"What's this?"
Lloyd blinked as he took the strange shard Alice handed him.
In that brief moment of distraction, the fragment suddenly melted in his hand. Even when he opened his inventory, it was nowhere to be found.
Alice didn't answer. She just kept staring at the spot where the fragment had vanished, deep in thought.
Lloyd, long used to Alice's cryptic habits, didn't press. After double-checking his status menu to make sure no weird effects had been applied, he let it go and resumed chatting with Blaidd.
Thanks to Kalé's introduction—and the fact that they'd just fought side by side—the conversation flowed easily.
It didn't take long for Lloyd to learn that Blaidd had come here to hunt down the traitor "Darriwil."
Midway through their chat, Blaidd blinked—and suddenly the Lloyd standing before him had completely changed.
The ember-clad armor that once radiated power had turned into the standard uniform of a random Godrick soldier. The Spiral Sword that had pierced through monsters just moments ago was now just a stick that looked like it had been picked up off the ground. The overwhelming aura was gone, replaced by something completely ordinary, like a totally different person had taken his place.
"What... is this?"
"Oh, that? I've got two accounts. Just leveling a new one."
Two accounts? Leveling a new one?
If Lloyd hadn't explained, Blaidd might've remained only mildly confused. But now? Even more lost.
Was this something like an Empyrean's avatar? But avatars had to be split off... this guy...
Blaidd couldn't quite make sense of it.
"All right. If I find any sign of Darriwil, I'll come back here and find you."
"Sure. If I'm not around, just leave a message on that stone over there. I'll come find you."
With that, their conversation ended. Lloyd blew his whistle, summoned Torrent, and set off once more on his journey.
...
"That Blaidd is Ranni's 'shadow.'"
As Blaidd left, a voice softly spoke from behind Lloyd. Melina, who had remained hidden in the shadows, finally revealed herself.
"I've said I wouldn't interfere in your personal matters... but I really don't think you should get too close to her. She..."
Melina trailed off.
The Night of the Black Knives marked the beginning of the Golden Order's collapse.
That night, Godwyn the Golden—the prince hailed by all for his lineage, ability, character, and strength—was struck by a Black Knife imbued with Destined Death. Though his flesh remained, his soul was utterly annihilated.
After that, Queen Marika vanished. The Elden Ring shattered. And the infamous Shattering began, as war erupted over its fragments. Corpses littered the Lands Between, the cries of the fallen echoed everywhere, and in the years that followed, the world fell into ruin.
The one who orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives—the one who stole Destined Death—was none other than the witch Ranni.
Though much about the event remains unclear, even Melina isn't fully certain of the details.
But one thing is clear: the current state of the Lands Between—Ranni bears a significant share of responsibility.
And she herself... is unquestionably dangerous.
"I believe you."
Lloyd nodded without hesitation. He had no reason to doubt Melina.
Even setting aside the Souls tradition of shady sorcery mentors—Melina was his Fire Keeper.
And if you can't trust your own Fire Keeper, who can you trust?
"But Melina, have you ever wondered why I'm so obsessed with getting stronger?"
Melina paused in surprise.
"...Isn't it to claim the Elden Ring?"
"Of course not."
Lloyd shrugged.
"Honestly, I still don't get what you all mean by this 'Elden Ring' thing. And I have no idea why everyone's fighting over that thing."
"The reason I want to get stronger is simple. So that when something happens, I won't be held back by power, and I can do things my own way."
Good guy? Bad guy? Lloyd wasn't some self-righteous judge of the internet. He wasn't interested in judging people, and he sure didn't think he had the right—or the ability—to do it.
Unless someone was truly rotten to the core, in a world as brutal and mad as this one, just trying to survive meant getting your hands dirty. That was normal.
And if you used the standards of some peaceful, civilized world to judge the people here? Sure, maybe executing everyone would be a bit unfair—but if you shot every other one, you'd be lucky to find any fish left in the net.
Besides, if he was being honest, Lloyd didn't think he was any better than the rest. He'd cut down knights, undead, even smacked the occasional stray dog that looked at him wrong. He probably deserved the gallows more than most.
But he didn't feel like he'd done anything wrong.
After all, Alice and Melina were still alive and well. Even Varré, smug little bastard that he was, still had his head on straight.
And everyone else? The moment they saw he was Tarnished, they tried to kill him. What was he supposed to do—stand still and wait to die?
Melina said Ranni was strange. That she was dangerous. And he believed her.
But no matter how strange or dangerous she was, at least Ranni didn't come at him swinging the moment they met. She'd given him the Spirit Calling Bell and even some Spirit Ashes. Maybe it was someone else's request—but it still helped him.
Sure, it wasn't a favor worth worshiping her for. But like he always said:
You treat me right, I treat you right.
In a world where even dogs hate people, if someone showed him a little kindness, he'd return it.
Simple as that.
Melina fell silent, momentarily stunned.
"So... you're saying you're not going to fight for the Elden Ring?"
"I am."
Lloyd answered casually.
"I just said getting stronger is mainly so I can act on my own terms without being limited by power. I never said I wasn't going to fight for the Ring."
"Then what was all that just now...?"
"Didn't I already say? I trust you."
Honestly, Lloyd didn't get what Melina was so hung up on. In the world of Souls, isn't it just common sense to follow the Fire Keeper's lead?
In a world where he knew nothing, if he didn't trust his own Fire Keeper, what—was he supposed to trust Patches?
"You're the one who said Tarnished should follow Grace. So I follow it. You said I need to collect Great Runes—so I go get them. You said go to Leyndell—then that's where I'm headed."
"I've lost my memory anyway, and it's not like you'd hurt me. So why not just do what you say?"
"Unless... you've changed your mind? Think I've been wasting time clearing side content and want me to go run the main questline right now? I'm down for that too."
"I..."
Melina opened her mouth, hesitated for a long moment, then quietly turned away and muttered,
"I haven't changed my mind."
"Then that's that."
Lloyd bent down and scratched Torrent's head, tossing him a snack as he added,
"But don't worry, I know your warning came from a good place. I'll keep it in mind and stay cautious around her."
"If she turns out to be a rotten-to-the-core villain, I won't hesitate."
Worst case, it's just another evil side quest. And by Souls tradition, those usually end with killing the bad guy and getting all the loot.
If you kill them too early, you might miss out on half the content.
Yeah, he knew this pattern all too well.
As for Melina's sudden silence? He didn't think too much of it.
Between Melina and Alice, both of them were the quiet type. Neither of them ever started a conversation. Sometimes even when he made the effort, he'd get no response at all.
That she was even talking this much probably meant she'd misunderstood his earlier words and thought he was giving up on the Ring. Got a little anxious.
Now that she knew he was still on track, it made sense she'd fall silent again.
Which was fine by him. After so long in simulated worlds, he'd gotten used to solo play. If you'd dropped a bunch of chatterboxes on him from the start, he probably would've been overwhelmed.
Keeping things like this—short chats when needed, no excessive small talk—that was just right.
With that thought, his trusty steed galloped on. Some time later, in the dim night, he caught sight of a ruin swarming with monsters.
He cleared out the mobs, took down a boss with a pumpkin for a head, and a Site of Grace lit up in the room. Once he activated it, Lloyd walked over to a nearby iron door, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
After exploring for a while, he'd gotten a decent grasp of the game's structure. It was basically an open world packed with self-contained mini-dungeons.
This one had mobs, a guarding boss, and after the fight, only dropped some Runes. But behind it... was a door sealed by golden fog.
Treasure chest? Or maybe a key item?
He reached out eagerly and began lifting the iron door, inch by inch.
Then, as the interior came into view—he froze.
Wait... why is there a person in there?