Elden Lord of Cinders

What's the relationship between Sir All-Knowing and the Sleeping Arrow?

Even if you tossed that question to the previous Roundtable Hold and asked their former companions, you'd be hard-pressed to get a clear answer.

Colleagues? Friends? Enemies?

It all kind of fits—and kind of doesn't.

What everyone does know is that Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing, is coldly rational, to the point of being almost inhuman. He despises anyone questioning his orders.

But there's a reason for that.

Even back in the last Roundtable generation, Sir Gideon acted as the brains of the operation. Not only was he brilliant, but his intelligence network back then was even stronger than it is now. He was a natural decision-maker.

So even Tarnished of near-Lord stature were willing to listen to his advice. They might not have liked it, but at most, they'd decline. Rarely did anyone argue—and no one wanted to start a conflict.

Except for one person.

Dolores.

And not just once or twice. Whenever there was something off in Gideon's plan, she'd step in and challenge him.

In time, Dolores interrogating Gideon became a routine spectacle in the Roundtable Hold.

Every time it started, Vyke would pretend to chat with his Finger Maiden, sneaking glances from the corner of his eye. Bernahl would sit off to the side with a sour look, casting sidelong glances. Then there were Blackguard Big Boggart, Wilhelm, Crepus...

Who wouldn't enjoy watching the ever-grim know-it-all get grilled?

But that wasn't the key point.

The real issue is, as mentioned, that Gideon hated having his orders questioned.

Even quasi-Lord figures like Vyke and Bernahl would give him that respect.

He'd even cast aside his adopted daughter the moment he sensed her resolve wavering.

And yet Dolores opposed him—and somehow became his friend.

He didn't abandon her. Didn't retaliate. She could walk in and out of his office freely, even help him sort through paperwork and chat with him from time to time.

It's... well...

Hard to explain.

And at the time, there was someone else nearby: Seluvis—the one who gave Dolores the potion.

What exactly happened is anyone's guess.

Was it part of a mission to divide the Roundtable? Unrequited love? Something else entirely?

Whatever the case, Seluvis tricked Dolores into drinking that potion—and then ran.

And that brings up another question.

Given Gideon's personality, he shouldn't have cared.

After all, Lloyd had just massacred his entire force, kidnapped his daughter, returned, chopped up Ensha, and still had a casual chat with him.

Even Lloyd was surprised by Gideon's apathy.

But Seluvis—once a friend of Gideon's, a sorcery professor with immense value—cut all ties and never dared show his face again.

Yes, Gideon and Dolores were just friends.

No romance. No ulterior motives.

But maybe—just maybe—she was his only real "friend."

Maybe when he first lost her, his rational mind didn't register the impact.

But over time, the habits they'd formed kept reminding him of what was gone.

"Dolores, help me find that..."

He'd stop. Look up. The familiar spot was empty.

Gideon was rational. He wasn't sad.

But staring at that empty space... something always felt missing.

Later, he stayed on at the Roundtable Hold, carrying out orders, continuing his research.

But no one criticized him anymore. No one pushed back. No one disobeyed.

Vyke took on the Frenzied Flame to save his Finger Maiden.

Bernahl, face grim, watched his Finger Maiden burn, then raised the banner of rebellion.

The Raging Wolf and Wilhelm left one after another. Crepus vanished. The Roundtable Hold itself was abandoned...

And yet Gideon remained.

Even when a new Roundtable Hold was built, he chose the same kind of room—the same setup.

The only thing different now was the crowd of useless allies outside... and the silence inside a room missing its noisy, talkative occupant...

"Hey, I'm talking to you."

Dolores had no idea what just happened. She only remembered drinking that potion, and the next thing she knew, she'd opened her eyes in the Eternal City.

She had even grumbled to herself about how Servis had cooked up another one of his weird concoctions—what had he done to her this time?

And now...

"Ah, you even saved my spot."

Noticing a familiar empty seat, Dolores' eyes lit up. She walked over and sat down without hesitation, shifting around a bit before letting out a sigh.

"Still looks the same, but definitely not as comfy as before..."

Then she noticed The All-Knowing hadn't moved at all—if anything, he seemed even stiffer than earlier.

Dolores glanced at Lloyd, frowning.

"What's with him? I've only been gone a little while, and he's even dumber than before."

"No idea. Maybe it's dementia."

Lloyd was used to The All-Knowing's vacant episodes. He waved his hand in front of him, confirming that he was once again completely unresponsive—worse than ever, in fact. Then he turned to Dolores.

"Anyway, if you've got something to tell him, just leave it here for now. I'll head back and check things out."

"Sure."

Dolores nodded, then as if suddenly remembering something, pulled a badge from her pocket and tossed it to Lloyd.

"I used to deal with the Ancestral Followers and the Nox while I was working underground. If you need it, show this and say I sent you."

"Got it."

Lloyd nodded again and left The All-Knowing's office. Just before stepping out, he glanced back at the petrified figure still frozen in place and shook his head.

"Told you not to drop your rationality that low... Happy now?"

Lloyd didn't know why he said that. Not that it mattered—he didn't care enough to figure it out.

After stepping out and closing the door behind him, Lloyd made his way back to the Eternal City and resumed his exploration.

Because he'd returned directly for a side quest last time, he hadn't unlocked any new Sites of Grace. So he had to warp back to the last one, fight through those same damn annoying zombies again, and then ran into a three-way battle.

This time, though, without Dolores meddling, the big-eyed monster that hurled rocks with Gravity Sorcery came out on top.

Its reward for winning? Getting wiped out by Lloyd when he arrived last.

After dealing with those big-eyed freaks, Lloyd continued exploring the map. He gathered all the Runes, Smithing Stones, and materials in the area, then pressed forward.

Eventually, he stepped onto a stone bridge and followed it for a while—until a massive golden fog gate came into view.

According to the original path of fate, a Mimic Tear that copied the form of its opponent should've been guarding this place.

But now...

[Wings of Filth]

After pushing through the door, Lloyd was met by a Nox wearing tattered witch robes.

But this witch, who should've stood watch over the night, awaiting the King of the Night, was now covered in dark brown, fleshy sludge. Her eyes were hollow and lifeless.

When she saw Lloyd, she slowly lifted her empty gaze toward him. The dark brown mass on her back began to unfurl, forming what looked like wings.

The weapon in her hand—once a signature Nox fluid weapon—had also transformed. Now it was a grotesque, living weapon made from the same dark flesh, fused directly to her arm.

Bang—

From a good distance away, the corrupted witch swung her arm. The fleshy whip lashed out, stretching to several times its length and slamming down where Lloyd stood.

He dodged and drew Elizabeth's Poleblade, charging forward with a battle art.

The corrupted witch raised her neck, and the wings on her back slashed out like claws, aiming straight at Lloyd.

But just as they came down, Lloyd jumped back, as if anticipating her move. The wings struck the ground instead, and in that moment, his weapon shifted into a katana.

Next—Unsheathe.

Bang!

Lloyd had already tested these flesh monsters before. Even though they had blood inside, they didn't bleed, so he simply switched to the Moonveil.

With a single Unsheathe, the corrupted Finger Maiden reeled in pain and tried to back away—only to see Lloyd raise his staff and fire off several Dark Moon Shards.

They struck her body, and a cold mist rose around her. The frostbite effect kicked in, and her health plummeted to nearly half. Then—

"Raaagh—!"

With a ferocious roar, the Finger Maiden's body exploded, and a torrent of dark brown flesh surged out, forming a monstrous body several times larger than Lloyd.

She still resembled a human, but now she looked more like a creature. Her hands had turned into massive claws, and the wings on her back had grown even larger.

Bang!

The twin claws slammed down.

The blast radius was bigger than expected—Lloyd had rolled out of the way, but the shockwave still caught him.

Seeing his health drop by more than half, he grimaced.

Seriously? These numbers aren't right.

The mobs before dealt normal damage, and even her first phase seemed fine, but now...

Bang bang bang—

She went wild, clawing furiously before finishing with both fists raised high overhead, then slamming them down in a brutal ground smash.

Boom!

He hadn't seen this move before, but thanks to earlier experience, Lloyd just barely managed to dodge it.

As he drank a flask to recover, a notification popped up.

[Ally "Silver Tear" Asimi has been summoned]

So this boss had a special summon?

Lloyd's eyes lit up. He scanned the area and spotted a figure slowly rising from the ground.

It was a girl.

Or rather, a slime-like being that mimicked the shape of a girl, like the silver slimes Lloyd had seen before.

Her hair was white. Her dress was white. Even the small flower on her head and her bare feet touching the ground were all white.

The moment she appeared, she caught the monster's attention.

It immediately lashed out with a massive claw—

Bang!

Asimi, barely on the scene, was instantly flattened.

But the next second, she quickly reformed. She bent forward, hugged her head with both arms, and just like the Silver Tears Lloyd had encountered, a row of needle-like spikes sprouted from her back and stabbed into the monster before her.

-24

Lloyd stared at the number floating above its health bar and went silent.

No wonder she's dressed in white—an homage to the legendary two-digit-damage Dark Moon Sword, huh?

Still, even if her damage was low, one thing was clear: this girl was tough.

That claw earlier? If it had hit him, he'd have lost at least half his health. But when it hit Asimi, she barely lost a sliver.

So she was at least somewhat useful.

Thinking that, Lloyd waved his staff and fired a few more Dark Moon Shards. The monster turned its focus back to him, leaped high, and came crashing down toward him.

Just as Lloyd was studying the monster's movement and calculating his dodge timing, Asimi suddenly dashed forward.

In midair, her body melted into her original Silver Tear form. As she landed in front of Lloyd, her body rose up and transformed into a large, gleaming silver shield.

Boom!

The monster landed, but its strike and the impact were completely absorbed by the silver Greatshield.

"I'm not good at fighting, but I can protect you."

The shield morphed back into the white-haired girl, her voice soft and hesitant.

With Asimi shielding him, Lloyd felt the pressure ease up significantly.

No matter how the monster clawed or slammed, it couldn't break through that silver shield. And the few attacks that slipped by were easily dodged with Lloyd's experience.

Working together, Lloyd sheathed the Moonveil—then, Unsheathe once more.

A vertical wave of blue magical energy sliced clean through the monster's body, top to bottom, draining her last drop of health.

With a dull thud, the monster collapsed to the ground.

But just like the zombie creatures he'd fought before, her body didn't fade. The dark brown flesh continued to writhe—she was regenerating.

Just as Lloyd was staring at the monster, wondering whether to switch builds, the white-haired girl stepped forward.

She extended her hand and pressed her fingertip to the monster's chest. A silver-gray glow flared from the point of contact, and the flesh began to gradually transform into silver droplets.

The change wasn't complete, of course.

It lasted about ten seconds, and only the area around the monster's heart turned into a fist-sized silver drop, which flowed into the girl's palm and fused with her.

The rest of the body didn't fully convert, but what remained turned a dull gray-white, like lifeless stone. Once she drew out that droplet, the corpse slowly disintegrated, carried off bit by bit by the wind.

[Weapon acquired: "Claws of Filth"]

[Claws of Filth]

[Giant claws born from the erosion of filth]

[Mutated from the human body]

[Restores a small amount of HP upon landing attacks]

[Filth refers to granting the immortality of the soul to the flesh]

[Even if the soul fades, the body still moves]

[And instinctively craves life]

They were claw-type gauntlets with no Ash of War, poor base stats, and barely any healing. After confirming they were pretty much a gimmick, Lloyd tossed them into his inventory and walked over to the silver tear girl nearby.

"Ah, sorry, I zoned out for a moment and forgot to thank you."

The silver-haired girl looked at Lloyd sincerely.

"My name is Asimi. As you saw, I'm a Silver Tear."

"But unlike the others, I somehow gained consciousness. When I passed through this area, I sensed that the Finger Maiden had something I needed."

"But... I was too weak to do anything. I hesitated until you stepped in and helped me get it."

As she spoke, Asimi showed him what she'd taken.

After briefly focusing her strength, a new weapon sprouted from her back. It wasn't the same needle-like spikes from earlier, but resembled the claws that the monster had used. She slammed it into the ground.

Bang!

It lacked the monster's size and force, but judging by Lloyd's estimation, it could definitely dish out triple-digit damage now.

Still weak, sure—but a huge improvement nonetheless.

"So, where will you go now?"

Lloyd asked.

She thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"I... don't know."

"I only recently became self-aware. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do..."

"Then come with me."

Lloyd glanced at the spot where the monster had vanished, thinking the hint couldn't be more blatant.

"I'll kill the monsters, and you take their hearts so they can't come back. We both get something out of it. Sound good?"

After a brief pause, the girl gave a small nod and hesitantly replied,

"...Okay."

...

[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]

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