Lloyd went through with it in the end.
Though he had only meant to tease Nepheli at first, he hadn't lied.
After the Covenant, Nepheli was freed from her torment, and the upper limit of her pressure gauge had risen sharply. Yet a few stubborn fragments of pressure still lingered above her head.
There was still a bit of dungeon time left, and since Nepheli herself didn't object—though something about it felt a little strange—Lloyd reasoned that the money had already been spent, and she had no complaints. Besides, he genuinely wanted to see if this method really worked.
So, watching Nepheli kneeling before him, ready and waiting, Lloyd hesitated for a moment before raising the whip in his hand.
"If it doesn't work, make sure to say something..."
Nepheli gave a small nod.
Then...
Crack, crack, crack...
Under Lloyd's gaze, with each swing of the whip, the pressure bar above Nepheli's head actually began to shrink.
Lloyd couldn't grasp how this worked, but Nepheli gradually began to understand.
This wasn't simple flogging—it was a ritual.
Like how an ordinary person, after doing something wrong, might feel guilty and uneasy even if no one found out. If left alone, that unease would linger for a long time, eventually settling deep inside. It might remain buried forever, or resurface when stirred, but it would never truly disappear.
What Lloyd was doing now was pulling that unease out of her heart, then soothing her spirit through physical pain.
It was a ritual of atonement.
Her body suffered, but her spirit was satisfied.
And Nepheli, being a Warrior, was long used to wounds and pain.
She had a high tolerance for the sting of the whip, and when faced with problems, she usually fought her way through them.
Throwing herself completely into battle, venting emotions with each swing of her weapon, letting her wounds fuel her ferocity—this had always been her way of easing mental pressure. It was the same principle behind why slaying monsters in dungeons relieved stress.
Now, though the whip lacked the thrill of battle, it carried a strange power.
Through punishment, one stepped into the role of sinner, awakening hidden guilt within. Each lash became retribution, delivering spiritual release and satisfaction.
It felt like rebirth—a sense of redemption.
Time passed.
As the stress-relief effect wore off, the whip finally stilled.
Lloyd looked at the whip in his hand, then at Nepheli still kneeling on the floor.
"So... you're really okay?"
"I... I'm fine..."
As if waking from a dream, Nepheli realized the flogging was over. She still lingered in the ritual's trance as she rose unsteadily to her feet.
Her legs trembled, perhaps from kneeling too long—or perhaps for another reason—and she nearly lost her balance.
Before she could fall, a pair of hands caught her shoulders.
"...Thank you."
Lloyd steadied her until she recovered, exchanged a few words to confirm she was alright, then led her out of the underground prison.
After another short period of rest, he took them on two more raids around Hamlet.
This time, Nepheli no longer refused to share Lloyd's quarters.
After two more rounds that nearly cleared the surrounding lands, Lloyd used the newly gathered supplies to give the town another full upgrade.
This time, the improvements were striking.
It still fell short of the Royal Capital Leyndell, but the buildings were orderly, the streets wide and smooth, with flowers and greenery for decoration. The town itself had even expanded in size.
It was clear that with continued development, the place would only grow larger and better.
But now...
After another two rounds of fighting, the monsters farther out had become stronger, and travel costs were rising sharply.
The dungeon did refresh monsters and resources, but unlike the outside world where resting at a fire respawned everything instantly, here they returned only on a timed schedule.
With all the nearby low-level dungeons cleared, the distant monsters were higher level and more costly to deal with. After four consecutive sweeps, the girls were also showing signs of mental fatigue.
After confirming there was nothing urgent left to handle, Lloyd chose to leave the dungeon for now, planning to return later when the time was right.
As he exited the instance and was about to part ways with them, something suddenly came to Lloyd's mind.
"So, Nepheli, have you been back to the Roundtable Hold recently?"
"No, why?"
"No special reason. There's just someone new there. You might want to take a look..."
Lloyd then led Nepheli to the Roundtable Hold.
Inside The All-Knowing's office, a figure both familiar and strange appeared before Nepheli's eyes.
"Oh, little Nepheli?"
Dolores lifted her head and immediately recognized the grown Nepheli.
"I was just thinking about you."
She hopped down from The All-Knowing's desk, walked over, and looked Nepheli up and down, her gaze pausing briefly on her broad chest.
Though she had already learned from The All-Knowing that much time had passed since her disappearance, and could guess that Nepheli must have grown up—
But wasn't this a bit too much?
When Nepheli saw Dolores approach and realized who she was, her mind froze for a moment.
"Mother?"
"It's me."
Dolores nodded, then turned to Lloyd.
"I'd like to take her somewhere else to talk..."
"Go ahead."
Lloyd, of course, wouldn't interfere with a mother and daughter's reunion.
And conveniently, he had something to discuss with The All-Knowing as well.
"So, I went to the Royal Capital."
Lloyd sat opposite The All-Knowing, speaking casually.
"I reached the foot of the Erdtree too, but the place is covered in thorns of Rejection. I can't get inside yet, and I can't repair the Elden Ring either."
Seeing that Lloyd hadn't immediately started ranting, Sir The All-Knowing exhaled in relief and nodded.
"Understood."
"If you want to remove those thorns of Rejection, you'll need to head to the mountaintops of Giants, where a great cauldron of flame rests. Once lit with a fire seed, it can burn away the thorns on the Erdtree..."
"As for reaching the snowfields, there's an elevator in a corner of the Royal Capital. Take it down to the Forbidden Lands. At its far end, there's another grand lift that leads to the snowfields..."
Lloyd had already heard this from Melina in an earlier conversation, so he simply nodded.
"I know about that. But there's something else I want to ask you..."
At that, The All-Knowing immediately grew wary.
"What is it?"
"Do you know the way to the Dynasty of Blood?"
Elizabeth could offer some guidance, but since she hadn't been there herself, she could only point him in the general direction. That was why Lloyd decided to ask The All-Knowing.
The problem was, this was indeed a blind spot in The All-Knowing's knowledge.
He had heard of the Dynasty of Blood and of the demigod called the Blood King, but beyond that he knew little—not even his true identity.
Then...
"The Blood King is Mohg, Morgott's younger brother. He was supposed to guard the Frenzied Flame Seal in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, but he slipped away and established the Dynasty of Blood."
"Oh, and Morgott—you know him, right? You said he was the King Who Vanishes Without a Trace. But since you're so familiar with the Golden Order Dynasty, you should already know his true identity..."
"Oh, you kept his identity hidden because of the consequences? Makes sense."
"Anyway, back to Mohg. From what I've learned, he's in the Dynasty of Blood right now, preparing for his wedding with Miquella. I was planning to go find him..."
"Oh, preparing for his wedding with Miquella..."
The All-Knowing nodded.
Then his expression shifted.
Wait—whose wedding?
"Miquella's."
Silence.
Before The All-Knowing could respond, Lloyd remembered something else.
"Oh, right. I found Godwyn."
The All-Knowing froze, not quite processing his words.
Wasn't Godwyn everywhere?
After using his body to block the Erdtree's cycle, Godwyn's corpse had continued to proliferate endlessly. Those enormous faces, growing out of the corrupted flesh, could be seen almost everywhere...
No—wait.
The All-Knowing's eyes widened.
"You mean..."
Before he could finish, Lloyd's figure vanished.
When he reappeared, a golden lantern was slammed down on the desk.
Silence.
The All-Knowing stared at the head inside the lantern. The head stared back.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Queen Marika above...
Just as the silence weighed heavy in the room, a voice broke it.
"Oh, right. One more thing..."
Thud—
The door slammed shut.
This time, in addition to The All-Knowing's seal, several golden seals appeared as well—the handiwork of the head inside the lantern.
Lloyd, long accustomed to such scenes, only shrugged. Then he turned away to look for the mother and daughter who had just finished their reunion.
"I always knew The All-Knowing wasn't good with children, but I never thought it would be like this..."
A reunion should have been something joyful.
But after listening to Nepheli's story, that joy quickly turned into resentment—then outright anger—toward a certain someone.
Though in front of Nepheli she forced herself to keep smiling, even making excuses for The All-Knowing, saying he must have had his reasons...
The moment she turned to Lloyd, however, Dolores's face changed completely, her expression dark and heavy enough to drip with storm clouds.
"Sorry, it's not you I'm upset with. I'm just really angry right now..."
"Thank you for taking care of Nepheli. She seems to like you very much. From now on, I'll probably have to ask you to keep looking after her as well.
If there's anything I can do to help, just say the word. Even setting Nepheli aside, I already owe you a debt..."
Lloyd considered her words, thinking to tell her he'd ask when he needed something.
But just as he was about to speak, his eyes flicked to the seals on the door of The All-Knowing's office.
A brief silence.
"When you go in later, could you bring my share along with Nepheli's?"
"Of course."
Dolores smiled faintly.
"My pleasure."
After digging The All-Knowing a deep pit to fall into, Lloyd returned with Nepheli.
Back at his quarters, as the system prompt appeared—[Bond of Covenant Deepened]—a new window opened before him.
[Detected Special Spacetime Dungeon: 'Storm King']
[Entry Restriction: Storm Warrior Covenant Deepening Count: 5/30]
Huh? An unexpected bonus?
Reading the description, it seemed the dungeon required defeating something called the Storm King. Clearing it would allow Nepheli to rank up.
As for the entry restriction, it wasn't available yet, but judging by Lloyd's earlier observations, it would only take a few more Golden Dungeon runs.
Speaking of dungeons...
Lloyd's eyes shifted to another one inside the Caelid Colosseum.
[Shine! Caelid Maiden!]
Without a Pony Girl, he couldn't challenge it on his own.
But enough time had passed since Caelid's recovery—Radahn should have some free time by now.
With that thought, Lloyd teleported to Caelid, found Starscourge and Little Pony, and explained the situation to them.
Since Caelid's restoration work was nearly finished, and Radahn himself served mostly as a figurehead, the two really did have free time. They agreed to Lloyd's invitation and prepared to try the dungeon.
Then...
"General Starscourge, you..."
Fresh out of the dungeon, Radahn waved his hand grandly at the questioning Redmane soldiers before him.
"Don't call me General—call me Trainer!"
The red-haired pony on his shoulder sighed and quickly covered his mouth.
"The General was having way too much fun earlier and still hasn't come back to his senses. Don't mind him."
The Redmane soldiers, long used to their General's eccentric behavior, didn't fuss. After the usual briefing, they all went off to their tasks.
Once they were gone, Radahn held it together for a moment, but then couldn't anymore. He turned to Lloyd, his massive face filled with anticipation.
"Lloyd, I've got free time again..."
Before he could go further, the pony clamped his mouth shut once more.
"We agreed. Once a week only."
"But..."
"No buts. If I don't agree, you can't go in there alone."
It was plain to see—Radahn was addicted to that dungeon.
Or rather, addicted to his little pony.
Playing Horse Girl.
Denied his proposal to dive back in, the imposing giant mulled it over briefly before a new idea struck him.
"Hey, what if we built a racetrack here in Caelid?"
"General, you—"
The pony on his shoulder tried to cut him off, but on the other side, a certain idea man raised his brow.
"Actually, don't knock it. One of my shards just unlocked a 'Mass Production' function. I was about to test it out."
The pony could only watch helplessly as the two of them summoned the Redmanes back again.
Once gathered, they were ordered to collect the corpses of horses that had perished during the time of Scarlet Rot.
Thanks to their horse-loving commander, the Redmanes had raised more mounts than any other legion. But when the Scarlet Rot spread across the land, the horses that carried riders through the plague-ridden soil couldn't endure forever. Eventually, they too were consumed, leading to a sharp decline in their numbers.
Now, though those horses had been long dead, Lloyd couldn't fully restore them.
But in the present, where a certain Mr. Godwyn—name withheld—had clogged the Erdtree's cycle with his own corpse, Lloyd could at least act as a stand-in, offering those souls a chance at rebirth.
When the soldiers heard this, they were naturally overjoyed.
The newborns wouldn't be the same horses they once raised, but entirely new lives. Still, to free those tormented souls and let the dead give rise to new life—that was a blessing in itself.
However...
"My skills aren't the best, so what comes back might not look quite how you remember."
At those words, a few sharp Redmanes glanced at the pony on Radahn's shoulder and sensed trouble.
But given the usual wits of the Redmane army, such realizations were rare.
Then...
Before the watching soldiers, Lloyd raised the Crucible Fragment high. Golden flame spilled out over the horse remains.
The lifeless husks melted under the blaze, releasing drifting souls.
With one hand, Lloyd pulled the souls toward him. With the other, he channeled the shard's flames to reshape the dissolved flesh into new forms, fusing spirit and body together.
When it was done, the golden fire faded.
And before the soldiers' eyes, the newborn beings opened theirs.
They were horses.
Horses like the little pony on Radahn's shoulder.
Or rather...
Horse girls.
Silence.
Then...
"Ohhh! By Marika's crown, they're actually alive!"
"Don't they look a little... off? I don't remember horses looking like this..."
"Who cares? They're alive!"
Cheers erupted, with blessings for Lloyd and Radahn mixed into the shouts.
Radahn watched the celebrations for a moment, then turned to Lloyd. Lloyd gave a slight nod.
"With more practice, I could probably handle mass reincarnation. But intact bodies would work better—my skill isn't refined yet, and this has a cooldown..."
"Then I'll have them collect proper corpses."
The red-haired pony sighed deeply.
If you two had serious intentions, you could've just said so. She'd thought you were messing around...
"So what do we do with them now? Like this, they can't be ridden. But as labor, they'd be useful..."
The two men blinked, offering no reply.
A cold premonition ran through the pony.
"Wait. Don't tell me you two are actually thinking..."
Radahn coughed and turned his head aside.
"I just think, now that Caelid's infrastructure is mostly done, it's time we pursued other things..."
Lloyd nodded along.
"Indeed. Spiritual development matters too."
Silence.
After a long pause, the pony buried her face in her hooves and sighed, utterly drained.
"Fine. I'll take care of the kids myself.
I can't trust either of you with them."
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
p@treon(.)com/BlurryDream