"What do you plan to do?"
"I don't know... I truly believed I was a child blessed by the Grace of Gold, yet I never imagined..."
"...Perhaps this was never a curse, but an ancient blessing from a bygone era?"
Hearing Mohg's words, Morgott looked at him with a hint of surprise.
"Brother, why do you think that way?"
"Because our bodies contain power far greater than anyone else's, don't they?" Mohg looked directly into Morgott's eyes as he spoke.
"...But we are still outcasts, abandoned by the Erdtree and the Golden Dynasty."
"One day, we will return to the surface."
Mohg fell silent for a moment before looking at Morgott with absolute conviction. Morgott seemed affected by his brother's intensity; a slight tremor of emotion flickered in his gaze.
"But we are sinners."
"Then let us change that. We'll let our strength do the talking."
"...That line of thinking is wrong. It is a betrayal of the Golden Order," Morgott said, staring back at Mohg.
Seeing Morgott's expression, Mohg chose to shut his mouth. Though he didn't know exactly when it had started, his "cheap" older brother seemed to be heading down that same old path again—the path of self-loathing and blind loyalty.
"Regardless... one day, I will return to the sunlight."
Morgott glanced at him but said nothing more.
Seeing this, Mohg leaned against a nearby wall to rest. He needed to figure out how they were going to survive in this sewer. Meanwhile, seeing that Mohg's attention was no longer on him, Morgott quietly walked over to stand beneath a stray beam of light filtering from above.
"Strength, is it...?"
As for Mohg, he had drifted into a deep sleep without even realizing it. Within his body, a surge of white energy was slowly converging, gradually tempering his physique. Within that energy, one could faintly see the hazy silhouette of something resembling a Great Rune.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was morning.
Mohg was awakened by the sounds of a commotion nearby. Morgott, who was sleeping not far away, also stirred and woke up. The two brothers looked toward the source of the noise.
A relatively tall Omen youth was forcibly snatching food from Lit's hands.
Mohg's brow furrowed. He stood up and strode toward them.
"Roar!"
Lit let out a defiant growl at his attacker. Though he was a head shorter than the other Omen, his spirit was not lacking.
The bully, however, was not about to be intimidated by Lit. A predatory glint flashed in his eyes as he swung a massive hand toward Lit's head. Lit braced himself, preparing to charge into the bully's chest.
Thwack!
A sudden, heavy impact echoed through the chamber. Mohg had delivered a sharp kick directly into the bully's stomach.
The sheer force sent the Omen youth reeling. He stumbled back and collapsed onto the ground, clutching his midsection in agony.
"Huh?"
Mohg looked at his own hands in surprise. He hadn't expected to possess such explosive strength.
"Roar!!"
The Omen youth on the ground managed to catch his breath. Feeling humiliated that he'd been knocked down by the smaller Mohg, he let out a roar and charged forward like a living wall.
Faced with the sudden assault, Mohg panicked for a split second. He had never been in a real fight before. He was promptly tackled and pinned to the ground.
Seeing his attack succeed, the Omen youth straddling Mohg let out an excited grunt. He raised both fists and began hammering down toward Mohg's head.
Though he lacked combat experience, Mohg knew enough to protect his vitals. He raised his arms to block the blows. As the dull pain of the fists hitting his flesh set in, a strange heat suddenly surged from within his body, followed by an inexplicable sense of exhilaration.
Swoosh—!
The Omen youth pinning him was suddenly jolted by a burst of immense strength from below. Before he could react, Mohg had flipped him over.
Once back on his feet, Mohg lunged forward and grabbed the horns on the bully's head, slamming him violently against the stone wall.
CRACK!
"AOOO!!" the Omen youth shrieked in pain.
Not knowing any formal way to fight, Mohg simply unleashed a torrent of pure, unadulterated violence. He raised his fists and pummeled the bully over and over again.
Beside them, Morgott noticed that Mohg's expression was becoming increasingly fanatical. Frowning, he stepped forward and caught Mohg's fist mid-swing.
"Mohg!"
Whoosh—!
A gust of wind from the punch brushed against Morgott's face. Mohg's fist stopped just inches away. The manic look on Mohg's face slowly faded, replaced by a deep scowl.
He let go, no longer paying any attention to the bully on the ground, who was now covered in lumps and bleeding from several superficial cuts. Mohg knew that for an Omen, these surface injuries were nothing serious.
Realizing he had finally been spared, the bully scrambled away toward a corner, watching Mohg with eyes full of terror. He couldn't understand how someone so much smaller than him could possess such terrifying strength.
"What happened to you just now?" Morgott asked, his voice laced with confusion and a hint of worry.
Mohg shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure... I just felt a sudden, desperate urge to fight. Especially after that guy hit me and I felt the pain."
"Perhaps it's a thirst for battle inherent in our bloodline?" Morgott mused, his brow darkening.
"Maybe..."
Mohg nodded. They were the offspring of Godfrey, after all, combined with the savage blood of the Primordial Crucible. It was a distinct possibility.
However, there was another possibility that Mohg didn't voice: he might have already been marked by a certain "ancient meddler."
Though Mohg felt that they were too far up in the sewer levels for her to be watching yet, it wasn't impossible. But it was far too early to worry about that. Even if it were true, it wasn't something he could solve right now.
"Thank you, Mohg," Lit said, walking over.
"It was nothing. You're the first person we've actually met down here," Mohg said with a dismissive shake of his head. To be honest, the fact that Lit could speak made Mohg view him as something more than just a beast; it made him a peer.
Mohg then picked up the dusty black cake from the ground and brushed it off—it was the food the bully had tried to steal.
He looked around and spotted a place with running water. He ran over, intending to wash it down with a drink.
The moment he tasted the water, Mohg nearly gagged and spat it out.
He really shouldn't have believed for a second that there would be clean water in a sewer!
────────────────────────────────────────
My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (45 Chapters – Ongoing)
────────────────────────────────────────