When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a vast forest.
At first, I was confused due to how familiar the forest felt, but I knew that I had never come across such a beautiful forest filled with life during my stay at Lordran.
Even the Dark root garden that was filled with trees was never as vibrant as this place.
Slowly, I reached towards my sword, Greatsword of Artorias while retrieving my shield from my back, The Giant Shield. One of the things I had learned early on when I escaped from the Undead Asylum was that if I found myself in an unknown location then the first thing I should do is prepare for battle.
While keeping my shield up and my sword ready, I slowly walked in a random direction through the forest, hoping to find some sign as to where I was.
For hours I walked without stopping while keeping vigilant, it was during these hours of walking that I had come across signs that pointed towards where I was, and yet, I firmly refused to believe in them.
There is no way that after so many centuries as the Dark Lord of Lordran, I have returned to my home, my true home. But the creatures that I had faced in this forest are those that would never be found in Lordran or any other kingdom of the world.
The Creatures of Grimm.
The creatures that were once supposed to be the bane of mankind and my supposed killers, were nothing more than a laughable joke in front of the current me, the one who has defeated creatures that can be counted as gods and stole their souls.
But the more I killed these creatures of darkness, the more I started to realized that this was not some lucid dream I had conjured up in my boredom as the Dark lord of the True Dark, nor is this a painted world that was created specifically to torment me with my past, or what little I remember of it.
This, was real, which meant that somehow, I have managed to get back to my home.
After a few more hours of walking, as the sun started to set, I came upon a very familiar sight.
Desperate to confirm that this was real and not some dream, I ran with all my might towards the gates of the familiar village.
(POV Guard)
The Guards of the Village known as Cadia were having a normal boring evening watching the gates when suddenly, they heard the sound of metal clanking, similar to the sound produced by an armored person running.
Both the guards got ready for a possible fight as their hands reached for their guns but kept it subtle, prepared to face a hostile Huntsman if the need be.
But what burst out of the forest was a tall figure covered in golden armor that gave them a pause. They knew for a fact that even with aura, it would be extremely hard to walk in a full armor like what they were seeing, let alone run in it at the extreme speeds that the figure seems to be doing. This was not counting the absolutely massive sword and shield that were strapped to the back of the person.
As the figure approached the gate, he did not even bother to stop before he increased his speed even more, nearly becoming a blur to the senses of the Guards which was not an easy feat, considering that they themselves had their aura unlocked.
"HEY! STOP-" But before the guard could shout, the stranger leapt over the closed gates and landed on the other side, and took off in another sprint.
A gate that was 60 feet tall just like the rest of the walls, sponsored by the kingdom of Mistral itself as a favor for the Arc family.
Granted, a trained Hunter could also do something like that but it would take a considerable amount of Aura to boost oneself to achieve that height, something that was not worth the effort and the Hunter would also require a foothold halfway through the jump to boost himself.
They had never seen someone clear the jump in a single leap like the figure had.
"…..Should we sound the alarm?"
"….Let's call the Mayor first, if it turns out that the guy was someone important we could end up thrown to the Grimmlands"
(POV MC)
Running through the crowded streets of Cadia, I navigated through the winding alleys and roads through the old muscle memories I did not even know I had until this day, slowly navigating my way towards the center of the village where my home is supposed to be located.
After a few minutes of running, I finally reached a massive mansion located at the center of the village, a house made out of the finest marble that Mistral could come up with and painted in the classic colors of the household.
But what truly set my heart beating was the sight of a man walking out of the house who was equipped in full plate armor and the ancestral sword of my family.
Arthur Arc, the Mayor of Cadia, and my father.
He slowly took out Crocea Mors from its sheath while also transforming it into a shield.
Pointing the blade at my face he spoke in a voice that had haunted my dreams for countless centuries.
"Are you the one who jumped over the village gate? What is your business here and why was I not informed beforehand that a Hunter was going to visit my village?"
If the Primordial Serpents were here, they would have chewed him up for showing such disrespect towards the Dark Lord, but even in the face of such rudeness, I could not help but slowly close the gap between us, intending to hug him but was stopped when he tensed his body and assumed an attack position.
My confusion at his actions was slowly replaced by realization when I remembered that I still had my helm on which made sure that he could not recognize me.
Slowly, I reached towards my helm, making sure to keep my body in a non-threatening posture while removing my helm.
I watched as his eyes widened in disbelief as his body shook, no doubt unable to believe that his once thought dead son had suddenly returned.
"….Jaune? is that you?" he whispered as his eyes roamed my face, no doubt recognizing his own son, yet finding it difficult to connect the once vibrant face of a child with the withered and famished face of the Undead in front of him.
"…Hey Dad"
He dropped his weapons and immediately enveloped me in a hug that would have been able to crush a Black Knight to death.
Slowly, I returned the hug as I felt something that I had not even dreamed of feeling for many centuries.
I felt hope once more.
Author Notes: Okay so this is only an experiment and I don't know if I will continue this, I got this idea stuck in my mind after playing through DS1 with the Giant Armor which made me think how it would suit Jaune. As for the Dark Lord stuff, that is the Ending I chose in DS1 so I decided to go ahead with it.