Chapter no.89 The First Bell of Awakening (Patreon)

Naruto sat at the bonfire, its glow painting his face in flickers of gold and crimson. The flames crackled, and the warmth seeped into his muscles. He stared into the heart of the fire as if searching for an answer hidden in its shifting embers. His voice broke the silence.

"Did I… make the right choice?"

Oscar tilted his head, his round eyes glinting in the light. The small companion gave a soft, questioning chirp, unsure of what Naruto meant.

"About not letting Sasuke and Sakura into Lordran," Naruto said, his tone low. "It's dangerous here. You die once and you stay dead. They wouldn't last. Not in this place."

Oscar stepped closer. He placed a small claw on Naruto's thigh as if to ask what was really weighing on him.

"I don't know, man." Naruto ran a hand through his long hair, his gaze still locked on the flames. "I know I don't want them here. But is that wrong? Am I just being selfish? And… why did I have to lie?"

The guilt twisted in his gut. He remembered the anger he had felt toward Kakashi for keeping secrets, for bending the truth. Now he had done the same. The taste in his mouth was bitter.

Oscar gave another chirp.

"Yeah, I know. My lie isn't the same as Kakashi's," Naruto muttered, frustration tightening his jaw. "But I still feel like crap about it."

Another chirp caught his attention. This time, Oscar was already running toward the cave entrance, his small legs moving quickly over the uneven ground. Naruto followed without hesitation. They broke through the tree line and arrived at the Darkroot Basin arena, the place where he had once fought the Hydra and crossed blades with Havel.

The battlefield had changed. The wreckage of their past fights was gone, replaced by an eerie stillness. Lordran had healed the scars, but the silence felt heavy, unnatural.

Oscar's sudden mischief broke the stillness. He fired a shot into the distance, the crack echoing through the trees. A crystal golem turned, its body shimmering with jagged blue facets, and lumbered toward them. Oscar gave a final chirp that seemed to say you can handle this before burrowing into the earth and vanishing from sight.

Naruto chuckled as Oscar always knew that a fight could clear his head better than any lecture.

The crystal golem leapt high into the air, its shadow blotting out the moonlight, and came crashing down in a crushing punch. Naruto's fingers blurred through a series of hand signs. He inhaled deeply, then unleashed a giant fireball that engulfed the creature in roaring flames.

The golem did not fall. It tore through the fire, its crystalline fist driving straight into Naruto's position. At the last instant, Naruto formed a one-handed seal, his body flickering away in a puff of smoke. The crushing blow struck a wooden log in his place, shattering it into splinters that scattered across the ground.

In the next instant, the real Naruto appeared on the monster's back, zweihander in hand. With a wide arc, the blade cleaved through the golem's neck, its head tumbling free in a spray of crystal shards. He landed lightly on the ground, heart pounding, a smile tugging at his lips. The victory was short-lived. Five more crystal golems emerged from the mist.

Naruto tightened his grip on his weapon. Even now, after everything he had survived, Lordran still had teeth. And it would gladly tear him apart if he slipped.

The golems raised their fists in unison and slammed them into the earth. A wave of blue crystal spread across the forest floor, the jagged growths pulsing with dark energy that promised to crystallize his soul and snuff him out in an instant.

Naruto jumped, soaring above the deadly wave. He drew his Sorcerer's Catalyst, his other hand forming shadow clones in mid-air. Blue streaks flared from above as a barrage of soul arrows tore into the golems, their hard shells cracking under the magical onslaught.

He landed and dismissed the catalyst, a rapier materializing in his hand. In the same breath, he blurred forward, his form vanishing into motion. Each golem staggered as a single, precise thrust punched through its core.

The crystalline giants froze, fractures spiderwebbing across their bodies. One by one, they shattered into glittering fragments that fell to the forest floor.

[Victory Achieved!]
[You have gained:]
[2,500 Souls]
[Blue Titanite Chunk]

Naruto stood in the silence that followed, the pieces of his enemies still glimmering faintly in the moonlight.

A slow smile spread across his face. The rush of battle always left him with a strange calm, as though the weight in his chest loosened with every clash. Victories like this cleared his mind better than rest ever could. He glanced down at the glittering prize resting in his palm and tilted his head in curiosity.

[Item: Blue Titanite Chunk]
[Description: Titanite chunk for weapon reinforcement. Blue titanite holds powerful magic energy. Reinforces magic weapons to +9 and enchanted weapons to +4. With the discovery of chunks in Lordran, the race to find the Legendary Slabs has begun. Yet some still wonder if the slabs are only a myth.]

Naruto's eyes brightened as an idea began to form.

Oscar popped up from the ground, brushing dirt from his tiny claws, and chirped with a questioning tone.

"I think I might have just figured out something fun," Naruto said, grinning. "What if I use this stuff in my explosive seals?"

He pushed a small pulse of chakra into the chunk, and it reacted instantly, flaring with faint blue light. Without another word, he hurled it toward the lake. The crystal struck the water and, a second later, the surface erupted with a deafening explosion. A shockwave rolled across the lake, sending ripples racing outward as mist and spray filled the air.

Oscar turned his head toward Naruto with a look.

"That worked better than I expected," Naruto admitted, scratching his chin. "Actually… no, way better. The blast was stronger than any high-grade explosive seal I've ever made. What if I grind it into a fine powder and use that for my seals? That could boost their destructive power by a ridiculous amount."

He reached into his inventory and pulled out a new leather-bound notebook. He began scribbling notes quickly, page after page filling with rough sketches and formulas. His mind was already racing ahead. What if I coat arrowheads with this powder? The impact would be insane. And if I combine it with a delayed storage seal…

He trailed off, too absorbed in his brainstorming to notice Oscar shaking his head. The little crystal lizard had seen this before. His partner would get an idea, summon a dozen shadow clones to handle the tedious work, and then sit back and watch the fireworks.

Oscar's gaze drifted to the horizon. A flicker of movement caught his eye.

Naruto finally looked up from his writing. "What is it, bud?"

Oscar rose onto his hind legs, his entire body going alert. He extended one clawed arm, pointing straight ahead into the moonlit lake.

With Hawkeyes active, the shifting mist over the basin parted in his perception, revealing a massive shape beyond the waterfall. Standing upon the smooth stone ledge was a Golden Crystal Golem, its size dwarfing the blue crystal golems Naruto had fought before. The moonlight caught its surface, each golden facet gleaming like molten sunlight trapped in ice.

Naruto's gaze moved past its bulk to something far more important. Embedded within the golem's torso was the faint silhouette of a girl. She was suspended in solid crystal, like a rare insect trapped in amber.

[ Name: ? ]
[ HP: 276 / 745 ]

Naruto's eyes hardened. His hand reached up, fingers sliding the visor of his helm down into place with a metallic click.

"Oscar," he said evenly, "I want you to go full ravenous crystal lizard mode and engage it. I will fire from range, then use telekinesis to pull Sleeping Beauty out of there."

Oscar chirped once, his body already glowing faintly as chakra flooded his metallic chakra network. The crystalline growths along his body pulsed, then erupted outward, forming interlocking plates that wrapped him in a jagged second skin. In moments, he was covered in a full suit of crystal armor, every plate gleaming with lethal edges.

Naruto, watching from the corner of his eye, muttered to himself. So that is how he does it… He adjusted his grip and strung his greatbow, the string groaning under the draw.

Oscar's low chirp swelled into a roar. He leapt into the air, bit down on his own tail, and twisted his body. In a flash, he began rolling, his crystals grinding and sparking against the stone.

The Golden Crystal Golem raised its arm and planted its massive forearm before it like a shield. Oscar slammed into it with a crack that split the air, sending vibrations rippling through the ground. Shards of golden crystal flew outward, but the golem held its ground, the sheer mass of its frame stopping Oscar's roll dead in its tracks.

Naruto's arrow was already loosed. The greatbow kicked in his hands as the giant stake-like arrow screamed through the air and struck the golem's head. The impact was thunderous, the arrowhead biting deep and staggering the giant backward.

He expected Oscar to leap clear so he could send more arrows into the cracks, but the lizard surprised him. Oscar planted his crystal claws into the stone and channeled his chakra with a sharp pulse. From the armor along his forearms and shoulders, long thorn-like crystals began to grow outward at alarming speed. They shot straight toward the golem, drilling into its chest in jagged spirals. The thorns splintered the crystal casing around the imprisoned girl, fractures spreading outward like spiderwebs.

Naruto's eyes widened. Isn't that Guren's crystal thorn jutsu…? He shoved the thought aside. Now was not the time.

A dozen shadow clones popped into existence around him. Each clone raised an open palm, the embedded eye within their hands glowing with a deep red light. In unison, they pulled. Invisible force wrapped around the damaged section of the golem's torso, wrenching it forward with violent tugs.

[ Name: Golden Crystal Golem ]
[ HP: 1,000 / 2,500 ]

The golem's upper body tore partially free but immediately began reforming. The golden plates knitted themselves back together with a grinding noise, and before Oscar could pull away, its massive right arm swung. The blow connected with the crystal lizard like a battering ram, sending him skidding across the water in a shower of shattered stone.

Naruto was prepared to unleash a volley of wind bullets. Before he could fire, Oscar rolled to his feet and let out a sharp, guttural roar. His eyes locked on Naruto, and the look in them was unmistakable.

I want to fight.

Naruto gave a short nod. "All yours, bud."

The lizard was ready to show every trick he had learned from his battle with Guren, and Naruto knew the Golden Crystal Golem was about to be on the receiving end of all of it.

From Oscar's back, hundreds of needle-thin crystal senbon shot forward in a lethal spray. The massive creature reacted with surprising speed for its size, twisting its upper body and vaulting to the side. Its huge arm slammed down into the stone floor of the basin with an earth-shaking crack. Entire slabs of rock broke apart, collapsing inward as water rushed to fill the gap.

The crystal lizard leapt cleanly into the rising water, vanishing beneath the surface with barely a splash.

From beneath the water, a new construct took shape at the end of Oscar's tail. It spun and locked into form. A massive hexagonal crystal shuriken gleaming with razor edges. With a sudden flick of his tail, Oscar launched the weapon upward. It cut through the water like a blade through silk, breaking the surface with a hiss and screaming toward the golem.

The golden giant raised an arm in defense, but the shuriken drove into its torso with a deep, ringing impact.

A sharp burst of chakra propelled Oscar up from the lake, and his claws found footing on the rocky shore. His form shifted again, crystal blooming outward from his sides in two perfect, spinning rings.

The Golden Crystal Golem recovered from the crystal shuriken and shaped its own weapon. Thick jagged crystal surged from its forearm, forming a brutal club. It swung in a wide arc, aiming to crush Oscar mid-charge. The crystal lizard's response was manifesting two long blades from his forearms.

The impact rang like steel on steel.

Oscar used the momentum to spin, his blades carving deep lines into the golem's arm. He did not relent. Again and again, he dashed in with bursts of chakra, his strikes flashing in rapid succession. The sound of crystal shattering filled the basin as he worked his way across the golem's body, cutting apart joints and seams.

The golem staggered. It raised an arm to defend its head, but Oscar was already in motion. He planted his claws, vaulted upward, and drove both crystal blades down into the weakened torso. The sound of fracturing crystal roared through the basin as the giant came apart in a spray of shards and dust. The remains collapsed, dissolving into pale motes of light that drifted upward before vanishing.

[ Souls: 5,000 ]

The soul drop poured into Oscar, and he gave a sharp, satisfied roar while absorbing his prize.

Naruto had a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. It was hard to believe this was the same creature who once hid timidly inside his dirty laundry.

Beside him, the crystal torso cracked, split, and then fell apart completely, revealing the still form of a young woman. She lay as if in the middle of a peaceful dream, her head slightly tilted to one side. Her hair was a soft, dirty blonde, braided neatly around her head with delicate feather-like ornaments framing her face. Her skin was pale and unblemished, her features calm. She wore a high-collared dress of light fabric, lace trimming the neckline and puffed sleeves. A gemstone clasp gleamed at her throat, and a beaded chain with small decorations hung at her waist. Her hands were folded in front of her, a ring glinting faintly on one finger.

[ Name: Dusk of Oolacile ]

His eyes widened briefly. He had seen that name before, etched in the description of the Dusk Crown Ring he claimed after defeating the hydra.

Did she lose her ring? His gaze flicked to her right hand, and there it was. A band almost identical to the one he carried.

"That is strange…" Naruto murmured.

Before he could think further, Oscar's roar echoed across the basin. The crystal lizard had already begun moving deeper into the lake.

Naruto crouched beside the sleeping girl. With a quick seal, a shadow clone appeared. The clone carefully began tending to Dusk's still form, ensuring she was healed before flickering away.

"What is it?"

Oscar's claw extended forward, pointing toward the far edge of the lake. There, beneath a jagged slope of moonlit stone, something lay half in shadow and half in the water's reflection.

A corpse.

In Lordran, corpses were as common as broken swords and rusted armor. Yet as Naruto approached, his chest tightened. This one was different.

She could have been Princess Dusk's mirror image, save for one unsettling difference. This woman was older, her beauty touched by time, her form stilled by death. The resemblance was so exact that it felt less like seeing a relative and more like gazing upon the same person separated by decades.

Naruto's gaze fell to the hands. They were pale, stiff, and bare of the ring he had noticed earlier on the living Dusk's finger. His breath caught, a cold knot forming in his gut. If the ring he had claimed from the hydra truly belonged to Princess Dusk, perhaps it had not come from the young woman he had just saved. Perhaps it had been taken from this lifeless body long before.

Slowly, he crouched beside the corpse. The water lapped gently at the stones around them, yet the air felt heavy, as if each second dragged against the flow of time. Naruto reached out, fingers brushing against the crown resting upon her brow. It came free with surprising ease, almost as though it had been waiting for him.

[ Item Acquired: Crown of Dusk ]
[ Description: Special magic crown bestowed upon Dusk, Princess of Oolacile. Its wearer is blessed by all manner of magic. Increases the strength of magic and miracles, but also heightens magic vulnerability. ]

Naruto's frown deepened. The description left no doubt. This was indeed the crown of the Princess of Oolacile, and the corpse before him was hers. The problem was painfully clear. If this was Princess Dusk's body, then who was the woman he had just pulled from the crystal prison?

"Oscar," Naruto murmured, eyes still on the pale face before him. "If the corpse in front of us is Princess Dusk… how is it possible that we just rescued her from the golden golem? When we fought the hydra, there was no golden golem here. This body was already here due to the Dusk Ring on the hydra. So where did the living Dusk come from? Did she simply… appear?"

Oscar tilted his head in thought. He scratched at his own head, clearly just as lost, and finally gave a slow shrug.

Naruto considered using his soul sight. Perhaps it could reveal some truth hidden beneath the layers of reality. Yet every instinct screamed at him to stop. Whatever secrets lingered here, they were the kind that stared back.

With a faint shimmer of chakra, Oscar's crystal plating receded, revealing his smaller, regular form. He leapt lightly onto Naruto's shoulder. His head turned toward the shore where they had left the young princess. She was beginning to stir, her body shifting faintly as though waking from a dream.

Naruto let out a quiet sigh and, with practiced motions, stored the corpse in his inventory. He turned away from the slope and began walking toward the waking girl. The two companions left the scene without another word, their footsteps fading into the mist.

Behind them, at the edge of the lake, the air seemed to ripple faintly. It was subtle at first, a distortion barely visible in the moonlight. The jagged stones cast longer, darker shadows. A faint black mist curled against the ground, whispering as it coiled upward. The slow, deliberate pulse of something ancient pressed against the walls of time itself. From somewhere far beyond the present moment, something from the past was beginning to claw its way forward.

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Naruto moved lightly across the surface of the lake, each step sending faint ripples outward. His gaze was distant, his mind turning over thoughts he could not quite settle.

Is this like Beatrice's situation? he wondered, recalling the witch whose presence in the present had been pulled from the past. Yet something in his gut whispered that this was not the same.

Beside him, Oscar swam lazily, his small form cutting gentle arcs through the moonlit water. The little lizard could easily walk atop the surface using chakra, but he made no effort to do so. Instead, he seemed content to dog-paddle, his scales glimmering under the pale glow.

Naruto glanced down at his companion. "I keep thinking about it. What if Princess Dusk really did slip through time like Beatrice? But… it feels different. I can't explain it. Maybe it's my draconic side talking. Dragons existed before time even began. Maybe that gives me some kind of sense for… temporality."

Oscar slowed his strokes, tilting his head to give Naruto a skeptical look.

Naruto lifted a hand. "I'm not trying to sound smart, alright? But how else do I explain this feeling in my gut?"

Oscar chirped once in reply, his tone dry.

"No, it's not my stomach acting up because I ate too much ramen," Naruto replied, rolling his eyes. His expression grew more serious as he focused on the figure waiting ahead. The water parted softly around his steps as they approached her.

Princess Dusk stood by the shore, the silver light of the lake around her. Her eyes were unlike any Naruto had ever seen, colored like the dusk itself. He thought that maybe her parents had named her Dusk because of her eyes.

"So, it is thou who rescueth me? Most gracious, I am deeply obliged. I am Dusk of Oolacile."

Naruto straightened slightly, giving a small bow. "It's my duty to help others whenever I can. Name's Naruto Uzumaki."

Oscar hopped onto the shore and dipped his head in a neat, courteous bow of his own.

Dusk regarded them both, her gaze lingering on the faint blue trim of Naruto's knightly attire. "I see the blue of Astora's knights still guards the royals of Oolacile," she said, her voice carrying a trace of nostalgia.

"Pardon?"

"The legendary Knight Artorias vowed to save my kingdom from an ancient evil."

Naruto's eyes widened. The name alone sent a thrill through him. "Wait… you mean you knew him? What was he like?"

"A true example of knighthood," Dusk replied softly. "Even if our meetings were brief. Yet as a knight of Astora, I had thought thou wouldst know more of Sir Artorias than I."

"Why would I know that?"

She seemed surprised by the question. "Because Artorias was once a knight of Astora before he took his place among Lord Gwyn's chosen."

The revelation hit both Naruto and Oscar like a thunderclap. They stared at her, jaws slack.

A wide grin began to spread across Naruto's face. He looked to Oscar, his voice bubbling with excitement. "You hear that, bud? Artorias is from Astora! Hehehe!"

Oscar gave an approving chirp, his tail flicking with amusement.

Dusk covered her lips with one hand, laughing softly at Naruto's boyish enthusiasm. "I see Sir Artorias still inspires hearts even after so many generations."

A shadow clone standing beside them, the same one that had healed Dusk moments before, spoke up apologetically. "Sorry about that. Boss is someone who really likes Artorias."

Dusk's smile remained, but her brow furrowed faintly. "Strange… thou callest thy twin thy boss."

"Oh, I'm just a shadow clone, Princess," the clone said casually.

"A… shadow clone?"

Before she could ask further, the clone vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving only curling wisps in the air.

Dusk's eyes flew wide, and she took an involuntary step back, her voice trembling in disbelief. "By the flame… what manner of sorcery is this? It is no illusion, nor glamour, and yet it doth bear flesh, movement, and will of its own! Never in all my years have I seen such a thing. This is no conjuration known to Oolacile, nor to any school of magic in my age! Tell me, how in the name of the First Flame did Astora come upon a spell to forge living doubles of thyself?"

Her hands hovered in the air as though torn between warding him off and touching the fading smoke where the clone had been. Her breathing was quick, her golden-violet eyes darting from Naruto to the faint dispersal of chakra in the air, like a child staring at lightning for the first time.

Naruto chuckled at her visible shock, clearly enjoying it. "Nothing to worry about, princess. It's just a forbidden jutsu."

"I… I see. Pray forgive me if my alarm hath shown too plainly. I did not mean to doubt thee. If this be a forbidden art, I must apologize if my presence hath forced thee to make use of it."

"Oh, no worries. It's forbidden for others, but for me? I can use it without a problem."

In an instant, the clearing was filled with dozens of Narutos, each identical in detail, their eyes sparkling with the same mischief. They surrounded the princess in a loose circle, bowing with exaggerated formality before vanishing in synchronized bursts of smoke.

Dusk clapped her hands together once in delight. "Since Sir Naruto hath shown me his craft, then courtesy demands that I reveal mine in turn."

"So you know soul magic?"

"Nay," Dusk replied with gentle pride. "Oolacile's sorceries are not of so direct a nature. They are of a softer kind, more subtle. Our magic is… how doth one say? A gentle approximation of the world, rather than the bending of it to our will."

Naruto grinned. "Show me."

Dusk inclined her head in graceful agreement and stepped forward, her feet barely disturbing the grass. From the folds of her gown, she withdrew a slender white branch, so delicate it looked as though it would snap beneath the weight of her own hand.

Lifting it high above her head, she traced a slow, deliberate arc in the air. Golden motes drifted downward like falling petals, each one gleaming as if it carried the light of the setting sun. Then, without sound or smoke, she was gone.

Naruto blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "She went invisible…"

Activating his Hawk Eyes, he scanned the area. Even in invisibility, her faint silhouette flickered in the ultraviolet spectrum, yet there was something odd. Wherever she stepped, there lingered ghostly afterimages, but these too were invisible to the naked eye, a paradox of presence and absence.

His curiosity deepened. For just a moment, he dared to open his Soul Sight. At once, his senses recoiled. Her soul was gone from the weave of the world, as if reality itself had drawn a veil over her existence.

Then…

Boo.

A hand touched his very soul. He whirled to see Dusk's spirit emerge from the darkness, smiling gently. His eyes widened as her soul bore no Darksign. She was untouched by undeath, wholly human. It explained why her corpse could still exist elsewhere in the basin.

Closing his Soul Sight quickly, Naruto exhaled. "That magic… is unlike anything I have ever seen."

"I thank thee, Sir Naruto," Dusk replied with quiet sincerity. She reached down, pinching the sides of her gown between thumb and forefinger, and dipped into a deep, formal curtsy.

Naruto gave a polite bow and said, "Princess Dusk, I am planning to visit the old man, Andre. You would be far safer in his company than in this place."

"Ah, yes. It would be my pleasure to join thee, Sir Naruto."

"Nice," Naruto said with a grin. He cast a sidelong glance at Oscar and gave him a subtle nudge with his foot.

Dusk, noticing the exchange, tilted her head slightly. "Pardon me, but is something the matter?"

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just that Oscar here is going to transform into his ravenous form and be your horse."

Oscar, without missing a beat, opened his mouth in a wide yawn, then flopped to the ground as if preparing for the most determined nap of his life.

"Dude, come on," Naruto said in exasperation. "You're going to carry a princess!"

Oscar lazily turned away from him, his tail flicking in open defiance.

Dusk brought a gloved hand to her mouth to hide a giggle. "Think nothing of it, Sir Naruto. Pray treat me as any ordinary traveler. The title of princess meaneth little, for I could do naught but watch as my kingdom fell to a great evil. I deserve not such privilege as to ride thy noble companion, whilst I yet have the strength to walk."

Naruto blinked at her, genuinely impressed. In his eyes, she now seemed far more honorable than the daimyō of the Wave, who clung to title and pride even in weakness. Dusk understood her own helplessness and did not expect the world to kneel before her simply for the circumstances of her birth.

Oscar, apparently unmoved by her humility, decided to take matters into his own claws. Slipping like a shadow beneath the folds of her gown, he startled her into a gasp.

Her face flushed a deep crimson, both from surprise and from the indignity of the situation. "O-Oh! Wh–What in the name of the flame?!"

Before she could recover, Oscar's body expanded and shifted in a shimmer of light, his form lengthening into the ravenous beast. In one swift motion, the princess was lifted into the air, finding herself seated quite without her consent upon the creature's broad back.

Then Oscar was off like an arrow, his claws tearing into the earth as he bolted across the Darkroot Basin. Dusk clutched at his mane, her gown fluttering wildly in the wind as she cried out in a voice both panicked and pleading, "Sir Naruto! I beg of thee, help me subdue thy unruly beast, for he heedeth me not!"

Naruto doubled over laughing at the sight, slapping his knee before breaking into a sprint after them. "Don't worry, princess! He's just… uh… enthusiastic!"

Oscar's bounding form grew smaller in the distance, and Naruto failed to notice the silent figure observing from above.

The Great Grey Wolf, Sif.

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Naruto walked through the doorframe to Andre's workshop. The scent of hot iron and fire filled the air, but there was something sweeter beneath it.

The warm, heady aroma of fermented fruit.

Andre stood at his workbench, not with a hammer in hand, but with a squat clay jug, pouring a deep amber liquid into a cup. The blacksmith's massive hands were surprisingly delicate in the task, as though the drink demanded as much care as any blade.

"Don't you have anything better to do," Naruto asked, "than blacksmithing… or getting drunk… or getting drunk and then doing blacksmithing?"

Andre did not look up from the clay jug he was pouring into a wide cup. "Hah. That's how I keep my head straight in this place."

"Really? Even with me visiting you all the time?"

"You keep me questioning my sanity, lad. If I drink myself to death, it will likely be your fault."

"Oh, please," Naruto scoffed. "You call that a glorious death or something?"

"Hah. Not glorious. Just honest."

Dusk, who had been quietly taking in the warm, slightly chaotic air of the workshop, let a small, polite laugh escape her lips.

Andre's eyes flicked to her. "Well now. You've brought company. Hah. You did not snatch her off the road, did you?"

"Hey!"

Dusk stepped forward with graceful composure and bowed slightly. "Nay, Master Andre. Sir Naruto here hath delivered me from peril. I, Dusk of Oolacile, am forever in his debt."

Andre's gaze sharpened at the name, though his voice remained steady. "Oolacile, eh? Hm. There's a bonfire upstairs. Best rest while you can."

"Thy kindness is most gracious," Dusk replied, dipping her head. She stooped to lift Oscar into her arms, the little beast giving a smug chirp, and made her way toward the stairs.

Naruto turned back toward Andre, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught it—the faint shimmer in the air near the end stairwell. The outline of a figure, bending light around it. She was not going upstairs at all.

Naruto raised a hand toward Andre. "Wait."

Andre's brows furrowed. "What is it?"

"She's still here," Naruto murmured.

The shimmer moved again, stepping quietly back toward them. It grew clearer, the distortion fading, until Dusk stood before them once more, her composure as calm as a still pond. "Forgive mine intrusion. I heard… my home's name. Pray, Master Andre… speak further."

Andre's eyes narrowed slightly, but his tone remained even. "Very well. But you may wish I had not." He leaned forward, resting both hands on the workbench. "Three hundred years ago, Oolacile fell. Something evil came for you. Knight Artorias cut it down, but the land and its people… finished. Ashes and memory, that is all that is left."

For a moment, Dusk's composure cracked, a tightening around the eyes. She stepped back, her voice faint. "Three… hundred…"

"Dusk—"

She shook her head, turning sharply. "I… must go." Before Naruto could stop her, she vanished in a ripple of light, the invisibility swallowing her whole. Light footsteps fled into the distance.

Naruto cursed under his breath. Damn it…

Andre set his cup down with a dull thunk. "Best let her be. She will likely slip back to her own time, same as Beatrice. And when she does… she will die with the rest of them. Knowing will not change that. It will only weigh her down."

"You do not think she deserves to know the truth?"

Andre's gaze was level. "Truth is a heavy thing, lad. Drop too much of it on a soul, and it will break before it can stand."

"She's stronger than you think."

"Maybe," Andre said. "Or maybe she is just carrying herself like a princess should. Does not matter. The Darkroot stands where Oolacile once did. All that remains of her people is what the soil remembers. And soil is not in the habit of talking back."

Naruto's hands curled into fists. "I have seen her corpse near the Basin. Older. Lifeless. Long gone."

"Then you already know the end to her story."

Naruto slammed his fist into the wall, splintering the stone and leaving a small hole. Damn it! Why is Lordran this cruel?

Andre met his gaze. "Because that is what it is. This land will grind you down, break you, and scatter the pieces. No care for who you are. The sooner you learn that, the longer you will last. But even then… no promise you will keep your soul."

Naruto's breath came slow and heavy. "What do I do then?"

"I would tell you to leave her be," Andre said. "Let her go back. Let the past stay buried. But I know you will not."

"I want to help her… even if she does go back."

Andre smirked faintly. "Hah. That is just the sort you are. Here. Drink." He poured a cup and pushed it toward him.

Naruto sat heavily on the bench and took the cup, the warm, spiced mead burning pleasantly as it went down.

The forge fire crackled, throwing restless shadows across the walls. Beside him, Andre drank in silence.

"Thinking does not suit you, lad. When you talk to folk, you speak straight. No need to rehearse a thing. You know that better than me."

Naruto let out a sigh and took a long swig of his drink. "I know… but I want to clear my head before I talk to her."

"Fair enough. You were gone a couple days. Something happen back in your world?"

Naruto glanced at him, then began to tell the story. He spoke about the fight with Gato, Guren, and the schemes that had gone sour for the enemy. Andre barked out a laugh when Naruto described how he dealt with Gato, shaking his head in approval. But when Naruto mentioned he did not want Sasuke or Sakura in Lordran, Andre's face went still and thoughtful.

"That is for the best," he said at last. "This place would break them. No need to bring them here to find out."

Naruto nodded, pushing the thought aside. "Anyway… I have been thinking about ringing the Bell of Awakening."

Andre gave a low hum.

"So… got anything for me? Advice? Warnings? Something dramatic about destiny?"

"You will do fine," Andre said simply.

"That is it? Is not the Bell of Awakening a big deal?"

"It is," Andre replied, standing and patting Naruto's shoulder. "But you are strong, lad. Stronger than most Undead who have ever set foot here. You will manage."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, old drunk."

Andre snorted at that, then paused. "Oh. The Black Knight armor. Nearly forgot."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You fixed it?"

Andre scowled and pulled off his right glove. The skin beneath was burned raw, dark marks climbing his palm and forearm. "No. Could not fix it."

Naruto's excitement died instantly. "What happened?" He fumbled in his inventory, pulling out every healing item he had.

Andre waved him off. "That will not help. This burn came from demonic fire."

"Demonic fire?"

"Aye," Andre said, his tone steady. "Long ago, the silver knights of Lordran marched against the demons of Izalith. They say the flames of Chaos burned them black. From that day, they were called the Black Knights. The fire still lingers in that armor. When I put my tools to it, the flames bit me through leather and steel."

He flexed his hand. "It is not ordinary flame. It burns the soul as much as the flesh."

Naruto stared at the burn, guilt twisting his gut. "I'm sorry, Andre."

Andre reached over and tapped him on the head. "No need for that. You did not know, and neither did I. Life is like that."

Naruto gave a slow nod. "Okay. But at least give me the armor back so I can keep it safe."

"Not a chance. I will find a way to work it."

Naruto could not help but smile at the stubborn tone. "Guess I am leaving it to you. In that case…" He dropped the steel armor set on the workbench with a thud. "Something else for you to fix."

Andre gave a short laugh. "Hah. Fine. But I will have that Black Knight set ready before you can say Hollow."

"I will hold you to that."

Andre looked up from his work, voice turning serious. "Do not get yourself killed. Neither of us wants to see you go Hollow."

Naruto raised a thumbs-up to Andre as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The forge's heat gave way to a cooler breeze drifting through the upper archways. At the top, Oscar stood alone beside the narrow path that led toward the looming gates of Sen's Fortress.

Naruto's sharp gaze caught the distortion of light near the ledge. It was Dusk, wrapped in the shimmer of her sorcery, standing motionless and looking out at the forest ahead.

Oscar shifted restlessly. Naruto bent down, scooping him into his arms. Easy, buddy, he murmured, stepping outside. Out across the courtyard, he spotted a familiar round silhouette in the distance. He lifted a hand in greeting.

"That is Sir Siegmeyer of Catarina," Naruto called out gently toward the shimmer that marked Dusk's presence. "He is a wise man. If you wished to speak of your troubles to another, he would hear you well."

The air shimmered but gave no reply.

"Look… I know it is scary. Everything you knew, gone in an instant."

"I doubt that thou dost truly understand," came Dusk's voice, faint and almost lost to the wind.

"Maybe not exactly," Naruto admitted. "But I found out my clan was gone too. The one time I thought I had found another member… they were already dead." He exhaled slowly, staring at the stones beneath his feet. "It would be wrong for me to say I know exactly how you feel. I do not. But I do know what it is like to think you have lost everything, and that there is no way to get it back."

There was a pause, the silence stretching between them. Then, slowly, the shimmer broke. Dusk's form came into view, her hands folded before her, eyes downcast. Her face was caught between composure and something far more fragile.

"Thou speakest as one who hath walked among shadows," she said at last. "Yet thy manner is… unguarded. I cannot tell if this is a strength or a folly."

"Maybe both. But if I am honest with people, it makes it easier for them to be honest with me."

Her eyes flickered with something unreadable. "Honesty… A princess is taught to weigh every word. There are duties, masks one must wear, for the sake of the realm and the people. Yet in my heart, I am weary of such masks."

"Then take it off," Naruto said simply.

"Thou speakest as if it were so simple."

"I am not saying it is easy. But you are not in Oolacile anymore. You do not have to play the part all the time. Sometimes you just… need to let yourself be a person, not a title."

Her lips parted slightly, as if she might answer, but no words came. Instead, her gaze wavered, the weight of everything she had lost pressing down.

Naruto stepped closer, his arms opening in silent offer.

"A princess is not meant to touch others without formality. Such closeness is… forbidden."

"Maybe where you are from," Naruto said quietly. "But right now? I think you just need someone to hold on to."

For a long moment she stood still, her hands trembling ever so slightly. Then, with a small, almost imperceptible movement, she stepped forward into his arms. The rigid poise of a royal melted away, and she pressed against the armor-clad shinobi as though she might fall apart without that anchor.

Naruto held her firmly, not speaking, letting the sound of her uneven breaths fill the quiet.

After a while, she spoke into his chest, her voice thick. "Thou art a strange knight, Sir Naruto. Strange… and kind."

He gave a small smile she could not see. "Guess I have been called worse."

She let out a soft, shaky laugh, and then the tears came in earnest. She did not try to stop them.

They stayed like that until the storm within her passed, and when they finally sat together on the steps, Oscar nestled quietly in her lap, she looked at him with an expression that was still sorrowful, but no longer entirely alone.

A few minutes later, Dusk's voice broke the silence. "Sir Naruto… may I pose a question to thee?"

"Sure. What is on your mind?"

"When thou didst discover that thy clan was… no more… what action didst thou take?"

Naruto tilted his head slightly, unsure how to answer. "When I found out?"

"Aye," she said softly. "What didst thou do?"

"Truth be told… nothing. I am still figuring it out. I have thought about making my name as big as possible so the world does not forget me… or the Uzumaki name. But that is just an idea. Not a plan. Not yet."

Dusk inclined her head slightly. "So thou dost not know the path forward… yet thou art certain that thou wouldst not have the world forget?"

"Something like that," Naruto said with a small shrug. Their eyes met, and in that moment they both recognized the same undercurrent, that quiet fear of fading from history.

Dusk's expression grew more resolute. "Then, Sir Naruto, I have a proposal for thee."

He straightened, sensing her seriousness.

"I would see the sorceries of Oolacile live on," she continued. "Even if the land itself is swallowed by time, so long as our craft is practiced, Oolacile is not wholly gone. I would teach them to thee. My art, my people's art, entrusted to thy hands."

Naruto felt something stir deep inside him. Her words struck at the heart of what he had been avoiding. The truth that he had done little to honor his own clan's memory. He could tell himself it was because he did not know how, but deep down, he knew that excuse was not enough. If he had truly tried, he could have found a way.

He drew in a steady breath and met her gaze. "Alright. I will carry the magic of Oolacile with me."

Her face softened. "My heartfelt thanks. I am… pleased beyond words." There was a light in her eyes now. The look of one who had found a worthy steward for something precious.

"Then you should probably start making some scrolls. Andre could get you parchment, and while you do that, I will go ring the Bell of Awakening. That bell is… important to me."

"As you wish, my dear knight," Dusk said while lifting Oscar gently from her lap and placing him back into Naruto's arms.

Naruto turned to leave, but inside, his thoughts were a tangled knot. Part of him knew he could stay, learn the art of Oolacile directly from her. But another part of him feared how much it would hurt when the time came for her to leave. Knowing she would one day die and that she already had, in another time… made the thought unbearable. If he learned only from her scrolls, it would be easier. Easier not to face the pain of knowing that he had lost another friend.

Yet there was another weight pressing on him. The guilt of neglecting his own heritage. He had not truly sought the history of the Uzumaki clan, nor done anything to carry their legacy forward. That failure lingered like a bitter taste.

But it was not too late. As he stepped away, Naruto made a silent vow. If the chance ever came, he would go to Uzushiogakure. He would uncover the strength of his clan, claim their lost heritage, and ensure the Uzumaki name endured.

With that promise burning quietly in his chest, he carried Oscar down up to the Undead Church.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A few minutes later, Dusk descended the staircase with slow, careful steps. Her eyes were still puffy from tears, and though her face carried its usual calmness, there was a weight in her movements that betrayed her.

Andre looked up from his anvil. The ring of hammer against steel stopped, echoing faintly through the chamber. He set the helm aside, rubbed his forearm across his brow, and spoke.

"Well now. Is there somethin' ye need, Princess?"

Dusk lowered her gaze. "I… I intend to teach Sir Naruto the magic of Oolacile. A way to keep the legacy of my people alive."

Andre gave a small grunt of understanding and nodded. "I see. Then you'll be needin' parchment and ink. Sit yerself down, I'll get to it once I finish mendin' the damage that fool boy keeps doin' to his armour sets."

"Thank you," Dusk said softly. She moved to the bench and sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap. She looked down, unsure of what else to say, and silence stretched between them.

After a moment, Andre set down his hammer again. His voice was lower, more careful this time. "Princess… I'd like to offer an apology."

"An apology, good blacksmith?"

"Aye," Andre said with a slow nod. "I've spoken of your lost kingdom too casually. I'm just an old man who don't much care for dressin' words pretty. But I see it caused ye pain, and for that, I'm sorry."

Dusk regarded him for a long moment, then shook her head gently. "You need not apologize. It has been three centuries since my time. Even before I was sent here, Oolacile was already trembling on the brink. To think my kingdom still lived would be folly. I should have accepted that truth."

Andre studied her. She spoke with a calm strength that only came from hardship. "Hmph. You've had more thrown at ye than most. I'll give ye that." He scratched at his beard, then frowned slightly. "But… what did you mean, when you said you were sent here?"

Dusk opened her mouth, but before she could answer, a cold fog began to seep into the chamber.

From within it came a voice, smooth yet sly. "Hah… I see that Sif was not mistaken in his measure. Truly, thou art here, dear Dusk."

Dusk's eyes widened. She rose quickly to her feet. "You…?" The fog swirled and formed the outline of a great white cat. Her voice trembled. "You were with Sir Artorias."

"Indeed," the feline form purred, her words stretched with an old tongue. "Artorias is mine own companion, and a noble knight he was. Long has it been since I gazed upon thee, child of Oolacile."

Dusk's lips parted, but words refused to come. At last she managed only a whisper. "How…?"

The cat's eyes gleamed with wry amusement. "Thy godmother, Elizabeth, did beseech me thus: to watch o'er thee, when time itself had carried thee afar. Think not it was chance, thy safe deliverance to this age."

Dusk staggered, breath caught in her throat. "Elizabeth…? My godmother… is she yet alive? Pray, can I meet her?"

"Patience, little one," Alvina replied. Her voice was both teasing and solemn. "Let us parley face to face, not through this veil of fog."

The mist thickened and shifted, and from its heart emerged the shape of a man clad in strange armor. His helmet covered his head fully, with narrow slits forming a cage-like front. His chest bore a red cuirass reinforced with metal, a lion-shaped pauldron looming over his right shoulder. The rest of his form was wrapped in chainmail and cloth, bandages binding his legs, boots scuffed and worn from travel.

"Shiva," Alvina's voice rang through the haze, commanding and deliberate, "escort the Princess to me. Waste not a moment more."

The man gave a sharp nod, stepping forward with measured silence.

Andre exhaled through his nose, scratching the back of his head. "Well, looks like that settles that. Gives me time to brew up that ink for ye, Princess."

Dusk managed a faint smile despite her confusion. "You have my gratitude, Master Andre."

"Don't mention it. I'll make sure to tell that knucklehead Naruto about all this when he gets back."

"Of course," Dusk said softly.

Andre smirked faintly, shaking his head. "Otherwise, the boy'll think you slipped back in time or somethin'. Not the first ghost he's met, mind ye. He's got a heart too big for his own good. If he calls ye a friend, he'll grieve when you're gone."

Dusk's lips pressed together. "I… I do not know if I can return to my time at all. I was sent here through magic. A spell of last resort."

Andre froze at that. He looked at her closely, then turned back to his anvil in thought. A grim heaviness settled in his chest.

Then… whose body did Naruto find in the Basin?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

In the Undead Church, a red glow flared to life upon Naruto's palm eye.

The armored Balder Knight jerked violently toward him, feet skidding across the cracked stone floor, pulled by invisible force. In the space of a heartbeat, Naruto's fist met the knight's chestplate.

A boom echoed through the chapel.

Steel buckled. Bone shattered. The knight's body jerked midair as Naruto's chakra-enhanced fist exploded through the metal and flesh, tearing a ragged hole straight through the torso.

The knight was dead before it hit the ground.

Naruto didn't flinch.

He barely had time to lower his hand before he heard the familiar tink-tink of shifting crystal.

A soft hum filled the church's ruined air as Oscar darted across the stone floor, laying down a wide patch of jagged crystal.

The mob of hollows didn't even have time to register what happened.

One by one, they stepped onto the crystal field. There was a brittle snap, and their bodies convulsed. Screams cut short as magic surged up their legs and turned them into statues mid-stride. It was silent after that as the dead turned still and glittering.

Naruto exhaled, rubbing the blood from his knuckles. No matter how many times he saw it… watching people turn into crystal was unsettling. Not because of the death. But because of the quiet beauty of it.

It was Lordran magic at its purest: elegant, terrifying, and absolute.

"This should be the path to the Bell, right?" Naruto muttered, eyes flicking up to the third-floor balcony.

A winding staircase climbed the back wall of the Undead Church, past shattered pews and decaying tapestries. At the top, rows of rotting chairs were stacked haphazardly near twin wooden doors.

Faint light leaked through the cracks.

It wasn't sunlight. It was the dull, flickering orange of torch.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. The balcony led nowhere, just a dead end. Which meant whatever was behind those doors wasn't meant to be found by the dead.

He approached and tapped his knuckles on the wooden panel.

The rotted wood crumbled under his touch, and a piece fell away, revealing zigzagging stairs winding upward toward a rusted cage.

"Oh? Still human, are you?" a voice drawled. "Then I am in luck. Could you help me? As you can see. I am stuck, without recourse."

The man was caged like an animal, yet he sat with one arm resting lazily on his knee, his posture calm, almost casual. There was no weakness in him. If anything, it was as though the prison was nothing more than a passing inconvenience.

His armor was unlike anything Naruto had ever seen.

The helmet was tall and box-shaped, enclosing his head entirely. A flat faceplate dotted with small breathing holes hid any expression, while several metal bars jutted upward from the crown, stark and jagged like spikes, lending the helmet a grim, crown-like silhouette. The armor at his neck sealed tightly, leaving no flesh exposed.

The chest was encased in heavy plates layered one over another, contoured to the body yet thick with protection.

Wide, segmented pauldrons sat on his shoulders, stacked plates that gave him a bulkier frame and flowed seamlessly into the chest piece. His arms were guarded from shoulder to fingertip, the upper arms wrapped in flat plates while the forearms were covered in layered segments. At his waist hung a cloth of deep red patterned with small golden dots, split into vertical strips that draped over his hips and upper thighs. Beneath it, a thick metal belt fastened the entire suit together.

"I would offer you a bow, but... well, you see my predicament."

Naruto blinked. "Who... are you?"

The armored figure gave a soft, mirthless chuckle. "A man of no consequence," he said, voice gravel-thick and dry. "Or perhaps... a man once of great consequence, now reduced to waiting in a cage built by fools. Does it matter?"

Naruto stepped forward, his tone serious. "It does to me."

A pause.

"Very well, then. My name is Lautrec. Knight of Carim. But that name means little now. What matters is this: you hold the means to free me, and I hold the reward to make it worth your while."

Naruto said nothing at first. Because something about the man set his instincts on edge.

Still, Naruto stared at him, searching through the gaps in the helmet, and quietly asked, "You going to try to kill me if I let you out?"

"Why would I be so ungrateful?"

Naruto sighed and turned his head slightly, just enough for Oscar to chirp on his shoulder. "Great. Another cryptic bastard with a charming personality. Lordran really knows how to pick 'em."

Naruto paused as his hand brushed against the rusted key he had picked up long ago. Back when he had been sprinting for his life from the Black Knight, every breath burning and every corner a gamble.

He blinked, and pulled it from his inventory.

A whisper of magic echoed through the air as the key slid into the lock. The metal shivered. With a clack, the enchantment binding the jail broke. Faint purple light hissed and scattered like dust in the wind.

"Guess you were locked in by the Channeler."

Lautrec said nothing at first. Then a slow turn of his helm toward Oscar, who chirped once from Naruto's shoulder, daring the man to do something... anything.

"Ah… my sincerest apologies," Lautrec said. "Your reward must wait. I have only just been freed… allow me some time."

"Sure. Don't worry about it." Naruto started to walk away but stopped at the edge of the stairwell. "Hey, quick thing. I'm looking for the Bell of Awakening. You know where it is?"

"Yes… go down to the right. At the end of the hall is a room with a ladder. Climb it. It leads to the church's spire. There, you will find your bell."

"Thanks." Naruto nodded, turned, and began descending.

Behind him, Lautrec's voice rasped barely above a whisper. "I am free… I can finally get back to work… keh heh heh..."

Naruto felt a chill crawl up the back of his neck. That laugh was not loud or wild. But it held a coil of malice so casual, it almost sounded polite. The kind of laugh that told you the man behind it could slip a knife between your ribs and make it seem like a greeting.

He just kept walking, boots clicking softly against the stone as he followed Lautrec's directions.

The guy had not done anything. Not yet.

But if he did? Naruto would end him without hesitation. Kill him, loot his corpse, and move on like it was another day in Lordran. That was the law here.

For now, though... he would let it go. Even if every instinct in his body whispered not to.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The rusted ladder shuddered and groaned beneath the weight of Naruto's armor as he pulled himself up onto the top floor, where a broken doorway opened out into the wide rooftop.

Just a few feet from where he stood, the rooftop floor was marked with strange glowing symbols.

He stepped closer.

[ Touch Summon Sign ]

A second message rippled over the light.

[ Do you want to summon this phantom? ]

Naruto's breath left him in a steady exhale. His eyes narrowed. Something inside him stirred, a pulse of recognition that reached down to the soul itself. Though he could not read the script, he knew what it said. The word echoed inside him as though it had always been there.

Solaire.

Then, without hesitation, he answered. "Yes."

The top floor exploded in brilliance. The symbols flared, lines of golden radiance shooting outward, forming a circle of light that swirled and folded in on itself. The air grew warm, the shadows fled, and out of the shining vortex stepped a familiar figure.

The phantom rose to its full height, arms flaring wide, chest gleaming with the white and gold of the Sunlight Warrior. In that instant Naruto felt his lips split into the biggest, brightest smile he had ever worn since coming to this land.

He could not stop himself. His arms lifted high above his head, forming the unmistakable Y-shape in a gesture of pure joy and welcome.

Beside him, Oscar scrambled to mimic the movement, his stubby little arms reaching skyward with comical determination.

The golden phantom of Solaire emerged fully from the radiant portal, his armor shining as though he carried the sun upon his back. He threw his arms wide, laughter booming across the cracked rooftop.

"Ah, splendid! Praise the Sun! For here I find myself amidst new warriors! Hah hah hah!"

Naruto froze, his head tilting in confusion. Did Solaire not recognize me because of my changes?

Solaire lowered his arms and looked about, muttering aloud. "Now, now… where is young Naruto? I placed my sign for him. Could it be he has not seen it? Perhaps I ought to go searching, to be sure the lad is safe. Ah, but how worrisome it would be if he were in peril!"

"That is very kind of you, to think of others first."

"Aha, think nothing of it!" Solaire replied brightly, clapping a hand to his chest. "Naruto is a stout warrior, of that I have no doubt. He will hold his ground in Lordran. Still, when the hour is darkest, it is my joy to fight beside him, to lend my hand in jolly cooperation! After all, is that not what the Sun would wish of us? Hah hah hah!"

Naruto grinned. "I expected nothing less from you, Sun Bro."

"Ah! Sun Bro, you say!" Solaire laughed heartily, then suddenly paused. "…Naruto? Is that truly you?"

"Of course," Naruto answered, flashing him a wide smile.

Solaire looked him up and down, utterly astonished. "Good heavens! What has befallen you, my friend? You are quite… changed."

"Too much to explain right now. And this summon will not last long enough for all that talk."

"Ah, perceptive as ever," Solaire said with a fond nod. "Yes, the threads of time are fickle indeed. Even now I feel them tugging."

Oscar chirped loudly, rolling about on the stone.

Naruto laughed. "This is my partner, Oscar."

Solaire bent forward slightly, peering at the small companion. "Why, what a magnificent creature! A mighty beast, bold and true. Or perhaps yes, perhaps the two of you are dragons, destined to fly together. Hah hah hah!"

Both Naruto and Oscar flushed at the praise.

As they began walking, Naruto asked, "So summoning in Lordran… it really is sending phantoms across worlds?"

"Indeed!" Solaire declared with pride. "My body treads another path, but my soul is drawn here by your call. At this moment I am at the ruins of Oolacile."

Naruto stopped short. "Oolacile? Why would you go there?"

Solaire lifted his gaze to the sky, his tone dreamy yet resolute. "Ah, yes… I seek my very own sun in the Abyss. Strange, is it not? But even in the blackest depths, who is to say light cannot be found?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Only you are crazy enough to try to find your sun in the abyss, Sun Bro."

"I will take that as a compliment to my determination."

"So, this cooperation… it is different from invasions?"

Solaire's voice grew proud. "Oh, most certainly! Jolly cooperation is a covenant most sacred. We warriors of Sunlight swear an oath to the Firstborn of the Lord of Sunlight, the God of War himself. We bind ourselves to aid our fellows in their struggles, to take up arms together, to shine more brightly than we could alone. This is the vow of the warrior of Sunlight!"

His voice darkened slightly as he continued.

"Invasions, however… they are another matter. Souls dragged into foreign worlds with intent only to slaughter and despoil. A vile practice, if you ask me. For while we strive to raise one another up, invaders come only to cast others down."

Naruto gave a low whistle, glancing at Oscar. The little partner busied himself pawing at a loose tile, and neither said a word about their own misadventure with an invasion.

Together, the three crossed through the archway and out onto the gable roof of the Undead Church.

The roof stretched wider than Naruto had expected. Two long slopes rose to meet at a ridge, forming a sharp triangular peak when viewed from the ends. Along the edges of the roof stood rows of stone statues, weathered into cracked and half-eroded shapes of demons.

From where Naruto stood, the horizon was vast. He could see distant clouds trailing across the sky, the sun glowing low behind them. To one side lay the green blanket of the forest. But the true focus of the place was the spire that loomed above.

The spire was monolithic. It was built of colossal stone bricks, each block gray and scarred by untold ages of wind and rain. The tower rose in four distinct sections, each lined with arching windows that yawned like empty mouths, allowing light and air to bleed through the hollow shell. A broad circular ledge wrapped around the higher portion, wide enough for a man to walk upon as though it were a balcony.

Above this stretched the dome. Open columns ringed the circumference, supporting the chamber above—the Bell Chamber.

And above even that was the finial. It was a spear-like ornament, its long shadow stretching thinly across the roof where Naruto and his companions stood.

The moment was utterly still.

The silence carried weight, almost sacred in its depth.

Then the silence broke.

Stone ground against stone, echoing like a scream across the rooftop. Naruto turned sharply, his eyes darting to the far edge.

A massive shape dropped from above. The landing cracked the roof tiles beneath it, shards of stone scattering like broken glass across the rooftop. A clawed foot dug deep into the stone, anchoring the monster's weight. Dust swirled around it, and then the creature rose to its full height.

[Name: Bell Gargoyle]
[HP: 2,500 / 2,500]

A massive figure straightened itself from its crouch, claws scraping the rooftop. It looked like a statue that had come to life, a demon carved from stone and bronze.

Its head was long and cruel, shaped like the snout of a beast. Jagged fangs jutted from its mouth even when it closed, and its sunken eyes glowed faintly with a wicked light. A piece of corroded bronze rested over its skull like a helmet.

The rest of its body was rough and uneven, as if cut from weathered rock. Cracks split across its skin, glowing faintly whenever it moved, like fire lived inside its chest. Its arms were thick and powerful, ending in claws sharp enough to tear through steel. In one hand it carried a massive axe, chipped and scarred from long use. On the other arm it bore a round bronze shield, dented and corroded but still strong.

From its back stretched huge wings. Their bony frames were wrapped in torn, leathery skin that flapped gently in the wind.

Then the Gargoyle crouched low. Its wings flared wide. The axe rose into the air, heavy and brutal, glowing faintly in the light of the setting sun.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Oscar arched his back and hissed. Solaire lifted his shield and braced himself, a wild grin spreading across his face.

"Ahh, yes. At last… the first true test of the chosen undead. How exhilarating."

"Wall," Naruto said firmly.

Oscar pressed his paws into the stone, and jagged spikes of crystal shot upward, weaving together into a glittering barrier between them and the Gargoyle. The roof shook as the monster brought its axe down with a roar. The weapon slammed into the crystal wall and, with a deafening crack, shattered it into a spray of shards.

The Gargoyle pushed through the dust, its wings flaring wide in challenge.

Naruto smirked as he took out the talisman. Perfect.

A sphere of blinding white light bloomed in his hand. With a thrust, he released it. The Emit Force miracle burst out like a cannon blast, striking the Gargoyle square in the chest. The impact hurled the creature backward across the rooftop, its claws tearing deep scars into the tiles before it skidded to a stop at the edge.

The Gargoyle's chest swelled. Flames licked its jagged jaws, a furnace glow building as it drew in a deep breath.

Naruto's fingers blurred through hand signs. Too slow!

The monster unleashed a stream of burning gold. Naruto exhaled, releasing black-speckled flames from his own mouth. The two torrents collided midair with a thunderous roar, fire slamming against fire. Orange against black, sparks bursting in all directions, the heat so fierce the rooftop itself began to smolder beneath them.

Solaire raised his brows and let out a delighted chuckle. "Marvelous! Truly marvelous!" His palm glowed, and a crackling spear of lightning formed in his hand. "To meet such a foe and such a companion... ah, the sun itself must be smiling upon us! Hah hah hah!"

The moment the flames died down, Oscar pounced. Two bursts of energy shot from his guns, striking the Gargoyle's chest. Solaire's lightning spear followed a heartbeat later, tearing across the rooftop in a blinding arc. The spear ripped through stone flesh, burning away fragments of its armor to reveal raw, glistening organs beneath. The smell that followed was sharp and unmistakable, like burnt drake hide.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Are you a lesser dragon?"

The Gargoyle spread its wings and tried to take off, beating the air furiously. Naruto sprinted forward, his Zweihander raised high. The monster swung its tail, the axe-blade at its tip hissing as it cut the air. Naruto dodged the strike, sparks flying as the tail smashed into the afterimage. His blade swept upward in a brutal arc, cleaving through flesh and stone.

The Gargoyle howled as its tail was severed. Blood sprayed across the roof. Naruto snatched the falling weapon from midair, its weight settling neatly into his grasp.

Before the beast could recover, Solaire let fly another spear of lightning. In that same instant, crystal thorns erupted from the ground, Oscar's magic skewering the monster in a cage of jagged spikes.

Naruto stepped forward, Zweihander raised for the killing blow, and the world darkened.

A massive shadow loomed over him. Naruto tilted his blade, catching the reflection. His eyes widened.

"Another one!"

The second Gargoyle dropped from above with a shriek, jaws glowing. Flames poured down in a blazing shower, engulfing the spot where Naruto had stood. But the boy flickered out of existence, reappearing on the side of the spire. His feet gripped the vertical stone as if it were flat ground. He ran straight up the tower wall, leaping high into the air.

A bandit's knife flashed in his hand. A dozen clones burst into existence beside him, each armed with knives of their own. Together they rained steel down upon the Gargoyle's back, blades piercing like a hailstorm.

The Nahr Alma's sigil flared. The knives glowed, and then the Gargoyle's back erupted in a shower of blood.

The first Gargoyle, still trapped in Oscar's crystal thorns, let out a final roar just as Solaire cleaved clean through its neck in a single stroke.

Naruto fell from above, Zweihander held in a two-handed grip. His plunge attack struck the second Gargoyle in a crushing blow, cleaving the beast in half.

The rooftop fell silent.

Naruto stood over the corpses, blood dripping from his weapon. He exhaled and lowered the blade, his shoulders relaxing. "Well," he said, "that was disappointingly easy."

Most knights would have shouted in triumph. Most would have celebrated victory no matter how it came. But Solaire only smiled, wiping the blood from his blade.

"Easy or hard," he said warmly, "each battle is a gift. Each foe, a lesson."

"Maybe. But I like the ones that push me. The fights where I can feel all my training paying off. That's the kind I look for."

Solaire laughed as he slid his blade back into its sheath. "Ease your mind, friend. A battle won with such swiftness is not a slight against you. Rather, it is proof of how far you have come. If I had to say, you have grown into a true threat upon the battlefield."

"Thanks, sun bro. But I'm curious… do you know what these gargoyles actually are? I think they're some kind of lesser dragon like drakes and wyverns."

Solaire tilted his helm toward the fallen beasts. "Hmm. I cannot claim certainty. Gargoyles are not creatures one stumbles upon in the wild. Yet I have heard whispers. They are said to be magical constructs, forged by the gods themselves. The organs of lesser dragons are harvested and then fused into stone. The gods breathe a twisted semblance of life into them. Thus they are born: puppets of rock and flesh, eternal guardians of sacred places."

Naruto's gaze swept the rooftop. His eyes drifted upward toward the spire. A strange unease coiled in his chest. Something felt off.

He shook the thought away and stepped toward the giant soul left behind by their slain foes. The glowing mass pulsed gently, white light washing over him. He reached out, hand extended…

And then the glow changed.

The white flickered into gray, then black. Suddenly, black fire erupted from the soul itself, coiling upward like smoke made of embers. The corpses of the Gargoyles twitched. Flames consumed them, cracking the stone further, melting flesh into molten slurry.

Naruto froze, his stomach twisting. It was more than fear… it was connection. Some invisible thread tugged at him, something spiritual, intimate, wrong.

What in the great flame is this?

From the smoke, a shape crawled forth. What had once been two broken Gargoyles fused into a single grotesque form. Four wings beat the air. Four massive arms clawed at the rooftop. Two heads, their bronze helms burned away, lifted in unison as the stone cracked to reveal pulsing flesh beneath. One head glistened with red muscle, the other pale and white, both glaring with twin hateful gazes.

A text shimmered faintly across the air.

[Name: Pseudo Rebis's Gargoyle]
[HP: 3,000 / 3,000]

Naruto clenched his grip on the Zweihander. What the hell just happened? We killed those things already. How is it alive again and stronger? And what the hell is Rebis? Did someone make this thing stronger…

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Lautrec leaned lazily against the balcony railing of the Undead Church, his golden armor glinting faintly in the torchlight. The horde of hollows that once filled the pews stood frozen mid-motion, each one encased in jagged crystal.

The floor trembled beneath his boots. The roof groaned and shook, dust drifting from the rafters as another thunderous crash echoed from above. The battle still raged at the top of the church.

A slow, amused chuckle left his lips. "You are very different from most undead who stagger through this cursed land…" Lautrec murmured to no one but himself. His sharp eyes roved across the altar below and there he saw it. Empty. The Firekeeper's Soul was gone.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue. "So you've already plucked it from her shrine. Bold." His grin widened, the mirth never touching his cold eyes. "Perhaps you truly are fated to walk the path of the Chosen Undead."

He tilted his head back, golden helm gleaming faintly as his gaze shifted toward the rooftop where the battle had just gone quiet.

"But if that is your destiny, then it is a cruel one. The gods will dress it up in prophecy, bind you in chains of duty, and call it salvation." He rested his hand upon the hilt of his shotel, stroking the curve of the blade as though it were a lover's face. "Do not fear, friend. When they make a slave of you, I will be there to free you from those shackles. Heh… heheheheh."

The laughter slithered through the church, echoing against stone walls.

He turned to leave, his gait measured, almost careless. He would make his way back to Firelink Shrine, wait, and watch. But then...

A ripple passed through him. A pressure. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled beneath his helm. His entire body stilled in an instant.

"…Occult!"

The word came with a sneer, but also with interest. He straightened, every trace of nonchalance gone. His eyes darted upward to the ceiling as another vibration shook the beams.

"Why?" Lautrec muttered, voice sharp as a blade drawn from its scabbard. "Why does such blasphemous power seep from the heart of the Undead Church, of all places? Why would the gods themselves forbid magic... and yet let it fester here?"

Slowly, he turned from the balcony, steps ringing softly against the hollow stone as he made his way up to the rooftop.

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The rooftop shook beneath their feet. Solaire and Naruto braced side by side, shields raised high. The twin-headed gargoyle lunged forward, both maws snapping like wolves.

Naruto's boots skidded across the tiles, his Black Knight shield groaning under the pressure. The monstrous strength of the fused gargoyle was too much. With a final heave, he was flung backward, sliding across the rooftop until he struck the base of the spire. While the monster was focused on the two knights, the little beast sprang onto the gargoyle's hunched back. With a sharp hiss of chakra, Oscar unleashed a torrent of jagged crystals, carpeting the creature's shoulders and spine.

The gargoyle roared in fury. Both heads whipped around, flinging Oscar off its back. He tumbled across the rooftop, crystal shards scattering around him, but landed on his paws with a growl.

Above, both heads inhaled deeply. Sickly, green black flames began to churn in their throats, coiling like venomous smoke.

Before the breath could be unleashed, a spear of lightning split the air. Solaire's miracle struck one head square in the jaw, snapping it to the side. Almost at the same instant, a volley of compressed wind bullets cracked into the second head's temple, staggering it.

The beast reeled, but only for a heartbeat. With a guttural bellow, it charged. Both heads lowered like rams, and the gargoyle barreled forward with the weight of a runaway carriage.

Oscar reacted first. His body hardened, fracturing into his ravenous crystal form mid-leap. He spun and hurled a massive crystal shuriken towards the monster.

The gargoyle's wings snapped open, the air booming as they carried it upward. The shuriken whistled past, but Naruto was already there. He caught it mid-swing. Pivoting on the balls of his feet, he twisted and hurled the shuriken back, this time straight into the monster's ascent.

Both heads roared in unison. Flames erupted, twin torrents of black green fire that consumed the spinning crystal in midair. The explosion expanded outward, flames pouring over the entire rooftop in a suffocating wave.

For a moment, everything was swallowed in fire.

Then the shields gleamed through the smoke.

Over fifty Naruto shadow clones stood shoulder to shoulder, their shields locked into a turtle formation. Fire battered against the barrier, but the clones held, their bodies flickering and breaking apart one by one. As they perished, they left behind a veil of thick white smoke, covering the entire rooftop like mist.

From within the haze, the counterattack began. Lightning spears lanced upward. Magic bolts and wind jutsu followed, tearing into the air around the gargoyle. The fused beast twisted and roared, flapping its wings furiously to scatter the smoke.

But that was only the distraction.

The real Naruto crouched high above on the cathedral's spire, his silhouette hidden against the stone finial. Bow drawn, he loosed an arrow tipped with a shard of glowing blue titanite. It whistled through the air, piercing the joint where one of the gargoyle's massive wings met its back.

The beast screamed as stone cracked and flesh split, its flight stuttering.

Down below, Solaire raised his shield, voice ringing across the rooftop even amidst the chaos. "Strike true, my friend! The flame of jolly cooperation burns brightest when all hearts align!"

The shadow clone beside him nodded sharply before unleashing another volley, joined by Oscar's crystalline barrage. Together, their attacks forced the gargoyle to reel and stagger, keeping its attention fixed on them.

Meanwhile, the true Naruto tugged subtly on a wire no eye could see. The arrow embedded in the gargoyle shimmered faintly as the chakra-conducting ninja wire snaked back to his fingertips. With a sharp pulse of energy, Naruto sent his chakra surging towards the arrowhead.

One of the gargoyle's heads snapped with frightening speed. Its jaws clamped down on the chakra wire, not to cut but to hold.

"What?!" Naruto's eyes widened as the beast jerked its neck, dragging him upward.

The world became a blur. Wind screamed in his ears, the cathedral shrinking below as he was yanked into the sky like prey caught in a hawk's talons. He tried to hold onto the wire, but the second head lunged and bit clean through it.

Snap.

The line severed, and Naruto was suddenly weightless.

Then came the fall.

The sky opened beneath him, an endless drop yawning toward the cracked rooftop of the church. His stomach lurched violently as gravity seized him, the pit of his gut twisting into cold iron. The wind tore at his face and roared past his helm, so loud it drowned out thought. For an instant, there was only the terrible realization of how far he had to fall, and how fragile the body really was.

But Naruto was no stranger to falling from impossible heights.

"Not dying to this," he growled through clenched teeth.

In one desperate motion, he unequipped his armour set until only his battered orange boxers clung to him. Lighter now, freer, he dug into his inventory and pulled free a blanket.

The absurdity did not matter. Survival did.

With frantic precision, Naruto grabbed the ends of the blanket to his hands and feet. Chakra control helped him hold onto the blanket without tying it. The fabric snapped and caught the air, ballooning into a crude, makeshift wingsuit. His descent slowed barely, but enough to matter.

Below, Solaire and Oscar could only stare, mouths hanging open.

Naruto was not finished. His fingers flew through hand signs, even as the wind tore at his cheeks.

Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!

The sky exploded with puffs of white smoke. A hundred Narutos burst into existence, their bodies spiraling alongside him. In perfect synchronization, they locked their arms and legs together, stretching the massive blanket wide above the church like a kite.

The effect was immediate.

The giant living wings caught the air, pulling Naruto's descent into something controlled. He was no longer plummeting but gliding, riding the pull of the clones' strange formation. Periodically, a few clones released bursts of fireballs downward, the blasts acting as jets that lifted and steadied the contraption.

The rooftop trembled under the clash of battle, but for a moment the entire world seemed to pause.

"By the sun…" Solaire whispered. "Absolutely glorious. Madness married to genius."

Oscar only chirp, shaking his head.

"Fina's great tits… what is this?"

Lautrec stepped onto the shattered rooftop, his golden armor gleaming in the firelight of the ongoing battle. For all his arrogance, even he faltered, staring upward with something that looked very much like disbelief. Above the cathedral hung a sight so ludicrous it could only belong to a madman's dream.

"Oh, hey." Naruto's voice broke the tension as he detached from the formation, landing lightly on the broken stones. He took off the blanket, re-equipped his armour set, and grinned as if nothing were strange. "What are you doing here?"

Lautrec's eyes flickered, but his tongue was smooth. "I… came to help," he lied, the words flowing like honey.

"Thanks, but we've got it covered."

"Naruto," the sunlight warrior said gravely, his eyes turned skyward. Following his gaze, all heads rose.

High above, a green ball of fire streaked downward, trailing smoke like a burning star. The twin-headed gargoyle was returning, its broken wings carrying it in a meteoric dive.

"Guys, you know what to do next."

"Dattebayo!" a hundred voices roared in perfect unison.

The clone-kite detonated into motion. Each Naruto released a torrent of fireballs, their bodies propelling themselves like living rockets into the path of the descending gargoyle. The sky blazed orange and red as they intercepted the beast, their formations collapsing into controlled chaos.

Explosive seals shimmered into existence across each clone's chest.

And then the heavens themselves split.

One by one, the clones erupted into blinding bursts of fire and chakra, until the sky became a storm of suns. The cathedral below shuddered as a shockwave rolled across the land, rattling the spires and flinging dust from their cracked stones. A thunderous roar of flame and light swallowed the gargoyle's descent, painting the sky in a colossal bloom of fire that could be seen for miles.

Naruto raised his hand in salute.

Oscar mirrored him with a flick of his paw.

Solaire followed suit.

Lautrec, however, only stood and stared, golden fingers flexing against the hilt of his shotel. His eyes narrowed, his thoughts hidden. Were they geniuses? Fools? Or simply mad beyond measure? He could not decide.

"I did not even get to name this jutsu…" Naruto muttered, lips pouting as the smoke above thinned.

"What would you call it?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled like a child unveiling a masterpiece. "Heaven Defying Multi Shadow Clone Cooperative Aerodynamic Interlock Formation: Improvised Reverse Descent Arrest and Controlled Thermal Updraft Generation Blanket Kite Jutsu!"

There was silence. Even Oscar looked away. Sweatdrops might as well have fallen down all their faces.

"…Let us simply call it Storm King," Solaire suggested.

"That works too."

But Lautrec's voice cut through the brief reprieve. "It is not dead."

The words froze the air.

Above, the smoke twisted, shadow consuming flame. And then, with the fury of a god's hammer, a mass plummeted.

The Pseudo Rebis Gargoyle crashed upon the cathedral rooftop. The impact shattered stone and splintered wood, the floor caving inward as the monster's bulk crushed through. Debris exploded outward in a storm of dust and shards, the shock rattling the entire church.

Naruto unleashed his shadow clones. They caught the falling knights in a net of hands, guiding Oscar, Solaire, and even Lautrec safely to the cathedral's ground floor.

The dust settled.

There it stood.

The gargoyle was no longer stone. The false flesh of divinity had sloughed away, revealing the abomination beneath. A writhing colossus of exposed muscle, pulsing veins, and glistening organs clinging grotesquely to the shape of the twin-headed beast. Its skin, what little remained, was stretched and torn, half red and half white, as if two bodies had been stitched together by madness. Silver, mercury-like blood seeped from its wounds, steaming as it touched the broken stone.

It loosed a roar that rattled the marrow of their bones.

And the world answered.

From the ruined doors of the church poured hollows in a maddened tide, rusted blades and broken bodies driven forward by some unholy call.

"I will handle this," Lautrec said coldly, stepping forward as he whispered to his gold ring. "Oh Fina… bless this fool in his battle."

Then he was gone, moving like a serpent through the mob, his laughter and the shrieks of the dying hollow filling the outside.

Meanwhile, inside, the Pseudo Rebis Gargoyle struck. Its twin necks shot forward, not with the rigid strength of stone but with the whipping, grotesque fluidity of serpents. The flesh-snakes lunged, snapping to crush them whole.

Naruto leapt aside, rolling across broken pews. Oscar slammed a crystal barrier into being catching one head mid-strike.

"Buy me time!" Solaire asked.

"Got it!"

With a surge of motion, Naruto sprang onto Oscar's back, his black knight halberd drawn. Oscar braced, his ravenous crystal form skittering forward, weaving between strikes. At the apex of the movement, Naruto leapt high and brought the halberd down in a cleaving arc that cut through sinew, and the white head tumbled to the floor in a spray of mercury blood.

The red head screamed. A wave of fire burst forth, a furnace-blast that consumed the crystal wall and painted the cathedral in molten light. Oscar skidded back, his claws flashing as he raised a jagged barricade that blackened beneath the flames.

And then came the sound.

Like the tolling of a war drum, heavy and resonant, it shook the very air. Solaire rose. His body was cloaked in golden radiance, like a shard of the sun itself. In a single strike, he thrust. The bolt tore through the red head and blew it apart in a thunderclap. The cathedral's walls trembled with the force.

But the gargoyle did not fall.

Headless, blinded, its body surged forward with hideous momentum, a marionette of meat and madness. Solaire braced with his shield, golden aura straining as the monster crashed into him. Oscar roared, crystalline spikes bursting from the ground, spearing the abomination's torso and pinning it to the broken floor. Its blood hissed against the crystal, but still it moved, thrashing and clawing forward with hateful strength.

[ Name: Pseudo Rebis's Gargoyle ]

[ HP: 1 / 3,000 ]

Naruto's breath hitched. His eyes narrowed. He remembered the Undead Dragon and the same impossible tenacity, the same refusal to die when flesh was ruined and bones were broken. Something bound this thing beyond life and death.

Something unnatural.

He inhaled, chest steadying as he used Soul Sight.

The gargoyle was something else entirely. Its soul was grotesque, wrapped in mercury-like chains that clung tight around its essence. Those chains writhed, tethering the beast to a single ember of pitch-black fire that pulsed like a diseased heart.

Naruto steadied his bow. He drew an arrow, nocking it with care, and whispered to himself as he let the chakra flow through him. With telekinesis guiding its path, the arrow split the air and struck true.

The black heart shattered.

Naruto closed his eyes as Soul Sight faded, yet madness gnawed at him. His stomach turned as the gargoyle's corpse convulsed. Black flames erupted from within its body, consuming it in a grotesque blaze. Its mercury blood did not spill; rather, it seeped away into the cracks of the world, as if the earth itself hungrily swallowed it back into the abyss.

Solaire raised his voice. "An amazing shot, my friend. It rivals the female archers of old."

Oscar sagged back into his regular form, crystalline armor shedding into fragments that cracked against the stone. The little guy panted, exhausted but smiling faintly.

Solaire flicked a golden coin toward Naruto with his thumb. The coin spun in the air, catching the light before landing neatly in Naruto's palm. Its surface bore the radiant symbol of the sun, a face smiling serenely from its center.

"That is my thanks," Solaire said with bright cheer. "For this most jolly cooperation."

Naruto turned the coin over in his hand, then grinned. "Sun bro, after this… can you meet me at the Sunlight Altar?"

"Of course," Solaire replied without hesitation. His phantom form shimmered, flickered, and then dissolved like sunlight breaking into motes.

The church was silent again. Naruto took a long breath, closing his eyes to try and push down the unease in his chest. That gargoyle… it had a soul. It had been alive. But someone had twisted it, chained it, used it as a puppet. Why? For what purpose? And what was that black flame? Why was its blood mercury?

The great doors of the cathedral groaned. Lautrec stepped through, his armor dripping red. He paused, looking at the smoldering ash where the gargoyle had once stood. His tone was dry, almost casual. "Oh. You defeated it."

"Yeah," Naruto said quietly. "Want your share of the soul?"

Lautrec chuckled darkly and shook his head. "No. I barely lifted a hand in that fight. Besides…" His gaze drifted to his golden ring as his voice grew sharp with conviction. "Fina would not smile upon me if I touched a soul tainted by the occult."

"Who's Fina?"

Lautrec did not answer. He stepped into the elevator, and without another word the platform shuddered and descended toward Firelink Shrine.

Naruto exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders. He bent down, scooping up Oscar in his arms. The little guy gave a weary chirp, fluttering his stubby arms. Naruto pressed a quick kiss to the top of his crystalline head and smiled. "That was a fun fight."

Oscar gave him a flat look, but his eyes softened, and he chirped again.

Naruto raised his hand.

[ Victory Achieved! ]

[ You have gained: ]

[ 15,000 Souls ]

[ Twin Humanity ]

[ Sunlight Medal ]

[ 1 Homeward Bone ]

[ Gargoyle Tail Axe ]

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Somehow, despite the brutal battle, the spire still stood. Naruto seized the chance and climbed, now standing before the Bell of Awakening.

The bell was titanic, blackened brass streaked with green corrosion, suspended by chains that groaned with age. Beneath it waited a lever, set into a heavy gear assembly.

Naruto wrapped both hands around the lever. Chakra poured into his arms, muscles reinforced, skin toughened to withstand what was coming. He pulled.

The gear clanked. Metal screamed.

GONG.

The sound slammed into him like a shockwave, rattling his teeth and crushing his lungs. His whole body trembled as if struck by a hammer, and only the chakra strengthening his bones and flesh kept him from collapsing under the sheer force of it. The Bell of Awakening did not simply ring; it roared.

The spire quaked. Dust fell like pale snow as the bell tolled again.

GONG.

Oscar jumped at the second strike.

Naruto staggered to the edge, boots gripping the weathered stone. He gazed down into the endless mist. Silver tides shifted and parted, revealing the ruined skeleton of the Undead Parish, Firelink Shrine's lonely bonfire, and farther still, a broken aqueduct carving the cliffs like a scar.

Above, beyond the fractured dome, loomed the massive walls of the City of Gods. Distant. Unreachable, for now.

He lifted his head and waited.

Oscar padded up, blinked once, then curled beside him with a soft chirp.

"Patience, buddy," Naruto muttered. "No way you ring a bell like that in Lordran and nothing happens."

Oscar blinked again, slow and unimpressed, as if saying, Wake me when something explodes.

Naruto sighed and leaned against the wall. "Yeah, yeah. Fair enough."

The bell's echo lingered, still rumbling through the air.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Any moment now.

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Author Note: 

1: Why is Artorias from Astora?

Like most of the theories I present in my fanfics, they are either my own speculation on the vague lore of Dark Souls or theories I found online that add more depth to the story. As always, I will present evidence on why I think Artorias might be from Astora.

There is a surprising amount of evidence that supports this. But before I explain the connection, here are the questions I kept asking myself while writing this: Why does Artorias wear blue? Why is his equipment holy? Why does Artorias have a crest? Why does Andre have that crest? Why are there so many knights of Astora in Lordran?

The answers are fairly simple.

Artorias wears blue because it is a symbol of pride and glory.

Armor of Artorias description says: Armor of Artorias the Abysswalker, one of Gwyn's four knights. The death of the armor's owner can be surmised from the corrosive Dark of the Abyss, and the tattered azure-blue cape, once a symbol of pride and glory.

The only other mentions of blue in-game are from three Astora relics: Elite Knight Armor and the two Crest Shields.

Elite Knight Armor description says: Armor of a nameless knight, perhaps an elite knight of Astora, based on the fire-warding heraldic symbol on its blue surcoat. Although he was loath to give up on his Undead mission, he perished at the Undead Asylum, and went Hollow.

Crest Shield description says: Shield of a nameless knight, likely a high-ranked knight of Astora. One of the enchanted blue shields. The Crest Shield greatly reduces magic damage.

Dragon Crest Shield description says: Shield of a nameless knight, likely a high-ranked knight of Astora. One of the enchanted blue shields. The Dragon Crest Shield greatly reduces fire damage.

Astora has a favor for blue. Since Astora is home to proud knights, I suspect that blue is a symbol of that.

This leads to my second argument: Artorias has a crest. For those who may not know, a crest is a symbol or design worn on a helmet, shield, or token that depicts a family's or nation's emblem. We see many different crests in Astora, as seen on the shields, yet we do not see crests anywhere else, not even in Anor Londo. Since Astora has multiple crests, that means the crests represent family, while the blue represents Astora as a nation. I believe Artorias came from Astora because he dons the blue crest.

Now we see multiple Astora knights in Lordran: Solaire, Andre, Anastacia, Oscar, possibly Richard, the dead knight in the Darkroot, and another in the Valley of Drakes. Why are there so many Astora people here? Of course, it comes from the old family saying:

Thou who art undead are chosen, thine exodus from the undead asylum, makith pilgrimage to the land of ancient lords, once thou ringith the bell of awakening, the fate of the undead thou shall know.

I believe this was a common saying across all nations, but I think it originated in Astora after Knight Artorias came to Lordran and led a successful new life. If someone from your family became famous in another country after starting with nothing, wouldn't you want to follow in their footsteps? Yet no one mentions Artorias except Andre, who mysteriously has Artorias's crest. I think people no longer remembered Artorias as the one who originated the pilgrimage to Lordran. Artorias lived about a thousand years before the Chosen Undead. Legends are lost over time, fading to myth, to memory, to lore, and finally to disillusion.

Now, how does the crest get to Andre? He may have possession of it because he is from Astora, or perhaps he scavenged it in the forest. I do not think Andre knew him personally, because Artorias died hundreds of years before. I also doubt Andre crafted his weapons, since Andre does not forge holy weapons until you give him special embers that he only heard rumors about. I do not know how the two are connected, but perhaps I may find it later.

Why is Artorias holy? Because he is an Astora knight. Astora knights had holy swords.

Astora Straight Sword description says: Straight sword of an unknown knight, likely one of Astora's superiors. High-quality weapon with a powerful blessing.

With their similar holy swords, they hunted the Dark. Do you not find it strange that Artorias hunts wraiths, and Astora famously hunted dark creatures? Most notably, the Ring of the Evil Eye says: According to legend, this ring contains the spirit of the evil eye, a dark beast which assaulted Astora. The strength of the evil eye does not waver, and HP is absorbed from fallen enemies.

Now, all this sounds familiar. Some may think Artorias founded Astora, but I do not. Artorias was too busy fighting the Dark, and in the end he fell to it. To my knowledge, Astora has no dark influences.

Those were the major details. Now onto a few minor details that may also contribute to the idea that Artorias is from Astora.

The Astora Greatsword from DS3 shows that elite knights of Astora used greatswords. I believe this honors Artorias, as he was the most famous greatsword user.

The more compelling evidence is that the protagonist of DS1 is always depicted in FromSoft official art as wearing the Elite Knight Armor, which comes from Astora. We know that Artorias's legend is completed by the Chosen Undead, so both protagonists being on the cover art and having a connection to Astora seems like solid evidence. Adding to this, the thematic parallels of the DS1 protagonist wearing Astoran gear while following in the footsteps of a great knight mirror the idea of honoring and preserving that legacy, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Now, whether Artorias is canonically from Astora does not really matter.

For the sake of this fanfic, he is from Astora. Why? Because ultimately, Naruto and Artorias are very much connected in this story. Naruto uses a greatsword, has Artorias's magic ring, and has an animal companion. Naruto is heavily linked to Astora in this fanfic, and by extension, Artorias being from Astora reinforces that connection.

Now let me know what you guys think. Do you believe Artorias is from Astora or not? For this fanfic, what do you think?

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2: What are Gargoyles?

Gargoyles in real-world folklore are most often known as grotesque stone statues attached to medieval cathedrals. Their original purpose was practical, serving as water spouts to direct rain away from church walls. Over time, they took on symbolic meaning. People believed gargoyles warded off evil spirits, acting as guardians of sacred places. Their monstrous and animalistic shapes were meant to frighten demons while also reminding churchgoers of the dangers of sin.

Now, looking at their Dark Souls counterparts, the games never give us a clear explanation of what gargoyles truly are. But if we piece things together across the series, a theory forms.

In Dark Souls II we learn that gargoyles are magical constructs created by the gods.

Description of the Gargoyle Bident: Gargoyles are said to guard castles and forts from ill fortune, and they have appeared in many forms in all the great lands throughout history. Some of them are so meticulously crafted that they look as if they might come to life.

And we know that the gods of darksouls made the iron golem.

Description of the Soul of the Iron golem: Soul serving as the core of the Iron Golem, guardian of Sen's Fortress, and slayer of countless heroes seeking Anor Londo. Originally a bone of an everlasting dragon. Use to acquire a huge amount of souls, or to create a unique weapon.

This is important because Gargoyles also share a surprising number of traits with dragons.

They have stone-like skin, they breathe fire, they feature tail-cutting mechanics, and they are weak to lightning. Each of these traits ties directly into the draconic beings that once ruled the world.

This idea connects with Anor Londo, where we see decapitated drake and wyvern heads in a kind of trophy hall. This suggests that the gods of Anor Londo hunted and experimented on lesser draconic beings.

So the logic is simple. The gods of Anor Londo, after warring with and hunting dragons, used the remains of lesser drakes to fashion gargoyles. This explains their draconic traits and their loyalty as constructs bound to the gods' will. They are living statues made from the spoils of the age of fire, eternally watching and protecting what the gods deemed important.

That is my best attempt to add lore and context to the gargoyles of Dark Souls.

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3 – What is the second phase of the Gargoyles about?

This is something I have been thinking about for a long time. The chapter you just read is probably my third draft, because I kept reworking how I wanted the second phase of the fight to feel. I wanted it to be more than just "another gargoyle drops in." After a lot of research into folklore and alchemy, I finally settled on the idea of using the pseudo-Rebis as the second phase.

So let's not beat around the bush. What exactly is the Rebis?

To answer that, we need to look at alchemy itself. Alchemy is often dismissed as a pseudo-science, but many of its ideas have carried symbolic weight for centuries, inspiring art, literature, and of course, games like Dark Souls. FromSoftware borrows heavily from alchemical and occult imagery, even if only in symbolic form.

For example, let's look at the Caduceus, often represented by the twin snakes spiraling around a staff. In alchemy, the two snakes represent dualities: male and female, sulfur and mercury, sun and moon. Their union around a single axis is meant to symbolize the balancing of opposites into harmony. Dark Souls directly references this symbol with the Caduceus Round Shield, a piece of equipment whose design reflects that alchemical emblem. We can also see the theme of twin serpents in the primordial serpents Kaathe and Frampt, who act as opposing but parallel forces guiding the Chosen Undead.

Another alchemical pairing is the King in Red and Queen in White, recurring figures in many alchemical texts such as the Rosarium Philosophorum. The King in Red symbolizes sulfur, fire, and the masculine principle, while the Queen in White symbolizes mercury, water, and the feminine principle. Their union is the alchemical "marriage," a step toward the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. We see echoes of this symbolism in Dark Souls as well, particularly in the imagery tied to Gwyndolin, whose associations with moonlight, water, and dual identity fit neatly into these alchemical archetypes.

Alchemy also speaks of the Prima Materia, the raw formless substance from which all things are said to be created. It appears in three symbolic forms: mercury, water, and void. This maps onto themes in Dark Souls: the Abyss represents the void, the Deep in Dark Souls III is tied to water, and mercury-like substances and symbolism appear often in FromSoftware's other works, most clearly in Bloodborne's quicksilver bullets. The point is that alchemical and occult traditions serve as rich soil for FromSoftware's worldbuilding, whether subtly or directly.

Now, back to the Rebis.

In alchemy, the Rebis (from the Latin res bina, "double thing") is the result of the "alchemical marriage" of opposing forces into one perfected whole. It is often depicted as an androgynous figure with two heads, one male and one female, standing on a dragon while holding the sun and the moon in its hands. The Rebis represents the successful fusion of opposites into unity, a necessary step toward reaching the Philosopher's Stone. Texts like the Rosarium Philosophorum and the Theatrum Chemicum describe it as the embodiment of harmony between contradictions.

So why did I choose the Rebis for the Gargoyles?

Because the Gargoyles in Dark Souls already come in pairs. The first phase is one gargoyle, then another joins in. They are not individuals but constructs, puppets of the gods. For the second phase, I wanted to transform this idea into something more meaningful: the two gargoyles fusing into a pseudo-Rebis. I say "pseudo" because the fusion is forced and unnatural. True Rebis is the perfect balance of opposites into a new being, but the Gargoyles are artificial creatures, hollow shells animated by magic. Their fusion is more of a grotesque imitation of alchemy than the real thing, echoing how Anor Londo's gods manipulate and distort deeper truths for their own ends.

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4: Who is Fina?

Some of you may be interested to know who Fina was in relation to Lautrec.

Fina is one of the members of Gwyn's clan who resided in Anor Londo during the Age of Fire. She was known for possessing a fatal beauty and for the fact that her love, protection, and favor were as fickle as the weather.

She is essentially the Aphrodite of Dark Souls.

After Gwyn linked the First Flame, and after Gwyn's firstborn son was dethroned and exiled, she abandoned Anor Londo together with nearly all of the other deities and moved to an unknown location.

Even after she left Lordran, Knight Lautrec became extremely devoted to her. Adrift on a sea of isolation, only his faith in the love of his goddess remained true, and so he forsook everything else. He was so deluded in his misplaced devotion that he forged a replica of her arms wrapping around his own armor in a depiction of her embrace.

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5: How and why did the Gargoyles get this second phase?

One of the big reasons I like adding second phases to boss fights in my story is that it gives me a way to challenge Naruto while also weaving in the more obscure corners of Dark Souls lore. Each new phase is more than just a gameplay twist. It is an opportunity to bring up speculation, hidden mechanics, and unanswered questions that FromSoftware left in the margins.

For example, earlier in the story I touched on how magic in Dark Souls can be cast through faith, not just intelligence. Little details like that open the door to bigger discussions about how flexible the game's systems and its lore really are.

The Gargoyles' second phase is my way of tying in the concept of the Rebis with the occult. In Dark Souls, the occult has always been present, though it is often kept in the shadows. We have Occult weapons, such as the club Havel himself wielded, and we also have the Dark Ember, which allows the creation of occult weaponry. The connection between the occult and the Dark is made explicit through these items, as well as through the fact that the gods themselves feared this knowledge.

So, how do the Gargoyles get tied into this? The answer lies with Velka.

Velka is the one deity who I believe would know the truth about Naruto and his draconic side in my story. When Naruto rings the first Bell of Awakening, he is essentially drawing the eyes of the gods upon himself. But Velka, knowing what that would mean, intervenes.

Instead of letting Naruto immediately be noticed by the gods of Anor Londo, Velka uses the power of occult sorcery and the Dark Ember to manipulate the Gargoyles. She twists their magical construct nature and forces them into the grotesque pseudo-Rebis form I described earlier. This not only buys Naruto more time before the gods truly take notice, but also reinforces Velka's role as the manipulator working in the background. The Rebis is not a natural union. It is an occult distortion meant to serve Velka's hidden goals.

And now, to shift back to Naruto himself: what did you all think of the Clone Kite sequence? Personally, I loved writing it. For me, it captures Naruto at his best: creative, chaotic, and unpredictable. Combining the Fireball Jutsu with Shadow Clones in such an offbeat way felt like peak Naruto energy. And having Solaire call the technique Storm King was a reference to Demon's Souls.

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6 – What was Solaire's power-up, and why did he compare Naruto's archery to specifically female archers of old?

If you have played Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III, then you will know that Solaire used a miracle that is not found in Dark Souls I: the Sacred Oath miracle.

Effect: Increases damage absorption by 10% across the board, while also increasing damage dealt with all weapons and spells by 10%, for 60 seconds.

As for Solaire comparing Naruto's archery to female archers, it is linked to the description of another miracle, Lightning Arrow:

"The few female knights who served in the age of the gods used this miracle for dragonslaying. Draw lightning bow to fire a lightning arrow. The lightning arrows offer a great improvement to the range of the spears, and were said to have been used to pierce the eyes of the dragons from afar. But remember, beautiful stories are always marked by embellishment."

Solaire's comparison is not meant as an insult but as a form of respect. Female knights were rare in the age of the gods, and the miracle they used was both powerful and elegant.

Now, my question to you all is this: do you want Naruto to gain miracles from Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III since they would technically exist within the lore, or should Naruto only have access to miracles from Dark Souls I while other NPCs like Solaire make use of content from the later games?

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That's it for now!

As always, I appreciate you all taking the time to read, comment, and just come along for the ride.

Thank you all for your support—you make writing this story such an incredible journey!

Until next time,

Adamo Amet