Elden Lord of Cinders

Ranni wasn't sure how to even begin describing her current state of mind.

It had only been a few minutes since that bizarre Tarnished walked in, yet it felt like centuries had passed.

First, he showed up with Melina. Then, in the middle of conversation, he dropped some wild theory. Before she could process that, he pulled out Renna—and now he was casually saying, "Your mother's dying"...

To be honest, Ranni wasn't one to feel much of anything. Ever since the Night of Black Knives, her emotional fluctuations had been few and far between. But now...

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and turned to question Lloyd—only to be interrupted by Renna.

"I'll explain!"

Renna absolutely couldn't let Lloyd keep talking. At this rate, even if he didn't provoke Marika's hammer with more outrageous remarks, he'd probably end up driving Ranni to snap.

She quickly summarized the situation at the academy and what they'd encountered, keeping it as concise as possible.

"In short, there's been a temporal distortion in the academy. Something extremely dangerous is in there, and it seems like it's trying to do something... but Mother and the others are keeping it at bay."

Ranni nodded thoughtfully after listening.

"No wonder my projection over there didn't pick up on anything. Iji said everything was normal too, though he did mention strange occurrences around Liurnia of the Lakes…"

She paused for a moment, then looked directly at Lloyd.

"Sounds like you know what this 'thing' is?"

Lloyd nodded.

"Yeah. It's Seath. Old friend of mine."

As a veteran of Souls, Lloyd knew Seath all too well.

Sure, he'd been slain by the Chosen Undead in the first game—body and soul completely scorched in the firelinking ritual—but from then on, all the way through the end of Dark Souls III, his legacy lingered. Crystal Sorcery, born of his obsession, left shadows of him everywhere in that world.

Was he dead? Absolutely. Both physically and spiritually.

But his thoughts, his longing for immortality, and the lingering curse embedded in the very foundation of Crystal Soulmass—those could twist any obsessed scholar into a new "Seath the Scaleless."

In that sense, Seath had succeeded. He'd achieved a life even more eternal than the immortal ancient dragons.

But...

Lloyd frowned as something occurred to him.

If this was just a Seath-obsessed fragment—someone mentally and magically corrupted by crystalline knowledge—then why such a strong reaction to terms like "Scaleless Newborn" and "Moonlight Greatsword"?

None of them were ancient dragons, so they lacked true immortal scales. And while the Moonlight Greatsword was legendary, people only aspired to wield it—it wasn't worth panicking over.

But that roar... the sheer desperation in it...

Lloyd's expression turned strange.

Don't tell me... Seath himself won the resurrection lottery?

Children, I'm back

And judging by the nostalgic look on Lloyd's face, the others were beginning to look at him with some concern too.

Wait, he actually knows whatever that thing is in the academy?

Sure, Seath had let out a roar that sounded vaguely like "Lloyd," but it was distorted by his draconic bellow and his frantic rage. Not just the others—Lloyd himself didn't catch it at first.

His reply, equally warped from clashing with the roar, went unnoticed. Given how often Lloyd acted weirdly anyway, nobody had thought much of it at the time.

But now, thinking back...

"You know it?" Renna blinked.

"Not that well, but I know a bit."

Lloyd shook his head. Now that the flame of ambition had faded, he just saw Seath as some old relic from Souls 1—and conveniently forgot how he'd ended up with the Moonlight Greatsword in the first place.

He didn't hide anything and gave a quick rundown of what he knew about Seath to the others.

Now, here's the thing about Lloyd's way of speaking.

He often complained about people talking in riddles, but truthfully, his own words sounded just as cryptic to everyone else.

Terms like "cancel," "Soul 5," "little scythe," or "my straight sword never loses"—it wasn't just Ranni, who had only just met him. Even Melina, who had been with him all this time, still didn't have a clue what he meant most of the time.

Still, even if they couldn't fully follow his jargon, they managed to extract a few key phrases:

"Scaleless ancient dragon," "a being obsessed with immortality," "developed soul crystalization techniques"...

The Lands Between was no stranger to ancient dragons. The Golden Order had even clashed with them once—then became allies afterward.

They'd never heard of any "Seath the Scaleless" among the dragons of the Lands Between, but considering Tarnished came back from beyond, maybe he was from a dragon lineage outside these lands.

The part about craving immortality was easy to grasp—no explanation needed. As for "developed soul crystalization," with Seath already out in the open, there was no point hiding it.

So Lloyd simply conjured a shard of soul crystal on the spot.

What followed was a long, heavy silence.

"No wonder Mother and the Academy teamed up to deal with that thing," Ranni murmured, staring at the crystal. "It really is... hard to describe."

Truth be told, Ranni never saw herself as particularly noble. She'd always been upfront with the people around her—"I will betray everything, abandon everything," she would say.

But even she, after sensing the patterns buried deep in that soul crystal, felt it crossed into something... too abstract.

Still...

"Why do you know how to use this 'technique'?" Ranni asked, her tone suddenly cautious.

Lloyd answered matter-of-factly, "Because I studied it."

Ranni: "..."

Okay. She really shouldn't have asked.

Now that the nature of the soul crystals had been confirmed, Ranni was reasonably sure they were here to ask for help—not for anything more dangerous.

After all, this kind of soul-consolidating technique... even the Frenzied Flame faction might team up to take that thing down.

She lowered her gaze and slowly folded her arms, eyes flickering as she looked at Lloyd and Melina.

This was an opportunity.

For various reasons, Ranni didn't have the best reputation in the Lands Between. That was why she'd gone to such lengths to hide her identity when meeting Lloyd before.

Once, she could rely on her two brothers—both from the same lineage—for support.

But now? One had been eaten by a serpent. The other had gone mad, corrupted by some unknown force. Their subordinates were busy cleaning up their messes, leaving her with no one to count on.

As for Caria Manor... Even setting aside whether the Carian faction and the royal family truly stood together, they were neck-deep in war with the Academy. They couldn't even protect their queen, much less spare the strength to assist her.

To put it bluntly—

She was alone. And she needed help.

But Ranni also knew: the more desperate you were, the less you could show it. Desperation bred caution in others, or worse—opportunism.

Besides, right now, her own plans could wait. A far bigger threat loomed—one that endangered her mother and, perhaps just as crucially, could offer a chance to...

"Um."

Staring at Ranni, Lloyd suddenly spoke up.

"Did you really stack books under your chair? If it's not high enough, why not just get a bigger chair? I know a craftsman—if you want, I can have one custom-made for you..."

Ranni: "..."

Looking at Lloyd's utterly serious expression, Ranni suddenly felt exhausted—like she was questioning her life choices. Was all that deep thinking earlier... really necessary?

Then another voice cut in.

"Lloyd, you just don't get it."

Renna waved a finger and began explaining.

"If she used a big chair, it'd make her look really small. That kind of visual mismatch makes people subconsciously see her as a child..."

"But with a small chair and some books underneath, unless you look closely, you won't notice. It actually gives off an illusion of height and authority..."

"Didn't you put the books there first?" Ranni asked, a slight blush creeping across her face.

The red of righteous fury.

"Yeah, I did," Renna admitted confidently, hands on her hips. "Think about how tall you were back then. What was I supposed to do—look up at you the whole time?"

Ranni: "..."

After a brief silence, Ranni sighed through gritted teeth.

"Fine. Let's drop it and get back to the point."

"Much as I want to help—especially with Mother still there—I'm not in great shape right now."

Revealing her condition was risky, but if they were going to work together, hiding it wouldn't last long anyway. Better to just be upfront.

She extended her hand, slowly raising it to reveal the joints of her wrist.

"I killed and discarded my original body. What you see now is just a puppet. My strength is no longer what it used to be, and I require long periods of rest."

"I can help you break the seal on the main gate, but it'll take a lot of energy. I'll need at least one deep hibernation to recover enough to avoid any accidents during the process."

"And based on what Renna said, the seal contains not just my mother's power but also that of the Primeval Current. That means I'll need a Primeval Current sorcerer at the level of 'Professor' or higher to assist me—and they have to do it willingly, otherwise it'll cause trouble."

"Lastly, since Blaidd isn't around, I'll need a bodyguard. You know how many people out there want me dead..."

Lloyd considered for a moment.

"How about a Frenzied Flame bodyguard?"

Ranni: "?"

This guy...

But before she could respond, Lloyd spoke again.

"As for the Primeval Current mage—I know someone named Sellen. Think she'll do?"

"...'Graven Witch' Sellen?"

"Yeah, I think she called herself that."

Ranni: "..."

"Oh, right."

Lloyd looked at her again.

"Seems like your soul depletes and forces you to hibernate, yeah? I can help with that too."

As he spoke, he summoned a wisp of soul energy at his fingertip and held it up for her to see.

"Like this."

Ranni: "...?"

Then, as if remembering something else, Lloyd pulled out another fragment.

"Or if you want a body, I can use this 'Crucible of Life' fragment to forge one for you."

"If you have a preferred style, I can customize it. Want a different race? That's doable too."

Silence.

Staring at Lloyd and the bizarre items in his hands, Ranni's lips twitched, and the corners of her eyes began to twitch as well.

For the first time—as the Witch Ranni—she felt her understanding of reality being genuinely challenged.

This man...

What is he, exactly...