A/N: Haha, so you know how last chapter sort of ended on a cliffhanger? Well so does this one. The exact same cliffhanger, in fact.
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She's still getting her wits about her, when she hears that familiar voice. The visage might be deceptive, but the voice... the voice is still that of Lunar Princess Ranni. Marika would recognize it anywhere. After all, a number of her nightmares over the years had focused heavily on a facsimile of the Lunar Princess mocking her for her failure. The Elden Beast's doing, no doubt.
Queen Marika the Eternal lifts her head and glares a most heated glare at the blue-skinned, four armed witch who DARES to come before her. Except, Ranni is distressingly unfazed. Certainly, Marika is not at her best, but even at her worst, a God should be able to handle a Demigod. Marika's heart damn near stops again in her chest, when she realizes Ranni has ascended in her time locked away. The Lunar Princess is no demigod. Not any longer. She is no potential successor. She is a fully realized Goddess in her own right.
They make eye contact, the two of them. Then and there in the heart of the Erdtree, with only that strange Tarnished and the kindling maiden to bear witness, they begin to gather their power to themselves. If it is battle that-
"▄▄▅▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"
Marika's head whips around, as does Ranni's. The heart of the Erdtree, displayed as a singularly rocky, barren platform until this moment, abruptly changes. Gone are the shadows that coated its sides mere moments before. Gone is the solid, cracked floor beneath them. Instead, they find themselves atop an endless reflective pool, surrounded on all sides by ghostly, ephemeral, golden representations of the Erdtree.
Knowing better than most what this means, Queen Marika gets to her feet. Not to do battle with Ranni as she had initially intended, however. The Lunar Princess might still be primed for combat, but she would be a fool to try and fight her here and now, as she quickly learns when their TRUE foe finally reveals itself.
Rising out of the reflective surface the ground has become... is the Elden Beast. Another roar resounds from its 'mouth', echoing and reverberating through them all and throughout the area as well.
"▅▅▃▃▄▄▅▅▃▃▄▄▅▅▂▂▃▃▅▅!"
There is nothing human about the creature. Nothing Numen either. Nothing that can be said to be anything of this world, for the Elden Beast is NOT of this world. Tis a vassal beast of the Greater Will, a steward sent by the Outer God to enact its desires upon the Lands Between. It is the living incarnation of the concept of Order, and the reason Marika has been forced to consume her other half, for Radagon's loyal zealotry to it had turned him against her.
And now... now it means to kill them all. Starting with her, apparently. The Elden Beast's long neck swoops back and forth as its glowing golden eyes take in the assembled. Then, it focuses on her and lifts one of its glowing, clawed hands in her direction. Immediately, Marika feels a pressure on her newly restored body.
She fights back, of course. Resists it, even as it tries to make of her something she is not... but also something she realizes she was always meant to eventually become. A weapon. It is trying to reduce her down to nothing more than a blade for its purposes. This was always to be her fate, but now that she has been healed, she can fight it with every fiber of her being. She can... she can't win though.
Much like Radagon could not defeat her without the assistance of the Elden Beast, she in turn could not defeat the Elden Beast as she is. Even with all her power, even with all her might, the Greater Will's steward was slowly but surely shaving away what made her who and what she was. Queen Marika the Eternal, reduced down to a sword.
She chokes out a half-sob, half-laugh as she finds herself being lifted into the air in the direction of the Elden Beast's outstretched hand. Absently, she hears the kindling maiden call out to her in distress.
"No! Mother!"
Truly? This was how it ended? This-
And then the Tarnished is there, leaping through the air, and carving down into the Elden Beast with the massive Starscourge Greatswords of her nephew, Radahn. The matte black, golden-runed blades slice through the Elden Beast's 'arm' and sunder its hand from its body. Nothing but a trifle for it to reconstitute a moment later, of course, but the damage is done all the same. The vassal beast's concentration is broken, and she is freed to fall back to the pool below, gasping for air, her body near-instantaneously rebuilding what the Elden Beast shaved away.
But even still, she does not move from where she has fallen. Instead, she watches. She watches with wide eyes as this Tarnished of no renowned swaps out her nephew's blades for the Carian Regal Scepter and begins hammering the Elden Beast with glintstone sorceries instead. And then, a moment after that, he's using Malenia's blade. A moment after that, a polearm.
The weapons in his hands change constantly, shifting rapidly, but the resolve and determination he showcases, the savagery with which he fights as he ravages the Elden Beast's 'flesh', never diminishes. Once the battle is joined, he does not stop. He does not falter. He does not hesitate. Marika personally recognizes a dozen of the weapons he uses. Some belonged to her children. Some to her consorts. And then there are dozens more. Some of the incantations he wields are of the Golden Order. Some are blasphemous.
But then, is she not blasphemous herself in a way?
... She'd hoped it would be Godfrey. That had been the plan. When all was said and done, it was supposed to be Lord Godfrey who returned to her side. But he hadn't quite managed it, and with the Elden Beast distracted by this seemingly mortal man and her wounds healed, Queen Marika is able to look outside of herself, outside of the Erdtree, for the first time in a long time.
She IS a God. A Goddess Eternal. It's not difficult, to see all that has happened, in her absence. Not just Godwyn then, but Morgott and Mohg are dead as well. The Omen Twins, in the end, proving to be dual opposites. Morgott, who stood for Order and Justice until the end, and Mohg, who proved every caution taken and every word spoken against Omenkind to be utterly right. Miquella still lived at least and would recover. And Malenia... Malenia too, was healing of an affliction that even Marika herself hadn't believed could be healed.
At the same time, Lord Godfrey was dead, slain by this very same Tarnished just outside of the heart of the Erdtree. Her Lord, her first consort... had chosen to wait for the Tarnished's arrival, to give him the honor of combat, instead of entering ahead of him and sealing the way once more. It was more respect than Marika would have preferred Godfrey show to his rival, especially when that respect had resulted in Godfrey's death.
Even Malekith was slain, all part of the Tarnished's path to reach this place. Her half-brother, who she had quite frankly used, abused, and betrayed beyond measure, sent to his final rest.
She had been wrong to call this Tarnished one of no renown, Marika finds herself realizing. She was going off of old, woefully outdated information. This particular Tarnished truly hadn't been anyone special, as far as she knew. He was a descendant of some of Lord Godfrey's original soldiers, like the vast majority of the Tarnished who had returned to the Lands Between, but even there, he did not stand out. His ancestors had not particularly distinguished themselves, among Godfrey's men and women.
And yet... and yet, Melina had chosen him. Marika's kindling maiden had chosen him, and more than that, she had chosen exceptionally well. This Tarnished's potential was wholly realized. He was the strongest mortal Marika had ever laid eyes upon. And not just strong, but fast too. And not just fast, but intelligent as well.
He was... a Jack of all Trades. But where one might follow up that statement by claiming him a Master of None, Marika could not do so. He was a Master of all Trades as well. He had honed every part of himself to completion. He had not settled for being the best in one area, and instead fought to become the best in ALL areas.
No wonder Godfrey stood no chance against him. No wonder her numerous children met with defeat time and time again in the face of his inexorable might. And yet, it still left Marika with more questions than answers. She was a God, an Eternal Goddess. She could see everything that there was to see within the Lands Between. Even beyond what her kindling maiden had witnessed, Marika could trace all the way back to that moment when this Tarnished had first awoken in the Church.
He'd startled awake, stood up... and moved with purpose from that very first second in time. And ever since then, he'd continued moving with purpose. It boggled the mind. It baffled the senses. He always knew where he was going. He always knew what he was doing. He never faltered, never stopped, never considered. He moved through life as if the path was always visible, right in front of him. As if he knew where to step a thousand seconds before he stepped there.
He moved... like a man who had a Plan. Except, he never spoke, save for that one time, deep in the bowels beneath Leyndell, to tell her kindling maiden as much. Only she had been given leave to hear his voice, and even then, only the barest whisper. Why? Why did he not speak? Why did he let others come to their own conclusions about him?
He had more than enough power to make himself heard. He had more than enough strength to force the mortals of the Lands Between to listen. Indeed, he had enough might to force even demigods to bend the knee, as he'd proven with Malenia. And yet, he said not a word, instead letting his actions speak for themselves.
"... ▄▄... ▃▃▄▄▅... ▂▂...!"
The Elden Beast's pain is not something Marika had ever thought to hear. Dreaded, once upon a time? Hoped, in more recent eras? Certainly, to both. But to hear it now is shocking. Pulled from her introspection, the Eternal Queen can only watch as the great vassal beast falters. The Greater Will... indeed, all Outer Gods required avatars like the Elden Beast to truly enact their Will upon reality, especially reality this low in the realms. Even as a God, even as the Goddess Eternal, Marika is nothing compared to the truth of their strength.
But because they are so powerful, so high above it all, they cannot interact with a world like this one directly. Instead, they must send agents, like the Elden Beast. But even these agents are demonstrably strong. Even these agents, should not be beatable. Indeed, they do not shed blood. They do not take wounds in a way ordinary people might.
And yet, before her very eyes, the Elden Beast does in fact falter... and fall. Collapsing into the reflective surface, parts of it bursting into golden stars, it wails keenly, struggling to keep itself upright, struggling to keep fighting. But the Tarnished before it shows no mercy. The Carian Regal Scepter makes another appearance, and a moment later a massive beam of glintstone magic explodes forth from its tip, slamming into the Elden Beast and erasing it from existence until there is nothing left, until every bit of it is gone and faded away.
Of course, a creature of that power is never truly gone. The intelligence behind the Elden Beast is broken and destroyed. The Greater Will's steward is annihilated. But its power remains behind, to be suffused into its surroundings. The Erdtree will soak it up rather greedily, and with the Elden Beast dead and Radagon subsumed, the only one left who can possibly access the Erdtree's inner workings... is Queen Marika herself.
Rising to her feet once more, the Eternal Queen considers her options. Not all of the Elden Beast's power is draining away into the Erdtree. Some if it is going elsewhere... to the Tarnished who defeated it. Fair enough, really. For a mortal man to stand before her, having healed what should have been an incurable condition and having defeated an Agent of an Outer God... yes, he deserved a reward.
That said, things were not settled. Not by a long shot. The Elden Beast lay dead, an impossibility that Marika had never dreamed could be made reality. Even in her and Godfrey's most hopeful plans, the Elden Beast's capture and imprisonment had seemed the only true option.
But just because one of her enemies was dead, did not mean Queen Marika the Eternal was avenged. She would have recompense. The matter of her son's death still needed to be resolved, even all this time later. And would you look at that? The one who killed him had so graciously brought herself here, into Marika's presence.
Unlike Marika, who had taken her eyes off of Ranni throughout the battle, Lunar Princess Ranni had never stopped staring down the Eternal Queen. Her confidence in the Tarnished was that inviolate, that she hadn't doubted his victory for even a single second.
Instead, she'd kept her eyes on her true enemy, and as Marika once again turns back to Ranni, she sees the way the other God stiffens, the way her power gathers around her once more. Yes... a battle between Gods on the back of a battle between the most powerful mortal Marika had ever seen and the vassal beast of the Greater Will. Could there be any other way for this to end?
"Brave Tarnished. Kindling Maiden. Thou hast done me a great service on this day. Ye will be well-rewarded, once I have taken care of mine own business."
Ranni stiffens at that, her one eye narrowing, her four hands clenching into fists.
"Thou dost misunderstand mine dear consort's purpose, Queen Marika. As ever, he is mine loyal servant. I will be sure to thank him for this opportunity, when the deed is done."
Marika smiles thinly, as the both of them prepare to do battle. The Greater Will's influence over the Lands Between dies this day, but it has been waning for some time before now. Someone must step up to fill the sudden gap, or else another Outer God will slip in and grow all the more powerful for it. However, there cannot be two Goddesses here in the Lands Between. Marika has no intention of sharing her throne with another Queen.
Let it be decided then, here and now. Let it-
Marika blinks, and so does Ranni, as the two of them find themselves halted in their tracks. The Tarnished, who just slew something that could be said to beyond even the two of them, steps forward and stands between them, his hands palm out in either direction. He looks at them both, solemnly, and shakes his head.
Speechless, Marika isn't sure how to respond. Neither is Ranni. In the end, it is the kindling maiden, Melina, who speaks.
"Oh, beloved. What are you doing now?"
The sheer exasperation in the kindling maiden's voice would be amusing, if not for the tenseness of the situation. What was the Tarnished doing, indeed?
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A/N: It's all part of the Plan. Though this late in the game, that starts to lose meaning lmaaaaao.
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