When Rarity and Edric returned to Majula, with their heads held high thanks to their achievement at obtaining the third Great Soul that they had been told to recover, they found that the Emerald Herald was smiling in their direction, meaning that she was pleased with their progress. At the same time, however, Rarity wanted to hear what Shalquoir said about this situation, because the seemingly immortal and all-seeing cat was likely aware of their feat and no doubt had some words to share with them before they went off and tackled the Shaded Ruins once more. One thing that Rarity had noticed on their travels is that she and Edric had to backtrack a few times, mostly because the two of them were two stubborn to stop searching an area until they found what they were searching for in the first place... be that a certain powerful enemy or one of the Guardians they had taken care of over the last few days, or what she assumed were days.
Rarity was still unsure of how to tell time in this world, because it seemed like every zone they entered was attuned to a different time in the day, because it almost seemed like they went from daylight to total darkness one time... though she decided that it wasn't worth bothering to question as she and Edric walked up to the Emerald Herald.
"Proceed, bearers of the curse." the Emerald Herald said, though at the same time Rarity got the feeling that she was never going to call them by their actual names, not like all of the other people they had encountered along the way, "It is the only choice left to you."
Once again Rarity let Edric empower himself first while she went and spoke to Shalquoir, though when she entered the shop this time around she noticed that the cat was already sitting up and had been staring at the door for quite some time, as if she was awaiting her return... to which Shalquoir smiled at her as she entered the building.
"You continue to prove the Fire Keepers wrong," Shalquoir commented, referring to the fact that the Fire Keepers had said that Rarity and Edric were going to die so many times that they eventually hollowed, along with the fact that they were actually proving the old ladies wrong, "The Lost Sinner, the Old Iron King, and the Rotten... you and Edric have taken three of the four Guardians down and have claimed the Great Souls that they were guarding, something that not a lot of the other Undead can claim that they have done. Now, however, comes your last trial before you head off to Drangleic Castle; you must find and defeat the Duke's Dear Freja, as well as claim it's Great Soul... only then will you and Edric be able to see the King and continue your quest."
Rarity had figured that their quest wouldn't be over when they gained the four Great Souls and had their encounter with the King, but at the same time she was glad to hear that she and Edric were actually getting closer to the end of their journey now that they had three of the four Great Souls.
"Now, I see that you have been busy collecting spells that have proven to be useful in your quest," Shalquoir said, causing Rarity to nod her head for a moment, as she knew that the cat would have seen her adding spells to her spellbook whenever she found or purchased one, "Why haven't you added any of the spells from your world to your ever expanding spellbook? I know that you have been collecting the pages and have been putting them together, and yet you haven't done the same for any of your other spells."
"Dark Magic, it has a tendency to corrupt whoever uses it," Rarity admitted, though at the same time she wondered when the magic was going to do the same to her, because she was nervous about losing herself to the Dark Magic she now commanded, "If something were to happen to me, and I ended up dropping the spellbook, whoever picked it up next would gain powers that are unlike anything in this entire world... and there's the possibility I could accidentally create someone that's as powerful and as evil as King Sombra was."
"I see," Shalquoir commented, though at the same time her eyes flickered to the figure of Discord for a moment, confirming Rarity's suspicions that the Spirit had either been here or was spying on this world as he figured out how to bring her back home, "Well, it seems that you have the Dark Magic under control and know how best to use it's power, so if you feel that you don't need to add the pages to your spellbook, like the other spells, then I shall trust your judgement. However, you did not come to me to talk about the magic that originated from your world, you came to see the path to the Duke's Dear Freja and continue your journey."
"That's correct," Rarity replied, as Shalquoir had told them the way to two of the three Guardians, as she waited till they found the Lost Sinner before giving them more aid, and knew that the cat could give her the path to the final Guardian.
"You should return to the Shaded Woods, or the Shaded Ruins that you discovered earlier," Shalquoir stated, to which Rarity focused her mind and made sure that she remembered the exact path that Shalquoir said, as well as what sort of powerful creatures she and Edric should expect to fight along the way, "there you will find Scorpioness Najka. From there you will progress through the Doors of Pharros, where you will fight the Royal Rat Authority, and beyond that rests your final destination in your hunt for the fourth Guardian; the Brightstone Cove Tseldora. Once you reach that point you'll have to fight your way to the Prowling Magus and his Congregation, before you can find the Duke's Dear Freja."
"And from there we can begin the walk towards the castle," Rarity added, to which she let a smile appear on her face the moment Shalquoir nodded, indicating that she understood what path she and Edric needed to take, "Shalquoir, thank you for all of your assistance."
"You are the first Undead I have ever willingly given my help to in such a manner," Shalquoir replied, though at the same time a smile appeared on her face as well, indicating that she was pleased to finally help someone that deserved assistance, "You bothered to spend time with little old me, when you could have simply ignored me, so I am grateful that you found your way to me and started asking questions. Is it alright if I call you my friend?"
"Of course you can," Rarity said, to which her smile widened as she reached out towards Shalquoir and rubbed her behind the ear, where the immortal cat decided to purr for a few seconds in happiness, before they both stopped when her other ear twitched for a moment.
"Edric is coming so you can continue your quest," Shalquoir commented, though at the same time she and Rarity separated from each other, where they assumed their normal stances once more, "Remember what I told you and soon you and Edric will find yourselves at the Duke's Dear Freja... and don't worry, I'll see you at the end, once you and Edric have finished your long quest."
Rarity nodded and walked out of the building that Shalquoir owned, where she regrouped with Edric and headed over to the Emerald Herald, where she carefully empowered herself even more than she already was, as she knew that they might need her spells at some point in the future. When she was done she and Edric gathered around the bonfire and concentrated on the bonfire they discovered in the Shaded Ruins, where they braced themselves and allowed the magic to teleport them over to their destination. A few seconds later, when they were sure that the magic was finished, they opened their eyes and stood up, where they both drew their weapons and continued along the path they took the first time they visited this area. While they walked, however, Rarity recalled that there were some sort of harmful vessels resting around the ruins, so she simply called her shadow out and had it hunt down the vessels while she and Edric explored the area.
As they entered the main area of the ruins, where Edric had died while Rarity literally slaughtered all of the lion warriors, two of the warriors came at them, though this time around Edric was prepared for them and proved that he was much faster than he had been the last time they were here. Instead of dying this time around, and losing more of his humanity, Edric avoided the axes that were coming at him and swung his sword at his targets, though at the same time Rarity focused on the large frog creature that was staring at them and impaled it with a crystal spire. She knew that she could have easily used some of her dark spells, such as the Dark Orb or Dark Hail, but this way she removed an immediate threat that had killed her companion in the past.
Edric called her over and they found a wooden chest resting nearby, which contained another effigy and some sort of serum, though once they had the items they returned to the main area of the ruins and continued searching for the path that would allow them to continue towards their next target. They decided to head towards a nearby ruined building and watched as Rarity's shadow dealt with the other vessels that were trying to harm them, though when they reached the basement of the building they found a lockstone hidden in some wooden barrels. After collecting the lockstone they found a doorway that they could walk through and walked through it, where they kept their guards up as they searched for anything useful and any enemies that might attack them... though it didn't take them long to notice the creature that had the upper body of a man, while at the same time having the lower body of a scorpion.
Rarity recalled that Shalquoir told her that the next powerful creature they were looking for, which would show them the way to the Duke's Dear Freja, was a scorpioness called Najka, though that meant that this wasn't the person they were looking for... and, since the man seemed to be neutral towards them, they respectfully did the same thing and explored the area a little bit as they looked for anything useful. They found a Titanite creature that effectively trapped itself in a dead end, where Edric killed it and collected the pieces that it had for them, while at the same time finding a chest that contained a weapon, one that Edric said was a scythe due to the large customized head at the end. Rarity, on the other hand, looked at the weapon and didn't think that it was a scythe when she looked at it, as it appeared to be a halberd instead of a scythe.
Instead of bothering the scorpion man, and causing him to attack them, Rarity and Edric spotted a pathway opposite the entrance they came through and followed it deeper into the area, where they encountered another lion warrior that walked them both dead. After dealing with the warrior they walked through another entrance and found that the way forward was blocked by a statue that was clearly someone transformed into a stone block, but the area it was blocking was just an area near the bonfire... to which Rarity and Edric retraced their steps back towards the main area of the ruins and continued their search. The next opponent they encountered stood near what was clearly a trap of some kind, where they would fall into an area below them, to which Rarity smiled and had Edric line the warrior up with the trap... where she blasted it with an Emit Force, to which it fell into the trap and revealed that a few frog creatures were waiting and pounced on the warrior immediately.
Edric had to chuckle, because Rarity was getting good at using the environment to their advantage, though at the same time they turned the corner and came face to face with another lion warrior, which they dealt with in a matter of seconds... but as he moved to press onward, however, he noticed that Rarity was focused on something else.
"Rarity, is something wrong?" Edric asked, though while he was used to her feeling the presence of something dark and foul, or at least that was what she had told him, he also knew that this time around she hadn't felt anything, or if she had she had done a good job of not telling him anything.
"I'm sensing the same thing I felt back in the Black Gulch," Rarity replied, though at the same time she focused on what could have been a second trap, but her senses were telling her that something else was happening, "Wait here for a minute... I want to see what's going on."
Before Edric could say anything, or even attempt to stop her, Rarity approached the rotting boards and purposely broke them, where she fell into an area that contained the exact same alter that she found in the Black Gulch... and, sitting in the same chair and in the same manner, was the same man that she had found earlier.
"Young Undead, don't let this curse weigh upon you." the man said, turning his head ever so slightly so he could see her, though at the same time Rarity was beginning to wonder what purpose the man served, "We meet a second time. Perhaps you will yet traverse the Dark. Young Undead, if you truly seek the Dark, then we will surely meet again."
What Rarity gathered was for her to learn the man's name, and find out what he was talking about, she would have to find the third and final location that he would be resting in, though at the same time she knew that whatever was lurking in this 'Dark' was a creature that needed to be wiped out. Since there was nothing more for her to do, however, she jumped down into the area below the alter and exited the small cave she found herself in, where she traversed the path that she and Edric had been walking on and caught up with her companion. That was followed by the two of them passing behind two ruined tower like structures and walking up the hill that was behind them, though after a few moments of climbing they came to an area that contained a fog door... telling Rarity that they had arrived at their first destination.
"Behind that door rests Scorpioness Najka," Rarity commented, though at the same time she smiled, because this made things that much easier for them, as the Shaded Ruins had been short and sweet and they could move on without having to worry about missing something, "Well then, let's see what this creature has up her sleeves."
Edric nodded and together the two of them walked through the fog door that was in front of them, where they immediately found the top part of a lady sticking out of the sand in front of them, though she happened to be staring at them as she raised a hand towards their direction. Instead of allowing the two of them to be hurt Rarity snapped a barrier into existence in front of them as a burst of soul energy collided with the barrier, indicating that their opponent had some knowledge of spells. That fact told Rarity that this fight might actually be much tougher than the others they had gone through so far, which actually excited her because some of the 'powerful' creatures they had fought so far were nothing more than jokes... so she was interested in seeing an opponent that was actually powerful and could do some damage to them during the fight.
The moment the spell hit the barrier, however, Najka pulled herself into the ground and remained that way for a few seconds, though that was followed by her bursting out of the sand and revealed the lower half of her body, where both Rarity and Edric found that she had two tails instead of one.
One thing they discovered once the battle started was that Najka was fast and that she wasn't opposed to using the pincers that her lower body possessed, while at the same time using some sort of spear to jab at them when they got in front of her. As such Edric had to be very careful about how he attacked their opponent, because one wrong move would result in him needing to heal before continuing the fight, while at the same time Rarity moved around their opponent and considered which element would be best to use in this situation. Edric avoided Najka's tails to the best of his ability and damaged their opponent while he could, though at the same time Rarity made sure that Najka targeted her with her magic, snapping shields up when spells were coming her way and firing some off in return.
What surprised Rarity was the fact that almost none of the spells she used, save for the Dark Magic ones, seemed to be doing a great deal of damage, though she had also restrained herself from using the Chaos Storm spell since their opponent was constantly using her tails to attack everything around her.
At one point Najka pinned both of her tails into the sand in front of her, which Edric barely avoided, and remained that way for a few seconds, but before Rarity could take advantage of the situation she pulled her tails back and sank beneath the sand once more. The two of them spread out and watched the sand, because they knew that Najka would be targeting one of them, where they carefully paid attention to the area around them before Najka burst out near Edric and tried to pin him to the ground. Edric, on the other hand, avoided the attack and rolled away from the scorpioness, where Rarity hurled another Lightning Spear and deal some additional damage to their opponent... while at the same time wondering what element she could use to turn this fight in their favor.
While that was running through her mind, however, Najka changed tactics and pierced the ground in front of her with her tails, though this time around she did one of them first and then did the other one second, where she actually managed to grab Edric and hauled him into the air. The moment Rarity saw that Najka hurled her weapon through the air and pierced Rarity's chest, knocking her into the nearby wall, though at the same time Rarity decided that enough was enough and that she had to get serious about this fight. Her Dark Magic roared to life around her eyes as she pulled the weapon out of her chest and tossed it to the side, where she charged at Najka and caught Edric before he hit the ground, while also noticing that he was slightly in pain. She quickly wove her magic around him and cured his body of the poison that Najka had injected into his veins, before setting him down and turning towards her opponent... where her hands caught on fire as she determined the best way to end Najka's existence.
Rarity charged forward and avoided the tails that tried to pin her to the ground, where she jumped onto the back of Najka's scorpion body and quickly inscribed the symbol for fire onto the surface in front of her... though as Najka pulled her tails out of the ground Rarity jumped away from the scorpioness and smiled as she landed beside Edric once more.
"Let's heat things up a little," Rarity said, to which she activated her magic and made sure that it had enough energy to do what she was thinking, which would completely ruin their opponent, "Chaos Storm!"
What happened next was the large amount of fire pillars erupted all around Najka, causing her to pause and look at them all with what could have been a look of fear in her eyes, though that was seconds before the truth of what Rarity had done came to light. The pillars reacted to the symbol on Najka's scorpion body and were pulled into the center of her mass, forming one large spiraling pillar of fire that quite literally cooked Najka where she was standing, while at the same time sapping her energy and preventing her from moving. Rarity didn't care if the sand around their foe turned to glass during their battle, but she kept her mind focused on making sure that the spell held for as long as she needed it to, all while Edric heard the sounds of Najka screaming in pain as the flames tore at her body... before Rarity finally released the spell and let their foe collapse on the ground.
All that fire drained a good portion of Rarity's magic reserves, but at the same time it had done what she intended and Najka was charred from her experience... to which she broke apart and dissolved like all of the other powerful creatures she and Edric had fought so far. Edric, on the other hand, called for them to rest and recover before they headed into whatever area Najka had been guarding, to which they headed back to the bonfire and got some well deserved rest... because Edric had the feeling that the next zone might be even tougher than what they just finished, something that Rarity silently agreed with. Rarity wondered what sort of challenges awaited them in the Doors of Pharros and knew that time would tell, as the moment they were done resting they would head out... and come one step closer to finishing the first leg of their quest.