[Endless Madness]
[Originating from the Incantation of Madness's Three Fingers]
[Engraves fingerprints of madness upon the body]
[Greatly increases physical and fire damage reduction]
[During its effect, health slowly recovers (equivalent to the Frenzied Flame Stone) and grants immunity to frenzy]
[Also increases physical and fire damage dealt, amplifying the power of Frenzied Flame incantations]
[Lasts for a long duration]
[When it ends, the caster immediately falls into madness (Focus is emptied, HP is reduced to 1)]
[Triggers a massive Frenzied Flame explosion]
[Explosion damage scales with damage taken during the effect]
[Without a Finger Reader, unable to communicate, even losing its innate purpose]
[In endless suffering, it began to doubt]
[Should it, or any life, truly have been born into this world?]
[Chaos's Sacred Seal]
[The sacred seal bestowed by Chaos]
[Greatly enhances Frenzied Flame incantations]
[This is part of the very essence of the Frenzied Flame]
[Divinity is the foundation of a god's nature]
[It would never be entrusted to another]
[Unless...]
The rest of the text was blurred, as though seared away by flame.
Lloyd stared at the prize in his hands, silent for a while, before turning to Chaos, who had somehow appeared beside him without him noticing.
"Being born into this world... isn't entirely a bad thing, right?"
Silence.
After an unknown span of time, a sigh finally escaped.
"Compared to you, the corruption from the defilement ritual feels almost trivial..."
Chaos lifted her head, gazing at the Three Fingers before her, her tone strange.
"Maybe meeting you was a mistake from the very beginning..."
"But it's not a bad thing, is it?"
After a brief pause, Chaos spoke again, her voice carrying a subtle shift.
"...Yes. A mistake, but not a bad one."
She fell quiet once more, then turned toward Lloyd.
"By the way, the timing is just right. Why don't we perform the defilement ritual here?"
Lloyd froze, blinking in surprise. His gaze swept the room, his expression growing uneasy. When he'd entered, the heavy doors had shut behind him on their own. No one knew, and no one wanted to know, what was happening inside.
Even if the people of the Lands Between had heard whispers of defiling the Frenzied Flame, such an act was still far too alien...
But the problem was, while no one was watching, the setting here was far from ideal. There was no bed, and the floor was thick with dust.
"Here? Why not wait until we return to the Roundtable Hold..."
"No. Here."
Chaos stepped forward, taking Lloyd's hand.
"I have a feeling the ritual will work especially well in this place. And besides..."
"You might even get a special reward."
A moment of silence followed.
Then Chaos was pressed against the wall.
"You said it."
Chaos gave a faint smile.
"Of course."
A wet, crushing sound, like bursting grapes, echoed in the room.
Then came the sound of chewing, muffled groans of pain mingling with it. The one with frenzy-yellow eyes embraced the Ashen One tightly, enduring the agony as he raised his head to whisper in her ear.
"My beloved kin..."
"Coming into contact with you may have been the gravest mistake of my existence..."
"But I don't regret it. In fact, I feel as though I was born into this world just to meet you..."
"Defile me. Soil me. Make me yours..."
The ring on his finger began to glimmer.
Lloyd lowered his head, pressing his lips against Chaos's empty eye sockets, then opened his mouth.
The pulped essence of the grapes he had consumed flowed through his mouth into her hollow sockets.
Darkness streamed with it, carrying fragments of essence that slowly filled the voids. Using the illusory outline left behind from her loss, a new physical form gradually took shape.
Her blindfold slipped away.
Driven by agony, she clung to him, trembling without end, until at last the torment ceased.
In that moment, Chaos opened her eyes.
They were not the diseased eyes of the Frenzied Flame.
But eyes with a black sclera and radiant golden pupils.
For the first time, she looked upon the world with a clear gaze. Yet she didn't turn to anything else—she simply fixed her eyes on the face before her.
"So... the ritual's over. Shouldn't you let go..."
"It's not over yet."
Chaos smiled faintly, pulling him even closer.
"Keep defiling me. Though the essence of the Frenzied Flame dwells in the eyes, the madness afflicts the entire body..."
Seeing how tightly she clung to him, Lloyd sighed, leaned forward again, and exhaled a wisp of black mist into her open mouth.
After savoring it, Chaos licked her lips—but still refused to let him go.
"Alright, it's time for me to return the favor."
"Open your eyes, and don't move."
After saying that, she lifted her head, leaned close to Lloyd's eyes, and then... stuck out her tongue.
Gulp—
A wet, slippery sensation brushed across his eyeball. Then, as the tip of her tongue touched it, a layer of yellow flame flickered to life.
Yet there was no pain. Only tenderness and compassion.
[Acquired 'Chaos's Eye Veil']
[No equipment required, permanent effect]
[Slightly increases maximum HP]
After imprinting both of Lloyd's eyes with her mark, Chaos raised her head, gazed at him, and suddenly smiled.
"My kin... you're far more delicious than I imagined..."
Lloyd blinked, his eyes tingling slightly from her licking. After confirming nothing was wrong, he shot her a sidelong glance.
"What's that? Still planning to eat me?"
"That's not so certain..."
Chaos chuckled, extending a finger to draw a circle on his chest.
"If I weren't outmatched, I might really devour you here and now..."
"Well, I suppose I should thank you then."
He swatted her hand away in annoyance. At last, the ritual was complete, and a notification appeared before Lloyd.
[The bond of the Covenant has grown stronger]
Once the ritual ended, Lloyd turned his attention to matters concerning Three Fingers.
But before he could leave, he noticed Chaos bending down to pick up her blindfold from the floor. She tied it back on.
"What are you doing...?"
"Habit."
After fastening it, Chaos looked at him with a smile.
"Besides, compared to this world, I'd rather focus my gaze on you, my kin."
Lloyd didn't really understand her words, but they were her eyes. She could use them as she pleased, so he didn't press further.
After a few more words to ensure all was well, he turned and walked toward Three Fingers.
Although he'd spent some time with Chaos, the timing turned out just right. Three Fingers, having been blessed with power, hadn't been harmed by it, but it still needed time to adapt.
While Lloyd and Chaos had been close, it had been quietly adjusting. By the time Lloyd approached, it had completed its initial adaptation and was able to move.
"Come on, give me a hug. No need to be shy."
Lloyd spread his arms.
Three Fingers hesitated, then extended its digits and embraced him.
"How about it? Feels pretty good, right?"
Holding the slightly stiff Three Fingers, Lloyd patted it gently. After a short exchange of comfort, he made a suggestion.
"How about I take you out for a bath first?"
Three Fingers hesitated, then tapped its fingers in agreement.
But the room's peculiar nature made fast travel impossible. After discussing alternatives, Lloyd had Chaos open the door.
Outside, the others looked on as Lloyd emerged from the Frenzied Flame Seal.
Behind him followed Chaos, smiling for some reason, and Three Fingers, who clung to him with surprising affection.
Silence hung in the air again.
Fortunately, the group had grown used to such absurdities—and with Mohg's incident still fresh, they adapted quickly enough, despite how bizarre it seemed.
After briefly explaining Three Fingers' situation, Lloyd opened the map and pulled it to the large pool in the Eternal City.
Taking out a brush, he began scrubbing it down from top to bottom.
Perhaps it was due to the flame's natural cleansing power, or maybe its habit of self-mutilation had polished its surface, but despite being confined underground for so long, Three Fingers was remarkably clean. Not a single hair, just a thin layer of dust.
A quick rinse and a few strokes with the brush were enough to make its surface gleam.
Once the cleaning was done, Lloyd drew on his experience with the Two-Fingered One to teach it a variety of hand signs.
These included, but weren't limited to: provocation, squatting, pointing down, praising the sun, and several other odd gestures.
Beyond those, Lloyd also taught it signs only a three-fingered being could make—flipping the middle finger, forming an OK sign, imitating a rabbit...
Its learning ability was impressive. It mastered everything Lloyd taught in no time, even inventing its own little gestures to express itself.
As for why Lloyd didn't just craft it a new body—one capable of speaking outright?
He had considered it, but dismissed the idea quickly. There were many reasons: its lifeform was vastly different from anything normal, and forging a body for it would be even harder than creating one for a Demigod.
Another crucial point is that fingers are born with a mission, and this body is the very tool they need to fulfill it. The Finger Reader Crones in the Roundtable Hold said that the Two Fingers are messengers of the Greater Will, tasked with conveying its messages. This is true, but it represents only the most fundamental function of fingers.
Beyond this basic role, each finger, from the moment of its birth, is bestowed with its own mission—much like a Tarnished guided by Grace. For fingers, this mission is the very foundation of their existence, a responsibility conferred upon them before they even possessed life. Its importance surpasses even their own being.
Among them, the one assigned to the Empyrean carries a mission exactly as Lloyd had previously learned from the Round Table Two Fingers: to aid their chosen Empyrean in becoming the ultimate victor of The Law Battle Royale. Fingers regard their missions with profound gravity, to the point of abstraction—which is precisely why Ranni and her Two Fingers clashed.
After all, one party had no desire to become a god, only seeking personal gain, while the other received orders from above to make her divine. Both were stubbornly unwilling to compromise, leading inevitably to conflict.
As for why the Round Table Two Fingers seemed less deranged, even quite temperate... the answer is actually quite simple. Because its mission had long since ended.
As the Golden Two Fingers, its purpose was fulfilled the moment the Storm King fell and the War of the Giants came to an end. Yet, had the Empyrean it once guided not shattered the Elden Ring and left the order in ruin, the ensuing struggle among the Empyreans for succession would have been nothing but chaos—one that crowned no victor. Otherwise, after its duty was complete, it would never have been forced to crawl forth once more, restore the Roundtable Hold, extend the Guidance of Grace to the Tarnished, and mend the wreckage that woman had left behind.
It was utterly exhausting. And it didn't want to work.
But the fate of the Three Fingers was wholly different. Never had it been a contender in the Empyrean succession struggle. Indeed, without a Finger Reader to herald its will, it could not even begin its purpose—much less see it fulfilled.
...
But now... though it could only perform simple actions, it couldn't engage in deep, detailed communication with Lloyd. At least this time, it possessed a means to communicate with others, alongside an Empyrean imbued with The Law—one willing to accept and trust it. It cherished all of this deeply.
But perhaps it cherished it a little too much.
After the cleansing concluded, discovering its body was no longer soiled, and as it gradually grew familiar with Lloyd and its courage increased, its true nature began to surface. Perhaps it was due to its prolonged solitude, perhaps it was Lloyd's warm, inviting aura, or perhaps it was because Lloyd had become the Empyrean it had chosen.
In any case, Three Fingers adored him. Unlike Two Fingers, however, its self-taught origins and deep-seated loneliness had left its mind somewhat unstable.
Three Fingers knew nothing of restraint or propriety. Once comfortable with Lloyd, it began rubbing against him constantly, demanding hugs while clinging on, acting exceptionally clingy. Lloyd didn't mind the clinginess—after all, his inventory currently housed a child who was physically clingy enough.
The problem was Three Fingers' sheer size. That single finger alone towered over an average person. Holding him like this constantly would likely prevent Lloyd from even exploring the map.
This couldn't go on...
While soothing the finger wriggling and rubbing against him, Lloyd pondered a solution. Abandoning it was out of the question, but molding it with Crucible Fragment was impossible. Trying to stuff it into his inventory wouldn't work either. Then...
As he pondered, Lloyd suddenly remembered something. Wait a minute. While he had no solution here, there seemed to be a place that did...
...
"Ahem, Teacher Sellen, could you share your technique for making clone orbs with me?"
"What's up? You want one too?"
"No, I plan to make one for a friend."
"A friend?"
Sellen turned her head, looking at him with confusion.
"Which friend? If you have time, bring them over so I can take a look..."
Her words abruptly halted.
Because mid-sentence, a massive Three Fingers hand squeezed through the doorway. The instant it entered, it pounced directly onto Lloyd.
Lloyd showed no surprise or attempt to dodge. He calmly accepted the embrace, then reached out to stroke its fingers.
"Don't worry, sweetie. I'm working on a solution..."
Then he turned to Sellen across from him and introduced,
"This is the friend I was just talking about."
"Frenzied Flame Three-Finger."
...
[Up to 20 chapters ahead for now]
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