The Godless Age ARC III: CHAPTER 4, an elden ring fanfic

ARC III

CHAPTER 4:

THE RED KING AND THE MOON QUEEN

CLANG!

Blades clashed as Rags does battle with Seriph. His claymore against Seriph's Nodachi. Their blades meet in quick succession as both men parry and deflect each other, with Rags at a disadvantage due to Seriph's superior speed.

With each deflect Rags countered with Seriph counters with two. Making the match a losing fight, for his supplies were exhausted and he was in his most tired state.

Behind Seriph he could see Marika, still trapped in her golden barrier to avoid capture by Seriph, begging him to stop fighting this hopeless battle. He looks for an opening for his last and strongest attack, he needed to end this fight now before he loses for good.

He takes his stance and charges forth, screaming out in anger as he brings his sword up high for a downwards strike. With Seriph taking one of his own, preparing his giant Katana for a downwards slash as well.

"ワンストライク一撃死です."

Seriph charges and both fighters swing their blades back. They bring down the strikes and their swords meet at the same time.

Time slowed as the blades slide slowly on each other. Sparks from the point of contact were created due to the force of the strike from each fighter.

Rags see the attack from his point of view and feel his claymore starting to buckle. His worst fears were realized as he observes the clash of their blades.

His claymore breaks in half.

Shit.

Their blades strike down and only Seriph's contact. A slash from Seriph's katana strikes down on Rags's left shoulder through his armor, creating a large vertical wound that stretched from his shoulder to his lower torso. Blood spews from the wound and Rags falls to his knees as the pain overwhelmed his entire body.

Rags looks at the wound and starts to shiver, the pain was crippling him to the point of no return. He uses his right hand where his claymore was held and attempts to use the half-broken sword to continue fighting.

Only for Seriph to respond with an upwards slash towards his right hand. Rags winches and feels his right arm in pain, but it also felt different. He looks to his right and sees the damage.

His entire right arm was severed.

What-

His thoughts were interrupted as Seriph thrusts his katana fully straight through his chest. Seriph pulls out the blade in a swift motion and swings it to the side to clear the blood. "Three strikes... I must be getting sloppy."

I... Lost?

Again...?

Rags looks down at his wounds, his blood was flowing out of his body endlessly and it made him numb from the pain. His head becomes heavy and his vision blurs as the blood loss was starting to take effect.

He looks at Marika, banging against her barrier with tears flowing out of her eyes. Screaming something he could not hear while banging on her barrier, attempting to get out. His vision starts becoming darkened and he feels his body falling forward.

Rags falls face first on the ground fully, and the blood from his three grave wounds starts to create a puddle of blood below him. He tries all means to get up, but his body would produce no movement. Even moving his toes and fingers on his left hand was a struggle.

Rags could feel nothing as Seriph turns him over to lie on his back using a foot. The prophet looms over him and turns his sword to point it downwards, aiming it directly at his heart.

Rags vision and hearing start becoming even more unclear, only staggered parts of sight and sound could be processed by his mind. He looks to Seriph to see the opponent who will be killing him once and for all.

And he looks to Marika, full of regret that he could not save her from a terrible fate. All because he was too weak to deliver her demise. Barely seeing her screaming in terror at his coming demise.

Seriph holds his sword firmly. Preparing a downwards thrust to finish off Rags.

"Not a god. Not a demon. Not even... Special."

He raises the sword slightly for more leverage. And Rags tries all means to get up, ignoring all the pain that courses his body.

Fuck... Fuck...

"Just a mere... Fucking. Man."

Seriph brings down his sword and stabs through Rags's heart. He feels himself slipping away as his senses become cold.

His last view was of Marika, crying without end. He reaches out his hand and his vision darkens. Permanently.

No... No...

NO.

DRANGLEIC, THE SHADED WOODS

1995 YEARS BEFORE THE SHATTERING

"GAHHHHHH!"

Rags screams out from his lying position, waking from his slumber. He clutches his chest near the spot Seriph stabbed him before, experiencing the phantom pain from the impalement once again.

He sits straight from his bedroll, rolled out beside a campfire for two. Sleep had not been easy with his nightmares. Nightmares that are on repeat show him the same thing over and over.

His death in front of Marika.

Rags sighs and rubs his head, still tired despite the sleep that he just received. His rest was constantly interrupted by these repeating nightmares. Minimizing his hours in slumber on each passing night. Even undeath could not stop him from feeling tired.

"Are you all right?"

Hoarah speaks from the other side of the fire, awake for the night watch. They had been taking turns to rest and guard themselves each night as they progress further into the region.

Their travel together had been bloody. The majority of the land was filled with hostiles that seek their deaths. But what they lack in numbers they made up for their strength, a single man equal to a few hundred in their case.

Rags sighs and rubs his hair from the initial awakening, his hand feels the sweat that he made from the nightmare. He sits up and joins Hoarah at the fire, not wanting to sleep anymore. "It's the same over and over. It's a fucking bother..."

"I see." Hoarah looks at Rags to study him, trying to gauge what was going through the mind of his companion. "Is this nightmare about Seriph? The one you are hunting?"

Rags looks to the fire and nods, for Hoarah's assumption, had been right. Seriph was beating him even in his dreams. He had the advantage of not dying this time but ultimately wasn't sure if this was enough.

"And these nightmares... Are they of your defeat? Your failure to save your maiden?"

"Yes..."

"Hmm..." Hoarah nods and tosses a few wood blocks to the fire to burn it brighter. "May I offer some advice, swordsman?" His request was agreed upon as Rags nods absentmindedly.

"If it is defeat that you are so afraid of, then you will truly be defeated again. Think of how you will win rather than how you lost."

Rags hears his words and tries to understand them. His mind was in conflict as he wasn't too sure of how Hoarah's advice would truly help him. "I can't really think my way to winning a fight now can I?"

Hoarah lets out a grunt at his downplay. "You will be surprised. There are many instances where one's need to win manifests itself against impossible odds. Many battles in history are the same, the need to win is the winning factor."

His words gives Rags pause as he thinks of its logic. Hoarah then retrieves a bottle from his own pack and takes a swing of its content. He wipes his mouth from the drinks and tosses the bottle to Rags, who catches it effortlessly even without looking closely.

"Whats this?" Rags removes the cork of the bottle and stiffs its content. Its strong and hearty smell irks his senses.

"Moonshine. A rare substance. I took it from one of the men we saved back a few days ago. At the last village."

"Took it?" His brow was raised at the wording of Hoarah's answer. "You stole this?"

"For his own good." A small smirk and was formed on the large man's mouth.

Rags shrugs at the answer and gives the drink a sip as well. The taste was strong and foul but nice to drink in its own way. "Fuck me..."

"Yes. A strong drink. Made by weak men."

He tosses back the bottle, which Hoarah catches and finishes in a single gulp. Hoarah tosses the bottle back and eyes Rags's sword from his side, recognizing it from its unique appearance. "Your sword, may I?"

Rags gestures for him to inspect it and he walks over to pick it up. He twirls it around and feels its unique balance, a colossal sword without the hindrance of weight due to its otherworldly material.

"The Godslayer's Blade. The real one in the flesh." He runs his hand around the blade itself, purposefully cutting himself to test its edge. "A fine weapon. How did you come about it?"

"It's a temporary one. I just borrowed it." He states the fact plainly, as he had every intention to return the sword to Renna once the task was done.

"This is not a weapon that is so easily bestowed to another, Rags." Hoarah puts the sword back on Rags's side and returns to his seat. "Only a consort or a shadow of the Gloam Eyed Queen may be in possession of such a weapon."

"Like I said, I'm just borrowing it." Rags makes it clear that the sword was just a weapon to him and meant nothing else. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the 'Gloam Eyed Queen' that gave it to me."

"Are you sure? She has many names over many stories."

"I'm sure."

"I understand. You need every advantage at your disposal. Despite your lack of magic usage." He sits for a while and prepares another question for Rags about his immortal status. "Even your undying state. Were you born with it?"

TELL HIM NOTHING OF ME.

The Beast speaks in his mind, a common occurrence these days. Rags thinks of an answer that would make sense and settles for a lie. "I got cursed."

"Before or after your fight with Seriph?"

"Does it matter?" His discomfort was rising from the question, and Hoarah notices it to stop asking his question. "It's keeping me alive. So I should be thankful I guess."

YOU ARE WELCOME.

Cunt. The Beast's remark makes him curse in his mind.

"A curse is not to be taken lightly, Rags. For there is no breaking one upon its affliction." Hoarah's words stop midway as he considers his words. "Except for death of course."

"Death?"

"Yes. Death is the true cure for all curses, the great equalizer to life. Only through death can one be cured of any curse. A high price to pay, to be rid of an even worse fate."

Rags thinks on what was said and keeps that information in mind, he might need it in the future. He looks to the sky and sees the sun in its position to rise. It was to be daylight soon and they need to move soon. He picks up his sword and slings it on his back, packing his items into his enchanted bag. "We should move, daylight is coming."

"Aye. We should."

They clear out of their campsite and return to the road. Weapons at the ready for any hostiles. Marching ahead to reach the Dragon Aerie, where their goals were waiting.

LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, ACADEMY OF RAYA LUCARIA

PRESENT DAY

"Ah, Fuck me! Here goes nothing!"

Lordan runs out of cover and begins his route to reach the knight's location. His first stop was the inactive fountain ahead.

He dashes for cover as magical arrows fly past him to land behind his trail, creating small explosions that kick up debris as he runs to avoid them.

He reaches the cover as more arrows launched at him. They start chipping away parts of the fountain, which will soon cause Lordan to become compromised as his cover was being destroyed.

He looks forward to see what was ahead, the common courtyard of the upper academy. No cover was in place except for the long dash towards the other end out of the archer's view. His thoughts were constantly interrupted by the impacts of the magical arrows, which greatly hindered his ability to think on the fly.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

An opening shows itself and Lordan proceeds with a mad sprint to the other end. The magical arrows trail behind him at a matching speed that he barely outruns. His sprint was interrupted as an arrow projectile hits him in the shoulder to knock him down.

"Argh! Shit!" His shoulder burns from the attack and he sees another barrage of magical arrows coming his way. Lordan does a roll before they land to stand once again and he manages to reach the other side, putting him in cover.

He sips on his red flask to heal his wounds and peeks out of the wall to inspect the Knight's current position. He was still on the broken bridge, awaiting Lordan to reveal himself to re-engage his attacks.

"Damn... He's too far..." The distance between the bridge and the courtyard was far too great for Lordan to perform his own magical attacks at range, his Ballista might even be too inaccurate at that range. He looks to the bridge and found that it was within jumping distance from the courtyard, aside from the deathly fall if he missed.

More arrows came to his wall, striking the wall he hid behind. Lordan looks around for alternative routes to cross the distance. None was found and he decides to take a risk and make the jump.

Here goes... Now!

The arrows stop and gives him an opening to run toward the separate stairs. The Knight notices Lordan's attempt and restarts his barrage of arrows.

The barrage of magical arrows flies past Lordan in his sprint, he dodges the projectiles in swift succession to maintain his speed and momentum. He closes to the edge to perform his leap.

Fuck it! JUMP!

He jumps the space to cross the broken bridge. He lands the jump but on misses one foot, leaving him to struggle to stay up on the side of the stairs.

Fuck!

Another barrage of arrows comes his way and he quickly manages to get back up to the main stairway. The knight sees Lordan on the stairs towards him and retreats to the inner building.

Lordan moves up the stairs to pursue the knight while he retreats. "Hey! Get back here!" He runs up the stairway and stops as a black portal opens up above the entrance.

From the portal came a giant metal sphere that rolls down the stairs with full momentum that will crush anything in its path.

"Oh shit!" Lordan turns around and runs down the stairs as the sphere rolls behind him. He looks back while running to see the sphere not slowing down, meaning that it will pursue him all the way to a death by height if he doesn't move out of the way.

Think! Think! Think! Lordan looks to his side and jumps to a side ledge of the stairway, avoiding the sphere as it rolls down to the end of the broken stairs into a free fall below. He looks up to the stairway and sees its side making a pathway that he crosses safely while avoiding the indefinite spheres that spawn from its portal.

Lordan jumps up on each ledge of the side and avoids all the spheres that rolled down while ascending. He reaches the entrance and was clear of the spheres as its portal was now behind him.

The entrance of the building was to a small observation room with study materials and books. The exit of the room lead to another courtyard, where Lordan could see the knight awaiting him with a bronze sword and silver shield in hand.

Lordan switches his equipment to his own sword and shield to match the Knight's, making him equal in terms of weapons to use. He exits the room slowly and sees the knight ready for battle with his shield.

"HALT! You will go no further!" The knight speaks out in the common language that Lordan understands. "How dare you trespass here! Who are you?! And why are you assaulting us?!"

Lordan prepares himself for an attack but still tries to make some peace with the knight. "I'm not here to hurt Queen Rennala, I'm only here for the Great Rune. Nothing more."

The Knight's body language becomes more aggressive as if what Lordan said was a trigger for him. "You came to steal Radagon's last gift to his most beloved?!" It was clear that no peaceful resolution would be possible at this point. "Has the Golden Order not tormented the Queen enough?! Has Queen Marika not taken enough from her?!"

"I'm not here from the Golden Order I'm just here fo-"

"ENOUGH OF YOUR LIES!" The Knight's weapons were now at the ready, a fight was now all but certain.

"In the name of Queen Rennala! In the name of Lord Radagon! In the name of Princess Ranni! I! Knight Captain Moongrum! Stand against you! I shall repel you! And drive you from this place!"

"And thus! Shall your corpse rot! Underneath the stars!"

Knight Captain Moongrum

Their clash begins with Moongrum charging with his shield raised. Lordan blocks his incoming charge as their shields strike each other.

They push each other back and begin exchanging blows with their swords, striking and defecting each other in rapid succession with sparks in between. Their dance of blades continues for a moment before Lordan pushes him off with his shield.

Lordan charges Moongrum, delivering a shield bash and slash to follow up. The attack staggered Moongrum slightly but he recovers almost immediately, retaliating with a series of strikes.

The pair gets into a lock hold and pushes each other off to a distance. With the new distance between them, Moongrum keeps his shield aside to use only his sword. It glows with magic on one side as Moongrum begins to cast a spell with it.

Lordan watches with his shield up to guard. The sword of Moongrum glows a dark green and energy can be seen building up great power on the sword's tip.

"Holy..." Lordan does not finish and dodges to the side at the last second to avoid an energy beam that fires from the sword, its power vaporizes everything in its path. He looks back at the damage to see Moongrum charging the sword again, prompting him to dodge once more to avoid another beam that came his way.

He charges Moongrum once again as his attack was finished. They re-engage their fight with swords, clashing with equal skill and speed. Lordan delivers a heavy thrust that misses and allows Moongrum to knock him down with a shield bash.

Moongrum swings his sword down and Lordan blocks it with his own, locking them in a hold as Lordan tries to resist Moongrum's downwards thrust.

"Yield!"

"Like... Hell!" Lordan musters his strength to push Moongrum off in one strong motion, it forces him back to regain his balance. He quickly swaps his shield for a seal to cast a few lightning bolts from the sky, a few hitting Moongrum before he dodges away to avoid the strikes.

Moongrum switches his shield as well for his staff, casting a few swift glintstone projectiles toward Lordan. Both fighters exchange range attacks with spells and incantations.

"Cease your resistance!" Moongrum then casts a barrage of homing projectiles towards Lordan. He outmaneuvered the Projectiles by closing the distance between himself and Moongrum, making them hit the ground. Lordan prepares a charge but was interrupted as the other half of Moongrum's sword burst out flames.

Moongrum waves his sword in a circular motion and flames light up the area ahead. Lordan gets caught by some of it due to him being in the blast radius and he rolls to put them out quickly.

Moongrum sword's emits a dark green glow again and Lordan rushes toward Moongrum upon seeing it. Moongrum points the sword straight at Lordan but his attack was redirected as Lordan grabs the sword and forces it to point upwards, firing off the beam to the sky.

"Bastard! Release me!" Both of them get into hold as Lordan attempts to disarm Moongrum from his sword. They struggle for a moment and eventually break apart as Moongrum delivers punches to Lordan's body, forcing him off.

Lordan winches back from the attacks and was stabbed through the chest by Moongrum with his sword. He grips onto the blade as Moongrum pushes him down to the ground.

Moongrum pulls out him sword swiftly and stabs him again, this time in his throat. Lordan chokes on his blood as the blade was pulled back, leaving a victorious Moongrum to stand over him as he dies.

"Tell those you meet in the afterlife that you received the Queen's justice."

Moongrum walks away as Lordan slowly fades to his last breath.

DEATH

RESURRECT

The hidden effect Godwyn's Great Rune kicks in and Lordan's fatal wounds heal partially to relieve him. He coughs out from the sudden intake of air as he returned to life.

Moongrum turns around from walking away and witnesses Lordan getting back to his feet, an outcome he was not expecting. "What? How did you...?"

Lordan gets to his feet and sips on his red flask to fully recover. He breathes a few times while grabbing his throat due to the uncomfortable sensation of a blade stabbing through it. "It's gonna... Take a lot of than that... To do me in..."

He draws his sword again and takes out another one to dual wield them, a favorite style of his and Vargram who taught him this fighting style. His takes his battle stance and prepares to battle again with his second wind from the resurrection.

"Well? Come on then."

His taunt works as Moongrum charges Lordan with his shield once again raised. Lordan stops the charge with a strong forward kick that staggers Moongrum due to the charging force's redirection.

They clash their weapons again, sword and shield against dual swords. The change of weapons made Lordan's attacks faster and more aggressive, letting him get some hits in between their clash. His attack begin to hurt Moongrum quickly as his blocks and attack were becoming more sloppy due to the pain he experienced.

Moongrum performs a shield which Lordan parries before he backsteps to create distance. He prepares another beam to fire off at Lordan but was stopped as Lordan throws one of his swords like a lance his way, forcing him to stop and hit away the sword.

With his attention taken away, Lordan delivers a downwards strike that hits Moongrum in the shoulder, wounding him greatly but now fatally. The attack leaves Moongrum in pain and he bashes Lordan out of the way with his shield.

"Argh! Damn you!" Moongrum prepares a final charge, ditching his shield in favor of wielding only his sword. It emits flames as he spins into the attack to create a miniature vortex of flames. Lordan avoids the attack by ducking and rolling towards it. The dodge works and Lordan manages to roll towards his discarded sword, retrieving it to dual wield once again.

They both clash once more with Moongrum on the offensive, his strikes becoming stronger and more violent. Lordan manages to keep up due to his efficiency at dual wielding.

Their exchange soon comes to a stop as Lordan manages to strike Moongrum in his left hand, impairing his ability to wield with both hands. A combination of attacks came from Lordan and he gets the better of Moongrum, forcing the knight down to the ground as the damage he sustained was overwhelming him.

Moon attempts one last attack with his sword and was stopped as Lordan drives his sword into his shoulder. He kicks Moongrum in the head and pulls out the sword in succession, signaling Moongrum's defeat as he could not recover from the last attack.

Moongrum struggles to get up and fails to do so, falling back down again as he attempted it. "No... I cannot... Let you harm... The Queen..." He pushes himself off the ground with the support of his sword, standing again in a pained stance.

"It's over, just give up!"

"No! I will not-"

Their conversation was interrupted as Moongrum's amulet begins to simmer a blue light. He panics and attempts to remove the amulet from his neck, pulling it with all his might as he begins to fade into a blue mist.

"What?! No! Stop! I don't need a rescue! I had him! I had him!" He pulls the amulet to his best attempts but to no avail as it was magically stopping itself from being removed. "I must protect the Queen! I MUST!"

His form begins to disappear into the blue mist that Melina usually appears or fades in. His movements become more desperate as he was completely fading away.

"I HAD HIM! I HAD HIM!"

His scream fades away with his form, leaving Lordan behind in the area victorious.

ENEMY FLED

Lordan breathes a sigh of relief as the battle ends. He assessed that Moongrum was sent away willingly, and based on his words he was to be teleported to safety.

He keeps his weapons and sees grace forming in the middle of the area, prompting him to reach out and feel its effects. His body was fully restored as the grace heals all wounds upon him. Godwyn appears once again in his phantom form, with an impressed face displayed.

"Well done. That was beautifully fought."

"Yeah... Well, I didn't actually kill him." He shrugs at the compliment, thinking that he didn't actually earn it.

"Either way it is a victory on your part." He looks to the elevator that leads to the grand library of the academy. "Our next prize is within our sight. Be careful, Lordan. I am not aware of what lies ahead."

Lordan nods and sets off from the grace to the elevator, with Godwyn following along as he wanted to speak to Lordan.

"Uhhhh... Shouldn't you be disappearing by now?" Lordan was confused about why Godwyn was in the elevator with him as he could simply piggyback in his mind to travel. He could see Godwyn hesitating to speak on a proposal that was on his mind. "Well? What is it?"

"I had a consideration, Lordan. About your usage of my Great Rune. If you would care to hear it."

Lordan looks up the elevator to see it still ascending, meaning that they still had time before it reaches the top. "Fine, pay it on me. What's the deal?"

"When you used the great rune, we both had a degree of control. However, our shared usage hindered its true potential. Therefore, I would like to try using it fully, by myself of course."

The words of Godwyn were beginning to form a sense of understanding in his mind. He suspected what Godwyn was asking for, despite him not saying it outright. "Meaning?"

"For you to fully use my Great rune to its fullest potential. I require full control of your body. For a brief period."

Lordan stares at Godwyn due to his request. The idea of surrendering control of his body was something he was willing to do, especially if there is a chance Godwyn would use it for other purposes.

Godwyn notices his stare and silence that lasted for some time, he clears his throat and attempts to justify himself. "Now I know that may sound... Questionable to you. But I think there is an advantage to let me fight at my fullest potential when you are not able to-"

"No." Lordan's answer was direct and clear. He looks up once again to avoid looking at Godwyn, who was annoyed at the instant rejection.

"Look. You have my word that I will not do any-"

"No. Nope. And never. End of story."

They reach the top of the academy where the grand library is, prompting Lordan to start walking away without caring for Godwyn's request.

"Fine. Expect no help from me until you agree to try it."

"Pretty sure I can live with that." Lordan walks away once more and Godwyn starts fading back into his mind.

"And remember what I said! Try not to hurt her!"

"I'll try." There was sincerity in his voice as Lordan was aware of what Rennala had when through based on the stories told to him. With Godwyn away, Lordan was left alone and walks to the great doors of the grand library. He places his hands on each door and pushes it forward, creating an opening large enough for him to enter.

He looks inside to see it is too dim to view from the outside. He prepares his weapons, a curved greatsword, his staff from Sellen, his sword, and a seal to cast incantations.

He looks into the library once more to see if there were any enemies, walking into the darkness of the area as he prepares himself to possibly fight the most powerful witch in the lands.

LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, GRAND LIBRARY OF RAYA LUCARIA

Lordan walks around carefully with his sword and staff at the ready. His eyes dart around to view any corners of the library for danger.

He spots nothing out of place and lowers his guard a little as he moves inwards to the center. The only thing Lordan observed were the library's grand selves of thousands of books, the area was still hard to see as the interior had no light sources.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the area's darkness and Lordan was able to look around clearly, noting that the library was quite empty. It was like no one was here for years.

Where did everyone- He snaps out of his thoughts as he felt something touching his leg. Lordan backsteps out of instinct and observes a child dressed in the academy's robes crawling on the ground, looking at him with an oblivious glee. The appearance of the child seemed a bit off like he was an adult stuck in a child's body and mind.

"Ok... That's the most disturbing thing I have seen today..." His attention turns the other way as more children in robes appear with candle sticks in their hands, all looking at him with the same disturbing smile.

A light soon lit up the library from above, causing all of the children to look up at its source. Lordan joins their observation and sees a woman in the air, floating while being seated in a wooden crib.

The woman wore a different set of robes, one with the design of the Carian royalty, and wore a Cresent crown to represent her status. She was second in terms of beauty in the lands between, with the first being Queen Marika herself.

The woman was Queen Rennala herself. The head of the Carians and headmaster of the academy.

Or at least she was, for the woman within this library now was but a shell of her former self.

"Hush, little culver. I'll soon birth thee anew, a sweeting fresh and pure…"

Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon

Lordan looks to the floating Rennala and prepares himself for a fight. He waits for a moment but no attacks from Rennala came, she was just hovering above him without a care for his presence.

She's completely out of it? He observed Rennala to be in a docile state, she hasn't even noticed Lordan in the library. Instead, she was just clutching her ember egg, stroking it with affection like a newborn. It was completely clear that she was not going to fight.

With no signs of aggression from Rennala, Lordan holsters his weapons and tries to speak to her. "Hello? Queen Rennala?" His words invoked no response as Rennala remain in her oblivious state.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Lordan was hoping that he could convince Rennala to give up her Great Rune without conflict, the advice to not harm Rennala was still a priority in his mind, so any effort to do so would act upon. "I'm here for the Great Rune. And there's no need for us to fight. We can ju-"

His words stop as a book came flying to hit him on the head from behind, causing him to yelp in surprise. He turns around to find the culprit of that attack. "Hey! Who threw that?!" He looks around at the children in the room, only to be answered with laughter from them. It was like they were playing with him.

"Come on now! Who did-" another book hits him in the head, and then another. The children laugh as they conjured more items around the library to send towards Lordan, hitting him with a large barrage of projectiles.

Lordan gets hit from all sides by items that don't hurt but were causing a lot of annoyance him. "Hey! Stop that! All of you littl-" Another book hits him square in the face and he was starting to lose his patience. "I swear if another fucking book hits me, I'm gonna lose-"

Lordan gets knocked away as the children group together to send an entire bookshelf his way. The large object slams him to the side and knocks him down, causing the children to laugh out in glee.

"OK! THAT DOES IT!" Lordan draws his weapons as a golden barrier forms around Rennala. He runs to one of the larger bookshelfs for cover as more objects were hurled towards him.

Lordan peeks out from his cover and observes the children in the library all of them chanting the same song together as they summoned objects as projectiles. A sight catches his eye as he sees one of them chanting loudly while looking up, the child's body emitting the same aura as Rennala's barrier.

What if... They are the ones creating that barrier? His thoughts on the matter were cut short as bigger objects came flying towards him, in the form of mini statues, tables, and research equipment as the children conjured more objects at him. A make-or-break decision came and Lordan decides to target the children with the yellow aura.

He dodges a few more objects and charges toward the first child, delivering a kick to his face before driving his sword through him. His attention turns to Rennala and he sees her barrier forming a small crack, meaning that killing the glowing ones was working.

Killing cursed kids for a great rune... Vargram would be so proud... He remarks on the weird situation to himself and dodges more objects that come flying his way. The projectiles become faster and more numerous as the children became a little agitated by his slaying of one of them. Lordan runs around the objects and spots the next one.

He jumps and delivers a downwards trust to the next child and Rennala's barrier cracks further. His eyes darts to the next one who was closer then he expected, making him cast a swift Glintstone spell to take him out quickly.

Rennala's barrier cracks further, and she herself started to notice, displaying a distressed expression without words. Lordan continues looking for more children with the yellow glow but was hindered as some of them started blowing fire from their candles, creating waves of flames that interrupted his movements.

He dashes past the majority of the flames with his curved greatsword's ability and spots another one, rolling to quickly reach the child and killing him with a heavy slash.

The barrier of Rennala starts forming larger cracks that appear around its entire structure, it was on the verge of breaking. The children within the library were now enraged, and some started attacking Lordan head-on, grabbing him by his legs or swinging their candlesticks as a weapon to attack up close.

Lordan fends off the children to the best of his ability, swiping them away in large groups with his curved greatsword while he looks around for the next target. He was not able to spot the one he needs to kill and decides to take an alternative route to check the back of the library.

And he finally spots his next target, a child in the middle of a group that was in front of Radagon's statue. He dashes into the group was performed a rotating strike that takes out the whole group at once.

Lordan and the rest of the children look up to Rennala as the final crack appears on the center of her barrier. And the barrier shattered, creating a loud but harmless shockwave as Rennala falls to the ground. She hits the ground hard in the middle of the library and drops her ember egg, it slides out of her reach as she slowly gets to her senses from the impact of her fall.

The children of the library wail and cry out in terror and start fleeing the library, crawling away at a fast pace towards the exit of the library, effectively leaving Rennala defenseless.

Rennala gathers her senses, her expression despairingly looking at her discarded amber egg. She crawls to towards her egg with great effort to reach her last gift from Radagon.

"Ahh, my beloved... My little star..." She crawls to the egg, talking to it like it was a living thing. "Have no fear, I will hold thee... Patience..."

Lordan keeps his weapons as he sees the area free of threats, only Rennala remains and she was in no position to fight back. He walks towards them with the amber egg in sight. His plan was to simply take the great rune within her egg and leave, there was no need to attack her if she did not have hostile intent.

He walks slowly past her, eying Rennala who seems to not even acknowledge him, her focus was fully on the egg. She was speaking nonsense while crawling, words that made no sense to Lordan.

"Ye will be countless born, forever and ever."

Lordan goes near the egg but sees something out of place. A black mist was forming beneath it, mist that slowly spread throughout the floor before launching itself up to the ceiling to create dark cloud in the library.

"What the hells?" Lordan looks on helplessly as the black cloud spread throughout the library, engulfing the entire area with its darkness, unaware of the defense mechanism he had just unleashed.

A defensive mechanism created by Radagon and Ranni, the last collaboration between an estranged father and daughter to protect Rennala from harm.

"Upon my name as Ranni the Witch."

A familiar female voice was heard, it was the voice of the witch that Lordan met a few months ago at the start of his journey. Lordan looks around for the source of the voice but found no one except for Rennala.

"Mother's rich slumber shall not be disturbed by thee."

The middle of the library lit up two figures, slowly forming the appearances of a man and a woman in Carian-styled armour. They approached Lordan slowly while he walks backward upon their appearance, slowly taking shape into people that Lordan recognized.

"Oh... Fuck. Me." The realization kicks in as their forms started becoming clearer, with the man sporting red hair underneath his helmet as a dead giveaway of who it was that Ranni had summoned.

"Foul trespasser."

"Send word far and wide."

The library changed upon the black disappearing into a shallow endless pool of water with the full moon in its background.

The summoned beings fully formed to reveal themselves as Ranni's parents in their prime.

With Radagon in his Carian king armor, wielding a majestic greatsword of luminous blue. A sword with the power of the moon itself.

And Rennala with her staff and Royal Carian sword. A powerful spellsword in her own right. Donning her silver crown as Queen of the Carians.

" Of the last rulers of Caria. "

" Rennala and Radagon. "

Both spectral forms of Rennala and Radagon were now fully summoned. They opened their eyes and set their sights on Lordan, for he was their intended target.

" And the reckoning they shall cast upon thee. "

Radagon, The Red King

Rennala, The Moon Queen

Lordan looks on to the two new opponents he would be facing at a distance, one of them being the current Elden Lord himself. He quickly draws his weapons and formulates plans on how to fight them both at once. He was not expecting such an outcome.

His distraction cost him greatly as Radagon uses his seal to summon golden chains around his body. The chains bound him in place and left him completely trapped, unable to move.

He struggles to get out of the chains and witnesses Rennala casting her spell, a familiar dark green glow on her staff's tip made him realize what that spell was.

"Shit."

Was the last word Lordan said before Rennala casts a giant beam of cosmic energy at him, five times larger than Moongrum's. The beam engulfed him entirely and instantly vaporizes him, killing him before the fight truly started.

DEATH

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Lordan screams out in terror as he wakes up into his next loop at the last sight of grace, remembering the death he just experienced. He breathes loudly as his heart beats out of order.

"What! The! FUCK!" He remembers clearly being reduced to nothing in seconds. What was supposed to be an easy retrieval of Rennala's rune was now going to be a great battle against two of the most powerful beings recorded in the lands between.

Lordan looks at the grace blankly as he processes what just happened. Godwyn appears beside him as he too witnesses the fight Lordan just lost.

"A defensive illusion of Rennala AND Radagon? Ranni must have put in the work to create such a complex summoning charm." He looks at Lordan who was still in a state of shock from just now. "Lordan? Are you... All right?"

Lordan hears through his dazed state and shakes his head rapidly to snap out of it. "I... Got... Fucked. Badly." He stands to his feet and conducts a breathing exercise to calm down.

With himself calmed, Lordan thinks of the duo he would be facing. "Radagon and Rennala... At the same time..." He looks at Godwyn as he was aware of both of their abilities. "Alright... Lay it on me. What am I getting myself to?"

Godwyn opens his mouth to protest his assistance but doesn't as he did not want to sour his chances for Lordan's agreement. "I have only heard the stories of their wrath. Rennala and Radagon were the region's most capable defenders in their prime. It is said that they once single-handedly defend Liurnia from an invasion of dark beings that descended from the sky."

"Descended from the sky?"

"Yes. Great ones they were called. Summoned by a group of cultists who worshipped the stars. The Great Ones are... Old gods that came from above our skies, far beyond our world and many worlds."

"And both Radagon and Rennala fend them off themselves..." Lordan sighs as he heard of their feat. It was clear that he was about to fight a version of Rennala and Radagon that were at their strongest as a duo. He considered himself a little lucky as they were simply summoned versions, the real ones would have been way worst. "Ahhhhh fuckkkk... How the fuck do I do this..."

Godwyn looks to Lordan as he stresses out on his next challenge. Lordan looks back at Godwyn and sees his expression, aware of what Godwyn was thinking. "No. No. Fucking. Way."

" This is the perfect solution, Lordan. Think about it. Who better to fight Radagon head-on than one who has already fought him? This is the best choice for both of us. " His suggestion to use Lordan's body as a temporary measure came up again.

Lordan shakes his head and laughs out at Godwyn's attempt to convince him again. "Oh piss off, Godwyn..." He gets up and walks to the elevator again. Taking it up to reach the library.

" Suit yourself. I expect you to change your mind soon. " Godwyn fades away into Lordan's mind and awaits Lordan's decision, expecting it to change once his fight doesn't go well.

Lordan reaches the top and approaches the great doors once again. Pushing it forward to enter the library once more.

His fight begins again as Lordan charges toward Radagon while avoiding spells from Rennala with dashes like a bloodhound.

He clashes with Radagon, curved greatsword against moonlight greatsword. Their clash of blades was exchanged with furious speed, each one deflecting the attack of the other, with Lordan at a disadvantage due to Radagon's superior strength.

Lordan manages to keep up with Radagon but was constantly harassed by spells casted by Rennala at a distance, glintstone shards and homing projectiles all came in his way when he tried to close in on an opening to strike Radagon.

He backs off for a moment to regain some breath, sipping on his blue flask to restore his focus. He looks on as Radagon swings back his greatsword and throws it with both hands in his direction, a throw that missed as Lordan simply dodges to the side to avoid it spinning towards

There! An opening! Lordan casts a few lightning spears towards Rennala to force her to reposition while running towards Radagon with his sword, charging towards the red king to deliver a stab.

He looks on as Radagon simply raises his hand up, reaching out in his direction. It was a move that confuses Lordan as Radagon was just standing there with his hand raised.

What's he doin-

Lordan's thoughts were rudely interrupted as he was hit in the back by Radagon's Moonlight greatsword, he had recalled his weapon with magic and it hits Lordan hard in the back to knock him down while flying back to Radagon's hand.

Lordan tries to recover from the surprise attack but was stopped as Radagon looms over him, delivering a downwards thrust into his torso. The sword pierces Lordan's chest and he cries out in pain as it was twisted in place.

"FUUUUUCCKKKKK-" His screams of pain were muted as Radagon stomped on his head to force his face underwater. He struggles in place as he was being drowned and impaled at the same time, a struggle that became harder as Rennala casted a spell to freeze the water around his body.

His movements start to slow as Lordan chokes from the lack of air, slowly going limp as he dies from drowning and blood loss.

This was his eighth fight against Radagon and Rennala.

DEATH

Lordan reawakens and coughs out violently, his thoughts were still on the fact that he just died from drowning. He settles himself for a while to calm down, dying was a part of his routine afterall.

He sees Godwyn at his left, looking at him with the same 'I told you so.' grin. The man was persistent in convincing Lordan to change his mind, but he was having none of it.

"Not a word." Lordan gets to his feet and starts to walk back to the elevator, his mind jumbled with ideas on how to defeat the duo by himself. "Not. One. FUCKING. word." He issues a warning to Godwyn who simply stays put as his point was being made.

"Of course not, Lordan. You seem to be doing rather well." Godwyn's tone dripped with sarcasm as Lordan walks away with fury.

If he ever becomes real. I am going to strangle him.

Lordan takes the elevator and proceeds up once again to the grand library.

Attacks from Rennala came his way as Lordan changes his strategy, to use Radagon as cover against Rennala's attacks while chasing her down to attack head on. The plan worked to a certain extent as the spells by Rennala were constantly hitting Radagon to stagger him, especially the homing ones that Lordan uses to guide toward Radagon.

Most spells come his way but Lordan was forced to refocus on Radagon as he charges up his moonlight greatsword for an attack. Radagon swings his sword and rays of moonlight energy came toward Lordan, forcing him to roll to avoid them.

His rolls were successful but a single ray from Radagon manages to hit him, causing him to get stunned. It presented an opportunity for Radagon, who charges foward to grab Lordan by the neck.

Lordan struggles to free himself from Radagon's grip as incantations were casted by Radagon's seal. Lightning came from the sky to strike Lordan in the back, unable to resist nor get of Radagon's grip.

His struggles start to cease as the lightning electrocuted him within his armor. And Lordan once again dies by Radagon's hand.

This was his 21st fight against Radagon and Rennala.

DEATH

He wakes up at the site of grace, once again seeing Godwyn at the side with his usual smug face. Lordan was wishing that Godwyn was real for a moment so that he may punch him.

" Ah. There he is. "

No words came from Lordan as he simply walks to the elevator to ignore Godwyn, far too stressed out to even consider a response.

" And... There he goes. "

Lordan drives his sword through Radagon after performing a parry and knocks him down. His attention turns to Rennala as she casted more spells his way, avoiding them with great effort to close the distance between them.

He jumps and performs a downwards slash her way, one that was blocked as Rennala raises her sword to meet it. He exchanges blows with Rennala who was surprisingly able to fend him off with a smaller sword.

Lordan deflect one of her attacks and prepares a heavy strike. Only to be caught off guard when Rennala performs a spinning attack with her staff that hits him multiple times in its spin.

The attack causes Lordan to fall to his knees in pain, it had completely got him out of it from its unexpected effects. He attempts to get up but then screamed out as Radagon thrusts his greatsword through him from behind.

"AGGGGGGGHHHHH!"

He grips on the sword that was stabbed through him as Radagon hoists him up by the blade. Rennala then swings her sword at his neck, beheading him completely.

This was his 33rd fight against Radagon and Rennala.

DEATH

Lordan grasped up from his awaking at the grace again, gripping his neck from the feeling of death by beheading, a feeling that he once experienced at the hands of Margit.

He looks to the side at Godwyn, who was now calmer and had a worried look on his face. It was clear that Lordan's constant deaths were taking a toll on him, and Godwyn was now willing to offer some form of help.

" Look... I still think it is the best choice for us to- "

"Do you know what you are, Godwyn! You are a troll underneath a fucking bridge!" Lordan bursts out an angry rant from the frustration, which causes Godwyn to stop his words halfway. "People can just go about, doing their own things, minding their own business! Then you show up and piss on all of it!"

He walks away back to the elevator, a plan to take out the duo came up in his mind but he was too angry to think about it now. "FUCKING! TROLL!" Lordan steps on the elevator and it hoists him up, leaving Godwyn to think about the spiteful words of Lordan.

" Rather uncalled for really... "

Lordan ducks as he dodges the incoming moonlight rays of Radagon's attacks, he closes in the distance and delivers several strikes with his dual swords. His attack ends and he casts a few lightning spears towards Rennala, an attack she dodges by using magic to jump to the side gracefully.

He dodges another attack by Radagon and charges Rennala once more, an action that causes Radagon to throw his moonlight greatsword once more. Lordan dodges the sword and dodges its recall as he closes in on Rennala.

"Come, Oath-sworn giant!"

His causes her to create a new spell, one that summons a giant behind her. Its appearance stops Lordan dead in his tracks and he rolls to avoid the incoming stomps.

Lordan gets to his feet as the giant disappears. He gets knocked down again as Radagon's moonlight greatsword hits him in the back from his throw. While on the ground Rennala conjures a new spell to summon something else.

"Come, Blaidd! My child!"

A phantom form of Blaidd appears, stopping Lordan dead in his tracks as he was confused by his appearance.

"Blaidd?! What are yo-"

Blaidd does not respond nor answer, he simply tackles Lordan down and beats him down. Blaidd draws his sword and thrusts it down into Lordan's stomach, before finishing him off with a bite to the neck that rips out his throat.

This was his 52nd fight against Radagon and Rennala.

DEATH

Spells came hurling at Lordan from Rennala's staff, Glintstone projectiles and crystals were cast at him. Lordan dodges that spell to the best he can while avoiding attacks from Radagon, his moonlight greatsword swinging different directions as Lordan ducks and rolls out of the way.

Another throw from Radagon with his sword was performed, sending it Lordan's way but he dodges it by sidestepping in the last second.

He advances on Radagon and clashes blades with him once Radagon recalls his sword. They are locked in a hold before Lordan gets struck in the back by a Glintstone projectile.

The attack causes him to stagger and release his hold, giving Radagon the chance to deliver a fatal blow. He swings his sword toward Lordan's middle body and cuts him clean in half.

Lordan screams out in pain as his lower body was separated by his waist. He slowly fades away as he loses the majority of his blood.

This was his 67th fight against Radagon and Rennala.

DEATH

Lordan runs towards Rennala and swings his sword down at her, it hits her dead in the shoulder and forces her to back off.

Rennala then leaps into the air while Radagon re-engaged Lordan in close quarters. She casts a spell that creates a miniature moon, sending it slowly towards Lordan.

He spots the incoming moon and was distracted by it, allowing Radagon to grab him by the neck once again. Radagon then used all his might to throw Lordan's entire body towards at the incoming, hurling him at it.

"OH SHI-"

His words were cut short as he crashed into the moon, the impact caused an explosion. The aftermath of the explosion saw Lordan blown into pieces to kill him instantly. This was by far his most gruesome death to date.

This was his 81st fight against Radagon and Rennala.

DEATH

Lordan rolls out the way of Rennala's spinning attack, rolling again when Radagon slams down his sword to create a torrent of energy that runs towards him.

His latest attempt in the fight had seen him getting in more hits on both of them. This was the furthest he has progressed thus far, but he was nowhere near defeating them.

He dodges more attacks from the duo, backing off to sip on his red flask to recover. His attempt to heal costs him as Radagon charges forth to kick him down. He quickly rolls aside as Radagon brings down his sword to try and finish him off, avoiding the attack but soon found himself kicked in the stomach once again.

Lordan was sent flying away from the kick, he violently tumbles on the shallow ground as he lands. He looks up and sees Rennala charging up her staff for another beam to fire his way. He quickly gets to his feet and runs when the blast was fired, narrowly avoiding the beam.

Once Rennala had finished her attack, Lordan starts another sprint toward her. Knowing that Rennala was weaker at close quarters and stronger at close range, he seek to take her down first once Radagon was away from her.

His efforts were once again hindered as Radagon's sword comes flying at him again, knocking him down as he sprinted. He quickly rolls out of the way as the sword was coming back towards him, but fails as it hits in the leg to knock him down again.

Lordan grunts in frustration as his progress was constantly being stalled in this fight. If he tries to attack Radagon, Rennala strikes him from afar using her spells. If he tries to attack Rennala, Radagon either hits him with range attacks or charges him from a direction he wasn't looking at. The duo were a perfect combination, a formidable pair that was constantly killing Lordan in all his loops.

This was his 9oth fight against Radagon and Rennala, and he was losing again. His flasks were empty from all the uses just now, and he simply had no stamina left to continue the fight.

His mind tries to come up with any plan that will help him get through this, he did not want to abandon this loop because of the progress he made, knowing that he would be able to beat them if he just held on a little longer.

I can do this... I can do this... I just need to... I need to-

"Lordan. Listen to me now." Godwyn appears by his side, for the first time in the middle of this fight. " You cannot win this, not in your current state. " His word rang true in Lordan's mind, it was obvious what kind of decision Lordan was facing.

" Lordan... Please... You need me. Now more than ever. " Godwyn tries to reason with Lordan this time, an attempt he should have made earlier. " I can take it from here. Finish this fight once and for all. And you know this. "

He looks up to Radagon and Rennala, both of them approaching him slowly as they prepared to finish him off. He tries again to think of a plan that does not involve Godwyn, for he was still against the idea.

" You need to trust me. I have no reason to trick you at all. Just give temporary control of you- "

"Do it."

Godwyn stops halfway as Lordan gives words of approval, his mind still trying to confirm that Lordan was in fact agreeable to the idea now. " You are willing? To give me control of- "

"DO. IT." Lordan spits out the words, frustrated at his inability to continue. But that did not matter now, he just needed to win with Godwyn's help. "Finish this fucking thing... Before I fucking lose it."

" Very well. " Godwyn offers his hand, knowing that Lordan would be able to touch it this time. " Take my hand. And let me finish this, for both of us. "

Lordan looks at the hand with hesitation and looks to the duo again. He takes a leap of faith and takes the hand.

And his world goes black.

He screams out in pain as Godwyn's persona takes over, clutching his head in the process. He falls to the ground once more and slowly regains himself.

Lordan removes his helmet to reveal that his hair had become fully golden blonde, the same color as Godwyn's hair. His eyes become vibrant gold, and his skin was of a light shade.

For it was now Godwyn that was standing in the arena, taking on the physical form of Lordan.

Godwyn the Golden had temporality returned from the dead.

"Well... This is interesting." He feels the new body he inhabits and slowly adjusts to it. Godwyn looks up to Rennala and then to Radagon, his mind getting excited at the prospect of fighting the red king once again.

"Good mother. Step-father. It's been some time." His words get no response as these versions of Radagon and Rennala were not actually real. "Ah. You are just summons. I forget... No matter."

He looks at the weapons Lordan had used previously, keeping all of them in his enchanted bag and leaving only a seal to use. He takes off the gauntlets of his armor to keep and clenches his fists, for his fighting style required no weapons.

He looked upon Lordan's bandaged hands, damages that Lordan sustained when training with his weapons in his free time. It was an aspect of Lordan that Godwyn found impressive, a man that was willing to put in the work to become stronger was worthy of his respect.

He cracks his fists and warms himself up for battle, a battle that was itching to fight the moment he saw Radagon appearing as a foe.

"I'm going to enjoy this... Again."

Godwyn charges Radagon first, a charge that earns him a response in the form of a slash. He slides below the slash and delivers a flurry of blows to Radagon with only fists, each one calculated and strong enough to hurt through Radagon's armor.

Rennala then casts a few homing spells his way, prompting Godwyn to grab Radagon into a hold. He turns Radagon in the direction of the incoming projectiles and uses him as a human shield. He tosses a weakened Radagon aside and runs to Rennala, dodging all her incoming fire while doing so.

Rennala then charges up her staff to fire off her strongest attack. Godwyn recognizes her move and runs to her faster. He takes a risk and allows Rennala to fully charge up her attack. With her staff fully charged, Rennala points her staff at him, only for Godwyn to force the staff up to fire off at nothing.

He grabs Rennala by his arm and begins punching her, staggering her with each blow. She attempted to retaliate with her sword but was quickly disarmed, with Godwyn taking it in a swift motion to throw it at Radagon.

Radagon knocks the sword out of the way and charges toward where Godwyn was assaulting Rennala. Godwyn sees this coming and shoves Rennala in Radagon's direction, prompting him to catch her safely.

Godwyn uses that chance and starts charging toward them. He prepares a strong punch to the closet one. He delivers his punch and Radagon shoves Rennala out of the way to take it, striking him dead in the chest to dent his armor and push him down to the ground.

Godwyn approaches the fallen Radagon but was stopped as Rennala strikes him with her spinning, giving her partner time to get up. With Radagon on his feet, he charges his moonlight greatsword and sends rays of energy at Godwyn. The attack hits Godwyn a few times and forces him to retreat for a moment.

Godwyn refocused on the duo and conjures red lightning in his hand with a seal. He leaps into the air and launches a red lightning spear towards a spot in between Radagon and Rennala, which electrifies the water beneath them. The attack shocks the duo to force them to their knees.

Godwyn lands safely at a distance and sees Radagon being the first one to recover. Radagon charges up his moonlight greatsword again and throws it towards Godwyn with all his might, it spins at great speed towards Godwyn.

Big mistake stepfather. Godwyn observes the sword carefully as it spins towards him, watching it for the perfect moment to dodge. The time came and Godwyn side-step to the left and manages to grab the sword by its hilt.

He looks at the sword he just grabbed and feels its power, it was similar to the sword that Ranni once gifted to him. He swings the sword and prepares to throw it back to Radagon, but an idea came to him as Rennala was getting back to her feet.

I wonder if that works...

He takes a chance on his theory and tosses the moonlight sword at Rennala instead, it spins fast due to the strength behind that toss.

And his theory was proven true, as Radagon leaps in front of Rennala to block her from the attack. The sword lands on his back and pierced him through his torso, its front impaling out of his chest. A fatal wound.

For even an illusion of Radagon would protect any form of Rennala at all costs.

Godwyn charges up another lightning spear with all his focus, it was to be the strongest one he could make. He shouts out a war cry and tosses the spear toward the duo.

The spear strikes both Radagon and Rennala at lightning speed, penetrating both of them at once. It was the killing blow he needed to end the fight.

Rennala and Radagon fall to their knees, both wounded from the fatal wound on their chests, smoke emitting from it with a visible hole. Rennala drops her staff and was the first to fall, speaking out her final words as her illusion was defeated.

"Oh little Ranni... My dear daughter... Weave thy night into being..."

Radagon was next to fall with him slowly succumbing to the damage. He looks at Rennala with sadness as the real Radagon would and speaks out his last words as well.

"Rennala... My moonlight... Forgive... me..."

He falls beside her, both rulers of the old Caria dying alongside each other. An outcome that they would have wanted in their last moments. Earning Lordan and Godwyn their victory against the king and queen of Caria.

LEGENDS FELLED

The illusion of the moonlit arena fades away into the darkness, leaving Godwyn back in the library of the academy. He looks around to see that the library was in the exact same state during Lordan's last battle here.

"Ah... Finally. Now how do I-"

Godwyn then clutches his head in pain and falls to his knees, grunting out in pain as a headache forces him to the ground. Slowly, his hair returns to its original color of Lordan along with his eyes, reverting back into Lordan completely.

Lordan breathes hard as he regains control of his body. His sweat filled his head from Godwyn's use of his body. He looks at his hand and closes it into a fist, confirming that he had full control once again.

Lordan looks to his side and sees Godwyn on the ground as well, looking worn out like he was. It seems that the act of using his body fully was exhausting for even Godwyn.

"What? What happened?" He asks in confusion, completely unaware of the events that occurred while Godwyn was in control. Godwyn takes a moment while he recovers, his divine lineage cures him of all exhaustion quickly, making him get back to his feet.

" I... Fought them and won... It seems. "

Lordan shakes his head in disbelief and lets out a laugh. He did not know how exactly Godwyn managed to pull off the victory but takes it as a win anyway. He gets to his feet and looks to the new grace that formed in the middle of the library, prompting him to reach out to heal himself.

He looks to the back of the library to see Rennala there, completely unharmed and docile, still clutching her amber egg while laying against the base of Radagon's statue.

Her crown dropped to the side to reveal her raven-black hair which was long and smooth despite its messy state. Rennala's face was also blank and unclear, her eyes hazy and in a lucid state.

"There... There... I have thee... Don't be afraid..."

Lordan breathes out a sigh of relief as the Great Rune was now within reach and Rennala for the most part was unharmed. He starts to move his way over while Godwyn follows along, a concerned look on his face as he sees Lordan focused on the amber egg.

" Lordan, wait. Give her a moment. We need to- "

"We take the egg and we go, Rennala remains safe and unharmed."

" Lordan, just hold for a moment and give Queen Rennala some peace until she fully cal- "

"We don't have a moment, Godwyn. Let's just take the rune and go." He stops in front of Rennala and looks at the egg in her hands, still being held on like it was a newborn.

"Queen Rennala, it's over. Just give us the rune and we will leave you be." He requested Rennala to surrender the egg, to avail as she wasn't even aware of him speaking to her. "Hello? Can you hear me?" She doesn't respond again as she only whispers to the egg she held.

"Hush, little culver... All will be well... All will be well..."

A part of Lordan was growing annoyed at Rennala, probably due to the fact that the illusion version of her was responsible for many of his deaths. He sighs and moves a little closer, his eyes set on the egg.

" Lordan. Don't. " A tone of seriousness can be heard from Godwyn, he wasn't approving of Lordan's idea that was obvious. " We find another way, alright? She is beaten. "

"Yeah. So we take the egg and leave. Simple."

" Would just listen to me. The rune can wait until we- "

"Nope. I have waited long enough." He looks at the egg again, his mind was set. Lordan moves closer and reaches out to the amber egg in Rennala's arms, intending to take it and claim the great rune.

He touches the egg and looks at Rennala who offers no response, prompting him to try and pull the egg from her gasp.

Alright slowly...

And Rennala responded to his attempt, letting out a cry of fear and panic.

"NOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOO! M'RCY! QUEEN MARIKA! M'RCY!"

The screams of terror catches Lordan off guard and he recoils from Rennala, allowing her to clutch her egg tighter as she starts breaking down into tears.

"NO MORE! NO MORE! I YIELD! PLEASE! I YIELD!"

He steps back from the crying Rennala and looks to Godwyn, confused on what to do. Rennala started crying without end as she starts breaking down, her time in isolation had taken a toll on her, isolation that may have lasted for years in the hundreds or the thousands.

"I has't given thee ev'rything... Thee has't taken mine own lands... My home... Thee has't taken mine own husband as thy owneth... Thee ahve taken mine own children as thy heirs... And thee has't taken mine own sanity... Showing me visions of thy intimacy with mine own belov'd... In the most vulgar of ways!"

"I has't given thee ev'rything... I has't nothing hath left... And now thee sendeth thy hellspawn to t'rment me!" She looks at Lordan with fear in her eyes, to scared to do anything against him.

"Please... No more... Please leave me be..."

Rennala looks up at the statue of Radagon, her eyes filled with tears as she pleaded for her love. "Radagon... Radagon... Please... Help me... Please..."

Lordan was left stunned at the sight, looking at Godwyn for an answer. "What... What is... What happened to her?" A question that cause Godwyn to sigh as he was aware of the tragedy behind Rennala's downfall.

" Radagon's divorce and marriage to my mother was... Too sudden. It caused a chain of events that led to the woman that you see today, a shell of her former self. The announcement of my mother's pregnancy of my siblings was the final straw that broke her. And the Carians no longer wanted her as Queen or headmaster, removing her in favor of Radahn and Rykard as their leaders, before Ranni came of age. "

"I... Didn't know that." Hearing the story of Rennala made Lordan uncomfortable with his actions, his annoyance had led him to unknowingly torment Rennala.

He sighs at the result of his attempt, thinking of several ways he could take the Great Rune without taking the egg. Nothing came to his mind as he doesn't know how to do that, perhaps Gideon or Sellen had insight on the process.

Or perhaps he shouldn't bother. Was he truly considering taking Radagon's last gift to Rennala away from her?

The thought disgusted him, stealing something precious from someone else, an action only bandits took. The words of Melina came to his mind, words that describe how she viewed him.

You truly are a good man and a hero, Lordan. Deserving of the mantle.

And he was ashamed of himself, for he almost acted against Melina's view of him. She believed in him, so he has to be better.

With that thought, Lordan makes a decision.

"We are not taking it."

The answer causes Godwyn to blink with confusion, trying to process what he just said. " Excuse me? "

"We are not taking the rune, Godwyn. And that's the end of it."

They stand in silence for a moment as Lordan knows Godwyn would disagree, they had put in too much effort to get to this point. "Look. If you are gonna hate me for this, fine. But I am not going to force he-"

" I approve of your decision. We shall give up this great rune, for Queen Rennala's sake. "

"You do?" He was surprised by Godwyn's agreement, he expected him to complain or berate him for the act. But Godwyn agreed, almost immediately as he noticed.

" Queen Rennala is Ranni's mother. And by extension, my good mother, so her welfare is of my concern. And if this act allows me to make amends on my mother's behalf... Then I accept it, without protest. "

"You are ok with giving up a great rune? Even if it is within our grasp?"

" Yes. There are other runes out there. We don't need this one, for now. "

Lordan breathes out in relief and nodded in agreement, it was rare that he and Godwyn agreed on things. "Ok. Then we leave, get back to the hold for more information on the next runes."

They agreed on their plan and Godwyn prepares to disappear back into Lordan's mind. "Godwyn... Thanks... For that... Just now."

"It's fine. No one would be willing to give up power so easily, Lordan. And you did it for the right cause, that makes us even. "

" You are a very interesting fellow, Lordan. Not like the other Tarnished I know of. I am glad it was you who claimed my Rune. " He begins to disappear and adds one more note for Lordan. " We will discuss my possession of your body later, there are some insights on that event that I would like to share. "

"Sure. See you Godwyn." Godwyn's form fades completely and Lordan was left alone in the library, with only Rennala as a company. He sees her still sobbing but was now calmer than before, a part of him feeling guilty for landing her in this state in the first place.

"I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean-"

"You fucking mupper!"

A voice came from the library's entrance, a familiar voice to Lordan. The shadow of a large man can be seen drawing a greatsword from his back can be seen as it moves closer to Lordan, making him draw his weapons to prepare for another fight.

"If you think you can just come in here and attack my mother without cause, you got another thing com- Lordan?!"

The large man revealed himself to be a half-wolf, it was Blaidd in fact. He hasn't seen Lordan for months and was unpleasantly surprised at his appearance here.

"Lordan! You did this?!" He asks with a tone of confusion. "You are that madman that was reported going on a rampage through the academy? Killing everyone in sight? Destroying the furnishings? Stealing the books? Beating off to the paintings of the Queen and the Princess?" He lists out several reports that were told to him by scouts, each one a little more outlandish than the last.

"Uhhhhhh... Yes? Except for the last two parts?"

Blaidd sighs loudly and lowers his weapon, knowing that Lordan was here for the Great Rune. Seeing Rennala alive was enough to make him stop as he processes the events that just occurred because of Lordan's actions.

"Bloody hells... What a fucking mess..."

Lordan leans against the wall while waiting for Blaidd, who was inside the library to help ease Rennala from her unstable condition. He had been waiting for over an hour by now, parts of his armor wet from the rain.

It was at this time when Lordan found out that the mistress Blaidd was serving was Princess Ranni herself. Menacing that Lordan had unknowingly attacked one of Blaidd's superiors, his adoptive mother if he heard Blaidd calling her that correctly.

I'm probably fucked. Or not.

His thoughts on the matter were cut short as the grand library's doors opened for Blaidd to exit. He waits for Blaidd as he walks toward Lordan, intending to inform him of the current situation.

"How is she?"

"She's fine, for the most part. Not hurt for real, but... It's taken a toll on her." Blaidd sighs, thinking of the ways that this problem could have been avoided. "We should have brought her back to the manor, at least she would have been safer there."

"Yeah, It would have been." Lordan awkwardly rubs his head as he was aware of the current state of things. Indirectly attacking and causing distress of Rennala was not something that he was going to get away with that easily, especially if Blaidd was aware of it. "Alright... Lay it on me. How fucked am I?"

"Scale of one to ten?" A nod from Lordan lets Blaidd use the number to scale the severity. "I'm looking at seventeen, mate. Ranni is not going to let this go that easily."

Shit. Who would? I attacked her mother.

"That being said, I have a little something that can solve all your problems." Blaidd searches his enchanted bag for the item Lordan needed, taking a while as he needed to search for it due to its older enchantment type. "Now where is that thing... Come on... Come to Blaiddy... Where are- Ah. There it is."

He retrieved a small flask of liquid that was shiny like a crystal to hand over to Lordan, allowing him to inspect it with curiosity due to the liquid's otherworldly appearance. "What is this?"

"That's a small amount of Celestial Dew, won it in a card game with some knights." The mention creates a sly smirk on Blaidd's wolf face. "Use it to carry out Absolution at the Church of Vows, reversing all known and unknown antagonizations. A one-time use only, mind you."

Lordan looks at the dew that was given to him, it's usage seemed to be the salvation that he needed to avoid Princess Ranni's wrath. "That's it? I just give this to the church and all is forgiven? Just like that?"

"Yes and No." Blaidd gives a confusing answer, which forces him to clarify. "Yes as in we forgive you for that, which is kind of not your fault. No, as in we will remember your acts against us, so we might need something in return."

Lordan gets the idea, the usage of the dew will be seen as a peace offering that indicates his remorse for the act of attacking Rennala, but he would still need to pay back a gesture to show his good faith. He accepted that fact and decides to follow along with Blaidd's plan. "Well, it's a fair cop I guess... What do I need to do?"

"First. Go to Chruch, offer that dew, and be done with it. I handle the cleanup here, don't worry. After that, travel north of Liurnia, to the Carian Manor. Ranni resides and she will probably have something for you to do that equals the payment for your... Fuck up." Blaidd shrugs at the use of the term. "But in all seriousness, this is the only choice you have mate. Honestly."

Lordan sighs and keeps the dew and decided that it was time to move on. The Roundtable hold would have to wait, amends the Princess Ranni was to be made first if he hoped not to make a new enemy. "Alright. Off to church, I go. what about you?"

"I'm staying to round things up here. A detachment of Carian forces is coming to secure the academy. And I going move the Queen to the manor, to avoid this kind of thing again."

"Ok then..." Another awkward pause came as Lordan wasn't sure how to go about thanking Blaidd for his help. "Blaidd... I uhhhh... Thanks."

"It's alright. Looking out for you, mate. You would do the same." He gives his friend a pat on the back and gestures to the elevator for Lordan to go forth. "Come on. I will see you out, can't have you go on another rampage."

The both of them walk to the elevator and step the floor tile for it to descend, making small talk on the way down.

"So... Lord of Limgrave, huh? Moving up in the world."

"Not my choice. Haigh Practically signed the papers without me knowing."

"Still, Lord Lordan sounds pretty weird."

"I'm talking to a wolfman with a west northern accent where I come from. I'm way past weird at this point."

"True..."

They reached the bottom and begin to walk towards the exit of the upper building. Both of them walk side by side while engaging in some banter.

"What kind of parent names his kid Lordan anyway?"

"The same kind that names their kid Blaidd."

"That's fair."

DRANGLEIC, ALDIA'S KEEP

1995 YEARS BEFORE THE SHATTERING

Fighting can be heard as the last of the forces were cut down. Leaving only a small force of troops in this battlement, awaiting two enemies that were making their way here.

The general for this detachment of Dragon Order Army awaits the enemy behind his group of remaining men, a force of twevle soldiers remaining to keep him safe.

They get on guard upon seeing their attackers, Rags, and Hoarah. Both of them are bloody from all men they killed to get to this general. The one that Horah had been hunting for to avenge his people.

"K-k-kill them! Kill them before the-"

The group stares to the side in shock as Hoarah throws his axe their way, it crushes one of the soldiers to death as the axe lands directly on him. The group turns back to where the duo lies, shaking in fear of their own fates.

"Any man that does not seek death may leave. Lest the general."

Hoarah makes an offer to the soldiers, who all immediately accept, tossing down weapons and abandoning their post. They flee from the scene to run past Rags and Hoarah, leaving their general to his incoming demise.

"What?! What are you all doing?! Get back here! Get back here and def-" His words stop due to fear as Hoarah comes towards him, fury in his eyes as the general recognises him. "You- You're-"

Hoarah grabs the general by holding the back of his head, lifting him up efforts. The general struggles in his grip, trying to get free to no avail. "Stop! I am a general of the Dragon Order! Release me!"

"No. You are just another man for me to kill. nothing more." Hoarah grips the torso of the general and pulls down in a swift and strong motion, ripping off the entire body of the general from his head. The body twitches for several moments and goes limp, while the severed head distorts its expression from dying.

"It's done. Our debt is paid." Hoarah tosses the body aside and keeps the head within a sack, hanging it on the side of his waist to bring it back to his home, where a spike awaits its placement. He looks to Rags who had observed the whole thing, nodding to him as Rags had helped him clear a path to the general.

Rags cleans the Godslayer on the cloth of one of the fallen enemies and keep it on his back. "So that's that then. Right?"

"Yes. I have completed my task." Hoarah looks up to the sky with his eyes closed, breathing deeply to clear his mind from the rush of battle. Having lost himself for a moment during their rampage through the keep. "And you helped, despite the time taken for the travel. My thanks, Rags."

"It's fine." Rags look up at the view above him, as sounds of a great battle were heard above. Screams of rage and roars from Dragons rage above the clouds. And he could see the dance of a thousand Dragons in the sky, with their riders warring against each other.

From the view below, Rags could make out the two variations of Dragons that roamed the skies. One type had light grey stone skin, the other had dark bronze scales of the traditional dragons in the books. And both types were seen fighting each other.

"What in the hells is happening up there?"

"War." Hoarah responds as he was aware of the current events above them. "What you see is the fight for supremacy. Two forms of Dragons, one from the skies, the other of this world. Both are fighting against each other for the mantle of the world. The Dragon Order seeks to control all Dragons, even the ones not of their kind. Thus, it is inevitable for a conflict to happen."

"I thought they were at war with the Golden Order?"

"They are. Unfortunately, both orders are fighting wars from within themselves. A side effect of having too much power."

Rags shrugs and looks up to the location above them. The Dragon Aerie was his destination, and he could see it from here. He estimates the distance he needed to travel to reach there. It was going to be a tough climb as all elevators to the Aerie were cut off.

One week of climbing at least... Rags checks his climbing gear and looks around for a way to climb up to the Aerie. "I gonna get up there."

"Then let us send you on your way." Hoarah looks to the side and sees a giant ballista, five times larger than the average one as it was designed to take down dragons. He gestures for Rags to follow and spots the ammunition used by the weapon, a set of giant ballista bolts. "Come"

"What?"

"A theory, Rags. Watch." Hoarah grabs one of the bolts, holding the bolt like a spear. He raises a hand forward and aims the bolt at the wall of the Aerie.

Hoarah holds his breath and musters all his endless strength to throw the bolt like a spear. It flies like an arrow in the air due to his strong toss, hitting the wall of the Aerie above the skies.

Upon seeing the result of the throw by Hoarah, Rags understood what Hoarah was implying. It was the fastest way up to the Aerie at this point. "So you are going to throw me there?"

"In a sense. Attach yourself to a bolt for me to throw. And you shall reach your goal." Hoarah spots a couple of chains and passes them to Rags, implying that he will be using it to attach to the thrown bolt.

Rags looks at the chains and considered the idea seriously. It was a mad plan. A thousand ways this could go wrong, and a thousand ways this could go right.

But he had wasted too much time, another week might cost him dearly. Seriph was up there, he knows it.

"Fuck it. Let's do this." He takes the chain and starts chaining himself securely, while Hoarah works to attach it to a bolt. They test the security of the chains as it was attached to Rags, who will be holding it on by his torso and his prostatic arm.

Rags moves to a more open segment of the battlements, preparing himself for the throw. Hoarah comes along with the bolt and imparts his final words to Rags. "Any more hesitations? There is a chance this may not work."

"Oh, it will work. Besides, I can't die remember?"

BUT YOU CAN WASTE MORE OF OUR TIME IF IT FAILS.

Shut. up. He shakes his head from the beast's voice. "This is the best way to go about it, as you suggested."

Hoarah lets out a short laugh, impressed by the bravery of Rags that some may call madness. It was clear that his maiden was the most important thing to him, and he was going all out to save her. Even if it means challenging the major powers of the world. "Very well. Let us begin."

Hoarah offers a hand to Rags as a gesture of goodbye, knowing that they will be separated once Rags reaches the Aerie. Rags takes the hand as a gesture of respect among two warriors, both strugglers in their own right.

"Then this is farewell, swordsman. May you have good fortune in the wars to come."

"You too, Hoarah. You too."

"Find your maiden and finish Seriph. If we meet again, I would gladly fight by your side again, Rags."

They let go and take their positions for the throw. Rags prepares himself for the incoming tug that will be sending him flying to the Aerie above, watching Hoarah take aim at the sky for his throw.

"This is gonna suck..."

Hoarah looks to Rags one more time for a confirmation, one that he gets with a nod. He takes a stance for the throw, knowing that he will have to put in more effort to support the weight of Rags.

"Fuck... Fuck..."

Hoarah swings his arm back with the bolt. He takes a running start and screams out a war cry.

And with swift throw that creates a shockwave he tosses the bolt to sky.

The excess chains on the ground slowly gets pulled toward the sky, making Rags look at it with dread as he knows that the pull was coming.

"Oh shit... Oh shit... Oh shit..."

The last of the excess chain leaves the ground and Rags's entire body gets pulled violently to the sky.

"FUCK!"

Rags feels the wind channeling through him as the bolt travels at the speed of sound, the chains rattle sounds due to the wind pressure. Rags holds on to the chains with his false arm and his torso, feeling it slip a little due to the force of the wind.

Hold on! Just a little more!

He sees the top of the Aerie coming closer, he was going to reach it in mere seconds at this speed. He panics a little as he realises that he might slam into the wall hard, a potential problem that may cause him to fall down into the depths below.

Shit! Shit!

Rags helplessly attempt to loosen the chains as the wall was closing in. His attempts fail and Rags braces for impact against the wall.

"AH FUC-"

The bolt hits the wall and weakens it enough for Rags to crash through it, landing safely inside the walls of the Aerie. Rags was laid on the ground of the Aerie, debris scattered around him from his crash.

"Fucking helllllllsssss..."

Rags gets to his feet slowly and his wounds from the impact start to heal. He looks around to find the area around him empty. And with that one act of foolishness, Rags was now atop the Aerie. A climb of at least a week was reduced to a few minutes from Hoarah's throw.

Rags spot the pathway to the rest of the Aerie and draws his weapon. He walks away from the site of the crash and was now on his way to find Seriph.

DRANGLEIC, DRAGON SHINE

Rags takes each step slowly as he acsends to the top of the structure. Along the way he met no resistance, only bodies of Dragon Order and Draleic Soldiers were seen laying on the floors of the area.

He takes the main pathway smoothly, no one was there to stop him. Rags then reaches a high stairway that led to the absolute top of the Aerie. It was here where he spots a lone figure at the top, screaming at whoever he was talking to.

"GRANSAX! REVEAL YOURSELF!"

Rags looks to the top of stairway and start walking up slowly. He looks around for threats that may block his path, eyeing the dead bodies that lay on the stairway.

"IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO?! IS THIS YOUR FEEBLE ATTEMPT AT REBELLION?! IS THIS ALL THE ANCIENT DRAGONS CAN MUSTER?!"

Rags focus was now fully on the man at the top of the stairway. His hands twitch in anticipation of the fight, his eyes looking only at his enemy, his fury building up with each inch he moves closer.

"REVEAL YOURSELF! USURPER! RETURN THE TWINS TO US! RETURN THE ELDEN LORD'S HEIRS!"

Rags was now closer to him, and he has not noticed as his back was turned to Rags. His rage was now at an all-time high as he had waited a year for this moment.

"GRANSAX! GRANSAX! SHOW YOURSELF YOU COWARD! COME OUT!"

Rags stops at a portion of the stairway looking directly at the man above, the man that cost him everything.

"Seriph."

He speaks and Seriph turns around from his voice. He looks at Rags and instantly recognises him. And for the first time, Seriph meets an opponent that returned from defeat.

"You?"

FIN