Elden Ring:After the end

Running at full speed under the midday blue sky, a strange horse is found. To call it a horse would not be correct, since we are talking about Torrent, everyone's favorite mount. 

Torrent never slows down, even when he enters a wooded area or there are different beings in his way. On Torrent's back two people can be seen, one is obviously Aldrich and the second is Sellen. 

"Sometimes less is more, Sellen. Forcing things is not always the best thing to do."

Fixing Torrent's direction with a single hand, Aldrich speaks without turning his head, and followed by that he waves the sword in his free hand. 

The sword made a beautiful curve in the air, so that then bloomed large flowers of red blood. Such a display of skill doesn't make Aldrich's face change, but his frown frowns a little more. 

"Rather than forcing it, it's the final push for a great discovery. The basics are quite similar to flashing, you use mana to stimulate the subject's soul and then redirect it outward..."

"You are amazing, Sellen. The three mages I currently have at my disposal could only notice what was innovative, but not how to make it work or replicate it."

"Despite being recognized as seekers of truth, the vast majority of mages in Raya Lucaria solely follow the teachings of their schools. It is amazing that you have managed to get three who can put that aside and open their minds."

Finishing speaking, Sellen swings the staff in his hand in a particular way, managing to bring some blue sparks to the surface. 

There is something rather odd about that whole sequence of actions, yes, while making those blue sparks, no magic crest has appeared naming which school that spell belongs to. 

"Congratulations."

"Not at all, it's still imperfect and besides it was an imitation of what you just did. You don't think I haven't noticed that you've started using magic more?"

"Does the painter thank the mountain? It may have given you a chance to see magic in action, but you did everything else."

Putting away the Royal Carian Center he had pulled out at some point, Aldrich dismisses Sellen's words and finally takes Torrent's reins with both hands. 

...Aldrich pov…

At last we had left the forest where you can find some ruins, those in which is the Semi-Human Queen, the one that gives you the Semi-Human staff. 

Out of that useless information, now it must be said that we found ourselves in a forest clearing, quite close to the village of the frenzied flame. 

Well, according to my memories, the forest clearing and the village of the frenzied flame must be close, although now I can barely see the mountain in the distance, the village has to be over the mountain. 

"We went around it... Sellen?"

Pointing to the silent encampment of soldiers parked in front of the clearing, he tried to ask Sellen, though she was already ready for action. 

"I already needed some rats for my experiments, what better than to test the new spells and get real life data."

Watching as she removes the hand that had been resting under the stone mask's chin, Sellen waves the sleeve of her wizard's robe and picks up the staff she had hidden there. 

"Suit yourself, it's not like they're one of the good guys."

"Godrick's crest... As I recall."

"Mere troops of an already dead Lord. "

Filling the staff with a large amount of mana, he raised it upward and released the spell. The sorcery made a beautiful curve, striking right in the middle of the enemy camp. 

*Booooom!*

Along with the blue explosion of the spell, a large amount of dust, dirt and pieces of tents rise into the air, though there is no time to celebrate. 

""

""

As I quickly erected a barrier to deflect the pale yellow rays, clearly an incantation of frenzied flame, Sellen waves his staff and fires multiple rounds of the same spell. 

Incredibly the spell belonging to Sellen is mutated, it is not deep blue as normal, but looks like a construction of tiny, stacked crystals. 

"The damage is considerable, but how and what form the subject's soul interacts with the magic is subject to further study, so…"

Sighing at the loss of Sellen, she has fallen into a moment of reflection by the looks of it. I hold the barrier and approach the group of soldiers who have emerged from the camp. 

They are dressed in standard Godrick troop gear, making their fondness very clear, though their eye sockets are empty and a yellowish flame nests right there. 

Clearly they too are infected by the frenzied flame, just like the port city I observed upon arriving at the Crying Peninsula. This makes it clear that guys are not the ones who started this or are in control, but why else would they be infected. 

"Maybe I didn't have to trash the central store... I hope I can find information elsewhere."

Separating the head from the neck to the one on my left side, I make a swing with my Carian Knight's Straight Sword and with a lunge I pierce through the head of another. 

""

Eight small crystalline blue spheres pass by me and hit the crossbowmen, marking the end of Sellen's moment of reflection and his return to combat. 

With Sellen back on the team, what was once a formality was now simply routine. It's not an exaggeration to say that in less than five we had the place cleared, more than expected, but pretty well if we consider that neither of us made much effort. 

"Strange, you noticed, Aldrich..."

"Yes, they used a rudimentary formation, which should have been impossible considering the effects of frenzied flame possession. Still, how did you notice it so quickly?"

"Although my research was mainly on the Primordial Stream, it was easier to understand the redoubts of a dying God and then use that knowledge to be able to understand one at its apex."

As we talked about the strangeness of the situation, let's start walking through the remains of the camp. There was equipment lying around on the ground, tents more than enough for about fifty people and a big hole in the center of it all. 

Navigating through all that trash and the maze of tents, I finally found a tent that was bigger than the rest. This one is in better condition than the others, making it look imposing compared to the others. 

"Is this the commander's?"

"It's not unusual for the commander's tent and the command tent to be separate, the Knights of the Cuckoo did it that way to avoid attacks towards the command head."

"Interesting information..."

Giving him a sympathetic look, I start going through the rather plain room and finally find two important things. The first is a map of Necrolimbo and the second is a small situation diary. 

The map was quite unreadable with the exception of the Morne Castle area which is with a red X, the bridge connecting to main Necrolimbo, also with a red X and the port city again marked with a red X. 

Noticing that it is useless to read this map without context, I leave the map on the wooden table to the side and open the situation diary, at least the pages that are not stuck with blood. 

Day 47:The scouts have returned, that woman's troops have blown up the bridge... We are trapped. 

Day 92:I've decided to send a search through the remains of Castle Morne, the demi-humans will have left the place by now... I hope so. 

Day 113:It was a disaster, out of the ten soldiers I sent, only four came back alive and these have gone mad. 

Day 160:Something strange is happening in the camp, the soldiers have become more aggressive and there seems to be a clear distinction between them.

Day 200:Bad news, the port city of Regreso has also fallen... There is no way out of here.