Chapter 23

""Woah, that crazy bastard actually succeeded. 'In half a millennium's time, I shall return. During which, I will acquire an agent of my own. A person who can return the stars to their former glory.' Never in a million years did I actually expect that to be the case, but here we are..."" She quoted, a hint of fondness in her voice. Whatever that meant. ""Dave,"" Nurgal urged, her words booming in my mind. ""whatever thine subsequent actions maybe, I suggest thee to tread with caution. One wrong move and thy life could very well end up in shambles."'

'How so?' I internally asked, my head throbbing to no end. 'All I'm hearing are the incoherent ramblings of an old woman.'

An annoyed huff echoed in my ears, followed by a long-drawn out sigh. ""Thou hath chosen this path, and I will not interfere. Thou art the master of thine fate, what happens next is all but thy fault."" She simply stated, my eyes peeking, the darkness opening up to reveal the gleaming moonlight.

My mouth was agape, staring up at the sky, neck aching from being in such an awkward position. Fixing my posture, my eyes glanced at the moon for a mere moment, rapidly blinking and squinting at the sight. Suddenly, the shape had changed to that of a full-moon, complete in its beauty.

From my side, Vestia gradually awoke from her short slumber, eyes fluttering open and observing the same things as I was. And before us was a sight to behold. Clothes as light as the moon itself, and with blemishless skin shaded a royal blue. A woman sat casually on a piece of rubble, two sets of arms emerging forth from her sleeves, all fingers locking with the one adjacent to it.

""Asimi, could thoust be a dear and, take control of his body? Dave here seems to be entranced by this witch. Any longer and I fear that he may turn against us in favor of siding with that icy fiend."" Wha-? Before I knew it, a pang of pain seared my cheek. The mere touch of my left hand enough to darken a good portion of my face.

It didn't hurt as much as I expected, but it did sharpen my eyes to the reality of the situation. The woman was beautiful, to say the least, but it shouldn't have distracted me as much as it did. Returning my gaze back to the lady, seemingly uncaring to what I had done.

"Pleasure to meet thee, Tarnished." She greeted, a soft smile crossing her lips. "Though I suppose it could have come at a more opportune time. But that is beside the point. I am the witch Renna. I'd hear tell of a Tarnished hurtling about atop a spectral steed. And upon looking into the matter, the talk, I surmise, is of thee. Thou'rt possessed of the power, no? To call forth the spectral steed named Torrent."

Posing the question, my eyes groggily snapped open, dry as overcooked bread. Nevertheless, I replied to her quarry, my right hand lazily reaching into the ether, holding its position as I stared at the woman before me. "So what if I can? I might not have stayed in these lands for long. But from the little that I've been able to gather, there hasn't been a person out here with the ability to summon a horse on demand."

To my side, Vestia had fully awoken, her head shaking back and forth, attempting to unravel the situation that had unfolded before her. Though, it didn't take long for her hand to find itself gripping her talisman. On the other hand, Renna was still calm despite the standoff-ish nature of my words, her back leaning into the crook of the rumble which she sat on, a few stray pieces of the ruined building falling to the ground.

"Well if it was so, then I would like to impart a gift to his current handler. Twas entrusted, by Torrent's former master." She stated, my arm easing at the mention. "Should thou not fit the description, then I shall depart with great haste. In search of the person who may be capable of fulfilling mine lone requirement."

Letting out a breath, I pushed my left hand further into the distorted pocket of space, latching onto the whistle. Pulling it out, the blue woman seemed to stare at it with rapt attention. Her eyes squinting by a tad. "Ah, as I had hoped. It appears mine hunch was correct. Very well, I shall hold up my end of the bargain as well." Reaching into her clothes' sleave, she retrieved a silver bell no larger than my palm, moving forward to present it.

"Tis a bell for calling forth spirits. Summon them with it, from ash unreturned to the Erdtree." Once more, she reached further in. This time fetching a familiar red pouch, similar to the one Roderika gave me. So this was what she meant. "The spirits will obey thine command but briefly, as they recall battles past. Now it is thine. To do with as thou wishest."

Receiving the items with both hands, I looked up to her as a knight would his king, spotting the glimmer of a grin curve her lips, a chill running down my spine and out my tailbone. "If I may," Vestia spoke up behind me, my head rearing to see her stand up. "while we thank thee for helping us, thine gift will surely be of great help. However, I do have one question." She trailed on, the blue witch shifting her sitting position, hunching forward.

"Do as thou wilt."

"Out of all the graces that we've encountered, and of all of the potential outcomes that could have happened, for this encounter to have occurred… this can't merely be a coincidence, right?" My jaws parted, only to come up short. She made a good point. The chances of us to land here were at least one out of thirty. Renna was either the luckiest woman I've ever seen. Or, she could have orche-

"Fu~." A soft giggle left her lips, my eyes returning to her as my legs stepped back, returning to my fire keeper's side. "Thy question is intriguing. But, I had no involvement with thine appearance before me today. Though, I can propose a possible answer." Tinges sparked in my brain, my attention fully captivated by her words. "It isn't common knowledge, but I just so happen to be privy to such information.

"Governed is the world by two laws. One of causality, and the other of regression. It has been like this even far before the Elden Ring touched these lands. The first speaks of an infinite number of branching paths. For each action to have a subsequent reaction that dictates those even further."

"So does this mean-"

"Yes." She answered, before my beloved could even finish her words, the blue woman's hands crossing together. "Thine actions, past and present, have been the factors to pull you two here. Whether knowingly or not, twas by thy own volition to appear before me."

I felt my brain expand, the fibers that constitute my gray matter sputtering to understand the concepts Renna had brought to the table. Though, it would seem like Vestia could continue just fine. "If that is the case… then I have much to think about. I thank thee for sparing me a portion of your time."

"It is no serious matter." The blue skinned woman waved off, dusting her lap. "Still, it appears that I have overstayed mine welcome. And though I doubt we shall again meet; I pray thou learnst well the Lands Between..." She paused, an ethereal face flashing for a brief moment on the right side of her head. "How long will it be, I wonder. Before the Tarnished tire of obeisance to the Two Fingers?"

Without another word, she vanished from our vision, literally disappearing into the wind, a blue mist bursting from where she had once laid. Where did she go? Not a single clue. Baffled and left to process the new information, I set the ashes inside my inventory, nuggets of information swamping my mind like a flood.

Sucking up a mouthful of air, my eyes shut fully, gradually exhaling. The pain of the sudden burst of knowledge reeling back, if barely. Lone Wolf Ashes, their name couldn't be any farther from the truth. Despite having the world 'Lone' in their name, it actually summoned a trio of wolves. Rereading through its description, my eyes shone with wonder. This was the big moment. There actually existed canines that didn't automatically choose violence!

Seconds passed, and a tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality, a feeling of warmth filling my body. Pushing those thoughts aside for a moment, I craned my neck down to see what it was, finding the top of Vestia's head, her face firmly planted on my chest. My hand drifted over without my knowing, stroking her back as the woman's grip of my body tightened, the edges of my lips widening.

"What did I do to deserve you?" I whispered, wrapping my arms around her figure. "At every turn, it just seems like I'm destined to fail on the first try. Learning slightly with each run. You on the other hand, nothing short of perfect is enough to describe you."

"Stop."

Laying out my feelings in earnest, her hands tensed, mask turning upward to face me. "I mean it, truly. Back when we were still in our old world, I used to visit you when everything seemed lost. When the foe ahead of me seemed like an unstoppable monster with no weakness. You were always there, sitting in the same spot you always did, unchanging even when the world itself shifted drastically. You were always someone I could fall back on when things were tou-"

A pair of lips met mine, leaving me breathless after the long speech. Relentless in its pursuit, a tongue struck my own, wrestling it for dominance, an odd sight to see. From the very same person who would ask for permission to even speak, to do something such as this… perhaps I might have corrupted her with my influence, just a tad.

Pulling back for air, we stared at each other, my mind pulling blanks. My eyes couldn't stray away from her, drawn like a moth to a flame. "I have never once doubted thee, Dave." She began, her tone neutral. And yet, it felt like there was something hidden deeper. "However, the matter dost not lie within thee. But instead, myself."

The world froze, and my mind buzzed to life, sporadically jumping to conclusions, my heart beat rising. "I… I don't know what to do anymore. My plan has done thee more harm than good. My defining moment left in the dust, mine own carelessness and inexperience taking precedence…

I couldn't say a word, my mouth becoming dry despite our kiss. "Please, help me, Dave. I don't know how much longer I can stay by your side." My vision ran blurry, an audible croak in my voice. Streaming down my face, a cold wetness stained my cheeks, mouth agape as my arms fell, lifeless. It was hard to come up with an answer, terribly so.

"If even thou hath come up short, then the-"

Grabbing both of her shoulders, I pulled her towards me, cutting her short of whatever self-deprecating thought came next. I couldn't stand it, for any of this. "No, shut up!" I demanded, my grip over her lithe figure shifting to be more akin to an animal holding its prey in its claws. "Shut up… Please, just stop, for my sake and for yours. I'm tired of this, all of this nonsense. I don't care if you can't fight. Hell, I don't care if you can't help me."

Drawing a breath of air, I wiped away the tears, allowing me an unfiltered view of her face. "All I care about is having you by my side. That much is enough. Enough for me to keep on going. I don't care if it takes weeks, months, years, decades. Even if it were to take a millennium, it wouldn't matter a single bit to me. As long as we can work through our problems together, nothing else in the world matters to me."

Silence reigned over us, a lump forcefully moving down my throat, a well of discomfort building in my core. Heat gathering to my head, the temperature of my body becoming down-right uncomfortable. Clenching my fists, I leaned my forehead against the stunned Vestia, allowing for all of my emotions to leak out like a broken faucet, uncaring if it meant I would look weak.

A soft hum echoed through out my mind, booming in my ears as I closed my eyes, taking in the moment for what it was worth.

*budump*

*budump*

*budump*

Our emotions were certainly high, and we weren't in the best state of mind. Words were coming out of my mouth without a second thought. Was I too harsh in my words? Was getting her pregnant this early truly the best decision? Would I have to be a deadbeat father?

The mere action of breathing became laborious, my head beginning to spin. This was it, right? My body shook without moving, my vision becoming blurry as everything in my sight faded away like dust. How did things end up becoming so difficult to understand? Mere weeks ago, the most I had to worry about was if I was stronger than my next foe.

Releasing a stilled breath, I let everything slip. The world turning white, as the switch in my consciousness flipped. My mind still left shackled even after being let free. At this rate, no amount of brute force will be able to solve the issue. I don't know how, I'll be able to fix it. But, the least I could do is try to get out of this mess, no matter how much it hurts me inside.

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[A/N: Sup, it's been a while. I uh, wrote quite bit. Updated a new chapter for an older fic, wrote some for "Be Not Afraid", though the chapter is currently stuck in limbo until I pick it up again. So, after running out of fuel, I decided to pick this up again. Somehow writing 5k words(regrettably), and fixing some of the stuff in this and the next chapter. Realized what I originally wrote made Dave look like a fucking bitch, sorta out of character for him. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one. Smut is to be had, and there are 9k words being held hostage. Copy and Paste below.

Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.

Join discord server. I have one.: /eTb2kPab4z

I also have a at balls1124. For only a dollar or more, you can get access to 2 more chapters beyond the current one. That's pretty neat if I do say so myself.

With that being said, going to write for two fics I haven't updated in a while.]