Those Beyond Death

by Shaneman17

Just as the Age of Fire ended, so to did the Age of Dark. Existence was born anew, guided by the grace of gold. Yet not all things of the previous ages were left in the past. One being had done the impossible and escaped the cycle, bound to neither the Light or Dark. He was a bearer of the curse, a conquer of adversity, a true monarch. He was beyond death.

Again, I am starting a story when I have others to be working on. Damn you muse. Anyways I was playing the Dark Souls trilogy, and I came to a shocking realization. 2 is actually really good and fun. Gasp! No, seriously it gets an undeserved bad rep and the one thing I love is that it focuses less on us trying to save the world and on the far more personal goal of trying to save ourselves from the Undead Curse and going Hollow. Our character also has the unique ability of being truly immortal due to the power of the King's crowns if you beat all the DLC. Now enough jabbering, on with the fic!

Chapter 1: Out of the Dark

Those who feared the Dark did not truly understand it.

They feared that something was waiting for them in the dark even though there is nothing that was not already there when there was light. They feared losing one of their most valuable senses, but if you waited long enough, your body would adapt to help you. They feared the unknown, which was understandable, but most forget that we have known the dark from birth all the way to our grave.

The Dark was peaceful, tranquil, calm and beautiful in its own way. Much like sleep, it was a time of rest, where all the troubles of the previous age are washed away. The problem is that most confuse it with the Abyss.

The Abyss was deep, oppressive and vile beyond compare. It was the home of madmen, beasts and monsters with forms so twisted you could not be faulted for not realizing they had once been human. The Abyss was humanities fears, sins and sorrows made manifest. To fear the Abyss was both natural and reasonable, though it did irk me when people couldn't understand the differences between it and the Dark.

Those that lived in the light of the First Flame did not understand, though their ignorance could be excused since the gods had lied to them about it for eons. The gods feared the Dark because it had meant losing their power, so they lied to humanity and proclaimed that the ancient being known as the Father of the Abyss had come from the Dark and it should be feared. The truth was that that ancient man had only come to be because he was a being of Dark forced to suffer in the Light. Shadows do not exist within the Dark, only when the light of a fire is cast do shadows come to be and it is in that light does the Dark of the shadows twist and writhe, forming shapes that were never meant to exist. What once was tranquil still becomes a violent storm that lashes out against everyone. And the brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore. The Age of Fire is long dead, for no matter how brilliant the flame it shall eventually fade and die.

When the world ended, I had greeted it in the only place that had ever felt like home. In the long forgotten kingdom that no one could remember the name of, there was a small village that had once been known as Majula. The once crumbling buildings had been worn down until nothing but dust remained, the inhabitants long scattered or gone hollow and I was the only one to remember it even existed. The monument that had once sat at the edge of a cliff had at some point fallen into the sea, now the edge of the cliff came up to the old bonfire where I sat.

The fire flickered in the dying light of the sun as it set behind the sea. I knew the fire was fading again, I could feel the dark in my soul stirring as the light waned once more, but I knew this would be different. The world had been suffering for far too long, existence as it was was fraying at the seams. In a way the world was much like humanity, it had died long ago when the Lord of Light fed himself to the flame, and it died again each time another became the Lord of Cinder. Every time it became more and more hollow until it would finally succumb to the curse.

I took a deep breath as the sun set and the bonfire began to shrink and die. With a heave, I stood up and dusted myself off and checked my gear. I had wanted to greet the new age looking my best. The black and silver Drakeblood gauntlets and leggings were polished to a beautiful shine, the Llewellyn chestpiece was tight, any holes in the black cape had been masterfully patched and the crown of king Vendrick sat snuggly on my head.

The bonfire surged to life for a moment, a last gasp of life before all light and warmth disappeared. The rays of twilight disappeared, and the night sky darkened to a black so deep it could swallow all of existence. I felt my soul roil and strain against the ring of flame as it struggled against the growing dark. The crown atop my short black hair flashed with a brilliant white light and I let out a gasp. I felt as my soul settle as it stopped struggling for dominance, the ring of flame and the dark soul briefly separated from each other before coming together once more. No longer in conflict, but in cooperation, in symbiosis. The dark was my soul, but the flame was no longer my shackle or cage, but my armor.

In the first time in my existence, my soul felt at peace, and I smiled.

So, with my heart feeling lighter than it had ever been, I stepped out into the dark.

O

I wandered for a long time.

Days, months, years, centuries and millennia passed in the blink of an eye. In the dark time and space were relative and reality was formless.

There had been many wonders and horrors in the darkness. Thriving communities of humans who had taken to the dark like a fish to water, and vicious beats who proved that the abyss was still there just under the surface. Yet no matter how long I wandered and what grand civilizations I witnessed, I knew it was just a husk of what should have been.

Humanity had been horribly scarred and by the time the Age of Dark had begun, there were hardly any humans left. Eons after committing the First Sin, Gwyn's curse had still held strong, driving the majority of humanity to a fate worse than death as we hollowed and lost ourselves. To lose one's memories, sense of self and will to go on was a fate that none deserved, save maybe the very gods who had branded the Ring of Fire on humanity. Those that had remained were a shadow of once was, taking this time to rest and recover from the trials and hardships they had suffered during the Age of Fire.

I hated it.

The Gods were dead and yet still we suffered from their actions. In the Dark, we should have been building kingdoms the likes of which existence had never seen, delving into magics and forces beyond comprehension, to live our lives to the fullest. We should have RULED!

But no, we could only recover our strength. It was in those moments did I truly comprehend just how different I was to others. I wished to create and conquer while others sought rest and recovery. I truly was removed from the cycle. Still, I wandered the formless dark for eons more, ever moving and never stopping to rest, for I feared I may never rise again. It was like that for countless lifetimes until all at once, everything changed once more.

At first, I felt the flow of energy pass over me like a breeze. So faint I could hardly notice it. Then after a while it increased into a strong wind. It was an odd sensation, and I could not understand what I was feeling until a memory surfaced and I realized what it was. Heat. I was feeling heat and warmth flowing across my body. It was such a novel sensation that I simply stood there, relishing the sensation that I had almost forgotten even existed. I stood there for who knows how long and as I did, I could feel the heat slowly growing and the flow of energy increasing until it matched, then surpassed the winds of a hurricane.

The energy flowed somewhere in the distance and as I watched, I could see tiny flames dancing across the darkness, like embers, linked by lords past. Then the embers drifted towards one another, joining as one until they formed a flame greater and brighter than any before. The light intensified and all at once the fire collapsed and exploded with a force so great that even this far away, it swept me off my feet and flung me an uncountable distance. As I recovered, I watched as before my eyes the flames coalesced and took shape. Then they formed into something I had never thought I would see again.

Stars.

Millions, billions, trillions and then uncountable stars came into existence. It was beautiful beyond compare. I smiled as continued walking the formless dark, no longer wandering but now with a destination in mind.

I would become a part of that new age, no longer just a shadow of the last. It would take time to get there, but I was a human. Nothing would stop me from getting what I wanted. No gods, no kings nor the will of fate and destiny would get in my way.

O

It had taken uncountable years to get there, but in the darkness between the stars, that meant little to me.

Existence had come again and as I approached the distant light, I stumbled upon creatures that had not been before. Some were humanoid, but their skin had been made of either pale or dark stones such as alabaster or onyx. They had had the peculiar ability to casually manipulate gravity on a small scale, and I was tempted to see if I could learn to do the same, but I did not wish to delay my arrival any more than I had to, so I carried on.

Other creatures had been rather unpleasant to behold, spindly and formed from discarded rocks with four large insect like wings growing from their back. The more vile attributes were the long malnourished arms that hung uselessly at their side and the mimicry of a human face with a single eye peering out of the forehead. Then there were the two large mandibles jutting from its mouth that looked as if they could effortlessly cut a man in half. I took the opportunity to slay such vile malformed creatures whenever I came across them. They had similar gravitational abilities to the humanoids but were far more primitive and wild, easily outsmarted and felled.

I passed by stars of all colors and sizes and around them were celestial bodies teeming with the potential for life. Yet for some reason I continued on as something else called to me. Deeper and deeper into the cosmos I went, following an almost imperceptible flow of energy until eventually I saw a world of blue and green orbiting a yellow gold sun. It was from that world did energy flow out, affecting the rest of reality. It was a world at the center of existence and in a way, it was my home reborn.

I made my way through the formless dark and approached the world. As I did so I felt energy form around me, as if a dozen eyes from beings I could not see had finally taken notice. I ignored their stares, if whatever they belonged to proved malicious, they would be dealt with in time.

As I walked, I noticed I could hear my footsteps, and a glance down revealed that at some point the formless road I had walked had become the dark grey of scarred stone. Looking back up I could no longer see the world, instead all I could see was an all-encompassing fog. I briefly wondered if this was some beings attempt to counter my progress but thought better of it. Then out of the fog I saw something I had not seen in millennia. A light. I mote of golden light that illuminated the fog as it drifted through the air. It was coming towards me. As it approached, I saw that it was a smaller than I thought, no larger than an ember from a fire.

I was tempted to avoid the light but decided that confronting the unknown force was better than simply running away. So, I reached out with my gauntleted hand and grasped the light.

The energy that flowed through me as I did so was powerful, in way a way I had felt many times in the past. That miniscule light had been a fragment of the divine, a piece of a god, and no minor deity either. There was weight in that golden light, as well as an offer. The being had grown tired of this world, considering it far more trouble than it was worth. It had long ago ceased all contact, but its influence still persisted. The god no longer wished to rule, merely wander the cosmos. It was also leaving behind an empty throne. It was holding the door open for me and wishing me luck.

I got the impression that its thoughts and mindset was far more foreign and alien than what most people could understand. Yet for whatever reason, I did. It had sought to rule over the land, but no doubt it had vastly underestimated the chaos that was existence, that those it ruled over would act in ways it could not predict or understand. It had taken up the crown and found itself wanting. I understood that feeling because in a way I had once found myself in that exact same position. I had stood before the Throne of Want, the responsibility of linking the fire or letting it die had been thrust upon me by fate, and instead I had chosen to walk away. I did not care if the world had lived or died, I had just wanted to live a life free of the undead curse. I had chosen to free myself from the cycle, and now this being was doing much the same.

So, what did that mean for me? This god with all its power couldn't handle this world, what hope did I have?

Well for starters I was human and we were a stubborn lot, often to the point of insanity. And amongst a species as stubborn as humanity I was proud to say that I was a cut above the rest. It was because of my unbreakable will that I had conquered foes who possessed the souls of gods and claimed the king's crown. If this world proved just as inhospitable as my old one, then I would just have to prove that was not one to break easily.

As the golden energy finished settling in my body, a doorway made of light opened before me, bathing the fog in its golden rays. I marched forward and without fear, stepped into the light.

O

When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was inside a building. The smell of dust and rotten wood assaulted my nose, and the whistling of wind filled my ears. I glanced around and couldn't hold back a sigh as I slumped a little.

"My first moments in a new world and it's in a dilapidated chapel with a corpse. Fantastic."

The chapel had no doubt once been a beautiful place, but that time had long passed. It was dark, the stone altar was covered in several layers of dust, old wooden chairs were scattered about as if thrown, and bookcases contained books that long yellowed and look as if a single touch was all it would take to fall apart. Finally, off in the far-right corner near the large wooden doors was the body of what looked like a woman. As I made my way towards her, I noticed that she was dressed in a manner similar to the priestesses of my old world, though hers were dirty and bloodstained. Based on the large wound in her abdomen, it had been a violent end. In her hand she clutched an old decaying severed finger. Plucking it from her death grip, I felt the magic radiating off the finger and realized it was almost exactly like my white soap stone. I shrugged my shoulders before tossing it away. Though if that was meant to leave messages then…ah there it was.

Down near her feet was a message written in white glowing letters. "'Though the path be broken and uncertain, claim your place as Elden Lord!' Elden Lord? Is that what they call their king?" The image of an empty throne flashed through my mind again. I dispelled that thought before standing back up. "You certainly had high hopes for someone. May your everlasting soul find peace." I said with a small bow.

With that out of the way, I made my way towards the double doors and flung them open. Their rusted hinges squeaked in protest the entire time. Then I stepped outside for the first time in eons.

It was nighttime and the sky overhead was full of clouds that looked as if they could release a deluge of rain at any moment. There was also a strong and steady wind that pulled on my heavy cloak. The courtyard was much like the chapel itself, decrepit and ruined with crates and barrels scattered everywhere, long turned brittle. However, the thing that had captured my attention was the tree that looked larger than most mountains, its trunk and branches shining a glorious pale gold. High up above, the leaves were all different hues of yellow and orange and created a deep golden light that felt as if I was standing underneath the sun. It was a thing of beauty, of majesty and grandeur. It may not have been as tall as the archtrees from the Age of Ancients, but it was far more magnificent. Its golden rays shined down upon the land and falling golden leaves drifted on the wind. It felt…it felt…

"Divine." I said as my eyes widened in realization. It was the work of the divine, and I had an inkling as to which deity was the creator of such a spectacle.

I gazed up at the cloud covered sky, trying to peer at the cosmos above. "You may be long gone, but your creations and deeds still persist after all this time. Where have I heard that one before?" I said sarcastically to no one. The cycle continues, it would seem.

Making my way forward, I came across an old wood staircase that hung over the edge of a cliff. It appeared the chapel was on top of some tall outcropping off the coast of the mainland. In the distance I could see the towers and turrets of a large and well-fortified castle. If there had ever been something connecting the two, I couldn't see it which left me wondering how I was going to get down from here.

I continued on my way and crossed an old rope bridge, though it was thankfully short and unlike past experiences I didn't see any dragons flying about, so that was a plus. Making my way to another outcropping, I stopped just short of an archway that led into a large open graveyard.

"Nice try world, you'll have to try harder than that to blindside me." I said as I reached behind me and opened up the bottomless box attached to my belt. With the box open, I sent a small amount of my will into the box and the box responded by emitting a grey mist that flowed around me, quickly taking shape and solidifying in less than a second. One moment I stood there empty handed and the next I was holding my weapons of war.

In my right hand was a massive great shield of peculiar make. Most shields were made from wood, hardened leather or metal. This shield had once belonged to a knight of Havel and was made of solid stone. Wrapped in several steel chains, the stone was an unyielding wall that could stop almost any attack. It also served as a formidable bludgeon. In my right hand was an ultra greatsword, its blade was as long as I was tall and so thick it crushed as well as sliced. Its hilt and fuller were beautifully engraved with shining silver that stood out against the rest of the dark blade. The sword itself was made of metal so black that it seemed to devour the light. The Black Cryptsword was a monster of a weapon that was positively dripping with Dark and it had not once failed me in all these millennia.

I gave the blade a few test swings before I was satisfied. With my tools in hand, I stepped through the archway and into the graveyard.

"Alright world, do your worst."

The graveyard was much like the chapel, in ruins. The graves were marked by horizontal slabs of stone with a wall surrounding the area, though a rather large portion of the wall had collapsed along with the ground and fallen into the sea. The only true thing of note was a large statue of a woman at the other end of the area. She was a beautiful woman wearing a long flowing dress and her face was framed by her long hair held in two braids. The right went down to her thigh and the left was much shorter and only went to her breast, though I did notice a small crown resting on her head. Her arms were raised above her head at an odd angle, as though she were being held up by some unseen shackles. Finally, there was a strange swirling circular design behind her, framing her form. I scowled at the statue, somehow deep in my soul I knew what that woman was.

A god.

I felt a simmering rage brewing and it came as relief as the hidden foe I was expecting made itself known as a large form shot into the air from behind the statue and landed in front of me with a massive crash.

The being that attempted to ambush me was a large being, with its main body hidden underneath a decorated drape that was being used as makeshift clothing. From underneath the cloth protruded half a dozen limbs made up severed human arms and legs, somehow attached through no doubt magical means. Two limbs on the right held a pair of gold ornamental straight swords while a limb on the left held a dull gold shield with the image of a lion on its front. The final part of the creature that caught my attention was its head. Sticking out of the front of the creature was the upper torso of a young grey haired child, though they looked androgynous and I could not tell whether it had been born a boy or a girl. Though it ultimately did not matter as no child should have so much hate in their eyes.

It glared at me for a moment before unleashing an ear-piercing screech from its throat before rushing at me, its blades aimed to skewer me. It put all its power behind that thrust, its stolen limbs straining as it sought to end my life. I in turn simply raised my shield, planted my feet and waited. The creature was so determined and sure of itself that its look of shock as its blades not only failed to pierce my shield but didn't make me move an inch, almost made me laugh. Before the thing could pull back, I lifted my shield and slammed it into the creature's face, resulting in a crunch, several teeth being sent flying and another screech. The creature stumbled back and before it could recover, I swung the cryptsword upward and the creature was thrown back with a spray of blood. It landed on its back, its limbs flailing in panic. I was somewhat reminded of an insect.

"So, what madman created you?" I asked the creature as it got back onto its…well I was going to say feet but several of those limbs were just made of arms.

"You dare insult my lord?!" the thing hissed and a scratchy high-pitched voice.

"Oh, you speak? I had assumed you nothing but a rabid beast." And I could see that my words just made the thing even angrier.

"How dare You?! I am no mere beast, I am a Scion of Gold, blessed by Godrick the Golden and imbued with his Grace! Though I suppose a Tarnished like yourself wouldn't know anything about being blessed now, would you?" it said with a nasty looking smile, as if its words should have been an insult towards me.

Now what was tarnished and why had it mistaken me for one? I suppose it was no matter for now, just something I would have to investigate later.

"No, I would not, as I have lived a cursed life for as long as I can remember. Though if to become as you is what is considered a blessed life then I would gladly remained cursed. Now if we could please go back to killing each other, I have places to be and a lord to meet. If this Godrick would make an abomination like you then it would be best for everyone if I were to relieve him of his head."

My words had struck the final nerve, and the scion lashed out once more. A simple backstep took me out of reach of its blades and I continued backwards as it pressed the advantage. Eventually its attacks lost steam and when it attempted to pull back, I struck with a heavy overhead swing. The abomination saw it coming and raised its shield to block it. Unfortunately for the creature, it vastly underestimated the strength behind the blow. The shield was an old thing decorated with gold and against the dark blade, it didn't stand a chance. The shield crumpled under the blow and was split almost in half from top to bottom. And based on the spray of blood, the scream of the scion and the way the shield fell to the ground, I had also relieved the monster of its hand.

With the scion momentarily stunned, I dispelled the cryptsword into mist and my now empty hand burst into flames. The heat built in my grasp and with a wave of my hand I unleashed a great combustion that engulfed the monster. Its mock clothing caught fire, and I saw the thing's face begin to redden and bubble. The screech it let out was louder than any it had made before and it backed away as fast as its limbs could carry it. I let the fire in my hand go out as my sword rematerialized and I let it rest on my shoulder and waited to see what the scion would do.

The monster recovered, though I could see exposed muscle and bone on its limbs and half its face was a blackened mess. With its two right arms, it took its blades and scraped them against each other, a magical golden sigil appeared in the air and then the blades were wreathed in a golden light. The monster then gathered its strength and leapt high into the air and then came crashing down right where I was standing, intending to both crush me under its weight and skewer me with its enchanted blades.

I smirked at its idiocy. Leaping into the air was the stuff of fools as once you were in the air, you were at the mercy of physics and could not dodge. Within the span of a second, I had placed my shield on my back and gripped my ultra greatsword with both hands and thrust it into the air, the point facing upwards.

In the next moment I felt the scion slam into my blade with so much force that if I hadn't been as strong as I was I would have collapsed under its weight. Thankfully my body held strong and the only thing to break was the stone under my feet. As I stood there, I felt a pain in my left collar bone and a glance to the side revealed that one of those enchanted blades had still managed to hit me and about half of its blade was buried in my chest. Thankfully as an undead, mortal wounds were of little concern, though the same couldn't be said for my opponent. The scion had been completely impaled and I felt its blood beginning to fall on me.

With a grimace, I swung my blade and watched as the monster was thrown loose and skipped along the ground like a stone across water before coming to a stop when it slammed into the right-hand wall. I was somewhat surprised as I heard the monster groan in pain and then attempt to stand, only to fall back to the ground. I yanked the golden sword from my collarbone as I approached the dying scion and tossed it aside.

"You know I ought to thank you. It has been quite some time since I had a real fight, and it was awfully kind of you to help me work off the rust. Now to repay you, let me give you a quick death." I said as I planted my sword into the ground and once again my hand burst into flames. I channeled even more of my will into the flames than I did last time and launched a large ball of red fire at the downed monster. Pyromancy was a deadly form of magic, destructive and capable of burning a regular human to smoldering husk within seconds. Chaos pyromancy took it a step further by being capable of instantly melting stone. As the chaos fireball slammed into the scion's face, it didn't even have time to scream as it was vaporized and the ground around it bubbled as the stone was turned into lava.

I let out a sigh as I turned away from the dead monster to stare up at the stone face of the goddess statue. I was half tempted to throw another fireball at the deity and reduce it to molten rock as well. In the end I knew it would accomplish nothing, so I just let the flame in my hand die out.

"Just who are you my fair goddess? And just what is that tree for?"

It does not matter what it for, you should just cut that eyesore down. Better yet, burn it down and rid us of that vile light.

I rolled my eyes as I turned away from the statue and towards where I had heard the feminine voice come from. There near the cliff stood four women, three of which almost twice as tall as I was with the fourth only slightly shorter than me.

The first was beautiful with golden hair done up in a small bun and wore a silk dress as white as fresh snow with holden accents. She was regal and embodied everything one would expect of a queen, though if one looked close enough there was a darkness in her eyes that could put the night sky to shame. The second was nowhere near as attractive as the first, though there was an air of authority to her. Her long white hair was matted and greasy, her purple dress had obviously once been beautiful but was now filthy and covered in muck. Her skin was dirty and, in some places, appeared to have rotted away to reveal the fat and muscle underneath. Her eyes burned a poisonous green and contained a fury no mortal could ever match. The third had hair as black as soot that was a wild and tangled mess yet seemed to blow with the breeze. Her dress was as black as her hair but unlike the other two it resembled a wedding dress that smoldered in certain places, with the smoke forming a sort of veil. Her skin was as pale as ash and her eyes literally burnt with a longing so deep it threatened to steal your very soul. The last had her long straight black hair falling in a way that covered her eyes but left her kind face exposed. Her long white robes were left open and hung in a way that exposed her cleavage and stomach yet managed to keep her modesty, if barely. A white loincloth was all she had to cover her lower body though she did have a dozen silver bracelets on her arms and a beautiful, intricate yet fragile looking silver crown sat on her head. Her skin was also pale but far healthier and more natural looking and unlike the other three, there was a small yet genuinely happy smile on her lips.

Nashandra, Elana, Nadalia and Alsanna. The dark queens. Also, my not so willing soulmates.

Millenia ago I had made the rather poor decision to take their souls into mine to gain strength rather than use them in creating a spell with Straid or a weapon with Ornifex. It hadn't been until after I had decided to abandon the Throne of Want that I had found out just how different their souls truly were. It had turned out that even after being absorbed by my own soul, they managed to persist after their deaths.

"Ah if it isn't my fair maidens. It's been a long-time ladies, how have you been?" I asked them as I leaned on my shield.

We have been well Lord, though the others would never admit it. Alsanna said. The age of dark was like a lullaby, soothing us into a deep slumber and we are well rested.

Sleep was not what the new age should have been. Nashandra said as she glared at her smaller sister who didn't look at all worried. It should have been a time of conquest, of glory and a time to grind those that had wronged us under heel. Humanity should have been united underneath the power of a Dark Lord, not hidden away like a frightened child!

I scoffed at the queen of Drangleic's words and her head snapped towards me with fury in her dark eyes.

"Oh please, we all know what you really want. You wanted to take the Throne of Want for yourself so you could plunge the world into the Abyss with you as its lord and master. Though considering how easily you fell to my blade, you wouldn't have made a particularly impressive monarch. Of course that shouldn't have come as any surprise, you always had been the weakest and smallest of the fragments." I said with a vicious grin.

The child of dark glared at me with hate in her eyes and in an instant her form had changed. No longer was she a thing of beauty, but a thing of horror. Her dress rotted away to reveal skin that was pulled so tight that I could see her bones. Her skin darkened to an oily black, hair fell out and was replaced by long cords of bone that resembled vertebrae and fingers lengthened to unnatural proportions. Finally, the skin on her face was pulled so tight that it was torn in half, revealing the grinning white skull underneath, her eye sockets filled with a dark so black they looked like they were more akin to holes in reality.

"Oh good, you're not trying to pretend anymore."

Be quiet you incessant fool. This is all your fault! Had you not stopped me, I would have granted humanity the destiny it had rightly deserved! Yet not only did you stop me, but you also had the gall to walk away from the Throne, to deny humanities fate!

I dropped my grin and glared back at her. "You would have led us all to ruin and damnation you stupid bitch, just like you did with Drangleic! And who are you to speak of fate? I was the one being dragged along at fate's whims when all I wanted was to be released from my curse. Instead of finding salvation, I found those who would lie and manipulate me, attempting to blind me with promises of power and glory so that I would forget my original purpose. Had I not listened to Vendrick's words, I would have been a slave to fate and never had the strength to become a true monarch, to look at the choice between light and dark and decide I would refuse the choice at all. Let some other fool damn the world, light or dark didn't matter in the end and damn you for even thinking otherwise. We were damned the moment the First Sin was committed against us. Now be gone you shadow, I have a world to explore."

With the force of my will, Nashandra disappeared into black mist and faded into the background of my soul, a silent observer for the moment. I glanced at the other three and raised an eyebrow at them.

Elana just scoffed before turning into a dark muck that quickly faded out of existence. Nadalia flashed me what I assumed was meant to be a sultry smile but instead looked like something out of a nightmare before collapsing into a pile of ash that blew away on the wind. That just left me and Alsanna. She approached me with silent footsteps, looking at me with concern.

You let your anger get the best of you. I would ask you to be mindful of that. Such volatile emotions if given free reign lead to naught but to ruin

"I know that, but you are also aware of just how much her very presence gets on my nerves." I said standing up straight. Alsanna nodded at me before looking behind me at the golden tree.

Do you truly wish to take up the mantle of leadership? To claim the throne of a god?

"What I wish is to see and experience this new world. To laugh, to cry, to live. After I have lived and believe that the world would be best under my guiding hand? Then yes, I would. I would choose to no longer be a king without a kingdom, to take up a throne I actually wanted."

Then I wish you luck and happiness. Just know that if you do seize the throne, then I ask of you to remember king's past, to learn from their successes and their follies. Choose what kind of monarch you want to be.

"Don't worry miss oracle, I have plenty of experience to draw upon. Plus, if I wound up half the king your lord husband was, I would consider myself a ruler beyond compare." I said with a smile while she flashed me one of her own.

Flatterer. Was all she said before disappearing into a small storm of snowflakes.

With that conversation over with, I grabbed my weapon and put it and my shield back in the bottomless box. I made my way through the other side of the graveyard and over another rope bridge and onto another outcropping. I glanced at the large golden tree before turning back to the ledge and moved forward to see if I could spot way down.

"Alright world, let's see what else you have to offer."

Of course, it was about that time that the ledge collapsed under my feet, and I began plummeting to my death.

"Well fuck you to gravity!" was all that I managed to get out before I fell hundreds of feet and saw it was a rocky shore I was falling towards. I braced for impact and all at once I felt my body slam down, my bones breaking and splintering. Mercifully it only lasted a second before my head was cracked open and everything went black.

O

Melina was exhausted.

Not physically, as she had cast aside her original body long ago and her spirit body could never truly grow tired. No, it was her mind and spirit that had reached their limit. Her mission had not gone as she had expected, not even close. When she had first set out to find a tarnished who could take up the mantle of Elden Lord, she had expected to find them relatively quickly as there were a great many descendants of Godfrey and his warriors, and at first there had been. The problem was that most simply could not handle failure, to be defeated and killed only to arise once more and do it all over again broke the will of a great many warriors. Others had seen the state of the world, grew disheartened and abandoned their hopes, seeking other goals than lordship. Others still had had turned on each other, giving in to banditry, mindless bloodlust or even joining the forces with either the Lord of Blasphemy, or of Blood.

That had been decades ago, and things had only gotten worse. The lesser demigods had been all but wiped out leaving only the strongest, their Great Runes having been lost or broken. Fewer and fewer Tarnished were being raised from death, and the Lands Between had been forced into an unyielding status quo due to the machinations of theLord of Leyndell out of some misplaced love of the Golden Order.

Now, here she was returning to the Stranded Graveyard for the umpteenth time, her last tarnished having lost his will to fight after stumbling into the Stormhill Evergaol and been slaughtered by the Crucible Knight imprisoned within.

Riding atop Torrent, the grey haired and black horned spectral steed trotted along, completely uncaring of the morbid cave system they were traveling through. Melina and Torrent both had gotten quite used to the place with its dark interior, ankle deep water, the stone coffins of former tarnished. The hundreds of scattered bones having long been picked clean by scavengers. Melina sunk deeper into her heavy brown riding cloak, trying to stave off the chill. The only thing one could make out about her was the delicate nose, mouth and jawline that hinted at the beautiful woman hidden away.

They were wandering around for several minutes before Torrent came to a complete stop, his nose lifted into the air and taking in deep breaths as if searching for something.

"What do you sense Torrent? Another tarnished, so soon? To be honest, I think it best that we leave them be so that we may rest. Watching failure after failure does not do the mind good."

Torrent shook his head and snorted at her, making his opinions clear on the matter.

"Huh, fine. Let us see if your judgment is better than mine." She said as they carried on.

Soon they came upon a body, one with flesh still on its bones. The figure was face down in the shallow water, dressed all in black and for a moment she had taken him for a church confessor before getting a closer look at him. His limbs were encased in black plate armor with gleaming silver accents, his chest was covered by a simple but strong looking chest piece with a white furred collar and a long black cape. Finally sitting on top of his short black hair was a dark grey crown.

"Perhaps he thinks himself a lord already?" She asked as she dismounted Torrent and approached the tarnished and began to lean in.

"I suppose it doesn't matter what he was before, he still came here to seek the Elden Ring. He came even though it does violate the Golden Order."

"Oh what great sin have I committed now?" an exasperated voice said.

"Ah!" Melina let out a yelp as she stumbled back, almost falling on her rear in surprise. The tarnished groaned as he pushed himself on to his knees before getting to his feet.

"You are awake." She said with some surprise.

"Observant, aren't you?" The man dressed in black said sarcastically before dusting himself off.

Now that he was on his feet, Melina could actually see his face. His skin was noticeably pale, as though he hadn't seen the sun in quite some time. His facial hair on his strong jaw was just long enough to be considered a short beard and a scar ran across his nose, evidence of it being sliced open in the past. The thing that caught her attention the most was his eyes. In the Lands Between, eyes could come in a variety of colors with the most revered being gold, showing that one was blessed by Grace. There was only one color that did not appear, the same eyes the tarnished had. Purple eyes, shining like amethyst in the dark of the cave and behind the eyes was a power, one so deep it reminded her of…her own eye.

She was actually taken aback for a moment before collecting herself enough to respond. "I am sorry, I had assumed you would be unconscious longer than that. Most tarnished who experience death again after their resurrection take some time to recover."

The tarnished looked at her with some shock. "People are still cursed with undeath?!"

Melina raised her own eyebrow at his surprise, though the man couldn't see it. "Yes, but most would call it a blessing, a gift from the Erdtree and the Golden Order. You are tarnished, how do you not know this?"

"I've not been a part of the world for quite a long time. I can assure you whatever kingdom exists, no matter how ancient will be new to me. Ugh, is this how Straid felt?" The man asked with a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Melina nodded at that. Perhaps the Greater Will was running out of possible candidates among Godrey's kin? Mayhaps it had chosen someone from before the Golden Order existed, a hero from ages past perhaps. She couldn't spot any horns, scales or feathers so he was not of the Hornsent and certainly not of the Nox considering the color of his skin. Although there was a certain air of power to him and…yes perhaps he was of the Numen race. They were an ancient and mysterious people, long lived and seldom born, perhaps he was even kin to Queen Marika herself. She could work with this.

"Well you seem to be in good health, though your mental state remains to be seen. I assume you were slain by a powerful foe?"

"Powerful, merciless and a complete bitch. An old nemesis of mine and I swear upon my soul, I will find some way to beat that monster, once and for all!" he said with both rage and conviction in his voice. It sounded intensely personal, and Melina decided she was not touching that with a ten foot pole.

"I understand and will not pry further. However, I will offer you some advice, once you leave this place, follow the guidance of Grace. It will lead you to the Elden Ring." She said sagely.

"I have literally no idea what that is." Was his blunt reply.

Rather than being offended at his remark, she actually chuckled at his honesty. "Perhaps not now, but you will. Either way I wish you luck and would offer this," she said pulling out a flask decorated with golden roots and tree iconography, filled with a brilliant red liquid. "as a welcoming gift to the Lands Between."

The man nodded as he took the flask from her. "I've never been one to turn down a gift. I thank you miss…?"

"Melina. And you?" Was her reply.

"My name is Rex…of Tenebris."

"Well, Rex of Tenebris, I bid you goodbye and good luck upon your journey." Melina said as she got onto the back of Torrent and began to walk away, only to disappear into blue particles.

Rex stared at where she had disappeared before letting out another sigh as he put away his new flask.

"Here we go again." Was what he said before approaching what appeared to be a spirit sitting in chair right in front of a hole in a floor. Nearby was a small golden tree that gave off enough light to reveal a stone staircase lined with statues leading up to a set of doors. The undead look back and forth between his two options, considering.

"Easy way or hard way." He said before shrugging. "Eh, I was never one for taking the easy path."

Then he leapt into the unknown.

O

"Vile tarnished, you shall go no further! Thy kind are undeserving of the Grace of Gold and are fit only for my lords grafting. You will fall to my blade this day, I swear it on my honor as a Soldier of God-!"

The man in the green an orange surcoat never got to finish his speech as an arrow buried itself in his forehead and fell backwards into the shallow water with a splash.

I let out a sigh as I put away the black and gold Dragonrider bow away. The cave had been nothing but a disappointment, not a single one of those men in the cave had put up anything resembling a proper fight. Though I did get to try out the red flask Melina had given me earlier when I let one of the soldiers slash my chest. It had worked much like estus, mending my flesh in seconds. Though rather than tasting like one would expect liquid fire to taste like, it reminded me of warm tree sap with a slightly sweet aftertaste. Thanks to my own personal brand of magic, I could use a form of psychometry to reveal information about an object and the flask was apparently filled with what was called Crimson Tears. Based on the name and the flask itself, I assumed it actually was sap, most likely from the 'Erdtree' Melina had mentioned. Either way I was glad to have more healing items on hand, could never have enough of those.

Making my way out of the cave, I came out onto a ledge overlooking the hole I had jumped down.

"Great, back where I started." I grumbled before jumping down and making my way up the stone steps, through the doors and into the next room. The room was mostly empty but off to the right was an archway that had been sealed off by a magical fog wall with a small statue of two little gargoyle looking things stacked on top of each other. I ignored all that in favor of the other feature of the room. The room itself was illuminated by torches and candles that burned a odd shade white, but in contrast to that cold light was strange wisp of golden energy that simply floated in place. The thing was that I felt a familiar power coming from the whisp, one that made me feel warm and safe. It reminded me of the long-extinguished bonfires.

With that comparison in my mind, I moved toward the golden light and reached out to touch it. I felt my magic flow through me and into the light, then something went wrong. The golden energy writhed in place and as I watched, black energy made its way across its surface, making it look like the gold had been shattered. The next moment, flames erupted from the cracks and quickly devoured the light. Gone was the golden wisp, in its place was a roaring flame with darkness running through its core.

It…it was beautiful.

I sat down before the dark flame and the cold of the cave completely disappeared. My body felt rejuvenated, and I could feel that whatever power there had been in the gold, it had been subsumed by my will. In a way, it was like I was staring into my own soul. I smiled as I got up from the…actually I didn't know what to call what I had accidentally created.

I supposed it didn't matter what I called it, so long as it served its purpose. I decided to investigate the fog wall, and I found that unlike in the past it was transparent, but it refused to give no matter how much I pushed against it. Rather than bang my head against the proverbial stone wall, I decided to see if I could find the switch for it which became rather obvious when I investigated the statues. There was a small square hole in each of their foreheads and I was reminded of the Pharros' Contraptionsfound across Drangleic, simply on a smaller scale. I was actually quite impressed with it and made myself a promise to look for the keys to this device. Nothing got me motivated quite like having a locked door keep me out, my curiosity wouldn't allow that.

Still, I couldn't get through right now, so it was probably best if I actually got out of here. Moving up the stairs I came to a circular stone platform surrounded by six columns, and at the center of the platform was a raised pressure plate. Almost like an…

"Elevator." I said out loud. "Hah, boy am I glad these stuck around."

Stepping on the plate, it pressed down, and the entire platform shot upwards and I found myself in yet another chamber, though one with a large iron door. I went over, grabbed the handle at the bottom and shoved the door upwards. To most it would been a great struggle to even get it to budge. To someone like me who casually swung around a sword that could best be described as a massive, thick and beyond heavy? The iron door slammed into the stone above with enough force to shatter it, knocking the door out of its frame and sending it crashing face down on the grass.

I winced at the accidental destruction before shaking my head and stepping outside.

The outside world was beautiful.

My old world had once been beautiful as well, full of life with all its ups and downs. Of course, there had been places of death and darkness but those had been the exception as opposed to the rule. But after so many centuries of constantly rekindling the dying flame, there had been nothing left but ashes. Cities became dead husks, kingdoms turned into graveyards and what wildlife existed had become twisted and the vegetation toxic. Truly the end of the age of fire had been a merciful death. Yet the world before me was nothing like the dying world that had once been, no it was beautiful and full of life. The grass was a beautiful shade of green, the trees with their yellow leaves blew in the gentle breeze, and the warm rays of the distant sun kissed my skin. Yes, there were also signs of past devastation considering the abundance dilapidated ruins that I could see from here, but it felt more like a healed scar that was just beginning to fade. I could even see deer and some type of ram grazing in the lush fields.

Standing before such a sight was truly glorious. I was so enthralled by the landscape that I hadn't even noticed that I was walking forward, my subconsciousness guiding my body to join in the splendor. Unfortunately, I was broken out of my reverie by a man's voice to my left, causing me to snap my head in his direction.

"Oh yes…Tarnished, are we? Come to the Lands Between for the Elden Ring, hmmm?"

The man was looked rather unsettling. He was dressed head to toe in what had once been white cloth and brown leather, though all of it now sported bloodstains, both long dry and relatively fresh. None of his kin was exposed as he wore a white grinning facemask and white cloth head covering that only revealed his dull grey eyes.

"Actually no, I'm just here to experience life once more. In fact, I don't even know what this Elden Ring I've been hearing about even is." I said and even though I couldn't see his face, I guessed it held a shocked expression.

"You do not know of the Elden Ring? Have you been living under a rock for the past few centuries?" He asked incredulously.

"Something like that." I gave him a nod. "Would you care to explain it to me? Also, what are you even doing out here by yourself?"

He just shook his head at me. "No, I'm afraid that would take too much time to explain in full. Know that it was the means through which Queen Marika the Eternal gained rulership and control of the world. As for why am here? I am merely doing a good deed, greeting the newly arrived tarnished and breaking the bad news to them early so that they would not go on and waste their time and effort. For you see, unfortunately you are now and forever shall be maidenless."

And just like that my good mood was gone and I scowled at the masked man. Never in my existence had I felt so insulted by something so true. It wasn't my fault I did not have a woman in my life! My earliest memories were of me be scorned and cast out due to my status as an undead, if not outright killed. Then I was exposed to the walking disasters that were the majority of the Dark Queens. Finally, the woman who had been with me throughout my journey, the one who I thought had by best interest in mind had actually been manipulating me from the start to mold me into a monarch who would defeat Nashandra and link the fire.

Needless to say, I had issues when it came to finding a significant other. Though I still didn't need it shoved in my face.

"You stand there, covered in blood, waiting for newly arrived and most likely newly resurrected tarnished, and you insult them in such a way? Do you have some sort of death wish? If so, I could grant it if you like." I said with gritted teeth.

The masked man tilted his head, as if confused before letting out a 'ah' of realization. "I'm sorry for the miscommunication. You must think me terribly rude. No, it was not a matter of one's love life I was referring to. I was in fact stating that you do not have a finger maiden with you, a woman blessed by Grace and servants to the Two Fingers. They hold the power to turn runes into strength, but you see there are no more finger maidens left. Without them, you are fated it seems, to die in obscurity."

Runes? What were…oh! I did recall absorbing more than souls when I killed those soldiers. They had felt similar to souls but were distinctly different. A soul was all the thoughts, emotions and will of a person or creature, the remains of oneself. These runes felt more grounded, real, like these runes spoke of the impact that one had on the world. Yet like souls it appeared that the runes could be used to better yourself. Souls and runes, fire keepers and finger maidens, the more things changed the more they stayed the same.

"There are worse fates. So I take it with all the finger maidens dead, all tarnished are stuck at various levels of power with no quick path to increasing it?"

"Correct, you shall remain at whatever strength you now possess. Though given your rather loud entrance," he said looking behind me at the broken door "I believe that shall not be an issue for you. So carry on you way if wish, the Lands Between is dangerous but full of potential. And if ever change your mind and seek the Elden Ring, simply follow the Grace and it will guide you to lordship." He said motioning towards another wisp of gold energy, only this one had a faint golden trail leading off into the distance.

"Huh, useful. I thank you for your information White Mask, but I must be off." I said as I began to walk away.

"Oh how rude of me, you may call me Varre."

"And I Rex of Tenebris." I shouted back to him.

"Well sir Rex, I do have one more piece of valuable information for you."

That actually got my attention, I stopped where I was and turned back to face him. "And that would be?"

I don't know how, but I knew he was grinning like a maniac underneath that mask of his. "Do be sure not to underestimate the Tree Sentinel."

"The Tree what?" was all I managed to get out before something heavy and sharp slammed into my left side and sent my flying through the air. My flight only lasted a second before was tumbling along the ground and slid face first for a few feet. Lifting myself up, I coughed up a mix of dirt, grass and blood before getting to my feet and turning to face whatever had attacked me.

I was not expecting a literal knight in shining armor.

He was a large man, covered from head to toe in glistening golden armor with a small tree functioning as his helmet plume. In his left hand was a massive circular golden greatshield, and in his left was an equally massive golden halberd. Knight sat upon a large warhorse who wore similar gold armor like its rider. He struck a rather imposing figure and was rather intimidating, or at least he would have been if I hadn't slain foes far more powerful than him.

"Sir knight, I wish to ask you something. Have you lost your mind or are you just an asshole? I was just standing there, what in the world would make you strike me without provocation?"

The knight let out scoff as he began trotting forward. "You are Tarnished. That is reason enough." Then he kicked his steed, and that trot turned into a galloping charge.

The sentinel came at me with an upward swing, but side stepped the attack and then rolled out of the way of the follow up downward smash. I watched as he pulled his weapon out of the ground before dashing off to gain distance for another attack. I could see how it was, despite his strength and power, he preferred guerrilla tactics. Striking and then retreating to a safe distance as quickly as possible. My cryptsword was a powerful weapon, but not particularly fast. Thankfully I was master of more than just a greatsword.

With an effort of will, I summoned another object from my bottomless box and held it at the ready. The thing I had summoned was a four foot long staff and unlike the rest of my arsenal, it was of my own design. I had had years to delve into the magics of Drangleic and one of the most useful and interesting had been the staves wielded by the Leydia witches. They had the ability to channel and cast sorceries, miracles and all types of hexes and using Aldia's research I had managed to take it a step further. I started out with the witchtree branch for its casting speed, then I flame hardened the wood until it was charred black while infusing it with the Leydian magic. Finally, a sphere of darknight stone was placed at its tip and infused with an ember of the Old Chaos, resulting in the ability to empower spells and resembling an eclipsed sun no matter what angle you looked at it. I had dubbed it the Eclipse Staff.

As the sentinel approached, I let loose a Resonant Soul, an orb of swirling black energy that flew through the air and struck him in his right shoulder, severely denting his pauldron and sending his attack off course and missing me completely. The sentinel saw that his attack had missed, so he brought his horse a stop, where it raised up on its back legs for a moment before bringing its front hooves down to trample me. Thankfully I saw the attack coming and I rolled to the left as it came down. As soon as I recovered, I cast a Dark Hail at close range and several small black orbs shot out from my staff. The orbs were small and individually were not all that powerful, but all of them striking a large target at close range? Devastating.

Most of the orbs struck the side of the horse and easily penetrated the gold armor, with one orb striking the knight's right leg. Both rider and steed let out cries of pain, but I knew that pain would lead to anger, and anger meant he was going to lash out again. I expected another strike from the halberd or another attempt to trample me. Instead, I was surprised when the horse leapt high into the air, twisted their form so they would both land on their side and attempted to crush me underneath the weight of his greatshield.

I was surprised, but not so surprised to let myself be crushed. I rolled backwards and was launched further away than wanted by the force of the blow. I recovered in time to watch the Tree Sentinel recover and gain distance again before charging at me once more.

"How in the world did he train his horse to do that?" I wondered to myself before channeling magic through my staff again.

I let loose three Dark Orbs at the charging foe and two struck its target, denting his helmet and cracking his chestpiece. The third one would have also hit had the knight not stopped his horse in its tracks, raised his shield and summoned a magic circle in front of the shield. The circle glowed a brilliant gold and depicted a tree, most likely the same one that loomed overhead. It consumed the Dark Orb in an instant and then unleashed a spear of golden energy that struck me in my chest. I could feel its tip attempting to pierce my armor but the titanite and geisteel reinforced chestpiece held true, though it did not stop the force behind the blow as I felt my ribs crack.

I let out a grunt of pain as I was pushed back, though I still kept myself on my feet. I glared at the Sentinel as he slowly approached me. I could almost feel the smugness radiating off of the rider.

"Don't get cocky, you got one lucky hit because you surprised me. It won't happen again." I said as I started walking to the side and we started circling each other.

"You know I was just thinking, you are obviously a powerful foe. Someone like you is usually stationed in forts or castles to better protect them, not out wandering the wilderness. Unless of course you're here for another reason?" I said, glancing back at the large temple that sat on top of the cave I had just exited. I noticed Varre standing there, never taking his eyes off me as I fought the Sentinel. "That's it isn't it? You are here find the tarnished that wander of the cave and crush their hopes before they can even get started on their journey. They are to the Lands Between, confused because they were newly resurrected and didn't have the time to gain strength and skill, so they are no more powerful than the average human. And here you are to grind them back into the dirt where they belong. On one hand I cannot help but admire that level of pragmatism, but on the other I do not believe the title of Tree Sentinel suits you. Oh, how about Golden Prick?" I asked as I shot him a mocking smirk.

The reaction was instantaneous, and the knight charged me with every intention of turning me into red paste.

I waited for the man to get halfway to be before I made a show of collecting dark energy in the tip of my staff and launching another Dark Orb at his head. Just like last time, he brought his horse to a stop and raised his enchanted shield. The hex was once more absorbed, and a spear of gold light came streaking through the air at me. This time I was ready for it.

I held my staff in both hands and just as the golden attack was about to hit, I thrust the Eclipse staff forward. The space in front of me was filled with a shapeless translucent black energy and as I watched, the world distorted, and directions became formless and malleable. As the golden spear struck the Twisted Barricade, the flow of its energy reversed and the attack was sent back from whence it came. Whatever magic the golden shield had, it was clearly not designed to handle its own power being turned against it as the energy completely bypassed the magic circle and slammed into its face. Gold was not the strongest metal and unless it was enchanted it made for poor armor. Since the magic attack ignored that enchantment, the gold took the full brunt of its power. Under that power, the shield buckled and warped, twisting in ways that would make it useless as a proper shield. The handle broke off in the sentinel hand and the greatshield fell to the ground a large thud.

The sentinel was just recovering from the attack when I sent out one last hex.

The writhing ball of shadows flew through the air and impacted its target, though that had not been the knight himself, but his steed. The warhorse was a large and obviously well-trained beast, but at the end of the day it was nothing more than an animal with a rather simple soul. So when the Whisper of Despair struck, that simple soul and animal mind was bombarded with feelings of fear, terror and hopelessness as the dark energies seeped into their form and weakened the body. Normally I used it against powerful foes to weaken them, but this time I expected something more. The horse was a prey animal, fighting was something that had to be trained for it to do or done as a last resort, its natural instinct when threatened is to run. When the hex struck its soul, all that training went out the window.

The horse immediately lost all sense of calm and started bucking and screaming in pure terror. The Tree Sentinel who had only just recovered from my last attack was doing everything in his power to stay atop his mount and nothing he tried could calm the warhorse down. In its panic to flee, the horse did what it was trained to do and jumped high into the air, only this time, instead of landing on its side, it landed on his back. The knight was crushed underneath its weight and let out groan of pain as the horse rolled off of him before running off, leaving its rider alone with me.

As I approached the downed knight, I put away my staff and summoned two more weapons. They were both rather small compared to most of my other weapons, but their size hid their true power. To an outside observer they looked rather rough and improvised, being bits of thick pale bone bound to my hands by worn black leather. Yet the moment I equipped them, I felt a power flow through me as the unrelenting fury of the creatures it was made from coursed through my veins. The Dark Cryptsword may have been my primary tool of destruction, but the Bone Fists were always reliable and to be honest, few things were more fun than punching a monster many times larger than myself to death.

"I say this only once. Surrender. There is no shame in knowing when you are beaten." I said as I continued towards him.

The Tree Sentinel grunted in pain as he slowly pulled himself to his feet using his halberd. He was clearly in great pain, but he still managed to stand proud and could feel the weight of his glare behind his helmet. "That is where you are wrong. To surrender to a tarnished is worse than death, it is spitting on the ideals of the Golden Order itself. You tarnished are all of a kind, lower than omens or misbegotten. They were born outside of grace, but even they could prove their worth through work and sacrificing themselves for the Erdtree. Tarnished are wretched creatures, born blessed but proved yourselves unworthy and had it taken away to die in obscurity. Now after the Shattering you vultures return, seeking Lordship as though filth like you is deserving such power. I am a man of honor, and upon my oath to King Morgott, I will never surrender! By my hand you! Will! DIE!"

The knight swung his halberd in a horizontal strike, but I ducked the blow and ran forward before leaping into the air and delivering a flying kick to his abdomen. The blow knocked the wind out of his lungs as he bent forward, only to have his snap upwards as I delivered a powerful left uppercut. While he was stunned, I sent a right hook into his wounded leg, collapsing the armor and snapping the Tree Sentinel's knee. The knight fell to one knee before swinging at me with an attack that was little skill and all fury.

I stepped into the mans swing to avoid the blade and grabbed the handle, bringing the weapon to a stop. I pulled on the weapon and for a few moments we struggled against each other, both trying to gain control of the massive weapon. It would seem we were evenly matched, so I did something to change that. I took my right hand off the weapon and slammed it into his helmet, creating a massive dent as he was forced to let go of the golden halberd. I ripped the weapon away from him, spun on my heel, and buried the golden tip so deep into the knight's chest that it emerged out of his back. The man let out a wet gurgle as he looked down at the weapon that had skewered him before lifting his helmeted gaze at me.

"You should have surrendered." Was the last thing I said to him before hitting him with a right uppercut that that sent both his helmet and the head inside it spinning into the air before landing with a dull thud ten feet away from me.

The body then collapsed and fell forward, only being held up by the weapon that had killed it. Then much like what had happened in my old world, the body collapsed into mist as I felt a rush of souls and runes flow into me. The next second, nothing remained of the Tree Sentinel save for his golden halberd.

I relaxed my shoulders and let out a long breath as I put away the bone fists. I glanced around to make sure there were no more enemies in sight, and once I was satisfied that I was not going to be attacked again, I fell on my back in exhaustion.

"Why am I so tired all of a sudden?" I wondered as I stared at the sky, and I could just make out the sun hidden behind the Erdtree's branches. The warm rays of light suddenly felt like they were holding me down, like manacles stopping my limbs from moving. The warmth seeped into my bones and I felt an overwhelming urge to sleep. Actually, when was the last time I slept? I had rested at the Far Fire in Majula, but that had been a literal age ago. Had I not slept once while I wandered the Dark? I don't think I had; I had always feared that I slept I would not wake again. I suppose that decision had finally caught up to me.

I let out a yawn as I felt my eyes drift shut. "Alright world, I'll deal with you eventually. But first, a nap. And once I wake up, I am going to kick your ass. Just…you…wait."

The next moment, I had plunged back into the formless Dark.

O

So? What do you think? I based Rex off of my DS2 character who was a strength/hex/pyro build. Now some people might be confused about the timeline so let me briefly explain hoe my DS trilogy went. First the Chosen Undead, Ignis linked the fire. Then the Bearer of the Curse, our protagonist Rex, walked away from the Throne of Want and let some other fool take up the responsibility choosing light or dark. After that he wandered the world, doing things that I will go into later in the story. Then the Ashen One, Luna chose to let the First Flame die and usher in the age of dark. The world was worn out and rather than humans taking control of existence, it was a time for them to rest and recover. Then the age of dark came to an end and the flame was ignited once more with the DS equivalent to the big bang, existence was reborn, and the cycle continues. Then Elden Ring's plot continued on until Rex arrived.

One must wonder what chaos will follow in his wake and is he alone?

With that said, be a good dear and leave a review and I am open to suggestions about what to name the corrupted sites of grace. You all have a good day!