Chapter 1: Descend of the Outer One
"Dialogue"
'Inner monologue'
[Yggdrasil Spells]
{Elden Ring Sorceries/Incantations}
{Message}
For what is life, if not a lie, a parasite to be eradicated, one who feeds on the world's soul until none is left to consume? Death will follow, and then, an existence with no sentience, no living thing to occupy it.
Yet, with life, there is also death. Two fundamental parts that would, without another, not exist. If you live, you may die. If you die, you have lived.
However, in the Lands Between, death and life were halted. None shall die, and all shall live forever. Such is the curse stowed upon the land, which feeds at its inhabitants' bodies, rotting them to the bone yet letting them alive, barely.
For such a world, there was a need for a hero, a lord, an Elden Lord. Ruler of the Lands Between, who would reinstate the order once was. A man or woman, to spread the light of the Erdtree upon the whole world and make the Greater Will's words come true.
Such a devoted being was yet to be found, but many tried to make themselves worthy of the title and failed.
Great Runes, shards held by Demi-Gods and legends alike, parts, if combined, would recreate the once broken Elden Ring, the source of all order in the known world.
To claim such a rune was for most Tarnished a feat impossible, yet there was one who defied Demi-Gods and monsters alike and made his way through the lands, killing and raising his strength with each foe fallen. With Grace and the power of Runes in his hands, his potential may be limitless.
The light might guide him, a nameless Tarnished through the lands to claim the Great Runes for himself, yet there was also fate, destiny, and luck, of which all three play a role in how it might begin and how it will end.
Fate may be foreseen, yet may change. Destiny may be known, yet it may vary. Luck remains unknown and will remain unknown.
If one were to wield all three, even the Outer Gods would envy his might, as he would have the power to change shape and form as he wished. But that power was unimaginable, even for gods.
Yet there was one being, a being beyond gods.
…
Darkness. A world where nothing existed, an endless void, a prison for most, and a nightmare for others. There was, is, and will nothing be that will exist in this world devoid of light.
No thoughts left this place, and none ever returned when banished to the Void. Not even gods. It was a place without connection to other worlds.
There, a being of great power floated in the Abyss in a state of inactivity, its thoughts long silent in the voiceless Void. Long gone was the hope of returning to the world it once inhabited. Now and forever, it was cursed to this place. In its long slumber, it waited.
Yet, the entity would meet something it would not have expected. Something that defied the Void's laws, intruding into the Abyss without being consumed by it, appearing right before the slumbering being.
It came as a small light, illuminating the surrounding area as it made its presence known to the Void.
The being noticed the foreign presence, as it had known the Void for centuries, feeling if something changed, and so it did. Two red dots of light appeared and gazed at the source as it awoke from its deep sleep.
The light floated toward the being and stopped before it, pulsating with an inviting warmth.
The being hesitated at first, but he had never seen something like this happening in all his years of waiting for a chance to escape. No one managed to reach him, not in this world. For a second, he doubted the light to be simply an illusion by his thoughts, yet that would be impossible for a being such as him.
The only thing the being saw was a chance, a chance for redemption.
So with swift movement, it stretched its fleshless hand toward the light, grasping it in its palms as the light grew brighter until the whole Void was illuminated, encompassing the being with all its might.
And as the light faded, the creature was gone, its existence having left the Void completely, leaving the realm to be forgotten.
…
Storms plagued the sky, sending waves and lightning bolts down the land. Limgrave, as the natives call it, was one of the more beautiful places known to man.
On a high cliff, a majestic castle stood at the tallest point, damaged by the storms yet still standing strong in the face of nature. It was home to one of the few Demi-Gods alive, Godrick the Grafted. Despised by all, he, known as a coward, used the art of grafting to gain power.
For that, he cherished challengers who wanted to claim his Great Rune for himself. They came slowly, but never did they not appear. And just now, he has the pleasure of getting to know one.
A Tarnished, nameless, faceless, in the past a Confessor, now a man searching for a higher purpose, granted by Grace itself.
In its hand was a slender sword, which he stole from a wandering noble. In his other, he carried a shield.
He wore a knight's armor, his whole body covered by iron and steel plates. Through his visor, he had only one goal in mind, which was currently, in his point of view. Before him stood the first Demi-God he ever faced, Godrick the Grafted.
Yet he was no simple knight. He was with Grace, guiding him through the lands and keeping him immortal as long as he thrived for the Elden Throne.
"A lowly Tarnished, playing as a lord… I command thee, kneel! I am the lord of all that is golden!" The Lord of Stormveil proclaimed as he entered his fighting stance, ready to face the challenger.
The Tarnished, not moved nor frightened by his words, charged at the Demi-God, sword in hand, as he carefully evaded the first blow.
He swung at Godrick, cutting his vile flesh until the lord retaliated. Godrick used his great halbert and swung around himself, yet to no avail. The Tarnished simply dodged every attack, timing his combat roles perfectly and countering his attacks precisely as if he had fought Godrick before.
The Demi-God growled. He could not hit him once, which made the Lord of Stormveil furious. Again and again, his flesh got pierced, cut, and laid bare.
With intensified rage, he swung again, yet his blade hit his hand instead, making him cry in pain. Yet that did not stop the Lord of all that is Golden. Instead, he cut his arm entirely off, blood oozing out of his wound as Godrick turned his gaze toward the corpse of a dragon hanging loosely from a collum.
"Ahh, truest of dragons. Lend me thy strength…" He used his damaged hand with gruesome precision, pierced into the dragon's flesh, and ripped its head off. Somehow he was able to attach it to his hand. "Forefathers, once and all…Bear witness!"
The head now spitted fire at his command, filling the skies with an inferno that soon descended upon the land.
The Tarnished, unprepared by the sudden event, tried to dodge the flames, yet failed as it spread everywhere he went.
Burned, the Tarnished felt the pain. But that was no excuse to escape. He took out a vial and drank it clear, and a feeling of restoration enveloped him as if the damage was never dealt to him.
He wanted to retaliate, yet a sudden sound pierced the sky, similar to glass shattering.
And as both Tarnished and Demi-God gazed into the skies, they saw something unbelievable. The sky was like a broken mirror, shattered into a thousand pieces. Yet that was not the end of it. It seemed something was pushing its way into reality, bending the world to create a pathway to enter, a rift for it to pass through.
Then, with a cracking sound, a purple void appeared in a shattered formation, and a dark pillar descended upon the battlefield between the two. With a banshee scream, the dark energy spread as if suddenly released into the wild, shockwaves following in a rhythmic beat.
Godrick watched the scene with fear, taking some steps back as he stood there confused. The Tarnished was no different, holding his shield high to protect himself from the shockwaves.
Soon, the sky started to close again, the rift in reality healing as the energy died and let the world know of the entity behind it.
There, in the midst of the anomaly, stood a being clothed in robes of eternal darkness as a chilling feeling emitted from its presence only. For now, it was motionless, a dark miasma still enveloping it, yet not as much as before.
But then, it moved, looked at the ground, then at the sky. And when it laid eyes on the Demi-God, he would have wished to never encounter the being before him.
It was no man or god. It was without flesh. And as its two red burning eyes shone brightly for once, Godrick felt a chill run down his spine. Yet he did not back down, deciding to stand in the presence of such a being.
With no words said, it raised its hand towards Godrick, the Demi-God seeing no evil gesture in it. But then, he felt a terrible pain in his chest, and as he gazed toward the Avatar of Death, he saw a heart in its skeletal hands. He tried to speak, yet no words escaped his mouth. And as the being forcefully closed its palm, his heart exploded, and he felt his vision fading into the night sky.
His form slowly turned to dust, and now only two stood there. A Tarnished, who moved not for the entirety of the time, and the unknown newcomer.
"I have returned from beyond existence, finally. How I've missed this…" The being spoke, its voice deep with power emanating behind it. It didn't seem aware of the Tarnished's presence until it turned around, the Tarnished now seeing the creature behind the mass of darkness.
The creature was akin to Those Who Live In Death, yet there the similarities ended. Its presence radiated a feeling of dread, while its appearance was nothing less than divine. Its bones, infused with negative energy, were pure white, shining with a glow of ethereal beauty.
A red orb hovered in its ribs, as mysterious as the entire entity itself. For what the Tarnished knew, this could be the Prince of Death himself.
Yet its face was the most interesting. Its form was perverted, nothing what a human's skull would look like. Yet the Tarnished remembered this was no man but a different being altogether, one that could kill a Demi-God without even touching him. Then who or what was this person?
"You…" The being spoke and pointed its claw-like index finger at him, revealing his many invaluable rings. "I have seen you. Sadly, you must die for me." It said, surprising the Tarnished as it casually walked over to him. He could see how tall the being was at a distance of one meter. Even if it was smaller than Godrick, it seemed its presence was increasing by the minute.
Suddenly, the dark energy returned to swirl around the being, spreading and retreating at his commands and feelings.
The darkness then persuaded the Tarnished instantly, who, with his best, could not escape the abyss.
In an instant, he was consumed, made dead, as he never even had the chance to fight back.
The being now loomed over his corpse. Seeing the body turn into a cloud of dust, it decided otherwise.
"Oh no, you won't leave so quickly." It said and raised its hand toward the Tarnished's body. It invoked the power it used so long ago, yet it knew it like the back of his hand. With its magic, it ordered the corpse to return to its original form.
"[True Death] [Restore Corpse]"
The feeling had faded, and it understood the person was no longer destined to resurrect, as expected.
"I trust this will work just fine." It said and raised its hand once more toward the corpse.
"[Dark Wisdom]"
It spoke, and a dark circle appeared around the corpse.
Soon, a gas escaped from the body of the Tarnished, entering the being as it stretched out its hands in pleasure.
It seemed to absorb the Tarnished with all of its wisdom. All for itself until the body turned to ash, one which would not return to the Erdtree but stay until the wind would spread it over the land of Limgrave and beyond.
A flame like no other flickered from its eyes as if it felt excitement for the first time in many years. He felt…growth.
discord . gg / h6cpJ5d3xh
Here's my discord invitation code. Join if you're interested in becoming a proofreader of my next chapters, or you just want to hang around. Both work.
Finally a new story, or rather a repurposed one! Some of you may remember my old Elden Ring x Overlord crossover. So I have decided to rewrite it!
The next update will be tomorrow. From then on, I'll post this weekly every Thursday.