Elden Lord of Cinders

After a while...

"Why did you bring her out too?"

Melina froze when she saw Trina in Lloyd's arms.

"I didn't know."

Lloyd looked down at Trina, clearly confused himself.

"Should I just toss her into the Roundtable Hold too?"

"Absolutely not." Melina shook her head without hesitation.

Irina and Roderika were one thing—at least they could pass as attendants or handmaids. But Trina...

"In any case, she can't go to the Roundtable Hold."

After a brief pause, she added, "And it's best not to let anyone else know about her either, or we might attract some unnecessary trouble."

So, it seemed her identity was more delicate than expected.

Lloyd didn't know who Trina really was, but he could tell from Melina's tone that things were complicated. After thinking for a moment, he said, "But keeping her with us isn't exactly ideal either, is it? You know we still need to find another Great Rune, and then we're heading to the Royal Capital. There's no avoiding other people on the road—not to mention all the battles..."

Melina's expression turned conflicted.

She knew Lloyd wasn't wrong. In fact, there were things she was aware of—things Lloyd hadn't realized yet—about Trina, things that made the situation even more troublesome.

But if she couldn't send her to the Roundtable Hold and couldn't bring her along, then what—was she supposed to just "abandon my sister here"?

Alice suddenly popped in, "Then just throw her in your inventory!"

Lloyd: "?"

Melina: "?"

"Alice, this isn't the time for jokes..."

Lloyd's first thought was that Alice was messing around, but then he looked down at the spirit girl in his arms—and a thought hit him.

Wait a second. Didn't he already have something like this in his inventory?

He hadn't thought much of it before, but now that he recalled, weren't his Spirit Ashes kind of the same thing?

Trina might not be a Spirit Ash, but she was still a spirit. So, if she was willing...

"Wait, it actually worked?"

Lloyd stared at the newly added "Trina" entry in his inventory, momentarily speechless.

No way Bro.

But then, Lloyd noticed something odd.

Even though Trina had entered his inventory, she wasn't listed under Spirit Ashes—she was categorized as a "Usable Item."

You can actually use her?

After confirming that the item had "unlimited uses," Lloyd tapped to activate it.

With a gentle purple glow, Trina's spirit form appeared behind him. She stretched out her arms, slowly wrapped them around his neck, and leaned into his back.

As soon as she embraced him, Lloyd felt something awaken inside—a sense that he could control this "soul shell" to cast various sleep-based abilities.

Sleep Arrows, Mists of Slumber, Sleep Weapons...

But before he could start exploring these new skills, another issue popped up.

"Wait, why isn't this kid awake yet?"

After all that chaos—she'd even been used as a prop—he looked back, only to find that the kid was still fast asleep, looking peaceful.

"Oh, that." Melina snapped out of her daze and nodded. "That's normal. She's just really sleepy."

"How sleepy are we talking?" Lloyd asked, curious.

Melina thought for a moment. "Basically the kind who never really wakes up."

Lloyd: "...?"

What do you mean, 'basically never wakes up'?

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Since Trina's case was a bit unusual, Melina offered a bit more explanation this time.

"You saw it before—this kid has a 'Sleep' ability. But because of the side effects of that power, she herself is rarely ever conscious."

In fact, even calling it 'rarely' felt like a stretch to Melina.

The Golden Order Dynasty had quite a few obscure demigods—like Melina herself and her brother who lived far away in the Land of Shadow, or Morgott and his brother who grew up in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, and of course, Trina.

The difference was, Melina and her brother had to hide because of certain impure traits. Morgott and his sibling had to hide because their atavistic traits clashed with the Golden Order, not to mention the possible trauma they triggered in some village girl, which led to their early-game speedrun straight into the sewers.

Trina, though—while she did have some congenital defects—they weren't severe enough to require hiding. She didn't have any Omen horns that would send her straight to the sewers either. She even had a half-sibling constantly running around stirring up trouble. By all logic, she should've been fairly well-known.

But now? Forget outsiders—even her own siblings would need a moment to recall who she was.

"Oh, you mean Miquella's other half."

And the reason for this?

"She just sleeps too much."

When Miquella was studying, Trina was asleep.

When Miquella was working, Trina was asleep.

When Miquella was resting… Trina was still asleep.

Golden Order Dynasty, the Shattering, the battle for the Great Rune...

In all of these major events, even the hidden demigods left behind traces—clues to their influence or involvement.

But Trina? From beginning to end, the only signs of her presence were a few patches of dream lilies left behind during bouts of sleepwalking, which ended up attracting some followers. Beyond that, there was nothing—no signs of involvement in the war, or anything else, really. It was as if she didn't exist in the real world.

Because all she ever did was sleep.

After Melina gave a brief rundown of Trina's situation, Lloyd's gaze toward the delicate little face resting on his shoulder shifted subtly.

But soon enough, he realized something else.

"Back in the dungeon..."

"That was probably her 'spirit.'"

Melina wasn't even sure how to describe Trina's bizarre condition. Normally, sleep works by temporarily shutting off the spirit.

But Trina was an exception. Though she remained asleep physically, her spirit stayed active. If your own sleep was deep enough, you could even hear the sounds she made while she wandered.

If you had to put it into words...

"She lives within her own dreams. Only those who are also in deep sleep can hear her voice—maybe even talk to her."

"Huh?" Lloyd looked at Melina, then at Trina beside him, confused. "But we weren't asleep then, right? We talked to her just fine..."

Silence.

Melina and Alice stared at him for a moment.

"Let's talk about where we're going next."

"Huh? Oh..."

Lloyd didn't question the sudden shift in topic and just went along with it. After putting Trina back into his inventory, he started discussing their next move with the others. But...

"Didn't you say we were going to plan our next step? Why's no one talking?"

Watching the two suddenly fall silent, Lloyd paused, then decided to consult someone more reliable.

Who could that be?

"Old Mar—"

He pushed open Morgott's office door, but before he could say a word, something on the desk caught his eye.

It was a huge lantern. Inside it was a familiar head.

"Wait, isn't that Godrick? Why'd you put his head in a lantern?"

"It's not a lantern, it's preservation... Ah, forget it. Just think of it as a lantern."

Morgott was already used to Lloyd's... creative thinking. He sighed and looked up.

"Something you need?"

Lloyd walked over and sat down across from him.

"Nothing major. I'm just not sure where to go next and figured I'd ask your opinion."

Morgott fell silent.

A Tarnished coming to ask him, defender of the Golden Order Dynasty, where to go next...

"Can't you see the guidance of Grace?"

"I can, but it's always patchy. And now it's not showing any direction at all."

That was true. After taking down Godrick, perhaps because he'd completed a major milestone, the Grace hadn't disappeared but had begun circling aimlessly, offering no clear path forward.

Morgott let out a long, deep sigh.

"You've got the Great Rune, don't you? Then go back to the Roundtable Hold. See the Two Fingers, hear what the Finger Reader has to say. If they don't give you a clear direction, then I suggest heading north. The Lunar Princess's whereabouts are currently unknown, but the Academy of Raya Lucaria should hold another Great Rune. The Queen of the Full Moon isn't doing well either..."

"The Lunar Princess?"

Lloyd frowned, trying to remember. He vaguely recalled Morgott mentioning the name during a lore dump, but he'd tuned most of it out. Thinking back now...

"You mean Ranni? I saw her just recently. Doesn't sound very 'missing' to me."

Morgott: "...?"

He inhaled, ready to follow up—only for Lloyd to suddenly switch gears again.

"Oh, right, one more thing. Do you know 'Trina'?"

Morgott froze, then gave a puzzled nod.

"I do. Why bring her up?"

"No big deal."

Lloyd thought for a second. Since Old Margit wasn't exactly a stranger anymore, he just summoned Trina and pointed to the sleeping girl curled up on his shoulder.

"I wanted to ask if you knew how to wake her up. She's always asleep, and I'm worried one day she might just... never wake up. Hey, what's with the look?"

"I... I'm fine."

Morgott opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He just pressed a hand to his forehead.

He'd thought he'd grown used to Lloyd's way of thinking.

But now...

"Just... go to the Roundtable Hold first. See the Two Fingers. Then come back and find me."

He needed time to collect himself.