Firelink Shrine.
A faint Bonfire burned quietly amid the ruins.
Several Prison Rock faction players tasked with keeping watch stood not far from the Bonfire, discussing the battle in low voices.
"Still no word from Zane?"
"I heard he's already entered Anor Londo, but there are simply too many monsters. Even with [Mist Sea Abyss] depriving the monsters of sight and hearing and clearing their aggro, getting out is still difficult—"
"What about Sen's Fortress? I wonder whether Lord Finn has encountered Lu Xiu. With the Mythic Grade domain [Edge-less Prison], according to the intel, it perfectly counters that Architect. If he can kill her directly—"
However.
Before that player could finish speaking,
a burst of heavy, chaotic footsteps suddenly rang out from the stone steps leading toward Undead Burg.
Everyone froze and turned to look.
A towering figure descended slowly.
Finn's injuries had completely healed under the effects of consumables.
But physical wounds could be healed; the blow dealt to his fighting spirit was not so easily recovered from.
Finn was not exactly dejected.
Yet from head to toe, he radiated an unprecedented gravity and tension.
Like a lion that had survived, only to witness some unspeakable thing with his own eyes and be left utterly terrified.
And while his wounds had healed, his clothes could not be restored, leaving him visibly disheveled.
"Lord Finn?!"
The Prison Rock players by the Bonfire stared blankly at the somewhat bedraggled Finn, then hurried over. "What happened to you—"
They noticed that something was wrong with Finn's state.
"Where's Gallagher?"
Finn shook his head and asked directly.
"They're occupying the nearby Bonfires and trying to locate the Core Bonfire near Firelink Shrine."
"Call him back."
Finn said that, then walked straight to the Bonfire and sat down.
Perhaps it was a coincidence.