Back then, Latenna had already lost her companion, the wolf Lobo, and could no longer move.
As a first-generation Albinauric, Latenna possessed the same flaw shared by all of her kind—the inability to walk.
Albinaurics of the first generation could traverse the Lands Between only by relying on external means. For Latenna, that had been her wolf companion.
And that wolf had been murdered inside the dilapidated shack on the cliff.
The culprit was none other than Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing, of the Roundtable Hold.
Coincidentally—or perhaps inevitably—Arthur also had a score to settle with that man.
When Gideon learned that Arthur had obtained half of the secret medallion, he immediately dispatched one of his Omenkiller knights to assassinate him.
That was when Arthur had only just entered the Roundtable Hold.
Before he could even get his bearings, an assassination attempt came crashing down on him head-on.
Had Arthur reacted a moment slower, he might very well have lost his life there.
After killing the assassin, Arthur went to confront Gideon—only for the so-called All-Knowing to wave it off with a casual excuse, claiming the knight was merely "a foolish child who acted on his own."
If Gideon hadn't also insisted that violence was forbidden within the Roundtable Hold, Arthur might almost have believed him.
Almost.
Still, Arthur hadn't rushed to deal with Gideon.
A man bold enough to call himself "All-Knowing" did, in fact, possess an impressive grasp of the Lands Between.
In Arthur's eyes, Gideon still had value.
After all, once the Erdtree was burned, Gideon would inevitably stand in Arthur's way.
They could settle things then.
For now, that could wait.
Back to the present.
Arthur had encountered the immobile Latenna in the ruined shack atop the cliff.
She had entrusted him with one final request—to carry her to Ordina, Liturgical Town, the hidden sanctuary of the Albinaurics.
Arthur had agreed.
To make travel possible, Latenna willingly transformed into a spirit, allowing Arthur to carry her with ease.
And today, Arthur had finally arrived at Ordina.
However, instead of entering the town immediately, he headed northwest.
That was where the Apostate Derelict lay.
Latenna had asked to be brought there.
The derelict structure resembled a ruined church. Its name likely came from its location—far north in the Consecrated Snowfield, beyond the reach of the Golden Order.
When Arthur arrived, he saw a colossal Albinauric.
She sat silently against the wall, unmoving—like a corpse.
Strictly speaking, she had never been alive to begin with.
She had been created… but never given life.
And Latenna's true mission was to bestow life upon this massive sister of hers.
Arthur rang the Spirit Calling Bell.
Latenna appeared beside the giant Albinauric and spoke solemnly:
"My immense sister, Philia.
Accept this Primordial Droplet.
For the sake of the Albinaurics—
awaken, and be born."
With that, Latenna produced a Primordial Droplet and placed it within Philia's body.
From her words alone, Arthur could tell—
Phil ia was different from ordinary Albinaurics.
The first-generation Albinaurics were a masterpiece of the Eternal City—artificial eternal life, born from Primordial Droplets.
But "eternal" did not mean "perfect."
They suffered from two fundamental flaws.
First: paralysis of the lower body, rendering them unable to walk.
Second: the inability to reproduce.
As artificial lifeforms, they were rejected by the Erdtree.
And in the eyes of Golden Order fundamentalists, rejection meant heresy.
And heresy was to be eradicated.
The Albinauric Village in Liurnia had been wiped out precisely for this reason—by forces sent by Gideon himself.
By now, the Albinaurics openly known in the Lands Between were likely limited to this small group sheltered near the Haligtree—this final refuge.
Aware of their own limitations, the Albinaurics devised a solution.
Philia.
She was created to transcend their flaws.
And Latenna had been sent to Liurnia to search for the Primordial Droplet that could awaken her.
Once Philia was fully born, she would no longer suffer from the Albinaurics' defects.
She represented the future of their entire race.
After placing the Primordial Droplet, Latenna turned to Arthur and spoke softly:
"Thank you. I've fulfilled my duty at last. Philia will become our hope."
She paused, then continued:
"My heart is unburdened now.
Let me fight by your side until the very end.
And when the war is over…
Please bury me beside my wolf, Lobo."
Arthur nodded.
"I promise."
He then glanced at Philia and asked, "Is it really safe to leave her here?"
On his way in, Arthur had encountered monsters everywhere—there was even a Death Rite Bird lurking in the river below.
He couldn't help worrying that something might wander in and destroy Philia before she fully awakened.
Latenna clearly shared that concern—but she had no solution.
She had just pledged herself to fight alongside Arthur.
Staying behind to guard Philia wasn't an option.
Sensing her hesitation, Arthur spoke up.
"How about this—let me hold onto her for now. I have a personal space. It's… spacious."
Philia hadn't fully awakened yet.
Arthur could exploit that brief window and store her directly inside the Zen Garden.
After a moment's thought, Latenna nodded.
"Then… I'll entrust her to you."
Arthur waved his hand.
Philia vanished, safely transferred into the Zen Garden.
And with that, the Albinauric storyline reached its conclusion.
Arthur's next destination was the Haligtree.
Miquella could hardly contain his anticipation—he was desperate to see his sister once more.
Guided by Miquella, Arthur passed through Ordina's gateway and arrived at the Haligtree.
When Miquella was still a child, he had discovered that Golden Order Fundamentalism could not cure Malenia.
Without hesitation, he abandoned the Golden Order.
Using pure gold, he forged a needle, embedding it into Malenia's body to suppress the spread of Scarlet Rot.
He swore that one day, he would free his sister from her curse.
The siblings traveled together, seeking salvation.
Along the way, they encountered countless races rejected by the Erdtree—beings denied grace, hunted relentlessly by Golden Order zealots.
Eventually, Miquella reached the Consecrated Snowfield.
There, he watered a sapling with his own blood, hoping it might one day rival the Erdtree.
And more importantly—become a sanctuary for those the Erdtree had abandoned.
That tree grew atop Elphael.
The knights who swore to protect it would later name it the Haligtree.
Thus, the Haligtree of Miquella was born.
It was worth noting that Miquella had once shared a close bond with his father, Radagon.
They had even exchanged incantations.
But after Miquella rejected Golden Order Fundamentalism and nurtured the Haligtree, Radagon dispatched assassins wielding the Golden Order Greatsword to kill him.
Only Marika's inner circle intervened.
The greatsword was lost in the Snowfield—later found by Arthur and ultimately becoming Hermione's bonded flying sword.
In time, sustaining the Haligtree drained Miquella immensely.
He embedded himself within the tree and fell into slumber.
That was when Mohg, seizing the chance during Malenia's absence, carved Miquella from the tree and abducted him.
Without Miquella's nourishment, the Haligtree was ravaged by Malenia's unchecked Scarlet Rot, twisting into decay and monstrosity.
And speaking of Malenia—
Arthur was reminded of a side quest he'd once completed in Caelid.
There stood a ruined shack inhabited by a man named Gowry.
Calling him a man was inaccurate.
In truth, Gowry was an entity formed from insects that worshipped Scarlet Rot.
Arthur had killed Gowry once—only for his corpse to transform into a centipede-like creature.
Not long after, a new Gowry appeared in the same shack, born from another insect.
Though not the protagonist of that quest, Gowry played a crucial role.
The true focus was a girl named Millicent.
Like Malenia, she was afflicted by Scarlet Rot—and had lost her right arm.
Gowry claimed to be her foster father.
He said he'd found Millicent and her four sisters in the Swamp of Aeonia.
That alone raised suspicion.
The Swamp of Aeonia was where Malenia had bloomed for the first time—an environment saturated with Scarlet Rot.
What kind of infant could survive there?
That doubt was what drove Arthur to kill Gowry in the first place.
Later, after thorough investigation, Arthur discovered the truth.
Gowry hadn't lied—at least, not entirely.
Millicent and her sisters truly originated from the swamp.
They were deeply connected to the Scarlet Bloom.
Combining this with what Arthur knew about Scarlet Rot, he reached a conclusion:
Millicent and her sisters were likely manifestations of Malenia herself—
Fragments of her being.
Pieces of her will.
One form of Scarlet Rot manifestation involved infected beings becoming overgrown with fungi.
Those fungi released scarlet spores, spreading the rot even further.
Through those spores, Scarlet Rot propagated endlessly—
And from it, something new… was born.
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