"I…"
Lucian swallowed. At this moment, countless thoughts surged through his mind, yet not a single word would come out.
He could see the expectation in her eyes. She must have wanted that answer, wanted it very much.
And precisely because of that, Lucian could not bring himself to deceive her.
He had no memories of her. He had not come here in search of her. If he were to fabricate a lie simply to make her happy, he would not be able to accept himself.
Just as Lucian was about to speak—
The maiden before him seemed to read his hesitation. A faint trace of disappointment flickered in her eyes.
She turned her head away, leaving him only a side profile half-hidden behind her hair, and spoke before he could answer.
"Ah, sorry. That was something strange to say."
"I suppose staying here too long has made me a little abnormal."
Lucian looked at the woman dressed as a Finger Maiden and felt an indescribable emotion stirring within him.
His reason told him that this situation might not be as simple as it appeared.
He had inexplicably arrived in what seemed to be the Spirit World—a desolate, boundless wasteland inhabited only by monsters.
And yet, in such a place, she had appeared before him by sheer coincidence.
…The coincidence was almost too perfect.
Especially since she was the only being here who shared his human appearance. In such an abnormal world, that very normalcy felt strange.
Lucian knew he had to maintain a measure of caution.
"Do you know me?"
He had originally intended to ask about this world—but somehow, those were the words that came out instead.
The maiden slowly turned back to face him, then shook her head.
"No… actually, I don't know you. I've never met you before."
"I only knew that there was someone I had to wait for."
"I was guided to wait for him, to accompany him on his journey to become Elden Lord."
"But I was killed before I could ever meet him."
She met Lucian's gaze earnestly.
"Even if the guidance has long since shattered… please, become Elden Lord."
Then she lowered her head slightly and smiled.
"Just now, I felt something faintly calling to me, so I came looking."
"And in the end, I found you."
"The moment I saw you, I was certain... you are the one I was waiting for."
"Even if we have never met."
Lucian held her gaze.
He did not know what expression he should wear.
Should he feel joy? Joy at being reunited with his maiden?
But she was already dead. That fact could not be changed.
Should he grieve for her? Grieve for the tragedy she had suffered?
But now, fate had brought them together again. He had been given a chance to mend what was lost.
Lucian looked up at the sky.
There was no sun to guide him—only the cold, pallid sun hanging above.
After a while, he let out a soft laugh.
I once tried to convince myself you had merely become a passing breeze over Limgrave… but it seems I could never truly let go.
Perhaps he had been overthinking everything. Perhaps it was not so complicated.
They had never crossed paths before. One had waited; the other had yet to arrive.
Everything had begun with the corpse of a Finger Maiden in the Chapel of Anticipation.
Just like the story that once unfolded—
Just like the one that was about to begin.
"In that case… it's truly wonderful that we've met."
"I've been searching for the reason behind your death. But every lead ran dry, I could no longer see any hope."
"I never expected… to find you here."
"To be honest, we had never met before. I shouldn't have any feelings toward you."
"But for some reason… I could never forget the sight of your death."
The maiden shot him a playful glare.
"Really now? 'The sight of my death'? Couldn't you put that a little more nicely?"
But after hearing his words, a smile bloomed across her face.
What an unexpected blessing.
Lucian looked at her.
"You must have suffered a great deal here, all alone."
At that, her expression brightened immediately, and she began recounting her story with animated enthusiasm.
"Oh, you have no idea—when I first arrived, I was terrified!"
"Honestly, I was scared to death. This place is full of monsters!"
"And to this day, I still haven't met a single other being who looks like a normal human."
"There are strange creatures everywhere, and many of them attack without a word."
"If I hadn't gradually learned how to survive here… you might have found my corpse here too."
"Actually, wait... would there even be corpses here? I wonder…"
Lucian couldn't help but smile.
Die twice, as a maiden? That was dark.
He simply stood there, quietly listening as she told him of everything that had happened since she arrived in this place.
If this were the Lands Between, it would have been beautiful.
She spoke with shining eyes.
She had not seen a normal human in so long, and now she had found the one she had been waiting for.
She wanted to tell him everything.
Eventually, she let out a breath, having spoken at length.
She looked at Lucian, who had listened with a gentle smile the entire time.
"Oh! I don't think I ever asked your name."
Lucian blinked. He realized they still did not know each other's names.
"Lucian. And you?"
She blinked in surprise.
"Wah! that's a really cool name."
"My name is Aesthra. Aesthra Solbloom."
Lucian's eyes shifted slightly.
In the Lands Between, only those from noble houses—Tarnished scions of influential families, made a point of stating their surname.
So… his maiden was a young lady of noble birth?
Unexpectedly lively. Unexpectedly warm.
He nodded, committing her name to memory.
They had chatted long enough. It was time to speak of more important matters.
"Can you tell me about this place?"
Aesthra smiled but did not answer immediately.
"I understand you're anxious. After all, you've arrived in a completely unfamiliar land."
"But first, allow me to fulfill my duty as a maiden, and tend to your wounds."
Her cheeks flushed faintly. She had gotten so carried away talking that she had forgotten to heal the soul damage he had suffered earlier.
Lucian looked surprised.
"Oh? You can heal that? These are injuries to the soul."
"I wasn't aware Finger Maidens had such abilities."
Aesthra took his hand and smiled warmly.
"I've been here a long time. I've picked up a few new tricks."
As she clasped his hand, Lucian immediately felt something being drawn out of him.
A faintly glowing, black humanoid phantom appeared in her palm, rimmed with dim white light.
Lucian's eyes widened.
That shape… could it be—
Aesthra confirmed his suspicion.
"This is something called Humanity."
"The souls that have sunk into this Spirit World… over endless time, they've gradually lost everything that made them human."
"This Humanity was once the foundation, the essence of their being."
"But now it has separated from their souls. Once you defeat them, you can easily take it."
"With a bit of processing…"
She gathered the Humanity in her hands.
Then she clasped them together, and in an instant, the Humanity was refined.
When she opened her hands again, it had ignited into flame, glowing orange-gold.
"See? Now it's become a liquid that can mend the soul."
Lucian stared at the shimmering liquid in her hands.
It's back. It's all back.
A Flask.
An Estus Flask.
Colloquially: Sunny D.
Although his soul had taken some damage in the earlier battle and suffered constant environmental erosion, it was still intact.
Radagon's hammer blow had significantly raised his tolerance for soul pain.
Compared to that, this was trivial.
Aesthra poured the refined Humanity into a container and handed it to him.
Lucian took it and drank it down in one motion.
As the searing warmth spread through his body, his soul was filled and mended by the burning Humanity.
Aesthra nodded in satisfaction.
"Even if your soul is strong, once it's wounded, it's best to replenish it as soon as possible."
"Besides restoring the soul, this thing has other uses as well."
Lucian closed his eyes and sensed within himself for a moment, yet detected no other changes. In the end, he could only turn to Aesthra for clarification.
"Oh? What other effects does it have?"
Aesthra explained patiently:
"In this world, if one stays here for too long, the human mind begins to… distort."
"Sometimes, you start hearing inexplicable sounds whispering beside your ears. Other times, grotesque hallucinations appear before your eyes."
"And if you remain here even longer… you may fall into madness."
As she spoke, Aesthra shuddered involuntarily, as if recalling something deeply horrifying.
Lucian looked at her with quiet heartache.
How long had she wandered this world alone to gradually piece together such knowledge?
There was no one else here. These symptoms, without question were things she had personally endured.
She was a Finger Maiden. What exactly had she experienced in order to survive all of this?
What conviction had sustained her?
Though Aesthra now showed him only her lively and warm side, she had never once spoken of the suffering she must have gone through.
Lucian met her eyes.
"I'm sorry… I came too late."
But Aesthra shook her head.
"No. You came. That is enough."
She fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Oh, right. There are still several strands of blackened souls within you. Let me use those for you as well."
At first, Lucian did not understand.
After thinking carefully, he realized she must be referring to the black souls that had drifted into him after he slew that enormous skull earlier.
"Blackened souls? What are they used for?"
As Aesthra gently drew those pitch-dark remnants out from his body, she explained:
"Besides Humanity, some monsters' souls also collapse upon death and enter your body."
"Within those souls are all kinds of negative emotions. They need to be purified."
"Once purified, they can strengthen your soul."
"And in this place, that strengthening is absolutely vital."
Lucian nodded in understanding.
So this was the special 'leveling' system of this region, one centered entirely around reinforcing the soul.
If he accumulated enough strength, perhaps he could even withstand the damage caused by soul collisions and simply crush everything in his path.
Aesthra lifted her head and glanced at the pale, discolored sun hanging coldly in the sky.
"By the way, you asked me earlier where this place is, didn't you?"
Lucian nodded.
"Yes. I have some guesses, but I can't be certain."
Aesthra turned her gaze back to him and smiled gently.
"Then… what do you think this place is?"
Lucian answered without hesitation.
"This should be the Spirit World."
"The spiritflame burning everywhere here, and the damage that strikes directly at the soul, those traits are characteristic of the Spirit World."
"But I don't understand why it has become like this. It's completely different from the legends I've heard in the Lands Between."
Aesthra nodded slowly.
"Yes. This is indeed the Spirit World… but not the one you know."
"I once read descriptions of the Spirit World in my family's archives."
"The Spirit World, the resting place of souls. A realm where countless souls gather, and where the dead are brought after passing."
"It is said to lie at the very edge of the Lands Between."
"There were even living people who once stepped into it. They spoke with their companions there, and later returned to the Lands Between to recount what they had seen."
She paused and looked out across the vast, desolate expanse surrounding them.
"As for this place… you may call it the Second Spirit World."
"It was constructed jointly by the followers of Lord Godwyn and the ancient Spirit World priests; the Deathbirds through a covenant."
"The followers of Lord Godwyn helped the Deathbirds construct this realm. In return, the Deathbirds granted them power, and aided them in accomplishing their goals."
"Now, this place has likewise become a gathering ground for countless souls of the dead."
After hearing this, Lucian fell into silent contemplation. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"But with the Golden Order's cycle of rebirth already broken, souls should have nowhere to go now. They ought to dissipate in the end."
He still clearly remembered the word Roderika had used when speaking to him, dissipate.
Aesthra shook her head.
"They don't dissipate. They are brought here."
"In the age of the Erdtree, those blessed by it; the people of gold, were granted grace. Their souls and bodies were bound together in an undying state."
"But when the Erdtree's return to itself was shattered, life could no longer find release."
"Those without grace could at least die. Yet after death, their souls could no longer return to the Erdtree, nor did they have any destination."
"Some became Spirit Ashes. Some attached themselves to Grave Gloveworts. Some, clinging to obsession, lingered in the Lands Between as wandering white phantoms."
"And many more, with nowhere to go, were forced to remain stranded in the Lands Between."
"As for those of golden lineage, their souls and bodies are so tightly bound that even death cannot sever them."
"As for us Tarnished, our souls can be taken here directly by the Deathbirds."
"But for some reason… until now, I have only seen you and me retain our physical forms."
Aesthra bit her lip lightly. Even she did not fully understand the results of her own investigation.
"In any case, the Deathbirds have now gathered an enormous number of souls."
"From the time of the Shattering to the present, countless souls that could not return to the Erdtree have assembled here."
"In a certain sense… this place is even livelier than the Lands Between."
"Oh, right, I still haven't asked. What did you come here intending to do?"
Lucian looked up at the pale sun overhead.
"I intend to destroy the prayers and rituals of Godwyn's followers, to end the faded sun's obstruction of the true sun's radiance."
"I will restore the true sunlight to shine once more upon the Lands Between."
Aesthra stared at him in astonishment.
Her expression shifted repeatedly. She hesitated, as if unsure whether she should speak.
"Lucian… that is an extremely difficult task. To be honest, it is nearly impossible."
"In this Second Spirit World, the realm has been divided into many regions."
"The place we are currently in, I call it the Plain of White Bones."
"At the center of each region resides an immensely powerful ruler."
"Only by defeating them can you temporarily weaken the Spirit World's power."
"But even that… would not be enough."
"The Spirit World exists parallel to the Lands Between, yet it must remain connected to it in some way."
"I believe what anchors the Spirit World to the Lands Between are the Walking Mausoleums."
"But if you leave the Spirit World… it would be best not to return to this dangerous place."
The moment Lucian heard the words "leave the Spirit World," he immediately pressed further.
"You know a way to leave?"
Aesthra's expression stiffened at once, like a small dog about to be abandoned.
Yet after a moment, as if having steeled herself, she decided to tell him anyway.
After all, she had originally intended to send him away.
"…Yes. I do."
"The method is hidden within the great tower before us."
"If we clear it, not only can we travel between several such towers, we can also return from here to the real world."
"I brought you here precisely to send you away. You shouldn't remain in such a dangerous place."
Lucian looked at Aesthra's complicated expression and roughly understood what she was thinking.
She was probably imagining that he would immediately teleport out of the Spirit World, and leave her behind.
"Good. Then let's take this tower first."
"After that… we'll deal with Godwyn's followers."
Aesthra raised her eyes and looked at him seriously.
"This place is dangerous. You've only been here a short while, but I've experienced it firsthand."
"And I've already told you. What you're attempting is nearly impossible."
Lucian smiled faintly.
In the Lands Between, he could once be said to have roamed unhindered.
Though most of his techniques were useless here in the Spirit World, even stripped of power he was no longer the naive person he once was.
No matter the situation, he could remain calm and composed.
And besides—though his power was gone, the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow still remained.
"It'll be fine. I'm strong, after all."
"At the very least, dealing with those followers of Godwyn here won't be a problem."
Aesthra blinked at him, then lowered her head and laughed softly for reasons of her own.
She had seen Lucian and Asimi display their strength before.
It was not weak, but against those terrifying regional rulers, it would be wholly insufficient.
When she finished laughing, she lifted her head and stared intently at his face.
"I cannot see any hope at all."
"I won't speak empty sweet words. This is far too hopeless."
"I understand that what awaits us ahead is nothing but despair and pain."
"That is why… I want to be with you. In this abnormal world, to have you as my companion."
"So let me follow you."
"Let me fall into the abyss with you."
Aesthra revealed a faint, desolate smile, her resolve already made.
Lucian felt the will within her words.
In that moment, her face—once slightly blurred in his memories, became incomparably clear.
—
[T/N: ]
Sunny D: The "Sunny D" is not an official in-game item but a fan-created meme and mod that replaces the Estus Flask with a bottle of Sunny D, the orange fruit drink. This mod, popularized on Nexus Mods and Reddit, humorously ties into the game's iconic "Praise the Sun" gesture associated with the character Solaire of Astora.
Estus Flask: The Estus Flask is a reusable item that replenishes health in Dark Souls. Players can acquire Estus Flasks at Bonfires, which allow for HP recovery while exploring.
[The Undead treasure these dull green flasks.
Fill with Estus at Bonfire. Fills HP.
The Estus Flasks are linked to the Fire Keepers.
The Dark Tales also make reference: An emerald flask, from the Keeper's soul. She lives to protect the flame, and dies to protect it further.]