5The Tarnished let out a breath as he sat at the grace situated outside the fog wall.
This was it, His first Demigod, His first major step in uniting the great runes and reforging the Elden Ring.
His first real step towards becoming a hero.
He already saved Kenneth Haight from the Demi-humans that attacked him and freed his castle from that blood-crazed knight.
He and that hunter from the east already defeated Nerijus, And he also assisted D with the Tibia Mariner, But none of those actions compared to what he was about to do.
To slay a Demigod.
He and the sorcerer defeated the Omen who blocked their entrance, He fought his way through Stormveil castle, through the many knights and soldiers that blocked his path, through the Lion in the courtyard, and the Birds.
So many birds.
But he finally managed to reach the grace at the end of the tunnel and was about to make a name for himself. As something more than just another nameless Tarnished, but as a hero.
A true contender for the role of Elden Lord.
And so the Tarnished stood up, gave one final look at his sword and shield, and walked to stand in front of the Fog Wall.
He turned to look at the brown-skinned warrior who waited beside the gate.
"So it is time for us to finally take down Godrick, His power shall taint the winds no longer," Nepheli Loux, Warrior, readied her axes as she lowered down to write her summon sigh on the floor.
The Tarnished nodded his head and took a deep breath before he stretched his hand outwards, to pass through the Fog Wall.
And Fight the Demigod, Godrick.
He's heard many conflicting things about the ruler of Stromveil.
Nepheli said his power is a source of malice, and his grafting has tainted the winds. While Rogier said that Godrick is one of few Demigods who one can handle a conversation with without immediately resorting to violence.
D said that Godrick was a traitor to the Golden Order, and his death would make the world a better place. Alexander said that Godrick was a Warrior among Warriors and that it would be a great honor to fight with him.
Roderika said that Godrick was a monster in the shape of a man, who takes away the organs of all who fall to him, grafting them onto his subjects. While Kenneth Haight said that Godrick was a man of great honor and that there has been no better ruler for Limgrave than he.
All in all, The Tarnished did not know what to expect when he passed the fog wall.
And so he did not expect to have a large metal staff slammed into his body and forcefully throw him back against the now solid fog wall.
"Aargh!" The Tarnished yelled, his hand quickly moving to grab the Flask of Crimson Tears in order to heal himself from the injury sustained.
He rolled to the side the moment he felt the liquid touch his lips, allowing him to get a good look at his assailant.
It was a tall figure, its face was hidden underneath a veil of silk, and its body was covered in a loose and flowing cloak, Its arms were long and thin, inhuman in their proportions, their large fingers grasping onto a glintstone staff, expensive looking golden ring hanging off the staff like some sort of musical instrument, rattling at each slight movement the figure made.
Their legs were barefoot, inhumanly large when compared to the proportions of their body.
The Tarnished raised his shield as he saw the staff fall down upon him like a hammer, taking the blow and rolling to the side, creating some distance between him and the boss of this fog gate.
As he ran around the figure, now having it stand between him and the fog gate, he was able to see Nepheli Loux's golden spirit pass through the Fog Gate to assist him, taking less than a moment to raise her axes and slam them into the back of the large cloaked figure.
An Inhuman scream left its lips as the veil over its face shuddered with the force of the roar, the figure kicking behind itself, almost hitting Nepheli as it leaped over where the Tarnished stood and landed in the center of the courtyard.
He raised his shield once more and steadily moved towards the figure, only to stop as the feeling of Grace washed over him, the same as it was in the Roundtable Hold.
There was to be no violence in this place.
"Stop! Stop it! All of you!" He lowered his weapons, Watching the figure do the same as its hooded form looked behind itself, watching the large wooden doors leading to the throne room of Stormveil Castle open up.
The Tarnished took that time to look at the fog wall he walked through, watching it dissipate as Nepheli Loux also walked inside, her Spirit having dissipated once the battle was finished.
"Margaret! How many times has it been now? I can't have you fighting every tarnished that walks in here..." The two Tarnished shared a look as the voice that called them to stop spoke once again, soft footsteps making their way towards them, the one who spoke being hidden behind the large cloaked figure.
"But..." The Cloaked Figure grumbled in a surprisingly elegant sounding female voice, a sharp contrast to the way it acted just moments before, "Tarnished always here to kill you, I don't want you to be killed, Kill them before they kill you," The Cloaked Figure lowered its staff to the ground knelt down onto all fours, making it look like an oversized Dog, bowing in shame as it caused its owner to be mad.
"I am not angry at you Margaret," The voice spoke once again, the Cloaked Figure letting out a soft whimpering sound as it bowed even deeper, "I just do not wish for you to get hurt, And besides, they're just children, they do not know any better,"
The Tarnished widened his eyes as he finally saw the voice that spoke, walking past the bowing figure and making his way toward them.
It was an old man, using a walking cane to stand up, a soft look on his face as he looked at the Tarnished duo.
"And what do we have here? A pair of miscreants, barging into an old man's home, breaking his furniture, and injuring his employees, why I ought to teach you two a lesson!" The Old man said, his body frail yet full of life, shriveled yet muscular, tired yet vigorous. Covered in robes of Green and Gold, his white hair was tied into a pair of braids on each side of his face, letting the rest of his hair fall down naturally. And over his forehead he wore a crown of gold and gemstones.
Was this the appearance of the one he was sent to slay.
This kind-looking old man?
"Why are the two of you staring? Did your parents never teach you it's rude!?" The Old man barked at The nameless Tarnished and Nepheli, "Ha! I'm just pulling your leg," He let out a laugh as he smiled at the duo.
"Are-" The Tarnished gulped as he readied to ask a question, "Are you-"
"Am I what?" The Old man interrupted him, "The Janitor? Do you not see this crown on my head, who do you think I am?!" He raised his intricately carved walking stick and poked The Tarnished in his armored belly, "You bust into my castle like some mad loon, thinking you can just kill my soldiers all willy nilly and not expect me to notice? Bah!" The Old man turned away from the two and walked to the side of the courtyard, where a tree stood in the midst of a small field of gravestones.
A small metal table sat beneath the tree, a few metal chairs sat around it.
"Come here you two, Sit down sit down," The Old Man sat down on one of the chairs at the table, motioning for the tarnished duo to join him.
"Be Careful," The Tarnished heard Nepheli whisper to him as the two started to walk to the table, "This man is the most dangerous person in this castle, I can feel it,"
"You should whisper a bit quieter, I might be old, but my senses haven't left me yet! I can hear you perfectly fine, Ohohoho!" The Old man chuckled to himself as he watched the two Tarnished take their seat at the table.
"Now, Before we introduce ourselves," The Old man said with a smile as he looked at the two Tarnished, "Margaret, would you mind bringing us some tea? And some biscuits as well, these children look like they haven't eaten anything in weeks, Ohoho!"
"Of Course, My Lord..." The Cloaked Figure who remained kneeling bowed her head one final time before she picked up her Glintstone Staff and stood up, walking into the castle.
"Now, you two, introduce yourselves," The Old man turned away from the tall Margaret and returned his focus to the two Tarnished.
"I Am Nepheli Loux, Warrior, And I am here by orders of my father to bring an end to your Grafting," Nepheli said, a strong conviction in her words.
"Oh? Is that so? Well, you'll have to wait with that," The Old man closed his eyes and gave a gentle smile, "You are still five hundred years too early to even think of fighting me, Ohohoho!"
The Tarnished froze at those words leaving that innocent-looking Old man.
"After all, With such weak reasoning," The Old Man opened his eyes again to look at Nepheli, his golden eyes almost seeming to stare right through her, "You will never make it far in these lands, You might as well give up now, Ohohoho!"
"And you, Knight, What is your name?" The Old man turned away from Nepheli, who did nothing more than stare blankly at the Old man.
"I... I do not have a name, But I am here to claim the shard of the Elden Ring! And become Elden Lord!" The Tarnished spoke loudly, a strong sense of conviction in his words, He was going to become Elden Lord, a Hero, that is what Melina told him.
He just had to reach the foot of the Erdtree, and to do so, he needed two Greatrunes.
"Become Elden Lord? How interesting..." The Old man chuckled a bit more, as if thinking of a joke, "However if you are here looking for a Great Rune, then you have sadly come to the wrong place... Have you tried visiting Liurnia or Caelid, you might have an easier time finding a Great Rune over there,"
"And now that the two of you younglings introduced yourselves, allow me to grace you with the same honor," The Old man said as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and resting them on his knees, "My name is Godrick, and I am the King of this Castle,"
"Now who wants some snacks?!" The Old man, Godrick, The Demigod he was sent here to kill, smiled at the two Tarnished as if they were children visiting their grandfather.
The Tarnished took a gulp as worry started to creep up his back.
"I... I wouldn't mind something to eat..." The Tarnished widened his eyes as he turned to look at Nepheli, the Warrior looking away from the two other men at the table, as if embarrassed at the idea of wanting food.
"Ohohoho! How wonderful!" Godrick smiled, "It's very rare that I get guests in here, and even rarer that they survive long enough against Margaret for me to stop her from turning them into paste, This is going to be so much fun!" Godrick wriggled his body in excitement, the joy on the Old man's face almost infectious as the worry and hesitation that filled The Tarnished seemed to melt away.
"While we wait for Margaret to come back with the food, why don't I tell you two the story of how I came to be here, Don't worry about agreeing or anything, I'll tell you it regardless," Godrick smiled as he made himself comfortable under the shade of the tree in the small courtyard surrounded by graves.
"It all started long ago, long before the shattering, long long ago, When I, a young Scion of the Golden Lineage, was invited along with my brother and sister to study in Leyndell-"