Old friends

Beyond the Gatefront Ruins lay the main road to Stormveil Castle, and the land the road ran through was also part of Stormhill.

"There seem to be a lot of enemies ahead..." Melina looked at the densely packed abatis and ballistae along the road, as well as several Trolls dragged in to serve as gatekeepers.

"Quite a lively crowd." The Tarnished blew his whistle, summoning Torrent. "Let's try something difficult, Torrent. Charge through this heavily guarded road. You can do that, right?" He patted Torrent's head, and Torrent gave an affirmative shake.

"Good. Charge!" Without another word, the Tarnished rode Torrent straight into the soldiers.

"Someone's here! Who are you? Stay where you are!" the soldiers stationed there shouted at once.

"Heh, excuse me!" Before the soldier could react, the Tarnished flicked him into the air with his sword, knocking him unconscious.

"A Tarnished?! Stop him! Our lord ordered us not to leave a single Tarnished alive!" The moment the soldiers noticed the intruder's eyes, they became as frenzied as if they had taken stimulants.

"Oh? So you haven't gone mad. Not that you're much better off."

"Don't worry. Your king won't blame you, because he'll die by my hand soon enough." The Tarnished smiled coldly, sliced apart a ballista poised to fire, and cut down every enemy who tried to block his way.

"Oh, right. Anyone I kill now won't have to face Godrick's punishment either. Places are limited, so step right up if you're interested." In other words, anyone who wanted to die was welcome to stop him.

"Damn it! Where are the Trolls?! Where did those idiots go? Get the Trolls out here!" Watching the Tarnished sweep through them like a wind of death, some soldiers lost their nerve on the spot. The rider struck with ruthless ferocity, while his mount was astonishingly swift. They moved as though each were part of the other's body, leaving no opening.

Just as they were about to break through the defenses, a Troll that had been nowhere to be seen suddenly dropped from the mountain. But the Tarnished had anticipated it and immediately steered Torrent clear of where the giant would land.

"Idiot. I spotted you ages ago." The Tarnished did not forget to taunt it. The Troll stared stupidly with its enormous eyes as he raced past.

"What the hell are you staring at?! Chase him!" A soldier kicked the Troll in disgust and anger. That kick only muddled its already dim wits further. Deciding that the soldier before it was the intruder, it promptly stomped him to death.

"Useless! I said these dim-witted Trolls were unreliable. Now they're even fighting our own men!" Irritated by the Troll's sudden rampage against its allies, the soldiers could only let the Tarnished leave.

"How amusing. They've started fighting each other." The Tarnished merely glanced at the comical scene behind him without stopping to watch. Once he passed through Stormgate, he officially entered Stormhill.

As soon as the Tarnished and Torrent crossed through the gate, they felt a fierce wind sweep toward them, carrying distant wolf howls.

"Torrent, ignore them. Keep charging!" Torrent obeyed and picked up speed, while a pack of wolves appeared behind them and gave chase.

But Torrent was far faster than the wolves. In moments, he left them behind and reached the high ground.

"Thanks for the hard work, Torrent." After successfully shaking off the soldiers, the Tarnished rubbed Torrent's head and fed him a handful of berries. Melina had told him that Torrent liked these berries, which grew everywhere. Torrent happily nuzzled his hand.

The strong winds of Stormhill stirred a little nostalgia in the Tarnished. They were weaker than the storms of old, but still better than no wind at all. If this place ever lost its winds entirely, it would mean its days were numbered.

The man and his mount had not traveled far before a distant purple glow caught the Tarnished's attention.

"Could that light be an Evergaol?" The Tarnished opened his map. Sure enough, there was an Evergaol here.

"I wonder who's locked up in this one." After drawing closer, the Tarnished dismounted and walked toward the Evergaol. Unlike Samar's last time, this one had no Imp Statue sealing it.

"Not bad. No need to waste a key." He walked to the center of the magic circle, crouched, and touched it. Just as before, he entered an artificial space.

"Hmm?" The moment he entered, the Tarnished sensed a familiar presence coming from the deep-blue fissure.

"Could it be..." As he stepped forward, an immensely powerful aura surged out of the fissure. Its gold was unlike that of the Erdtree, yet deeply familiar to him.

"A Crucible Knight... It really is you!" The figure emerging from the fissure was powerfully built. He wore red-gold armor covered in intricate patterns, with an ancient tree spreading across his breastplate. His helmet was shaped like an axe, and the skirt at his waist fluttered in the wind. In one hand he held an imposing greatsword, and in the other a massive curved shield with a great horn jutting from its center.

"Kale Basha. I never thought I'd find you here."

The Crucible Knights were warriors who had followed Godfrey into battle. Sixteen were known to exist. Kings among knights, they possessed strength far beyond the reach of their peers and wielded the mighty Aspects of the Crucible. That very power had left them unwelcome in the Lands Between.

When Godfrey and the Tarnished were driven out, the ill-fitting Crucible Knights were left to wander this land.

The man before him, Kale Basha, was one of those Crucible Knights.

"You know me?" Kale Basha's aura had not weakened, and he had retained his reason as well.

"Seems your memories of the past are a little hazy. All right, let me help you." A lengthy explanation would be too much trouble. A quick fight would make everything clear.

The Tarnished drew the curved sword from his back and crouched low to the ground. At the sight, Kale Basha blurted out in shock, "Ba..."

"Shh. Take this." The Tarnished appeared before Kale Basha in an instant, swinging upward at him. But the Crucible Knight's battle experience was no less than his own. Even caught by surprise, he reacted. He slammed his greatshield into the ground, sending a powerful shock wave toward the Tarnished, then brought the shield down like a hammer and sent him flying.

"How have you become so weak..." Kale Basha stared in bewilderment at the Tarnished, whom he had driven back with a single blow.

"You haven't lost your edge." The Tarnished stood up. He had never intended to defeat him. If his former strength had been a ten, Oleg at his peak had been a seven, the Crucible Knights an eight, and their two Captains had approached nine.

But he had only recovered half his strength. Even using Blood Wolf, he would be no match for Kale Basha, whose power had barely diminished.

"You and I are different. I've already died once." The Tarnished rolled his neck.

"Died...? Who could possibly kill you?" Kale Basha could scarcely believe it. The Crucible Knights knew full well how powerful the Tarnished was. Even Queen Marika might not have been able to defeat the Warrior before him.

"The Land of Fog." The Tarnished offered no further explanation.

"Is the Land of Fog truly that terrifying?!" Kale Basha exclaimed.

"It is." The Land of Fog ran far deeper than it seemed. Its powers were far beyond anything in the small confines of the Lands Between. Though few individuals there were as strong as Marika, even their weakest fighters could match the non-heroic forces of the Lands Between at their peak.

In other words, their strongest might not reach Marika's heights, but their weakest stood far above those of the Lands Between. With Grace stripped away and their strength diminished, many warriors had perished there. Godfrey, of course, was among them.

"How did you end up locked away?" Only then did the Tarnished remember the matter at hand.

"That descendant of the king... Godrick is an utter disgrace. I could not bear to see someone with the king's blood behave so despicably. I meant to kill that worthless beast myself, but a group of them imprisoned me here."

"That's a little embarrassing. Those old, sickly weaklings managed to take you down?" The Tarnished knew Kale Basha's strength. Even among the sixteen Crucible Knights, he ranked near the top, yet Godrick's soldiers had captured him.

"No... There was someone powerful among them who seemed to be an Omen." Kale Basha's voice grew grave.

"An Omen? Interesting. Tell me more."

"He called himself Margit, the Omen Beast. He guards Stormgate Tunnel. As I broke through the soldiers, he suddenly appeared and displayed tremendous strength. I made one wrong move and lost to him."

"So there's someone that strong here. What about the other Crucible Knights?"

"Our brothers went their separate ways after you were banished. I don't really know where they are. Our two foremost knights disappeared as well." Kale Basha sounded regretful.

"I was traveling with Enkuro. He should be somewhere inside Stormveil Castle now."

"So you were captured, but he managed to get inside?" The Tarnished rubbed his chin.

"Yes. Margit seems only able to act near Stormgate Tunnel. He cannot leave that area. I held him off while Enkuro seized the chance to rush inside. I don't know whether he'll manage..."

"Wait, wasn't he terrible with directions? Is he going to be all right?" Imposing as the Crucible Knights looked, they had plenty of all-too-human flaws in private.

"I don't know... I have no idea what's happening outside. I've been here for some time." Kale Basha was not entirely reassured either. Stormveil Castle was quite large, after all.

"Never mind. I'll get you out now."

"What do you intend to do? Become the new king?" Kale Basha asked the Tarnished.

"Of course."

"I see... Then let me lend you a hand."

"What do you have in mind?" The Tarnished was rather curious how Kale Basha intended to help him.

"You have lost a great deal of your strength. I will pass the power of the Crucible to you. I'm certain you'll learn to wield it." Golden wings formed behind Kale Basha. He drove his greatsword into the ground, and a burst of golden light surrounded the Tarnished.

"The Aspects of the Crucible... A fine power indeed." The Tarnished smiled faintly.

"You may not have needed it before, but now your strength is lacking. Even so, you're still moving forward, and you won't stop at becoming king, will you? I know you."

"Heh. Exactly."

"Then accept it." Kale Basha intensified the flow of power, and the golden phantom of an enormous tail appeared behind the Tarnished.

"As expected of you. You mastered it so quickly!" Kale Basha said admiringly, then withdrew his power.

"I've watched you all use it so often that I already know it by heart. I just never had the chance to learn it from you."

"This Evergaol can only be broken from outside. The souls of its prisoners are suppressed. Step back a little." The Tarnished tilted his head, signaling for Kale Basha to move farther away. Then he began gathering power, his hands transforming into enormous dragon claws.

"A dragon..." Under Kale Basha's astonished gaze, the Tarnished brutally tore apart the barrier. The artificial space shattered like glass, breaking into countless fragments. Then their vision warped, and Kale Basha and the Tarnished were thrown out of that fabricated space.

The Crucible Knight Kale Basha had officially broken out of prison...