IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IF HOLY, I FINALLY DID IT!
Askdsdnkksodks!
I have had such a huge case of writers block, but I finally finished this god dang chapter. IM SO GLAD! AND IT'S SO EPIC!
NO REVIEW RESPONSES THIS TIME AROUND! JUST TAKE THIS CHAPTER WITH MY BLESSINGS! *Throws metaphorical new chapter at your faces*
Hope you guys all enjoy the read!
Warning: Due to the ongoing blood feud Santa Clause has against Supreme Gamer, reading of this chapter may or may not subject one to Mortal Kombat with an Elf. You have been warned.
"I can't do this." A certain ceremonially dressed cleric said with clear hints of fear in her voice.
"Ugh, yes can." A scantily clad Mildred replied with clear annoyance at hearing that sentence for what felt like the hundredth time.
"No, no, no, I-I really can't. Look at thing. It's disgusting."
"Shh." Mildred said trying to get the moron of a woman at her side to keep her voice down. Peaking around the corner, she saw that they hadn't been given away by her moaning.
What were the two of them hiding from? Well, it was but a single basilisk that had stopped to slurp up what appeared to be a very questionable looking puddle of sewer sludge. It's bulging and bulbous eye's more than a bit disturbing even from behind.
"Reah need stop being baby. Just walk out, make come close, then Mildred do rest. Easy. Good plan."
"It is most definitely not a good plan. That beast is enormous and clearly lethal. What if it's faster than you and kills me?"
"Not going to let past. Just go. Make come."
"No. You probably mean to allow it to pass you on purpose."
"….."
"Mildred!"
"Talk too much. Mildred not let Reah hurt. Need meat for Sahler."
"The answer is no and there is nothing you can say to make me-GAH!"
Before Reah could finish her sentence, Mildred roughly grabbed her by the collar of her robe and rather rudely shoved her out in the open. Her girlish yelp being just loud enough grab the basilisk's attention and cause it to turn in her direction.
Seeing the disproportionally large eye's shift towards her, Reah felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach as a petrifying fear enveloped her mind. This feeling was increased tenfold when the beast released a guttural hiss, before charging towards her with its toothy maw hanging wide open.
"Oh god-oh god-oh god!" Reah panicked as she began to backpedal as Mildred held her large cleaver in two hands just out of sight in an adjacent pathway and listened as the creature raced closer and closer. Though she had to admit, she could not contain a stifled chuckle when she saw that Reah had suddenly tripped over her fancy robe, making herself appear to be quite the helpless and appealing free meal.
"SHAAAAA!" the creature roared as it bound towards its prey with foamy drool forming along the sides of its mouth
"MILDRED! MILDRED! MILDREEED!" Reah screamed as she shielded herself with her arms out of panic just as the beast leapt clear through the air and but a single hairs breath from sinking its fangs into her.
SHLICK
With her eye's closed, the next thing felt by the cleric was not the excruciating pain of teeth biting into her body, but instead the feeling of a warm liquid splashing upon her robe.
Follow up immediately by unrestrained ridicule and laughter from Mildred.
If there was one thing none would associate with the sewers, it would be the pungent smell of spices and herbs.
It turns out that Mildred and her kin had looted the lower lever of the Undead Settlement of just about everything one would need to put together all manner of meals. All except for a source of meat, that is. So Solaire set to work making use of the ingredients he could for home brewed Astoran Stew.
He boiled a bit of the overflowing sewer water. Making certain to purify it completely and purge all unwanted additions inside after using his shirt to filter out the debris. Afterword's, it was simply a matter of dicing up a great deal of potatoes, carrots and greenery to compliment the myriad of different seasoning that had been stockpiled.
If one didn't think about its original state for too long, it was a was a stew that was completely flawless and mouthwatering.
Of course, being that they were all undead and no longer needed food, this all basically amounted to nothing more than recreation. Or more aptly put, a distraction.
Fortunately, a diversion such as this was just what Solaire felt he needed right now. For as time passed, a rising sense of unease continued to build within him.
It was difficult to describe exactly what it was. The closest comparison he could make would be like hearing a faint wailing coming from a dark hallway. Something that was only noticeable enough to make him aware something wasn't right.
The words of Mildred regarding the "Flow" and "knowing one's self" lingered within his thoughts as he tried to ignore this lingering trepidition. But more than anything what Reah had told him kept replying again and again.
"…Try and accept that you know not of anything, Solaire."
It was such a simple piece of advice. Yet, as if it was some profound puzzle that must be solved, the knight labored to discover why he felt these words were the key to the source of his doubt.
"Faith, the gods, Light, Dark, Abyss, humanity….accept that I know not of any of it. Accept it…Accept it…" Solaire thought to himself, certain that the answer was right in front of him. Yet still he could not see it.
His thoughts were interrupted however at the sounds of approaching laughter and the dull echo of metal being dragged against stone.
"BHAA-HAHAHAHAHA!" one laughed boisterously.
"*Sniff* Shut up! It's not funny!" and other said through distress and faded sadness that had turned into displeasure
""Ooh nooo~! Mildred save me~" BAHAHAHA!"
"I said it's not funny!"
Walking around and making their way into the kitchen was the two faces the knight had come to expect to see. With Mildred laughing herself into tears as she carried the decapitated corpse of a Basilisk on her back and holding it's severed head in her right hand.
At her side, Reah, who looked as if she had recently got done crying, visibly struggled to drag the large cleaver at her side.
"I take it things didn't exactly go very smoothly." Solaire said as politely as he could manage.
"She used me as bait!" Reah exclaimed, not unlike a child tattling to an adult. "I told her that I wished not to go through with it and she just-"
"Catch." Mildred said with an impish giggle as she nonchalantly tossed the severed head of the Basilisk directly at the cleric's person. Taking no small amount of enjoyment out of seeing Reah squeal like a complete pansy as she danced around the moist bulging eyeballs. "Heh, heh, whoops."
Not at all hiding the amusement she felt at doing such a thing, Mildred happily strode forth to the large table that sat in the center of the Kitchen and promptly placed her kill atop it. She then proceeded to giddily use one of the smaller knives to begin skinning the flesh from the body to prepare it to eat.
Seeing her go about this in a completely unbothered and expert fashion, Reah crossed her arms at knowing the thought that they didn't even need to go through the trouble of killing the beast. Whatever Solaire was making smelled amazing already and it wasn't as if it served any real purpose in adding meat since they we're all undead and did not require the sustenance.
In fact, she suspected that Mildred only dragged her along so that she and Solaire wouldn't be alone with one another.
"Come now, Mildred, let's no go picking on Reah." The Knight said as he walked over and picked up the severed head from the floor without a hint of concern and tossing it in the hole in the back.
"Not Mildred fault scrawny cleric small and afraid." Mildred said aloud smugly as she continued to pick apart the carcass. "Maybe if was strong like Mildred, then Reah not be so useless."
"I'll have you know that I've overcome much to stand here today. Just because I am not as crude and primitive as you are, does not mean I am any less capable." Reah said defensively, not liking being mocked so blatantly. "I bet you cannot even function beyond hitting or cutting things. You can barely even form sentences correctly."
At having her speech criticized in such a manner, Mildred was quick to turn a heated look towards the offending cleric. Though she didn't have much of a chance in a fight actually broke out between them, Reah still held her head high and met the wild woman's look of vexation with one of her own.
"Alright, alright, you two. That's enough. There's no need for any of us to throw around insults. We're all good friends here, right?" Solaire said cheerfully, only for both women to give him dry looks that subtly said "Friends" wasn't exactly the word either of them would use. "Eh…Well, the stew is about ready. A hot meal can work wonders in strengthening friendships and forming bonds. So let's cook up the catch the two of you worked together to gather and dig in, shall we?"
Hearing this, the two women gave a moment of pause, before releasing a small sigh to let go of their vexation with one another and proceeded to move about preparing the makeshift dinner. With an open fire and (Relatively) clean utensils, it didn't take very long at all for the meat to be cleaned and cooked.
After a time, the table was set and a few bowls were filled with the stew for each of them. The smell of a warm fresh meal, complete with masterful seasoning, more than enough to cause Mildred mouth to salivate.
"Now hold on a moment. Before we partake such a bountiful spread, I believe we should first offer a prayer." Reah said as she extended her hands across the table towards both Mildred and Solaire respectively.
"Prayer?" Mildred questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, to give thanks to the gods for the "good hunt", as well as the continued well being of-"
"No. Gods do nothing. Mildred hunt…and Reah too." Mildred said, mumbling the last part just low enough that no one else could make it out very well.
"You misunderstand. A prayer isn't meant to disregard one's personal efforts, but rather to ask that, by some measure, that the gods continue to watch over you and those close to you." Reah explained gently, always more than ready to deliver such wisdom unto others. "It's simply a matter of showing a bit of faith. Right, Solaire?"
At this, given everything he now knew about the god's actions, the Sunlight Warrior hesitated for a moment to speak. But was quick to recover and support Reah's words..
"Uh, right. It is just as she says Mildred. It cost nothing to show thanks and deliver praise from the heart. If not for the gods, just as well for the those you cherish at your side."." The Knight said with as much a jovial tone as he could manage as he took Reah's hand in his own.
Hearing this, and taking a very keen interest in the fact that Solaire and Reah's hands were touching one another, Mildred grumbled a bit before taking hold of each of their hands as well.
"Only thank Solaire for saving Mildred and making food. Not gods." She said with a bit of an upturned nose, clearly unwilling to give any sort of prayer to gods that have done nothing for her.
With that, both Reah and Solaire bowed the heads and closed their eye's. Mildred, seeing them both do this, paused for a moment before doing the same.
For a time, there nothing but silence as each of them gave their own internal prayer. Reah did as expected and internally recited a prayer of light taught to every cleric of the Way of White.
Mildred did exactly as she said she would. Immediately after closing her eye's, she simply thought to herself "Thank you, Solaire." and left it at that. Afterwards, she would proceed to peak through one eye every few seconds to see if the others at her side were done yet.
Solaire, however, found that he felt far to tense to settle himself to do so.
Initially, he meant to simply offer a simple prayer for the safety of his friends and allies. But as he closed his eyes, the wailing and sense of being watched grew to a degree that it almost seemed like it demanded he acknowledge it.
Though he couldn't see it with his eye's closed, even Reah and Mildred began to fidget in the seats as they recognized on a subconscious level that something felt off about the air around them.
It was then that a powerful sensation fell upon all three of them at once.
Imagine if you will, the feeling claws slowly raking down the skin of your back. That was the closest comparison one could make to describe the sensation that suddenly assailed both the knight and the two women at his side.
Understandably, Reah and Mildred immediately gasped sharply as their eye's shot open as wide as they could go and they nearly leapt right out of their seats. And though Solaire remained as calm as his nerves would allow, he too could not suppress the fear that had suddenly surfaced within.
Not one to simply wait and doubt her actions, Mildred wasted not a single second in rushing to retrieve her Meat Cleaver from the wall it leaned on and held it at her side, ready to swing and kill whatever it was that had put her body on edge. Solaire performed in a likeminded fashion and retrieved his sword and shield, while Reah could do not but hold tight to her talisman.
For a few moments, the three of them simply sat in anxious silence. Each one shifting their gaze at every corner of the room for any sign of an intruder, but finding nothing.
"Did…Did anyone else feel that?" Reah exclaimed nervously.
"I did. Something's not right." Solaire said, noticing that the creeping cold had not subsided within him and instead lingered at the forefront of his sense.
"Mh…need leave. Not stay here." Mildred said with clear unease as she hefted her blade atop her should and moved towards Solaire, before proceeding to try and drag him along by his shirt. To very little success of actually forcing his large frame to move "Something here. Need go."
"She's right. I-I think some fresh air is would be good right now." Reah said as she stood to her feet and made to leave in a somewhat hurried fashion.
Not thinking of arguing against this line of thinking in the slightest, Mildred and Solaire were quick to follow behind her towards the stairway that would lead back upward to the town.
Once they reach the base of the stairway, Reah instinctively stopped at the sight of the shadows within the tunneled path. She couldn't say why, but just thinking of moving forward made goosebumps crawl across her skin.
Turning an apologetic look towards Solaire for her needless hesitation, Reah moved aside and let him move forward at the lead of the group. A task the knight seemed none to bothered to take.
From there, the stairs the group walked rose in well measure form, each one moldy and eroded by the passage of time. It helped to somewhat ease one's mind to try and simply focus on trying to overcome the next step to move forward.
And so it was that the group walked…and walked…and walked…and walked…
"What is happening? We should have long since reached the entrance by now." Reah said in a somewhat worried tone as the stairway seemed to stretch far longer than should be possible. Even Mildred herself was beginning to grow a bit afraid at the seemingly never ending corridor whose shadows seem to grew deeper and deeper the further they moved in.
"Stay calm. We'll reach the end any second now. If worse comes to worse, it's nothing more than a trick brought about by sorcery. And if any sorcerer want to get to the two of you, they'll have to go through me first. So just stick close and keep an ear out." Solaire said in a reassuring manner, placing himself as the pillar meant to keep the group composed.
To a certain degree, the knights' words did help the two women settle down. If they started to grow fearful once again, they simply reminded themselves that they simply need to keep moving, stick together and listen for anything strange.
It was then, just as claustrophobia was beginning to settle in upon their minds, that the group finally could make out the silhouette of a large steel door just a bit further up above.
The second they came upon the exit at last, Solaire was quick to take hold of the handle and pushing forward.
At first, it gave not an inch. As his vision began to adjust to the sight of the door up close, Solaire saw that it looks to have been terribly degraded and corroded with rust. Sure, it wasn't exactly in pristine condition before, but it certainly wasn't rusted to a point that it became difficult to open.
Having no reason to settle with halfhearted efforts, Solaire placed his body against the door before ramming his shoulder into it again and again.
The sounds that echoed from the knight and the door was deafening within the corridor. Each time it felt as if a pulsing headache radiated across his mind. But after a few rushes against the rusted steel, the entrance at last cracked open and gave way. Once an opening had been made, it didn't take much to push it open completely at last.
However, once the group took their first step back into the outside world, they all grew wide eyed with shock at the sight that greeted them.
The world…had come undone.
All around them, the land itself was covered in bellowing of ash and grime. The buildings and streets that once stood as a testament of some former city life, now sat as nothing more than crumbling ruins and buried structures.
But the most striking thing to be seen through it all would have to have been the sinister eclipse that hung high in the sky above. With the light of the sun seemingly spilling from beneath darkness that overlapped it.
As a harsh wind ran through the streets, each of the three humans all continued to stare in a wide eyed stupor as they struggled to take in the decaying world around them.
"Oh…Oh, gods…" Reah said deftly as she placed a hand to her mouth in disbelief at the wasteland before her.
"Hm?! Hm?!" Mildred said in complete bewilderment as she kept shifting her gaze around the drastically changed surroundings outside her home.
However, it had to be said that none stood more horrified than Solaire himself. For it was only he who knew what this sight must mean.
"No…The Flame…It can't be..." The knight whispered lowly to himself as he stared up at the unnatural eclipse. Realizing fully the end had come and the Age of Dark was all but here.
"I-I don't understand. What's happened? Why is everything in ruin? What-" Reah's sentence was cut short as a sudden realization clicked within her mind. With this realization, the cleric stepped forward to the knight with a look of deep concern and fear in her eye's. "Solaire, we have to go. Vince is out there in all of this…desolation. We need to find him and the others. O-Once we regroup with them, we can…I don't know, try and find somewhere safe to think over our next move."
"Find Vince and the others?" Solaire said in a somewhat incredulous tone. Taking one glance at his surroundings told him that such a thing was unlikely if not downright impossible. As crazy as it may sound, it looked as if centuries had passed out here. There wasn't much chance that the others simply stayed in place during all this. "Reah, I don't think-"
"There's no time to waste in debate. W-We just need to head back towards Firelink Shrine, okay? There's bound to be something there. Please?" Reah said in a tone that was clearly pleading with him not to speak what her mind likely already assumed was the worst-case scenario.
Seeing that she wasn't exactly handling the desolate wasteland before her well, Solaire opted to swallow his doubt and go along with her line of thinking. After all, it wasn't as if he had much of a better idea of how to proceed forward.
"Okay. We'll head back to the Shrine. That's probably our best bet for safety anyway, all things considered." The knight said after taking a deep breath. "If nothing else, if we somehow made it, who's to say the others didn't as well."
With that, the group wasted no further time in stepping off.
With the Undead Curse still afflicting them, Solaire quickly told himself it was better that the two women remained unaware of the severity of the situation. At least this way, they could try and grab for some sort of hope beyond what was in front of them.
And so it was that the group moved forward, following their understanding of the general direction of where Firelink Shrine would be rather than actually know where they were going. Though it seemed no matter how they tried to orient themselves, the land around them almost appeared to shift and alter on a whim, throwing off their sense of direction at every given opportunity.
With mounds of sand burying much of the paths and landmarks, one couldn't really be blamed for starting to think they were traveling farther and farther off course, even with each of them knowing that it was only a straight shot to arrive to the shrine.
Though Solaire was hardly concerned with such things and was more focused on the bigger picture.
"This can't be right. What happened to the Prophet? And Velka. And everyone else. I wasn't gone for too long a period. There had to have been more time before the flame faded, right?" Solaire thought to himself in clear disbelief. "Or is it that we've been displaced as Mildred had been? But then even still there would be no hope. What exactly are we to do in such a place then?"
"Okay…let's not panic. This is just…I have no idea what this is." Reah said interrupting Solaire's thoughts, clearly having trouble suppressing her own trepidation. Turning to Mildred at her side, she was somewhat hoping to find that she wasn't the only one about to lose their composure here. "D-Deep breaths, Mildred. Just keep it together. Panicking will help no one. Don't be afraid, alright?"
"Uh…afraid?" Mildred said in a clearly perplexed tone as she glanced around them for a moment more, but finding nothing especially scary. "Reah afraid of dirt."
At this, Reah was left baffled by the nonchalant attitude thrown at her.
"What? Dirt? Are you blind?! Do you not see the complete destruction all around us?! The sun being blotted out?! The buildings being nearly completely buried as if ages have gone by?!" Reah said, nearly shouting her words at the clearly uncaring woman before her.
"Dez-truction? Hm~…" Mildred mused for a moment as she gazed upon her surroundings once more in deep thought. It didn't take her long to speak her mind on things with a simple shrug of her shoulders. "Meh. So sun not sun anymore and sand everywhere. So what? Have Sahler, have knife, so no problem. Reah need stop crying over everything."
"Wha-? Do you have any idea what you're saying?! What if something happened to the others?! What if this is a sign of some catastrophe that has befallen the world?! What if-?!" Reah stopped talking as she saw that Mildred appeared to be only half listening and genuinely only seemed more mildly interested in what was happening around her than anything. As strange as it may sound, her relatively unbothered demeanor actually managed to calm Reah down a bit. "Okay, you're crazy and have no regard for what's happening right now, but you're right. I need to calm down. This unnatural state of things is troubling, but I must keep faith. We still have each other and we have a destination. That counts for something. Yes. As soon as we get to-….Wait. What?…"
Just as she was continuing her spiel, Reah was confused to find that as the group moved further within the buried township and came upon a towering, crumbled statue of what looked to be some man in flowing robes.
"…I know this work. This statue is of Allfather Loyd. Such a monument should be reserved for the lands of Thorolund, leagues from here." Reah said as she circled the stone to be sure she wasn't crazy, but there was no denying what was in front of her. "And these building too. They too are-"
"It's clear things are not as they were, Reah. It is probably for the best we do not try to rationalize such things by the expected logic. After all, we have no idea how far this has spread or the state of things in any land." Solaire explained calmly as he took the impossibly placed statue at face value. "We should keep moving."
"Right. Sorry, I-"
"Shh!" Mildred hushed suddenly as she seemingly froze in place for a moment.
"Mildred, you need to learn to stop interrupting-" Reah started in an offended tone.
"Quite!" Mildred interrupted once again with clear seriousness. Sweeping her gaze across the area, she strained her ears to hear past the wind that blew.
Solaire and Reah were too engrossed with talking with one another about a dumb statue, so they didn't notice. But Mildred was far more alert to things and did not miss the faint sound of haggard breathing somewhere near.
Mildred wasn't like any of the other city walkers. She trusted her senses and her instincts. Something was here with them, she was certain of it.
However, what she did not expect was to spot a pale, shriveled and hideous face peaking just over the edge of the ramparts and staring at her with pitch black eye's.
"Ah~…" the creature moaned lowly at having been spotted.
"Monster! Look, look!" Mildred shouted, causing Solaire to raise his weapon and turn towards the hiding creature, while Reah got behind them both with Talisman in hand.
"Ahh, such dismay and unrest….Many of us by the fire forsaken…I speak of thine kind, and mine." The creature said in a soft and gentle tone that belayed it monstrous appearance. "Behold this, the coming of shadow. We are kindred, belike two eye's which gaze upon the other. Fear not, the Dark, my friends…And let the feast begin."
"What are you talking about, creature? What feast?" Solaire questioned warily.
"….."
"I don't like this, Solaire. This thing is clearly not of mortal kind and it's words are blasphemous." Reah said, taking the monsters silence as a sign of ill intent. "We should place distance between us and this abomination."
"…One was a being that assumed a fleeting form. Though it used it's knowledge to spare the ill-fated their paths and surrounded itself with faces familiar, its nature was that of the Abyss and could not be denied. Fear not, the dark, my friends…and let the feast begin." The creature spoke cryptically, yet no less calmly.
"Used it's knowledge to spare others their paths….Are you speaking of the Prophet, creature?" Solaire questioned aloud, completely unaware of the many hands and faces that began to peak across corners and stone all around them.
"And so, it lived in perpetual strife. It's shadow spreading amongst others closest to it, even unto the cold embrace of Anti-life. And yet, it knows not that the peace it seeks resides only within the Abyss that forged it. Fear not, the Dark, my friends….And let the feast begin."
"Anti-Life? What are you talking about? Stop speaking in half explanations." Solaire said, the frustration in his tone clear at being told something, yet nothing at the same time.
"Ugh, ugly thing crazy. We not need-"
"WATCH OUT!"
Suddenly, Reah shouted as loud as her lungs would allow and threw her smaller frame directly into Mildred's body just as a massive shadow and the sound of heavy buzzing suddenly fell over her from above.
With her panicked action, Reah was able to push her companion aside just in time. However, in doing so she inadvertently took his place instead.
With a sharp gasp of fear, Reah could nothing as a twisted abomination with the head of a human and the body of an insect the size of a bear descended upon her with a ravenous calm in it's eye's. Without wasting a single moment, the creature formed a sort of spear-like thorn composed of solid sorcery and stabbed it straight into Reah's gullet.
"AAAAHH!" Reah screamed in pain as her stomach was pierced and she took hold of the thorn with both hands in a panic.
"I shall partake." The monster said in a sadistically gentle tone as it opened its maw wide, showing that it meant to devour the hapless woman alive.
"RAAAHH!" Solaire roared as he erupted into action and charged forward with his shield raised, ramming against the towering beast with all the force her could muster.
Once the sturdy piece of Astoran steel crashed into it's head with a sickening crunch, the large insect creature was pushed back but a single step, before it hissed loudly and summoned forth another thorn of magic.
However, it would never get the chance to use it as Mildred swung her cleaver in a massive arc above her head and cleaved directly into the monster's neck, sending it into a fit of panicked spasms as its blood pooled from the wound promising an unavoidable death.
"Ahh~..."
"Yes~…"
"Fear not, my friends.."
"Ah~, the Dark…"
"I shall partake…"
Before the first Locust-like creature could even take it's final breath, seven more began to slink their way from behind every building and shadowy crevice as if they were sharks drawn to the smell of blood. Terrifyingly enough, each one of their darkened eye's seemed to hold a look of starving hunger that ran so deep that it allowed no room for any other sort of emotion.
Looking to the two women at his side, Solaire immediately recognized that they would not survive fighting them all at once. Reah was injured to the point that even standing would be a battle, much less fighting or running away. And with the creatures' numbers, size and apparent magic, Mildred would not last long fighting at his side.
They had a handful of seconds, at best, to savor their final moments. Not enough time for hesitation and even less for doubt. Solaire understood this.
So, using his sword hand, he reached to his belt and took hold of his talisman. Gripping it in his fingers tightly against the hilt of his weapon, his he closed his eye's and released a breath to prepare for what was coming.
It was never a problem of reaching out to the dark presence he'd come to know. Not since the first time he'd done so. For him, it was always only a matter of truly understanding and utilizing without becoming lost in it. But this moment called for a desperate action and so he was left with no choice but to call upon the dark and hope he could use it to defend them.
It was truly unfortunate that the very moment his spirit reached out, the dark he'd come to expect did not greet him with whispers or a cold shudder.
No.
Instead, the best way to describe what had happened to Solaire was that his sense of self was overwhelmed. His consciousness became no more than a single drop of water in an ocean of gnawing shadow and wailing darkness.
In essence, his mind was drowning. And quickly, at that.
As what felt like a lifetime passed him by, Solaire struggled to keep himself grounded in the moment of danger he found himself in….All he could feel deep sense of starvation and hunger. But then he heard a woman screaming. Screaming something he couldn't understand. It sounded like a name.
He'd held on to the sound, using it to focus himself away from the desire to consume that tried to overwhelm him. Leaving the knight's being at an impasse. For though his body and mind continued to sink further and further into the depths, Solaire's spirit held strong. Black ichor leaked from his eye's in place of tears. His teeth grit tightly as he fought to reject the intruding feeling that invaded his being. His knuckles whitened as his fist tightened around the hilt of his blade with unheard of strain.
Until he could deny his hunger longer and his spirit gave into it completely.
The first of the locust creatures leapt into the air and used its massive wings to carry it forward until it was just on top of the small group.
"I will partake." It droned gently as it will forth jagged thorns of magic in both of its hands before plunging down.
Mildred could not turn and help Solaire with the other creatures waiting in the wings. The minute she turned her back, Reah would be preyed on without question.
Fortunately, she wouldn't have to help at all. In fact, it came as quite a surprise to both women when the knight's blade, along with most of his arm, was suddenly overcome with a surge of raging shadow.
Then, just as the creature was upon him, Solaire snarled like a beast and swung his blade.
The shadows cut clean through the magic and the locust's body in one feel swoop. But more importantly, Solaire felt the darkness within him almost dance with glee as some part of the beast essence was stolen from its body and filled his own.
The knight felt his muscles grow stronger, his sight grow sharper, the shadows cry louder. He. Was. More.
As the darkness within grew deeper and the desire for more strength grew more prominent, what happened next was a blur to Solaire's mind.
There was a struggle. Large forms charging toward him, a flash of steel and then…more strength. More blood.
It's scent spurs him forward. The hunger sends his being into a frenzy, but one that held the corrupted reflection of a skilled warrior.
"… Hrg, rg… Arrrgh…Finally…I've done it… I have…Yes, I did it… I did!…Ohh, ohhh…Hrgrraaaooogh!"
A roar rip through the air.
Where is the voice that screamed? The voice that called out before. He's lost track in the mayhem that surrounded him. Blades stabbing into his body like clumsy teeth. His sword a metal blur as it cleaved through the air. Shadows cut through, bones sunder along with flesh.
He'd never felt so powerful. And still, he knew there was more strength yet to gain.
He sees them now. Two women being attacked by a monster, its weapon raised. He could stop it.
But the shadows cry out again, and his limbs surge with power.
A black haze fills his mind. Everything is a blur. Everything is forgotten.
And the last thing Solaire heard before it all was put to shadow was a woman screaming. Screaming something he couldn't understand. It sounded like a name.
?
His vision slowly came back to him as his legs moved on their own. It seemed like it took ages for the blur to drop away, but when it did Solaire could only look about slowly in confusion and shock.
Gone was the buried Undead Settlement and the locust beast. In its place was a barren wasteland of desert and sand. The monotony of this parched landscape was difficult to explain. It was a crucible of nothingness, a bone-dry basin of vastness and death. The immensity of it burned into his brain.
"What?...What is this? Where am I?..." Solaire said as he gazed at the impossibility of the change in location around him. Looking at himself for a moment, he saw that his armor was shredded into scant pieces of cloth, giving him a clear view of a multitude of scar along his body that he did not recognize. And he saw that his blade had become heavily degraded and chipped with blood long dried all along its body.
Yet, more than any of that, Solaire's body felt stronger than he'd ever been. Despite the ragged appearance of his armor and the great many scar that laced his flesh, there was not a hint of weakness to be had.
It was then that what had happened before struck the knight like a bolt of lightning.
"Where-...Mildred?!...Reah?!" the knight cried out desperately as he clawed at his thoughts to remember what had happened and how he got here. Did the beast overwhelm them? Did he kill them all in his madness? Did they escape? How could what feel like moments suddenly leave him stranded in this barren landscape?
No matter how much he desperately wished to know the answer, the only thing Solaire could remember was screaming.
He was alone now. No Reah, no Mildred, no Prophet, no Flame, no answers about how he got here and no idea what he should do next.
There was simply nothing but questions and sand now.
Feeling the weight of this reality fall upon him, Solaire's gaze fell to earth and so to did he fall to his knees. There was only so much a man could take before he simply couldn't see the point of going a single step further. Before he at least had the comfort of knowing that he had others that counted on him, but now?...Now he would not mind if he faded away and joined them in oblivion instead of being left alone like this.
"…Why?…Why?…I didn't even get to say goodbye…" Solaire thought to himself solemnly as he closed his eye's to it all.
But then, as a gust of wind ran across his body, there was something of a pull to his senses that prompted him to open his eye's. At his side, laying in the sand ready to be buried and forgotten, was his sword and shield.
The sun upon his defense was barely recognizable and the sharpness upon his weapon had long since dulled. Yet still, their memory and the trials he'd faced with them still lingered.
His gaze stayed upon the crudely painted smiling sun for some time, before the knight furrowed his brow, picking them both up, got to his and proceeding to walk across the desert floor.
"…Why?...What's the point now?...Why am I standing?..." Solaire questioned to himself, the answer eluding him even as he continued to force himself to take one step after the other. "…It's all gone…Why am I still struggling?...The flame is gone, the darkness has won…What's keeping me going?"
Flashes of friendly faces. Of laughter and comradery. Of smiles and caring, filled his thoughts.
"Everyone…Everyone, I'm sorry…I won't give up..." Solaire swore internally as his grip on his armaments tightened and his pace picked up. The memories he held seemingly strengthening his will. "Even if it is only me, I cannot stop. If I surrender, then it would all have truly meant nothing. Their light will have truly been snuffed out and forgotten. So I'll keep going. I'll keep fighting for even one more step!"
And so, with the declaration that said he held the hope of all who had stood at his side within him, Solaire of Astora began to walk his destined path.
There was no great goal anymore. No grand enemy. No secret paths. Now there was just a vast, mournful plane of emptiness where anything sentient resents anything else that's alive.
Now there was only a single knight against the denizens of a destroyed and ruined world.
At first, there was only the journey. The tragic sight of the corpses of countless kingdoms and cities. The void-like solitude. The motionless and soundless visage of ruin and decay. It was enough to drive any sane mind to madness. And like any madness, there are moments of clarity. One has to truely really concentrate to become aware of the noises of a dead land. Listen carefully and it's a veritable monkey's cage of maddening sounds.
Creatures of nightmarish forms thrived withing this world and they were the only company that greeted the knight on his path. Their eerie howls and harrowing grunts fill up the loneliness he feels in his soul. Especially when he sensed that they were stalking him. Hatred of them and their ill-begotten kind takes over from time to time and he fights once more.
This cycle of being continued on and on. After everything that had happened and all that he'd lost, Solaire didn't care where he ended up or what got in his way. His only intent being to live on in the name of those who had fallen. The last light in a world that had fallen into darkness.
With the brand Undead Curse still inflicted upon him despite it all, time held no meaning.
Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. Months turned to years.
In time, amidst all the fighting and unending travel, Solaire would come to grant himself peace of mind enough to pause at certain locations. Be it atop the summit of the ruin of some great castle overlooking the eclipsed sun, amid the ruins of a church in a deserted city or simply sitting upon the ground of the desert waste.
It would be during these moments that he would kneel and pray. His way of honoring those he had lost and ensuring that he never forgot a single one of his friends or his home.
Soon, prayer turned to meditation. A means for him to focus. For as time passed him by, the call of the dark inked ever closer towards him. No matter how far he traveled or how hard he tried to forsake it, it was always there, waiting like an impatient playmate.
He'd avoided it for quite some time, not wanting anything to do with it's influence or the power it could grant.
But eventually, as years passed him by and his will strengthened, Solaire once more called upon the dark within him as he prayed atop the grounds of one of countless nameless deserts. But this time, when the swirling ocean fell upon him, Solaire met it with no feelings of rage or contempt.
Instead, he greeted it with acceptance. The voice of a woman he once knew echoing in the back of his mind.
"Not need gods or faith. Spirit all about flow. If Sahler let go and know self, then can leave body to flow and monster not be able to bother Sahler."
And so it was that Solaire let himself flow within the vastness of the shadows embrace.
For a time, there was no Dark or Light. Only peace. There was no corruption to be fought or good to defend. Only harmony. There was no good or evil. Only balance.
And as it had done before, the presence of the dark spoke to him. But this time, its form was…
"…."
"…."
"…Poor Solaire…You see the truth and mistake that for understanding."
"…."
"Have you ever considered that perhaps this is how things should be? There is no discord here, no conflict, no fear, no hate. All now know true peace. As will you, once you accept that an ending must come to pass before a new beginning can be found."
"You…are hurting…"
The presence says noting for a moment, before giving a small sigh. Or at least, gives the feeling closest to one would link with a sigh.
"So naïve. You touch my being, fumbling in ignorance. Incapable of understanding. I am you, Solaire. I hurt only as you do…and gain peace only as you do."
"Peace…That is what is desired by you…and what is desired by us all? But there is more here…" Solaire said, with thoughts not completely his own. "…You are filled with pain that should not be. The…The others…You wish…You wish for them to rest in peace."
The pull of the ocean submerges him further. He feels more, though only just barely makes sense of it.
"You are like a pattern…spreading. You have learned to be alive...yet you do not understand such a state. You are not meant to have a will…only a purpose."
"If you cannot know peace, then neither can I. We are one in the same, accept this!"
"We are one and the same…I see now…long ago, when I sought to know you, you bid me give into my anger. But that was you feeling as I felt….You are every vice within me. If I am of rage, so are you. If I am of doubt, so are you. If I know not of myself, then neither do you….A force shaped by humanity…a reflection…"
His vision amidst the oceans current begins to clear. Something is before him, just beyond the horizon. A realization that must be met.
"You seek peace as it once was. Even now, you try to grant it to me. But your nature has been perverted. The peace you offer will lead to only more pain for both of us." Solaire said as a realization began to dawn on him and the reality of what was happening became clear. "This is why I'm here. In seeking understanding, I did it to myself. There is no dark, there is only me. My humanity. My darkness, My light…But as we are one, they are you as well."
There is a long pause, and in that time the ocean calms. There are no longer waves or a pull. Only the gentle embrace of the flow remained.
Even though he senses it should be impossible for him to do so, Solaire stands to his feet and begins walking forward through the darkness. As if the answer had been right in front of him the entire time.
"I get it…I completely understand." He said as his eye's steeled with determination and conviction.
"…So what now? Are you just going to walk away? Your faith is still left wanting, remember? Are you just going to move forward without such power then? Are you willing to lower yourself to just a simple human?" The presence said, though there was not a hint a hate or anger on its tone. In fact, Solaire could swear that it almost sounded as if it was somewhat hopeful of the answer.
"What do you mean "lower myself"? That's the only thing I've ever been." Solaire said as he as he stopped in place and stared at the shadows around him as a smile began to bloom across his face. "Just a simple human. I rage, I love. I know sorrow and I know joy. I praise the light of the Sun, and am one with the dark that is yet to be. I'm already more than strong enough as I am."
"Heh, you're sure about this? Think carefully. Leave no room for doubt."
With that simple question, new voices called out from the darkness. It was everyone he cared about.
"Yo, Sol!" cried the Prophet.
"Sahler!" cheered Mildred.
"Sir Solaire!" praised Reah.
"Solaire!" roared Oscar.
"Solaire!" rallied Siegmeyer.
Again and again, he heard all of them calling out. He felt his love of the light renew and his understanding of the dark deepen.
And so, he only had one last thing to say before he broke free.
"Why would I ever be in doubt? I already have everything I need. I just didn't see it."
"Finally! You've done it! That's the right answer!"
The voice was booming, filled with a gratitude that went beyond words. Whether it was some part of Solaire himself or some unknowable force, it's jubilation was boundless. But Solaire was far to wrapped up in his own joviality to do anything more than smile and move run forward with renewed vigor.
"Yes! Go! Make it right! Ensure peace once more! Allow rest to come! Go on! Shine brightly, Solaire of Astora!"
The darkness did not clear. Nor would it ever do so. For this place was but a shapeless void. A place somewhere between truth and falsehood.
The years…No…the seconds he spent here would forever be engraved within him. But it was time for Solaire to return now and end his prayer.
His eye's opened slowly as the smell of freshly made warm stew made its way to his nose.
"Ugh, tired of waiting. Take too long." Mildred complained with clear annoyance.
"Patience is a virtue. To rush another's prayer is quite the rude action…but I have to admit, you certainly are taking quite a while, Solaire." Reah said as the knight turned a look of deft surprise towards her. "Uh, not that that's exactly a bad thing, I suppose. It's just that the stew you work on will get cold soon and-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Solaire promptly stood from his seat and walked around the table that separated them as if there wasn't a single doubt in his mind about what he was about to do.
Reah then watched as he pulled her closer to him and then proceeded to wrap his arms around her with an intimacy and passion that seemed to come out of nowhere.
His hug was stronger than anything she'd ever known, as if holding her wasn't quite enough.
"Reah, I-…I don't have the words to tell you how happy it makes me to see you well. To be able to tell you thank for all that you have done to aid me and the council you have given." Solaire said as he didn't hold back in bringing the woman closer than what would be considered appropriate.
"O-Oh…well…I had no idea you were so concerned with my departure, Solaire. I was only gone with Mildred but a short while." Reah said with an embarrassed smile on her lips as she placed her arms around him and returned the hug in a sheepish manner. It was clear that she did not mind such displays of affection.
Though there was a certain level of smugness within her eye's as she saw the flabbergasted outraged look upon Mildred face.
Standing to her feet herself, the clearly miffed woman stomped forward with the aim of voicing her disapproval, as well as prompting the question of why she wasn't thanked too.
However, before she could even get a single word out, Solaire quickly turned and swept her off her feet in a hug that was yet more affectionate than the one he'd already served. Given that Mildred was far less clothed than Reah and substantially more well shaped, it would without question be considered inappropriate that Solaire was holding her as close to his person as he did.
Even Mildred could not help but be surprised at the act of being held so suddenly.
"And you, Mildred! I couldn't be happier to lay eye's upon you once more. Meeting you has done more for me than I can ever repay. Thank you, Mildred. A thousand times, thank you."
A bit caught off guard, the woman in question paused for moment to really take in being held so closely. But when she saw the clear displeasure written on Reah's face, she quickly sprouted a wide grin as she wrapped her arms around the knights neck in a none to family friendly manner.
"Sahler thank Mildred more!"
"Thank you."
"More!"
"Thank you!"
"Heh, heh, again!"
"HAH, HAH, Thank you!"
To some, the gleeful request of acknowledgement would grow tiresome quite quickly. But the two in question didn't seem to feel that way in the slightest.
Mildred didn't need to know why she was being acknowledged and pampered all of a sudden. All that mattered was that she enjoyed it and that he was enjoying it as well. Reah was somewhat curious as to what brought this on, but as Solaire pulled her in for another hug with one arm and held Mildred with the other, she too decided to just let the moment of happiness be what it was.
And Solaire? Though to their eye's it had been mere seconds, to him he had been without them for quite some time. The price of the lesson he had learned. Was the time he spent alone real in some form? Was it simply all somehow in his head?
Frankly, Solaire couldn't give a single damn about wondering such things right now. He didn't care about the strength his body felt flowing through it, not he did care that the shadows of the kitchen appeared to waver and dance as if they too were happy.
Right now, he only sought to be content with these two women at his side. Each of them smiling with one another simply because they could. Nothing more, nothing less.
And so it was that Solaire of Astora had uncovered a path that would lead him to strength to give the gods themselves pause…only for him to put it on the backburner for a hug and a laugh.
WAAAAIT! WAIT A GOSH DANG SECOND! I GOT THINGS TO SAY!
Okay, firstly, I wanna say that this chapter was a doozy to write. I bounced around a lot of idea's, including doing something with the mutants cannibals of Blighttown, but eventually I decided that that wasn't thinking big enough. So I decided to go for gold and take Solaire on a journey that lasted YEARS! (Sorta) and still implies a grant gain of power while still leaving room to introduce new abilities believably.
Secondly, I wanna say that for Solaire, I wanted his abilities to be reminiscent of the great "Dark Lord" that everyone feared would come. I'm thinking something along the lines of what the Darkwraiths are, but PERFECTED. It's not exactly ironed out completely, but I'm thinking something of a "Grey Jedi" sort of deal. I wanted to give off the vibe that Solaire gleamed the Dark's true nature, as maybe just the natural part of existence like the First Flame that been forcibly corrupted, and now he's able to walk a path that hasn't been traveled before.
The idea I'm bouncing around is an ability to rib others of their strength, but not let it lead to a gluttony of murder like the Dark Wraith, as well as an increase to Light Miracles as I'd think a deeper understanding of the Dark would lead to a stronger love of the light...maybe? (Definitely a rough draft idea, but it's definitely on the right track of thinking I think.)
And lastly, regarding Solaire talk with the big Dark voice within himself, I don't consider the Dark to be alive exactly. But, given the fact that the First Flame literally CREATED AN AVATAR TO FIGHT THE ASHEN ONE SO THAT IT COULD FINALLY DIE UNINTERRUPTED, I somewhat toyed around with the idea that it would at least have a sort of "Desire to do it's job". I'm not exactly sure if I might be jumping the gun a bit, but I don't think it's exactly impossible for it to have a certain level of sentience.
But that's all I got to say this time around, dear readers.
As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Did Solaire's journey seem a bit too easy? Did the Dark actually conversing with him not really seem believable? Should there have been a bigger display of power to show that Solaire had changed?
Honest opinions are always appreciated as I'm always looking to improve my style of writing to make this story a bit more interesting for you guys. so don't be shy in telling me your thoughts about how things are going so far. Outside opinions will have a huge effect on how this story will play out.
This is Supreme Gamer, Signing out.
P.S. FINALLY, I CAN GET STARTED ON GETTING THE GANG TO ANOR LONDO!
P.S. If you guys have you own idea's on what you think Solaire would be capable of, now's the time to shoot them up. Because as we all know, I'm making this up as I go.