"You bring shame to the Witch Ranni, I will not allow you to refuse."
"Truth be told, I am fortunate that my lord is you."
"Come now, my eternal consort."
Three sentences, and Ranni became the players' wife.
Clearly, Ranni achieved this.
What? Melina is the heroine?
She's nothing!
It's obvious that Ranni is the true heroine of Elden Ring!
Descendant of the Carian royal family, Princess of the Moon, Ranni.
Daughter of Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, and Radagon of the Golden Order, she inherited the Full Moon Queen's lunar magic.
A demigod, one of the three 'Empyreans' of her generation, possessing the Law of Night.
Regarding her story,
In Elden Ring, she is an extremely 'audacious' person, even a 'revolutionary'.
In the story, Ranni, like Miquella and Malenia, was born an Empyrean chosen by the Greater Will. Different Two Fingers found them, designating them as candidates for godhood. They would become the gods of the next age, after Queen Marika.
However, Ranni was unwilling to accept this fate, refusing to be manipulated by the Greater Will.
Just like refusing 'life arrangements' from parents.
Because of Rennala's education, and because she discovered the Dark Moon and obtained the Law of Night, she had a plan to 'rebel against fate'.
In this plan, she managed to steal the Rune of Death sealed away by Queen Marika from 'Maliketh the Black Blade'. Cooperating with the Black Knife Assassins, she used a special ritual to split the Rune of Death in half, infusing it into black knives, making them god-slaying weapons.
Then, using a black knife, she killed her own Empyrean body, transferring her soul into a four-armed doll modeled after her magic teacher, the Snow Witch Renna, thus escaping the Two Fingers' control.
However, this came at a cost.
Her subsequent life was also difficult, and most of the time she couldn't wander around freely.
Every day, she and the Two Fingers would mutually curse and oppose each other.
Naturally, the Two Fingers sent Baleful Shadows to assassinate her.
In the subsequent story, she resides within the doll, planning her own scheme with the assistance of Blaidd, Iji, and Seluvis — her desire to drive all outsiders away from this world.
The other black knife she planned was used by the Black Knife Assassins to kill Godwyn the Golden, thus kicking off the Night of the Black Knives.
The players playing as Tarnished would also enter this 'side quest', learning about Ranni's past and her thoughts and actions.
And Ranni even completely kills the Two Fingers.
How to put it.
She's truly awesome!!!
Why is Ranni a goddess?
Her ultimate goal isn't just to escape her own fate!
It's to free the Lands Between from the control of laws like the Greater Will!
However, in the present age where the Golden Order blankets the land, her power is weak; she cannot accomplish it alone.
To this end, she exploited the schemes of the Black Knife Assassins, killed her own flesh, becoming another demigod touched by Destined Death, thereby disrupting the Golden Order.
In the later story, after the players retrieve the 'Fingerslayer Blade' for her in Nokron, the Eternal City, she personally goes and kills her own Two Fingers.
In this era led by the currents of law, she defied the heavens with her unique ideas, maneuvering among various gods and demigods, finally forging her own star-lit path.
This requires not just courage and wisdom.
Her vision is like she holds an ocean of stars within her gaze.
For herself, and for this world!
Her vision is very grand!
Among countless people who only see themselves, Ranni sees herself and also sees this world.
She is ruthless to her enemies, even more ruthless to herself. To escape the Greater Will's control, she dares to scheme against the Prince of Death, dares to discard her own flesh, and incidentally causes Marika's earth-shattering scheme to fail halfway.
Ranni's entire life is a pursuit of freedom, trying every means to break away from the Erdtree.
And the stars are the only path to freedom she found, the final choice to restore the right of life and death to people, to find the meaning of life.
As long as you've played Elden Ring, even cleared several playthroughs and experienced different endings.
Basically, all players know that except for the Frenzied Flame and Age of Stars endings, most other endings essentially leave the player in a cycle. But the Frenzied Flame is a tragedy that destroys everything. Only the Age of Stars is the truly complete, perfect ending.
Unfortunately...
Her flesh is gone.
It's not a simple matter of being burned or destroyed.
It's truly 'killing the flesh' in this sense.
Reviving her is extremely difficult.
However, Kaito had also asked Rennala.
What did Ranni truly look like?
Rennala's answer: similar to her!
That is to say, Rennala and Ranni would look like sisters, and both would be 'eight-foot ladies' (tall and elegant).
This led to a problem for Kaito.
Which version of Ranni should he choose? The one before she lost her flesh, or the one residing in the doll after losing her flesh?
This question had been deeply troubling Kaito.
There was no solution at the moment. A soul-mate situation was out of the question.
Kaito believed that no matter how strong he became or how high his status, he would always be a mundane person attached to worldly desires.
In the past, yes; now, yes; and even more so in the future!
He would be a brainless fool to become some kind of desireless saint. Besides, even saints have some joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
If you piss them off, see if they don't explode. They'll still explode if they're going to.
...
Returning to Ranni's body, Kaito kept thinking about this problem on his way to Ranni's location, thinking and thinking.
He could certainly shout, "I want both!".
But obviously, one person can't control two bodies. Even with transformation, you could switch between two body forms, but ultimately, you'd have to return to the version of Ranni with whichever body you revived first.
In the end...
Kaito chose the doll Ranni.
The Ranni who looked similar to Rennala was certainly good, even had a certain BUFF.
But the doll Ranni also had BUFFs, just missing a specific one.
The most important thing is, Kaito recognized the doll Ranni...
The blue skin, the four hands, the spectral face...
It maxed out his preference system!!!
Anyway!
Because he encountered the doll Ranni, choosing her was right.
As for the Ranni who looked similar to Rennala, she could transform after being revived, achieving the same result.
The problem to face afterwards was retrieving Ranni's 'dead body' and performing a special resurrection based on the doll's appearance.
How to revive her would have to be seen later.
Kaito had some ideas in mind, but due to the current situation, he couldn't test them.
He would have to wait for later.
"But, it won't be too long."
"If it takes too long, I'll get anxious too."
"Isn't it normal to be a little anxious?"
Kaito smiled, then turned his gaze forward.
This place was the northernmost part of the Carian kingdom.
The building before him was the ruins of the Carian royal family's territory.
It was once where the Carian royalty lived, but going further ahead were sections filled with various magical traps left over from long ago.
As Kaito passed through this ruin area and saw the deserted, ruined town, even he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
This place must have been very prosperous once, but was completely abandoned due to war.
Not to mention the numerous traps ahead, all set to guard against enemy invasion.
After passing through this ruined town, the path led to Caria Manor, the northernmost part of the Carian kingdom, and also the front line of the war back then.
To face the war, they built towns in layers, to house and supply the massive army stationed there.
Similarly.
Back then, when Radagon saw this, saw Caria Manor with its defenses stacked to an absurd degree, it was like seeing a certain Maginot Line on a certain planet.
Except here, there was no way to go around, as it was blocked by abyssal cliffs, only accessible via several great bridges.
After fighting for a while, Radagon was also at a loss. Coupled with the numerous mages from the Raya Lucaria Academy constantly flowing to the front line, Radagon had to give up on continuing the war, instead turning to a political marriage with Rennala.
Radagon could have fought, but it wasn't necessary; the sacrifices would have been too great.
Rennala felt the same. Under Radagon's carrot-and-stick tactics of coercion and persuasion, the two eventually married, ending a war that made all parties involved shudder just thinking about it.
This is why Caria was so strong.
To this day, besides the Royal Capital and a few smaller peripheral nations, Caria is the only place in the central Lands Between that has flourished.
It's because it fully utilized its geographical advantages, and possessed the Raya Lucaria Academy, the world's largest and strongest academy with the most mages.
Not to mention that Rennala is not only the Queen of Caria but also the Academy's leader!
She's not a woman to be trifled with; her magical skill rivals that of the gods!
'Oh? Isn't Iji, the giant blacksmith from the game, here?'
Kaito asked curiously as he walked along the path to Caria Manor.
Riding the spectral horse Torrent, with Melina held in front and the Fire Keeper hugging him from behind, Kaito had been looking for this giant as he traveled.
But now, he didn't see him, which was a bit strange.
He thought if he found him, he could get help avoiding some magic traps.
Because before setting off, Rennala had told Kaito that few people lived there anymore. Also, back when they were fighting to the death with Radagon, they had deployed numerous mages to set up a vast number of magical traps.
Although many had faded over time, the journey there was still somewhat dangerous.
Even flying over would trigger the magic traps.
Kaito wanted to avoid this trouble, which was why he was looking for the giant.
Only someone who had lived there for a long time would know which areas had traps and which didn't.
Asking Rennala herself was useless; she hadn't been out there in ages, and the mages of Raya Lucaria Academy also hadn't visited that place for a long time, naturally forgetting much.
'Ah, no choice. I'll just have to slowly stumble through the traps.'
'Anyway, I won't die.'
After casting several layers of shields on Torrent, Kaito continued on the spectral horse.
Along the way, remnants of the war could still be seen.
Unlike the game, there were also broken, ruined towns and villages visible.
After traveling like this for a week, Kaito saw a small tower top in the distance, indicating that Caria Manor was nearby.
That tower top, if nothing else, belonged to Seluvis's Rise.
Speaking of the storyline, Sorceress Sellen would also be in the ruins behind Caria Manor.
Speaking of teachers...
Kaito couldn't help but wonder again.
It was about some related information in the Elden Ring storyline.
Even after clearing several playthroughs and checking some materials, he still didn't know about Ranni's magic teacher, the 'Snow Witch Renna'.
By the way, an important point!
The doll that Ranni currently inhabits was made in the likeness of the Snow Witch Renna.
There were many questionable points. Without related DLC, it's unclear.
First, both Melina and Ranni possess the ring for the spectral horse Torrent, and Melina gave hers to the Tarnished. After learning that the spectral horse Torrent had chosen a Tarnished, Ranni personally came to give the Spirit Calling Bell.
Second, the master of the spectral horse Torrent is Ranni's teacher, the Snow Witch Renna, and Ranni's body is a doll modeled after the Snow Witch Renna. So the question is, how did Melina know the Snow Witch Renna?
Is there a relationship between them, and why does Melina have the ring to summon Torrent?
Anyway, Renna is Renna, Ranni's magic teacher, the Snow Witch Renna.
She is not Ranni's mother, Rennala.
Even though the name just has one extra character, it's still not the same person.
The former is the Snow Witch, the latter is the Carian Queen of the Full Moon.
In the known story, from the interpretation of the Snow Witch set's hat in the equipment description.
Young Ranni met an aged Snow Witch deep in the forest and learned cold magic from her — This is that witch's armor.
The most crucial and hidden piece of information in the item description is: The aged witch was Ranni's secret teacher.
Yet, even after the game ends, Ranni never reveals the Snow Witch Renna's identity.
Even when introducing Renna, she uses her identity as a disguise when first meeting the player.
'Why would I only thought about this now...'
Kaito slapped his forehead lightly, feeling a bit helpless.
Even though he kept thinking about Ranni day and night, he hadn't tried to learn more about things related to her.
'Indeed, I only lusted after her!'
'Alas!!!'