> [Displaced] Dark Souls: The Flame Of Friendship.
>  by DisplacedWriter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: Rise from the ashes.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The First Flame quickly fades. Darkness will shortly settle.” The fire keeper said as she held the flame in her hands; the very flame that had kept the world lit for many years, fueled by millions of souls that gave up their life to stave off the age of dark due to Gwyn’s fear of his rule being taken away.

The ashen looks on in dead silence as the world begins to fade; bringing the end the age of fire. Cain’s been wanting this for so long to end the wretched cycle of keeping rather than watching the world be further twisted and warped.

“But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Like embers, linked by lord’s past.” The firekeeper spoke.

Cain looks down at her in curiosity as her word’s meaning takes hold in his mind, revealing that a new flame may be ignited, but not yet when and where.

“Ashen One, dost thou hearest my voice, still?” The firekeeper asked, causing Cain to kneel down and embrace her as the last remains of the light were now gone.

It felt as if the world stood still for Cain and the Firekeeper; an endless dream of the abyss was all that greeted them; unaware of the events that were taking place.

The world of ash remained undisturbed for many years, until one day, the firekeeper’s foresight came true as flickering embers started to gather, and before long, a roaring flame ignited anew.

The fire did not belong to the hollows of humans, but that of six ponies, their fiery hearts renewed the world. Thus creating the Flame Of Friendship; the age of friendship. The flame was kept lit for thousands of years and soon passed on to two alicorns, crowning them to rule over this new land. Using the power of the flame of friendship, they brought forth the day and the night, creating order and harmony upon the lands.





The ashen one stirred from his slumber, soon rising from the ashes of the old Firelink shrine. The ashen one, known as Cain looked around in confusion as he patted himself down in surprise. The last he remembered was his firekeeper’s foresight and the coming darkness, and then deep and suddenly slumber. Cain looks around, wondering why he is back in the Firelink shrine. Looking ahead, he spots the familiar coiled sword. Making his way over and extending his hand over it, he ignites the flames, but instead of seeing and feeling their usual warmly orange glow, it was now a strange purple ethereal flame, oddly comforting and harmonious. 

“Despite allowing the first flame to die, it appears the cycle has been renewed, yet I know not whom has lit it, how, and why. Do I need to journey once more to the Kiln Of The First Flame?” Cain thought as he held his hand over the bonfire, channeling through it in a attempt to warp

“...Nay, I do not have access.” Cain thought to himself with a frown. Cain found this strange, feeling uncertainty about it. Cain looks down upon himself, noticing he is still wearing the armor from when he fought the soul of cinder. His helmet was that of a knight, worn from weather, battle, and the occasion blow to the head. His chest piece was made of the same silvery metal that was of his helmet, a chestplate that had dangling chainmail that reached in front of his thighs, two shoulder guards that went unforeseen because of the short red, scarf like material that had been stitched together to pull both sides together. Those trusty metal alloyed gauntlets he wore have protected him against the whiplash he’s gotten from parrying weapons that were from those who were stronger than Cain. They even reached just below his shoulders, still allowing for maneuverability. His leggings were rather the same, still being of the same silvered materials. The metal shoes he wore were something he had gotten used to, countless days spent stepping in them, trudging along. And as Cain gathered himself as best he could for the moment, he saw something sticking out of the ashes. Reaching in with both hands, Cain soon pulled it out, revealing it to be a spear; flames dancing along its length; his weapon of choice, a Ringed Knight Spear he had won after a fierce duel with its previous owner. Sheathing it onto his back, he, without question or fore thoughts, begins to explore the firelink shrine, rekindling old memories of the past.

Alas, many of its inhibitors were gone. No longer could he hear Andre hammering upon the anvil, no Coryx greeting him as his apprentice, no words of grace from the fire keeper, no sweet smile seen upon  Irina’s face, no nothing. Cain slowly frowned in disbelief that he is the only survivor of the age of darkness. The ashen one explores Andre’s old workshopped; covered in ash and dust for lack of use. Cain felt disheartened by all this. With nothing else to find, Cain begins to head out.

Outside felt almost the same. The many graves around the shrine, the bell tower, the many trees and moss along the walls. Cain paused in his step as he noticed something very different off in the distance. He was atop a mountain. But there was a taller mountain beside it. With enough distance so that they would only connect due to one or the other collapsing. He also observed an ocean side that was only a mile or so away from the mountain. Yet another place he does not recognize. Especially because of the gigantic tree that was sitting atop the other mountain. Cain was perplexed because it almost seemed as if there were remnants of bird nesting around it but it was too far to properly know. Cain began to wonder just how many years had passed since the firekeeper helped the first flame to fade. 

Reaching into his cloak, his body long since running on autopilot, Cain pulls out his Dragon Stone as he concentrates on the power within the stone, allowing the power of the everlasting dragons to flow through his body. A pair of draconic stone wings sprout fourth, and with a flap of his wings, he ascends into the air, making his way over to the giant tree in the distance. 

After a bit of time Cain nears a bridge, allowing himself to land upon it as his stone wings fade into dust. The Ashen one places the dragon stone back inside the neck of his cloak. With a look of caution around the area, he begins to cross the bridge.

What Cain saw as he entered the village were what appeared to be many houses with walls made of bark, wood, and straws of hay. For some reason the ground was also covered in hay which served nearly no practical service as far as Cain could tell. It was as if standing in a giant nest, but what made Cain grip the handle of his spear were the many tall griffons that walked around going about their life that stood on their hind legs as others walked on all fours. In fact they shared humanistic qualities that normally weren’t belonging to wild beasts of magic. Yet, No matter how long the ashen one stood there, the griffons remained tame, causing him to lower his arm away from his weapon in disbelief. Cain was so used to beasts attacking him on sight, and to see them being tame is unusual behavior to him.

“What the flock are you doing here in Griffonia? Even past that armor you look about as lost as a hatchling.” An easygoing voice calls out from Cain’s side, making him look to his right. What he sees is a six foot tall griffon that was a sleek feather color of silver covering his entire body besides his head which was a slightly different shade of gray instead. forming a flat-stare with their beak, how uncanny of them. And by the sound of their voice Cain assumed they were male.

Cain softly blinked as he heard the griffon talk, further confusing the ashen one about the differences of his old world and this new one. Reaching into his side pouch, he takes out a glowing orange soapstone and begins writing onto the ground. Slowly, the words came into focus as glowing fonts.

[Where exactly am I?] The griffon read aloud.

“What are ya, mute?! Nevermind the strange magical stone, use your words for flocks sake. You outsiders never know how to react to normalcy I swear.” The griffon sizes Cain up, rapidly blinking. “Hold on lemme take a wild guess. You’re some type of adventurer that came out here in Griffonia in search of job opportunities which is why you look like a merc right now. Sorry to break it to you but this is a decent place with decent folks.” He gets up to his paws and now stands at a good seven and a half feet tall. “If you’re really that dense though, this entire place that you see? This, this is all Griffonia, the capital of the Griffon Empire.”

Despite the griffon's demand for Cain to use his words, he still continued writing on the ground, drawing each word as he slid the soapstone across the dirt, forming new words as the old ones faded away.

[Yes, I am lost as the lands seem to have changed quite a lot since the last time I was here] Cain wrote. 

“Oh you are lost huh? That much was obvious, what exactly are you trying to find here pal? Somebody could take advantage of your cluelessness if you aren’t careful. Actually, you never even told me your name? Or uh, wrote your name with that fancy rock, I’m Planor but I doubt we’ll meet again anytime soon after this.”

Cain waited a moment as his written words faded away, allowing Cain to write new ones. 

[Cain. Where in the lands is Griffonia?] he wrote as he paused to look out toward the forest below and the nearby mountains, recognizing no familiarity. [Where exactly is Griffonia on a map?] He finished writing.


Planor glanced down at the ground, watching what Cain wrote and snorted. “Cain… Sounds like a griffon’s name. Well Cain, we’re near the middle of the world towards the upper east, basically right above Dragon Land territory but we don’t mess with them and they sure as shit don’t mess with us. Nobody carries a map on them except for griffons who have that sort of job. And that ain’t me, you’re lucky I don’t have work today because I used a vacation slot or I wouldn’t have given you the time of day like anyone else.” Planor slowly got back down to all fours when he noticed nothing was going to transpire. “Why do you need to know something like that in the first place? You didn’t do research before coming here?”

At first, Cain was about to write a message, but stopped as second thoughts creped into his mind. “..It’d be best to make him think I’m a Griffon so I can blend in, see what I can learn in secret of my kind’s existence before I openly tell him I'm a human.” Cain thought to himself.

[Those dragons you mentioned, are their scales made of stone?] Cain wrote down curiously. “They were almost extinct last I heard.” Cain mentally thought to himself.

Planor raised an eyebrow and held the top of his beak as he frowned. “What, you've never seen a stone dragon before? Of course their scales are made out of stone. It’s the reason we’re in this stalemate now. We can’t necessarily damage them in any great way without going all out and they can’t hit us because of our wind magic and natural agility. We’re better at aerial maneuvers than they are, enough to dodge and slightly redirect breath weapons with group efforts. And now you’ve got me curious, where do you hail from Cain?”

“...So the stone dragons still live despite Lord Gwyn slaying many of them.” Cain thought before going into a long moment of pause to answer Planor’s question.. “..By the first flame, it's been so long that I’ve forgotten..” The ashen one thought with a frown as he stood there trying to recollect what his life used to be before he first attempted to link the first flame, yet failed. It was like his memories had burned away. the irony of it all. Shaking his head, Cain begins to write into the ground once more.

[Apologizes, I can’t seem to remember.] Cain wrote. 

“Great, you’ve got amnesia too. Normally I’d tell you to go to local law enforcement and be on my merry way or to the mayor’s office but you probably aren’t a citizen since I’m sure I would’ve recognized you by now.” Planor angrily sighed. “What am I supposed to do with you now? Matter of fact, why are you here? Where’s your friends and family?”

[That I do not know as they have all but vanished mysteriously.] Cain wrote then nodded to the griffin. Cain left out the part of the firelink shrine and him raising from the ashes, believing that such words may sound outlandish to Planor.

Planor’s expression soured more so than before as he did his best to keep composure. “You ain’t leaving me with plenty of options on what I could do. If anything to me it sounds like you never existed in the first place, no family, no friends, not a citizen, can’t even remember where you originally come from?” The Griffon paused for a moment and continued. “Listen if I was you, then I’d definitely start anew, make a name for myself and try to forget about all of that jazz on finding out about your past. That’s the only viable thing you could do, I doubt the king would want to see you over something as trivial as this anyways.” 

It felt odd hearing advice from a sentient griffin, and despite it feeling like a whole different world, Planor acted like a human being much like the ones he used to know. 

[Thank you, I believe I'll do that, and in the meantime learn more about this world… whatever it is named now.] Cain wrote. 

Planor brought one of his claws up and rubbed the base of his chin. “You can’t possibly be serious. The planet is called Equus, how have you… I’ll chalk it up to amnesia for you then. Here, why don’t I help you get on your bearings by showing you around first.” As Planor was going to turn right he saw a commotion from the top right corner of his eye, involving some Griffons and a strange beast that they were chasing after. “Cain, are you seeing that over there?” He pointed in the event’s direction. “I’m going to have to head out, maybe I could catch you some other time?” Planor didn’t wait for a response and instead flew away to get out of harm's way.

Cain’s attention was soon drawn to the same direction as a strange cyclops goat came barreling through town with many guards chasing the creature. Cain is forced to roll out of the way as it runs past.

“STOP THAT CREATURE, ITS STOLEN OUR RELIC!” A griffon shouted, causing Cain to look over at where the creature ran. 

“I won’t be able to catch up.” Cain thought as he lifted his Lothic helmet’s facial guard up slightly. The Ashen One takes a gentle breath as he channels his pyromancy throughout his body, gathering it up to a focus point within his throat. Thrusting his head forward, Cain unleashes a Chaos Beam out of his mouth, shooting it straight at the cyclops goat. The creature is caught off guard as he goes stumbling, madly patting at himself to get rid of the flames that were eating at its flesh. Putting the helmet’s facial guard back down, the ashen one makes a dash as the creature starts to rise up.

The goat cyclops attempts to swing its fist at Cain, forcing him to roll out of the way. Cain makes a leap at the monster; his ring knight spear blazing bright as he stabs at the beast’s chest, causing it to scream out in pain as fire ignites.

The cyclops slams his fist into Cain, sending him flying into the nearest griffon home. Cain lays there for a moment as he let out a pained groan. “D-damn… the creature hits hard like a giant..” Cain mentally thought as he got up from the destroyed remains of the house’s wall.

Whatever creature this was began charging relentlessly at Cain for a follow up attack, knocked through several guards in its wake, most of them dodged and flew out of the way however there were some unfortunate ones to be trampled on.  Just when it seemed to reach Cain, it was stopped by three griffons who were all wielding a scimitar in their offhands(claws?) , blocking an incoming head ram from it that was going to barrel through the house and potentially Cain. 

“G-get up, this bastard is way too strong for me.” A griffon said as his arms were struggling in the process, wobbling and barely holding onto both parts of his weapon as it began to dent. The others weren’t doing any better as audible groans were heard from their weapons. Cain did his best to get back on his feet, his hand glowing with a fierce fire as he shoved his hand into the beast’s mouth; performing the Sacred Flame spell as he lit the beast’s face on fire followed by a burst of flames from within.

One of the soldiers took a sigh of relief and amazement. “Thanks, my superior is gonna kill me for bending metal like this though.” The other griffon patted him on the back while the third stared darkly at the chimera on the floor.

The monster immediately dropped to the ground and rolled to put out the fire, clutching its own face and mouth as it ran off in a random direction towards a bridge, stumbling as it fled. The flames began to disperse, which was unfortunate for our griffons because of what it had in its claw. 

“Flames damnit, the beast runs too fast..” Cain thought to himself as he channel fire into his hand, empowering faith into his pyromancy, turning it into a Holy Flame as lightning began to dance along it as he prayed upon the Nameless King to give him strength. Thrusting his talisman into the air, the very sky above the cyclops crackled with energy. From above and with a mighty eruption of sunlight, the cyclops is struck by a fierce lightning bolt caused by his Lightning Storm spell. The bolt struck true, not only electrifying them but also destroying the bridge it was running onto, sending them into the dark chasm down below. As the sound of lightning cleared, the griffon guards gathered around the edge of the cliff, looking very confused at Cain’s display of power, the deafening silence did not ease him.

One of the griffon soldiers from earlier used their wings to fly above the hole in shock. “Flock! It fell with the artifact. What are we going to do now?”

“Maybe we could get a search party to go down and retrieve it?” Another suggested but was quickly shot a look.

The soldier who shot him a look, held tightly onto his scimitar. “We don’t have that much time on our claws. It’s either we dive down to get it or we accept incoming peril. And I’d personally prefer doing the former. Who’s going to help me-”

A griffon cut him off, their appearance made it seem as though they were ready to strangulate someone. They appeared to be a male, black feathered griffon whose head was instead a faded gray, they wore a yellow crown on top of their head that had decorative diamonds and other blue gems around its base, around his neck was a sash with a gold ribbon that were in the form of wings. His tone was gruff and commanding. “Which one of you did it…?” 

“King Guto, I think it was an acci-” The previous soldier who was speaking tired to start but to no avail.

“That isn’t what I asked, I said which one of you did it? Who was the featherbrained idiot that DESTROYED THE BRIDGE AND SENT THE ARTIFACT DOWN THERE?!” He practically screamed from the tops of his lungs.

Every griffon in the area flinched from the mere volume of his demand. Every soldier then proceeded to point directly at Cain with their heads down.

King Guto got close towards  Cain’s face or rather his helmet. “So it was you then?” The king asked.

Cain kneeled down toward the ground, using his soapstone to write a message, earning confused looks from everyone present.

[Yes as the speed it was running, none of the guards had the means to keep up, so I had to do something drastic to strike it down.] Cain wrote on the ground. 

King Guto looked down at Cain, his face softened  in all but a mere moment. His pose was elected for respect of all those around him. “...You are mute? I can only assume from a damaged voice box. Normally I would have sent you to prison without another word but desperate times call for desperate measures, so allow me to make this clear for you.”

“You are going to retrieve that artifact, post haste. All will be forgiven, and then you shall have whatever you would desire from me. This promise is held by the word of King Guto, the current king of the Griffon Empire. Do we have a deal, unknown knight?” The king held out a claw to Cain, waiting for him to take it.

[Please, call me Cain. But first before I go and retrieve it, would you mind telling me what the artifact is exactly?] Cain wrote as he placed his talisman back in his pouch. 

“Cain… Well Cain, normally I’d have no business telling an outsider such as yourself something of such great importance what this artifact does or is, that’s neither here nor there. The explanation shall be quick and then I will send you on your way. This artifact allows for us griffons to keep our sanity and sapience intact. The griffon king before me wielded it and the one before him did so as well. You will know it when you see it.” King Guto huffed and pointed towards the hole. “To show your honor you shall descend, alone, post haste Cain.”

“..Sounds like something that prevents them from going hollow.” Cain thought to himself of Guto’s explanation. [As for going alone, it won’t be a problem] Cain worte then turned around to slowly make his way over to the edge of the chasm.

“I see no wings on your person. How would it be possible for you to go down there by your lonesome.” The king was merely bluffing, he expected a slight sign of exasperation from Cain. Yet here he was, at the edge and appearing ready to jump off.

Taking out his Dragonstone, he concentrates on the power of the everlasting dragon, and with a short explosion of wind, a pair of stone wings burst from his back. Raising his arm and making a fist, he gestures a Quiet Resolve before allowing himself to free fall over the edge, causing some of the griffons and the king to come running over, and yet here he was gliding down despite the wing’s appearance, seeing such things made the guards to mumble along themselves about who Cain truly was.

A newer soldier who was knocked over from before had re-arrived on the scene. “How in the flock did he sprout those wings? They seemed like a gargoyles’ though they were gnarlier.” 

“Were you just now seeing what they did? That Cain guy had used some type of fire magic on the chimera to drive it away and used some sort of lighting from the sky to strike it down.” Another Griffon replied.

King Guto started coughing, taking some deep breaths as he felt something creep in the back of his mind, tugging on his will. “Whoever he was, he has a promise to uphold. And despite no one recognizing him we shall treat him with respect, lest he fails his mission.”
> Chapter Two: Abysmal Abyss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Cain descended deeper into the chasm, the darkness grew thicker, reminding Cain of the undergrounds of The Abyss where he fought and defeated High Lord Wolnir. “Flames know what monstrosity could be lingering here.” Cain thought to himself as he landed gracefully at the bottom; his dragon stone wings vanishing into dust. The ashen one takes out his Ashen Estus Flask, taking a quick chug of the drink, allowing the bonfires flame’s cold liquid to restore his focus and his magical reserves. Reaching into his pouch, Cain pulls out the Followers torch, soon lighting it using his pyromancy, allowing its flame to light his way. Much like his thoughts confirmed. 

Cain wonders lost inside the Abysmal Abyss, walking past many skeleton remains of other griffons and creatures Cain could not recognize. Cain stopped in his tracks as he spotted what looked to be, Humanity? Not quite. It certainly looked like humanity, but its face shaped like that of a snout and the damaged wings on its back is where the similarity’s end. It floated around wandering aimlessly in the darkness; its eyes holding great sadness.

“Aircloud.” It called for one who was not there despite its body being worse for wear. “Where are you?! Come on, t-this isn’t funny I’m lost and cold, so cold… Please...”

Cain’s heart sank into the bottom of his being as he stared in disbelief that the sprite of humanity spoke. It continued to look around as if unaware of Cain’s presence and the light radiating from his torch. Their child-like whimpers resounded around the rocky walls, as if mocking any who were unlucky enough to fall down here. “Aircloud! Please, I’m scared, it was stupid to come down here…” The unfortunate soul wandered about, in a predetermined path before looping back around. Cain silently spectated, knowing there was nothing he could do for the wandering remnant, they had no eyes to speak of, just two deep holes that leaked an inky black substance.

“I cannot watch this any longer. May you find peace, young one, even if it is unlikely.”  Leaning away from the sprite, Cain silently made his way around. Despite wanting to show empathy and comfort the humanity, he knew from experience that getting close to those things, your life would end up being quickly drained. 

Continuing through the darkness, Cain soon comes to a halt as he ignites his Firelink spear. Off in the distance, Cain spots a group of bloatheads, all having an almost bull-dog like face, Not wanting the bloatheads to take notice of him, the ashen one begins channeling his pyromancy into his hand. With an overhead throw, Cain sends a clump of ember into the center of the group, drawing their curiosity as they head toward it.

They all stared at the seething chaos as it slowly built up power, building up until it erupted in an explosion, sending the bloathead dog scattering Using their moment of confusion and disarray to his advantage, Cain rushes in as he thrusts his spear, impaling it through the Bloathead, quickly turning around and dashing over to the second one, ramming his spear through its head.

The Bloathead ponies managed to get to their two hooves as they charged madly at Cain with overgrown claws, swinging at him. The ashen one rolls out of the way as he thrusts his spear, only for the deformed dog to bend its neck out of the way, surprising the ashen one. The Bloathead recoiled its own head into a successful headbutt on Cain which made his helmet rattle on impact, causing him to stagger back. Praying upon his past gods, Cain’s body filled with a radiant glow, soon unleashing a burst of powerful force of light known as Wrath Of The Gods, sending the Bloatheads flying. A couple of them fell to the ground; their bodies laying lifeless as their souls flew Cain’s body, absorbing them and transferring them into his own power.

With a wide arc, Cain spins his ring knight spear, sending blazing fire to slice through and kill the remaining dog Bloatheads. That begged the question, just how far did this go and how much time was left on Cain’s end. Sweeping his hand over his belt, Cain grabbed his Estus Flask, soon chugging its liquid warm contents down, allowing his wounds to quickly heal up. “Those creatures had more fight in them than the last spawns that were years ago.” 

Cain was in disbelief from their resilience and tenacity, but he didn’t have much time to ponder his own thoughts and chose to slip his flask back onto his belt. With a cautious glance around and torch held high, Cain resumes his journey through the Abysmal Abyss, now aware of the dangers it holds. 

After what felt like hours of walking, which in reality was only ten or so minutes, Cain came across what looked like a settlement, or used to be one. The structures were in ruin, covered in hardened dirt and stone that couldn’t give life to the floral life that would only grow from above.

Housing was very sparse, the inhabitants were probably new to this place yet died before anything past basic needs were met. Buildings were made of gnarly wood that seemed able to snap in half at a moment’s notice. Stone and cement worn away, evidently making some places collapse in on itself. Large stones stood in the way of the crude dirt pathing that went from one end to another. 

“An estranged place to build housing, there must have been better options around.” Cain’s eyes narrowed around at the scenery that surrounded him. There was one thing that he missed that he had not previously seen before. Gems, gems that laid ornated on top of certain houses, houses that, instead of being made of a mixture of rudimentary stone and wood, were completely made from smoothed and polished stone that had minor inconsistencies with itself. Intricate design would be slightly messy instead of done in an automated manner, also bearing some resemblance to giant claws or fingers.

Cain had already instilled to himself that he needed to make haste in this task, the Ashen One also knew that going into an area blindly could lead to death. 

"I mustn't waste any more time, Flames knows what could even be living down here." Cain said as he quickened his base as he went searching through the abandoned mess of a settlement. "So much trouble for an artifact. Flame's Kiln, I should have thought twice before calling down that bolt of lightning." Cain ridiculed himself.

All of this gave him one last conclusion, Cain needed to seek out clues on how to navigate this place. Even though the dirt paths guided him, they were unorganized, the houses and several buildings that appeared to be merchantries and places of interest had him going in circles, he needed to search for some place that would give him some idea on where to go. As Cain approached what looked to be the doorway to a kitchen, one that was in the side of a crumbling home the ashen spots an orange glow as he comes closer, noticing it to be a message written down in front of an old abandoned kitchen. "A message sign, here?" Cain thought in surprise as he held his hand over it. A ghostly visage of a man wearing a fancy hat from foreign lands and a fancy looking mask depicting an aging gentleman appeared in infront of a message. Adorning a Catarina's armor of peculiar shape, the gauntlets and leggings usually worn by gravekeeper.

It reads:
"Let there be, forgiveness
and then, be wary of forgetting"

“Rather cryptic of a message. One who also lost their life here if they gave in.” It was best not to question it further and do so after the deed of retrieving the artifact be done. Cain tapped his spear on the ground in thought. “Despite the flow of time, there are others of my kind amongst it.” Cain thought. Suddenly, the Ashen One froze in place, his ears picked up a loud heavy creaking coming from the oversized stone hallways he traveled through previously. Wielding pyromancy in his free hand, Cain began to channel a spell. Soon gathering the energy of the Abyss into it. 

Oh the edge of being ready to fire, Cain suddenly stopped, hearing some garbled english words reach to him.“W-who's there?! Who dare invade pack’s home!” 

"It talks?! First the talking humanity pony, now a Bloathead dog.." Cain thought in disbelief. With it being capable of some form of intelligence, Cain slowly and cautiously lowered his hand, canceling the Dark Serpent spell he was going to cast.

A large stomp, one after the other holding the grace of a drunken dancer, the huge beast growled at Cain. One would call it a predatory warning if he got closer. “G-GO! Awayz from h-here.” The Bloathead dog’s voice box was comparable to eating nails without chewing any of them, utterly coarse.

Cain raises his hands as he warily walks around the dog creature, quickly making it out of the room and back into the hallway, "Either the Griffon King didn't know about those creatures, or forgot to even tell me." Cain deduced, continuing down the beaten dirty path, looking about cluelessly. As Cain walked through what used to be a habitable settlement, Cain was now noticing more of those Bloathead dogs, some of them seen through broken windows and some walking around with clubs made out of variants sharded gems. Cain inconspicuously pulled what little knowledge about this place to make another assumption “I suppose half of the settlement has those creatures.”

“Yous? Why here? Why in pack’s home?” A bloathead, one that was relatively of similar size to Cain had approached him, speaking decent english, only being slightly grammatically incorrect.

“I hope they can read.” Cain silently prayed as he started writing in the ground with his soapstone. 

[Have you seen a goat-like creature, or perhaps some kind of golden trophy with a red gem?] Cain wrote with his magic soapstone into the ground in front of the bloathead who patiently stared from above.

The relatively docile bloathead anthropomorphic dog’s decayed ears perk up. “Gem? Red gem…. Why Skipper tell runt where Skipper saw Chimera run to? What is runt willing to do for it?” If Cain didn’t know any better then he’d say this bloathead had something else in mind that was not linear.

Cain considered his options, which were not many. Either A, he accepts the conditions and has to go do some side job despite there being clear urgency in this task or option B, do nothing and leave which would give the Ashen One zero leads. The choice was clear, no matter how much of a non-choice it was. [Name it.]

“S-Skipper want runt to give shiny gems and kill the Chimera, no sparez. It disturb pack’s restz and that pisses Skipper off!” The decaying mutt slammed a hindleg into the ground with a heavy thud hitting it to the floor. “Promise to kill and nice gold color gems, then Skipper tellz runt where the Chimera hiding. We barely get gems down here.”

[How many do you need?] Cain etched down into the stone as he started to rummage through his pouches.

Skipper the bloathead questioned himself, how many did he need? The strange armor wearing runt did not look to be carrying gems and by all means Skipper wants that goat out regardless. 

“Skipper wants five! Five golden shiny gems for da taking.” Skipper finally settled. In response, Cain soon pulled out five Lifegems, each one almost the size of a baseball. Judging from their appearance, they were old but glowed radiantly to Skipper’s eyes.

The big, not so friendly, giant of a mutated dog, snatched the gems out of the Ashen One’s hands. Unbelievable by the bloathead’s standards. Not once in his life or unlife did he expect to see jewelry of such caliber. “Normal gems did not glow like this” Skipper realized, and by his logic, the shinier, the better.

“T-thank you runt.” Skipper croaked out. “Skipper did see da abomination pass. It was sneaky though that nobody else notice. Da eyes Skipper has are best though, so Skipper saw da chimera go all da way over there.” The bloathead points its long and gnarly nail over towards a decently sized valley over yonder. A nicely paced jog could land Cain there in fifteen minutes or less, meaning no interruptions.

Cain peered over to where the dog hybrid was directing him towards. The valley itself wasn’t what made the Ashen One feel the need to be prepared but what may have resided inside of it. The knight in (shining?) armor used his soapstone to write into the ground.

[Thank you. One last thing before I go, don’t crush the gem unless you need to heal.] Cain wrote as he rose up onto his feet. Skipper didn’t understand the word of advice, the concept of magic was mainly lost on him besides that it rested inside specific gems, unicorns had magic, and magic was always in the air. 

The former diamond dog did not heed this warning for the future and instead turned the other way, his business with the outsider was done and therefore didn’t need to stick along any longer for them. Their scent was weird anyways. A moment of silence passed by before Cain shrugged his arms as there’s still so much of this world he needs to understand. Holding his ring knight spear over his shoulder, he begins to trek down the valley path.





Despite how long it took for Cain to go through the Abysmal Abyss, the ashen one manages to get to the end of the valley, finding not only a Bonfire and a thick fog gate over yonder. “..The cyclops must have grown stronger somehow..” Cain thought to himself he quickened his pace over the bonfire. Holding out his hand over the bonfire, he lit it with a purple flourish of flames. Cain’s weariness and wounds slowly fade as the harmonic purple flame washes over him.

“I wonder if…” Cain began to think as he kept his hand over the flames, The ashen one closed his eyes, concentrating on the ethereal flames as he began to pour souls into the flame, shaping it and molding them as the souls melt like liquid. Suddenly grasping at the air, Cain pulls out a bottle of crimson water from within the fire. 

At least some things still made sense. “Good, I still have the means of crafting.” Cain welcomed the pleasant news and proceeded to repeat the process, converting the souls into four more Crimson Waters. The Ashen slides them onto his belt.  Directing his attention back to the bonfire, he reaches down to take out his Ashen Estus, soon holding it over the fire; allowing the flame to refill the flask. “Best to be prepared, despite how powerful I am, this world may hold foes more powerful than my old world.” Carefully taking a strategic and temporary rest. All was silent in the darkness with nothing but the ethereal flames being his only means of soothness. Cain thought back to when he woke up back in the firelink shrine.

Having nothing but his thoughts, Cain asked himself. “...Why did I come back?” He stared above, seeing the crack  leading outside of the chasm. “My purpose was to the First Flame and get rid of it to stop the circle once and for all, and yet I’ve come back with no sound of a bell tolling, no fire keeper to listen to where I need to go. What even is the current lord of cinder? Who is it that tends to the new flame?” Cain Wondered. Carelessly moving his armored hand through the bonfire’s flames; allowing the purple fire to dance harmlessly between his fingers, an action done countless times beforehand.

This action did little to stop the knight’s mind from wandering. “And how is it that the world has changed so much, and what will I do once the artifact is returned?” The existential crisis, no matter the scale, still threatened to creep up on Cain’s looming mind.  A long silence follows through the chasm with nothing but the comforting sound of the bonfire. Letting out a soft sigh, Cain takes out his soapstone.

Maybe there was something he could do to help any others, Invaders or Blue Sentinels alike. Each side deserved aid in confusing moments. Cain’s stone dutifully wrote on the ground, conveying a message. [To whomever sees this message, and if my kind is out there across time, please summon me with my soul sign, no matter the time.] Cain wrote onto the ground. Putting away his orange soapstone, Cain brought a white one out and began writing his summon sign into the ground, allowing glowing white font to appear. With nothing left to do, Cain lowers his head as he slowly drifts to sleep.





After a good rest with renewed vigor,  Cain walks toward the fog gate, the cyclop goat holding the artifact in its hands grinning so widely.

“Yes… YES… Finally, the artifact’s power is mine! I can feel my inner beast fading. For so long I’ve seeked this! No more relying on wild instincts!” The goat demon said as its body started to grow, going from hunched over to standing completely straight. But something went wrong, the energy of the Abysmal Abyss fueled both it and the artifact, further transforming the creature, causing its horns to grow and extend further. The creature's skin blackened and stretched, brimming with strength. With a loud scream, it unleashed a burst of power as it let out a maniac laugh. With a sudden halt of its laughter, it quickly turned to stare at Cain with now glowing blue cyclops eye.

“Ah you… The small creature that ruined my face with your pyromancy!” The goat demon narrowed its eye while taking a step forward; its hoof stomp caused the ground to vibrate under its might, causing the ashen one to grip his spear tighter. “I am Arimaspi, the new lord of WINDS! Some outsider will not be one to ruin my newest gift.” 

Past the helmet Cain wore, he rapidly blinked at the large size of Arimaspi, being reminded of the Stray Demon he fought back at the bridge. However this felt more powerful, more vicious. Steeling his resolve, Cain’s hand glowed with fire, soon slamming it into his chest as he brought out the Power Within his body, glowing with a red aura.

“You tend to fight me? Not one to do the honorable thing and give me a moment to partake and bathe in my power?” Arimaspi scoffed as he came charging straight at the ashen one; the power of the wind artifact sped him off. Cain was caught off guard, slammed into the stone wall due to his faltered reaction time, causing blood to spill out of his mouth. 

The Ashen One glared “Monologuing, that’s a new one...”  Cain coughed in pain as he slowly rose up to his feet. Igniting his spear with fire. Cain leapt forward and stabbed at Arimaspi’s leg. By some unholy miracle for Arimaspi, the spear did not do as much damage as he did before despite the spell of Power Within empowering his strength. Arimaspi pulled his arm back and he struck to punch the ashen one. Cain rolled with split second decision making, rolled out of the way of the incoming attack; feeling tremendous air pressure by the claw attack as it swoops above him.  

“Annoying lil-” Arimaspi began to say as he raised his hoof. Cain rolls out of the way once more, however he is caught off guard by the shockwaves of the hoof slamming into the ground.

“I’ve fought and slain so many, and yet I’m always underestimating them! Come on, Cain, FOCUS!” Cain hyped up his mind to get his mentality in the right place. Arimaspi leapt at Cain, using the power of winds to propel him forward, Cain rolled out of the way once more as he was mentally prepared this time. With a fiery ringed knight spear in hand, Cain swings it at Arimaspi leg’s, lighting it up and causing the demon goat to scream. 

Arimaspi grew enraged by this, it should not have been possible to outspeed him, let alone contend to hurt him in this new form of his. “How are you able to dodge my attacks!? I HAVE THE GRIFFON’S WINDS AT MY COMMAND!” Channeling gale through his chimera legs, Arimaspi leaped into the air, soon slamming back down to cause a shockwave of energy. The Ashen knight lost some of his footing and came to the floor.

Cain rolled over onto his feet. He needed to do something to get the edge, and without making a sound he allowed for sunlight to empower into his flame, praying to Gwynevere as lightning crackled along his arm. With a mighty throw, Cain unleashed a Sunlight spear, sending it straight into Arimaspi’s chest.

All the chimera Demon could do was stare at Cain, hatred in his singular eye. He held the bolt of pure sunlight energy in his chest and tore it asunder, using nothing but his bare claws. The abyss then manifested around Arimaspi he felt his strength, speed, and constitution grow to newer proportions, this was it, he knew this unnamed knight would fall here and now. The abyss favored him, and so did he. 

The wound in his chest closed up as he stared down at Cain with a piercing white glowing eye. Showcasing a completely unexpected speed in contrast to before. The demonic chimera rammed his horns straight through the Ashen One, goreing him through the chest, causing the ashen on to let out a painful scream, feeling his armor being pierced through, then was tossed aside.

Gritting his teeth through the pain as he got up from the ground and into a kneeling position. The ashen One pauses to look around, simultaneously taking a quick respite despite the blood sinking from his wound. His armored gaze noticed white phantoms running around fighting an invisible foe. Two tunic wearing heroes wielding a sword and shield, a mysterious man in a suit with a spider symbol on chest and… Himself? Cain looked in disbelief as he got up to his feet. “So others are fighting in their worlds, just like I.” Cain shook his head, he’d dealt with worse before. Quickly he took out his flask, giving it a quick swig to heal up his wounds. Both hands on his spear, and Repair Powder in hand, Cain messily covered it on his armor, repairing the damages previously dealt while also pulling another Sunlight Stake from thin-air.

Bringing up his spear of pure energy, he crosses both his arms to their respective sides and thrusts them out, performing the Force spell to send holy energy out, canceling the two slashes of wind in an instant. This briefly staggers Arimaspi until he purposely starts rolling forward towards Cain. The Abyss around him hardens his outer body to an insane degree. 

Within seconds Cain takes in the situation for what it is, clearing his mind and thinking properly. “The Abyss around him is probably hardening his already unrealistically high defense. I either need to duck or pierce right through it with something stronger.” He gambled for a moment, Sunlight still being his prominent physical weapon, he had options, options that had to be perfect or else this could be his death. Taking out one of his Crimson Waters, he quickly downs the whole bottle's liquid contents, allowing its effects to help regain his focus. 

Reeling his arm back, Cain planted his foot on the ground in front of him while keep the other in the back, and thrusted the Sunlight Stake forward at a blinding speed Cain was not finished yet. Channeling in  chaotic energies welling up inside his chest, he released it in a concentrated beam of pure chaotic pyromantic energy. 

The Sunlight Stake soared to the incoming object until it was further propelled by the intense jet-like fuel that enveloped it. The Abyss that covered Arimaspi and the holy rays of crackling thunder and light clashed with each other. An illumination that covered the entire portion of the underground they were in. Two contrasting energies picking a fight with each other, an unstoppable force versus an immovable object. A battle against light and dark.

Soon the demonic chimera covered in a shadowy veil began making ground, not by much but little by little. An unexpected occurrence came soon afterwards, the light that shone from The Ashen One’s maw began to grow brighter and bigger, soon overtaking the beast and engulfing it entirely. The Abyss eroded away allowing for the Sunlight Stake to pierce straight inside of the demonic machination, demolishing it from the inside out. And with one last move, Arimaspi fell onto his knees, his body rapidly decaying before exploding into dust. As the last remains of the chimera faded, its soul was quickly pulled into Cain’s very being. His Dark Soul hungrily consumed it. 

Cain took a moment, he sighed with relief, the battle was finally over. Cain collapsed onto his knees to catch his breath. “Have I grown rusty since the last fierce battle?” The Ashen knight wondered about the possibility until he heard the sound of metal hitting the ground. In spite of his aching body, Cain slowly made his way over to the artifact, which appears to be some kind of golden chalice with a flaming wing, strangely it has a talon-like stand. Inside the chalice held a glistering marble sized gem. Reaching down with a gauntlet hand, Cain picks it up, only for his mind to suddenly be assaulted momentarily by unwanted knowledge of wind and vast amounts of knowledge, however it quickly fades, allowing Cain to return to reality. With the artifact in hand, Cain turns around; his black cape flutters with his movements as he walks out of the end of the valley.