The grace's amber light faded slowly, like a dying ember in the cold night. The Tarnished pushed himself to his feet, muscles stiff and still trembling from the violent battle at Fallow Nest. The soothing warmth of the grace had repaired his wounds, but the ache in his right arm lingered—a reminder of the price his mysterious system demanded.
Kira stood nearby, eyes scanning the horizon, her breath visible in the chill air. "We can't stay here long," she warned. "Null's corruption is spreading. It poisons everything, even the grace."
The Tarnished's gaze drifted upward, where the golden branches of the Erdtree shimmered faintly against the dark sky. That radiant beacon of hope, so far and yet so close, seemed almost out of reach beneath the suffocating shadows.
The system pulsed softly, a low hum beneath the silence.
VIRUS A LEVEL: 18.9%
SOURCE: UNKNOWN
RECOMMENDATION: INCREASE SYSTEM STABILITY
He grimaced. The corruption wasn't just in the land. It had seeped into him—into the very system grafted to his soul. And it whispered a cold truth: every advantage came at a cost.
Kira led the way down a narrow path, weaving through dense thickets and gnarled trees. "I wasn't always like this," she confessed, voice dropping. "I was a warrior once. Served the Golden Order. Swore to protect the Erdtree. But the longer I stayed here, the more I saw the cracks beneath the light."
She glanced at the Tarnished, eyes sharp but weary. "Null... it's not just some phantom in your system. It's something ancient. A force that corrupts both flesh and code. It's tied to the Elden Ring itself."
He frowned. "You mean Null is connected to the Erdtree?"
Kira nodded grimly. "The Erdtree's blessing is tied to order, control. Null is the opposite—chaos, the virus beneath the surface. Wherever it spreads, the Lands Between warp and tear."
The Tarnished's fingers brushed the Voidwalker's Blade. A shard of shadow, a key forged in corruption.
Their conversation was cut short by a sudden rustling ahead.
From the shadows, a pair of figures emerged.
One was a tall, armored knight, his armor gleaming in the moonlight, though marked with scars of battle. The other, a cloaked figure whose face was hidden beneath a hood, moved with deliberate calm.
"Hold," the knight said, voice firm but not unkind. "You're far from safe here."
Kira's hand went to her dagger. The Tarnished raised the Voidwalker's Blade, wary.
The knight stepped forward, revealing the sigil of the Golden Order emblazoned on his breastplate. "I am Sir Gideon, protector of the Erdtree's will. And this is Myrra, a Seer who reads the threads of fate."
Myrra's hood shifted back, revealing piercing eyes that seemed to look through the Tarnished's very soul.
"You carry a heavy burden," she said softly. "The system you bear is unlike any I've seen. It's both weapon and prison. And Null... Null watches us all."
The Tarnished met her gaze. "What do you know of Null?"
Myrra's eyes darkened. "Null is the fracture in fate itself—a living virus born from the shattering of the Elden Ring. It infects systems, souls, and lands alike. It twists power into madness."
Sir Gideon nodded. "We fight to contain the spread, but it grows stronger every day. Your path will intersect with ours, Tarnished. Whether you choose to walk it or not."
The three of them moved together, an uneasy alliance forged in the shadows beneath the Erdtree.
As dawn crept over the horizon, the Lands Between revealed both beauty and menace—a world balanced on the edge of ruin.
The Tarnished's mind churned with questions. The system's interface pulsed, a flickering map revealing a new objective:
MISSION UPDATED: UNCOVER THE SOURCE OF VIRUS A
REWARD: SYSTEM STABILITY BOOST + NEW ABILITIES UNLOCKED
He felt the weight of destiny settle heavier on his shoulders.
The game was changing.
And the mysterious Null was the key.