Gawain held the headpiece he had just looted from the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, turning it over in his hands with genuine interest.
The head was massive and exquisitely crafted. During the battle, he hadn't been able to tell what it was made of, and even now, touching it didn't clear things up. He couldn't distinguish whether the head was fashioned from the remains of an actual lion or if the Hornsent had crafted it by hand.
Regardless, this remaining head had undergone a divine invocation; it was now imbued with spirituality and possessed a unique power.
Gawain could sense a peculiar aura emanating from the head, reaching toward the sky. Simply holding it made him feel as though he were connected to the so-called Divine Beast.
He looked at the scorched, battered mask. Ultimately, he couldn't resist the urge and tried placing the Divine Beast's head over his own, wanting to see if the spirit-channeling effect would work on him.
Following a strange ripple of energy, he became connected to the headpiece. When he opened his eyes again, a divine light flickered within the eyes of the lion mask.
The mask's eyes were now directly linked to his consciousness; at the very least, his vision wasn't obstructed.
Sensing a change in his body, Gawain instinctively reached out. Immediately, a violent gale erupted around him. Although it was still suppressed by the Land of Shadow, his power was significantly bolstered compared to before.
It seemed that this spirit-invoked headpiece amplified the power of storms and even granted a boost to his Strength and Dexterity.
However, this did not come without a price. Even after wearing it for just a short moment, he felt his sanity being subtly eroded. Is this why those two warriors became mindless puppets? he wondered.
After a moment's thought, he removed the headpiece. For one, it was too heavily damaged to look good.
While his aesthetic sense as a Soulslike player had long been warped by Miyazaki—where "Fashion Souls" reigned supreme—this was the real world now. He was a King to many; he had to maintain a modicum of dignity. In the presence of others, he needed to look human.
Gawain reflected on the sensation. Wearing the mask provided a marked contrast to his normal state; if worn for a while, it seemed to enhance his mastery over natural forces.
Both Storm and Frost attributes were buffed, with the enhancement to Storm being the most significant.
There was, however, a catch regarding Lightning. Normally, it should have been enhanced as well, but the lightning Gawain generated through Miracles was fundamentally different from the natural lightning of the Lands Between. His lightning wasn't a natural phenomenon; its essence was closer to Time, so it didn't receive the bonus.
In other words, this was a piece of equipment with specialized effects that happened to align perfectly with his "professional" skillset.
After stowing the Divine Beast Head away, he couldn't help but wonder: what exactly was the source of this "Divine Beast" that the Hornsent worshipped?
From the battle just now, the Divine Beast clearly existed. But for some reason, it seemed unable to manifest itself directly, capable only of bestowing its power upon others—much like an Outer God.
He looked up at the now-calm sky. It was then he noticed a shadow-like luminescence rising from the remains of the Dancing Lion. The energy seemed to be coalescing into items, while the distant Scadutree sent a Remembrance into his palm.
Gawain wasn't surprised. An opponent of this caliber would naturally grant a Remembrance. This further confirmed his suspicion that the Scadutree and the Erdtree shared a profound connection; both were capable of carving out Remembrances.
He looked at the remains of the beast. The Scadutree Blessing on its body began to flake off and reconsolidate. Eventually, the blessing transformed into several Scadutree Fragments.
Gawain picked them up, quietly reclaiming his spoils. It appeared that defeating powerful, blessed enemies allowed him to seize the Scadutree Blessings they carried.
This would save him a lot of traveling time. He simply needed to fight his way through, and he would naturally acquire enough fragments to grow stronger.
However, since the regular Horned Warriors hadn't dropped any, it seemed these fragments weren't that easy to come by through combat alone.
"Good work. Leave those Scadutree Fragments to me; I'll help you convert them," Melina said.
"Thanks. I'll leave it to you," Gawain replied, turning around and handing the fragments to her.
Leda and Freyja approached. They breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Gawain was unharmed; that final clash of energies had been terrifyingly intense, even from a distance.
"That was a magnificent battle. I must admit, no one in the Lands Between is more deserving of the title 'Lord of Storms' than you," Leda remarked.
Gawain simply smiled without comment. He knew his absolute control was largely due to the power of the Storm Ruler.
"I assume we should continue upward?" he asked.
"Indeed." Leda stepped aside and pointed toward a lift leading to the highest level. "From there, we can reach the very peak of Belurat."
"Alright then. Let's go."
Led by Leda, the four of them took the lift to the area above the Divine Beast's stage—the true summit of the Tower Settlement.
As they ascended the long, skyward staircase, Melina leaned against the railing, gazing at the city nestled at the foot of the Scadutree. She was deep in thought as the vast silhouette of the land became visible from this height.
At the end of the stairs, a magnificent town rooted in the sky appeared before them. The grand gates of this sky-town were entwined with pitch-black shadow-roots, sealing it off from outsiders.
Based on the scale of the shadow, the city hidden within was likely as large as the main body of Belurat below.
While Leda and Freyja went ahead to inspect the situation, Gawain walked to the edge and looked down. He realized there were physical pillars connecting the upper and lower sections.
He felt a pang of curiosity. How did the Hornsent build something like this? In his eyes, only the elevated city of Lothric could compare to this feat of engineering.
At that moment, a spirit on the stairs seemed to sense something, muttering under its breath:
"O tower shrouded by shadow... our tower, our spiral. Please, guide that lord to become a god... to become the god who saves our people..."
Hearing the spirit's words, Gawain's heart skipped a beat. Miquella... intends to achieve godhood here?!
To become a Lord is the goal of every Tarnished guided by grace, and a Lord's consort is a God.
Godhood was the objective almost every Empyrean in the game pursued, yet information on how to achieve it had always been scarce.
He knew the Nox people's shattered Moon of Nokstella could turn a person into a suitable vessel for the Elden Ring, but since that ancient calamity, the surviving Nox had long forgotten how to replicate such a miraculous feat.
He hadn't expected Miquella to possess another method of achieving godhood, one that seemed deeply tied to these Hornsent. Is this why he abandoned everything to come to the Land of Shadow?
In Gawain's memory, Miquella possessed several key traits: Unalloyed Gold, the abundance of the Haligtree, and his innate power of enchantment. If he were to become a god, he would choose from these paths.
However, in practice, Unalloyed Gold had been powerless against his sister Malenia's rot, and the Haligtree—watered with his own blood—had ultimately failed to produce a new Order. That left only one possibility.
Thinking of this, Gawain felt a cold sweat break out. He had personally experienced how terrifyingly potent Miquella's enchantment could be not long ago.
If Miquella intended to use that trait to ascend to godhood, he couldn't imagine what would happen. Even if Miquella didn't merge with the Elden Ring and could only influence a small area, it would still make things incredibly complicated.
No, I need to go back and ask Ranni for her opinion, Gawain thought. As a fellow Empyrean, her understanding of godhood should be far superior to mine.
As Gawain was lost in thought, Leda's voice pulled him back.
"It seems there is no way in for now. Our path is blocked by the shadow. Freyja and I intend to head to other regions, following Lord Miquella's footsteps to find another way. What do you two plan to do?"
Gawain hesitated for a moment before deciding to part ways with Miquella's followers for now.
"There are things in the Land of Shadow I need to look into as well. Let's split up for the time being. I suspect we'll meet again soon."
Leda didn't object. She knew she couldn't influence his decisions anyway. Perhaps letting him wander would be beneficial; the more he understood the "sins" hidden in the shadow, the more likely he would be to side with Lord Miquella.
"Very well. May your path be smooth. I have already informed my other companions about you. If you need anything, I believe they will be happy to assist."
Leda took one last look at Gawain, who was staring blankly at the shadow before them, then led Freyja down the stairs and departed.
Once the outsiders were gone and Melina was still gazing at the Scadutree, Gawain ignited a small ember on his fingertip. The moment the flame touched the dense shadow, the vines entwined around the building contracted violently, snuffling out the tiny flame.
The instant his finger touched those black vines, a phantom vision flooded his eyes—the illusory image of the Erdtree burning.
"Did something happen?" Melina asked, sensing the commotion behind her. She turned back to see the vines around the building slowly settling.
Gawain stood still, his back to her. His shoulders shook with an uncontrollable tremor, followed by a burst of laughter. It was a sound of pure relief and exhilaration, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from his chest.
He was in an excellent mood—better than ever before.
Before today, while he believed he could use the power of the First Flame to burn the Thorns of Refusal on the Erdtree, he had still harbored a lingering seed of doubt since he hadn't tested it.
But now, it was different. After testing it on the shadow-vines so close to the Scadutree, he found it wasn't just effective—it was arguably too effective. It had seared the image of the burning tree directly into his pupils.
It wasn't that the vision gave him the right to burn the tree; it was that he already possessed the right, and thus he saw the inevitable end.
He turned back toward Melina, unable to suppress his grin. He didn't plan to set the Shadow Realm ablaze just yet, however. Until he understood the full situation here, it was best to keep things as they were.
"It's nothing. I just confirmed something very important."
He walked slowly to Melina's side, looking toward the Scadutree. "Did you see what you wanted to see?"
"Only a distant silhouette. There is still a long way to go."
"Don't worry. I'll take you there."
Melina looked at him and nodded. Though she hadn't seen what happened, she could clearly feel the profound excitement radiating from his soul through their connection. That was enough for her.
Pulling her thoughts back from the distant city, she looked in the direction Leda had gone and voiced a question that had been on her mind.
"A God and a Lord are both necessary. If Miquella intends to become a god in this Land of Shadow, who will he choose as his Lord?"
The moment she spoke, she recalled the events at the end of the Radahn Festival. Realization dawned on her. She looked up and met Gawain's equally shocked gaze. Both spoke the truth in unison:
"The vow between General Radahn and Miquella!"
Deep within the Shadow Keep, Messmer raised his head. He left his quarters, spear in hand, and ascended to the highest point of the Specimen Storehouse—the very peak of the keep. His eyes, glowing with the light of a false blessing, gazed toward the distant Tower Settlement, his thoughts unreadable.
He had already received word from Queelign and knew that a very "special" person had entered the Land of Shadow. He had seen the "false blessing" in Queelign's eyes; its realism was so convincing it almost rivaled the seal his mother, Marika, had placed upon him.
Considering the current state of the Crusade, he hadn't exposed the lie. He was simply curious about the individual who claimed they would come to "visit" him. With such techniques, the person's identity might be more extraordinary than he imagined.
Suddenly, his eyes widened. Amidst the residual traces of battle above the Tower Settlement, he detected a familiar shimmer of blue.
It reminded him of things from long ago. When he had met Rellana of the Twin Moons at the Academy, he recalled that among the three children of Queen Rennala and the hero Radagon, one was named Ranni. Under the guidance of her mother, Ranni had encountered the power of the Dark Moon. The blue hue above the tower was identical to that power. Could this have something to do with the intruder?
Messmer looked toward Castle Ensis. He wondered if he should pay a visit to Rellana, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. But after much deliberation, he abandoned the idea. Regardless, someone capable of causing such a stir would eventually come to his door. All he had to do was wait.
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (339 chapter - Ongoing)
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