"The world-destroying dragon? Me...?"
Marika said tremblingly. In the sky covered with dark clouds, she looked at the scorched ground. Those soldiers who used to have families, dreams, and feelings were now all scorched marks on the ground. She took the lives of these people with her own hands, because she chose her companions.
"Oh come one! Do you gotta be so dramatic? These people are here to invade your country, whether they like it or not. The point is they are here to hurt you and your people." The system said impatiently.
"But being turned into charcoal on the ground like this… Is this how people should die?" Marika feels that she can now relate a little bit to how the members of the bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima felt.
"So? Everyone was killed, and you can't turn back now. At least this time it was your decision, not some alien god pointing a gun at you and making you do it."
"I…"
"And look at your men."
Malika lowered one of her heads to look at the Erdree soldiers on the ground. All held their weapons high and cheered her name.
"Marika, this world is different from the modern society you are familiar with. It is still stuck in the cruel medieval age where civilians were not treated as human beings. If you really want to change this crappy world as you swore before, then conquer it and let her change to your will."
"Conquer the world? Is that really the only way to help everyone?"
Looking at the scorched dust again, Marika knew that many people would die before realizing her dream of making this world less cruel.
"Let's call Agheel and Nepheli Loux to help clean up the battlefield first."
After adjusting her mood, Marika summoned the black fire dragon Agheel and the barbarian female warrior Nepheli Loux. Marika blessed them with grace, explained the situation to them telepathically, and then assigned Nepheli to join the ranks of cleaning the battlefield. Meanwhile Agheel will work together with Marika to ensure the safety of the battlefield at high altitude. Agheel flew next to Marika's huge Ghidorah form, comparing the two, there was not such a huge gap after all. Well, it's the same as the gap between polar bears and a dog.
Agheelr looked at the majestic and gigantic Marika and felt that the ancient dragon he was in awe of before was nothing more than that. Even the mother of dragons, Greyroll, pale in comparison to her.
After some inspections, Nepheli used her grace to report that about a hundred remnants of the Imperial Army still escaped the bombardment of the gravitational rays, but all of them had been captured, and the rest of the Royal Army was completely wiped out.
Marika noted her report, and flew back to the now dilapidated mayor's mansion with Agheel. When Marika transformed into Ghidorah, the City Lord's Mansion was turned into ruins by her huge body and the energy generated during the transformation. Fortunately, the maids were all fine. Marika had sent them to take refuge with other refugees beforehand, just in case.
Looking at the devastated mansion, Marika disengaged her transformation. Muscles, bones, and nerves spread out like burnt paper, revealing her real body hidden inside. Standing in a human posture again, Maeika felt a little unaccustomed. She took a few wobbly steps, and then picked a piece of ruins to sit down.
"Agheel, go find a high place to rest for a while, and come to me later."
"Roar~", Yakir responded with a soft cry, indicating that he understood, and flew away.
Marika sat on the ruins, opened the system interface, and looked at the two names on the summoned NPC list, Morgott and Melina.
Morgottt, the second child of the original Marika. When he and his twin brother Mohg were born, their heads were full of horns due to the influence of the furnace of life. The elder brother had a big tail, and the younger brother had a pair of wings. It was originally a symbol of auspiciousness before the Golden Dynasty ruled the Lands Between. But when the twisted laws of the Greater Will permeated the realm, these children were relegated to the Children of Omens. Once a woman gives birth to an Omen, these children would be killed immediately or their horns cut off and thrown into the maze-like sewer system of the royal capital to fend for themselves. There will even be perverted perfumers who hire omen hunters to hunt down Omen children to make incense powder.
As princes, Morgott and Mohg were lucky enough not to be killed after they were born, but they were still imprisoned in the sewer. But unlike the younger brother of the Omen twin who went on to serve as the lap dog for the evil god known as the Formless Mother, Morgott remains loyal to the Golden Order. In the War of the Shattering where the demigods fought for the kingship, he used the pseudonym Margit to stand up and defend the royal capital. After the Fragment War ended, he maintained the royal city facelessly behind the scenes as the Grace GivenKing until he was defeated by the chosen Tarnished. Among the demigods there are few who were as tragic and righteous as Morgott is.
Melina's situation was even worse, she didn't even know if she was Marika's child or not. From birth, she was regarded as the kindling to burn the Erdtree, and it was just a tool to help the Tarnished to become Elden Lord. Even her body was burned in an unknown event, leaving only her spirit behind.
"Hey system is Melina Marika's—no, I mean my child?" Malika asked a difficult question that countless Elden Ring players were dying to know.
"Don't you know how many cubs you have given birth to yourself?" the system roasted.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? I don't have the memories of the original Marika. You're better off asking an Elden Ring theorist!" Marika snapped back.
"Okay, okay, let me check it for you. I should have the memory data of making this body in my memory file. Give me a sec" The system said impatiently, and then fell into a short silence.
"OK, the results of the paternity test are out! The child is yours!" After a while, the system checked the results and immediately said in a joking tone.
"You...Ah forget it. Then the next question, did the original Marika visit Morgott and Mohg when they were imprisoned in the sewer?"
"Let me do a search. Hmm... ah! Got it! According to the memory records, the original Marika really did visit the Omen twins!"
"That's a relief. It seems that she still has some conscience left in her, but things are still very difficult..."
For the two children who were abandoned and used by the original Marika, the reincarnated Marika felt like she was caught in a rough spot. Morgott and Melina's thoughts about their mother have been vague in the original story. But Morgott is loyal to the Golden Order, and Melina doesn't seem to dislike the Golden Order either. There is also the system's guarantee of their loyalty so Marika doesn't need to worry about that. However, as her reincarnated self, she is not sure how to interact with them. Does she want to pretend to be strangers or treat them as her own children? Will they even forgive her for what she did to them? She was just a bachelor office worker in her previous life, she had no idea on how to raise children! Although she didn't do it to them personally, she is Marika now, so she has to clean up this mess for the original Marika. Marika felt lightheaded just thinking about it.
"If you keep stalling there will be no results. If you think it's troublesome, just don't call them in!" The system urged impatiently.
"Forget it! Escape is not a solution, the boat will go straight when it reaches the bridge!" Marika pressed the summoning button with a swift determined motion.
After a brighter golden light than usual, the Uncompleted Elden Ring on her character status card reached "2/9". Then the center of her lower abdomen lit up with a glowing tattoo of the Elden Ring without her knowing. The shape of Morgott's great rune was added to her tattoo, which was only in the shape of the crescent moon before. Once Morgott's great rune was added, the glowing tattoo quickly dimmed and disappeared.
Marika watched nervously as the two people who made her feel most guilty appeared in front of her eyes. A draft explaining the situation was being furiously formed in her mind.
The tall Omen, with messy white hair and misshapen horns, and a particularly ferocious tail behind him. The only clothing on his body was a ragged yellow cloak. His apparel, similar to that of a beggar, makes it hard to believe that he would be the prince of a kingdom. The only thing that can prove his royal status is his pair of pure golden eyes that reveal wisdom within.
The girl who was supposed to be turned into kindling, had short brown curly hair and a pretty face similar in form to Marika's. Her left eye was sealed with a mysterious animal claw tattoo, and her whole body was shrouded in a mysterious and ethereal aura, like a forest nymph that would disappear at the slightest touch.
"Greetings mother." The two knelt on one knee and said in unison. Marika couldn't tell whether they were sad or happy.
"Get up quickly! Get up quickly! My children, how do you feel now?" Marika helped them up nervously.
"Thank you mother for your concern. We're... are fine?" Morgott and Melina looked at each other in doubt. In their opinion, Marika's behavior was very abnormal. In the past, she was cold and distanced, like a puppet hanging from a string. Now she seems more human? That's the only way they can describe her now.
"That's good, that's good. Ah! Come and sit down beside me. I have a lot to say to you."
Marika carefully pulled the two of them to sit on the ruins where she had just sat. Marika now is just like a novice mother who was at a loss for a crying baby.
The next thing is for Marika to use her knowledge of the game's lore to try to make up a reasonable story to explain how they got here. To make a long story short, in her past, Marika lived under the iron fist of the Greater will and her two fingers. She endured many humiliations and waited for an opportunity to overthrow them. During this period, the Two fingers controlled her to do a lot of things she didn't want to do. Finally one day, Radagon and the Elden Beast were defeated by the Chosen Tarnished. Marika took the opportunity to establish a contract with the existence called the system, with the system as her servant, and took everything in the Lands Between to a different world where the claws of the Greater will could not reach and she could start anew. But in the process, she lost most of the power of the Elden ring, so she could only move the things in the Lands Between bit by bit at a time while restoring the power of the Elden ring.
Anyway, she tried her best to frame the Greater Will, Radagon and Two Fingers as the villain. It's not like they could sue her for defamation anyway.
Melina and Mrogott were taken aback by her captivating story. But in the back of their heads both thought that Marika seems a lot more talkative than before.
"A new beginning without the Greater will? Perhaps this is also a good change for the residents of the Lands Between." Melina said with a faint smile.
"Indeed, but mother, can this Outer God who calls himself the "System" be trusted? Morgott instead focused on the allegiance with the system.
At this time, the system appeared again in his bird cage form, floating around like a fairy and said:
"Relax. I am not powerful nor arrogant enough to call myself a god. I'm just a harmless little helper, don't worry too much."
"Very well... I will keep my eyes on you, System." Although he reluctantly agreed with the system's words, Morgott hadn't completely let go of his guard against it. Too many Outer Gods use the promises of greater power to attract believers, but few of them fulfill their promises with complete honesty.
The system just nodded and disappeared. (Don't ask me how a cage nods)
[Recommended BGM: Fate Apocrypha OST-Apocrypha]
Seeing the disappearance of the system, Marika sorted out her speech and said solemnly to Morgott and Melina:
"Morgott, Melina, I know I'm a failed mother. I failed to protect you and made you pawns of the gods. As a mother, I am ashamed of my failure. But now it's different. I am now strong enough to protect you, you don't have to be locked in the sewers to be despised, or sacrificed on the altar. You are free now, so if you want to leave because of what I have done, I will not force you to stay. But if you are willing, I hope that I can start anew with you in this new world. Not as king and subject, but as mother and child."
Marika sincerely apologized to both of them. Although strictly speaking, they are not her own children, but belonged to the original owner of this body. Before she was reincarnated, she had never even given birth to a child. But she is still willing to try, trying to make up for their rough life as their mother.
"Mother... Thank you." Melina wanted to say something, but not even thousands of words were able to express her feelings. In the end, only a short sentence of thanks was condensed, but it contained all her emotions for her mother.
"Mother, I'm just a worthless omen. I—I don't deserve you to lower your royal self for a lowly omen like me." Morgott said in a trembling voice. His inner emotions run array, as he recalls the time when he was a child, still in the sewers with his brother struggling to survive. One day, Morgott had an ill-fated run in with an omen hunter who went to the sewer to hunt omen children. Morgott remembered he desperately cried for his father and mother, thinking that he was going to die. But suddenly, an agent sent by Marika rescued him and Mohg from the hunter. Later, he heard that that omen hunter was sentenced to be hanged on Marika's own orders. This is the first time Morgott ever felt loved by his mother. But because he has always felt inferior due to his identity since he was a child, he not express his emotions.
"That name, "Omen" is a derogatory term that was born because of the narrow-mindedness of the Two Fingers. Here you can bask in the sun with integrity and enjoy the same dignity as all creatures under the sky. This is the new Order I wanted to create: All living beings are equal under God. Stand proud, my child." Following Marika's sincere words, Morgott's defense could no longer hold up, as he burst into tears, crying quietly.
'What?! Is he crying? ' Marika was a little at a loss seeing the usually stern Morgott bursting into tears. She looked at Melina with eyes asking for help, but she just nodded with a knowing smile.
'Ah forget it. He will be my kid from now on. I better do something to comfort him.'
So Marika awkwardly embraced Morgott, who was a head taller than her, into her arms, imitating the way her mother comforted her in the vague childhood memory of her previous life, gently stroking his head, softly whispering:
"It's okay, it's okay. I am here, I am here."
By now, the dark clouds in the sky have gradually dissipated, casting a little sunshine on the mother and child.