Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 9

Gwyndolin sighed as he gazed at the sky through his window. He wondered what was taking Arias so long. Who in Lordran could possibly hold Arias and potentially the other blades back this long? Perhaps he'd had another episode? Should he check on him? Gwyndolin nervously clasped his hands together as he considered it. He didn't like going outside in broad daylight, even less so when there would be people around, and he wasn't fond of combat either. But if Arias needed him... Gwyndolin imagined Arias screaming, alone in some corner of Anor Londo and chastised himself for being so hesitant.

Though as Gwyndolin readied his staff, he felt through his illusory self within his father's tomb, someone approached. Could it be Arias? Or another of blades? Perhaps they brought news. Gwyndolin's illusion gazed through the fog and saw the bronze armour of the Anor Londo Firekeeper, Ivy. One of his most loyal subjects. She quickly kneeled but much to his surprise didn't allow him time to greet her.

"Lord Gwyndolin, my apologies but I must report a matter of utmost urgency." Her voice was haggard and alarmed, she had ran here. If this matter was as dire as it seemed, he might forgive her impoliteness. "Knight Arias has been swallowed by the Abyss."

What.

Gwyndolin dropped his catalyst, though his illusion stood still. He couldn't allow for his panic be seen. "The Abyss? Here in Anor Londo? Blade explain thyself for what thou sayest is not possible." Surely Arias just fell down some dark hole or something of the sort, he was quite clumsy after all. If this was a misunderstanding the consequences would be dire.

"I do not understand either my lord, yet I shall tell you all I saw happen. Arias and I detained a shambling corpse-like man, on the verge of hollowing, he recognized the hollow as a man named Oscar." Gwyndolin flinched at the mention of that name. He should have long ago gone hollow, and not to mention that he'd been condemned to the deepest reaches of the Tomb of the Giants, a darkness, a miasma of death so deep and endless that none have left its maw. "The man showed great resilience and persisted beyond death, so the two of us decided to bind him in chains and lock him within the deepest depths of the Anor Londo dungeon. When we bound him, we left him in the storage room for a brief moment for a rest, when we returned, the room was empty and full of an imperceivable dark, and a gigantic hand, enwreathed in a wispy dark emerged. It snatched Arias and dragged him into the abyss, leaving an empty room in its wake."

Gwyndolin shakily sat upon his bed, he wracked his mind for words, the words of a leader and a god for his illusion to speak but to his dismay there was nothing, in this moment there was nothing in his mind that could be conveyed with words let alone a lie. "Ahh." He choked as panic took hold of his mind and sorrow made his heart throb. He was thankful that his illusion did not relay what he did not wish to be heard. Ivy seemed to wait silently for her lord's reply.

"I see." He managed to force words from his illusion's mouth, it took all he had to force his trembling voice to be still, to be regal. "Thou may return to thy duties... I require some time to think on this."

"Very well, my lord." With that she rose from her kneeling place on the rug and walked up the stairwell, presumably back to her bonfire.

Gwyndolin dispelled his illusion and finally could face the grief swelling within him. Though perhaps to face it was the wrong phrase, it was more alike a tidal wave. Arias was gone and the Abyss itself reached out to take him from within Anor Londo. Oh, how could this even happen, why would this happen, after all they had done to preserve what they had, he truly thought they had earned their peace, yet it would seem fate did not take their transgression lightly. Again, with this, fate, it seemed hated him, from the moment he was born. How dare it, he was a god, a descendant of Lord Gwyn himself this world was his to rule, to command, how dare it stand against his will, how dare it take what he held dearest.

"Arias." Gwyndolin choked as tears streamed down his face. He held his eyes shut as to not face the world. He remembered the good times he'd shared with him, all those days spent caring for him, reading to him. Even his breakdown, which would have been a shameful, horrid moment had he not been there to console him, to care for him, to kiss him and to touch him... A touch he will never again feel, those lips that will never again touch his... A tender voice, the only one to care for him... Never again for him.

"Oh Arias." He again whimpered his name, falling to his side. The swirling thoughts in his mind finally began to slow, yet somehow within his quiet mind the weight of the loss was even heavier. The one thing that wouldn't leave was the image of him, how he would never even see him again, for those lost to the abyss almost never return, though if he were to return, he wouldn't be the same man. Would he even... raise his sword against Gwyndolin? "Ghh." Such things he didn't want to even imagine. To be without him was awful, but to be killed by his corrupted lover? He was never one for such tales, he couldn't see the romance in betrayal, willful or not, no it was more like a horror story.
That wretched Abyss, breaching the sanctity of his city, bringing back old foes and dragging his lover into its depths. Was this a declaration of war? Had the death of the four kings not been enough to quell the Abyss? Or perhaps... Ivy described a gigantic hand enwreathed in dark that snatched Arias from the dark. Could it be... Manus? If the father of the Abyss itself had resurrected... No the possibility - if he could at all be resurrected - alone was horrific and the implications were disastrous.

The only man he knew of that could even hope to face Manus was Arias, and he was already gone. Tears that had stagnated began to flow freely once again. He was gone forever, gone. Dead. Gwyndolin gripped his sheets and pulled them to his chest, in an attempt to find an embrace from anything, and he curled into the fetal position, crying, crying for so long.

A dull pain throbbed within his head as he opened his eyes. The air was damp and musty, he laid upon large roots that jutted into his armor, separated by soft soil that stuck to his gloves, smeared his surcoat and got stuck under the silver plates of his armor. Arias groaned as he lifted his head from the floor, his face luckily spared from the dirt beneath him by the visor of his helmet. He leaned up and wiped some of the dirt off while he looked around. He was in a cave, overgrown with moss and roots. Before him seemed to be the exit, or at least that's where light was coming from.

Arias sighed and looked down as he lifted himself up from the floor, but stopped dead in his tracks as his hands were placed upon the ground. There was someone there, in the corner of his vision, in the exit tunnel. His head shot upwards in alert. Nothing. But... No, no there was definitely something there, to his right, in a dark corner behind a root he saw it again in the corner of his eye, a dark figure.

Arias snapped to his right, the speed of his movement causing him to accidentally roll over onto his back, but he didn't see it there anymore, instead it stood over him, just almost out of vision, but it was definitely there.

"Yer pathetic."

It spoke. And to Arias' horror, that was a familiar voice. Arias quickly fumbled to his feet and drew his greatsword, turning behind him where the figure was, only to see him standing behind a root just to his right, he turned and swung through the root. Nothing. How? He was still there though, to his left now. Arias swung again. Nothing. Now he faced the exit tunnel, and he saw the vague silhouette in the light, an elite knight of Astora. He stood aside and pointed into the light. "Go." It was his own voice.

"Lord Gwyndolin." Ivy's voice rang down the hall, alerting Gwyndolin. He recast his illusory self to address the Blades he had summoned.

"We have answered your call master."

"What is it you require of us." The two faceless undead beside her spoke.'

"Good blades. There has been a grave transgression within Anor Londo. The Abyss hath swallowed Knight Arias. Where it has taken him or if he still lives is unknown. Blade Ivy shalt inform thee of the finer details of the incident. I demand thee all, alert all blades, scour the city and root out whatever trace of dark lies within it's depths. I command thee exterminate the vermin and purify Anor Londo. Ivy shalt take lead. Thou'rt dismissed." Gwyndolin demanded, exercising all the authority his voice and status could muster. This damned dark, the wretched Abyss, he would bring down the hammer of righteousness and smite the blight for its transgressions. Such damnable evil he could never forgive.

"Yes, my lord." The three blades spoke before hurriedly leaving up the staircase. Yet, for all the authority he commanded as a god, maybe his secrecy was coming back to bite him, as all the forces he commanded were but a single covenant and his illusions. If he wanted to root out such a strong enemy as the Abyss he would need more, the might of a ruler. Perhaps it was time to wrench the title of Allfather from his great uncle Lloydd. Though it would be harder without Arias by his side, he was sure with sufficient planning he could still achieve what he needed.

"Thou shalt be avenged my dear..." He whispered to himself, alone in his room. As it had been before he arrived. A loneliness he thought he could never stomach again.

"How..." He murmured. Arias' head was swirling with confusion, uncomfortably similar to the feeling of hollowing, but at least he felt he had an anchor, Gwyndolin. But... no, no wait where was Gwyndolin? Where was he?

"Go." The figure again demanded. No, he couldn't linger on that now, he was in danger that was certain. He would face whatever this was, then once he was safe, he could worry about finding Gwyndolin again. Then they would embrace and all would be well. Arias took his greatsword in both hands and held it out firmly before himself, carefully walking forward, ready to attack in any direction he needed to at a moment's notice. As he ascended the tunnel, the glaring light overpowered his vision, he saw nothing but the glow, and of course the figure again vanished.

When his eyes adjusted, Arias was greeted by a wide but shallow pond before him, encircled by walls of rock, all natural save for one manmade stone wall with a doorway nestled under tree roots. The strangest part about the place though, was the serenity, and the health of... the world, not just the plants, but the sky was fuller, the wind carried the chirping of birds with it and scents of flowers. This place was lush and alive, unfortunately a far cry from all he'd seen before, of the world nearing its end. Where was he... And what ha-

Arias' attention was snapped away from the scenery when he heard the sound of someone distantly calling his name. Though he couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, it did bring his attention to a giant lion with wings, and horns, or was it a chimera? Whatever it was, it was hurtling towards Arias at a ridiculous speed, not giving him time to admire the scenery or even ponder what he was facing.

Arias dived to his right a moment before he would have otherwise been smashed back into the cave he'd just emerged from. He stood back up just in time to see the chimera crash into the wall, rocks crumbling around it and temporarily lodging it in the wall. Arias saw his chance and took it, dashing forwards, greatsword in hand and cleaving into the beast. It's hide was tough and his sword was only just stopped from hitting any vitals. Before he could act, the chimera's four great wings extended high and beat the air wildly, the gushes of wind sent Arias flying backwards, his grip barely strong enough to tear his blade from the beast's hide, though it left his hands as he hurtled through the air.

Arias landed face-first in the water, which splashed up through his visor into his face. He spat it out and rose to his feet as quick as possible, his visor did not afford him the luxury of wiping his face until the job was done. The beast was free again, and coming his way already, between him and it laid his sword, the hilt propped above the water by a rock. Arias unsheathed his Moonlight Greatsword and prepared to dodge the attack, only it didn't come, as the chimera beat its wings once again and flew into the air. As it lifted off the ground, it opened its mouth, and a scattering ball of lightning flowed out.

Arias rolled forwards, under the ball of lightning and the beast, and ran as soon as he was again on his feet, to his greatsword which he snatched by the hilt. He stopped himself and turned, taking the hilt again in both hands. The beast was once more flying at him, but it spat no lightning, instead it flew above Arias and flung its tail down at him, at the end protruded a stinger that looked sharp enough to pierce steel, though he was luckily fast enough to deflect it with the hilt of his greatsword.

A loud pang reverberated throughout the sword and into his bones when it was struck, and the force sent him back a few paces, that was a powerful strike, and he was lucky to have been spared it's might. Though unluckily, the blow had pushed him backwards to where the beast had landed. It spun around before he could move and its spike tail whacked Arias on the side, sending him tumbling back into the water. This was bad, this thing was throwing Arias around like a wooden doll, he had to find a way to escape its overwhelming offense and hold his ground. If he could cut into that wound he'd left before he could probably hit its heart and kill it in one more blow, but he would need to stun the beast first.

Arias kicked up to his feet in time to dodge a charge attack from the beast, he charged after it to try and attack but it flew into the air, flying in an arc around him and spitting lightning from the air once again, which he managed to dodge, while keeping himself away from where it would land. The beast ran to him before he could prepare an offensive and rammed it's horns at him, though he blocked the brunt of the attacks, with his greatsword, he still felt the force of the blows echoing throughout his arms. It rammed at his guard again, and again, and finally it hit the sword out of his grasp. It went to attack again but out of desperation Arias brought down the Moonlight Greatsword upon its head between its horns, the force of the attack even caused it to shoot a beam into the beast's skull. But neither the beam nor the blade pierced the bone, though it was painful enough to cause the beast to scream and flee for a moment, giving Arias time to retrieve his greatsword.

Upon its retrieval, Arias took his greatsword in his right hand and kept the Moonlight Greatsword in his left, he would need both of them for victory it seemed. The chimera roared and charged at him, though it took flight long before it reached him. It seemed it would try a tail attack again, but if Arias timed his attack right, maybe he could counter. He readied his greatsword above his head, and as the stinger was brought down, he thrust the sword down and cleaved the tail in half.

The beast roared as it crashed to the ground, perfect. Arias launched a moonlight beam as it tried to stand to keep it stunned before he got to it. He then dropped the Moonlight Greatsword and took his greatsword in both hands, thrusting it into the initial wound he'd carved, piercing through hide, flesh and bone, directly to the heart. The beast wailed and thrashed, beating its wings and almost sending Arias flying back into the water, but his grip on the hilt was iron and soon enough it ceased it's wailing and finally laid still.

Arias sighed as he finally withdrew his blade from the beast. He sheathed his greatsword and kneeled down into the water, he ran his blood-soaked hands through the water, rinsing all the grime off before he lifted his visor and wiped his face clean. It was refreshing and gods that was a sensation he needed right now. Now it was finally quiet, his mind could finally catch up. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was him and the Firekeeper, Ivy, she told him of her name too, they had just chained up Oscar and were about to drag him down to the lowest cell in Anor Londo when he opened the door and... Something grabbed him, something dark, he wasn't granted even a split second to recognize what it was before he was thrashed around the walls of the hallway, and there was something else with it, small hands... Then nothing, and he awoke in that cave.

Gods what had happened, if he was in the Anor Londo dungeon before, how had he ended up in this forest? He couldn't see anything resembling Anor Londo in the canopy above the pond... How? And... What was that thing? How was it in Anor Londo of all places and... Oh lord, was Ivy, and Gwyndolin, were they in danger? He quickly kipped up to his feet and began to panic when he heard footsteps behind him in the water. He snapped around but there was nothing there only... That dark figure, again only in the corner of his eye, though this time it stood right beside him, barely out of sight.

"..." He heard it breathing, so much malice in each breath. Arias was scared stiff, it was like he couldn't move, again like those apparitions he saw in the fire. But he was armed this time, he needed to steel himself, he had to be strong if he was going to find out what happened and get back in time to save Gwyndolin and Ivy.

"Where am I?" He tried to keep his voice as confident and commanding as he could, but it wavered against his will.

"I don't know." The voice replied. "But the dark is here... The Abyss."

"The Abyss?" Arias asked again. For a moment there was silence, he felt the tension in the air, it was like there was a blade to his throat, but he was free of physical threat yet... He felt it there all the same.

"Venture into it." With that he heard a footstep and the presence was gone, he turned to where it had been and saw the doorway in the stone wall. He saw just barely in the doorway, where it curved beyond vision the figure awaited him. Seemed it wanted him to follow.

Arias sighed and walked to his Moonlight Greatsword, every time he moved, the figure moved with him, remaining at the edge of his vision, watching and commanding his attention, compelling him forwards, presumably into the Abyss. It would certainly lead to his death... Would he come back he wondered? There was no way of knowing until it happened, he supposed.

Arias retrieved the Moonlight Greatsword and sheathed it, with no other direction to follow, nor any other answers, he had no other option but to follow. And at the end he would either be swallowed by the Abyss, or return home to Gwyndolin by some miracle. Though if there was even a chance of seeing him again, he would gladly risk his life for it.

He pulled down his visor and trudged forward into the doorway. He must continue.

A/N Sorry this chapter took so long! Had to take a few breaks because life stuff as usual. Besides with my current workflow it's looking like one chapter per month for both this and my other Gwyndolin fanfic is going to be the schedule. I tend to avoid setting schedules because I can never keep them after setting them. But this is a schedule I've already stumbled into, and it seems to be reliable so far! Though there'll be some deviations here and there of course. Anyway, now Arias finally enters the dlc and main arc of DMDS! Will Arias be able to get back to Gwyndolin? Will he be able to stay sane while alone in the past? And I'm sure you've already gotten a guess by the end of this chapter, but who is that specter that's begun following him in the past?