A chance encounter

In Mistwood, hurried hoofbeats shattered the silence, kicking up dead leaves, dirt, and stones and sending rabbits and boars scattering.

"Run, Torrent!" I pulled the reins tight and raced along the seaward edge of the forest.

This time, of course, no runebear was chasing me.

Instead, something entirely unexpected had happened-someone had beaten me to the loot in Fort Haight!

After defeating the Blood Knight, I had entered Fort Haight's tallest tower and climbed the ladder to the top, only to discover that the chest that should have held half of the Grand Lift of Dectus medallion had already been opened.

I rummaged through all the other junk inside, but found nothing.

I went back and searched the Blood Knight's body, but that didn't turn up what I wanted either.

Still unwilling to give up, I walked out through the fort's gates. Only then did I suddenly notice something wrong-where was the Golden Phantom Tree that should have been growing here?

-Golden Phantom Trees could be called extensions of the present-day Erdtree.

-When the Elden Ring shattered, the Erdtree scattered its seeds throughout the Lands Between. That way, even if the Erdtree were destroyed, it could grow again somewhere else, just as it had once done before.

-Before these seeds sprouted, they took the form of Golden Phantom Trees wherever they landed. Collecting them could increase the number of uses of the Dewdrop Flask of Crimson Tears.

Now, the two most important items in Fort Haight had both been taken.

That meant the bearer of the Frenzied Flame had already been here... Of course, it was also possible that more than just the two of us had been reincarnated in the Lands Between, but getting to the bottom of that would be far too much trouble.

Regardless, the most important thing now was to head to the Third Church of Marika at the edge of Mistwood and see what was going on.

The Wondrous Physick Flask of Crimson Tears... I hope no one's taken that yet.

By the time I emerged from Mistwood, dusk had spread across the land. Looking along the coast, I spotted a dilapidated church ahead.

As soon as I dismounted, I hurried inside and found a large, round stone basin, following my memories of the game.

It was filled with nothing but dead leaves and mud.

Damn it, the Wondrous Physick Flask of Crimson Tears really is gone too. Has that guy already explored this entire stretch of Mistwood?

I should have come sooner. I took things far too easy at the start.

"Haah..." I let out one helpless sigh after another.

"Lord Zero." Melina, who had appeared at some point without my noticing, called to me. Standing before the statue of Marika in the church, she picked up a golden goblet with a short stem. A faint golden light shone from within it.

"Is that... a Sacred Tear?" I walked over curiously and leaned in to look inside the goblet. The clear, golden liquid gave off a faint scent of sandalwood.

Melina nodded and held out her hand. "Please lend me your Dewdrop Flask of Crimson Tears, Lord Zero."

I obediently handed over the flask.

Melina carefully poured the tear from the goblet into the Flask of Crimson Tears and explained, "This will improve the flask's restorative power."

That much I knew.

What puzzled me was why whoever had taken the Wondrous Physick Flask of Crimson Tears hadn't taken the Sacred Tear as well. Could they not have a Dewdrop Flask of Crimson Tears yet? That seemed unlikely.

"Melina, are Sacred Tears easy to stockpile?" I asked, considering one possibility.

Melina shook her head. "Sacred Tears are blessings of the Erdtree, treasures people obtained through devoted worship during the golden age at its height. Now that this age has fallen into decline, once we use them up, they will likely be very difficult to replenish."

"Then that's strange. Someone took the Wondrous Physick Flask of Crimson Tears, but left the Sacred Tear."

...Could that guy really not have a Dewdrop Flask of Crimson Tears?

But the Golden Seed was clearly taken too.

Or was it a different Tarnished?

As I pondered this, Melina asked softly, "Lord Zero, an Echo of Marika lingers here... words left behind by Queen Marika, who vanished long ago. If you would like to hear them, I can convey them to you."

"Yes, thank you," I answered without hesitation.

Little Wood's gentle voice melted me right down to my bones. In the game, I had wished I could talk to her at every Site of Grace.

So much so that whenever I triggered a scene where she recited an Echo of Marika, I would first play hard to get and refuse, just to coax one more line out of her.

Now, as long as I didn't make Melina angry, I could talk to her as much as I wanted. There was no need to play coy anymore.

"Very well. Then allow me to repeat Marika's words directly." Melina raised her head and gazed at Queen Marika's statue. As though the Queen herself had spoken to her, she recited softly and slowly, "My lord, and thy warriors. I divest each of thee of thy grace... With thine eyes dimmed, ye will be driven from the Lands Between. Ye will wage war in a land afar, where ye will live, and die."

This must have been Queen Marika's final preparation before shattering the Elden Ring.

In that seemingly eternal "golden" age, the Queen, who cared deeply for living beings and wished only to bring her people more blessings, had discovered the many hidden dangers buried beneath the Erdtree's shadow.

Yet she was already caught in the game, deceived by others, her fate no longer hers to control.

Even the destinies of every living being in the Lands Between were, to some extent, manipulated by some immense will.

And so Queen Marika chose the Tarnished plan-she banished her trusted followers and Godfrey, the lord she trusted most, from the Lands Between, stripping them of their grace. Once they died, they could sever their ties to the force pulling the strings and escape its influence entirely.

When the time was ripe, Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring and summoned the Tarnished back.

By then, the entire Lands Between had plunged into chaos. Presumably, that immense consciousness could no longer spare any attention for the Tarnished.

The Eternal Queen was wagering that heroes would rise from troubled times. She also hoped and trusted that her lord, Godfrey, would return to sweep everything aside and create a new Lands Between.

That was quite a gamble, Your Majesty.

"...How was it? I hope it served, if only a little, in place of a maiden's guidance." Melina lowered her gaze.

-Haha, my sweet Little Wood. Are you still worried about whether you're fit to serve as a Finger Maiden to a Tarnished?

At that thought, I couldn't help reaching out and gently patting Melina's head. "It's all right, Melina. Your guidance matters far more than you think. Without you, I'd still be a Tarnished huddling in a corner, trembling and overthinking everything without getting anything done... So have a little more confidence in yourself. And thank you for always staying by my side."

Melina lowered her head and remained silent for a long time...

-Huh? What... what am I doing?

The softness of her hair and the warmth beneath my palm jolted me back to my senses. Did I just go way too far?! Is Melina angry? Will she refuse to show up next time?

Ah! She's angry after all. Meme's turning into blue motes of light-she's about to disappear!

"Wait..."

Before I could do anything to salvage the situation, a man's deep, resonant voice came from one side of the church. "Hmm? Someone is here tonight? What a surprise."

I turned around. The man wore a deep navy robe over a pale green one, embroidered with golden patterns that curled like the vines of a tree. Everything about his attire marked him as a noble.

With that blond hair parted down the middle and that fair, handsome face, there was only one person from the game who came to mind.

The rightful lord of Fort Haight-Kenneth Haight. What was he doing here?!