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Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

Prologue

It had been a long journey to this point. He wasn't counting how long but one could guess that it spanned multiple months.

He gazed off into the distance, the large wall surrounding the city, the empty districts, the crushing silence. His mind continued to wander, bouncing erratically from the scenery to those he'd lost... Finally he ended up back at a question he'd been asking himself.

"What do I do now?"

He'd managed to attain the Lordvessel and he'd felled two of the Four great lords. But, he was simply unable to destroy the bed of chaos, he'd tried again and again, three days passed before he was forced to stop himself.

He could feel it, the loss of purpose, self and importance. He was going hollow and at a rapid rate. He couldn't remember his name, nor the fellows he'd arrived here with, he barely even remembered why he was here to begin with.

He felt the sorrow and hopelessness creeping back into his very being. He shook his head and tried to think of other things, there must be something he cared for. His duty, he had a duty, two in fact. First as the chosen undead to link the fire, and second, a knight of the Darkmoon, the only true knight under the command of Lord Gwyndolin.

Ahh, Gwyndolin

Pleasant memories finally filled his mind, of the soft and calming voice from behind the fog, it was the only time he'd felt at ease, when he was kneeling on that yellow and purple carpet, warmed by the candles.

He felt calmer just thinking about her. He looked again at the empty streets, homes and cathedrals. He had nothing else to do, he was going to go hollow soon anyway, so why not pay a visit to the deity that calmed him so.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 2

The knight attempted to calm his mind once more, as there was something he wanted to ask.

"...My Lord?" He managed to say, his mental struggle beginning to be noticeable in his voice

"Yes knight?" She responded, her silky smooth voice calming him as always.

"There is something.. I wish to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Why is it that I am the only one.. You call 'knight' of the dark moon?" He had no recollection of when this started but as far as he knew he was the only one under Gwyndolin's command known by this title.

"Well that is because I knighted thee for thy exceptional service to mineself as a Blade of the Dark moon." She told him, somewhat confused as to why he asked as even to one without memory it should be obvious as to why a knight is called a knight.

"I am aware of that yes... But why is it that I am the ONLY knight under your command? ...If you don't mind my inquiring that is." Gwyndolin took a second to respond to this, making the knight worry that he had overstepped his boundaries.

"Well... Mine father, Gwyn, The Lord of Sunlight, had under his command, four knights. These knights were his most accomplished warriors and were well known throughout the kingdom for their prowess in battle in one way or another..." The Lord trailed off for a moment, as if remembering something she'd tried to put out of her mind.

"...And after the passing of Gwyn, these knights fell to my command... However, as of now, they have all either perished, retired, been imprisoned, or have left the Kingdom entirely. And so, as the current ruler of Anor Londo, I was searching for my own knights to replace the fallen. So far there is only one under mine command." She finished her story, turning to look at the knight.

"Y-You would really... Truly consider myself as the best warrior under your command? And even worthy to stand beside, the greatest knights of Lord Gwyn?" The knight asked, taken aback by what they'd just heard, unsure if it was even true.

"Truly." She nodded, confirming it. "That is why I allowed you within mine quarters to begin with." She continued, somewhat jokingly. he just sat there on the couch, amazed at what he'd just heard. Another thought to add to the conflux in his mind.

"Yes indeed... thou'st surpassed all of mine other warriors in strength and skill within such a short time. It was as if thou hadst trained with death itself. Truly, thou'rt worthy of a place among the esteemed knights of Gwyn." She added, seemingly proud of her knight.

Training with death itself... there was some truth to that in a way, up until recently dying had been an everyday thing, it's as if it were totally unavoidable to him. Undoubtedly his undeath brought about a small amount of carelessness in battle, but it is also most likely the reason he has reached this level of combat prowess so quickly, not that he'd tell the goddess about that any time soon.

Soon silence settled once more, the knight seemed satisfied by the answer, or so Gwyndolin thought, knowing not of the swirling chaos threatening. to take hold of him.

"...What of thy name?" She asked, seemingly from no where.

"uh- hrm?" The knight mumbled, once again attempting to silence the vortex, gazing into her crown.

"I wish to keep a record of thee as mine chosen and dutiful knight, but I would require something to call thee by. Is there anything thou would'st prefer?" She clarified.

"...No... I can't think of any names for myself... All of the ones I can even remember belong to others I've met, and I do not wish to take their identity from them." He explained, still looking her in the eyes.

"Very well, if thee would not mind, I shalt name thee?" She gave him an inquisitive look, judging by her mouth anyway.

"...Yes. I would accept any title you give me... for as long as I can remember it." He bowed slightly.

"Very well..." She repeated, standing up and walking in front of him. "Kneel please." She commanded and he obeyed, as always. He got off the couch and kneeled in front of her, bowing his head and looking into the purple and yellow carpet.

"I, Dark Sun Gwyndolin, last born of Gwyn, lord of fire, shall bestow upon thee, the name Arias! Knight of the Dark Moon!" She exclaimed, holding her arms and catalyst high above his head. He accepted the name as his own from this moment onwards.

"I thank thee, Oh great lord." He responded, his mind focused for once.

The goddess lowered her catalyst and sat back down on the couch, prompting Arias to sit back down next to her. And once again, silence befell the room. Arias looked around the room again, a comfy little place indeed, not a bad place for it all to end...

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 3

As the silence grew, his eyelids began to feel heavy, his body ever so gradually leaning over to Gwyndolin as he lost consciousness. He knew full well that when he woke up, it wouldn't be "him" anymore. It wouldn't be anybody. There'd only be a fully hollowed husk, mindless and violent.

He didn't even have the time to put these thoughts out of his mind as they were quickly swept away by the tide, a tide he'd stopped pushing back.

His eyes closed, ever so slowly, as he felt the warmth of his goddess supporting him to the end...

A falling sensation jolted Arias from his sleep, he quickly came to his senses, noticing immediately that he was no longer leaning on Gwyndolin, he was instead laying horizontally on the couch, his legs had remained off of the couch and as a result they slightly dangled above the floor, giving him an uncomfortable feeling in his lower stomach.

He noticed that Gwyndolin was no longer in the room and rose to his feet. As usual thousands of thoughts rushed through his mind but he remained somewhat focused on one.

"Where's Gwyndolin?"

Even though he knew everything was probably fine, he found himself quickly walking to the door and out into a large hallway, well lit with the golden rays of the sun like everywhere else in Anor Londo and a bit of a shock to him since the room he was in was so dimly lit in comparison. He turned right and walked aimlessly down the hall.

He heard a feminine sounding yelp from down the other end of the hall, soon after two silver knights rushed past him. It was curious to say the least, they'd never ignored him like that.

Suddenly he realized that the scream had sounded familiar, and without thinking, he sprinted down the hall, quickly outpacing the silver knights quickly and totally ignoring his own limits in his urgency.

Arias soon saw that same sun shaped crown on the head of a figure in the distance, in front of the figure was a silver with their weapon drawn, attacking them. There seemed to be some sort of magic barrier, cast to guard what was presumably Gwyndolin from the knight.

Arias pulled down his visor and continued to charge ahead, unsheathing his greatsword and taking firm hold of his shield. Reaching the knight at full speed, he thrust his greatsword through the knight's chest the tip of the sword rebounding off the barrier, sending it upwards, Arias made use of the momentum, quickly dropping his shield, opting to two hand his sword. He lifted his sword above his head, the silver knight, still impaled, falling down to the hilt where they dangled helplessly.

He turned to the the other two knights charging at him, he quickly flung the knight off of his sword, sending them careening towards the other two. All three crashed to the ground, the other two quickly getting to their feet while the first had to use their sword to slowly get up.

Arias picked up his shield, turning to the knights and charging. With his left hand he lifted shield up to protect him from the knight on the left, with his right hand he readied his sword at a diagonal angle, hoping he'd gain enough force to cut straight through the knight on the right. He was planning to end this very quickly.

Upon reaching the knights, Arias managed to guard the attack from the knight on the left, however he didn't have enough force to cut through the knight's armor, his sword bouncing off with a loud *clang* the force reverberating throughout his body.

This caused him to stumble, dropping his greatsword and giving the knight a window to shove their sword through his abdomen, causing him to scream loudly. The knight pushed him off their sword with their foot, sending him onto the floor. The other knight lifted their foot, aiming to stomp on Arias' head. He quickly lifted his shield to block the attack, his arm and shield absorbing the force from the kick.

The other two knights began to kick at his stomach and legs, the one above him raising their foot for another stomp. Arias quickly drew a small knife from his belt, as the knight was about to stomp down on him, he forced the knife through a tiny gap in their sabaton, going straight though to the bone. The knight fell over, landing with a thud.

Tossing his shield to the side, he quickly grabbed two more knives, one in each hand, tossing them into the gaps of the standing knight's helmets, killing the one he'd stabbed earlier and wounding the other. He quickly rolled over and grabbed his sword, the standing knight stomping on his knee, breaking it with the force.

Arias screamed in agony once again, angrily swinging his sword in the direction he felt the pain come from. Luckily it hit it's target, sending this knight to the floor too, while the other one was getting up. Due to his broken knee he could no longer stand, so he he got to his knees and readied his sword. He still felt the intense pain of the wound, but he knew if these knights managed to kill him he'd be gone forever, even if he was going to hollow soon anyway, it'd be on his own terms.

He lifted his greatsword above his head and swung it downward, going straight through the head of the knight that was getting up. The force also sent him to the ground. As Arias struggled back to his knees, the remaining silver knight quickly rose up, lifting their sword for a strike, Arias was barely able to block it with his own sword, the force sending him back to the ground on his back.

The knight walked over him and readied their sword above his head. Before they plunged the sword down on his skull, they hesitated, giving him an opening to quickly swing his sword upwards with all the strength he had left, enough force to cut straight through them and kill them on the spot.

The knight fell forward, letting out a dying scream as it collapsed to the ground. Arias slowly rose to his knees, bleeding profusely he dropped his greatsword, letting it clatter to the floor. As pain surged throughout his body, as his vision blurred, he fumbled around searching for his estus flask.

He found it in his pouch, lifting his visor he quickly lifted it to his mouth where he greedily gulped down every last drop. He felt his wounds quickly close, his knee quickly repairing itself and blood stop leaking. Upon looking around himself, he noticed that the knights did not bleed, no in fact all the blood in the room was entirely his own.

Though his wounds were healed, the pain remained, so he clutched the hilt of his greatsword, using it to lift himself to his feet. Looking over to Gwyndolin, he saw the barrier fall, followed by Gwyndolin themselves, who fell to the floor, panting.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 4

Arias rushed forward, trying his best to ignore the pain surging through him due to his quickened movements. When he got to Gwyndolin he kneeled down, he was conflicted on whether he should do anything, it would undoubtedly be profane to touch or hold a god with his undead arms, but they seemed so helpless on the floor, if more silver knights were to attack he doubted he would be able to defend Gwyndolin from them.

He'd go hollow anyway so it's not like any of it really mattered. he sheathed his greatsword and leaned down over the frail form of the exhausted god. He gently ran his hands under them, causing them to flinch. Arias lifted them up, the weight of them causing him great pain, in his left knee especially, but he would persevere, for their sake.

He turned and hobbled back towards the opened door to Gwyndolin's chambers. As he made his way to the room, there were a few things he now noticed about Gwyndolin. They were much shorter, in fact they were shorter than even him. He also noticed a thin veil on the back of their crown, something that wasn't there before.

Their skin was far more pale, though that could've been due somewhat to exhaustion. The large breasts they had were gone, instead they possessed a totally flat chest, like that of a male. In fact, the god as a whole seemed more androgynous than before. But by far what took him the most by surprise were his legs, or lack thereof. Instead, from his knees onwards were snakes, many, many snakes, They slithered moved around slowly and lazily, sometimes gently nudging his legs.

As Arias passed through the door and walked towards the bed, Gwyndolin's head began to move, still panting, he looked around the room, then up at the one carrying him. Arias could see by the shape fo his mouth that he was surprised, but neither of them spoke out about the situation.

Gwyndolin turned his head away, embarrassed that he'd been so careless as to stay in the open for so long. And not only that, the intense strain of quickly dropping the illusion of his female self and casting that barrier exhausted him greatly causing him to collapse, helpless in front of that one that was supposed to look up to him like a god. Arias is probably incredibly confused now, that he no longer bears the same godly and feminine features he once did, now looking to be no more than a petty, wretched crossbreed.

Gwyndolin felt a small tear creep down his cheek, the direction he was looking in meant he could hide it luckily. He'd already shown far too much weakness to this undead, he couldn't let him witness any more than what he already had.

Arias gently laid the god down on his comfortable bed. He then kneeled, staring down at the carpet.

"I am aware that it is profane for one such as myself to lay hands upon you my lord. My sincerest apologies but there was nothing else I could have done in that moment." With that, he stood up and slowly hobbled to the couch. After a short while Gwyndolin's breathing slowed and he slowly lifted himself up, gazing over to Arias who had clumsily flopped down onto the couch.

Things stayed still for a moment, Arias gazed at the bookshelves as his mind somehow got worse, inconsistencies in his logic if any, thoughts passing so fast he couldn't even begin to comprehend them. Meanwhile Gwyndolin sat up in his bed, he'd long since recovered, sitting still he felt a tension in the air over his form, at least he thought there was, Arias was too far gone to even care about differences, not even being able to reliably tell if it was just his memory getting things wrong.

Gwyndolin however, was anxiously awaiting him to mention the change. Arias never spoke up though, so he took it upon himself.

"M-Mine apologies for deceiving thou... I... I was not feeling well at the time thou sees..." He trailed off, his anxiety building as Arias remained silent. He fidgeted slightly with his bedsheets, quite unlike his usual calm and composed demeanor, all thanks to his rapidly building anxiety. He knew not why it had such a strong grip on him, Arias may be the chosen undead, he may be his knight, but he was still only human, no even less than that he was a hollow, he had no right to even consider judging a god and yet the thought of him doing so tugged on his heartstrings.

He remained in the same still position, gazing at Arias' slumped form on the couch. Suddenly he thought to ask him a simple question.

"Dost thou comprehend mine words still?"

He asked, and received no answer. It was clear now that after sitting down, Arias had fallen asleep, his hollowing likely to complete in any moment. He couldn't have that. He quickly hopped of the bed, his snakes bundling up so he did not collapse upon landing, he rushed over the knight, quickly reaching for his pack. He searched around for a certain item carried by most undead in his state, mostly useless at this point... unless used to it's very fullest extent, a trick not known by many.

He found it, the ash gray stone encasing the skull of some unknown unfortunate. He put it on the table and laid Arias down on his back.

Gwyndolin grabbed the stone again and placed it on his chest. He backed away slightly and raised his catalyst, he chanted a spell and lowered it ever so slightly toward the stone. A stream of soul magic slowly flowed into it. Using soul magic, he would artificially raise the capacity of the stone, tricking the curse into believing it was a being of greater strength than it truly was, however, one had to know the correct spell to imbue the stone with, or else it could have disastrous effects.

When he finished chanting his spell, he lowered his catalyst again, leaning in he gently took hold of Arias' right hand, bringing it up to rest upon the stone, then he did the same with the left hand. Quickly the curse began to move into the stone, ebbing like water. As expected a higher concentration could gather within the stone due to his magic.

Soon no more of the curse would fit into the little stone, so he quickly cast a teleportation spell, sending it off to the undead asylum where only hollows remained. Using this trick he'd artificially cured Arias' curse, at least for now, it would come back at some point if he was not careful.

Gwyndolin knew he couldn't lose Arias, no, it was too late for a chosen undead to hollow away again, the fire would fade before they found another. It'd already taken 50 or so years just to find him. It had to be him, there was simply not enough time left...

Gwyndolin sighed, slowly slithering back to his bed, he was completely exhausted. He hadn't had such an eventful day since his father left, never to return. He remembered back to that day, it seemed so recent but so distant at the same time, he remembered the steely determination in his father's eyes, the foolish hope that he'd somehow return, surrounded in sunlight as always. He remembered the tears, the sunset.

He sat back down in his bed gazing over at Arias who slept in silence, he watched the rise and fall of his chest.

'This will be the man to save our kingdom.'

He thought to himself, letting out a heavy sigh and laying down in his bed, his snakes coiling up at the bottom of the bed to rest.

'He must be'

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 5

An abyss, not the abyss, but an abyss. An endless blackness to which he was anchored by a swirling vortex. Looking closely it seemed to speak, it showed things, whispered things, screamed things, made things, destroyed things. It spoke of foreign concepts, showed strange twisted sights, screams of pain followed by triumphant rejoicing.

Quickly the motion of the vortex grew sickeningly fast, the words, visuals and screams passing by faster in favor of something else. Soon everything was too fast, too sickening, he couldn't handle it, nothing could. It was blurring into itself, merging, dissipating. If it didn't grow larger it grew smaller, if it didn't grow smaller it grew larger. Soon there was no distinction.

Suddenly, everything stopped, almost to a complete halt. The vortex had grown far smaller, telling and showing things that seemed familiar and comforting. It was barely moving anymore, if one didn't pay close attention they'd think it'd halted entirely. He could see clearly what it had to show him, a city of a golden sun, a goddess, a battle, a smaller god. A sun shaped crown that slightly glowed.

The vortex spoke a name. "Gwyndolin" it was familiar and comforting. He looked out into the abyss around him. It was dark, so dark. But there was a sliver of light, focusing on it, the sliver expanded, growing large and golden.

Arias lurched forward, panting. a bright, heavenly golden glow filled his vision. He blinked a few times before his eyes adjusted, he was laying on a couch in a familiar room. It seemed the curtains had been opened, giving the room a warm and welcoming feeling.

He slowly sat up and gazed at his hands, gloved and armored on his left, like always. Slowly everything that happened the day prior came back to him. He quickly realized something was off. His mind was calm and collected, he wasn't hollowed and could think clearly again.

Though something else was also out of place, he couldn't remember anything from before the previous day, in fact there quite a few simple concepts missing from his mind too. It seemed he was mere minutes away from totally hollowing when something saved him.

His breathing slowed as he looked up from his hands to the room he was in. It was now lit in a calming golden light like the rest of Anor Londo. He saw Gwyndolin sitting on one of the wooden chairs at the table to his right. He seemed to not have noticed him, instead staring out the window, out into the city of the lords.

Arias turned on the couch, planting his feet on the ground. He looked over to Gwyndolin, not really knowing what to say he just awkwardly sat there. Some time passed before he stopped gazing outside and realized Arias was awake.

"Ah, thou'rt awake!" He said, mix of surprise and relief in his voice.

"Mmhm..." Arias hummed.

"And I'm still me, much to my surprise." He noted, looking back down to his hands.

"Yes indeed... I too was perplexed when I sensed thy presence cease fading." Gwyndolin nodded, clearing the air and confirming that he had nothing to do with it. Not that Arias was aware of at least.

"'Tis good. Twas a fate most undeserved of a knight such as thyself." Gwyndolin also noted, hoping his words would somewhat comfort him.

Arias wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this, he just lightly bowed and said thank you. Gwyndolin nodded back, a small smile across his face.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I had a maid prepare thee some breakfast." He gestured to a plate on the other side of the round table, something Arias hadn't noticed until now.

"Breakfast..?" He asked, confusion clouding his voice.

"What's that?"

Gwyndolin was shocked for a moment, mouth agape in surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. "Well, it is food eaten after waking. Traditionally eaten in the morning, though, it is always noon in our fair city." Gwyndolin remarked, almost wistfully upon mentioning the city always being noon.

"Oh, right. It seems my hollowing must have been more severe than I'd realised." Arias noted grimly. They both fell silent afterwards, an air of unease plaguing the room.

"Looks like, I'll be needing to learn everything from you then." Arias chuckled, attempting at a joke. I didn't really land but Gwyndolin giggled at it anyway. Responding with a smile and "Very well."

Arias sat down at the table and Gwyndolin informed him on table manners and how to eat properly and such. Even after being told everything Arias was far from the most polite eater, occasionally forgetting to eat with his mouth closed, the kind of stuff you grew out of at a young age but here he was, a fully grown adult eating like a child.

In a time long past, a saner version of himself would've been incredibly embarrassed but right now he had a hard time seeing just what was wrong about him eating like this. Gwyndolin would scold him like a mother\older sibling whenever he ate this way, though he did find it somewhat funny how oblivious the man was.

After an awkward interaction, Arias wiped his mouth with the serviette that was laying next to his plate, after being told to by Gwyndolin of course. Afterward Arias sat there contemplating just what he would do now. He knew he'd have to go back to the Bed of chaos, he remembered how he'd talked about it the day prior, how he spoke of it with great importance. The problem was, now he didn't even know what it looked like let alone how to get there.

And if he could not defeat such a foe after so many attempts, did he even have a chance now?

"Is something the matter?" Gwyndolin asked, pulling Arias out of his train of thought.

"Ah, well. You see... I don't exactly know where, the bed of chaos is..." Arias trailed off for a moment. Gwyndolin opened his mouth to speak but then Arias continued.

"And... Well if I could not defeat such a thing before, how could I hope to now?" He sighed. Gwyndolin nodded to show that he was paying attention.

"Yes, I can see how that could pose thee a problem." He finished. He seemed to be thinking of a solution. After a brief moment he reached a conclusion. "I shall have some of mine blades of the dark moon give thee a map and mark it's location, and, here. Take this, use it as thou'rt approaching the bed." He handed him a small white soapstone, subtly glowing a dull blue.

"When thou finds thyself in need, do not hesitate to call upon me, I shalt assist thee." Arias was amazed. His mouth agape, he didn't know what to say. To be granted assistance from a god, and one as grand as Gwyndolin himself. Even in his amnesiac state, the significance of this exchange was not lost on him.

"M-Many thanks... My lord." Was all he could say when his words returned to him. Gwyndolin nodded, happy that he could help his knight, but mostly happy that he was helping secure the future of his city.

"Well, I should take my leave now." Arias said, getting up from the seat and pulling down his visor again.

"Yes, it is probably for the best thou leaves now." Gwyndolin said, slowly getting up from his seat. Arias bowed farewell and walked towards the door to leave.

"Ah, there will be no need for that!" Gwyndolin called out, making him turn around in confusion.

"I shalt use a spell of mine to transport thee quickly to the cathedral of Anor Londo." he said, pulling out his catalyst and quickly casting a spell.

"Best of luck!" He called out as Arias was taken away by the circle of light. Gwyndolin sighed when he as finally out of the room. He slithered over to his bed and sat down, resting his catalyst upon his thighs.

He did so despise relying on others, quite ironic when taking into account his nature as a manipulator. Still, he would continue to pull as many strings as he had to for the fire to be linked again, otherwise his father's sacrifice would've been in vain.

And no matter what, he would not let that come to pass.

Indeed, this was far to close to being the end of the age, it seemed that sadly he would have to step in and take some direct action from time to time if he wanted things to go well.

His thoughts wandered to Arias himself, a bumbling fool to be sure, though there certainly was something about him which he could not put his finger on. He shrugged it off as him being essential for the age to continue and nothing more, and quickly moved on to other thoughts, though Arias did continue to pop up in his head a lot which annoyed him to no end.

All he wanted was for the age of fire to continue, nothing more.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 6

The light vanished just as quickly as it had appeared, and Arias found himself back in the cathedral, just below the bed chambers of Gwynevere. Of course he didn't remember he'd fought Ornstein and Smough here, and wondered why there were so many scorch marks on the walls of an empty room.

He slowly walked down the staircase before him, he luckily still remembered that the fire keeper at the wall was a blade of the darkmoon and that's probably where he'd get a map from. He saw two giant figures in the room ahead of him, however they did not make a move to attack him, they just watched him as he moved past. He felt uneasy being watched by such large creatures, even more so when he saw there was a silver knight training their eyes on him too.

He just continued walking carefully forward, prepared to grab his shield at any moment, but an attack never came. It was strange, he'd never encountered these beings before but he got this feeling deep down that they were incredibly dangerous and could kill him swiftly. Probably some lingering muscle memory, the real reason for his caution was definitely lost with his other memories when he was hollowing.

As Arias eased up, he felt something rumble in his pack, the sudden movement enough for him to immediately grab hold of his shield and raise it in front of him. There was no attack and he sighed slightly in shame at how cowardly he must look. Putting his shield away, he reached into his pack, searching for the source of the rumbling.

He took out a strange black orb, the exterior was hard and felt like rock, rough all over. However, there was one side that was smooth, turning it around he saw an eye staring back at him. It was certainly gazing at him, he could feel it's stare penetrate his soul, suddenly, everything was black, like a void.

Soon, black and white shapes formed in the distance, the whites and blacks deepened, and from them color bled into the world once more.

Arias stood in the same hall, but at the other end, the giants and the archer were gone, instead, a group of people stood at the other end of the hall. He trod carefully forward, taking hold of his sword and shield in preparation for a battle. There were three people in total. What looked to be a mage and another looked like a soldier wielding a spear and shield, he couldn't see much detail on them due to the white light that covered them.

The person in the middle was easy to see though, he wore peculiar golden armor, it looked like the armor was even embracing him. He wielded two shotels and had an ominous aura about him, something that made Arias' skin crawl, and instilled within him with an intense emotion which he could not really understand, though part of it was most certainly hate.

"Well, look at you." The man in golden armor spoke, turning around to face Arias, his two summons also turning around.

"I thought you were wiser, but I thought wrong!"
"Tis a terrible pity. Like a moth flittering towards a flame." There was a certain uncaring tone to his voice, one that betrayed his words of feigned sorrow.

"You fellows? No? Don't you agree?" He chuckled lowly, drawing his shotels and charging forward.

Arias raised his shield and prepared for the attacks. And this time they came, multiple blows, all striking at his shield at once. He anticipated the next blow and suddenly thrust his shield to the side, causing the man with the spear to fumble and almost fall over. Arias took his chance and sliced straight through the summon in one large strike, killing the summon instantly, but also resulting in him getting tired and leaving himself open.

The golden knight charged at him, landing multiple strikes on him and then jumping backwards before Arias could retaliate. Luckily the knight didn't hit anything vital, but it still hurt badly, as if the blade had burnt him, though it didn't seem to have any resin applied. The mage cast a soul spear and sent it hurdling towards Arias, he lifted his shield in time to block it but it knocked him back, and a blow from the knight knocked his shield right out of his hands.

This time Arias saw the attacks coming, and as the knight brought his weapon down, Arias used his now free hand to quickly push the knight s hand away. Before Arias could make use of this opening, another soul spear hit him in the torso, sending him flying backward. When he landed, he quickly jumped up and avoided a blow from the knight.

Lifting his greatsword up, he rested it on his shoulder as he nimbly ran away from the knight, and toward the mage. Staying quite low to the ground, Arias as able to dodge the soul spears fired at him and was greatly outpacing the knight. As he reached the mage, he quickly knocked them to their feet and with breakneck speed he brought his sword down and sliced their head clean off.

Arias turned to the knight, lifting his greatsword back up to his shoulder, crouching low to the ground, he looked almost animalistic, covered in blood. The knight stood still for a moment, almost hesitating, before resuming his charge. Arias bounded toward him somewhat like a wolf, raising his sword with his right arm and swinging as soon as he was close, the knight dodged and retaliated with multiple swings, hitting Arias' back.

Arias quickly swung around and sliced at him, cutting to the bone of his shins. The knight cried out, falling to the floor. Arias lifted his sword for the final blow, but as he brought it down, the knight lifted up his shotels, using one to parry Arias' sword and the other went straight through his chest. Arias cried out, falling backward.

He hacked up blood, the blood splashed all over his own face. The knight could not stand, so all he did was watch as Arias desperately rolled over to his side, blood pouring out of his visor. In one last attempt, Arias quickly rose up and ran in the opposite direction of the knight using his free hand to keep himself stable, causing him to look even more animalistic than before. Then he ran back at the knight, sword held high above his head.

The knight prepared his shotels again for another parry but when Arias brought his sword down, he sliced straight through them, going down through the knight's skull and hitting the wall. In one swift move he was dead. Arias lifted up his sword once more and began wildly bashing it back down on the body of the knight, rage engulfing him as the finely crafted golden armor was soon unrecognizable.

Soon everything darkened once more. And as the shapes and colors bled back into the world, he found himself kneeling over a wall, with no corpse, looking at himself he was free of wounds, though the blood remained, and the pain faded incredibly quickly. He even felt his shield on his back. Looking back down at the spot on the floor where he'd thought he'd just killed the knight, there was only a strange soul, humanity nipping away at it. Arias gently picked it up, gazing at it he now recognized all the emotions he was feeling.

There was not only hate and rage. There was also sorrow, loss, guilt, regret. It wasn't long before tears poured down his face, washing away some of the blood. Just who did this soul belong to to inhibit such a strong emotion in him. He slowly rose from his position on the floor, looking around, the giant knights were still in the room along with the silver knight archer. He looked down at the soul in his hands, it was clearly incredibly important to him in some way, and it may help him find out who he once was.

Arias carefully placed the soul in his pack before picking up his greatsword and leaving the cathedral.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 7

Things had worked out surprisingly well. He'd met with the Darkmoon fire keeper, asking her about his name she told him that he'd never given it. She gave him a map of Lordran, it has hard to read at first but he eventually managed to work out where things were. She also showed him how to warp between bonfires, to which he yelped in surprise when he suddenly appeared on the balcony of a strange fortress.

Looking at the map he was luckily able to navigate to lost Izalith, though once he got there he had quite a rough time getting to the fog door at the center of the city. Upon reaching the door, he summoned Gwyndolin, who greeted him with a smile. When Arias entered the room, he found a large wooden entity. It seemed to be bound by a strange magic rune on it's right.

Though the path to the rune had entirely crumbled, he didn't need to worry, as Gwyndolin teleported him directly to the rune. Arias wasted no time destroying it. Afterward more of the floor began to collapse and Gwyndolin saved Arias from falling to his death multiple times with his teleportation spell.

Arias saw a path that lead to the center of the entity, though it was risky, he went straight for it and luckily he made it. Cutting his way through he found a strange bug looking creature, upon slaying it the the bed of chaos fell lifeless. Arias couldn't believe it, that he'd defeated such a thing, and so quickly too.

He walked out from the bed of chaos, just in time to see Gwyndolin fade away. He knew he couldn't have destroyed the bed without his help, and he smiled knowing that his god was watching over him.

A bonfire had appeared just behind him where the grub was, exhausted, he sighed and sat down by it. Memories or no, he would always find comfort by the flame, as it represented just what his goal was, and it's importance. His eyelids once again grew heavy, and he slowly found himself laying down next to the bonfire, still gazing at it's magnificent light. Light that soon faded as he drifted off to a calm sleep.

The flame once again reappeared, flickering and popping right beside him, in an endless void of nothing. Just as before he gazed into it, it's glow gradually scorching his eyes and conflicting with something inside of him. He wanted to stay near the fire, but something drew him both further away and further towards it. As if something within his very nature was conflicting.

He grew scared, as the pain grew unbearable he no longer wanted to be by the flame, he wanted to retreat into safety wherever that was. Yet, as he tried to retreat, he still was pulled back to the fire, the conflicting sides reaching a stalemate once more, leaving him in a zone far, yet close to the fire. There was a creeping warmth, one that felt more like the cold but it was unmistakably fire. He shivered as he felt the phantom heat cover him. Calling out in a hoarse voice he met some strange response, one of disdain and apathy.

He gasped and shot up. Air filling his lungs for what felt like the first time in an age. Trying to get up, he fell back to his hands and knees he started gasping for more air, the air felt raw and rough against his dry throat. Soon he managed to calm himself, he gazed back at the flame, a mix of fear and longing clouding his mind. He looked away and words rung throughout his mind.

"Always fear the flame, lest you be devoured by it."

The voice was feminine and calming, yet, he did not recognize it. Getting on his hands and knees, he slowly got up, looking around to find himself somewhere totally different than before. It seemed he was standing in an old shrine, it seemed to be half ruined, with a few buildings remaining intact. Moss was growing on almost every surface. Looking up was the shadow of great wall, and downwards was a very long fall into what looked to be a deep valley.

He felt a strange crushing loneliness as he looked around, as if there were supposed to be people here but they were all gone. He felt the soul in his pack rumble slightly. Carefully taking it out, he looked at it. Somehow, he felt as if it was guiding him somewhere. Following the strange sense it gave him, he walked down a set of stairs and down to a grating in the wall, a small cave within, it seemed as if it were entirely inescapable.

Looking down he saw a corpse of a maiden behind the bars, mangled knees and a bloody face, cuts covering most of the body. he recognized the slices to the ones that golden knight had given him. Looking at the soul once again, he gently guided it down to the corpse, the soul seeped back into the body, repairing the mangled knees and healing away the cuts.

The maiden gasped and her eyes shot open. However, she remained still, not moving from her position on the floor as her breathing slowed. There was a silence for some time, Arias kneeled by the bars and kept still, not wanting to startle her further.

She eventually sat up and rested her back against the wall, she seemed to be heavily focused on something, a kind of fear could be seen in her eyes. She never brought her eyes up, just remaining in a hunched over position. Suddenly he heard the sound of a bonfire being lit. Arias wasn't sure of what to do, she was still completely unaware of his presence and didn't seem like she was going to look out of the cave any time soon.

He cleared his throat and decided to speak up.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a gentle tone, still kneeling by the bars. She jumped. clearly surprised by his presence.

"...W-Was it you?..." She asked, her throat sounded dry and hoarse. He nodded in response.

"Th, thank you... I am Anastacia of Astora... Now I can continue my duty as keeper of the fire... But... I only hope my impure tongue does not offend." She spoke weakly, as if for the first time in years, if not decades.

"Impure tongue?" He asked, confused. She gave him a sad, defeated look in the eyes before speaking.

"It was removed... A fitting penalty, for the blasphemies.. I once spoke of." Anastacia sounded even worse than before, she truly believed that she was deserving of such a punishment.

"I am aware... Of how fond you are, of talking to me... But please, of you've any heart... leave me be. I wish not to speak." It was as if she was on the verge of tears, pushing something away not because she wanted to, but because she was required to. Arias went grimly silent. She knew him, who he was, he spoke to her before. But to ask her to tell him, it would be torture.

And so they remained still, at a crossroads, Anastacia knew who he was, but she would not speak. There was no one else at the shrine, everywhere he'd gone, no one remembered him, as if he'd never existed. She was his last hope, the only one left, there had to be some way for her to tell him.

"...I spoke to you?" Was all he said, she did not respond, but she immediately knew what he meant by that question. She saw it in his eyes, the same thing she'd seen in so many others before, a lack of memory, fear of the loss of self.

"I understand you wish not to speak... But if you know my name, if you would write it in the dirt, mouth it, or just- Something!... Please..." He trailed off. He felt pathetic, did he even really need to know these things? He already knew what he had to do, and it's not like getting back his name was going to give him back all of his memories.

Why was it, that he was so desperate, for knowledge he had no need of?

"...Oliver. That was your name. Oscar was the name, of your travelling companion... You would come down and speak to me... only you. You both wore the same armor... but he was left-handed. This is as much as I can do for you... As thanks." That was it. Anastacia had laid out everything he wanted to know. He looked at her with surprise, his mouth agape behind his visor.

"Thank you... Thank you so much." Was all he said. Arias slowly got up and waved her goodbye, she waved back.

His real name was Oliver, and he shared his journey with a companion named Oscar who wore the same armor as him but held his sword only in the left hand. He was somewhat amazed that she'd actually told him all that, though, they were clearly close once.

It was about time he continued, maybe he would find his old companion as he searched for the next great lord.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 8

A lot of time had passed since Arias had left firelink. Two, maybe three days straight searching. His first destination was the catacombs behind the shrine, it was hell down there, but it held nothing interesting, it seemed there were once great entities down there but they were all dead now. After finally escaping the Tombs, he wandered on.

Finding himself in New Londo, a strange hollow in chainmail attacked him. They didn't pose him much of a real threat but he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Exploring the city, he managed to dodge most of the ghosts, though one caught him by surprise and knocked him down into the city below. He had little time to even react to the strange dark skeletons around him, barely dodging them in time to drink some much needed estus.

With some difficulty, he managed to fight off the dark skeletons and earned himself some breathing room down in the forgotten city. He once again found no traces of any great lords, he did find a bottomless pit, but from it only came a crushing silence that made his hair stand on end. Leaving the city, he found himself in an old valley, and surrounded by small drakes.

He had a very rough time even surviving them let alone fighting back, but he somehow managed. He trekked down to Blighttown, a disgusting cesspool of filth and poison, moving quickly through he found himself back in the demon ruins. Hesitantly he returned to Blighttown to explore the area more thoroughly. He managed to find a large hollowed tree, exploring inside he found himself going further and further down, avoiding more and more hazards the further down he got.

When he exited the tree through a hollowed root, Arias was greeted to a breathtaking view. There were even more great trees similar to the one he'd just come from in every direction, There was so much water everywhere, more than he'd ever seen before. He was so taken aback by the sight that he didn't even take notice of the Hydra blatantly in front of him. Soon he continued, resting at the nearby bonfire and battling with the Hydra.

Even after doing all that he still could not help but be in awe at his surroundings. Walking down the path of ash and sand he found himself surrounded by a forest of much smaller trees covering the narrow path. As he continued, soon before him was something he'd never expected. It spread out it's magnificent wings, revealing itself to him, an ancient dragon. It did not attack, nor did it show any signs of hostility, it simply sat there, watching him.

Arias almost fell over he was so surprised. He may have lost his memory but he'd heard of the legends since. So many amazing things he'd discovered in one day, his mind was having a hard time coping with it all. It was not a great lord, nor was it anything connected to him or of any real importance to him at the moment, but he still sat in awe. It was a long time before he shook himself out of it once again.

He walked over to the bonfire and lit it, as he searched for a place to warp to, a bright light suddenly surrounded him and transported him away.

As soon as the light faded, he had a split second to react to the knight charging at him. He managed to raise his shield quick enough to knock them back. The knight staggered before backing away in surprise. Arias had a moment to finally take in his environment as he held up his shield.

They looked to be in some sort of hallway, a very long one at that. Golden sunlight shone in through the windows and reflected slightly off their armor. The knight in front of him wore the same armor that he did, only he wielded a straight sword in his left hand and a shield in his right.

"You are..." Arias muttered under his breath, only to be interrupted by the booming voice of Gwyndolin from a few feet behind him.

"O Heretic, who would so carelessly trespass upon the great lord's tomb. Thou shalt now face judgment at the hand of the valiant knight of the darkmoon. Go forth mine champion! And bring vengeance down upon this wretched sinner!"

Arias drew his greatsword and waited behind his shield for the knight to attack. But instead, the knight spoke up, lowering his own shield.

"Oliver, step aside. I have come to undo your shackles" The knight spoke confidently, staring him dead in the eyes. Arias didn't move.

"The old gods hold no power over us anymore Oliver! We can defy them, break the shackles of the curse and become lords of the dark!" The knight continued. The sound of a bow being drawn echoed throughout the hall, Arias remained still.

"Look, even now, your own god draws his bow to your head!" Gwyndolin tensed up for a moment. He knew what humans were like, as soon as he found out about the truth of the curse he would turn on him like a mad dog on their master. Driven by greed and a self righteous need for 'the truth'. He held his bow drawn, prepared to fire on him at any sign of traitorous intent. Though, his heart began beating faster and faster, a strange sense of worry filling him, one that would not leave him no matter how hard he tried to calm himself and concentrate.

"Hmph... Stubborn to the end as always... well then have it your way. I shall free you myself, old friend." With that, Oscar lifted his sword and shield again and charged at Arias. Arias did the same, preparing to meet head on with the darkwraith.

Arias was the first to strike, his sword hitting Oscar's shield and forcing him back slightly. Oscar knew that his sword was no match for Arias', it would likely be broken on impact, so he'd have to be tactful in how he approached this battle.

Arias striked at his shield once more, Oscar pretended to be staggered, and when Arias moved in to stab him, he dodged to the side and dug his blade into his left shoulder. Quickly, Oscar then hit him in the stomach with the edge of his shield, providing him enough time to pull back his sword and then stab him through the chest. The sword went straight through his armor and down to the hilt

Arias cried out in pain and was soon coughing up profuse amounts of blood. Oscar pushed him off his blade and watched as he went limp on the floor. Gwyndolin couldn't believe it, for his finest knight to be bested so quickly, and his heart felt like it'd gone still, only making it more difficult to react when Oscar charged at him.

He shakily aimed his bow at the knight and missed every shot. Panicking, he pulled out his catalyst and cast a giant orb of soul magic, hurling it at him. Oscar guarded it with his shield but it still managed to hit his legs and stagger him, long enough for Gwyndolin to cast another spell, sending a large amount of smaller blue orbs at him. Oscar hid behind a pillar and resumed his charge when the orbs had dissipated.

Before Gwyndolin could cast another spell, Oscar was upon him. Time slowed for but a second, Gwyndolin could see the blade coming towards him, he could predict the imminent strike, and there was nothing he could do. But much to his surprise, a shield was flung from across the room and hit Oscar square on the back of the head.

Looking behind him, Oscar saw Arias standing, holding his greatsword as a crutch while finishing off his estus. Looking back over to Gwyndolin, he saw a small glimpse of the god before he teleported away.

Arias was bounding towards him now, running like a crazed wolf, greatsword in hand. He raised his sword above his head for a strike and Oscar prepared his shield. He was unprepared for the sheer might of the blow as the force of it sent him to the floor. On his back, he still held his shield up. After a few bashes to the shield, Arias relented, and just as Oscar was considering getting up, he felt a pair of hands grab him by the foot.

Arias lifted him up into the air before smacking him back down onto the ground face first. His visor crumpled inward a bit and a loud "PANG" reverberated inside his helmet, hurting his ears. He quickly rolled out of the way before Arias brought his sword down once again. Standing a few feet away from Arias now, he was kind of scared at his show of power, along their travels he'd never seen him do something like that.

Just what had he been doing since they were separated in Sen's fortress? Arias tossed three knives at him before jumping at him with his sword. Oscar managed to dodge the brunt of the attack, but his foot was sliced a bit. Arias swung at him again but this time Oscar parried him, Oscar went in for the kill, aiming for his neck he jumped up and brought his sword forward in a quick movement that was suddenly halted.

Oscar couldn't believe his eyes, Arias had stopped his sword by lifting his left arm in front of his neck. His sword had gone through his arm but the armor greatly reduced it's force and Arias was actively pushing back against the blade with his arm. Arias kicked him down to the floor and readied his greatsword.

Oscar managed to barely dodge the hits, rolling far enough away for a second of rest. Panting, he looked over to Arias who had already made his way over and was mid thrusting attack. Oscar managed to dodge the attack and land a slash on his side. Arias cried out and quickly kicked him in the stomach. Oscar was winded and fell to the floor, he barely lifted his shield in time so that his head was not split open then and there. He'd lifted his shield too high though, and cried out when Arias brought his sword down on his ankles, cutting off one foot and leaving the other barely hanging on.

Arias then kicked off his shield while he was stunned and just as Oscar was raising his own sword in defense, Arias' greatsword crashed down onto his head, smashing it like a watermelon.

Gwyndolin stood by at the end of the hallway, totally taken aback by what he'd just seen. He'd never taken Arias for such a savage fighter, and the end of the fight was just brutal. Still, he felt a sense of relief that he'd survived the encounter. And he'd done all that for him.

Arias held onto his greatsword as a crutch and panted, leaning over the dead body of what once was his travelling companion. He knew that he would get back up again soon, such is their curse. He snatched Oscar's estus and drank it, preparing himself for what was to come.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 9

Gwyndolin watched as they battled, on and on, over and over. Oscar was beginning to hollow and Arias was getting worse and worse condition. He was now holding his sword in his left hand, his right one had been sliced right through the wrist, passing through the joint and almost cutting it clean off. He was bleeding profusely, and as they fought and on, he became more and more animalistic in his fighting style.

Gwyndolin hated it, seeing a man such as Arias devolve into a beast, and even worse, an unstoppable one... all for him. His heart was beating faster again, Gwyndolin grimaced, shaming himself for getting caught up on such a thing while Arias was in so much pain. He had to do something. Looking over at the two, he would not be able to hit either of them as they were moving too fast, and it was already hard enough to differentiate them from each other because of their armor.

He hated feeling this helpless. There had to be something he could do. His grip tightened on his catalyst as his mind raced. What spell could he use in this situation, would it even be able to reach them? So many different outcomes. He looked to the windows, the sunlight that filled the now bloodstained room seemed as if it was not meant to be. Because it was not, it was his illusion, his illusion that he could control.

Then an idea popped up in his head, one that with some proper timing, would work well. He had to at least try.

The rays of sunlight quickly intensified. Growing bright, so bright, filling the room with the golden glow it soon became so intense they had to close their eyes to avoid going blind. The wild movements of both Oscar and Arias halted, staggered by the golden glow of Anor Londo. Arias heard a familiar sound, the sound of Gwyndolin's teleportation spell. Soon the light retreated from the room, the golden glow returning to the simple rays of sunshine from the windows.

Arias quickly opened his eyes, looking in every direction to prepare for an attack, but it never came, Oscar was gone, and all that remained was the sunlight, Gwyndolin, and the blood that now coated the previously pristine floor and walls. Seeing he was safe, Arias collapsed to the floor, the adrenaline quickly losing it's kick, and pain filling all of his senses, overwhelming him.

There was a small flash of light, and then Gwyndolin was sitting beside him, he lifted him onto his lap and gently ran his hands along his chest, feeling all the cracks and protrusions in the metal of his armor. Arias gazed into his crown as he continued to move his hands across his chest. He saw the worry in the frown on his mouth. Gwyndolin repeated the stroking motions along his chest, up then down, the sensation reminded Arias of taking deep breaths.

It was so calming, the soft repeated motions, the presence of his god, caring for him, it almost felt as if it were soothing his wounds. He wanted to speak, he wanted to say that he'd done all he could, that he was sorry was not able to better defend him, but he could not find the words.

Arias feebly lifted up his left arm, and it shook as it found it's way to Gwyndolin's cheek. Gwyndolin was shocked by the action, yet he did not make a move to stop him, instead he gave him a concerned look.

"Ah- aahhhhhhh..." His voice was weak and hoarse, and he still could not find any words to express himself, simply groaning in pain as he tried to convey some sort of message. Gwyndolin held his hand in his own free palm, he felt a calming warmth to it.

"Do not strain thyself Arias." He spoke.

"Thou may rest now. Thine duty has been fulfilled." His voice was soft and heavenly, and Arias could not help but sigh in response. His hand slowly fell back to his side, leaving a smear of blood on Gwyndolin's cheek. Gwyndolins own hand then found it's way to his face, lifting his visor and wiping away some of the blood.

Then, his arms wrapped gently around him in a warming embrace. It wasn't long before Arias fell fast asleep in his arms.

Gwyndolin sighed as he sat down on his bed. His heart was still thumping and he did not need to read a book to understand why that was now, though he did anyway. One of his snakes collected him one from his small library. He read through it, then another one, then another. Instead of highlighting another possibility they all shone a light on what his strange feeling must be.

Love.

He was infuriated that he'd let such an emotion take hold of him, a god, a child of Gwyn no less. And he had an extremely important role in the age of fire, one that he could not put in jeopardy because of some sacrificial undead. Yet, whenever he looked at Arias, his heart raced, and his mind would focus in on him.

He was ever so devoted to him, more than any of his other followers. He sacrificed a potential ally and his entire past just for him. He'd never even heard of a human that loyal before. Could it be that he also felt something for him? He cursed himself for such a thought, even more so at the fact that deep down he knew he liked the thought. Of him. Of, them.

Gwyndolin groaned and looked away. Damned undead, teasing out his deepest emotions without even knowing it. Though as much as he tried he couldn't be really angry at him, even if his presence messed with his feelings, even if he was just a sacrifice for the flame. Maybe he was caught amidst one of his own tricks, not being careful enough he may have set a trap for himself by accident.

No that was just too far out there, even for him. As much as he tried to get around it, as much as he tried to fight it, he'd have to accept it at some point. Looking back over to Arias his heart began to thump again, and he felt his cheeks warm up, but this time he did not look away.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 10

For the first time in recent memory, Arias slept soundly. No strange abyss, no fire he was forced towards and away from. Just a peaceful, warm, sleep. It was refreshing and somehow felt as if it were the first real rest he'd had in years, even though he frequently rested by the bonfires he found this was different.

The warmth was gentle, soothing, comforting and peaceful. Like a blanket of sunlight over his body, gently warming him all over, but not too hot, just enough so that he was comfortable. He felt as if he never wanted to wake up again.

But inevitably, his heavy eyes opened, and the world was revealed to his mind once more. There was a faint golden glow tinting a familiar room once again, a figure leant over him, brilliant white and robes with lines of fabulous gold, and a calming golden crown stared down at him.

The warmth from his sleep remained, but that was no longer his focus, instead, all of his attention was drawn to that crown. It's magnificent gold outlines of the sun gleamed gently from the muted sunlight.

"Ah, thou'rt awake!" Gwyndolin chirped, sounding unusually cheery. He was sitting by his side on a wooden chair, pulled away from the table. Arias tried to sit up but as soon as he did the calming warmth all over his body was replaced with a shocking pain that stunned him.

"Oh careful! Thine injuries have not yet fully healed!" Gwyndolin almost yelled, his voice full of worry. He rushed to his side and gently eased Arias back down into a lying position, his touch was soft and he could feel the same subtle warmth irradiating from him that was covering his body.

Gwyndolin sighed and sat back down in his chair.

"Thou'st served well, and thine rest is well earned, so do not take it lightly." He cautioned, slowly trailing a gentle gloved hand across his battered arm. Arias' right wrist was covered in bandages, however it still felt as if it might fall off at any moment.

'A few sips of estus could fix this all much quicker' Arias thought to himself, though it was obvious Gwyndolin didn't know what estus was, and he couldn't go and get some himself in the state he was in. And Gwyndolin certainly didn't seem like he was going to let him wander the halls anytime soon.

So there they remained for quite some time. Arias basked in the gentle warmth as Gwyndolin carefully maintained his healing spell. Until Arias finally broke the silence.

"So... What happened, to that knight?" He asked, his voice coarse and rough. Gwyndolin froze up for a moment before responding to him.

"I... hast sent him to time long after our own. Far enough so that he will not be an issue during our remaining lives." Gwyndolin said, his voice quiet, most of his tone showed indifference to the subject but there was a hint of worry. Arias hummed in response, not being able to nod that was the best he could do. There was a moment of silence before Gwyndolin spoke up again.

"I understand it was was difficult for thee. To fight against one thou might've known at one point..." He trailed off, a frown now adorning his face.

"It wasn't" Arias stated plainly.

"You were the one there for me when I needed you most, I have already devoted my life to you. It didn't matter what he said I would not have turned on you, my lord." Arias, despite his incapacitated position, spoke almost sternly, as if the idea itself was opposing the core of who he was.

Gwyndolin was shocked to say the least. He'd never met a mortal so devoted, indeed he was like no other undead in the whole of lordran.

"O-Oh! I see." Gwyndolin finally spoke, his voice somewhat shaky. His crown luckily hiding most of the bright red now covering his cheeks.

"Well... thou art truly the only one..." Gwyndolin thought out loud, without realizing. Arias raised a questioning eyebrow when he did not continue. Finally noticing what he'd said, he rushed to 'clarify what he meant'.

"A-Ah! Yes, t-thou art truly the only one- undead- I hast ever met with such l-loyalty!" He stammered through almost every word, clearly betraying his image of certainty, Arias didn't question it though.

They sat there for a while, silent. Gwyndolin occasionally ran his hand up down Arias' chest to renew his healing spell. There was an air of unease, again, only to Gwyndolin really. He was worried he might seem suspicious to Arias and he might get the wrong idea, as if he were not grateful or something else horrible.

"...I'm sorry." Arias muttered suddenly, shame clouding his voice as he spoke.

"Whatever for?" Gwyndolin asked, immediately putting aside his anxious thoughts and focusing on him. There was a long pause before Arias responded.

"I was unable to halt a single intruder alone. I fear your confidence in me may be misplaced..." He trailed off, looking away from the god in shame.

"Arias..." A slight frown returned to Gwyndolin's face as he brought his hand to Arias' cheek.

"Mine trust in thee was not misplaced I can assure thee. That knight was a darkwraith, the sworn enemies of me and mine blades of the darkmoon. They were trained in the art of lifesteal and pose one of the largest threats to our fair kingdom. Truth be told I am impressed thou were able to defeat such a foe so many times over. The ordeal is over now and mine kingdom remains safe thanks to thee, do not forget that my knight." Gwyndolin consoled him, stroking his cheek gently.

"...Thank you my lord..." Arias said, a small, grateful smile spreading across his lips.

"Thou may call me by mine name, Gwyndolin. It would be rather exhausting to keep to formalities the entire time I am to care for thee" Gwyndolin giggled slightly, lifting a hand to cover his mouth as he did so.

"Very well, Gwyndolin" Arias chuckled with him. It felt strange saying his name out loud, he hadn't ever done so in recent memory, as if it was a word that only existed in his mind. But now it seemed he was free to say it anytime he pleased.

Once again they fell silent and time moved by them as if they were watching through a window. However, neither of them felt anxious this time, they were just happy to be in each other's company.

Soon Arias fell back to sleep, once again he slept soundly, the warmth around him keeping him calm and seemingly warding away bad dreams. Gwyndolin watched him as he slept, he couldn't help but feel a little strange, watching a man sleep in his room, but he got used to it eventually.

His mind was still concentrated on Arias and he got the feeling it would be, no matter what he did at this point, so he stopped fighting it. He wished he could tell him about his feelings, but it would mostly likely be that Arias did not feel the same about him and never will. Him talking to him about it would be nothing but trouble, after all that's what he always was to others he cared for. Nothing but trouble...

Gwyndolin sighed and brought his hand back to Arias' face, stroking his cheek gently as he slept, looking at him longingly. It was ironic really, that the last god was so easily brought to tears by a single human.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 11

Another day passed similarly to the last one, Arias was awake for longer and shared some light conversation with Gwyndolin who seemed happy to talk. Gwyndolin even read him a book when things went silent, one of his snakes fetching one and propping it up for him to read, so his hands could continue to maintain the healing spell on Arias.

And soon the next day arrived, then the next. And by the fourth day they had something of a routine going. Arias wakes up, Gwyndolin would feed him breakfast, today it was pork and eggs, neatly prepared by the few remaining castle maids. Gwyndolin would then recast his healing spell, it's healing affects were always much better when he casted it and maintained it, though they were still felt when he wasn't.

Occasionally his attention would be forced away by a blade of the dark moon entering Gwyn's tomb to speak with him, then he cast his illusory self to speak with them, such meetings never lasted very long though. Then, after a short chat, Gwyndolin fetched one of his favorite books and read it to Arias while healing him.

It was a tragic tale of a knight tasked with safeguarding a church in a recently destroyed village. Very few villagers remained and the ones that did were bordering on starvation as they prayed for salvation. The village had been attacked by a foreign army possessed by demons. Some were mad while others retained their sanity, but all of them were driven by a primal hate for the living.

The possessed would attack only at night, and so the knight was forced to sleep during the day and guard the church at night. Every morning he was gravely wounded and his ability to fight wavered. He would usually wake up at late noon when most people slept, though some of the elderly remained awake to pray. A week after the initial attack, the demon's attacked in large numbers early in the morning. The knight tried to fight back but he was quickly beaten and battered to the point he could no longer even move, unable to defend the villagers, his people, as the foul demons raped, ate and tortured every living human in the church. Even the elderly and the young.

Come noon he was alone in a blood soaked church, the floor of which was coated in the organs of those he fought so painfully to protect. Barely alive and wracked with guilt, he let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony. He never saw the possessed again, it seemed they decided they would rather leave him to a torturous existence, with the same seething hate that burned within their own stomachs. After tending to his own wounds, he didn't allow himself even a day of full recovery before gathering the remaining food and leaving his destroyed home.

The knight travelled the lands, fighting off bandits with ease and trying to warn other villages of the possessed threat. Though no one ever took him seriously, calling him a liar and a dishonorable coward who would rather lie than admit he could not protect a village from a bandit raid. He was heavily frowned upon by almost everyone, being unofficially banished from every nearby village. Nothing ever proved him right either, the possessed never attacked another village, though they haunted his for the rest of time, turning it into a cursed land no sane person would ever set foot in.

Upon being banished from most places, he eventually committed to living a life on the road, travelling from village to village as a nameless nobody. Without noticing it he had abandoned the kingdom altogether within a year or so. Now no one knew who he was, now he was nobody.

Gwyndolin always thought this was a good ending to the tale, a nice way to wrap up a depressing story of how life can go so terribly wrong for absolutely no reason, there was no need to add on top of it. He hesitated to continue reading further, thinking that maybe it was best that he not spoil Arias' experience with the book. Though he ended up reading on anyway.

The knight continued his travels for many years, crossing continents as he aimlessly wandered. Though after countless months traversing the land, he encountered a strange wounded woman with one eye. Though it was customary for only men to be knights in the land he'd found himself in, she was wearing an ornate set of knight's armor. She'd fallen down a steep cliff in her travels and was injured badly.

The knight bandaged her wounds and took her to nearby town where she was taken care of in the local inn. As he left the next morning, he was surprised to see her follow him. She asked to come along with him, seemingly determined to join him on his travels. When asked as to why she didn't rest longer she told him she did not need it.

Eventually the knight gave in and took her along with him. It wasn't long before their similarities became clear. They fought the same way and they even thought of the same spots to camp at. One night by a campfire, the knightess told the knight her story. She was a knightess of a small castle, she deeply admired the Lord and her fellow knights but that admiration was not shared.

She remained blissfully unaware of this for many years, until one day it all fell apart. She was returning from a nearby village when she was attacked by a small group of bandits, nothing serious for her but something felt off, they didn't say a word, nothing. Most bandits would at least threaten a victim before attacking. As she was pondering this, the dead started to get back up, the wounds they'd sustained now showing a green slimy thing moving under the skin.

The knightess fought back for as long as she could but they could not be stopped, some of them biting into her horse and hanging on by their teeth even while being flung around. They ate it while she was mounted. Terrified, she jumped off the horse and sprinted away, towards the castle.

She ran for a long time, and the creatures following her weren't slackers either, they were keeping pace with her. After what felt like hours she saw the castle in the distance, completely exhausted she could barely keep up her sprint, driven only by the desperation to survive. She saw one of her fellow knights riding a horse nearby, she cried out for help, but they just turned around and hastily rode towards the castle.

As the knight passed the drawbridge, it was quickly lifted right in front of her. She called out desperately and it stopped for a brief moment, only to continue to close quickly after.

Her hope was crushed, those she'd admired had just stabbed her in the back and left her to die. She stopped at the edge of the moat in a daze, she couldn't believe it. Turning around she saw the creatures in human flesh still chasing her, and soon they reached her. They grabbed, slashed, bit and choked her with no reservation. She felt as skin was torn from her body, blood pouring from the large wounds. One of the creatures bit out one of her eyes, the force of it tearing the eye out was enough to push her over the edge into the moat.

She thought she was dead, any rational person would have. But to her surprise her remaining right eye opened once again. She'd awoken in a small room, seemingly carved out of a rock. Looking around her clothes were in a heap in the corner and her armor was on top of them, though there was nothing else of note. A large opening in the wall at the other end of the room revealed the moat she'd fallen into. Looking at herself most of her wounds had healed, though some skin was still missing.

She was confused as to how exactly she was still alive, thinking on how it was even possible as she tore up the sleeves from her shirt for makeshift bandages, barely having enough cloth to wrap over her wounds. She put on what remained of her clothes and almost put on her armor, but then she considered how she would swim out of the moat in full plate knight armor.

She would certainly need the defense once she escaped the moat. Sighing, she had to make to, putting on the bare minimum to be able to swim. Her chestplate, helmet, and one armored glove. The knightess swam out and made her way out of the moat onto the grass. Exhausted, she went to grab her sword from it's sheath, only to realize it wasn't there, it wasn't even in the cave.

She snuck around and saw the drawbridge had been let down. Creeping into the castle she saw blood and organs everywhere, half eaten corpses littering the streets. She soon saw the corpse of a knight and took the sword, immediately turning and running the other way.

From there on she lived on the road much like the knight she was now sharing her story with. Said knight also shared his own story with her. After that night they quickly bonded, sharing their burdens along with their travels. With that, the book concluded.

Gwyndolin was surprised to find himself enjoying parts of the story that he'd previously found annoying and disappointing, and pleasantly surprised by Arias enjoying them too. He smiled to him as his snake closed the book and took it back to it's spot on his shelf.

"Nice to see a happy ending for once!" Arias joked, getting a slight chuckle from Gwyndolin.

"Oh that it is! They can be so rare these days." With that Gwyndolin accidentally killed the conversation before it even started. An uncomfortable silence blanketing the room in it's sharp embrace.

"Gwyndolin... There's something I wanted to ask you..." Arias spoke, his gaze turning directly to the god.

"Hm?" Gwyndolin hummed, returning the gaze. There was a short moment of silence before Arias went ahead and asked his question.

"May I... See your face?"

The smile on Gwyndolin's face immediately disapeared. He knew all too well how this would go. Though none of his current subjects know of it, there is a reason he masks his appearance, a reason he hides from the world. Not only does his skin burn easily from rays of the real sun, but he looks disgusting, his elder brother and sister would commonly talk down to him and on the worst occasions they would compare him to a crossbreed. He was shunned and got disgusted looks from even those such as Seath the Scaleless. And of course that was not the end of it, he was meant to be a woman, born under the moon, a symbol of femininity, but he was born a man.

Everything about him was wrong, and he was barely hiding it from those that remained in the city he inherited. He could not let Arias of all people see the disgusting form that hid beneath his crown, he could not be looked down upon by his own knight, especially him.

"I... am sorry, my knight, but that is not possible. Know that I have reason to keep this crown on mine head. I only ask that thee not seeketh further answers on this subject." Gwyndolin tried his best to calmly speak, but it was clear something was scaring him, or at the very least he was incredibly uncomfortable. Arias took a mental note of this. He nodded, excepting the gods reasoning, afterwards they quickly moved on from the subject.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 12

The next few days seemed to repeat like all the others. It was comforting, to wake up to the soft glow of the sun and delicate gold of Gwyndolin's crown. Arias certainly wouldn't mind if things stayed the way they were, but as the days passed quicker and quicker, it became more and more evident that as soon as he was able, he would have to leave and continue his journey.

He sighed as he thought of the inevitability of it all. Gwyndolin noticed this and gave him a questioning, slightly concerned look. The room was almost completely silent, so his sigh sounded much louder than it really was. He really didn't feel like talking at the moment, but Gwyndolin did seem genuinely worried for him.

It's strange, even though Gwyndolin was a god, even though he was a he, even though it was blasphemous to simply think about. Arias found himself falling for him. It was probably only because he was taking such care of him, he'd never had anyone care for him before so the simple notion was getting to his head. That was the logical conclusion he came up with anyway.

It was clear those thoughts would go nowhere, well nowhere good at least, but as he tried to rid his mind of them, their grip on him only grew stronger, causing him to act nervous in front of Gwyndolin. He worried the god would grow suspicious of him and somehow uncover his secret, then there'd probably be hell to pay. He'd already pushed his boundaries as it was, this would certainly be too far to be ignored and excused.

Well at least he wasn't thinking about how he'd have to leave soon.

"Arias!" Gwyndolin raised his voice, shocking the knight out of his thoughts.

"Arias, art thou well? Thou'st been silent for half an hour, I'm beginning to worry!" Gwyndolin delicately reached over and placed his hand on Arias' shoulder, caringly gazing into his eyes. These days spent with him were some of if not the most pleasant days of his life.

That and they were the only times he'd felt... Well he wasn't quite sure what he'd felt, it wasn't only love but, some strange deep warmth he could feel in his heart, a warmth that bestowed upon him clarity and tenderness. He'd never felt something like it before.

Was this what it was like to be close to another?

"I..." Arias tried to start but couldn't bring himself to continue. He'd didn't want to upset Gwyndolin with talk of the ever bleakening future ahead of them, but keeping his mouth shut wasn't helping either and he had couldn't talk about the other topic that was bothering him. His focus was once again pulled back to reality by a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder from Gwyndolin.

"...I just..." He sighed, making up his mind on what he'd say.

"...Honestly, I just dread leaving this room and continuing on my quest. T-These few days we've shared are not only the most at ease I've been, but this has been the longest I've gone without falling to my knees in agony as I die from just about anything one could die from. I-I don't want to go back to that... But I know that soon I must, a-and the thought haunts me..."

Like a waterfall, his worries came pouring out of him, though he was careful to avoid mentioning the feelings he'd developed, though this caused him to stutter in some sentences. Gwyndolin listened to him carefully, and his gave him another reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as he trailed off. After a short pause Gwyndolin spoke.

"I can understand thine worries Arias, for I too bear them. I too have greatly enjoyed our time together, it has been truly refreshing to share company with another for so long, especially with thee. I too dread the day of thine departure... But thou'rt correct, thine destiny is no light matter and must not be shirked. But please remember this, I am here to support thee whenever thou find thineself in need, thou need only ask, or summon mine spirit if in desperation. There will be a light at the end of this journey, a bright and soothing one, like sunlight. A reward, just for thee."

Gwyndolin smiled warmly and placed his free left hand on Arias' right, the healing warmth now running gently up his arm and numbing the remaining pain in his wrist. Arias simply couldn't respond, this figure before him that's looking more and more angelic by the second just told him to his face that he enjoyed his company and was dreading the day that he left, and that he'd support him with any difficulties he'd encounter at any time.

Arias could feel blood rushing to his cheeks and cursed his own mind for daring to interpret what Gwyndolin had said in a romantic way.

"T-Thank you..." Was all he could mutter, returning Gwyndolin's smile with his own, full of thankful happiness.

The room fell silent as they both continued to smile at each other, sharing a warm moment. Gwyndolin could tell there was something he was hiding from him, but he didn't want to push him. The last thing he wanted was for that smile on his face to fade, it was the brightest thing he'd seen before, and it was the first smile he'd even seen in over a century.

Soon everything went back to normal, with a book and a few light conversations. Gwyndolin chose a romance book this time. He suspected, no, he hoped that what Arias was hiding from him was just what he himself had been hiding from Arias... though he knew it was almost definitely nothing so foolish. Indeed Arias was no fool, he was a courageous knight who's devotion knew no bounds.

Gwyndolin was once again thankful to the crown covering his face for managing to hide his now scarlet red face. The days once again passed quickly, Arias hardly noticed when he fell asleep and woke up because whenever his eyes were open Gwyndolin was there with him, his graceful figure always bathed in golden rays.

Three more days passed, just as nice and serene as the previous nine. But when Arias awoke the next day, he felt no pain. Instead, he felt a mix of relief and dread upon his realization of this. He frowned and looked over to Gwyndolin, who gazed back at him with the same sorrowful look. Without words, they already knew that today he would have to leave.

Arias sat up and placed his feet on the floor for the first time in days, his legs felt strange, as if they were both heavier and lighter than before. He was hesitant to look back at Gwyndolin, he didn't want to see that frown again.

"Well... I'll fetch thine equipment before thee leaves." Gwyndolin said awkwardly, getting up and leaving the room. Arias sighed and looked down at the floor. Yellow patterns on the purple carpet, the backdrop of the last few days. It truly was a very comfortable room, he wouldn't mind living here for the rest of, well, forever.

Of course the best part of the room wasn't the carpet or the books or anything like that. The best part was it's inhabitant, Gwyndolin, it was he who he wanted to stay with more than anything. And he'd just left the room to grab his weapons and armor so he could leave. How dreadfully ironic.

Gwyndolin knew he could've just teleported Arias' equipment into the room, he know that would've been easier for him, but he simply couldn't bear to look into Arias' sorrowful eyes anymore. He wanted to tell him that he could stay, that another could light the flame, but that would be a lie, and it would result in the collapse on everything he'd been working towards.

Why must fate be this way? Was a question they both asked themselves multiple times in this moment.

Gwyndolin picked up his armor and weapons, not without great difficulty however. How could he wear something this heavy at all times? How did he wield that gigantic sword like it was nothing more than paper? And how on earth did he hide that greatbow away so efficiently!?

He fumbled back towards his room, his snakes struggling to slither along while half of them where busy dragging the greatbow and it's quiver along. He squeezed through the door and almost managed to put them all down when a snake fumbled, causing him to trip on the greatbow. He let out a quick yelp before getting caught by Arias, the armor falling to the ground.

It felt as though time was still for but a moment. It was almost laughable that he'd found himself in a scenario much like one he'd dreamed up a few days ago, only to tell himself it would never happen. Yet here he was, in Arias' arms, sure the circumstances weren't exactly ideal, but then again they never are. And then he was forced out of his mind when he realized that Arias had already brought him upright and now things were getting awkward.

"Uh... W- I-I art very thankful... A-Arias." He stumbled to regain his posture, though for once he wasn't quite able to hit the mark.

"You're very welcome... You didn't cut yourself on my sword did you?" Arias gave him an honest, but slightly worried smile. Gwyndolin felt fragile in his arms, as if the slightest movement would break him, instinctively Arias held him a little closer as if to protect him. Now he could feel Gwyndolin's heart beat, it was beating quickly, similar to his. Making him feel as if he shared how he felt, and washing away his worries for a brief moment.

"Ah- I-I don't believe I have..." Gwyndolin had to force himself to stop staring into Arias' eyes so he could check if he was bleeding anywhere. He only now realized that he was still holding onto Arias' greatsword, his arms folded around it as if in a hug. He now noticed some blood pouring down onto one of his snakes. He quickly passed the greatsword to Arias and lifted his skirt up so he could see where the blood was coming from.

He sighed in relief when he saw that it was just a small cut on his knee.

"Ah, seems there was no need for worry! 'twas nothing but a small scratch." Gwyndolin commented, reaching down and resting his palm upon the wound. Lifting his hand away, all that remained was a small red mark. Gwyndolin let go of his dress and looked up to see Arias nervously looking away.

"Hehe, Thee can stop looking away now. I've finished closing the wound." Gwyndolin giggled girlishly, lifting a hand to his mouth as he did so.

"Ah, right." Arias nervously turned his gaze back to Gwyndolin. The two awkwardly stared at each other for a few eternity lasting moments. They both had something they wanted desperately to say, a buildup of emotions that desired to burst out like an overflowing dam. But of course, due to circumstance, not a word could be said. Leading the overwhelming emotions to become paralyzing.

"...Well. I should get ready." Arias finally broke out of the trance and kneeled down to pick up his armor pieces.

"Oh yes of course... I shall wait here, to see thou off when thee leaves." Gwyndolin nodded nervously and slithered over to the door, waiting patiently beside it.

Arias donned his armor, strapped on his throwing knives, holstered his sheath, fastened his greatarrow quiver to his belt and stored his greatbow god knows where. Picking up his greatsword and giving it a light swing he finally noticed that his shield was gone.

"Hey... You wouldn't happen to know where my shield is would you?" He turned and asked Gwyndolin.

"The shield? Does thee not remember? Thou shattered it when the darkwraith picked it up... After thee shattered it's previous shield." Gwyndolin told him, sounding somewhat surprised.

"Huh... Now that I think about it... I don't remember much of that fight. I completely lost myself in the violence..." He trailed off, lifting his sword up and looking at it closely, the nicks and dried blood filling his field of view.

"Well, looks you found me. Thank you for that." He finished, giving his greatsword one more light swing before sheathing it.

"It was not a problem! Anything for mine valiant knight!" Gwyndolin chirped, his face beaming. Arias smiled back at him, focusing on the glow of his beautiful smile.

"Well I should get going now. No point in tarrying any longer." Arias waved to Gwyndolin who bid him a somber farewell as he walked out the door.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 13

Gwyndolin watched Arias' back as he walked off down the hall. His heart beat faster and faster with each step Arias took. Until something snapped, maybe it was the sight of Arias' back as he walked away, maybe it was the build up of emotions or maybe just the fear of being alone again. Whatever it was, it broke something deep within the fragile god's soul.

On the floor, tears poured from his eyes, and it was cold, so cold. His cold tears and the sounds of his sorrowful wails flooded his senses to the point he wasn't even able to notice as his crown clattered to the floor. He'd deafened himself to the world, and to the sound of Arias calling out and rushing over to his side. It was only when Arias placed his hand on his shoulder that he was forcefully pulled back to reality.

Opening his eyes he was finally able to notice his crown had fallen off, so he tried desperately to hide his face from Arias, tears and panic making him fumble over himself.

"D-Do not look at me!" He cried out, lifting his arm above his head to cover his face with his robe, though the magnificent white of the robe soon tuned soggy grey as it was soaked with tears.

Arias tried to reach over but Gywndolin batted him away with his free hand, afraid. After a moment Arias reached over again and managed to wrap his arms around Gwyndolin quick enough to pull his close in an embrace, causing the wailing god to go almost silent in a mere second. His voice quietened to a low whimper, lowering his arm slightly too look Arias in the eyes. Then he dropped his arm from his face altogether and wrapped both of them around Arias, letting his tears freely flow down his cheeks once more. Though this time there was a warmth that he'd never felt before, a warmth that, though strange, he clutched to as if would disappear within moments if he did not.

He buried his face in Arias' shoulder as he wept like an infant, tears running down Arias' beaten metal armor. He just kept crying and crying, crying about the world, his circumstance, his damn feelings. Crying about everything. But Arias still held him in his embrace, gently squeezing him and occasionally patting him on the back with his right hand. As their hug went on, Arias eventually developed the courage to raise his left hand and gently run it through Gwyndolin's white hair.

It was soft, so soft. Like silk in his hand, so small and fragile, yet beautiful and elegant, just like Gwyndolin himself. He soon found himself gently petting him, his white hair still so soft against his rugged hand. In time Gwyndolin's wailing slowly settled into a light whimpering. Head still buried in Arias' shoulder he refused to let go, even as the room gradually fell silent.

It was warm now, so warm, but not too warm. It was just perfect. Arias' hand gradually slowed and he soon stopped petting him. Cautiously, he brought his hand down to Gwyndolin's chin, there was a brief pause before he lifted his head up gently. Gwyndolin resisted the motion for a moment, but quickly loosened up and let it happen.

Arias was soon able to see his tear soaked face with his own eyes. The first thing he noticed was Gwyndolin's eyes, though more serpent-like than human, their golden irises gleamed brilliantly in the dim lighting of the hall. They incurred a certain sense of wonder, almost taking him into a trance. He'd never seen eyes so wondrously beautiful.

Gwyndolin's skin was incredibly pale, the sort of color seen on a long dead corpse, or an old hollow, but in truth it wasn't old, withered and wrinkled, it was smooth and gentle. So soft to touch and full of life, and yet somehow the color matched it perfectly. His lips were soft and full, and a slightly darker pale than the rest of his skin. His nose was so small and looked just as soft as the rest of him.

Arias wiped away the remaining tears with his other hand as Gwyndolin still clutched desperately to him with his own arms. Arias couldn't help but gaze at him for a little longer. Indeed, everything about the young god looked so gentle and soft, so elegant and fragile. So very beautiful.

They both felt their hearts beating together again as their eyes stayed locked on one another. They both felt something deep down, something that drove them to do something they never would have done otherwise. They both, at once, leaned in and pressed their lips together, in a perfect, long awaited first kiss.

They embraced each other tighter as they finally shared this moment they'd both been dreaming of. They broke away and panted for a short moment, staring each other in the eyes before going in for another kiss. There was intense feeling every time their lips met, something rising in their hearts but this time it wasn't overflowing and causing them stress, but seemed to be coolly simmering in their chests.

In this moment all else faded away. All their troubles, the concepts of good and bad, there was nothing but the gentle warmth of each other and embrace they were sharing. All they wanted was each other, all they needed was each other.

Pulling away once again, they panted as they relaxed for a moment, taking a minute to adjust and process what just happened. Arias was the first to speak.

"... Do you... Want to go somewhere else? The floor isn't really... the best place for this... That and, you look a bit uncomfortable there..." Gwyndolin was confused about this before realizing that he was indeed incredibly uncomfortable, not only was his bottom sore due to the hard marble floor, but he'd slumped into an awkward position that hurt his back and made his insides feel a little off. He hadn't noticed before since it felt like so much was happening at once, his entire focus was on his own self pity, and then on Arias.

"Ah, yes... of course... P-Perhaps we sho-should go..." He trailed off, his voice getting quieter and quieter until he could no longer be heard, though his lips still moved.

"The bed?" Arias butted in, smiling at Gwyndolin who's cheeks were now bright red. Gwyndolin looked shyly away for a moment, stuttering and stammering, struggling to find words, eventually he looked timidly back into Arias' eyes before giving him a quick nod. Arias nodded back and they both started getting up, but Gwyndolin was surprised when Arias quickly picked him up bridal style. Gwyndolin almost fell back before horridly wrapping his arms around Arias so he wouldn't fall again. His snakes also coiled around him in a slithery embrace.

Arias smiled at Gwyndolin who smiled back timidly. He carried him over to the bed before gently placing him down on the soft mattress. Both Gwyndolin and his snakes were hesitant to let go of Arias, but upon reassurance that he wouldn't go anywhere, Gwyndolin reluctantly let go of him.

Arias undid the belts over his surcoat, careful to not drop it lest the pouches open and his belongings go everywhere. He then removed his surcoat, neatly placing it on the floor he moved onto his breastplate. Unfastening the straps and carefully taking it off, leaving him in just his shirt again. The iron tended to dig into his side when he leaned too far in certain angles so he wanted to get that out of the way before he laid down. He placed the armor down on the floor next to the surcoat and belts. He then looked back up to see Gwyndolin looking back at him impatiently.

"Sorry, you can never be too careful with these things. Last thing I want is to have to search the whole room for my belongings" He chuckled nervously.

"Hmph, I suppose. But now no such thing hinders thee, so wouldst thou... hold me again? Please?" Gwyndolin asked, his cheeks growing bright red once again.

"Of course." Arias nodded, dropping his greatsword to the ground and laying down next to Gwyndolin who was careful to not get in his way. It wasn't long before they were in each other's arms again, kissing tenderly and basking in the golden warmth of their embrace. For once there was no worry, no despair.

For the first time ever, they were both able to find peace, and happiness. Gwyndolin held onto Arias firmly, he felt as if he had to, otherwise he would fade away, disappear and leave him alone. It was like he needed him to survive, he could no longer imagine a world in which Arias did not reside and if such a world were to exist he didn't want to live in it.

It was like Arias filled a void within his very soul, one that'd been left there since a very young age, one that he'd sought to fill with his father's approval, ever pursuing the seemingly insurmountable task. The void grew larger with his sister's abandonment and his brother's betrayal, sure they weren't exactly what one would refer to as caring siblings but they were company.

He now realized just how hollow his life was all along.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 14

Gwyndolin hummed and let his lips leave Arias' for a moment. He leaned back, sighed and let his head rest on the pillow as he gazed at Arias, he had to take a moment to internalize all that had happened in the last few moments. He finally found it, the thing he was missing most above all else; someone else, someone who loved him, someone he loved and someone he could trust. Gwyndolin smiled, taking his hand from Arias' and instead placing it on his cheek, he felt a tear crawl down his cheek as the man smiled back at him. Most of all, he had someone he could be truthful to, someone he could show the man beneath all the illusions.

By the flame he was so happy, this moment might be the happiest he'd ever been. The feeling was overwhelming and only became more so as Arias wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close, holding him in his soft gaze. It was so wonderful he felt the urge to cry, though sorrow was no longer the cause.

"Ah... Arias, this- thou... I-I... Thank thee. O I thank thee. Not a soul... thou'rt the only one to treat me with such warmth... None else... Please I... Please I beg of thee, never leave mine side. I can no longer continue without this... Without thee." Gwyndolin's emotions poured out through his words, though he intended to only thank Arias, he couldn't restrain his feelings any longer, they'd gone too long hidden, too long ignored, they demanded his recognition now. Arias held him tight as the tears flowed freely, though he thought he'd cried them all away. "Please..." Gwyndolin buried his face in Arias' chest as he begged again.

Now things were finally making more sense to Arias. Him turning his back to Gwyndolin was just the straw that broke the camel's back, his breakdown now was the culmination of a lifetime of neglect, powerlessness, and a spiteful household, he'd never known love, not of any kind. "Never, I'd die a hundred deaths before I even considered leaving your side. I promise." Arias reassured him, rubbing his back as his god sobbed quietly into his chest. He knew it was an empty promise; it was impossible to keep, and certainly Gwyndolin knew this too. But as he sobbed in his arms, and begged him, Arias couldn't deny him, not when he was in such a poor state.

"Mine thanks." Gwyndolin choked as he leaned his head back and wiped away the tears. Looking back to Arias with a smile. "Thy conviction is most reasurring." He spoke as he wrapped his arms around Arias and pressed their foreheads together. "Again, I thank thee, mine love." He spoke softly as he leaned in and kissed Arias once again.
It was perfect, warm, comfortable, and loving. The best moment in his life. Gwyndolin didn't want to let it go, though he did have to breathe, but more than just the kiss, he didn't want to let this moment, this night go. This was the only warmth that felt real, close and kind, rather than the distant and destructive heat of the fire he served. This was all just so perfect, even Arias, he was like the perfect man in Gwyndolin's eyes; honest, brave, handsome, it was like his dream man had simply walked into the real world.

Gwyndolin took a deep breath as their lips parted, closed his eyes and rested his head beside Arias. "I love thee." He repeated softly. The sight warmed Arias' heart.

"I love you too." He said, and he truly meant it. He hardly even remembered a life before his time with Gwyndolin, nor did he want to, for it would feel empty now. Before they were lovers, they were close, before that he was his god, though across all of this time one thing stayed the same, Gwyndolin was everything, he was perfect and radiant, and he was gorgeous. Seeing his face only revealed him to be even better looking than Arias had imagined. Those soft features, that silky hair and his soft golden eyes, he was a pleasure to look at.

Arias felt something rise within him as he thought about the beautiful man in his arms, and even more worrisome was how he felt something rising in his pants along with it. He felt his panic rise only for it to become confusion when he felt his length meet another under the sheets, Gwyndolin's. His eyes shot open, and they both shared a look of shock.

"Ah-"

"Uhm..."

The two held a brief anxious eye contact before Gwyndolin broke it and looked away, his cheeks suddenly as red as a cherry. Arias wondered to himself, did he really feel the same? Yes, they had confessed their love, but this was a bit fast right? Though his heart began to rush in excitement as their erections continued to touch, he still had to wonder if Gwyndolin really wanted this.

"Gwyndolin...?"

"A-Arias I..." Gwyndolin nervously stammered.

"D-Do you want this?" Arias asked, slowly and carefully. Gwyndolin looked away, his wet cheeks now glowing crimson. He looked so pretty... He seemed to be deep in thought. Arias gave him all the time he needed, and though it was a while, it seemed neither of them lost their arousal. Arias felt his heart beat faster as Gwyndolin turned to face him again.

"I wish I couldst... But... Mine- Mine father, nay mine whole family... None wouldst approve." Gwyndolin looked down to the pillow below Arias' face, clearly upset. Arias gently brought his hand to Gwyndolin's chin lifted his gaze back up to his own.

"We've already crossed that boundary. Now, in this room, it's just us, no gods or humans. Only Gwyndolin and Arias... So, I ask again, do you want this?" Arias asked, his voice soft but firm. Gwyndolin's eyelashes fluttered as he held his gaze.

"I..." He started, still overthinking the whole thing in his head. It was ok, Arias would give him all the time he needed, once again, for he was confident he knew his answer now. "I..." Gwyndolin stammered again. "I do... I wish to have sex with thee Arias." He blurted out breathlessly, the word sex seemed especially difficult for him to let out of his mouth, it didn't belong in his refined vocabulary. Arias did feel like he was about to commit an act of sacrilege, by having sex with his own god, the man before him that looked so perfect he could have stepped right out of a painting. But they both wanted this now, and badly, as he could tell from Gwyndolin's length twitching against his own.

"Then lets." Arias purred as he wrapped an arm around the arch of Gwyndolin's back and pulled him close, so very close. Their members pressed together so tightly between their bodies in an instant.

"Mmmh." Gwyndolin moaned at the sensation. Arias moved his hand from Gwyndolin's chin to the back of his head and pulled him close for another kiss. Gwyndolin ran a hand underneath Arias' shirt, feeling his strong, defined muscles, while his other hand wrapped around Arias' back. Gwyndolin felt Arias' tongue upon his lips, requesting entry, and he let him in, allowing him to explore his mouth, to taste him fully, hiding nothing from him. Soon Arias began to gyrate his hips, grinding his shaft firmly against Gwyndolin's. The mounting pressure was becoming euphoric.

Gwyndolin moaned deeply into the kiss in response, his divine song of lust only spurred Arias to press against him harder, heightening the heavenly pressure they both felt. Again, Gwyndolin moaned, and Arias couldn't stop himself from doing so too. Gwyndolin began to thrust back, his hips wildly pressed into Arias' as they thrusted onto each other like animals. Gwyndolin broke their kiss, a string of saliva still joining their tongues as they desperately gasped for air.

"Ah... Ahn... Arias...!" Gwyndolin moaned his name in ecstasy, as that wonderful pressure continued to build between them.

"Gwyndolihh... Gwyndolin... I lov-" Arias was stopped when Gwyndolin kissed him again, only moving away to speak briefly.

"I love thee too." He spoke breathlessly, before forcing his lips onto Arias' and seeking entrance into his mouth, which he granted to his god immediately. Their wild dance of lust continued as Arias thrust himself onto him, harder and harder each time, that intoxicating pressure ever building, drawing out the sweetest moans from his gorgeous lover.

Arias the broke the kiss, lifted his leg over Gwyndolin and rolled on top of him. He felt Gwyndolin thrust at his bulge but he lifted away, much to his dismay. "Ah, what art thou?" He whined in disappointment, he was adorable.

"Come now, did you think we'd be clothed for all of this?" Arias asked teasingly as he leaned down and unclipped some of the golden ornaments on Gwyndolin's dress. Gwyndolin helped, fumbling to undress himself as soon as possible. Arias needed more, he needed to be inside him, and he was sure Gwyndolin felt that need too. Hastily the formerly pristine robes of Gwyndolin and their ornaments were thrown to a pile beside the bed, beside them was thrown Arias' undershirt and leggings.

Arias sat between Gwyndolin's legs, breathing heavily. His penis hovered above Gwyndolin', heir tips lightly touching, still throbbing wildly after that intense pressure. They felt a rush of heat every time they felt their lengths pulsed together. "Ahhh, hahhh." Gwyndolin panted, gripping the sheets as he writhed in anticipation.

"Are you ready?" Arias asked, caressing his thigh. Gwyndolin stared at his chest as if in a trance as he spoke.

"Ahh, ye- no- wait!" Gwyndolin seemingly had a change of heart, making Arias' own heart sink. Gwyndolin quickly reached under the bed and grabbed something, a staff? He clumsily lifted it and chanted a spell. Suddenly, Arias' cock was covered in seemingly sweat. Gwyndolin dropped the staff beside the pile of clothing and returned his focus to Arias.

Gwyndolin felt his heart pound in his chest, he already knew he was going to do it before, but now it was really happening, right now. He was going to let Arias in, removing all boundries between the two and they were going to make love. "I-I am ready." He said with little hesitation. He spread his legs to allow Arias entry inside.

"I'll be gentle." Arias reassured him, and Gwyndolin welcomed him as he lowered himself and slowly pushed himself inside. He continued to stare at his toned chest as he entered him, entranced by them, how strong he was, how gentle he was with him when he could probably snap a steel sword in half.

"G-ahh!" It hurt. Oh how painful it was when he first entered. Gwyndolin bit into his knuckle as he endured the pain, his eyes remained locked onto his abs and pecs, and the pain gradually turned into the most amazing pleasure. Arias was careful with him, going slow and not too deep, allowing him to adjust to the intrusion. He gently pulled back, then pushed in, deeper than last time. "Ahn~" Gwyndolin moaned softly as he felt him going deeper, it still hurt, but it was overridden by the pleasure. It was wonderful, Arias was inside him, and despite the ravenous appetite he saw on him just moments ago, he was so gentle, so caring with him.

"A... Arias..." Gwyndolin moaned. "A-A little faster." he instructed, feeling more comfortable with the large shaft inside of him. Arias picked up the pace, gradually thrusting his hips ever so faster, ever so harder, the pleasure within Gwyndolin building up, his heart pumping faster and his cock throbbing harder with every thrust inside of him. His snakes began to coil around Arias' legs and climb up his chest, and not long after he heard Arias begin to grunt in pleasure as he had his way with him.

Gwyndolin was hardly able to control his own moans of pleasure, writhing around in ecstasy on the bed and holding the sheets in an iron grip. "Arias!" He moaned his name again, Arias seemed to take this as further affirmation to go faster, though Gwyndolin was now to busy moaning in uncontrollable pleasure to stop him even if he wanted to. "Arias!" Again, he moaned his name, again the speed increased and with it he felt himself coming to close to reaching his climax.

Arias leaned down on top Gwyndolin and kissed him passionately. "I love you!" He gasped breathlessly after pulling away from the kiss.

"I love thee too!" Gwyndolin moaned in return, wrapping his arms around him and holding onto him for dear life. Gwyndolin gasped as he felt himself reaching his climax. A plentiful stream of watery cum poured from Gwyndolin, his whole body shuddered and shook and he moaned again. "ARIAS!" His grip on Arias tightened as his intense orgasm overwhelmed all his senses.

When Gwyndolin descended from his intense high, Arias' lips were on his again, a sticky pool of his own semen was coating both their torsos, and he felt exceptionally full. They were both gasping when Arias broke the kiss, Gwyndolin felt himself shivering and continued to hold onto Arias. "Oh my..." Arias muttered as he regained himself.

"Th-that was... amazing." Gwyndolin stammered. "I love thee." He said again breathlessly.

"I love you too." Arias placed a soft kiss on his lips yet again. "So very much." He spoke softly as he carefully pulled out and laid beside him. "You're shaking." He said as he placed a hand on Gwyndolin's chest.

"Y-Yes... That was a b-bit much." Gwyndolin admitted.

"I'm sorry." Arias felt an immense guilt as he watched the gentle god he loved so much shudder.

"No, it's alright... I-I liked it." Gwyndolin reassured him with a smile.

"If you say so." Arias rolled him over and pulled him in close with a warm, soft embrace, which Gwyndolin reciprocated.

"Mmm. Thou'rt the best. Truly, the only one for me." Gwyndolin hummed softly as he rested his head beside Arias'.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 15

They rested together for a while, not asleep but simply resting, enjoying the presence of the other and the sensation of feeling them in their arms. Though as the bliss wore off, Gwyndolin was quickly becoming uncomfortable with the... proof of their recent blasphemous activities still coating their chests. "Arias?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Arias hummed in response, opening his eyes and giving him his attention.

"As much as I laying with thee like this... I must ask that we separate for a moment to clean up. I do so detest being covered in this... slime." Gwyndolin looked down to their chests to said slime. He really didn't want to say the word; enough phrases of filth had left his lips today.

Arias laughed at his properness. "Right, I can't disagree with you there." Gwyndolin pouted slightly as he let go of him and they both got up.

"I shalt tend to the bed and have some maids tend to the soiled sheet... and clothing." Gwyndolin glanced at his fine dress thrown haphazardly. 'The cost of lust was the defilement of the pristine.' He thought to himself. "Thou shouldst go bathe whilst I do so. There is a bath not far down the hall to the left." He turned his attention back to Arias and instructed him.

"Right. But uh, won't the maids disapprove?" Arias brought up a seemingly good point, if Anor Londo wasn't completely empty of all but the two in this room and the Blades.

"The maids are illusions dear, they won't care." Gwyndolin informed him.

"Ah, never mind then." Arias said nervously before walking out the door. "Be back in a minute." Gwyndolin surprised he could walk out into a hallway completely naked with little embarrassment. He wondered if it was his lost manners from the hollowing or if humans were just like that. He supposed it didn't really matter; the result was the same. Gwyndolin wiped himself down before summoning a maid with his staff and having her replace the bedding and take away the soiled sheets and his robes for cleaning. I wouldn't take very long; in all likelihood his dress would be back and perfectly clean by tomorrow morning.

Gwyndolin sighed as he stood and waited for Arias, he was certainly taking his time. It wasn't very long before Gwyndolin grew bored and decided to check on the clumsy man. Maybe he'd slipped and hurt his head in the bathroom. Gwyndolin giggled at the thought, that would be like him. Slithering into the bathroom he found Arias sitting in the bath, looking quite confused. When he saw Gwyndolin, he quickly looked away in embarrassment. "Is something the matter?" Gwyndolin asked, a somewhat amused tone in his voice.

"I feel like I'm missing something here." Arias admitted.

"Oh?"

"I'm covered in water... Now what?" He looked at Gwyndolin like a nervous wet dog. Adorable.

"Here, allow me to show thee. No need to be coy now." Gwyndolin leaned over and slowly his snakes slithered into the bath, the rest of his body quickly following them and once he was in, they all stuck their heads up out of the water beside him, snorting the water out of their noses. The luxurious bath was more than big enough to fit the both of them. Gwyndolin picked up the soap bar from the tray on the side of the bath, beneath a grand window overlooking the city. "See thou taketh this, soap it is called." Gwyndolin showed him the bar of soap in his hand and then began to rub it along his chiseled chest. "And thou shalt scrub the filth from thy body with it." He demonstrated, struggling not think about the beautiful, hard muscles the soap with gliding across. "Once thou'rt sure thou'st scrubbed over all the grime, and the area is covered in the suds, simply wash it away with the water." Gwyndolin gently splashed some water onto his chest. "See how the water washes off the soap, and with it the filth?"

"Right... I think I get it." Arias said, lifting some water up to wash away the rest of the soap suds.

"Good, I shalt allow thee to wash thy more private areas whilst I clean myself." Gwyndolin said, leaning back to the edge of the tub and grabbing the second bar of soap. His snakes swam over to the edge of the tub with him and rested their heads upon it. He carefully washed himself down and watched as Arias not so carefully cleaned himself, but it seemed he had listened. He was a good learner, sometimes.

Gwyndolin sighed as he washed away the last of the grime upon his body. "Much better." He leaned back and relaxed for a moment, though he did realize he was starting to get too comfortable in the bath, and the water would soon go cold. "If thou'rt done, we shouldst return to our room." Gwyndolin instructed, sitting up on the edge of the tub, his snakes slipping back into the water and swimming up to the surface.

"Sounds good." Arias agreed. Gwyndolin got out of the bath, his snakes eagerly swimming from the water, and Arias followed him. Gwyndolin grabbed a towel and began to dry himself. Arias grabbed one and crudely imitated him, though he began to figure it out for himself. As Gwyndolin dried his snakes off, he felt as their skin was getting rough, they would shed soon.

"If thou'rt dry, let us return." Gwyndolin turned his attention to Arias who had just slipped drying his own feet.

"Just a second." He grunted; Gwyndolin couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

They returned to Gwyndolin's chambers, his bed just as pristine as it had been this morning, as if nothing had ever happened. Gwyndolin yawned softly and sat down comfortably on the bed. "Wilt thou be sleeping with me tonight?" He asked playfully, he knew full well the answer.

"Naked?" Arias asked, surprised.

"Why not? We art clean, the quilt shall keep us warm and if not, well, we have each other." Gwyndolin smiled.

"Alright, if you're okay with it, I'm more than happy to." Arias smiled back.

"Perfect." Gwyndolin chirped, sliding under the covers and holding them up for Arias. "Come join me."

"Gladly." Arias obliged, lying beside him and quickly taking him into his wide arms. His skin was rough against Gwyndolin's own, only now was he really realizing that, but it was not unpleasant. They cuddled peacefully for so long, Gwyndolin expected sleep to quickly take the moment away from him but thankfully it didn't, he was left peacefully and happily within Arias' arms, in the silence of quiet Anor Londo. They didn't speak much, Gwyndolin wondered if Arias was already asleep. Being in silence for a long stretch of time, it was inevitable that he would think about fate again.

All that had happened today was nice, it felt wonderful, and he was happy, but it wasn't going to just erase what had happened, nor would it prevent what would happen, despite Arias' promise he knew full well it was hopeless, he would burn, and Gwyndolin would be alone. Again. He felt his happiness bleeding from his soul, he felt the despair from earlier this evening returning, his tears welling up and then he just... started talking. Not to Arias specifically, he wasn't even sure if he was awake or if he wanted him to hear this. But he had to say it. This had gone far too long unspoken.

"Fate is such a cruel thing isn't it. Soon thou shalt leave to link the flame and I shalt never see thee again. Always so cruel, it feels as though it always hated me. Born under the moon, a symbol of femininity, one would reasonably conclude I wouldst be born a lady. Though when birthed, I was not as I shouldst have been. Like I was... corrupted, wrong. I was born as a boy, with small snakelets slithering from mine shins in the place of feet. And of course that was only the beginning of things." Arias opened his eyes and turned his full attention to Gwyndolin, letting him say all needed to. If he was asleep before, he had just been quite rudely awakened, but Gwyndolin couldn't stop himself.

"Later, when I was 10 or 11 years old, mine father left one day, to speak to an old acquaintance he'd told me. With him gone mine siblings were to care for me. That was the day I truly realized, the I truly understood, how I was seen by the other gods, even family, it was with disgust, vitriol and disdain. Mine older brother, the eldest, was quite vulgar and direct, harshly so, though that is to be expected of a god of war I suppose. He told me that he saw little value in me, while I shouldst be powerful, instead I was small, fragile a-a... a m-mistake... that I couldst not take up arms to defend what I held dear, I couldst not protect or contest a will or a dream, a pathetic life of an insect is what he told me."

"He seemed to ignore me from then onwards, focusing solely on his training, as if I were not worth even his acknowledgment. So later I spoke with mine sister, Gwynevere, she was much less direct, but I am certain there was a sorrow in her gaze, like I was such a burden that she wept for our family, I couldst see it even as a child. I wouldst be lying if I said I felt no sadness, no it almost felt as though I were betrayed. Though foul looks were something I wouldst grow accustomed to."

"As I told thee, I'st known no warmth, no love, I was alone. And then, when mine father Gwyn left to become kindling for the fading flame, he told me... That I must never take the throne, that it simply was not mine place... m- mine.. Mine own father!" He cried out suddenly, the tears pouring out uncontrollably now as he once again held onto Arias as if for dear life. There was a brief moment as Gwyndolin wept in the silence of the room, hiding his face in Arias' chest, barely noticing him patting his back gently.

"I always thought it was because of mine... abnormalities, the snakes, mine eyes and gender, but that was not the root of the hatred."

"As a child I was led to believe that mine mother was the goddess of sin Velka. I never saw reason to question it, but many nights after mine father passed, I was researching the history of our land and discovered that Velka was banished from Anor Londo many decades before mine birth. Piqued with a new curiosity, that was when I discovered that in truth..." He took a long deep breath before proceeding.

"I, Dark Sun Gwyndolin, am the product of the forbidden relations of a lord and a dragon-lord crossbreed." His voice was quivering so much he was barely audible at this point, but Arias still heard what he'd said, as the god finally looked back up into his eyes with tears clouding the defeated and battered soul within. He begun to speak again before Arias could gather his thoughts and respond.

"Such sin even I mineself couldst not forgive... And to think it was committed by mine father of all people... I wish I knew why... But as things stand, I shouldst be grateful that I was allowed life in the beginning. Now privy to this information, I can see why mine siblings, and indeed all who knew of me loathed me, why I was hidden away as a secret, I can see the burden I truly am, a child of our ancient enemy, within our royalty. Maybe it was even mine existence that caused the flame to fade, and the tragedies that ensued."

"...So it was, when they all left, I remained, last god of Anor Londo, if I can be called that in the first place... I couldst not let the people see me for what I was, nor the moon taking the place of the bright sun in the sky, the very hopes and beliefs of them all were at stake, I had no choice. I casted illusion after illusion that day, to hide it all from them, to keep them safe, I even created the Blades of the Darkmoon to watch over them, to ensure the Kingdom's prosperity."

"But I could not let them know the truth, the Blades were all forbidden from laying eyes upon mine form and even then, what they would see would have been mere illusion again. But even so after all that, they left, bit by bit, drawn away by mine great uncle Lloyd who seized mine father's throne after mine eldest brother was found to be a worshipper of dragons... Mine father's city, I had done so much for it, yet all the same became an empty shell of what I hadst inherited. All that remained were mine blades."

"I couldst tell none of mine plight, and none couldst even see me. As I said there was no choice, the fate of others forced me down this path, I never had a say in any of it. I grew colder as the years of solitude went on, and soon only saw people, gods, dragons, all as pieces on a chess board. That was 'til thou came to me, such strong belief and loyalty, even in thine last moments, beaten and fearful, thou wished to spend it with... me."

"Thine faith in me, no more importantly thine trust and honesty. It was alien almost. Of course, all the Blades believe in me and trust me, but they never dare to cross their boundaries, fearful of me at the same time. I was surprised and, glad in all honesty, that thou didst cross that line. I suppose thine courage granted me the first moment of happiness I can remember, which, thinking about it now, is likely what made me fall in love with thee."

"But as things progressed, I grew fearful that thou wouldst pierce the remaining thin veil of facade hiding mine true appearance from thee. It terrified me, the mere thought of thine, disgusted reaction, thy disappointment. But I still yearned for thee despite the taboos, even though I know mine father would be disgusted. The feeling was just too strong."

"I somehow couldn't be without thee anymore, the very image of thine back as thou walked away was all it took to bring me to tears, but when the crown fell off the fear came back. O how scared I was, the fear, it almost drowned me with mine own tears."

"I did not know what thou wouldst do when thou discovered the truth, wouldst thou be repulsed, wouldst thou even... kill me." He stopped again and looked away briefly, but looking back he almost forced himself to go on.

"But then, thou brought mineself into such an embrace I- I forgot mine fears altogether and for the first time felt this... this warmth, I no longer felt the burden that I was. And I suppose- I suppose it is for that I must thank thee, again and again, for this brief respite in which I can feel so free of the wretched creature that I am." He finally finished, melancholically gazing into Arias' eyes with something of a resignation hidden within the tired irises.

Arias took a minute to process all the information he'd just received, he'd never expected Gwyndolin to be in a poor state of mind at all, let alone this. It was massively overwhelming, but he steeled himself, forcing himself to be strong and think of a way to comfort him as those defeated eyes made his very soul call out to protect him. "Gwyndolin" He sighed, preparing himself to continue before he was quickly interrupted.

"Oh Arias. Do not worry, I want not for thy sympathy, nor thy condolences. I am well aware what I am, and I refuse to be tricked into believing in a coincidentally pleasant lie... Whether it be mine, or thine." Gwyndolin spoke, surprisingly stern. His eyes then closed as he laid his head upon Arias' chest. He opened his mouth to speak again when Arias took the time to butt in and do exactly what he'd just been told not to.

"I think you already have fallen victim to those lies of which you speak." He stated, Gwyndolin looked up at him in shock, mouth open and ready to rebuke but he wasn't given a chance.

"I'm an accursed undead, a victim of the curse, my flesh is branded and there is nothing I can do in the face of my inevitable decline into madness. I've seen the hollows, the countless victims of their own ambitions crashing down, the emptiness of life without purpose. I almost became that myself, though here I still stand for reasons I don't even know. Most of my memories are long gone, now all that remains from those old unknown days of endless speculation are visions."

"As of recent I've seen them, appalling creatures I can barely describe. Countless teeth sharp as a blade, gigantic, scales, fur, horns, small eyes, featureless faces, mounds of flesh and agony, large wide-open wounds that don't bleed. And even with my newer memories, you saw the bed of chaos, and the demons around it, the sheer destruction..."

"I may have lost my memory, but even I am well aware of the horrors lurking in our world, compared to those true abominations, draconic or not you're still far from a wretched creature. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. Those old gods, lingering on old dragon slaying glory, were unable to recognize true horror dwelling underneath them, and they'd have the gall to treat their own with such hate."

"Besides, even with all that said. What you are doesn't dictate who you are." Arias finished. He wasn't sure if what he'd said had helped, he wasn't exactly experienced with this sort of thing, but he hoped he at least did something for the god that put so much trust in him.

Gwyndolin didn't move, his mouth still agape, his mind rushed to process what he'd just heard. Granted not much of what Arias had said really got to him, but the description of the hollows, the decline and mindless insanity. Something about it gnawed at him, especially the part in which Arias directly said he was one of the accursed. Looking at him he could see, the fullness of his cheeks had dissipated over the week, color had begun to fade from hi eyes, how could he have been so foolish.

A real cursed being of was directly before him this whole time, yet here he was telling himself that he was somehow worse. He felt almost selfish as if he were posing as the victim of causality while the one he told was silently enduring the true full force of an inevitable painful destiny. Then as if a statue come to life, the tears came all at once.

"I-I I am so sorry!" He burst out again, clutching onto Arias once more and sobbing into his shoulder.

"Wh-what for?" Arias was shocked and concerned all at once.

"For mine ignorance! Thou art facing a destiny of immovable agony and here I am, claiming to be the foulest of creatures!" He cried, somewhat muffled as he refused to lift his head up. He began to panic, he hadn't helped, he'd done the opposite. He couldn't do that again, or he'd risk losing the only relationship he really had, even worse it would leave Gwyndolin in a worse state which he absolutely could not allow.

"O-Oh no. That's not what I meant at all, your pain is entirely valid. Don't think that just because someone else is suffering that your own suffering is lesser. No, no, Gwyndolin from what you've told me you've suffered the longest, and nothing about what I am changes that. I am, so sorry you had to go through all that, I really, truly am." Arias lifted his right hand up to Gwyndolin's cheek and gently guided his head up. His teary eyes now looking into Arias'.

"But what I want to tell you is that you aren't as terrible as you say you are, not that I'm worse off. You deserve the best no matter what you are, okay? Don't believe those convenient lies, that pin all that's wrong on you alone. Because you are a wonderful person inside." Arias lifted his left hand and pointed a finger on the center of Gwyndolin's chest.

"In here, where the circumstance of life, and fate cannot touch." Arias was praying to, well, Gwyndolin, that he got through to him this time, that what he said was right, and it seemed it really was. A small quiet smile crept across Gwyndolin's lips as the tears still flowed down his cheeks.

"...Mine thanks. For such kind words." He spoke quietly, his smile slowly growing wider and warmer as he lifted his hands up, taking Arias' hand and holding it close to his chest. "Very well. I shalt place mine trust in the words thou'st so kindly spoken." He could feel it, a warmth in his soul as described by so many of his favorite novels. He felt, happy. One more tear slowly crept down his cheek as he closed his eyes and gently leaned over for a hug.

The sun finally set over the tired city as they quietly embraced one another, letting the calm and gentle moonlight bathe the city in its glow. Rays of the gentle silver now creeping into the dark room and blanketing the couple as they finally fell into a deep sleep in each other's arms.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 16

"Hast thou ever counted the stars in the sky?"

"hrm... I don't think so. When I was young I liked to sit outside and gaze at them, like we are now, but I never counted them."

"Didst thou commonly sit outside on a cold night and stare at the sky?"

"Heheh. Yes, well, when you say it like that it doesn't sound that great. But to answer your question, yes. I snuck out almost every night, sitting on rooftops or wherever I could without being seen. There was something so... enchanting about the moonlight."

"Thou thinks so?"

"Mmhm."

"Mmmm. I must admit I never went outside to watch the stars. Hah, the maids would all be in a panic if I did. But I did sit at mine window, candle in hand, watching from the safety of mine warm room."

"Sounds nice."

"That it was."

"..."

"...That sense of belonging, completeness. Do you feel it too?"

"Hm?"

"When looking at the moon, I mean. Do you get that strange feeling deep down that, it's alright now, that you belong?"

"Only once."

"When was that?"

"...Many years ago, on a cold night."

"Mmhm?"

"The moon was so bright in the sky, like a second sun. That night, there was a family dinner, much to the displeasure of the guests I was to have a seat, purely due to blood relations I was told. I barely touched the food on mine plate, I had no appetite for I could not stomach the hate and malice in the room."

"When all was over I locked mineself in mine room and sat by the window. I did not cry, or shout, I simply, sat and stared at the gentle rays of the moon, it was the first time I could remember feeling, comfort..."

"..."

"...Sorry I seem to have sullied the mood."

"No, no it's alright, feel free to talk about that as much as you need. After all you've been through you deserve to be able to vent when the need arises."

"Mine thanks."

"Mmmh. I remember experiencing a similar night, moon powerfully bright in the sky and all."

"Oh?"

"Yep. That day my father woke up with the curse mark on his back... And it wasn't long before lloyd's merry men came in and took him away... Mum cried so loud that night, though she tried to prevent me from hearing it."

"That night I jumped out my window and ran into the fields, tears in my eyes, I ran for ages. After a while I tripped on a root or, something, and landed flat on my face. Rolling over I saw the moon right above me. So huge in the sky, and I just stopped. The tears stopped, I stopped moving, everything went quiet and I was left in peace and solace."

"Arias... I am, so sorry..."

"No, it's alright, I've long since forgotten about all that."

"I know, but... I wish there was something I could've-"

"C'mere"

"Ohp!"

"Let's forget about all that for now and just... hahhhh... Let's just watch the moon and cuddle for a bit. That would be nice don't you think?"

"Mh, yes. That would be quite nice."

"..."

"By the way, there's something I'st wanted to ask thee."

"Hm?"

"How is it..."

"How is what?"

"...How is it thou remembers these things? Didst thou not lose thine memory?"

"..."

"Arias?"

"Well, my sou-"

"Wha..?" Gwyndolin mumbled as he opened his eyes, still half asleep.

"...Didst thou..." He grumbled again before finally comprehending that he'd just awoken from a dream.

"Oh.." He sighed, somewhat upset that he wasn't actually in an unnamed field watching the stars with Arias. He avoided thinking of the full truth of the situation and instead focused on looking around the room. The moon was still high in the sky, shining on him. The room was lit with it's silver light, a thick silence inhabited it now. No, it'd always been there, but the absence of the sun made it far more obvious.

Sitting slowly up and rubbing his eyes, he finally realized the absence of his lover and started panicking.

"A-Arias!" He shouted out, loudly, surprisingly loudly in fact. He saw movement on the windowsill above his bed, looking up he noticed a shadowy figure sitting on it.

"What is it? Are you alright?" The figure spoke quietly but with a sense of worry. After his eyes adjusted, Gwyndolin was finally able to recognize Arias' face on the figure and suddenly things made a lot more sense.

"O-oh. Y-Yes well, I just woke up and... Panicked when I thought thou hadst left me.. without farewell." Gwyndolin spoke, a bit of fear coming through his voice as he did.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I woke up around half an hour ago, and you looked so peaceful as you slept, I didn't want to wake you. So I got out of bed and got comfortable here on the window." Arias explained.

"Hmph, well I would hast appreciated if thou hadst told me." Gwyndolin huffed, crossing his arms.

"I just sai-" Arias started before being interrupted.

"Excuses, excuses!" Gwyndolin playfully scolded him, making exaggerated hand movements. There was a small silence before the both of them chuckled.

"hahahahh. Well, I don't suppose thou wouldst mind if I joined thee?" Gwyndolin asked, remembering his dream and wanting to experience something like that in reality.

"Sure!... But, no nevermind... I don't think there's enough room." He said, disappointed.

"Ah, not to worry, I know of a place we can both fit and watch the moon together!" Gwyndolin exclaimed happily. Quickly he got out of his bed and grabbed his gown, swiftly pulling it on and beckoning Arias to follow him.

"Come, take mine hand!" He excitedly held out his right hand.

"Sure." Arias said, hopping down and taking his hand, luckily he was already dressed in his undershirt and leggings by now. Gwyndolin quickly pulled him out of the room and lead him down the hall, up a few stairwells into another ridiculously long hall. Arias was surprised his snakes could move so fast, almost falling over going up the stairs, making Gwyndolin giggle slightly before asking if he was okay.

"Ah, here." Gwyndolin stopped by a large window around 10 meters into the hall. The window itself was about 4 times as tall as Arias and 5 times as wide, so they definitely weren't going to have trouble fitting onto it. The hall was filled with these windows, making Arias wonder why Gwyndolin chose this one in particular.

His thought train was quickly derailed when he felt the sharp breeze brush across his face as the window was opened wide. Gwyndolin slithered over and carefully sat himself on the windowsill, said windowsill was also ridiculously large so they didn't have to worry about falling off at least.

"Come!" Gwyndolin beckoned, patting a spot next to him on the windowsill. Arias replied with a simple sure and promptly sat next to him. The god was quick to get comfy and lean on him, as they both comfortably gazed at the moon hanging in the sky. Arias couldn't help but be surprised by how happy Gwyndolin seemed, just yesterday he was in tears for so long.

Seems that what he'd said and done had really helped. As Arias looked over to the god, Gwyndolin looked back, smiling with the brightest, widest smile he'd ever seen. Seeing such a smile on that face, it warmed his heart enough to block out the cold winds. He didn't notice but a smile had crept onto his own face, having a similar affect on the god.

Gwyndolin turned his gaze back to the moon and Arias couldn't help but do the same, it's sliver radiance filling their eyes as they soaked in the pure beauty of it.

"It's strange, whenever I look at the moon... I'm filled with this strange sense of... I'm not sure what. It's like, a memory, a sad one..." Arias spoke, struggling as he was unsure of exactly how to put his emotions into words.

"Nostalgia..." Gwyndolin thought out loud, remembering the dream he'd had.

"I think that could be it. It does feel very familiar, almost like I've done it before, countless times... In a distant lost memory of solace..." Arias agreed with the god, finally managing to put the strong emotions he felt into somewhat cohesive sentences.

"...Dost thou think it relates to one an old memory? Perhaps one that... still lay on the cusp of thine mind?" Gwyndolin asked. A part of him deep down wanted to see if it was possible to bring back Arias' memories, especially after the vivid dream he'd just had.

"I don't know. If you're right then that's amazing but... No it doesn't feel... It feels like my mind is reaching for something that isn't there, but also like, a connection still exists, despite the accompanying memory being long gone." Arias finally concluded.

"Oh.." Gwyndolin mumbled in disappointment.

"Mmhm." Arias hummed, sharing his disappointment.

"Though I am glad. Even without my memories, I can still feel a phantom connection to the past, through the moon. And for that I should at the very least be thankful." He spoke solemnly, looking directly up into the sky. In this moment he was distant, as if Gwyndolin was just observing a long lasting relationship between two supportive friends.

"...I suppose so." Gwyndolin agreed, joining him in gazing at the sky. The two sat in silence for a moment, simply enjoying the quiet and the view, before Arias spoke up again.

"So, what about yourself?"

"Hm?" Gwyndolin shifted his gaze back to Arias, confused by the question.

"You told me that you were born under the moon. Did you ever feel a connection to it?" Arias asked, finally turning his own gaze back to Gwyndolin.

"Obviously!" Gwyndolin chuckled.

"It is true I do feel a connection with it. But not in such a romanticized way. It's as if it is an extension of mineself, like a limb. Of course that is not the truth of the matter but that is how it feels. Like it's just there, with me, at all times even when I do not see it." He explained.

"Though there was a time, I was upset after.. Well a family get together thou couldst say. After which I locked mineself in mine room and sat by an open window. I did not cry, I simply watched as the moon stood mighty in the sky. It was comforting, the silence, the silver rays of moonlight." His speech slowed as he recalled it all.

"Sounds like a bittersweet night." Arias noted.

"Yes. 'Twas indeed bittersweet. But I wouldst say that the positives outshined the negatives. 'Twas certainly worth the struggle, for that moment of peace." Gwyndolin responded somberly.

"I can say the same." Arias spoke.

"Hm?"

"That it was worth it. The struggle, the pain, the countless deaths and mutilations. Even the near hollowing and loss of memory. For this night with you. Hell I'd do it all over again for another." He smiled, taking the moment to rest his arm around Gwyndolin's shoulder, taking him into a small embrace.

"As would I, there art few prices too high for this." Gwyndolin smiled, leaning into the embrace and laying his head next to Arias'. So warm once again. Their very own fire, to fend off the cold of the night.

"I love you."

"I love thee too."

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 18

It was dusty, like the halls hadn't been swept since the building was made. He wiped his brow as he looked down at all the work he'd done, and then to all the work he still had to do. It was ridiculous really, that a mere duke would be assigning a god for such crude work, there were hundreds of maids in Anor Londo better suited for this.

He remembered Seath's reasoning as he rested, something about resilience and how he had to learn it if he wanted to live up to his father's name, though if that was really the case then wouldn't Gwynevere have gone through the same thing before? No one ever spoke of it though. Maybe it was his path of magic instead of miracles that warranted this. Or maybe nothing warranted it and the Duke was just having a sick joke, watching a god doing maid's work for him. No he wouldn't do such a thing, he was a well respected Duke and his royal teacher, such a thing simply couldn't happen.

His snakes hissed in frustration as he got back to work, they were starting to get restless, and so was he. It felt like hours before he rested again, now he was on the third floor and only had a few more rooms to go. As he rested he noticed a pathway that he hadn't seen before, it looked like a balcony but clearly had a path attached to it.

He glanced at his broom quickly before looking back at the pathway. His curiosity finally got the better of him, but he reasoned with himself that he could use a break and there was nothing that could go wrong, it was a royal archive after all, his father practically owned the place, at least as far as he knew.

He slithered clumsily along on his tired snakes, he was incredibly low to the ground thanks to their tiredness, right now his knees were almost touching the floor and he was even shorter than a human, it would be most embarrassing if someone found him like this. Though he should probably have been more worried about how spread out his snakes were now, as a few slithered off the between railing without his notice and causing him to fall flat on his face as they snagged on the sides of the railing.

He lifted himself up to see blood dripping from his face, he lifted a gloved hand up to his nose, it was numb from the shock still but it would soon sting. He lowered his now blood soaked hand to the ground to stand up, getting blood all over his dress now too.

He knew he'd have to clean that blood up later, and that he couldn't be seen with a blood soaked dress either, such a shame, it was one of his favorites too. He'd figure out what to do about that later, right now he wanted to see what was at the end of this mysterious path.

Slithering along he was now very careful about where his snakes went. Soon he reached a separate building adorned with two ridiculously heavy doors, they were wide open and lead into a gigantic room, books in every direction and... cells? He slithered over the railing and saw how many floors the building had. There were many imprisoned maidens down there, and at the bottom was heaps of scrapped clockwork

His mouth agape as he saw one of the maidens being taken out of a cell by a strange snake-man hybrid, down to a larger cell at the bottom. There were already five in there, and they were shaking in fear, Gwyndolin tried to hide his disgusted expression with a hand, but that only resulted in his nose stinging, causing him to yelp in pain.

A loud thud rang throughout the room as Arias was clumsily tossed into a cold cell. He felt something snap as his already beaten body hit the cement, there was a dull feeling of numbness all over, and soon the pain would strike in full force, then he'd die from bleeding out or just plain trauma.

Until then he just had to wait, there was no way he could be saved in his state, and he was completely out of estus. Then the pain hit him and with it a flash of clarity, he saw a bonfire right next to him, safety. But, no it was futile, as he was he couldn't move even if he tried.

He groaned as his vision blurred, looks like his death had come sooner than expected, as unfortunate as it was at least he wouldn't have to put up with the agony for long.

Soon he opened his eyes, body restored by the fire and only a faint pain in his shoulder remaining. He looked around and was surprised to see he was in the same room, the bonfire was already lit, odd. Getting up he checked his equipment and sighed in relief as he confirmed he still had everything.

Now it was time he got out of the cell, he noticed the guard leaning on the bars right away, mostly because of the glowing silver key hanging on it's garb. Arias quickly unsheathed his greatsword and impaled the guard, grabbing the key and tossing it's corpse to the side.

Suddenly there was a strange wailing sound, and as he opened the door he saw two other snake guards run past him, they quickly climbed a ladder and tried to open a heavy door at the top, but it was locked. Arias ran over to the railing to inspect his surroundings and saw another group of snake guards by a machine that seemed to be the source of the sound. They must have the key.

Quickly he turned and sprinted down the staircase, it didn't take long for him to notice something coming up the stairs towards him, soon he saw them, a strange group of monsters, though he didn't pay them any mind and simply sliced through them on his way down. He managed to get to the ground floor unharmed, though there was a large gathering of the strange abominations blocking his passage. He readied his sword to take them on but then noticed a ladder in the corner of his eye.

When one of the monsters lunged at him, he dodged, positioning himself so that he had an opening to sprint past them all. Quickly, he got up and ran, nimbly avoiding any tentacles that would otherwise trip him up. Once he was past the monsters, he grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing, only to be greeted by a foot coming towards his face as he reached the top. He tried to dodge it but failed and almost fell.

Luckily he was quick enough to grab back onto the ladder before he went all the way down, carefully climbing back up. When he popped his head up a foot was already coming his way again, though this time he was able t dodge it perfectly, as the foot passed him, he grabbed it and yanked the snake guard off the platform, sending it down to the bottom floor with all the monsters.

He climbed up and drew his sword, just in time to block an attack with it. What looked to be a large, curved butcher's knife struck his greatsword, but the guard hadn't expected Arias to block so quickly, and stumbled as the blades clashed. Arias made use of this window, striking the blade out of the snake's hands and quickly decapitating it.

With the serpent's head and lifeless body falling to the floor, there was only one enemy left. Arias turned to get a quick glimpse of the lightning bolt that was about to hit him. But for once, he didn't have enough time to react, now suddenly he was on the floor, teeth clenched as sharp electricity coursed throughout his body.

And just as quick as it hit him, the pain subsided, leaving him on the floor dazed. He didn't remember it hurting so much. Arias struggled to get to his feet, all his energy completely sapped from his body.

Another ball of lightning was sent his way, but he hurled himself to the left, just enough to dodge it. He was able to notice that now he was behind a pillar, so he took this brief moment to drink his estus. Suddenly everything was restored, all of his energy and strength was back and he was able to go on.

Arias readied his sword, he was certainly not going to be charging head first into another one of those lightning attacks any time soon.

He could hear the footsteps to his left, and as soon as he saw the figure of the guard, he lunged forward with a diagonal swipe and cut the snake open. It's entrails began to fall out and it screeched in agony, feebly swinging it's swords at him in a last ditch effort to kill him, though it was too weak to even dent his armor anymore. Just to be safe, Arias lifted his sword and brought it down, cleaving the snake clean in half.

He sighed in relief as he sheathed his sword. He was starting to miss his shield. Walking over to the strange machine, Arias pulled a lever and the wailing stopped, much to his relief. He looked around, wondering where the key for that large door could be.

Luckily it wasn't exactly well hidden, it was in the hands of a long dead corpse at the other edge of the platform. With this he could continue.

Gwyndolin felt sick to the stomach, his nose was stinging worse now and he saw as strange six eyed wizards conducted experiments on the women, most of them turning into strange purple beasts with tentacles, while all the others simply died. He wanted to look away, but for some reason his eyes refused to move.

"It would be wise to avert thine gaze. Thou mayst not recover from what thou'rt to see." An imposing, deep voice spoke behind him. He turned around quickly to see a smooth, pale dragon staring back at him, it's red eyes trained on him like prey.

"S-Seath!" Gwyndolin stuttered, dropping his hand and letting his nose bleed freely again.

"Thou wouldst do well to be more careful, many a maid has gotten lost here. Curiosity, may be useful in study but in a true to life situation it can be a very deadly quality. Keep it on a leash or it may lead thee astray." The dragon spoke again, it's jaw twisting unnaturally and it's eyes occasionally darting away before targeting Gwyndolin again.

"That said, this was foolish even for thee, mine apprentice. I was a fool to trust thee with such freedom. I shalt be more careful in the future. For now thou shouldst go home and take care of that nose of yours, I'm sure thou're aware of the sorcery?" He asked, though at times it was like he forgot he was there. Gwyndolin nodded, he opened his mouth to speak the name of the sorcery but Seath interrupted him.

"Good, there will be no need for words then. Now hurry and leave, and be sure not to speak of what thine eyes hast seen here. If there so much as a rumor spreads I shalt ensure thine father hears of that 'mishap' from last month" He threatened.

Gwyndolin knew well what he was talking about, and shivered at the thought. He simply nodded again and slithered away, wanting badly to forget of what happened. By the time he left the building, the moon was already rising, though it was masked by clouds. He was still shivering, and it wasn't just the cold causing it.

He cast an invisibility spell and then teleported home, it would take him a while to fix himself up and clean his dress, but that didn't matter, no one cared about him enough to visit anyway.

He shivered as he remembered it all, what those channellers did to the women, despicable. Gwyndolin was ever so thankful that Arias would soon rid the world of that manipulative Paledrake, he only wished he could see him do it.

Then his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps, he turned around quickly to see a knight approaching him, a very familiar knight.

"Arias?"

Arias felt like he was going to be sick, he kept getting vertigo every time he looked down and didn't see anything under his feet. And not only that but he was starting to feel anxious. Did this invisible bridge just end at some point? How would he know? Where was his destination even?

No one could answer his questions and he knew that, he'd just have to figure out an answer on his own. No there wasn't time for that, at this point he just had to keep moving and hope for the best. He closed his eyes and steeled himself, carefully placing one foot in front of the other.

It was quiet, there was only the sound of his footsteps and his armor clanking as he walked, though his mind was loud, so many fears that he forced himself to ignore, right now there was only the urgency, the need to keep moving.

And then he heard a crunch under his feet, opening his eyes he saw, he'd made it. He didn't know exactly where but there was visible, solid ground under his feet again, composing of many small crystals, like crystalized sand, it crunched softly under his boots.

Sighing in relief he kneeled over for a minute, sifting through the crystal, just happy to see what he's touching again. Though he didn't take long, and soon he was on his feet and moving forward again, his eyes trained on the hazy fog door in the distance, though he didn't notice the clams and just walked straight past them by accident, though luckily they didn't notice him either.

"Well I must say, thou was much faster than I'd expected." Gwyndolin complimented him.

"Dost thou have the lord's soul then?" He asked. The figure of the knight didn't move, it just stood still and stared at him.

"Arias?... Art thou well?" Gwyndolin was starting to feel nervous, this wasn't like Arias, not at all.

Then the knight lunged at him, unsheathing his greatsword and bringing it to his throat. Gwyndolin couldn't react, he simply couldn't. It was worse than a nightmare, the only one he trusted, the only one who cared for him. Now with that familiar sword to his throat, the knight moved behind him and held him in place. All was still for a time, there was a tense dread in the air, it was as if any moment he would slice his throat open and end it.

Then a unit of silver knights entered the room and surrounded them, they readied their weapons but didn't attack, the more Gwyndolin looked around the more he noticed that their swords were pointed at him, not the knight. They clearly weren't here to defend him then, no they were like the two in the hall a week ago, traitors.

I looked like this had all been pre-arranged, like a sick game of chess. Everyone had their place here, all with intention of killing him. Damn traitors. He didn't even want to fight back anymore, the one person that he felt was there for him, was just an elaborate scheme to make him vulnerable. How perfect of them.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 19

Arias dropped his sword into the crystal sand. Falling over and finally letting his exhaustion overcome him as the paledrake let out a dying roar. From the remains of the dragon, the bequeathed lord's soul appeared and slowly hovered into his palms. It glowed with a magnificent light, as if a portion of the sun were in his very hands.

If what he'd heard was true than this was a portion of lord Gwyn's soul, making it likely the most powerful soul out of all the others he'd collected. Though he didn't exactly remember anything about the others so he could've been wrong about that. Either way he wouldn't be the one to consume it, instead it was going straight back to the fire, along with him.

Carefully putting it away in his pouch, Arias struggled to his feet. If he hurried now, there'd be enough time to spend about an hour with Gwyndolin. Picking up his greatsword, he pulled out a homeward bone from his pack, but before he could crush it, a strange blue glint caught his eye.

He decided to check it out. Walking over to where the primordial crystal had been, he saw a glowing blue greatsword that looked to be made of crystal in it's place, the glint that caught his eye had been it's odd blue blade.

He sheathed his sword, deciding to pick up the strange blue weapon and give it a swing. It was much lighter than his normal greatsword, he was able to swing it around quickly in one hand with no problem, in fact it felt quite natural, as if the sword had been tailor made for him.

One especially heavy swing sent out a beam of blue magic, the magic hit the entrance to the arena and caved it in. At least he had the homeward bone on him still. He looked again at the sword in his hand and nodded, he was keeping this strange and powerful weapon, and he knew just how he'd integrate it into his fighting style.

Arias reappeared at the Anor Londo bonfire beside the firekeeper. 'Thank god for warping' he thought to himself as he sheathed the blue crystal greatsword beside his standard one.

"What's that you have there?" The firekeeper asked, immediately suspicious of him.

"To be honest I have no idea. It just appeared in the crystal cave after I defeated Seath." He told her honestly, though she wasn't gonna buy it and he knew that.

"Really now?" She asked, just as nosy as he'd predicted.

"Yep. I ought to get going quick though, the master wanted me to return as soon as-" Arias went to interrupt her but stopped himself as he felt something.

"Hrm?" The firekeeper hummed, probably believing this to be some kind of trick. Arias didn't say a word and instead immediately ran up the stairs to be greeted by the sun of Anor Londo fading away from the sky. The firekeeper followed him and was quick enough to get a glance of the sun before it vanished.

"By the gods..." She mumbled in horror. The two stood still, as did all of Anor Londo, it was like a nightmare, not even the moon could be seen anymore, just blackness. Arias felt something deep down, he didn't know what he felt but it made his hair stand on end.

"N... No..." He almost whispered, held still by his dread. Soon, through the shock, a piercing determination shot through his mind. He had to protect Gwyndolin, no matter what had happened he had to know that he was safe. He clenched his fists and started running.

"Wh-Where are you going!?" The firekeeper shouted, turning to see him already half a mile away. Looking back at the empty sky, the growled and gave chase.

Arias reached an elevator and quickly the firekeeper was able to catch up.

"What happened!? What do you know of this!?" She shouted again, running up and pulling a dagger to his throat. Arias grabbed her arm and twisted it, before throwing her to the floor, almost sending her off the elevator down to her death.

"What's gotten into you!? Your paranoia has blinded you, you bloody fool! I had nothing to do with this, but it's obvious from the missing stars that the master is in danger!" He shouted back at her.

"It's our duty to protect him don't you forget." He reminded her, though he didn't unsheathe his own weapon, clearly not intending on actually hurting her.

"If you're so far gone that you refuse to believe me then fine, stay here and when my duty is done you'll be judged appropriately. But if you're still loyal to your duties, you'll follow me and assist me in protecting our master." He stated clearly, turning around to face the cathedral.

As the elevator reached the walkway, Arias stepped off and jogged down the stairs. Quickly making his way to the contraption that bridged the cathedral and the rest of Anor Londo. When he did reach the contraption, he took a second to catch his breath before he turned it.

He looked over and saw the movement of firekeeper's brass armor in the distance, looked like she'd finally listened to reason. Arias positioned himself at the handle and waited for her, though he wasn't being very patient, turning the contraption just a second before she stepped foot on it.

Arias let go of the handle and quickly ran down the stairs, the firekeeper following closely behind. They reached the bottom just as the contraption stopped moving, letting them swiftly run down into the darkmoon tomb.

As they ran down the stairs, they noticed the fog door was missing, and Gwyndolin was no where to be seen. Despite this they kept moving, Arias running face first through the left wall, revealing it to be an illusion. Gwyndolin had told him bits and pieces of the layout of the cathedral, thanks to his illusions and magic, the living quarters and such can only be accessed if you know the where to look.

Though he was still quite confused by the layout, he was able to get through the cathedral with little trouble thanks to the vague details Gwyndolin had given him. Though to be fair Gwyndolin never expected him to ever walk down these halls.

Soon Arias found the staircase they'd taken the night before, looking up and down, he was able to recognize the floor that Gwyndolin's bedroom was on. He then ran up the stairs, the firekeeper following close behind, she was confused and getting even more suspicious of Arias now, but she remembered what she had to do, and suppressed her suspicions.

As they reached the right floor, Arias skipped a step and sprinted down the hall, the firekeeper was barely able to keep up, amazed he could run so fast with all that armor on.

She couldn't see his face but she got the feeling that he was worried, no more like he was scared. Which he most certainly was, his mind was going a mile a minute, much like when he was hollowing. He was terrified he might be too late, that he wasn't there when he was needed most.

Arias crashed through the bedroom door, looking around, it was quickly made apparent to him that the room was empty. He stood there frozen. He couldn't even say anything, he didn't know where else Gwyndolin could be, there was no way he could find him in this maze of a cathedral either.

Then, as he almost lost hope, an idea struck him. Arias reached into his pack, fumbling over multiple items, he found the Darkmoon Soapstone and pulled it out just as the firekeeper managed to catch up to him.

"What's.. That?" She asked through exhausted panting.

"The master isn't here... But maybe, if I use this, we can find him in time." He said, not explicitly mentioning exactly what was in his hand while also giving up on lying about Gwyndolin's gender, it simply wasn't that important right now.

Arias tightly gripped the soapstone in his hand, the squeeze activating it's spirit summoning abilities. Gwyndolin's dull blue spirit rose from the floor, but something was wrong. His crown was on and he looked fine, but instead of being a somewhat opaque phantom outline, he was instead misty, the details of his robe were fuzzy and noncoherent.

"A-Arias!?" Gwyndolin exclaimed, shocked that he was suddenly standing in front of what looked to be Arias, though he'd seen Arias take that very sword on his back to his throat.

"My L-Lord! I apologize to summon you so abruptly, but the sun has dissapeared and we believe it to be the work of an intruder. And furthermore, we cannot find you anywhere, are you safe?" Arias was trying to stay calm but he was having a hard time. Now things were different than before, when he was no more than just the knight of the dark moon, he was in a relationship with Gwyndolin now, just the mere though of him being in danger made him tense up with protective aggression and fear. His sword arm felt numb too, similarly to how it would feel when in the midst of combat.

"Arias- You!- No... I..-... h-..w..- night!... h- . ..ease." Gwyndolin's spirit quickly began to fade, like something was pulling him away. His lips moved but hardly any sounds came out, his misty form thinned and soon there was nothing there, like he'd just faded from existence.

Arias felt a shiver run through his spine as he disapeared. It was like a projection of a nightmare, one he'd never want to see again.

"...What was... What could that mean?" The firekeeper asked, snapping him out of his dread fueled train of thought.

"I don't know... Though.. Actually, wait. Night. I think I know what that means. Follow me!" Arias realized mid sentence, remembering where they sat last night. Maybe Gwyndolin was referring to that place, or that floor. He couldn't be sure but it was some direction and that's more than they had before. Without any delay they ran back to the stairs, Arias trying to remember exactly how many floors they passed on their way up, though when they did stop at a floor, he could see from the distant open window that it was thankfully the correct one.

He ran over to the window and looked outside. The sky was black, as if it had simply been removed. There was one star though, small and faint, but it was there. Arias sighed and turned back to see the firekeeper behind him, arms crossed. Seems she was getting impatient.

"We'll search this floor. Give me a shout if you find something." Arias told her, she nodded in response. They ran down the hall, searching every room they came across, Arias searching the rooms on the left and the firekeeper searching the rooms on the right. They quickly progressed from room to room down the hall until they reached the end.

At the end of the hall, in branched into two separate corridors, one going left and one going right. The right corridor had less windows, and some candles adorned the walls to keep it lit, while the left hall was more like the one behind them. The two looked to each other and nodded, they were to split up, the firekeeper going right, and Arias going left.

He continued to hurriedly search each room, able to keep the same pace since there were no doors on the right side, only windows. He tried opening one door but it wouldn't budge, it was locked and he knew none of his keys would work here. He had no choice but to kick it down.

Bringing his foot to the door, the force was enough to swiftly bring it tumbling to the floor. Walking in, he found that the room he'd just broken into was different to all the others. The others didn't really stand out, just variations of the same modest bedroom, but this room had a certain character to it.

It was clearly a child's room, paintings of magical knights and princesses on the walls, and toys all over the floor. In fact that wasn't all that was on the floor, a small glint caught Arias' eye.

A reflective scale. Like from a baby snake, or dragon. It was small but it was definitely real, and there were more like it, hell the bed was covered in them. And in the bed, under the sheets, was a peculiar looking doll, one that he felt as though he recognized. Arias reached into his pack and sifted through his belongings, eventually coming across a small doll, just like the one in the bed.

He had no idea where he'd gotten it, though he could say that for pretty much everything in his pack, he couldn't go two feet without being reminded that he'd lost his memories.

He pondered what this could mean for a moment, but then something caught his ear. it was faint, so faint he couldn't be sure he'd even heard anything, but he felt like he heard shouting. Recognizing that it could be from the firekeeper down the other hall, he put the doll back into his pack and ran out into the hall.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 20

The halls echoed with a loud clattering as Arias ran. He briefly noticed the main hall to his right as he passed it, and looking back down the corridor he was running down now, all the doors were open and there were fewer windows and more candles, he was going the right way.

It wasn't long before he ran into the firekeeper, she was fighting with three silver knights in the middle of the corridor. Seeing that she was struggling, Arias unsheathed his greatsword and charged in, quickly slicing the arm off of one of the knights.

The knights and firekeeper both stood still for a moment, shocked by the sudden and swift intrusion. One the two knights that still had both arms defended the third "Unarmed" knight, leaving only one fighting the firekeeper.

Arias waited for the knight to strike, bringing his greatsword down to meet theirs as it was about to hit him. The sudden and heavy strike was enough to slice the sword clean in half, briefly stunning the knight as reverberations from the clashing steel ran down it's arm. He utilized this window to bring his sword back around and sharply cleave through it's armor with a swift horizontal slice.

The sliver knight let out a phantom screech before Arias silenced it, finishing it off with a vertical slice, splitting it down the middle, until it was two halves of the one knight. Panting briefly, Arias ducked as he heard a "whoosh" beside him.

A sword swept over him as he lowered, the wielder of the sword was a stumbling one armed knight. Arias span around, using the momentum to swing his greatsword and slice the knight's shins clean off. As he made a full spin rotation, he used the last of the momentum to swing the sword vertically into the air and then back down through the falling knight, cleaving diagonally from the upper neck through to the hip.

With the knight's remains falling clumsily to the floor, Arias held his sword out to his side and crouched down to catch his breath. As he lifted his head up to check for threats, he saw the firekeeper toss the lifeless body of the last silver knight to the floor.

She turned around, ready to help Arias in battle, only to see him alone, surrounded by the dead knights.

"What in the- How?" She stuttered, bewildered that he was able to kill two of Anor Londo's strongest knights in a few seconds. He didn't respond, not wanting to waste his breath that was certainly in short supply at the moment.

"No matter, that room, it's full of them. And the master, some bastard has a sword to their throat. I'm not sure what they want, they made no demands, they didn't even look at me, they just sent out some of those traitors to attack me. Speaking of, they've got an entire legion in there, we cannot contest them by ourselves, we may need all of the blades just to face up to those numbers, let alone that mysterious figure holding the master." The firekeeper ignored his breathless state and explained the situation to him. He held his breath when she mentioned that there was a blade to Gwyndolin's throat.

"As things are, it looks like we'll have to go find the other blades first-" She started but was interrupted as Arias quickly rose to his feet.

"No. That's out of the question. We can't just leave Gwyndolin in there, especially when we don't even know the intention of whoever has him hostage!" He almost shouted.

"What!? Look, I don't care how skilled you are, we can't take all those silver knights on as just the two of us! We'd be slaughtered! Then who'd save the master!?" She retorted, starting to believe that he was trying to flex his combat prowess or that maybe his ego had gotten to him.

"I know but- There's just no way anything good could come from just leaving! Not with things as they are!" Arias stood his ground even though it was becoming more apparent that the firekeeper had a good point.

"We aren't! We'll be back and soon, with a party large enough to take on that many foes!" She tried reasoning with him, fully believing now that was just too full of himself after taking down those knights so quickly.

"I know, but... I just can't. I just can't leave Gw- The master here while she's in such a state." He admitted, though the Firekeeper couldn't really understand what he actually meant by it.

"Of course you can! If you'd just swallow your damn pride and accept that you can't do everything maybe we'd get back in time!" She was getting really angry with him now.

"It's not about pride!" He told her, still trying to avoid confessing directly.

"Then what is it!?" She responded immediately, getting right in his face.

"It's... It's..." He started, but he knew that he couldn't say it, knowing what Gwyndolin would think of the truth spreading, thinking of his face, he just couldn't.

"Answer me!" She shouted in his face.

"It's... My duty, to the master, as the knight of the Darkmoon." He lied. He couldn't think of anything else to say to her, there was nothing else he could say to her, anything else would just make her more suspect of him.

"Hmph. Then I suppose there's nothing to be done about it. Loyal to your vows, I suppose I can't fault you for that. But that doesn't change that we'll be killed." She eased up, respecting his loyalty. But she was still adamant that they should not go in.

"Yeah, I know that too... But.. if we're smart, we might be able to have it both ways." He said, an idea brewing in his head.

"How so?" She asked, interested in how he though they could work around this.

"The idea, is that you'll go get the rest of the blades, and I'll fight the knights, to keep them distracted, so they don't kill the master." He told her.

"What? But I just said that would be suicide! You can't seriously think that you'll be able to do that all alone!" She responded, bewildered by how quickly he seemed to forget everything she'd just said.

"I know, I know. It sounds ridiculous but hear me out. If they only sent three knights to take you on, then they clearly aren't that worried about one of us alone. My plan is that I'll fight these knights three by three, and by the time they realize that won't work and decide to move in to all attack me, you and the blades should be back. This way you get the others, and the enemy is too distracted to kill the master." He explained, though he did realize there were some faults in his logic, it was the only plan he had that worked.

"That... sounds possible. But you must be able to see the holes in it right? What if they send out more than three? What if you kill too many too quickly and they all charge in too soon?" She quickly pointed out these problems, but Arias just shrugged and said he'd be careful.

The firekeeper still had many doubts about the plan. As always she doubted Arias, but there was nothing else she could think of to make this situation work. He was just too stubborn to leave and of course they'd be killed if they just charged in, not to mention what the cost of total inaction would be.

"Fine, I suppose I'll just have to believe in your ability for now. Don't die before we get back. And no matter what don't let them slay the master." She sighed, finally giving up. Arias nodded, affirming that he wouldn't be careless. Then he watched as she pulled out a bone from her pack and faded into mist.

He waited briefly, breathing deeply. He knew that now he was walking alone on thin ice, and how he handled this was of utmost importance. Readying himself, he lifted his sword and cautiously walked through the doorway to his left.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 22

It was still for a moment, everything. But briefly, relief flooded him as he was finally able to drop his sword and bask in victory. Not for long however, as the rage that fueled him promptly faded, nothing kept him standing anymore, and his feet collapsed from under him.

He stumbled forward and fell straight on his visor, the sides of his helmet hitting his jaw as it collided with the stone, before getting knocked off by the impact.

The armor and the chainmail only made the fall more painful, but he was well past the point of caring, his eyes were barely even open. His helmet clunked across the floor, soon losing momentum and landing by Gwyndolin's crown, which looked about ready to fall off his head, a single closed eye showing under it.

Arias' eyes could see the figures of the Firekeeper and the blades in the distance, they looked so far away now. His eyes clumsily searched around, as his mind slowly ticked on. He wanted to see, was Gwyndolin okay?

Remembering that he bumped into him earlier, Arias concluded that he must be behind him. Painstakingly, he pulled his arms to his side and barely lifted himself to his elbows. He wasn't able to get to his knees, he'd already pushed well past his as is. But he wanted to see, was Gwyndolin okay?

Leaning on his pained elbows, he shuffled himself around in a circle. Halfway he misplaced his arm and collapsed again. He was so tired, he wanted to end it there, he could, he'd already done enough. But no, he needed to know, to see, was Gwyndolin alright?

Grunting, he lifted himself up again, now he could hear the cluttering of boots as the others ran over, he hoped they wouldn't grab him, he still had to see, was Gwyndolin okay? Shuffling over again, Arias was finally able to see him.

Gwyndolin was clutching onto his arm, Arias could barely see his closed eye from his position on the floor but from the rest of his facial expression he gathered that he was in a lot of pain. Looks like he didn't have much experience getting hurt in such a way.

"G-Gwyndolin..." Arias murmured, slowly reaching a hand out to his god. Though he couldn't hold it up for long, exhaustion finally taking hold and forcing him to the floor once more. He could no longer hold his eyes open anymore, no matter how hard he tried, trying desperately to just keep them from closing. His mind and body couldn't take anymore, his strength was long gone.

Despite the pain of his arm, Gwyndolin noticed Arias' murmuring, and finally looking over, he saw Arias fall face first into the floor, unresponsive. His arm was stretched out in front of him, his hand was held out, to him.

Realizing what this meant, Gwyndolin was quick to let go of his limb to reach out and take hold of Arias' hand, despite how much it hurt his arm to move.

Tightly he held onto Arias' hand, a tear running down his cheek. He knew Arias couldn't really die, and he wasn't yet close enough to fully hollowing. But it still hurt, seeing him in such a way.

The clattering of armor stopped as the blades reached the two, though it seemed like a long time to the two lovers, in reality it had been about a minute since Arias collapsed.

The blades gathered round the two, some assessed the situation while others just chattered among themselves.

"Are they dead?"
"Is the master okay?"
"Did he survive?"
"What, I didn't even see him get hit!? How can he be so hurt already?"
"Those swords are even heavier than they look, he probably overworked his muscles"
"What about the assassin?"
"No look, they're dead, nothing could survive that"
"Oh lord, it's making me sick"
"She's undead though isn't she?"
"Yeah, I saw her drinking from a flask"
"Won't she get back up soon?"
"No, with a death like that, it'll take time for it to all heal back. We'll have time to secure the body before then."
"What about the master?"
"It doesn't look like they were too badly injured. Though.. Looks like a dislocated elbow to me."
"Yeah that's a dislocated elbow alright, look how far back it's bending. Though from here... looks like the shoulder might be dislocated too."
"Fuck, that Darkwraith sure had a strong arm."
"What should we do?"
"I don't think an estus can help them"
"Hey wait, do you see that?"
"What?"
"Their hands, look, their hands!"
"Oh my"
"You don't suppose that was pure coincidence do you?"
"But that would be..."
"...Sacrilege."
"How could the knight do such a thing!?"
"Sacrilege of all things!"
"And after such a display of loyalty"
"What should we do?"
"Well it can't go unpunished can it? Such a sin"

The crowd was starting to devolve from amazement to fury. In their eyes it was betrayal. That Gwyndolin had given him so much, a title, a place in their ranks, and then he went and disgraced him by daring to lay his mortal hands upon him, a god.

"We'll lock him up too"
"agreed, even a man of his rank cannot go unpunished for such a thing"
"No we will not!"

The Firekeeper announced, stepping out from the crowd and standing between them and the two on the floor. She planted her feet firmly on the stone floor, clearly not intent on moving until things were resolved.

"What?"
"But can't you see?"
"Heresy! Clear as the sun, right there!"
They shouted, confused and upset that she'd stand up for the traitor.

"Were it heresy, would the master not have removed their hand from his? They're wounded not dead or incapable of movement" She said simply, hoping to diffuse the situation quickly.

"That's what you think"
"How would you, a mere mortal, know, or even comprehend what the master is feeling?"
"All the more, when did you get the right to speak for the master!?"

She was starting to understand how Arias felt a few hours ago, regretting that outburst of hers now as she's getting it fed right back at her.

"And who gave you the right? If it were heresy, that would be a sin the Dark Sun themself would declare. In case you have forgotten." She finished, speaking crystal clear as she hoped to put a stop to this quick so that they could get to work and tend to Gwyndolin's injuries.

The crowd went silent, unable to find any rebuttal much to the firekeeper's relief.

"Now, let's forget about this pointless argument and see to the wounded. We've a duty, don't forget" The firekeeper ordered them, remembering what Arias had told her.

'It's our duty to protect him don't you forget.'

She didn't know how, or even when she had forgotten. But she was thankful that he'd made her remember, her vows to serve as a loyal Blade of the Darkmoon, to protect Anor Londo and it's residents.

And most of all, she had a newfound admiration for him, despite suspecting that he did in fact hold many secrets from the world, he never forgot the vows he took, and stayed loyal to them even when everything was on the line. And along with his combat prowess, it was becoming clearer as to how he became the Knight of their covenant so quickly. Indeed he was on par with Gwyn's mighty knights.

The first thing to be done, was to disarm and put Lenovis in chains. After this, she'd be locked away in a secure cell to await the end of the world. There was no way they could just leave someone as dangerous as her outside the city and hope she just hollowed away.

Next the firekeeper tended to Arias as the others figured out what to do about Gwyndolin. As an undead any wound no matter how lethal was a simple fix. All he needed was a good helping of estus and he'd be on his feet again in no time. That's what she expected at least. Though it did heal his wounds, when Arias awoke, it felt forced, like his eyelids were being wrenched open and his mind was jumpstarted.

So tired, he was still so tired. His body had all the vigor and energy of a well rested undead, yet his head was still spinning, just so tired. Getting up from the floor, he didn't speak, only giving a thankful nod to the Firekeeper before looking over to Gwyndolin.

The blades were carefully sitting him up, two of them taking hold of his arm when they got him upright. Arias could see from their expressions that they were scared, mess this up and they'd likely be banished, imprisoned or maybe worse.

Looking at their hands and form, Arias could see that they had it all wrong, their hands were too close to the shoulder and too far from the elbow, it looked like they would try snapping the shoulder back in place, then the elbow. However that wouldn't end well, snapping the shoulder first would just cause more pain for the elbow.

Seeing as they were about to go ahead, Arias stepped in.

"You'll make it worse like that. Here let me fix it" He spoke, surprising them a bit. The two blades nodded nervously and let him take hold of Gwyndolin's arm. He couldn't blame really them, most undead just use an estus when they get such an injury and suddenly they're fine. But this required a lot more care.

Taking hold of his arm, Arias held the forearm in his left hand and wrapped his right arm around the upper arm. Positioning himself next to him, Arias told Gwyndolin to breathe deeply, who responded with a nod. Doing as told, breathed in, then out, then in, then out.

On third breath, Arias tightened his grip on his forearm and in one quick motion he pulled it up while pulling the upper arm down slightly. The sound of the bone snapping back into place was drowned out by a loud shriek from Gwyndolin. Whimpering, he tried to keep breathing steadily but it wasn't easy.

Seeing he was struggling, Arias placed a reassuring hand on his healthy shoulder while lifting up his arm in order to pop the unhealthy shoulder back into place. Gwyndolin slowed his breathing again and mentally prepared himself for another crack of his bones.

Holding up his arm, Arias straightened it with a gentle pull, then he gripped it with both hands, one on the lower arm and on the upper arm, before quickly yanking it forward, popping the shoulder back in place.

Gwyndolin yelped loudly, groaning and whimpering, he shuddered as the third bolt of intense pain of the day ran down his side. Seeing Arias stand, he held his head low, his crown sliding back down into place, hiding his tears from the Blades, though he suspected that Arias already knew he was crying.

"Alright everyone, the master's safe, and will be okay with some rest. It's best you all leave back to your posts, and make sure that Darkwraith stays in shackles and well away from any sort of weapon." He heard Arias ordering the Blades. Most of them just followed orders but a few stayed where they were.

"And what gives you the right to give orders in place of the master?"
"After such a sin you should be stripped of your rank!"

Arias went to respond to them but the Firekeeper held out a hand to stop him, signaling that she would deal with it. He nodded and kneeled back down next to Gwyndolin. The two heard the firekeeper shouting something to the others about loyalty but they weren't really paying attention to that, Arias for one was more focused on Gwyndolin's wellbeing.

"Is it feeling any better yet?" Arias asked, in reference to his arm. Gwyndolin nodded. Sighing, Arias patted Gwyndolin on the back.

"I'm so sorry, I was late this time, and it cost you." He muttered shamefully, holding back his own tears. Gwyndolin still didn't say a word, worrying Arias. Looking around, he guessed it might be due to all the blades in the room with them.

"Do you want me to take you back to your chambers, after the others have left?" He asked, turning his head back to face Gwyndolin, who nodded.

"Right." Arias responded, grabbing his helmet from next to Gwyndolin before dragging himself to his feet and going to get the rest of his equipment. Though he briefly checked his helmet before walking. Luckily it wasn't broken or badly damaged, but there was a small dent in the chin area, though it wasn't big enough to cause a problem.

Next he grabbed his swords, though they were strong, the battle had worn them down, even the brand new one. Cracks down the blades, smears of blood and blunt edges. Looked like they'd only last for another battle. Didn't matter though, there was only one battle left.

Sheathing the two swords, Arias turned around and saw most of the blades gone, there were only a few left, carrying the shackled corpse of Lenovis out of the room, and the Firekeeper, standing beside Gwyndolin in thought.

Sighing again, he walked over, the swords and armor clattering on his back as he walked.

"Thank you, I wouldn't have been able to talk them down so quickly." He said as he approached her. His words pulled her from her train of thought, bringing her focus back to reality.

"Ah, yes, well it was not a problem, I simply did what was needed of me, just as you have time and again. That reminds me, I apologize for acting as I did this morning, it, I was foolish." She apologized, slightly surprising Arias, though his tiredness largely numbed any effect of surprise.

"Oh.. Very well, I accept your apology, I suppose we can all be foolish sometimes can't we." He replied, thinking back on something. She nodded in response.

"Right, we should get back to our duties now. I've one last thing to do." Arias finished off.

"Yes I suppose we should. Good luck on your duty comrade, may the flames guide thee." The firekeeper nodded again, bidding him farewell before leaving the room.

Arias sighed once more, for the second, or maybe third time today? He'd lost track, his mind was hazy, similar to a state of hollowing. Maybe those dark miracles she'd used on him did more damage than he'd thought.

Kneeling over, he gently ran his hands under Gwyndolin and lifted him up off the floor. Briefly, Gwyndolin fumbled, before wrapping his arms around Arias' neck for stability, burying his face in his chest when he felt as though we wouldn't fall again.

Exhausted, Arias trudged out the door, and down the hallways, all the way back to Gwyndolin's bedroom.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

chapter 23

It was all so heavy, his armor, Gwyndolin, his equipment, had he ever really felt the weight of his sword as he did now? Their strain on his body. How was this one man able to do all of this, he wasn't sure anymore, then again he'd never thought about it really, he just kept moving.

He still had to keep moving, but every step was felt, every clunk of armor and greatsword echoed through his bones. He wanted to rest, to stop and just wait for a minute, but he couldn't, instead he promised himself that he could when he reached Gwyndolin's chambers, though for the most part he knew that was a hollow promise.

Now he was walking down the hall to Gwyndolin's room, surprised as he hadn't even noticed himself going down the stairs, though he supposed he was too focused on just not giving in and falling over. He knew he couldn't, not while Gwyndolin was in his arms at least.

So close now, every long, straining step brought him closer, he just had to keep walking, only a little longer now.

Breathing heavily, he clumsily pushed the door open with his side, straining himself as he kneeled over and placed Gwyndolin on his bed, before collapsing to the floor in exhaustion.

Gwyndolin quickly leaned forward off his back, and threw his crown to the side. Looking over the bed, he saw Arias on the floor. Worriedly he blurted out "A-Arias?" ignoring the tears still streaming down his cheeks, his worry for Arias quickly clouding his mind.

Getting no response, he sat there on his bed, unsure of what to do. Panicked, he had one of his snakes slither down and inspect him, there were no visible wounds, but his heart was beating fast and his breath was labored. He gripped the bed tightly in his panic, he didn't want to just sit here and watch as Arias got worse, but in reality, what could he do?

It was only when Arias lifted his right arm in the air to signify that he was ok that Gwyndolin eased his grip on the mattress.

"Arias what happened!? A-Art thou unwell?" He asked, speaking so fast he stumbled over his own words.

"Don't worry... I'll be fine." Arias muttered through clenched teeth, as he clumsily lifted himself from the floor to his knees, kneeling beside the bed.

"B-But, that fall!" Gwyndolin blurted out again.

"Don't worry about me. I just... tripped. That doesn't matter anyway, are you alright?" Arias muttered again, repeating the same sentiment with slightly different wording. Gwyndolin knew something was wrong, it was obvious, though as much as he refused to admit it to himself, he just couldn't bring himself to keep worrying, not when his own troubles were taking back their space in his mind, not letting him focus on any one other thing for long, keeping him from holding up his concern.

He just wanted to cry and be held again, like the night previous when things seemed better, when he was loved for once in his life, now that bliss feels so long ago.

"Well, I- I-" Gwyndolin started, finally giving in and letting his walls crumble, whether or not Arias was able to deal with it yet. As he was about to speak, he felt Arias take hold of his left hand, and that was it, everything came out all at once.

"Oh I could not stomach it, none of it! All of the blades standing over me when I was so vulnerable, the men and women who wouldst put their faith in me, seeing me so defeated. And the assassin, I didn't even know until after it was too late, I'd believed it was thee for so long, until I was summoned by thee even. It destroyed me, to believe that thou wouldst commit such betrayal, another lie amongst the layers. I didn't want to go on, I wasn't even fearful for mine life, just, broken. Even now, after thine rescue, somehow it still hurts." He wept, and wept, and wept, the tears flowed freely down his cheeks like streams of water without end, glistening in the candlelight. It didn't take long for the stream to run down his chin, into the light cut along his neck. The salt of his tears pained his wound greatly but that didn't stop his outburst, once again he had to speak, there was no other option for him.

Gwyndolin tightened his grip on Arias' hand, who tightened his own grip in response, as if to say 'I'm here'. Despite the immense fatigue, Arias willed himself to stand up so that he could lean over and take the weeping god into his arms. Gwyndolin returned the hug, leaning fully into Arias for support, burying his face in his chest once again as he continued to cry.

As he held him, Arias couldn't help but find his thoughts wandering, to his fate, and his current state. Would he be able to link the fire? Or as things were now, he would most likely just die. fizzle up and take the hopes of the world with him. Misplaced faith.

The thought hurt, even more so that he believed that would be the true outcome. Somberly, he shut these thoughts out, they'd overstayed their welcome, and right now his attention was needed elsewhere, Gwyndolin needed him.

He hated seeing him this way, especially when he knew very well that he wouldn't be able to stay and help him through the pain he was going through. No in all likelihood, after his death, Gwyndolin would just keep on as he did before, shutting his feelings away, swallowed by the loneliness of this dead city.

Again his painful thoughts pierced through his mind, causing him to wince and unconsciously hug Gwyndolin tighter, fighting off his own tears as he wanted to stay strong for him.

Painful memories roared through the god's mind, the picture of his lover, the man he'd put so much trust in, turning on him, drawing a blade to his throat. His own past thoughts, of giving up and losing hope, feelings of immense betrayal.

The pain of the dislocation of his arm, the fear as he believed that sword would go straight through his throat, the sharp slice. The shame.

Both were being destroyed from the inside by their doubts, their fears, finally they couldn't take anymore and shut them away, eventually focusing only the warmth of the other. Gwyndolin, slowly stopped crying, and that lump in Arias' throat eventually went away.

But they still held each other tightly, refusing to let go, as if they'd fall apart if they did. Soon the moon rose into the sky once more, the dark miracle cast over the city finally fading, letting bright moonlight soak the room through the windows, soothing the two pained souls in it's gentle glow.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

End 1

He could see it through the window. The moon, it was so bright in his eyes, so bright that it hurt. Blinking he looked away, his eyes trailing down the shadowy walls and down the sheets of the bed Gwyndolin was sitting upon.

They were comfy when he'd rested in them, a nice respite. The room was choked by silence, both of them wanted to say so much, but didn't have the time to say anything. So they remained in this painful silence, hoping it would keep the encroaching doom at bay just a little longer.

But then, as Arias held Gwyndolin tightly in his arms, he felt it. A strange sense in his being, a sense like sight or sound, but it was in a direction. It wasn't difficult to figure out what direction either. The fire. It was calling to him, no, maybe it always was, those dreams of flame pulling him near despite his dark nature as a human pulling him in the exact opposite direction. Maybe he'd just gotten used to it at some point.

He closed his tired eyes once more, and basked in the warmth of their hug. This would be the last time, no, not just that, the last good thing in his life. He wanted to take it all in, one last brief rest before the end.

Breathing in, the air tasted fresh, breathing out, he prepared himself to leave.

"Thou'rt going to leave." Gwyndolin stated dryly. Arias remained silent, still wishing to avoid talking of his fate. Silence attempted to settle over them once more but Gwyndolin shattered it before it was able.

"I understand thine dread... Very well" He breathed, his voice tight with sorrow.

"And... I just want thee to know. Thou hast mine sincerest apologies. Please, please forgive me..." He had been thinking of this in the back of his mind for a while. It was him that put this all on Arias, his scheming. He'd been ignoring it for a while but now that everything was coming to an end he couldn't keep it in any longer.

Arias was confused by this, there was nothing for him to forgive him for, unless... Gwyndolin was feeling guilt over not linking the fire himself. It all made sense now, why he would always avoid talking of the linking of the fire, because he felt it was his responsibility.

"Of course!" Arias almost shouted, leaning back from the hug to look Gwyndolin in the eyes. "Of course I forgive you! I've accepted what I must do. There's no need for you to feel any guilt over it. You've done all you could, now I just need to play my part. And I swear I won't let it all be for nothing." He reassured him, holding both his shoulders firmly.

"T-Truly?" Gwyndolin was shocked, almost too shocked for words. He knew Arias was loyal but this was more than he'd expect from even him. Such a revelation, and yet he was still as supportive and caring as ever. He stared into his eyes and his stare was only broken when Arias nodded in response.

"Arias I.. I am thankful beyond words!" Gwyndolin exclaimed, leaning in to hug him again. Arias accepted the hug, happy that he was able to bring him back to high spirits even at a time like this.

Thinking back on the time they'd spent, he thought in particular of all the times he'd demonstrated that unbreakable faith of his, and how comforting his words were when he spoke them. Thinking over it now, he was about to lose someone truly special, indeed beyond words. Something special he would have to sacrifice for the world, his father's world.

A world that acted as though it didn't want him.

"I'm glad." Arias spoke softly, snapping Gwyndolin out of his spiraling thoughts.

"For everything you've done. Without you, my journey would have been dry, without meaning, I would be a husk. But you, my shining moonlight, have given me reason and happiness, things I'd all but forgotten. Truly I am grateful." Then they were silent again, leaning into the hug more as they held tightly onto one another.

"I love thee." Gwyndolin choked as he felt Arias release him. "So much."

"I love you too." Arias replied, placing one last kiss upon his lips before letting go and standing. The two couldn't bear any more words, they'd already delayed the inevitable long enough, now it was barely even Arias himself walking, but that strange sense carrying him to his fate.

Arias simply waved farewell before leaving the room, crushing a bone in his hand when he was out of sight from Gwyndolin.

It was quiet now. There was nothing, it was unlike the silence between the two just moments ago. Now it was lonely, oppressive, crushing. It was dark, the moon had risen into the sky by now and the rays were no longer shining through the window. Instead, all there was, was the faint sound of the cold draft.

It took it's time, but soon it settled into his mind, that was the last time he'd ever see Arias. It felt so strange, he knew Arias was still alive as of the current moment, but his end was so certain, that he couldn't help but think of him as dead already.

Every time that word came up in his mind, it left a foul, bitter taste in his mouth. Dead. Gone. Words, that got him thinking, there were a million words he wanted to say to him, and countless things he wanted to do together, with him by his side. The night previous had been like a taste of what could have been, but would could never be.

Hell as childish as he knew it was, he would be lying if he said he hadn't fantasized about marriage at least once. He wanted to be by his side, to hold him and to live a nice, comforting life with him. One free of this pain.

So many good things they could have done together, ripped away by the fate that frowned upon him. Gripping the sheets of the bed, he rolled over to his side and curled up, his snakes coiling around the feet of the bed.

Through the tears and the cries he hadn't even noticed coming from him, he did notice himself calling out his name.

"Arias.."

"Arias please.."

"Come back.."

"I need thee.."

It'd been some time since he'd last been to this place. It was strangely comforting, suggesting that he may have spent a lot of time here when he still had his memories. It was strange, by now so many things had changed, could he really claim to be the same man that had rested here so long ago, or was he different, a new man entirely, inhabiting an previous man's shell.

How would that man have reacted to all of this. What would he have done in his shoes? The phantom emotions he'd feel in places he'd once visited prior just made this confusion worse. He found it pleasant being here, but the reason had long faded from his mind, now it just was, as if they were borrowed feelings, belonging to someone else, only lingering in the mind.

His mind was spinning again, he knew what that meant all too well, at least he wasn't expecting to last much longer either way. Sighing, he pushed himself to stand up. Now it would all come to a long awaited end.

Crunch Crunch Crunch

Crunch Crunch

Crunch

Crunch

Crunch

Crunch Tap Tap

Tap Tap

Tap

Tap

It echoed through his mind, his footsteps, he never stopped walking but he stopped hearing them as much, the sounds not registering in his mind, not even noticing as he cut down the black knights in his way, until he'd made it, to the Kiln.

The first flame was only a few meters away now, the end goal of his journey, his, and the man he'd stolen a body from, Oliver.

Fog separated him from his goal, no doubt there'd be something on the other side that wanted him dead. That sense from before was even stronger now, it was pulling him forward, and pushing him at the same time.

And before he knew it, that sense had taken him to the other side of the fog, and he could see it. Gwyn. He didn't know why, he just sort of knew that was him, the lord of sunlight he'd heard so much about, even after losing all memory.

Hollowed eyes staring him down as he leaped into the air, flaming sword heading straight for him.

He looked to be a husk, just like Arias. Well then, it was to be a battle between two of the same, an empty shell from two walks of life, pushed forward for it's own destiny.

As the flaming blade neared his skull, he instinctively rolled to the side, quickly unsheathing his greatsword, he landed a blow to the Lord's ankle, to his surprise, it was tough, very tough, and it sounded like crumbling stone.

Quickly, he withdrew his weapon, just in time to dodge a swiping attack headed for his spot on the floor. He rolled frantically away as the Lord followed up with a flurry, soon the gap between the two was about 4 meters.

Noticing how far he was, Arias drew his Moonlight greatsword and swung it in Gwyn's direction, the swing hard enough to shoot a beam of pure Moonlight straight into the Lord's chest. The blast was enough to break through the layer of armor under his robes, damaging him badly. But still he didn't flinch, instead he leaped up into the air just as before, aiming to strike Arias as he was sheathing the Moonlight greatsword.

Luckily, Arias was quick enough to manage to block the blow with his greatsword, dropping the Moonlight greatsword in the process. For some reason, he wasn't strong enough, no, it was more like he didn't have the energy to hold the bind. Oh right, that last battle had left him exhausted. How could he have forgotten that?

He didn't have time to think about this though, as his greatsword was forced from his hands, leaving him wide open for-

Shlling!

He felt the greatsword, imbued with the first flame itself, penetrate his armor and pass straight through his stomach. He didn't have time to scream, as the Lord pushed him down the shaft of the sword, leaving him on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest.

It hurt too much to scream, or to do anything even, the Lord of Cinder walked slowly away, leaving him for dead in the blood soaked ash. As he lay there, he thought back on his journey so far, the battles, Gwyndolin, love, pain. Pain. It still hurt. The first flame was eating away slowly at his insides, he felt the fire flicker inside. Was this how it was meant to end? Surely not.

Then his instincts kicked in, however his arm didn't reach to his side for his estus, instead it reached into his pack to retrieve something long forgotten. He couldn't say exactly what was compelling him to reach for such a thing, in the stead of the estus flask that had saved him so many times. Though if he were to try describe it, he would say it felt as if a force opposed to the one drawing him to the fire had forced his hand.

Once again, he didn't have time to think on this, as his wounds healed in an instant, and the flame inside was subdued, no, it was more like he couldn't feel it anymore. It didn't matter, he was so close now, he wouldn't let anything get in his way.

He lifted himself from the floor, ash and blood dripping from his being as he retrieved his greatsword. The Lord of Cinder quickly noticed his presence, turning to see him lifting his sword from it's place in the ash.

Leaping into the air once more, Gwyn, readied another strike from the air. As he neared the ground, Arias quickly dodged to the side, slashing the Lord across the side as he repositioned himself.

He was able to get another slash across the leg before the lord turned with a sweeping strike, however, Arias quickly blocked it with his greatsword, the swords clashing at such speed that the reverberations stumbled Gwyn, leaving him wide open.

Seeing a window, Arias slashed diagonally down his chest, before spinning the attack into a thrust, forcing his greatsword straight through the gap in the armor left by the Moonlight beam, mirroring how Gwyn had almost killed him mere moments ago. Lifting his foot up, he disgracefully wrenched Gwyn from the end of his greatsword, now drenched in the blood of the husk of cinder.

As the Lord lifted himself from the ash, Arias attempted to stab him through the open wound again, however he barely missed, and his greatsword snapped as it impacted Gwyn's armor.

Panicked, he tossed the useless hilt to the floor and attempted to dash away, however he wasn't quick enough, and was grabbed by the throat. The fading Lord lifted him up, and let loose a surge of the first flame into his body. It was agonizing, the flame merged with the flames already present in his body, burning him up from the inside.

But it didn't kill him, not quite. As he was tossed roughly to the ash once more, another bout of pain surged through his body, this pain was different though. Unlike most sword wounds or the like, this propelled him forward, kept his eyes from closing. The agony made up for the energy he'd long since lost, forcing him to his feet, to keep fighting.

Rising from the ash once more, Arias dashed past the Lord of Cinder, dodging a potentially fatal blow. His mind was blanking out now. Not much time left. There was something here that he could use, to finish this. What was it? A blue glint caught his eye. Ah yes. Guiding rays of the moon. A sword forged from crystal.

He sprinted toward the blade buried in ash, barely outrunning another leaping strike from Gwyn. Jumping to the floor, he reached out and grabbed the blade by the hilt.

Lifting it from the ash, he rolled over and instinctively swung it, the blade dug deep into the Lord of Cinder who had been preparing to slice him open.

As it reached his spine, the blade snapped off, separating from the hilt, but it was already over. The fading Lord of Cinder, keeled over next to Arias, clinging to the blade protruding through his abdomen, and as Arias got up from the floor, the blade glowed, before producing another glowing beam of moonlight, finally putting a true end to Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder.

Huffing, Arias felt the flame still eating away at him, at his soul. Something was conflicting with it, battling it, but whatever it was, was losing.

The glow of the sputtering first flame caught his eye, a gentle glow in the center of the kiln, much like the bonfires. As he laid his eyes upon it, he already knew, this was his destination. His fate. It was right in front of him, all he had to do was approach it.

Hobbling over, Arias clutched his side, it was burning, like the flames were beginning to escape his body. So close, not much further now.

He collapsed, his legs giving way, as if the nerves had all been burned away, but he didn't stop, desperately dragging himself through the ash. Soon he felt the tiny flames licking at his hand, then his face.

Then he felt it.

He'd reached his destination.

Finally.

It was over.

Or at least, he thought it would be.

The pain only grew worse, doubling by the minute.

And time seemed to slow down, or was it getting faster?

He was surprised to find himself uncaring over the matter.

Like his mind had slowed, hollowed into a husk.

But there was a part of his mind still lingering on something.

He wondered if Gwyndolin was alright.

Gwyndolin...

What's a "Gwyndolin?"

What was this image in his mind?

It made him feel calm somehow.

He wanted to be closer to it.

But before he knew it, it was gone.

And he was struggling to remember what he'd just thought about in the first place.

Something called a feeling.

Though that too would fade soon.

Leaving nothing but a husk.

That had once passed owners.

And the unbearable pain it would later bear with others of it's ilk.

Until the end of time.

Until the end of the flame.

Arias. It had been so long since he'd thought of him, as if he'd tricked himself into believing he'd gotten over his loss. The "lords of cinder" that had sullied his title were now risen from ash, doing as they please. It wouldn't be long now. Even when robbed of sight, he could see clear as day he wouldn't last much longer. He only wondered now. When he died, and his soul passed on. Would he get to see him again? He wanted to believe he could, but judging by the fact that the other Lords of Cinder had risen from their ashes, it's more likely that the flame still held his soul, that the flame had kept even a happy afterlife from him.

But that was long ago, maybe it had let him go? Deep down he knew that was a foolish thought, but for now, he'd permit himself believe, so that he may at least have the luxury of dying happily.

Something passed through the fog nearby. It oozed over the floors towards him. Something sinister indeed.

Indeed, even when robbed of sight, he could see clear as day, that this was the end.

Chapter Text

To see a Darkened Sun

End 2

Moonlight flooded the room, filling his eyes in a refreshing, subtle glow. As always, it was gentle, cool, calm, like delicate waters, washing over him and breathing life anew into him. Gazing into the moon directly, the glow hurt his eyes, but not in the way the sun would burn them, it simply felt heavy.. large.

But he was used to that by now, and as his eyes adjusted, all weight seemed to lift from his body, freeing him from his tiresome duty for just a moment.

Arias breathed deep from the cold, crisp air, he felt it pass through his lungs, like a blizzard passing through scorched earth, bringing new life to a battered field. Breathing out, he closed his eyes again, and felt the warmth of Gwyndolin in his arms, then reality sunk back in, equipment weighing down on him once more. Though now, it wasn't as cumbersome, he felt he was able to move freely once more.

Now as his mind thought back to his duty, it didn't feel nearly as impossible, just like a stone in the road, that he may stumble on once or twice.

"Arias?" He heard Gwyndolin ask quietly, drawing his mind back to the present.

"Hm?" He hummed in response.

"Couldst thou tell me truthfully now. What happened? To cause thine fall? I suppose it sounds silly saying it aloud, but thou gave me quite the fright." Gwyndolin asked. Arias looked up, breathing in the icy air once more, he thought on what was ahead of him.

"I suppose..." He sighed.

"I'm not quite sure. I was tired, so tired. I don't even know why, I'd been given enough estus to heal the wounds of ten soldiers, and I was fine but, I just couldn't keep going. The bleakness of my future wasn't helping to keep me going I suppose, but there's hardly anything to be done about that."

"..."

"Thou speaketh as if thou no longer feels as such."

"You're right, I don't. For whatever reason, just being here with you, breathing in the air. I feel well rested, like I did after that week of resting here, with you."

"That's good. Thou deserveth more rest. For all thou does for me, for the world."

"Thank you."

"Hmm? What for?"

"For, well, for everything."

"Arias..."

"I love you Gwyndolin, and you have my deepest gratitude for being here for me. I'll never forget you, your love. Never, not even in death."

Gwyndolin felt that, deep in his heart, it reminded him of something he'd long tried to ignore, to forget about, but these tender words, brought it all back. How this started, his meddling, his inconsiderate manipulation. He was the cause of his, Arias' hollowing, and soon his death.

"Arias..." He began to tear up again. "There's something I must tell thee."

"Hm?" Arias hummed again.

"This is all, all because of..." He didn't want to say it, he wasn't even facing Arias, yet he could already see that look of betrayal painting itself across his face. But it was burning him on the inside, the immense weight of this guilt.

"It's... it's all mine fault... 'Tis all because of me." He choked out through his tight throat. Arias was shocked at first, but he wouldn't believe it, instead choosing to believe that it was his depression speaking, Gwyndolin had demonstrated a tendency to look down on himself only a day ago after all. That must be it. It was a loose connection but there was no other answer.

"Oh no don't say that. We both know that isn't the truth. It's just how fate is-"

"No Arias! That is mine point, what disgusts me no end. I mineself hast brought this fate to thee. In order to sustain the age of fire, I sought to create a tradition of linking the flame as mine father once had. I fabricated the legend of the chosen undead, the bells, in order to create the perfect champion as offering to the flame. Now here we are, my perfect champion, everything went perfectly, but I never accounted for how mine heart wouldst shift, nor did it occur to me the ramifications of mine meddling. Thine fate is all due to me. And I am so sorry."

Upon hearing this, Arias slowly let go of Gwyndolin and leaned away, trying to process what had just been said.

Gwyndolin held his eyes shut tight, he could see it clear as day now, the image of Arias' face, the betrayal in his eyes, there were even tears. He knew that if he opened his eyes, he'd still see the same thing. He was starting to regret this, maybe he should've just let Arias go on believing it was all fate, then he could die happily, without knowing he'd been betrayed. Now he would die with this burden, what has he done.

Arias had devoted himself to Gwyndolin in his last life, and stayed devoted to him in this life. Why was it, that he stayed so devoted, lacking memories, he didn't even know why he was so devoted in the first place.

Yet he'd done so much for Gwyndolin, even going as to fall in love with the god he'd worshiped. Why. He hadn't even thought about this until now, now he was having second thoughts. He loved him, but after this, maybe it was time he really thought about why he'd fallen so deeply in love with him.

Deep down he always knew, that he was being lied to, ever since he appeared to him as a man after presenting himself as a woman. And though this was later confirmed, he still didn't question it, there were reasons behind the lies, and he was told in time, and they were all justifiable, understandable. But this was out there, even after all that.

Why was he so devoted to him. His oldest memory now, was of his last life, Oliver, resting on the roof of one of the buildings of Anor Londo, mind hazy, and then, he thought of Gwyndolin, then he was at ease, calmed by the mere thought of his god.

His oldest memory, and of course there was Gwyndolin. Now when Arias thought about it, Gwyndolin has been present his entire current life, he was something of an anchor, that proved he existed before, a tie to this world when he had no others.

And he was so kind.

But then with this new information, he had to remember that, he went hollow in the first place due to Gwyndolin, his plan had put him in this situation. The man he was before, died because of him. But that was the man he was. This new man, the one named Arias was saved by his god.

He felt conflicted. He took his last life, but gave him a new one in return. In all truth, he is who he is now because of Gwyndolin, and maybe he has some thanks to give for that.

Gwyndolin felt that the silence might kill him, that picture of Arias in his mind still lingered, haunting him, he'd done this, this torment, all of it, the fault lied with him and him alone. Because of his damned meddling, all for his selfish want, for the approval of a dead man who hated him.

"Gwyndolin" Arias spoke, his voice low. Gwyndolin was shocked out of the mental hole he'd thrown himself into, that picture of torment was flung out of his mind as he opened his eyes to be greeted by Arias' somber expression.

"I... I don't know if I forgive you." Gwyndolin felt his heart sink with those words.

"But, I don't know if I hold it against you either. The man you manipulated into this duty, he's gone. Oliver I mean, I don't know anything about him, I was never shaped by the pain, joy or dread he was. I never felt what he felt. Except for one brief moment back at the beginning. The man I was, may be gone thanks to your manipulation but... I wouldn't be who I am now if not for you. In a strange way I feel... thankful, or something of the sort."

"I don't know if I forgive you, but... I don't hold it against you." Arias once again breathed in the icy cold air as he finished, he waited a moment so as to let what he'd said sink in.

Gwyndolin was shocked. He'd tossed the words about in his mind, trying to decide how to feel about them. It was nothing like the response he was anticipating, but it still wasn't like the unwavering loyalty he would hear from him before. Now he wondered if he'd ever hear that again, or had he lost that privilege now.

He cursed himself for saying anything, he really should have just kept it in, not gambled their entire relationship at a time like this. At a time like this...

"What happens now?" Gwyndolin asked hesitantly.

"I don't know, I suppose I go off and throw myself into the flame. Fate or not, it's the way things have been ordained." Gwyndolin felt that right in his heart, it made him feel ill, though he supposed he deserved it.

"N-No." He was surprised to hear himself blurt out.

"What?" Arias was confused, this was all because of him, he'd gone to such lengths to put everything in place for this to happen. What did he mean 'no'?

"I- I cannot let thee." Why was he saying this? Whether he loved Arias or not that did not matter, this was all for the age of fire, his feelings were irrelevant, but despite this he continued.

"I cannot let thee sacrifice thyself because of me. After all the torment mine scheming hast put onto thee. Please, let me do at least this, to redeem mineself to thee." Gwyndolin couldn't believe he was saying this now, had his love for Arias really clouded his mind so much? Or maybe, having someone be so close had made everything clearer. Gwyndolin took Arias' hand in his, looking deep into his eyes as he spoke.

"I appreciate that, I really do, but it doesn't work like that. With every passing moment, I feel this, sense, pulling me towards the flame, and ignoring this sense, it's like blinding myself. I need to go there, even if I link the flame or die trying, I need to go." Arias explained, pulling his hand away from Gwyndolin, much to his despair.

"Oh..." Gwyndolin mumbled. Of all the responses he could've gotten, he wasn't expecting that.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said. Begrudgingly he stood up and bid him farewell. Walking out of the room and down the hall, Arias once again breathed deep, the crisp air filling his lungs and bestowing clarity. His thoughts lingered on Gwyndolin as he took hold of the last homeward bone in his pack.

He'd known he was to die from the start, though he only wished he didn't have to bear witness to this tragic turn of events right at the end of his life.

Gwyndolin remained silent. Had that just really happened? What had he done? He could've prevented this so long ago, if only he'd stopped him leaving after that night they spent together, or even better if he'd stopped him after he'd prevented his hollowing.

But did he really want that? To end the age of fire, which he'd given to much to prolong. No he didn't, he just wanted Arias to live, to be with him, he could've found another if he had the time. No he couldn't, that was a lie, Arias was their last chance.

There was no other options, end the age of fire, or kill Arias. Did he really want that? Did he really value Arias' life, over their glorious age of fire. Was he really that precious? One undead?

In all honesty he didn't want to imagine a world without him at all, even if that meant living in darkness.

Alone in an empty world embraced by flame, or in the company of one he loved in an era of darkness. After the linking of the flame, what would happen next? Gwyndolin would continue to run this city from the shadows, and another time would come, another undead would link the flame. It would all be the same, unending misery.

He already knew how that felt. Endlessly mourning family that hated him and manipulating people from the shadows for what? Not even his own gain, but for those long dead now.

In contrast, he'd at least have a chance to be happy if Arias was alive, age of dark or not. He felt like crying again, why did fate have to be this way.

No... he supposed it wasn't fate, it was his own doing. He winced at the thought, Arias would die because of him.

Though...

This was all his doing. What if he could undo it as well? Fate had no hand in this, therefore he might be able to change the outcome.

Did he really want to do that though? Doing so would result in an age of dark.

Looking at the bright full moon through the window, he knew his answer.

Arias wasted no time on his march to the kiln of the first flame, that sense felt like it might rip him off his feet and drag him there if he wasn't fast enough. So he hurried, straight past the black knights, running up the stairs, before he knew it he was dashing through a wall of fog.

As he passed through, he was met with the view of the old lord, Gwyn, wielding the flame itself, leaping straight at him. Caught by surprise, Arias only had enough time to unsheathe his greatsword and block the blow with it, resulting in the two getting into a bind.

Arias attempted to overpower the lord, but in turn Gwyn slipped his blade free and shattered Arias' greatsword with a heavy strike.

Arias instinctively backstepped away from the flaming lord but this proved to be a bad idea as he just ran at him and attempted to hit him with an overhead swing.

With no options left, backed up against the fog wall, Arias caught the blade in another bind, between the cracked blade and the hilt of his greatsword.

Seeing that the blade had stopped, Arias quickly slipped the hilt off of the blade and stabbed it into the hollowed eyes of the lord of cinder. It made a sound like falling rubble and the lord did not flinch, instead taking this chance to pick up Arias by the throat and let loose a surge of flame into his body.

Tossed to the ash, his insides were burning, it hurt so much he wanted to die. Gwyn, seeing him writhing on the floor, left him to do just that, letting the flame eat away at him from the inside. Arias desperately reached for his estus, taking deep gulps he forced himself back onto shaking feet.

He felt as though he'd collapse at any minute. He can't die now, he can't die now.

Gritting his teeth, Arias unsheathed his Moonlight greatsword and charged at the lord screaming. The blade glowed with the rays of the moon, and when he swung down, he heard the hit land. The blade shattered on impact, leaving him with another bladeless hilt in his hands.

Arias looked at the hilt, shocked that it had broken so quickly, only to look back and see a blade headed straight for him.

The force of the blow flung him halfway across the room, face buried in ash, sword broken, he was finished. He'd failed in his mission and he'd let all he'd done up until this point be for nothing.

Though for some reason, he felt himself pushing himself up again. Why? Oh right, it was that sense again. He hobbled towards the lord of cinder, fists held up, only to get flung back into the ash again, and again. Soon he could barely even stand, mangled arms and legs twisting in directions they shouldn't, large cuts and broken armor all over his body.

Yet he kept going. Until he could no longer stand. Then he dragged himself with his hands. Gwyn walked over to his beaten body and held his greatsword above his heart, intent on impaling him through it's length. Arias feebly scratched at his feet as he prepared to kill him, only stopping when he heard something pass through the wall of fog.

He couldn't see it, hell he couldn't see anything but blood red ash. He heard the drawing of a bow, then the release. And three arrows, one after the other, presumably hit their target.

Something collapsed to the floor, and all was silent, then he heard something approaching. It didn't sound like footsteps, more like something moving along the ground, slithering maybe. Could that be...?

He heard a feminine gasp, and then finally words.

"A-Arias, is that really... Art thou alive?" it asked. Arias attempted to say something but as the words came out, blood joined them and he promptly had a coughing fit on the floor, blood pouring out of his mouth and his wounds searing in pain.

"Ah! S-Stay still." the voice gasped, quickly leaning down and taking hold of him as to stop him writhing in pain. Soft gentle hands.

He couldn't believe this was him, the mangled, scorched flesh painted red from his own blood. It made him want to cry, but he refused to, he had to be strong for Arias.

Gwyndolin looked back at the flame, now it was sputtering out, dying in front of them.

No time for that, quickly he took out his catalyst and cast a healing sorcery, then another, then another, and finally a fourth. He'd only used one on Arias before, but this was much more urgent.

He watched closely as his wounds gradually disapeared, cuts and broken bones vanishing as his body returned to a healthy state of being. Though the blood remained, in the ash, and all over his body. And his armor had many holes, dents and slices through it, the surcoat in tatters. Why did he have to fight so recklessly.

Soon all his wounds were healed, but something was wrong. Arias was still groaning in pain, and soon he was convulsing on the floor. Gwyndolin panicked and held him down, he was so weak now that he couldn't resist even him, it hurt to see him like this.

Gwyndolin had no idea what was wrong with him, though he sensed something familiar residing within him, something that wasn't there before. Maybe that was it. Somehow he felt this familiar presence guiding him.

Breathing deep, Gwyndolin steeled himself and reached out to Arias' soul. Very few could manipulate the soul of a living being, only those who received lord souls or masters of sorcery. Luckily Gwyndolin was both of these, meaning he had no trouble reaching deep into his soul.

It was dark, but there was something bright in there, he knew humans and undead alike were of the dark, so it was clear that this light was likely the source of his plight.

Carefully he teased it out of him, with his hands he pulled a raging fire through his mouth. A part of the first flame. It had already been eating away at his insides. How on earth.

Now he held it in his hands, Gwyndolin felt it's tremendous power, and almost instinctively smothered it in the ash. Not long after, the entire flame went out. Somehow it felt right.

He looked back over to Arias who was unconscious now. His breathing was still labored. Worried, Gwyndolin looked back into his soul only to have his fears confirmed. His soul had been burnt, not only that but it looked like bits of it had been taken. He remembered that darkwraith using dark miracles on him. It must've happened then.

Though it seemed bad, Gwyndolin knew how to heal an undead's dark soul. Reaching into Arias' pack he found one in no time, a humanity sprite. Now with this he just had to... That's strange, pressing it onto his chest didn't do anything. Maybe putting it into his palm? On the forehead?

Nope, nothing worked. How did they... He remembered now, he'd seen his blades of the darkmoon crush them in their hands. But Arias couldn't do that, even if he wasn't unconscious, he'd be too weak to.

There was nothing to be done. Unless... If he crushed the humanity sprite and passed it through to Arias' soul, that could work. But, as a being of light, there was no telling what that could do to him. He looked at Arias' face again. He'd already sacrificed so much for him, just this bit more wouldn't be too much.

Breathing deep once again, Gwyndolin crushed the humanity sprite in his hand, and in an instant, pain surged throughout his very being. He screamed as he tried to reach into Arias' soul again to pass the humanity through, but the immense pain made it hard to focus. There, he'd reached into his soul, now he just had to-

He felt the darkness inside him slip out of his soul and into Arias. And then something unpredicted happened, he felt the light of his soul transferring over to him too. Lord knows what effect it'd have on him, out of panic he tried to withdraw it back, but instead he began to take not only his own soul back, but also Arias' dark soul.

This not only made him panic more, but it was also immensely painful. Trying his best to focus, he attempted to transfer the dark soul back to Arias, and once again he transferred both dark and light. Only now, he couldn't tell which was which. Taking both their souls into his own being seemed to mix them together.

Strangely he no longer felt any discomfort, even stranger he seemed to feel more comfortable. Peering at their souls, he saw they not only looked the exact same, but had conjoined during the process. This made them the first ever beings of both light and dark, and one of the few to fuse a soul.

Thankfully it seemed to have no unfortunate consequences. It even felt oddly appropriate.

Arias lifted his eyes slowly. The burning pain seemed to be gone now. Relieved, he also noted that he felt slightly warmer than usual. He felt like he'd slept for an eternity. Getting up, it was pitch black. Looked like he'd really lost. Though he wanted to know, how was it that he felt perfectly fine, he didn't feel like he'd died at all, rather, it was like he'd finally gotten to rest after everything. But was he really deserving of that rest, if he'd failed?

Rubbing his eyes, they soon adapted slightly to the darkness of the world, he recognized now that he was in fact in Firelink shrine, not the kiln. Beside him was a faded bonfire and... he struggled to make it out in such darkness but it looked like a broadsword.

Leaning down, he touched to confirm and indeed it was a broadsword. Not his preferred fighting style but it'd do for now. As his eyes adjusted more, he noticed something different with his armor. There were wrappings all over it, and surcoat was full of holes and tears. Of course, it'd taken quite the beating in that fight. But the question still remained, what happened in between then and his waking up now?

Looking around, he thought about what to do next. He could go back to the kiln to see if there were any clues of what happened to him, or maybe he could go search for Gwyndolin.

Gwyndolin... He missed him already.

He looked at his hand in regret. After all that he'd failed. Was it really worth leaving if this was the result? He should've just stayed with him, hell he was damn near blind as it was now with the flame faded.

He heard something crunch nearby and he turned in panic, quickly readying his broadsword. He was greeted by a figure wearing a white dress, with snakes for feet and a beautiful gold crown adorning it's head. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Gwyndolin?"

"Arias! Thou'rt awake!"

Gwyndolin dropped something and rushed over to him, quickly taking him into a tight embrace. Arias was shocked, his mouth wide open, but as he processed what was happening, he eased up and hugged back.

"I was worried when thou wouldst not open thine eyes for so long. But I had confidence thou would'st wake again some day. Thou'st always been resilient." He chirped happily.

"H-How long have I been asleep?" Arias asked, slightly worried.

"I can not be sure, it seemed so long though it could very well have been only a week." Gwyndolin admitted, thinking that he may have perhaps been overdramatic about the wait.

"Oh, well that's good." Arias sighed, relieved he hadn't missed years.

"I'm just so happy thou'rt awake. I missed thee so much." Gwyndolin sounded as though he was almost on the verge of tears.

"I... I missed you too." Arias said, hugging him tighter, though much to his surprise Gwyndolin hugged him tighter than even he was after he said this.

"Please... don't leave me again." Gwyndolin whined. Arias was silent for a minute, he hadn't taken into consideration just how much his leaving would effect Gwyndolin.

"Never." He stated, like it was fact. They hugged in silence for another minute or two before Gwyndolin finally let him go.

"Sorry, I'st gotten ahead of mineself. There is quite a lot going through mine mind at the moment as I'm sure thou understands." Gwyndolin said, backing up and giving Arias a bit of breathing room.

"Of course." Arias replied. Gwyndolin smiled at him with a grin so wide it spread from ear to ear, and Arias couldn't help but smile back.

"Ah right, I found a scabbard for thy sword, give me a minute I shall go retrieve it. Go on and take a seat by the bonfire." Gwyndolin told him, slithering off to get what he'd dropped which was apparently a scabbard.

Arias walked back over the the dead bonfire and took a seat by the cold coiled sword. Sighing, he looked at sword now in his hands, and the armor he wore. His surcoat was ripped up, barely even recognizable, though it still clung resiliently to his armor, wrapped in cloth and bandages.

Gwyndolin soon returned, carrying a blue and sliver scabbard, it looked to be a perfect fit. He handed it to him and took a seat beside him, letting him sheathe the sword before speaking.. It wasn't long before the question came up.

"What happened?"

Gwyndolin took a deep breath, it was painful to recall.

He told him how he'd travelled to the kiln soon after he left, how he fought past all the black knights himself, and how he traversed to fog to see Arias a few breaths away from death, a greatsword positioned above his heart to bring that death to him.

He recognized him, Gwyn, his father, though a mere husk of himself. Scars of their battle adorned him, a hilt sheathed in his right eye, and shards of moonlight buried in his flesh. He didn't want to do it, but if he stopped there, he'd lose everything, possibly even his own life. So he notched three arrows, and let them go. His aim was true and put a swift end to the lord of cinder.

Then he told him that he'd healed Arias as the flame faded, but didn't mention the flame inside of him.

"I'm so sorry." Arias said as he finished the story.

"Hmm?" Gwyndolin hummed, slightly confused.

"That you, had to kill your own father." He clarified.

"Oh... Yes of course... I... I do not know how I feel about it as of yet. Gwyn was mine father, and mine goal for so many years was his approval but.. now so much has changed, I do not know if I agree with father anymore, or want his approval. And of course in his state, it was mostly a mercy killing. Though I admit it still.. hurt." Gwyndolin spoke, his voice bleak. As he finished he looked to the coiled sword, and Arias saw tear roll down his cheek.

Arias opened his mouth to say some comforting words but was interrupted by Gwyndolin.

"But, I'st managed to make peace with it over this last week. I am ready to move on now, from mine old life, into a new one, with thee." He leaned back, wiping the tear from his face, and turning his gaze to Arias.

Gwyndolin seemed different now, more confident in his words, picking himself up when he was down. He smiled warmly and extended a hand to Arias.

"What of thee?"

Arias was silent for a moment. He couldn't forget what he'd done but, after everything that has happened, he found himself unable to turn him down.

"I think I'm ready too." He smiled back, taking Gwyndolin's hand. Without another word, Gwyndolin pulled him into a warm hug, the two finally embracing one another again after what felt so long.

Gwyndolin wouldn't tell him of what happened with their soul, not yet, it would be too overwhelming for him after just waking up. For now that would be hidden, but he wouldn't hide it forever, just until he was ready.

As their hug went on, Gwyndolin moved his right arm away from it, instead using it to take hold of Arias' left hand. Then leaned away for a minute, only to lean in and kiss him deeply, a kiss Arias was very willing to accept. As he did, he intertwined his fingers with Arias', and gently pushed him onto his back.

They laid like that all night, comforted by their sweet embrace.

The next day, they awoke to darkness again, though Arias was still having trouble seeing, Gwyndolin promised that he'd soon get used to it. Soon they would set out. Where to? They didn't know, but they had a feeling that they shouldn't stay stationary for too long, and besides, they would be fine to live an ever roving life if they were together.

Affixing the scabbard to his worn belt and sheathing his new sword, Arias could feel a freshness in the air, a true new beginning for the both of them.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

Prologue

Silence hung in the air, it permiated all of Anor Londo in this moment. Endings approached, whether it be the end of a life, or an age, there would be a conclusion, fate would have it no other way.

Greatsword in hand, he remembered all he'd done to get here. And soon, it would all be taken away, by the usurpers, humanity. After all Gwyn had done to secure his kingdom's prosperity, now that it had finally become stable, the fire that started it all was fading.

No, he wouldn't have it. A life, or an age, the answer seemed simpler now. He may not be alive to see its future prosperity, but this way it would at least have a future.

He felt it grow, the urge to throw everything to the dogs and go straight for the fire. It gnawed at him like a starving pup. Soon an ending approached, whether it be a life or an age, there would be a conclusion, fate would have it no other way.

As he held his weeping lover in his arms, his thoughts wandered from his future to his past. He didn't really know how he got here, while he could guess, he'd never know for sure. The truth was long gone, lost along with the man once named Oliver.

Arias had only been around for a short time, though he developed a relationship and went on his own little journey, he still couldn't help but feel like his own life had been cut short. His future robbed by fate in favor of the future of a dead kingdom.

If he didn't link the fire, he'd still most likely lose everything he had. If he didn't link the flame and in turn lost Gwyndolin, then he'd truly have no purpose, and nothing would prevent him from hollowing.

Thinking of it that way, it may be a mercy, to die now while things were alright. Then again, the long-lasting effects of that may be worse than hollowing away.

"Arias." Gwyndolin almost whispered; his voice hoarse from crying so much.

"Hm?" Arias hummed, pulled from his thoughts.

"The night we made love, I pleaded thee never leave mine side. Thou promised never." He spoke, looking over Arias' shoulder, to the doorframe, remembering how they'd sat on the windowsill together.

Arias didn't say anything. He knew even at the time that it was a hollow promise, but he said it anyway, because Gwyndolin needed the comfort.

"Wilt thou keep that promise?" Gwyndolin asked. Arias didn't say a word. Both of them knew he couldn't.

"After all that has happened since then. I need to hear it again." Gwyndolin insisted. Arias remained quiet, indecisive. It'd be a lie; he'd have to link the fire either way.

"Please!" He pleaded, holding him tighter.

"I..." Arias started.

"...Promise. Never to leave your side."

Gwyndolin tightened his arms around him. He didn't say a word, but it was clear he was relieved to hear those words. Some time passed before Gwyndolin took a deep breath and leaned out of the hug to face Arias.

"In spite of... No, perhaps due to all that has happened. I do not know how would fare without thee anymore. Thou... cannot link the flame. But we cannot let it die either..." He told him, his golden irises sparkling in the moonlight as he gazed at him.

"Is it possible to have both?" Arias asked him.

"Only if we couldst find another being of thine strength." Gwyndolin answered glumly. Thinking on this Arias realized something. He and Lenovis were of equal skill and power, it was only his willpower and quick thinking that allowed him to overcome her.

"The darkwraith." He thought out loud.

"The darkwraith?" Gwyndolin repeated, confused.

"The one that I just defeated, the woman that tricked you. She matched me in strength, if we force her, she could be the one to link the flame." Arias explained.

"Why yes she could. Arias that's- that's simply marvelous thinking!" Gwyndolin applauded him, his expression quickly changing into one of joy and relief. And he couldn't deny, that would be fitting revenge after what she'd done to him. Fitting revenge indeed.

"Right, then we should fetch her right now." Arias said, earning a nod from Gwyndolin. Getting up he felt his tiredness again. As energetic as Gwyndolin now was, he seemed incapable of sharing his excitement.

"I shalt make the arrangements, thou shouldst go to the dungeon where I'm sure the blades have held her." Gwyndolin told him, receiving only a nod in response.

"Yeah, that's her." The firekeeper told him, handing him the keys.

"Be careful, I don't think I need to remind you what you're dealing with. I hope whatever you're getting out of her is worth it." She said as he opened the door.

The iron barred door creaked loudly as he pushed it open, quickly gaining Lenovis' attention.

She was bound by chains to the floor and the walls, adorned with tattered Armour, missing an arm and covered in scars from their battle. Her silvery white hair covered her face, but he could tell she was glaring at him with disdain.

Arias remained silent as he approached her, remaining very wary of what she was capable of. All that could be heard was her ragged breath and the clank of his Armour until he was right in front of her.

She continued to glare at him as he kneeled down and bound her arm and legs with rope, it was only when he removed her chains did, she speak.

"This isn't you Oliver."

He froze upon hearing that name.

"I know you would never do this. You know, you would never do this."

"How do you know that name?"

"Because it's me you damned traitor! Who saved you and your friend in bBighttown!? Me! Who guided you through that bandit ridden wood!? I did! Yet after everything, you still turned your back on me and Oscar! Hell you killed him enough times to turn him hollow! You banished him from this whole accursed world! He just wanted to help you! But no you and that damned pale fucker butchered him!" She yelled, tears forcing their way out of her eyes as she stared into his.

The room went silent again for a minute, Lenovis staring at him with rage filled teary eyes while he sat there shocked.

"I..."

"...Am not Oliver."

"What?"

"Oliver hollowed away, alone in Anor Londo. I am what was left after he lost himself. I didn't betray you; Oliver didn't betray you. I'm a different man, just in his body." He saw as the rage dissipated from her face, his words stunning her in shock.

While she took a minute to take in what he'd just said, he tied some more rope on her just to be safe.

As he stood her up, thoughts wandered through his head, could he really say that with certainty? That Oliver was dead and that he was a different man? He was hollowing yes but he never truly lost his mind.

And, if he wasn't Oliver, then why was there this feeling deep inside his soul, of guilt?

"I loved him you know." Lenovis spoke, voice almost hollow. Her words pulled Arias out of his train of thought.

"Oliver. He was a kind, gentle soul, only wishing the best for us all. Not a hint of selfishness in his eyes, if it came down to it, he might well have challenged fate itself if it meant we would be alright. Which is why I couldn't believe it, when after being lost for so long, he turned on us, slaughtered his closest friend and never even hesitated." Her voice was low, and she stared dead at the floor, almost in a trance.

She didn't say another word, just stood perfectly still as the room was bathed in silence. Soon, without a word, Arias picked her up and took her out of the room.

"Wh-What are you doing?" The firekeeper stuttered, watching him walk out with the darkwraith in his arms.

"Gwyndolin needs her for something important." Was all Arias said, walking away quickly after. The firekeeper stood still for a moment, suspicion seeping into her mind. What would the master even need her for?

She shook the thoughts from her head, she knew damn well his loyalty to the master as he'd demonstrated it very clearly only an hour or so ago. Whatever they were doing with her, it was all for some plan Gwyndolin had, and she had no right to intervene.

"I've got her" Arias called out to Gwyndolin, approaching him in the empty cathedral.

"Well done. Then I suppose we may now depart. Hold still now." Gwyndolin said, quickly lifting his catalyst and casting a teleportation sorcery.

'No waiting around huh?' Arias thought to himself, though he knew it was urgent, his tired body was still bugging him, at least he'd be able to rest soon.

Vision was blurred into a pure white for but a moment, and then it returned, colour seeping back into the world. They appeared before a vessel in front of a large stone door. In the vessel seemed to be 3 souls, burning with great power. Those must be the souls of the other lords Oliver had slain.

"Right, now place the Paledrake's soul in the vessel and we shalt progress." Gwyndolin told him. Arias nodded and put Lenovis down on the floor, quickly reaching into his pack and grabbing the soul bequeathed to Seath, once again feeling it's sheer power in his hands gave him goosebumps as he carefully held it above the vessel.

Carefully parting his hands, he let it fall between them and into the vessel, adding to the souls already present. In but a few moments a beam of sunlight shot from the vessel into the sky, soon after the stone doors cracked open, a bright white light shining through them, illuminating a staircase.

Arias was stunned by the sight, and even when the beam of sunlight disappeared, he stood still for a minute to process what'd happened.

"We shouldst hurry, we have little time." Gwyndolin reminded him, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Oh- right." Arias shook himself from his trance and picked up Lenovis. Heaving her over his shoulder, Arias trudged onward, though his exhaustion still remained, he pushed himself onward with all his might.

On their way they encountered multiple black knights, which Arias clumsily fought off, though despite being able to defeat them reasonably swiftly, he did take quite a few blows in trade.

Healing with his estus flask, he continued on, with Gwyndolin following closely behind, until they were standing in front of a large fog gate. Lord Gwyn certainly waiting on the other side.

They'd fight, and he'd have to be victorious. There was no if about it, he could not mess this up. Though he was dreading fighting the lord one on one in his state, he couldn't ask Gwyndolin to fight his own father.

"I'll go in alone." Arias told him as he lowered Lenovis from his shoulder to the brick floor.

"Alone? B-But in thine state-" Gwyndolin tried to talk him down but was interrupted.

"He's your father. I can't let you fight against him; it wouldn't be right." Arias stood again to face him.

"Don't worry, I'll manage by myself." He comforted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Gwyndolin was silent for a minute, thinking about the possibilities of what could happen to him before finally speaking up.

"I- Very well. Just please be careful!" He pleaded with him, taking Arias' free hand in both of his and looking him in the eyes.

"I swear I will." Arias promised him, before withdrawing his hands and turning to cross the fog wall. Raising a clenched fist to his right in a gesture of quiet resolve as he passed through.

Gwyndolin watched as he vanished into the fog. Standing still for a moment, a tear fell down his cheek. Arias was strong yes, but he knew very well how powerful his father was. The might to destroy the ancient dragons would not be easily bested, even after all these years. Kneeling to the floor, for the first time in years, he prayed, that Arias would be victorious and unharmed.

Arias' eyes were immediately drawn to glowing embers of the flame and the silhouette of the first lord as he passed through the fog. This was it; he would be victorious. There was no other option.

As he unsheathed his greatswords, he was shocked by Gwyn leaping at him, his flame coated greatsword already heading straight for him. Quickly he dodged the attack, rolling around him he was even able to backstab the lord, kicking him to the ash after impaling him along his blade.

To his shock there was no blood along with greatsword, in fact it was more like dust, or ash, falling off the blade as he withdrew it. Though he didn't have much time to think about it, as the lord quickly stood and snapped around, his greatsword almost cleaving Arias in half, it was only thanks to his noticing Gwyn stand up that it didn't.

Hurrying to his feet, Arias was just in time to meet the lord of Cinder's blade with his own, though the fire of the blade licked at his hands, soon burning through the leather of his gloves and singeing his skin.

Mustering up all the strength he had, Arias pushed back against the Lord of Cinder despite the flames threatening to cremate his arms and was able to overpower him, thrusting the sword out of his hands and staggering him for a brief moment.

Taking his chance, Arias swung his two greatswords wildly at Gwyn, hitting him a total of 7 times, finishing off his attack with a beam of moonlight from his moonlight greatsword.

Unfortunately, he'd completely worn himself out after that attack, and despite the damage he'd done, Gwyn was still just barely going, lifting his greatsword from the ash and charging at Arias again.

Arias lifted his moonlight greatsword to block the attack, only for it to be broken in half by the force of the attack, leaving him wide open, without the energy to get out of the way of the oncoming attack.

But he knew he couldn't die, no, he wouldn't let Gwyndolin down. By some sort of reflex, he quickly reached forward and caught the sword with his hands, dropping his own weapons. The edge of the blade sliced through his palms and the flame scorched his skin, causing immense pain, but he refused to let it best him, he wouldn't die.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, he pushed against the Lord of Cinder once again, gradually overpowering him before finally - he forced the blade to the side, slipping it from the wound it'd carved into his palm and sending it promptly to the ash.

Before Gwyn could bring it back up, Arias stamped on the sword to keep it from being lifted, and then hit the Lord straight in the face with his burned fist, the force sending him to the floor.

Arias hastily retrieved his Greatsword, and just in time to stop Gwyn getting up again, stamped on his neck and ran his sword through his skull, killing him instantly.

Exhausted, Arias fell to the floor, his energy spent and his determination induced strength waning.

Gwyndolin noticed as the fog wall before him faded into nothing, revealing to him the sight of Arias and his father, both collapsed to the floor, the ash run red with blood, and the fire at the center of it all, dim and faded.

"Arias!" Gwyndolin cried out, rushing over to his side as soon as he saw him. He kneeled down by his side and was still for a minute, he looked terrible, his gauntlets were all but ash and the bare skin of his hands and forearms were almost entirely black, the only color he could make out was the red blood of the wounds.

"Oh dear..." He breathed, the sight of his beaten state enough to bring tears to his eyes. He should've let him help.

"Sorry... to have scared you... I'm.. okay. Just needed to catch my breath was all." Arias spoke through dry breath as he lifted a reassuring hand to Gwyndolin's shoulder, the charred skin and deep red blood staining the perfect white of his dress, though he didn't care in the slightest.

"A-Arias!" He exclaimed, the tears of worry being flooded from his eyes by tears of relief as he leaned down and took him into a hug, a hug that Arias gladly reciprocated.

After that the two said no more, as nothing else needed to be said. Gwyndolin sat him up and let him rest his head on his lap as he took his estus flask and brought it to his mouth, letting him drink deep from the regenerative flame kept within the emerald flask.

Once he was healed, Arias forced himself to his feet, and with Gwyndolin's help, was able to drag Lenovis to the flame. As they grew closer, she began kicking and screaming, desperate to escape.

"OLIVER, OLIVER! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE SOMEWHERE, PLEASE I BEG OF YOU STOP THIS MAN! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS, PLEASE!" She screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks as they took her closer to the flame.

"PLEASE STOP THIS! I BEG YOU! ARIAS, OLIVER, JUST PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Gwyndolin began to feel his skin crawl. He knew very well what she'd done to him, but this felt too cruel. But the only other option was to lose Arias forever and have her rotting in a cell for eternity.

Arias remained silent, not faltering in the slightest, surprising Gwyndolin a bit. He knew he was loyal but this was maybe a bit too far. Maybe he was just blocking out the sound.

Either way, they soon tossed the screaming darkwraith into the sputtering flame. Her skin soon igniting, the flame finding her as suitable kindling.

Gwyndolin hurriedly took out his catalyst and teleported the two safely back to Firelink Shrine.

When the light faded and they were greeted by the serene shrine, Gwyndolin looked over to see Arias on his knees, eyes wide.

"Art thou okay?" He asked, but to no response.

"Arias!? Thou'rt worrying me!" He spoke a little louder, still no response. Good lord what on earth happened to him.

As they were about to teleport out, he swore he'd seen him. The man he once was, kneeling in the fire, holding Lenovis' limp body in his arms. Looking him in the eyes. There was a malice in those eyes, a kind of hatred made only when someone close is taken from you.

He knew very well that Oliver couldn't have been there, and Gwyndolin would've seen it too if it was real. But he couldn't shake the feeling that this would hold drastic consequences.

"If it came down to it he might well have challenged fate itself if it meant we would be alright." Those words echoed in his mind. No, there's no way he even could challenge fate, let alone know about this at all. Oliver is dead, Arias wouldn't be alive otherwise. Or... could he be... Could the past really challenge the present.

No, there was no way. Or was... He said he could challenge fate, no she said he would, but could.. he... His thoughts were scattering, and before he knew, his exhuastion finally got the best of him, and his heavy eyes closed as he fell to the floor.

"Arias!"

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 1

Silence. Pure, calm, silence. His body had longed for this feeling. The gentle stillness of rest, the closest he'd ever get to death. After all that he'd been through, the arduous trials he faced in both mind and body, he could finally, finally just rest.

Though soon, his eyes would open, to be greeted by a familiar room, painted sunset yellow, and warm like a gentle flame. The warmth seemed to be coming from the fireplace on the opposite end of the room to him. Near the fireplace was a small table and two chairs, and to the right towards a wall of bookcases was a door.

To his right was a row of bookcases and a single wardrobe between them. To his left was a bedside table with flowers and a book. It was then that Arias finally took notice that he was lying in a bed, and not just anyone's bed. Gwyndolin's bed.

His armor had been taken off and he was only in his undershirt and trousers so luckily, he hadn't dirtied the sheets with his dusty steel plate. Speaking of Gwyndolin, he wasn't in the bed with him. Arias panicked slightly, sitting up to see around the room better.

Though he didn't have to worry about him for long, looking further down the wall to his left there was a row of windows, and a couch beneath those windows. Sat on the couch was a pale god, adorned with an intricate golden crown, looking out the window, a sight as if from a painting.

Gwyndolin noticed movement in his bed and quickly turned his attention from his thoughts to Arias.

"Ah!" He gasped in surprise, seeing Arias had woken up. He immediately rushed over to the side of the bed where he kneeled beside him.

"Art thou awake? Canst thou hear me?" He asked eagerly, clearly excited that he was awake but trying to keep himself calm.

"M-Mmhm" Arias mumbled in response, which was all the conformation Gwyndolin needed, as a ginormous smile of relief painted itself across his face, and tears found their way down his cheeks.

"I am so relieved to hear that my dear." He breathed as he pulled him into tight hug. Arias put his arms around Gwyndolin and hugged him back. He hadn't remembered everything fully yet and was just recounting what'd happened in his head.

He'd fought Lenovis, he was exhausted, he sat with Gwyndolin, he took Lenovis to the kiln of the flame, fought Gwyn, almost died but caught the blade about to kill him. Then, he couldn't remember a thing. He must've been so tired that he just stopped taking things in. But by the looks of it, he'd been victorious.

Either way, he seemed to have gotten the long rest he so desperately needed.

"Well, how art thou feeling anyhow?" Gwyndolin sighed, letting go of Arias and regaining his compsure.

"Uhm, I feel... normal, and very well rested." Arias stretched, feeling some satisfying clicks in his rested bones.

"Ah, 'tis good to hear. Wouldst thou like something to eat? Or drink?" Gwyndolin asked.

"Oh, uh, yes please. If you don't mind." Arias fumbled out, still only half awake, but starting to notice that he was in fact very hungry.

"Oh not at all! I shall go have a maid prepare thee breakfast." With that, Gwyndolin stood from his spot beside the bed and promptly left the room.

Arias yawned and sat up. Rustling a hand through his hair, he tried to remember what'd happened after he caught that blade, but no matter how he tried, nothing. Not a faint idea or mental image. At least he had the scars on his arms to prove it had happened.

But... There was this feeling, deep down, that something bad had happened, it was unnerving. Like it was something inevitable that would come back to get him. The sort of feeling you get when you know you should go to sleep but are too busy to.

He dragged his hand down from his hair and wiped his face. He'd been sweating.

Now wasn't the best time to worry himself about it. Whatever it was he'd deal with it when the time came. For now he should be glad he was still alive, and that he still had Gwyndolin.

Speaking of Gwyndolin, he walked in at that moment.

"Food shalt be here shortly!" He chirped, quickly coming over, taking his crown off and getting in the bed beside Arias. Sitting close, he wrapped an arm Around him and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I missed thee dear." He sighed, closing his eyes.

"I missed you too." Arias lifted a hand and ran his fingers through Gwyndolin's silky hair. His sleep had felt like an eternity, it was like he'd slept for a lifetime. Indeed it felt like this was the first time he'd seen his lover in years.

"So... What happened to me?" He hesitantly asked, worrying he might upset him.

"After we left the kiln, thou went silent. Then keeled over. I wouldst have feared thou'dst died from exhuastion, if not for thy, well, predicament with death. But thou still drew breath, so I hoped it was simply the exhuastion overtaking thee. I brought thee back home and gave thee mine bed. Thou'st slept for almost two weeks now. I admit I was starting to worry thou wouldst never wake. I am ever so relieved thou'st proven that worry to be false." Gwyndolin leaned over a little bit more and wrapped his other arm around Arias, bringing him into a hug.

He looked so at peace. Before he'd always had worries plauging him, even when they spent the night together, even while he slept. It was so painfully clear. But now, his face was devoid of any worry, fear, anxiety, sadness. He was just, happy.

Arias took his free hand and moved it to the arm Gwyndolin wrapped around him, taking his hand in his own. Gwyndolin opened his eyes in response to the touch, not expecting it. He looked at Arias to be greeted with a warm smile, a smile that Gwyndolin returned.

Just then they heard a knock on the door.

"Ah, that must be breakfast! I shalt go fetch it from the maid." Gwyndolin jumped a little. Nervously getting up from the bed he rushed to the door and took the tray of food from her, thanking her as she left.

He brought the tray over and placed it on Arias' lap. He felt strange, he was just an undead knight but here he was getting served a meal of kings literally on a silver platter by a god.

"Th-Thank you." Arias nervously thanked Gwyndolin.

"Thou'rt very welcome. I hope thou enjoys it." Gwyndolin replied with a smile before going around the bed and sitting next to him again.

Despite feeling a bit nervous and undeserving, Arias eagerly ate up, he was absolutely starving. Though still he lacked even the most basic eating etiquette, for which Gwyndolin scolded him repeatedly.

Despite him being a bit of a dolt sometimes, Gwyndolin wasn't really angry with Arias, his occasional ignorance was quite endearing. Though that didn't mean he'd get away with it.

Once finished, he let out a loud burp, looking over he got a scowl of dissaprovement. Arias looked back at him in innocent confusion.

Good lord he really had no clue did he.

It felt like so long ago that he'd narrowly avoided going hollow, Gwyndolin had to keep reminding himself that it was only a week or two ago. Indeed much has happened in such a short time. Though after everything, he still ate like a child.

"Thou'rt terrible Arias." Gwyndolin jokingly sighed.

"What?" Arias asked, still confused.

"Burping at the table is bad manners, I'st already told thee this." he reminded him.

"But we're not at the table." Arias said, still confused.

"Yes well- Don't get smart with me Arias. I mean while eating anywhere." Gwyndolin tried to explain. Arias just gave him another look of utter befuddlement.

Gwyndolin sighed to himself. He'll get it someday.

"Well, since thou'rt finished I shalt take this to the table for the maid to retrieve later." Gwyndolin changed the topic, standing up and taking the tray away from him, putting it on the nearby table.

Despite Gwyndolin clearly having no malice behind his words, they only reinforced Arias' inner doubts of being undeserving of this.

Before he knew it Gwyndolin was sitting beside him again and looking him dead in the eyes with worry.

"Thou'st gone silent. Is something the matter?" He asked with concern in his voice. It seems he was easily worried after what happened.

"Uhm, well... No it's just something silly, it doesn't really matter." Arias tried to dismiss him but Gwyndolin wouldn't have it.

"No it's alright. I'm here for thee Arias. Thou may confide with me anything, no matter how much import it holds." Gwyndolin took his hand and gave him a reassuring nod.

"Well... I suppose I... I don't feel worthy. Maybe that's not the right way to put it but- I feel like I don't deserve to be here, to be treated this well. I'm just a knight, I'm no royalty..." Arias felt foolish but he told him anyway. Gwyndolin listened carefully, nodding and rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb as he spoke.

"I understand thine worries, I hast felt that same feeling before. But thou shouldst put those worries to rest. Thou'st more than earned this. 'Tis because of thine efforts that mine kingdom still stands, that the sun still rises. 'Tis because of thee that I can look at mine reflection without disdain. Honestly I believe thou may be deserving of even more. At the very least thine own chambers here in Anor Londo... Though it would be preferable if we continued to share." Gwyndolin spoke softly. His words were comforting and reasurring, and his touch reminded Arias of what he did everything for.

He seemed to have forgotten over his long slumber, but he didn't really care for anything but Gwyndolin, his god was everything to him, and his status never meant a damn thing really, as long as Gwyndolin was pleased.

"Thank you." Was all he said before pulling Gwyndolin closer for a hug, a hug he gladly received. Gwyndolin looked Arias in the eyes with a smile, though Arias didn't really notice the smile. His serpent-like pupils and golden irises were mesmerizing, taking him into a trance the more he looked at them.

Gwyndolin noticed this and playfully stuck his tongue out, revealing it to be forked, this was enough to shock Arias out of his trance.

"W-Wait your tongue is forked?" Arias stuttered in surprise.

"Mmhm. I was too ashamed to show anyone before but I'm comfortable with thee knowing." Gwyndolin giggled as he put his tongue away.

"I'm glad you're comfortable sharing such things with me." Arias smiled.

"Yes well, thine presence always seems to make me feel more comfortable, even in mine own bed." Gwyndolin sighed with a small giggle.

Arias wasn't sure of what to say after that but Gwyndolin didn't let him think of anything as he leaned in just a little closer and took him into a deep kiss, staring him directly in the eyes as he did.

Staring deeply into Arias' eyes, he felt whole. He'd missed feeling this way. He'd missed Arias. But now he had him again, and he wouldn't even let him go. Not while lived anyway.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 2

It'd been about a month since he'd woken up. Since then he'd recovered and lived a nicely calm life with Gwyndolin. Occaisionally he'd have to deal with the odd intruder to Anor Londo, such was his duty as knight of the darkmoon, but mostly he spent his time with Gwyndolin, who as always had an illusion of himself run the covenant in his stead.

They would read together and cuddle a lot, sometimes on especially cold nights they'd huddle up by the fire in a blanket and tell their own stories. Gwyndolin was especially good at weaving his own tales, stories that really felt inspired and interesting. Arias told him he should try writing some of them down, maybe write a whole book but Gywndolin told him he'd never be able to, not between running all of Anor Londo, the blades, and spending time with him.

Arias told him the two stories he had from his time out in the wilderness away from Gwyndolin. He told him of the crystalized archives, the crystal caves and its invisible walkways. The strange clams in there, and how he found the moonlight greatsword. He also told him of the Ash Lake, a tale which had Gwyndolin in awe, and a little disgust when he told him of the dragon.

Speaking of the Moonlight greatsword, Gwyndolin had actually teleported his weapons out with them, well the parts that were left anyways. He could tell from the way Arias fought that he valued them well and would probably be displeased having to adjust his hand to another weapon.

He had the giant blacksmith of Anor Londo repair them, and they came back in perfect condition, even the Moonlight greatsword which was astounding to say the least considering its nature. Arias was sure to thank the giant the next time he saw him.

Unfortunately, though, his armor was beyond repair, the leather of his gloves had been practically burnt into his skin, which had since mostly healed, though many scars were left, they were no longer scorched completely black and red. The rest of the armor had been torn, beaten and heavily burnt.

The blacksmith tried his best to repair it but was unable. Instead, Gwyndolin had him forge a new set of armor for Arias. One that had loose similarities to the last one but also a few differences, extra plating in some spots, more chainmail under the surcoat. More armor on both arms and improved pauldrons. The steel used was also greatly improved to make penetrating the armor much harder.

Finally, he had symbols of the moon etched into the plating and embroidered onto the new surcoat, to mark his status as a knight of the darkmoon, not of Astora. He had yet to show Arias this new armor set though, since it was only just finished recently, and he thought it would be nice to surprise him with it when he got the chance.

For now, Arias had been wearing a slightly modified silver knight set to fit him better, though it was pretty clear he had no love for the armor, not in terms of looks or comfortability, something Gwyndolin took great note of when he gave the blacksmith the order to forge his new set.

Despite how well things were for the two, despite it being everything he ever could've dreamed of and more. Arias felt uneasy still. He couldn't shake that feeling that something was terribly wrong, that perhaps something may even be after him.

He had to be more careful now too, now that the fire had been linked, the curse would be nullified until it faded again, meaning if he died now, he would stay dead for years. Which made his worry even more prevalent. He couldn't relax completely, not until this feeling went away. The last thing he would want would be for Gwyndolin to lose him, or even worse, for Gwyndolin to get hurt too.

He'd challenge fate itself if it meant keeping his lover safe. Arias' eyes widened in shock when he realized he recognized those words. He was just going for a walk in the courtyard in lower Anor Londo when he realized Lenovis had said that to him about Oliver, just before he took her out of her cell.

And those words, they sent a shiver down his spine, words he'd just used a minute ago to reinforce his determination now made him shudder just at the thought. But why? There's no way Oliver could challenge fate let alone him. That's impossible, he wouldn't even have a body or a mind to do that with, since Arias held possession over both now.

This must have a connection to why he felt so uneasy. And maybe even to what happened after he linked the fire. Gwyndolin told him he was completely still before passing out, but he remembered absolutely nothing of it. He didn't even remember defeating Gwyn, his memories went right up to grabbing that sword, and the next memory was awakening in Gwyndolin's bed.

Maybe he should go investigate Firelink Shrine. He couldn't go into the kiln anymore since he'd be incinerated by the now reinvigorated flame but maybe the environment outside would jog his memory if only a little.

Though then again maybe not, not in that silver knight armor anyways, it was far too clunky, if he ran into a threat, he'd have a much harder time than usual. Couldn't put himself in danger like that especially not now. He'd have to wait and see what happened.

Arias sighed and stopped walking for a minute. He took in a deep breath and smelled the pleasant fresh air. It was warm but not uncomfortable. With all this worrying and confusion, he must be sure not to forget what he's fought for. And what he'd earned with his victory.

He'd go back to Gwyndolin in a minute to get his mind off things, maybe ask him to tell him a story or read a bit. He really enjoyed that, and despite seeing it almost every day now, he still couldn't get over that wonderful smile he had when reading and cuddling.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 3

"Ah, thou'rt returned! How was thy walk?" Gwyndolin chirped cheerfully as Arias walked in through the open door.

"Yeah it was nice. Still strange seeing Anor Londo from so far below but nice. The flowers looked really nice today, you should go take a look at them too." Arias spoke though with something of a forced tone of cheeriness. It was easy to miss but Gwyndolin noticed it right away. Arias walked over and took a seat next to him on the couch.

"Arias, is... something the matter?" Gwyndolin asked him almost immediately. Indeed he wasn't slack when it came to Arias' wellbeing, especially after what happened in Firelink.

"No, nothing. Why?" Arias asked, feigning confusion. Gwyndolin saw straight through it and asked him again.

"Why? Well I can see clearly there's something bothering thee that's why." Gwyndolin insisted. When you've been through these things you recognize them elsewhere very quickly. Gwyndolin could see that same worry and fear in Arias' eyes that had been in his many times. He didn't want Arias to go without the help he never had.

"Well it's true I'm not feeling my most joyful, but I'm not upset. Guess I'm just tired?" Arias again tried another excuse. Again, Gwyndolin saw straight through it. Tired? After going on a short walk? Yes of course because the same man that almost single handedly saved the kingdom would get exhausted from a small walk around a courtyard.

"Arias." Gwyndolin said sternly, taking his hand in his and looking him in the eyes.

"Thou knows I am always here for thee, no matter what. No matter the import of thy worry I can listen. I will always be here to help bear any burdens that weigh thee down. Because I love thee." He told him with nothing but honesty and devotion in his voice.

Arias didn't want to tell him, for have him worry over something he himself wasn't even sure was actually a real issue. Just a strange gut feeling. That could be anything. Maybe he dropped something in the kiln and that's what it was?

To tell him he felt some imposing doom looming over them but that he had no idea what it was or if it was even real felt stupid, and even a bit cruel. But as much as he tried to keep these thoughts to himself, as much as he tried to be an unfaltering brick wall, those eyes, as always, they mesmerized him in their beauty, and his words, they were so comforting, he felt so safe, comfortable and loved with his hand held in his. He couldn't help but give in.

"I..." He started, still trying to hold back but that was gradually becoming impossible. Gwyndolin gave him a reassuring nod, encouraging him to go on and not hold back.

"...I've been getting this... Feeling, I'm not sure how to describe it. But ever since I woke up without the memories of what happened in the kiln and before I passed out, I've had this weird feeling in my gut that... Something terrible is about to happen soon. This feeling won't go away either, and the large gap in my memory wherein anything could've happened only makes it worse. I feel like there's something seriously wrong that I won't even see coming since I don't even know what it is. Though I have a small idea but it's such a loose connection I can't be sure. That darkwraith told me before I took her out of her cell that Oliver had been close with her. The man I used to be. She said he'd challenge fate itself to keep her safe. That thought also sends a similar shiver down my spine but that's the only connection there is." Arias unloaded all of his problems and worries, Gwyndolin listening carefully and encouraging him with small squeezes to his hand.

So this was why he was so hesitant to tell him. He wasn't sure what he was afraid of was even real. What he hadn't realized was that real or not, a burden is a burden and it'll weigh you down nonetheless. And he would gladly help him bear it either way.

"I understand thy worries. Nothing is as horrifying as the unknown. But from the sounds of it, it could be thy mind panicking at missing memories and grasping at nothing. Though it could also be very real, a gut feeling like that does not come from nowhere. And I remember thee being very still before passing out, looking back thou may have been petrified by fear... or guilt. When we tossed that darkwraith into the fire, she screamed in agony and horror. I know that memory still keeps me awake sometimes, so maybe that is what is haunting thee? The guilt? Though this is clearly not something that can simply be left alone, thou shouldst find a way to uncover the truth, if only to soothe thy fearful mind. And if there is any way I couldst assist thee with this I wouldst be glad to. As I said, I am here for thee, no matter what." Gwyndolin spoke softly, his kind words like a blanket of reassuring comfort over Arias' mind.

"Thank you Gwyndolin." Was all he could say. Just as he said, he listened to his woes and tried to help, even knowing full well they could simply be imaginary. Really simply saying thank you was nowhere near enough, but he hadn't any other words to express his gratitude.

"Thank you so very much." Despite trying to avoid it, Arias began to involuntarily weep.

"As I said. I am here for thee always." Gwyndolin reminded him, giving him a smile and a hug.

"For now I... Just want to forget about it. I don't want to worry... Could you, maybe tell me one of your stories?" Arias asked once he recollected himself.

"Of course." Gwyndolin nodded.

"But first..." Gwyndolin shifted himself, turning around and lying against the arm of the couch, before beckoning Arias to come over.

"Wouldst thou like to get comfortable?" He asked with a smile, to which Arias responded by saying of course. He snuggled up with Gwyndolin, lying against him with his head rested on his chest. Gwyndolin wrapped his arms around Arias and began to tell him a tale.

Once, many ages ago, there was a kingdom called Boletaria. A prosperous land ruled by a fair and humble king, King Allant. Within the kingdom of Boletaria, to the south was the tower of Latria, land of the learned. Despite being a mostly magic based society, knights were stationed there as the guard, while not as smart as the many scholars of the kingdom, they were experts with blades.

One day, a knight from Latria, named Saldus, was told by the fair queen to escort a messenger to a place outside the kingdom of Boletaria. She feared that the road was far too treacherous to traverse without protection. Saldus accepted this duty and left Latria with the messenger the next day.

Far the two travelled, becoming good friends along the road. But just as they were about to arrive at the kingdom, they were attacked by bandits, and despite being able to fend them off, Saldus was unable to save the messenger from a stray arrow that he took to the neck.

Devastated, the knight buried his friend and continued on alone with the message. Soon he arrived at this unknown kingdom, quickly he delivered the message. For his efforts he was allowed to rest at the local inn for no fee for a single night.

Arriving at the inn, Saldus was greeted by many shocked faces.

"Thou'rt from Boletaria?"

"How art thou alive?"

Confused, Saldus asked them what was so surprising. They told him that they hadst received news of a great colorless fog covering Boletaria almost a week ago, about a day after his departure, and that none hadst left the fog since, save for one man, a knight named Vallarfax, who escaped through a fissure in the fog, warning of terrible soul-devouring demons. Vallarfax beckoned any would-be heroes to venture to Boletaria to lend aid to the struggling kingdom.

Shocked with horror, Saldus took all his belongings and left immediately, not even resting his tired bones. The knight was desperate to know what had become of his home, and his family.

Running the whole way, and sleeping as little as possible, Saldus ran the entire week's journey in two days, arriving at a large glowing fissure piercing into a thick colourless fog. Without hesitation, Saldus ran into the fissure, with no regard-

As Gwyndolin spoke, he felt Arias jolt in his lap from shock. His breathing picked up speed, and his muscles were tensing up.

While listening to the story, Arias saw something move in the fire to his right. The thing rose from the flame and stood in the fireplace, he wasn't sure but it felt like it was staring into his soul. The longer he looked at it, the more he could make out, a set of armor, like his. A large sword, like a greatsword, and a shield. The same equipment he had when he awoke from hollowing.

The same equipment Oliver must have had before hollowing. "If it came down to it he might well have challenged fate itself." He felt it echo throughout his mind, the image of the knight, the words.

Horrible, he couldn't bear seeing him like this. Arias had practically pounced off the couch and hid in the corner, curled up in a ball, his hair stood on end, and he was shaking wildly. He stared at the fireplace, eyes wide like a cornered animal, mumbling something to himself all the while.

Tears poured down his cheeks uncontrollably. His face was that of sheer terror. Gwyndolin was unsure of what to do. He'd experienced and seen so many negative emotions, but he was unsure of how to help with a panic attack. He'd only had one once, when his father died, and he was completely alone.

He remembered just sort of, getting over it, but he couldn't leave Arias like this, no he would never forgive himself. He was unsure about what to do, but whatever he did, he had to be gentle, and be careful above all else.

He walked over slowly, kneeling beside Arias, who was now looking all over the room frantically. His arms were wrapped around his head, and only his eyes were unguarded.

Still unsure of what he was doing, Gwyndolin carefully moved over and wrapped his arms around Arias' trembling body. Gradually, he felt Arias' shaking slow to a halt, and his tensed muscles slowly eased.

That was Oliver in the fire he was sure of it. For some reason Oliver was standing in the fire, staring at him. Why was he there what did he want how could he be there why did it scare him so much what does it mean he'd challenge fate what is he how-

"Arias..." He heard a soft whisper. It slowed his thoughts.

"Arias I am here." He felt a warmth wrapping around him, blocking out the fear. The thoughts, the images and the voice in his head dying down. It was better now; the fear was gone. It was, was so terrifying. He didn't want to see that ever again. He clung to this warmth desperately. The gentle warmth that drove away the fear.

Arias clung desperately to him, crying loudly into his chest. He didn't seem to be afraid anymore but whatever it was that had scared he seemed to have shaken him to the core. Gwyndolin tried to hold back his own tears. He knew he had to be strong, but it was hard, seeing Arias, someone so strong, kind, and loving, like this. It was almost unbearable. But he would bear any burdens he had to for Arias.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 4

It was a unique kind of pain. Seeing someone so strong, emotionally and physically, someone who'd cared for you, protected you and fought for you. Someone like that... Seeing them in such despair. It broke his heart.

Arias had been silent for a few minutes now; it seemed his panic attack had ended. Though despite that, Gwyndolin was still trying to contain his own tears. He had to be strong for Arias, as he had always been for him.

"Thank you." He heard Arias whisper, as he clung to him a bit tighter.

"Of course. I am always here for thee dear." Gwyndolin whispered back, gently patting him on the head. Silence settled again before Arias lifted his head and spoke.

"Could you... continue with that story? About Boletaria?" He asked.

"Very well." Gwyndolin nodded, promptly resuming where he'd left off.

Saldus arrived at a large wall of colorless fog, a glowing fissure piercing it in the middle. Showing no hesitation, he ran for the fissure, desperate to find the truth of what had happened to his homeland. Running through the fissure, all light seemed to vanish, and the ground under him turned to shallow water.

Unfazed by the sudden change, he kept running for the light. Soon he passed through the fissure. and found himself in a strange waterway in an old keep. Saldus' determination did not waver, and he resumed his sprint, only to run into a dregling, a slave soldier, one of many used in the Northern most part of Boletaria.

The dregling made a strange groaning sound and then attacked him much to his surprise. Saldus was easily able to repel the attack and counter, killing the dregling with a quick beheading, though he was confused, Latria was no enemy of Boletaria, why wouldst a slave soldier deign attack him? He shook these thoughts off and continued, now far more wary in his approach. He ran into many more dreglings on his way, but they were no match for his skill. Soon he found himself in an isolated courtyard with no way out. But there was something strange in this courtyard, a cracked stone with a strange sword or pike sheathed within the stone.

Curious, he touched the sword, only to suddenly find himself surrounded by fog, when the fog dissipated, he found himself in a completely different place. It seemed to be further inside the same keep, but the door was closed behind him, locked shut. More cautious than ever, Saldus continued still. Soon he found a soldier, unlike the slave these men were well trained and could likely be reasoned with. But this soldier did not speak a word, instead he charged blindly at Saldus. "Wh- What provokes thee!?" Saldus shouted, but to no response from the soldier. Saldus blocked many stabs from the soldier's blade, before parrying an attack and using the opening he'd gained to stab the soldier with a killing blow to the throat.

Saldus' confusion only grew more, and worry clouding over him, but he knew he could not stop, and thus continued through the keep, running into more dreglings, soldiers, and even a few knights, that were just as unresponsive as the others. Finally, Saldus approached a thin wall of fog. With no other way to go, he wearily pierced the fog and walked through to the other side.

As Gwyndolin told his story, he noticed Arias' breathing had slowed, and upon listening closer, it was apparent that he was lightly snoring. Good, rest could help him after such a strong attack. Still he wondered what could have shocked him so.

Looking over to the fire, Gwyndolin wondered what he could've seen in it. His first guess would be Lenovis or Gwyn, though Arias remembered none of that fight, so it was unlikely. O what could it be that scared him so. If only he knew with certainty, he'd do anything to keep something like this from happening again. To keep Arias safe.

Sighing to himself, Gwyndolin slowly stood, lifting Arias up with him and carrying him with great difficulty to the bed. Good lord he was heavy. How on earth he leapt around like an animal in full plate with two swords of that size would forever be a mystery.

As careful as he could be, Gwyndolin placed Arias down on the bed before getting in with him. Pulling the sheets over the two of them, he took him in his arms once again and held him close. He wasn't all that tired himself but after what'd just happened he wasn't going to leave Arias until he knew he was okay.

"Goodnight my dear. I pray thou'rt better come morning." Gwyndolin whispered, kissing him gently on the cheek as the sun set over his empty city.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 5

Warmth, a pleasant warmth once again, like resting beside a bonfire with friends after a long journey. He felt it wrap around him, blanketing him in the calming comfort it provided.

Arias yawned and sleepily opened his eyes. Blinking a bit, he looked around. The same room he'd been waking up in for the past month, a comfortable one. Though the fire directly opposite him brought back the memory of what'd happened the day prior.

He remembered seeing the man he once was, Oliver, seeing him stand in flame and feeling his gaze. He remembered being overcome with fear, huddling in a corner like a wild animal, only for Gwyndolin to bring him into a warm embrace to drive away the fear.

He'd continued his story about Saldus of Latria and the kingdom of Boletaria, though Arias couldn't remember anything after the knight fighting with a soldier. He supposed he must have fallen asleep.

Wondering how he'd ended up on the bed, Arias lifted up his head, only to see two arms wrapped around him. He lifted his head further to see Gwyndolin behind him, with a warm smile.

"Good morning, dear." He spoke, his voice smooth like silk.

"Gwyndolin..." Arias sighed happily, lying back down into his embrace.

"Didst thou sleep well?" He asked softly. Arias mumbled an affirmative.

"How dost thou feel?" Gwyndolin asked warily.

"...Better." Arias said almost somberly. He was definitely better, but he still felt... off.

"I am glad." Gwyndolin nodded, he pulled Arias closer and lifted a hand from under the soft silk of the bed sheets, softly he laid it upon Arias' face and quietly he spoke to him. "Dear, I do not wish to force thee so please do not speak if thou desirest against it, but pray tell, what horrors besiege thy mind, love?"

Arias felt the concern in his voice, though also a strong desire to protect, it seemed he'd rubbed off on him. "Myself. Or something more like a reflection of myself. It glared at me from the fire, hatred radiating from the flames in place of warmth, and I felt an overwhelming fear choking me, as if despite my own skills and will to survive I was truly defenseless, without hope." He choked up as he recounted what he saw, the picture of the knight still painfully clear in his mind. "Thank you for being there."

"Of course, love." Gwyndolin stroked his cheek lovingly. He made the connection where Arias could not, this was undoubtedly because of what Lenovis had screamed out before they burned her, begging Oliver for help. She clearly knew him before his hollowing, and it seems some part of Arias resonated with it, whether it was from an actual remaining part of the man that was or an intense manifestation of guilt, she caused a part of him to haunt himself. That is, despite him having no memory of the incident. After awakening he had said the last thing he remembered was moment before his slaying of Gwyn, nothing about throwing Lenovis into the flames. Gwyndolin recognized this as a response to severe trauma wherein the brain completely blocked out the memory of an event to protect itself.

He would have to do some heavy research to understand how to help Arias. But that would keep him away from him when he needs him most, then maybe, he should see if Seath had any remaining servants willing to bow to a new master, maybe summon scholars from faraway lands to help with the matter. He was a royal and thus commanded much authority, Gwyndolin had many methods available to him that could help heal Arias and for that he is grateful. One on his snakes lazily slithered onto Arias' stomach while Gwyndolin pondered his options and Arias lifted his hand to pet the little one, he could be so cute. That did remind him once again however, that even with all these resources, Arias needed him more than scholars.

Though maybe, what he needed most above all else was himself. All this talk of seeing his old self in the flames full of hate, fear of him, maybe even fear of his current self, he was capable of terrible things Gwyndolin had to admit, even if they were in service of him. The man's very ego, Arias, was trembling under the weight of two selves torn between past and present.

Gwyndolin wondered, if it was the sheer guilt of what he had done to Lenovis, the power of those doomed wails. At the time he did not even flinch, but he did not look quite present upon further recollection. All of this made Gwyndolin believe that the best way to protect and heal Arias, was to restore the value of his current self, to once again trust in the strength of his sword and armour, trust that his actions were just and to trust that he was a good man. If he could only restore the strength that he'd lost since the linking of the fire, then he could save him from this pit of despair his mind was being dragged down.

Though of course this would be difficult to put into practice and honestly, he would need time to plan his course of action. Though... there was one thing he could do now that he was sure could help in restoring Arias' trust of strength at the very least.

"Dear." Gwyndolin leaned his head to the side as he spoke, brushing his hands gently along Arias' cheek.

Arias, who had been enjoying the calming silence opened his eyes and hummed attentively.

"There is a gift I'st been waiting to reveal to thee." Gwyndolin said, running his fingers through Arias' hair. "If thou'rt fit to visit the cathedral that is."

Arias sighed. "Do you think me so feeble as to not manage a walk through your city?" He sounded somewhat defeated, Gwyndolin had said the wrong thing, and he felt a quick sinking feeling.

"Ah- no I-I just wished to be careful! I cannot know for certain your condition due to its nature in thy mind and, thou seems quite comfortable, I did not wish to make thee leave if thou didst not yet want to!" Gwyndolin stumbled over his defense.

"Sorry, I did not mean to upset you, nor do I doubt your intentions. It's only... I cannot help but to feel helpless and weak as I am. Again, I apologize for putting that on you." Arias apologized as he sat up, Gwyndolin's snake slithering off his stomach and onto his lap. Another snake slithered around his arms and into his left hand, its tongue flicking innocently.

"I understand dear." Gwyndolin sighed, leaning forwards, pressing himself against Arias' back and wrapping his arms around his chest. "I do not blame thee for thy despair, I of all know all too well what it is to feel helpless." He nestled his head on Arias' right shoulder as he spoke soft words into his ear. "It was thee who saved me from mine own helplessness. Thou didst so much for me, my knight, my love. I may lack thine strength, and thy courage, but I am at thy side, and I will protect thee, and I will restore thy strength once again, so thou mayest fend off the specters that haunt thy mind." He promised, speaking with conviction and certainty as he held Arias firmly.

"I... Thank you." Arias lifted his right hand to Gwyndolin's and held it close to his heart. Gwyndolin placed a small kiss upon his cheek as he did.

"So, what is it you wanted to show me?"

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 6

Arias followed Gwyndolin through the ever more familiar halls of Anor Londo. Gwyndolin kept a brisk pace despite seeming so calm, perhaps he was just good at hiding his excitement, or maybe the snakes were excited, and he wasn't. Arias was still unsure if they were a separate mind or not from Gwyndolin, he wondered if asking him would be too sensitive a topic. Though there was something else that confused him that he believed he should speak up about.

"Are you not going to take on your illusory guise?" Arias asked, concerned for Gwyndolin, worried that he may have forgotten.

"No, unfortunately continuing to take on the guise of a woman would only have complicated matters further. I am sure thou rememberst after that horrid fight with the darkwraith, many of the blades laid eyes upon mine form for the first time, true or otherwise, with so many having seen the truth it is far simpler to give up the facade altogether." Gwyndoln explained as they ascended the stairs to the central moving bridge of Anor Londo.

"Are you alright with that?" Arias asked, concerned for him, knowing how much he preferred to stay out of sight.

"In all honesty, no absolutely not. But it must be done. I pray all goes well and mayhaps someday mine worries will vanish altogether." He answered as he looked out upon the city, his marvelous crown silhouetted by the sun for a brief moment.

"I see. I'm sure that day will come." Arias said, and he was being sincere. Ever since all that'd happened between his fight with Oscar and linking the fire, Gwyndolin had been getting stronger, while Arias himself seemed to be mentally degrading at a remarkable pace. He was sure Gwyndolin would be able to overcome his fears one day.

"My thanks Arias." Gwyndolin turned back to him for a moment and smiled, a beautiful smile.

They ascended the moving bridge and came to face the imposing silhouette of the great cathedral, the heart of Anor Londo, bathed in golden rays of beautiful sunlight. "Anor Londo is ever the wonderful sight." Arias thought aloud.

"Mmm." Gwyndolin hummed in response. He slithered up the central staircase and Arias followed on the left; the smaller incline of the steps was much more suited to his smaller stature. Though Arias wondered if those stairs were actually for the lords or rather were for giants. The two passed by armored giants and winged demons, and just as before Arias still felt great unease near them, despite them being servants of Gwyndolin. Arias was led up the steps and over to the left, to the giant blacksmith.

"Hello master, hello friend." His gentle voice boomed as he tinkered away at a silver knight's cuirass with his comically small hammer.

"Hello there friend! Hope you're doing well today!" Arias waved to the blacksmith. The fellow didn't say anything, but he was sure he appreciated the greeting despite not being the most talkative.

"Giant, bring out the Darkmoon Knight armor." Gwyndolin ordered, much to Arias' visible disapproval, noticed by Gwyndolin to his subtle dismay. Though Arias felt his curiosity quickly rising, was this a new armor set for him?

The giant leaned to his left and grabbed a chest in each hand, then he leaned back to his right, facing Arias and Gwyndolin and placing the chests before them.

"M-Mine thanks, giant." Gwyndolin said almost hesitantly, it was clear he didn't truly mean it. "Go ahead. Open them." He then turned to Arias and held an arm out towards the chests. Arias nodded popped off the latch of the first and opened it, within was a helm, a cuirass with two strange chains attached to the back, chainmail, a pauldron and a surcoat all stacked neatly atop one another. Within the second chest were a pair of gauntlets, shoulder plates and leggings. It all had the same shape of his previous set of armor, but the make was of much higher quality, the metal was a wonderful silver, engraved with such wonderful artistic depictions of the dark moon, most prominent upon the right pauldron and visor. Where the gloves and boots of his previous set were made of strong leather, these were sewn from crystal scales, along with the belts and pouches.

The surcoat was colored with such gentle gradients of midnight blue, the Blade of the Darkmoon crest embroidered in brilliant silver upon the center of the chest, and while it looked brilliant, the fabric was tough and sturdy. He wondered if the giant blacksmith could have actually made such an intricate work of art. "May I try it on?" Arias turned to Gwyndolin, who was watching him with a gentle smile.

"Of course, it is thine as of now." With that affirmative, Arias donned the expertly crafted armor, piece by piece, in the same order he'd donned his previous armor, a sort of muscle memory passed on. After tightening some straps and belts to fit and fastening the pouches to his belt, he moved about a bit, it felt natural, once again like donning a second skin like his previous set. It was all perfectly matched, unlike that silver knight armour, even the parts that were substantially changed like the right glove and boots being scale.

"It's perfect." Arias finally said, moving his arms and hands around, admiring still the fine craftmanship. "You both have my utmost thanks!" Though the visor hid it, Gwyndolin could hear the smile through his voice, and it brought him great joy.

"Marvelous! I am ever so glad it is to thy liking!" Gwyndolin held his hands together by his face and smiled a beaming grin. "Though there is one more thing about this armour thou'st yet to see." He said, slithering behind him and taking hold of the two strange chains hanging from the top left of the cuirass, he clipped the bottom ends to the back right of Arias' belt, so that the chains formed two diagonal lines. "And now for the final reveal." He announced as if putting on a performance.

Gwyndolin brought his staff to his hand and cast a quick spell; a bright light brought Arias' swords to the floor before him. With great difficulty Gwyndolin picked up the greatsword and carried it over. "By the flame, how dost thou lift this with such ease." Gwyndolin grunted out as he struggled to lift the sword.

"The Moonlight greatsword is much lighter." Arias said as he watched the god fumble about and almost fall over.

"Oh whatever." Gwyndolin grumbled in response. Though it was a struggle, he sheathed the greatsword between the chains on Arias' back, the first chain going over the sword and the second beneath. Gwyndolin leaned against Arias for a second to catch his breath. "And that... Is the sheath I asked... to be made for thee..." Gwyndolin said between breaths. "It should complement thy fighting style and make for easier sheathing and unsheathing." He continued after recomposing himself.

Arias turned and unsheathed his greatsword, it slid from its place on his back to his front with great ease, unlike a traditional back sheath which was generally unwieldy. He expected placing it between the chains once again would be a precise hassle but to his surprise sheathing the sword was quite simple. "This is much simpler! Thank you! the idea is ingenious!" Arias complimented Gwyndolin's thinking as he grabbed his Moonlight greatsword and sheathed it beside the greatsword.

Gwyndolin was glad to see him so happy with his new equipment. Honestly, he looked like a child on his birthday surrounded by gifts. And this armour suited him much better than the last, as a knight of the Darkmoon it is only appropriate he wear their symbol instead of that of Astora. He wondered still, was Arias truly a knight of Astora previously? He didn't seem it, and on that night in his dream, he told him that he was a farmer. Though maybe trusting a dream was not the most reliable. Either way the truth was lost now.

"And thank you too, your craftmanship is truly spectacular." Arias said as he turned to the giant.

"Glad." The Blacksmith muttered.

Arias grabbed his greatsword by the hilt and held it out in front of him. With this, and his new armour, he felt stronger. Maybe they meant nothing to the enemy seemingly within his own mind, but still at the very least it reminded him, he was strong, and he could be stronger, he could make his mind stronger too. He felt confident again. Though, even so, the doubts don't just go away, he can feel them there, but he chose to ignore them.

"I think I'm overdue for some sword practice." Arias said, sheathing his sword and walking out of the smithy with Gwyndolin. "Are there any grounds spare that I could use?" He asked.

"I believe there are some in the lower city, the moving bridge can take thee down, though the mechanism may jam a little, however I am sure that will not stop thee." Gwyndolin chuckled, well acquainted with just how strong Arias was by now.

"Perfect. Will you be joining me?" Arias asked as they walked down the cathedral steps.

"Mmm, surely thou recognizes by now, the sword is not mine preferred avenue of combat, and to be perfectly honest I find combat overall to be quite dull." Gwyndolin shrugged.

"You could try practicing your aim with sorcery, and I think you could do well with a bow too." Arias still tried convincing him, for the most part he just didn't want to be stuck alone for too long, he didn't have utmost trust in his own mind as he was, and besides, things were always better with Gwyndolin by his side.

"It may surprise thee, but I am trained with a bow, mine teacher even taught me a technique to fire multiple arrows at once." Gwyndolin told him.

"Really? Well in that case you must show me!" Arias exclaimed.

"Ha, very well, 'tis thy victory. We shall go together." Gwyndolin gave in finally.

"I knew you'd come around!" Arias cheered. As endearing as Arias' enthusiasm was, it was not the only reason Gwyndolin relented, in fact it was much like Arias' own reasoning, he worried Arias would not fare too well on his own as he was now, and Gwyndolin would likely be stuck worrying about him until he came back. Being beside him would bring some piece of mind to them both. And besides all that, there were other reasons Gwyndolin would join him.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 7

The lower streets of Anor Londo were calm as always. Almost completely silent, save the clattering of Arias' armor. Going by just sound you wouldn't know Gwyndolin was with him too, as his snakes were almost entirely silent as they slithered along the cobblestone road, and what noise they did make was drowned out by Arias' heavy armor. The lower city, while darker, and largely overshadowed by the cathedral, was just as beautiful as the city above. As he turned corners to new streets, Arias still caught glimpses of small slivers of sunlight running across the rooves of the buildings and trailing down the road. It was a different kind of beauty to that of the buildings above, it was much calmer, soothing even. Though the complete stillness of everything, even the air, made him somewhat uncomfortable, but when he turned to look at Gwyndolin and saw his smile, everything felt okay again.

Gwyndolin pulled his bow and quiver from the radiant light of his teleportation sorcery, it had been some time since he'd held them, they almost felt awkward in his hands, though not for long. Arias sat on a nearby crate and eagerly awaited his demonstration. Gwyndolin felt a smile forcing itself upon his face as he set up his quiver beside himself and drew three arrows. It felt nice to have someone eagerly await a performance from him. He was always ignored as a child and secretive as an adult, this was something quite new to him. Though he was sure the eyes watching him being those of his beloved made the feeling much warmer.

Gwyndolin notched three arrows together along the short bow string. He pulled the string, and let the first arrow fly, and within the second he had pulled the string back and fired once more, and again a third. The arrows flew through the air and almost immediately hit their target; a hay bale painted with faded red circles about 25 meters from him. The first arrow hit the target square in the middle, the second pierced through the first and the third pierced through that. "Wow, quite the technique! And your aim is great!" Arias cheered.

"Ah, 'tis not all yet. That was only the warmup." Gwyndolin assured him there was more yet to come, trying to no success to hide the wide grin on his mouth. Gwyndolin pulled another six arrows from the quiver and notched them upon the bow string. He pulled the string quickly and let loose a barrage of six arrows to fly at the same target, the bow string was pulled and released 6 times within one second. Every arrow hit perfectly on the mark too, piercing the arrows from the last barrage and then themselves.
Arias pumped his fist into the air and cheered loudly. "That was fantastic!" causing Gwyndolin to blush slightly. "I've never seen something so amazing! Those movements were immaculate, and so fast!" While in Arias' case, having never seen something before wasn't much of a compliment, though it still made Gwyndolin happy to hear.
"Thou'rt too kind dear!" giggled happily.

"No really, it was like art, you moved so elegantly, and the arrows fired were done so with such precision. How long did it take you to perfect that." Arias asked, he seemed so genuinely amazed by his bow skills, it honestly made him quite flustered.

"In all honesty I am unsure, it was quite some time ago. In all likelihood it took over 50 years." It was a very rough guess, and it might have been significantly longer, though at the time there was so much else to consider that his frequent training never held much space in his mind.

"That's amazing! I can't imagine spending so much time perfecting something!" Gwyndolin was reminded of the drastic difference in how gods and humans percieved time. What must feel like ages to humans is only a short time for gods. 10 years? For a god? A while. For a human? A vast stretch of time. It made Gwyndolin sad almost. His time with Arias would pass by in the blink of an eye while for him it would be so long. Maybe even long enough for love to diminish... "Gwyndolin?"

"Ah! Mine apologies I became lost in thought, t'was such a long time ago one is bound to have many memories flood back when thinking that far back." An excuse but a harmless and almost true one. He didn't want to burden Arias with these depressing thoughts. "Thou'st mine thanks for thy applause. Now, didst thou not intend to train here thyself?" Gwyndolin lifted a hand to his mouth as he chuckled softly.

"Ah right. I almost forgot haha. Well thanks for the show anyway!" Arias laughed. He walked off to an old dummy made of hay and some sticks, and proceeded to slice it clean in half with little effort, seemingly by accident. "Hrm." He staked his greatsword in the ground and leaned on it, holding his visor in thought. "I think I'll run out of dummies a bit too soon." He thought aloud.

Gwyndolin, who had taken a seat upon the crate Arias had previously been seated on, couldn't help but laugh at his antics. He was so preciously oblivious sometimes. "Apologies dear, but I do not believe those old things are not quite suited to thy fighting abilities." Gwyndolin stifled a giggle as he spoke. "Here, this shouldst suit thee much better." With a wave of his staff, a pale knight with no discernable features appeared before Arias. It held a kite shield and a long sword, and it stood almost perfectly still. "Tis an illusion of course, though thine sword shalt be able to touch it. Go ahead, strike it."

Arias did just that, hitting the illusory knight with an overhead strike. His sword dug into the armour slightly, but didn't cleave straight through. "Perfect! Thanks!" Arias turned to Gwyndolin and gave him a thumbs up. He proceeded to practise the basics of greatsword fighting, different angles for cleaving attacks and slashes, thrust attacks, spin attacks, heavier charged attacks. He went on to try out some of his more unorthodox methods of fighting, savagely bashing the illusory knight into the dirt, before proceeding to change swords.

The Moonlight greatsword, Gwyndolin was quite interested about how Arias procured such an ancient mythical weapon. He didn't have it for long, and it showed as he wasn't entirely sure how to use it. It was a fitting armament for him to be sure, a moonlight sword for the knight of the god of moonlight. Again, though it sparked a curiosity within Gwyndolin, it was a little too perfect.

"Gwyndolin." Arias asked, taking Gwyndolin out of his thoughts.

"Hrm? Yes dear?" He replied.

"Is it possible for you to tweak the illusion to make it counterattack? Nothing serious, just make it meet my strikes when I attack it." He asked, motioning with his hands a sword clashing with another sword.

"Very well, that shouldst be simple." With a wave of his staff, the illusion disappeared, another flick and a new one appeared, almost the exact same but with a red glow around it. "There, go ahead." Gwyndolin motioned towards the illusory knight and again Arias struck it with an overhead slice. The knight met his sword with it's own, and it proved incredibly sturdy, at least enough to stop his attack. Arias lifted his sword and brought it back down only to be met with the illusory sword again. It seemed to be working perfectly. Arias turned and gave Gwyndolin another thumbs up. Gwyndolin gave him a thumbs up back this time. He was glad he was feeling so much better now.
With that he returned to training, he would attack, roll, sweep, all in a bid to get through the knight's seemingly impenetrable defense. Gwyndolin found the way he fought to be interesting. It was undoubtably crude, savage even. Yet he could not deny how impressive it was, his quick reflexes, stubborn refusal to falter, the way he did everything in his power to claim victory and that sheer might he used to overwhelm his enemies. Indeed, he was a valuable warrior. Though even still, he did wish he was a bit more refined in his approach. Gwyndolin feared that as he fought now, he could bring destruction to much of his surroundings as well as his enemies.

He supposed such a type of fighting still had its use to a lord, though it still limited him as a fighter, which was a shame. Even so, with his help and the other blades, maybe Gwyndolin could build this city back up to some real glory, not this hollow painted shell it has become. Of course, the Way of White held much more power elsewhere now, he believed it was still led by his great uncle Lloyd in Thorolund. Gwyndolin was certain his position as Gwyn's last true male descendant would guarantee him leadership of the way of white were he to come out of hiding, though knowing Lloyd, he would not let power slip from his grasp so easily.

He would need a way to strongarm him into relinquishing the title, to prove without a doubt that should Lloyd retaliate he would regret it. Gwyndolin believed Arias was that way, his immense strength and will to face off against even gods would surely be enough to challenge the knights his great uncle certainly championed. With that, Gwyndolin would have his love, and his own full city and a new prosperous age of fire. A perfect fairy tale ending.

Arias lazily sat beside Gwyndolin on the crate, taking Gwyndolin from his train of thought. "I think that's enough training for now." He huffed wearily, lifting his visor. "Wouldn't you agree?" He asked, staking the moonlight greatsword in the dirt and leaning on the hilt.

"A-ah yes I suppose I wouldst." Gwyndolin stammered, having been so lost in thought, he didn't even realize how much time had passed.

"Something on your mind?" Arias asked, giving him a curious and slightly concerned look.

"Ah nothing to worry about I assure thee. Just... Well, being perfectly honest many things, running a city, no matter how quiet... Can be quite difficult, there are many things to take into account and such." Gwyndolin explained, calmer now, when the Moonlight greatsword caught his eye again. "Though it is unrelated... Couldst thou tell me. Where didst thou happen upon this weapon?" He asked, motioning towards the sword Arias was leaning on.

"Oh right, I never told you, did I?" Arias leaned up, lifted the sword from the dirt and held it in both hands before them. By the flame he held that giant thing as if it was a roll of parchment, that incredible strength continued to surprise and... impress Gwyndolin.

"No, thou didst not." Still before anything else, Gwyndolin was very curious about this weapon.

"It was surprisingly simple considering what it is. Though I am not entirely sure what happened. It was when I fought Seath for the final soul to open the way to the Kiln..." Arias stopped for a moment, seemingly worried about something. Gwyndolin wondered, was it... something to do with fire that caused those episodes? "But, after I'd slain him, as I was about to leave, a blue glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Where the primordial crystal had been, there was now this sword sitting within the crystal dust. It was as if it was beckoning me." He continued. Gwyndolin ran a finger along the blade, it hummed a familiar tune, two in fact. That of crystal and that of the moon.

"How strange..." He wondered aloud. "Just what does this blade..." He trailed off. He couldn't even ask an exact question with this thing, there was so much about it that he didn't know. Where did it come from, why did it appear then, did it actually 'choose' Arias to be it's wielder, is it sentient, and this magic... "Hmm... Well it seems to have taken care of thee, thou shouldst treat it with care, it could save thy life in dire circumstances."

Arias held the sword directly before him and remembered how he defeated Lenovis with a beam from this sword, and how it saved him from a fatal strike from Gwyn. "You're right. I do owe much to this strange sword." He said as he sheathed it with his greatsword upon the chains on his back. "Oh, and thank you again for this new sheath, it's perfect!"

"Ah I am so glad, t'was surprisingly challenging getting it to work, and even then, considering the weight of thy weapons I was worried if it would still work." Gwyndolin remembered just how heavy Arias' greatsword swords were when he held them, it was amazing to think how easily he swung them around, that extraordinary strength was truly something... Gwyndolin noticed something of a tight feeling within his chest, well it had been there for a while now but with not much else of import distracting him now he truly noticed it, and how it seemed to grow with every thought of Arias' impressive feats, specifically those pertaining to his immense strength. Alongside this feeling, his dress seemed to grow tighter along with it.

"Hah, yes I can see why. Though luckily it would seem there was nothing to worry about!" Arias smiled.

"Hmhm, yes indeed..." Gwyndolin smiled, leaning closer to Arias. "Say, Arias... I understand thou'rt happy with thine new armour, but..." After all that sword practice, he seemed so hot now, his muscular figure beneath that armour must be so sweaty and stuffy now. "...Mayhaps we couldst... return to mine chamber for a while." Gwyndolin wrapped his left arm around Arias' shoulder. "And we shall get thee out of this armor, tis quite warm today after all." He begun to trace a finger down Arias' chest with his other hand. "And thou shalt lay with me?" He finally asked softly, moving his face close to Arias'. After all, why not? It was a quiet, slow day, they were well and truly in love, and they had even done it before. And that had been wonderful.

Arias could feel his breath now; his lips were right in front of his. "...I think I will." Was all he said. He was shocked by how strongly Gwyndolin was coming onto him all of a sudden, and just how flirtatious he of all people was acting. He must really want this, though now that the thought was in his head, Arias was now also feeling that desire. There was no reason to turn him down, not when his gorgeous lover asked him so nicely, not when last time was so sublime.

"Great." Gwyndolin smiled, before placing a kiss on Arias' lips. His hand crept down Arias' chest down to his crotch where he teased the growing tent in his pants. Arias wrapped an arm around Gwyndolin's waist and pulled him closer as they kissed. Feeling brave, Arias poked at Gwyndolin's lips with his tongue, requesting entry to his royal chambers. Gwyndolin was quite receptive to the idea, opening his mouth and allowing Arias inside where their tongues met, and danced together within the bridge of their lips. "Mmmhh..." Gwyndolin moaned into the kiss.

Surprisingly, it was Gwyndolin who first broke their kiss. "Ahh... I believe we art... getting rather ahead of ourselves." He said as he caught his breath, even under his crown, Arias could just barely see how red his cheeks were.

"Think you could teleport us to your chambers? I'd rather not walk around like this." Arias said half-jokingly.

"Oh, Arias please, I wouldst not tease thee by making thee wait that long." He said as he let go of Arias and retrieved his staff. "Now just-" But before he could cast his spell, a bright blue glow emitted from a ring on Arias' finger.

"Oh?" He lifted it up between the two of them.

"The covenant, a sinner within the walls..." Gwyndolin thought aloud. "Hmph, I suppose duty is more important." He sighed. "Be back soon please? I do not wish to wait too long for thee." He waved to Arias as a blue glow surrounded him.

"Of course, that is only if your charms haven't burdened me too much." He joked.

"Oh dear, I am sure thou shalt do just fine." Gwyndolin giggled. With that Arias disappeared. Despite the jovial jesting only seconds prior Gwyndolin sighed. Now he had to wait.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 8

The blue light around Arias faded, and now he stood as a blue phantom upon the wall overlooking the city. Before him was the elevator, to his left was the path to the Duke's archives and to the right was the path to the top of the wall, and behind him was the path to the bonfire, guarded by the firekeeper. He wondered from which direction his opponent would come from. Though as alert as he was, that kiss with Gwyndolin and the promises made, were indeed hampering his focus, and making him hope that his surcoat covered his shame. He heard the marching footsteps of bronze armor behind him and turned to see the Firekeeper approaching him from the bonfire room.

"You are?" She asked.

"Oh... Right, it's me, Arias. Been a while, eh?" Arias nervously replied. He hadn't seen her since the linking of the fire, she must have thought he was gone. She seemed surprised at least.

"We'll have to finish reintroductions in a moment, there is an intruder we must deal with after all." She reminded him.

"Right. Do you know-" He started but was interrupted as they both heard a repetitive clattering sound. To the right, from the path to the wall, a shambling figure stumbled down the hall and out into the open. It seemed to have once been an Astoran knight, its armor was torn, battered and rusted, the surcoat clung to the armor in ribbons, it looked to have been long hollowed away. Only, it held a straight sword in its left hand and held no shield in its right, and it spoke.

"O...liverrr... Oliv..er. I-II've cometo sa-savee youuu." It held out its right hand, reaching for Arias. "Frooo-from-m tha..aat d-damnnn lia-aa...arrrrr..." It sputtered and drooled as it spoke.

"Oscar... How..." Arias took a step back in shock. How? How was it possible? He was gone! Gwyndolin told him he sent into a faraway time how could he be here. He said it would be impossible for him to be a problem in their lifetimes. Unless he was only meant as long as Arias would live...

"Oliver?" The firekeeper turned to him shock, she must have remembered that name from the fight she overheard in Gwyn's tomb. Not good, she might doubt him again now.
Arias reached for his greatsword. "I don't go by that name anymore." He spoke as he unsheathed it and held it before him. The firekeeper drew her own sword too. He hoped it would not turn upon him again.

"St-stubboorr..nrrn... alllwa-ayss... fffriend." Oscar spoke somberly as he held his own sword out haphazardly. Arias breathed in before swinging at the man with a poweful overhead strike, though Oscar dodged it with lightning speed and scrambled across the floor like a flailing animal towards Arias. The Firekeeper met the beast with a firm kick to his skull, causing him to stumble back. Arias tried to finish him off with a diagonal slash, but he had already moved, leaping onto Arias and forcing him to the ground.

"ARGH!" He grunted as he landed, edges of the armor digging into his body from the impact. Oscar brought his sword to the air and almost dug it into Arias' visor when the firekeeper's sword was lodged through the back of his head, it was almost far enough to reach Arias' visor, and a bit of brain slid down the blade, dripping onto his visor. "Eugh." Gods he wanted to vomit. He stumbled to his feet and wiped the brain off his visor, only to feel his form fading away, returning to his physical body. "I'll be back, put him in chains." Was all he could say before he vanished.

As he waited upon his soft bed for Arias' return, Gwyndolin eventually had a sense of clarity as the boredom eroded his lust. Maybe this was not a good idea, considering the state Arias was in, despite feeling happier there was really no guarantee that he wouldn't have another episode, and he did NOT want to have to worry about that happening during sex.

But now he'd already promised that to Arias it would be awfully rude to turn him down now. He flicked his nails as he sat on his side. Would he just tempt fate like that? A fate that never favored him nor Arias in the first place that is. Or should he risk upsetting his lover? He sighed and laid down, that moment of lust had really gotten him stuck in a precarious situation now.

He was back in the training yard like nothing had ever happened, though Gwyndolin was now long gone. He'd have to keep him waiting a little longer now. Arias quickly made his way to the moving bridge, he knew Oscar was not one to stay down long, his sheer tenacity had kept him from completely hollowing, there's no way just another death would be enough to deter him, after all he navigated himself all the way back to Anor Londo from wherever Gwyndolin dropped him off while already on his way to hollowing. How could Arias compete with that tenacity? Well, he could compete but eventually he would be beaten. They would have to chain him up as soon as possible and lock him up in the deepest layer of the dungeons, and even then, it was not unlikely that somehow he would find his way out again.

He ran up the top of the moving staircase and pushed the lever around, and around. The platform took an exhaustingly long time to rise, he couldn't wait that long and hopped up to the bridge a moment before the bridge fully connected. He had to be fast, he knew even if he was already chained, Oscar would still likely be able to at the very least hurt the firekeeper if she wasn't cautious. He rode the second elevator back up to the wall and when he arrived, he witnessed as his fears came true, the firekeeper was thrown to the floor by a fast kick from a shackled hollow, who's helmet before a hole from the back to front.

Arias once again unsheathed his greatsword and charged the hollow, Oscar dodged his cleaving attack and attempted to whack him on the back of the head with his shackles, but Arias was expecting the retaliation and lifted his right forearm to block the attack with the armored gauntlet, he then countered with an elbow to the stomach. The jab made him stumble but not for long, he charged at Arias, seeming intent on tackling him again but Arias quickly brought his greatsword up in an upwards diagonal slash from its position on the floor.

Oscar reacted barely in time and backstepped out of the way, holding out his hands to at an angle so the shackles caught the attack, breaking the lock and letting them fall to the ground with a loud clank. Did he just bait out that attack to break the chains like that? Maybe he was just being sour and giving him too much credit but if he actually did, then he was crafty, dangerously so. Arias had to kill him again as soon as humanly possible.

Oscar nabbed his own sword from the ground only for the firekeeper to cut into his side, joining the fight once again. Using the distraction as an opportunity, Arias charged in and slammed the sword onto the floor, Oscar once again dodged the attack, though as he moved away he met Arias's foot, kicking into his side opposite the slash the firekeeper had landed. She used the stun from the kick to hit Oscar with a thrust attack, impaling him upon her blade, as she did, Arias unsheathed the moonlight greatsword with one hand and drove it into his neck. Finally, he was dead again.

The two servants of the Darkmoon withdrew their blades and sheathed them. "How can we put it in chains if the bastard is that nimble!?" The firekeeper growled as she held her side where Oscar had kicked her. Suddenly Arias had an idea.

"Chains! That's it!" Arias held a finger up in a moment of realization. The Firekeeper tilted her head and was presumably giving him a confused look behind her helmet. "Wrap his remains in them, entirely." He clarified.

"A-Are you serious?" The Firekeeper asked in disbelief.

"Think about it, how could it not work? Our problem is that he's too nimble for shackles, so the solution is simple, to cover him in more chains, so many that he cannot move." He explained. It was a perfectly simple solution to an annoyingly difficult problem.

The Firekeeper was silent for a second. "That would work." She said realized.

"Exactly!" Arias snapped his fingers, satisfied with his genius. "Now where do we get the chains?"

"..Down in the jails."

"Oh..."

"Think you can hold onto it until then?"

"Yeah probably." Arias sighed, he could tell already, this would be tedious at best. First thing to do was to seperate him from his sword, so he threw it high into the air, sending it over the great wall of Anor Londo. Then he grabbed each of the corpse's wrists and held them firmly in one hand. "Ready to go."

The Firekeeper huffed as she pushed the barred door open with her free hand. Her sword arm was shaking from overuse. As she walked in, Arias stumbled behind her, dragging his greatsword behind him in his right hand, and dragging Oscar's corpse in his left hand, holding it by the throat now. They walked into a large dimly lit stone hallway, with a staircase at the end. Multiple iron doors lines the walls down the corridor.

"Here." The Firekeeper unlocked an iron door into a small stone room. Inside were multiple torture devices and shackles, some put away neatly while others seemed to have been simply thrown in.

Arias tossed Oscar's corpse to the floor and sheathed his greatsword. "Right, give me a hand here." He said as he grabbed a chain and wrapped it around Oscar's legs.

"Right." The Firekeeper sighed as she grabbed some and bound his arms. They continued to wrap chains around his whole body, even his head, all the while binding these chains with even more chains. Eventually the hollow could no longer be seen beneath it all, and they finally placed the last lock upon the mound of chains. "Eugh, I need a moment." The Firekeeper sighed and walked out of the storage room to rest in the corridor. Arias remained for a time, staring down at the mound beneath him. So stubborn and resilient, just like he himself. Of course, Oscar and Oliver had been comrades, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to believe that Oliver would show just as much resilience.

Arias felt a chill crawl up his spine again, and suddenly felt unsafe in here, like he was being watched. He lifted his hand to his greatsword, then shifted to the Moonlight greatsword, Gwyndolin had suggested it may favor him in some way, right now this superstition was what he'd rely on, what he'd hold on to in a bid to keep himself or at least make himself feel safe against this unseen foe.

Nothing happened.

The room remained empty and silent, save for him. Though hesitantly, he eventually let go of the hilt and let his arm fall back to his side. He grimaced at his own paranoia, what an embarrassing sight. Arias turned and walked out, joining the Firekeeper in the hallway. She leaned against the wall, regaining her breath. Arias walked to the wall opposite the door and sat against it, resting his swords beside him.

"What grim work." The Firekeeper sighed.

"Mmh." Arias solemnly hummed in reply. There was a brief silence as the two rested, the trek to the prison had been arduous, Oscar came back only a few times, but he fought tooth and nail, like a desperate, flailing beast. Just keeping ahold of him had proven impossible as he squirmed out of Arias' iron grip like a worm every time.

"So, what's the story between you two?" The Firekeeper asked, voice piercing the silence.

"We were comrades once." Arias answered, honestly. He didn't know if this would once again spurn her suspicions of him, but he didn't want to bury himself beneath any more lies.

"That so?"

"Mmhm. We were close friends even. Or so I was told, by another firekeeper below at Firelink Shrine. At one point we were separated and took different paths, then I hollowed. Soon after I'd recovered, as a new person with a new name, he appeared, intent on slaying master Gwyndolin, and once he saw me, he assumed I was enslaved against my will, he swore to 'free' me. So, I had to kill him, but he was determined and kept getting back up. Eventually master Gwyndolin sent him away with a teleportation spell. But it seems he made his way back." Arias spoke still in half-truths, not mentioning the lie he'd been told, or anything about their connection to Lenovis, and definitely nothing where he recovered and who cared for him.

"I see." The Firekeeper spoke after some thought. "I can understand why you'd hide that." She turned her gaze his way, and he felt that suspicous eye on him once again. Arias sighed in exhaustion and let his head hang low, he didn't want to deal with this again, not after that.

"A close relationship with one that would threaten the life of our god. It would earn much suspicion." Unfortunately it seemed that he had to deal with this though. However the Firekeeper spoke again before he could find either the words to defend himself or express his exhuastion. "But not from me." Arias tilted his head upwards in tired disbelief. "I've already seen your devotion to the master, and even today, condemning a former ally to such a fate for the safety of the city. I don't believe your devotion is a question, not in the slightest." She said with the utmost certainty.

"Thank you..." Arias sighed in relief. "Honestly, you really had me worried there."

"Ah, sorry." She huffed with regret. "That wasn't my intention, I thought we'd already cleared this up. Though I suppose after how I subjected you to such suspicion with little reason, I can see why you'd expect that." Her gaze trailed to the floor in shame.

"It's alright, you're a Blade of the Darkmoon after all, we're all meant to be suspicious, trust nothing at first glance and all that." Arias forgave her ultimately, even though she had been frustrating with her endless suspicion, Arias did recall from somewhere in his subconscious, the notion that theirs was a covenant of secrecy and suspicion. Gwyndolin being a master illusionist made this conclusion seem natural.

"Water under the bridge then?" The Firekeeper asked.

"Aye." Arias confirmed.

"Ah, I am glad. Say, on the topic of the nature of our covenant, I know this will sound rude but your... Forthrightness doesn't seem to fit so well." The Firekeeper was careful with her wording now. Arias supposed she was right, but maybe once upon a time she may have been wrong. Though if that was the case... It spurred some worrying thoughts he'd rather ignore lest he lend them any credence.

Arias shrugged. "Maybe I was once far more deceitful. It's a skill I might have to pick up considering where I am."

"Don't feel as though you must though." The Firekeeper cautioned. "You've proven yourself invaluable already, I'm sure the master would agree after that fight with Lenovis. Having someone like you, with that unnatural strength, would still be good for us all."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." Arias smiled behind his visor. The Firekeeper nodded in response. They rested in silence for a while, likely both worried the task of dragging Oscar down to the depths of this prison would be a struggle, even with him bound. Arias was expecting him to thrash about like a wild animal, he couldn't hurt him at least but he'd make things as difficult has he could, he was sure. Arias sighed and rose to his feet. "By the way, before we take that hollow and throw him in a cell there's something I wanted to ask you." Arias realized as he begun to stand, he still didn't know her name.

"What's your name?" He asked, he was worried he might be pushing his boundaries too much, if she wanted him to know her name, she'd have told him already.

"It's Ivy. Sorry, I never really thought to offer it, most even in the covenant only know me by my role." She told Arias as she lifted herself off the wall. Arias, while surprised, didn't find that very hard to believe.

"Glad to have you as an ally, Ivy." Arias offered his hand, and she took it.

"Likewise, Arias."

He smiled, glad to have found a friend in a former foe. "Now, let's finally be done with this nasty business." Arias said as he let go of her hand.

"Right." Ivy agreed, following behind him as he opened the iron door, walking into an empty room.

"What..." Arias mumbled aloud.

"What's wrong?" Ivy asked behind him. The room wasn't only missing Oscar, or the chains or even the shelves, it was missing the very walls! It was entirely empty save for the dark and a strange, unsettling presence, like the other times but also different. Arias wanted to scream, instead he reached for his moonlight greatsword but the dark reached out and violently snatched him before his hand could so much as touch the hilt. The black Abyss clamped around him, robbing him of vision as it crashed into the wall. Along with it, two smaller hands, the size of an average human and armored, reach out and gripped tightly onto his helm.

"A- AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGHAA!" Arias screeched in horror as whatever held him thrashed around the hall before dragging itself and him into the dark room, he was unable to even wriggle for a thin attempt at freedom. He briefly felt a weak pair of hands grab at his legs in an attempt to presumably pull him away, but they were too slow, though it was hopeless anyway. Arias' heart beat faster and faster as he felt himself approach the void and the suddenly-

Silence.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 9

Gwyndolin sighed as he gazed at the sky through his window. He wondered what was taking Arias so long. Who in Lordran could possibly hold Arias and potentially the other blades back this long? Perhaps he'd had another episode? Should he check on him? Gwyndolin nervously clasped his hands together as he considered it. He didn't like going outside in broad daylight, even less so when there would be people around, and he wasn't fond of combat either. But if Arias needed him... Gwyndolin imagined Arias screaming, alone in some corner of Anor Londo and chastised himself for being so hesitant.

Though as Gwyndolin readied his staff, he felt through his illusory self within his father's tomb, someone approached. Could it be Arias? Or another of blades? Perhaps they brought news. Gwyndolin's illusion gazed through the fog and saw the bronze armour of the Anor Londo Firekeeper, Ivy. One of his most loyal subjects. She quickly kneeled but much to his surprise didn't allow him time to greet her.

"Lord Gwyndolin, my apologies but I must report a matter of utmost urgency." Her voice was haggard and alarmed, she had ran here. If this matter was as dire as it seemed, he might forgive her impoliteness. "Knight Arias has been swallowed by the Abyss."

What.

Gwyndolin dropped his catalyst, though his illusion stood still. He couldn't allow for his panic be seen. "The Abyss? Here in Anor Londo? Blade explain thyself for what thou sayest is not possible." Surely Arias just fell down some dark hole or something of the sort, he was quite clumsy after all. If this was a misunderstanding the consequences would be dire.

"I do not understand either my lord, yet I shall tell you all I saw happen. Arias and I detained a shambling corpse-like man, on the verge of hollowing, he recognized the hollow as a man named Oscar." Gwyndolin flinched at the mention of that name. He should have long ago gone hollow, and not to mention that he'd been condemned to the deepest reaches of the Tomb of the Giants, a darkness, a miasma of death so deep and endless that none have left its maw. "The man showed great resilience and persisted beyond death, so the two of us decided to bind him in chains and lock him within the deepest depths of the Anor Londo dungeon. When we bound him, we left him in the storage room for a brief moment for a rest, when we returned, the room was empty and full of an imperceivable dark, and a gigantic hand, enwreathed in a wispy dark emerged. It snatched Arias and dragged him into the abyss, leaving an empty room in its wake."

Gwyndolin shakily sat upon his bed, he wracked his mind for words, the words of a leader and a god for his illusion to speak but to his dismay there was nothing, in this moment there was nothing in his mind that could be conveyed with words let alone a lie. "Ahh." He choked as panic took hold of his mind and sorrow made his heart throb. He was thankful that his illusion did not relay what he did not wish to be heard. Ivy seemed to wait silently for her lord's reply.

"I see." He managed to force words from his illusion's mouth, it took all he had to force his trembling voice to be still, to be regal. "Thou may return to thy duties... I require some time to think on this."

"Very well, my lord." With that she rose from her kneeling place on the rug and walked up the stairwell, presumably back to her bonfire.

Gwyndolin dispelled his illusion and finally could face the grief swelling within him. Though perhaps to face it was the wrong phrase, it was more alike a tidal wave. Arias was gone and the Abyss itself reached out to take him from within Anor Londo. Oh, how could this even happen, why would this happen, after all they had done to preserve what they had, he truly thought they had earned their peace, yet it would seem fate did not take their transgression lightly. Again, with this, fate, it seemed hated him, from the moment he was born. How dare it, he was a god, a descendant of Lord Gwyn himself this world was his to rule, to command, how dare it stand against his will, how dare it take what he held dearest.

"Arias." Gwyndolin choked as tears streamed down his face. He held his eyes shut as to not face the world. He remembered the good times he'd shared with him, all those days spent caring for him, reading to him. Even his breakdown, which would have been a shameful, horrid moment had he not been there to console him, to care for him, to kiss him and to touch him... A touch he will never again feel, those lips that will never again touch his... A tender voice, the only one to care for him... Never again for him.

"Oh Arias." He again whimpered his name, falling to his side. The swirling thoughts in his mind finally began to slow, yet somehow within his quiet mind the weight of the loss was even heavier. The one thing that wouldn't leave was the image of him, how he would never even see him again, for those lost to the abyss almost never return, though if he were to return, he wouldn't be the same man. Would he even... raise his sword against Gwyndolin? "Ghh." Such things he didn't want to even imagine. To be without him was awful, but to be killed by his corrupted lover? He was never one for such tales, he couldn't see the romance in betrayal, willful or not, no it was more like a horror story.
That wretched Abyss, breaching the sanctity of his city, bringing back old foes and dragging his lover into its depths. Was this a declaration of war? Had the death of the four kings not been enough to quell the Abyss? Or perhaps... Ivy described a gigantic hand enwreathed in dark that snatched Arias from the dark. Could it be... Manus? If the father of the Abyss itself had resurrected... No the possibility - if he could at all be resurrected - alone was horrific and the implications were disastrous.

The only man he knew of that could even hope to face Manus was Arias, and he was already gone. Tears that had stagnated began to flow freely once again. He was gone forever, gone. Dead. Gwyndolin gripped his sheets and pulled them to his chest, in an attempt to find an embrace from anything, and he curled into the fetal position, crying, crying for so long.

A dull pain throbbed within his head as he opened his eyes. The air was damp and musty, he laid upon large roots that jutted into his armor, separated by soft soil that stuck to his gloves, smeared his surcoat and got stuck under the silver plates of his armor. Arias groaned as he lifted his head from the floor, his face luckily spared from the dirt beneath him by the visor of his helmet. He leaned up and wiped some of the dirt off while he looked around. He was in a cave, overgrown with moss and roots. Before him seemed to be the exit, or at least that's where light was coming from.

Arias sighed and looked down as he lifted himself up from the floor, but stopped dead in his tracks as his hands were placed upon the ground. There was someone there, in the corner of his vision, in the exit tunnel. His head shot upwards in alert. Nothing. But... No, no there was definitely something there, to his right, in a dark corner behind a root he saw it again in the corner of his eye, a dark figure.

Arias snapped to his right, the speed of his movement causing him to accidentally roll over onto his back, but he didn't see it there anymore, instead it stood over him, just almost out of vision, but it was definitely there.

"Yer pathetic."

It spoke. And to Arias' horror, that was a familiar voice. Arias quickly fumbled to his feet and drew his greatsword, turning behind him where the figure was, only to see him standing behind a root just to his right, he turned and swung through the root. Nothing. How? He was still there though, to his left now. Arias swung again. Nothing. Now he faced the exit tunnel, and he saw the vague silhouette in the light, an elite knight of Astora. He stood aside and pointed into the light. "Go." It was his own voice.

"Lord Gwyndolin." Ivy's voice rang down the hall, alerting Gwyndolin. He recast his illusory self to address the Blades he had summoned.

"We have answered your call master."

"What is it you require of us." The two faceless undead beside her spoke.'

"Good blades. There has been a grave transgression within Anor Londo. The Abyss hath swallowed Knight Arias. Where it has taken him or if he still lives is unknown. Blade Ivy shalt inform thee of the finer details of the incident. I demand thee all, alert all blades, scour the city and root out whatever trace of dark lies within it's depths. I command thee exterminate the vermin and purify Anor Londo. Ivy shalt take lead. Thou'rt dismissed." Gwyndolin demanded, exercising all the authority his voice and status could muster. This damned dark, the wretched Abyss, he would bring down the hammer of righteousness and smite the blight for its transgressions. Such damnable evil he could never forgive.

"Yes, my lord." The three blades spoke before hurriedly leaving up the staircase. Yet, for all the authority he commanded as a god, maybe his secrecy was coming back to bite him, as all the forces he commanded were but a single covenant and his illusions. If he wanted to root out such a strong enemy as the Abyss he would need more, the might of a ruler. Perhaps it was time to wrench the title of Allfather from his great uncle Lloydd. Though it would be harder without Arias by his side, he was sure with sufficient planning he could still achieve what he needed.

"Thou shalt be avenged my dear..." He whispered to himself, alone in his room. As it had been before he arrived. A loneliness he thought he could never stomach again.

"How..." He murmured. Arias' head was swirling with confusion, uncomfortably similar to the feeling of hollowing, but at least he felt he had an anchor, Gwyndolin. But... no, no wait where was Gwyndolin? Where was he?

"Go." The figure again demanded. No, he couldn't linger on that now, he was in danger that was certain. He would face whatever this was, then once he was safe, he could worry about finding Gwyndolin again. Then they would embrace and all would be well. Arias took his greatsword in both hands and held it out firmly before himself, carefully walking forward, ready to attack in any direction he needed to at a moment's notice. As he ascended the tunnel, the glaring light overpowered his vision, he saw nothing but the glow, and of course the figure again vanished.

When his eyes adjusted, Arias was greeted by a wide but shallow pond before him, encircled by walls of rock, all natural save for one manmade stone wall with a doorway nestled under tree roots. The strangest part about the place though, was the serenity, and the health of... the world, not just the plants, but the sky was fuller, the wind carried the chirping of birds with it and scents of flowers. This place was lush and alive, unfortunately a far cry from all he'd seen before, of the world nearing its end. Where was he... And what ha-

Arias' attention was snapped away from the scenery when he heard the sound of someone distantly calling his name. Though he couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, it did bring his attention to a giant lion with wings, and horns, or was it a chimera? Whatever it was, it was hurtling towards Arias at a ridiculous speed, not giving him time to admire the scenery or even ponder what he was facing.

Arias dived to his right a moment before he would have otherwise been smashed back into the cave he'd just emerged from. He stood back up just in time to see the chimera crash into the wall, rocks crumbling around it and temporarily lodging it in the wall. Arias saw his chance and took it, dashing forwards, greatsword in hand and cleaving into the beast. It's hide was tough and his sword was only just stopped from hitting any vitals. Before he could act, the chimera's four great wings extended high and beat the air wildly, the gushes of wind sent Arias flying backwards, his grip barely strong enough to tear his blade from the beast's hide, though it left his hands as he hurtled through the air.

Arias landed face-first in the water, which splashed up through his visor into his face. He spat it out and rose to his feet as quick as possible, his visor did not afford him the luxury of wiping his face until the job was done. The beast was free again, and coming his way already, between him and it laid his sword, the hilt propped above the water by a rock. Arias unsheathed his Moonlight Greatsword and prepared to dodge the attack, only it didn't come, as the chimera beat its wings once again and flew into the air. As it lifted off the ground, it opened its mouth, and a scattering ball of lightning flowed out.

Arias rolled forwards, under the ball of lightning and the beast, and ran as soon as he was again on his feet, to his greatsword which he snatched by the hilt. He stopped himself and turned, taking the hilt again in both hands. The beast was once more flying at him, but it spat no lightning, instead it flew above Arias and flung its tail down at him, at the end protruded a stinger that looked sharp enough to pierce steel, though he was luckily fast enough to deflect it with the hilt of his greatsword.

A loud pang reverberated throughout the sword and into his bones when it was struck, and the force sent him back a few paces, that was a powerful strike, and he was lucky to have been spared it's might. Though unluckily, the blow had pushed him backwards to where the beast had landed. It spun around before he could move and its spike tail whacked Arias on the side, sending him tumbling back into the water. This was bad, this thing was throwing Arias around like a wooden doll, he had to find a way to escape its overwhelming offense and hold his ground. If he could cut into that wound he'd left before he could probably hit its heart and kill it in one more blow, but he would need to stun the beast first.

Arias kicked up to his feet in time to dodge a charge attack from the beast, he charged after it to try and attack but it flew into the air, flying in an arc around him and spitting lightning from the air once again, which he managed to dodge, while keeping himself away from where it would land. The beast ran to him before he could prepare an offensive and rammed it's horns at him, though he blocked the brunt of the attacks, with his greatsword, he still felt the force of the blows echoing throughout his arms. It rammed at his guard again, and again, and finally it hit the sword out of his grasp. It went to attack again but out of desperation Arias brought down the Moonlight Greatsword upon its head between its horns, the force of the attack even caused it to shoot a beam into the beast's skull. But neither the beam nor the blade pierced the bone, though it was painful enough to cause the beast to scream and flee for a moment, giving Arias time to retrieve his greatsword.

Upon its retrieval, Arias took his greatsword in his right hand and kept the Moonlight Greatsword in his left, he would need both of them for victory it seemed. The chimera roared and charged at him, though it took flight long before it reached him. It seemed it would try a tail attack again, but if Arias timed his attack right, maybe he could counter. He readied his greatsword above his head, and as the stinger was brought down, he thrust the sword down and cleaved the tail in half.

The beast roared as it crashed to the ground, perfect. Arias launched a moonlight beam as it tried to stand to keep it stunned before he got to it. He then dropped the Moonlight Greatsword and took his greatsword in both hands, thrusting it into the initial wound he'd carved, piercing through hide, flesh and bone, directly to the heart. The beast wailed and thrashed, beating its wings and almost sending Arias flying back into the water, but his grip on the hilt was iron and soon enough it ceased it's wailing and finally laid still.

Arias sighed as he finally withdrew his blade from the beast. He sheathed his greatsword and kneeled down into the water, he ran his blood-soaked hands through the water, rinsing all the grime off before he lifted his visor and wiped his face clean. It was refreshing and gods that was a sensation he needed right now. Now it was finally quiet, his mind could finally catch up. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was him and the Firekeeper, Ivy, she told him of her name too, they had just chained up Oscar and were about to drag him down to the lowest cell in Anor Londo when he opened the door and... Something grabbed him, something dark, he wasn't granted even a split second to recognize what it was before he was thrashed around the walls of the hallway, and there was something else with it, small hands... Then nothing, and he awoke in that cave.

Gods what had happened, if he was in the Anor Londo dungeon before, how had he ended up in this forest? He couldn't see anything resembling Anor Londo in the canopy above the pond... How? And... What was that thing? How was it in Anor Londo of all places and... Oh lord, was Ivy, and Gwyndolin, were they in danger? He quickly kipped up to his feet and began to panic when he heard footsteps behind him in the water. He snapped around but there was nothing there only... That dark figure, again only in the corner of his eye, though this time it stood right beside him, barely out of sight.

"..." He heard it breathing, so much malice in each breath. Arias was scared stiff, it was like he couldn't move, again like those apparitions he saw in the fire. But he was armed this time, he needed to steel himself, he had to be strong if he was going to find out what happened and get back in time to save Gwyndolin and Ivy.

"Where am I?" He tried to keep his voice as confident and commanding as he could, but it wavered against his will.

"I don't know." The voice replied. "But the dark is here... The Abyss."

"The Abyss?" Arias asked again. For a moment there was silence, he felt the tension in the air, it was like there was a blade to his throat, but he was free of physical threat yet... He felt it there all the same.

"Venture into it." With that he heard a footstep and the presence was gone, he turned to where it had been and saw the doorway in the stone wall. He saw just barely in the doorway, where it curved beyond vision the figure awaited him. Seemed it wanted him to follow.

Arias sighed and walked to his Moonlight Greatsword, every time he moved, the figure moved with him, remaining at the edge of his vision, watching and commanding his attention, compelling him forwards, presumably into the Abyss. It would certainly lead to his death... Would he come back he wondered? There was no way of knowing until it happened, he supposed.

Arias retrieved the Moonlight Greatsword and sheathed it, with no other direction to follow, nor any other answers, he had no other option but to follow. And at the end he would either be swallowed by the Abyss, or return home to Gwyndolin by some miracle. Though if there was even a chance of seeing him again, he would gladly risk his life for it.

He pulled down his visor and trudged forward into the doorway. He must continue.

Chapter Text

Dark-Moon Dark-Sun

chapter 10

Arias walked forward into a strange sanctuary. There was a bonfire in the center down some stairs, Surrounding the bonfire, creeping upwards to the walls were a horde of small statues, all facing the bonfire in a circle surrounding it, broken up only by small paths between them. Arias cautiously stepped down the steps, seeing that damn figure behind every statue, facing away but watching, he knew it was watching. Arias sighed in frustration when he reached the bonfire, as he lit it, he felt its comforting warmth wash over him, allowing his tense muscles to relax for a moment.

As Arias began to kneel to the floor, abruptly he heard a voice from over to his right. "Excuse me, couldst thou come hither a moment?" Arias cast his gaze to where he'd heard the voice. Nothing, just some statues and a mushroom. Was he going mad? He was about to turn his gaze back to the fire when he heard the voice again. "Yes hither, to the mushroom if it would not be too much of a bother." Arias squinted, it looked like the mushroom was moving while that strange voice echoed over to him. Surely not?

Propelled by curiosity, Arias strolled over. "Hello?" He spoke.

"Hello." The voice replied whimsically. He walked over to the source but still nothing. Just empty space with plants and the mushroom. "Well look at this one... From what far away age hast thou come?" The voice spoke again. It was coming from a mushroom. Arias clasped the skull of his helm in realization. He was going insane. "Thy scent is very human indeed... But not intolerable." The voice spoke with a nice sweetness to it, like that of a mother.

"Are you... real?" Arias asked cautiously.

"Hmhmhm I shouldst hope I am." She chuckled at his continued shock. "Hmmm... thou'rt Princess Dusk's saviour art thou not? Thine aura is precisely as she described." A savior of a princess? Arias didn't do anything of the sort in his lifetime... Though maybe Oliver did? From what he knew of the man, it seemed like something he would do. If so, he would play along, it seemed he was not recognized him as undead so his amnesia would be a struggle and probably self-destructive to explain.

"Yes, that was me." He half-lied.

"I thank thee deeply, for rescuing Her Highness." The mushroom seemed to wave in a motion reminiscent of a nod, or Arias was imagining things, again. Was he so deep in his insanity that he was imagining things while he was imagining things? This was starting to hurt his head. "But Princess Dusk is here no longer..." The mushroom regretably bowed it's head. "...Snatched away by that primeval human. And so, I must ask... Couldst thou once more play the savior?"

Primeval human? What could that even mean? He already had enough on his hands trying to find a way back to Anor Londo... Though the mushroom had said he was from a far away time, hadn't she? Surely that couldn't be literal. Though that would explain much, there was such life in the air, an absence he never even realised until it was full. But how did he even get here? There was still too much unexplained to be certain. Arias stood still for a moment and considered his position. It was probably best to go along for now. He at least had a more solid goal, more than venture in the certain death of the Abyss and pray to see Gwyndolin again. With a sigh, Arias accepted.

"Thank you." The patient mushroom said. "I am Elizabeth, guardian of this sanctuary. Something of a godmother to Princess Dusk. I shall assist thee to my utmost, for I am one with the sorceries of Oolacile." Elizabeth? A strange name for a mushroom. Had he heard that name before he wondered?

"Where is my destination?" Arias asked, hesitant to leave blindly.

"Beneath the Oolacile township down the path..." Elizabeth paused. "Within the Abyss." So he was destined for that place no matter what then? He'd best be strong enough to conquer it. "Thou shalt see further on." She interrupted his thoughts. "The Abyss was begat of the ancient beast, and threatens to swallow all of Oolacile. Knight Artorias came to stop this, but such a hero has nary a murmur of Dark." Knight Artorias? The name seemed familiar to Arias, maybe only because it sounded eerily similar to his own, yet... The name alone commanded a certain degree of respect, even admiration. had he heard of the knight before hollowing? "Without a doubt, he will be swallowed by the Abyss, overcome by its utter blackness... Indeed. The Abyss may be unstoppable... Still, I have faith, that Princess Dusk may be rescued yet..."

Good lord, if even such a legendary hero whose very name commanded respect, even to those who know nothing of him... What chance did Arias even have? He supposed he was undead... Though was he? This whole potential time travel and the fire made these things muddy. He didn't want to test it out either way, yet he had the feeling that choice wasn't his to make. "Right." He huffed. "I'll be going soon enough then."

"May the flames guide thee." Elizabeth bid him farewell, preemptively though he supposed she couldn't walk over to see him off. Arias returned to the bonfire and carefully sat down beside it's calm flame. Maybe if he was lucky, this strange quest he was headed on would lead him back to his home, back into the arms of Gwyndolin. There was no other hope, so all he had was this strange impossibility he'd conjured in his mind.

He saw the figure behind the flickering flames, sitting opposite to him. It nodded and Arias sighed in response. Or was he insane and all of this was in his mind? Nothing he could do if it was, he supposed.

A conundrum, a very serious one. How, Gwyndolin wondered, would he scheme around his great uncle. He was sure he was capable, but it would be a great challenge with much risk. The man was ruthless, as he demonstrated when ousting Gwyndolin's own brother. Being a child of Gwyn is clearly not good enough, one must adhere to the values set by him, the ones he wrongly attributed to father Gwyn. And appealing to the people was not enough, he would have to find a way to remove Lloydd before even revealing himself to the public, else it could all fall apart. Then he would lose the little power he had left, his kingdom and even worse... He could not avenge Arias. Without whom this plan became far more dangerous.

He could attempt the same plan but with a different knight... Doubtless he should have one either way as a show of power, yet... None under him could compare to the strength of him... His image flashed within Gwyndolin's mind, ever retreating into nothingness. Indeed, none could compare to him, he doubted many of them could even challenge a god like he could. Indeed, any knights under his command would be for show only, and he should avoid direct conflict altogether.

Though if he could eliminate his uncle's champion, lord Harold, he would be in a much better position. Llyodd was fond of the man and tended to bring him down like a hammer upon his enemies, his might made him fat with endless confidence. To kill Harold would be to disarm Lloydd. Though Gwyndolin would have to see the man to know how to deal with him, what cracks were there in the armor? How would he eliminate such a man quietly?

Assassinating him in such a faraway land as Thorolund would be different, no it would be easier to dispatch of him nearer in Lordran. Getting them here would not be such a challenge, they would need to discuss the future linking of the fire. When they met in Anor Londo, he would study the champion carefully, and as they leave, that is when he would strike. And what if his plan should go awry? Indeed, this was a dangerous prospect, and he would need to think of backup plans lest his life be taken.

The clank of armored footsteps down that same stone staircase pulled Gwyndolin from his thoughts. "Lord Gwyndolin." He heard Ivy speak. "I come bearing news of the Blades' search."

Ever since stepping foot into this forest, Arias was struck with the most peculiar feeling. It was as if he had been here before, yet not here but elsewhere but elsewhere that was the same. It was an impossible sensation trapped under so many layers of history and lost memory. He would never find the truth of it all, yet he was teased with it constantly.

Arias sighed and leaned against the nearest, largest tree trunk. He was lost. He wasn't even sure if the forest was big or small as it didn't take him long to find a cliffside after walking straight ahead, but once he turned back it became endless. The figure stood behind a nearby tree, just barely within sight, staring. He didn't know where and he knew if he tried to understand it would only make it harder.

He gripped his helm with both hands in frustration. Gwyndolin would be able to find out the answer to this with no issue, he was so smart. Perhaps he had already found the answer to where Arias had vanished to and was moving to find him already? Perhaps there was no answer. Maybe he wasn't just lost in these woods, maybe he himself was lost, as a person, without Gwyndolin.

"Your reliance on him makes you pathetic." Almost immediately as the thought had entered his mind, the figure spoke from its spot behind the tree.

'Can you hear my thoughts?' Arias questioned, in his mind. 'What are you?' No response. Not even acknowledgement.

"Make for the Abyss. Yer own legs can move you."

Arias sighed. He hated that the specter was right, hated that it was an issue. He had enjoyed being reliant on Gwyndolin. But... Of course, now in retrospect he shouldn't have. Now that this has happened, now that they were separated indefinitely, what did he have for himself? He had made Gwyndolin his everything, his whole world. Now his world was gone, and he was thrust forth almost entirely alone in a strange place as an empty shell.

Without his lover... Was he to go hollow again? He had made Gwyndolin his everything so naturally without him he had, he was nothing. And yes, he knew the consequences of that.

Yet he was still himself, at least he believed so. It wasn't too late; he could scrounge together a purpose for himself. He supposed finding Gwyndolin again was maybe enough of a purpose yet that only kicked his problem down the road, and he was sure this would snowball into something even worse down the road should he allow that. Which worst of all, would make him a burden on Gwyndolin. Though this was all upon the assumption they should see each other again.

The thought stung Arias. No, he was certain they would meet again; he had to be. Yet he still needed something else, a purpose more solid, that would prevent him from becoming a burden upon Gwyndolin, something that would sustain him whilst he was alone. But what could it be? All he could think of were his short-term goals, get home, find Gwyndolin, save the princess, delve into the Abyss, survive. Something long term, that he could apply to his own self, that didn't come so easily. He would need time to think of it. He supposed that made another short-term goal then, find something true that he alone desired for himself.

"You gonna keep sulking by the tree or will you move?" The specter spoke; it took surprisingly long to berate him again. Had it been listening?

"Right." Arias huffed aloud, lifting himself up by his knee. "That'll have to wait for now."

"Speak." Gwyndolin commanded.

"I am afraid The Blades have found nothing, naught throughout all of Anor Londo." Ivy solemnly reported. Gwyndolin was silent for a moment, staring her down through the fog wall.

"Again." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I shalt not tolerate failure in this. Search the city again. The Abyss IS here and thou shalt find it." He felt himself straining against his own emotions, fighting hard to keep some measure of composure in front of the Firekeeper. This was ridiculous, IT SWALLOWED ARIAS. It was here in the city; they must find it.

"Yes, my lord." Ivy bowed her head and rose to leave, yet Gwyndolin stopped her.

"Wait." She immediately sunk back to her knee and bowed.

"I shalt send another to command the Blades." He told her, thinking carefully about how he would approach this. He needed a champion, a knight, even if not to directly contest Lloydd's own, he needed that show of power. Even if it meant replacing Arias. Ivy wasn't a terrible pick though, she was fiercely loyal and could sniff out traitors well... usually. And what's more she valued secrecy highly, as a subordinate of the Dark Moon should. Indeed, perhaps she was a more appropriate pick as knight of the Darkmoon... The thought soured in his mind, he felt guilty for speaking any ill of Arias as things were now, and even more so for replacing him. Yet... He had to, to avenge him. He was sure he would understand. Maybe that would be enough to ease his guilty conscience. "Good Blade of the Darkmoon, Ivy. I understand this may be sudden however, upon careful consideration... I wouldst have thee take up the mantle of Knight of the Darkmoon. Understand I do not bestow this rank lightly, so I expect thee to carry the title with pride and perform thy new duties to thy utmost ability." Gwyndolin took a sword from the armoury with his teleportation spell and waved the fog wall away. "Dost thou accept?" He asked. Less of a real question, more of a formality. A servant could not turn down the wishes of their master no matter what they be.

"Yes, my lord." She remained bowed, head gazing at the floor.

"Very well." Gwyndolin took the sword and held the end down to the left of her head. "From this day forth, thou art a Knight of the Darkmoon. Thou shalt obey the every word from I, Dark Sun Gwyndolin." He lifted the blade above her head and moved it to her right as he continued his speech. "Thy actions shalt reflect that of thy lord and country, and thy loyalty to the gods shalt never falter." He lifted the sword from her side and held it before him. "Carry thyself with pride, knight, thou art a worthy servant of the gods."

"My thanks good lord. I will not disappoint you. Nor will I tarnish the name you have graciously granted to me." Ivy solemnly thanked him. It seemed she was aware of the boots she filled and felt some shame in being a replacement. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do to help her, for he was ashamed of using her as such.

"Good. Go and rest for now knight, I shalt have a maid escort thee to thy new quarters within the cathedral. There are things I must discuss with thee later this evening so be sure to rest well beforehand. Thou shalt need a clear mind." He gestured to the top of the staircase, where a maid now miraculously waited for her. An illusion of course.

"Of course, my lord." Ivy nodded and stood calmy from the carpet, a new pride in her posture, or perhaps Gwyndolin was imagining things. She turned and left without a word. Good, that was one part of his plan successful. Now he only needed to set in stone the rest.

Arias placed an arm on his weary shoulder. His sword arm was beginning to hurt from clashing with so much stone. Those damn golems were relentless too, his knees still rattled from when the very earth beneath him quaked and cracked to attack him. Arias sighed as he approached the bridge, the specter had been pointing to it earlier from the cliff edge so it must be the way forward.

Yet despite the assistance, Arias was still wary around the thing. He was sure he knew what, or rather *who* it was. Yet, that should be completely impossible, such a man no longer existed.

A loud crashing sound tore Arias from his thoughts and drew his sight up from the ground. Scales as black as night and four feet clutched to the sides of the stone bridge, great talons of obsidian digging through the architecture like mere dirt. He snapped his gaze to the head of the beast. A narrow face looked down at him, wild spindly horns creeping up the thin snout of the beast up into the air from its forehead. A piercing orange eye sat in the center of its head, gazing straight into him.

Rooted to the ground in fear, Arias could only watch as the dragon leaped from the bridge into the air, the beat of its wings propelling it quickly into the skies. Yet Arias was sure he saw something on it's back as it flew away. A figure resembling a man, watching him still.

Chapter Text

Heyyyy everyone. I know that this is the LAST kind of update you want to see but I figured this time I should at least say something, even if a bit late.

Yeah, the autism said I'm not allowed to write for this fic anymore. I kept trying for weeks but only burned myself out and now I have no more desire to write for this fic. It's not like I'll never come back, I returned after 2 years before so it's not like this fic will never be finished, it'll just be an unknown amount of time before I do continue it again. Sorry, I know damn well how much this sucks, but I just can't write for this right now.