Sorry for the delay, I've been a little busy this week.
I will end this arc in the next chapter, then I will make a series of one-shot universes instead of another long arc.
The trio made their way back to the Undead Parish, meeting Tsuyu alone in the church and repairing their equipment with Hatsume. Once they were ready, they made their way to the fortress where they met Kirishima, the gate was now open.
"So the bells were really used to open this fortress." Nezu smiled.
SEN'S FORTRESS
As soon as the knights entered, they stepped on a pressure plate. Knives flew into them, stabbing deep on Izuku's chest.
"IZUKU!" Inko yelled as she gripped her son's arm.
"Calm down, mom! I'm fine." Izuku's arm was starting to hurt from all the gripping.
The pyromancer took the knives out and drank an Estus, the wounds healing automatically. The warriors made their way carefully, crossing narrow bridges while dodging giant blades hanging on the ceiling and fighting serpent men on the dangerous terrain.
"Yep, as bad as it sounded." Izuku said, remembering what the Kingseeker had called the fortress.
They carefully avoided another pressure plate and found a sleeping serpent man leaning on a wall. They tried to pass stealthy in an above bridge but a giant rock rolled beneath it, crushing the serpent man and breaking the wall. They decided to find a way of disarming the trap before exploring the now opened path.
"Smart, don't want to be crushed by a boulder." Ojiro said.
The trio moved to the next area. As they crossed a narrow corridor, Kirishima stepped on a pressure plate. Knives came from behind them, sinking deep on Kaminari's back who was the last in line. Another Estus was drunk as they decided to let Izuku lead the group instead.
"A terrible place, but such an effective trap system." Nezu analyzed the design of the fortress.
As they moved to the next area, a giant rock passed in front of them, almost crushing the trio as they quickly stepped back. They waited for the next rock and ran, barely dodging another one as they reached the top, finding the source of the rocks. They spun the trap, sending the rocks to a free fall. With the trap effectively disarmed, they backtracked to the broken wall they found earlier.
The path that was now open had a few cages hanging. In one of the cages, a single prisoner wearing a large hat that covered his face was sitting. The trio approached with caution.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked carefully.
"Certainly, and so are you from what I can observe. My name is Shota Aizawa, but most people just call me Big Hat Aizawa. Would you free me?" The man said, lifting his head to reveal tired eyes and an unkept beard. Kirishima broke the lock, freeing the man.
"Big hat?" Aizawa said in annoyance. His co-workers laughed.
"Thanks, I will be returning to Firelink now. Seek me out if you wish to learn sorcery." The man walked away, assuring his saviors that he would be fine alone.
"So now Midoriya will learn ANOTHER type of magic? How is that fair?" Mineta said as Izuku sinked in his chair.
The knights returned to the room where they disarmed the rock trap and climbed the staircase to the next area. After walking through narrow bridges and avoiding pressure plates, the trio found themselves at the roofs of the fortress. As they walked through a bridge, a bomb exploded in front of them, they turned around and saw a giant on a superior level throwing bombs at them.
"A giant?" Kaminari said.
"He looks smaller than Mt Lady…" Izuku estimated the giant's height.
The group ran to take cover, bombs exploding behind them. They ran until they found a fog wall with a staircase going up, they went up the stairs and found the giant with his bombs. The creature was taller than a house, the knights barely reaching its knees.
The giant attacked, his movements were powerful but slow. The knights slashed the giant, but their weapons merely scratched his thick skin.
"They can't damage the giant." Iida said.
"If he is that durable normally, imagine with my quirk!" Kirishima imagined a giant with hardened skin, the creature would be unstoppable.
"Quick! To the fortress! I have a plan." Izuku shouted as they ran back to the building, the giant tried to catch them but he was too slow. Izuku threw a fireball at the bombs behind their enemy, exploding them and incinerating the giant alive as the trio was thrown back by the sheer force of the explosion.
"That was so metal." Jiro said.
"...manly…" Kirishima was wide eyed.
"Nice explosion." Bakugo smiled silently.
The trio crossed the fog wall, meeting a gigantic armored enemy with an axe in an open area.
"Is that another giant?" All Might asked himself.
"Doesn't look like it, it's body proportions are different. Maybe a golem of some kind? The black knights from earlier were just souls inside armors." Nezu theorized.
Kaminari threw lightning spears, Izuku threw fire balls and Kirishima tanked. The enemy pulled his axe back and slashed the air, wind blades cutting deep on the wall behind the ranged fighters as they barely dodged the attack.
"He has wind powers." Todoroki thought about the wind guy from Shiketsu High.
"A strong body and powerful ranged attacks, a good combination." Aizawa said.
The trio kept attacking but nothing could pass the armor. At one point, the enemy grabbed Kaminari and threw him away, his body flying away from the fortress.
"Dead again." Kaminari said nonchalantly, disturbingly used to seeing his other self dying.
"DENKI!" Izuku screamed, looking at the spot where his companion's body flew to. He didn't hear his other companion screaming as the giant metal warrior smashed him with his axe, killing him instantly.
"NOT AGAIN!" Inko screamed, grabbing her son's arm again as he quietly said that it hurted.
"Damn you!" Kirishima screamed as he bulldozed the giant, screaming as they both fell from the fortress.
"Shitty hair, what the fuck?" Bakugo was shocked in witnessing his friend's suicide.
"What? They can't really die, right?" Kirishima was as nonchalant as Kaminari at this point.
Kirishima woke up at the bonfire above the blacksmith, his companions waiting for him.
"I think I got him!" Kirishima laughed.
"We saw." Kaminari said.
"Did you really need to jump with him? Couldn't you just...I don't know, push him off?" Izuku asked.
"I'm not strong enough to move such a gigantic enemy, but my bodyweight did the trick." The onion knight answered. The trio made their way back to the top of the fortress and found the fog wall missing, confirming the enemy's death.
"I guess he really got the guy." Ashido said.
"Reckless, reckless and stupid." Aizawa mumbled.
The group walked to the center of the arena and were snatched by flying demon bats, they screamed as the demons flew away.
"First a giant crow, now flying demon bats? What's up with this world's transportation methods?" Sero questioned.
The demons dropped the knights at the top of a staircase, a majestic palace with a golden city around it in front of them.
"That's...that's beautiful…" Uraraka admired the scenery.
"As sparkling as moi." Aoyama smiled.
"Looks alot like the Milan Cathedral." Nezu smiled.
ANOR LONDO
The trio went down the stairs, admiring the place.
"So this is Anor Londo…" Kaminari had no words to describe what he was seeing, it was everything he ever dreamed of.
"It's beautiful…" Izuku said.
They made their way through the palace, fighting giant guards on their way until they found a bonfire, a knight in brass armor was leaning on the wall of the chamber.
"Well, you are a rare visitor. Welcome to the lost city of Anor Londo, chosen Undead. If you seek Lord Gwyn's old keep, exit here and head straight yonder. If you are the chosen one, a revelation shall visit thee. … What follows thereafter, depends upon you…" The knight said in a familiar feminine voice.
"I think that's me." Jiro said, surprised to be included.
"Who are you, m'lady?" Kirishima asked.
"I am the keeper of this fire, if you need to rest then go ahead, that is, after all, what a bonfire is for." The woman answered.
"A Firekeeper just like Uraraka was." Todoroki said, many got uncomfortable remembering the other Firekeeper's lifeless body.
The trio followed the Firekeeper's direction, going down through an elevator and crossing a bridge. After climbing a massive staircase they found the front doors open, finding it weird that there was no guard in the palace.
"Why is the palace desert? I thought it was supposed to be the home of the gods or something like that…" Izuku started to mutter.
"Maybe it's lunch time?" Sero said.
Entering the main hall, they find Bakugo sitting on the stairs in front of a fog wall along with two other people. A warrior with a spear and a mage.
"Fancy meeting you here, I assume you want that woman's soul, right?" He said with a malicious smile.
"You're dead." Izuku frowned as his companions drew their weapons.
"I thought you were wiser, but I thought wrong!" He drew his own weapons. "Kill them." He ordered his own companions as a fight broke between the six warriors.
Bakugo frowned at his counterpart, just a murderer in his eyes. A coward who hides behind his more skillful bodyguards.
Kirishima fought the lancer while Kaminari fought the mage. Izuku attacked Bakugo.
"I knew it, from the moment I first saw you. I knew you weren't a good person." Izuku said with hatred as he swung his sword with one hand while releasing flame bursts with the other.
"That bastard is copying me!" Bakugo screamed, noticing how much the flame bursts looked like his explosions.
"I doubt." Todoroki said.
"A good person? Really? There are no 'good people' in the real world like they do in your fantasies. I doubt that you never did something other people would judge as 'evil' in their own standards." The enemy laughed as he parried Izuku's sword with his dagger and dodged the fire.
"Like beheading Mineta." Ashido said.
"Let's not call that guy 'Mineta', okay? Call him 'evil purple haired guy' but don't call him by my name!" Mineta was still fuming that his counterpart was not a cool guy.
"He honestly believes that there are no good people in the world." All Might looked to the ground, trying to imagine what kind of world was so fucked up that simply 'being good' was an alien concept.
"It looks like that world is full of selfish people, he probably never had any reason to be good." Aizawa said.
Bakugo frowned at his counterpart's words.
Izuku was deep in his own thoughts.
Izuku thrusted his sword but Bakugo dodged by a millimeter, the sword grazing his golden armor. "Good people exist! I made many friends in Lordran, all of them are great people!"
"They are using you to reach their own goals!" Bakugo stabbed his curved sword deep on Izuku's side.
"Maybe, but I don't care! They helped me many times when they didn't need to, they're my friends and I trust them!" Izuku grabbed the hand holding the curved sword and burned it with his pyromancy, making his opponent release the blade.
"You're a fool!" Bakugo tried to stab him with his dagger, but Izuku ripped the curved blade out of his body and parried with it.
"He is! But we have this fool's back!" Kaminari shouted as he threw a lightning spear at the knight, his own opponent dead.
"A bunch of useless fools, then!" Bakugo dodged the spell and threw his dagger at the knight, the dagger going deep on his shoulder.
"He has a good aim." Midnight said.
"This much accuracy with a dagger…" Iida frowned as he remembered Stain and his skill with blades.
Kirishima ran to the knight, slashing away with his zweihander as his own enemy had also fallen.
"A bunch of idiots! No purpose in life, just a moment away from hollowing! Why risk yourselves for that woman? It doesn't make sense! You three just want the Firekeeper soul for your own!" Bakugo took out another curved sword and stabbed it deep in Kirishima's neck, going in-between the armor and killing him instantly.
"He's too strong." Aizawa frowned.
Bakugo was gritting his teeth as his counterpart slaughtered his classmates.
Kaminari and Izuku attacked together, but Bakugo was skilled enough to keep up with both of them, he stabbed Izuku's hand and took his weapon back. Now with two weapons, he danced between his opponents moves, parrying and counter attacking with mastery.
"Foolishness!" Bakugo put his blades on opposite sides of Kaminari's neck and cut, the knight's head flew away.
"Young Midoriya, you can do this." All Might thought as his apprentice's other self stood alone against the enemy.
"Now your friends can't help you anymore, let's dance!" The two warriors fought in a stalemate, Bakugo's twin blades cutting repeatedly as Izuku tried to parry the attacks with his blessed blade. The golden knight cut Izuku's hand and used his other sword as a hook to throw the sword away. "Let's finish this! When you return, be smarter and don't come after me again." Bakugo put his blades on Izuku's shoulders ready to behead him.
"NO!" The public screamed. Inko hugged her son while Bakugo was gripping the seat with all his strength.
"I will take her soul back!" Izuku screamed as fire covered his hand, then he stabbed his enemy's chest, the hand coming out from the other side gripping the knight's humanity.
"No...impossible...I will not lose...not to this...trash...Fina...help me…" The knight fell, his body dissolving in souls as his humanity danced on Izuku's palm. After the body disappeared, a single Firekeeper soul remained on the ground.
Bakugo stared at the screen with his mouth gaping.
The Midoriyas were wide eyed at the brutal scene.
"First a decapitation, now ripping the metaphorical heart out of someone's chest. That universe's Midoriya is brutal." Sero said.
Izuku put Uraraka's soul in his box and crushed Bakugo's humanity, restoring his own. He turned around and saw his companions running to him. They made their way across the fog wall, finding a large hall with a gigantic man holding a hammer. As he armed himself, a second man, this one with a spear and an armor with the face of a lion, jumped on the arena.
"They look strong." All Might said.
The man with the hammer bulldozed his way through the pillars destroying everything in its path. The trio dodged, but the spearman impaled Kaminari.
"Again so soon?" Kaminari grimaced, by this point he had accepted that his other self would die many times, but didn't expect it to be so frequent.
"DENKI!" Izuku screamed as the hammerman squished him like an insect.
Inko was crying as Izuku tried to calm her down.
"Such powerful opponents!" Kirishima said as he rushed forwards with his zweihander, the spearman parried him and stabbed his chest, killing him instantly.
"They are definitely strong." Sweat ran down All Might's face as he looked worried to his apprentice.
The next scene showed Kaminari dodging a hit from the hammerman as the spearman stabbed his chest from behind.
The scene cut and showed the hammerman squishing Kirishima.
The next scene showed the spearman stabbing Izuku and discharging an electric shock inside him.
Many scenes kept being played, the trio dying repeatedly without even scratching his enemies armor.
"S-so many deaths…" Izuku was wide eyed at the scenes while Uraraka held his hand, neither of them realized this.
"How can they ever win?" Kirishima lost hope in his counterpart and his companions.
"They can't." Aizawa frowned.
The knights keep dying again and again to the enemies. Every time they die, they last a little longer. Every time they die, they fight better. Eventually, Kirishima is able to damage the hammerman.
"They're getting better." Nezu said.
"They're learning as they lose." Aizawa tried to stay calm at the brutality of the deaths.
The knights die, but again and again they come back, stronger than before. Eventually, a combined attack of the three knights was able to defeat the spearman.
"Smough...help...me..." The knight said in a pained voice, but his companion just smashed his head while laughing.
"He killed his own companion." Iida was wide eyed at the brutal scene.
"While laughing…" Uraraka felt disturbed by the cruel hammerman.
The hammerman grew in size as lightning burst from his body.
"Snorlax evolved into Pikachu." Bakugo said.
Kaminari and Kirishima served as distractions as Izuku hurled fireballs at him. The enemy was much stronger and more resistant, but his size slowed him down considerably. The hammerman managed to kill Kaminari and Kirishima, but the pyromancer's fireballs damaged him a lot. Izuku kept his distance while throwing fireballs and eventually, the enemy fell to his flames.
"Two years...but we did it…" Izuku gave a tired smile.
"TWO YEARS?" The audience screamed.
"Guess they really are immortal, but to keep dying repeatedly for three years straight…" Todoroki frowned.
The trio regrouped and went to the elevator, reaching a bonfire with a large closed door.
"Ready?" Izuku asked his companions as they opened the door, finding a beautiful and gigantic woman.
"BOOBS!" Mineta screamed as Tsuyu tongue-slapped him.
"She's huge…" All Might blushed.
Many boys blushed at the beautiful woman's cleavage.
"S-s-she's as h-h-huge as Mt Lady." Izuku blushed at the woman.
"Thou hast journey'd far, and overcome much, chosen Undead. Come hither, child…" The woman said with a smile.
"Who are you?" Izuku asks, admiring the woman's beauty.
"O chosen Undead. I am Gwynevere. Daughter of Lord Gwyn; and Princess of Sunlight. Since the day Father his form did obscureth, I have await'd thee. I bequeath the Lordvessel to thee. And beseech thee. Succeed Lord Gwyn, and inheriteth the Fire of our world. Thou shall endeth this eternal twilight, and avert further Undead sacrifices." A giant bowl materialized in front of the woman, Izuku put his hand on it as the vessel disappeared. The trio bowed in respect to the goddess and went back to the bonfire.
"Did anyone understand what she said?" Ashido asked, but nobody nodded.
"We should go to Firelink to resurrect the Firekeeper. We should also speak to the Kingseeker." As soon as Izuku finished his phrase, they suddenly disappeared and appeared again at Firelink Shrine.
"This has never happened before…" Nezu wondered what had changed."The Lordvessel! It works as a teleportation device!" Nezu was fascinated about that world's magic.
The group ran to the Firekeeper's cage, ignoring everything on the way. Izuku took the soul out of his box and offered it to the corpse that didn't rot even after years. The soul entered the body and the woman woke up, gasping for breath.
"… Th-thank you…I am Ochako of Astora...Now I can continue my duty as a Keeper...but...I only hope that my impure tongue does not offend."
"Why would she call her tongue 'impure'?" Jiro asked.
"Maybe my counterpart's theory is right, she said gods' names in vain and got her tongue cut off." Shinso said.
"You're not impure, m'lady! Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise." Kirishima removed his helmet and tried to smile friendly with his cadaveric face.
"Sir Izuku...do you have a Firekeeper soul with you? I'm sorry for asking but I can feel it." The girl asked.
"I do, we found it and decided to take it with us, thinking that maybe we could do something for this poor woman." Izuku said as he pulled the unnamed Firekeeper's Soul.
"If you give it to me...I can cure your hollowing...it is not permanent as all undead eventually go hollow...but I can delay the inevitable. She will understand, we are both Firekeepers, after all." Uraraka gave a small smile.
"If I understood it correctly, she can reverse the corpse-like appearance." Nezu analyzed.
"It seems like Firekeepers have lots of special powers related to bonfires and humanity in general." Yaoyorozu said.
Uraraka reversed their hollowing for a few souls.
"I...I can also use the souls you collected to increase your strength...if you desire." Uraraka said and they agreed, she used all their souls and their power increased greatly.
"They are not using their enemies' souls only as currency, they are also using them to increase their power." Aizawa said.
"Kind of a shortcut?" Kaminari asked.
"I don't think undead can get stronger by normal means, maybe this is the only way?" Todoroki tried to explain.
"… Forgive me… I am impure, my tongue never intended for restoration… Please, if you have any heart… Leave me be… I wish not to speak further…" She crawled back to the end of the cage.
"I will not force you to speak if you don't want to, but I won't leave you here either." Izuku said.
"What do you mean?" The girl looked at him questionly.
Kirishima forced the bars open, freeing the girl as Kaminari looked for further injuries.
"I...I do not wish to leave...and even if I did, my legs are useless…"
"Actually, they are perfect. Whatever problem you had on them, it was healed along with your tongue." Kaminari did a thumbs up.
"I...I am impure...I deserve to be in a cell…" The girl looked to the ground.
"It's your choice, but the cell is open. You can go to the shrine if you want to." Izuku smiled.
"I...I will think about that...thank you." The girl blushes.
"She's so gloomy…" Uraraka frowned at her counterpart.
The trio went to the primordial serpent and asked what to do with the lordvessel.
"Heavens! You have done it! You have retrieved the Lordvessel! After a thousand years! It is you, it is really you!" He made a guttural noise. "Forgive me. I really should calm down. Now, let us take that vessel on a journey. I assume that you are ready. Now, stand a little closer, yes?" The knights got a little closer and the Kingseeker swallowed the three of them before returning to the hole on the ground where he came from.
"Disgusting." Hagakure said.
The serpent spat the knights in front of an altar with a giant door behind it.
"This is the Firelink Chamber, for the successor of Lord Gwyn. Now, place the Lordvessel on the altar."
Izuku took the Lordvessel and put it on the altar. Light bursted out of the vessel.
"Very well. As Kingseeker, I shall now instruct you, the Lord's successor in your next task. To achieve your fate, fill the vessel with powerful souls, commensurate to the great soul of Gwyn. Scarce few possess such brilliant souls. Gravelord Nito, the Witch of Izalith, the Four Kings of New Londo, who inherited the shards of Gwyn's soul…and Lord Gwyn's former confidant, Seath the Scaleless. All of their souls are required to satiate the lordvessel."
"Kill the enemies, get the souls, put them in the vessel. Sounds simple." Ashido said.
"It's never simple. The journey was extremely difficult so far, it will only get harder." Aizawa frowned.
"This serpent sounds a little untrustworthy." Izuku said.
"Are you ready? Then we shall return, stand still for a moment." The kingseeker swallowed them again, going back to the shrine.
Kirishima and Kaminari took Izuku's equipment and went to the blacksmith for repairs while the pyromancer went to talk to Aizawa, remembering the offer to learn magic. He surprisingly found the mage talking with Aoyama.
"Are you two still here? It's been years since we talked." Izuku frowned in confusion.
"Years? It was only a few hours for us." Aoyama tilted his head in confusion.
"I can explain. Time and space in Lordran are convoluted, a second here can be a year in another region. You might walk for many days and only a few hours have passed. You might open a door and come out of a window. The offer to learn sorcery is still up, if you wish to." Aizawa explained.
"An universe where time and space make no sense...how is this even possible?" Yaoyorozu frowned.
"Simple! It's magic." Kaminari said.
Aizawa gave Izuku a simple staff and taught him a few basic spells.
"You're a natural at this, did you ever go to the Dragon School?" Aizawa questioned as the boy shot a soul arrow.
"I...I don't know, I remember very little of my life before becoming Undead."
"It doesn't matter, I will teach you everything I know. You're a pyromancer, no? Sorcery is different. Pyromancy is wild and instinctive, sorcery is controlled and complex."
And they started the lessons, Aizawa taught the spells while Aoyama helped Izuku with the execution. When Kaminari and Kirishima returned, Izuku was a full fledged apprentice.
"Now Midoriya can shoot fireballs AND energy projectiles." Mineta said, already giving up on being angry.
"It does sound unfair...would they feel the same if they knew about One For All?" Izuku frowned.
"Thank you, master. I have to leave now, we'll be going after the Gravelord." Izuku bowed in appreciation.
"The barriers are broken now? I will be leaving, then." Aizawa put his staff on his back and picked up his pouch.
"Leaving to where, master?" Aoyama asked.
"I will seek the Duke's Library, think about how much knowledge I can find there."
"I will be going with you too, master." The duo left for the Duke's Archives as the knights went to the Catacombs.
"Izuku, you remember the cleric girl that we saved, right?" Kaminari asked.
"Yes, why?"
"She wasn't in the church." Kirishima said as they arrived at the catacombs.
"Let's hope that she's okay, we can't do anything about it now." Izuku said.
"I hope that nothing bad happened to her, ribbit." Tsuyu said.
The trio went down the catacombs, arriving at the place where they found Tsuyu's counterpart.
THE TOMB OF GIANTS
The trio went through the narrow pathways and giant coffins, fighting giant skeletons on their way.
"What a terrible place." All Might felt shivers down his spine.
The knights arrive at a more illuminated place, full of small skeletons running around trying to attack them, too weak to cause any real damage but overwhelming them with numbers.
"Are those b-baby skeletons?" Inko was wide eyed, watching the little skeletons attacking her son and his companions.
"It seems like it…" Izuku was shocked with the sheer number of baby skeletons.
"This..this is sick." Kaminari was sad and outraged in having to fight kids, even if they are mindless skeletons.
"To the fog wall!" Kirishima shouted, pointing to a fog wall at the end of the chamber.
The trio ran to the fog wall, finding a hole on the ground. They jumped down the hole and the screen shifted to a coffin with a giant skeleton with many normal sized ones dangling from his body inside it.
"So this is that gravelord guy." Aizawa observed the giant skeleton covered in smaller ones.
"He looks kinda scary." Present Mic said.
The skeleton moves, his hand gripping the outside of the coffin as he crawls out of it.
"We finally met, Chosen Undead." The skeleton said in a deep voice as a black cloak materialized on his body.
"You're Nito, first of the dead." Kaminari said as he and his companions drew their weapons.
"Indeed. I assume that you three came for my soul."
"We need it to fill the Lordvessel." Izuku said.
"I see...so the Kingseeker and Gwyn's foolish son are putting their plan in motion. It would be wise to distrust the Primordial Serpents, Chosen Undead."
"Why do you say that?" Kirishima asked.
"You are nothing but pawns in their game. If you still wish my soul, I will not hold it against you, but I will defend myself."
"I'm sorry Gravelord, but I have to see this through." Izuku said with determination as the three knights entered their fighting stances.
"I see, disappointing." Nito raised an army of skeletons from the ground.
"Not manly. He called his friends." Kirishima frowned in worry for his counterpart and his companions.
"Three guys invaded his house and said that they're going to murder him, I think that he's being pretty reasonable." Jiro said.
"It doesn't look like he wants to fight either, he's just protecting himself." Izuku thought about his words. "Distrust the Primordial Serpent? What does it mean? Does the Kingseeker have some hidden agenda?"
"He's so polite." Kaminari laughed at the scary enemy who spoke like a gentleman.
The Gravelord is powerful but he is not a fighter, his skeletons do most of the work for him. The knights cut dozens of skeletons, but they never stop coming. Eventually, they are overwhelmed.
"Give me some space!" Izuku screamed as fire covered his hand, his friends ran away from him as a pillar of fire burst around him, lava covering the ground as the skeletons were incinerated.
"Amazing." Todoroki admired the fire, so different from his father's and his own.
"Impressive, the old Witch would be proud of how far her art has gone." Nito said as black energy covered his body. "A truly impressive display, but it is nowhere close to a Lord." A miasma of death burst from Nito, killing all the skeletons and throwing the knights away, their bodies weakened from the attack.
The knights drank their estus, slowly getting up.
"It has been a while since I fought, my power has weakened considerably, but it is more than enough to protect myself." Nito stood straighter, his bone sword glistening in the dark as his cloak danced wildly.
"Prepare yourselves, Chosen Undead. If you are so insistent in following Gwyn's steps, then I will have to take you seriously." The Gravelord said with an edge on his deep voice.
"Such a powerful opponent." All Might watched carefully as the Lord of Death fought his students with a calm and grace that only years of experience bring.
Nito attacked, purple fog covering his body as an orange ethereal blade followed his actual blade's movements. Kaminari breathed the fog and jumped away, removing his helmet and puking blood.
"The fog...it's poison." Nezu said.
"Makes sense, the intro said that he had a miasma of death and disease." Aizawa frowned.
"Don't breathe the fog! It's poison!" Kaminari screamed as he used a healing spell.
Izuku backed away, using his new staff to shoot magical missiles while Kirishima kept his distance using his sword's length.
Kaminari shot a lightning spear at the Gravelord, but the enemy just bashed it away with his free hand.
"Interesting...in my time only Gwyn and his knights used the power of lightning. Humanity has really come a long way."
Nito raised a few skeletons to keep the sun knight occupied as he turned his attention to his other opponents.
The Gravelord parried Kirishima's attacks as Izuku shot soul arrows at him.
"Pyromancy and soul sorcery...using the powers of both the Witch and the White Dragon. You are a talented individual, Chosen Undead. Perhaps in another time we would be brothers-in-arms."
The trio kept fighting the Gravelord and his army of skeletons for hours. Two skeletons cut Kaminari's chest open, killing him as the Gravelord impaled Kirishima with an ethereal blade coming from the ground. Eventually, Nito's movements started to slow down.
"It seems like my soul is weaker than I thought. I will end this now, Chosen Undead." Nito said as black energy covered his body before he unleashed all his power in a single burst, leaving Izuku at the verge of death as he used his blessed shield to defend himself.
Izuku staggered towards Nito, both weak from the fight.
"We...won...Gravelord...give...me...your soul." Izuku said tiredly.
"Yes, I lost this fight. Kill me and take your precious Lord Soul, I hope you know what you are doing." Izuku released a flame burst on Nito, killing the Lord and taking his Soul.
"One down...only three more…" Izuku fell, dead from exhaustion.
"It was easier than the two guys at the palace." Kaminari said.
"They're stronger now." Aizawa explained.
"It was still an incredibly tough fight." All Might said.
The trio regrouped at Firelink, deciding where to go next.
"We should go to Izalith, maybe the Sisters can help us." The trio warped from the bonfire, finding the sisters on their usual spot, they noticed and greeted them.
"Greetings, what brings you here?" Quelaag asked, more relaxed than the last time they met.
"We need the Lord Souls...we need to kill your mother." Izuku said.
"So it has finally come to this. Our mother, the Witch of Izalith, has become a twisted creature after being consumed by the chaos flame. I was far enough to escape without being affected." Quelana looked to the ground.
"And the two of us were far enough to be only partially affected, we kept our minds but our bodies became those of demons. Our other siblings were not so lucky, the sisters closer to our mother became part of the creature she is today while our brother became a demon that bleeds magma, transformed as a mere child. He is sane but his mind never developed further." Quelaag said sadly.
"If you're truly willing, then put our mother and sisters out of their misery. I don't have the stomach to do this myself." Quelana said before going back to the bonfire.
"Such a sad family." All Might looked to the ground.
"I can't even imagine what they went through." Midnight said.
"We will, but how do we get to Izalith? There's a sea of lava on the way." Kaminari asked.
"I can bring you there. Climb on my back." Quelaag said. The trio got on her spider body and left. Quelaag climbed walls and took many shortcuts, eventually, they arrived at a ruined ancient city overlooking a sea of lava.
"This is the old capital of Izalith, I can't help you kill my family but I will be grateful if you can put them to rest." Quelaag left the trio and went back to what remained of her family, leaving the knights to cross the city by themselves.
"A beautiful architecture." Nezu said.
LOST IZALITH
They made their way across the city, fighting dozens of demons on their way until they got to the center of the capital. A large fog wall was waiting for them.
"Everyone is ready?" Izuku asked, his companions nodded as they crossed the fog, sliding down a ramp and falling on a large courtyard with a gigantic tree-thing with a flaming upper body on the wall.
"Is that the witch?" Todoroki asked, unable to see the woman from the intro in the creature.
"So this is what they meant by 'twisted creature'." Iida said.
The trio ran in the arena, dodging pyromancies and hand sweeps while looking for a weakness.
"How do you fight something like that?" Uraraka asked.
"It doesn't matter what the enemy is, everything has a weakness." Aizawa answered.
The knights divided, each going in a different direction. Kaminari went to the left, Kirishima went to the right, Izuku went to the middle. They found a worm on each side with a barrier at the center of the creature.
"Denki, destroy the worm on your side. Izuku, see if the barrier falls." Kirishima shouted as he killed the worm in front of him. Kaminari killed the worm on his side and the barrier fell, but the ground fell too. The knights on the sides fell to their deaths as Izuku started to go inside the creature.
Izuku cut through the breaches, reaching a worm in the center.
"So you're the Witch of Izalith...I'm sorry." Izuku said as he stabbed the creature. The Lord Soul floated on the worm's body, Izuku took it as a bonfire appeared in front of him.
"That's convenient." Izuku said, wondering if a bonfire appeared in the Gravelord's arena.
Izuku teleported back to the Daughters of Chaos, finding his friends waiting for him.
"It's done." Izuku told the group.
"Thank you, my apprentice. You have done us a great service, I am sure that mother would say the same if she could." Quelana bowed to Izuku, grateful.
" Master, did a pyromancer called 'Shouto' come by?" Izuku asked.
"No, maybe he got lost in the swamp?"
The trio went to the swamp and found Todoroki facing backwards from them.
"Here he is." Kirishima smiled.
Todoroki squinted his eyes, feeling something weird in his counterpart.
"Shouto! I thought that you were going to Quelana?" Izuku asks, putting his hand on his master's shoulder. Todoroki looked back at them, his skin cadaveric and his eyes a deep red, he attacked them like an animal.
"No…" Kaminari said.
"He went hollow." Kirishima said sadly.
Izuku easily decapitated the man, then, he fell on his knees and looked to the horizon.
"He didn't find the sisters?" Todoroki asked no one in particular, wanting to know what happened to his counterpart.
"Undead go hollow when they lose their motivation...what happened?" Izuku frowned, looking at his friend who was deep in thought.
"Izuku, we have to go." Kaminari put his hand on his shoulder.
"Why? Why did he go hollow? What happened?" Izuku said with empty eyes.
"We might never know." Kirishima said, helping the boy get up.
The trio paid respect to the pyromancer and went back to Quelaag's Domain.
"Did you find your friend?" Quelana asked.
"Yes...he went hollow." Izuku said sadly.
"I see...a shame, was he a skillful pyromancer?"
"He was my original master, he gave me his flame and taught me how to use it."
"An important connection, I'm sorry for your loss."
"Why is he so sad? No offense but he knew the guy for a few days only." Mineta said.
"Don't you remember their first meeting? The flame of a pyromancer is part of their soul, it looks like a really deep connection." Izuku readed his notes.
They said goodbye and used the bonfire to teleport back to Firelink. The group discussed and decided to go to the Duke's Archives, both to slay the White Dragon and to see if the Master Sorcerer arrived safely.
"Almost done." All Might said.
I gave Dark Souls 3 Firekeeper's powers to the Dark Souls 1 Firekeeper, It makes more sense for me.