Ash crunched and shifted below his boots as he walked, parting and flowing around his greaves like waves of dust.
The Ashen one walked up the hill, passing by pillars of stone warped by flame and ash, his short climb ending as quickly as it had started when he stood infront of two tall charred pillars.
A large field was ahead of the unkindled, decorated by old blades of various shapes and sizes plunged and stabbed into the ash and dust underfoot.
In the center of the clearing sat a man, or was it a woman? The gender of the creature was unclear and unimportant, as per the rules of his decaying world.
For if it draws breath, it would surely attempt to stop his.
This is it, one last duel.
The undead drew his massive greatsword from a leather sheath strapped to his back. This blade was proof of his struggles, and it's bloodstained edge was testament to his skill.
Next he drew an unorthodox iron dagger from his hip, warped and bubbling along the flat of the crescent blade.
This dagger acted as his anchor to the earth as he employed the viscious fighting style of Farron's legion.
He pulled down the tip of his pointed steel helm with two free fingers of his left hand, and stepped forwards into the field.
The creature raised it's twisted head from a resting position, previously staring into the primordial flame of the bonfire.
It stood as the unkindled inched closer, and grabbed the hilt of the coiled sword.
Wrenching the ruined armament from the fire of the bonfire, it faced the legionary and sprinted towards him, blade at the ready.
The creature slashed at the unkindled, bringing it's blade from the left and up to the right in a deadly arc of flame.
The Ashen one dove and rolled away from the attack and to get behind the creature, he brought his dagger down into the dust and swung himself around in a circle as he cleaved into the enemy's legs.
The tall creature turned around as it's legs were almost mutilated, and swung it's twisted greatsword at the undead's chest.
He jumped backwards and out of the path of the sword, and then executed a fast jump attack and painting a deep gash across the chest of the adversary.
The creature swung it's sword once more, this time taking a step forwards and putting a majority of it's weight behind the one-handed swing of it's greatsword.
The two danced and swayed in a battle of blood and ash, spinning and twisting in a series of deadly strikes and slashes.
The undead swung his own sword into the path of the enemy's, catching the top of it's blade and sending the tip into the ground.
The Ashen one stabbed his dagger into the ribs of the disfigured thing, his blade meeting resistance, but not enough to stop the dagger's bite.
The steel monstrosity punched the undead in the face before he could do anymore significant damage, and drew his blade from the dunes of ash.
The creature then grabbed the handle of the coiled greatsword with it's other hand and swung with as much force as it could towards the Ashen one.
The undead rolled out of the way, narrowly missing the two-handed strike, and embedded his greatsword into the ribs of the creature, before pulling it out and getting hit in the shoulder by another swing of the twisted steel weapon.
Unfortunately he had lost his grip on his dagger when his arm broke and he was sent flying, but he did make a mental note of where it was so he could grab it when he had an opening.
It's with foes like it that I wish firebombs were effective...
The Ashen one quickly drew a flask from his side, and downed two doses of healing estus before returning the tempered bottle to his waist.
He surged forwards and swung violently at the shins of his adversary, dodging and weaving between attacks as he fought like a cornered wolf.
Thank the flames for my chloranthy ring, I wouldn't have been able to keep up for so long without it.
The Ashen One stepped back as he took a brief rest between flurries of steel, drawing and consuming a blooming green blossom.
The enemy flicked it's wrist and a cloud of cinder covered it's weapon, before dissipating and revealing his greatsword now took the form of a curved one.
It then whipped out it's empty hand, a pyromancy flame burning bright within his palm, before dissapearing once it slammed it's fist into it's chest and becoming enveloped in a firey crimson aura.
The legionary clenched his teeth behind his tall leather collar, and grasped the handle of his greatsword with his newly freed hand.
The creature charged him once more, before turning and executing a spinning slash that was blocked by the flat of the unkindled's greatsword.
It swung at him once more, before being struck I'm the chest by his Farron Greatsword and being forced to the ground by the impact.
The Ashen One thrust his sword towards the vulnerable chest of the creature, before it suddenly flicked it's head upwards and parried his attack.
He felt a twinge of fear run through him as he fell to his knees, grunting and clenching his teeth together as he readied himself for what came next.
A hot searing pain rushed through his ribs and out his back as the curved sword plunged itself through his body, tearing and cutting through his form with practiced skill.
I hate being parried!
He fell backwards onto his back as the creature briefly retreated, and he took this time to down a mouthful of estus before standing to swing at the creature once more.
The creature cast a 'Great Combustion' and the Ashen One was forced to evade
It then flipped backwards, flicking it's wrist once more and hiding it's sword behind the embers that followed.
This time a twisted metal staff appeared and the enemy casted a 'Soul Greatsword' with it, intending to separate his head from the rest of his body.
The unkindled ducked, and swung his greatsword into the leg of his attacker, cutting deep into the creature's unseen flesh.
It fell to it's knees, staff in hand as it struggled to regain it's footing.
The Ashen one gladly took this opportunity, and launched a dung pie into it's face as a sign of disrespect.
The residual coating of feces evaporated and burnt into nothingness as the pile of dung hit it square in the face, but it still left it's mark on the creature's pride.
The creature seemed to go rigid as if something had overtaken his senses, it then slowly rose to it's feet and it's greatsword changed once again.
It angled it's sword towards the ground and plunged it into the ash, a violent explosion of flame following after contact.
Uh oh.
Fortunately the unkindled had taken this time to run away and reclaim his dagger, crouching low to the ground with both armaments angled away from himself.
The amalgamation drew it's sword from the ground and flicked the newly formed ultra greatsword to it's side in one fluid motion.
It sprinted towards the undead, grasping it's weapon in both hands and slicing towards him.
The Ashen one dodged out of the way of the blade, but was badly burnt by the wave of fire left in it's wake.
The next time the creature swung, he dove out of the way of the blade and the flames that followed, and slashed a deep cut into the back of the offender.
It turned around and freed it's left hand from it's huge greatsword and formed a brilliant bolt of electricity in it's free hand, ready to plunge into the ground.
The unkindled had seen this attack before, it was a move used by some of the invaders that sought to kill him, a 'Lightning stake.'
He leapt backwards as the creature slammed the volatile energy into the dust below.
He ran as far away as he could and quickly took three doses of estus, before running back to face his foe.
The heat he felt while being near this thing was almost unbearable, and it only intensified with the forming of it's flaming ultra greatsword.
The adversary reared back his hand and formed another brilliant bolt of lightning, a 'Sunlight Spear' to be exact. It then reared back as if to throw, before launching it straight up into the air.
The Ashen One was confused for but a moment, before seeing thousands tiny bolts of lightning racing towards the earth.
He dodged out of the way of most of the bolts, a few hitting him in the arms and legs as he escaped the area of bombardment.
He rushed back in towards the creature, and swung his Farron Greatsword at it's thigh before narrowly dodging a slash meant to separate his head from his shoulders.
He slashed another line across the back of the creature as he maneuvered behind it, a brutal 'X' formed in broken armor across it's back.
The creature turned and kicked him away, slashing and swinging at the air in blind fury.
This was it, he had almost won, all he had to do now was finish it.
He deposited his dagger into it's sheath on his waist, two-handing his greatsword and charging at the enemy.
It formed more bolts of electricity, sending them crackling and exploding towards the Ashen one, who expertly avoided them.
It lashed outwards again, this time catching the Ashen One's shoulder in the path of destruction left in the blade's wake.
He grunted and withdrew his dagger again before throwing it into one of the many holes in it's breastplate, sinking into the burnt corpse below the armor.
It seemed to flinch slightly, and the Ashen One took this time to drink the last of his estus.
It brought it's sword above it's head with both hands in a final attempt to split the unkindled in half, but it was never able to bring the sword down quick enough.
The Ashen one plunged his sword into the chest of his foe, blade breaking through it's back and displaying it's steel glint.
The amalgam let both of it's arms fall down to it's sides, relinquishing it's grip on the greatsword.
Without it's master's strength to empower it, the sword returned to it's original state and lost it's bright glowing flame.
It shakily brought it's hands up to the Farron Greatsword, attempting to push the sword out of it's chest with what little strength it had left.
He raised a foot and planted it against his enemy's thigh, pulling his massive greatsword of it's chest.
The creature before him fell to it's knees, hands on the ground and head held towards the sky.
It fell forwards to the ground with a loud thud and the blackened body turned to dust, armor following soon after and crumbling to nothing but scrap.
With his final enemy slain, he was ready to end his journey.
The Ashen one returned his greatsword to it's place on his back, retrieved the coiled sword, and gazed at the soul infront of him.
It was impressive, he'd give it that, but it's soul memory value wasn't that great.
He shrugged and placed it in his bottomless box.
With coiled sword in hand, he returned to the center of the field and deposited it into the ground.
Flames roared to life, and he felt better already just being near the safety of the bonfire.
He heard the familiar sound of a summon sign appearing behind him, and as he turned he saw it was the Fire Keeper's.
He knelt down to the ground and raised his hand over the sign, beckoning it's creator into his world.
The Fire Keeper rose from the ground, hands folded infront of her and facing the flame.
She slowly walked towards the bonfire, and then knelt down into the ash infront of the flames.
She stuck her arms out slowly as if lifting a child by the arms, and the fire of the bonfire leapt into her cupped hands.
"The First Flame quickly fades... Darkness will shortly settle."
"But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Like embers, linked by lords past." She says as the world begins to fade.
The Ashen One crouched down and slowly approached the Fire Keeper from behind, weapons sheathed and hands ready to grapple.
He leapt forwards and grabbed her wrists, before kicking her in the back and sending her face first into the ash.
He pried the ancient ember out of her hands, twisting and pulling at her fingers until her grip faltered.
He punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious as he cradled the first flame in his gloved hand.
I'm sorry.
He stared deeply into the primordial blaze as he held the flame high above his head, staring at it in awe.
But nothing ever lasts forever, and so the Ashen One crushed it in hands as the flame flickered dimmer and dimmer.
