Deep within the planet.
The Inner Sea of the Stars—
A small, independent villa floated quietly at its center.
"Hey, Ye-chan… is this really okay? Just sending Tia-chan away like that…"
A little girl dressed in black lay on the grass, idly swinging her legs.
"Mm…"
The girl in white, called Ye-chan, responded softly.
Her voice carried no emotion at all.
Her expression was just as calm—like a still, ancient well.
It was as if all emotions had long since drifted far away from her.
She simply sat there, reading a book in silence.
Occasionally, the faint sound of turning pages could be heard.
After a long while, she spoke again.
"Whether it's good or bad is not for us to decide, Gaia."
"Don't forget. This was that person's decision."
"That person… mm…"
Gaia puffed out her cheeks as if she were angry, but she didn't dare say anything further.
Instead, she lifted her gaze toward the distant void.
"The one" she referred to was naturally the center of everything—
The Root.
A decision made by the Root could not be changed.
Not even by them, the Counter Force.
"I really don't understand…"
Meanwhile.
That familiar dizzy sensation returned once more, surging like a tide before fading away.
When he slowly opened his eyes again, the sight before him left him slightly surprised.
He had indeed returned to the Lands Between.
But this place…
"The Roundtable Hold? Why was I teleported here?"
Just like its name suggested, a massive round table stood in the center of the hall.
Many chairs surrounded it, though most of them still waited for their owners.
At the center of the table flowed a brilliant Great Grace, shimmering like golden flames.
It was the largest Grace site in the entire Lands Between.
Along the surrounding walls stood countless statues.
From their appearance, they seemed to depict priests and knights from the royal capital of Leyndell.
This only strengthened his suspicion—
The Roundtable Hold likely existed somewhere beneath the Erdtree, or perhaps hidden somewhere nearby.
Several Tarnished stood beneath the statues.
Yet none of them showed the slightest surprise at his sudden appearance.
It was as if they hadn't noticed him at all.
Or perhaps they simply had no intention of interacting with him.
Each continued doing whatever they had been doing.
To them, the arrival of a new Tarnished was nothing unusual.
Tarnished often came here, stayed for a while, then left again—only to vanish from the world entirely.
Because this was a gathering place for Tarnished.
A gathering place for "heroes."
Still, the name Roundtable Hold was rather ironic.
According to the stories he had recently learned, the Round Table referred to a group of brave knights who gathered together to defend their kingdom.
They had even established the eight virtues and nine codes of knighthood, faithfully upholding those principles.
But here…
Things were nothing like that.
Even the leader here—Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing—hardly deserved to use such a name, despite being one of Queen Marika's confidants.
He was a cold, ruthless man.
If it meant becoming Elden Lord, he would sacrifice anything.
Incidentally, this place existed only to help Tarnished become Elden Lord.
But in truth—
It was nothing more than a gathering place for failures.
If he weren't hoping to see certain people again, he wouldn't have bothered coming here at all.
Just then, a faint sound echoed behind him.
The tapping of a staff against the floor.
Turning around, he saw a man wearing silver-gray armor.
The armor itself was worn by time, as though it had endured a century of age.
Even the man's posture had grown slightly hunched.
Yet the figure was extremely familiar to him.
"Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing."
"…Oh. So you're the powerful Tarnished Nepheli mentioned."
Through the nearly sealed helmet, Gideon Ofnir carefully examined him from head to toe.
"It has been a long time since a newcomer arrived…"
"Very well. As a senior member of the Roundtable Hold, I welcome you."
Just like in every previous cycle, Gideon's voice remained aged and calm.
It carried neither joy nor sorrow.
It seemed that nothing in the world could disturb his emotions.
Even abandoning the adopted daughter he had raised for years…
Even the deaths of his most trusted subordinates…
None of it affected him.
Every day he buried himself in books, searching for the secrets to becoming Elden Lord.
Or plotting how to manipulate others.
The only time he had ever lost control was when he discovered Marika's final wish within ancient texts.
At that moment, he had nearly gone mad.
Yet even now, the Tarnished still didn't know what Marika's final wish had been—
What could have terrified the so-called "All-Knowing" old man so deeply?
Still, despite his deep prejudice toward Gideon, politeness was necessary for now.
"Thank you."
He nodded slightly in courtesy.
After all, Roderika had been placed here under his protection.
And he himself would be staying here for a while.
"…It's nothing. This place is safe."
"Take your time and relax."
There was no need to guess what Gideon meant by "relax."
He was referring to Fia, the Deathbed Companion.
That was precisely why she was allowed to remain in the Roundtable Hold.
Fia's duty had once been to grant the dead their final rest.
Simply put, she was something like a sacred maiden devoted to death rites.
But that role was not meant for a single individual.
It had once been an entire order.
Now only Fia remained.
And none of this had been her choice.
It was simply her duty—etched deep into her soul.
Though truthfully, she did not seem entirely unwilling either.
After all, she was also a woman with great ambitions.
"…Oh, right. As your senior, I have some advice for you."
"For now, you only have permission to enter and leave the Roundtable Hold. In other words—you are merely a guest. Remember that."
"Do not overstep your boundaries."
"Now go and relax."
With that, Gideon Ofnir turned away, leaning on his staff as he slowly walked down one of the side corridors and returned to his study.
"I know that already."
Looking at the closed door, the Tarnished muttered quietly.
Then he glanced at the figure leaning silently against a nearby doorway.
A loyal guard who rarely moved.
That man was Ensha of the Royal Remains, the Tarnished most devoted to Gideon.
But in his eyes—
Ensha was nothing more than a dead man walking.
After that, he casually surveyed the people currently present in the Roundtable Hold.
Brother Corhyn, the prayer teacher.
And Diallos Hoslow, guardian of Jarburg.
"Looks like D hasn't arrived yet…"
After searching for a while and finding no sign of him, the Tarnished quickly deduced the situation.
D was probably still near Summonwater Village, hunting Those Who Live in Death.
The place was full of them.
Especially the ghostly sailors who carried summoning bells.
"Well… I should visit Enia first."
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