To see a Darkened Sun

End 1

Quick note: I recommend listening to plin plin plon while reading this

He could see it through the window. The moon, it was so bright in his eyes, so bright that it hurt. Blinking he looked away, his eyes trailing down the shadowy walls and down the sheets of the bed Gwyndolin was sitting upon.

They were comfy when he'd rested in them, a nice respite. The room was choked by silence, both of them wanted to say so much, but didn't have the time to say anything. So they remained in this painful silence, hoping it would keep the encroaching doom at bay just a little longer.

But then, as Arias held Gwyndolin tightly in his arms, he felt it. A strange sense in his being, a sense like sight or sound, but it was in a direction. It wasn't difficult to figure out what direction either. The fire. It was calling to him, no, maybe it always was, those dreams of flame pulling him near despite his dark nature as a human pulling him in the exact opposite direction. Maybe he'd just gotten used to it at some point.

He closed his tired eyes once more, and basked in the warmth of their hug. This would be the last time, no, not just that, the last good thing in his life. He wanted to take it all in, one last brief rest before the end.

Breathing in, the air tasted fresh, breathing out, he prepared himself to leave.

"Thou'rt going to leave." Gwyndolin stated dryly. Arias remained silent, still wishing to avoid talking of his fate. Silence attempted to settle over them once more but Gwyndolin shattered it before it was able.

"I understand thine dread... Very well" He breathed, his voice tight with sorrow.

"And... I just want thee to know. Thou hast mine sincerest apologies. Please, please forgive me..." He had been thinking of this in the back of his mind for a while. It was him that put this all on Arias, his scheming. He'd been ignoring it for a while but now that everything was coming to an end he couldn't keep it in any longer.

Arias was confused by this, there was nothing for him to forgive him for, unless... Gwyndolin was feeling guilt over not linking the fire himself. It all made sense now, why he would always avoid talking of the linking of the fire, because he felt it was his responsibility.

"Of course!" Arias almost shouted, leaning back from the hug to look Gwyndolin in the eyes. "Of course I forgive you! I've accepted what I must do. There's no need for you to feel any guilt over it. You've done all you could, now I just need to play my part. And I swear I won't let it all be for nothing." He reassured him, holding both his shoulders firmly.

"T-Truly?" Gwyndolin was shocked, almost too shocked for words. He knew Arias was loyal but this was more than he'd expect from even him. Such a revelation, and yet he was still as supportive and caring as ever. He stared into his eyes and his stare was only broken when Arias nodded in response.

"Arias I.. I am thankful beyond words!" Gwyndolin exclaimed, leaning in to hug him again. Arias accepted the hug, happy that he was able to bring him back to high spirits even at a time like this.

Thinking back on the time they'd spent, he thought in particular of all the times he'd demonstrated that unbreakable faith of his, and how comforting his words were when he spoke them. Thinking over it now, he was about to lose someone truly special, indeed beyond words. Something special he would have to sacrifice for the world, his father's world.

A world that acted as though it didn't want him.

"I'm glad." Arias spoke softly, snapping Gwyndolin out of his spiraling thoughts.

"For everything you've done. Without you, my journey would have been dry, without meaning, I would be a husk. But you, my shining moonlight, have given me reason and happiness, things I'd all but forgotten. Truly I am grateful." Then they were silent again, leaning into the hug more as they held tightly onto one another.

"I love thee." Gwyndolin choked as he felt Arias release him. "So much."

"I love you too." Arias replied, placing one last kiss upon his lips before letting go and standing. The two couldn't bear any more words, they'd already delayed the inevitable long enough, now it was barely even Arias himself walking, but that strange sense carrying him to his fate.

Arias simply waved farewell before leaving the room, crushing a bone in his hand when he was out of sight from Gwyndolin.

It was quiet now. There was nothing, it was unlike the silence between the two just moments ago. Now it was lonely, oppressive, crushing. It was dark, the moon had risen into the sky by now and the rays were no longer shining through the window. Instead, all there was, was the faint sound of the cold draft.

It took it's time, but soon it settled into his mind, that was the last time he'd ever see Arias. It felt so strange, he knew Arias was still alive as of the current moment, but his end was so certain, that he couldn't help but think of him as dead already.

Every time that word came up in his mind, it left a foul, bitter taste in his mouth. Dead. Gone. Words, that got him thinking, there were a million words he wanted to say to him, and countless things he wanted to do together, with him by his side. The night previous had been like a taste of what could have been, but would could never be.

Hell as childish as he knew it was, he would be lying if he said he hadn't fantasized about marriage at least once. He wanted to be by his side, to hold him and to live a nice, comforting life with him. One free of this pain.

So many good things they could have done together, ripped away by the fate that frowned upon him. Gripping the sheets of the bed, he rolled over to his side and curled up, his snakes coiling around the feet of the bed.

Through the tears and the cries he hadn't even noticed coming from him, he did notice himself calling out his name.

"Arias.."

"Arias please.."

"Come back.."

"I need thee.."

It'd been some time since he'd last been to this place. It was strangely comforting, suggesting that he may have spent a lot of time here when he still had his memories. It was strange, by now so many things had changed, could he really claim to be the same man that had rested here so long ago, or was he different, a new man entirely, inhabiting an previous man's shell.

How would that man have reacted to all of this. What would he have done in his shoes? The phantom emotions he'd feel in places he'd once visited prior just made this confusion worse. He found it pleasant being here, but the reason had long faded from his mind, now it just was, as if they were borrowed feelings, belonging to someone else, only lingering in the mind.

His mind was spinning again, he knew what that meant all too well, at least he wasn't expecting to last much longer either way. Sighing, he pushed himself to stand up. Now it would all come to a long awaited end.

Crunch Crunch Crunch

Crunch Crunch

Crunch

Crunch

Crunch

Crunch Tap Tap

Tap Tap

Tap

Tap

It echoed through his mind, his footsteps, he never stopped walking but he stopped hearing them as much, the sounds not registering in his mind, not even noticing as he cut down the black knights in his way, until he'd made it, to the Kiln.

The first flame was only a few meters away now, the end goal of his journey, his, and the man he'd stolen a body from, Oscar.

Fog separated him from his goal, no doubt there'd be something on the other side that wanted him dead. That sense from before was even stronger now, it was pulling him forward, and pushing him at the same time.

And before he knew it, that sense had taken him to the other side of the fog, and he could see it. Gwyn. He didn't know why, he just sort of knew that was him, the lord of sunlight he'd heard so much about, even after losing all memory.

Hollowed eyes staring him down as he leaped into the air, flaming sword heading straight for him.

He looked to be a husk, just like Arias. Well then, it was to be a battle between two of the same, an empty shell from two walks of life, pushed forward for it's own destiny.

As the flaming blade neared his skull, he instinctively rolled to the side, quickly unsheathing his greatsword, he landed a blow to the Lord's ankle, to his surprise, it was tough, very tough, and it sounded like crumbling stone.

Quickly, he withdrew his weapon, just in time to dodge a swiping attack headed for his spot on the floor. He rolled frantically away as the Lord followed up with a flurry, soon the gap between the two was about 4 meters.

Noticing how far he was, Arias drew his Moonlight greatsword and swung it in Gwyn's direction, the swing hard enough to shoot a beam of pure Moonlight straight into the Lord's chest. The blast was enough to break through the layer of armor under his robes, damaging him badly. But still he didn't flinch, instead he leaped up into the air just as before, aiming to strike Arias as he was sheathing the Moonlight greatsword.

Luckily, Arias was quick enough to manage to block the blow with his greatsword, dropping the Moonlight greatsword in the process. For some reason, he wasn't strong enough, no, it was more like he didn't have the energy to hold the bind. Oh right, that last battle had left him exhausted. How could he have forgotten that?

He didn't have time to think about this though, as his greatsword was forced from his hands, leaving him wide open for-

Shlling!

He felt the greatsword, imbued with the first flame itself, penetrate his armor and pass straight through his stomach. He didn't have time to scream, as the Lord pushed him down the shaft of the sword, leaving him on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest.

It hurt too much to scream, or to do anything even, the Lord of Cinder walked slowly away, leaving him for dead in the blood soaked ash. As he lay there, he thought back on his journey so far, the battles, Gwyndolin, love, pain. Pain. It still hurt. The first flame was eating away slowly at his insides, he felt the fire flicker inside. Was this how it was meant to end? Surely not.

Then his instincts kicked in, however his arm didn't reach to his side for his estus, instead it reached into his pack to retrieve something long forgotten. He couldn't say exactly what was compelling him to reach for such a thing, in the stead of the estus flask that had saved him so many times. Though if he were to try describe it, he would say it felt as if a force opposed to the one drawing him to the fire had forced his hand.

Once again, he didn't have time to think on this, as his wounds healed in an instant, and the flame inside was subdued, no, it was more like he couldn't feel it anymore. It didn't matter, he was so close now, he wouldn't let anything get in his way.

He lifted himself from the floor, ash and blood dripping from his being as he retrieved his greatsword. The Lord of Cinder quickly noticed his presence, turning to see him lifting his sword from it's place in the ash.

Leaping into the air once more, Gwyn, readied another strike from the air. As he neared the ground, Arias quickly dodged to the side, slashing the Lord across the side as he repositioned himself.

He was able to get another slash across the leg before the lord turned with a sweeping strike, however, Arias quickly blocked it with his greatsword, the swords clashing at such speed that the reverberations stumbled Gwyn, leaving him wide open.

Seeing a window, Arias slashed diagonally down his chest, before spinning the attack into a thrust, forcing his greatsword straight through the gap in the armor left by the Moonlight beam, mirroring how Gwyn had almost killed him mere moments ago. Lifting his foot up, he disgracefully wrenched Gwyn from the end of his greatsword, now drenched in the blood of the husk of cinder.

As the Lord lifted himself from the ash, Arias attempted to stab him through the open wound again, however he barely missed, and his greatsword snapped as it impacted Gwyn's armor.

Panicked, he tossed the useless hilt to the floor and attempted to dash away, however he wasn't quick enough, and was grabbed by the throat. The fading Lord lifted him up, and let loose a surge of the first flame into his body. It was agonizing, the flame merged with the flames already present in his body, burning him up from the inside.

But it didn't kill him, not quite. As he was tossed roughly to the ash once more, another bout of pain surged through his body, this pain was different though. Unlike most sword wounds or the like, this propelled him forward, kept his eyes from closing. The agony made up for the energy he'd long since lost, forcing him to his feet, to keep fighting.

Rising from the ash once more, Arias dashed past the Lord of Cinder, dodging a potentially fatal blow. His mind was blanking out now. Not much time left. There was something here that he could use, to finish this. What was it? A blue glint caught his eye. Ah yes. Guiding rays of the moon. A sword forged from crystal.

He sprinted toward the blade buried in ash, barely outrunning another leaping strike from Gwyn. Jumping to the floor, he reached out and grabbed the blade by the hilt.

Lifting it from the ash, he rolled over and instinctively swung it, the blade dug deep into the Lord of Cinder who had been preparing to slice him open.

As it reached his spine, the blade snapped off, separating from the hilt, but it was already over. The fading Lord of Cinder, keeled over next to Arias, clinging to the blade protruding through his abdomen, and as Arias got up from the floor, the blade glowed, before producing another glowing beam of moonlight, finally putting a true end to Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder.

Huffing, Arias felt the flame still eating away at him, at his soul. Something was conflicting with it, battling it, but whatever it was, was losing.

The glow of the sputtering first flame caught his eye, a gentle glow in the center of the kiln, much like the bonfires. As he laid his eyes upon it, he already knew, this was his destination. His fate. It was right in front of him, all he had to do was approach it.

Hobbling over, Arias clutched his side, it was burning, like the flames were beginning to escape his body. So close, not much further now.

He collapsed, his legs giving way, as if the nerves had all been burned away, but he didn't stop, desperately dragging himself through the ash. Soon he felt the tiny flames licking at his hand, then his face.

Then he felt it.

He'd reached his destination.

Finally.

It was over.

Or at least, he thought it would be.

The pain only grew worse, doubling by the minute.

And time seemed to slow down, or was it getting faster?

He was surprised to find himself uncaring over the matter.

Like his mind had slowed, hollowed into a husk.

But there was a part of his mind still lingering on something.

He wondered if Gwyndolin was alright.

Gwyndolin...

What's a "Gwyndolin?"

What was this image in his mind?

It made him feel calm somehow.

He wanted to be closer to it.

But before he knew it, it was gone.

And he was struggling to remember what he'd just thought about in the first place.

Something called a feeling.

Though that too would fade soon.

Leaving nothing but a husk.

That had once passed owners.

And the unbearable pain it would later bear with others of it's ilk.

Until the end of time.

Until the end of the flame.

Arias. It had been so long since he'd thought of him, as if he'd tricked himself into believing he'd gotten over his loss. The "lords of cinder" that had sullied his title were now risen from ash, doing as they please. It wouldn't be long now. Even when robbed of sight, he could see clear as day he wouldn't last much longer. He only wondered now. When he died, and his soul passed on. Would he get to see him again? He wanted to believe he could, but judging by the fact that the other Lords of Cinder had risen from their ashes, it's more likely that the flame still held his soul, that the flame had kept even a happy afterlife from him.

But that was long ago, maybe it had let him go? Deep down he knew that was a foolish thought, but for now, he'd permit himself believe, so that he may at least have the luxury of dying happily.

Something passed through the fog nearby. It oozed over the floors towards him. Something sinister indeed.

Indeed, even when robbed of sight, he could see clear as day, that this was the end.

A/N The end, though not quite. You may have noticed at the top of the page it says "End 1" Indeed there is a second ending, enjoy!