OH MY LORDY, IM SO LATE WITH THIS CHAPTER!1
Okay, guys and gals, things have officially become nutty. I have now done the one thing I was a little nervous of doing and that is start the official continuation of another FanFiction story alongside this one.
That why this little update took a little longer to make this time around. So huge apologies for that one, guys. As both stories are kind've a whole lot of fun put together.
But before I let you guys get to the newest chapter, I'd like to answer...
A few comments that caught my eye.
Questioner- How does it feel to have been working on a basically novel sized fanfic for the better part of five years? Can you see the end of the road, or will this become a decade long passion project?
My Response-Hot damn. I didn't even realize it's been that long since I started this old tale of mine. It's definitely been a heck of a ride with writing it up, but seeing the end of the road? My man, with the insane way I've added all these new variable and new character paths, I'm pretty much driving with my map turned upside down. In other words, forget the end of the road, I don't even have a clue how the hell I ended up where I am.
Napster153- Now, now, I'm not opposed to some hot(hehe) Dragon on Spider action, but that last phrase from he sister about a "a big demon" has me kinda shook. Oh god, I've been to one too many wrong places (I have standards! Only vanilla).
Also, just how many people are going to Anor Londo at this point? I'm more concerned just HOW their getting there. Sen's Fottress is an absolute no go without the main squad and there's just no telling what awaits from within the mountains.
My Response- Poor, sweet, summer child...No one can resist the Spider-waifu's. To deny them is to deny yourself. Join us on the non-vanilla side...we have cookies.
As for everyone going to Anor Londo, I'll be honest, I am completely making this up as I go along. Though I'm still on the wall about the spider sister and Oscar, the others are on track for the the death trap that is Sen's Fortress in my mind so far as I assume all other paths to city and the Lordvessle are closed off. It would only make sense for Gwyndolin to do so, I think.
Aran- Man I love this story. The spider thing? Yes. Go for it. Absolutely.
One concern I have though with how this is starting to go is it's starting to get a bit like Dragon Ball, in that the characters are getting so powerful that there's not really anything to compare them to. DB started as a show where a child beat up martial artists for the laughs, but now people are 'strong enough to destroy the multiverse in 1 punch" and "shake the infinite void"... but are still punching people.
I think Gwyndolin should be RIDICULOUSLY powerful, but not through raw strength. He's powerful because he's versatile. His illusions could be soldiers, cages, spying tools, all sorts of things. And that's where the story should be, if it's going there.
The Prophet Squad mostly focuses on raw strength, like Siegmeyer and Yuria, and Oscar too. Even where they are now, I'd say that in a straight fight, they'd probably win against Anor Londo. But that's the issue. Gwyndolin should NEVER give them that fight.
Strength and raw power should be less of a factor than careful planning, tactical saavy, and a bit of cheating (given Velka, Kaylen, and Yuria all know more than Gwyndolin probably thinks they do.) Gwyndolin has unlimited troops, after all.
Besides, it'd be good to have other things be a threat too. Like still getting got by rando hollows because the Squad is super overconfident at this point, just like ingame. Or something like that, anyway.
Also I like the idea that Yuria is held in check by Ana. That obsession makes her incredibly dangerous though. Should be a rematch between her and Kaylen later.
Oh also I forgot something. Is it that Kaylen gets stronger PERMANENTLY when he gets hurt? Because how I internalized it was that he gets more dangerous the more damage he's taken until he's unconscious, dead, or healed (through magic, or just by resting). Because otherwise, he seems like a guy who would ABSOLUTELY abuse that ability by having Ana or Reah heal him as he repeatedly stabs himself to get stronger.
My Response (This one's a doozy)- Trust me, bro, I hear the concern loud and clear. Defining Gwyndolin's exact limits with his illusions and ensuring he uses the tactically is one of the more difficult things I've been working on in the story, but its also one that I take as a personal challenge. I don't want the fight against Gwyndolin to be watered down. The only two defining weaknesses that I've put in place for Gwyndolin to have is that without his Catalyst he can't preform illusions, nothing he makes is indestructible and that his frail body can be overwhelmed if pushed to far, as shown when the Darkwraiths invaded Anor Londo.
Gwyndolin is powerful by technicality, not strength. And I fully plan to lean into that. I keep in mind that if he had prep time and forewarning of the squads intentions, Gwyndolin could handle them with illusions. So the biggest and most important factor in telling the tale, is ALL about what I have Velka do with the element of surprise she has. Cause once the cats out of the bag, shits gonna hit the fan and hit it hard.
As for Kaylen's little power boost, I'm here to let you know that its not like a saiyan power boost. His pyromancy will only increase proportionally to the current physical damage he's sustained. Once he get's healed, his power will return to normal. So definitely no "Stab me so I become stronger" business going on here, my friend.
Anasazi Darkmoon- Dragon!Oscar and Spider!Waifu should definitely be a thing. Between them, I imagine they could breed some kind of badass monstrosity that makes the Gaping Dragon look reasonable. Also, the idea that sweet, self-sacrificing Quelaan is a huge pervert is just extra hilarious.
Hey, would someone (Quelaag, maybe?) going and beating the shit out of the Centipede Demon and getting the Charred Orange Ring back help Ceaseless Discharge? That'd probably go a long way to getting him to climb the walls of Anor Londo to go punch Seath in the face. Is he going to be given a name? If so, are you going to make one up, or use the one from the Daughters of Ash mod? And what about Quelana? Is she going to show up, and is Quelaag going to throw an almighty bitch-fit at her for having abandoned them? I imagine Quelaan would be more forgiving.
And finally, I'm glad Kirk kicked the Merchant's ass. He's a jackass, anyway. Someone should totally go get Veeheehee and her store of moss and extremely useful poison arrows, though.
My Response- Okay firstly, I didn't even think about what the heck a child between Oscar and either of the Spider Sister would look like. I'm almost reasonable sure it would be one of the most powerful creature in all of Dark Souls though. After all, it would be a 1/4 human, 1/4 god, 1/4 dragon and 1/4 demon. Holy Christ thats one hell of a combination.
Secondly, I haven't given much though on the ceaseless discharge quite yet to be honest. Currently, I'm running with the thought that he's a really young kid, little more than a toddler, thats been turned into a massive, pain ridden monster. But that storyline sort of thinking might change along the way. But I appreciate the tid bit about the daughters of ash mod as that's not a bad idea.
And lastly, GODDAMIT, I FORGOT ABOUT QUELANA! UGH! Crap, I have no idea how I'm gonna fix that little mistake. Ugh, such an awesome family moment shouldn't just be "And then the two sister bumped into their other sister on the way out." But maybe I could bend the rules a little and have dragon Oscar now able to see her on his way to see the sister one last time? Just a spit ball.
Alright, dear readers. That's all I have to say this time around. Hope you guys enjoy the newest chapter.
Warning: Do not read this sign, please. (What the heck, guys, I even said please.)
It's quite the distressing feeling to be made perfectly aware of just how insignificant one's life truly is.
A reality both Reah and Vince were made to face with each step forward they took.
Despite the words of courage and determination they may have spoken, the two clerics were both painfully conscious of just how little they mattered in the grand scheme of things.
They weren't gods, they held no significant talents or advanced sorcery to give them an edge and with the little experience they held in combat, they barely amounted to being called warriors. In fact, it could be said with a fair amount of certainty that when they died, their names probably wouldn't even amount to more than a passing thought on anyone's minds.
Yet still, even with all this firmly present at the forefront of their minds, they both chose to push forward despite it all. Such was the nature of humanity.
"Vince…" Reah said lowly as they made their way through Undead Burg, the hollows all already having been killed.
"Yes?"
"Once this is all over, we're going go back and retrieving Nico's body for that tomb. We're going to fight through whatever monsters' dwell within it and we're going to give him the proper burial he deserves." Reah exclaimed resolutely. "And after that, we're going to return to Thorolund and restore our home to the beacon of faith and hope that it once was. We'll start by rallying the people, then work on establishing cooperation with the neighboring lands. That's what in store for us when all is said and done. Agreed?"
At this, Vince could not stop a smirk from firm on his lips at hearing such an outrageous and unlikely goal. But not once did he think of ridiculing Reah's hopefulness. She was always the more ambitions of them, even when they were both children.
"Agreed. There will be a lot of work to do once all this is wrapped up, but we'll handle it without a problem." He responded with a nod of his head and a half-hearted smile. It was then that a thought occurred to him. "Maybe that's why he went so far to save us in the first place. Because he knew we would be up to the task."
Reah perked up noticeably at this comment. It was entirely possible, wasn't it? The Prophet saw the future clear as day, so if anyone would know of the effect they could have on their home, it would doubtlessly be him.
"Yes, of course. That explains a great deal. He even set us on the path of forming our own covenant. He had to have seen the future we'd make through our efforts." Reah said with a smile as she held her head up proudly. Honestly just wanting to think of anything beyond their impending death or corruption.
From that point on the two progressed forward smoothly enough without much trouble. It wasn't long until the stood before the entrance of the sewer. The door still standing wide open as if to welcome them inside.
The clerics hesitated for a moment before taking one last deep breath of the fresh night air and walk forward through the sewer door.
The stench was the very first thing that became apparent, followed by the pitch darkness that came with being surrounded by the moldy stone of any underground pathway. Once their vision adjusted and they forced their minds to accept the smell, the two felt only slightly more secure with themselves as they made their way through the halls and upon what Reah knew would be the sight of the "Kitchen" from before.
However, unlike before, the bloodied limbs and appendages that were scattered across the room were gone. With the only evidence that they had been there at all being the trace signs of dried blood along the floor.
It was as if someone had decided to clean the place up a bit.
So focused on taking in the scenery were the two that they did not notice as a man walk up behind them with nary a sound.
"Boo." He exclaimed dryly purposefully trying to draw attention to himself, quickly causing Reah to gasp and Vince to turn around and snap to attention with his shield and Morningstar ready for a fight. But the man nonchalantly walked past them both without halting his step until he was standing directly in front of the two. "Tragic. Even a novice would know to always keep an eye on the rear. Can't you two even manage that much?"
"Cresty? What are you doing here?" Reah said as stared at the man before her in genuine befuddlement for a few moments before her mind caught back up with her and she realized what was happening. "Wait, I don't believe it…You've decided to stand with us?!"
"Don't ask stupid questions and don't call me "Cresty"." He said with an annoyed sigh. "There's no reason to get talkative. It's nothing to speak of, really."
"No, no, no, you don't get to grump your way out of this. You, of all people, have decided to stand and fight for the world and its people?" Reah said with a bright smile on her face, looking genuinely pleased at this development.
"Well, I'm not surprised in the least. I have known that you were kind of heart and strong of will for some time now." Vince said with an affirming nod of his head.
"Well then, considering the circumstances, I think there's only one step left for us to take for you now." Reah said as she approached the knight with a smile on her lips and a nod of her head. "Welcome to the Way of Blue, brother. Know that your efforts will not be in vain. Together, we will overcome this shadow that looms over the world and restore the hope of those within it."
Hearing this, the knight visibly sighed in a drained manner. It hadn't even been ten minutes and he'd already felt like these two were more annoying than two mosquito's buzzing in his ear.
Still though, he'd already made up his mind on this. No point in turning back now that he'd came all this way.
"…Clerics. Always droning on and on about nothing." The knight said plainly, not at all hiding his disposition, before turning around and continuing to walk forward through the bloodied kitchen. "Whatever. Tell yourself what you wish about me and you little club. It's not as if I care."
RUMBLE
Suddenly, a heavy tremor shook the dirtied ground and walls around them. Acting in the same fashion one would expect of a small earthquake.
"And I'm willing to bet that that's the Prophet's friend making all that ruckus." The knight said, seemingly indifferent to change of his surroundings. "Better go see what mess he's gotten into then."
With that, the solemn knight led the way forward with sword and shield in hand. Reah and Vince were quick to follow behind him down the tunneled pathway of the sewer.
One might think they'd have trouble finding their way through the maze of the depths, but that problem quickly solved itself as an unheard-of number of bodies lay death along their path. Ranging from hollows, to blight infected giant rats, to whatever the hell those things with the bulging wide eyes were. They simply had to follow the path of destruction.
The crestfallen knight simply stepped over each of them with barely any hint of acknowledgment at all. But Reah and Vince did their best to skirt around all the blood and carnage as they followed the trail.
Wanting to focus on anything but the literal trail of corpses they were following, Reah spoke up to the knight.
"We really do appreciate it. You coming with us to help." She exclaimed in a heartfelt tone.
For a few moments, there was but silence as the knight kept his gaze and focus on moving forward. But eventually, he did offer a response.
"This is all a fool's errand. If I was smart, I'd let you two walk off to die and finally get some peace…yet here I am anyway." The knight said plainly with a sigh. "Pitiful, really. If even gods are running for the hills, what chance do we have?"
"Its nots pitiful find the will to stand and fight despite the odds we face." Reah responded passionately. "We don't have to be gods to have hope in our hearts."
"Heh, heh, heh…Hope, huh?" The knight laughed dryly, as if he'd just hear the most ridiculous thing in the world. "Having "hope" has already gotten one of your friends killed. For all any of us know, everyone outside of Lordran has already hollowed and gone mad. Leaving nothing behind to fight for but rocks and rubble. That boy you two are so eager to run to help could dead or dying as we speak. You tell me cleric, how much "hope" do we actually have?"
At this, a heavy silence fell between the three of them. He was right on all accounts; of that no one could dispute. The fact that he threw reality in their face so harshly only further served to drive his point home.
But even still, Reah kept her head held high as she responded to his words in kind. Though she did not do it with a speech of faith or anything of the sort.
Instead, she started by telling the knight quite firmly…
"You're an asshole."
So out of place and abnormal was the sound of her saying such a thing, that the Crestfallen Knight's mind actually paused to consider if he had actually just heard that right.
"What?" the knight said with a raised eyebrow.
"I said you're an asshole." She repeated with a bit more fierceness than before. "You walk about moping about how hard life is or how we're fools for even trying, but you want to know something? You could have stayed at Firelink Shrine or even decided to completely leave Lordran all together if you wanted, yet here you are choosing to walk amongst the feces and filth of a sewer with us. Clearly, there must be at least a shred of hope laying around to make that happen. And if we are nothing more than fools for chasing that shred of hope, then what exactly does that make you?"
Hearing this, hearing her absolutely throw all of that in his face, Cresty honestly could not be more at a loss for words. He could only blink in surprise as she glared at him pointedly.
"Exactly. You're just as mad and idiotic as the rest of us. So I'll tell you what, if you so badly need a reason to hope and come up with nothing, just tell yourself Reah, leader of the Way of Blue, said it would all be okay." Reah said with finality as she turned her nose up at him proudly. "Any other questions?"
Vince looked back and forth between the two of them, not at all expecting his friend to say such a thing to anyone. Hell, Reah wasn't exactly sure where such bravado was coming from either, but the result was definitely something she would stand by.
"Hm…I suppose not." The knight said in a bit of an embarrassed fashion, unable to come up with a retort on hand.
KROOSH
Suddenly, what could only be described as the deafening striking of thunder ripped through the tunnel. Causing all but the crestfallen knight to quickly cover their ears to escape the sound.
The source was close. The ringing in their ears made that fact painfully clear to them all. But even if it didn't, the very loud and noticeable made giggling would have made it obvious.
"Alright then. Let us go save the world." Reah said with a nod as she moved ahead of the group and lead the way through a pathway that took them to a flight of stair leading upward. Of which the wasted little time ascending.
At the top of the stairs, wearing but a scant few pieces of fabric that only just barely hid her breast and made her decent, was a lone woman that cheered and hollered at something over the edge of a stone balcony to something below.
"WHOO HOO! YES! WHOO! WHOO!"
"Mildred." Reah called out to get her attention.
At the sound of her name being called, the woman in question quickly turned around in surprise. The instant she saw who was behind her did the bright smile she sported fall from her face.
"Ugh…" she exclaimed in disgust before simply trotting away off to the side and out of view of the group ascending the stairway.
"Hey, wait a minute. We're looking for Solaire. It's important that we find and speak with-. By the gods!" Reah said as she made it to the top and moved to follow the half-naked woman. Only for her eyes to glance over the balcony to where Mildred was cheering before.
Once she saw what was below, she was hard pressed to stop her eye's from immediately shooting open as wide as they could possibly go.
"Reah? What is it?" Vince said as he and the crestfallen knight made it up the stairs behind her, only to see that Reah was frozen in place staring down below. "Did you find-. Egads!"
Much like his friend before him, Vince couldn't help it but stop and go wide eyed with shock at what he saw. Even the crestfallen knight, who didn't so much as bat an eye at the trail of bodies that lead them here, stood completely dumbfounded.
For sitting down below them all, in a wide and spacious chamber, was the towering and monstrous form of a nightmarish creature with rows upon rows of teeth lining the entire lower half of its body like a giant gaping maw.
But that wasn't what made them all stare in disbelief.
What they all were focused on was the fact that it looked like something had blown apart a huge chunk of flesh from the monster's upper body and left it nothing more than an unmoving corpse.
And standing before it, looking as picturesque as David having just slain the mighty Goliath, was a lone man with the crude picture of a sun drawn on his chest. Though soon enough, he was beset by an giggling and ecstatic Mildred, who giddily ran up and hugged him from behind.
After staring at the beast for a few more seconds to actually check to see if they were not all collectively going insane, the group proceeded to follow a path Mildred took off to the side and made their way down a flight of stairs to greet the two.
Though their disbelief only grew that much more once they realized that the monster was even larger than they thought up close. Big enough that it made the drake that guarded the bridge in Undead Burg look like nothing more than a puppy.
"Ha! Dumb teeth thing! Should have kept mouth shut!"
"Now now, we should not mock such a creature. Our pity is all that should be aroused. It's clearly afflicted with by some blight of the darkness." Solaire responded casually.
"Well, now it un-flicted with deads. And meat is all ours!" Mildred said, practically drooling at the thought what she could do with it all.
"No, we are definitely not going to eat that. There's no telling what's inside it or where it's been. We will leave it to remain here. I'll try to find a way to burn it to cinders later, that I may not spread its cursed flesh to other creatures that lurk about."
"What? No~." Mildred whined dramatically. "So much we could make. You wasteful, Sahler."
"Heh, no need to be like that. I promise I'll make it up to you later, alright? We'll-"
"Ahem." Reah coughed into her hand successfully gaining the attention of the two and causing Solaire to turn around with Mildred still hanging on to him.
"Oh, hello there. When did you three get here?" Solaire said brightly, as if he wasn't standing before the mangled body of a now dead abomination.
"We have only just arrived." Reah responded, pointing an accusatory look at Mildred for completely ignoring them. A look that Mildred of course promptly ignored. "It is good to see the two of you are in good health, Solaire. But…uh…what is that thing behind you and what happened to it exactly?"
"Ah, that? I don't rightly know what it is. But such a creature was long due to be released from its accursed existence. And so, I simply made it my task to show it the brilliance of the sun and end its misery."
"Stupid teeth lizard mess with sun! So Sahler threw spark and kill lizard!" Mildred said, letting go of her hold and delivering a swift kick to the monster's unmoving body. As if to further insult it for the fatal error of having crossed the sunlight warrior
At this sight, Solaire merely laughed heartily.
"I suppose that's one way of putting it." He exclaimed as he watched her display.
For a few moments, the group merely marveled at his claimed victory. Some of them even went so far as to lament that they missed seeing what happened by a mere minute or two. But eventually, they were returned to reality and the situation at hand.
"So might I ask what you three have come all the way down here for? It's quite treacherous and I'm afraid I don't have the time to spare." Solaire said plainly to the group.
"That's just it. We are here to tell you that things have become quite dire in your absence. Velka has revealed everything to us all about the flame and the state of the world. She came to the shrine to seek help and spoke of a coming battle within Anor Londo. Apparently, she seeks to challenge the gods within to protect the Prophet."
At this, the jovial atmosphere and lighthearted tone Solaire held disappeared completely. Fully showing just how serious he was taking her words and the situation presented to him.
"I see. I had hoped I had a bit more time to hone myself, but if Velka reached out to those outside of her kind, then things must have truly escalated." The sunlight warrior said as he walked past the group, wanting to get a move on as soon as possible. "Let us head back topside. You can explain everything along the way."
Though it did come off as more than a bit rude when Mildred roughly pushed Vince out of her way to better stay directly at Solaire's side, the others wasted little time in following in the sunlight warrior's footsteps to leave.
Elsewhere
Yuria was not pleased.
Anastacia could tell that much from the fact that she hadn't said a word about the Prophet the entire trip back through the forest.
Siegmeyer was keeping up, but it was clear something was wrong with him early on. Once Anna had worked up the courage to question it, she learned that he was powering through a great many bruises and perhaps a few fractured bones from a previous battle he'd had.
At learning this, the keeper took more than a small bit of pride in stepping forward and saying that she could remedy his pain without worry. It took more than a handful of tries and she needed to rest for moments to catch her breath after a few of them, but she had made herself useful and healed his body.
With quick thanks, they were on their way once more without any further word.
Once they finally reached the tower entrance to Undead Burg and Siegmeyer retrieved the two broken pieces of armor, the cracked gauntlet and the helmet he'd left behind, Yuria finally spoke up.
"Yeah, that's right. Pick up all of your failure." She said with clear distaste in her tone, even as Siegmeyer was clearly thrown off balance from trying to carry the pieces of armor in one hand and the Dragon Tooth in the other. "We're lucking they were broken in big chunks like that and not smaller pieces. Now let's get a move on. It quite the walk away from here to Andre."
"It would be better if we all took a piece to help, wouldn't it?" Anastacia said as she walked up to do just that. "I can try and carry at least one-OH!"
Just as she tried to grab a single piece of the broken armor, the keeper found that even just that piece alone seemed to weigh half a ton and caused her to nearly fall forward as it brought her down to the floor.
Seeing this, Yuria walked forward, took the piece in both hands and, with no small amount of effort herself, place the part back atop the others in Siegmeyer's arm.
"Nice try, but only those with great strength or bearing some sort of magic could hope to carry even a small part of that armor. Hence why Siegmeyer will carry them all." Yuria explained. "Besides, it's the least he could do to fix his screw up."
"Don't worry about me, Anastacia. The weight is hardly noticeable. I can make the trek easily." Siegmeyer said, remaining quite positive despite Yuria's wording.
"Then let's not waste any more time discussing it." Yuria said with a nod. "Oh, and Dusk, if you're going to just poof back to the past, just do it already. But please do not keep fading in and out like that. It's very distracting."
"What?" Dusk said before looking down at her body only to see that she was indeed becoming ghostly transparent for a moment and then returning to normal the next.
"Is that normal?" Anastacia asked concerningly.
"She's a time displaced woman meddling in a world whose time is being held together by a thread. Nothing about her normal." Yuria said nonchalantly as she moved toward the stairs that would lead them up the tower. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she imploded any second now."
"That's not really going to happen though, right?" Dusk said clearly put off by the statement, only for Yuria to ignore her, Siegmeyer to follow her up the stairs and Anastasia to apologize softly before doing the same.
She was not given much choice but to try not to think about that possibility.
Getting to the top of the tower stairs proved to be a slow endeavor as Siegmeyer had to balance his already large weapon with the chunks of armor in his arms, but eventually they made it to the top and arrived once again to Undead Burg.
But the journey back to the Firelink Shrine and to the elevator that would lead to the parish was still a fairly long one.
"So you're from the past?" Anastacia curiously asked Dusk, breaking the silence between the group.
"Indeed. For a very long time, I was trapped within a Crystal Golem. From my home I was taken, and banish'd to a plane of distortion. It was there, that Sir Siegmeyer came to my rescue. Long after I had relinquished all hope." Dusk responded with a thankful look in her eyes. "So gleeful was I, my faith reneweth."
"I see. Well, I'm glad that he was able to save you from such a fate. It must have been quite frightful." Anastacia said kindly, sympathizing with the woman's former predicament. "I know that that forest may not have set a good example, but I'd like you to know that things can be quite nice in our time. I just know the future going forward has to be very bright now that you are free of it and that you will make many a friend."
"I thank thee for thy kindness. It is quite pleasant change to hear such words in these troubling times." Dusk replied with a smile. "I wish the same good fortune to thee as well in thy search of the Prophet you seek. If he is as kindhearted as thee, then it would surely be a pity if anything were to befall him."
"Indeed. Though I do wish he would take better care of himself, the Prophet is quite the kind man." Anastacia said with a smile of her own. "But wait, Yuria said that he is to save you in the past somehow, right? Then doesn't that mean that if you are here now that we will be successful?"
At this, the red robed woman that led them felt that she had to speak up on the matter. Giving only the most appropriate answer to it all present
"It's best not to think about it, Anna. It'll only give you a headache." Yuria advised offhandedly.
"We shouldn't think about it? But why not?" the keeper questioned.
"Because dealing with time travel the more you try to figure things out, the more confusing it becomes." Yuria explained simply. "By knowing things, you don't really know anything."
"But the Prophet does it all the time, doesn't he? Changing the outcome of things by knowing and considering them beforehand?" Siegmeyer chimed in.
"That's different, Siegmeyer." Yuria said with a roll of her eye's.
"How is it different? If we know what's going to happen and Dusk is standing here because of it, doesn't that mean that we can safely assume-."
"Okay, fine. You want a headache trying to dwell on this? Here you go." Yuria said, quite honestly very unwilling to hear the onion knight ramble on. "The reason it's pointless to dwell on the past is because it is constantly changing….except when it's not. My lord went back in time to kill Manus because history says Manus was defeated, and history says he was defeated because my lord went back to kill him. Past, present, future. If anything changed beyond that, we wouldn't be able to acknowledge it because our current selves are always going to be the cause of it. Whatever is going to happen has already happened and everything we do before traveling to the past will only lead to the same outcome. Unless, of course, the tear in time that Manus created somehow held enough power to create an ever-expanding tree of timelines, with a new bunch of branching paths created for every decision that is made after we go back. There is a reason my master does not dwell on this matter. Do you need me to keep going or can we all just agree to not think about it?"
True to her words, every single person walking alongside Yuria were all now sporting mild headache's trying to wrap their heads around anything she just told them. Eventually, they're mind simply decided to give up and let it be, much like one would give up solving a math problem far beyond their level.
"Uh...no, you don't have to keep going. I'll just take you word on it next time." Siegmeyer said, completely thrown for a loop.
"Good. See that you do." Yuria said in a gruff as the group made their way down the stairs of some home and walked through the entrance the forked into Lower Undead Burg and the path back to Firelink Shrine. "Gods, I think I'd rather take Oscar back than deal with this and least he-"
Yuria stopped in her tracks and her words caught in her throat as she walked into the area that held the forked path, only to see the Merchant standing in the path back to Firelink shrine. Or at least she thought it was the merchant. It was a bit hard to recognize him at the moment with so much of his face as swollen and bruised as it was.
Though Yuria of course was far more focused on the individual was currently standing behind the merchant. That person being the most infamous Red phantom in all the lands and Quelaag's personal hunting dog, Kirk.
But that focus was quickly shifted as the creaking of a rusty steel door rang out as Solaire marched towards the two men with his sword drawn.
"You…" he said in a dangerously low voice as he drew closer and closer.
Seeing the absolute monster of a man stomping toward him, the merchant decided to take his chances and dramatically dived away from the spike armored man.
Not paying the man he'd beaten the slightest bit of attention; Kirk didn't retreat a single step as the sunlight warrior walked forward until they were both face to face and locking eyes with one another.
"We have unfinished business." Solaire threatened outright.
"…." Kirk said with a glare that matched the sunlight warrior's own.
THUMP-THUMP
"Do we have a problem here?" Siegmeyer said as he promptly dropped the pieces of armor he was carrying and readied himself to back Solaire up.
As if to sit the cherry on top, Mildred as well as Reah and the rest all came from the same entrance the sunlight warrior came through and quickly prepped themselves for a fight as well without hesitation. Not knowing what else to do otherwise, Anastacia and Dusk readied their talisman and catalyst respectively to support in any way they could.
The only one that was not swayed by the moment was Yuria, who had but one thing to say to everyone present.
"Hey! This sort of event can't happen without my lord present!"
HOLD THE PHONE! WAIT, ONE GOSH DANG MINUTE!
Okay, Firstly, I'd like to say that I'm definitely going a lot farther with Reah and the gang than I originally planned. This whole chapter just kinda took on a life of its own, but I'm definitely liking what I came up with for the little nobodies.
Secondly, I hope you guys enjoyed the little tease of Solaire newfound power with the death of the Gaping Dragon. I didn't think I could write out a full fight between them without it spoiling things a bit for the old sunlight warrior in the Anor Londo battle, so I decided to just put in a little taste of things this time around.
Thirdly, before anyone says anything, Yes, It is a bit overkill and unfair that everyone's ganging up on old Kirky this time around. And yes, I find the entire scene to be a completely hilarious one to imagine. But I will also say that in my mind, other than Solaire, Siegmeyer and just barely cresty everyone else stands very little chance when dealing with someone like Kirk. I want there to be a reason why Kirk is infamous in every land and why he's as feared as he is without propping him up as completely unbeatable. Its a very fine line to walk, but I think I can pull it off.
Fourthly, for anyone who is wondering, I don't plan to leave Vince out to dry on the development stage of things. But I feel that his time to shine will have to be where it counts: in the fight where he can prove himself as the number one rookie. I'll keep working on what exactly I'm gonna have him do, but know that I have a sort of personals love for the underdogs no one expects much out of. So expect great things.
And lastly, if you guys wouldn't mind it, I'd appreciate it if you checked out the other Dark Souls story I'd put up. I haven't seen many stories on the good old days of Lordran with gods and humans, so I put together a fun little tale asking the question "What would happen if our favorite goddess of Sin met our favorite human jokester at the height of Lordran's power?" Obviously, shenanigans ensue. So feel free to give that a read.
But that's all I got to say this time around, guys and gals.
As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Was Reah a bit too out of character calling cresty and asshole? Should Cresty have had a bit more to say in response? Did Yuria's brief explanation of the insanity of time travel make any sense whatsoever?
Honest opinions are always appreciated as I'm always looking to improve my style of writing to make this story a bit more interesting for you guys. so don't be shy in telling me your thoughts about how things are going so far. Outside opinions will have a huge effect on how this story will play out.
This is Supreme Gamer, Signing out.
P.S. Do you guys think I should write out a chapter dedicated to Solaire and Mildred's time spent together? I keep starting it, but then telling myself "Dude, no. We gotta move forward to the big battle." So I'm sorta on the wall of should I go through with it or if its a bit to late in the game. But I do love the idea of telling the tale of how these two find common ground and change one another.
P.P.S. Don't you guys judge me for being a hopeless romantic.