Dark Souls 3: Cinders of Power

by Blackdrag-rose

Corruption in the Castle Gardens

Once Tirek was done resting by the bonfire, which only took a few moments since the magic of the device was potent and acted quickly, he got up from where he and the others were resting and headed for the metallic ladder that had dropped into the area that the old lady had been sitting in earlier, before he stabbed her, which was followed by Sarana and Martok doing the same thing as they readied themselves for whatever was ahead of them, even though Tirek was sure that both of his companions had a better idea of what this castle would throw their way. He was still surprised that a statue would be designed to cut its neck open, especially since there were two nearby that held decapitated stone heads in their hands, though for right now he really didn't care about the statues as he climbed up the ladder that would allow them to reach the area that was above where the old lady had been sitting, something that seemed like a wooden walkway that had to lead to part of the castle, something that Sarana could help him with this time around. At the top of the ladder he found a balcony that seemed to look down at the area that they had been standing in earlier, and where they had faced the Dancer back in the early stages of their quest to hunt down the Lords of Cinder, before he noticed that there were three walkways for them to pick from, one that headed to their right and didn't seem to go anywhere due to it hitting a dead end, another that seemed to lead right into a chamber that seemed to be the correct path forward, as Tirek was sure there was one of the Lothric knights in the area, and the path to their left appeared to lead outside, to an area they hadn't explored yet and might lead somewhere interesting.

"So, Sarana, which path should we take?" Tirek inquired, asking the moment she and Martok reached the area that he was standing in, giving her a few seconds to study the area that they had discovered, mostly so she could get a sense for the area of the castle they were in, though at the same time he kept his attention on the path that would take them to the lone knight that he had spotted, just in the off chance it noticed them standing there and rushed over to where they were currently standing, but for now it didn't seem like it had noticed the three of them yet.

"It depends on what you want to explore," Sarana admitted, though even as she said that statement she glanced over to the path on their left, the one that headed outside the church building that they had been called to by the spirit of the old High Priestess, showing Tirek something interesting, that while she knew that he wanted to find the last Lord of Cinder and bring his quest to an end, and then put his plan into motion at long last, she seemed to be focused on something else at the moment and that something had to be in the direction she was looking in, "based on what I remember, the path in front of us should take us right to the part of the castle that allows the Twin Princes, or whoever the ruler of the castle is, to look out over the land that surrounds the city, while the path to our left should take us to Oceiros' garden, which is the area that the previous King could be found in whenever he wasn't busy ruling the city. So take your pick, we can either go explore the gardens of the previous King or we can follow the main path and hunt down the Twin Princes, I honestly don't care which path you decide to take."

"The Princes can wait, because if one of them is strong enough to become a Lord of Cinder, even if the one in question abandoned their duties, their father has to be powerful as well," Tirek remarked, because he had to admit that the sheer possibility of there being another powerful being resting in the area of the Twin Princes were hiding in, even if they were only interested in one of them, excited him and it could either empower him further, to prepare for the final battle before his plan went into motion, or he might have found a soul that could be useful for him, though even as he said that it did look like Sarana seemed pleased with his decision, or at least that was what he understood by her body language that he had learned since this quest had started.

Sarana nodded her head to show that she understood what Tirek was saying, while Martok seemed indifferent to what they were talking about, which was followed by them heading towards the path on their left and climbed the short bit of stairs as it lead them out to a balcony of sorts that had a door nearby, no doubt locked due to it being a shortcut for a later part of this area, a short winding path that seemed to lead towards a circular tower, and a garden that appeared to be twisted by the sinister darkness that they had seen in the past. At the end of the path that they were following, which would bring them to the tower in question and Tirek was sure one of the elevators was located inside it, was one of the knights from the Cathedral of the Deep, the ones that carried either a greatsword or a mace and large shield, and based on what he was seeing this appeared to be the latter of the two, even though this time around he was more experienced in the art of fighting powerful enemies and knew that such a foe really didn't stand much of a chance this time around, not with his power and the skills that his companions possessed. As such Tirek didn't even bother to head down to the area the knight was standing in, where Martok stepped forward and parried the incoming attack with his greatsword, where he was able to repel the incoming blow that the cathedral knight was sending his way and then twisted his blade so he could cut into his foe's armor, causing the knight to stagger for a moment as he fell to a knee and dropped his weapons, which was when he took his foe's head clean off and let the helmet roll to the side as the body crumpled to the floor, allowing both Tirek and Sarana to rejoin him, even though the former was focusing on all of the corruption that was in this garden and what element would be perfect for this place. As they walked down the stairs Sarana found one of the lost souls that they would be adding to their collection, which is what she did, before they regrouped with Martok and entered the tower that was at the end of the path, something that was followed by the three of them stepping into the more elegant elevator they discovered inside the structure, one Tirek knew how to descend into the corrupted area he had been staring at while Martok faced the cathedral knight.

As soon as all three of them were in the elevator Sarana tapped the button in the middle of it and let it descend down towards the area that was Tirek's current destination, though as they did that Sarana leapt out onto a walkway, almost as if she had seen something that was useful, before the lift came to a stop in what appeared to be an area that reminded Tirek of Farron Keep, the swamp to be exact, which was why he focused on channeling his Fire based magic this time around as Sarana rejoined him and Martok, revealing that she had found another Estus Flask shard, which they would use when they went back to the blacksmith. What Tirek discovered in the area that was beyond where the elevator rested was a structure that seemed to have four sets of stairs leading to the platform that rested above the corruption, and beyond that had to be the area that would take them to where the King was resting, according to what Sarana told him, and he was positive that the elegant structure that was to their right had to circle back to the locked door he had seen a few moments ago, but as he considered what was in front of them he stepped forward and touched the corruption that was in front of them as he focused on the task he had set for him and his companions earlier. Based on what he was feeling it did appear that they were in a place that was similar to the poisoned swamp that was known as Farron Keep, though at the same time he found that there were a few of the dark snake-like enemies he and Sarana had seen back at the start of this quest, as in the ones who exploded out of their enemies and seemed to control their bodies, where he recalled Sarana calling them the 'Pus of Man' or something, not that he ultimately cared what their official name was. The only thing he cared about right now was the fact that the pus snakes were weak to his Fire type spells, something that he recalled from the first couple he and Sarana had faced, which was why he hurled a Fire Orb right into the face of the first foe that was in front of them and blasted it backwards into the ground, though while the ones that were in the corrupted garden were far stronger than the first ones he had faced, from what he could see, as a single blast from that spell didn't kill it outright, but that was fine as Sarana and Martok rushed forward and cut it down before it could lash out at them.

From there they headed for the raised section of the area, where the cathedral knight was standing, because it would give them an idea of what was in the corrupted garden and let them plan out what they were going to do next, though as Martok stepped forward to deal with the knight in question, who carried a mace and shield, Tirek and Sarana focused on the pair of pus snakes that happened to be wandering the area between them and the large structure that seemed to be where the King might be, not to mention the fact that one of them was near the structure that would likely give them the shortcut Tirek had spotted earlier. As such he channeled his power for a few seconds and hurled a pair of Fire Orbs at his targets, blasting the pus snakes in the sides of their bodies and knocking them to the ground, where Sarana rushed out to where they were resting and used her daggers to end their lives in a matter of seconds, meaning she was able to clear the area between them and the structure that Tirek was interested in, before Martok stepped up to where Tirek was standing and indicated that he had beaten the knight, clearing out the middle section of the area for them. Before they moved out of the area they were in, and headed for the side path to unlock the shortcut, Sarana dipped under the platform for a few moments and returned with another suit of armor, one that seemed to belong to someone who cared more about stealth than anything else, but since none of them really had any need for it, especially since she liked the Dancer's attire and had no plans on changing anytime soon, it was stuffed into their packs and they headed for the building that was to their right, just to see if Tirek's thoughts on the matter were correct about the shortcut being tied to it. When they stepped into the building it was easy to find some stairs that lead up to an elevator, to which the three of them stepped into it and pushed the button as soon as they were ready, where they spotted a pathway just above the area that served as the entrance for this particular building, so instead of investigating it they decided they would check it out on their way back, because once they unlocked the shortcut they would be making their way back to the main structure.

Once the elevator came to a stop the group moved out through the opening that was in front of them, which let them walk over a short walkway so they could reach the area Tirek wanted to explore, before they stepped through an opening and entered a large area that seemed to lead right to the locked door they had seen earlier, though there were a few of the slaves that they had seen back in the Undead Settlement, the ones that crouched close to the ground and wore next to nothing except their hats, and maybe some clothing from time to time. What happened was that Tirek used a small bit of his power to knock the slaves off the walls that they were climbing on, leaving them for Sarana and Martok to cut down as they moved up the stairs and explored the small levels of this area, though for the most part there wasn't much in this area for them to worry about, especially when he spotted a pair of priests that seemed to be praying, either for the couple of slaves that were being killed or for the King that was lurking in the main building they would be heading to as soon as the shortcut was opened. A quick Fire Orb knocked the pair of priests to the side and allowed his companions to put them down, before the priests had a chance to get back up and cast whatever spell they had been preparing, though once the area was cleared of enemies Tirek walked up to the locked door and pulled the bolt that was in front of him out of the way in a matter of seconds, where he pushed open the door and revealed the path that was near the opening that would take them back into the church, meaning it was a shortcut like he had originally thought. As soon as that was open, despite the fact that he knew it wasn't totally necessary given their experience with most of the powerful creatures of this world, Tirek turned around and headed back towards the lift that had brought them up here, though as the three of them started to ride it down towards the bottom level they jumped off and landed on the walkway that they had spotted earlier, since it might have something important for them to collect.

What Tirek found was a ring that had what appeared to be a dragon scale set in the place that a gemstone of some kind would normally rest in, though Sarana informed him that this was one of King Oceiros' rings, one that, according to all the rumors she had heard, supposedly protected the King from backstabs and usually lead to the death of any assassin that was send to end the King's life, though since it was out here, and not with the one that wore it all the time, she knew it would be easier for them to kill Oceiros and take his power for whatever Tirek was planning. With the ring in hand Sarana walked passed where Tirek was standing and found one of the priests resting near a ledge that would allow them to drop down into the courtyard of the structure that happened to be their destination, where she stabbed it in the back and then, before it had a chance to defend itself, silenced it by removing its head, something that was rather impressive when he considered what she had done in the past, but once the priest was dead the three of them jumped over the ledge that was in front of them and focused on the pair of cathedral knights that were guarding the area. Martok held up a hand, almost as if he was saying that he was going to deal with the pair of greatsword wielding knights that were in their way, though the interesting thing about what Tirek watched was that the knight that was guarding the stairs that had to lead down to where King Oceiros was resting stood still while the one that was off on the left side of the area, coming from the entrance that they had ignored, removed itself from the area it happened to be standing in and marched over to the middle of the area, which happened to be where Martok came to a stop as he faced his foe. As it turned out what Tirek had seen over the course of their quest was repeated before his eyes, as Martok used his own weapon to parry the incoming attacks as he stared at his foe, where Tirek was tempted to believe that the warrior was actually smarter than he let on and preferred what he had shown in the past, though it didn't take him long to cut down the first knight and then repeated the motion on the second knight, opening the way for them to invade the area that King Oceiros was hiding in.

As they walked down the stairs, however, Tirek heard what appeared to be something crying, something that almost sounded like a dragon that was in pain about something, though as they passed through the Fog Door that was in front of them, at the end of the downward set of stairs, they discovered that the area their target might be hiding in was a massive chamber that reminded them of Yhorm's domain, only slightly smaller, before noticing the large beast that happened to be resting in the middle of the chamber, one that looked like a dragon that might be missing all its scales, though right now it was sitting in a stance that seemed to be more like what he and the others did whenever they sat at a bonfire, as if it was a human turned dragon or something.

"Ah, you ignorant slaves... you've finally taken notice, haven'y you? Of the power of my beloved Ocelotte, my child of dragons." the creature said, where Tirek glanced over to Sarana for a moment and gave her a look that was basically him asking if this was King Oceiros, who appeared to have been consumed by something and might have been driven mad at some point in the past, though that was followed by his companion nodding her head to show that this was their target, despite his odd appearance, before he noticed that the translucent beast was turning to look in their direction, all while picking up a crystalline staff of some kind, "Well, I will not give him up, for he is all that I have left."

"Ocelotte?" Tirek inquired, figuring that he might as well ask the question before the battle started, though even as he said that he could tell that the former King seemed to be getting ready for a fight, something that was mimicked by Martok and Sarana as a few seconds ticked by, showing him that everyone was preparing for the other side to make the first move while he was focused on learning more about what their target had said, even though he made sure that bits of lightning danced around his arms, due to the fact that dragons were weak to the element.

"The youngest child of the King and Queen, younger than Princes Lothric and Lorian," Sarana replied, though this time around Tirek was sure that there was something between his companion and the King, not to mention the Twin Princes he was targeting, though he kept the idea to himself as he prepared himself as well, as he filed away the information on there being another member of the royal family that either needed to be taken down or removed at some point in time, though that was when Oceiros fully faced them and held his left hand near his chest, like he was holding something that wasn't there at all, which could confirm the fact that he had gone mad.

What happened next, and started the battle between them and the Consumed King, as Tirek was going to call him for the foreseeable future, was that Tirek hurled a Lightning Spear through the air and struck Oceiros in the chest, causing the translucent dragon to stagger for a moment as Sarana and Martok rushed to the sides so they could get into position for whatever was going to happen next, which was when Oceiros charged at Tirek and swung his staff at him, instead of using his magic against him, though he dodged the attack that was coming at him. Of course that was when Oceiros stabbed the base of his staff into the ground and summoned a circular field of crystals around him, something that the three of them avoided by jumping backwards, though the crystals didn't last all that long and broke after a few moments, something that was followed by Martok charging in and swinging at the dragon's legs for a few seconds, but it was Sarana who lashed out at the beast's head by running up its back so she could do that. That was another moment that told Tirek that Sarana had to be mad at the royal family, or maybe just the King himself, based on the fact that her swings seemed like they were a tad bit angry, or maybe he was misreading the situation and there was nothing different between her and the royal family, but at least she was able to deal some damage to Oceiros' head before she jumped off of their foe and landed near Tirek, where the three of them stared at the Consumed King as he tried to regain himself. As that happened Oceiros turned and swung his staff downwards at the area that they were standing in, where the trio separated from each other and let the head of the weapon hit the area they had previously been in, though as the Consumed King shifted his stance, so he could lash out at them again, Sarana let Martok launch her at their foe and cut into his face as she flew passed it, something that was followed by Martok hacking into the outstretched arm that held the staff, while at the same time Tirek lashed out with his magic and struck their foe in the chest with a pair of Lightning Spears, causing him to stagger again, just like what had happened when the battle started.

While they were doing that something interesting happened, Oceiros started to call out to Ocelotte, the missing child since it appeared that the youngest child of the royal family was missing, though that weakness allowed Tirek and both of his companions to lash out at the Consumed King, pushing him backwards as their attacks struck him several times, but due to the fact that Oceiros was a dragon it was clear that it was going to take them some time to bring him down and see if there was anything else in this area for them to see before they headed for the main path that lead into the castle and would allow them to find the Twin Princes. As they did that Oceiros lashed out with his rather thin whip-like tail and missed Tirek by a few inches, either due to the fact that he wasn't familiar with this body or due to the fact that Tirek had dodged the attack before it had struck him, though he was just fine with what was happening as he lashed out with another pair of Lightning Spears and struck the dragon in the chest, determining that as long as he didn't revert to standing on four legs, like the rest of the dragons of this world, it would be rather easy for him and his companions to bring him down. Sarana and Martok understood what Tirek's plan was and lashed out at the Consumed King while he tried to strike them down with his staff or with his crystal attacks, where the latter appeared to be stuck with creating a field of crystals around him so he could keep them away from them for a few moments, even though that allowed Martok to pull his greatsword back and hurl Sarana through the air so she could cut into their foe while he was distracted, bringing them even closer to the end of this fight every time they did that technique. Oceiros even added a tactic that involved him jumping into the air for a few seconds so he could bring his weapon down on whatever he was targeting, something that was rather easy to avoid as the group discovered, especially since it was easy to read everything he tried to do, though at the same time they made sure not to be overconfident, since messing up would lead to their foe gaining the upper hand and would have Tirek pull out the stone he had created from Aldrich's soul, just to get them back on track.

When Sarana struck Oceiros' head again, however, the dragon let out a roar of rage as he screamed Ocelotte's name and then, in what was an act of madness, smashed whatever he thought he was holding in his left hand into the ground in front of him and even discarded his large staff as he assumed a more dragon-like stance as his arms touched the stone he was standing on and growled like a beast, before the Consumed King lashed out with his claws as he quickly spun around, trying to catch them with either his claws or his tail. This time around Tirek could tell that Oceiros' attacks were stronger than what he had been using earlier, since it appeared that he had switched from using magic to using the power of a true dragon against them, even if he was more like a fake dragon, though as he rushed around the chamber they were fighting in it was easy to tell that his madness had opened a number of weaknesses for the group to exploit, such as Tirek moving to the side so he could blast Oceiros in the side with a barrage of Lightning Spears. As it turned out either the madness was making their foe consider some terrible decisions as their fight progressed or the pain from the attacks pushed him to rush forward, instead of being blasted to the side by his spell, though that didn't stop Sarana and Martok lashed out at the Consumed King before he smacked them into the walls that formed the chamber, though when he smashed his head into one of the walls near the entrance that opened the way for them to lash out at the dragon's exposed limbs so they could deliver some additional damage to him. From that point it appeared that Oceiros was fighting more like a wild beast and less like how he had been fighting when they first entered this chamber, especially since he smashed one of the pillars as he rushed around the area that was around them, something that included seemingly ignoring them while he smashed the area that was around them with no regard for the fact that if he did enough damage he'd bring down the ceiling on all of them and crush them, even if Tirek was planning on using the Space Stone if such a thing happened.

It was in the following moments, as Martok smacked their foe with his greatsword and Tirek blasted him with another barrage of Lightning Spears that caused Oceiros to stagger once more, that Sarana jumped onto the dragon's back, where she started at the tail and rushed up the Consumed King's back, where she swung her blades at his back and cut into his flesh rather easily, so much so that Tirek held a hand out to make sure Martok didn't get involved in this fight, before she reached the top of the head and paused for a moment, as if she was thinking about something.

"King Oceiros, you're unwanted servant has returned, just like I said I would... and I have only one thing to say to you at this point in time..." Sarana said, where Tirek was sure that if she had emotions her voice would be full of anger, which he could imagine after spending all this time fighting by her side, while at the same time Martok nodded his head as they watched what was going on, which was where Sarana switched the grip on her weapons and drove them right into the top of the dragon's skull, driving them right into Oceiros' brain, "What do you think of me now, you royal fuck!?"

Oceiros staggered as the blades pierced his head and struck his brain, where Sarana had to hold on tight as the King did that for a few seconds, before he collapsed in the middle of the entire chamber and seemed to go still as a couple of moments ticked by, something that was followed by Sarana yanking her blades out of their foe's head and rejoined Tirek and Martok as the body broke down before their eyes and swirling around a central point to create the soul that would let them either gain more power or obtain a weapon, piece of armor, or a spell to use against their future enemies... but as that happened Tirek held his hand out towards his version of the soul and made it give off an emerald green shine for a few seconds, something that seemed to resonate with the sapphire blue Space Stone.

"I see, the soul of the old King, despite its normal coloration, can be forged into a Stone of Power, as I have privately taken to calling the Space Stone," Tirek remarked, as that was fascinating to some degree, and he put some emphasis on the word 'old' when he said it, almost as if he was talking about time and not something else that the word could mean, though that was followed by something interesting, both Sarana and Martok raised their hands and let their versions of Oceiros' soul float over to where his was resting, where the magic washed over them and gave them an emerald glow as well, before he smiled as he realized what was going on, "Very well then, let's forge a second Stone of Power and add its strength to our growing arsenal."

Sarana and Martok watched as Tirek drew in both of the other versions of Oceiros' soul and made them spin around his for a few seconds, something that was followed by the three souls merging into a single entity before it was condensed into a smaller form as he worked his magic, but once the deed was done, which didn't do anything to the chamber that the three of them were standing in, they watched as an emerald gemstone, the same size as the Space Stone, appeared where the souls had been located, to which Tirek grasped it for a moment and a green magical ring wrapped around his right wrist as he did that, something that was followed by him turning towards the ruined pillar and turned his hand as if he was turning back the clock... where they watched as the ruined pillar put itself back together, like he was actually rewinding time itself, causing him to smile as he stopped messing with the restored pillar.

"A Time Stone, how interesting." Tirek stated, where he opened the pouch that he normally kept the Space Stone in and deposited the new Stone of Power inside it, before he sealed it and walked over to the new bonfire so he could light it, even though he was joined by the others a few seconds later, causing him to turn towards them and showed the pair the smile that was on his face, as he was very pleased with what they had discovered, "I would say that exploring this area was worth the time and effort, and now I'm curious if there's more for us to find beyond the area the Consumed King had fled to when he decided to become a dragon."

Sarana and Martok said nothing to that, which Tirek had been expecting based on what he had seen in the past, so he remained silent as he considered what else they might find as they explored the dark depths of the castle, since there had to be more for them to discover before the three of them headed up to the main part of the castle and started the hunt for the Twin Princes, so they could bring their quest to an end and see what happened when he usurped the Flame that everyone was talking about.

Comments

[badninja]

Again?! I understand the whole Space Stone but he is going this route again?! I almost wish they had ponies going to the Marvel Universe so when they find out what he is up to he can get a front row seat to an Avengers Assemble.

It also brings up the question of who is going to be the God of Destruction. We are going to be going to Universe 7 after all.

[Blackdrag-rose]

10608987 As for the Marvel universe, I, sadly, do not have a firm grasp of the power levels of the various inhabitants that call it home, nor do I know how any of the lore happens, save for the movies of the cinematic universe. As for the latter, all I can say is that it will be revealed in due time during that story.

[badninja]

10609544

The MCU would be a good place to do any story as the comics are all over the place. The power levels and how they are depicted can at times be all over the board. It is also why the DCAU is good for any of the DC superheroes when doing them.

[Blackdrag-rose]

10609589 I see. Well, I've seen most of the MCU movies, save for the Spiderman ones, so I have a good idea of the story that has happened so far... I'll think about a story, but I make no promises.

[PrismStrike]

well then another "stone of power" for Tirek and some much wanted revenge for Sarana against the royals of lothric. I have to admit to cheering a little when Sarana struck down ocieros due to her declaration.