it came to fighting in VR and it was showing. Even with the sword his stats would make it easy to clear out most of the Hollow in the area. But because he hasn't even considered coming back he was struggling to keep up physically.

"Are you okay uncle?" Yui asked, walking up to him as he recovered.

"Yeah, I just lost my edge is all." He said as he reached for his belt, grabbing his Estus. Looking at the bottle, he sighed in disappointment before chugging it, recovering his health. His Flask then lost its orange glow, signifying that he couldn't recover anymore. "I wasn't expecting to come back and with these new free motions it's difficult to figure things out."

"We're making good progress though, we've made it to the boss room." Yui said, looking to her side. Across the open terrain was an old destroyed entrance, a wall of fog in the way.

"You're kidding me, there's a boss after this too?" Nadar asked, groaning as he placed his empty flask back on his belt. "I've been fighting constantly, you'd think they'd give me a break here."

"It won't be that bad uncle." Yui promised. "I have my Miracles still, I'll heal you when your health gets too low. Once you get the pacing I know you won't be as caught back like this."

"Here's hoping." He mumbled as he approached the fog. "So what do we do with this? Say secret password, offer a sacrifice? Maybe ask nicely?"

"Just walk through it, the boss should be active once you pull the sword out of it." Yui explained.

"Well hopefully it's better than this p.o.s." He muttered, walking through the fog without effort, followed shortly after by Yui. The area for the boss battle was a large circular arena, the right completely opened by destruction, showing the Cliffside and shining sun. Nadar then stopped to look at the center, seeing a four-meter giant in cast iron armor kneeling, a coiled sword through his chest and a halberd at his side.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me.' He thought with a sigh, his shoulders slumping as he walked up to the kneeling warrior. Once he was close enough, he saw black tendrils protruding from his back, appearing as an added texture to the player.

"So I just pull this sword out of him and it'll activate the battle?"

"That's right, and you shouldn't need to worry. I've searched online and apparently this boss is considered easy in the game he originated." Yui stated, getting back to avoid the boss' agro. "Just act as leveled as you were in your battles in SAO and it shouldn't be a problem."

"You and I remember two different styles." He whispered as he sheathed his sword and grabbed the coiled blade with both hands. Pulling with all his might, he underestimated how lodged it was and pulled it out instantly, falling over in the process. "Son of a… ahh that wasn't as difficult as I expected." He groaned as he rubbed the back of his head.

After removing the sword, it vanished from his hands like it wasn't there, not even appearing in his menu. The action confused him, but he was brought back to the game when he saw the boss reach for its halberd. Scrambling to his feet, Nadar was just able to bring his shield up when the boss sent a fast slash at him, sending him skidding back.

It was then it stood up to its full height, holding onto the halberd with a single hand. The tentacles on its back began to move slightly, not going out of control but slithering around its body. And as its single bar of red health appeared, the boss' eyes glowed bright red, its name revealing itself.

Iudex Gundyr

"Great, I'm guessing strength with dexterity stats." Nadar growled as he unsheathed his sword, keeping his shield up as he prepared himself. He wasn't used to the setup he had, but he was hoping that since this boss was the first he could find an easy way around it.

Taking precautionary steps to his side, Nadar watched carefully as the boss took a few steps toward him. The differences in their sizes felt all the more intense as they both appeared unwilling to back down.

The fight then went from zero to a hundred instantly as the boss lunged right at Nadar, shocking the player with its speed. He was able to block its attack, but was sent back several feet from the impact. As he stopped, he looked past his shield to see the boss running right at him, rearing its fist back to strike him.

The player felt his instincts scream at him to dodge, but his caution won and he blocked it again with his shield, sending him further back. He blocked two more strikes from the boss' halberd, noting he seemed to be able to prevent it from hitting him directly and causing serious damage. But after the boss sent a quick jab and knocked him back, he felt his back hit against the rock wall, surprising him.

'Shit!' He thought as he lunged out and rolled between the boss' legs, dodging an overhead swing that would've knocked him right on his face. He then had to bring his shield back up as the boss brought its elbow up and struck at him, overwhelming him and knocking him across the area.

"Uncle, you can't block all of its attacks!" Yui warned, Gundyr looking back to him as he struggled to get up. "You have to avoid the punches and hit it when it's recovering from its halberd attack!"

"Easier said than done." Nadar grunted as he got to his knees. Looking down to his sword and shield, he bit his lip as he wished he had something more heavy. If he had at least a weapon needing two hands he'd feel confident in countering it, but he didn't know how much health this boss would have. He didn't have much time to think on it, as Gundyr turned and began to approach him again.

Keeping low, Nadar took a calming breath and waited for it to attack, seeing it raise its halberd up. Jumping at the right time, he rolled underneath the blade and quickly swiped his sword across Gundyr's leg. He saw a tiny fraction of the boss' health go down, making him wince at how long this was going to take.

Jumping back to get some distance from the boss, Nadar felt his hand shake as he put his shield forward. 'My first time back in VR and I'm fighting a boss, alone! How am I supposed to fight this when I haven't used a sword ever!?'

"Uncle watch out!" Nadar snapped back to attention when he heard Yui's warning, not able to get away quick enough as Gundyr threw his hand forward and grabbed him past his shield. He was surprised at how effortlessly it held him before he was slammed hard into the ground, taking a small chunk of his health and causing him to cough out blood.

'Damage is taken so differently…' He thought as he looked up to Gundyr, unable to bring himself to stand up. 'Why was I kidding myself? Did I think I was going to be as good as I was in SAO? I don't even know the first thing of this game, Sarah isn't here to walk me through the basics. I don't have Kirito and Hachiman's inside information, I can't even fight against an intro boss…'

Seeing Gundyr raise his halberd up, Nadar had already given up as he accepted his fate. Even if he had better stats, he had no idea of how to fight bosses in this game, it felt nothing like the cut and run strength battles Aincrad's bosses were. He couldn't contend with it with his equipment with his normal style.

But just as it was about to strike down on him, Nadar was caught off guard as Yui ran to between him and the boss. With her chimes in one hand and her mace in the other, Yui swung her left hand to the side at the moment Gundyr struck at her. And when Nadar not only saw her not take any damage but also seemingly stun the boss from the move, he couldn't believe his eyes.

To further shock him, Yui struck at Gundyr's chest as he fell to a knee from the stun, lodging the sharp edges into the armor. The initial attack didn't do much, but when she pulled the mace away blood spurted out from Gundyr and he was knocked to his back, losing a tenth of his health.

"Yui… you…" Nadar was at a loss for words as he looked up to his niece, not expecting the power behind her swing or effortless parry with her bare hand.

"It's not about the stats or equipment uncle." Yui explained to him, turning to him as she did. "Gundyr is meant to be a test of your adaptability and strategy. His weakness is parries, if you can hit his halberd at the end of its arc he'll be open to a repost, causing critical damage."

"Yui… that's incredible." Nadar said before looking to Gundyr, seeing him getting up. With a new vigor, Nadar stood up against again and stepped next to Yui. "I'm not going to be able to parry with this shield, I haven't figured out how to fight with one and I don't think I'll keep it for long. Are you able to parry him again?"

"Yes, I've studied the timing required to parry his attacks without a weapon. Force doesn't work on him, so I don't believe my Miracles will be very useful." The girl nodded, smiling at her uncle as she saw him stand to the challenge.

"Good, I'll handle hitting him after you parry." He spoke, planting his feet as he saw Gundyr stand back at his full height. "Show me what the daughter of the Black Swordsman and Moonlit Swordswoman can do."

"I will." She spoke with determination, running her calculations before predicting Gundyr's next move. "He's going to go for a punch, followed by a swing of his halberd!"

"Got it!" Nadar responded as he watched Gundyr preform the very moves she warned, the two dodging to the right as he slammed his fist down at them. When he went to swing his halberd at them, Yui reacted quickly and moved forward, parrying his attack and stunning him once more.

Not wasting the opportunity, Nadar lunged forward and stabbed his blade through Gundyr's chest. Grabbing the hilt with both hands he then ripped it out across the boss' entire chest, blood gushing out and splattering across him as the boss fell back. He felt that he shouldn't have been surprised at seeing the boss' health drop below 50%, but he couldn't stop himself from being stunned at the amount of damage taken.

Although when he looked down, he discovered that his own sword had shattered, unable to take the amount of force he had put into it. 'Shit, that isn't good!' Seeing Gundyr get back up became his pressing concern, as he held the broken blade while preparing to defend himself.

But when the boss was to his feet he seemed to pause, not moving as his eyes glowed brightly. Nadar was expecting to see an attack come but was caught off guard as he saw the black tendrils on his back begin to move sporadically.

"Uncle get back!" Yui warned. "Iudex Gundyr has a second phase, he's about to transform!"

At the moment she finished the boss went through its transformation, changing drastically from the normal form. The tendrils grew and almost completely consumed Gundyr's upper body, only leaving his head and halberd arm free while taking control of what's left. The mass of black then expanded and stretched until it formed a giant serpent, red glowing eyes forming at the end and opening its mouth to release a painful roar.

The monstrous transformation had made Nadar freeze in place, not expecting such a drastic change to the boss so suddenly. But just as the serpent shot out at him, he recovered and blocked with his shield, getting knocked back near Yui. He fell to a knee from the pressure, the boss' strength having increased drastically in the short time.

"Uncle are you okay?" Yui asked with concern as she moved to be next to him, seeing blood drop from his lips as he stayed on his knee.

"That thing injured me more than any regular enemy did, and I was blocking for that attack." He said, not answering her question directly. "The way this is getting to me, I'm not going to last more than a few minutes. And with my sword broken, I'm not going to be able to deal enough damage to finish it."

"You have to, we can't stop now." Yui said, raising her chime up as a golden circle formed below her. Nadar then felt his injuries heal and his health go back up a chunk, Yui's Heal spell having taken full effect. "It's got more damage, but its halberd can still be parried. We just have to avoid the Pus of Man and we can do it."

"That's going to be a challenge if it relies on it to get us quickly." Nadar responded. "Get back, if you go down than my option for healing is gone. I can figure something out, just be ready to cast a Heal if I get too low."

"But you-!" Yui began to argue, stopping as she saw Gundyr lunge at them, going high into the air. "Watch out!"

"Crap!" Nadar shouted as he saw the boss reach them, pushing Yui away at the last second to protect her. With himself open, the serpent's head latched its jaw around Nadar and bit down, drawing blood rapidly as it lifted him into the air. "AAAHHH!"

"Uncle no!" Yui screamed out as she got back up, shaking as she heard him scream out in pain.

'Damn it, its bite burns like fire… I can't break free!' He thought as he tried to push it in its mouth, getting no ground as it clamped down harder. 'I was expecting trouble going into a Dark Souls themed game, but what am I supposed to do against this? It's even stronger than it was in the actual games!'

"I'll get you out of there uncle, just hang on!" Yui shouted to him, his eyes widening when he heard her call out.

'She's not even scared? I know she knows how to fight it, but her stats aren't high enough to actually challenge this thing is it?' He'd question, wondering just where Yui's courage was coming from. And as he looked down to her, he saw that she was actually shaking, nervousness on her face. 'She's… actually trembling?'

Seeing her scared, Nadar began to try pushing against the serpent's jaw again, his eyes slowly narrowing as he grunted in exertion. 'She shouldn't even have to be fighting right now, I promised her I'd handle it.'

"But I just wanted to say… thank you."

'I promised I'd fight and save them.'

"He's right, we owe you that much at least."

'I… I promised…!'

Freeing his right arm, Nadar stabbed his broken blade into the beast's eye, getting it to shriek in pain. It'd begin to flail him every direction, attempting to dislodge the blade while also biting down harder on him.

"Thanks for reminding me something you stupid sludge!" Nadar shouted as he let go of the sword's handle and elbowed the edge of the serpent's jaw, getting it to loosen its bite before reaching for his pocket. "I almost forgot just why I fought the way I did in SAO!" Pulling out one of his bombs, Nadar pulled the fuse with his teeth and heard the contents begin to react.

Just as it was about to go off, the player punched his arm into the serpent's eye, pushing through as he clenched onto the bomb. "I fight without hesitation so that my family doesn't have to take the damage!" It that next second the bomb went off, causing a small explosion that severely damaged the serpent, causing it to throw Nadar away and back towards Yui.

The explosion had taken away most of the boss' health, but had also taken Nadar's right arm with it, up to his forearm gone. Yui was about to heal him, but was stopped as he grabbed her shoulder. "Save it for after this." He said, standing back up as he saw Gundyr's serpent limb begin to recover, the black mass replacing what it had lost.

"Uncle, take this." Yui said, getting his attention as she held her mace out to him. "It should be able to deal enough damage if you hit the right spot." That brought a smile to Nadar as he unequipped his shield and grabbed the mace.

"I'll be sure to put it to good use." He spoke, turning back to Gundyr as he began to run at them. Without hesitation, Nadar would return the charge, watching carefully as he saw the serpent open its jaw again.

'I had almost forgotten why I was as dangerous as I was back then.' Nadar thought as he stomped his feet on the ground, watching the serpent shoot out at him. 'Two months in that painful reality weakened me, but I won't let that happen anymore!'

Shifting his body to his right, Nadar narrowly dodged the beast's attempt at clamping down on him again. As Gundyr's normal head got in range, Nadar began to shout in rage as he swung the mace up, aiming for his head. "Stay away from my niece!" In his bellow, he struck with as much force as he could right at the boss' head. A sickening crack was heard as Gundyr's head nearly spun a full 180, his red eyes returning to nothing as the serpent began to shake in the air.

Its eyes too dimmed away and the boss' body collapsed backward, dissipating into dust and blowing away. Nadar could only stand there as he saw it disappear, dropping the mace as he felt himself come to terms with the situation. 'That was the first obstacle in my way, and I doubt it'll be the most difficult.'

"Uncle?" Yui asked in concern as she gently took his hand, looking up to him. He was in bad condition; the bite wounds having dug deep in his avatar and blood all over him.

Hearing her concern, Nadar smiled down to her and returned her hold. "I'm sorry I was so pitiful at the start of that fight. I promise you, for the sake of Asuna and Kirito, I won't let that ever happen again." Seeing him smile brought one to the girl's, hers much brighter as she saw the confidence he had back then on him. "That was brave of you to stand up, I'm proud at how much you helped me."

He then chuckled as he moved to pat her head. "But from now on, stick to being on support, I don't think your mommy or daddy would be happy with me if I let you get hurt. Okay?"

"I promise I'll be the best support I can!" Yui responded, appearing determined as she looked up to him.

"I have no doubt you will." He then let his arm hang limply, turning towards the center of the arena. A bonfire had spawned where the boss had started, missing a coiled sword. At that same time, the same sword he removed from the boss appeared in his inventory, giving him the idea of what to do next. "Yui, can you heal me now? I think I know what to do next."

"Sure thing uncle." Yui said before activating Heal again, recovering some of Nadar's health and allowing him to freely use his arm without trouble.

The two then walked up to the fire as Nadar pulled the coiled sword from his inventory, flipping it to hold it in a reverse grip. And with a bellow of anger, he stabbed the blade into the fire, the action completely restoring him and bringing his right arm back. A flicker of flame went across his body as the fire coursed around the sword, his strength returning as he stared down to the flames. Standing up to his full height, he placed his hand just over the flame, feeling the action start to make his body feel lighter until he and Yui both vanished, leaving the area to continue on their mission.

The Executioner was set on reaching on Anor Londo, and he will burn everyone that gets in his way to get there.

(A/N): So... my first Dark Souls chapter. Not gonna lie, it was a mixed bag for me to do. I enjoyed the fighting, but it was also difficult figuring out a good way to incorporate everyhing without going in impossibly deep context. Also it felt awkward writing Nadar with a sword and shield rather than an axe or any heavy weapon. That won't be a problem for long, but I'll probably take a break for a week or two to focus on my story Abysswalker. Although I'll still have inspiration for both stories, so another chapter might come out, but for now it's a temporary hiatus. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I've kept your interests. Peace!