A dark and ominous sky looms over the land, as demonic symbols flash in the black clouds. Yellow bolts of lightning strike from the heavens, hurling stone dragon scales that are tainted with red evil energy. The scales rain down like meteors, shaking and cracking the earth. The air is thick with the roar of thunder and the stench of sulfur.
Suddenly, a massive portal of red and black rips open in the sky, and a grotesque dragon tumbles out of it. Its head flies off towards Limgrave and Caelid, while its body tears apart in mid-air, scattering flesh and bones over the lands of the giants. The dragon's corpse slams into the ground, leaving a huge crater behind.
Just when it seems like the nightmare is over, another object plunges out of the portal before it closes. The object hits the ground with such force that it sends shockwaves across the lands.
The Doom Slayer's Praetor Suit activates and scans the area. A message appears on his HUD:
Undocumented world detected. Scanning for maker or sentinel tech...
One high-level technology detected of sentinel and maker origin. Class flag-station. Operation functional. Marking it on map...
No satellite or data available on the surrounding area. You will need to find your own way to the marked area.
The Doom Slayer grunts in acknowledgment as he gets up. He knows that a sentinel flag-station should have a slip gate, and the faster he gets to it, the faster he can get back to hell. With that in mind, he jumps out of the crater and dashes towards the marked area as his Praetor Suit keeps scanning the area.
As the Doom Slayer runs, he sees the lush swamp and the golden-hued sky. It reminds him of his days with the Night Sentinels, fighting on the front lines. The worlds they battled on were often full of life, but he never cared to appreciate it. He had a duty, and distractions were not going to help him fulfill it.
He glances over and sees a few golden trees reaching up to the sky, a sight that looks unnatural even to him and makes him uneasy. He doesn't know what they are, but he's seen enough of the powerful artifacts and objects in and out of hell. He tries to scan the tree, but his HUD can't get anything more than some energy readings at this distance. He decides to check it out before he leaves, just to be sure it's not something that the demons could use for their invasion.
The Doom Slayer focuses on his goal and continues to run towards the marker at a breakneck speed. His muscles tighten as he races across the desolate landscape, his eyes searching for any sign of the sentinel flag-station. He knows that he has to move fast if he wants to succeed in his mission, and he is ready to do whatever it takes to get there.
———————————————————————————————————————The castle guards of Stormveil watched in horror as crimson shards rained from the sky like meteors. They had witnessed a dragon erupt from a portal, only to be shredded by an unseen force. The ground quaked as its mangled corpse slammed into the earth, leaving a trail of blood and flame. Screams echoed from nearby villages, caught in the path of the dragon's wreckage.
But none expected the shards to target their stronghold. A jagged fragment hurtled toward the tallest tower, where the king's chambers stood. It smashed through, shattering stone and sending debris cascading. The king's banner plummeted, consumed by fire.
Another shard streaked toward the garden, where a troll guarded the entrance. The beast stood no chance. The shard pierced its chest, pinning it to the ground. The troll roared in agony, its body transforming. Its skin turned crimson, eyes blazed with malevolence, and horns sprouted from its skull. A massive red eye opened in its stomach, a pentagram tattoo branding the grotesque wound.
Corrupted by the shard, the troll became a new menace. It ripped the shard free, wielding it as a weapon, slashing anything in reach. The garden gates groaned open, and battle-hardened exile soldiers poured in. Crossbowmen took position at the rear, aiming as dozens of warriors formed ranks to confront the corrupted troll. They knew the fight would be brutal, but they were resolved to defend their castle and people at all costs.
The troll's mutated form was unlike anything they'd faced. Razor-sharp claws and glowing red eyes pulsed with dark magic. The soldiers charged, swords clashing against It's armored flesh, but their blades left no mark. The troll trampled the swordsmen and bellowed at the crossbowmen, unleashing a blast of compressed air and fire that incinerated them.
As hope faltered, warhawks swooped from above, talons aimed at the troll's head. The creature's chest-eye flared, spewing a stream of lava that engulfed the birds and nearby soldiers. The warhawks plummeted, their burning bodies littering the ground.
The troll's deafening roar shook the earth, staggering the survivors. Desperate, they scrambled for a new strategy, but the beast seemed invincible. Suddenly, it arched backward unnaturally, then rocketed forward, rolling toward the remaining soldiers. They tried to dodge, but its massive bulk crushed them. Growling and twitching with rage, the troll's jaw hung open in a silent scream of torment. It began piling the dead, intent on using their bodies to summon its new masters.
The flesh and armor of the corpses fused, mutating into a grotesque structure: a short, thick pillar topped with a half-circle and yellow boils. Red energy crackled within the fleshy arc, forming a crimson portal—a gore nest. The troll knelt before it, as if worshipping the abomination it had crafted.
Argent energy surged through its veins, linking it to the dragon's other fragments. It sensed more gore nests would soon rise, heralding a hell general or lord to claim this world, as they had countless others.
A horn blared from the castle. The troll glanced up to see a figure leap from the garden tower: Godrick the Grafted, lord of Stormveil and demigod descendant of Godfrey and Marika. Sensing the argent energy and driven by greed, Godrick sought the dragon's shard to amplify his power. Desperate to redeem himself after his embarrassing defeat at the hands of Malenia. He would face the troll himself.
Brandishing his golden axe, radiant with holy light, Godrick bellowed, "Behold, foul beast! I am Godrick the Grafted, lord of all that is golden! Kneel and surrender thy shard, or face my wrath!"
The troll snarled, recognizing Godrick as a shard-bearing demigod. Fear and hatred mingled with a hunger for his power. Towering over him, it roared and charged, claws slashing and fire spewing. Godrick dodged and parried, his axe clashing against the troll's impervious hide. Finding no weakness, he whispered a word, activating his great rune. His axe blazed brighter, and a beam of holy light struck the troll's chest. The beast screamed, seared by the attack. Godrick grinned, ready to finish it.
But the troll drew on the gore nest's argent energy, healing its wound and sensing the dragon's other fragments. Its chest-eye glowed red, unleashing a lava blast. Godrick blocked it, but his axe began to melt. Cursing, he tried to retreat, only for the troll to seize his leg and hoist him aloft. It moaned in pain, jaws lunging for his head.
Godrick reacted swiftly, headbutting the troll. Blood sprayed from its nose as it released him. Seizing the moment, Godrick sprinted toward the dragon's corpse in the courtyard, chanting, "Ahh, truest of dragons, lend me thy strength! Forefathers, one and all… Bear witness!"
The troll, clutching its nose, staggered to the gore nest to heal. It barely registered Godrick's words until it looked up. Godrick had grafted the dragon's head to his arm, blood dripping from the grotesque fusion. The troll froze, bewildered by the sight. But Godrick gave it no time to react. Roaring, he charged, slashing with chaotic swings and spitting fire from his dragon arm. The troll fought back, but Godrick's fury overwhelmed it. The dragon's teeth sank into its flesh, and with a savage death roll, Godrick tore the troll apart, its guts spilling across the ground.
Panting, Godrick surveyed the blood-soaked courtyard. The flesh on the walls pulsed, thriving on the carnage. His eyes gleamed with pride and greed as he gazed at the gore nest, unaware of the shard embedded in the dragon's neck. Argent energy sparked, red veins creeping over the dragon's head and into Godrick himself.
———————————————————————————————————————The Doom Slayer sprinted through the swampy lands, dodging the sniper shots from another Lobster. He was too fast for the crustacean creature, and he made sure to clothesline it as he passed by, almost decapitating it. They were weak little bastards, but damn, they were annoying. He slowed down as he reached a collapsed building, where he saw some little gray ugly things with big black eyes staring at him lifelessly. The Doom Slayer ignored them and walked on until he spotted a tower that was sunken into the water. It looked different from the rest of the buildings around, as if it belonged to another civilization. He scanned the tower with his HUD and detected a faint signal of an argent battery. He needed more power to travel worlds, but the energy level seemed too low for his needs. He decided to check it out anyway and walked up to a door on the ship. He began to pry it open with his hands until he felt something hit the back of his head. He turned around and saw one of those gray, ugly things holding a club, trying to hit him again. It did nothing to the Doom Slayer, who pulled out his LMG and shot one bullet at the creature, blowing it up into a bloody mess. He turned back and forced the door open, ready to face whatever was inside.
The Doom Slayer entered the ship and was greeted by a dark and damp interior. The walls were covered with vines and plants, and the floor was flooded with water. He could hear the sound of machinery and electronics, but they seemed to be malfunctioning. He walked through the corridors, looking for the control terminal. He encountered more of the gray, ugly things, but they posed no threat to him. He blasted them away with his LMG or crushed them with his fists. He reached the end of the hall and saw a large metal door with a sign that read "Control Room". He kicked it open and stepped inside.
The control room was a mess of wires and screens, some of them flickering or broken. The Doom Slayer scanned the room with his HUD and located the main console. He walked over to it and tried to boot it up. He pressed some buttons, but nothing happened. He looked at the screen and saw a message that read "System Offline.". He reached behind his helmet and pulled out a chip that he had taken from Mars. He inserted it into the console and waited for a few seconds. The console beeped, and the screen changed. The Doom Slayer saw words and text scrolling by as the ship's systems came online. He heard a loud hum as the power was restored. He looked at the screen and saw four letters pop up: VEGA.