-New Londo-

After a short time, water began pouring into the massive cavern from above as well, as if from nowhere. Seiko felt nearly numb from the sheer amount of magic in the air. As she ran, Seiko looked back to where Ingward had been standing. A maelstrom was swirling about him, keeping him dry until the very end so he could do his work. Seiko's way out was not without threat, even as Ingward invoked the seal. Darkwraiths that had been set free were converging on the area, all of them trying to get above the maelstrom to jump in and plunge their swords through Ingward's head. Anything to stop him from sealing the Abyss.

Seiko was nearing the elevator when she noticed them. She looked to the elevator up to Firelink, and back at New Londo. She turned back…


-Anor Londo-

Jinta awoke beneath a humongous painting. He'd escaped The Painted World after speaking to Priscilla, who instructed him to jump to his death. Rather than death, he was set free at last. He rose to his feet, checked himself over, and noticed that none of the Painting Guardians, warriors in white robes, had seen him yet. He attempted to sneak around them, but in the end he failed and was forced to fight his way out…


-New Londo-

A/N: Seiko's theme, Compression Space (Evocation Mix), will fit here. I'd recommend YouTube, then replacing everything before the "dot com" with "rainymood" so you can hear the rushing water.


The sounds of clashing metal drew Ingward out of his emotionless concentration. He looked up to see Seiko holding a Dark Sword, stolen from a Darkwraith, fighting two others above him. The sword was tied to her hand tightly by black scraps, probably from her gold-hemmed robes she still wore about her neck. Her armor was still not fixed, and where she'd already been cut she bled freely. The water flowing into the room prevented her blood from clotting properly, on top of all the movement.

Seiko deflected a blow, then blasted the opponent to her right with Pyromancy from her left hand. The Darkwraith took the attack full in the chest, blue flames wreathing it. Before Seiko could be sure it was dead, the other Darkwraith dove at her bodily, left hand glowing. Seiko stepped to the side, fearing what magic the Darkwraith had been trying to use, but she forgot she wasn't its target. The Darkwraith lept from the edge, sword flashing. It was a perfect arc to bring it down to Ingward, who could only watch.

Seiko reached out with her left hand, chains of Abyss tearing through her skin, and latched the Abyss onto the Darkwraith. Seiko braced herself and the Darkwraith swung through the air before colliding with a wall and falling into the water. Seiko turned to see the other Darkwraith getting up out of a puddle to put itself out. It raised its left hand and the air shimmered, using a shield spell Seiko had seen from other Darkwraiths. Seiko raised an arm as if to ready a Fireball, then shot the Abyss out of her wrist into the Darkwraith's ankles. She yanked, pulling the Darkwraith to the ground, and pounced on it, cleaving its head in two with the sword tied to her right hand.

Seiko looked around to be sure no more Darkwraiths were nearby, tore the scraps off her right hand to leave the sword behind, and started running. She could no longer jump with the water so high, but she had the idea to shoot the Abyss chains into the wall and rappel up to the elevator. She clambered over the edge and looked down again. There were small black marks where the chains had been, slowly but noticeably flowering outward. Seiko put her hand over them and felt the Abyss stab back under her skin. When she pulled her hand away she had two new small cuts, but the Abyss was gone from the wall.

Satisfied she'd done all she could, Seiko ran for the elevator, up to Firelink Shrine.


-Firelink Shrine-

Seiko walked wearily up the stairs, aiming to rest at the bonfire. She remembered as she neared the cell where the Firekeeper had been that the bonfire was out… But the Firekeeper was there after all, somehow. Seiko hurried up the stairs to find that the bonfire was indeed lit. She walked up to it, exhausted, and sat nearby. For a while, she simply sat with her eyes closed. As she relaxed, and her breathing quieted, she thought she heard Kaathe's clacking teeth again.

Seiko opened her eyes and looked toward the sound and there it was, another Primordial Serpent. Seiko jumped up and ran toward the thing, flames building up around her.

"What are- Wait! I'm no enemy!"

"Kaathe!"

"I am not Kaathe! I am Kingseeker Frampt! Please! Calm down!"

Seiko's boots skid to a halt before the Serpent. She was already surrounded by Immolation, her flames billowing with sparse tongues of black in the azure.

"You look no different! And you sound the same! You expect me to believe you?!"

"This is the form of all we Serpents. I can do nothing but implore you to see reason. I am here solely for the purpose of guiding the Chosen Undead to his goal."

Seiko remembered what Kaathe had said.

"Kaathe said you were a liar. That there was no 'Chosen' one. You're just feeding us to the First Flame."

Frampt sighed. "Of course he did. Did you consider that he is tied to the Abyss, and that the Flame going out serves his purpose? He is the liar, young Undead. I am simply doing as Lord Gwyn instructed; I am attempting to find one with a soul strong enough to succeed the Lord of Sunlight. One who will forever keep the Flame lit, and thereby allow life to go on. The coming of the Dark would bring only death and despair, the likes of which this world has never seen."

"You say that as if your task doesn't already bring despair. I've heard how many Undead have failed. I've seen some of them myself, as Hollows."

"It is no fault of mine that they fell short of their task. You are correct that, yes, the way of one who would be Chosen is hard… But if the way were easy, any who completed the task would not be fit to meet its end. And the few who make it far enough to see and hear from me far outweigh the millions or even billions more elsewhere whose peace they protect by completing their task."

Seiko let her flames die out. "Even so, I don't trust either of you. Both of you make sense."

"Kaathe has sent you for the Lordvessel… Hasn't he?"

Seiko just looked at Frampt.

"And you have yet to decide if you will listen or not. Further, you have ventured into the Abyss yourself. I can sense you are quite powerful, and your Pyromancy is also intense. You could not be so passionate about the truth if you were not concerned with making the right choice, and there is little I can do to sway you. If you are so worried, your only choice will be to meet the Chosen Undead and speak with him. I cannot say how long you will need to wait. He has gone away to pursue a different task, but it is certain he will return here. Only through me can he offer Lord Souls to the vessel, and he has yet to acquire even one."

Seiko sighed. Without another word, she walked to the side and sat with her back to a crumbled pillar. She pulled her hood over her head, adjusted her hair in it, and napped. The ruined building still had enough of a second floor to shade her from the sun overhead…


"… Then I present you with the customary attire of a Paladin of the Way of White," said Petrus, motioning to a chest behind him. "Please… Go quickly, and save M'lady… If she should be left alone in that terrible place, she will surely die. You're the only one I can count on now."

Jinta couldn't tell Petrus' act from the truth, he was so concerned. Jinta immediately accepted, donning the armor and reassuring Petrus that he needn't worry any longer. He had his own reasons for going to the Catacombs anyway, after all.


A/N: BRS TV, The Lost Memory by Hiromi Kikuta


Jinta approached Frampt to consult him as to where he should go next, but Frampt redirected him.

"Before we speak, the Undead resting there wanted to speak with you. I suggest you finish that business first. And do be careful. How your conversation progresses will greatly affect your journey. Of that, I am certain."

Jinta took off his newly-acquired golden helmet and approached quietly, kneeling. He didn't want to wake whoever it was with a start, not when they appeared so battered and well-traveled.

Seiko's armor was still missing from her left arm, including a slice out of the torso from the tip of her shoulder to under her armpit. Her face, however, was hidden under her hood. Jinta nudged her a bit, gently. She woke, blinking away the sleep.

"M'lady? I was told you wanted to speak with me."

"You're… The warrior from the Asylum… Yes, if you're the 'Chosen' Undead, you're exactly who I need to talk to."

"I'm Jinta. Paladin Jinta, now, it would seem."

He held out his right hand. Seiko looked at it first, then reached out with hers and shook his hand awkwardly.

"I'm Seiko, a Pyromancer."

"Ahh, so you're who I've heard so much about. Tetsuro and Solaire have mentioned you a long time ago. To be honest, it didn't sound like you were doing so well. I see you've not been without your trials."

Jinta glanced at her missing armor as he spoke to imply why he'd said so.

"I'm not here for small talk. I want to know why you're doing this."

"Doing… What, exactly?"

"I've heard about you too. That you've had the worst time of everyone. How you keep dying and failing. No wonder I caught up with you. Why would you subject yourself to this? You're a Paladin, right? A healer, or something. Why not just leave this place and be a traveling healer? Why throw yourself against the wall over and over? You're no 'Chosen' one. You've spoken to Tetsuro. How can both of you be 'the chosen one'?"

Frampt glared at her, but was silent. She acknowledged his gaze, which had Jinta look back at the Serpent.

"I've already thought of that," said Jinta. His face grew melancholy. "I suppose if I had to answer, it's because this is what I set out to do. I followed Solaire on his way here. I spent my own time in the Asylum. Only the two of us journeyed from Astora, that I know of, to complete this task. I feel as if… As if I need to do this in case Solaire fails to see it through. He's stronger than me in every way. In faith, in combat, in charisma… But I've made it this far, even though I've needed help."

"So you're at least not stupid enough to blindly be following instructions, then."

"I wouldn't say that."

Seiko tilted her head.

"I'm not a very smart man, you know. I'm far too trusting of others. I've already been fooled by a phantom who appeared to be white, though I didn't summon it, who stabbed me in the back. I've made it this far, I guess, because I simply refuse to give up. Because I'm stubborn. If I were smart, I'd do as you say, and abandon this quest where, truthfully, I am not needed at all."

"You're not making a very good case for yourself."

"I'm simply being honest."

"Then allow me to do the same. I'm considering killing you, stealing back the Lordvessel, and putting an end to this whole cycle. I've heard the side that says that's the right thing to do - that all this death and all these lies are just prolonging an Age that should be dead and gone itself. But then I hear that the suffering here prevents suffering elsewhere. That your duty is just the legacy of some dead king who feared the Dark. I was taught Pyromancy by a Witch who saw herself what coveting a flame can do to a person… Can do to the world… So I'll ask you directly, then: Can you honestly say what you're doing is the right thing? Do you think that sacrificing your soul to this Flame will do more good than harm? In five years? Ten? Fifty? Five hundred? Five hundred thousand?"

Jinta bit his lip and wasn't looking at her. "You're awfully passionate about this…"

Seiko stayed quiet, watched and waited. She ended up waiting a full minute while Jinta thought it over.

"Part of me wants to help you," she said. "If we go together, your way would be much easier. And no matter which way I choose, I'll feel like I'm betraying someone, somehow. Part of me wants to just do as Kaathe said, after hearing all this, despite how I dislike him. To just strike you down and see what the world 'should be' according to him. But a third part just wants to leave and forget I saw any of this… I can't do that. I've been taught better than that."

"Then help me. If you're on the fence about it, help me. You can stop this any time you want, can't you? I know it's a risk to myself - that having you help me to the end only means bringing you directly where you need to be do pull the rug out from under me - but maybe if you come with me, and you allow my actions to speak rather than my words, I can change your mind. You seem like you want to make the right choice, and you've certainly thought it out better than I have. I'd rather it not come to a fight between us, and I'd greatly appreciate another set of hands."

Seiko stood up. "See? Not stupid. Wishy washy, weak spirited, too passive and tolerant, but not stupid."

She held out her right hand, Jinta took it, and she lifted him off his knee. He was a full head taller than her.

"Is it normal for a Pyromancer's eyes to glow like that?" he asked.

Seiko blinked. "My eyes glow?"

"You didn't know? It's easier to see because of your hood, I think, but yes. I'll take that as a no, then."


"I take it," said Frampt, "This means you won't be a threat for now?"

"Not 'for now.' For good. I'm not the type to go back on a decision. I'll help. For better or worse, I guess, this is the path I'll take. Speaking of…"

She held out her left hand and manifested the Lord Soul shard from the Four Kings.

"The Princess tasked me with recovering this for you. She said I was the only one who could withstand the Abyss… I don't know if I can believe that, since both Tetsuro and Solaire will need to as well, but regardless, here it is."

Jinta was awestruck. "You… Killed the Four Kings on your own?"

Seiko's eyes flicked left, then right, then back to him, confused. "Yes?"

"I haven't been able to do a thing that substantial on my own since I got here. I'm very impressed. By my standards, you've done something I was worried would be impossible for me."

He accepted the soul.

"This leaves Seath, Nito, and Chaos, right?" he asked Frampt.

"Correct."

"Considering the Catacombs will likely be home to more Undead, I'd like to suggest heading there first."

"From this point, I didn't have anywhere to go, really," said Seiko. "Lead the way."


A/N: I forgot to post this for so long... It was ready for Friday... But every time I thought of posting, I was at work and couldn't, then forgot before I got home... Sorry. Next one's in the works, and should be ready on time again...