Elden Lord of Cinders

[Cursemark of Death]

[The cursemark engraved upon the body abandoned by Ranni, the "Lunar Princess," also known as the Half-Wheel Wound of the Centipede]

[When a Demigod dies for the first time, a cursemark is carved upon them]

[Ordinarily, it takes the form of a complete ring]

[However, because two Demigods were the first to die, the mark split into two incomplete centipede-shaped halves]

[Ranni was the first to die in body, while the Prince of Death was the first to die in soul]

[Remains of the Lunar Princess]

[The remains left behind after the death of the Lunar Princess, Ranni]

[Can be used as material for reforging flesh]

[It is said that to contain their power, the bodies of Demigods are often far larger than those of ordinary men]

[But the Lunar Princess Ranni was an exception]

[Born of the Queen of the Full Moon and a champion]

[Possessed of considerable power]

[Yet compared to her two brothers]

[Her figure was unusually small]

[It is said she often worried over this]

Huh? Ranni's body?

After reading the new item description, Lloyd took the charred corpse back out and studied it. He realized this must be the material Ranni had once mentioned for making her half-body.

As for the description...

Honestly, Lloyd didn't think Ranni's charred body looked all that small. If its missing parts were restored, she would probably stand just a bit shorter than him.

But in the house of the Carian family...

Radahn, built like a giant. Rykard, said to be only slightly smaller than Radahn. And even the shortest among them, the Queen of the Full Moon herself, stood at least three meters tall...

Lloyd understood why Ranni resented her height so much.

At family dinners, everyone else probably sat in normal or oversized chairs, while she had to perch on a small one with a cushion just to keep up.

The thought of it was admittedly kind of cute, but considering the image Ranni always tried to maintain...

No, can't think about it any further, or I'll burst out laughing.

After he finished inspecting his spoils, a golden-haired figure appeared beside him and began working with the fragments they had gathered atop the Divine Tower.

Not just the Seath fragment Lloyd had picked up just now—Rykard's body had also contained several fragments during their battle.

But those were all minor shards. Combined with the abstract nature of Lloyd's "faction," even though the great serpent had been stronger than its original counterpart, it ultimately hadn't managed to stir much trouble.

Now, although this Divine Tower lacked the corpse of the Two Fingers, the tower itself served as part of a ritual, making Alice's work easier.

With her accumulated experience and the newly acquired repaired Finger-Slaying Blade, she could now handle certain tasks without needing the corpses of the Two Fingers, and even deal with weaker fragments entirely on her own, without relying on Lloyd to bolster her.

Still, the process would take time.

And during that time, Lloyd had nothing to do. If he lingered here, he might end up interfering with her work.

So, after thinking it over, Alice suggested he take a walk and return when she was finished.

Since Alice said so, Lloyd didn't argue.

He thought for a moment, then warped to Stormveil, heading into Old Margit's office.

This was because, back in the Caelid dungeon, he had come face-to-face with certain unspeakable things.

After that, Margit's office had been sealed off for quite a while, only opening again recently.

Now that Rykard's situation was settled, Lloyd figured it was a good time to speak with him—explain what had happened, and ask if he had any advice on where to head next.

After hearing him out, Margit sat in silence for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

The entire Carian faction had now thrown their lot in with him...

And not just the Carians. Looking at a map of the Lands Between, if you marked the territories that supported Lloyd, it stretched from Caelid to Limgrave, to Liurnia of the Lakes, to Volcano Manor on the western Altus Plateau, and even the isolated Weeping Peninsula. Nearly half the land was under his influence.

At this rate, if not for the fact that becoming Elden Lord required mending the Elden Ring within the Erdtree, he could already set himself up as ruler of half the Lands Between, standing as an equal to the Golden Order dynasty.

In fact, he might not even need to oppose them, since from the looks of things, the Two Fingers of the Golden Order still supported him. This was...

After another long silence, Margit sighed deeply again.

He finally resolved to reveal the truth to Lloyd.

Not to confront him, but to explain his real identity.

Because judging by the map, Lloyd had already cleared everything before the Royal Capital. At most, he would wander a bit around Altus Plateau before heading to Leyndell.

And though to the outside world he was known as the Fell Omen, and introduced himself as "Margit,"

In truth, Margit was only a guise—an alias he adopted for convenience.

His real name was...

"Morgott."

Margit spoke slowly, revealing his true identity to Lloyd.

"I am Morgott, the Grace-Given. That is who I truly am.

What you see here is only an incarnation. Once you reach the Royal Capital, you'll face my true body."

But despite the confession, Lloyd's face remained calm.

Then, after a blink, realization dawned on him.

"Wait, am I supposed to look surprised right now?"

He pulled on an exaggerated, blatantly fake expression of shock.

"You mean you're that… Hedgehog King?!"

Margit: "..."

Sometimes, he really wanted to smack this idiot.

After an awkward silence, Margit sighed, rubbed his temple, and asked wearily,

"When did you figure it out?"

"Didn't you tell me yourself?"

"...When did I ever tell you?"

"Didn't you say before you had a friend in the Capital who was the Grace-Given?"

Margit: "...?"

So somehow that counted as telling him?

He couldn't make sense of it. But at this point, he was used to it. Or rather, numb.

"So then, should I call you Margit or Morgott now?"

"Margit," the old man shook his head.

"The world mustn't know that the elusive Grace-Given King is, in truth, an Omen..."

In the past, Lloyd might have found that odd.

But after everything he'd been through, he understood all too well: racial prejudice in the Lands Between ran deep.

Albinaurics, Omens, Serpents, even Tarnished like himself—once golden, but stripped of Grace...

Lloyd understood Margit's concern, so he didn't press the issue. Instead, he shifted the subject.

"What about Volcano Manor?"

Margit was silent for a moment before sighing.

"If Rykard truly repents, I can order the army to pull back."

As he had mentioned before, Leyndell's knights had marched right to Volcano Manor's gates. That was what drove Rykard to try devouring the Serpent, only to be devoured himself and become what he is now.

Now, with Rykard reduced to little more than a head and his siblings restored to clarity, there was no need for Lloyd to act. The three of them together could easily push Leyndell back, if not outright storm the capital.

And the truth was, though Margit despised traitors, as long as they were willing to swear loyalty to the Erdtree again, he could accept them all—except for one.

And in fact, he would even welcome it.

As for that one person...

"Ranni, isn't it?"

Margit hesitated, then nodded.

From all the reports, the night his elder brother died had been chaos, with nearly every notable figure involved.

For certain reasons, Margit also knew something else—that in the days before the Night of Black Knives, his brother's condition had already been strange.

Even after that night, seeing his brother's abnormal state, Margit had long suspected it was all self-orchestrated, some ploy to seize an opportunity.

It wasn't until he saw it himself—the bloated, ever-growing body of the Prince of Death—and confirmed that the soul inside had already faded, that he finally accepted it. The elder brother who had once watched over him and his younger sibling in the depths of the sewers was truly gone.

Maybe he was assassinated. Maybe he was plotting something and got interrupted. Maybe it was something else entirely.

But one way or another, he was dead.

And the mysteries of that night had been buried with him, never to be uncovered.

For this reason, Margit could welcome back any other rebel who bent the knee to the Erdtree.

But when it came to Ranni, he could never cross that line in his heart.

"Uh, mind if I butt in here?"

As Margit wrestled with his thoughts, the lantern spirit who had been quietly listening spoke up.

"Isn't it possible the dead himself didn't really mind?

As the true ruler of the Golden Order at the time, the Golden Prince must have known some secrets, and maybe he was planning to move against the others himself...

But for some reason, he hesitated. And in that moment of hesitation, the others struck first.

It might not have been a clash on the battlefield, but it was still a fair struggle. Victory or defeat—perhaps even the Golden Prince accepted his loss..."

Before the first defense of the Royal Capital, Godrick had lived in Leyndell itself. As one of the Golden Lineage, he too had access to Godwyn.

So even if his own strength wasn't much, he still had some say in the matter.

In fact, when it came down to it, he probably knew more than Margit, who had been stuck in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds all this time.

But even so, Margit's expression stayed conflicted. After a long silence, he let out a heavy sigh.

"You should head for the Royal Capital first."

Seeing that Old Margit didn't want to continue, Lloyd didn't push him.

Before leaving, though, he glanced at the lantern on the table and gave Margit a wink.

Margit was silent for a moment, then waved his hand.

"If you want to use it for a while, take it. Just make sure you bring it to the Capital and hand it to my true self."

"Got it!"

Lloyd obtained a new item.

[Golden Lantern]

[A lantern containing the skull of the 'Golden King']

[Can be used as a Sacred Seal]

[Greatly strengthens Golden Order incantations]

[After the Elden Ring was shattered]

[The wandering Golden Ones longed always for home]

[This lantern was lit to guide them back]

[Cannot be strengthened with Smithing Stones]

[Unique Skill: Golden Roar]

[Raise the lantern and let the skull within roar, damaging surrounding foes]

[For a short time afterward, increases attack and defense (functions like Golden Vow, and the two effects conflict)]

A fine piece of equipment, perfect for pairing with the Golden Shard incantation the All-Knowing had given him earlier.

With the respec function he'd just unlocked, Lloyd decided to shift fully into a prayer build and try the lantern out.

...

But after obtaining the lantern and saying his farewells to Margit, Lloyd didn't leave Stormveil right away. Guided by the head within the Golden Lantern, he wandered through the castle, stopping at several places where corpses lay in clusters.

There, before the dead, the head inside the lantern opened its mouth and called out:

"My people, gather to me. I shall lead you to the foot of the Erdtree, to fulfill our ancient vow..."

As the light flared, souls rose from the corpses and gathered around the lantern, circling the skull in a way that looked almost ghastly.

After they were drawn fully inside, Lloyd warped back to the Altus Plateau and resumed exploring.

Since he had been teleported straight to Volcano Manor by Rya before, he hadn't truly explored Altus. Now, with a new toy in hand, it was the perfect time.

And once he tried it, he realized just how good it was.

Fast casting, strong bonuses—paired with the All-Knowing's incantations, it was practically a golden machine gun, tearing through everything in sight.

Still, he noticed a problem.

Either Margit had placed a restriction on it to keep him from misusing it, or the lantern itself had limits—but it couldn't be stored in his inventory. He had to carry it in hand at all times.

Not that Lloyd minded. He was only borrowing it anyway, and would hand it back to Margit when the time came.

Besides, it wasn't like this was his only powerful tool. And with Golden Order incantations so widespread, most creatures in the Lands Between had decent holy resistance. Even with its boosts, in practice it wasn't much stronger than a toy.

...

Time passed.

With the roar of golden fragments, Lloyd pressed deeper into the Altus Plateau.

After clearing another catacomb, picking up a Miner's Bell Bearing, and felling the enemy inside, he didn't immediately leave.

Instead, he looked at the lantern in his hand—or rather, the golden-and-black fragment set in the back of its skull.

"You... are you still Godrick?"

Silence.

Then a sigh.

"Or is it that Godwyn really is dead?"

"Do you want me to patch it together? I'm pretty good with souls..."

"Thank you, but not yet."

The head inside the lantern shook slowly.

"I can feel it. Other soul fragments still exist in this world... and someone is gathering them."

"If you find those pieces... when the time comes, cut this fragment out, and piece it back together."

"And that will bring you back to life?"

"I don't know."

The head shook again.

"I don't even know what I am anymore."

"That's fine."

Lloyd paused, then asked,

"What about Margit?"

"Don't tell him. I don't want him to worry."

The head sighed faintly.

"He lacked care as a child, so he's stubborn. If you can... please watch over him for me."

"No problem."

Lloyd nodded, then after a thought, looked at the skull again, remembering something.

"By the way—Margit said you were acting strange before the Night of Black Knives. Can you tell me what that was about?"

"This..."

At that, the skull's expression grew odd. After a long silence, it finally spoke.

"The Golden Prince was not born with Empyrean potential. He could never become a god—only a king."

"But a king must be matched with an Empyrean..."

"At the time, there were only four with such potential—his siblings, and his mother."

"Of those four, the two red-haired ones were not on good terms with him. That left the two blondes..."

"One was his mother."

"The other was Miquella."

Lloyd blinked.

"So all that time... you were hung up on this?"

"I wouldn't say hung up..."

The head sighed again.

"But when those two were the only choices, in truth there was only one."

The Golden Prince did love his mother, but it was a pure love, respect and reverence—nothing twisted. Which left him with just one option.

"Miquella..."

"He got along well with the Golden Prince. And if he truly asked, maybe it could have worked out. But..."

After a long silence, another heavy sigh escaped.

They were both men.

Brothers born of the same mother.

If that was the price to become the Elden Lord, then he would rather have died...

...

[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]

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