After having to use APA formatting for an essay recently, I can say with full confidence that I genuinely dislike ever having to use it.

Essay writing in and of itself is easy, especially if the subject matter is something I'm confident in… but citing sources and listing them properly on a reference page? Labeling each section of the paper? Ugh, at that point, I just practically groan in childish frustration.

So with all my heart, I can say I'm damn glad to be done with my final assessment paper for my class and back to writing fanfic, ha ha. Surprisingly, it didn't take me as long as I thought it would either to be done with the essay, but in any case I'm glad. If my online classes continue to go this relatively smoothly then the remainder of the year shouldn't be too bad.

To any and all of you out there who struggle with properly citing in certain formats, best of luck!

Yeah, beyond that, got nothing else to say, ha ha. Suppose I just had to vent slightly, so forgive me for that.

Well, that aside, I am genuinely glad to be writing this chapter in general. As for why… you'll see very soon, heh!

So without further ado, let's get on with the chapter!

P.S. As usual, consider buying any of my books! Universal links to Fading Darkness, Rising Light and my Infinite Genesis trilogy can be found on my profile page, just remove the spaces!

P.P.S. The beginning part of a certain chant later in this chapter is blatantly ripped off from Olga Marie from Fate Grand Order because I felt it suited the situation quite nicely. That, and I just really like the chant, ha ha.

P.P.P.S. Just a quick heads up but this will be a fairly short chapter, about 2/3rds the length of more recent chapters.

Chapter 17

"…Ah!"

After taking care of some business earlier, Female Merchant had returned to the library to continue aiding both Ranni and her companion in their searching. It must have been another half hour before Ranni suddenly made that little noise.

Female Merchant had promptly looked up in surprise, but it was the warrior's reaction that was far more noticeable in her eyes, for the man suddenly pivoted on the spot with such speed that his high ponytail audibly swished about. His eyes were marginally wider than earlier and his powerful body was tensing a bit too with anticipation.

"Have you-?" he began, only to be cut off.

"Yes," Ranni cut him off as she looked up from the book she'd been browsing through. An oddly fitting ghost of a smile was upon her delicate face… and for some reason, the sight of it was enough to make Female Merchant silently shudder.

Whether said shudder was from delight or something else was unknown… but the sensation intensified once Ranni continued.

"I believe I've found what we seek."


Priestess huffed and puffed alongside her party members, her breathing fairly steady for the most part. While she was far from the most physically fit of the bunch, she was noticeably better off than when she'd first started adventuring all that time ago.

In any case, even with just a small break earlier, she was struggling to keep up. Thus, it was to her good fortune that it seemed like they were finally upon their destination.

After having traveled as briskly as possible for roughly half an hour, the adventurers could finally make out a village in sight, a lush forest somewhat obscuring its form from their current distance. It had been mainly High Elf Archer who'd pointed it out to them.

"Hear anything?" Goblin Slayer asked from the front of the group.

Priestess spied the high elf's expression from the corner of her eyes, said high elf frowning. "Not really, no. Looks like whatever had happened has already passed by."

…For some reason, that didn't put Priestess at ease in the slightest.

If anything, the feeling of dread intensified. Just because they'd clearly missed whatever had happened doesn't mean that the danger has fully passed.

High Elf Archer's words put something of a damper on the party's mood even as they continued their approach. It wasn't until they were approximately some tens of meters from the village's entrance – if one could call an open path without any sign of fences an entrance – before Goblin Slayer finally motioned for them all to slow down.

Priestess quivered now; the sensation was worse now at this distance. Something was horribly wrong with this village.

It seemed like this was something even the others could pick up on now, for Goblin Slayer's hand went to his short sword while Lizard Priest tensed up his hands, ready to tear asunder anything that attacked with his claws if need be. Dwarf Shaman merely huffed and downed one final sip of his fire whiskey and High Elf Archer kept her bow out, yet to draw an arrow but was nonetheless ready to do so.

"Something ain't right, Beard-cutter… I say we ought not to just walk on through the open path," Dwarf Shaman suddenly spoke up.

Goblin Slayer grunted in acknowledgement. "Heading through the trees might not be wise either – enemies could be waiting to attack there."

"Maybe, but it's not like we have a lot of options here, Orcbolg," High Elf Archer commented in a flat tone. "Not like we could circle all the way around and try entering from the other side of the village. We either head on in or pass through the trees."

Goblin Slayer stood stock still, contemplating their options here, which seemed to be only two.

"I…!" Priestess suddenly felt the urge to speak, though to say what, she didn't know. Regardless, her voice got everyone to gaze at her in unison.

"My word," Lizard Priest began with a slight widening of the eyes. "Is something the matter, dear priestess? You look dreadfully pale."

At his concerned question, Priestess became keenly aware of how clammy her skin felt in that moment. Though she did remarkably well in hiding it, she was shaking and not from physical exertion. Her grip on her staff was tighter than ever, like a vice… or more like an outright death-grip, as if she'd die if she ever let go of it for any reason.

"…Breathe slowly," Goblin Slayer suddenly commanded.

Realizing that she'd essentially been hyperventilating, Priestess did as told and began to take as slow and steady a breath as she could muster. After doing so, she repeated this action a few more times.

Her grip finally lightened a bit on her staff, but from the looks her friends were giving her, Priestess knew that she must still look pretty awful.

Even so, in spite – no, rather because of – their concern, she had to say her piece.

"I… I think we made a horrible decision coming here," she finally said after a long moment. "This place… it doesn't feel right at all! Something's there in that village and I don't think we should try and interact with it!"

For the first time in a long time, possibly for the first time ever, she spoke with a level of desperate energy that made it clear just how overwhelmed she still felt. Not even when she'd been a moment away from being the goblins' plaything on her first quest had she ever quite felt like this.

And her friends were aware of this fact, none more so than Goblin Slayer himself, who'd come to her timely rescue on that fateful day in the cave. Even though his gaze was as usual hidden behind his visor, she could feel him staring at her intently. She could practically see her own words slowly bouncing around in that head of his.

"…Something worse than goblins?" he asked after a few seconds of deliberation.

His words got one heck of a scoff out of High Elf Archer and even managed to make Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest snort for a brief second, if only out of fondness for his one-track mind.

"Yes," she declared resolutely. "Much worse."

"I see…" He turned away from her to look back in the general direction of the village. "Then let's try and go around it."

At that, the others blinked or otherwise had some reaction indicating surprise.

"You sure about that, Orcbolg?" asked High Elf Archer.

"Mm. We still have a quest to do and its location lies past this village. If we're to make it there to exterminate the goblins, then we need to go around. We can alert others to the village's… troubles… later. They might be better equipped to handle whatever has happened." Goblin Slayer now looked back to Priestess. "Will that do?"

Priestess had to stop herself from biting her lip as an uncharacteristic fear took hold of her. She genuinely believed that whatever had happened here should be left well alone. But she couldn't voice such a cowardly thought. "Y-Yes," she managed to stutter out. "That will do."

Goblin Slayer nodded. "Then let's-."

That was when it happened – a pulse, almost akin to a heartbeat…

…Or more akin to a fire sparking into existence.

It swept over the entire area in an instant and caused them all to go completely still. Priestess could see it, feel it – the shock and even terror that gripped her friends so strongly now. After all, she was the one most afflicted with those two emotions right now.

For it was with these two emotions that realization came as well, the realization that just as she'd been able to sense it – whatever it may even be – it in turn had been able to sense them.

From the village, groaning began to echo out, not just from one or two or three people but many more. And it wasn't just coming from there either.

All around them had been tall grass, which had only gotten taller the closer they'd gotten to the village. Not so tall enough as to fully obscure potential enemies if they were close enough… but if they were far enough away and had been kneeling lowly, then that was a different story.

A story that was now turning out to be true as one by one, people began to stand up off in the distance. All of them had apparently been kneeling so quietly and so perfectly still that not even High Elf Archer had heard them during their rush here.

The people – presumably the villagers and likely some travelers too judging by the somewhat different garbs – all looked haggard and beaten, as if they all had gotten into an especially vicious brawl at some recent point.

What looked like orange-yellow wisps of something leaked out of their beings and into the air, none of the adventurers able to tell what these things were… until the people suddenly started to get closer and properly looked their wa-.

Pain.

Madness.

Flames.

Destruction.

These sensations assaulted Priestess the instant she made eye contact with one of the people now approaching them and it was enough to make her actually let out a shrill, ear-piercing scream. And how could she not scream upon seeing orange-yellow flames burning intensely where there had once been eyes in these poor people's skulls?

"Milord Goblin Slayer!" called out Lizard Priest, louder and more ferociously than any time before. It would seem even one such as him had been affected deeply by whatever this horrible, twisted thing is. "Your commands?!"

Goblin Slayer stepped in front of Priestess, shield arm raised and blade drawn. "…Just get past them if you can!" he said with a great deal of tension. "Only fight if you have to!"

How much intelligence, if any at all, these frenzied people still had was unknown. But in any case, as if in direct response to his words, they all raised their arms in an obvious sign of attack and charged.


It all happened in a flash.

One moment, those strange people had just been shambling and staring at Goblin Slayer and his party then the next thing any of them knew, the people had lunged with surprising speed. It was the kind of speed one tended to have when one no longer had any reservations about preserving their own life.

In other words, these people didn't care one bit for defending themselves, only on attacking and tearing apart anyone they came across.

And in this case, that would be Goblin Slayer and his fellow adventurers.

"…!" Goblin Slayer, vanguard of the formation alongside Lizard Priest, raised his shield just in time to deflect the arms of a lanky man that had been going for this throat. He then swung his shield arm at an angle to slam it against the attacker's elbow. Though the edge of his small shield was round and smooth, allowing for easy deflections, it could still break bone when swung with enough force. And that's exactly what happened here, cracking the man's right elbow into pieces.

And yet the man didn't let out any sound of pain or reacted much at all beyond being sent crumbling to the ground. Even then this was due more to him seemingly having no sense of balance as opposed to the pain he must surely be experiencing. Sure enough, the man awkwardly rolled about and tried to get up, even reaching out for Goblin Slayer's leg in the process.

"Hmph!" Goblin Slayer gave the man a solid kick to his jaw, knocking him back further in addition to breaking said jaw… but once again, the silver ranked adventurer could already see him begin to get back up.

This man was far from the only one doing so too.

"Such unyielding spirit!" Lizard Priest exclaimed as he used his tail to smack aside a woman that appeared to be in her late thirties, the blow lifting said woman up and into the air for yards on end before landing hard in the tall grass. And yet despite such a mighty blow, rustling was soon heard thereafter, the woman already beginning to get back up.

"More like unyielding madness, scaly!" Dwarf Shaman cried out as he used a sack of random goods and knick-knacks that he carried on him as an impromptu weapon. No doubt the dwarf felt hesitant even now to use his axe against these people, frenzied as they are for whatever reason. One good swing ended up breaking a villager's kneecap and made them crumble, but not for long as the person now began to crawl towards the dwarf. "Ugh! Just look at 'em! It's like something has a hold of 'em!"

"…Fall back!" Goblin Slayer after delivering a punch to the man from before, who'd now gotten back up. The solid hook he landed on him was enough to seemingly knock him out this time or at least make him quite woozy because the frenzied man now only mildly stirred upon hitting the ground. "We need to open up some distance!"

Though he and his friends were clearly capable combatants whereas all these people seemed to be simple villagers, the fact of the matter stood that they were heavily outnumbered here, with more people showing up in the distance, attracted like moths to a flame. Not only that, but the sheer resiliency or rather unwavering tenacity these people were showing meant that they'll just keep coming no matter how many times they're knocked down.

Not unless… no, he'd never entertain the thought.

"Easier said than done, Orcbolg! Not like I can just clear us a path here!" yelled out High Elf Archer from several yards away. Though she had her bow in hand and an arrow notched, she's yet to fire it, not even to incapacitate anyone. The troubled expression on the high elf's face made it clear that this wasn't an encounter she wished to have any part in.

But worst out of all of them was Priestess.

As Goblin Slayer backed away from the general direction of the village as quickly as he could without actually breaking into a sprint, he turned his head and saw a shaken Priestess remaining by High Elf Archer's side. She was clutching her staff more tightly than ever before, her expression practically one of trauma as she stared at the incoming villagers.

It wasn't just the simple fact that these maddened villagers were attacking them, he realized; something else was bothering her immensely, something tied to whatever was going on here.

"Only fire if there's no other choice! Just avoid them!" the silver ranked adventurer commanded of High Elf Archer.

High Elf Archer grunted in agreement with his command and promptly spun around. "Come on!" She grabbed a near catatonic Priestess harshly by the wrist and tugged with all her strength. Goblin Slayer was only vaguely aware of the poor girl nearly being dragged outright by the high elf.

"You've heard our leader, master spellcaster! Some haste is in order!" Lizard Priest exclaimed as he stepped back in time to avoid a wild haymaker from a villager. He then lashed out with his right foot and punted the willowy woman away into the gathering crowd.

"For once, I'm regretting having short legs!" Dwarf Shaman's complaint carried far thanks to the wind as he effectively bashed the still crawling man over the head with his bare fist before turning tail and running.

Now that his whole party was retreating, Goblin Slayer broke out into a full sprint, unmindful of how tired he may be in due time. With no way of knowing how far these frenzied people would be willing to chase them, the only thing they could do was simply put as much distance between themselves and this area as possible.

Unfortunately, the party didn't get very far before encountering a hefty obstacle.

Dwarf Shaman let out a short litany of colorful curses that alerted Goblin Slayer to a small yet still noticeable crowd of villagers and… were those travelers? Their clothes didn't match the typical attire of the villagers… anyways, it was a fair sized crowd that had gathered and was coming from the direction they'd been hoping to escape in.

"…Spread out and break through!" Goblin Slayer actually bellowed out, this being the only thing that came to mind. With the people from behind still close by, the time he usually had to plan out strategies was nowhere to be found.

The party started to fan out a little, the goal now for them to blitz their way through the crowd ahead and regroup on the other side. With any luck, by splitting up temporarily, it'll cause the crowds to lose focus on who to chase in particular and-.

"Look out!" High Elf Archer screamed.

-That was when it happened.

Near the very front of the crowd ahead of them, a few of the villagers and travelers(?) ended up suddenly writhing in place. One of them even fell hard onto their knees and let loose a shriek that drilled straight down into their souls, if only for the sheer level of intensity to it. This was the same type of shriek they'd heard earlier, the one that had garnered their attention in the first place.

These few people… even from here, their burned out eyes glowed an ever fiercer color that was visible even as they covered their sockets.

Then the people screamed again and dropped their hands, honest to goodness blasts, flames, something, shot out of their empty, burning eye sockets and flew all over the area.

"…!" Goblin Slayer had no choice but to slow down awkwardly and practically hop like a rabbit to the side. His instinctive reaction saved him from a direct hit as one of those blasts struck the spot he'd previously occupied. Nearby, the others all but danced around the haphazard blasts as well with varying levels of difficulty.

Surprisingly, it was High Elf Archer who had the hardest time dodging thanks to her still having to practically carry Priestess around. Said blonde still wasn't quite all there, seemingly overloaded by whatever presence was here.

Alas, Goblin Slayer's concern for his friends couldn't be spared for a second longer, as he had to focus fully on dodging whatever stray blasts came in his general direction. With small bursts of speed and short hops, he tried to move forward if only by a little bit. He made some progress…

…Until he couldn't.

"Beard-cutter!"

Dwarf Shaman's cry of horror was the only warning Goblin Slayer got as one blast finally came his way that he couldn't dodge in time, after having had to roll to avoid a previous one. With teeth gritted in concentration, Goblin Slayer raised his shield in order to protect himself from the incoming blast.

It made contact-.

The world was burning.

The land was howling.

All life was screaming before abruptly going silent, an eerie calmness befalling them before death.

Flames, the same sickly yellow-orange color from just now, danced everywhere.

Ash filled the sky and choked everything in existence.

There, at both the center of it all yet nowhere at all, there was something.

Something horrible.

Something powerful beyond definition.

Something chaotic and wrong, the very antithesis to all there is.

It was almost akin to an eye, manifested through the wicked flames themselves, observing all as reality around it perished… all as a mere side effect of its existence.

Goblin Slayer stood there before the great and terrible eye, utterly silent as he was forced to behold a fragment of the 'truth.'

The world had to burn.

All life on it must be eradicated down to the last.

All that divides and distinguishes had to be purged through the great Flame.

The Flame known as-.

Goblin Slayer let out a loud and heavy gasp as he finally came to.

He had no idea how much time has passed. It didn't feel like a whole lot, since it was still light out though he could hardly tell thanks to how bleary his vision current was.

Only vaguely was he aware of being held aloft by a large pair of arms – Lizard Priest, he realized after several seconds.

He must have made some kind of sound for the lizardman suddenly spoke up. "Milord Goblin Slayer?! Back with us?!"

The aforementioned slayer of goblins could only let out another groan. "Some…what…" he answered hoarsely. "What… happened…?"

"You got hit, our resident lizardman went in to sweep you up when you went down, now we're running!" High Elf Archer… yeah, that's who it was just now explaining all that, Goblin Slayer realized.

"Less talkin', more runnin' long ears!" Dwarf Shaman shouted.

As Goblin Slayer now finally came to, he noticed the dwarf had his axe out. There was some blood on it now.

"…I can run," he said after a few more seconds. "Need to run… just stop for a moment."

Lizard Priest obliged him and set him down as gently as he could. Goblin Slayer wobbled on his feet for a brief instant before righting himself. Though physically he felt fine – seems like that blast hadn't done too much actual damage to him – he still felt… off.

"…"

What he'd 'seen' just now… or, no, what he'd seen quite some time ago…? In any case, whatever had happened to him hadn't simply been a physical attack but something else.

With no time to waste analyzing what had happened, however, the silver ranked adventurer could only look around swiftly.

The party had covered a fair distance, having managed to break past the crowd and make it as far as the forest. If he squinted hard enough, he could see the frenzied villagers and travelers still out there, making their way ever closer. However, they seemed to shamble about in a daze. Seems like they only really picked up speed whenever it was time to attack. A minor blessing in this situation.

But in any case, they couldn't afford to rest at all. They were still too close, the people were catching up and it was now clear that there was nothing to be done to free them, not if Dwarf Shaman's axe or Lizard Priest's blood drenched claws were anything to go by now that he noticed the latter detail.

"…Let's hurry," Goblin Slayer said. But before he could do anything else, he took stock of his party's condition.

Both Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest, due to having to get physical, looked somewhat winded. High Elf Archer no longer had an arrow notched… and though he hardly knew the exact number of arrows she carried in her quiver at a given time, it looked like there were quite a few less than there had been earlier. All three of them shared the same heavy expression, of something that had to be done yet could take no pride in at all.

Whatever pride they'd had in being adventurers was, hopefully for only a short while, lost.

But it was Priestess who was still worst off, looking as lost as could be.

…No, that was wrong. She was looking at him now, more aware of her situation than she had been earlier. Goblin Slayer could practically feel her overwhelming concern and fear for him through those large and doe-like eyes of hers, a window to her very soul.

"G-Goblin Slayer, sir…" she muttered, finally coherent. "I'm…"

So sorry…. He could hear her unspoken words, as could the others.

He shook his head – not in rejection of her silent apology but rather in acceptance.

It'd been bad for her to freeze up like that, yes. But it was clear now in hindsight, especially after that… vision… that whatever had happened to her had been scarily similar to what had happened days ago with High Elf Archer and all the others who were attuned with either nature itself or the spirits. To hold her previous inaction against her would honestly feel hypocritical.

"We need to leave… now." High Elf Archer spoke in a quiet but firm tone. Her ears twitched, undoubtedly picking up the sounds of the still approaching frenzied people.

All of them nodded in acknowledgement. "Can you run?" Goblin Slayer quietly asked of Priestess.

"…Yes," she answered as she now seemed to fully gather her wits about her. Her grip on her staff remained tight, however. "I… I can at least do that much right now."

"That's all that needs to be done," Goblin Slayer replied. "Let's go."

With that command, they all turned and fled as fast as they could, their would-be adventure forgotten about for the time being.


Back within Sword Maiden's temple, the Tarnished watched in silent anticipation.

Following the discovery of the information they'd so diligently sought, he and Ranni had excused themselves from the library, though not before thanking Female Merchant and the attendant for their help.

Now back in the room provided to them, Ranni had put up a barrier to ensure no surprise visitors came to interrupt them. As for the Tarnished, he moved around some of the furniture so that Ranni could have the very center of the room to herself, after which he silently stood guard by the door, more as an extra precaution and having nothing else to immediately do rather than actually needing to do so.

With arms folded across his chest, he kept his eyes focused completely on Ranni, who now sat perfectly still in a pose similar to the one he'd first ever seen her in. Her head was down and her hat had been removed and gently placed upon the nearby bed, allowing the Tarnished to see her eyes closed as if she was simply going to sleep and not about to enact what she was about to do.

"The shape of stars. The shape of space. The shape of god. The shape of self." Ranni began to speak as pure magical power began to pour out from her. "Through the stars, I perceive space. In space, I see thee, my god, the great Dark Moon. Through thy order, all shall be freed from all laws, free to doubt and free to fear… and free to discover for thy own selves who they are. I call to thee, come to me, and lend me guidance."

As she continued her speech, the Tarnished watched as the magical power his beloved emanated spread out in gentle waves. Though visible at first, as the magical power shot upwards in a pattern akin to a constellation, it became less visible, becoming invisible even to his senses.

As was obvious, Ranni was beckoning the Dark Moon forth.

Earlier in the library, Ranni had finally discovered an old text that bettered detailed the traditions of the small religion surrounding the stars, which had included a star chart of sorts. Far from the most descriptive one that could be, but even then it had provided the vassal of the Dark Moon with a good enough idea of the cosmos associated with this world for her to take care of the rest.

Through her manipulation of her own power and the chant to help focus it, Ranni was reaching out to the stars above and connecting them in a path that would eventually breach this reality entirely and back to the Dark Moon itself. This path was not a literal one – the stars themselves would be physically unaffected by her actions here… but it would finally allow them to make contact with the Dark Moon, especially once the 'distance' between them is closed enough for it to respond to them and connect from its own end.

Fascinated, the Tarnished watched with bated breath as seconds then minutes passed. After approximately five minutes, Ranni suddenly gasped and raised her head up. An eye had opened up and her gaze seemed to pierce the very heavens, looking physically beyond the ceiling and all else above them.

"…!" The Tarnished made a little sound as he too now began to feel something at work. Uncrossing his arms, he took a step closer as the magical power around Ranni became more visible, pulsing as something to be reaching out to her from above.

The Dark Moon.

The pulsing quickened rapidly and then a flash of blind blue light suddenly occurred. Ranni's form practically became impossible to see lest he hurt his own eyes, forcing him to close them and turn away.

He then made another sound of surprise as he felt the shift in the very fabric of this world's order as the Dark Moon's presence finally became known.

And through his own connection with Ranni and therefore with the Dark Moon itself, he got to 'see' what happened, if only for a brief instant.

Off in a desert being afflicted by the Scarlet Rot's influence, its rate of expansion suddenly stuttered and began to still. The creatures affected by its mutations stumbled and lost a portion of their aggression, confusion now washing over them.

The steadily growing number of beings exposed to the Formless Mother's tender touch ceased spewing as much blood, the god's blessings losing some potency.

The Frenzied Flame's forcibly conscripted followers suddenly ceased in their current actions and writhed about, like puppets with their strings cut. The eternally pulsing yellow flames in their burned out eye sockets dulled ever so marginally.

The Dark Moon itself wasn't actually in this world nor in the 'space' surrounding the Four Cornered World where the other gods were most likely at. No, it was still back in their own world, in the Lands Between. However, with the once disrupted bond between it and Ranni now restored, it was able to use her as a conduit within the Four Cornered World to enact its own influence as a counterweight against the gods already with a foothold here while also serving as a barrier to prevent the others from gaining entry as easily.

This world was still very much in danger from the actions the other gods had already taken in this world. That desert corrupted by the Scarlet Rot would forever remain that way unless the Scarlet Rot itself is somehow fully forced out or if they set fire to the entire region. The Formless Mother's influence as well as the Frenzied Flame's influence can still spread if their current hosts manage to pass on their afflictions to others. The mass panic their very presence had caused in numerous races, up to and including the dragons, wasn't about to just disappear into thin air either…

…But even so.

Even with all these things remaining, the world was no longer in the same level of danger it had been in just moments ago.

"You're done it," he said with a large smile towards Ranni. Though such an obvious thing likely didn't need to be said, he still uttered these words anyways.

And Ranni, his beloved wife, accepted the words with grace, a smile of her own upon her delicate face as she rose from the floor. "Indeed. This world's survival in the greater scheme of it all has now been ensured." Her smile then vanished, a serious expression taking its place. "But there is still more to be done."

The Tarnished nodded, unbothered by her statement. For one thing, he'd expected as much. And for another… well, he always was up for new challenges. It was, in his eyes, the very spice of life.

"What is needed of us?" he inquired, a hard look settling on his face as he prepared to map out their next series of destinations.

"Though my connection with the Dark Moon has been reestablished, the bond can still be considered fairly weak… in a manner of speaking. It is now effectively keeping the laws of not just our own world but also this one in place lest the other gods attempt to take over and enact their respective laws. With its attention so divided, it cannot spare enough power to transport us back home," Ranni explained.

"In other words," the Tarnished began, immediately picking up on the implications. "For us to finally return home, we need to make sure the Dark Moon is undistracted by others – we need to mitigate, if not outright remove, the remaining influence of the other gods that have already gained a following in this world."

Ranni nodded in affirmation. The smile from before returned now. "Well then, my eternal dear, it would seem we've a 'proper' quest ahead of us now."

The Tarnished chuckled. Though he'd hardly been saddened or depressed over being potentially stuck in this world for a long period of time if not forever, he was feeling positively invigorated now. Beneath his clothes, his powerful muscles bristled and flexed, the warrior already imagining the battles to come. Why, he felt like he could put his armor right this instant and venture out into the Four Cornered World and explore all it had to offer as he and Ranni did their part in ridding it of the threats that still roamed about.

This was it, he realized silently – their new age of adventure.


Yep, so as stated above, this chapter was on the shorter side for me.

To be perfectly honest, I had a hard time figuring out how to make it as long as my usual chapters, but upon realizing that attempting to do so would simply come across as mere padding, I decided to just leave this chapter as is.

Besides, I already accomplished what I wanted to do with this chapter – that is, for the Dark Moon to finally reconnect with Ranni and have a dampening effect on the other Outer Gods' influence that is already steadily ruining the Four Cornered World. But I really cannot help but stress that this is merely a dampening effect and nothing more. The footholds that the Frenzied Flame, Formless Mother, and Scarlet Rot have gained in this world will remain and must be purged through more conventional means. And of course, as I'm sure all us fans of Elden Ring know very well, that is not something so easily done even in a world where their influence is nowhere near as ingrained as it was in the Lands Between. This is especially true since their influence can spread in a manner almost akin to a super virus, particularly in the case of the Scarlet Rot and Frenzied Flame from what I can gather.

Put summarily, the Tarnished and Ranni and all others who will fight the good fight will have their work cut out for them.

However, from when I first started this fic, it was never my intention to make this an increasingly dreary tale, oh no, that is something I'll leave to Fromsoft's Dark Souls series, where everything is already fucked over, ha ha. No, much like how Elden Ring felt like an epic tale to save a deteriorating world – assuming you're not going for the Lord of Flames or Dung Eater's endings – this fic will be about how the Tarnished, Ranni, and others do their part to save the Four Cornered World from ending up as affected as the Lands Between. A grand adventure, albeit on a lesser scale compared to Elden Ring, since the general threat level in the GSverse is a lot lower than in the Elden Ringverse. That, plus I don't really intend to make this fic a super long runner like my Slave of Light fic, ha ha.

In any case, hope you all enjoyed this brief respite that the Four Cornered World has been granted and will look forward to what awaits our main characters next.

Until next time, everyone. Take care!