Elden Lord of Cinders

The exploration began.

In the wake of the earlier tremors, Albinauric Bloodclots fused with Ergo clung to the instruments of torture once used to capture and torment them. This was the vengeance of the Albinauric Children—vengeful spirits of those captured and tortured to death by Rykard, awakened by Ergo and reborn.

Their souls were bound into steel bodies with silver blood, transformed into malicious, frenzied revenants that slaughtered every living thing in sight. Blades swung, spiked wheels spun, and steel monstrosities clashed with desecrated lifeforms, silver and red blood mingling on the battlefield.

On the far side, Lloyd drew Ranni's staff. With the battlefield too chaotic and a desire to observe these creatures' movements, he decided to hang back at the perimeter, harassing them with spells while probing for weaknesses.

He switched his talismans to boost spell damage, activated Renna's Covenant, swapped his helmet for the absurdly large Glintstone Crown, equipped another talisman, and invoked the Golden Vow. Taking a few steps closer to the fray, he swung the staff.

Bang—bang, bang—

The Dark Moon Great Demon Rock cut through the air. With the buffs stacked, a single shot erased a Man-Serpent's health bar. But the next two blasts struck an approaching Albinauric Iron Maiden, shaving off only a third of its health.

A few more shots confirmed it—high magic resistance, and completely immune to frostbite.

Switching back to Ranni's Knight set, Lloyd stacked damage reduction talismans, pulled out Elizabeth's Poleblade, spun it, and charged. When the Iron Maiden readied its downward strike, he triggered the second phase of the weapon's art, sidestepping and detonating a trail of blood.

Boom—

The blood burst in full, the combo landing cleanly. But the damage was underwhelming. Even with platinum fluid coursing through its body, the construct was impervious to bleeding.

Should I try the Bloodhound's Fang?

He swapped weapons, landed two strikes—still poor damage, and bleeding was useless.

After some trial and error, Lloyd worked out a proper method. Seriel's Poleblade, Millicent's upgraded Covenant, the Dragonmother Talisman, the Golden Vow, and The All-Knowing's Rejection.

With this setup, he could tank the Iron Maiden's attacks while striking nonstop. Though mechanical, they weren't classed as Those Who Live in Death, meaning Seriel's Poleblade could still build up Glory on them.

If there were only one or two Iron Maidens, he could charge straight in and chain attacks. Under Millicent's Covenant, each strike slightly boosted the next, and combined with the Glory buildup from Seriel's Poleblade, damage ramped up fast.

Once both damage and Glory maxed out, he could unleash a fully charged Ash of War, dumping all that built-up power at once. The move hit hard on its own, but with the added buffs, it could one-shot a full-health Iron Maiden—plus it restored a solid chunk of HP.

After pushing forward a bit more, he refined the tactic further. When spotting multiple Iron Maidens, he'd first toss a throwing knife to lure one away, build up maximum Glory and combo damage on it, then signal Ranni to draw the others in with a Dark Moon Magic blast. Once they bunched up—rush in and drop a fully charged Flower of Abundance, wiping them all out.

As for the remaining Man-Serpents—technically, they shouldn't be hostile in the Volcano Manor territory. But… this is a Souls protagonist. If you know, you know.

Even after he'd just cleared out the Iron Maidens for them, they'd still trot over, trying to stab him with their little weapons—only to have Ranni's magic hammer their health bars to zero.

Before long, Ranni realized the Iron Maidens also countered her heavily—magic-resistant, immune to frost, and just as troublesome for her spells as for Lloyd's.

No matter. Seeing that Lloyd had them covered, she abandoned the idea of fighting them seriously and focused on clearing out the Man-Serpents, pulling aggro, and providing ranged fire.

Advancing further, new enemies began appearing alongside the Iron Maidens—Man-Serpents mutated by Ergo… Dogs possessed by Albinauric Bloodclots, their bodies shimmering silver… And an elite foe made from Iron Maiden scraps, shaped like a massive iron sphere that attacked by rolling over anything in its path.

Stronger, all of them. Each could easily crush a normal Man-Serpent.

But Lloyd's build was overkill—layered spells, stacked talismans, and even in Ranni's Knight armor, absurdly high physical resistance. Paired with Seriel's Poleblade and Millicent's Covenant for massive damage and area healing, the rest of the push was practically a clean sweep.

[Obtained weapon "Erdtree Seal"]

[Obtained equipment "Albinauric Mask"]

[Obtained shield "Smoldering Shield"]

Along the way, he picked up various gear and items—mostly trinkets or things he couldn't use yet—but one piece caught his eye: the Albinauric Mask.

A simple helmet that gave the wearer the comically oversized pig-like head of the second-generation Albinauric. Naturally, Lloyd put it on immediately, strode over to Ranni, and fixed her with the mask's bulging eyes.

At first, she held steady, maintaining her icy composure.

But after he circled her a few times—mask paired with her exclusive knight armor—Ranni finally cracked.

"Stop right there."

Ranni reached out and grabbed Lloyd by the back of his collar.

"Take that thing off your head before we go any further."

"Why?" Lloyd looked genuinely puzzled.

"Don't you think it's cute?"

"No." Ranni's expression was dead serious.

"Then I'll turn back and let you go on alone."

After several attempts to convince her of just how cute the headpiece was, Lloyd finally sighed. Reluctantly, and with no small amount of regret, he swapped it back for Ranni's Carian Knight Helm.

"Such a shame… it was adorable, and it even boosted Arcane. How can you not see that…"

They moved on.

…

After some more exploration, Lloyd spotted something familiar—a cage suspended in midair, with a platform inside and chains dangling from it.

A classic cage elevator.

He stepped in, rode it down, and arrived at the edge of a magma lake.

The area was devoid of Man-Serpents and Iron Maidens—because a Magma Wyrm lived here. The beast lay in the molten rock, but the moment it spotted Lloyd, it surged forward, swinging its Magma Wyrm's Scalesword.

It didn't get far before Ranni blasted it to the ground with four Dark Moon shots.

But, just like the one in the cave earlier, the corpse didn't vanish. After a short delay, a thunderous heartbeat began to thump inside its body.

Puff—

Puff—

Puff—

Flame and lightning erupted, golden eyes snapping open. The charred carcass rose anew from the fire, its scales bristling like blades. Wings of intertwined flame and lightning spread from its back, and it threw its head to the sky with a deafening roar.

"Rooaaar!"

Lowering its gaze, it fixed Lloyd with a wild grin.

"We meet again, Dragon Feaster."

"I hope this time no fool dares interrupt us."

Its massive claws came crashing down.

Boom!

The ground shook, magma surged, and the whole Volcano Manor trembled.

Then—

Boom!

Lloyd's Poleblade slammed into the ground. Illusory Flowers of Abundance bloomed, and the great dragon collapsed. As the thunder and fire faded from its body, a system notification appeared.

[Obtained item: Broken Dragon Heart]

[Broken Dragon Heart]

[A dragon heart shattered under excessive strain]

[It still contains the power of flame lightning]

[No need for a dragon feast—swallow it directly to gain its power]

[But it may have other uses]

[In fractured space-time, the raging flame dragon still roars unyieldingly]

[Even if the body perishes and the soul fades, the will to fight burns on]

[This is the embryonic form of its essence]

The last time Lloyd fought it, the battle had been grueling—mostly because he hadn't expected it to revive after half a day dead, let alone return with such bizarre attacks.

This time, armed with that knowledge, he buffed himself to the limit during its revival and swapped to a tailored counter-build.

From their last encounter, Lloyd had also learned Bayle's attack patterns. And Bayle, still unaccustomed to adjusting under the constraints of Lloyd's Law, fought almost exactly the same as before—only adding a few wide-range, high-power moves in the second phase. The wind-up for these was obvious, making them easy to dodge.

After a brief warm-up, Lloyd drew both Poleblades. A few jump slashes later, he unleashed a fully charged Flower of Abundance into a maxed-out combo, shredding the last third of Bayle's health bar.

Accepting his defeat without complaint, Bayle drove his claws into his own chest, pulled out his heart, and placed it in Lloyd's hands.

"Eat it. It's your reward."

"But if one day you can't suppress it, I'll tear out your heart with my claws and be reborn from your corpse."

"I look forward to that day… hahahaha…"

With that, Bayle's head slumped. He was dead.

Not long after, golden flames flared and a mirror appeared before Lloyd.

The majestic Dragonlord emerged within, towering above as he looked down on him from the reflection.

"Human, you have done well. I sensed the possibility of its resurrection—and you erased it once again. Now, as promised, I shall grant you your reward…"

But as the Dragonlord extended his prize through the mirror, Lloyd didn't immediately accept it.

"Uh…"

Watching the figure try to hand over an Ancient Dragonrock Smithing Stone—clearly planning to bolt right after—Lloyd blinked.

"Are you stuck?"

Placidusax froze, then shoved the Ancient Dragonrock Smithing Stone forward with more force.

"And it looks like a dead knot."

Clack—

The stone fell to the ground outside. The golden flames pulled back, and the mirror shattered.

It was even faster than last time.

[Obtained "Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone"]

"Ugh, read but no reply again."

After quickly checking his spoils, Lloyd tossed the Dragon Heart—which might serve some other purpose—and the Smithing Stones back into his inventory. He explored the area a bit more, confirmed there was nothing else of value, then rode the prison elevator back up.

On the upper floor, after another round of exploration, Lloyd discovered a second prison elevator. Taking it brought him to an even higher level.

He walked to the edge of a great bridge, pulled a lever, and the magma-covered bridge slowly rose, forming a shortcut back to the first Site of Grace.

After restoring himself, Lloyd returned, walking only a few steps forward before arriving at the entrance of a massive church.

It was built of white stone, grand and imposing. Inside, countless red candles bathed the entire hall in a deep, blood-red glow.

At the center of that crimson light lay the corpse of a bloated figure draped in various human skins. Beside it stood a pale gray humanoid.

It was a puppet—unfinished, with no skin or features, just a bare mannequin-like frame. Its surface shimmered with flowing Albinauric Bloodclot, saturated with pain and despair.

Hearing footsteps behind it, the puppet slowly turned to face Lloyd.

[Albinauric Puppet]

Just as Lloyd drew his Poleblade, ready to test himself against what looked like a worthy opponent, a golden light flared at his side.

[Assistance summoned: "Albinauric Child, Albus"]

[Assistance summoned: "Albinauric Child, Latenna"]

Albus was the old Albinauric Lloyd had sent to Castle Morne, and Latenna was likewise one of the first-generation Albinauric Children.

Seeing them appear, the puppet stopped mid-step, confusion and uncertainty flickering in its stance.

Under Lloyd's watch, Albus and Latenna approached the puppet and exchanged a few quiet words. There was no battle. At first the puppet only looked puzzled, then lost, and finally—after hearing something and glancing at Latenna's posture—it became oddly agitated.

Soon after, guided by Albus and Latenna, the puppet came before Lloyd, dropped to one knee, and exposed its core to him.

"Please kill it," Latenna said softly, standing at Lloyd's side with her head bowed.

"It is the embodiment of the resentment of the Albinaurics here—a being that never wished to be born into this world.

If it does not die here, its despair will take form and turn it into a true monster.

It has learned of your help to our kind, and wishes to be slain by your hand… to become your strength."

Lloyd considered her words. It did sound like the kind of thing that might count as a side quest reward, but after a moment's thought, he shook his head.

"We've come all this way—might as well have a real fight.

And besides… I think you'd want it to at least leave some trace that it existed."

The puppet lifted its head.

Lloyd bent down, touched its ankle, and immediately knew: even for an Albinauric puppet, the soul within its feet was broken. It hadn't been repaired; instead, it had been crudely held together with its own essence, like glue, and forced into motion by the writhing of the Albinauric Bloodclot.

After a brief pause, Lloyd fashioned a temporary soul prosthesis for it, easing its burden. Then he drew the Bloodhound's Fang.

The puppet tested its ankle, then raised its head. Though it was nothing but a featureless round sphere, a faint fervor radiated from it. It raised its estoc, and once it saw Lloyd was ready, lunged.

A flash of silver-white—

Lloyd sidestepped and countered with a slash.

Bang.

No flashy effects, no earth-shaking sounds. The puppet's attacks were stripped down to pure technique, strength, and speed. Stab, horizontal slash, upward cut. Dash, evade, parry.

Its stats weren't high, but its aggression and pace were well-balanced. The only notable detail was the Albinauric Bloodclot coating its frame—every strike that landed on Lloyd briefly halted his ability to heal.

Lloyd kept it simple, using only the Bloodhound's Fang from the start. No special Ashes of War, no stacking buffs like he had against Bayle, not even much concern for the damage dealt.

This wasn't so much a fight as it was a ritual—using the clash of blades to soothe and dissolve the despair festering within the puppet. After so long in the Lands Between, Lloyd had learned:

There's nothing here that can't be solved with a fight.

If there is… you just haven't fought enough.

The sound of steel on steel echoed as time slipped by. Eventually, with many eyes watching, Lloyd drew Seriel's Poleblade and ended it with a blooming Flower of Abundance, cutting down the puppet's last thread of life.

It collapsed, the madness and agony gone from its presence, replaced by calm and gratitude.

With its final strength, it stepped forward, knelt, and reached out its hand.

Lloyd took it.

The puppet bowed its head, and its body slowly faded away.

[ENEMY FELLED]

[Obtained weapon "Marionette's Staff"]

[Obtained item "Albinauric Bloodclot Essence"]

...

[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]

[email protected]/BlurryDream