When the storm finally settled, the ruins of Stormveil lay silent beneath the lingering winds. Amid the wreckage stood Nepheli, her body drenched in blood, the air around her still swirling with the remnants of her storm.
Before her, the former Storm King knelt on one knee, his form dissolving into mist.
Nepheli had won.
Though defeated, the Storm King showed no bitterness—only a quiet satisfaction.
Even as a dungeon echo, certain conditions—such as Lloyd's loosened restrictions—had allowed him awareness of his state, and he understood that Nepheli came from the future.
Having seen her strength firsthand, having crossed blades with her, he was sure of one thing now:
The First Elden Lord who once defeated him had kept his word. The storm still roamed the Lands Between.
And compared to himself, the storm standing before him—though young and still unrefined—was one he could no longer guarantee victory against, even at full strength.
More importantly, she was still so young.
"Is that enough?" Lloyd asked as he approached.
The Storm King nodded, gathering a swirl of stormlight in his palm and handing it to Lloyd. Then, just before his form fully vanished, he spoke again.
"Oh—and if you ever meet Godfrey... tell him this for me."
"Our battle... was truly a joy."
With that, he faded completely, the storm dissipating into the air.
Lloyd glanced once more at the spot where the Storm King had vanished, then turned and walked toward Nepheli, still standing amid the howling wind.
She didn't move.
Because she couldn't.
Though she had emerged victorious, her body was broken—her wounds deep enough that she teetered on the edge of death.
After all, the Storm King was no ordinary foe. A being once able to stand against Godfrey himself, he was a true monarch in both power and spirit.
During the fight, Lloyd had lent her some support—but he had deliberately restrained himself, keeping his influence balanced with that of the Storm Eagle King. He had wanted this to be Nepheli's battle, not his.
And it was.
Though the cost was heavy, the victory was hers alone—honest, hard-fought, and recognized by her opponent.
That final condensed storm was proof of that recognition.
With a gentle incantation, Lloyd released a wave of warmth, pulling Nepheli back from the edge of death. Then he handed her the Storm King's gift.
Nepheli reached out, crushed the swirling mass in her hand, and as the winds roared to life around her once more, the title above her head shifted.
[Storm King · Nepheli]
She had grown stronger, her storm reborn and ascended.
But reality held no "level-up recovery." Even with the power she'd gained and Lloyd's healing, her body was still weak and battered.
After a brief exchange, Lloyd brought her back to the castle. As a reward, he twisted time slightly, creating a private chamber where only the two of them existed. There, he held her close until sleep claimed her—and stayed by her side until she woke.
Yet her awakening wasn't the end.
If anything, it marked a new beginning.
And so, after thoroughly "rewarding" her and enjoying what could only be described as a warm breakfast of milk and bread, Lloyd finally stepped out of the room, still faintly carrying its scent.
Once Nepheli was settled, he remembered that it had been a while since he last visited Caelid to assist with the rebirth of the horse maidens. Curious about their progress, he teleported there to take a look.
The results were impressive.
Though horse maidens were a strange new species to the Lands Between, Caelid's sheer diversity—and the devotion of the Hermes followers—ensured they lacked for nothing.
Thanks to the reliable efforts of the red-haired pony, the horse maidens had fully integrated into Caelid's society, helping rebuild the land alongside its people.
Meanwhile, after months of cooperation, the dragons had grown friendly with Caelid's soldiers and civilians alike.
Having lost their ancient pride and fallen from civilization, the surviving dragons—especially those who had degenerated over generations into near-beasts—no longer looked down on humans.
Where once there had been disdain, there was now camaraderie: shared drinks, banter, and even the occasional "Brother, got a smoke?"
Relations between the races had never been better.
After confirming Caelid's steady recovery, Lloyd turned his gaze toward his next destination—the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
Following Lloyd's earlier suggestion, Mohg had already begun implementing the reconstruction plan for the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
After the Miquella incident concluded and the veteran Ansbach returned, the pace of reform accelerated sharply. With capable hands now assisting, the project had advanced to the stage of compiling and organizing medical data.
When Lloyd arrived, both Mohg and Ansbach welcomed him warmly.
Ansbach, though unwavering in his loyalty to Mohg, was fully aware of the countless cruel and disgraceful acts his liege had committed. He admitted as much himself, recognizing that Mohg was far from a flawless ruler.
Thus, despite his devotion, Ansbach had long disagreed with the methods of the old Dynasty of Blood.
After all, even if current circumstances forced them to maintain this blood-soaked system for the time being, it couldn't possibly last forever. Surely they wouldn't build an "Alphabet Dynasty," nor turn the entire Lands Between into some "Alphabet Paradise."
Yet, limited by his own vision and the political climate at the time, Ansbach's efforts to reform the dynasty's operations had made little progress, even with Mohg's support—at least until Miquella's enchantment changed everything.
Now, things were different.
"That area over there was once the vivisection chamber," Ansbach explained, leading Lloyd through the halls. "It used to be used for... 'rituals.'"
"And that's the blood bank. While healing through Incantations allows blood to be replenished via prayer, not everyone is capable of such Incantations. Moreover, our research found that using stored blood in conjunction with healing prayers greatly improves their effectiveness."
He gestured ahead as he spoke, his tone carrying a touch of pride.
"Besides that, our medical reforms have yielded some unexpected discoveries. Because of our dynasty's... culture, those who survived until now have all developed their own ways of treating wounds. Many of their methods were things even Lord Mohg and I hadn't imagined—remarkably valuable techniques, really."
Everyone's got their own special trick, huh? Lloyd thought to himself with a wry smile as he followed Ansbach deeper into the Blood Dynasty's facilities.
By the end of the tour—after witnessing several "treatments" and "experiments"—Lloyd had gained a good sense of their progress.
Healing Incantations were still overwhelmingly powerful, too dominant for ordinary surgery to rival.
But precisely because of that dominance, the people of the Lands Between had neglected all non-magical healing methods. Most had never even considered them.
The Blood Dynasty's system filled that void perfectly. Rather than opposing healing Incantations, it worked alongside them. If properly developed and spread, this approach could elevate the medical standards of the Lands Between by an entire tier.
After inspecting the dynasty's progress, Lloyd paused to think, then opened his map and teleported back to the Land of Shadow to finish exploring the remaining areas.
He remembered Chaos had once mentioned a place he should visit, even marking the location for him. After a moment's thought, Lloyd decided to check it out.
...
Following a long stretch of exploration and combat, and after defeating a boss known as the "Torture Elder," Lloyd finally arrived at the destination Chaos had described.
It was a valley—
—but unlike any normal one, it was a landscape scorched and twisted by the Frenzied Flame.
Everything within had been tainted. Every living creature burned with madness, their twin eyes leaking fire like molten pus. Even the lifeless rock walls seemed to pulse with the residue of insanity.
There, Lloyd encountered a peculiar creature of the Frenzied Flame.
According to Chaos, it was called the "Elder of Forbidden Touch." Though humanoid in shape, it had no head—only a massive cluster of yellow, grape-like orbs formed from the fused, festering eyeballs of those consumed by the Frenzied Flame.
Unlike most other monstrosities, the Elder was not skilled in combat. Its movements and attacks were sluggish and awkward.
However, as an emissary of the Frenzied Flame, it possessed an infection rate far beyond that of other entities. Just being within its gaze caused madness to rapidly build. And once touched, one would either fall into insanity instantly or come terrifyingly close.
On top of that, the Elder had a unique ability—similar to Chaos's own "Phasing." While in this state, it was completely immune to all forms of damage until the effect was dispelled.
But...
"Immune to damage, huh?"
Lloyd murmured after slicing the Elder clean in half. Watching the corpse slowly dissolve into embers, he shook his head.
"Seems you're not immune to true damage."
Normally, defeating an Elder of Forbidden Touch required precise timing—parrying at the exact moment it attempted to grab, thereby forcing it out of its phased state before striking it down.
But Lloyd had an advantage. Even aside from Chaos, he had Elizabeth. And her specialty was true damage.
Their bond had deepened enough that he now wielded a portion of her power, allowing him to bypass parries and kill the creature directly, as if it were just another mob.
Of course, that only applied to his "alternate self."
If he were using his full strength, it wouldn't be the Elder corrupting him—it'd be the other way around.
After finishing off the creature, Lloyd blew his whistle, summoning Torrent.
The mount appeared immediately, with no hint of the familiar message: [The spirit steed is frightened of something.]
The reason was simple.
Torrent had spent enough time around Chaos—even carried him at times. Having once borne the embodiment of the Frenzied Flame itself, there was nothing left in these lands that could frighten him.
Riding Torrent, Lloyd continued exploring the valley floor, collecting items and materials as he went, until he finally reached the spot Chaos had marked.
As he approached, a massive mansion came into view.
Before its gates knelt a row of headless corpses, golden instruments of torture still driven into the stumps of their necks.
Lloyd stepped closer and touched the Site of Grace.
Its name revealed itself in glowing script:
[Midra's Manse]