Survival in the game world begins with Biochemical 2

Chapter 843 Gwyndolin's Awakening

The urban area beside the main stepped road within the city of Huanyin.

Thunder echoed through the area, and blue lightning flashed against red flames, but then quickly subsided.

Soon after, Thor, carrying Mjolnir with small burn marks on his armor, arrived at a black stone monument.

This is the stone tablet that Li You mentioned to break the curse.

Although it is called a stone tablet, it is actually more like a man-made monument with a gray-brown square appearance and an overall shape resembling an archway.

But the monument was covered by large areas of black stone that looked like growths, extending from the base to the top.

Those substances that resemble black stones, upon closer inspection, look like wailing human faces.

This stone tablet has three functions in the game. First, it can "atone for sins" by removing hostility from NPCs. Second, it can remove curses by freeing player characters from becoming undead due to accumulated curses.

As for the third, it can revive the church's spear and restore the law.

Of course, the third point is purely a gameplay feature. Thor's goal is also very simple: he wants to lift the curse.

So he didn't think much of it and went to the antidote stele, reaching out to touch it.

In that instant, Thor felt as if a storm had violently rushed into his mind!

"Ugh... Ughhhhh!!"

……

On the other side, in Ferrenor's bedroom.

The moment Li You heard that voice, he knew who it came from.

He took the oath badge of the Darkmoon Sword from his waist, held it in front of him, and infused it with his divine power.

Then, he sensed a consciousness connecting with him, and a familiar figure, aided by his power, was projected from the Darkmoon Sword emblem.

She wore an elegant white robe and shawl, with exquisite details and a touch of gold decoration; her head was covered by a gold mask that imitated the rays of the sun, covering the upper half of her face and her short gray hair, revealing only the perfect lines of the lower half of her face and her pale skin.

Although the person appearing before him seemed real, Li You could tell it was just a projection. Moreover, the part of the person from the legs down was illusory and not projected at all.

His identity needs no further introduction.

He is none other than Gwyndolin, the "Shadow Sun," the youngest son of King Gwyn, the first leader of the Darkmoon Blade, and the only god left to protect the royal city of Anor Londo after the departure of the other gods.

In Dark Souls I, He is a hidden boss that can be challenged, but in the main storyline, it is assumed that He survives until Dark Souls III.

Then, before the third protagonist awakens, He is tricked by Sallyvan and is devoured by Aldrich, who devours gods.

In the world that Li You experienced, the remaining fragment of His finger after He was devoured, an item that only existed in the discarded game design, was obtained by Li You and given to You'ershika.

Meanwhile, a portion of Gwyndolin's remnant soul was also taken by the system and placed into the Night Amulet. Li You then gave that amulet to his eldest apprentice, Kara, which triggered the events in the Shadowlands of Elden Ring.

Since then, Li You has also learned that Gwyndolin's remnant soul is sleeping in the amulet, and he has agreed to the nameless king's request to use his divine power to help Gwyndolin recover, but for a long time there has been no success.

Upon entering the Ringed City, which was transformed from the Upper Realm of Valhalla, the Darkmoon Sword Emblem showed some unusual activity, but until now, there has been no further reaction.

Li You had thought that he might not gain anything this time, but to his surprise, Gwyndolin suddenly appeared before him.

Although the golden mask covered the upper half of his face, Li You could still feel Gwyndolin's gaze fixed on him.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and then Gwyndolin spoke first: "...The last and only remaining Darkmoon Sword, we have finally met."

His voice was clear and slightly hoarse, but also very pleasant to the ear.

This Shadow Sun was born male, but was raised as a daughter. Although His voice is somewhat androgynous, it is still clear that He is a man.

Li You met His gaze and then nodded: "This must be our first meeting... Gwyndolin, leader of the Darkmoon Knights."

Logically speaking, Li You swore an oath to join the Darkmoon Blade in the world of Dark Souls III. Although he swore an oath to Yorshka, Gwyndolin's successor, it is clear that according to the oath, Gwyndolin was also someone he was loyal to.

However, at this moment, Li You's attitude was relatively casual, and he did not show the utmost respect to his "lord" and the gods. Gwyndolin did not seem to have any problem either, and his attitude remained mild.

As the chief god of the sun gods and the son of King Gwyn, Gwyndolin was naturally proud, but he was also keenly aware that everything had long since changed.

The memory of his years of hardship in Anor Londo and his eventual betrayal is still vivid in his mind. His remaining soul was sent into the amulet, and although he was unable to regain consciousness, he had some understanding of what happened afterward.

He knew perfectly well who Li You was, what kind of power he possessed, and... what he was capable of.

Finally, even though it was just a soul projection at the moment, Gwendolyn clearly felt from Li You the attention and even protection from his brother who had been stripped of his name.

For all these reasons, when facing Li You, Gwynedlin did not place himself in the position of a god facing a believer, but instead adopted an attitude of treating both parties as relatively equals, and even as the one seeking help.

After all, even ignoring the reasons mentioned above, he couldn't even manifest his remnant soul at the moment, and had to rely on Li You's power to condense a projection.

In this situation, what kind of fool would dare to act so arrogantly?

Li You was also very pleased with Gwyndolin's attitude, after all, no matter how much he liked Gwyndolin, he would not grovel before any god.

So at this moment, he looked at Gwyndolin, thought for a moment, and asked, "How did you suddenly become visible? Has your soul been restored?"

Gwyndolin shook his head slightly: "Not yet."

To answer Li You's questions, He further explained: "After being betrayed by the traitor Sallyvan and devoured by the disgusting Eldridge, my remnant soul was about to dissipate, but at the last moment, it was absorbed into that amulet by some force."

"My remaining power was borrowed by the amulet, and my consciousness was imprisoned within it, but this also saved me from the fate of being scattered. "Moreover, the woman who first possessed the amulet—your apprentice—did indeed have considerable talent, and when I occasionally awaken, I will use my power to teach her some spells."

"But at this stage, my consciousness was still muddled, and I could hardly find myself."

When Gwyndolin mentioned Kara, he seemed to smile slightly before continuing, "The turning point happened when you reunited with her in that world called the Borderlands."

"You signed the oath of the Darkmoon Sword, gained the attention of my brother, and came into contact with that amulet when your power had already reached the level of a demigod. It was only then that my consciousness was awakened to some extent."

"You know very well what happened next. You gave me a considerable amount of divine power, which became the foundation for my soul repair. In addition, the feedback I received from the sinners you slew when you wore the Darkmoon Sword badge also provided me with considerable help."

"After all, I am still the leader of the Darkmoon Sword, and it is my duty to hunt down sinners who are enemies of the gods."

"However, my soul is so badly damaged that even with all the help you have given me, I still cannot awaken."

"Until...you came into this world."

Gwyndolin looked out of the bedroom: "Before this, even I didn't know. What I lacked was the primal essence of this world."

"As Gwyn's son, I was born and raised here, and only by absorbing the power of this world can my broken soul be finally repaired."

Upon hearing this, Li You was taken aback.

"...Wait, you're saying this world is the Dark World... your world?"

But Gwyndalin shook his head again.

“Not entirely. This is still within the strange realm you call ‘Valhalla,’ but an external force has merged with the power of Valhalla itself, creating a special space.”

“You are not a true god yet, so there are some things I cannot explain to you clearly. In short, you can simply understand it as the Hall of Heroes and the Ringed City being connected through some special power. This place is both within the Hall of Heroes and connected to the real Ringed City.”

Li You frowned slightly upon hearing this, yet he seemed to understand.

Therefore, his previous strange feeling was not an illusion. Unlike the situation in the lower realm of Valhalla, this place is not just fictional, but can indeed be regarded as part of the world of Dark Souls.

Gwyndolin's explanation clarified many things for him, but it also raised more questions. However, Li You knew that even if he asked Him, he would not get the answers to those questions.

So Li You simply looked at Ringed City as well and said, "So this city is so dangerous because it's built on top of Ringed City with the added amplification of the Hall of Heroes?"

However, Gwyndolin once again gave a negative answer: "That's not the case. As far as I can see, apart from the increased power of a few individuals, the city as a whole should be consistent with the original Ringed City."

Li You: "...Hmm?"

"You might think that because the residents here are far more powerful than the people of Irithyll or Lothric, but in reality, this is their original strength."

Gwyndolin said, "As you know, the Ringed City is a city isolated from the world. They were separated from it long ago, in the time of King Gwyn."

"That's why everything here still retains the look of that era, while the world you saw before is a result of continuous decay and weakening."

The underlying principle was much easier to understand than the structure of the world, and Li You immediately grasped it.

In other words, the combat strength of this Ringed City is roughly comparable to that of the original Souls, which is why the enemy is so strong. That's the gist of it.

After the small talk, the two finally got down to business.

Li You looked at Gwyndolin and asked, "So, you stopped me just now because... you didn't want me to wake her?"

His gaze fell upon the sleeping Felene, Gwyn's youngest daughter, who should also be considered Gwyndolin's sister.

He has now been told that this world is not entirely a fabrication of Valhalla, and it seems reasonable for Gwyndolin to want to stop him from waking her, and Li You himself is not sure if it is the right thing to do.

However, Gwyndolin didn't mean it that way: "No... I have no intention of stopping you. Felene is my sister, but the one before you is nothing more than a prisoner suffering eternal torment."

“If you touch that shell, it will shatter, the false image covering the Ringed City will dissipate, and you will see the true appearance of the end of the world... and her true state.”

Gwyndolin was referring to the scene that Li You had seen in the game.

Once the shell that Ferrenor embraces is touched, all illusions will vanish, revealing beneath it the city of Ringed Imprint, buried by sandstorms, and Ferrenor himself, now a desiccated corpse.

There has been much debate in the Soul Studies community regarding the interpretation of this game CG, but at least for now, in this world, Li You has obtained a definitive answer.

“…Felene’s body had long since withered, but this shell preserved everything from the past of Ringed City and bound her soul within it.”

Gwyndlin revealed the truth: "Touch this shell, and you will see the truth and shatter its shackles on her. At least in that way, her soul can be set free."

“I see.” Li You looked at Him, raising an eyebrow. “But even so, I originally thought you would still stop me. Back then, you didn’t hesitate to use the illusion of the Sun Princess to maintain the illusory prosperity of Anor Londo. Why are you making a different choice now?”

Gwyndolin hadn't expected him to ask that question, and after a moment of silence, he said, "...Perhaps it is everything I've experienced since then that has changed my mind."

Thinking about His experiences over the years, Li You roughly understood.

Perhaps now, Gwyndolin would rather his sister no longer have to suffer like this than maintain the remaining glory of the Sunrise Dynasty.

"I stopped you just now not to tell you not to touch that shell, but to remind you of something. I sensed a different aura from the original one from that shell."

Gwynton concluded, "Because the world before us has changed, it's possible that touching the shell could have completely different effects than expected. You'd better be careful."

Upon hearing this, Li You's expression also turned serious.

Does this mean the location might change later, or that the final boss might not be the original Gale?

(End of this chapter)