Why is she suddenly so tense?
Lloyd was puzzled as he watched the girl's expression shift dramatically after his reply. And… she looked oddly familiar.
After thinking for a moment, it clicked.
Wasn't this Madoka Higuchi?
What, she got tired of being at the agency and decided to come to the Lands Between to be an idol?
Of course, that was just a joke—Lloyd knew full well this girl couldn't actually be Madoka. But in some ways, the resemblance was definitely there.
"Who did you say she was just now?"
Seeing Lloyd remain silent, the girl repeated her question.
"Frenzied Flame," Lloyd snapped out of it. "Why, is something wrong?"
She looked like she wanted to say something but paused, studying his face.
"You… don't know about the Frenzied Flame?"
"Didn't I just say I don't even know who she is?" Lloyd shrugged. "Honestly, I'd like to find out what she is too. If you know something, feel free to share."
The girl was quiet for a few seconds.
"The Frenzied Flame is the most forbidden of all. It is chaos incarnate—devouring all life, all thought. Even if the world is ruined, drowned in pain and despair, as long as life exists, there's still growth, there's still beauty..."
"I don't get it," Lloyd said plainly, shaking his head. "So basically, it's something bad?"
"…You could put it that way."
She hesitated, then spoke in a softer tone.
"So no matter what, please don't turn toward the Frenzied Flame. Don't deny the meaning in all of this."
She had overheard the Frenzied Flame refer to the man before her as a "kin" and say strange things like "we are both flames," but she didn't see any connection between him and any flame. And besides, there was more than one kind of flame in the world.
As long as it wasn't the Frenzied Flame—even if it were the Flame of the Serpent—she could tolerate it.
"I got it," Lloyd nodded.
Though honestly, he still had no idea what she'd just said. But knowing the Frenzied Flame was bad was good enough for now.
"So, did you come to see me about something?"
With the topic of the Frenzied Flame behind them, it was finally her turn.
"My name is Melina."
Prompted by his question, Melina pulled herself out of her thoughts about the Frenzied Flame.
"You've heard of Finger Maidens, right? They serve the Two Fingers, assisting and guiding the Tarnished..."
"But I noticed you don't have one by your side. I can take on that role—turning your Runes into strength..."
"You're chasing the Elden Ring. This will surely help. In exchange, I ask that you escort me to the base of the Erdtree..."
That was the official line—but after the strange events just now, Melina had already made up her mind. Even if he refused, she would follow him regardless.
After all, she had never seen, nor heard of, the Frenzied Flame appearing in such a form—and the things it said were too strange to ignore.
Until she figured out what was going on, she wasn't letting him out of her sight.
Lloyd blinked.
So this was his Fire Keeper? And missing one eye too—definitely checked a few boxes...
"Deal."
With the Fire Keeper presenting herself, there was no reason for Lloyd to say no.
"So, can I level up now?"
Melina looked confused. "What do you mean by 'level up'?"
"You know, turning Runes into strength."
"Ah… yes."
She extended her hand.
"It'll only take a moment. Please allow me to touch—what are you doing?"
Seeing his hand reach for her chest, Melina quickly pulled back.
Lloyd froze, then glanced at her outstretched hand and realized what he'd done. He quickly apologized.
"Sorry, sorry! Reflex!"
He was used to "touching the darkness within the Fire Keeper's heart" to level up. So as soon as she said it, he instinctively reached for her chest.
After that awkward moment, Melina's expression became visibly more guarded. When she touched him, it was just the tip of her finger before she quickly pulled her hand back.
"It's done."
Most of the Runes he got from the Tree Sentinel were already spent, but clearing out the roadside enemies and those early mobs had earned him just enough for two levels, which he dumped entirely into health.
Gotta get that HP to 40.
"Oh, right. This is for you."
After the stat allocation, Melina handed him a golden, ring-shaped whistle.
"Torrent has chosen you. Use this when you need to travel long distances."
Torrent? What the hell was that?
Lloyd took the whistle and blew it.
A moment later, a spectral horse with horns materialized before him.
Was this… a bull-horse? A cow-horse?
He reached out and gently patted its head. The creature wasn't afraid of him at all—it leaned in affectionately and nuzzled his hand.
…Kinda cute, actually. Wait, does this mean he could ride it in this game?
"It seems it really likes you." Melina let out a breath of relief as she watched the interaction between Lloyd and the horse. Then she stood up. "Well then, I'll be going. Just call me when you need to convert Runes…"
Thunk—
A loud bump echoed as Melina's forehead visibly swelled up. She stared at Lloyd in disbelief.
Lloyd looked back at her, just as baffled.
"Didn't you say you were leaving? Why'd you walk straight into me?"
"You…"
"Don't bother trying," said the blonde girl calmly. "You can't possess his body. That thing doesn't have a physical form. What you're seeing now is his spirit body."
Melina froze again and turned to look at Lloyd.
"She…"
"Alice. She's my companion. Keeps a low profile—just pretend she's not there."
Lloyd then turned to Alice.
"What are you even talking about? How am I a spirit? Look at this skin, this flesh—"
Alice didn't respond. She gave him a long, deep look, then vanished once more.
After she disappeared, Melina opened her mouth as if to speak but ended up saying nothing, just standing there in silence.
A moment later, Lloyd finished familiarizing himself with Torrent, then swung up onto the mount and reached out a hand to Melina.
"I don't really know what just happened, but I'm heading somewhere. Want to come?"
He planned to swing by and check in on Kalé, farm a few Runes along the way, maybe pick up a few more supplies.
Melina hesitated as she looked at the hand offered to her. But faced with the options of "letting him out of her sight and risk him coming into contact with the Frenzied Flame," "chasing after Torrent on her own two legs and maybe not even keeping up," or "taking his hand," she finally chose the last one.
"What about Alice?"
"She can teleport."
Lloyd had considered inviting Alice along, but the moment he looked at her, she just shook her head. Given that she hadn't lost track of him even when he fell off a cliff, it was clear she didn't need a ride.
"Let's go!"
Once Melina was seated securely, Lloyd patted Torrent on the neck. The mount snorted, then started to run.
...
The sky dimmed, red clouds spreading across the horizon.
Lloyd, riding his newly acquired calf-horse, carried "Madoka" on his back and galloped toward the sunset.
It was still very much a Souls-like world, still full of that familiar feeling—but it wasn't until this moment, staring at the scenery ahead, sensing the warmth behind him, that Lloyd truly realized: even if this world was just a reskinned version of another, some things were unmistakably different.
He didn't know how to describe it. Sure, there were still hollows and soldiers everywhere. On the surface, things looked nearly identical to the past—monsters and twisted things stirring up trouble, revenants that wouldn't stay dead. But...
"This world is still alive. No matter how painful and hopeless it looks on the outside, it's still alive. There's still hope. It's not just some dying ember, fading away without redemption."
...
"What did you just say?" Melina raised her head.
She could've sworn she'd heard a sigh—one laced with despair, saturated with all the malice in the world, like it came from the depths of the abyss.
"I didn't say anything."
Lloyd turned his head, confused.
"Did you mishear something? Maybe it was just the wind?"
Melina didn't respond. She looked at his perfectly ordinary expression, frowning slightly.
She was sure she hadn't imagined it. There was no one else around either. But judging by his face, he wasn't lying, so...
...
Torrent suddenly came to a halt.
Melina, lost in thought and unprepared, lurched forward and nearly fell off. Lloyd reacted quickly, catching her by the shoulders before she could slip.
"What's wrong?" Melina had just looked up when she saw Lloyd's expression suddenly turn grim.
"Find a place to hide."
[You have been invaded by 'The Impaler' Messmer]
Lloyd stared at the system message and the red summoning circle slowly materializing in the distance. A wave of all-too-familiar memories came crashing down on him.
Oh, great. Invasions, huh? What's next—low-level twinks stomping newbies like High Wall Lords?
He dismounted, dismissed Torrent, and told Melina to take cover. Drawing his little wooden club, Lloyd prepared for his first invasion encounter in this world.
To be fair, as a Souls 5 veteran, Lloyd didn't really take sides when it came to invasions. Whether people did it for the thrill of killing or just to play deliveryman as a red phantom, he saw it all as part of the experience.
But then he saw the figure slowly rising beneath the setting sun—and even if it was just a game, he couldn't help but curse.
Red robes. Golden armor. Two serpents coiled around his body. A massive spear in one hand, blazing red fire in the other, and various ornaments dangling from his gear.
Seriously? A full-on cosplay of the High Wall Lord?
Forget balance—this guy's loadout looked like something straight out of a Nezha skin pack. There's no way someone his level should have gear that flashy.
"Friend, don't you think this is a bit much?" Lloyd's face darkened as the invader approached at a measured pace.
But the figure didn't respond. It just kept advancing, seemingly dazed—like two minds were fighting for control of the same body.
"Unlighted one..."
"Flame of Chaos..."
The red phantom opened its mouth, and two voices echoed at once.
Then it leapt into the air. Black and red flames burst out around it as a fireball, shaped like a serpent's eye, formed in its hand—
Boom!
It slammed down.
A scarlet storm of flame erupted across the ground where Lloyd had stood. The massive blast radius and sheer force made its lethality unmistakable.
No way a player mod can pull this off...
Lloyd's eyes widened as his health bar plummeted—barely hanging on by a thread just from grazing the edge.
He'd expected some overgeared invader flexing on newbies, but this range and damage...
"So they stealth-nerfed everything, huh?"
Whoosh—
The long spear swept past, grazing the tip of Lloyd's nose and drawing a thin line of blood.
He rolled back twice, popped a couple sips from his Flask of Crimson Tears—but even after gaining some distance, the two snakes wrapped around the invader suddenly lashed out, biting him and wiping out everything he'd just recovered.
Fast attacks. High damage. Aggro like a rabid dog. Barely any wind-up or recovery. And blinding AoE spam on top of that...
Looking down at his shabby soldier armor and +0 stick, Lloyd honestly didn't know what to say.
Seeing him on the verge of collapse, one of the minds within the red phantom suddenly grew ecstatic—seizing control.
The flames flared again. Cursed snake eyes locked onto the weakened Ashen One.
Its body twisted into a massive serpent. In its mouth, a fireball like a crimson sun began to form, wreathed in burning vengeful spirits and residual flame.
It hurled it down at Lloyd with terrifying force.
Boom!
The blazing red inferno consumed the sky, dyeing the world blood-red, incinerating and stealing the life from everything in its wake.
But then… something strange happened.
A flicker of confusion shone in the snake's eyes.
Its instincts told it the strange, vibrant—yet pathetically weak—flame couldn't possibly survive that hit.
Once extinguished, all it had to do was devour the ashes to recover, evolve, even ascend further.
But though the blow had clearly landed… it felt no surge of power entering it.
Instead, what it felt was...
Unease?
Whoosh—
The flames parted.
The fire that should've been swallowed now stood in the heart of the inferno.
The battered soldier armor was gone. In its place was pitch-black armor, a circular black ring embedded in the chestplate.
The wooden club had transformed into a uniquely shaped straight sword and shield.
Lloyd stood tall, slowly raising his head to meet the gaze of the serpent.
Ashen embers flickered across his body like slow-burning flame.
"You made the first move, friend."
With that, he raised his sword.
Fire lit the edge of the blackened blade.
Not the lingering flame of the Firelink Greatsword.
But the fire of Souls 5—the one that was canceled.
The fire that never failed.