Death. Restart.
The player sat beside the Grace and quietly began changing his equipment.
"Bleed... bleed... bleed..."
The player rummaged through everything, digging out every bleed weapon he had stashed away.
"The guide says Rykard is weak to bleed. I'll get you yet!"
He stepped into the boss room again.
This time, he had learned his lesson. Instead of fighting head-on, he used the terrain and kept maneuvering, building up the bleed meter little by little.
Rykard's incantations were still fierce, but the player had memorized his attack patterns-when he would unleash pillars of light, when he would fling flames, and when he would leave an opening.
The first time, he died at the very end of the phase transition.
The second time, he died at the very, very end of the phase transition.
The third time, Rykard's health bar finally dropped below half!
The player held his breath and tightened his grip on his weapon, ready for the second-phase transformation. Bosses like this were supposed to have a second phase, right?
Rykard stopped moving. "Huff... huff..."
"All right, all right. I'm done fighting."
The player: "???"
Rykard dropped his fighting stance and worked his stiff shoulders. "Finally free..."
"This lousy castle is yours."
With that, he swaggered toward the back of the throne, ready to make himself scarce.
The player froze in place, watching the Demigod's back disappear.
"Wait... where's phase two?"
The notifications on the screen finally arrived:
``` [Stormveil Castle Emblem]
[Proof of the Lord of Stormveil, symbolizing supreme authority and status. Yet certain people in high places regard it as a nuisance.]
[Rykard's Remembrance]
[Remembrance of Rykard, the "Judicial Officer," hewn into the Erdtree. This is a hero's recognition of the challenger. With the help of a Finger Reader, the power of its namesake can be