Elden Lord of Cinders

"...Sister?"

As soon as the word left her mouth, an odd silence fell between the three of them.

Trina hadn't expected to see her "sister" here. Judging by Melina's expression, she hadn't expected to see Trina either.

Under normal circumstances, an unexpected reunion between family members should've been a happy one. But even setting aside the toxic mess that was their family after the Elden Ring shattered, Trina had always been somewhat afraid of this "sister"—even before the Shattering.

Not that she really knew Melina well. On the contrary, Trina wasn't even sure Melina was her sister. She didn't want to know. Didn't dare to know. She'd always avoided any connection.

As for the reason...

Have you heard the story of the Night of Black Knives?

Years ago, during the age of the Golden Order, a group of Black Knife Assassins infiltrated Leyndell, the royal capital. They carried daggers marked with Destined Death—and used them to slay Godwyn the Golden...

But this isn't about Destined Death or Ranni. It's about the Black Knife Assassins who carried out the deed.

Some believed they were agents of Queen Marika herself—her black-gloved hand for the deeds that couldn't see daylight.

Trina didn't know if that was true. But what she did know was that the Black Knives wouldn't have operated in the heart of the Golden Order without Marika's permission.

And they were called Black Knife Assassins for a reason. Even before the Night of Black Knives made them infamous, their very existence screamed danger.

Even if Marika had allowed them to act, she surely couldn't have done so without oversight. But as Queen, would she really have had the time—or the plausible deniability—to monitor them directly? Dealing with a crew like the Black Knives would've looked bad if word got out.

So, whether it was leadership or supervision, someone had to handle it for her.

That meant the person in charge needed two things: absolute loyalty—enough that Marika would trust them with anything—and overwhelming strength, enough to keep the Black Knives in line and carry out the dirtiest, most extreme tasks.

Only a handful fit that description. The exiled First Elden Lord Godfrey. Or Marika's demigod children.

But in the end, it wasn't any of the siblings Trina knew.

It was a woman she barely recognized.

Melina.

That's what people called her.

Was she a demigod? Was she really Trina's sister? Was she truly involved with the Black Knives?

Trina couldn't say for sure.

But she knew this much: someone had once seen Melina fight, and her style—her presence—was unmistakably similar to the Black Knife Assassins. At the very least, she was connected.

Then there was Messmer—the black hand of Marika in the Land of Shadow. He'd once mentioned a sister. And when he spoke of her, it didn't sound like he was referring to any of the known demigods.

Messmer served as Marika's dark hand in the Land of Shadow. No one in the Golden Order had ever seen the sister he spoke of.

Messmer, for his part, was barely known himself—thanks to both his deeds and the nature of his work. Before Melina had ever been seen, no one had known of her either.

One of Messmer's eyes was sealed with the essence of the Serpent.

Melina's eye had never opened. Beside it, engraved into her skin, was the three-toed crow's claw—the mark of ill omen.

And for some reason, Trina knew that sealed eye held the power of Destined Death. The Gloam-Eye.

But that wasn't even the scariest part.

If she were just someone who did Queen Marika's dirty work, trusted implicitly, Trina might've been able to treat her as a "normal" sister.

But...

Black Knife Assassins. Destined Death. Hidden agendas.

Sister, let me ask just one thing. Who exactly are you planning to stab with that Destined Death?

Who needs Destined Death to die?

Who could possibly be so dangerous that even Marika felt the need to take precautions?

Why was Destined Death sealed away inside a blade? Why was it made known to all the demigods?

And then there's the whole damn story of the Night of Black Knives...

Trina didn't want to overthink it.

But how the hell was she supposed not to?

And even if she shoved all of that to the side, there was still one more thing that bugged her.

Why was her "Promised One" standing beside her "sister"?

And more importantly... why did they seem so familiar with each other?

"She's your sister?"

Once he came back to his senses, Lloyd turned to Melina. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes."

After giving that single-word reply, Melina said nothing more. Her whole demeanor was practically radiating a "don't ask further" energy. Lloyd understood immediately—this topic was closed.

He didn't push it. After confirming she didn't want to elaborate, he turned to the purple-haired girl beside him.

"Uh, you..."

"Trina. My name is Trina."

She hadn't met a certain golden-haired someone yet, but because she was stationed in one of the core areas, Trina already knew a bit about Lloyd's condition. So the fact that he didn't remember her—didn't even know who she was—wasn't surprising to her at all.

But that was fine. She would make sure he remembered her.

"I'm here to help you," she said earnestly.

Of course Lloyd knew Trina was summoned to assist him—the golden sigil said as much. But the question was...

"Are you... good at fighting?"

He eyed the petite girl in front of him—fair-skinned, long purple hair, completely unarmed. His expression grew slightly awkward.

At least the Dark Moon Sword had a rapier to keep up appearances, and she looked the part in every category—damage, defense, support, and style. But this girl...

"I'm not good at fighting," Trina admitted without hesitation.

As one of the twins born with innate defects, Trina may have carried the demigod title, but her actual combat prowess was... well, tragic. In terms of raw strength, forget demigods—even a skilled Tarnished could probably chase her down and kill her.

But that didn't mean she was useless.

"Could you come over for a moment?"

At her request, Lloyd walked over and knelt down, extending his hand. Trina reached out and gently took it.

A soft violet glow pulsed between them. Lloyd blinked as he noticed his Focus bar increase—not replenished, but extended. A new buff icon appeared: a violet flower.

"And this too." Trina handed him a bundle of thin twigs that looked like they'd been picked off a roadside bush.

[Lulling Branch]

[A branch used in dark violet incantations. Can be used to craft a special item.]

[When stabbed into oneself, it slowly builds up the sleep gauge while gradually restoring Focus.]

[If the sleep gauge exceeds its limit, consciousness will momentarily blur, but Focus will not decrease.]

[Some truths can only be glimpsed while half-asleep. Some memories only surface from deep within the heart.]

A mana regen item?

Lloyd raised an eyebrow as he studied the twig in his hand.

Since summoning Melina, he hadn't had much to worry about when it came to healing or buffs—her recovery abilities were more than reliable. But now that their health sustain was covered, mana had become the main concern. After all, this was the real world—Melina didn't have infinite FP like in the game. Otherwise, she wouldn't need Lloyd to resupply her after every battle.

This branch seemed to patch that very hole in their strategy.

And yet, that still wasn't all Trina could offer.

After earning a bit of trust with her blessing and the twig, she held out her arms and asked Lloyd to carry her on his back.

"If you're willing to share a bit of your strength with me, I can help fight too."

Lloyd agreed. Trina raised one hand, and with the flow of energy from his body to hers, a pale violet arrow began to coalesce in her palm.

She let it fly.

The arrow zipped through the air and struck a wandering exile soldier in the distance. The damage was negligible—the health bar barely budged—but the target immediately collapsed, fast asleep.

It never even stirred as Lloyd walked over and finished it off with a single execution.

Faced with such powerful support, Lloyd's choice was clear.

"You should get down."

That single shot had drained nearly a third of his FP, and the damage was so low it barely scratched even basic enemies. Sure, it put them to sleep, but at best it enabled a single execution—and who knew if it even worked on other types of monsters?

If they were out in the open world, where a Site of Grace could restore their status, maybe Lloyd could afford to treat it like a novelty. But here, with resources this tight, he couldn't afford to waste anything.

Trina didn't argue. After Lloyd spoke, she quietly released her grip, returned to the ground, and, like Melina, silently followed behind him.

...

"Trina."

After clearing another section of enemies, Melina suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her.

"How did you end up here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sister Melina."

Trina stopped as well, locking eyes with her.

"Why are you with my 'promised one'?"

"Promised one?" Melina blinked. "When did you make a 'promise' with him?"

From the moment she'd met Lloyd, he had never left her sight. He'd never mentioned Trina, let alone something like this. How had he suddenly become Trina's "promised one"?

Trina didn't answer directly. Instead, she pulled out the token Lloyd had given her—the "Proof of a Concord Kept"—and held it out in front of Melina.

After a moment of silence, Melina looked up.

"So... what is this supposed to be?"

Trina hesitated, then answered seriously.

"According to the Fire Keeper, it's a token of promise... a symbol of commitment."

"No," Melina shook her head. "Knowing him, this is most likely a child's toy."

Trina: "..."

She sounds exactly like that Fire Keeper...

Just as Trina was about to argue, Melina shook her head again.

"But it doesn't matter. If you want him to be your 'king,' I can help you."

Trina blinked. "You…"

"I am his maiden. I have no other intentions, and I don't plan to develop any."

Melina paused for a moment.

"And besides... there's something else. He may have fallen for someone he shouldn't have. Someone very dangerous."

"Who?" Trina looked at her, puzzled. "Someone even you consider dangerous?"

Melina didn't leave her guessing.

"Ranni."

Trina stopped walking and blinked.

"Which Ranni?"

"The one you're thinking of."

At those words, Trina's expression shifted.

That Ranni...

Seeing the change in her face, Melina nodded slightly and said quietly,

"So, you don't need to be so wary of me."

"Because right now, we share the same enemy. Don't we?"