His fingers twitched.
Lloyd's consciousness slowly returned from the chaos.
He... was still alive?
Opening his eyes, Lloyd found himself lying in a shallow pool. Around him stretched a dimly lit cave.
When the cliff collapsed, he thought for sure he was dead. Even at max level 802, an immortal wasn't exactly on par with Geralt, the legendary fall-resisting king. In fact, he wasn't much better—cliffs were lethal, and even slightly elevated slopes could one-shot him.
But now...
Looking around, Lloyd guessed this place might be like the Ringed City cliff or the area with the Four Kings in New Londo. Places where, no matter how high you fell or what gear you wore, you'd survive if you landed just right. Basically, a kind of map transition.
So had he just left that cliff and arrived at a new area?
With that thought, he stood up, brushed the water off, and began inspecting his surroundings.
The cave was nothing special—just a shallow pool and, not far off, a small golden tree. Next to it stood a translucent, ghost-like figure. When he approached and interacted with it, the phantom pointed to a pit, telling him to jump in to "learn" and "recall" some combat techniques.
A tutorial?
The pit wasn't particularly deep. Inside, white glowing messages littered the ground. After a moment's thought, Lloyd decided to check it out.
Sure, according to game logic, without teleportation unlocked, going down might mean a long and winding trip back. But this was reality. At this height, couldn't he just climb back up?
After confirming the depth, Lloyd jumped down along the wall.
Touching the glowing messages, he found phrases like "Keep going," "I did it!" and "Enemies ahead."
Going deeper in, he spotted a golden, human-like figure floating above the ground, radiating a gentle warmth and peace.
"That's called a 'Site of Grace.' Touch it, and if you die, you'll revive here," a calm voice explained.
"...When did you get here?"
Turning to the blonde girl who had suddenly appeared, Lloyd's expression twitched slightly.
He had scanned the area thoroughly just moments ago and hadn't seen her. He thought they'd lost contact. Now she was just... there, explaining?
But she offered no further words. After explaining, she simply stood silently.
Lloyd didn't dwell on it. Souls games never lacked cryptic characters. If this girl had suddenly started monologuing everything in detail, he'd probably feel more unsettled.
As for the Site of Grace...
"Isn't this just a reskinned bonfire?"
He sat down in front of it with practiced ease, reaching out and touching the light. The connection formed, that familiar feeling washing over him. The unease born from this strange world and the sudden appearance of the blonde girl began to fade under the golden glow.
Faced with this unfamiliar place and unfamiliar figure, he'd briefly questioned whether he was even still in the Dark Souls world.
Sure, everything felt oddly familiar. But unfamiliar things were still unfamiliar. Maybe all his assumptions had just been wishful thinking.
But after that familiar cliff, the cryptic ghost, and now this Site of Grace—even though it looked nothing like a bonfire—the feeling it gave him was unmistakable.
He was home. This was it. That feeling was back!
...
As he left the Site of Grace and moved deeper into the cave, the familiar sensation only grew stronger.
Seeing a ragged Hollow move in a way he knew all too well, Lloyd's grip on his sword trembled slightly.
"Hollow bro, is that you?"
After dispatching a few Hollows with ease, soldiers in unfamiliar armor stepped into view.
"Hollow Soldiers? When did you show up? Ah well, love you guys too."
Taking them down, he continued onward until a golden Fog Gate appeared before him.
"Even the fog gate got a new skin, huh..."
He extended a hand and walked into the fog. A soldier, identical to the others but wielding a greatsword, stood there watching him from a distance.
This...
Staring at the Greatsword guy, Lloyd frowned in thought.
Based on the messages earlier, this was supposed to be some kind of tutorial zone. But by Souls standards, your first boss shouldn't be just some big guy with a sword. Where was Gundyr? Or the classic Asylum Demon? A regular enemy with a greatsword didn't quite sit right.
Something's off.
Narrowing his eyes, Lloyd studied the figure. He didn't believe this guy was as harmless as he looked. No way was the dev that kind. This had to be a trick.
Maybe a transformation on approach, a shift at half health, or just deceptively strong despite appearances...
Which one was it?
The wooden stick in his hand morphed into a longsword, and a pitch-black shield appeared in his right hand.
Just as Lloyd predicted, the moment he drew close, the soldier's eyes ignited.
Golden flames—chaotic, frenzied—erupted from his gaze, instantly engulfing his entire body.
His head, the origin of the fire, burned away in an instant. In its place, a black sun-like sphere formed, dark and hollow at its core, encircled by a ring of chaotic flame.
Then, it opened its arms to Lloyd, as if welcoming him.
"Ah, my dear fellow of chaos. I know not whence you came, but I welcome you with all sincerity."
The moment it transformed, Lloyd instinctively wanted to rush in and land a few hits.
But just before he acted, he recalled what had happened with the blonde girl earlier. That thought made him hold back.
"Who are you?" Lloyd asked, eyeing the strange entity before him.
"I am like you, fellow one. We are chaos. We are the only. We are equal in despair."
It had no face, yet Lloyd could sense it was smiling.
"I don't know you."
"Nor I, you, fellow. But that's not important."
It gently stroked the edge of its sword. From its fingertip, frenzied flame ignited, instantly spreading across the blade, transforming it into a massive sword wreathed in maddening fire.
"What matters is this—flames instinctively devour one another. You shall become my finest nourishment, to mend this world torn by agony."
As the last word left its mouth, fire burst forth.
The creature vanished in a blink, reappearing before Lloyd as if it had teleported. The greatsword, burning with frenzied flame, came crashing down—
Clang!
The creature froze, staring in disbelief at the small buckler in Lloyd's hand.
Wait... how did he parry my greatsword with that tiny shield?
And why... why couldn't it move anymore?
Then a dagger sank into its gut.
It tilted its head, staring blankly at the blade lodged in its abdomen, as if not comprehending what had just happened.
"Fellow... it's pointless. You're chaos flame too. You should know... such an attack shouldn't cause us any pa—"
Thud.
It collapsed to the ground, body beginning to fade.
What... just happened?
It was stunned.
So was Lloyd.
From the way it talked, he thought this thing was some sort of monstrous boss. But after just one parry and a riposte, its health bar dropped to zero.
Even after its health hit zero, it kept saying things like "This wound is nothing," making Lloyd think it had a second phase... but now?
He looked at the slowly fading corpse with a baffled expression.
Seriously, dude... that's it? You're dead?
"I see now..."
Just before it vanished completely, its hollow skull fixed its gaze on Lloyd, as if understanding something at last.
"The laws of chaos truly are as they say... Fellow, you are even madder, even more chaotic than I imagined..."
"I hope... when we meet again... you'll still be as mad and chaotic as now. I truly look forward... to our next encounter..."
With its final word, the frenzied flames flickered out, leaving only a charred, headless corpse.
[ENEMY FELLED]
[Obtained "Remembrance of the Frenzied Flame Soldier"]
[Obtained Weapon "Frenzied Flame Greatsword"]