Ranni crumbled to her knees.
Her cheeks were dotted with soft freckles and glowed like a faint blush. Her quivering lips were full, and her eyes glistened like a half moon over blue seas. She was beautiful, brimming with life and youth, even as she retreated into a deep, constrained sob.
Elias froze into place.
It was horrifying.
Ranni, a figure of cold calculation and stark intelligence, hid behind her long fiery hair and cried in defeat. Elias always saw in her the regality in her demeanor, a sly confidence standing proud amid a long line of terrible odds.
Now it was gone, reduced to rubble like the academy before them.
"Ranni," he whispered. "Are you hurt?"
She put a hand over her mouth. "It tricked me. I failed… I failed to stop them. More will come! I couldn't..."
Elias held her other hand and squeezed it gently. It was soft and warm against his. "Come on, we'll get through this. Together."
"Forgive me," she said. "I'm so sorry."
"There is nothing to be sorry for," Elias assured her and pulled her into an embrace. "I'm glad you're alive."
"H-how art thou?"
"I'll live."
"Then I'm glad." Ranni held him a bit tighter. Finally, they could feel each other's warmth. It was the first time they felt such an odd thing, and Elias found it hard to pull away.
She stayed still in his arms and wept quietly. The tears were not just for defeat; it was centuries of bottled emotion bursting out of her system. It was the despair of uncertainty within the fate she thought was infallible.
Elias found his breath constricting and for a moment, his embrace tightened.
It couldn't all be for naught.
They sat atop fallen masonry, at the edge of the academy's wreckage. They faced the only constant entity in their world, a bright, imposing moon looming over the horizon. It occupied almost half the night sky, their only solace now.
Ranni sniffled and wiped away the last of her tears. "Willst thou stop staring?"
"Sorry." Elias turned away. "Sorry, I'm just not used to it."
It seemed the only Ranni in his mind until that moment was of a four-armed doll and the ghost that lethargically puppeted it. Now he could see the full person of Ranni, the cunning daughter of the great Queen Rennala, and just like her mother, she towered over him. Elias had to tilt his head toward an uncomfortable angle just to meet her icy gaze.
"I understand," Ranni said. "Before I realized the tragedy of Empyrean bodies, I used to admire this flesh. T'was as though mother hath sculpted me in her own image."
Elias nodded. "Well, you must be the talk of the town in days past."
"And I hated every second of it. Dost thou know how many little lordlings from Leyndell wanted my hand in marriage?"
"Too many?" Elias guessed remarkably well.
"Correct." Ranni shook her head at the memories. "But not as many as the military careerists. Commanders, captains, knights of faith. It doth perplex me. How could they deem a Carian would e'er look upon them with aught but scorn and disdain? Such fools."
Elias paused. "You know, I still don't remember my past life. Maybe I was one of them. Would you have entertained me?"
"No."
"Cold-hearted lady," Elias jabbed in a grandiose accent. "Thou woundst me, truly! Ow!"
Ranni let out a chuckle. "Oh, stop. It taketh more than amorous letters and iron gifts to earn my trust, and my friendship."
"Needless to say," she continued, playing with a strand of her wavy red hair, "thou hast exceeded mine expectations tenfold."
"Now you're just buttering me up."
Elias found it peculiar. Ranni seemed more genuine, less the stern royal and more like a close friend. Was it because of her new body? Was she trying to cope with all that had transpired?
He knew their bond was unique from the moment they first met at the derelict church in Limgrave. Yet, that connection had been shrouded, hidden beneath a phantom veil that now seemed lifted, if only for a few fleeting moments.
Ranni hummed as a silence fell upon them. This was their only reprieve from the harsh reality. Alas, it had to end soon.
"Why did you go back to your old flesh?" Elias asked.
"I had no choice in the matter," Ranni answered. "The Elden Ring holdeth great might, yet it hath its laws. It granted my spirit to dwell in another form, yet it must be one which my soul had before inhabited."
"I see." Elias shifted uncomfortably. "Ranni, I think it's time we discuss our next plan."
Ranni closed her eyes and sighed as though she had been fearing him saying such words.
"I feel it still, to this moment, like a warning from the Moon," Ranni said. "The Greater Will and its radiant beasts yet prowl from the cosmos, seeking to establish their order in the ashes of another. Mine order. The age of stars."
"It truly isn't over for us?"
"I'm afraid not." Ranni turned to him and slid closer. "I can show thee but a glimpse of what's coming, if thou wouldst allow me."
Elias gulped. "Of course."
Ranni cupped his cheeks. Her fingers brushed on his skin and pressed down on his temples as a dizzying sensation washed over both of them.
Elias took a deep breath as he was lolled to unconsciousness.
Then he was falling in space. Stars and nebulae lay still like paintings around his fall. It was treacherously silent and eerily beautiful.
Ranni's presence guided him all throughout, comforting his endless plunge to the starry abyss.
Dost thou see it, Elias?
His eyes darted around. He saw tiny pinpricks of light, colorful birthing grounds of stars, and the dark backdrop of the void. Nothing else.
Let the moon guide thee.
Look at the stars.
They are not of the fate we follow.
And Elias looked. Curious eyes fixed on one star, a touch brighter than the rest. It glowed white like every other, but as his gaze focused, it shifted to a golden hue.
His eyes widened as more stars transformed into the same auspicious color. They sprouted roots, connecting to form larger constellations.
At the end of this celestial river shone the brightest star of all. But soon he realized it was no star. It glowed like one, but it was looking back at him, like a creature. Then it revealed itself.
His heart dropped with sudden realization.
Elden Beasts.
An army of them.
They covered the night sky. They were the literal night sky, hurtling towards the Lands Between like comets.
"ELIAS!"
He jolted awake, breaths shallow and ragged.
He saw a sign of pale skin, a sparkle of red hair, a flash of diamond eyes. Ranni's warm gaze brought him back to reality.
"How art thou? Didst thou see it?" she asked in a concerned breath.
"Ranni! The beasts, they were…"
"I know," Ranni said grimly.
Elias looked up at the night sky. For now, it bore no vicious shine of gold, but he knew the beasts were coming.
"How do we stop them? What do we do next?"
"I can stop them, hide all the realms under the umbra of our Moon, but only temporarily," Ranni explained. "However, doing such a feat will drain mine energy and push me to my limits. It requireth constant attention, and it cannot continue forever."
"Then we must find a way to repel these beasts. Or at the very least, prepare for their arrival…"
Ranni's long stream of pain and sacrifices has not ended yet, and so it was for him and the other souls in the Lands Between.
"Thou must do what you hath desired for a long while, dear consort." Ranni flashed a weak smile. "Thou must return to the Lands Between and find a solution.:
Elias nodded. He wished he returned under better circumstances.
"I think I have an idea." He leaped off the rubble and paced around in front of Ranni. "I could get the help of Miquella the Unalloyed. He knew best how to deter the influence of Outer Gods, like he did with the needle that resisted rot. Gideon told me. I remember."
Ranni blinked. "Who's Gideon?"
"He's nobody," Elias said.
"A more important question, however. How willst thou find Miquella?"
"I must talk to Malenia, I—"
Elias almost choked as he remembered.
There is something I must return to Malenia. The will that was once her own…
"Malenia?" Ranni tilted her head. "Elias, is something the matter?"
The dignity, the sense of self, that allowed her to resist the call of the scarlet rot.
Millicent's voice haunted him at the back of his mind, echoing perpetually. He took a deep breath and shoved those thoughts back from the abyss of his conscience. Now was not the time.
"Sorry," Elias said. "But yes, I must find Malenia. I know where she resides, near the roots of the Haligtree."
"The Haligtree? Hast thou found it?" Ranni looked at him agape. "All along, I thought it may have been a myth!"
"I have been inside the Haligtree, Ranni," Elias said. "It was not a pleasant experience."
"Thou must tell me all about it! I have been searching for it since I heard tell of a safe haven, from Miquella's followers. How come thou hast never told me?"
"I don't know. We don't… talk much." Elias frowned.
"That is true…" Ranni's gaze softened to a sigh. She ambled solemnly to Elias. "Very well. We must do our duties, as soon as we can. I will transport thee to the church where I first laid eyes on thee. However, I must give thee something…"
Ranni held out a hand. A necklace materialized atop her palm, a quaint yet majestic ornamentation made of translucent star shards that sparkle at every angle. At the center lay a large amulet the color of milk. It was a large, flat disk that resembled the moon on the horizon.
"A remembrance," Ranni said. "Something that linketh us, even from far away. Wear it so that I will be close to thy heart, and thou will be close to me."
"Thank you, Ranni," Elias accepted the gift, put it on his neck, and tucked it safely under his battered armor.
Ranni's soft smile faded. She knelt so their gazes aligned, cupped his cheeks once more, and laid her forehead on his.
"Return to me." Ranni whispered. "Does thou promise?"
Elias closed his eyes. Destined Death was no longer sealed. If he dies, Marika and her grace would not be there to bring him back to life as it did many times before.
And this time, the stakes were even higher.
"I promise," Elias said.
Ranni rose to her feet and withdrew, inhaling deeply. A mere flick of her fingers was all it took for the Dark Moon Greatsword to coalesce from the void, conjured from a shimmering nebula of stardust. Those same luminescent motes drifted towards Elias, swirling about him in a healing ballet that sealed his lacerations, knit his fractures, and soothed his bruises. They bestowed upon him armor, resplendent with Carian craftsmanship, and a shield, once borne by the venerable knights of old.
A wild rush of rejuvenation washed over Elias, giving him a rare high that inspired the whole of his being. He gazed upon Ranni's eyes.
"Is this goodbye?" He asked, as a brilliant white sigil blossomed beneath him. Its radiant glow surged and gradually blinded his vision.
"No, of course not." Ranni smiled. "I will be with thee, every step of thy way. May the Moon guide thee, mine one and only champion…"
Elias closed his eyes as the sigil consumed him fully and transported him home.
"See you later, my lady."
The breeze caressed him first, carrying the whisper of leaves dancing with the wind and the gentle crackling of a nearby campfire.
The air itself had transformed, touching his cheeks with newfound warmth and tickling his senses with the earthy smell of grass and soil. It filled his lungs with nostalgic wonder.
He lay upon the earth, his hands serenely folded upon his chest. Rising, the familiar embrace of the Church of Elleh welcomed him. There, amidst the decay, the stone bricks where Ranni once perched still held the echoes of their first encounter.
He couldn't find Kale, yet his campfire burned still.
Stars pinwheeled above him, while dusk's embrace draped Limgrave in a veil of magical twilight. Across the heavens, ribbons of emerald and violet unfurled, auroras heralding the new age. Gone was the Erdtree's golden glow that once commanded everything under its canopy, now replaced by cool gentle hues that harmonized with the stars.
Elias took his first steps when he felt a rather hard thing enclosing his ring finger.
The Spectral Steed Whistle.
His heart leaped out of his chest. He grinned. How could he have forgotten his most loyal friend?
Once more, a whistle rang out the Lands, and there appeared his most beloved Spirit Steed. His old mount, his trusty horse. He looked at Elias with wonder.
It almost brought a tear to his eye.
"I missed you, old friend," Elias said, brushing Torrent's white mane. "Are you ready for another adventure?"
Torrent tapped at the dirt, whirled his head around, and snorted in response.
"I hear you." Elias climbed up and mounted the saddle, catching sight of Stormveil Castle, which was oddly adorned with lights and lanterns. "Is that your doing, Nepheli Loux? Looks like we know where we're going next, buddy."
Torrent reared in excitement, throwing Elias backwards. He held on to the stirrups for dear life.
Once Torrent landed on all four hooves, he galloped over the fence and ran across the clearing. The wind rippled against the rider's royal blue cape, making it billow like a stormy sea. Tree branches flew overhead as stars showed the way through the forest.
He was home. Elias took a long deep breath.
To Stormveil.