Read advance chapters of all my works or want to support me.
https/www.p.a.t.r.e.on/Adamo_Amet
Join us on discord:
https://di..scord.gg/h3kDw7ma
••••••••••••••••••
Chapter 224 What is Magic?!
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The heat of the bonfire washed over Naruto, carrying the smell of smoke and charred bone. The crackle of flames mixed with the clang of distant hammers. For Naruto, it was like stepping back into a home he had not realized he missed until he returned. The familiar warmth of the bonfire seeped into his skin, pulling away the lingering weight of Konoha's politics.
Naruto gave Oscar a quick scratch on the head before scanning the familiar path ahead. His eyes immediately caught the empty space near Sen's Fortress.
Seigmeyer was missing. The round knight's usual spot, right by the massive gates, was deserted.
Where could Onion-senpai have gone?
Oscar let out another curious chirp, as if echoing the thought. Together they made their way down the narrow stone steps toward the workshop.
Andre glanced up for half a second, ready to give the standard greeting, then his eyes drifted to the whisker marks on the boy's cheeks. Oscar's presence made him go back to his work.
"Wow, that's your reaction?!"
"Well." Andre set the hammer down and turned the piece over with a pair of tongs. "I was going to ask if you were a new arrival. Then I recognized you. And I remembered that you have a habit of disappearing for a good long while and turning up with some new change." He glanced up briefly. "So, here you are."
Naruto sweatdropped and said, "Sorry for not swinging by sooner. A lot of stuff happened."
Andre waved it off, moving to the bucket in the corner and washing his hands with the brisk efficiency. "Don't fuss over it. There's nothing in this world that's put you down yet. I expect that's still the case." He dried his hands and looked Naruto over properly for the first time. "So what caused you to dye your hair."
"I didn't dye my hair."
Footsteps echoed from the Darkroot Garden entrance. Andre glanced toward the sound and his lips curved in a grin. "Hey, you two, the knucklehead knight's back."
"Really?" Dusk's voice lit up and she rushed into the workshop, much to Andre's quiet amusement.
The Princess of Oolacile stopped when she saw him. Her eyes found the hair, catching the workshop light in shades of red.
"Your hair has changed."
"Cool, right?"
"May I?"
Naruto leaned forward without hesitation. Dusk's fingers ran carefully through the crimson strands, and for a moment the workshop was quiet except for the low crackle of the forge.
"It is a beautiful shade." She whispered. "How did you manage to dye it so perfectly?"
Behind her, Siegmeyer let out a long and deeply considered hum. "Oh-hoh! If I were to hazard a guess, I would say… yes, a mixture. Walnuts, henna, and saffron. Yes, saffron, from the distant kingdom of Jugo! Quite the tricky process, I imagine. Hah hah hah hah!"
"I DIDN'T DYE MY HAIR."
Andre let out a short gruff laugh and Siegmeyer's booming laugh filled the entire workshop. Dusk wore an apologetic smile, until Oscar nudged her leg gently to not feel guilty.
Naruto huffed. "Getting the Uzumaki clan's legacy turned my hair red. The Uzumaki are famous for their red hair. It runs in the blood."
Dusk's eyes widened, curiosity and wonder moving through her expression in equal measure. Siegmeyer gave a deeply satisfied "Mmm! Oh-hoh!"
Andre reached up to the shelf, grabbed the mead bottle, and shoved it across the workbench toward the boy. "Hah. Didn't understand a word of that. But if it makes you fight harder, that's good enough for me. Take this as a gift of congratulations."
Naruto stared at the bottle.
"Congratulations, my young friend!" Siegmeyer boomed, and his gauntleted hand came down on Naruto's back with enough force to nearly send him face first into the workbench. "A knight must always remember their roots, you see! Now tell me, have you considered engraving the crest of the Uzumaki upon your armour? A proper knight wears his heritage with pride! Hah hah hah hah!"
"I didn't even think of that! That's a great idea, Onion-senpai!"
"Mm! Splendid!"
Andre was already reaching for his worn notebook without being asked. "A mark like that has weight to it. Just be certain where you want it, boy. Once it's set into the plate it won't be coming off without tearing the whole piece apart. Hah."
"Put it on the back." Naruto said without hesitation. "That's where most of the Konoha jackets carry the uzumaki clan symbols."
Andre's charcoal stopped moving. He looked up at the boy for a moment, something unreadable and steady in his expression, the way a man looks when he's heard something that landed correctly. Then he looked back down at the sketch.
"Hmph. Bold. But it suits you." He closed the notebook. "Fine choice."
"Wonderful! Yes, quite wonderful!" Siegmeyer clasped his hands together with a clank of gauntlets. "Mmm. It will be a sight to behold. Now then." He straightened with the gravity of a man announcing important business. "I plan to return to Sen's Fortress for a while longer."
Naruto stared at him. "Seriously, Senpai? I thought you finally stopped with that. Weren't you going on an adventure?"
"No no, my young friend. Not just yet. The princess asked me to escort her to the mushroom family in the Darkroot Garden, and having done that I must not shirk my other duties! So, as ever, I wait. And while I wait, I think. And while I think." He paused with tremendous satisfaction. "Well. Perhaps the gate will open of its own accord! Hah hah hah hah!"
Man… I really need to find a way to open Sen's Fortress for him. But how? If I just attack it, the magic lashes back. Maybe if I used enough clones to push up the gate...
Andre's voice cut through Naruto's thoughts. "Quit daydreaming. And, look at this sketch."
"Looks good, but… make the spiral sharper here. And maybe add a notch at the edge, so it looks more like the swirl."
Andre adjusted the drawing with a few quick strokes. "Right then. Anything else?"
"Actually, I've got this new jutsu that lets me use my hair as a weapon. Problem is, the helmet keeps my locked up unless I take it off. And to take my helm off mid-battle is just stupid."
"So you want to modify the helm."
"Oh! Oh, I have an idea!" Dusk's voice chimed suddenly. "Why not a knight's helm with a… ponytail hole? I've seen illustrations in the old books. Knights with grand plumes streaming behind them. You could do the same, but with your own hair!"
Naruto and Andre both turned slowly to stare at her.
"I… I mean… it was just a thought."
The princess ducked behind Oscar, clutching the crystal lizard like a shield.
"What you're describing is a panache. Decorative feather, that is. Something for ceremony, not the battlefield. "
"Okay, vut she's got a point though. It'd look awesome. Dattebayo."
Andre grumbled but began sketching again, lines carving across the paper with purpose. "We put an indentation in the back of the helm. Let the hair fall through on its own. Simple enough."
"I volunteer to thread the spiral upon your armour, my knight." Dusk said, her eyes carrying a quiet determination that left no room for argument.
And so they worked.
Andre's tools moved with steady precision while Naruto pulled up a stool beside him and help when needed. Behind them, Dusk worked the clasps of the Baldur Knight's cape free from the Elite Knight armour, Oscar nudging the stubborn ones loose beside her, and once it came free she settled near the bonfire light and began stitching the spiral into the blue overgarment without a word.
Nobody talked much throughout the process
When it was done Naruto wore the modified helm and Dusk draped the overgarment across his shoulders. He reached back once, fingers brushing the stitched spiral, then let his hair fall. It spilled down his back in a clean curtain of red, long enough to move but not enough to swallow the crest beneath it. The Uzumaki spiral sat visible above it, bold red against the blue.
"I love this." Naruto said, and bowed low to both of them. "Thank you. Really."
Andre waved him off with a grunt that was doing its best to sound indifferent. "Hah. Don't go getting it ruined." He reached for his mead bottle and turned back toward the workshop. "I'm off to drink myself to sleep. Mind you don't Hollow before I wake up."
He was gone before Naruto could respond.
Naruto turned to Dusk, who stood with Dusk's hands folded and a small smile that she wasn't quite containing.
"Thank you for taking care of him."
Dusk nodded slowly. He could tell there was something sitting behind her eyes, something she had shaped into words and then decided to keep. He didn't push. Instead he just glanced up toward the flight of stairs and said, casual as he could manage.
"I'll be heading to the Firelink Shrine."
"Take care." She said, and sat down at the bonfire with the stillness of someone who had made their decision and was at peace with it.
Naruto was halfway up the stairs when he heard it.
A whistle.
Light and wandering, the kind of melody that didn't seem to know where it was going and wasn't in any hurry to find out. It moved in a lilting almost childlike pattern, the sort of thing you might hear someone humming absently to themselves on a quiet afternoon with nothing pressing and nowhere to be.
Naruto slowed without meaning to.
Dusk had a nice singing voice.
He tried to mirror the whistle on the next step up, shaping his lips the way he thought she had, pushing air through carefully. What came out was not a whistle but a rasberry.
Oscar made a sound that was absolutely not a laugh and was fooling nobody.
"Hey." Naruto said. "The whistle is harder than it looks."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
They passed through the Undead Church like clockwork, dispatching hollows with the kind of efficiency that came from having done it enough times that it stopped feeling like a fight and started feeling like a commute. Naruto even fenced with the four Balder Knights at the same time.
After clearing the last of the resistance they took the elevator down into Firelink Shrine.
"Looks like Reah and her bodyguards are already off to the Catacombs." Naruto observed, glancing around the empty church ruins.
Oscar chirped and nudged him toward the bonfire.
Griggs sat beside it with a small cauldron balanced carefully over the flame, ladling estus into it from his flasks. The soup shimmered with a faint golden light that had absolutely no business being that pretty. Naruto stopped walking and stared at it for a full second.
"Naruto?"
"Yo." Naruto dropped down at the bonfire beside him.
"Splendid timing actually. Would you care for some?" He was already reaching into his bottomless box for two bowls. Griggs poured for Naruto and then, without any particular fuss, poured a smaller measure into a shallow dish for Oscar, who dipped forward and regarded it with what appeared to be dignified appreciation.
The taste was genuinely difficult to explain.
The most honest description was that it tasted like nothing at all, and yet the warmth that spread through his chest loosened something behind in his body and mind. He sat with the empty bowl in his hands for a moment longer than necessary enjoying the feeling it brough him.
"Thanks for this."
Naruto reached into his inventory and produced a cup noodle, setting it on the ground between them "Now, allow me to introduce you to the true food of the gods."
Griggs ate in silence for a moment.
"It's salty."
Naruto's face fell.
"I mean that admirably." Griggs added, composed as ever. "Outside of Lordran, salt commands a price worth its weight in gold. To find it used so liberally in a dish like this is rather remarkable. "
Naruto opened his mouth, thought about trying to explain that in Konoha salt was so common you could buy a week's worth for a handful of ryo, and decided the gap between their worlds was too wide to bridge over noodles. He took his word for it and moved on.
"Griggs, can you teach me some magic?"
"You want to purchase a spell scroll?"
"Is buying a spell scroll and attuning it the whole picture of magic?" Naruto said, fully aware that the answer was no.
"The act using a spell scroll and attuning it is the basic foundation of all magic. It may sound simple but the act of attunement must be preceded by the capacity to understand what is being attuned. In Vinheim, children were educated in classes of art, literature, philosophy, astronomy and more. The cultivation of the mind across many disciplines is what allows the intelligence to grow to a point where attunement becomes possible."
Naruto processed that quietly. So you could technically increase your intelligence without souls, just through training. Though the way Griggs described it, that road was considerably slower.
"How does one increase their attunement capacity?" Naruto asked. With the rune bound to his soul making conventional leveling harder, attunement was likely the stat he needed most if he intended to hold multiple spells at once.
"Attunement is the process of being in harmony, connection, and deep alignment with one's own soul." Griggs explained. "To attune more spells, the soul itself must be larger. This comes naturally with age. An older soul has had more time to expand and can harmonize with multiple spell structures simultaneously."
Naruto blew a raspberry at that. Growing old was not exactly a fast solution.
"There are items that assist with attunement as well."
Naruto nodded, then paused as Beatrice's words surfaced in his memory, clear and precise as the moment she had first said them. "Think of your soul not as some poetic metaphor, but as a thing truly seated within the cage of your flesh. A slumbering observer in a decaying shell. Magic is not light or fire. It is the soul's scream against the structure of reality. A will so enlightened it reshapes the world around it. The more you grasp how your soul presses against the walls of this fragile world, the more the world begins to bend in response."
Griggs was quiet for a moment.
"Those are profound words. Whoever spoke them has a genuine understanding of soul sorcery at its most fundamental level."
Naruto beamed. Those words had been sitting in him since Beatrice first said them, half understood, and having someone like Griggs confirm their weight made them settle more solidly into place.
Griggs turned to a fresh page in his journal and considered his words before speaking. "In Vinheim this concept is introduced in the senior classes. The world is fundamentally unknowable. Every fact is a model filtered through the limited circuitry of our minds. Every truth a working delusion that fits our pattern recognition just well enough that we take it for granted. We never touch reality itself, only the concepts we cast over it. Our private hallucinations that describe the shadow of reality. Each of our lives is a dangerous expedition into alien territory. We scavenge scraps, delude ourselves into believing we understand them, gather everything we can grasp just to keep our hands from feeling empty, and cut our fingers on what we are never able to truly hold."
Naruto's first instinct was to push back on that. It sounded bleak. It sounded like the kind of thing someone said when they had spent too long indoors reading.
But then he thought about it properly.
He had walked through realm of dreams just a few hours ago. He had stood in purgatory infront of the shinigami and felt its logic pressing against everything he thought he knew. He had come to Lordran and found a world whose rules did not apologize for being different. Every time he had assumed he understood where he was, reality had shifted slightly and shown him the edge of his own model.
The concept made a uncomfortable amount of sense.
"This is the foundation every sorcerer must carry when approaching magic." Griggs continued. "Fortunately we are not alone in the dark. A thousand years of study exist behind us. Giants who built their own models, tested them, refined them, and left them for the rest of us to stand on."
Oscar, who had been sitting beside Naruto with admirable patience for the past several minutes, quietly excused himself and drifted towards Anastacia's cell sat. Apparently the epistemology of Vinheim had its limits as entertainment.
Naruto watched him go and turned back to Griggs, who had produced his Sorcerer's Catalyst and was holding it across his knee. "Do you know what this staff represents in sorcery?"
"It's the medium that allows the soul to interact with the world."
"Good. How?"
"It just... does?" Naruto said, aware even as he said it that this was not an answer. "Sorry if that's wrong."
"No need to apologize. You were not formally trained in Vinheim so the framework simply was not given to you." Griggs set the catalyst across both knees. "Let me find a better starting point. What is soul sorcery?"
"It's the manipulation of the soul to affect the world around you."
"Closer than most first attempts." Griggs said. "Let me build on that. Do you know what a catalyst is made of?"
"Wood from some kind of tree?"
"A living tree." Griggs said. "Shrunken and shaped, but kept alive or dying so slowly that for our purposes the distinction barely matters. And this is important." He turned it slowly. "A tree has a soul. Its will is inert, it wants to survive and very little beyond that. But its soul is old and large, far larger than a human's soul has had time to become. And a large soul can influence the world around it far more powerfully than a small one."
"So you're borrowing the tree's soul to do magic."
"You are imposing your will upon it." Griggs corrected. "Your soul has three parts. Memories, which are your experiences and knowledge etched into the soul itself. Will, which is your desire, your drive, the part of you that moves toward things and away from things. Ego, which is your personality, the filter through which every decision passes."
He let that settle for a moment.
"Of these three, will is what concerns sorcery most directly. Will is what the soul listens to. It is what allows a sorcerer to reach outside the boundaries of their own flesh and impose their intent upon something else." Griggs tapped the catalyst. "When you cast a spell, you are extending your will into this staff. You are pressing your soul's intent against the soul of the catalyst until it bends to you. The catalyst's large soul then does the actual work of shaping and releasing the sorcery. Your will provides the direction. The catalyst provides the power."
Naruto stared at the staff. "That's why it's called a catalyst."
"Precisely. It accelerates the process. Without it, a young sorcerer's soul is simply too small to impose its will on the world with any meaningful force or speed. The catalyst bridges that gap. It makes the influence faster and stronger than the caster could manage alone." Griggs paused. "Recall what you told me earlier. The words about the soul pressing against the walls of the world."
Naruto recited them without hesitation. "The soul's scream against the structure of reality. A will so enlightened it reshapes the world around it."
"Yes." Griggs said quietly. "That is exactly what is happening when you fire a soul arrow. You are not creating light or energy from nothing. You are taking the soul of the catalyst, shaped by your will, and throwing it. A piece of soul, compressed and directed, screaming against the structure of reality at whatever you point it toward." He looked at Naruto steadily. "The soul arrow is a fragment of larger soul rendered into a projectile by an act of will of your soul."
Naruto sat with that for a long moment.
"And the more you understand your own soul." The redhead said slowly. "The cleaner the imposition. The less you waste."
Griggs looked at him with the quiet satisfaction of a teacher who had just watched something click into place.
"Griggs, does that mean you can use unattuned magic?"
"Theoretically." Griggs said. "Though you would need a soul comparable in size to that of a dragon. The will alone would be sufficient to impose on the world directly without any intermediary." He paused. "No living sorcerer has managed it. At least none that I know of."
Naruto nodded and filed that away. "Different question. If intelligence and understanding make sorcery stronger, what makes miracles stronger? I know faith is the primary path but is there anything beyond that?"
"I apologize but the study of miracles by sorcerers is forbidden by the gods. I genuinely cannot help you there."
Maybe Oswald would know something. Naruto was already thinking about the walk to the church's spire when Griggs snapped his fingers.
"Chanting."
"What?"
"I have old texts describing clerics and paladins during times of war who would chant across the battlefield before calling down miracles. Phrases spoken aloud before the casting." Griggs tapped his journal thoughtfully. "It was noted that the effects were considerably more pronounced than standard invocations. I cannot explain the mechanism from a sorcery standpoint but the pattern across multiple accounts is consistent."
"It can't just be random words, dattebayo!"
"I would imagine it needs to be genuine. A statement that reflects your actual faith and your understanding of the miracle itself. Belief given a voice. It's just a theory. But it may be worth attempting."
Worth a shot, Naruto thought as he pulled out the Thorolund Catalyst. He closed his eyes for a moment and thought about the Lightning Spear. The story behind it. The Firstborn. The act of taking a bolt and making it a weapon of faith.
When he opened his eyes the words came on their own.
"Radiance of the firstborn, lance of sundering light, pierce through scale, sorcery and flame." He felt something shift in his chest, his soul pressing forward against the walls of the world, every ounce of his faith moving into his hands. He jumped.
"LIGHTNING SPEAR!"
The bolt that formed was not the spear he was used to. It was thicker and brighter, crackling with a weight that made the air around it feel pressurized. The moment he released it skyward it did not travel in a clean line. It spread the way real lightning did in a true storm, branching outward in every direction at once, filling the sky above Firelink Shrine with a cascade of light that lingered several seconds after the sound hit.
The thunder came last.
"By the gods." Griggs whispered. He was a sorcerer. He did not worship the god. But his eyes were wide and his pen had stopped moving entirely at the display of power.
Naruto landed and immediately dropped to one knee, his soul feeling like a wrung cloth.
"So..." He said, breathing through it. "Chanting pulls out the full power of the miracle. But I feel like I can't use anything afterwards."
Griggs began writing quickly. "A complete expenditure of soul capacity in a single casting. The will overextends itself to match the declaration." He noted something, underlined it. The sorcerer closed the journal and began packing his things.
"Now then, I will leave you to rest at the bonfire while I continue my search for Master Logan."
"I could help."
Griggs smiled at the offer. "I appreciate that. But we all have our own oaths to walk. And this one is mine." He inclined his head. "It was a pleasure, my friend."
He turned and walked out of Firelink Shrine without looking back.
Naruto watched him go, then let himself sit fully against the bonfire, eyes closing as the warmth of it pressed into his back.
A few minutes passed.
His eyes opened.
"...I forgot to buy new spells, didn't I?!"
He looked toward the shrine entrance. No sign of Griggs.
Naruto stared at the sky for a moment, accepted his loss with the dignity it deserved, and closed his eyes again.
Next time, he would remember next time.
He went to sleep.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Author's Note
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Now let's get into the Q&A.
Q. Is the study of miracles actually forbidden by the gods?
Yes, and this is explicitly canon.
The Archdeacon's Staff hints at it directly. Its description states that Archdeacon McDonnell's sin was channeling faith for sorcery, and that this trespass transformed what was once a symbol of ecclesiastic authority into a catalyst for sorceries.
The reason the gods forbid it is because they do not want humanity to realize that miracles and magic are two sides of the same coin. Both are the soul producing an effect upon reality. Magic achieves this through understanding. Miracles achieve it through faith. The mechanism is the same. The gods would very much prefer that nobody figures that out.
And canonically, if enough people have faith in something, they can create entirely new miracles. We see this play out across the series. In DS3, the Deacons of the Cathedral of the Deep, who were supposed to contain the horrors of the Deep, were gradually seduced by it and developed heretical miracles like Gnaw that drew on stagnant darkness rather than divine authority. In Londor, Liliane's Sable Church spread miracles built around the suffering of Hollows, miracles that no longer pointed toward the ancient gods at all but toward humanity itself. People had started putting their faith in their own kind and the miracles followed.
The gods built a wall between sorcery and miracles specifically to prevent people from seeing the bigger picture.
Q. Does Naruto even need Dismantle?
I saw this take across multiple platforms and I just want to clarify because I think the comparison landed differently than I intended. I was not saying DS1 Naruto now has Dismantle. I was saying the Blade of Wind functions similarly to Dismantle in a way that made me excited when I noticed it, an invisible slash fired from the fingertips that opponents cannot see coming. That was the fun comparison.
The point was never that Naruto uses it like Sukuna. The whole idea is that DS1 Naruto develops his own unique relationship with the Blade of Wind that is entirely his own. What that looks like, and how it eventually surpasses Reto's usage, is something I want to build toward properly. So no, he is not just doing Sukuna cosplay with a wind jutsu. That would be boring and you guys deserve better than that.
Q. Can you raise your stats through training alone?
I got this question a few times and did my best to answer it each time so let me just give a proper answer here.
Yes.
Naruto can technically train his way to stronger stats without spending souls to level up. The catch is the time investment is brutal compared to conventional leveling.
Think of it this way. Naruto could go full Rock Lee for an entire month, maybe even a full year of dedicated grinding, and his stats might move by ten points if he is lucky. Compare that to a month of active soul gathering and leveling up through the conventional system and that same investment of time produces dramatically more growth.
That said, training based stat growth is not useless. It is just slow. And given that Naruto is going to have an increasingly harder time leveling up conventionally going forward, due to the rune bound to his soul making each level up progressively more expensive, those small incremental gains through raw training are going to start mattering more than they used to.
So yes, expect to see a few level ups earned through pure effort in the future. It felt right for his character and honestly given what is coming, he is going to need every point he can get however he can get them.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
That's it for now.
If you have questions about decisions I make, feel free to ask. I do not mind explaining my thought process. And if you have ideas, drop them in the comments. I genuinely enjoy reading them, even when I do not use them.
As always, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment, and follow along with this story. Your feedback means more than you know, and it helps push me to make each chapter bigger, sharper, and more true to the worlds of Naruto and Dark Souls.
Until next time, Praise the Sun.
Adam
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 15k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 98, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.
To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!