After the whole Messmer incident, even though Lloyd had used his main account and the Runes he earned got converted into Souls on a Dark Souls character he couldn't level up—basically a wasted effort—it wasn't a total loss.
At the very least, after fighting side by side and even bonding a little over shared complaints, the distance between him and Melina had clearly shrunk.
Lloyd had started to get a better grasp of this mysterious, wooden-faced girl—and was honestly surprised that the Fire Keeper even had family. And when Melina got back on Torrent and reached out for his hand, she wasn't nearly as hesitant or resistant as before.
As for Lloyd's combat prowess…
The Tarnished were originally warriors or the descendants of warriors. Most who returned at this point were probably people who had fought their way to glory outside the Lands Between. Being highly skilled in battle was normal...
Wasn't it?
Recalling her own identity and Messmer and the way Lloyd had utterly crushed his incarnation just moments ago, Melina started to doubt that logic. Even with her support—even though Messmer had arrived in a rush and was only a partial incarnation—it still wasn't something a typical Tarnished could just bulldoze. Yet Lloyd had wiped him out in seconds...
What she didn't know was that Lloyd had held back. After his prior experience with the Frenzied Flame, he was curious about Messmer's abilities and intentionally dragged the fight out to see what he could do. If he'd tried even a little harder, cutting the kill time down to single-digit seconds wouldn't have been hard at all.
And that wasn't the only strange thing about Lloyd.
"You said you lost your memory?"
"Yeah." Lloyd nodded. "Even the whole Elden Ring thing—I only know about it because Kalé told me. You know, the reliable merchant guy I mentioned earlier."
"Then how did you even get here? I mean, to that Site of Grace just now."
"I dunno. People said the Tarnished just follow the guidance of the Sites of Grace, so I did. And then I met you."
That left Melina completely stumped.
She had thought her own situation—being physically dead and wandering as a spirit—was confusing enough. But the guy Torrent chose? That was a whole different level.
He had no clue what the Elden Ring was, just blindly followed the Grace's guidance, dodged enemies by rolling around, didn't know what he was doing, didn't even know who he was...
"It's fascinating, isn't it?" Alice said softly, eyes fixed on Lloyd.
Melina froze.
"You..."
Before she could finish, the blonde figure vanished again.
"Lord Lloyd, that Alice woman..."
"Oh, just pretend she's not there."
Lloyd reached out and gave Torrent's head a few pats, signaling it to stop.
"We're here?" Melina looked around the forest, but didn't see the "merchant."
"Not yet."
Lloyd dismounted and pulled out a wooden stick.
"Just farming some Runes before we go."
Melina blinked.
What did he mean, "farming Runes"?
Before her confusion could deepen, she saw it with her own eyes—Lloyd's method of Rune farming.
It was a slaughter.
Within minutes, everything that could move in Lloyd's path was dead.
Miners, soldiers, wandering nobles—even passing animals weren't spared...
"Still not quite enough."
Flicking the blood off his stick, Lloyd walked over to a nearby Site of Grace and sat down.
Then, under Melina's stunned gaze, all the undead and soldiers he had just beaten down instantly revived—as if time had rewound. Everything was exactly the same as when they first arrived, down to the tiniest movement patterns.
Sure, the Golden Order did deny death—but that didn't mean getting your body smashed to pulp could be reversed just by sitting at a Site of Grace.
In the Golden Order, "undying" was more about the soul. Even if someone died, their soul could return to the Erdtree and be re-embodied... but this?
Melina had never seen anything like it.
She even suspected that if her mother were here, she'd probably mutter, "I've never seen anything like this either."
But just as she opened her mouth to say something, Alice suddenly appeared right in front of her.
"Shh." Alice pressed a finger to her lips and whispered, "Don't tell him."
Melina was quiet for a moment. "He really doesn't know?"
She glanced at Lloyd, who was still busy "farming Runes," unsure what kind of expression she should be making.
"He doesn't know, and he doesn't need to." Alice looked in Lloyd's direction, her tone oddly soft. "Sometimes, ignorance is a blessing. A kind of protection."
Though, if Melina really insisted on telling him, Alice wouldn't stop her.
Melina didn't understand what Alice was implying, but just as she was about to press the issue, a sigh echoed in her mind.
And she fell silent.
There was no logical reason, but instinctively, she felt that bringing it up—or even discussing it with Lloyd—might lead to something... unwelcome.
Ignorance is a blessing. A kind of protection… is it really?
...
While she pondered, Lloyd revived and wiped out the same group a few more times. After checking the number of Runes in his inventory and deciding it was enough, he summoned Torrent and rode over to Melina.
"What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
She took his hand and got on Torrent, asking no questions, not even hinting at the topic. Not a word.
Used to people talking in riddles, Lloyd didn't find her reaction strange. He just rode his little goat-horse straight back to the half-ruined church.
"Kalé! I'm back!"
As soon as he stepped inside, he spotted the familiar Kalé—and a less familiar figure sitting atop part of the crumbled wall, dressed in a gown and wearing a massive witch's hat. A cold, still presence surrounded her.
Magic teacher, maybe?
The moment he saw the oversized hat, Lloyd instantly thought of Big Hat Logan from Dark Souls and walked over out of habit.
As he approached, the figure lifted her head, revealing a doll-like, exquisitely sculpted face beneath.
"Greetings, Tarnished. I am the witch Renna...?"
She trailed off halfway through, having spotted Melina standing behind Lloyd.
Melina stared back. After a pause, she forced out a sentence.
"I don't have to know you, Miss... Ranni."
To be honest, if she had a choice, she wouldn't have acknowledged the other woman at all. If she could've stayed hidden inside Lloyd's body, she absolutely wouldn't have come out in front of her.
But the problem was, she'd walked in right alongside him—Lloyd had even brought her straight to the woman's side. She couldn't phase into spirit form and hide now. Avoiding her was impossible.
Lloyd, oblivious to the awkward tension between them, was focused entirely on one word: "witch." His expression shifted.
Lady, you really wanna use that word?
In the Soulsborne worlds, magic teachers were already a high-risk profession. And witches? Even worse. Merchants at least got to consider their death rate—witches practically signed up for extinction...
This one needed close monitoring.
Looking at the woman in front of him, Lloyd thought for a moment and said, "May I study magic under you, Miss Renna?"
"I..."
The woman—clearly Ranni, despite the fake name—paused. She glanced briefly at Melina beside him, and her expression stiffened.
"Just call me Ranni. And you don't have the aptitude for magic. I have no intention of teaching you."
No aptitude?
Lloyd opened his status panel and looked at his stats, confused.
Didn't he have 10 Intelligence? That wasn't exactly meathead-level. Why didn't he qualify?
Or had magic teacher standards gone up in this game?
"Ranni is among the top-tier sorcerers." Sensing the awkwardness, Melina offered a soft explanation.
Oh, so she only teaches high-level magic. Not enough Intelligence, can't use it anyway. Got it.
Feeling like he understood now, Lloyd looked back up.
"Well then—"
"Take this."
Before he could finish, the blue-skinned, four-armed puppet cut him off and suddenly stuffed a bell and a clump of gray ashes into his hands.
"It was a request from Torrent's previous master. This bell lets you summon spirits from ash—those without a place to return to. For now, they'll recognize you as their master."
After that, she quickly pulled her hands back and glanced sideways at Melina, her tone noticeably faster.
"The delivery's complete. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
"No—wait. One more thing."
Having accepted the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes, Lloyd called out to stop her.
"Can I get your contact info? Or where I can find you?"
Ranni: "?"
Melina: "?"
"No need."
Ranni gave him a cold glance, a flicker of displeasure in her eyes.
"I doubt we'll be crossing paths again."
With that, she vanished.
...
After she was gone, Melina looked at Lloyd. She hesitated a moment before speaking.
"You... don't like her type, do you?"
"No."
The moment he heard that, Lloyd realized she'd misunderstood—but didn't quite know how to explain.
"It's more like... I have this ability. I can kind of sense someone's fate—especially if it involves death. When I was talking to her just now, I got the feeling she's walking the path to death... I mean, she might die..."
It was clear Lloyd wasn't great at lying, and Melina didn't buy it.
Destined Death was real. The previous holder of that power was the Gloam-Eyed Queen—and the current one was standing right in front of Lloyd. Her god-slaying ability was sealed outside the Lands Between, inaccessible for now.
Sure, some fragments of Destined Death had been stolen and used to kill not one, but two and a half "gods." And the one who stole them?
The very same "Witch Ranni" who had just left.
Lloyd had just brought up both key figures in the same breath. If Melina hadn't already learned he had amnesia and knew absolutely nothing about the Lands Between, she might've thought he was being sarcastic.
"I won't interfere in your personal affairs, but if it's her... I'd suggest letting it go. She's... dangerous."
"Yeah, got it." Lloyd nodded, but didn't take it seriously.
Which witch teacher wasn't dangerous? There were even male ones who used to be assassins. This was practically an established tradition—he was plenty familiar with it.
Still, Melina had clearly misunderstood his intentions. If he pressed further, he'd only make it worse, so he decided to drop it.
Witch teachers usually didn't die until later in the game anyway. No rush.
So he let the Ranni matter go and walked over to Kalé—who'd seemingly been in a trance while the witch was present. Only after she left did he open his eyes, a bit confused as to why he'd nodded off. As he and Lloyd chatted and traded goods, the strange tension slowly faded.
As night deepened, their conversation began to wind down.
Just as Lloyd was about to leave, Kalé seemed to remember something.
"Right. There's someone I want you to meet."
"If you ever hear a wolf's howl, just signal directly beneath the sound."