Uploaded: Monday, 16 January 2023
7:11 AM AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time GMT+10
A Naruto and Elden Ring Crossover
Disclaimer: "Naruto" is a property of Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, and Studio Pierrot; "Elden" is a property of From Software, Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin. I do not own any of them.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Reader discretion is advised.
A/N: Please join Aizen the Goat's Discord Server; it's a great place: kyTaRuVpBW
Genres: Action, Adventure, Romance, Epic Fantasy, Drama, Supernatural
Warnings: Violence, Strong Language, Implied Sexual Content, SOME CHARACTERS WILL BE OOC
Tags: Whatever applies here applies here.
Universe: Animeverse/Gameverse
Series: The Chronicles of the Eternal Sage - Naruto Uzumaki
"Jutsus/Time change/ Place change"
"Gods/Goddesses/Heavenly Beings/Demons or Dragons Talking"
"Gods/Goddesses/Heavenly Beings/Demons or Dragons Thinking"
'Flashback'
"Talking"
"Thinking/Telepathy speaking/News/Messages/Videos/Different Languages"
Translation if using a different language.
"He brings the brightest light; thus, I work in the darkest shadow."
- The man in white and crimson
Volume 1 - From Beyond the Sea
Chapter 3: Darkest Shadow
Story Start.
Rain poured down endlessly, a clone watched the road down towards a garrisoned bridge, where soldiers vigilantly watched for any threats; the rain did not hinder them, nor him at the slightest; what it did for the clone, however, was to give him cover.
"Quite a normal sight, isn't it? A bridge spanning across a ravine, vitally connecting two lands."
The clone froze, he did not sense anything or anyone close, yet this one stood behind him as he had always been there.
"No need for hostilities, Lord Hokage," the voice said, but that did nothing to assure the clone that since his identity was known to this person, but the clone knew better than to attack; hence, he stood up and faced the person behind him.
It was an older man in white robes and cloaked in crimson, or so he appeared to be, and the most peculiar thing was that rainfall avoided him, as if there was a barrier that took the older man's shape and covered him from the elements.
"I would approach the original, but he's well on his way towards Stormveil, with the Stormgate being breached and massacred to the last man; in short, he wasn't in the mood," the old man said, and the clone raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you think I'm in the mood?" the clone fired, but the old man smiled.
"I know how Shadow Clones work, Lord Seventh, but regardless, I'm simply here to shadow the original, and despite my presence here with you, rest assured, I'm shadowing him at this instant," replied the old man, but before the clone could answer, he continued.
"I'm also a Shadow Clone."
Naruto's clone finally sensed the older man had no ill intent, but he did not so much to relax; instead, he kept his guard up.
"Who are you, and why are you following me?" he asked calmly, and the old man nodded.
"You may call me Aurelius, and I was tasked to watch your back in this strange land that you found yourself into," he explained, but that created more questions than answers, to which the clone furrowed his eyebrows.
"By whom?"
"I must keep that a secret for the meantime; let's just say this world needs you, and my master knows it, but he also wants to make sure that it goes as smoothly as possible, which is part of shadowing you, and providing information one step at a time," answered Aurelius. At the same time, Naruto nodded, though his guard remained up, he wanted to test that last part.
"Information, huh? Very well, tell me about that land across the bridge." His tone was commanding, but the older man thought nothing of it; he already knew it would come, being very experienced in handling different iterations of Naruto Uzumaki in other worlds.
"The Weeping Peninsula, the southernmost part of Limgrave; Castle Morne is the principal stronghold of this subregion, and it's at the south end; besides that, there are other places of interest to be found, but I'll leave that to your other clones to find," he answered. The clone could not detect any lie from him because the older man was not lying, though he didn't know that yet.
"Oh, at the south of that bridge, you'll find a blind girl sitting by the road; her name is Irina, and she's from Castle Morne."
Then a plume of smoke covered the clone's vision, and the older man's clone dismissed himself abruptly.
"Huh? Oh well," the clone muttered and sneaked his way through the bridge to save some energy than just jumping across the ravine. He went from the side towards the first of the two towers that stood in the span of the bridge.
And as soon as he found himself on the other side, his eyes did not deceive him; there was a young woman by the road, blindfolded.
"Who on earth is that old man?" he muttered before approaching.
It was illogical, but somehow it happened the way she saw it; Melina could not believe her eyes as Naruto stormed the gate quickly with no sweat. Slight brutality on his part, despite the fact that she has remained silent about everything he knew about Godrick and his rule here in Limgrave.
Meanwhile, the Tree Sentinel remained nonplussed, and she was not surprised in the slightest, having been at the receiving end of Naruto's strength first-hand, though doubts lingered within her concerning the Lord of Limgrave. Being unmounted in combat against Naruto rendered her oath to be nulled, but in his mercy, he asked her to join him, and with nothing else to do, she accepted, but fighting against a demigod, she did not know how that would end.
"Man, you tore through those soldiers and that troll like Sasuke would if he was here." Kurama voiced the unified thought of his fellow Tailed Beasts and Kaguya.
"…" he remained unresponsive as he rode Torrent upwards the hill, as one by one, some clones sent information that was processed inside his head, and there, a picture of this world and how it functions continued to be painted.
Having processed the memories of the clones he sent to Stormveil, he was beyond disgusted and angry; though it was not apparent on his face, his actions spoke all the louder.
Then, they came upon a shack, and within, a young woman, resigned to sorrow; he could feel it from her, and when her pale blue eyes met his, three words came from her mouth, softly said, yet sent him further into fury.
"Everyone's… been grafted."
He knew then this was a survivor of Godrick's onslaught, or perhaps, his men who did his bidding.
"Everyone who came with me," she babbled as Naruto listened, and she continued, "They crossed the sea for me. They fought for me."
Right there, a vulnerable woman, resigned and brought low by her experiences, shivered as the winds battered Stormhill, but she continued, "Only to have their arms taken. Their legs taken, even their heads… taken."
"Taken and stuck to the spider."
Melina's words echoed in his head once more, which only fed the rage within.
"Naruto!" It wasn't a single voice, but everyone within his mind, and their swift and loud call aided in abetting his anger and calmed him down.
"… spider?" he inquired, and the maiden's eyes dampened further.
"If you're grafted to the spider, you become a chrysalid; you didn't know that? It's quite the lark when you think about it," she said, after which a weak laugh came from her. She turned her eyes downwards but then returned to him, yet now, also towards his companions, as Melina did not return to ether, while the Tree Sentinel remained in her place atop her mount.
"I see you have companions heading for Stormveil Castle? Hope that man with a strange mask didn't entice you," the woman said.
Melina's lone eye darted towards Naruto, but she found nothing but furrowed eyebrows because he had never met a man in a mask, let alone tell him to go to Stormveil; instead, it was Melina who pushed him in that direction.
"Have you come to be one with the spider?" she asked, but he refused to answer, and she continued, "That makes the two of us, but I haven't the courage… it's scary, you know."
Her voice warbled; she appeared pitiful, and in truth, she was a miserable, wretched creature, resigned to her fate; she continued, "Having your arms cut off, or legs, or your head… I just wanted to be like everyone else, but I was scared. I'm nothing but a craven, you see."
"Enough."
The tone of his voice startled even Melina because it was commanding but not overbearing and carried with it the authority of a man that led his people through hardships; then, he knelt before her.
"This spider… Godrick the Grafted will not live to see tomorrow."
Roderika sat inside that shack long enough to wallow, but those words were not what she expected from this strange man whom the spirits seemed to love. To them and her, he shined brighter than the Erdtree itself, far golden than its golden hue.
"…" she suppressed any blasphemous thoughts rather quickly.
Her thoughts returned to his words, and those words only meant one thing: he was going to the spider and killed it.
"What?"
That was the only thing that came from her voice; then she jolted as he took her hands and covered them with his.
"Resigned as you are, never lose hope," he whispered, but it was audible enough, though it was but a distant whisper to her ears as her thoughts came towards the warmness of his hands.
"As sure as the sun rises at dawn, there is always hope; never give up whilst you draw breath," he continued, and it was finally then that she acknowledged what he said.
Their meeting was not by pure chance, he had already sensed her long before they climbed the Stormhill, but it was by meeting that he finally got her story, or rather, the gist of it.
Of course, he was still angry within, but he knew better than to direct it to the poor woman; Godrick would receive all of that later, but this storm within him gathered ominously.
"Finally calmed down, I see… good, we would not have you losing yourself to anger, not in this place." Kaguya's words struck through him, and he knew those words were true; Kaguya had been nothing but helpful to him and has been for years upon years now, ever since he brought war against her family.
"We are with you, I am with you, always, do not forget that and be always in control," she continued, and her voice soothed his mind, much was shared between them in ages past, but it was not the time to reminisce about them.
With her peace said, Kaguya returned to her silence while Naruto strengthened his constitution.
"Come with us." His offer startled Roderika, and she couldn't fathom why this man was helping a craven like her.
"Me?!" she squeaked, but he only nodded with a slight smile on his face.
Then she finally took a gander at his two companions that she could see; first, the woman with the chestnut hair, a finger maiden, she thought, but she wasn't clothed as one, and that lone eye intrigued her for a moment, but no, what took her attention the most is the Tree Sentinel behind them, still mounted.
Naruto followed her gaze and turned towards the Sentinel.
"Ah, her, don't mind her; she's friendly." He heard a snort from the armoured woman but paid it no mind; he sensed her emotions.
"It's a long story…" he started, but immediately paused it, "But not really. Anyway, come with us; I believe it's not safe here."
"I…" Roderika stammered and looked back down, unsure how to answer his offer.
"I couldn't… I'd only slow you down," she replied properly, but Naruto was not dissuaded.
"Perhaps, perhaps not… but would you not want to see your fallen comrades avenged?"
His voice did not give off any boasting; it was as if he stated a mere fact that she would find vengeance if she came with him. This Tarnished, she thought, lacked nothing, confidence in particular, but was he powerful enough? Against a demigod? Even that Tree Sentinel sounded unsure if the noises she heard were accurate.
Godrick the Grafted may be the runt of the litter, but he was Lord of Limgrave after all these years, powerful and cunning enough to still be alive today.
"Don't be afraid," he said, still with her hands within his, then he grabbed them and pulled her to stand.
"May I ask for your name? I'm Naruto." Naruto asked her the question he could have asked early on but did not, as he saw it fit to get the young woman out of her shell before anything else.
"… Sir Naruto, I'm Roderika."
"Hmm, well, Roderika, I will tell you one thing: I'm not a Tarnished."
Margit the Fell Omen felt something off.
His gaze was upon the other point of the castleward tunnel that led to the bridge before Stormveil's gate; countless Tarnished have tried to make for Godrick, but all were felled by him, countless ambitious men and women, but today, something felt off.
He felt this strange energy days ago, but today, it was closer than ever.
The defensive chokepoint of Stormveil felt insufficient, despite the absence of an army capable enough to besiege the castle.
Margit, in all of his glory, hid and watched; his instincts told him to flee, but his pride would not allow such a thing.
He then heard bloodcurdling screams from the tunnel entrance, and only to Godrick's men could those screams belong to; his horned visage focused on the tunnel, but nothing came out of it, not yet.
Then, he saw a shape slowly make its way out of the tunnel, a Tree Sentinel of all things, and not mounted.
"… what? Oathbreaker?"
Far from its mandated place no less, living ramparts of the Erdtree, those who are oathbound never to be dismounted in combat lest they bring shame to the Golden Order; Margit was thoroughly confused, then he finally spotted a strange man cloaked in white.
"Ah, Tarnished," he muttered to himself, then he saw two more behind him: two women, one cloaked in black, the other in crimson, though his thoughts returned to the man in a white cloak and strange clothing.
"…"
The Omen observed the group, particularly the man, whom he first thought as another ambitious Tarnished, yet, this one was different, not like those who came before him, but of course, he set off what he often did and appeared before them in a tower by the main gate.
"Foul Tarnished," his voice echoed through the winds that battered the Stormhill, and the group looked up to his position as he revealed himself in wisps of gold.
"In search of the Elden Ring. Emboldened by the flame of ambition…" he continued while the man in white walked ahead of the Tree Sentinel.
A moment of silence was shared between them, and Margit jumped high into the sky and landed right in front of the group.
The dust from his landing covered their vision, but a flick of Naruto's hands dispersed the dust, which gave him and the rest of the group a good look at their assailant's appearance, and he towered above them, even above the Tree Sentinel who stood on her two feet, helmed with shield and halberd ready.
"Someone must extinguish thy flame…" their opponent said as he raised his gnarled cane and proclaimed himself, "Let it be Margit the Fell!"
Melina glanced towards Naruto, whom she felt to be unflinching, stoic even; meanwhile, Roderika squirmed behind the Tree Sentinel; despite her fear of the said Sentinel, Margit's presence was not good, it did not bring good tidings; no, far from it, and the Sentinel was better than the Fell Omen.
The two men stared at each other, and then one disappeared in a burst of speed.
Margit found himself flat on the ground, the (not) Tarnished nowhere to be found.
Then he found himself in the sky, and that golden-haired man right in front of him, right fist clenched and about to hit him.
"Try falling, Fell Omen."
That fist struck Margit hard.
The Tree Sentinel raised her golden shield and protected the two women with her; the dust, dirt and chunks of rocks from that hard crash covered their vision, but they knew it was hard, not just because of those but because the ground shook from the impact.
"Gah!" they heard the Fell Omen react from that fall but couldn't see him; then, Naruto landed quietly in front of them.
Roderika sneaked a peak at Naruto, whose cloak danced with the constant winds that came for Stormhill, while Melina remained calm and very observant; that lone eye watched carefully.
Sounds of spit were heard, then Margit's voice pierced through the other sounds, "Well, thou art of passing skill. Warrior blood must truly run in thy veins, Tarnished."
Naruto could feel the sneer from the Fell Omen; the arrogance was noticeable, yet there was respect.
Then, he struck from above; a hammer made of light found itself about to fall upon Naruto, but it was blocked by an open palm.
"I am not a Tarnished," said Naruto as his eyes narrowed at his opponent; then his other hand became filled with blue energy, then a sphere that made the rest of his group watch with a strong focus.
"Rasengan…" he muttered as he struck the hammer of light and shattered it, then straight towards Margit, dead centre.
The Tree Sentinel held her shield up as the Fell Omen flew away and struck the side of Stormveil's cliff, a reasonable distance away; still, she found Naruto in front of her, unfazed, but his anger remained there, held back by sheer will, and she made up her mind then - he may yet survive and kill Godrick.
However, only time will tell, and soon, they will find out the truth.
Margit rose from his place, anger laced his horned façade, yet he heard the words of Naruto, which made him think, who is this man?
"… Who art thou?" he muttered to himself as he approached them again, but this time, a dagger of light found itself in his grasp.
Naruto eyed him stoically, but in truth, he studied the Fell Omen's appearance, questions ran through his mind, and even his companions within stormed their brains to think.
"What's an Omen?" he heard Kokuo's voice amongst the mutterings of the Tailed Beasts, and indeed, the same question ran within his mind.
"Well, it could be anything; this world is very strange," replied Saiken, to which Matatabi and some others agreed in unison.
The Seventh Hokage agreed; he already felt this world, or rather, just the surface of it, but the strangeness had already settled in his mind, and the existence of this so-called Fell Omen had reinforced the strangeness, hell, even the Tree Sentinel herself is strange and was as hostile as Margit now until he dismounted her that is.
But all thoughts were put aside as Margit charged, dagger at one hand, cane at the other, though it was to the surprise of the rest that Margit was blocked, not by Naruto, but by the Tree Sentinel, who jumped ahead and met the Fell Omen.
"Oh," was the only word that came from Naruto's mouth, but it only lasted a second as he then jumped back and observed the way the Tree Sentinel fought without her mount, and he was pleased that she could hold her own and was surprised to see that her shield deflected and returned the ranged attack of the Fell Omen back to its source.
"Die Oathbreaker!" roared the Fell Omen as he jumped upwards, hammer out once again, but this time, it never landed.
Naruto kicked Margit at his torso, and chakra gathered on his right palm once more, but this time, it was larger.
"Ōdama Rasengan." He didn't shout, but it was more audible than the first one, or so Melina noted from her position while Roderika beside her gawked at the power of that attack.
Traces of gold streamed itself out towards the sky, and at the crater of the impact, there was nothing left.
"… I shall remember thee, Tarnished… smouldering with thy meagre flame." Margit's voice echoed in the sky as the gold stream slowly vanished.
"Cower in fear. Of the night. The hands of the Fell Omen shall brook thee no quarter…" with that, the last of the gold stream vanished, then Naruto felt a rush of strange energy that stored itself within him - Runes, or so Melina said earlier.
Then silence dawned upon the group; the Tree Sentinel, now unhelmed, glanced towards Naruto, who sent a nod of silent assurance. Though he pondered on those words left by the Fell Omen, he knew it should be left for later, as there were more pressing matters that needed attending, namely, Stormveil itself, and the main gate just stood upwards the causeway bridge that they used as a battlefield.
"… then I must become the beacon blazing across the night… and we will weather any storm," he muttered to himself as he finally resumed his ascent towards Stormveil; his group quietly trod the damaged bridge carefully, with vastly different thoughts within their minds.
Melina recalculated her plans on leading her chosen ally towards the Erdtree capital, her reassessment of his abilities far exceeded what she initially thought, and she knew that she must be careful of anything she does as not to break their accord and any goodwill that they may yet have for one another.
On the other hand, the Tree Sentinel shuddered at the thought of receiving that huge orb; she imagined what she would feel had Naruto used that against her during their first encounter.
The air was thick and foul even as the group approached the closed gates of Stormveil, its massive portcullis sealed shut, and Naruto could feel the soldiers behind those massive walls; bloodlust was apparent; someone had already infiltrated the castle before them.
Yet more blood waited to be spilt, as there was an aura of death that embraced the cold stones of this castle. Roderika shivered intensely, she was not prepared for this, and Naruto knew it, yet he also knew she was safer with him than in that old shack.
She'd learn; she must if she is to survive this world before a new dawn rises.
Melina vanished into the ether, undoubtedly, to scout ahead, as Naruto followed her with his senses. And despite being only together for such a small amount of time, words were no longer needed to convey communication between them; perhaps they've adapted to the silence of the Tree Sentinel.
"You two would make quite a team eventually, I suppose," quipped Kurama out of nowhere, faint amusement traced in his voice; meanwhile, some of the other Tailed Beasts snickered in the background, and it was then that Naruto understood what Kurama implied.
"Seriously, what's wrong with you?" asked Naruto in reply, but he was only met with rambunctious laughter in response, though; this was ignored with some amusement as the group approached the main gate and the guardhouse beside it.
The group stared at the portcullis before someone discreetly called out from the dilapidated guardhouse.
Naruto entered through the broken door and found a lanky and crestfallen man with white hair and white clothes; then, he turned his eyes towards Naruto as if awaiting him.
"Greetings, I am Gostoc; are you Lord Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked, and Naruto raised an eyebrow, but questions already formed within his mind.
"I don't know about being a Lord, but I'm indeed Naruto Uzumaki; how do you know my name?" asked the Hokage as he eyed the man.
"A man in white and crimson said that you'd come here, and to you, he said, I must say these words..." Gostoc cleared his throat before he continued.
"You who have been made full of grace shall cast the brightest light in this world, and in the darkest shadow, I shall be there, watching," he paused as he recalled the words told to him by this mysterious man.
"Let your light shine forth, and I shall use the shadows to help you. Sincerely, a Stargazer."
Kaguya, who listened in silence, finally spoke again, "Whomever that man is, Stargazer, or whatever his name is, he surely knows why and how we were brought here."
"Guess we were really brought here by some power," added Kurama and Kaguya hummed in agreement.
While those within his mind convened amongst themselves, Naruto hid in his thoughts, but he suppressed them and nodded towards the man.
"Anything else that this man said?"
Gostoc nodded and answered, "Yes, m'lord, he told me that I should let you through the main gate instead of the secret passage by the cliffs, but I must warn you, m'lord, it's a death trap past those gates."
"Oh, is that so?" He was met with a nod.
"Yes, sir."
"This Stargazer… he seems very aware of your capabilities, tread lightly when we meet him," warned Kaguya, and Naruto replied.
"I know, but I think he will be an ally to us…."
"Oh?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow.
"Just my instinct."
A litter of bloodied, broken bodies and mangled limbs lay strewn across the ground, and at the end of it, all stood a heavily armoured knight - a Crucible Knight.
The knight panted heavily while a man in white and crimson stood opposite, unfazed by anything.
"Come now, from serving Godfrey the First Elden Lord to serving Godrick the Grafted?" questioned the man while the knight glared back.
"..." The knight ardently remained silent, but anger arose from within.
"You are not one of the Tree Sentinels; you can speak; why not do so?" once again, the man questioned, but he was only met with silence.
Then, the knight lunged at him, sword and horned shield as the reply. Yet, the man evaded the attack with ease, not to mention the man used no visible weapons, until a red spear appeared on his right, to which the knight step backed because the spear exuded one thing the knight had not felt for a long time.
Death.
This did not escape the notice of the man.
"Ah, you feel it; despite the absence of the Rune of Death, you feel death itself. Fret not, you shant die today," he stated as he spun the spear around; then they clashed.
Spear met shield, the clash sent the knight backwards with tremendous force, and before the knight could move, the man already had his spear towards the weak point of the knight's armour, by the neck, while his right foot pinned down the knight on the ground.
"Please, surrender peacefully and reclaim your honour as a knight," pleaded the man, but the knight remained unresponsive at his request, so the man continued.
"I assure thee, thou shalt find service under the next Elden Lord… the Lord of Gold and Silver, who brings forth the brightest light, where I shall be in the darkest shadow."
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