Well um…this is more awkward than I thought it would be. After the defeat of Magnus, the people of Kuroyuri gather themselves to start repairing the damages done to the village. Nora did run to me and asked all sorts of question but still being on death's door not to mention how fast she was, I couldn't understand anything. Eventually An came with Ren and convince (bribe her with pancakes) to stop bothering me. Now I'm currently packed in the Ren's residence with 7 beowolfs that survived the battle, Misha lying next to the couch I'm in, Maria absentmindedly having some tea to my right and Barry internally fanboying to my left.
"Barry settle down, I can hear you in my head you know." I quietly remind him to stop and focus on the tense conversation we're about to have.
"So uh Onyx right, can you verbally talk to us or do you know sign language?" Tai asks, taking out a camera to record.
"Nope, I haven't got the time to learn sign language so this is the best I can do." I answer on my note pad.
"Right then, we managed to come to a theory that you were created on Patch whether or not by Her hands is yet answered. Can you or can you not clarify?" He continues.
"I can assure you that I'm not under Her influence, we serve the one and only true Overlord of Grimm *shush Tai* and before you ask no I cannot reveal who that is." I reply.
"Alright then we'll save that one for another time then. So what's-" Tai was undoubtedly going to ask something Ozpin told him to until Summer cuts in.
"What's your intentions with our daughters?" Summer asks with a low tone and her silvers staring straight through my soul. I'm at 1 hp and if she so much as blink at me I'd die.
"We intend to protect them and preserve their innocence…Ruby's innocence until the very end even if it's the last thing we do." I answer immediately.
"And what ulterior motives do you have?" Her glare hardens even more and my blood runs cold the intensity of it.
"They are precious cinnamon rolls that deserve nothing but a wonderful life, anyone who opposes that will be eradicated. You may say that we're monsters but even we have our lines not to cross and moral standards." I answer hoping to sate her demands.
"Hmm…alright I believe you. But then how did you know everything about them if your appearance in Patch was only moments after your creation or are you're just an obsessive stalker?" Summer asks sternly but her glare softens.
"We've been given past and future knowledge of their lives from the Lord to accomplish our mission smoothly." I was technically not lying since I'm pretty sure God did invent anime in a sense and he was probably the one to send me and in terms arranged for Barry here as well.
"Well would you look at that, I'm 100 Lien richer." Summer cheers with a goofy smile and it didn't take long for Barry and I to figure that she betted on our nature with Qrow.
"You may have a problem Sum*Indignant hey from Summer* anyway going back on track. As I've said before we established your origin was on Patch but what about your friends, there are no records of anyone looking remotely like them in the database." Tai questions us. This seems like something Maria and Barry should answer themselves so I lay back down and let them speak their minds.
"Well of course we're not on your database, we're from another world after all." Barry's nonchalant answer shocks Tai making him nearly drop the camera and Summer to choke some cookies that she pulled out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry I think I'm hearing things, it's almost like you said you were aliens." Tai tries to regain his composure.
"No we're still human but we're still from another world, a much darker one that is." Barry clarifies.
"Well can you proof it then?" Well that's going to be hard, we didn't grab any weapons while we were in the bloodborne like the beast claw and giving out any blood vials is definitely not ok. Maria shrugs, finishes her tea then reachs forth with her hands and a mass of tendrils shoot forward inches from touching Tai's face who screamed very unmanly before retreating into the portal they were called from. Huh, I thought that was something exclusive to certain individuals like imposter Iosefka and that annoying maze man.
"Is that enough proof for you?" Maria asks smugly as Summer laughs at Tai trying to get up after the jump scare.
"Final question then, where did you get your unique powers Onyx? Also what Grimm are you?" Tai asks.
"The System and I can't explain what the system is without giving you an existential crisis so we'll leave it at that. As for my race well even I don't truly know. Also I'm afraid I can't let you report this to Ozpin." I answer causing the two huntsmen to tense up.
"Don't get full of yourself Onyx, I know you're close to death and the both of us are more than enough to kill 7 beowolfs and an ursa along defeating those two. No offense but we're practically veterans. *Maria and Barry just nod knowingly and turn to me silently questioning what I'm trying to do*" Summer states.
"Hah, I have the remaining power to summon 75 more beowolfs, your silver eyes can only do so much. But no I'm not here as your enemies but your allies as I've proven by saving you earlier and it's in my best interests that this information stays hidden until the time is right so…let me make you an offer you can't refuse." I answer with the best impression of a Bond villain I could make with my mask.
"You're trying to bribe us? Hell would freeze over before I and especially Summer will-" Tai chokes on his words mid-sentence when he sees Summer shaking my hand holding a 'small' box I just passed to her.
"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?" He screams in disbelief.
"I told you that I would make you an offer you can't refuse didn't I? Besides, otherworldly trinkets are priceless don't you agree Summer?" I ask rhetorically,
"You said it! *nom*" As to what she was eating well, I knew that Summer bakes like the best cookies in existence so if I am to bribe her I need something even better than cookies itself. Behold the power of cookies sandwiches, Oreos! And they're even strawberry flavored to her preferences as well, 100 Lien well spent.
"Alright you may have tempted my dear Summer to the dark side with cookies but there's absolutely no way that you can-" And once again Tai didn't get to finish as I show him his incentives. The Remnant version of a vintage limited edition Little Mac figurine with a green hoodie and pink gloves instead along a custom made boxing glove controllers as well as a copy of Punch Out signed by Mike Tyson himself with a wii station to play it on. A small price of 600 Lien covered the costs.
[A while later, Beacon's offices]
"Let me get this straight, this Onyx has somehow magically vanished from Mistral to Menagerie of all places and you know this because he conveniently revealing said location after beating you with a small army of Grimms like some kind of movie villain." Glynda asks.
"Yup, looks like he's long gone and possibly laying low out of our radar for the foreseeable future. It's a shame how tense politics with faunus prevents us AND Atlas from sending in any ships there at the moment isn't it." Tai answers.
"Yes, looks like we'll have to scour the rest of Mistral (Take a vacation there) to find any possible trails left behind." Summer adds while eating an Oreo in the background.
"Alright you're dismissed." Glynda sighs loudly hanging up the call looking up at yet another stack of paperwork that Ozpin has delegated to her. She swears, one of these days she's going to bury the coffee addict 6 feet under.
[Back in Kuroyuri]
YOU WAKE UP FULLY RESTED, HP AND AP FULLY RECOVERED
Feeling refreshed that I'm no longer on Death's door I lightly stretch before face palming myself that I forgot about the new form reward from yesterday's quest and to select the change before I sleep. Well then, buying a few dozes of painkillers for 50 Lien, I open up the hud to look at my available options.
Evolve:
-Marsh Horror: An alligator Grimm often found in the swamps of Msitral. Their hides are known to be bullets resistant and their biting power can clean through a bullhead's armor. Capable of reaching high speed in the water and slight camouflage with the ground.
-Nocturne: An imitation of the Eternal Nightmare Nocturne. These Grimms are similar to him in shape and dream haunting powers but are greatly vulnerable to dust and sunlight while also lacking the ability to gain strength from haunting dreams.
Dread knight: The equivalent of a walking block of tungsten, these ancient Grimms are known to be incredibly resistant to all elements with their knight like bone armor but they shortly went extinct when mankind discovered gravity dust, capable of incapacitating their already low mobility and lightning dust capable of hitting through their armor. They are also infamous for the ability to rally nearby Grimms, further strengthening them.
Nocturne will just turn me into some edgy assassin wannabe that lives like a vampire and to be honest I'd choose Marsh Horror right away if we were in Australia for all the puns. That just leaves dread knight as the sensible solution since it's the only one with a humanoid form. Well Nocturne is sort of humanoid but it's not right to walk around without any feet. It said that dread knights have their own armor apparently so I toss my beowolf set along my hoodie into my inventory before hitting the button.
Immediately my vison blurs, the structure of my mask splits itself open to wrap around my head forming a helmet on my head. All of the little plates on my body expand themselves and join up with newly grown ones forming a suit of armor all around. Slowly but surely I can feel the boots, greaves, bracers, gauntlets become one with me, the closest description I can get of the sensation is that it feels like a second layer of skin. Why does my right arm feel heavier than the left though? Flexing the arm and fiddling around with it I was caught off guard when the bone plates on top of my right hand suddenly shift into a kite shield. A surprise but a welcome one for sure.
Onyx
Title: Foolhardy, Onii chan
Level 32
Race: Grimm – Dread Knight
Exp: 7042/10000
Hp: 3000/3000(3/min)
AP: 1200/1200 (2/min)
Atk - 84 (+150 )= 234/84 (+112) = 196
Def - 120 (+57) = 177
Str - 92
End - 50
Vit - 70
Dex - 75
Int - 20
Wis – 20
Luck - 20
Points – 20
Lien – 32067
Essence points – 378
"Hey Onyx what are HOLY SHIT!" Barry exclaims in shock from the doorway and he seems smaller…no wait i just got bigger.
"I just grabbed a form from the quest what do you think?" I ask for his opinion.
"Well uh you're certainly more intimidating and bigger, really bigger wait… I don't think you can fit through the door anymore." And sure enough my bulky form is now too much to move through the house's narrow doorway. Maybe this could work instead.
"Barry can you warn anyone that might be below to stay clear of the wall?" I ask him as I line up the jump.
"HEADS UP!" And right after Barry's warning, I swan dive through the window with as much grave as an obese ballerina dancer flopping down like a beached whale on the pavement. Getting up, I see people walking just blink once or a twice at the scene before walking away, huh guess they got used to my antics pretty quickl.
"Onyx, is that you?" I hear Maria asks from behind me.
"Yup, and although my throat feels like sandpaper at least I can talk somewhat coherently now." I answer her.
"Oh good, I was getting tired of having to read everything you say." She sighs in relief.
"By the way, where's Summer and Tai or the Rens for that matter?" I ask as I can't seem to spot them around much less their signatures.
"Apparently that horseman beast we killed yesterday was some ancient legend and by killing it proved that such legends existed in the first place, they had to take the remainders of its bones and catch whatever a bullhead is to the main city to report of the incident so certain precautions can be taken against future threats. An and Li also took Ren and Nora who they decided to adopt there too to let them study at a huntsman academy." Maria gives me an in-depth explanation.
"Ah well that's alright I suppose, I'm going to gather my Grimms, our work here is done for the time being." I say as I whistle for them to come over when a new window suddenly pops up right in my face.
[New Event]
Dying Embers
Description: The flow of time is once again twisted and another rift has opened nearby. Though you can't tell what's on the other side, this one smells of a familiar stench of death, decay and ashes.
Objective:
-Resolve whatever issues that may be on the other side
Bonus Objective:
-?
-?
-?
-?
-?
Bonus Reward:? ? ? ? ?
Holy Shit…HOLY FUCKING SHIT! "BARRY!" I can't help but scream in excitement.
"What is it?" He asks walking out of the house.
"Pack your shit, we're going to motherfucking LORDRAN!" I shout while slapping his shoulder a little too hard nearly making him fall over. Barry was confused at first but as the words register he spring up like a red bull drunk gamer and begin screaming in excitement as well. Luckily most bystanders have already went off to mind their own business leaving only a lost Maria not understanding what on Earth is going on.
"Where's Lordran?" Maria tilts her head curiously.
"Oh right you don't know of it. It's a land of salt and anger, of filthy casuls and or gankers but most importantly it's a land of the gods…well not really now that I think about it. Think of these Gods like the Greats Ones but severely less intimidating and more along the lines of arrogant assholes that don't know how to do their jobs." I reply thinking of a certain flaming Santa.
"Then why do peoples call them Gods in the first-Ooooh…They're that kind of…it makes sense now." Maria says after thinking about it.
"Anyway, how do we get there, imagine all the overpowered shit we can grab for ourselves, such as a certain bass cannon." Barry fantasizes drooling slightly.
"According to the directions it should be right over there in that conveniently overgrown bush." I answer and sure enough where I point was a comically large bush on the edge of Kuroyuri that one would see in Looney tunes. Pushing over a few leaves reveal a swirling black portal and none of us hesitate as we take a plunge to the promised lands. Well maybe Maria was skeptical but I couldn't tell with my beowolfs pushing her in as they jump.
[High Wall Of Lothric]
Arriving at the official starting point of the unkindled one's journey I noticed something very off. The door leading outside was open as the bonfire in the room is lit. Were they supposed to be ahead of us?
"Ugh what's that smell? This place reminds me too much of Yharnam." Maria complains.
"Yeah it's more similar than you think just instead of beasts they have undeads and unholy monsters here." I answer.
"It's eerily quiet don't you think?" Barry asks me and indeed there was only the sound of the wind howling. No groans nor shuffling could be heard. I look outside and found the reason, they were all dead like dead dead.
"Okay we might have an issue here." I say gesturing to the rotting corpses.
"The fact that there are rotting corpses or the corpses are rotting?" Maria asks.
"The latter, according to my knowledge these guys shouldn't be dead for good like this, they always come back every time a bonfire is used." I examine a deserter hollow closer.
"What if the ashen one recently passed by?" Barry suggests.
"I doubt that, the blood looks like it dried up hours ago, maybe even days and that's longer than what it should take for them to reach a bonfire." I deduce.
"So is there something wrong with them?" Barry kicks a dead hollow hound.
"I think there's something wrong with the flame itself. Let's check on the dancer and Vordt." I take the lead as we journey through the barren land. No signs of life other than us were in sight, the drake was gone even the mimic in one of the towers as well. Passing the town square filled with the armor of long dead Lothric knights and a pile of ash that might have been the patrolling winged knight, we pass into the garden where there were sounds of…fighting? The dancer fog wall is up, that can't be good.
"Maria there's something dangerous behind that, be ready." I give her a heads up before summoning Misha and crossing over. Once the fog clears from my vision I see a sea of flames engulfing the room and unlike in the game these flames actually hurt once I get near and it didn't help that half of the ground was covered in them. *CLANG* "Oh shit oh fuck oh shit oh fuck!" Turning to my right I find the main occupants of the room being the dancer swinging her flaming sword after a man wearing the fallen knight set with a grass crest shield on his left hand and a broadsword in his right. Judging by the multiple cuts on him and the slowly building puddles of blood around he wasn't faring very well.
"Damn that's ugly." Maria comments, walking in.
"You live in a world where there are eldritch horrors whose mere appearance can drive a man insane and you find a long legs limbo lady ugly?" Barry deadpans following after her only getting a shrug in response from Maria.
Dancer Of The Boreal Valley
Level – 33
Hp – 4332/5111
Ap – 0/0
Atk – 144
Def - 21
"This shouldn't be hard, focus on her legs and see if you can cripple her. If she produces a fireball in her hand or looks like she's about to slam the dagger down, stay clear from her." I instruct as Barry quickly gets to work along Maria hacking away at the dancer's left leg while I handle the right one with my Grimms. The Ashen One looks at us in relief or confusion, I can't tell through the helmet, either way he seems grateful to receive some help.
Successful hits X 15 Total damage = 2531 – (21 x 15) = 2216 DMG
Dancer Of The Boreal Valley: 2116/5111
This is just sad now that I look at it. Being in real life and all that with such little poise her light armor provided her, the dancer's poise is absolute garbage and she collapses right away when we ganked her 12 to 1. It doesn't help that Maria dislocated her other arm rendering her unable to hold the second sword after she drew it. About 30 seconds of merciless beating later her health was down to 100 and Barry along Maria let me have the final honor. I didn't expect them to give me the kill out of the blue like that and I sure as hell didn't expect the dancer to speak in her final moments.
"T-thank you, now may I finally find rest." She croaks in a hushed whisper but it was still loud enough for the others to hear baffling them and I included.
"You're still sane?" I ask the question on everyone's minds.
"No, not entirely. With the great shock of pain you've inflicted on me I was finally able to break free from that wretched ring." She replies spitting out the last part in hate.
"So the ring was what caused…all of this? Why don't you just take it off then?" I ask in genuine curiosity.
The dancer lifts her head up to meet my face through her helmet then glance down at her right gloved hand. Remembering that we disabled her arms earlier, I give a quick apology before removing her gauntlet and taking off the pontiff ring that was underneath before crushing it. Immediately the effects are visible with the dancer flinching in pain as her bones rearrange themselves eliciting sickening crunches echoing through the room creeping everybody else. Her legs get shorter and shorter along her body reducing in size until she's about Barry's height and the transformation stop altogether.
"12 years…12 years…12 FUCKING YEARS OF PAIN THAT I COULD'VE AVOIDED!" The dancer screams to the gods.
"Are you…alright?" I ask unsure of what to make of her.
"OH JUST BLOODY PEACHY, I JUST FOUND OUT THAT I COULD'VE SAVED MYSELF ALL OF THE TORTURE I SUFFERED IF I HAD JUST USED MY BRAIN! YES I'M FINE!" She screams at the top of her lungs nearly busting my eardrums before deflating and I can see tears leaking through her helmet.
"Well *ahem* at least you're fine now, what's in the past stays in the past." I try to cheer her up.
"*sigh* I suppose so, you don't happen to have a place I can stay at? All of my memories are fuzzy and pontiff's literally going to kill me if he found out I lost his precious ring." She asks me with slight hope.
"Yeeahhh about that…he's dead, I kind of killed him on my way here." The Ashen One awkwardly joins in from the sides.
"WHAT? That old tyrannical douche lord is dead, no shit? How the hell are there no law enforcement chasing you down for his murder?" The dancer asks in bewilderment.
"I think we should explain what has happened to the world but let's do that back at somewhere safe." I say looking at the still raging flames around us.
"Can you umm carry me? You guys broke my legs GAH! And my arms…" She asks in pain making us all feel guilty.
Maria helps me carry her over to the bonfire where the Ashen One tells us to link hands for the warp back to firelink shrine. A thick wall of fog surrounds us and I could feel the very world beneath us shift and before we know it the wall dissipate to reveal the shrine. *plop* *plop* was that water on top of my head? It never rains here not to mention that we're indoors. Looking up I was expecting that it was maybe wax falling from a candle above somewhere only to be met with 3 pairs of yellow eyes and a jaw that has way too many teeth. Several things happened at once. 1, my beowolfs panic at the sight and start scrambling wildly to get away and knocks the Ashen One to the floor in the process. 2, Barry looks up just like I did and faints on the spot. 3, Maria's Yharnam instincts triggered and she lunges at beast with her sword. And finally me who was still holding the dancer up didn't have any visible reactions but that was probably due to Gamer Mind intervening as I question God on how the fresh fuck is there a Sulyvahn's beast in firelink shrine.
Shaking myself out of my own stupor I was about to draw Lionheart to kill the beast until I realize something. It was actively backing away and whimpering like a house dog…well I might actually also do that because holy hell Maria's eyes glowing red.
"STOP!" The Ashen One calls out holding Maria back and oh dear I think she's going to shank the guy.
"rummaging around my inventory for emergency snacks, I quickly peel off a snickers bar and chuck it at Maria to stop her rampage and thank the Lord it works. She slowly munches on the bar, eyes no longer filled with bloodlust and slowly exhale all the anger and hate out.
"You're not yourself when you're hungry Maria, here have another snickers bar *toss another one at her* And you *points to Ashen One* better start explaining about it *points* to the sulyvahn's beast shyly poking its head out from downstairs.*" I demand.
"Well uh you see when I got to the-" He was cut off by the dancer miraculously standing despite the broken bones before and tackle hug the beast. How is she oh wait no nevermind she's hissing in pain.
"Ohh I thought I'd never see you again, who's a good boy? *begins passionately head patting the beast as it wags its tail excitedly*" The dancer coos.
"As I was saying, when I got to the Boreal Valley I forgot to bring the doll and had to fight my way back through the beast because my dumbass forgot to refill on homeward bones. So I staggered the thing and was about to end it when my fucking sword broke mid swing and I just ended up jabbing a dull stick into its belly. It then flailed around in place and before praying and I felt bad if I killed it like that so I just kinda left it be and went on my way. The next time I came back and it just started licking me like a house dog and I had to take refuge on the other side of the barrier. Of course that wasn't the end because when I got to the sewers below, it belly flopped on top of me in a hug that nearly severed my spine. Then it roped me into bringing it back here through the power of a guilt trip. I know it sounds ridiculous but that thing has mean puppy dog eyes." The Ashen One groans. I'm not sure how to respond to that watching the dancer still clinging on the beast and playing with it like a little girl and her massive Great Dane granted this one is a bloodthirsty abomination but hey at least it's not biting anyone anymore.
"Ashen One, it seems you have brought unusual company yet again." Came a calm voice behind me and I recognize it as the fire keeper's.
"Yeah my bad, I hope the place doesn't get too cramped at any rate." The Ashen One apologizes.
"Tis no problem, it's quite nice to not spend my time in solitude, Andre hardly ever stop working for a chat and the others keep to themselves." She waves off with a gentle smile.
"We should catch up on certain things regarding our own unique circumstances." I beckon for him to talk in an empty corner downstairs where Yoel and Yuria would be but was instead vacated.
'All right first thing first, does the word isekai mean anything to you?" I ask him and the guy immediately bursts into happiness.
"YES! Oh yes I thought I was the only unfortunate soul to be reincarnated here." He nearly screams.
"No not really, I was reincarnated on Remnant with The System and came here through that to help deal with whatever things you haven't dealt with yourself." I explain.
"I really got the short end of the stick huh? I wasn't as lucky as you and got dropped here as the knight class with no prior explanations. Normally that wouldn't be so bad but the armor is way too fucking heavy for me to move in and I ended fat rolling all over the place. Gundyr whooped my ass for what felt like 3 hours and I got lucky one time when he fell off the cliff." He mopes.
"Before we go into your horrendous luck I think we should give each other names, it's a mouthful having to call you Ashen One. I'm Onyx, the guy you saw earlier is Barry and the woman who nearly stabbed you is Maria." I introduce.
"Lionel Lazuli, at your service." He takes his helmet off to reveal blue hair and green eyes staring back at me and shakes my hand.
"Not to sound rude but what are you?" He asks me breaking off from the handshake.
"Well it's not that obvious but surely you could tell. I'm a Grimm, creature made of pure darkness that thrives on negativity, rings any bells?" I ask seeing visible confusion on his face.
"Wait…do you know what RWBY is?" I ask him receiving a negative in return.
"Guess I'll have to show you that later but let's focus on the current world first, so what did you do so far Lionel." I ask.
"Well I progressed the game normally but something was not right. No mobs ever come back when I use the bonfire which made farming for souls a hell lot harder not to mention all those times that I died idiotically to crabs, poison and gravity." He starts.
"About that I think it might have to do with flame fading faster than anticipated rendering the bonfires faulty but I'm not sure yet until we get to kiln itself. Anyway continue on." I let him continue.
"So that was pretty much the only thing off other than that everything went just as you expected it to go. I killed Vordt, the curse rotted greatwood, abyss watchers, crystal sage, deacons, Wolnir who was actually terrifying to fight in real life, Pontiff, Aldrich but not Yhorm actually. I felt that I might not be ready to face the guy with such flimsy armor or go to dragon peak so I decided to fight the dancer to get access to more souls and large titanite shards and chunks for upgrades. She isn't that difficult to fight in game but out here that woman was like a Roomba on steroids that'd give sonic a run for his money." Lionel finishes.
"Oh good that means we can probably save Siegward and Karla should still be down in the dungeons…wait what about the others like Cornyx, Greirat, Orbeck, Anri and Horace, Eygon and Irina?" I further inquire.
"I never felt a need for magic nor pyromancy so I never looked for the two. I actually don't know what happened to Anri and Horace, they acted differently. We meet at that bonfire on the roads of sacrifice as normal and had a little chat before I headed off but then they were just gone. No signs of either of them in the catacombs or the church. As for the other two…I may have forgotten how to get the key for Irina's cell. Oh and Greirat is out scavenging at the moment." He sheepishly chuckles.
"You do realize that you could just skip that altogether by having enough health as you drop down into the pit right next to Eygon right?" I deadpan making Lionel face palm in realization.
"Hold on what of Sirris then?" I suddenly remember of the knightess.
"No clues, I talked to her and gave the ashes to the handmaid and all but her summon sign didn't appear on the bridge." He explains.
"Oh that's right you have to kill the beast to get the sign to appear and well you adopted it instead. But still it's removed from the area so maybe that still counts, let's check that again on our way to the dungeon." I suggest with Lionel also agreeing.
"Let's check back on the others first though, things have gotten eerily quiet up there." Lionel replies. We arrive back to the scene of Barry waking up from his short nap by Maria slapping him awake and the dancer being healed by the fire keeper with the beast seemingly sleeping underneath them.
"Wait that wasn't a hallucination?" Barry asks looking at the docile beast.
"Nope and we have a lot on our hands at the moment, I think it's best we split up to cover as much grounds as possible though. So what are you going do now miss?" I ask the dancer.
"Oh right I never gave you my name, just call me Ann. I don't know to be honest, the world's ending and we're probably one of the last few sane people here. I guess I'm going to rest for now before I lend you a hand in whatever it is that you need, still need to get used to having normal limbs again and all." Ann shrugs.
"Right then, here's how we do it. We'll go together with Lionel here as he drops us off at our area of operation and when we finish we crush these homeward bones to return here and wait for the others before continuing. Lionel you're tasked with finding Sirris wherever she might be at the moment. Barry you're to clear a path to Lothric castle that we'll use later on and you can have my Grimms along Misha for reinforcements. Maria, there's these 2 out in front of this tower in the undead settlement that you need to help, look for the guy wearing this gargoyle helmet wielding a massive hammer and you should be able to scale the wall down the pit beside him to reach the cell of his maiden, Irina, and free her. As for me, I'll be clearing the Irythill dungeons to save a captive there any questions?" I plan out.
"*raises hand* Should we do something about the garden?" Barry asks.
"Actually yes that is also important, make as many molotovs as you can and Lionel can you pass Barry all of your normal and black fire bombs, he needs them to clear out the multiple Pus Of Man residing in the area." I ask as Lionel hands Barry a small leather pouch.
"But why would we need to go down there?" Lionel questions.
"A certain item in the darkened parts of the place might be the key to our predicament I'd rather be safe than sorry, which reminds me I should probably grab the xanthous ash on my trip to the dungeons." I reply as we all gather around the bonfire. After that we wish each other luck before splitting off to go our separate ways. Making my way down into the dungeons posed no difficulties as my natural armor was actually enough to make the pontiff knights and relatively harmless as well as the Irithyllian slaves. The only real threat was the fire witch on the way down nearly toasting my buns. Oddly enough, I gained no EXP or Lien from killing any of them, and their bodies actually remain instead of fading away. I just chalked it up as interdimensional fuckery and leave it at that. Before I kill the fire witch though I stop as I recall the numerous maggots infested hollows in the dungeons that would surely bleed me dry and I'd need a source of flames to chase them off. A morally questionable idea pops into my mind.
Minutes later and I was plowing through hollows after hollows without a worry in the world, why? It's simple really, I grabbed the chains of subjugation from my inventory and wrapped it around the witch, tight enough for her not to cast spells but loose enough for her to be still able to channel through her crucifix keeping it on fire. Then I summon 2 beowolfs to hold her up and swing her around like an oversized torch at incoming enemies. The beowolfs not being delicate with their actions combined with lack of dexterity managed to hit the witch's head on the wall or floor during each and every of their swings which probably have given the poor thing several concussions as the witch stopped struggling altogether 5 minutes ago. The jailers would've made my life a living hell if I didn't the advantage of having modern technology with me blasting any of them foolish enough to show their faces away with Lunar Fang. Other than that the rats practically run away from me at sight, I played it safe fighting the basilisks by buying a 400 Lien box of grenades and chucked it at them from the distance. The giant also died tragically like the jailer as he was unable to reach me and eventually succumbed to bullet wounds. Grabbing the key to Siegward's cell I slowly back away from the mimic nearby and carry on. Be as it may they pack a horrible kick that I'd rather not deal with.
Pass a couple of giant rats and disturbing wretch that shouldn't even exist, gunning down the Jailers down the lower floor and I finally spot Karla's cell. Normally, one would need a key from the profaned capital to open it but I don't have the patience for such things and have the beowolfs drop the unconscious witch before helping me bend the bars of the cell doors through brute force. Karla didn't take too well to black beasts suddenly busting her door open to grab her and screamed like a banshee throughout the whole ordeal. Luckily everything in earshot was also dead or at least I thought so when another voice rang out from further back the way I came.
"What's going on out there?" asks a muffled voice followed by a grunt. That grunt sounds awfully familiar.
"Anri, Horace, is that you?" I ask to clarify.
"Yes good sir I'm afraid I don't quite recognize your voice." Anri replies.
"I'm Onyx, a friend of Lionel, you met him before at the road of sacrifices remember?" I introduce myself.
"Ah could you let us out then, been quite a while since we got jailed by those pontiff knights. And who's screaming so loud out there?" Anri asks.
"Oh just someone I'm trying to help *Karla runs out of breath* maybe you should be the one to take her back to firelink shrine, she doesn't trust me very much." I suggest making my way to Anri's cell and breaking the door once again.
"Well uh you're…different than what I expected but if you're a friend of Lionel then that's good enough with me. *about to ask about the tied up fire witch but I gesture for her not to ask* Come on Horace let's hurry, we still need to kill that vile monster Aldrich." Anri beckons Horace to follow but I stop them.
"About that, Lionel already killed the freak." I remind putting the fire witch inside the cell before taking back my chain.
"W-what? B-but all of our lives w-we-" Noticing the sudden and extreme mood drop I swiftly intervene before the situation deteriorates further.
"Ah bah, don't you dare think like that Anri, you're not going hollow anytime soon. I will not allow you to just drop out like that when there are still a dozen more monsters as horrible if not more than Aldrich. So get your butt back to firelink shrine, rest up and gear up and join us on this crusade against godlike beings capable of ending us with a flick of their wrists or are you not an Elite Astoran knightess?" I shout. Before Anri gets a chance to protest, I pull out a homeward bone from one of her pouch and crush it in her hand for her sending her back to a bonfire. Horace looks at me warily but otherwise crushes his own bone taking Karla with him as well.
Brushing aside the horrible first impressions I might have made, I continue forth searching for Siegward's cell. I can't even begin to describe how awkward it was fighting the profaned gargoyles. These ones are ridiculously slow, about 3 times slower than the ones in game and being hit by them with 10 seconds to dodge would be a disgrace. That said they're also way thicker than they're in game and Lionheart as well as Lunar couldn't pierce their stone skin. So with no other ways, I resorted to gravity by summoning 3 more beowolfs to help me push it off the cliff. Hopping the rooftops I find Siegward's cell without much difficulties and open with the key acquired earlier.
Much as I expected, the onion knight was too deep in thought to notice my presence. I clear my throat to catch his attention but he's still humming deeply in thoughts. Grabbing the covetous gold serpent ring nearby, I resorted to slapping his helm to wake him up.
"Oh I'm quite sorry I didn't notice you good sir. I Siegward of Catarina is indebted to you my valiant savior." He jovially greets me.
"I'm Onyx, an acquaintance of Lionel, he has told me a lot about you." I introduce myself.
"All things I'm sure haha but we must not tarry long, I have a promise to uphold soon." Siegward says standing up.
"You're on your way to Yhorm too aren't you? The way I see it, both of our fates seem to be intertwined so why not take part in jolly cooperation?" I offer him my hand ripping off a certain sun prasing chad.
"Well said friend, let us journey forth HUZZAH!" Siegward exclaims before quite literally dragging me off. I would question how a man already wearing heavy armor with a greatsword strapped on his back can not only run but also drag me around like a ragdoll but my sense of logic died a long time ago. One panic attack later after Siegward slid down an 50m slope with me in tow, we find ourselves in front of Yhorm's room after quickly killing off the handmaidens in the front.
"Yhrom, old friend. I, Siegward of the knight of Catarina, have come to uphold my promise! Let the sun shine upon this lord of Cinder." With Siegward's declaration, the battle begins. Said battle turns out to be a one-sided beating. With me having 3000 HP with thick boi armor, I actually tanked all of the damage for Siegward as he went to town. It only gets worse for Yhrom when I got my hands on another Storm Ruler next to this throne. Safe to say the giant didn't last very long. Honoring his attempt at least, I left the Storm Ruler back in its original place as I'm sure I don't have more use for it. Siegward walks up from behind me without a scratch and sighs deeply in grievance.
"I'm sure he would've been happy for this Siegward don't feel so crestfallen. He would've wished for you to make a life for yourself as well so remember him in heart but don't dwell on him." I advise.
"I'll…take that to heart. I suppose I should drown this dastardly sorrow out, have you perhaps any quests I can take on?" He asks me with renewed hope.
"As a matter of fact I do, grab my hand we'll be off." I give a grin under my helmet and pocket Yhorm's ash and soul before extending my hand out for Siegward to grab as I crush a homeward bone in my other hand.
The cozy atmosphere of the shrine welcomes me once more as Siegward and I found ourselves in a quite crowded room as everybody else was gathered there. At her previous spot, Ann was still pampering her pet with belly rubs with a nervous Greirat nearby cautiously stroking its head. Not far off, Karla seems to have calmed down with Anri and Horace by her side reassuring her that everything was fine. Though his face was hidden behind his helmet, I can feel Eygon giving the beast the stink eyes as a closer look make me see Irina behind it hugging its fur. Oh and Sirris seems to be conversing with the fire keeper.
"Ey Onyx, you made it!" Barry playfully smacks me on the back.
"Who's the funny looking knight?" Maria asks next to me.
"I'll have you know lady that this fine armor is granted to the most noble knights of Catarina." Siegward says mildly offended.
"That's Siegward, he'll be helping us along the way as well. Siegward meets Barry and Maria, why don't you familiarize with the rest of the folks here before we get a move on." I introduce him before Siegward starts retelling how this room reminds him of a reunion and that was the farthest I got before his story becomes dull. He really reminds me of Professor Port, the way they speak is uncannily identical.
"Judging by Siegward's presence I assume you killed Yhorm? *I nod* Well with nearly all of the cinders now present we could go kill the twin princes now and get it over with in the kiln." Lionel offers but I decline.
"Why are you so narrow minded? Our work is far from over. We still have the painted world and ringed city to cover." I smack him up the head for being so forgetful.
"Hohoho we're so fucked. Even with everyone here helping the bosses in ringed city is still ridiculously OP." Barry deadpans.
"Not necessarily Barry, I still have one last gamble to make. Get the fire keeper, we have one more warrior to recruit." I silently pray that my assumption is correct.
[One warp later]
"OCELO-ARGH!" Oceiros died mid scream being gangbanged by multiple heavy weapons. The fight was a sad joke with him being unable to switch into the second phase before Ann's pet bit his head off after Eygon and Siegward have already shattered at least 80% of his bones.
"I still find it pointless to be here." Eygon scoffs swinging his hammer clean of Oceriros's blood.
"Well he's not the real reason we're all down here. That *points to behind the newly opened doors* is why we're down here." I correct him.
"What lays behind there?" Sirris asks feeling uneased.
"A great tragedy." I answer somberly. Maria asks Barry what I meant and I'm pretty sure he understands the purpose of our trip here.
"It's better that we show you." Barry replies before joining me in the lead. After that everyone quietly follow save for the beast as it couldn't fit without another warp and after disposing off the singular man serpent I destroy the illusory wall to reveal complete bleak darkness on the other side.
"*gasps* It c-couldn't be. The atrocious Abyss yet remains?" Sirris asks in pure shock spreading panic among the party.
"Thankfully no, to be frank even I'm not sure what this is but my closest guess is that what we're looking here is a tear in space and time leading to the past." I theorize making everyone even more bewildered.
"B-but such things are impossible, it is unthinkable!" Ann protests.
"It wouldn't be an anomaly then would it?" I shrug before gesturing everyone to drop down. A quick while later Lionel use the new bonfire to bring the beast through and we quietly march forward with the others seemingly mesmerized by the familiar yet foreign scenery around. It wasn't long before we stand before the arena where a figure is crouched in a circle of candles in the middle of it all…Gundyr.
"The scent of ash…could this be?" The fire keeper mutters in shock as realization slowly dawns upon her.
"The world we're in now is plunged into the age of darkness, that *points to Gundyr* is the Ashen One who has awakened too late when the fire has already faded. Approach with caution fire keeper, you may be the only one that can reach his sanity." I warn as the fire keeper as she carefully approach Gundyr.
Gundyr gets up when she's mere steps away and grabs his halberd with malicious intent to swing…only to stop the blade inches away from her face.
"Shh…it's ok, the nightmare is over, it's over." She utters soothingly hugging Gundyr as he drops his halberd and hugs back, feeling out of place, we leave them be for the moment. I suppose I should get his over with better now than later.
"May I have your attention please, as heart-warming as what we just saw, I must confess the true goal of travelling down here." My statement causes quite a lot of confusion in the group.
"But what else could you be here for, we need him to storm Lothric castle and take down the last Lord right?" Ann asks.
"Only partially of the real goal. In that decrepit shrine down there lays an item that should never be found nor used but now it's quite the opposite. The eyes of the first fire keeper, they who will grant visions of betrayal and things never intended for the mortal eyes, the End of the Age Of Fire." I barely get to finish as everyone quite understandably breaks in uproar at the news.
"But that is madness my friend! One does not simply thrive within the darkness!" Siegward shouts.
"I WILL NOT STAND IDLE AND WATCH YOU DESECRATE THE LEGACY OF FIRE!" Sirris being the devout knightess she was lunges at me with her blade drawn. Religion is a real headache to deal with especially when said religion caused its believer to run a sword into my head.
Suffered a critical hit (250 x 3 – 177) X 0.75 = 430 DMG
Sirris having not expected me to not even flinch from the attack just stood there gaping like a fish unable to form coherent words anymore as Barry slowly pull her sword out of my helmet.
"Are you feeling fine Onyx?" Lionel asks in concern.
"Other than a migraine yes I'm fine. It's understandable that you have such reactions but I'm not asking this from you without giving anything in return. Lordran is dying and you can't deny it, it was only a matter of time until the cinders of the lords become inadequate to feed the flames and the age of dark will come regardless of what we do. By snuffing the flames out we're just quickening the cycle of nature. However, living in pure darkness can't be healthy for the mind which is why I'm extending an invitation to each and every of you to another world where magic is but a myth and technology is revolutionized." I spread my arms wide declaring.
"Another world…actually that explains a lot about you all actually, from that small thing that shoots fire Onyx have to his never seen before species not to mention odd attires. Sure, if you can bring me to another world then I'll take it, this one has only done me wrong so far." Ann casually shrugs with her pet barking in approval.
"If this world you spoke of is civilized and inhabited as you described it to be then I'll join as well. I've always wanted to live a city life just as Horace wanted to be a baker." Anri chuckles embarrassing Horace a bit in the process.
"You don't have to ask me twice, a new world where I can start anew, leaving my past mistakes and habits behind is a blessing. Well maybe I'll not leave them behind entirely." Greirat mischievously smiles behind his hood.
"Unexplored lands with untold perils and dangers, sign me up as well lad!" Siegward chuckles heartily.
"Is this world burdened by the darkness?" Irina asks.
"Yes it is only not as bad as your abyss. However, just as your world has the abyss watchers to keep them at bay our world has huntsmen and huntresses defending humanity from the dark side as well." I answer.
"Then I'd like to join as well, to be part of the light shining against the darkness and to help shape a brighter future for humanity." Irina smiles vibrantly with Eygon grumbling something along the lines of naïve child but otherwise accepting to accompany her.
"Anything is better than here I suppose, is there room for one more?" Karla also agrees.
"Well how about you Sirris, ready to leave this nightmare behind?" I offer her my hand taking her aback in shock.
"Even after I tried to kill you, you'll still give a chance? But I've already sworn my loyalty to the darkmoon, to the old lord Gwyn, I can't leave it behind like this." Sirris argues.
"You do realize that Gwyn's a major asshole right?" My blunt statement makes everyone's jaw drops at how nonchalant I was addressing a well-respected god so crudely.
"What he did at the start of the age of fire was basically glorified genocide against neutral dragons who only wanted to live their lives. Then even after the war he still acts like a massive condescending prick towards humanity considering them lower and are mere tools at his disposal. He lets Seath, one of the most wretched being out there on par with Aldrich conducting inhumane experiments on innocents become a duke with limitless political powers and even imprisoned one of his old comrades for questioning his decision with Seath. It didn't make things better that he let his daughter Gwynevere, your precious princess of sunlight, be ravaged by Seath and then locking their child away in a prison because he fears the unknown just as how he drowned AN ENTIRE FUCKING CITY to halt the abyss only that didn't work and made it even worse. Speaking of the abyss, that senile moron was also responsible for the death of Artorias sending him ALONE against the literal incarnation of the Abyss even banning his fellow knights to follow him all to make a meaningless symbol of hope. Fun Fact, Artorias didn't even succeed and it was all for not and he ended up having to be put down like a wild animal in front of his own lover lord's blade Ciaran no less. So even after all that do you still consider the dickhead to be your Lord?" I rant on before having to take a breath.
"Oh but that's not all. Do you know what he did with your oh so great Gwyndolin?" I ask Sirris making her shrink not wanting to hear any more of the bitter truth.
"Because Gwyndolin was born under the moon instead of the sun, Gwyn made him an outcast within the family being shunned by almost everyone around as he grew up and I'm willing to bet that the 4 knights were 10 times the parental figure Gwyn can ever dream to be. And yes you heard that right, because of whatever fucked up superstitious reasons Gwyn had, he forced Gwyndolin to be raised as a girl! Oh and if you're not convinced yet how about I tell you of the time Gwyn exiled his other son and branded him a traitor sorely because he wanted to make peace with the remaining dragons making up for HIS past mistakes!" Finally out of steam and reasons, I take a deep breath and check Sirris' reaction.
The poor girl looks like she has just been told that she was adopted and her face suggests that she was going through multiple existential crises at the same time. Okay I might have been a little harsh with my words.
"Dang man I think you just crushed all of her hopes and dreams simultaneously." Barry mutters.
"I…will join you but first may I ask a little favor?" Sirris asks with a voice way too calm for my liking.
"Sure, what may you need?" I ask.
"Before we leave, wait for me as I BURN DOWN EVERY SINGLE TRACE OF THE LEGACY OF THAT MEGALOMANICAL FUCK!" Her outburst caught everyone off-guard as she was 5 times more as aggressive when she stabbed me prior.
"Umm…what did we miss?" The fire keeper innocently asks now having joined us with a calmed Gundyr by her side.
"Oh nothing of much importance." Sirris replies sending an intense glare daring any of us to say otherwise.
"Right then, Lionel can you grab the thing we came for and Ann why don't you accompany him to deal with the black knights." I suggest silently thinking of getting Sirris a therapist in the future.
"Weird, I feel like we're missing something ever since you mentioned Gwyndolin…*big gasps* WE FORGOT ABOUT HER!" Barry screams in absolute panic.
"Forgot about who?" Maria asks.
"PRISCILLA THE 2nd DUH! THE INNOCENT FLUFFY CINNAMON BUN TRAPPED ON THE TOWER!" Oh. Oh shit.
"Lionel! Wait for me!" I shout scrambling after him with Barry in tow leaving everyone else lost on who we were referring to.
[After a few more hours of preparations]
Now having have explained the situation to both the fire keeper and Gundyr, I'm now seated next to Barry in firelink shrine along everyone else save for Lionel plus a confused Yorshka we recently picked up. Oh and Irithyll is now entirely up in flames after everyone took out their anger on the cities seeing how malnourished Yorshka is from her imprisonment. The fire keeper is occupied with keeping her up today with today's English while I think of our next move.
"Gundyr can you fetch the twin princes' ash while Barry, Maria, Lionel and I deal with this problem? *he nods in confirmation* Good, now Lionel should return any minute now to take us there. Everybody else you can get any regrets off your chest since once we return there won't be time to do so any more." I sit down and wait patiently for the man to return while the others chat among themselves about fond memories of Lordran. Almost right on cue, Lionel pops back into the room via bonfire partly covered in snow.
"Is everyone ready?" Lionel asks, once he receives our answers we link hands and then we're off the painted world of Ariandel. Chilling winds and endless plains of white are what filled everyone eyes on our arrival.
"So all of this is inside of a painting?" Maria asks feeling a patch of snow with her hands.
"Yup, and it's all through the work of some weird magical pygmy blood, not the kind that gives you strength like Yharnam's but this is just raw unfiltered humanity put to use." I explain
"Should we deal with the champion gravetender and his 'Sif'?" Barry asks me.
"Nah, too much of a hassle, we're here for Elfriede and maybe Vilhelm as well." I reply stretching my legs.
"Quick question, how fast are you Maria?" I ask her.
"Pretty fast I suppose but what does that have to do with…"
[10 minutes later]
"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!" Maria shouts after us as we are being chased by over 2 dozen wolves along a couple of Millwood knights quaking the ground with their mere footsteps.
"JUST KEEP RUNNING! Ah hell." In our haste to run away from the angry mob, I forgot about the unstable snow beneath my feet as the ground collapses from under us. Unfortunately that didn't stop my momentum and instead of landing softly on the snow of the steps below, I ended up hitting my head all the way down to the bottom. Sure my defense protected me from the fall damage but it didn't protect against the nausea and vertigo I'm feeling at the moment.
"Onyx, the next time you do something that reckless without warning I'll end you myself." Maria hisses pointing the Rakuyo right my neck before huffing and looking away in frustration.
"Huh I think might have a problem here." Barry says pointing to the extremely worn out bridge dangerously dangling back and forth in the wind.
"Lionel, make a run for it then come back here through the bonfire in that cave nearby to transport us over." I think of a simple solution. And yet with such a simple solution Lionel nearly gave us all a heart attack when he tripped causing the ropes to break before barely making the jump to the other side with the remainders of the bridge being dropped into the chasm below.
Once he warps us to his side, Lionel receives a smack up the head for scaring the daylight out of her before she kills the 2 praying hollows up front for being eyesores that I blame her because damn they're hideous. As expected Vilhelm was standing by the church's door with his arms crossed as usual. If he was surprise at our presence he didn't express it maintaining a stoic exterior.
"Well…you look to be unkindled…no bell tolls, and yet, you have slipped into the painting? Ah no matter, if you've lost your way, the words of lady Friede will guide you. Now, go on inside. Show respect, and listen carefully." He greets us in a monotone voice before opening the door to the chapel.
There, Friede sits in a rocking chair seemingly anticipating our arrival but that was it, seemingly, she clearly didn't expect all 4 of us if how her eyes widening was any indications. Before she begins, I take the initiative and starts the conversation myself.
"Elfriede, why do you persist the natural order?" I ask her calmly.
"I have no idea what you speak of." She tries to play ignorant but I wasn't having any of it.
"To delay the inevitable, to prolong a fate set in stone. And don't play dumb, we know you're the reason Ariandel has snuffed the flames meant to burn this rot away." I continue and little did I know that seems to agitate her as she fades away from the chair and reappear in the doorway, scythe in hand.
"I've always known that you will come, unkindled doomed to wither and fade away that can't help but drags other down as well. This world is the only thing I have left, the outside is nothing but ruination of a worthless cycle." She spits at us. Talking would us no more good as I can tell the determination in her eyes not to mention Vilhelm also stepping in lighting his sword with black flames.
Drawing our own weapons, we stand ready to defend ourselves. In the blink of an eye, Maria is already by Vilhelm's side pushing the offense keeping him at bay with Barry flanking him. Lionel and I roll simultaneously under a wide swing from Friede as she leaps backwards avoiding our retaliation before turning invisible. That was her mistake as despite us not having snow to track her steps, the room we're currently in not exactly large as I release my mist all around me. Catching the slight almost unnoticeable sounds of her cough, I fire off Lunar Fang into that direction hoping to hit her but it only resulted in the bullet deflected by her scythe. However, with her attention drawn to me, Friede couldn't foresee Lionel weaving behind her and bashes the back of her head with his shield. Using this window of distraction, I form the bone shield in my right hand smack the scythe out of Friede's grasp using it. The weapon flung into the wall at high velocity came bouncing back at me as I jump in the air grabbing it landing behind Friede and level its blade right on her neck with Lionheart pointed at her back. Acknowledging her defeat, Friede slowly raises her hand in surrender with Vilhelm reluctantly lowering his blade growing worried for her.
"It's rude to interrupt someone you know? As I was asking before you lashed out at me, why spend your time doing something so pointless?" I ask again.
"Perhaps all of your deaths have made you deaf. Haven't you heard the first time, this land is all that is left! Now finish me and take away the last shelter in this wretched world." Friede replies bitterly closing her eyes to embrace the end only to open them at the sound of me sheathing Lionheart and dropping her scythe back down.
"I was never here to harm you Elfriede, I'm here to offer you a chance for salvation just as many others. It's no secrets Lordran is dying but I hold the key to this predicament, an escape of this maddened realm." I state.
"Don't make me laugh, another painting will be but a temporary solution and we will resort to my way sooner or later not to mention how it's impossible to find the suitable pigment for another." Friede scoffs.
"Who says anything about another painted world? I'm referring to an entirely different one that is." I casually correct her.
"A-another world? But how could you even do such a thing?" She says in disbelief.
"Time and space here is convoluted, is it so hard to believe that there can't be a crack in which we could leave?" I ask her.
"If what you said is true then I'm truly sorry for my aggression. Could I see that world for myself?" Friede apologizes.
"Well of course, we wouldn't have spared you if we wanted otherwise." Maria confirms helping her up. Vilhelm relaxes his stance and sheaths his blade walking to Friede's side was Lionel take us back to the shrine. Everyone else in our absence has said their last goodbye and now rest with contended looks on their faces when we arrive. Glancing up, I could see the ash of Lothric and Lorian resting on their rightful throne which Gundyr's leaning against giving me a thumb up. Lionel steps forth placing the last cinder in place being Yhorm's. He approaches the fire keeper and asks her to perform the rite. One last gauntlet to traverse, one last God to save.
[Time skip]
This is it, the moment of truth, I look back to the friends and allies gathered with me as we stand in front leading to princess Filianore, the last God of Lordran. Passing earthen peak ruins and dreg was a walk in the part with my beowolfs being faster than the angels and dispatch of them to clear a path for us. From that it was just a matter of getting our feet dirty to reach the demon prince. Formidable as it may be, our numbers advantage proved to be too much for it to handle. Gundyr alone had taken out 1 of the demon with ease and the other was turned to minced meat under our combined arms. During the second phase, Friede was the one to bring it home as she brought her scythe down is throat and freezes the core of its heart inside out effectively killing it. It is also thanks to her invisbility that the judicator was disposed off without being able to summon those pesky phantom archers. At the inner wall bonfire we forced our way through the shortcut and meticulously scaled down the elevator shaft. The beast and Gundyr had to stay behind due to their sizes. The singular ringed knight preventing passage to the church proved inadequate against Maria dancing around each of its attack before quickly beheading the knight. The three of us being Barry, Lionel and I might have visibly drooled at he craftsmanship of the paired greatswords but I digressed. Making quick work aka bullying halflight with a gank way out his capabilities, it had led to us here before the sleeping princess. No words were said as we paid our respect before her majesty, I myself might not have heard of her deeds but sheltering her people through self-sacrifice by embracing the abyss is deed worthy of praise indeed.
"So it has come to this, I hope you know what you're about to do Onyx." Lionel prays.
"I'm not sure myself but she deserves better than to rot away fighting a futile battle so we must whatever risks there may be to grant her a fitting life, here goes nothing." The embraced shell which is already on the verge of breaking is the key factor if we succeed or not. Upon its destruction it has a side effect of accelerating time into the far future where everything is reduced to ash. To be able to help Filianore I must disable it. Giving my faith into whatever God that may be watching, I pull out the chain that is known to nullify magic and gently wrap it around the shell. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and pull hard shattering the shell flinging some of its black goop on me. Slowly opening my eyes, I'm glad to see that everything is still in the present and everyone breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of Filianore waking up.
"Where am I? Who are you?" She asks in a daze opening her eyes with the abyss tainting it.
"Your rescuers princess, we've come to free you from your duty and this world." Siegward answers for us.
"I but…THE SHELL!" She suddenly screams at the sight of the broken shell laid around.
"No need to fret your highness, we've already disabled it prior to freeing you." It was Sirris who answered.
"No no you don't understand! That shell was essential to the survival of what's left of this world!" She continues shouting.
"But the ringed city still stand and we wouldn't remain here anyways, why are you so worried?" Lionel questions.
"That item wasn't meant to maintain the city, it was meant to *GROOOAAAWWW* It's too late, HE is coming." Filianore pales as she glances outside the window. The sky darkens as a massive black hand slams down upon the city obliterating it. Massive shockwaves shake the foundation of the church as the shadows come to life swallowing everyone whole.
[?]
Once my senses return to me, the first thing I register was screams. FILIANORE'S SCREAMS! Forcing myself up I find the rest of my allies in similar situations seemingly haven woken up from a dream. With the eclipse in the sky and graveyard of swords surrounding me I quickly realize that we're currently in the kiln of the first flame. Focusing on the source of the screams I find Filianore being restrained by multiple dark wraiths in front of a dark rift in space leaking out abyssal abominations. I could only watch in hopelessness that they drag her closer and closer to the portal where her soul will be tormented for the rest of eternity until a large shadow cast over them completely. *BOOM*
Like a guardian angel, Gundyr flies down from above to deliver justice in the form of powerful halberd slams completely destroying one of the dark wraith holding Filianore and reduce the other to a stain under his boots. Grabbing her, Gundyr delivers Filianore out of harm ways and towards our side of the battlefield with everyone fully recovered, ready to greet what monstrosity that may lurk on the other side. Thundering footsteps echo through the clearing as a legion of corrupted Lothric and silver knights march forward from the rift heralding the arrival of their leader. Next came their heavy weights consisting of Harald legion knights led by a Pursuer. Finally, the mastermind behind them all. In a swift motion, the rift expands to 5 times its size as a grotesque large arms grip the rim of the portal and push itself through. A pair of giant antlers adorned by hundreds of red eyes stare through the portal as the beast makes itself known pushing its other arm wielding a massive bladed catalyst through. It was without a shadow of doubt…Manus.
[To be continued]
Author's notes: Cliffhanger dun dun dun! I might have underestimated the lore of dark souls 3 when I wrote this. This chapter is already like 12000 words long and I have to split the conclusion into the next one simply because it's too much to fit in. Now to explain a few things that occurred differently from canon and my reasons for choosing so. Firstly, Horace was meant to hollow on his way along Anri to the catacombs which will then lead to him being in the smoldering lake. In this timeline, I made it so that Horace never hollowed in the first place as the two successfully makes it to Irythill but ended up in the dungeons after failing to deal with the pontiff knights. Secondly, the dancer, I feel kind of sad for her regarding her past so I made it that she retains her sanity by using the ring logic as an excuse with rings only having their effects when worn unlike shields like the grass crest shield so theoretically the transformation done by the pontiff ring could be reversed if it's removed. It may sounds bullshit but that's the closest I can get to the thing making the slightest of sense. The part about the Sulyvahn's beast is based on a feature in game where they will seemingly pray for mercy after you failing to finish them with the riposte so I figure that it'd be tamed if shown mercy, simple as that. Gundyr being like this is due to what he was meant to be, another Ashen One. After failing to link the fire Gundyr went hollow as you could see in his second phase where his eyes turn blood red. With that in mind, he's inclined to help the fire keeper since she gave him a new purpose and saved him from a fate worse than death so all in all Gundyr's helping mainly to save himself from madness. Finally, the embraced shell. Most people theorize that the ringed city is a big dream/illusion and the embraced shell is the source and when we break it it dispels the illusion revealing reality. But that wouldn't explain how things other than the ringed city also deteriorates such as the Anor Londo bridge breaking in the background. So with that in mind I figure that breaking the shell actually transports the player further into the future given Filianore's body looking to have been decomposing for quite a while. Oh and there's also something peculiar about this chapter so far, can you guess what it is?
Rwby Fan: Nope, mainly because Salem reminds me too much of edgy Twilight vampires. Also I gave him the phantom form for diversity really, an evolution doesn't have to be a stronger version of what Onyx already is but could be a new species altogether.
Well I guess that's all for now, see you in the next chapter where we wrap up this dark souls crossover and resume with the RWBY plot. Don't worry I'll include plenty of the system for the next chapter, this one is mainly for development.