After some time.
Staring at Seath, who was clutching her tail with a resentful look, Lloyd felt utterly baffled.
Wait, wasn't it you who asked for this? Why the attitude now?
Pulling tails is heartless, huh?
On the other side, seeing the fool's expression, she could already guess what was going through his head. But she was used to it.
"Hurry up and scram."
With an annoyed glare, Seath returned to her spot.
"Your problem's been dealt with. I've got plenty of other things to handle. Go mind your own business for now."
"Call me again once you find another Core of Time."
With that, Seath flicked her tail.
A familiar dizziness swept over him, and Lloyd once again found himself in the Roundtable Sanctuary. After chatting briefly with Alice and helping her organize a few books, he pushed open the door and returned to the real world. He hadn't decided who to bring in yet, and with nothing else to do, he simply stepped back into reality.
Then, he opened his eyes.
The same familiar warmth, the same faint fragrance that soothed his heart, the gentle breeze, and the swaying shadows of trees. In that comforting embrace, Lloyd instinctively reached out and lightly caressed the face before him.
But something felt off.
As his mind cleared, he noticed the difference. The hair wasn't golden, but brown. And the delicate face before him didn't hold eyes filled with endless stars, but one golden eye—while the other was closed.
"...Melina?"
"Mm. It's me."
Melina held Lloyd in her arms. Though her body was stiff, she didn't resist his touch.
"Miss Alice is busy by the Erdtree, so I've been looking after you..."
She paused, a hint of hesitation in her voice.
"You... don't like it?"
Even Lloyd, slow as he was with emotions, knew how to answer that.
"I like it. I like it."
Hearing his reply, Melina let out a small sigh of relief. After a brief silence, she spoke again.
"Um... how would Miss Alice usually care for you? Could you tell me?"
"Whatever she could do, I'll do too... I'll try my best."
As she said this, Melina reached out and stroked his face. Her movements were stiff, far less soothing than Alice's touch. But despite her lack of skill, the awkward strokes paired with her expression—a mix of wooden stiffness and a touch of unease—somehow made up for it.
It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was interesting.
After teasing this little block of wood for a while, Lloyd shifted into a more comfortable position in her arms, then looked up at her.
"By the way, I remember you saying before that you came here to fulfill the mission your mother left you."
"Have you found it now?"
She froze for a moment, then, after a bit of hesitation, gave a small nod.
"...I have."
"That's good."
Lloyd nodded, not pressing her further.
After a while, once he'd had his fill of teasing the little block of wood and lying in her embrace, Lloyd was about to sit up. But just as he moved, a pair of small hands pulled him back down.
"...What is it?"
Lloyd looked at Melina in puzzlement. She remained silent for a while before slowly speaking.
"Do you know what a 'spark' is?"
"It's what you need to ignite a flame—the seed that starts the fire."
"You need a spark to light a torch, to kindle a Bonfire, to cook a meal..."
"To burn the Erdtree, you need a spark."
As she spoke, Lloyd felt her hands tighten around him, a faint unease hidden in the gesture. He thought for a moment, then shifted closer into her embrace. Raising his hand, he clasped the two small hands holding him.
The delicate body in his arms tensed slightly, then gradually softened. Her hands, after a brief hesitation, gently opened and clasped his back.
Fair, soft, warm.
Though outwardly wooden, Melina's body was surprisingly supple and warm. The sensation—whether caressing or kneading—was exquisite. And it was precisely her stiff demeanor, paired with awkward, inexperienced movements and shy reactions to touch, that gave her a unique kind of allure.
It made one want to tease her, to hold her, to slowly peel away that wooden shell and reveal the warmth she hid inside.
Like now.
After Melina clasped his hand, Lloyd saw the tension in her expression and felt a playful urge. He secretly bent a finger and tickled her palm.
Melina's body stiffened at first. After a moment's hesitation, she extended her finger and began tickling his palm in return.
Ticklish, soft, tender.
After a bit of playful back-and-forth, Melina's expression softened. She gave Lloyd's hand a gentle squeeze before speaking.
"But the Erdtree is unique. Even the Flame of the Redmanes cannot consume it."
"Therefore, to burn the Erdtree—or rather, to scorch away the thorns of Rejection upon it—requires a special 'spark'."
"That is someone who can see the 'flame phantom'."
"Or rather..."
"Me."
Silence.
Gazing at Melina's earnest expression, Lloyd thought for a while. When he grasped the implication of her words, his face turned complicated.
"Wait, you mean..."
"Yes. I am that spark."
Melina nodded.
"The mission my mother entrusted to me is to use myself as the spark to ignite the Erdtree."
"But now, this is no longer just my mother's mission."
"Traveling alongside you, we've witnessed so much—beauty, pain, hope, despair..."
"Ever since the Ring of Law shattered, the Lands Between have collapsed. Pain is everywhere, war is everywhere..."
"Mother did not wish for this. Neither do I. I want to end this suffering, to restore what has been broken..."
"And I also wish to burn away the thorns of Rejection within you, so you may become the Elden Lord."
And what about you?
Lloyd didn't ask that. From the look on her face, he already knew what awaited her once this mission ended. He also understood why she had kept her distance along the journey.
It wasn't because she didn't care. Quite the opposite. Because she cared, she dared not get too close. If the ending was doomed to be tragic, then the more happiness built up along the way, the deeper the pain when the end arrived.
No one knew that truth better than him.
Holding Lloyd in her arms, Melina had braced herself for complaints or rebuke. Yet, to her surprise, Lloyd said nothing.
"This whole thing... how should I put it..."
"If it were anything else, I might argue with you. But for this? I don't think I have the right..."
After all, for a pile of ash that had burned countless times to chastise a piece of wood preparing to burn—it would be a grim sort of humor.
So...
"I won't deny your mission. Especially since it's not just your mission—it's your will."
Alice needed a vessel, and Melina was that vessel. Using other means could also succeed, but the cost would be far higher, the losses far greater.
Even if Lloyd didn't care, Melina would. Or rather, it was precisely because she wished to lessen the pain that she chose this path.
It wasn't just her mission. It was her conviction.
But...
"No one ever said you must die after it burns, right?"
"...That's true. No one said that."
"Then that's settled."
Lloyd smiled, reached out, and brushed her soft little nose before speaking seriously.
"I will support you and help you fulfill your mission."
"But at the same time, I will find a way for you to live after it's done."
"Even if in the end we fail, I won't stop you."
"But if we succeed—after you complete your mission—you must stay by my side, and be my maiden for life."
"What do you say?"
Melina fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes."
Then she hugged him a little tighter.
Time passed quietly.
Looking at Lloyd, she whispered,
"Make a Covenant with me."
Since she had chosen to trust, she would trust to the very end. Even if they failed, she wanted, in these last days, to give him all she had left, as repayment for everything he had done.
She lifted her hand.
Lloyd studied her expression for a moment, then smiled. He took out a ring and slowly slid it onto her finger.
[Acquired Covenant: 'Little Erdtree']
[The Covenant made with Little Wood]
[Equipping this Covenant enhances all healing effects]
[Those who walk with fire will one day meet their Destined Death]
[Such is the fate of the Fire Seed Maiden]
[To avoid a painful end, she cloaked herself in thorns of Rejection, distancing herself from all others]
[But now, she wishes to trust him]
[Even if death is inevitable someday]
[In these remaining days]
[She wishes to offer her final tenderness]
[All of it, to him]
[Acquired Incantation: 'Melina's Erdtree']
[An incantation taught by Queen Marika]
[Golden, containing only gentleness, devoid of the Law]
[Summons a small phantom Erdtree that continuously restores the HP of nearby allies]
[When traveling with Melina, the range, duration, and healing power are all enhanced]
[Pure gentleness alone cannot protect anything]
[Yet it is precisely that gentleness]
[That gives birth to gold]
[But later, gold was forced to abandon that gentleness]
[And that was where all divergence began]
After slipping on the ring, Melina raised her hand and carefully examined it. When she finished, she lowered her hand again. Though she said nothing and her movements remained stiff, she stayed close to Lloyd for a while longer.
And just before letting him go, after a long hesitation, she added one more sentence.
"As for Millicent, remember to check on her too..."
"And Trina—don't forget to comfort her as well..."
"They're both good girls, and they rely on you so much..."
Honestly, the idea that Melina would enjoy sharing her gloves with others? Impossible. Deep down, she was actually a little possessive.
The problem was, she was soft-hearted.
Just like when she saw the state of the Lands Between, saw so much suffering—she was willing to give up her own life, to use herself as the spark to ignite the Erdtree.
Seeing Millicent and Trina in pain, she couldn't bear it either. And since they were her sisters, both good girls, even if she felt a pang of jealousy, she still encouraged Lloyd to comfort them.
Of course, her willingness to suggest such things only applied to good girls worth comforting. If it were some blue-skinned, four-armed monster, or a certain Chaos lady who preferred to remain unnamed, she'd definitely be against it.
Faced with Melina's suggestion, Lloyd naturally nodded.
After leaving, he went to water his little red flower, and once he finished, he brought out his little purple flower and spoiled it a bit as well.
[The Bond of Covenant Grows Stronger]
After tending to his garden, Lloyd noted that Alice was still busy with matters at the Erdtree, and since neither Melina's nor Millicent's missions were urgent, he decided to handle his own affairs first.
First, he went to Ranni and told her he had collected all the Crucible Fragments. He gave her a copy of the data inside them so she could begin preparing to design her new body.
Then he teleported to the Elden Throne, wound his way through a few passages to Morgott's office, claimed his Great Rune, and on the way out, casually pocketed a lantern.
As for why he took the lantern...
"You know where your corpse is, right?"
"I know. I'll show you."
With the lantern's guidance, Lloyd teleported back to the depths beneath the Royal Capital. He opened a hidden wall, took a few steps forward, and before him stretched an enormous underground expanse.
Deeproot Depths—that was the name of this place.
True to its name, massive tree roots sprawled everywhere, thick and tangled.
And crawling over them were Miyazaki's latest favorites, following after the Basilisks and Rats: ants.
Some were human-sized, red-and-white striped, and covered in fur. Others resembled grotesque queens, their heads like ants but their tails swollen into huge, milky-white spheres. When killed, those spheres even burst open with a spray of fluid.
Did Miyazaki get bitten by a giant ant as a child?
Still, despite their terrifying appearance, the ants weren't strong. With his staff in hand, Lloyd dispatched them easily with a few swings.
The swollen queen-like ants were even more pathetic, barely able to move, and killing them dropped extra loot—purely free rewards.
But after dealing with the ants, Lloyd suddenly felt a strange gaze upon him, and a prompt appeared.
[Light! Radiance! A gaze has fallen upon you...]
From then on, among the ants he encountered, some began to appear with orange liquid flowing through their bodies, looking like orange juice. Their health increased, their damage grew stronger, and they even gained a new attack—spraying that same orange liquid.
Still, despite the buff, for Lloyd it was nothing more than the difference between one hit and two. Hardly worth noting.
So, wielding his little staff and guided by the lantern, he cut his way through, pushing forward relentlessly. From the Site of Grace at the top of the Great Waterfall, he fought his way down to the Site of Grace in Deeproot Depths.
After yet another round of Miyazaki's favorite climbing challenges, Lloyd leapt onto a cliff. Moving a bit further inward, he came upon a golden fog gate.
Pushing through, an open arena spread out before him. At the same time, a boss name and health bar appeared.
[Pale Light]
Strangely enough, though the name and health bar were displayed, Lloyd saw no enemy in sight.
Could it be something invisible, like the Nuns or Elizabeth?
But as he wondered, he noticed a small sliver missing from his health bar. Tracing the sensation of the hit, he looked down.
And there it was.
A tiny, finger-sized creature resembling a humanoid white moth. It was swinging a giant toothpick at his ankle with all its might, each poke shaving off the tiniest bit of his health.
After a silent pause, Lloyd reached down, pinched the little moth, and lifted it up.
It struggled briefly, then fell still. After a moment of silence, it raised its toothpick again—this time stabbing it straight into its own body.
Pfft—
The little moth committed suicide.
[Acquired 'Pale Remembrance']
[A pale remembrance, carved by the Erdtree]
[With the Finger Reader's help, you may obtain the power of the one remembered]
[If used directly, grants a small amount of Runes]
[Light! Radiance! Refuses to be forgotten]
[So it runs about, leaving its traces everywhere]
[And]
[It dislikes those who bully insects]
No, I don't recall having any memories with it.
After muttering to himself, Lloyd pocketed the Remembrance, activated the nearby Site of Grace, and walked a few steps forward—where a massive corpse came into view.
Or rather, the corpse of Godwyn.
Studying it for a moment, Lloyd turned to the lantern in his hand and sighed.
"You really did die in a remarkable way."
The head inside the lantern let out a sigh but said nothing.
When he finished his examination, Lloyd raised his hand. A ripple of soul energy appeared, and in his palm formed a spirit shrouded in black-and-yellow death mist.
[Acquired Spirit Ash: Lichdragon Fortissax]
"...Can it be cured?"
Lloyd studied the Spirit Ash, then nodded.
"Yes. Better than I thought, actually."
He had expected it to be altered beyond saving, like Rykard. But it seemed the problem was only that it had absorbed too much death mist, leaving its state unhealthy.
Even if he did nothing, just pulling it free from the mist and letting it sit would allow it to recover eventually—it was only a matter of time.
Still, Lloyd didn't place the Spirit Ash into his inventory. After thinking for a moment, he slipped it into the lantern.
"It's closest to you. If it stays by your side, the recovery will be faster."
"I'll also teach you a few ways to soothe souls. They won't be as quick as my direct purification, but they're safer, causing less harm to its mind and spirit. And this way, when it revives, it might even retain control over its deathly power..."
At his explanation, the head in the lantern accepted the duty of caring for the Spirit Ash.
And as for whether he found it troublesome? Impossible.
This was a comrade who, even after death, had fought within Lloyd's spirit just to preserve his last shred of dignity.
So even if all that remained was a head—and not even his own—he would still do whatever he could.
...
With that handled, Lloyd returned the lantern, since soothing a soul required time.
Afterward, he examined the newly acquired Remembrance. Teleporting to the Roundtable Hold, he sought out the Finger Reader crone to see what it could be exchanged for.
[Acquired Incantation: 'Dream Nail']
[Dream Nail]
[Forms an illusory dream nail to slash forward]
[Does no damage but builds high sleep accumulation]
[If the target is already asleep, allows you to glimpse their mind—or even enter their dreams]
[It is said Light resides in dreams]
[Only by delving deep can one see its true form]
[Note: This incantation can affect pure spirits]
[If a spirit is too weak, or sustained only by obsession, it may be annihilated]
[Check the spirit's condition before use]
But when Lloyd tested it, he found it didn't affect even the Lone Wolf Ashes, who had no consciousness.
Even ownerless souls, as long as they weren't tiny, were completely unaffected.
Considering the size of the enemies that dropped this spell, Lloyd strongly suspected the so-called "weak souls" referred only to little insect spirits. Anything larger was entirely immune...
After confirming through testing that the incantation was safe, Lloyd turned his attention to a small purple flower in his inventory.
After a moment's thought, he summoned it, then formed a small Dream Nail at his fingertips and gently pressed it into the flower's palm.
"Mmm... ah..."
A soft sound escaped as the purple flower began to tremble.
But it didn't seem like pain. From the reaction, it was more as if urging Lloyd to continue.
So he increased the pressure, the Dream Nail growing larger, piercing deeper into the flower's consciousness.
When it reached a certain depth, the trembling ceased.
And under Lloyd's watchful gaze, the girl who had always slumbered on his shoulder slowly opened her eyes.
[Spirit 'Trina' Summoned]
...
[Up to 20 chapters ahead for now]
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