Elden Lord of Cinders

Melina had a dream.

In it, she wandered through an endless night, unable to find her way. There was no one beside her—only the biting cold and an empty, disorienting fog in her mind.

Then, a flame appeared before her, drawing her in. Its warmth chased away the chill clinging to her, and from within it, a hand reached out, again and again, trying to touch her.

If this had been in the waking world, she would have refused that hand without hesitation, doing everything she could to keep him at a distance.

But this was only a dream.

So she reached out as well, pulling the hand into her arms. After a moment's hesitation, she lowered her head and gave it a gentle bite—a small act of revenge for his earlier teasing.

The hand, however, seemed to misunderstand.

After a brief pause, as if puzzled, it seemed to decide she was hungry. A faint soul gathered at its fingertips, which were then held out toward her.

If she were awake, Melina would have taken the soul with her own hand and eaten it herself—or at most leaned down to accept the offering.

But again—this was a dream.

She opened her mouth and took the whole finger in.

After swallowing, she bit down lightly in mock retaliation, then licked the lingering soul from it, indulging the yearning that rose from deep within her. It wasn't just hunger—it was the echo of desires she could never reach in reality.

Since she could never touch them when awake, she would at least allow herself this selfishness here.

With that thought, she pulled the hand in her arms even closer.

...

Time passed.

Eventually, Melina was full.

After that, she idly played with the arm in her grasp, doing things she would never dream of doing while awake, before finally opening her eyes.

And then she saw it.

The hand in her arms was wet with her saliva from fingers to forearm. Faint bite marks were visible—not serious, already fading, but unmistakably there.

Silence.

After a while, she stiffly turned her head, scanning her surroundings.

There was Millicent, looking just as awkward.

She hadn't bitten any fingers, but she was stubbornly clutching that hand to her chest. Each time it tried to pull away, she held on tighter.

After enough tugging, the hand was smeared with fragments of rot, making it obvious to Melina what had happened.

But at the same time, Millicent had noticed the saliva and teeth marks on Melina's other hand.

They locked eyes for a moment, then both quickly looked away, the air between them growing oddly tense.

As for checking if a certain someone was awake?

In this situation—who would dare?

Pretending he was still asleep, they each dealt with the marks on the arms they'd been holding. Once done, they quietly eased themselves apart, stood up, glanced at Lloyd—still lying there with his eyes closed—sighed in relief, straightened the clothes where they had been resting, and slipped away.

...

After they left, Lloyd opened his eyes.

He gave a small rub to the golden-haired girl still feigning sleep in his arms. When she left as well, he turned to put the two little ones on his shoulders back into his inventory.

But this time, the purple flower—Trina—who had never responded to any of his commands before, refused him for the first time.

And after refusing, she tightened her hold on his arm.

This...

He turned his head, looking at her delicate, sleeping face, feeling the quiet intent in the way she clung to him.

After a moment's pause, Lloyd reached out, pulled her close, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

[The bond of the Covenant has been strengthened]

After that, Trina could be returned to the inventory as usual.

Once she was put away, Lloyd turned to Asimi. She blinked, then leaned in of her own accord, her beautiful eyes filled with anticipation.

[The bond of the Covenant has been strengthened]

Lloyd brushed a light kiss against her forehead and fed her a bit of soul before returning her to the inventory as well.

With all the companions finally dealt with, he stood and checked himself over.

Finding nothing wrong, and wiping away the traces of saliva, he didn't linger. He pulled out the Spectral Steed Whistle, summoned Torrent, and continued mapping the area.

...

It wasn't long before he came across a set of ruins—occupied by Demi-humans. At first, they were just the usual sort, wandering aimlessly.

But as soon as Lloyd drew near, filth surged and gold flickered through them, and in an instant, the ordinary Demi-humans transformed.

The filth toughened their bodies, giving them more health and the ability to recover outside of combat, while their weapon swings grew heavier. The gold, though not boosting their raw stats, granted them a skill reminiscent of Frenzied Burst—condensing the runes in their eyes to fire bursts of golden shards.

Even with these enhancements, they were still just Demi-humans. Lloyd left a few alive to test out their new moves, then drew the Moonveil and cut them down with a series of swift unsheath strikes.

After clearing the outer area, he found a passage leading down. A short walk later, a golden Fog Gate loomed ahead.

Just as he was about to step through, a golden summon sign lit up beside it.

[Summon assistant "Demi-human Boc"?]

When Boc appeared, he was visibly thrilled.

After exchanging a few updates, Boc explained his reason for coming.

"Master, I… I'm not very capable…

But Mr. Edgar once told me that you take in Demi-humans, and that I might be able to help you…

So I thought… maybe I could do something besides tailoring…

There's a queen's presence inside. I'd like to try speaking with her—maybe it'll help…"

Lloyd didn't object. He nodded and led him through the Fog Gate.

...

The attempt at communication didn't start right away.

The moment they entered, Lloyd saw that the Demi-human Queen wasn't in a normal state.

[Demi-human Queen, Gilika]

She was tall—beastlike in stature—but unlike the typical queens, her body was under the influence of three distinct powers.

Two of them Lloyd recognized from earlier: gold and filth.

The third, however, was unfamiliar—light blue in color, haloed by a faint azure glow, like fragments of a shattered crystal. It wasn't Glintstone, nor a soul crystal, but something closer to a pure sky blue.

Under its influence, the queen's body had begun to warp—but this mutation clashed with the filth, the two forces straining against each other.

By the time Lloyd stepped in, they were already fighting for control—each holding roughly half of her body. Upon sensing his presence, they halted their struggle and, together with the gold, turned her fully against him.

Bang!

Filthy claws came crashing down, followed by a pale blue–lit hand sweeping a magic staff across the room. Lloyd sidestepped the blow and raised his shield.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three golden shards burst from her eyes, striking the shield in quick succession.

She had a host of new tricks and attacked with spirit, but her underlying stats were weak. Lloyd tested her moves for a short while, then drew the Bloodhound's Fang and cut her down.

Her health bar vanished, her borrowed powers dissipated, and the system prompt appeared.

[ENEMY FELLED]

[Obtained Ash of War "Ground Slam"]

[Obtained item "Quartz Fragment"]

The Ash of War could be fitted to hammers, allowing a ground strike that dealt small-area damage. Charging it increased both range and power—a handy, if common, skill.

As for the other item…

[Quartz]

[A fragment that can give souls to dolls]

[When applied to flesh, it causes deformation]

[The nameless doll opened its eyes]

[It has no past and cannot see the future]

[Only painful questions remain]

[Where did we come from?]

[Why were we given life, only to be irresponsibly abandoned?]

It was an important but unusable item. Lloyd fiddled with it for a while, confirmed it was of no use for now, and set it aside.

While he was examining his finds, Boc and the Demi-human Queen finished their conversation. At Boc's signal, the Queen stepped forward, bowed to Lloyd, and then—along with her people—was teleported by him to Castle Morne.

"Master, I…"

"Nice work."

Lloyd smiled, gave Boc a thumbs-up, chatted for a bit, then teleported back to the Altus Plateau.

After arriving, he wandered around the ruins and spotted a familiar face.

It was Rya, the recruiter.

The strange girl he had met at Liurnia of the Lakes—the one who ate the rogue shrimp without paying. She seemed to be waiting for him, and when she saw him, she waved from afar.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

When Lloyd walked up, she smiled.

"Just as I said—you are the champion."

"I would like to formally invite you to Volcano Manor."

"Please take my hand, and meet my master."

Teleportation, basically.

Since he'd been wondering how to get to Volcano Manor anyway, Lloyd didn't refuse her offer. He nodded and took her hand.

"…I sincerely hope you will walk the same path as Lady Tanith."

With her soft words, the world around him went dark. When the light returned, he was inside a mansion bathed in red glow.

Not far away, a masked woman sat in a chair with a Crucible Knight standing beside her. When she saw Lloyd, she gave a small nod and spoke.

"Tarnished, welcome to Volcano Manor."

"I am Tanith, the mistress of this manor."

"Rya has told me about you—I hear you are a person of great potential."

"Then allow me to ask, to confirm your will: will you join Volcano Manor and fight alongside us?"

"The Guidance of Grace, the arrogant, empty words of the Fingers… we have no intention of obeying such commands."

"We will raise our swords against the Erdtree."

She raised her hand toward him.

Lloyd blinked. "Uh, what did you just say?"

"I didn't quite get that."

Tanith paused, but didn't seem offended. She repeated herself, adding some explanation.

Then—

"Could you maybe be a bit more specific?" Lloyd asked sincerely.

"I still don't really understand."

Tanith: "…"

Seeing he was at least polite, Tanith took a deep breath and patiently explained again.

But—

"Why don't you just tell me what you want me to do?"

She fell silent. Because he was someone Rya had recruited and seemed earnest, she let it slide.

"In simple terms, once you join us, you'll hunt down fellow Tarnished and take their strength."

"We'll send you letters assigning targets. When you complete a hunt, you'll keep the strength you've taken, and Volcano Manor will also reward you."

"But if you hesitate to hunt your own kind, that's fine—leave the manor immediately."

"We are going to raise our swords against the Erdtree. We have no use for the weak. Everyone here must be ready to stain their hands."

Got it—evil dark spirit side quest. Lloyd nodded, more or less understanding.

Still, he didn't agree right away. Partly because, from experience, these "evil" quests usually conflict with others. Partly because he still had questions about some things in Tanith's speech.

"Are the Two Fingers… arrogant?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tanith countered.

"That lofty posture, the cold, silent Guidance—gathering everyone to fight each other while remaining above it all, like watching beasts in an arena…"

"If that's not arrogance, I don't know what is."

Lloyd was quiet for a moment.

"Okay, but… is it possible this whole thing is just because you don't understand what they're saying?"

"Maybe the Fingers actually like to chat, but they're always busy working, so they come off as aloof?"

"And maybe the Guidance of Grace is just a map system—it tells you where to go, but not how to do it."

Tanith laughed at that.

"An amusing idea… but impossible."

She shook her head.

"If the Two Fingers were truly as gentle as you say, why would they guide the Demigods to fight for the Great Rune, to slaughter each other?"

"The gods trample us, control us like puppets, drive us like fighting beasts, watch us tear each other apart, and laugh at us…"

"That is why Volcano Manor has chosen rebellion. Even if it means being steeped in impurity and defilement, we will resist—and walk the path of champions."

Lloyd didn't know how to respond. He wasn't great with arguments like this.

But that was fine—he had his own way.

"Hold on a sec."

He touched the Site of Grace and vanished before Tanith's eyes.

When he reappeared, he was holding something.

"Alright, make some room for my buddy to sit."

He pushed the Two Fingers right in front of Tanith, letting them glare at each other while he sighed.

"I'm not good with words, so I don't know how to explain it to you."

"But that's okay—I brought it here."

"You two can talk face to face."

...

[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]

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