This crossover was not created for monetary gain. Dark Souls 3 is made by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Diablo 3 is made and published by Blizzard Entertainment. I own neither franchise. For a proper understanding of both narratives, please view these stories separately.
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Chapter 5: Black King's Reign
"Focus on your incantations," The dark cultist said. "Soon, he will give in to the dark!"
There were seven cultists. Once regular humans now corrupted by worshipping dark powers. They pray around a man enhanced through holy faith. Tendrils of light changed from a consecrated white to dark orange. Black streaks also trailed their way into the hands of those cultists. They had their heads down in prayer, speaking clearly in a dark tongue. As one out of the seven was about to rejoin the incantation, a heavy longsword pierced straight through them.
To Uriel, it was a slight surprise this individual continued standing. Quickly, they turned around and charged with a dagger. The first swipe was dodged with Uriel rolling backward. Yet, their second strike had been slower. Uriel parried the attack with his shield, then ran the dark cultist through a second time. To make sure they would die, he brought them to their knees by pushing down on their shoulder. Then, Uriel took his weapon out of the cultist's torso, stabbing it through their neck.
The other dark individuals did not notice this as they were truly in deep focus. Purple energy coalesced around the unusually still man. Bones either rose from the ground or appeared out of thin air, creating skeletons. Each one did not stand a chance against Uriel. Although, every skeleton killed had been replaced a few seconds after.
The next few waves of skeletons were not difficult to deal with. That, alongside the dark cultists deep in prayer. Uriel's heavy longsword pierced another cultist, allowing the man they attempted to turn some consciousness. While he could not move the rest of his body very well, the man could see a blurred silhouette of who aids him. Another two dark cultists fell behind the man. Their magic was no longer strong enough to bind him. Now free, he disarmed a skeleton that was freshly formed, then cracked their skull wide open.
They killed the remaining three dark cultists. Other skeletons had also fallen, no longer forming mid-air. It was quiet, aside from crackling torches in the open area. Uriel looked at the man, noticing that his clothing should pair with armor.
"Are you a knight?" Uriel asked.
The man said nothing, then responded. "If you help me find my gear, you'll know enough."
The location of the man's equipment was not far from their position. It was protected by a single chest, guarded by three dark cultists. They were not difficult to kill. Uriel had been correct with his past observation. Yet, he admitted internally that some pieces appeared missing. The man looked at him to speak, walking away from the dead cultists.
"You may have figured it out by now," he said. "I am a knight, hailed from a templar order. Kormac is my name."
"Uriel," The Ashen One replied. "What brought you to this cathedral?"
"I had been following someone," Kormac responded. "Yet, I underestimated the forces that walk these grounds. What about you?"
Uriel did not reply immediately, then said, "I was sent here to kill the Skeleton King."
"Our goals align then," Kormac replied. "If you want to reach him, we may need to go through my target first."
Uriel and Kormac passed by a waypoint, activating it for later use. Then, the templar explained he was tracking a traitor amongst their group. This individual was a former templar who had learned the art of necromancy. It made Uriel wonder if they were raising the skeletons a few minutes ago. The path eventually led them toward this necromancer.
The former templar introduced himself with a show of force, launching bolts of poison in five directions. Near these green misty trails, skeletons were raised. A crooked smile complimented the man's physical appearance. Despite having a shield in his left hand, there was only a small knife held in his right. Kormac spoke first, deflecting one of the five poison bolts with his spear.
"Why did you leave the Order, Jondar?" Kormac demanded. "You are making things worse for yourself."
"Even if I did tell, you may not understand," Jondar replied. "This Coven is my brotherhood now! They will give the world proper guidance!"
Kormac went into a stance, ready to charge with his spear. Uriel let the templar deal with Jondar since this was personal for him. To aid his new templar ally, he killed the raised skeletons helping the necromancer. Again, each one had been replaced with another seconds later. While Jondar started to lose his temper, Kormac did not act so tense. The knight templar would bring punishment upon his former colleague.
Right before Jondar could stab Kormac, his thrust was redirected. He suddenly found a spear pierced halfway through his wrist. The necromancer grunted as Kormac twisted his weapon to align with Jondar's extended arm. A loud crack was heard, bending the human appendage in a way it should not. As Kormac pulled his weapon out, the blade was riding down Jondar's arm. Now, it appeared to almost split in two. The templar was not finished.
Prior to Jondar falling to his knees, Kormac sliced the front of his opponent's neck. Blood had begun to gush from the wound, yet the necromancer persisted. Jondar did not move his hand to stop this bleeding. Instead, he looked up at Kormac to speak.
"I see now..." Jondar said.
Kormac did not understand this question saying, "What truth are you speaking of?"
Jondar replied, "Your judgement, is clouded like mine."
Kormac kicked the necromancer onto the ground. Then, he took out his buckler, shoving its edge into Jondar's lacerated neck. The man's body spasmed briefly, before ceasing movement. Uriel could sense more souls flowing into himself. He also noticed that whatever injuries Jondar inflicted upon Kormac were closing. The templar stood up, moving to speak with Uriel again.
"I thank you for your assistance Uriel," Kormac said. "He certainly would have become a greater problem, had we not disposed of him now."
"Indeed," Uriel replied. "Yet, where will you travel next?"
Kormac responded, flicking some blood off his buckler. "You're hunting the Skeleton King, are you not? Allow me to aid you, as you have given support. I can help on one condition."
Uriel agreed to the terms, as he saw no reason to steal from Kormac. The templar spoke of sacred tomes and artifacts. By law, they are property of Kormac's order. Rules aside, the two men would travel deeper into the cathedral's depths. This would eventually lead them toward the Royal Crypts.
The location beneath this labyrinthian cathedral was Leoric's resting place. Perhaps by a miracle, there was a waypoint present. Uriel activated the circle, only for it to glow dimly. They killed several skeletons, coming out of the walls to attack them. While this had not been very much of an issue, there was something of interest down the hallway.
A ghostly form of one sword was pierced into the ground. Uriel told Kormac to stay back if anything bad happened. That appeared to be almost true when the weapon vanished upon contact with Uriel's hand. Undead energy dispersed, then reformed into six different figures. Uriel tried slicing the one in front of him, realizing it was Leoric. His heavy longsword passed right through, causing no damage. He took a step back to look at the knights focused on Leoric. One of them walked toward him.
A past event, from this undead energy? Uriel wondered.
"Keep your distance," the man said. "He is my burden to bear."
The captain dashed forward, blade in contact with Leoric's weapon. It was the sword Uriel tried taking a few seconds before. Then, after one perfectly executed parry, the man's weapon had gone straight through Leoric's chest. He forced himself to continue standing, using his blade like a cane. The king fell to his knees a moment after, keeping eye contact with the man in front of him.
"Lachdanan you traitor," Leoric said. "You are all traitors!"
The captain's men held their weapons tighter. "To the king I swear loyalty to? No," Lachdanan responded. "To the man who is here now? Your death will bring peace from this madness, Leoric."
The king held his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. "In death, the Khanduras armies will still obey me..." Leoric said, falling to his left side. "Even, if you will not..."
His breath ceased. Before a pool of blood reached Lachdanan's feet, the ghostly energy dispersed. The memory had been concluded. Uriel said nothing else, only telling Kormac to move forward with him. Before reaching the Royal Crypts, he remembered finding other pieces of Lachdanan's writing. Leoric rose moments later to kill all of his men. Now, the Skeleton King has risen again. He would show himself once more in front of Uriel and Kormac.
From the ground, his ghostly form rose. He observed the two men in front of him briefly. Then, undead energy accumulated in his palms. There were four pillars in the open area, cracks on each one. Suddenly they began to glow, while braziers on top had rekindled with spectral fire. Leoric spoke with a tone of annoyance.
"You dare trespass in these royal crypts?" Leoric questioned. "The warmth of your lives will be extinguished."
The energy in his palms flared. Four pillars and their braziers illuminated as a reaction. Then each light dimmed, with numerous skeletons forming. Many were not equipped with all of their equipment. Yet each one took a quick moment to focus, waiting for an attack.
In return, Kormac and Uriel sprinted forward. Taller skeletons armored in black were also seen forming even more soldiers. Kormac charged, rushing straight toward one of the Tomb Guardians. Skeletons who came into contact with his buckler were pushed back; stunned. The tomb guardian in front tried to backstep away, only to be killed by a fatal stab. The templar ripped out his spear from its right side, breaking some cheekbone. He looked at Leoric, who retreated behind a set of old doors. Kormac glanced to Uriel and yelled, seeing him kill two skeletons in one swing.
"Uriel!" The templar exclaimed. "You need to advance! I will hold them off!"
Uriel nodded in agreement, sprinting toward the doors Leoric retreated through. Kormac cleared the way with another charge, giving his ally a clear path. Failing to unlock the doors, Uriel brought out his shield to force it open. Once broken he ran forward, jumping over sunken debris. Another set of doors was locked, making Uriel force them open as well. A skeleton behind the entrance had their face hit with one door. Before Uriel continued forward, ghostly energy formed to seal the doors behind him. He would need to fight Leoric alone.
The Ashen One had stopped at an intersection. Three paths were available, with one of them quite interesting. It was a large set of ornate doors, cracked yet uncorroded. To its side was a lectern with an old book, which Uriel skimmed through. Yet, he knew reaching the Skeleton King was currently more important. Uriel took the written entry with him, touching the ornate entrance next to unlock it.
The doors closed behind him, locking themselves automatically. Leoric floated above an unstable path of stairs, watching him silently. Beyond Leoric was a throne, where a big skeletal body sat untouched.
"You are the only one left," Leoric said. "Even with a companion, you could never defeat me!"
Ghostly energy illuminated from both hands. The stairs leading toward his throne glowed with this same light. Leoric was going to cut Uriel off. Right before the pathway collapsed, he sprinted through. As carpet and stone fell into darkened depths, Leoric turned around sneering at Uriel. Then, his focus suddenly shifted. Not wasting the opportunity, Uriel ran to Leoric's throne.
Souls continued to be absorbed, meaning Kormac was still alive. This was Leoric's brief shift in focus. While Leoric drifted to where his attention went, Uriel was in front of the body. It sat there unmoving, with no sign of his skeleton decomposing. The black armor he wore appeared to be in functional condition, despite its red garment and chainmail horribly torn. In his right hand, Leoric held a large two-handed mace. Uriel tensed, placing the crown on Leoric's head.
Relax. Uriel told himself.
Yet, he would still act with extreme caution. When nothing happened, Uriel looked around himself. The area he stood on was a large open space, with more than enough room to fight. To prove Uriel correct, ghostly energy traveled toward Leoric's skeleton. Pieces of his armor that had fallen off, placed themselves back in their original positions. The body exhaled.
Leoric's grip on the mace tightened, using it to help him stand. Uriel took several steps back, already in a stance. Leoric was cracking his neck, walking down steps of the large throne. While towering in height compared to Uriel, he did not speak immediately. Resting the mace over his shoulder, he eventually responded.
"You appear to have made a critical error," the Skeleton King said. "Reconnecting me with my body? I will not waste this opportunity."
A ghostly set of afterimages dashed forward. Uriel would have dodged, had Leoric not been in front of him so quickly. An upward vertical strike sent the Ashen One backward, tumbling to a stop on the lower level of the crypt throne room.
Was that teleportation? Uriel questioned. Or, is it bursts of immense speed?
Afterimages stopped at the left set of stairs, making Leoric reappear. They dashed forward again, with the Skeleton King appearing close to Uriel. An overhead strike could have connected, yet he rolled away in time. Before Leoric could do anything, Uriel slashed his chest three times. The heavy longsword was not cutting deeply, with his opponent noticing. Leoric stood briefly in front of Uriel, laughing at his assault. Then, the undead held its mace with both hands.
Ghostly energy gathered around the Skeleton King. Leoric's afterimages were temporarily infused with his form. As he swung in wide horizontal arcs, the energy trailed behind them. His afterimages followed every action, making it difficult to get past Leoric. Since his attacks left streaks of energy behind him. On the third swing, Uriel had to block it.
The strike brought him off balance, as a loud clang echoed through the room. Sensations in his arm left Uriel briefly. Quickly looking at his knight's shield, he could see a small dent mark of impact.
Such strength... Uriel said internally. It is enough to compare you... He rolled underneath another swing, retaliating with a slice. To an Heir of Fire.
Leoric looked over his shoulder as if Uriel did not respond at all. He raised his left hand from the ground to the ceiling. Ghostly energy seemed to be pulled from the stone floor. While it dispersed in the air, what came back would aid Leoric. Six skeletons with varying equipment surrounded Uriel. Leoric backstepped away with a teleport.
With Uriel mostly distracted, the Skeleton King observed. Then, teleported behind Uriel, aiming for his torso. Uriel turned around right after killing one of Leoric's guards. Afterimages were infused with his form again, making the strikes more powerful. While the first hit was blocked, it still caused harm.
A larger dent had been made on Uriel's shield. Unfortunately, the power from Leoric's first swing managed to travel all the way up to his arm. Most of the bones were now shattered. His arm spasmed, unable to lift itself up. Uriel was hit a second time, denting his chest plate with a defined shape. Before Leoric's third swing made contact, Uriel reacted.
Cease. Uriel voiced internally.
Uriel's shattered arm tensed itself out of his growing irritation. Forcing movement, he brought his shield up to meet Leoric's mace with counterforce. Sparks flew from the impact, forcing Leoric off balance. Rashly, he attempted to strike Uriel again. Yet, this caused him to be parried a second time. As he knelt in brief recovery, Uriel attacked with a downward vertical strike.
Before Leoric's skull was bisected, his afterimages moved backward. The Skeleton King teleported, narrowly avoiding Uriel's attack. Leoric's head twitched slightly, watching him with an eyeless stare.
I know your arm is broken. Leoric thought. Your shattering bones were loud. Yet, the arm is still functional.
Uriel sprinted toward Leoric, coating his weapon with a resin. The Skeleton King could smell the scent of charcoal. Leoric deflected the flaming weapon downward with his gauntlet. Hand now hovering over the ground, he summoned more skeletons. Uriel slashed at Leoric's raising arm, covering it in a fire.
Leoric teleported again, leaving a trail of embers from the flames. He made an audible scoff putting out the fire. Leoric looked at Uriel, infusing himself with his afterimages. Teleporting in front of him, he aimed to strike his left shoulder. However, this was not the opportunity Leoric wanted.
Uriel brought his dented shield up only for the Skeleton King to stop his momentum. Instead of Leoric committing to the attack, he shoved one of his skeletons forward. As they collided with Uriel, he was hit with a diagonal strike. Leoric's two-handed mace crushed the top half of the skeleton shoved. It broke Uriel's shoulder, also dislocating his right arm. He deflected three other strikes with his flaming longsword, then backstepped away.
He drank from his estus flask, then dodged another strike from Leoric. Every attack that connected with Uriel felt extremely cold. The temperature would drop every time Leoric made an action. He glanced at his arms to see very thin layers of undead frost upon them. While Uriel became at risk of unnatural frostbite, Leoric was not the only individual he fought who used ice.
Leoric teleported behind Uriel again, focused on his right leg. However, explosions suddenly covered his vision. Uriel had used two black firebombs with ropes, throwing both items behind him. Leoric's head was set on fire, backstepping in response. Continuing the assault, Uriel went into a stance.
A heavy lunge pierced Leoric's left arm. Now behind him, Uriel strapped his shield and brought out another weapon. As Leoric was off-balance, Uriel's flaming sword went through his back. While fire traveled through his torso, there was also a feeling of electrocution. Leoric teleported, rebalancing away from Uriel. Both at a distance once more, he noticed something odd.
Aside from the flames no longer present on Uriel's longsword, Leoric focused on the other weapon. Instead of a dented shield, he saw a dagger, crackling with blue lightning. Observation aside, the electrocution was less than normal. Blessed energy had burned through his ribcage, different from the feeling of fire.
"What is that dagger?" Leoric questioned.
Uriel said nothing, charging at Leoric to close the distance. Leoric did the same, infusing himself with afterimages. Charcoal pine resin had been applied mid-sprint, reigniting Uriel's longsword. Leoric's horizontal strike had been deflected by the sword and dagger. Uriel moved closer, riding his weapons along the Skeleton King's right arm. Both struck him with fire and blessed lightning, making Leoric's body twitch. As expected, he teleported away to give himself space.
Leoric hovered both his hands above the floor, still holding his mace. Six skeletons formed around him, while another half-dozen appeared to surround Uriel. He killed the first three, then dodged away from the others. Leoric teleported, with his attack blocked again by Uriel. The remaining skeletons charged at him, trying to create opportunities for their king.
He stabbed another skeleton with his dagger, absorbing more souls. There were only eight skeletons left among the original group of 12 summoned. Adding the Skeleton King, Uriel would be deflecting strikes between nine different individuals. This would continue until Leoric would infuse himself with his afterimages. Uriel killed another five skeletons, with the last three bludgeoned by Leoric's horizontal swings. Uriel dodged, moving under the last attack.
Leoric's abilities... Uriel wondered. A blade of blessed lightning struck the Skeleton King's left elbow. It appears he is only able to summon the skeletons with his hands.
Uriel twirled, slicing the lower part of Leoric's spine. The bones rattled from the fire and lightning. To Leoric, it felt as if someone shoved him forward. He turned around with a swing, making Uriel dodge. Leoric's left arm was hit again, now going numb from the damage. He infused himself with his afterimages in response.
The first two swings had been deflected. After dodging, Uriel lunged with his flaming longsword. His thrust connected, now cracking Leoric's wrist joint. Given the chance, Uriel performed a steep upward diagonal slice. If Leoric still had eyes, they might have widened.
A burnt, skeletal left hand stayed in the air for a moment. Then, crashed into the stone tiled flooring. Leoric grunted, stepping back to briefly process what happened. Uriel continued, making lacerations on the remainder of his left arm. Leoric tried blocking with his mace, yet it was deflected by Uriel's dagger. The front of his lower spine had been stabbed next, burning from blessed lightning. He could no longer hold his own weight properly. Leoric teleported out of panic.
Before he could react after creating distance, Uriel threw his dagger. The moment Leoric reappeared, blessed lightning struck his skull. The front of it completely cracked, with pieces almost falling off. As this happened, Uriel sprinted forward to pierce him. The flaming longsword made it through, burning the seam of his ribcage. He violently pulled both his dagger and longsword out of Leoric, leaving a trail of fire and lightning.
Uriel sheathed his longsword, keeping the dagger held. Leoric's body stayed knelt, noticing his opponent's wounds very slowly closing. He tried to summon more skeletons, only for the ghostly energy to fade. Through whatever strength Leoric had left, he quickly stood up to hit Uriel. Yet, this action does not end favorably for him.
Sparks flew, caused by the counterforce made by Uriel's gauntlet. Leoric found himself to be stabbed again, this time with a dagger.
"May your death bring peace from this madness," Uriel said.
"I... recognize those words..." Leoric replied.
Leoric said nothing else. Ghostly energy began to leave his body, sounding as if many individuals exhaled. Leoric's skeleton crumbled, while pieces of his black armor fell to the floor. The crown landed softly on whatever crumbling bones were left. Uriel took the headdress, along with something coalesced in his left hand. A ghostly flame hovered in his palm.
Weapon: Blessed Carrion Dagger (Lightning Variant)
A large dagger, made from the organ of a carrion bat.
The beasthood lives on through the stinger, lashing out as arcing blue lightning, turning the dagger into a curved sword.
Item: Soul of a Skeleton King
Soul of a Skeleton King. One of the twisted souls, steeped in strength.
Use to acquire many souls, or transpose to extract its true strength.
Self-proclaimed as ruler of Tristram, Leoric held great virtue and honor. Yet unknown to this king, his territory was the resting place for a terrifying demon. Madness would eventually overwhelm Leoric, resulting in the loss of both kingdom and family.