Chapter 06: The curse of foresight

Disclaimer: Neither Dark Souls or High School DXD belongs to me

It was almost three hours since we returned to Londinium after dealing with the Black Knight (thanks to Merlin's magic) and after giving our report and proof of the deed (Sir Ector showed Uther and the rest of the court the sword as proof of the death of the maddened knight) and after being thanked and praised for my deed I was rewarded with 300 gold coins and an offer of knighthood.

I rejected the offer of knighthood right away because I did not want to be tied to a vow to this or any other Kingdom but I accepted the gold, I may don't know what to do with it but people thought it was valuable so it may serve to something.

Which bring me to my current situation; Merlin during all this she just ignored me, so once that circus finished I went back to her studio. I found the witch nose deep in some arcane tome I couldn't care less, so I did the one thing I do best; get her attention in the most unsubtle way possible.

"Hey!! Stop doing that!" screamed angrily Merlin at me when I took her book away from her but I ignored it, after all we needed to have a talk after her little outburst after the battle with the black knight. She may have been angry at my stupidity during the fight (Gwyn knows I was with myself for getting cocky in it) but that wasn't what made the witch angry; after all, she knew of my curse and my status as an undead so it was something else that Made her so angry.

"We need to talk." I told her before sitting in front of her looking straight at her eyes. "I know that the reason you're angry with me isn't because I acted like an idiot in my fight against the Black Knight so it was something else. So spill it." St my words she lost her angry scowl before giving me a tired yet sad smile.

"Nothing escapes your attention eh?" The witch told me before looking at me with an uncharacteristic serious expression. "Do you know what clairvoyance is?" At her question I just nodded, memories of the lectures that Big Hat Logan gave me before succumbing to madness resurfaced.

"Good, I don't have to explain it to you." She said before taking a deep breath and exhaling it while taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "I have that curse Mikael, I can see the future and I saw yours during your fight against the Black Knight, and you will have a most horrible and cruel end soon enough." She finished her words with a haunted expression, clearly shaken by whatever she saw.

"Hehahahahhahah!!!" I couldn't help but laugh at that: a most horrible and cruel end? Please that's how my entire existence as an undead have been: a never ending succession of painful and horrible deaths, traumas and failures with the occasional triumph.

"Don't take it as an insult Merlin but my entire existence as an undead has been nothing but pain and suffering." I explained Merlin as a mirthless smirk appeared in my face. "That's the blessing and the curse of the Undead Merlin: keep going even beyond death, rising from the grave over and over again to defy the odds in our own pointless quest until we eventually forget about ourselves and succumbs to the hollowing."

I couldn't help but remember all my friends that one by one fell to the curse, but more importantly I remembered my personal promise after becoming Undead; the same promise that kept me sane during the ages I was prisoner there and the many decades or even centuries I roamed Lordran during that accursed quest to fulfill the prophecy and later on to dealt with the mess that Gwyn and the other gods caused:

"Never go hollow."

That have been what always made me go forward, my fear that if I ever stopped moving forward I could become another one of the many poor souls that existed in Lordran, I was so absorbed in my own memories and ruminations that I didn't notice Merlin getting up from her chair until she took me by my arm and brought me up from my own chair and hugged me.

"Shh, don't worry anymore Mikael." The witch told me, giving me an uncharacteristic genuine gentle smile. "You aren't alone anymore, I'm here with you." As she said that she caressed my face with her palm, I don't know what is going on or why she was doing this but I didn't want her to stop, this brought me back long forgotten memories of better times, long before I was cursed with the Dark Sign and walked the long and treacherous path I walked now.

But what Merlin did next shut down any thoughts I may had at the moment because she cupped my face with her hands and kissed me in the lips, I couldn't help but be frozen in both shock and surprise at this turn of events but there was also another thing that awoke deep inside me; something long forgotten, something raw and primal that was both familiar yet unknown overtook me and clouded my reasoning allowing my instincts to take over.

So clouded by this familiar yet unknown need I reciprocate the kiss and enveloped the witch in my arms letting my hands roam free across her back, something that took her by surprise but quickly followed suit by doing the same, letting her hands run free across my back.

I don't know what is going on anymore but I know something for sure about this: I want more of it, so I put my hands on her backside (her firm yet soft backside) which makes her moan mid kiss but we unfortunately needed to end the kiss so Merlin could breathe. And in that moment as the veil of lust was receding a bit my mind began to go back to normal in overdrive.

So I gently put Merlin on the floor and helped her fix her clothes. "Sorry for getting carried away Merlin, it won't happen again." I told her out of her haze, which for some reason made her look disappointed. Well, no matter, that's a mystery for future me to unravel, besides I have a more pressing matter to address with her.

"Merlin, can you tell me or show me that vision please?" I ask her which got her out of her stupor and disappointment making her look at me with a serious look on her face.

"Are you sure about this Mikael?" She asked me to which I nodded, she then went to a nearby nearby shelf and took a strange vessel carved with many arcane symbols that I didn't recognize before taping the side of her head with her index finger and retiring it as a silver thread came with it and followed her finger, finally resting in the vessel where it glowed with a silverly glint.

"This is a pensive Mikael." Merlin told me before gesturing to the strange artifact. "It allows you to watch the memories that are stored inside, right now I put inside my vision you may look at it but don't be surprised if you don't like what you see." She finished her words with a solemn tone and look which was something to understand. After all, I knew how tempting the prophecies were to most beings .

One just should look at the sham that was the prophecy of the chosen undead and how it drove untold numbers of people and undead to their dooms.

But I needed to know. Not because I wanted to but because I needed to know what kind of problem was coming my way, so with trepidation I put my gaze unto Merlin. "How do I see the memory?" I asked her to which she looked at the pensive with an inscrutable look.

"Submerge your face in it and you will see the memory" told me Merlin, before she plunge her face into the vessel, I followed suit and my vision was overtaken by a bright white light which quickly died out and I found myself in a strange yet familiar setting.

Because the sky may be purple and the geography unknown to me but I recognized that dark red and black flames alongside the mutated corpses everywhere and most importantly the eclipse shining shining in its black and white glow over the now accursed lands like a curse and a prophecy of the horrors yet to come.

I knew what this is; somehow, somewhere in the future my worst fears were proven true and the chaos flame went out of control and this was the aftermath. I can see why Merlin was so shaken; because I may have arrived at Lost Izalith long after the flame of chaos was contained but its effects on the inhabitants and the land was undeniable.

I went to a nearby corpse and noticed that it was a devil, now that I looked more closely I noted that ALL the corpses were from devils because they all have their distinct batlike wings: they were from all ages and genders, men and women, old and young, I could even note a small disfigured and charred corpse of what most likely was a baby.

I can see why Merlin was so shaken from this; because for anyone else that hasn't lived in Lordran this looked like hell on earth. But something caught my attention. Better yet someone; myself and I could see why Merlin was so preoccupied for me.

Because the last time I was in such a sorry condition was when I was fighting against Ornstein and Smough, because my left arm was totally obliterated to the shoulder, my sword laid on the floor broken and the only reason I wasn't laying down on the floor like an useless sack of dead meat before waking up again were the seven spears that pierced my body that also somehow managed to stop the curse of the undead from reviving me.

I dont know how to feel at the sight of my true final death;on one hand I finally could rest in peace, but on the other hand the idea of dying beaten and broken like a stray dog made me extremely angry. "I must thank you for bringing me this treasure you filthy undead" said a devil that landed in front of my now truly dead body with an arrogant and condescending voice.

He was a man in his apparent early 30s with long silver hair, blue eyes and a fair skin, his face and looks gave him an androgynous angelic look but that only exalted the sheer wrongness, corruption and sheer and unadulterated evil his very presence exuded, there were very few times I felt something like that during my travels but never to this extend. Whoever that devil is, he is bad news.

"After all you brought me the keys to defeat my father and usher a new age with me as his God and master" with that a familiar flame engulfed him like a fiery mantle and a newfound sense of horror and dread overcame me. " HEAVEN, GODS AND HUMANS BOW TO YOUR NEW MASTER OR BE CONSUMED!!! FOR I LUCIFER AM YOUR NEW MASTER HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

In that moment I'm pulled out of the nightmare vision visibly shaken by what I saw and looked at an equally shaken Merlin. I knew what I saw was truth and more importantly I knew what was the fire covering that devil. The first flame; somehow it was here and that man managed to usurp it for himself. "But why did he said that he got it thanks to me?" I thought because it makes no sense!!!

How could it be here and I help him to get it!? The kiln of the first flame was in the depths of the earth in Lordran and it's access was only granted to those that defeated the four lords of the land, and the last one to access it… was… me…

I looked at my hands as a dreadful realization dawned on me; if the flame of chaos and the abyss were here already here it was obvious that the first flame would be here too… or better said it would eventually come here too and what better vessel than the last person to link the fire?

I brought him the first flame because I AM THE FIRST FLAME. And with this new revelation came a new determination. "Do you want the fire!? Then come and get burned you son of a bitch!!!" I thought angrily as finally I got one thing I was looking for since coming here: a goal.

With that decided I looked at Merlin with a determined look on my face. Because no matter what I won't become hollow and neither will allow someone like that bastard get his hands on the flame. "Merlin we need to train and prepare, we have a war to fight and win."

At my words and honest desire to defy fate she gave me a heartfelt smile. "Then let's get ready for it." Was her answer as we prepared for what wade going to be one of our fiercest battles in the future.

If only I knew how deep that rabbit hole went and how many beings were involved in this mess I would have been more cautious.

Author's Note: I bet you never expected this, eh guys? And for those interested Lucifer looks like Griffith from berserk during the Golden Age Arc.