"Ultimately, because of the suspicion that the nomadic merchant tribes might worship the Frenzied Flame, Queen Marika the Eternal—our mother—ordered the arrest of their entire people. Then... she had them all buried alive right here."
As he spoke, Mohg turned to look back at the altar.
"As the Great Caravan was buried alive here, hunger, fear, and despair festered over time. Eventually, their collective agony summoned the Three Fingers. This is the truth behind this chapter of history."
Morgott stood frozen in place after hearing Mohg's explanation.
From the context of the story, the primary culprit seemed to be Shabriri, the courtier who had been pulling the strings from the shadows, leading the Golden Dynasty to a disastrously wrong judgment. However... nothing could mask the bloody massacre committed by the Golden Dynasty itself. They had acted against a people who had done nothing wrong, and in doing so, they had actually caused the tribe to summon the Three Fingers and birthed the very faith they feared.
Thinking of this, Morgott's fists gradually tightened.
"The mistake committed by the Dynasty is an undeniable fact. Yet, the true culprit has not yet been brought to justice, and this place of sin should remain forever buried. I will find a way to make amends, but... this place must never see the light of day again."
"What do you plan to do?" Mohg asked, turning toward him.
"...Our current strength is insufficient. I will find a way to develop a seal—a seal to lock this place away entirely. I will link it to my very life essence. Unless I perish, this place shall never be opened!"
"Is that so? That certainly sounds like the brother I know. I'll help you. When the time comes, I will stay here and guard the seal."
"Mohg..."
Morgott snapped his head toward his younger brother, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"You clearly said you wanted to leave the sewers. You don't have to do this for my sake—"
"Say no more. If I gave my word, I will fulfill the promise."
Mohg raised a hand to signal Morgott to stop. He stepped beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Who else is going to look after my big brother?"
"...I understand. Then I will make sure this seal is completed."
"If you truly want to thank me, then help me build a better Golden Dynasty. You should know by now—the current Dynasty is far from perfect."
Morgott hesitated for a long moment before nodding heavily.
Seeing this, Mohg felt a surge of secret delight. As long as Morgott changes his outlook, this was all worth it! Besides... besides, I'm going to run away and leave this place eventually anyway, he thought with a quiet inner snicker.
Though he didn't yet know how to use the "projection" or "clone" technique, he felt certain he could figure it out later, so there was no need to worry. As for why Mohg was so happy about such a small shift in attitude...
In the original timeline, Morgott was a pure, die-hard loyalist to the Gold—loyal to a fault. He believed everything the Golden Dynasty did was righteous and beyond reproach. In other words, his philosophy was that the "laws of the ancestors" could never be changed. Now that he had managed to crack that rigid mindset, Mohg felt it was an excellent start.
"So, what now? What's our next move?"
Mohg looked at Morgott. They had mapped out most of the sewers by now; the only place they were truly unfamiliar with was the Leyndell Catacombs. Even the structural map didn't explicitly mark the entrance to the Catacombs, which was why Mohg suspected the map was flawed.
It felt as though someone had deliberately designed it that way for some ulterior motive—someone like Shabriri. Honestly, that guy was a massive headache. He was essentially Chaos itself, blessed by the Three Fingers. As long as the Three Fingers existed, he would not die; as long as the Frenzied Flame burned, he would not fade.
"Hmm... we aren't strong enough yet. We need time to grow... Only when we reach a certain level of power can we protect this place after sealing it."
Right now, they were far from ready.
"The sewers aren't peaceful these days. Plenty of grave robbers are filtering in from the outside, all searching for the Leyndell Catacombs."
"Those rats..."
Morgott's brow furrowed. Though he hated to admit it, those grave robbers were a significant liability. Their reckless, scorched-earth searching might eventually lead them right to this spot. And as things stood... Morgott felt their current defensive strength was lacking.
They had some Basilisks, rats, and slugs in the pipes, plus one Great Jar and a few small ones up above... No matter how you looked at it, it wasn't exactly a reliable defense. The two groups of grave robbers they had encountered so far were likely the weak ones; there was no guarantee there weren't powerhouses among the rest. Greed drove men to madness, especially when it concerned the ancient Leyndell Catacombs.
The name alone was enough of a lure, let alone the fact that it was hidden in such a dangerous area.
"How about we go back and blow up the path we came from?"
Mohg had a sudden inspiration and squinted at Morgott.
Morgott was stunned. "Blow it up?! Why?!"
"Because there doesn't seem to be any other connection between this area and where we used to live. If they want to get in, they'll have to find another way. And any other way... would inevitably lead them through the territory occupied by the adult Omens."
"What you're saying... actually makes quite a lot of sense. But how to collapse it is another problem."
Morgott thought it over and realized Mohg's plan was highly feasible. The only issue was the execution. The materials and architectural design of the sewers were no joke; if it were that easy to cave in, it wouldn't be much of a structure.
"Actually, there's one other way."
"Hmm?" Morgott looked at him curiously.
"We find the Leyndell Catacombs first ourselves. Then, we find a way to expose its location to the outside world. We let the grave robbers swarm into the Catacombs to cause a ruckus. That way, the probability of them wandering over here will drop significantly."
"That... but that would be a desecration of the tombs! To do such a thing..."
"It's a necessary sacrifice. Compared to a graveyard, isn't it more important to ensure the Frenzied Flame is never released?"
"Uhh..."
Morgott was currently entering a state of intense mental gymnastics...
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (202 Chapters – Ongoing)
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