I am your maiden

That night, Zhao Si tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Because Alberich was only one bed away from him.

Damn those Fingers. Having no sex themselves was one thing, but they didn't consider human needs at all. They didn't even separate the men's and women's dormitories!

Blaidd? kept his armor on, looking ready to spring into battle at any moment.

Alberich made no fuss either. She took off her renegade sorcerer's outfit and lay down in bed in her nightclothes.

Remembering what had happened that afternoon, Zhao Si was especially afraid that Alberich would slit his throat in his sleep.

Remember the corpse found on the bed at the great site of grace?

Zhao Si didn't want to end up like that!

Having scared himself too much to sleep, he decided to get up and walk around. The main doors of the Roundtable Hold stood open at all times, offering a view of the world outside.

Thanks to the Erdtree, even the night wasn't dark.

The entire night sky gleamed gold, and a hazy golden glow blanketed the ground. At the height of its glory, the Erdtree didn't shed a single leaf. It truly deserved to be called a tree that blotted out the sky and rivaled the sun and moon.

No, he should have said it had already eclipsed the sun and moon.

Rumor had it that the Erdtree wasn't merely obscuring the stars, but encroaching on the sun as well.

The former was easy enough to understand. Besides, with a powerhouse like the Starscourge around, the stars really didn't amount to much.

The latter was far harder to grasp. And it was difficult to say exactly what place the sun held in all this.

Zhao Si stood in the doorway and looked around. Seeing no one nearby, with only the horses snorting in the stables, he gathered his courage and went outside. He sat on the steps and looked up at the Erdtree.

Under the Erdtree's canopy, the sun was invisible. It was much like taking shelter beneath a tree to cool off in summer.

Except the Erdtree might have been a little lacking in warmth. He could clearly feel that the temperature in the Lands Between was rather low.

All living things relied on the Erdtree's light to grow, and even Golden Sunflowers turned toward it.

"Are you really absorbing this world's nutrients?" Zhao Si seemed to be asking both the Erdtree and himself.

It was perfectly normal for plants to need nutrients. The nutrients in the soil didn't appear out of nowhere, either. If "death" served as fertilizer, surely the soil would be fertile.

"In ancient times, there was a great tree that counted eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn." Zhao Si recalled those words and felt they suited the Erdtree very well. "But even a tree has to wither someday, doesn't it? How could anything flourish forever?"

"Combine the Fusang Tree where the golden crows lived in mythology with the Jianmu Tree, and you'd probably get something like you."

"How strange. It seems everyone worships some kind of sacred tree. Do you think people worship trees because they evolved from monkeys?"

The Erdtree remained silent, like a frozen image.

"Only a storm can topple a great tree. But a tree as big as you? Even the Dragonlord couldn't knock you down."

Zhao Si's rambling put him at ease. It did a great deal to soften the feeling of being a stranger alone in a foreign land.

His heart was stronger than he had expected. Neither the Erdtree nor magic had left him weak at the knees, feeling powerless to resist.

At most, they had made his jaw drop for a moment. After all, it was his first time seeing them with his own eyes. The only reason he hadn't excitedly pestered Alberich to teach him magic was that she was far too vicious.

While no one was around, he rolled up his left sleeve, exposing the burn mark on his wrist.

"And may I ask what you are?"

Still, no one answered.

"If you want me to do something for you, you should at least give me some instructions. Speaking in riddles won't get us anywhere. Please don't make me say, 'Riddlers, get out of the Lands Between.' All right?"

A gentle breeze blew past with a rustling sound. If a maiden had been there, she could probably have spun it into some sort of "divine revelation."

"Hey, what are you spacing out for?"

Someone suddenly patted his shoulder, startling him so badly that he nearly jumped:

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who's there? Who is it?"

He cried out, covering his wrist and curling in on himself.

When he looked closely, he saw a smiling girl with her eyes covered. Dressed like a traveler, she stood with her hands on her hips, "looking" toward Zhao Si.

"Helena? Where did you come from?" Zhao Si scrambled to his feet, his face breaking into a broad smile, and pulled Helena straight into a big hug.

Her slender body felt soft and warm in his arms, somehow a little different from Fia's.

Helena didn't resist. "I followed the road here. I'm your maiden. How could I abandon you?"

"Then why did you take so long to get here?" Zhao Si sounded a little like a child whining for attention.

"I had to hand over my duties at the church. That delayed me a little," Helena said. "Have things been bad for you here?"

"So-so." Zhao Si sighed. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Don't let being weak get you down. You'll grow stronger. I believe in you." Helena offered him a little comfort.

"No, no, no." Zhao Si shook his head slightly. "It's other things. Like what my mission is."

"Easy. Destined Death," Helena said with a smile.

Zhao Si pushed her away in alarm, gripping her shoulders with both hands. "How do you know about Destined Death?"

"Because that's your mission, your guidance. As your maiden, of course I know. But the name is all I know." Helena was still smiling.

The girl seemed to have no worries at all.

Zhao Si's expression suddenly turned serious, and he asked solemnly, "Helena, can I trust you?"

It was a pointless question. Everyone knew that words alone guaranteed nothing.

Helena extended her index finger and pressed it against Zhao Si's chest. Her smile faded as she answered earnestly, stressing every word:

"I. Am. Your. Maiden."

A Finger Maiden was loyal to her Tarnished and served him. Bound together, the two bore their mission and followed their guidance toward their goal.

"All right, then." Zhao Si got straight to the point. "Someone is going to kill Godwyn!"

"Wow!" Helena did her best to look surprised, playing along with Zhao Si.

Seeing her reaction, Zhao Si knew it: no one believed him.

He pulled Helena somewhere more secluded. A building's shadow hid them both and blocked out the Erdtree-which made Zhao Si feel it was a suitable place to share secrets.

"I know you don't believe me, but I'm going to say it anyway." Zhao Si didn't want to keep it bottled up any longer. Helena was undoubtedly a good person to confide in.

"Ranni, the Lunar Princess, is plotting to steal Destined Death and assassinate Godwyn, using that to shatter the Elden Ring and escape her own fate." Zhao Si said it all in one breath and felt considerably lighter afterward.

"And then?" Helena asked.

"And then?" Zhao Si was a little bewildered.

"That's right.

"A huge, earth-shattering conspiracy like that has to have a beginning and an end, doesn't it? What you've told me is the part in the middle." Helena shook her head and spread her hands.

"Uh..." Faced with that question, Zhao Si no longer knew where to begin.

Helena said, "Let's sort through your thoughts first. To start with, where is Godwyn?"

"Leyndell," Zhao Si blurted out.

"Where is the Lunar Princess?" Helena asked next.

"In a sorcerer's tower in Caria." Zhao Si didn't understand what she was getting at.

"Good," Helena said with a smile. "Then how is Ranni going to kill Godwyn? Let's take our time and talk it through."

Zhao Si suddenly realized that if his mission was Destined Death, wouldn't that put him right on a collision course with the Night of the Black Knives?