Elden Lord of Cinders

The battle at the Village of the Albinaurics ended quickly.

The place was small, and there weren't many enemies to begin with. Lloyd could've cleared it out on his own, but with Nepheli helping, he barely had to swing his staff.

She was a beast, no question. Sure, her performance in the warped time-space battle hadn't been impressive, but that was a pure sorcerer's domain—full of ranged enemies that countered her style.

For her to hold her own under that kind of pressure said everything about how fierce she really was.

But the real issue wasn't the fight.

All the way back to the Roundtable Hold, Nepheli held onto a sliver of hope. Maybe Lloyd had lied. Or maybe someone had lied to him. Anything but the truth she feared.

There was no way her foster father would order the massacre of the Albinauric village.

She told herself.

Sure, she admitted he could be cold sometimes.

But he had once told her, face to face, that once he became Elden Lord, he'd make sure the weak would never be oppressed again.

That was why she trusted him, respected him, saw him as her guiding light.

Now, that light was gone.

"Yes, I ordered it."

The All-Knowing nodded calmly.

"I needed that Medallion."

Nepheli stood frozen.

Meanwhile, Lloyd held Ensha's helmet, looking at the All-Knowing in confusion.

"What the hell? Why did your bodyguard suddenly attack me? I thought fighting among ourselves was off-limits at the Roundtable?"

Ensha had always been posted at the All-Knowing's door since he arrived—silent, never engaging with anyone.

But just now, as Lloyd and Nepheli returned from the village, Ensha had suddenly lunged at him.

Lloyd cut him down in two strikes.

"I regret that incident deeply."

Seeing the helmet in Lloyd's hand, the All-Knowing slowly shook his head.

"Ensha was too impulsive. As his master, I owe you an apology."

"But then again, he lost the fight and paid with his life—there's no saving someone like that."

Lloyd: "...?"

What the hell is this guy's deal?

From the moment they'd met, Lloyd had felt something was off. Now it was clear this guy was way more unhinged than he'd thought.

Not that he believed the All-Knowing had actually sent Ensha to attack him. For all his snide jabs at the guy, Lloyd never thought he was weak.

And Ensha wasn't his only asset. Based on what Nepheli had told him, the guy definitely had power to spare. If he wanted Lloyd dead, it wouldn't have been some half-baked ambush.

But now? He'd disrupted the plan in the Albinauric village, killed his subordinate, and even shaken his daughter's resolve—and the man just apologized and went right back to reading his book.

Wasn't that... a bit much?

Whatever.

Lloyd didn't dwell on it.

He'd long since learned how to handle cryptic weirdos like this—by ignoring them.

Don't try to make sense of what they say or do. If it doesn't add up, just move on and stick to your own path.

"So, are you planning to kill Nepheli next?"

Lloyd asked the question outright, snapping Nepheli out of her daze while making All-Knowing look up again.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, her loyalty's shaken. She even killed some of your men. For all you know, she might turn against you down the line."

Lloyd shrugged, speaking sincerely.

"Given your whole 'villain act,' shouldn't you be looking for a chance to take her out?"

"Oh, I don't really care. I've never been short on enemies."

All-Knowing shook his head, his tone still calm.

"She's just a misguided child. If I went around purging every ignorant soul, I'd burn through all my magic and barely make a dent."

"Of course, if she's lost her way like this, I can't trust her to keep working for me."

"The will of the ignorant is a cancer—so malignant, even the Omen's horns look mild by comparison. But maybe... this too is part of the Queen's plan."

Lloyd nodded, then turned toward Nepheli, whose face had gone completely red.

Truth be told, she had no idea what these two were talking about, but even without understanding, she could tell they were calling her stupid.

And the worst part? She couldn't even argue.

"Let me put it in plain terms."

Lloyd looked at her, serious now.

"The Albinaurics are natural enemies of the Golden Order. Your foster father's done some shady things, sure, but in this case, from his side of the conflict, he didn't do anything wrong."

"If you want to protect the Albinaurics, you're not just going against him—you're going against the entire Golden Order."

Nepheli: "...Huh?"

"She's not going to get any of that."

All-Knowing sighed.

"And saying this kind of thing at the Roundtable... well, it's not exactly appropriate."

He raised his eyes, gesturing subtly toward the room where the Two Fingers resided.

Lloyd blinked, then caught on.

"Oh, right. Guess I'll go have a chat with the Two Fingers then."

With that, under Nepheli's bewildered stare and All-Knowing's subtle gaze, Lloyd stepped out of the office and entered the chamber of the Two Fingers.

"Ah, it's you. What brings you here?"

Finger Reader Enya glanced over as Lloyd entered. She looked him up and down, then seemed to notice something.

"Oh my, not bad. From the old days till now, this is only the second time I've seen two Great Runes at once."

"Look—Even the Two Fingers are thrilled."

"Tarnished, well done. The Greater Will will be most pleased."

"This proves you possess the potential to become Elden Lord."

"Tarnished, make your way to the Erdtree. Seek an audience with Queen Marika."

"Become Elden Lord. Restore the Golden Order."

"The Two Fingers are watching eagerly—perhaps you'll match that little Gideon boy."

"Here, take this. A small token from this old lady."

She handed Lloyd a Talisman Pouch, granting him another talisman slot.

After accepting it, Lloyd looked up at Enya, a little curious.

"So... can you explain how exactly you're able to understand what the Two Fingers are saying?"

Enya paused, then smiled and shook her head.

"You really are a curious one. If I could, I'd love to tell you—but sadly, even that brat Gideon can't master this ability..."

Lloyd thought for a second, then turned to the Two Fingers. He raised his hand, extended two fingers, and gave them a little wiggle.

The Two Fingers: "..."

Enya: "..."

Then Lloyd turned back to Enya and asked:

"Did it understand what I just said?"

Enya looked at the Two Fingers. After a brief pause, she turned to Lloyd.

"The Fingers said your language was a bit... colorful."

Lloyd fell silent.

"If I say I was just trying to say hi, will it buy that?"

This time, Two Fingers didn't need a translator—it simply tapped itself in response.

"Anything else, Tarnished?"

"The Finger says if you truly wish to become Elden Lord, you'd best be on your way. Time waits for no one, after all…"

"Oh, there is one more thing."

Lloyd nodded.

"I think there's something wrong with the Golden Order—Grandma, can you pass that along for me?"

Enya: "...?"

That's... quite a thing to ask.

Still, after a moment, she looked back at the Two Fingers. After some time communicating in whatever way they did, she turned back to Lloyd with a surprised look.

"The Fingers say that with the Elden Ring shattered, of course the Golden Order is in turmoil."

"And it's precisely to fix those problems that Tarnished must rise and become Elden Lord."

"No, I don't mean problems that came after the Ring shattered—I mean the whole structure was flawed from the start. It's single-threaded, no fail-safes..."

Lloyd tried to explain, but clearly, neither Enya nor the Fingers had any idea what he was talking about.

One of the Two Fingers even mimicked a head scratch, rubbing the top of the other finger in a distinctly human gesture of confusion.

Seeing that, Lloyd thought for a second, then raised his own two fingers and wiggled them around, trying to get his point across.

Then...

Enya paused, then looked at him with a rather subtle tone.

"The Fingers say... that might qualify as harassment."

Lloyd: "..."

Forget it.

He didn't know what those weird fingers thought he was doing, but one thing was clear—they couldn't communicate.

So he returned to All-Knowing's office.

"I just had a chat with the Two Fingers."

"What did they say?"

Lloyd thought for a moment, then answered honestly.

"They said I used some foul language. Also, that I might be guilty of harassment."

Silence.

All-Knowing stared at Lloyd like he was something else. Nepheli looked absolutely stunned.

Before either of them could respond, Lloyd continued.

"But the Two Fingers also admitted the Golden Order has problems. So I guess I'll look for a chance to tweak it later."

All-Knowing: "...?"

Wasn't that a bit of a leap? And wasn't that... a lot of information to just drop?

While All-Knowing looked like his brain was starting to overheat, Lloyd turned to Nepheli.

"Your foster father said, given your current state, he's not planning to have you work for him anymore. If you're not doing anything, I've got a friend who's short-handed. Could find something for you."

"I..."

Nepheli instinctively looked toward All-Knowing. He gave a small nod and spoke calmly.

"You're free to do as you please. I have no intention of restricting you. Besides, my original order was for you to follow him."

In truth, Nepheli was supposed to have been tagging along with Lloyd the whole time.

But his spirit steed was absurdly fast. After he soul-boosted it, even Renna—who could fly—could just barely keep up. Nepheli, meanwhile, had no chance. So Lloyd often had to go fetch her when she was needed.

And Torrent's back wasn't that big. With both Lloyd and Melina riding, there wasn't space for anyone else. Otherwise, he could've just brought Irina to Castle Morne directly instead of leaving Chaos behind to guard her.

Now, though, Nepheli clearly wasn't in a good place.

Her faith was shaken, her will faltering, and she seemed to be questioning herself.

In a Dark Souls game, you let someone like that wander off, the next time you see them, odds are they're a hostile ghost with no mind left.

Even if this world didn't have a rule like "lose your purpose and become a mad spirit," Lloyd wasn't about to take that chance.

He wasn't going to lose this lovable, well-meaning idiot. So he figured he'd find her something to do—and someone to keep an eye on her.

"I know someone in Stormveil—you've met him before. The one with the big horns."

"He needs help right now. If you're okay with it, I'll take you there."

Nepheli hesitated, then looked again at All-Knowing, who was already back to reading. Finally, she turned back to Lloyd.

After a brief pause, she nodded.

"...Alright."

So Lloyd brought her to Stormveil and introduced her to Morgott.

Morgott's expression was... complicated.

Letting a Tarnished work under him—the very defender of the Golden Order—and being asked to keep an eye on her...

Still, in the end, he nodded.

On one hand, it was simply a matter of being short-staffed. On the other, Nepheli had clearly expressed she had no intention of vying for the Great Rune, and now she seemed hesitant about supporting All-Knowing as king.

If handled properly, this could both earn Lloyd a favor and potentially draw Nepheli into the Golden faction—a win-win.

"Right, here—this is for you."

After settling Nepheli in, Lloyd pulled out a Spirit Ash he had found while wandering around Stormveil Castle: the ashes of the Stormhawk.

Back then, the ashes were so incomplete they couldn't even be summoned. But after a bit of care from Lloyd, not only were they now summonable—the lingering consciousness within seemed to have been reawakened.

And now, after settling Nepheli, that consciousness stirred again, as if sensing something. It even seemed excited.

When Lloyd summoned it, he noticed how strongly it resonated with Nepheli. So, without hesitation, he handed it to her.

Nepheli looked surprised.

"Is this... a Spirit Ash? It carries the scent of an ancient storm..."

She touched the ashes, a flicker of nostalgia flashing in her eyes.

"I'm not like Roderika. I can't see or feel souls."

"Even so... just looking at these ashes reminds me of my first hawk..."

Though Lloyd had already done so much for her, Nepheli still felt a little embarrassed to accept it. But something inside those ashes tugged at her heart, and after a moment of hesitation, she accepted it, cheeks tinged red.

"I'm really sorry. You've done so much for me already... and now I'm accepting something like this..."

"If there's ever anything I can help with, anything at all... please come find me."

"I will."

After nodding, Lloyd returned to the Roundtable and found All-Knowing.

"Something else?" All-Knowing looked up in mild confusion.

"Yeah, actually." Lloyd nodded, pausing a moment before speaking.

"Didn't I just say this earlier? I think there's something off about the Golden Order. Even the Two Fingers—though they interpret things differently from me—acknowledge that there are flaws in the current Golden Order."

"And among the people I know, you seem to understand this topic best, and you've researched it deeply. So, I have a theory I want to run by you..."

Though they hadn't interacted much, as soon as Lloyd started speaking, All-Knowing had a sinking feeling.

"Wait, let me mentally prepare—"

But it was too late.

Lloyd had already begun.

"So, what if the shattering of the Elden Ring happened because someone realized something was wrong with the Golden Order?"

"And after discovering it couldn't be fixed through normal means, they decided to take drastic action—to try resetting everything. Smash it apart, and rebuild it from scratch?"