A/N: Here we are, updating all the Elden Ring Stuff this month as promised.

This one's a tad shorter than I'd like, but work calls; besides, Trish and Therolina deserved their own chapter.

If I update every day from now-ouch, my fingers hurt just thinking about it-I should be able to pull it off with three days to spare, meaning I WILL be able update other categories as well this month.

As my fifteen year anniversary on this site draws near, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. The recent earthquake in Turkey/Syria serves as a terrible example. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.

No questions this time. I think I've kept you waiting long enough.

As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes, or memes. Not a wit or a one!

They're tributes to legends far greater than I. Now, then. Hope you're ready, because this chapter doesn't pull any punches...

"You've changed things. There's no going back."

~?

Cut the Cord

Seluvis wasn't hard to find.

Or rather, the man's workshop wasn't. Thanks to Ranni's tip, they found that with ease.

A secret stairwell cleverly concealed in some abandoned ruins just outside her Rise, the illusion therein was dealt with easily enough and down they went. Then came the descent into darkness, a winding, twisting, root-filled tunnel leading to very bowels of the earth. Their journey was made in silence. None dared to speak for fear of what they might find within. No noise was made but for the faint shuffle of their feet -alongside Rya's tail- against the moldering stone steps. Even that sound seemed hushed somehow, stilted in the silence.

The air grew progressively colder as they delved deeper. Naruto felt his teeth begin to chatter, breath emerging as thin plume of steam.

He tried to brace himself. Really, he did. Whatever was down here, it could be nothing good. Anything hidden this deep in the dark...well. They were about to find out now, weren't they?

Trish walked ahead of their little quartet, shield at the ready; prepared to fling herself into harms way should anyone challenge them. As such, she reached the hidden chamber first. Whatever horror lay within caused her to go still as stone; so much so that Naruto had to physically push the towering Sentinel those last few fateful steps forward just to clear the entrance for them. He immediately wished he hadn't; because then it was his turn to see, to witness the abominations before him.

Someone gagged behind him. Sounded like Rya. He couldn't blame her.

Taken at a glance, the room looked harmless enough. Bookshelves lined the walls, protruding crystals lined the ceiling and floor; there was even a cozy-looking desk left for research. If one ignored the books strewn across the floor it looked downright homey. Yes, everything was all well and good...until one saw the bodies.

So many bodies.

There were nearly a dozen of them; sprawled out like lifeless toys, each staring up at the ceiling, waiting for help that never came. Each smelled sickly sweet, much like a certain potion. But for him the horror went deeper. He could feel them. The faint dregs of their spirits. These were people...or rather, they had been before someone -Seluvis!- drugged them, dragged them here, and scooped out their souls for his own perverse ends. What remained were these...

"Puppets." the word leaped from his lips as he came to understand the true depravity of what he was looking at. "He made people into puppets...

Trish nudged one of them. It fell over and didn't rise. She recoiled like a frightened little girl, shaking her head. Hard to believe someone so tall could be so frightened. All this and still no sign of Seluvis. He still couldn't sense the man himself.

"Where is he?"

"He dwells here." Rya found her voice first. "This is his den. Like any predator, he will return to it. And when he does...

Trish slammed a fist into the wall.

...quite right." Rykard's daughter grinned at her, fangs flashing in the gloom. "We will be waiting."

Naruto looked to Therolina and found her strangely silent. She'd not said a word this entire time. Now he saw why. She was just...staring into space, unable to comprehend what lay before her. He reached out for her and she shied away. Shaking her head, she hunched her shoulders, ducked under his arm and scurried across the room. He didn't make a second attempt.

His gaze was drawn to another spot, marked like the others, but left mercifully vacant for some reason or another.

A nameplate had been carved into the wall above it, etched by glintstone. He read it aloud.

"Nepheli...?"

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. He sprang to his feet. The Roundtable Hold! She was in danger! She had to be told-

"Calm down." Kurama interjected quickly before he could race out the room. "She's not alone. Millicent and Latenna are there, to say nothing of her own skill. Trust in her. Or send a shadow clone."

He dithered for a moment...then chose the latter. A quick flick of his fingers and a plume of smoke brought forth a copy. He barked an order at it; demanding it to make for the nearest site of Grace and return to the Roundtable. The doppelganger saluted and bolted from the room without a word. There. The deed was done. He couldn't leave Trish and the others alone right now, but even a clone of him was worth ten fighters. It wasn't that he didn't trust Nepheli to look after herself. He did! He just wanted them to be safe. They had to be..

Stilling his heart, he walked along, desperately searching for some speck of life in the bodies before them. He found none.

Mercifully he didn't recognize any of these poor unfortunate souls, but the pain of their passing remained, lingering in the room like a dark fog.

Rya laid a hand on his shoulder. "This is not your fault, my Champion." her voice was soft, almost soothing. "These poor souls died long before you came to the Lands Between. There was nothing you could have done."

His eyes met hers. Heat rose in her cheeks, but she didn't look away. The tip of heir tail tapped his boot, trying to reassure him as best she could. Oddly enough, it worked. He felt the tension in his heart ease, if only a bit, and it allowed him to breathe again.

"Thanks." in the end, he was the one to avert his eyes, unable to meet her green gaze.

She preened. "Think nothing of it. Would you prefer we burn the bodies or bury them? These poor souls deserve their rest...

In his peripherals, Therolina stumbled numbly toward a darkened corner, eyes glassy, expression curiously vacant. She saw a tarp and tugged at it. Another body was revealed, one that resembled her own.

"She looks like me." Trembling fingers touched the facsimile's face. "Why?" she recoiled and she clutched her head, as though experiencing some terrible headache. "Why does she look like me? That doesn't make any sense!" her voice piqued in distress as she trembled. "Why would it be me?! I never saw this!"

"Of course you didn't." An ugly, oozing voice intoned behind them. "I did not wish you to."

Seluvis emerged from a hidden passage to the right, seemingly stepping forth from the very wall itself. the perceptor made no effort to hide. Perhaps he was a fool. Perhaps he knew the jig was up.

Perhaps he was just that confident.

...it seems your oafishness truly knows no bounds." he considered the four of them with mild annoyance, as though the discovery of this depravity were a mere inconvenience. "I knew someone had tripped my snare, but to think it would be you. How terribly annoying." He lifted his masked face to sneer at them. "Nosy little rats, aren't you? Don't you know its rude to touch another man's property?"

Trish stomped forward with a wordless snarl.

"And who might you be?" Seluvis scoffed at her in turn, paused now, tilted his head when she towered over him, casting him her shadow. "No, wait. I know you. I recognize those scars. You're one of mine, aren't you?" He pivoted, leaned around her, considered her unmasked face as one might a cracked jewel, tutted in approval. "I'd recognize my handiwork anywhere." A lilting sneer leaked into his voice as he tutted further. "Another failed experiment. A pity you maimed yourself in your escape after I took out your tongue. You would've made a lovely doll...

"Don't!" Naruto barked a warning.

Too little, too late. The Tree Sentinel lunged for Seluvis, grasping at his throat, only for her hands to meet empty air. He vanished into a swarm of blue light, reappearing at the opposite end of the room, and raised his staff in a swathe of vicious glintsone. Caught unprepared, Trish hurtled back into Rya, sending them both sprawling.

"Fine and well." he shrugged one shoulder halfheartedly, uncaring of their pain or their plight. "You know my secret. But what will you do now? You cannot kill me. You dare not." his voice oozed smugness. "Lady Ranni has need of my...services. To harm me will incur her wrath."

Naruto smiled.

Was that the reason for his arrogance? Seluvis didn't know, then. How could he? Their bargain had been struck less than an hour ago. Ranni hadn't seen fit to inform him; which meant this wasn't a double cross; there would be no reinforcements, no backup, no aid rendered or given. She had well and truly given him up, all for the sake of advancing her own goals.

What a scary woman.

He stepped forward, still smiling. "About that..."

Seluvis rounded on him, twitching behind his mask. "Pardon?"

He circled to the left of him as Trish and Rya dragged themselves upright. "She sold you out, pal."

"Nonsense!" The indignant little man puffed himself up, trying look bigger in the face of this sudden revelation. "You lie!"

Oh, how he relished moments like these. He'd always gotten a kick out of knocking arrogant oafs down a peg or three. Seluvis deserved to fall off the whole damn ladder and break his back, neck, and every done on the way down besides. This was a long time coming.

"Nope." He smacked his lips, producing an audible, echoing pop that left his foe flinching. "All I had to do was promise to find this Nokron place and bring her a blade. The moment I did that, she gave you up." He tapped a finger to his chin, mimicking her voice for good measure. "I believe she said, do what you will with him. I care not a jot...

Seluvis absolutely twitched. "That witch...!"

Therolina found her voice at last. "Master Seluvis, please, explain yourself. What is the meaning of this madness?"

"What does it look like, you fool of a girl?!" he rounded on her, spittle flying from his lips. "Have you no brains in that head of yours?! You would have made a fine puppet, too!"

Therolina recoiled, darting behind Naruto. "Fiend!"

"And who are you to judge me?" the lunatic spat back. "You do not understand the brilliance of my work. None of you can!" An arm flung out, summoning a spell that shattered harmlessly against Trish's golden shield as she moved to defend them. "I have created life from death! None have done so hence!"

Seluvis knew no shame. Maybe he was simply past it now. Now that his perversions were discovered and his patron had abandoned him he clearly felt no need to dance around the issue.

This was meant to happen Naruto realized; this wouldn't end without blood being spilled, his or theirs.

"Give up." He warned. "This is your only warning."

His words fell on deaf ears.

"Fools, the lot of you!" Ranni's former sorcerer was truly raging now, blind to all else. "Did you think I would come here without protection?! This is my life's work! I shall not go quietly!"

Seluvis barked an eldritch word and every single puppets sprang to life around them, conjuring spectral weapons in their hands. Rya whirled into action like her namesake, caught one in her coils and crushed them on the spot. Trish flattened a second with her shield, while Therolina shrieked a spell that drowned a third -the one wearing her face!- under a torrent of golden stars.

The rest went deemed Naruto a better target and descended upon him droves.

He closed his eyes, hardened his heart to it all, and waded in.

To call what followed a fight would've been generous.

A rasengan howled. Followed by a Rasenshuriken. Those who didn't on the spot were left crippled wrecks upon the floor. The rest fell to his fists.

Trish ignored them all. She only had eyes for Seluvis. Like him she waded through the puppets, trusting in her heavy armor and shield to protect her from the worst of their blows. In an instant she crossed the room, found her target, and slammed her halberd down. The spindly little man dodged back, skittering like a spider, unable to evade the worst of the blow. Blood splashed through the air. His mask and hat went flying. Revealed was a man with short-cropped hair and a thinning goatee. He looked every bit as greasy as they'd thought him to be.

"I will not die!" He clutched at his ruined visage, holding his face together with one hand and frantically conjuring a spell with the other. "I cannot! YOU FOOL!"

Trish braced herself and took the full force of his glinstone comet head on. It pierced her shield, shattered her armor and burst out her back in a shower of blue light. She either didn't feel it or simply didn't care anymore; she would have her revenge. She barreled on into Seluvis with a wordless howl and struck true. He squealed like a pig as she skewered him in the gut, followed through, nailed him to the wall now with her weapon. Blood spattered the floor and still she pushed on, impaling him completely, denying him any chance of escape.

He struggled for a moment, grasping at the golden weapon, to no avail.

His eyes widened. A bloody grin stretched across his twisted facade. "So that's what it feels like...we die together, then."

Trish hissed. Trembling hands reached down, grabbed the sorcerer's head, twisted hard until-

CRACK.

Naruto looked away. Seluvis went limp. His grinning skull struck the floor, bounced once, and tumbled into a corner. No one paid him any heed. With his death the remaining puppets collapsed, their strings severed, their chords cut. Trish fell to her knees in their wake, wearing an euphoric smile. She knelt there for a long moment. Touched a hand to her bloody armor and the gaping hole therein. Looked to him. Her lips parted slowly, as they had before. No sound emerged, but he could read them well enough:

"I'm sorry...

.

..

...she pitched over with a smile.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Naruto vaulted a corpse and dove at her, catching her in his arms before she could fall to the floor. Her head fell into his lap and he cradled it gently. "You stubborn girl...ya gonna let me heal you now?"

"No. I'm tired." Trush shook her head slowly, lips moving weakly. "Let me die."

His temper, already strained by today's encounter, snapped.

Golden hands descended on her. "Tough!

Let there be light.

He watched the hole in her chest knit itself shut, but he didn't stop there. This time he grabbed her by the chin and directed his chakra inward. To her mouth. Her tongue, or rather, the lack thereof. She tried to paw at him with a gauntlet-clad hand, but he shoved it away and intensified his efforts. Focused on her scarred face, now.

And then for the first time, he heard her voice.

"You...stubborn boy." her voice was rich, low and husky, not the sort one might expect from a Sentinel. Beautiful. Lovely. It won his heart in an instant. "You just won't let me rest, will you...?"

A/N: Trish speaks!

Seluvis died as he lived. Like a chump. And yes, I'm well aware of his puppetmaster.

His punishment must be more...severe.

Well? Did you like this story? Yes? No? Maybe? Speak up! Make yourselves heard! Your voice matters~! Silence hurts worse than any flame.

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story.

If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? It will remain, but it won't be continued! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs to keep the lights on, as such I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas....Review, Wouldst Thou Kindly?

And have some previews. Some are quite off, but still...

Mind you, most of these previews are the same.

Wouldn't do to spoil what's coming up.

Vote for what you want to see!

And as ever:

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

SPOILERS LAY AHEAD!

YE BE WARNED!

(Previews)

"What's to be done with this lot, then?"

"Burn them. Burn them all."

Rya raised a hand. Fire flashed in her grasp. "Happily~!

"You're headed the wrong way. Nokron is down there."

...oh, hey! Thanks for the directions but who in blazes are ya?"

"Think of me as," She lifted her hood, revealing long, flowing blond hair, striking scarlet eyes..and a blood red Great Rune etched into her forehead. "A friend." she looked past him, finding no one, and looked back to him. "Are you undertaking this journey alone?"

Melina, still in her astral form, remained silent as the grave.

Naruto blew out an exasperated sigh. Cheeky girl. "You got a name, friend?"

"I do." The Stranger patted his shoulder and walked by, hips swaying. "Perhaps someday I shall tell you it. This way," she beckoned lazily over her shoulder without looking back. "I shall show you the way. What you seek is not far...

EDIT: Aw, hell, what is Miquella up to now...

Greyroll was waiting for them as they emerged.

"I'm guessing you dealt with Adula. Who's that behind you?"

Greyroll preened like the proud mother she was. "Come now, child. Don't hide behind me. Say hello.

Naruto's jaw clicked open and stayed open as he balked at her. Oh. This one could take human shape, like her mother...

"Such a motley crew you've assembled."

He didn't miss the way Greyroll avoided looking at her. "What's with the two of you?"

Rennala tittered a little. "I suppose you could say she owes me a debt. She fears I will air said debt to your ears."

Curiosity reared its head. "There has to be more to it than that.

"There is." a note of mirth danced through her voice. "I once knew her when she was quite small." she mimed a gesture for emphasis, "Would you believe there was a time when she barely came up to mine knee?"

Naruto bit his lip to hide a snort. "No way.

"Indeed." she countered. "This was before my children, mind you. She was quite feisty, even back then. I had to put her in her place several times.

"Wait, but that implies...

"Death has little hold in the Lands Between at the moment." Rennala rallied him with her smile. "So long as one does not lose oneself or fall in battle, it is possible to live for a terribly long time, as many of us have.

...how old are you exactly?"

Rennala's smile never wavered. "How old do you think I am?"

Nope! Not going there! He wasn't touching that subject with a ten foot pole.

Naruto turned a weather eye on Granssax's corpse. "I wonder...

"Pillagers! Emboldened by the flame of ambition!"

"I wish us to travel together for a time." Melina spoke softly, her voice a low drawl. "You and I. Alone. For one last journey."

"Take care of our sister."

He drew forth a needle from the muck of Caelid. "Well, that's certainly something...

"We'll rest here."

A faint shimmer behind him told a different story. "Finally done hiding, are you?"

Melina was silent for a long moment. "This is not the place of my death."

And didn't that just sting? Well, screw that! He wasn't going to let her die. Even if it killed him.

Then she sat beside him. Her head came to rest against his bloody shoulder. As he looked on, her good eye closed.

"The enemy you face is no base foe. You will need all the strength you can muster." she offered her hand once more. "Shall I turn your runes to strength?"

He blew out a small, irritated sigh. "Do it."

His world burst into light. And through it, he heard her voice. "I wish to tell you a story."

"Hey, there's a grace here, too! I wonder if...

He touched it and unbidden the image of a golden plain sprung to his mind.

The warm rune-ring on his finger sang, striking a low harmony with the Great Runes embedded in his body.

Without warning the world lurched around him, shifting in whorls of myriad gold on black. A faint sense of nausea shot up his throat. He choked it down.

Please. A voice begged. Help me...

Everything went dark.

"What have you done now?!" It was to that oh-so-familiar, exasperated cry that he returned to the roundtable.

"OI! I wasn't gone that long!"

"...I've finally hit my limit, boss. Take care of her, will ya?"

Naruto frowned at his exhausted shadow clone. "Take care of who?"

"Its not like I'm dying. My experiences, my memories, my emotions will live on in you."

"Oi!" he grabed him by the arm "You're starting to worry me! Just what did you get up to while I was gone."

His doppelganger didn't answer. His eyes had already gone dull.

He crumbled in his grasp and turned to so much smoke.

And the very moment he did..memories rushed in.

Naruto felt his lips move.

"Irina...?"Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, it won't be continued. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.

So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

Silence...silence only hurts.

Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!

R&R~!