Ashes

As the light started to fade, I finally hit the ground. I just barely managed to get my hands out in front of me, catching myself before landing facedown in the dirt. My ears were ringing, my vision blurry. I tightened my grip on the ground, trying to steady myself. I felt sick as my fingers dug into the mud and roots beneath me. I spent several seconds huddled over, trying to catch my breath.

And once I did, I realized what was wrong.

When my vision cleared, I stood to take in my surroundings.

My initial thoughts weren’t mistaken. I was standing in the middle of a patch of mud and tree roots. I couldn’t hear any rain, but I could hear the wind. It was howling around me, and I could feel its cold touch through my thin pajamas. Above, the dark and stormy night had somehow given way to a cloudy, overcast morning.

At first, I thought that I might have blacked out. And while I was out, Twilight had dragged me out of the gym and onto the school’s front lawn. It would explain how I’d gotten outside and how so much time had passed without me noticing. But there was a problem with that theory.

It didn’t explain the tombstones.

I yelped and toppled backwards away from them.

Where did I even begin to try and explain?

In front of me, a pile of tombstones were all crammed together haphazardly. They looked abandoned, overgrown with pale growth and old enough that time had worn away any inscriptions they might have once had. But, as I looked around, I realized it wasn’t just the one pile. All around me, mountains of stone stood tall, their cliff faces formed from cut stone and graves.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” I muttered to myself. “Keep it together, Sunset.” I held my breath for a few seconds, before exhaling slowly. And then I opened my eyes again and the cycle started all over again. I could feel my heart hammering away in my chest, could feel my throat close tight and my stomach turn.

Maybe I hadn’t blacked out after all.

I tried to think of what steps had brought me here. I’d been in bed, then I’d gone to the school, then Twilight’s machine . . . had taken me somewhere. I shook my head. Okay, maybe I did have an idea for how. Now I just needed a where.

I didn’t recognize anything around me. There were the aforementioned tombstones. Those weren’t helpful. In fact, they didn’t do much aside from run a chill up my spine. Besides them, the only other things around were bare trees and crumbling stone ruins. Above all of it, loomed a castle that would look more in place in Equestria than anything I’d seen in the human realm.

Then again, I had only seen a small portion of the human world. And I still had my hands and feet. So maybe this was just a piece of the human world I hadn’t seen before. That thought relieved some of the tension in my shoulders. It still wasn’t good by any stretch of the imagination, but it was better than ending up in a whole other world. Of course, I had no solid proof of that.Even so, it gave me the strength I needed to stand up and take a few staggered steps.

Behind me, and to either side, cliff faces blocked my path. But I could still move forward, into the valley before me. The scenery didn’t change much. Up ahead were just more ruins and more tombs. A graveyard, unlike any I’d ever seen in any world.

With my arms wrapped tight around myself, I stumbled forward. I could feel my shoes getting stuck in the mud as I trudged along. But that didn’t last long. After a few feet, the mud turned to cut stone, and then disappeared beneath nearly a foot of standing water.

I didn’t have much choice. I shuffled forward, dipping the edge of my mud-soaked shoe into the water. It was warmer than I expected. That is to say, it wasn’t freezing. My eyes darted around, desperate for something, anything that might have looked even the slightest bit familiar. And because of that, I missed the root lurking just below the water’s surface.

Another startled yelp tore from my lips as I crashed into the water, slamming my knees and palms against the jagged stone. I quickly pulled my hands from the water for inspection. The fall hadn’t been kind to them. Beads of blood were starting to form where I’d scraped them against the sharp stone edge.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

As I knelt there, sucking air through my teeth, I heard the sound of splashing.

I looked up just in time to see someone a few feet ahead, marching through the water. At first glance, they appeared almost human. At a second glance, it became clear that they really weren’t. At least, not a normal one. They had the same overall shape of a normal human. Two arms, two legs, a head. But there was something wrong with them. Most of their body was hidden beneath a ragged black cloak. The only parts of them that I could see, their arms and legs, looked . . . wrong. Their skin was paler than any human I’d ever seen before, with strange markings coiling around their limbs that faintly resembled cracks. They looked diseased, or maybe rotting, and moved with an odd, lurching gait.

As I turned to look at the empty graves around me, a cold dread gripped me.

It did kind of look like a zombie. I couldn’t deny that.

They staggered around, their heads on a swivel beneath their black hood. I could see their teeth, crooked and yellowed, constantly opening and closing as though they were struggling to speak.

A silver glint drew my eye downward. Down by its side, the creature’s broken fingers were wrapped tightly around the handle of a blade. I’d seen swords before. I remember watching the guards back in Canterlot as they trained in the yards below. But this was different. The weapon was as broken as its master. The leather on the pommel had rotted away, and the blade was snapped off after only a few inches of dirtied steel. There was a dark edge to the weapon, one that I could only see as dried blood.

The figure stopped only a few feet away from me. Despite how feverishly it scanned and how close it stood to me, it didn’t seem to notice me. I held my breath, waiting for it to grow bored and wander back the way it came. But it didn’t. Instead, it just stood there, perfectly still. Like a statue. I don’t think it was even breathing.

Whatever this thing was doing, I wouldn’t be able to wait it out. My lungs were burning, and it showed no signs of moving on. So I risked a slow exhale, followed by an equally slow inhale. Though the creature twitched, I still don’t think it noticed me. Only when I was sure it wasn’t coming towards me, I took my eyes off of it. I scanned around the water beneath me and finally found what I needed. A broken bit of stone, just large enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

I moved slowly, trying my best to keep the water from rippling. My fingers wrapped around the rock, dragging it back closer to me before lifting it out of the water. With a silent grunt, I tossed it as hard as I could into the bushes to my side.

And for a moment, my plan worked. The creature’s head lurched upward in the direction of the thrown rock. After a tense moment, it shambled forward into the thicket, searching right where the rock had landed. If I weren’t biting my tongue, I might have cheered.

Of course, only then did I realize how little my efforts actually meant.

Sure, I’d gotten the creature to turn its back to me. But aside from the howling of the wind, there were no other noises to cover up the sound of my waterlogged footsteps. I decided my best choice would be to stick with slow, quiet, low profile movements. To that end, I inched my arms forward. The scrapes on my palms burned as they drifted across the stone.

Once I’d reached as far as I could, I started to draw one of my outstretched legs forward. It moved in tiny increments, producing only the smallest ripples and the barest audible sounds. On my hands and knees like this, I crawled forward, but kept my gaze behind me, on the creature digging through the bushes.

I was so busy watching the first that I didn’t notice the second one approaching. Not until he hit the edge of the water just a few feet from me. The sudden splashing tore my attention forward.

The newcomer’s lanky form twitched. His hand tightened around his broken sword. His eyes were on me. I could feel them. I could also feel the hostility in his gaze and the raspy growls under his breath.

As slowly as I could, I raised my hands from the water.

“I’m not here to cause trouble—”

That was the wrong move. The creature hissed and started forward. Its awkward and uneven movements changed. They became more focused, more threatening. The thing moved like a wild animal chasing its prey.

It was on me before I could get to my feet. I felt the weight of its body slam into me, knocking me onto my back. Despite the sallow frame, the creature’s movements carried power. I could feel the weight of it on my chest, keeping my body pinned down. An emaciated, claw-like hand grabbed the side of my face and pushed me down, forcing my head beneath the water.

My mind raced. I kicked my legs and tried to push the creature off of me, but it didn’t budge. From the corner of my eyes, through the murk and foam of the water’s surface, I saw the creature raise its knife. Everything was a blur. It never even occurred to me to brace myself.

It brought the knife down, and I felt the cold steel tear through my right shoulder. I think I tried to scream, but all that came out were bubbles, only adding to the chaos of the scene. I don’t know if it was some sort of adrenaline rush or divine intervention, but I found my body reacting in my mind’s absence.

I felt my hand slide against something in the mud. Something rough and heavy. I grabbed on tight and pulled. I felt it slide free of the muck and put all of my strength into one last swing.

I felt a crack as whatever I had impacted against the creature’s skull.

Then I felt its grip loosen.

Taking advantage of the sudden slack, I pushed my attacker away and yanked myself up out of the water for a deep breath. My attacker lay slumped on his side. He had a sharp-edged rock protruding from his temple. From his wound, several dark red lines spilled out into the water, only clouding the depths further.

My stomach churned. If not for the adrenaline, I probably would’ve been sick. I had hurt ponies and people before. But this was something else. Watching the blood flow made me light-headed. I tried to tell myself that it was in self-defense. That I had done it out of instinct to survive, not out of malice. It didn’t matter how true they were, it didn’t wash away the bitter taste in my mouth.

But the growling behind me told me that I didn’t have time to think about any of that right now. I turned around just in time to see the first creature I’d encountered barreling down on me, his blade leading the charge.

This time I managed to shake myself out of my stupor in time to side-step his stab. I followed it up with a hefty shove, knocking him off-balance and sending him tumbling into the water beside his friend. He climbed back to his feet and came at me again. This time, he only made two or three steps before he tripped and crumpled to a heap on the ground.

Only when he was still, I finally noticed the cause of the sudden dive. He had a wooden bolt stuck in the back of his head. I looked up to where the shot had come from.

About thirty feet away, a man stood on a flight of stone steps. He appeared to be in the final stages of reloading his crossbow. I watched him load a second, identical bolt into his weapon. Unlike the thing that had attacked me, this warrior was dressed head-to-toe in battle-tested plate armor, with bits of chainmail hanging out in between.

I felt my sickness return.

I had barely managed to fend off one of those zombie looking things. But this new arrival was a different story. And here I was, tired, half-drowned, and with a knife in my shoulder. I only had one option left. In my head, I prayed to Celestia, wherever she might be.

“Please, don’t shoot. I need help!”

After a long silence, the soldier slid his crossbow onto his back and walked forward. I tried my best to look non-threatening. It wasn’t hard. After all, this soldier must have stood a foot and a half taller than me. Besides his crossbow, I could see a long sword at his side and a shield on his back.

I started to tremble as he drew closer. As he reached out toward me, I squinted my eyes, bracing for . . . I wasn’t really sure what. Could I trust this man? Could I even communicate with him? What if everyone in this land was as violent as the two that had attacked me before? I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn’t notice him reach for the dagger lodged in my shoulder. With any warning, he yanked it free.

And in an instant, I was on my knees, screaming. With my good hand, I held the wound as tightly as I could, but I could still feel the blood seeping out between my fingers. A dark red stain spilled down the front of my shirt. My head started to spin.

The soldier knelt down beside me. Through the tears in my eyes, I could see him fish for something in one of the bags on his belt. After a second of searching, he produced a small bottle filled with gold-orange liquid. He popped the cork off the top and offered it to me.

“Here. Use this. It’ll help.” His voice was deep, but still soft enough that I could barely hear him over my own pulse pounding in my ears.

With my damaged arm, I tried to reach out and take the drink, but only succeeded in causing the damaged flesh to twitch helplessly on the ground. If the soldier noticed my struggle, he didn’t care. He made no move to help me, nor said anything to try and calm me down.

I was on my own here. I only had one choice.

Sucking a breath in through my teeth, I released the pressure on my wound. The pain renewed and my blood flowed more freely. In return, I could use my good hand to take his offering. My bloodstained fingers stuck to the glass as I took it from his hand. I could feel warmth radiating out from it. With nothing to lose, I pressed the glass to my lips and threw my head back.

The drink was . . . difficult to describe.

The consistency reminded me of cough syrup. Thick, sludgy, and sticky. But the taste was something I’d never experienced before. It reminded me of drinking hot cocoa on a snowy winter day, but without even the barest hint of sweetness. I could really only think of it like drinking pure, bottled warmth.

Like a hot cocoa, though, I could feel that warm, cozy feeling spread throughout my body. It soothed my aching muscles, dulled the pain in my shoulder, and even calmed me down a little. Most surprisingly, though, was that the effects weren’t just limited to pain relief. As the wave of heat passed over my wound, the bleeding slowed, then quickly stopped. Despite knowing better, I felt brand new.

“Better?” The soldier asked.

I stared at him, then glanced down at the bottle, then back at him.

“That was incredible,” I muttered, in awe of the concoction’s effects. He grabbed the bottle in my hand, but waited for me to release my grip before returning it to its pouch. “Sorry about the blood.”

He stood, turned his back to me, and started walking away.

“Wait!” I yelled.

He stopped and glanced back over his shoulder.

Questions buzzed in my head. Questions that I desperately needed answered. Where was I? What were those things that attacked me? Who was the man that had saved me? Just what sort of potion had he given me? But something told me that this stranger didn’t have the patience for twenty questions, and I really didn’t want to end up on his bad side. So I chose a more straightforward approach.

“Thank you,” I said, bowing my head.

I couldn’t see his face, but liked to imagine he was smirking behind his mask.

“Follow me. There’s a bonfire not far from here. We can talk while we rest.”

Without another word, he started walking again, back toward the ruins he had appeared from. I ran through the possibilities in my head. Right now, all I knew about this stranger is that he’d saved my life, and that was enough for me to trust him. So, after taking a moment to stand and steady myself, I followed.

He led me through what might have once been a castle courtyard. Crumbling stone walls still drew the rough outline of a building. A stone basin sat in the center of the courtyard. The rock was dry as bone. Another body leaned up against the centerpiece, but his armor was old and rusted, signaling that he must have been dead long before today.

That wasn’t the only body we passed, though. Several more of the black-clad pale creatures were strewn about. Some had been cut to ribbons. Others had their heads removed. For the sake of my growing nausea, I tried my best to ignore them, to keep my focus on the soldier in front of me.

He led me out of the valley and onto another stone path. Unlike the paths before, this one opened up after a few steps, revealing a cliff side view that overlooked an endless mountain range. I dared to step closer to the edge, knocking loose a few stones and sending them plummeting hundreds of feet into the mist below.

The view reminded me of Canterlot. Looking out on a mountain range from a high enough point that you were looking down on snow-covered mountaintops. Of course, none of the cliffs I’d seen in Canterlot plummeted straight down into nothingness. I took a generous step backwards.

In a strange sort of way, though, behind the horror of it all, the scene was gorgeous. The strangeness of it all was something I had never seen in the human world. In fact, it reminded me more of the mountain paths in Equestria.

I didn’t have much time to admire the view, though. I hurried up the thin trail behind my companion. He was waiting for me at the end of the path, at the highest point of the cliff. On one side, the mountains of graves blocked our view, and on the other there was just the endless stone ocean.

Wordlessly, the soldier led me into a small alcove created by an overhang of crumbling tombstones. In the center of the alcove was a sword, the tip of its blade embedded into a pile of bone and ash. The twisted, blackened metal of the blade glowed with a faint orange heat. The soldier moved to the far side and sat down, using one of the headstones to lean back on. I was hesitant, but followed his example and sat down opposite him.

This wasn’t exactly the sort of bonfire I’d envisioned. Definitely not like the ones back in my . . .well, in the human world. Instead of a pile of firewood built up to feed the flames, there was just a pile of white ash with the occasional bleached bone poking out of it. But even with little to fuel it, the fire burned well enough to chase away the cold mountain air. I felt all the tension in my body start to fade.

My curiosity demanded to know more. It wanted me to study this new world, to learn all I could. Maybe I could even get some insight into a possible way home. But I couldn’t sustain myself on just curiosity. It didn’t take long before the sounds of the wind and the heat of the fire took advantage of my lack of sleep. Before I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, my last thoughts were of Twilight and my friends.

I would find a way home. No matter what.

Crackling flames. Howling winds. They were all I could hear.

I didn’t want to open my eyes. I thought that maybe, somehow, if I just kept them closed, I could imagine myself back home, maybe on a hiking trail. My friends and I would have stopped for the night, gathering around a fire to keep warm. We’d have laughed and talked deep into the night, like before. And I’d be sitting next to Twilight. Close enough that I could hear her soft breath as she fell asleep on my shoulder.

But I wasn’t home. My friends weren’t here. And the only breathing I could hear was my own. As much as I wished otherwise, I was stuck here, in this strange world. And I wouldn’t find my way home by just sitting here and wishing. There was only one choice. To keep moving forward.

I opened my eyes.

In truth, almost nothing had changed in the time they’d been closed. The fire burned weakly, but had not diminished. The sky overhead was still overcast. Cold wind still assaulted our cliffside hideaway. Strangest of all, the mysterious man that had brought me here hadn’t budged an inch.

I had definitely slept, though. I felt reinvigorated. And more importantly, my poor upright posture had left me with a serious ache in my neck. Planting one hand against the gravel, I stood. One hand went to rub my eye while the other stretched toward the sky. My jaw popped softly as it tried to work out a monstrous yawn.

“Are you rested?”

The voice sent a jolt through my body. I didn’t realize he was awake.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Good. The path to the shrine isn’t a long one, but we still have trials to face.”

I blinked at him. “The shrine?”

Though I couldn’t see anything through his helmet’s visor, I could feel his eyes on me. Instead of speaking, though, he pointed off into the distance to my right. I saw more mountains of graves. A path between them led into a large coliseum. Behind that, at the top of the next hill and dangling precariously over the cliff’s edge, I could see a ruin of sorts. A large, circular stone dome sitting in the shadow of a massive bell tower. The shrine in question, I guessed. It looked enough like a church or temple. Still, the dire shape of the building left me feeling a little hesitant about what I might find there.

“Is that it?” I asked, trying my best not to sound unimpressed. I don’t think it worked.

“According to the legends, that’s Firelink Shrine.”

“Sounds important,” I muttered under my breath. “What’s so special about it?”

He stayed quiet for a long time. Briefly, I worried that I might have insulted him somehow.

“Where are you from?” He finally asked.

I bit down on my tongue. It’s an obvious question. One that I wanted to ask him myself and one I knew I would have to answer sooner or later. I just wish it had been a little later. By then, maybe I would have an answer. “That’s kind of hard to explain.” My shoulders slumped. “Honestly, I’m not quite sure how to explain it.”

More silence. I couldn’t blame him. That was a terrible answer.

“I see,” he said. “There’s no shame in it. I don’t remember my homeland either.”

That wasn’t exactly what I’d meant. I remembered my home perfectly. Both of them, in fact. Still, I suppose it served the same purpose. How could I explain my situation to him? I’m a visitor from another world that got caught in an exploding teleporter. Even I thought I sounded crazy. And I lived it.

How could this man possibly understand that? Maybe if this were some technologically advanced world, I could make a little bit of sense. But here? In a land where swords and shields seemed to be cutting-edge, I didn’t have a chance.

“Judging by your clothes, I would say you’re a foreigner to these lands.” The knight reasoned. “But that’s about all I can say. I’ve never seen anything like them in any land. At least, not that I can recall.”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “That sounds about right.”

“Still, I thought even foreigners knew the story of Firelink Shrine.”

I shook my head. “Sorry. I don’t know.”

“Nothing to apologize for.” The knight grabbed a nearby tombstone, using it to lift himself up from the dirt. “Either way, it does not change our goals. I must make it to the shrine. And even if the curse doesn’t call you there yet, it’s probably one the only safe places left in this world. You can stay there.”

My eyebrow peaked. “Curse?”

The knight checked the buckles on his sheath. “You mean to tell me that you have no knowledge of the undead curse, either?”

My mouth went dry. Did he say undead? Like the things in the graveyard.

“I don’t.”

“Hmm.” He checked his hip pouch. From here, I could see the golden glow of his potion bottle. “It seems you’ve suffered quite a bit from the curse. But I can tell that you’re no Hollow. Strange.”

A Hollow? I didn’t bother to ask out loud this time. He was suspicious enough.

“Very well. Let us make our way to the shrine. Perhaps something there will patch those holes in your memory,” the knight said. “Let’s not waste any more time.” He grabbed his shield from where it was leaning against a grave. He grabbed the handle tight in one hand while he drew his sword with the other.

“Wait,” I said. He tossed me a sideways glance. “I still have a few questions.”

“We’ll have time for questions later. The Hollows will be rising again soon.”

“Can you at least tell me your name?”

Without a word, the knight marched off. He started down a second path, opposite the one that we’d come from. It was the path I’d seen from the cliff. The one that wound through the mountains of gravestones. I made a mental note to come up with a name. For now, I settled for referring to him as Knight.

I followed Mister Knight down into the valley. He moved slowly and kept his shield ready. Along the way, we passed more of those dark-robed creatures. Unlike the first group, these ones appeared whole and undamaged. Still, they didn’t move as we approached. They weren’t even breathing.

“Stop.” The knight’s voice was low, nearly a whisper.

In front of us was the coliseum area I spotted from our camp. Up close, I could see just how large it really was. Brick walls barred most of our path. Except, of course, for the large wooden doors.

But none of that was the reason we stopped.

One of the creatures – A Hollow, I guessed – was slouched against the door. Like the others around here, I couldn’t see any overt wounds on him. Which clashed with the bloody streak smeared across the door behind him.

“Stay back,” Sir Knight said as he took a step forward.

The Hollow twitched.

Despite the distance between us, I found myself involuntarily retreating.

Mister Knight took another step. Then another. In the blink of an eye, the apparently dead monster sprung to life. Knight seemed ready for it, though. He rushed forward with his shield up, catching the creature in the chest and ramming it back into the door hard enough to crack the wood. Before it could recover, the soldier swung his blade, cutting the monster from hip to shoulder. Blood sprayed across the door, its pattern almost identical to the first.

I put a hand over my mouth as the body split cleanly in two. I stumbled back from the violent display, only to stumble straight into a cold body. Whirling around, I found myself face-to-face with another Hollow. This one held a full-sized broadsword over its head.

I tried to move, but my body refused. My knees were numb.

Trapped, I could do nothing but watch as the blade came down towards me.

Then, a rough hand pulled at the back of my collar. I sprawled backwards. The words itself started to spin as I tumbled head-over-heels into the dirt. I heard metal clash against stone. I watched as the Hollow’s sword bounced off the stone where I’d been standing only a moment before. The recoil staggered the creature momentarily.

Before it could recover, my companion stepped between us.

The Hollow didn’t pause. It drew its blade back again then lunged for another attack.

Knight rushed forward to meet the attack. He knocked the sword aside with his shield and drove his own sword into the Hollow’s stomach. He twisted the handle of his sword and tore it out again with a spray of red. The Hollow hit the ground, but the soldier didn’t stop. He took a long step and brought his boot down hard against the creature’s skull.

Realizing what was about to happen, I squeezed my eyes shut.

But that didn’t stop me from hearing the thundering crack of bone and splattering of gray matter. Truthfully, closing my eyes might have made it worse, as my mind tried to imagine what it might have looked like.

“Are you alright?” Knight asked.

Turning my head away from the grizzly scene, my eyes crept open.

“I . . . I’m . . .” I wiped my tears away. “I’m sorry.”

“Did it hurt you?”

“No. I just . . . thank you for saving me. I don’t know what happened. I just . . . froze.”

Neither of us said anything for a few moments.

“Come on. We need to keep moving.” He put his sword away and offered me a hand. Hesitantly, I reached out and took it. I could feel warm blood on his cold metal gauntlet. “Here. Take this. It might be helpful in a situation like that.” He walked off towards the corpse, but I didn’t watch. He returned a moment later, holding the Hollow’s sword.

“What am I supposed to do with that?” I asked, looking the weapon up and down.

“I might not always be able to protect you. You need a weapon of your own.”

“I . . .” I shook my head. “I don’t know how to use it.” It was mostly the truth. I did practice a bit back when I studied under Celestia. But that was a lifetime ago. And back then, I had my magic to help.

“Hold it like this.” He took my hand and slid the hilt of the blade into my palm before trying to model the proper technique. It was heavier than I expected. Only a few pounds, I guessed, but still not easy to swing.

From there, we continued our journey forward.

Knight kicked a piece of the Hollow away from the door and pushed it open, allowing both of us into the coliseum. Just beyond the entrance, a messy stone staircase led down into a wide, open-air arena.

Like the rest of this cursed area, the walls were lined with tombstones. Unlike before, though, these ones weren’t quite as abandoned. Though I couldn’t read it, several of them still had legible text. Collections of half-melted candles were scattered around the room, a few of which were still lit. In the center of the building, a small pond had formed around a circular raised area. Upon that small stage seemed to be some sort of statue. A kneeling warrior wearing a crown on his head and an inhumanly large halberd embedded into the stone beside him.

As we reached the bottom of the steps, more of the arena came into view.

The first thing to catch my attention was the wall to our right. Or rather, the lack of one. A large chunk of the arena had collapsed into the abyss below. On the side opposite that, I could see a gargantuan tree. The biggest I’d ever seen, I think. Much like everything else in this world, though, it appeared dead. It’s dry, cracking roots climbed across the walls of the structure.

The strangest thing waited at the base of the tree, though. At first glance, I thought it might have been a coffin. That would have fit the theme of the graveyard around it, certainly, except that this one was the size of a bus. Even from this distance, I could see the ornate carvings across the mossy stone. I could also see that the lid was open.

None of it seemed to interest my companion, though.

He kept his attention firmly on the statue.

I followed him through the ring of water. As we neared the statue, a numbing dread passed over me. It wasn’t stone carved in the shape of a man. Rather, it was a man dressed in engraved steel armor. Much like a statue, though, he didn’t respond even as we moved nearer. Whoever this man was, he must’ve been dead. He didn’t breathe, and aside from the cloth bits and chains on his armor swinging in the breeze, he wasn’t moving. The only part of him that seemed to be remotely alive was a strange black sludge growing out the back of his armor. Aside from looking disgusting, though, it didn’t seem dangerous.

Strangest of all, this statuesque warrior had a blade run through his chest. A blade that I recognized. The same sort of coiled, blackened sword that had been embedded in our bonfire from earlier.

“What is this?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Knight kept one hand on his sword.

Over the kneeling warrior’s shoulder, I could see another door, lit by two torch sconces on either side. “Look over there. Think that’s an exit.” Above the door, Firelink Shrine loomed.

“Only one way to know.”

This time, I took the lead as I hopped across the flooded ring and up another short staircase. This door looked far more ornate than the last. Engravings of symbols I didn’t recognize littered every inch of the metal gate.

Summoning my strength, I pressed my shoulder against the door.

It didn’t budge.

“Here, let me help.” Knight put his shoulder to the other door. Together, we both leaned into our respective side of the door. Nothing.

“Wow, that’s really sturdy,” I said, panting.

“It’s not just sturdy.” He turned and started back toward the kneeling warrior. “It’s locked.”

“Where are you going?”

“I think I get it.” He stepped around to the front of the kneeling soldier. “It’s a test.”

I tilted my head to the side. “A test?”

“Before we can get to Firelink. To prove that we’re worthy.”

I moved away from the sealed gate. “To prove that we’re worthy of what?”

“Of linking the flame.”

Linking the flame? Another of his old legends, I figured. Either that, or he was planning to burn something down. Either way, I didn’t like the sound of that.

From my perch at the edge of the arena, I watched my companion put his shield on his back, freeing both his hands to take a hold of the coiled sword’s handle. I heard him grunt and saw the blade slide out by about an inch.

Suddenly, my stomach twisted. “H-Hey, are you sure that this is a good idea?”

“We don’t have a choice. We need to get to that shrine.” He gave another pull. The blade slid out a little more. “And the only way we can do that is to go through the trial.”

“Maybe we should think about this a bit more?”

“You just keep your distance. I don’t know what will happen.”

“That’s what I’m saying. We should–”

With a roar of exertion, Knight pulled the sword from the kneeling warrior’s chest, delivering a sickening squelch as flesh tore and blood spilled out into a puddle at his feet. The coiled sword vanished in a burst of embers and flame.

A pained howl flooded the arena.

The kneeling warrior lifted his head.

Mister Knight jumped back. He slipped the shield off his back and drew his sword.

With a groan, the kneeling warrior stood. He reached out and took the handle of his halberd. Effortlessly, he tore it from the ground, sending a shower of stone and dirt into the air. He didn’t hesitate to use it, either. In the same motion he used to rip it from the earth, he brought the halberd down, causing the arena to quake.

I wanted to call out, to try and run. But my body betrayed me once again. I was stuck, unable to do anything but watch as the battle unfolded.

And a battle it was.

The warrior rose to his full height, over twice that of any normal man. His head snapped downward, focusing on his opponent.

Mister Knight didn’t wait for the colossus to make the first move. Instead, he charged in closer. For his size, the behemoth had decent agility. He lunged forward, leading with the tip of halberd, only for his prey to roll out of the way. The heavy blade crashed into the stone, sending a web of cracks across the floor.

Seizing his opportunity, Knight swung his blade. The blade cleaved through the ancient armor, embedding into the warrior’s skin, but stopped there. He yanked his weapon free and ducked beneath a horizontal halberd swing. Each opening, Knight responded with another cut. The damage was starting to add up. Thin trickles of blood were dripping from the giant warrior’s armor. Knight couldn’t keep it up forever, though. His movements were slowing, and his margin for dodging each attack grew smaller.

Then, it happened.

The colossus swung wide, forcing Mister Knight low. He rushed in, blade ready. Only, this time, the giant had learned his lesson. Be took a half-step forward, rushing Knight and driving his knee into the soldier’s chest.

At the last moment, Knight caught the attack with his shield. The clang of metal echoed through the arena. Despite catching the blow with his shield, Knight fumbled backward, clearly rattled by the attack.

And the colossus capitalized on it. He slammed his halberd blade down. Knight tried to dodge, but only barely managed to avoid the blade. Still, he was close enough for the resulting quake to screw up his footing. The large warrior tore the halberd back up, using the momentum to swing all the way around for another horizontal strike.

Off-balance, Knight couldn’t steady himself fast enough to duck.

In a moment of desperation, he threw up his shield.

The halberd slammed into his shield hard enough that I could feel it reverberate from where I stood. I heard metal crunch, and watched Knight lift off the ground as the force of the blow launched him backwards. He landed hard on his back. I could see his shield on the ground nearby, broken in two and dripping with blood.

“Knight! Get up!” I managed to scream.

It didn’t do any good. I could see the crumpled chest plate, and the blood dribbling from his helmet.

The colossus stepped forward, lifting the halberd over his head with both hands.

“No!” I couldn’t hear my own voice anymore.

I watched as the halberd rained down. Mister Knight couldn’t move.

The earth shook as the giant’s blade slammed into the ground. This time, along with the dirt and dust it kicked up, I could see the blood. When the dust finally cleared . . . I wished it hadn’t.

Where Mister Knight had been only a moment prior, now only a puddle of blood, flesh, and mangled metal remained. If I didn’t know better, I doubt I would have recognized it as ever having been human.

I tried to scream, but my voice died in my throat.

My legs finally gave way, dropping me onto my knees.

I was glad when the tears came and clouded my view.

But the battle wasn’t over yet. With its first target dead, the giant turned to me. I could do nothing but whimper and stare as it stood over me, its blood-stained blade gripped tight. It reached out one of its gloved hands toward me.

I tried to force myself to move. To crawl, even. Anything to get away from this.

I didn’t. My bones were like jelly, my muscles numb.

It’s hand wrapped around my throat, and as easily as a child playing with a toy, it lifted me into the air. My sword dropped from my shaking hand, clattering uselessly on the ground nearby.

For a moment, the towering figure only stared.

Then, it lifted me higher into the air.

And with a howl, it drove the tip of its halberd blade through my chest.

Nothing in my life could have prepared me for the first rush of pain, but it didn’t take long before it started to fade away. The edges of my vision went dark, and the rest blurred into obscurity. I could only see enough to watch the blood . . . watch my blood spill down the shaft. I tried to gasp for air, but only succeeded in gurgling out a mouthful of blood to join the rest in the pool below.

I must have stayed on that blade for hours. At least, that’s how it felt.

Everything felt so . . . cold.

The shock of movement brought me back momentarily. The giant swung his halberd hard, tossing me from the end of it. I think I hit the stone once before skimming right off the edge of the arena and into the clouds. I was too far gone to feel the rush of the fall.

Everything went white. I don’t know if it was the mist or if I simply lost consciousness. Bit-by-bit, my mind and body shut down. By the end, it was only one thought left, repeating over and over.

I’m sorry, Twilight.

Then, that too, faded.