Chapter Summaries

Teacher Piao watched Teacher Ma fight Iudex Gundyr and discovered that attacking the boss before his health bar appeared could deal damage. Just as Teacher Ma seemed close to winning, Gundyr transformed into a towering black serpent and killed him, leaving the livestream stunned.

• Teacher Piao paused his own seventh attempt against Gundyr and opened Teacher Ma's livestream to watch him struggle.
• Teacher Ma struck Gundyr while the boss was still rising, removing part of his health before the fight officially began.
• Teacher Ma dodged Gundyr's attacks and repeatedly hit his legs, reducing the boss's health to nearly half while remaining unharmed.
• Gundyr staggered, and a massive black serpentine creature with glowing red eyes erupted from his back.
• The transformed Gundyr rampaged through the arena and killed Teacher Ma, whose livestream fell silent.

Octane defeated Ashen Judge Gundyr after repeated attempts, and pew reached Firelink Shrine, where the Fire Keeper welcomed him. The path of kindling had begun, with the shrine and its mysterious thrones awaiting the Ashen One.

• Octane learned Gundyr’s second-phase attacks and defeated him by landing a final strike before the boss could grab him.
• Gundyr crumbled, Octane entered the Embered state, and the path of kindling acknowledged his strength.
• Pew absorbed Iudex Gundyr’s soul, cleared the enemies on the road, and entered Firelink Shrine.
• Pew and his viewers surveyed the shrine’s thrones, extinguished bonfire, and mysterious inhabitants.
• The Fire Keeper welcomed pew’s Ashen One and introduced herself as the bonfire’s keeper and his servant.

pew explored Firelink Shrine, met Ludleth and Hollowslayer, and learned about the Ashen One’s duty to bring the Lords of Cinder back. A Yin attacked Hollowslayer and was repeatedly killed, then tricked Brother Shu into attacking him too.

• pew lit the Firelink Shrine bonfire with the Coiled Sword and tested leveling through the Fire Keeper.
• pew met Ludleth, who explained that he had once linked the fire, and considered the burden placed on the Lords of Cinder.
• pew spoke with Hollowslayer, whose bleak words about the Ashen Ones prompted A Yin to attack him.
• Hollowslayer killed A Yin in two strikes, then repeatedly hunted him after he respawned and healed himself with an Estus Flask.
• A Yin learned that the demo’s Lothric High Wall warp required speaking to the Fire Keeper, then falsely told Brother Shu to kill Hollowslayer to unlock it.

After Dark Souls earned widespread acclaim at GDC, Shen Miaomiao met with Aurora Games to discuss joining the Golden Engine’s development. She agreed to Aurora’s proposed sound-engine collaboration, hoping the costly upgrade and follow-up game would lose money.

• Dark Souls’ demo received exceptionally high reviews, drawing praise from media and industry peers for its visuals and its collaboration between Golden Wind and Phoenix.
• Aurora Games art director Maher approached Shen Miaomiao and praised Golden Wind’s work, while signaling interest in collaborating on the Golden Engine.
• Maher explained that Aurora wanted to contribute its sound-engine expertise to the Golden Engine in exchange for favorable licensing terms.
• Shen Miaomiao judged the sound-engine upgrade to be a promising way to spend money without producing a major technical improvement, and agreed to Aurora’s proposal.

While Golden Wind struggled to develop the enhanced panoramic stereo sound needed for Codename: R6, Shen Miaomiao realized Aurora Games might offer a solution through a cooperation deal she had just arranged. She decided to tell Gu Sheng about it and asked whether he would hear her suggestion.

• Lu Bian called Gu Sheng from the office and reported that Melancholy Blues Studio could not find a viable way to upgrade the engine for their new project.
• Lu Bian explained that Codename: R6 was a tactical close-quarters FPS inspired by a building assault in Battlefield and required exceptionally precise three-dimensional sound.
• Gu Sheng said no existing commercial engine could provide the enhanced panoramic stereo sound needed to distinguish sounds across complex, multi-floor maps.
• Shen Miaomiao realized the problem matched the engine cooperation opportunity she had discussed with Aurora Games' Chief Director Maher earlier that day.
• Shen Miaomiao chose to tell Gu Sheng about her suggestion and asked if he would hear it.

Shen Miaomiao told Gu Sheng that Aurora Games had offered to cooperate, giving Golden Wind a possible solution to its spatial-audio problem. Half a month after GDC, Dark Souls launched to record preorders, and streamer A Yin began playing, only to be incinerated by a scripted ancient-dragon attack after mistaking a half-open gate for a safe shortcut.

• Shen Miaomiao recounted Maher's offer to cooperate with Golden Wind, and Gu Sheng realized Aurora Games' self-developed engine might solve their audio problem.
• Lu Bian ended the call and sent the programmers home to rest, while Gu Sheng apologized to Shen Miaomiao and she accepted his affection.
• Dark Souls launched with 2.66 million preorders, and A Yin started the official version as a knight, exploring the High Wall of Lothric.
• A Yin survived a Hollow's corner ambush, then spotted a half-open gate beside a bridge crowded with enemies and decided to rush past them.
• An ancient dragon awakened and burned A Yin and the bridge, while viewers explained that the dragon was scripted to clear the enemies and that A Yin had taken the wrong approach.
• A Yin returned to the cleared bridge, entered the tower through the gate, and found a treasure chest.

A Yin was eaten by a mimic chest, while Liu Liu and Old Ju encountered powerful enemies as they explored Lothric. Old Ju defeated Vordt of the Boreal Valley on his first attempt, and the chapter ended by hinting that the Dancer—not the Curse-Rotten Greatwood—was the game’s second boss.

• A Yin opened a mimic chest and was devoured, prompting him to curse the game designer during his livestream.
• Liu Liu fought a winged fat knight in a bloodstained garden and was overwhelmed by its spinning halberd and blasts of holy light.
• Old Ju fled from two red-eyed Lothric knights, fought through shield-bearing hollows, and triggered the Vordt of the Boreal Valley boss battle at the city gate.
• Old Ju dodged Vordt’s attacks, struck back during its frost breath, and defeated it on his first attempt.
• The chapter described the expected route through the Small Church and the Undead Settlement before noting that the Dancer was actually the second boss.

Pew explored the Small Church, received a flag and covenant emblem from Emma, and accidentally killed her while testing his sword’s Weapon Art. As he tried to flee, the church doors shut and a masked face emerged from a mass of fog above him.

• Pew entered the Small Church and Emma gave him the Lothric Small Ring Flag and a Blue Covenant emblem, then warned him about Vordt of the Boreal Valley.
• While listening to Emma, Pew accidentally discovered his Lothric Straight Sword’s Ready Attack Weapon Art and practiced it.
• Pew’s rising slash struck Emma and killed her, leaving him shocked and apologizing to her vanished body.
• As Pew backed away, the Small Church doors slammed shut and black liquid dripped from a fog-covered ceiling.
• A face wearing a cold steel mask slowly emerged from the chaotic fog.

pew accidentally awakened the Dancer of the Boreal Valley and discovered that she was far too powerful for him to defeat, so he retreated to level up. At Firelink Shrine, Hollowslayer questioned whether the rotten world and its vile rulers deserved the Ashen One’s heroic efforts.

• The Dancer of the Boreal Valley appeared after pew killed Grandma, and pew attacked her despite her imposing size and eerie presence.
• The Dancer nearly killed pew with one strike, and he fled while apologizing and using Estus.
• pew reflected on how players’ actions could affect the world while the world’s larger course remained unchanged.
• After the Dancer killed him, pew returned to Firelink Shrine to level up and prepare to explore the Undead Settlement.
• pew found Hollowslayer at a gravestone marked by a Wolf Knight’s Greatsword, and Hollowslayer described Aldrich’s past before questioning whether the Ashen One should challenge the world’s corrupt rulers.

Ashen One learned about the Farron Undead Legion from Hawkwood and reached Farron Keep, where Liu Liu faced an Abyss Watcher. As the Watchers slaughtered their corrupted comrades, the chapter showed how Hawkwood abandoned his sword and fled rather than kill his brothers.

• Ashen One asked Hawkwood about the Farron Undead Legion, and Hawkwood described its oath to guard against the Abyss and the trial of extinguishing three Wolf's Blood beacons.
• Hawkwood gave Ashen One a heavy gem and directions to Farron Keep, warning him that he might return discouraged.
• Ashen One traveled through the despairing Undead Settlement, encountered the cheerful Onion Knight, and arrived at a vast altar where an Abyss Watcher challenged Liu Liu.
• Liu Liu struggled against the Watcher's relentless attacks, and a vision showed Hawkwood watching the Abyss-corrupted Watchers slaughter one another.
• Hawkwood could not bring himself to strike a corrupted comrade, took up a shield, and fled Farron Keep, accepting that others would call him a coward and traitor.

Liu Liu defeated the Abyss Watchers after the Undead Legion’s captain gathered their blood and souls to become a Lord of Cinder. The victory left the first Lord of Cinder fallen, while the Dark Souls arc was set to end the following day.

• Liu Liu realized the Farron Undead Legion’s endless slaughter could not stop the Abyss from corrupting them.
• Liu Liu killed the captain after he accepted her strike, and the blood and souls of the Undead Legion gathered around him.
• The captain rose as the Lord of Cinder, wielding a flaming Farron Greatsword, and players struggled against his frenzied attacks.
• Liu Liu learned the Lord of Cinder’s attack patterns through repeated deaths and narrowly evaded his charged thrust.
• Liu Liu rushed in after the captain’s thrust and defeated him with four consecutive slashes, triggering the message “LORD OF CINDER FALLEN.”

After Ash returned the Farron Undead Legion’s kindling to its throne, Hawkwood reconsidered his cowardice and disappeared, leaving his shield behind. Meanwhile, A Yin reached Archdragon Peak, where a player message suggested a way to deal with the ancient wyvern blocking his path.

• Ash returned the Farron Undead Legion’s heads and kindling, and Hawkwood recognized Ash’s victory over the Lord of Cinder.
• Ash declared that the Farron Undead Legion had not failed, saluted Hawkwood, and placed its kindling upon the throne.
• Ash returned to Firelink Shrine and discovered that Hollowslayer was gone, leaving Hawkwood’s Shield by the Wolf Knight’s Greatsword grave.
• Liu Liu reflected on Ash and Hawkwood’s influence on each other and on the experience of playing Dark Souls.
• A Yin reached Archdragon Peak and struggled to damage the ancient wyvern blocking the stairs.
• A Yin noticed a player message beside the bonfire that read, “Fall attacks are useful ahead.”

Ash defeated the ancient wyvern at Archdragon Peak with Hawkwood’s help, then joined him in taking the Path of the Dragon. Hawkwood later challenged Ash at Farron Keep, offering the Radiant Dragon Stone as his final gift and choosing to die defending the Undead Legion’s oath.

• Ash leapt from the tower and plunged his dagger into the ancient wyvern’s skull, but the dragon threw him off and prepared to breathe fire.
• Hawkwood appeared and killed the ancient wyvern with the Farron Greatsword, then helped Ash rise.
• Ash and Hawkwood fought their way through Archdragon Peak’s serpent-men and meditated together at the summit.
• Ash recalled the friends and companions he had lost, explained his choice to give the Fire Keeper her eyes, and recognized that he and Hawkwood would soon part.
• Hawkwood challenged Ash at Farron Keep, declaring that the victor would carry the complete Radiant Dragon Stone and that he would die defending the Undead Legion’s oath.

Ashen One defeated Hawkwood in a fatal duel, then gathered the Five Lords of Cinder and reached the Kiln of the First Flame. There, the Ashen Ones encountered the final boss, Champion's Gravetender, as the fate of the world awaited their choice.

• Ashen One and Hawkwood fought with their greatswords until Ashen One pierced Hawkwood's chest, and Hawkwood accepted his death as a victory for the Undead Legion.
• Ashen One returned the Five Lords of Cinder to their thrones, and Fire Keeper gathered their remaining fire and bestowed it upon him.
• Ashen One awakened at the Kiln of the First Flame and crossed a ruined landscape where collapsed cities and weapons from many eras lay scattered.
• The Ashen Ones reached a vast arena beneath a crimson pillar of light, where Champion's Gravetender rose from the flames holding the Coiled Sword.

Quinn, A Yin, Liu Liu, and pew faced the Lord of Cinder's Incarnation, whose weapon transformed into several forms and whose relentless attacks overwhelmed the streamers. pew brought the boss to half HP before its curved sword and self-buff turned the fight against him.

• Quinn lost a third of his HP to the Lord of Cinder's Incarnation, then died when its sword transformed into a flaming spear.
• A Yin rolled away and healed with Estus Flasks, but the boss changed its spear into a staff and attacked him with Soul Spears.
• Liu Liu fled the Soul Spears before the boss transformed its staff into a flaming Greatsword of Judgment and swept her with a devastating attack.
• pew used the Executioner's Greatsword's spinning weapon skill to reduce the boss to half HP.
• The Lord of Cinder's Incarnation transformed its weapon into a curved sword, cast Inner Potential on itself, and repeatedly struck pew as he mistimed his rolls.

Players defeated the Lord of Cinder's Incarnation, and the Ashen One chose to let the First Flame fade with the Fire Keeper beside him. After the game ended, players reflected on its multiple endings and the mysteries left for the Dark Souls series.

• Players repeatedly challenged the Lord of Cinder's Incarnation until they defeated him and claimed the Souls of the Lords of Cinder.
• The Ashen One approached the First Flame and, with the Fire Keeper, allowed darkness to envelop the world.
• The Fire Keeper told the Ashen One that a tiny flame would one day appear again, and the world entered its next cycle.
• Players finished Dark Souls and discussed its alternate endings, lingering mysteries, and the possibility of a sequel.
• Media outlets and reviewers shared their views as discussion spread under the tag #So, What Exactly Is Dark Souls?#.

Dark Souls earned critical acclaim and sold 10.8 million copies in its first month, while Shen Miaomiao collected a massive system rebate. Gu Sheng credited the game’s success to Golden Wind’s industry integration efforts and voiced confidence in advancing toward Golden City.

• Dark Souls received a 9.9 media score and overwhelmingly positive player reviews, prompting widespread discussion of its quests, items, builds, and lore.
• At the four-week settlement, Shen Miaomiao’s $2.02 billion project investment generated a $2.744 billion rebate, despite Dark Souls showing a $1.372 billion project loss.
• Shen Miaomiao recognized that Dark Souls had cost $220 million to develop after excluding her Phoenix Engine share purchase, and had sold 10.8 million copies for $648 million in its first month.
• Gu Sheng told Golden Wind’s executives that Dark Souls’s sales demonstrated the success of the joint engine technology and the company’s industry integration initiative.
• Gu Sheng said the milestone strengthened Golden Wind’s confidence in continuing toward Golden City.

After Dream Engine’s blockade left Golden Wind unable to develop games, Gu Sheng proposed a modular engine built around compatibility and standout physical destruction. He envisioned it eventually becoming a global framework connecting engines and virtual worlds, and rallied the executives to pursue Golden City.

• Gu Sheng explained that Dream Engine’s price increase and blockade had alarmed both Golden Wind and the higher-ups.
• Moriya and Lu Bian argued that Golden Wind needed its own engine, but could not build one powerful enough in time to support its usual games.
• Da Jiang angrily suggested that Golden Wind should surpass Dream Engine in at least one area, prompting Gu Sheng to recognize the idea as a way forward.
• Gu Sheng proposed a comprehensive modular engine that would prioritize compatibility, initially stand out through physical destruction, and later incorporate technology from other engines.
• Gu Sheng described how the engine could grow into a global framework called Nexus, then urged the executives to pursue Golden City.

Gu Sheng outlined Golden Wind’s seven-module engine framework and declared that its partnership with Aurora Games had pushed the company into a new era, with four modules now under its control. He vowed to complete the remaining technologies and use Illusion Dream to challenge Yunwei and the Vendi faction, ending on the title “Rainbow Six: Siege.”

• Gu Sheng credited Shen Miaomiao with securing technical partnerships with Phoenix and Aurora Games, completing Golden Wind’s rendering and sound upgrades.
• Gu Sheng presented the seven Golden Engine modules, explaining that Golden Wind led in physics and artificial intelligence and had acquired cutting-edge rendering and sound technology.
• Gu Sheng identified reality augmentation, network interconnection, and input and output as the three modules still needing major improvement.
• Gu Sheng declared that Golden Wind’s control of four modules marked a qualitative shift and the beginning of its era in the gaming industry.
• Gu Sheng vowed to use Illusion Dream to demonstrate the Golden Engine’s strength and overturn Vendi’s technological dominance, then named “Rainbow Six: Siege.”

Dream Engine struggled with collapsing market share and prepared to use its new Dream VI engine to regain ground. Gu Sheng and Shen Miaomiao watched Dream’s launch teaser and realized its Reality Augmentation Technology was one of the modules still missing from Golden Engine.

• Carter Walker learned Dream 5 and Fantasy 3 had lost significant market share after Golden Wind’s success and the rise of Golden Engine.
• Walker asked whether Golden Wind’s finances showed anything suspicious, but the vice president said the company’s private status made its accounts impossible to investigate.
• The vice president urged Walker to promote Dream 6 and announce Dream’s strategic partnership with Yunwei.
• Dream’s teaser showcased its new Reality Augmentation Technology as part of the Dream VI engine launch.
• Shen Miaomiao showed Gu Sheng the teaser, and he recognized Reality Augmentation Technology as one of Golden Engine’s missing modules.