CHAPTER 28:

DESCENT

"To think, thou were reborn as a Deathbed Companion," Ranni said, breaking off the embrace. "Life is filled with many a perverse jest, it seems."

"Indeed, Ranni," Fia, or rather, Godwyn said. "Make no mistake, my rebirth was as much a surprise to me as it was to you all. I expected no more than oblivion when Destined Death was carved into me by the Black Knives. And yet, here I am. Yet this is not my true body. My true body festers and rots deep beneath Leyndell. Our plan had unforeseen consequences, in the form of Deathroot, and the proliferation of Those Who Live in Death."

"…I see," Ranni said quietly. "Because thy soul was slain, but thine body was not. I suspected such a link, but I dared not think on it more, lest my…disquiet over thy sacrifice overwhelm me. 'Tis thy godly flesh, combined with half of the Rune of Death, that combines to form Deathroot, like a cancer."

"Indeed. Those Who Live in Death did exist long before my demise, true, but they were extremely rare," Godwyn said sadly. "You are right in considering them to be victims of a disease rather than malignant, Ranni…but do they not deserve to live in their own way, as long as they do no harm to others?"

Ranni was taken aback, and Harry looked to Godwyn. "Look, I ended up hunting some for Gurranq, I mean Maliketh. They attacked me on sight, Godwyn, if that's really you. The Tibia Mariner attacked me, summoned all those minions to attack me."

"True. Many are reduced to creatures of base instinct who murder the living like mere rabid animals, or more malevolent beings who envy the living, and thus attempt to slay them," Godwyn conceded. "But others do not wish to do harm. They hide in secret corners of the Lands Between, seeking not to slay the living, but to simply live in peace themselves. Yet the likes of 'D' and other underlings of Maliketh would gladly slay even them, for the Golden Order. Indeed, Maliketh does not do so because he has any noble purpose. After Ranni's theft of a fragment of Destined Death, he sealed the remainder within his very body."

Ranni nodded. "Thus why he hungers for Deathroot. If it contains fragments of the very Rune of Death used to slay thy soul, then eating that would mend the remainder within his frame…in theory."

"Indeed," Godwyn said. "But Marika's Shadow will never be sated. Even though I despise him for targeting Those Who Live in Death, I also pity Maliketh. He was a leal Shadow to Marika, and a good man, if ruthless. In truth, I feel more vindicated in supporting you now, Ranni. Marika never truly cared for Maliketh, simply treating him as a tool, not even a vassal. But Blaidd, to you, is your brother in everything but blood. For all that you felt you may have had to leave him behind when you achieved apotheosis…when the opportunity to change that fate occurred, you accepted it."

"…But…if thou art here and now…what doth thou intend to do, Godwyn?" Ranni asked quietly.

Godwyn chuckled bitterly, looking at her hand. "…Just look on and watch your plans unfurl. I originally intended to fuse with the curse mark, the one on your former body, for I have the other half in my original body. Then, I intended to create a new Great Rune, a Mending Rune to be grafted onto the Elden Ring that would grant Those Who Live in Death a proper place in the Order of this world. One where death, and undeath, are a natural if rare part of being, all part of the cycle, to make Those Who Live in Death whole again. I still intend to do so, but…I have to revise part of my plans. I do not intend to get in your way, Ranni. We are both diminished by our actions during the Night of Black Knives, but my power is not what it once was. I can manipulate spirits, even summon shades of the champions I have laid with, have taken warmth from…but I have little doubt that in a battle to the death, you would prevail, a change from what it would have been before that night. Nor do I intend to resort to treachery. Why would I? One way or the other, this world is changing, and for the better, I hope. It was for something like this that I agreed to the plan that you and Marika formulated. That I have come back to life, even without the power I once had, is a welcome bonus." She chuckled again. "Though being in the body of a Tarnished and a woman does take some getting used to."

"What about what I did to your…grandson, I think? Godrick?" Harry asked.

"…I do not hate you for it, Harry," Godwyn said solemnly. "Godefroy fell far from the tree, so to speak. I tried to teach him, but he would not listen, and Godrick became as bad if not worse. If he had not become a monster, then I would not be so sanguine about it. But he did. Besides, I know you, Harry. I've observed you and the other newcomers to this world as you resided within the Roundtable Hold. I could not ask for a better champion to become Elden Lord than you, never mind a champion of Ranni's."

"…It's not like I want to become the Elden Lord. Marika forced that shit upon me," Harry said quietly and bitterly.

"And yet, you still do so, to put the Lands Between, no, this very world to rights," Godwyn said. "That speaks much of your character. So too does your influence on my sister. Or that another sister has chosen to follow you long before Marika thrust your fate upon you." Her eyes flickered over to a spot next to Hermione. "Well, Melina? You will show yourself, won't you? Or are you content to remain a voyeur?"

Melina showed herself in her usual flurry of azure light, though she sighed in irritation. "I was concerned about the one I have an accord with. I confess I did not expect you to be Godwyn, even if it makes sense. But I do not remember you. I remember little of my life prior to the Night of the Black Knives."

"A shame, that," Godwyn said. "You were reduced to this state when you were too young. I at least had lived a long and fruitful life before I allowed myself to be slain. I'm glad you are loyal to Harry, Melina."

"I am not blind to the flaws in the Golden Order, Godwyn. But…there is a common saying, where there is life, there is hope," Melina said.

"And that is all I need to know," Godwyn said. "Life is filled with evil, suffering and pain, true. But that is not all that it is filled with. Even in the gloomiest shadows, there is warmth. Even a single candle can hold back the darkness. And faith need not be in flawed gods, but in ordinary people, regardless of whether they have been touched by Grace or not. Because that is the mark of a true champion, a true hero. In any case, I should leave you to your task. With Radahn slain, the Golden Order's eyes are upon you, as are other even more unfriendly eyes. Be careful on your sojourn into Nokron…"

After saying their farewells, Harry, Ranni and Melina headed to the Site of Grace near Fort Haight. Harry had cleared the fort of a remnant of Godrick's forces for a rather snooty noble called Kenneth Haight. Fortunately, Haight turned out to have a sense of gratitude.

The fort itself had been left intact by the star falling. But not far from the fort, there was a large crater, with rock hanging suspended in the air. The three of them walked over to the edge of the crater, and peered in. Smoke and mist still filled it.

"Bloody hell," Harry murmured, looking at the rocks hanging suspended throughout the crater, even looking down into it. "It's like a platformer game in real life." He then saw something, what looked like a cavern leading off the crater. "Ranni…do you think that cave might lead to Nokron?"

Ranni nodded. "Perhaps. I cannot guarantee that it will be so, but…Nokron, given what I hath seen on maps, should be in that direction. Still, we must be cautious."

"Agreed," Melina said. "Radahn was correct when he said that the stars were dangerous. There are beings that live amongst them, monsters we call Malformed Stars, Bastard Stars, or Naturalborn of the Void, that have fallen to this world in times past. Radahn held them back as well. And there is not knowing what dangers await us in Nokron."

"I know of some," Ranni said. "It is said that, after Stormveil Castle was conquered by the Golden Order, long before the likes of Godrick the Grafted befouled its walls, its former soldiers, the Hawks of the Storm, would eventually be sent here to search the Eternal Cities for artifacts of value. In truth, it was a form of exile and execution. They were not expected to return alive. And they did not. Rumours claim of any exploring underground encountering their remnants, little more than revenants, barely better than Those Who Live in Death. In addition, the Nox still live there, and I would hazard they would not tolerate the presence of intruders. Neither would their Mimic Tears, blobs of enchanted mercury that can mimic living beings, that they post as sentries."

"Oh joy," Harry said. "The last couple of times I ventured underground, they already had plenty of nasties down there. Anyway, we'll use my broomstick. Melina, you stay in spectral form until we need you. Ranni, while there's technically enough room on the broomstick for you, would you be able to change the size of your main body?"

"Of course," Ranni said, before she shrunk down to the size of Delphi's doll.

Harry gently picked her up and put her in his coat pocket. "You know, you're rather cute like that, Ranni. Not that you're not cute-looking already, it just makes you more endearing. You could sell merchandise with the merchants. I see it now, Ranni action figures. They'd sell a mint."

"Cease," Ranni snarled cattily, while Melina giggled, before vanishing with her usual light display. With a chuckle of his own, Harry got his broomstick ready, and mounted it.

"Once more unto the breach," he murmured…

Thankfully, flying through the ruins the cave led to on his broomstick turned out to be a good idea. It avoided beings that looked like misshapen zombies. A tricky bit of flying later, and they were out in the open, so to speak. A massive cavern that seemed to have a night sky hanging overhead. And below was a magnificent, ancient-looking city.

As they flew overhead, Harry said to Ranni, "Is this Nokron?"

The now doll-sized demigoddess poked her head out of his coat pocket, and nodded. "The outskirts at least, far from where the Fingerslayer Blade should be. But 'tis still Nokron. One of the strongholds of the Nox," she said, her usual stoic rasp filled with soft undertones of awe. "My mother's ancestors…and Radagon and Marika's. 'Tis said that the Numen and Nox were once kindred. I…I never dreamed 'twas so beautiful."

Harry nodded in agreement. For all the dangerous-looking shapes he saw moving amongst the rooftops, some humanoid, others decidedly not, this was a place of eerie beauty, more so even than the ruins he had explored earlier while trying to find entry into Nokron. On a whim, he hummed a few bars from A Whole New World from the Disney version of Aladdin. To his surprise, Ranni began humming along. He stopped, and looked at her.

"…Delphi was holding me when thou watched that film, if you recall?" Ranni said. "I was watching as thou showed her the entertainments of thine world."

"…Right. Well, Disney's good for the musical numbers if nothing else. Dunno what they would've made of the Lands Between, though." He then saw streaks of golden light entering a building. "Hang a moment, looks like there's a Site of Lost Grace. We'll activate it so we can come back later if need be."

"Indeed. And I believe we will go on foot from now on."

They flew into the building, and sure enough, a Site of Lost Grace was present. Harry activated it, before gently pulling Ranni out of his pocket. She grew back to her normal size, while Melina materialised. "So, this is Nokron, one of the Eternal Cities," the youngest demigoddess remarked. Her gaze then fell onto Ranni. "The blade you seek…you know it will not be easy to slay your Two Fingers, even should you get it."

"I never believed it would be easy," Ranni said. "No step of my path will be easy, Melina. In truth, I hath been taking the easy way for too long, letting my trusted allies do much of my work for me. It is past time I hath done so myself. I had always intended to slay that monster whose strings I dangle from myself, but…I had hoped for Blaidd to get the blade once I had found a means to gain entry into Nokron. But now…pride goads me into this course. That…and perhaps a little shame. I feel that I hath not proved a worthy Empyrean, a leader of people. True, my Order would not be one the people could witness or feel, and yet…"

"You still wish to prove so, if only for yourself," Melina said.

"Indeed. I hath asked much from others, but what hath I sacrificed that was my own? My body, yes, that was sacrificed, and my power is much reduced from what it was. But most of what I hath sacrificed on the altar of my ambition hath been that which belonged to others. My mother's sanity worsened after my demise. Godwin died, even if willingly. Your body was destroyed in the act of slaying mine. The Shattering consumed the Lands Between, and with it, many lives. Blaidd risks falling into the abyss of madness for his continued loyalty to me. Now…Radahn is dead. I had barely enough time to fare him well ere he perished. 'Tis not that I hath doubts about my goal…more that the means art exacting their toll on me."

"Or perhaps 'tis your awakened conscience that is pricking at you, Ranni," Melina said. "However, that you still have one is heartening. It will prevent you from stepping too far into the darkness in pursuit of your goal. Harry has allied himself with you, and it was Torrent who chose him. Torrent, I feel, is a far better judge of character than I. While there is good and evil, few people are absolutely one or the other. Would you consider yourself worse than your brother Rykard with his Recusants, or Morgott, who still persecutes his own kind, along with others who do not fit into the Golden Order? Or what of Mohg, who famously lusted after Miquella, and who may even lead the Bloody Fingers? And let us not forget the late and unlamented Godrick the Grafted, one whose ego far outstripped his own strength, so he stole from others and grafted it to himself. Malenia was so desperate to ensure her brother's plan succeeded, she unleashed the Scarlet Rot on Caelid. By comparison, you are not so willing to destroy the lives of others, Ranni. Your ruthlessness is tempered with pragmatism…and empathy. That has you stand head and shoulders above many of your kin, to say nothing of your father or stepmother."

Ranni chuckled softly. "Thy body being destroyed hath only served to loosen thine tongue, Melina. Thou were never this talkative when alive."

"Harry and his little coterie have been bad influences on us both, I daresay," Melina said.

"I'm right here, you know," Harry grumbled. "Anyway, where do you think the Fingerslayer Blade is?"

"Not in this place," Ranni said. "Otherwise, t'would be more heavily guarded. Now that I am here, I may be able to scry for its location." She summoned a basin of what looked like water, and began chanting softly, before she nodded. "Excellent. I believe I have found it. It resides far from here, in another part of Nokron, under an effigy of Rosus. I could not pinpoint its location before. Between wards and its underground location, 'twas hard to discern where it was."

"…I could show you the way if you want."

The three of them were instantly on-guard, and looked around. Despite that, Harry noted that the voice, seemingly a woman's voice, was timid-sounding. "Who is there?" Ranni asked, her voice icy. "Show thyself."

"I will, I will!" the voice said. "But…you have to promise not to hurt me. I don't intend to hurt any of you."

Harry shared a look with Ranni and Melina, before he said, "Okay, but if you do try to attack us…"

"I understand. Just…look out below, I'm coming down."

The three of them looked up in time to see something large and silvery drop down. Thankfully, not on any of them. It looked like a silvery globule, easily the size of a large dog, its surface swimming with strange patterns.

And then, the globule changed, rippling and warping, sprouting limbs, even a head. Its shape became human, no, even feminine. Soon, it became a woman, with short hair, wearing robes, her skin, hair and eyes all an eerie shade of silver.

"A Mimic Tear," Ranni said. "But one who has gained a semblance of sentience, it seems."

"Indeed," the woman said, bowing. "I was not granted a name by my creators. Instead, I have taken the name of one of them, who is long deceased. My name…is Asimi. Please…take me with you…"

CHAPTER 28 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Godwyn's given Ranni and Harry a peptalk, and while exploring Nokron, they've encountered Asimi!

Now, for those of you who are unaware, 'Asimi' was a Mimic Tear NPC whose questline was amongst the cut content for Elden Ring. Nullrinn rediscovered this sidequest in the data.

I should point out that I'm not following what the cut questline or Asimi's character would have been like to the letter. Rather, I thought Asimi was an interesting concept, and as you encounter the Mimic Tear boss on the way to get the Fingerslayer Blade, I thought this might make for an interesting variation.

Also, isn't the image of Ranni, in her doll form, watching Disney films with Delphi an adorable one?

Now, I have written the next few chapters in advance. That's two chapters (including this one) in Nokron, and a third with more Harry/Ranni bonding. However, I want to keep that third chapter in reserve for my big Christmas update, unless I complete the chapter after that. So keep that in mind.

In addition, I've just begun a certain video game, another fantasy one with a darker edge. I'm curious as to whether you'd like to see me do fics based on said video game, itself part of a greater franchise I have intended to do at least one fic for, but have never quite managed to get it up to scratch. True, I have some other crossovers in mind (for example, spurred on by the recent release of the live action version, I've finally gotten back into One Piece, having finished the East Blue Saga, and am partway through the Baroque Works Saga, so a crossover with that, and not necessarily a Potterverse one either, is on the cards), but this one may be a pretty big one, especially as there's only three examples in the crossover with the series so far…and maybe I could be the first to put in a Potterverse crossover with the third game.

I speak of Baldur's Gate 3.

Review-answering time! I'm gratified by the enthusiastic response for my possible alternate Elden Ring crossovers with Malenia as the pairing (But what? No Melina love, save for from Mint Man Ball?). However, my prior attempts haven't really gone anywhere, despite my best efforts. But who knows?

LunaShadowWolf: I didn't mean to come across as arrogant as much as being facetious. In truth, I hate people putting in reviews or PMing me demanding updates, which is one of my many, many pet peeves on this website, and despite my putting it up on my profile, people still get shocked when I snap at them for asking or demanding updates. However, I am glad you're enjoying this fic so far. No guarantees that it will ever be finished, but honestly, this is one of my longest fics I have ever done anyway, and I try to write as much as possible for my fics before publishing them here anyway.

Mint Man Bail: Thanks for the praise. For this story, my theory is that the ritual at Castle Sol basically did ensure his rebirth, but not until later. For the purpose of this story, Fia and Godwyn are one and the same being. As for Fia's purpose, it's to try and create a Mending Rune as in the game, but she also wishes to reduce the effects of Godwyn's original body on the world. Godwyn didn't foresee this happening, and wishes to make amends. But he also feels Those Who Live in Death deserve a place in the world.

No numbered annotations this time.