The smoke of war in Castle Morne had subsided, but on the open ground behind the city, campfires and the green smoke of cooking rose once more.
Edgar and his soldiers, though puzzled by Nidhogg's promise, methodically used items from the city to construct a temporary camp.
Azan and Serpico were also helping. They had often done such things when they were with the Holy Iron Chain Knights, so they were quite adept.
Irina was relieved that Edgar was safe and that Castle Morne had been retaken. Understanding that her blindness was of little help, she sat obediently on a stone. Edgar stood nearby, directing everyone.
Nidhogg sat on the other side of the campfire with Melina. As the hero of Castle Morne and a benefactor to everyone, they naturally didn't need to bother with trivial matters like building the camp, cooking, and preparing food.
Melina resided within Nidhogg's body. To accumulate the faith needed for her incantations, she was always in a half-asleep state. Sometimes, when awake, she was aware of the outside world; other times, when asleep, she was not.
When Nidhogg touched the golden brand, he usually forcibly woke her if she was still sleeping. This time, he also filled her in on some recent events she didn't yet know.
"So your next step is to go to Stormveil Castle." Melina's right eye gazed at the campfire before her, as if she saw herself. "This is just a cycle. We are still not free from the weight of 'regression' and 'causality.'"
Nidhogg understood that she was referring to the two fundamentalisms of the Golden Order—the principle of regression and the principle of causality. Now, Nidhogg had returned to the path of the Elden Lord, which was actually the best reflection of them.
"That doesn't matter. There's no endless road. I believe that as long as you keep moving forward, there will always be a new path, and there will always be moments to seize." Nidhogg was quite optimistic.
"In fact, many things have changed, haven't they? These changes accumulate and will always lead to enormous transformations."
Melina glanced at him, then turned her head again and said nothing.
"Ah, by the way," Nidhogg seemed to suddenly remember and asked, "Can you stay by my side now? After all, after the previous battles, you quickly turned to dust and scattered."
"Almost," Melina looked at her scarred hand. "The return of your power is equivalent to the return of my power. My existence will last forever, as long as I am within the intersection of this world and the Junction."
"Very good. Just stay by my side and chat with me," Nidhogg said. "It just so happens that Ranni told me earlier why we are here and why we are in this state."
"Hmm." Melina only replied coldly and continued staring at the campfire.
Nidhogg added:
"By the way, we parted ways because of the frenzy. Ranni said you were going to see me become the Elden Lord, so at the final moment, you ended up in this cycle because of it, right?"
"If that's the case, you still care about my safety, right? You wouldn't be by my side all the time, and you haven't completely left, right? Is that how it is? Is that how it is, Melina? Melina?"
This time, Melina finally couldn't help but react.
She turned her head, clearly took a deep breath, her chest heaving, but she restrained herself, said not a word, wrapped her cloak around herself, and dissolved into dust.
"So shy," Nidhogg watched Melina almost vanish in a huff and couldn't help but laugh. "This isn't funny at all."
"But this Melina is still interesting. At least she can talk, unlike her one-sided conclusions for me."
Soon, dinner was ready in the camp. Edgar immediately came to invite Nidhogg to dine with everyone.
After dinner, Edgar said a few words to Irina and coaxed her to sleep in the tent before finding Nidhogg and making a decision.
"Theoretically, after the 'Shattering,' Lord Godrick, who arrived at Stormveil Castle, became the ruler of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula. As a demigod, he should have the ability to return us to the Erdtree."
"However, being a demigod and a ruler, he feared Lord Radahn during the Shattering and actually fled the royal capital of Leyndell, leaving Lord Morgott, who was still guarding it, and escaping from the royal capital amidst the chaos."
"After that, he hated Lord Malenia too much and started a reckless campaign, so he failed miserably and was forced to kiss Lady Malenia's feet to escape."
"At present, he has fled to the relative safety of Stormveil Castle, day and night thinking of gaining strength through 'grafting.' Despite his promise to return us to the foot of the Erdtree, he has ignored Castle Morne."
"Even my daughter, who was born blind, senses his weakness and shamelessness. If I had a choice, I would be very reluctant to acknowledge him as my lord. In the past, I had no choice..."
When Edgar said this, he looked at Nidhogg with burning eyes.
"You said you could return us to the foot of the Erdtree, and I truly felt the power of an incomparably mighty golden order from your brand..."
"Therefore, if you can replace this Godrick, I will swear allegiance to you on behalf of Castle Morne."
Edgar reached into his hands, looked for a while, took out a map, and handed it to Nidhogg.
"Here is a map from here to Stormveil Castle."
"Stormveil Castle is the same as Castle Morne. The large territory centered around it intersects with this world. So you need to return to the real world and then go to where Stormveil Castle is located."
"I need to stay in Morne. The city needs me, the soldiers need me, and Irina needs me even more. We need to burn the mountain of corpses, clean up the remaining rats and living corpse piles, and rebuild Castle Morne."
"Please forgive me for not being able to go with you. But please believe in my resolve. I believe that you, possessing the Grafted Blade Greatsword, will surely be able to win, become the ruler of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, and most importantly, become the Elden Lord."
"It's time to end the war at the Junction."
Nidhogg took the map that Edgar solemnly handed over, unfolded it, and put it away.
"I, like you, want to end the war at the Junction and will fulfill my promise to return you to the foot of the Erdtree. I leave tomorrow and hope we meet again soon."
"May we meet again as soon as possible." Edgar nodded slightly and said sincerely.
A small but serious agreement had been reached.
Early the next morning, Nidhogg, Azan, and Serpico packed their things and prepared to leave.
Edgar, Irina, and the soldiers of Morne bid them farewell together until they passed through the stone barrier and returned to the real world.
Irina couldn't help but ask, "Father, can Mr. Nidhogg really defeat that 'grafted' Lord Godrick?"
At the mention of Godrick's name, she also trembled slightly. It was truly Edgar's description of his terrible deeds that was too frightening.
Edgar nodded and said, "I believe in Nidhogg's strength. What's more important is that the brand on his chest, like the guidance of the Erdtree, attracted me."
"We are truly tired of Godrick's rule. Irina, trust him. Perhaps soon we will have good news."
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