I managed to stop Rennala in time and prevent her from firing the Comet Azur. The energies swirled into a point on her staff, but just before she could fire the beam I literally threw my axe at her.

Risky?

Sure, if I missed I would have been up shits creek without a paddle. Or axe in this case, but if I hadn't done that though she would have cooked me anyway. The axe hit the illusion of the woman and interrupted her casting, which let me close the distance and start swinging.

I knew something was wrong when she disappeared in a pulse of blue after I knocked her flat from the first hit. I turned as I heard noise behind and saw that she appeared some distance away in a swirl of magic.

I recognized that spell too, it was the one used by the preceptor's in the Carian study hall. That wasn't part of the game version of Rennala's moveset. That the illusion of her was using it here did not bode well.

She rose into the air and waved her staff, sending a storm of projectiles my way. The glintstone stars trailed towards me slowly at first, but gained speed as they got closer. I shielded my face and charged through, and went to swing against her where we she landed.

Rennala's staff glowed blue, and when she swung it a massive blue spectral blade formed around it, which she sliced towards me.

I brought up my right and managed to intercept the Carian grandeur with my red wolf blade, but Rennala jumped away before I could retaliate with anything. I fired Smarag's cometshard after her, but my eyes widened when she swung her staff at the attack and dispersed it entirely, the energy being repurposed into a glint blade phalanx. The blue blades hovered around her in an arc for a second before shooting towards me.

So almost all of the magic I've managed to acquire is now out of the running. She'll just send it back at me.

I moved myself quickly and dodged the glintblades, but wasn't prepared at all for the crystal barrage the full moon queen unleashed right behind it. The magic crystals don't disperse with minor force against my scales like the glinstone stars do. Instead the shards sink in like large pieces of shrapnel, puncturing my scales and wounding me.

I cry out, but keep moving forward, narrowly avoiding a full power comet that she charges and fires at my approach. I jerk to the side as it burns passed and then close the rest of the distance to her. I bring my axe up, and when the illusion goes to avoid it I throw my left dragon forward and clamp its jaws on her arm.

The illusion of Rennala cries out in pain. Before I can follow up, she swirls magic in her free hand and presses it to the floor. A massive glowing circle bearing her crest appears. "Come, oathsworn giant!" The queen calls.

The transparent form of an illusory troll appears and brings its weapons crashing down on top of me as Rennala disappears.

I'm knocked into the ground…water…stuff. Whatever. It's solid enough for me to push up off of, which is good enough for me. I growl in rage and rise to my feet with my axe swinging, bashing the troll across the face. It goes staggering back, and I disengage, turning to look for my missing witch. I hear a noise that warns of impending doom and I spot her charging another Comet Azure.

I won't be able to reach her to stop it in time. Thinking quickly, I bring my left around and clamp its jaws down on the magic form of the troll which had ran after me. Hooking my axe on as well, I dragged him in front of me.

When the comet Azure fires I started moving to the right while using the troll as a pseudo-meat shield. It's not perfect, the laser goes through everything and I end up a little scorched by the magic, but I survive. The troll is dead from the blast, which means I don't have to worry about anything as I run for Rennala.

I need to find a better way of fighting her, I'm already winded. Soon I'll be flagging, and then it's lights out for me. I didn't come all this way, fight through all those fucking lobsters and everything else just to lose to a secondhand copy of the woman I had just stamped. My biggest issue is her teleportation. She's got multiple spells for doing so and it lets her get away everything I get a hit in. If I can figure out how to counter that, I can take care of this Lickety-split.

She launches another barrage of crystal my way, which I leap over, arcing through the air to slam down with both my axe and the red wolf blade. Rennala executes a nearly flawless dodge that leaves her just far enough away to slash at me with her staff, a Carian blade forming. I narrowly avoid being clipped by the magic blade, and Rennala teleports again before I can retaliate.

I turn once more as she rematerializes some distance away to begin the dance again.

She raised her staff to conjure sorcery as I raised my axe to call upon the stormwinds. My dragon head set them alight and then I blitzed forward, closing the distance and getting ready to crater her with my axe.

The illusion of the royal dodged my swing, but that was fine, she wouldn't escape the blast of the flame. I grinned as I followed through and brought the axe down, the whirlwind of burning flames along with it.

Then I was once again in for a shock. When the flames leaped out to consume her, the witch spun her staff and took control of them. She spun her staff around herself like a Hawaiian performer and then shot the flame back at me.

It didn't do anything to me but that wasn't the point. I was supposed to be fighting just an illusion of Rennala. This didn't even feel like an Elden Ring bossfight anymore. That was some avatar the last airbender shit she just pulled.

'The Astrologers that became the Carians were friends with the fire giants' my brain reminded me. That information didn't help me though, only gave an explanation for how it happened.

Rennala backed away and waved her staff again, releasing another hailstorm of glinstone stars each twinkling light racing for me as she already charged her next spell.

I dodged the stars as best I could as I kept running for her, and was forced to jump when she threw another comet at me. She charged another one and released the second comet towards where I was going to land.

No time or options on my hands, I was forced to take the spell directly. It slammed into my body and sent me sprawling back from the sheer force.

Rennala began to charge one more. In desperation I climbed to my feet and whipped my axe around in a spin, launching myself with the stormwinds to avoid it just in time. I made to move towards full moon queen, when she began to rise into the air and show me just how she got that title. As she lifted off the ground, magical energies began to swirl around and form the sphere in seconds.

Rennala's full moon formed with a brilliant shine, its white blue glow radiating an aura of serenity. It resonated quite nicely with the one in the background, and for a second I was awestruck by its brilliance and that of the woman casting it.

Then it shot forwards and began gliding towards me, and I was reminded of exactly what that spell could really do. I was fucked.

I turned and ran, taking great bounding strides away as the moon homed in on me like a heat seeking missile. I ran around and tried to circle back towards her to avoid the lunar bomb chasing me, but I couldn't run fast enough.

The moon struck down behind me and knocked me forwards from the force. Everything erupted in pain as I was hit, and I rolled quite awkwardly through the water, causing the pain to flare even more.

If I had been a second slower I'd be dead.

I was disoriented on the ground, and when I went to push myself up I found myself face to face with Rennala.

"Thy fate Lyeth under my moon." She told me as her staff glowed. My eyes were wide and locked on her staff as the deadly blade formed. This wasn't possible!

No, my journey wouldn't end here! It couldn't end here! I wasn't going to die!

Not like this!

"Hraaa!" I lunged up at the witch with a last desperate battle cry. Her carian piercer flashed forwards.

I didn't bother trying to stop it.

I took the magic blade right through my body and kept my momentum going, hacking up blood as all reason fled me. My hand formed a claw with its fingers and I jammed it forward, intent on tearing the illusions heart right out of her chest.

Whether it was because the woman was made of magic, or because the bones of my fingers were starting to show from the skin grinding away I wasn't sure. What I did know was that my hand found purchase and sank in. Rennala began to scream as a golden glow emerged from the wound, shining past my wrist.

The great rune, I dumbly realized. The illusion was powered and formed directly from the rune itself. That's why destroying the illusion rewards it in game!

I squeeze my hand as hard as I can and start to pull. I was not going to fail here! Not now, when I was so close!

I would be the one to conquer this whole fucking world!

The full moon queen cried out in agony as I gripped tightly and tore the rune out entirely. Her scream cut off when I did, and she pitched to the side, catching herself to stand upright.

We stood there for a second, locked in time, staring at each other.

The moment was broken and Rennala pitched forward, the golden light entirely gone. As she went down she began to turn to a purplish silver smoke. She dispersed into a cloud, her final words echoing on nonexistent wind.

"Oh little Ranni, My dear daughter, weave thy night into being"

The smoke of the illusion started to fade completely, and blew away into mist.

Slowly, the beautiful and otherworldly background of the moon and stars began to fade too. Within under a minute the magic image had vanished, and I was left standing back the main circular area of the grand library, the Great rune of the unborn clenched in my fist.

I gave a cough and more blood spilled past my lips. I couldn't bring myself to care as I stared down at the Rune. Finally, I had it within my grasp. I wasn't sure if my hunch was correct, but I had come to see that a certain level of… zeal? suspension- of-disbelief? Straight up insanity?

A certain level of willpower could entirely change how reality worked when it was mixed with a great rune. Rykard not being turned into 100% pure snake shit for one. Radahn not being consumed by the deadliest disease on the planet, even centuries later. Me being able to control my plug and play limbs.

The great runes were like magic engines that let you do whatever the fuck you wanted as long as you had the determination for it. And boy did I have some to spare for this one. I clenched my fist down on the rune with a manic mix between smile an and growl, as I started taking it into me.

It's golden energies suffused through my palm, and then spread to the rest of my body like a wildfire. I began to laugh as my vision tinged gold and my own great rune appeared above my chest like an burning icon.

The rune I had just taken in my hand was drawn towards it, like it was being literally sucked in.

I brought it closer, and two became one. The rune of the unborn slammed into place with the sound like a hammer would make upon a forge.

Power burned within me, and then it was like every nerve in my body began to fire without my permission. Like I was having a seizure but could still think clearly. I fell to the ground as I lost control and began to writhe.

I was overwhelmed, and then suddenly there was a great pressure inside my head. Within a minute I was letting out a scream and blacking out.


I'm not sure how much time had passed, but when I woke up again, I immediately realized the changes.

Primarily, I was back to normal size again. Well back to what normal size should be for a healthy demigod in his prime.

I stood up from the ground, getting out from under the ratty tarp that my robes had become. I'm buck ass naked, but I don't even mind. I'm me again. I step around the pile of clothing and weapons, staring out at them and the rest of the room. I don't tower over anything with these human proportions.

I'm a little on the shorter end, but Godrick had always been the runt of the litter. Of course, if I went back in time right now to Godrick's prime years, I would look nothing like how he did.

Number 1, I'm no longer the skinny twig that Godrick once was. My body physical body is indistinguishable from the one I had prior to my untimely demise, painstakingly made through many a night in the gym. It wasn't the rippling wall of muscles most people pictured when they heard the word demigod, but I wasn't focused on that so much as I was focused on the fact that it was mine.

My body. My power. I had done it.

Number 2, I can still feel my grafts. They aren't physically present, but I can feel them just beneath my skin. The sensory input for all those parts and appendages is still there. With a flex of muscle and willpower, a new arm made from Moongrum's and select others erupts out from below my shoulder blade.

I bring it around and up to inspect. The first and most important thing I notice is that the arm is fresh. It's not spoiled and carved up meat that I've welded into functioning condition. This is a new limb. There are no sutures, no lines from cutting, no open points. I've just grown a new and more powerful limb from out of nowhere.

I flex some more and get two additional arms to sprout, both on my left.

Alright. Now how 'bout a durability test.

Grabbing one of the left arms with my main right hand, I squeeze down. I put as much pressure as I can, but feel no pain in the limb whatsoever. I keep going, and muscle fills my right arm as I twist and rip the new limb away completely. There's no spray of blood to accompany this normally messy action. It pulls away as if it was play-dough that was breaking away. Yet, the limb hadn't been brittle before when I wanted it to stay attached, as if that play-dough had been mixed with quikrete. Did that make sense?

Probably not. You know what else didn't make sense?

The fact that even as I tossed the limb aside,I could still feel it.

I still had control of the damn thing too. I waved to myself from the ground, and then had the limb crawl back to me in the most trippy display I had seen in a minute. When it reached me I grabbed my leg and the arm was absorbed back into me, as if it had never left. I re-sprouted the limb a second later. Ok, I guess I was the more fucked Jo version of clayface now? Except I could only do body parts I already had?

Alright that was pretty dope, but what about my more beastly grafts? How did they carry over?

I concentrated and focused, picturing having a dragon maw on my left. It was a feeling I had grown very much accustomed to, and I grinned as the graft took shape.

The dragon sprouted from my lefts' and grew towards the ceiling. I rapidly had to increase muscle mass in the rest of my body to support it, but I made it work. The dragon went to roar, flames forming in its mouth which I quickly squashed. Didn't want to burn my new books after all.

I pulled the graft back into me and went back to 'normal'. When I was certain I had done a full shift back I cracked my neck. Ok, final test time.

Let's make my primary combat form.

My legs stretch and grow as my feet become claws. The limbs rearrange and keep growing, until my dragon legs are once again beneath me. However, rather than being connected to a twisted mass of writhing flesh, my torso expands, growing along with the legs until I'm really going overkill on the Kaido cosplay. I wiggle my ass as my tail grows to its full length and swings out, my new reinforced spine now strong enough to support it.

I flood more power to my arms, and grin in delight as they expand along with my body. Re-sprouting the same limbs from before, I've now got five thick muscular arms with no defects, and the ability to grow more or switch up my current ones at any time. Needless to say I'm smiling ear to ear.

On a whim I grow both Smarag's head as well as…I've decided I'm going to call him Jeff. I grow both dragon heads out of my back and have them curl over my shoulders, doing my best ghidorah impression.

After a sufficient amount of flexing and self-worship I put them away, and that's when I hear Rennala.

"Where did thee flee, my sweetings?" She calls. I turn to see her at the center of the room, still cradling the amber egg. "Come out from whence ye hide, there are books and light aplenty."

"They're gone Rennala." I tell the woman as I approach, "they were never even really here."

"Dither not; Come out say I!" The woman called in a soft voice, completely ignoring me. "Or will ye be gravestones? To be better born anew?" She finished and then went silent, staring off into space.

I took another step close. "Rennala?" I asked.

The last queen of Caria looked up at me. "Ah…thou… Is it thy wish to be born anew? To become a sweeting, reborn of my beloved egg?"

I stared down at the broken woman, and withheld a sigh. She was still a little touched in the head, huh? Guess it was just a bit much to hope the stamp effects would work instantly.

Well, looks like I'd have to try and help her out of her mental funk by myself. Step one.

"Rennala, I think you need to put the egg down." I told the woman as I shrunk down just a tad.

"Ahh…be not alarmed, nor afeared. I would birth thee as a sweeting, fair and fine." She said to me, still lost in lala land.

"Rennala, no that's not-" I stopped and withheld another sigh. Right. "Rennala, I think you should give me the egg."

When I finished that thought Rennala looked at me. I mean really looked at me. This was perhaps the first time I had seen some, I don't want to say life, but this is the first time she's been focused.

Her hands moved to clutch the egg more protectively. " thy wishes to take my beloved?" She spoke with a slight waver in her voice.

This time I couldn't withhold my sigh. "Its not your beloved Rennala. It's just an egg he gave you as a consolation prize when he walked out the door. You need to acknowledge that, because this isn't healt-." …And she was no longer listening. It's like the second I brought up Radagon she just..shut down.

Ok, fuck this.

"Rennala, give me the egg." I tell her as my hands reach out and grab ahold of it. The woman tightens her grip, and actively started resisting.

"No! No! Not my beloved!" She cried with tears as she wrestled with me for it. I let go at the extreme reaction, raising my hands in the most placating way I could.

"Ok ok ok!" I rushed out. "You can relax. I won't take your egg." I told her. She immediately curled in on herself, nuzzling against the egg. She was whimpering, and started whispering sweet nothings to it. All in all it was a disconcerting sight.

Jesus, what was I thinking with that one? I was basically dealing with a mental patient here. Taking away her most treasured possession wouldn't help, even if it wasn't healthy for her to be so attached to.

Perhaps even more than I thought if what the turtle pope says is true about the consequences of breaking vows made at the church. This might not be something I was able to help with. I might just be better off waiting out the three days and seeing if the stamp fixes everything for me.

Immediately, I'm shaking my head at that thought. I'm already here now and I have no idea how the stamp even really functions beyond press it down, it just works.

I have to try and help Rennala, even if it's futile. For one thing, it's the right thing to do. I might not give a damn about most people in the lands between, but Rennala was mine now and didn't deserve the hand she was dealt. Moreover, I needed her.

Learning magic by myself was possible, but barely. It would only work out because I had a theoretical infinite number of years to learn and practice. Without a teacher, I would probably need every last one of em to figure it out.

Furthermore, I needed allies. Powerful allies. Every tarnished in the land was out for my head and now it would be two great runes instead of one as the grand prize for killing me. The second that All seeing prick caught wind of me having two he'd be sending his goons and directing everyone my way. I was simply to juicy a target to pass up. My only advantage here was that it was unlikely he knew where I was. He definitely had heard by now that I ditched stormveil. He might assume that I'd come here, but he wouldn't make any moves until he had confirmation.

He wasn't the only threat either. Tarnished weren't the only ones after my runes. Every demigod in the land would kill me for them just the same. The one exception is possibly Morgott, but I can easily predict at how that encounter might play out: Submit to his authority or die.

Like I would ever bow to that sewer baby omen. Curse the veiled monarch, and his pedo-incest loving brother too. Marika should have had them tossed into the sea. Morgott may have been the last of all kings, but he would never be mine.

Every other demigod was either mad or wanted me dead.

Actually the mad ones would kill me on sight, so really it was just all of them who wanted me dead. The only one I wasn't sure of was Ranni, and that's only because I don't know if the illusion battle I fought just now was her active intervention or a trap she left for anyone who would try to harm her mom.

Either way, she was gonna want me gone. Even if she would be relieved that I didn't kill her mother, I can't imagine her being happy about what would be happening once that stamp kicked in.

But that's all stuff for later. Right now I need to find a way to help Rennala, figure out the full layout of this library, and find myself some proper pants. Not necessarily in that order, but necessarily enough.

I grow two more arms out of my sides, and use them in conjunction with all the left arms to bring Rennala into a five arm princess carry. The woman gave some mild protest, but as long as I didn't touch the egg she didn't seem to fight too hard. It was sad, but maybe for the better? If this woman had her faculties right now she'd probably try and cut me in half .

When I had the Carian royal secure I raised back up to my 'full' height and looked around the room. Growing back to max size, I scanned the library for any kind of door that wasn't just back outside.

There had to be some kind office or other sort of room here right? Rennala had been locked away here, and I doubt her knight would have been ok with it if there hadn't been some form of amenities available to her.

"Don't suppose you could tell me how I might navigate this place?" I asked the woman in my arms. She briefly looked back up at me.

"Is it thy wish to be born anew? To be reborn as a fair and fine sweeting?" She asked, eyes still wide and unfocused.

I just sighed again. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that." I said aloud, turning back to my search.

Three days until the stamp presumably did its job. I would just have to manage on my own until then.

"Come on Rennala" I tell the woman a bit pointlessly, "let's go find somewhere to bathe. You smell musty as fuck". I wasn't even lying about that either. I frequently play around with people's body parts and insides which smells a lot worse, so it wasn't putting me off, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either.

The woman frowned at that, and though she didn't look up at me it was almost like she was glaring. Like she actually took offense to that. I smiled.

Maybe there was some hope for her yet.

there it is. Sorry for the delay, I hope it was worth the wait.