Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

It's finally here.

After saying goodbye to Van Lei, we continued to move towards the west shore of Lake Lienia. Finally, before it got dark, we saw the outline of the lake shore.

The huge trees are towering, and their golden leaves are still so bright and shiny even at night, like a huge street lamp, illuminating everything under your feet.

But only on the right side of the land, the trees were swaying, and it was still pitch black.

This can be considered the starting point to Kalia Castle on the west coast.

——In the game, after leaving the Weeping Peninsula, the next time the players saw Edgar was in a dilapidated house in the woods by the lake. At that time, he had turned into a red spirit and attacked the players.

"I hope it's not too late." I gently pulled the reins and drove Torrett towards the woods.

The evening breeze rustled, making the surroundings particularly deserted.

However, there was no bloody or rotten smell.

There were no hybrid corpses lying on the grass around like in the game, extending all the way to the dilapidated house.

——It seems that Edgar has not yet completely fallen into the abyss of revenge.

There is a path in the forest. If you continue riding Torret forward, you will find a golden light of blessing.

Nearby was a small stone brick house, dark and seemingly deserted.

"Edgar?" I called cautiously.

And there was no response.

——Is he asleep? Is he out? Or is Edgar not here at all?

I called back Torrett, raised the torch, and approached the shack cautiously.

The small shabby house was windy on all sides, and at a glance one could see some boxes and jars piled up in the house, with a pile of unburned bonfire firewood in the middle. It looked like there were indeed signs that someone was living here.

Um?anyone?

Just under the corner of the dilapidated house, a gray figure was curled up.

I walked forward with caution and curiosity to check - he was dressed like a powerful magician, with obvious signs of being tied up, and many bruises on his head. But the fatal injury should be the bloody hole on his chest, where the heart was missing.

It seems that before the magician died, he was tortured... Hmm, this pattern?

My eyes fell on the magician's cloak again. Although it was blurry, I could still see a pattern of a sword blade and a magic wand crossed and overlapped on a disc.

——Teacher Se Lian once taught me that this is the rune of the royal family of Kalia.

"Is this person Lani's subordinate? But why is he here?" I couldn't help but wonder.

Suddenly, I vaguely felt someone's gaze, and it seemed that someone was staring at me for a while, so I turned my head back vigilantly.

Unexpectedly, someone's figure flashed by in the woods.

"Who is it?!" I quickly chased after him.

The other party seemed to be startled and turned around and ran away in panic.

——Is it Edgar?

But it doesn't seem like it. If it was really Edgar, why would he run away?

"Stop right there, or I'll attack you with magic!" I took out the pyroxite magic wand, pointed it at the rune of the escaper, and began to recall the runes of the pyroxite magic gravel in my mind.

But unexpectedly, after seeing the light of magic, the other party stopped and said: "That adult doesn't know how to use magic, so what about you..."

When I got closer, I could see clearly that the guy who was monitoring me was just a dark-complexioned young man. He was dressed in the uniform of a cloth soldier under the cuckoos, but he did not show any hostility towards me.

I also responded honestly: "My name is Zero, may I ask who you are..."

"Zero, Lord Zero?! It's Lord Zero!" The other party was slightly startled, and his words were a little excited. Then he quickly saluted me as a knight, "I'm sorry for the offense just now. My name is Creek. I am a soldier who came here on the orders of Lord Edson Hyde to find Lord Edgar, the lord of Morn."

——It turned out to be Edson’s informant.

I quickly asked, "Crick, has Edgar really come here?"

Creek also nodded. "Well, this morning, I saw with my own eyes that Lord Edgar turned off the engine and left the hut... This seems to be one of his bases, so I stayed nearby, waiting for a response from Stonewell. Just now, I thought Lord Edgar had returned, so I came to check on the situation... I didn't expect that it would be Lord Zero who came here in person."

"I see. But why did you run away in such a hurry?"

After hearing my question, Creek couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of water, and then whispered: "To be honest, Lord Ling, I just found this place last night... At that time, there were constant screams coming from the house, which made people shudder. Lord Ling, you also saw it, that magician was tortured to death by Lord Edgar. In addition..."

I frowned slightly, and from Creek's erratic eyes, I almost guessed the answer: "Is Edgar trying to force the magician to tell me my whereabouts?"

"You, you already knew that?!"

“······How did he ask the magician?”

"He, he, that Lord Edgar, kept asking: 'Zero! Where is Zero? Has he arrived at your city and taken refuge with the royal family of Kalia?!', 'I don't know? What do you mean I don't know? How could you not know him?', 'Didn't that man take my daughter to find your queen?'······" Creek imitated the rough voice and acted like one.

But why did Edgar think that I took her daughter to join the royal family of Kalia?

Oh, it must be that Crazy Fire Us who lied.

Perhaps he guessed that I would go look for Lani.

——After all, in the game, Lani is known as the real "Fire Keeper" of the Circle of Magic, the player's wife, and the queen of countless stars.

——Even the wooden Melina, who was supposed to be the protagonist, was inferior to her.

That guy...even wants to use me as an excuse to ignite Edgar's anger towards Lani?

It’s no wonder that Edgar would stay here. Like I said before, this is the starting point from the west coast to the Kalia Castle, and the chance of meeting Adie is very high.

...Wait, since Nelius' lie was that I took Irena to seek refuge with the Kalia royal family, then maybe there is still a chance to turn the tables!

After all, the Kalia royal family has a good reputation throughout the border area.

They have the philosophy of inclusiveness, and the best evidence of this is the giant turtle in the Church of Bonding. No matter what kind of magic or prayer, in his mouth it is a part worth learning and integrating.

Loretta, the "Royal Guard Knight" of the Holy Tree, once served the royal family of Kalia because they were able to tolerate the weak Silver Clan who were discriminated against by magicians.

In this case, I can also change the reason and tell Edgar that it was because Stonewell was too dangerous that I took Irena to seek refuge with the Kalia royal family. After all, they are relatively safer. When...

——No, no, are you still planning to cover up lies with lies?

This is just a delaying tactic and won't solve the problem at all. If Edgar finds out the truth, he will only hate me even more.

You must tell the other person the truth.

——······But, can Edgar accept such a reality today?

I hesitated.

At this moment, the sounds of horse hooves and horses' breathing were heard from outside the woods.

Creek also noticed the movement and reminded me, "Master Zero, I'm afraid Master Edgar has returned."

He had just finished speaking when a tired but threatening voice came from outside: "Who is it? In the woods."

——Discovered?!

——I haven’t figured out how to deal with Edgar yet!

But staying inside was not an option, so I held Creek down and walked out of the woods alone.

My mind was a mess and I wanted to pretend that I was just passing by and got lost here, but my mouth was dry and I couldn't say anything. It was as if a huge rock was pressing on my body and I couldn't even lift my hands or do anything.

“······Zero.” It was Edgar who recognized me and spoke first.

His eyes seemed to reveal only fatigue, without the turbid yellow color of insanity.

As for the horse beside him, it seemed to be carrying another figure on its back.

I also took a deep breath and raised my hand to greet him: "Hey, hello, long time no see, Edgar. I didn't expect to meet you here."

"I really didn't expect that." Edgar walked towards me.

He had no weapons on him, only a set of platinum-colored armor of the city lord.

Edgar continued, "Why are you here?"

“······After all, Stonewell seems to have been conquered. As a Faded One, of course I plan to go to the Atan Plateau to meet with the Elden Ring.” He asked and answered questions, stalled for time, and also thought of how to tell Edgar that everything was a lie of Nelius.

And Edgar was also slightly surprised: "Has Stonewell been conquered by someone? That demigod... the Golden King Greg also..."

"Yeah." I racked my brains but couldn't think of anything to say.

There was silence until Edgar stood in front of me. He chuckled and asked, "You don't look well, Zero. What's wrong?"

"...Edgar, I'll tell you the truth." I took a deep breath and made up my mind. "The guy who told you the news about Irena is a member of the Blood Finger. His name is Nelius. He even has the same epilepsy you've seen. Nine out of ten things he says are lies, so don't believe him."

"Really?" Edgar still smiled, "Well, I already know that."

"Really? Really?" This made me a little overjoyed.

"Of course, after all, you said so." Edgar stretched out his hand to me, "Let's go, it's windy here, there is a cabin in the woods, let's go there and talk."

"Yeah." I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't expect Edgar to trust me so much. Could it be that he has realized from the Kalia people that he has been deceived during this period of time?

"Master Zero! Watch out!"

Suddenly, Creek in the woods shouted loudly.

A cold light flashed under his eyes.

The moment I was caught off guard, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach that went all the way up to my back.

——Dagger?!

In the dark night, that pair of empty eyes seemed to want to devour me completely and abandon me into the endless raging flames: "······Hypocrite."