"Yes, I am going to see him, but I also believe you would not have come here without reason," Fia said. "If I am not mistaken, our goal should be the same."
Nolan replied flatly, "I don't mind letting you follow along."
His tone was calm.
He looked at the woman who had suddenly appeared before him, but there was not much stir in his heart.
In the game, this woman would join with the dead Godwyn and conceive the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. Using that rune to mend the Elden Ring would begin an age that belonged to Those Who Live in Death.
But she clearly had not reached that point yet. Still, the thought that she would sacrifice herself to fulfill a mission easily made Nolan think of the girl in his arms.
Sometimes, an image surfaced in his mind. Beside a massive brazier, the girl stood atop it, her whole body aflame, looking at him with a smile of release.
The Kindling would remain loyal to her fate, but stories where someone had to sacrifice something for a mission were exactly the kind he could never bring himself to like.
Just then, Melina suddenly sensed Nolan looking at her strangely. She frowned and warned him in a low voice, "Nolan!"
What made Melina even more uncomfortable was that Nolan was not only looking at her that way. He was also looking at the woman before them with the same gaze.
A sense of unease immediately rose in Melina's heart. She felt as though this woman had some kind of connection to her.
Was she the same type of substitute?
Melina frowned despite herself and reminded him in a low voice, "We know nothing about her."
"Actually, I wouldn't say I know nothing about her."
Nolan smiled faintly at Melina, then turned to Fia and patted Torrent.
"But there's no room for you here."
"That's all right. I can simply walk beside you," Fia said softly, her tone very gentle.
Melina pressed her lips into a thin line, clearly displeased, but in the end, she said nothing more.
The next second, however, she suddenly seemed to remember something and tried to break free from Nolan's arms.
Naturally, Nolan did not let go. He held the reins tightly and did not allow Melina to succeed.
He understood that the girl was sinking into worry over her past, and this was precisely when she needed his care and comfort.
Torrent seemed to have no issue with Fia. The spirit horse even allowed this stranger to approach and walk beside him.
The five of them, if Asimi and Torrent could be counted as people, began heading deeper into the Deeproot Depths.
Along the way, they passed through a ruined nameless Eternal City. The city had long since been abandoned, leaving only broken walls, remnants, and dust covering the ground.
No one had the mood to admire the desolate sight. As they continued deeper, the surroundings grew stranger and stranger.
The Erdtree's roots, which should have been full of life, were now stained with a sickly gray-white color, with patches of black mold faintly covering them.
A nauseating reek of decay filled the air.
The environment became increasingly unsettling. The Erdtree's roots had turned from brilliant gold into a diseased gray-white, covered in black mold.
The air was thick with a sweet, rotten stench. Nolan had grown used to that smell, but he had never liked it.
"Lord Godwyn is the bearer of death," Fia said as they walked. Her voice was light, as if she were immersed in a dream.
"When the Rune of Death was stolen, he was the first Demigod to die. But his death was imperfect."
"His soul died completely, so completely that even the Golden Order could not restore it, yet it refused to give up his body."
"And thus, the first of Those Who Live in Death was born."
"So what does that have to do with you? You're not one of Those Who Live in Death," Melina asked, her tone filled with suspicion and hostility.
Fia's smile grew sorrowful.
"Before I came to the Lands Between, I was what Mr. Nolan called a Sleeping Maiden. A Sleeping Maiden's duty is to lie with the corpses of great men and bring them back to life."
"But after I received Grace, I was driven from my homeland and came to the Lands Between." She looked at Nolan. "I have only just arrived here. Please believe that I bear you no ill will."
"It doesn't matter whether you do or not. Your likes and dislikes mean nothing to me," Nolan said directly.
Even Fia could feel the domineering force in his words.
"So you intend to lie with Godwyn and revive him?" Melina asked.
The Sleeping Maiden's fate might have been pitiable, but that had nothing to do with her.
What she cared about was that elder brother she could not remember at all.
"To be honest, I have not yet decided what I should do. I want to meet His Highness Godwyn before making my choice," Fia said with an ambiguous smile, causing Melina to frown.
Asimi's gaze moved back and forth between them. For some reason, she felt the mood between the two of them was a little strange.
"I'm afraid you may not have a choice when the time comes," Nolan said.
He would not give up what he planned to do next for the sake of a stranger.
"I believe there is always a choice," Fia said, giving Nolan a meaningful look.
They jumped onto the roots and continued onward. At the end was a hollow in the tree, like a stump that had been emptied out from within.
This was the Prince of Death's palace, but it looked more like a giant coffin without a lid. This was a tomb.
To be buried among the main roots of the Erdtree was likely a privilege only Godwyn could have received.
After passing through the tree hollow, the world seemed to grow darker still. At the center stood a throne naturally formed from roots.
Seated upon the throne was a towering figure. Or rather, it had once been a figure.
Now, it looked more like a mummy wrapped in roots. Its gray skin clung tightly to its bones, and its long golden hair was as dry as straw.
All that remained of this prince now was distortion. He had an octopus-like face with an unmistakably Cthulhu-like shape, his body was covered in thorny spines like bramble vines, and his lower half seemed to have turned into a fish tail.
"This is Lord Godwyn?" Fia called softly, her voice full of reverence.
She stepped forward and knelt before the throne, gazing up at the mummy's noble visage.
Nolan felt an inexplicable pull. One corner of the brazier within him seemed to stir slightly. It was the sensation coming from the Cursemark of the Centipede.
Melina stared at the enormous Godwyn. Clearly, her hopes had already fallen through. This elder brother had no way to communicate with her at all.
As for Asimi, she hid behind Nolan with only a pair of eyes showing. That bizarre appearance and the dense aura of death were truly frightening.
"Have you decided?" Nolan asked.
"Not yet." Fia shook her head.
"Then there's no need to think about it." Nolan said, reaching a hand toward Godwyn.
"What are you going to do?" Fia froze.
"Someone asked me to make up for her mistake, and someone else hopes I will end His Highness the Prince's suffering," Nolan said with a soft laugh. "Unfortunately, both of them are very important to me."
Fia still wanted to say something, but Nolan's movement cut her words short.
Purple mist spread from Nolan's body. A wave of drowsiness followed, making everyone dizzy and forcing them to close their eyes.
When they opened them again, they were still in the Prince of Death's palace, but everyone clearly knew that they were dreaming.
Before Fia could understand what had happened, a heavy crawling sound came from the darkness behind the throne, accompanied by the grating scrape of scales against stone.
A foul wind rushed over them. Amid a roar of pain, everyone raised their heads and looked upward.
"Fortissax..." Nolan said softly. "Godwyn's dearest friend. Your act of resistance is worthy of praise. Now your mission is over."
A pair of cloudy yellow eyes emerged from the darkness, followed by an enormous head covered in gray-white scales.
It was an Ancient Dragon, but it had rotted terribly. Its scales had fallen away, exposing decayed flesh beneath, and its two pairs of wings were tattered like rotten cloth. Only those eyes still burned with a mad light.
Asimi let out a scream that could nearly shatter glass.
"It's an Ancient Dragon!"
She instantly became even smaller, wishing she could burrow entirely into Nolan's body.
The dragon opened its blood-filled maw, black liquid dripping from between its teeth. It let out a deafening roar, then lunged at them.