Night fell, and starlight shimmered overhead, an eternal painting spread across the sky.
Most of the apprentices and lecturers who had come to further their studies were arranged within the nearby royal domain. Only a handful, including Nolan, were granted entry into Caria Manor itself, their status earning them special access.
Inside the mysterious fortress, Nolan walked alongside Sellen. Everywhere he looked, enormous gray-green hands scuttled across the ground like spiders.
These Fingercreepers came in all sizes. They would sometimes tumble together and wrestle, brimming with unsettling energy.
Strictly speaking, the offspring of the Mother of Fingers should count as descendants of the divine. Yet here in the manor, they behaved like guard pets. It was hard not to wonder what the Greater Will would think if it ever saw this.
The sight was enough to make anyone's scalp prickle, but after only a few glances, master and apprentice quickly got used to it. Nolan had seen far too many strange things, and Sellen couldn't be bothered to care.
The only things that could truly hold her attention—besides the apprentice at her side—were the stars above.
When the two of them reached the doorway, Sellen stopped and turned back to look at her well-behaved apprentice. A trace of confusion crossed her beautiful face as she asked softly,
"Don't you have your own room?"
"Loretta said this is my room. She probably got confused since we always stayed together at the academy."
Nolan pinched his chin, smiled faintly, and followed her inside without the slightest intention of leaving.
"It's fine. I'll sleep on the floor tonight. I'll explain it to her tomorrow."
"Looks like you won't need to trouble that Carian Knight," Sellen said, sounding perfectly at ease. "She's been thoughtful. There are two beds here—more than enough for us."
Sellen stepped into the room. They hadn't been living together for just a day or two, and shyness had never existed between them from the very beginning.
After all, the two of them were more or less a little abnormal—like they'd gone mad, but not completely.
If he weren't, what student would kill for a teacher he'd only known for a few months?
If she weren't, what teacher would empty out her entire fortune over a few words, then leave the place she'd lived in for nearly a century just like that?
Night deepened. There wasn't much conversation in the room, and there was certainly none of that ambiguous tension people expected from a man and woman alone together.
They lay side by side on the soft beds. Before long, steady breathing filled the room, and it was clear they had fallen asleep.
As the sound of the night wind faded, the world slipped into a rare moment of peace.
But...
"Hm? Wasn't I asleep? What's going on?"
Nolan woke slowly, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He stared blankly at his surroundings—familiar and yet unfamiliar—and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.
One moment he had closed his eyes. The next, he found himself somewhere completely different.
As far as he could see stretched a city of magnificent, bustling architecture. From its scale and style, it was clearly a thriving metropolis.
"No way. Don't tell me… I just slept, and I've been transported again?"
The thought hit, and Nolan's eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face.
He'd only just fought and clawed his way through the Lands Between long enough to finally see some progress. Don't tell him he had to switch worlds and start over from nothing. The very idea made him want to die.
And if he vanished like this… Trina, Sellen, Finlay… everyone would be worried sick.
And where was this, anyway? Sekiro? Bloodborne?
While Nolan's mind spiraled—
"Mm. It really worked. A small accident, but that's still within reason."
A familiar voice echoed through the street, seductive and alluring, the kind that made people sink into it without realizing.
Nolan jolted, shock flashing across his face.
He spun around, searching for the source of the sound.
The street was silent, empty of anything unnecessary, as though the world had been stripped down to its barest colors.
Then a figure entered his sight.
A blonde woman in a pitch-black robe approached at an unhurried pace. Her steps were elegant, each one carrying a strange, distinctive rhythm.
She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her golden eyes were like deep, still lakes.
Her pale skin held a faint sheen, and her long golden hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall.
"Beautiful Lady? Or should I… call you Queen Marika?"
Seeing that familiar figure, Nolan finally relaxed. At the very least, he could be sure he hadn't crossed into another world.
"Call me whatever you like," the Eternal Queen said casually, waving a hand. "Relax. This is only a dream."
"When you left the Haligtree, I made a small adjustment to the Grace."
"This chance will only come once. Come with me. I'll show you around Leyndell."
If it was just a dream, then there shouldn't be any danger.
Nolan instinctively touched the corner of his eye. The Grace within his gaze was still shining brightly.
Keeping something like this on him at all times really was risky. Still, from the way she spoke, this clearly wasn't something that could be done whenever one pleased.
A gentle evening breeze lifted strands of golden hair as the two of them walked through the bustling streets. Laughter and conversation filled the air, yet the passersby paid no attention at all to the woman they normally worshiped as a goddess.
The last time Nolan had come to Leyndell, he and Loretta had only spent a few days in the outer city and never once glimpsed the inner city.
After walking around for a while, he realized there wasn't much to say about it.
The inner city was simply where the powerful and wealthy gathered. The buildings were more luxurious, and the colors more dazzling, to the point of making people lose themselves in them.
Passing through this intoxicated land of excess, they finally found a rare pocket of quiet within the great city.
Inside a magnificent palace, the woman stood alone at a high vantage point, gazing into the distance. No one could tell what this god was thinking.
"What do you think of this world?" Marika asked suddenly, turning back toward the young man.
"It's pretty good."
"Are you really content with that?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Nolan shot back without hesitation. Compared to that hopeless world, this place was practically heaven.
"But I'm not satisfied," Marika said, turning to look up at the golden tree that blotted out the sky.
"Look at that tree. Can you hear the souls crying out within it? Look at its roots. Can you see the decaying bodies buried there?"
Nolan froze, as though something had finally clicked.
"I once believed the words of the true god's daughter and created this incomplete world. Only later did I realize it was all nothing but self-deception."
The goddess looked at the contemplative Lord of Cinder, a hint of madness seeping into her voice.
"In the past, I only wanted to reclaim death. Now I want more. I'll sacrifice anything for it. I will create a flawless world."
Trina had been right. This woman really was insane.
By the time Nolan realized that, it was already too late. She had already lunged at him.
A flash of gold was reflected in her blue-green eyes. Gauze-like veils danced through the air, gradually blotting out the once-bright moonlight.
That night felt unbearably long. In his sleep, the Lord of Cinder seemed to glimpse a fleeting spark of pitch-black flame, and faintly hear the mournful cry of an ancient dragon echoing from afar.