Morgott had once naively believed that after staring directly into Lloyd's defiled Frenzied Flame, nothing in this world could ever break his mind again.
And so it was. Though he'd once felt fear at Lloyd's arrival, after preparing himself, he even endured watching Alice walk into the Erdtree that rejected all, only for her to emerge and deliver Lloyd's "good news": "Your mother's hanging in the sky, barely clinging to life." He'd been shocked, his head pounding, but in the end, he endured.
But when Elizabeth spoke those words—
He broke.
Completely broke.
Mohg! His brother! His own brother, the one who'd grown up with him, inseparable since childhood, the one he cared about most in the world! After tricking him with a clone to guard the Frenzied Flame, he'd gone off to...
Morgott couldn't even say the word!
And that wasn't even the most absurd part. The real absurdity was that the one Mohg was with—Miquella—was their brother. Their half-brother, born of the same mother!
"Mohg... Miquella..."
The lantern handle screeched under his grip as Morgott twisted it, his face growing darker, his aura more dangerous with each passing second.
It was the first time Lloyd had ever seen such an expression on Morgott's face. To be honest, Morgott had suspected Elizabeth might be lying or joking. But the truth was clear: Elizabeth had no reason to lie.
And as for joking—no matter how twisted her way of thinking, she would never make a joke like that. Especially since her very essence was the Formless Mother, whose nature was rooted in truth.
Seeing Old Margit like this, Lloyd thought it over, then chose not to provoke him further. Instead, he found an excuse to take the lantern from his hand and stepped aside to talk with it.
"Wait, do people in the Lands Between really have this sort of trend? Brothers... and men with men?"
"Of course not."
The head inside the lantern denied flatly, then added in puzzlement.
"And as far as I remember, that boy Mohg didn't have such inclinations..."
"Could he have been charmed?"
Lloyd recalled Miquella's powers.
"Didn't they say Miquella could charm people? Maybe he charmed Mohg..."
"It's possible."
The head in the lantern nodded, then shook.
"But it doesn't quite fit. Miquella's charm isn't as powerful as you think—it's not the kind that can casually rewrite someone's mind. It still requires an opening..."
"And besides, that child doesn't have such preferences. Even if he did charm Mohg, it wouldn't be to make him fall in love himself. Wouldn't forging a new blade be far more useful?"
Even with Godwyn's consciousness carried within, the head in the lantern couldn't make sense of it. But that was fine. Lloyd was always good at untangling such things.
"Then why don't we just have Elizabeth take us over there and see for ourselves?"
As for why not send Elizabeth directly—though she could teleport to Lloyd easily, that was thanks to Lloyd's Law. Leaving, however, was harder. She could slip into reality itself for swift travel, but that came with limits.
Especially outside the bounds of Lloyd's Law—then the Lands Between were truly the Lands Between, not some convenient open-world playground. Travel was troublesome. And Mohg's domain was far from the Royal Capital. For now, it wasn't easy to visit.
So after a short exchange, Lloyd sought out Elizabeth and explained. She readily agreed.
"Come to think of it, I haven't checked in on that boy in a while. Wonder how he's doing. Maybe he and his brother even have a few little ones by now."
"But keep this in mind—there aren't many left who trust me. Don't go killing the kid..."
"...Can't promise that."
Lloyd himself didn't have an issue. But after glancing at Old Margit's expression, he knew better than to swear to it.
Once they'd finished talking about Mohg, Elizabeth looked around, a sudden sense of familiarity washing over her.
Wait—this place looked familiar...
"Isn't this the Royal Capital's Subterranean Shunning-Grounds? Keep going straight and you'll reach the Frenzied Flame Seal."
"What are you doing here? Did that woman send you?"
As she spoke, Elizabeth looked at Chaos, who smiled in reply.
"She said she had something for me, so I came to take a look."
After a pause, Lloyd added, "And about the Grand Caravan—I have a friend searching for them. I came to check the situation, see if it could be resolved."
By now, Elizabeth was used to Lloyd's dealings with Chaos and didn't bother commenting on his connection to the Frenzied Flame.
Since there was no fighting here for the moment, those buried below endured their suffering without wounds, without conflict.
With no chaos to watch, Elizabeth left after saying, "Call me when you're ready to go," and slipped off to find some excitement.
After she left, Lloyd lowered his head again, staring at the lantern in his hand.
"Um, Godrick, have you been free lately?"
Godrick glanced at the surrounding lanterns but said nothing.
After a moment, Lloyd seemed to realize the awkwardness of the question and brushed it aside.
"So, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
"What is it?"
"I want you to accompany me on an Ancient Dragon War instance run."
Unlike regular dungeons, temporal dungeons required not only standard restrictions but also an anchor item related to the specific time period.
For instance, the Round Table Knights dungeon requires at least three original Round Table Knights to activate.
As for the Ancient Dragon War, Lloyd already possessed an activation item—the 'Bolt of Gransax'—obtained during a previous map exploration after navigating a platforming section.
It was a dexterity pike, a scaled-down replica carved from the weapon of the 'Great Ancient Dragon' Gransax.
Due to its connection to Gransax, it could serve as an anchor, allowing Lloyd to enter the Dungeon while also joining the Ancient Dragon faction.
"So you want my help because you don't want to join the Ancient Dragons, but rather the Golden faction?"
The head inside the lantern paused before speaking.
"But honestly, I recommend joining the Ancient Dragons. Their side is tougher, and by your own The Law, you'd reap greater rewards..."
"No."
Lloyd shook his head.
"What I mean is, I want to use both you and Bolt of Gransax."
"And claim all your rewards."
Silence.
Then a sigh.
"Your appetite is even larger than I imagined..."
"But perhaps only someone like you could become the Elden Lord..."
After chatting briefly about various trivial matters, Lloyd noticed Morgott's mood had stabilized somewhat. He approached and shared what he'd discussed earlier with Elizabeth.
Morgott remained silent for a long while before finally letting out a deep sigh.
"Thank you for this."
"Just call me when the time comes."
With that, he began walking again, using his cursed sword to open the hidden wall before them. He led the group to the place sealing away the dark history of the Golden Order Dynasty.
It was a deep pit.
Looking down from above, countless desiccated corpses were piled up.
Even those insensitive to souls could feel the despair radiating from the horrifying expressions of the dead.
Indeed, buried alive for an unknown duration, some beings still clung to existence under the influence of the unchanging gold.
Amidst the countless buried remains of their kin, amidst the wails of countless wrongfully killed souls, within the deep pit suffused with agony and despair.
Lonely and despairing, someone plucked at the strings, playing a mournful melody long forgotten by all.
The group halted at the edge of the pit, gazing down at the corpses below, each wearing a different expression.
Morgott actually hated coming to this place, not only because of the Frenzied Flame, but also because of this horrific scene.
As for the head in the lantern, it gazed down at the sight below and sighed softly.
Melina's expression was unsettled, Millicent found it hard to look directly, and as for Chaos...
...she remained expressionless.
After a moment, she lifted her head and began humming a song Lloyd had heard before, accompanied by the harp's melody.
The voice was beautiful to begin with, and paired with the harp, it felt like it pierced souls.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, Chaos did not join in with the mournful music, using her voice to amplify the sorrow.
Instead, she used her gentle voice, as tenderly as possible, to counteract the desolation and pain, infusing it with warmth.
But Lloyd wasn't surprised.
He hadn't just met Chaos yesterday. As their time together grew, so did his understanding of her, and he had come to grasp the nature of her fundamental despair.
It wasn't some superficial blow or despair driven by torment to madness. It was closer to a despair of 'tragic' nature.
Hanging kind souls on gallows, driving pure lovers down paths of certain death, destroying beautiful things for all to see.
Yet amidst this destruction, she radiated a profound compassion. Not only did she refrain from deliberately orchestrating tragedy, she even offered aid to those defying fate. Even if they ultimately abandoned the Frenzied Flame, she showed no reaction—merely waiting quietly for the next opportunity.
Was this contradictory? Yes, it was.
But it was precisely this contradiction that made Lloyd realize something.
The Frenzied Flame's followers always repeated one phrase: that many lives were not born into this world by choice, and thus they yearned for the unifying chaos.
Yet they seemed to forget one thing.
That the Frenzied Flame itself was also a form of life.
Even if it was a mutated life, it was still life.
Then...
「Frenzied Flame, born from countless despair.」
"Did it choose to appear in this world?"
The singing paused for an instant.
But there was no answer.
Instead, the song resumed.
Lloyd didn't dwell on it, simply standing by to listen.
Moments later, as if remembering something, he raised his hand. A flicker of flame appeared in his palm.
A golden, warm flame.
Then, he walked to the edge of the giant pit and released the flame.
The flame slowly drifted from his palm, descending bit by bit, expanding continuously as it fell.
Warmth ignited.
This flame, devoid of harm, possessing only pure warmth and goodwill, instead burned away the desolation within the song.
Accompanied by Chaos's song, it gently danced, consuming the pain and despair within those silent souls.
A long time passed.
The song ended.
The flame died out.
Though the environment remained unchanged, and the surrounding souls of pain and despair had not vanished,
Compared to before, however, their despair and agony had at least eased, and the melancholy of the music had lessened somewhat.
More importantly, after Lloyd passed by, the surviving Nomadic Merchants—even those driven mad—would still make way for him and offer their thanks.
Then, having gained the recognition of the Nomadic Merchants here, Lloyd began to walk.
After circling briefly, he paused, realizing something.
This place... didn't seem to have stairs leading down.
He stepped back to the edge of the pit to look again.
Below were a cluster of barely noticeable small protrusions. Their size and spacing were perfectly aligned, yet beneath them lay a vast, bottomless abyss.
After a moment, he lifted his head and looked at Chaos, speaking earnestly.
"Can you sing that song from earlier for me?"
"I feel like I'm about to lose all hope."
Miyazaki, are you seriously addicted to jumping puzzles?
After making us slog through who knows how many of them already, now you pull another one—what, trying to remind everyone of when you used to play hopscotch on the edge of an outhouse after school?
Still, grumbling aside, Lloyd jumped. And during the leap, he managed to snag some equipment.
[Acquired 'Fingerprint Stone Shield']
[A massive stone shield covered in countless fingerprints]
[One of the heaviest greatshields in existence]
[Part of an ancient divine burial ground]
[Said to bear the imprints of fingers that never found a Finger Reader, leaving behind their own words—]
[Perhaps this marks the beginning of madness]
Fingers without a Reader...
Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the description. After a few more of Miyazaki's beloved platforming sections, he dropped all the way to the bottom.
Plop—
The ground cracked, and Lloyd fell another level deeper. After that, he reached his destination.
Beside him was a Site of Grace. Beyond it, in the chamber opposite, lay the thing Chaos wanted to give him.
Normally, the rules demanded one strip off their armor before entering that door. The last failed recipient had gone in wearing full armor—the blessing failed, and it nearly killed him outright.
From then on, the being inside would no longer allow anyone in armor to enter.
But that was just convention.
When Chaos stepped forward, raised her hands, and unleashed the Frenzied Flame, the door opened—revealing what lay behind.
It was a strange Two Fingers.
Or rather... Three Fingers.
Its structure resembled the Two Fingers, but slimmer. It had no fur, its surface instead etched with the marks of Frenzied Flame.
When the door opened, the Three Fingers pressed against the ground, grinding itself in pain and despair, as if trying to destroy its own body.
Upon seeing Lloyd beyond the door, it froze. Slowly, it raised its digits, spreading them apart. Yet when its gaze fell on his armor, it hesitated.
But before it could waver further, Lloyd stepped forward.
And then, the Three Fingers felt it.
That strange aura. Something that, for reasons it couldn't explain, felt familiar—intimately close. The aura wrapped around him, curiously strong near his mouth.
The Three Fingers stilled.
Lloyd kept walking, slowly, step by step. He reached out, wrapped his arms around one of its digits, and gently patted it.
"A finger must feel lonely here, right?"
"No one to talk to, unable to fulfill your mission, tormented endlessly by the Frenzied Flame inside you…"
"I know you must be suffering, drowning in despair, longing to see the world fall into chaos…"
"But how about giving me a chance?"
He lifted his hand and pressed it against the fingerprint ridge of one of the digits.
The heat there, built up from endless friction and accumulated Frenzied Flame, was enough to melt steel. The moment his hand touched it, a harsh sizzle filled the air.
But Lloyd didn't pull away. Neither did the Three Fingers resist. It didn't even make a sound.
"Let me take you out of here. I'll teach you a way to speak to others without needing a Finger Reader. I'll even find you something meaningful to do. How about it?"
Flames began to flow.
But it wasn't the Three Fingers granting Frenzied Flame.
Instead, embers flickered to life on Lloyd's body.
Weak flames, so faint they weren't even flames—merely lingering embers that refused to die out.
Yet the moment they appeared, they utterly crushed the frenzied fire that had been raging inside the Three Fingers for who knew how long.
It was overwhelming.
And still, Lloyd didn't force it into the being's body. The ember stayed condensed in the palm of his hand.
"If you don't want this, I won't force you."
"But if you're willing to give me a chance... just tap your finger."
A long silence.
Then—
A hesitant, faint tap.
Perhaps it was the familiarity of that aura. Perhaps it was the Frenzied Flame mark Lloyd bore. Or perhaps something else entirely.
But in the end, the Three Fingers agreed.
The ember flowed from his palm into its body through the point of contact.
Flames flared.
Just as Chaos had once told Lloyd long ago—flames have an instinct. To consume one another.
So Lloyd's flame devoured the Frenzied Flame within the Three Fingers, swallowing its despair and making it his own Strength.
But what became his wasn't just the Frenzied Flame.
When the ritual ended, Lloyd lifted his head, gazing at the Three Fingers still glowing faintly with embers.
He reached out, bumped his fist lightly against the tip of one digit, and smiled.
"Now, you're my Three Fingers."
[Acquired Incantation: 'Endless Madness']
[Acquired Equipment: 'Chaos's Finger Seal']
...
[Up to 20 chapters ahead for now]
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