Before the arrival of the Age of the Eternal Erdtree, so-called "deities" were merely lifeforms several times more powerful than ordinary beings. Mortals could die, and so too could gods. The Gloam-Eyed Queen was once the terror of all deities, relying on that pitch-black flame capable of annihilating the very souls of all things.
But eras must inevitably shift and be replaced. Maliketh, the stronger of the two, defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen without suspense and seized the symbol of her power—the Rune of Death. Once separated from its original master, the Rune of Death began a gradual transformation. In the hands of Maliketh the Black Blade, it manifested as a flame streaked with black, but predominantly red in hue.
The defeat of the Gloam-Eyed Queen heralded the end of the age of god-hunting and represented the decline of the black flame. The obsidian fire that once reduced gods to ash had long since lost its former potency, appearing far inferior to the current black-and-red flames of Maliketh.
The most formidable power in the world is the mastery over life and death—a force that crushes all living things. Once it belonged to the Gloam-Eyed Queen; now, it belonged to the even more renowned Maliketh.
At this moment, the Tarnished stood face-to-face with the resurgent Godskin black flame. He and Millicent gazed at the slender, pale figure before them, a being as white as jade: a Godskin Apostle under the Queen's command.
A wide hood obscured his face, topped with a macabre human countenance stitched together from the skin of others. The gemstone on his chest represented the master they served—a massive, singular Gloam-Eyed jewel.
"To think someone would actually make it here." The Godskin Apostle's gaze turned cold. He brandished a twinblade of asymmetrical celadon design, featuring a sickle at one end and a spiral needle at the other. It was a bizarre weapon, utterly beyond the mastery of ordinary men.
"One abandoned by the grace of gold dares to step foot here... truly, you do not fear death." The Apostle did not strike immediately but sized the duo up. Though his tone was fierce, he knew the two before him were highly capable—especially the Tarnished, who felt significantly stronger than the grace-touched girl with the severed arm.
Other Apostles and Nobles had their own missions; being alone here, it would be difficult to stop them. But for the sake of the Queen's relic, he had to try.
"Godskin... do you truly believe that because the Erdtree withers, you shall flourish? Your master is nowhere to be found; upon what do you intend to rise?" The Tarnished took a step forward. With those words, the Apostle's mood visibly soured.
This man's tongue was truly venomous, rubbing salt into old wounds. "Hmph. As long as we reclaim Destined Death, nothing is a problem. Our Queen shall surely return."
"You seem confident... does that mean your Queen has a means of resurrection?" Millicent asked curiously. She had only heard of the Gloam-Eyed Queen through historical records.
"I have nothing to say to you..." The Apostle intended to waste no more breath and prepared to charge.
"Hold on. If you don't want to die, stand down." The Tarnished unleashed a staggering, overwhelming pressure toward the Apostle.
"What...?! Such terrifying power." This man possessed the aura of a demigod... despite lacking grace, he held such strength... How was this possible?
"There is no need for us to cross blades. You look for your Rune of Death, and I'll chop down the Erdtree. I don't see a conflict here," the Tarnished said, spreading his hands.
This man wants to overthrow the Erdtree? It truly didn't seem to conflict with his goals... wait!
"Hold! If you intend to subvert the Erdtree, you will inevitably challenge the gods. At that time, will you not still lay hands upon the Destined Death that belongs to us?" The Apostle's mind worked quickly enough to catch the flaw.
"Slaying gods...? You mean killing Marika?" The Tarnished looked at the Apostle, who replied with a look that suggested it was a matter of course.
"To change the era now, one must slaughter the old gods, just as Marika did in her deathmatch with our Queen. Hmph. Marika alone was not the Queen's match... it was that hateful black shadow... he was truly terrifying." In terms of pure martial skill, the Queen had been superior, but they had not expected Marika to have such powerful outside help.
Her half-brother Maliketh possessed an unnaturally violent strength; perhaps even Godfrey would have struggled against a Maliketh fighting at full capacity. The Queen fell at his hands, and the Godskins harbored an irreconcilable blood feud with the Black Blade.
"Oh, so you're saying if I want to overthrow the Erdtree, I still need the Rune of Death." The Tarnished didn't plan on killing Marika; if possible, he hoped Marika's fate would be settled by Godfrey personally.
"Hmph, naturally. There is no power in the Lands Between greater than Death." The Apostle spoke with immense pride, reminiscing about the glory of conquering the land alongside the Queen.
"Then how about this: I liberate Destined Death myself and don't fight you for it?" The Tarnished did need power, but he had a specific use for the Rune of Death. For the Lands Between to return to a natural cycle of life and death, the Rune was essential.
"What...?" The Apostle was suspicious. "Who exactly are you?"
"Don't ask who I am. I only want these answers: First, can you stop hunting Ranni? Second, ally with me."
The Godskin Apostle was stunned. Someone wanted to unbind death and ally with the Godskins? It sounded like a fantasy.
"Your answer?" As he spoke, the Tarnished's hand rested on the New Moon at his back, and Millicent prepared to draw her blade. If the talk failed, they would fight.
"...You don't fear death? You actually want to unbind the Rune of Death?"
"All things need life and death," the Tarnished answered bluntly.
"..." The Apostle froze in place, then looked toward the Queen's Greatsword enshrined at the end of the chamber.
(Could this be the guidance of fate... was the blade's trembling earlier a resonance from meeting one with the same philosophy of life?)
"Fine... I understand. However, I am but an Apostle; I must speak with the Nobles... but do not worry. Our Godskin Nobles are not like those useless bags of wine in the Golden Lineage. If you are sincere in cooperation, they will not refuse." The Apostle withdrew his killing intent, his tone becoming much friendlier.
"Is this... one less trouble to deal with?" Millicent whispered to the Tarnished. He nodded; it seemed he had gained the support of another faction.
"What is your relationship with the Empyrean Ranni? Why speak for her? Do you know she once stole our Rune of Death?" Maliketh had stolen their power, and then Ranni had the audacity to steal it a second time. What did they take the Rune of Death for?
"Like you, we are allies. Even if you hunt her, you will gain nothing. The portion of the Rune she stole was small and has already been infused into the Black Knives through a ritual. Oh, by the way, the Black Knives are also under my influence."
"You... Hahaha! Interesting! It seems you are determined to change the Lands Between." The Apostle laughed. According to this man, the Godskins truly had no reason to keep chasing Ranni. That tiny fragment of the Rune could be considered a "merciful gift" from the Queen.
"However... the Empyrean Ranni is truly something else... stealing from the Black Shadow and evading multiple factions... she is too independent, an unstable factor to us. That is why we hunted her... but with you acting as a bridge... it shouldn't affect us much."
"Otherwise... even if we couldn't kill her, those around her would not escape the fate of being burned by us." The Apostle's tone was arrogant; they truly had the capital to be so confident.
"I sat down to talk with you precisely to avoid that situation." The Tarnished turned his gaze to the enshrined greatsword. It was a spiral blade, its edges not particularly sharp.
Yet it contained the unique divine aura of an ancient deity. Clearly, this was not the blade's true form.
"Even if we are allies, do not think to touch this sword... this is the Queen's own God-Slaying Greatsword... the one and only original," the Apostle warned.
"Original? You mean there are fakes?" The Tarnished raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
The Godskin Apostle then began to recount the secret history of that divine blade...
Legend has it that before the Queen awakened the power of the cycle of death, she was already a master of the sword. She had slain many powerful enemies. As her power grew, she once fell into a near-death state during a battle with a formidable foe, but providence favored her.
In that moment of peril, she understood her origin... a power linked to true death... the supreme law that no living being in the Lands Between should avoid: Destined Death.
Upon her awakening, the blade of her favorite greatsword began to split from the midpoint, twisting into a double-helix spiral. Immediately, black flames erupted from the spiral patterns—a power that even deities feared.
This blade, spiraled and cracked by the power of death, remained at the Queen's side and was crowned with the fame of "God-Slayer."
The sword was once a mundane object, but it became extraordinary and capable of slaying gods because of the Queen.
After that, the Queen gained many followers... and in the highest places of the Lands Between, she discovered a mysterious race possessing the aspects of the Crucible. The Queen, born for war and having never known a mate, nonetheless possessed a motherly love deep within her soul that never faded.
She nurtured these children carefully. They were a strange race; they did not need to eat, but would grow robustly simply through the Queen's touch. This race would later be known as the Godskins, creations of the Crucible.
Nurtured by the Gloam-Eyed Queen, the Godskins possessed absolute loyalty to her. To share her power with her "adopted children," the Queen used the God-Slaying Greatsword as a source, providing a continuous flow of black flame to the Godskins and their apostles.
Thus, the most terrifying faction in the history of the Lands Between was born. But as their scale grew, they drew the attention of other powers... powers with no shortage of champions. When the Apostles could not hold them back, the Queen took to the field personally once more, wielding the God-Slaying Greatsword to slaughter the foreign invaders.
As she brandished the sword again, the Queen realized something. She still needed to act personally, but having only one weapon was somewhat inconvenient. Therefore, she infused her spare blade with the power of the Rune of Death, transforming it into another God-Slaying Greatsword.
Though this sword was slightly inferior to the one the Queen used herself, it was sufficient to drive the black flames and serve as a medium for distributing the God-Slaying fire.
The Queen's reign should have been glorious... until one day, the flourishing Nox people were destroyed on the surface by a terrifying attack. Simultaneously, an unremarkable, somewhat ugly finger-like creature sought out the Queen.
It wished to select the Queen as a representative to lead the Lands Between, but the Queen was proud by nature and refused to be controlled by an unknown creature.
"However..." The Apostle couldn't help but sigh. The Finger, rejected by the Queen, vanished. They thought the farce was over, but unexpectedly, a brand-new power surged forth—a woman with long golden hair and a face like a work of art.
Her Gold was blindingly bright, and the stone hammer in her hand held supreme mysteries... That was the first confrontation between the two Queens. It marked the beginning of the duel between the "Two Fingers" and that "Nameless Finger"... and the transition between two eras.