The Ashen Keeper

Chapter 114

She expected a daughter of Gwyn or a princess of some mighty kingdom to be here. Perhaps even a daughter of Manus would do. The last she expected was herself. She still looked to be in optimal shape.

She slowly creeped her hands toward her sleeping self. That felt weird but she did it anyway. She was still breathing but her soul was no longer there. It was as if only her physical body was leaving. She was also holding something as she slumbered.

It was something round but it was not a dragon egg. It appears to be rather large marble with colours filled to resemble to universe itself. But, it was not just merely coloured. She could easily feel life with the marbles.

She felt something familiar. It was the everlasting dragons. It appears that the dragons were the only survivors of this extinction level event. She looked around to see small pieces of papers scattered around.

She picked one up. It said something she understood only partially.

'Unnamed. Crafted by Eitri and his mentor Andre using the souls of the Great Ones, the body of the Living Tribunal and the Blood of the Dark Soul by the Painter's brush. A new world in which we can escape from them.'

A most vague introduction to the orb she was holding. She knew some terms and names like Eitri, Andre and knew some terms like the Blood of the Dark Soul and the Painter but the rest were totally unknown towards her.

Such words on places weren't unheard of in Lordran. There were a few selected individuals who knew of these. The Ashen One was one of them. He called them 'item descriptions', if she remembered it correctly.

This piece of paper held great information but there were more pieces of paper still scattered around. She grabbed another one as she read it in great interest. She wished to know what had become of this world and why she was this way.

She could easily recognize the next one. After all, it was her own handwriting. As for how she knew to write, it was a tale for another time. This one had a title called 'The Keeper's Curse'

'A most great taboo hath been committed. How thee, oh mighty hunter has been affected by the beast's blood consumed by the all-seeing eye in a tale of vengeance. Thou hath broken the ultimate taboo in which thou vowed to never commit.

Deceived by the words of the maiden, thou hath abandoned tis world and brought the horrors of the extinction of worlds upon this peaceful place. Now, they hath realized that we know of them and tis only bring them not the fear thee hoped but only joy and happiness.

This tale of the keeper is over, my life perished in thy hands and they shall move onto another world for entertainment once more. Thou hath doomed this world. The moment they lost interest they hath no more desire to stay. There exists no more reason for this world to exist.

And to thee, I place upon a curse. May thou be corporate upon this city of ruin at the end of time as a failed Great One. May thy never-ending duty be relived only upon the pain of death. I hath left upon thee only the most vile creatures that shall never see the light of the sun.'

She finished reading it and thought to herself, 'What even is this?'. It was as if she took time to sat down to think of what to write so that it sounds mysterious and ancient. Judging by what was written, she could only make out a few things.

The first one would be that she was betrayed by someone she referred to as the mighty hunter and paid with her life. The hunter appeared to broke a taboo after being enticed by someone else who goes by 'Maiden'.

And after letting 'them' know that he knew of 'them', he ruined this world. Perhaps the taboo was the fact that he let 'them' know or was it something else? And somehow, she came back to life and 'they' have no more need for further entertainment.

She then placed a curse upon him turning him into something called a 'Failed Great One' bounding him with the Ringed City forever. She still has yet to meet him but it probably meant that she would be meeting him soon.

One thing she could interfere from this was that her life was an eternal dance to keep 'them' entertained. The moment she failed, 'they' would leave behind this world to die and move onto other worlds.

It appears that Eitri and Andre crafted the orb to escape the death of this world much like the Painted world of Ariandel back home.

What exactly was 'them'? That was the question in which she desperately need an answer to. So far, not one being could have given her an answer. Not even the likes of Alduin. It is an answer she must know to. She looked for other scraps of paper to provide her answers.

She had not even move when everything disappeared replaced with a scene in which flowers were blooming. But it reeks of blood. There was a castle around her that she could not recognize. The sky turned dark as white meteors fell from the sky.

They were in large proportions but stopped shortly after. She looked around once more to see that the sky was no longer dark. Yet, the flowers look even worse with their petals resembling the teeth of a monster.

She took out her scythe immediately to defend herself. She dodged all the meteors but did not let her guard down. She begun hearing gargled screaming all around her. It was like a man was screaming under water with a sack over his face. It was a horrifying sound.

She recognized this in a similar fashion with the one she met while retrieving the Abyss Watchers. She has been dragged into another nightmare.

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This is Chapter 114.

There will be further explanations on this.

I had to fry my last brain cells to write this chapter so I hope you appreciate it.