Project Two

A Path in the Dark

BOOK 1

CHAPTER 1

It was just another day. The wind was howling, the moans of the other inmates were just as painful as any other day. As he opened his eyes to embrace the new day a shooting pain shot through his head. With all of his might he clung on to what he could remember, his name: Geoffrey. Geoffrey could not remember where he came from, who he was, or who he knew. He didn't even know how long he had been in his cell for, or what he did. All he knew of himself was his name.

Geoffrey is Undead, a human afflicted with the accursed Dark Sign. A burning ring that seals his fate as a Hollow, a husk of a man that is devoid of everything that makes him whole. His long gray hair Stretched down to his shoulders, he had a decent build, one clearly designed for a Pyromancer, he clung to his teachings on how to cast a simple fireball, yet he despaired as he had not flame to cast it with. His ragged robes were enough to keep him warm on days when the wind was calmer.

Geoffrey could feel it, he was close to fully going hollow. But fate had other plans. In the distance the clanking of armor could be heard. Suddenly a corpse had fallen through the hole in the ceiling, on its body was a key. Geoffrey looked up and saw a knight atop his cell, the knight nodded and ran, presumably to rescue more prisoners. Geoffrey rushed to the body and grabbed the key. He hurried to the door and slipped the key into the lock, with one turn he was free. He made his way through the halls of the asylum, past all the hollows that were left screaming and digging at the floor. There was no sense to their patterns. Geoffrey continued through the hallway until he reached a ladder, he climbed it and found himself at the main courtyard of the asylum. The courtyard was open to the elements and as such had some snow dusted across the yard. There, in the middle of the yard was a sword wedged into the ground in a pile of ash. As Geoffrey approached it, he placed his hand over the sword. As he did this the ashes alight and he rested at his first bonfire.

While he was resting he took a moment to analyze the situation he was in, alone in a prison full of Hollows. What happened to that knight? he thought to himself, I hope he is okay. Geoffrey could not hear the sound of armor moving about. He feared the worst.

As Geoffrey got up he turned his attention to the massive doorway on the other side of the yard. He made his way to it and pushed open the heavy iron doors with all his might. He was just barely able to open it enough so that he could go through. The door opened into a large room. There were several vases the size of him on the sides of the room underneath the balconies held up by several stone pillars that flanked both sides of the room. Above him he could see something huge on top of the hole in the ceiling, a demon. Luckily it had not seen him yet and was yet to jump down and attack him. Geoffrey could see the giant hammer it held, clearly made of some monstrous bone. He looked around the room and spotted a small door he could fit through, but the demon could not.

The time was now, Geoffrey sprinted to the door. As he did the demon jumped from the ceiling in an attempt to land a falling strike. However, by the time the demon landed Geoffrey was already through the small doorway. A gate came down from above the door frame to trap Geoffrey in this new path. He was away from the demon at least, and luckily there was a bonfire down the hall in the next room, Geoffrey could catch his breath.

After catching his breath, he continued to explore his new path, finding a hallway in the process. It was open to the elements after something destroyed the roof, the was rubble everywhere. As Geoffrey entered the hallway he came under fire by a Hollow shooting arrows at him from the other end. Luckily, there was a shield sitting in an open cell to his left. He hid in the cell as he grabbed the shield. It was cracked and made of wood, but it would do. With his newfound shield in hand he rushed at the archer. As he got closer the archer began to run away into the next hallway. As Geoffrey pursued his attacker he found a hand axe lying within the rubble. He picked it up and gave it a few swings, oddly enough it felt natural in his hands, almost like Geoffrey was used to wielding axes.

With a weapon in hand Geoffrey had slain the archer that blocked his path. He went through a doorway and found himself on the upper floor looking out onto the courtyard. He looked around for a bit and found some stairs that lead down to the courtyard and opened up a door to let him rest at the bonfire. There was another set of stairs going up and as Geoffrey climbed them a new threat approached. A massive iron ball was rolling right at him. He rolled to the side to avoid being killed. He heard a loud smash and looked back to see that the ball had destroyed some of the wall, opening up another room. Before exploring that room, Geoffrey ran up the stairs and slayed the Hollow who had pushed the ball, behind it was a locked door.

Geoffrey went back to see what was in the room and found non-other than the knight who had saved him. As Geoffrey approached the knight he began to speak to Geoffrey.

“Hey…. you there…you’re not hollow huh? Remember me? I threw you that key earlier, glad to see you made it out.” The knight struggled to speak, “S-sorry, I don’t think I’m gonna last much longer…please hear me out…there is something you need to know…”

Geoffrey nodded his head, to say yes.

“Regrettably I, Oscar of Astora, have failed my mission... But perhaps you can keep the torch lit... There is an old saying in my family... ‘Thou who art Undead, art chosen... In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords... When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know…’” Oscar let out a big cough, if his helmet’s mask would have been up Geoffrey could have seen the blood spew from his mouth. Nonetheless Oscar continued, “S-since I’m not gonna make it out its best if you take this.” He handed Geoffrey the Flask. It contained some sort of orange liquid, Geoffrey recognized it as a healing concoction. Oscar continued, “Looks like I’m out of time, get out of here before what’s left of me becomes a Hollow. I wouldn’t want to hurt you, you’re my last hope. No, this world’s last hope. Go on, I’ll see you on the other side…”

Geoffrey took his leave, Oscar had also handed him a key, one that would fit the door at the top of the steps. As Geoffrey made his way to the door he could hear the sounds of the knight struggling, suddenly the sounds stopped. Geoffrey couldn’t bare to go back into the room and check on his new friend, he knew in his heart that the knight was gone.

Geoffrey opened the door out onto another balcony looking out on the outside of the asylum, he could see it was stationed on a cliffside. There was a peak behind the building that looked out onto the vast void of nothingness, clouds covered the view of the ground. Geoffrey could see mountains in the distance, but nothing close to him. He made his was through the balcony and to his surprise found a catalyst to cast his pyromancy spells, a glove with a pyromancy flame within it. Suddenly two Hollows had rushed Geoffrey, without thinking he hurled a fireball their way and the two went up in flames. But Geoffrey could not rest, an archer had spotted him from across the balcony and began firing at him. Geoffrey raised his shield and ran towards his attacker. He switched to his axe and quickly cut the fiend down.

After Geoffrey caught his breath he addressed his new situation. The balcony had two doors, one that would take him above the room where the demon was and the other to a smaller room. Geoffrey decided to check the small room first and found a Hollow soldier. Despite its armor and shield Geoffrey was able to dispatch of it easily, but at the end of the murky room was a locked door. Geoffrey could see a corpse with some time of ring on its finger through the bars of the door, but he could not open it. Maybe one day he would find a key to open it.

Geoffrey went back to the balcony and stared down the huge doorway that would drop him right on top of the demon he fled from earlier. Geoffrey had to face the beast now, luckily, he had his axe and a way of casting his spells, he was sure to win the battle!

Geoffrey clutched onto his axe tightly and jumped onto the demon, performing a plunging attack just as it tried to do to him. Unlike before, the attack was successful! Geoffrey was able to severely wound the demon, damaging its head. As Geoffrey fell to the ground he reclaimed his footing and braced himself to dodge the demon’s oncoming attacks. The demon roared and lifted its massive hammer above its head, as it slammed down Geoffrey rolled away successfully and punished the demon by hurling a fire ball at its grotesque leg. The demon followed up with a low swing of its hammer, this led Geoffrey up close and personal to the obese beast. While he was close he quickly circled around its back and slashed at it’s rear a few times with his axe. The demon let out a mighty roar again and jumped into the air, Geoffrey could now see it had small wings that were able to keep it airborne for a few seconds before it came crashing down. Geoffrey was blown back by the gust of wind it had stirred up and cut himself on some rubble. Geoffrey quickly regained his stance and hastily threw a fireball at the hideous fiend. The attack connected, and the demon let out an ear-piercing cry, it was defeated.

The demon faded into a white smoke-like-substance and left a big metal key on the ground. Geoffrey claimed it and turned his attention to the massive iron door that dwarfed the original one he came in. In his hastiness to escape earlier and the intensity of his previous fight he never noticed it. He tried to push it open, but he could tell it was locked, he tried his new found key and it opened. It opened up to the peak he had seen earlier. He made his way to edge of the cliff, he looked out onto the grim horizon. The clouds covered the sun completely and there were snow-covered mountains way off in the distance, as far as the eye could see. Suddenly as large black dot was racing towards him from the sky. Just my luck, Geoffrey thought to himself. He braced for impact but was surprised when the object appeared to be a giant crow. It all happened in an instant, the crow had grabbed Geoffrey and began to carry him away towards his destiny.

CHAPTER 2

The crow had dropped Geoffrey off in a strange new land, but remembering what Oscar had told him, Geoffrey figured he was in the land of Ancient Lords…whatever that was. Geoffrey had found himself in a small cliffside, however unlike the harsh cold of the Asylum, this place was full of greenery, a bonfire, and some ruined buildings. He glanced over his new surroundings and saw that the giant crow that had brought him here was perched on top of a nearby building. As he continued to look around he spotted of all things a person by one of the buildings. Geoffrey approached the man who was covered head to toe in chainmail and went on to give a depressing speech about how life was hopeless and that nothing mattered. But he was able to inform Geoffrey that there were two Bells of Awakening, one located atop a church, and the other sitting at the bottom of a murky swamp.

As Geoffrey explored more he found another person, this time a rather rude cleric of sorts who was waiting to meet up with other clerics at a place called Firelink Shrine. Geoffrey asked where the shrine was and was met with a confusing look. The cleric explained that they were at Firelink Shrine right now. He even pointed Geoffrey in the direction of the Fire Keeper, the priestess who devotes her life to keeping a bonfire lit. Geoffrey was able to deduce that the one he had seen earlier was of some importance and set out to go see this Fire Keeper. She was located below the bonfire, there were stairs leading down the cliffside that led right to her. Geoffrey was in for a surprise when he went to greet the priestess and learned she was not only mute, but behind prison bars built in the cliffside with no doors in sight.

After surveying the area and collecting a few useful items, Geoffrey decided to set out for the first Bell of Awakening. The Crestfallen Knight had pointed him towards some stairs the led up the cliffside towards an aqueduct. He informed Geoffrey that he would need to pass through the Undead Burg to get the Undead Parish where the bell was located. And with that, Geoffrey was off to fulfill Oscar’s request and discover what exactly his fate was.

After dealing with the hollows that blocked his path, Geoffrey made his way through the aqueduct. He could feel the cool water dampening his boots, he could not recall the last time he had taken a bath, let a lone what a bath was. After a brief walk he came upon a door leading outside, up some stairs, and finally to the Undead Burg. After fighting his way through a few buildings with some hollows here and there he came across a narrow bridge connecting the few buildings he had just explored to the rest of the burg. As Geoffrey attempted to cross, a massive dragon had swooped down onto the bridge and blown Geoffrey down. As he regained his footing the dragon flew off to the other side of a huge tower than loomed over the burg in the distance. Geoffrey surveyed the area, he had to deal with a few hollows in an open space with a crossbowman shooting at him from above. He was rewarded, when he ducked into a building right before another narrow bridge, was another bonfire and a decent place to rest. Geoffrey continued his way through the burg, going from building to building slaying hollows and getting closer to the giant tower when eventually he had arrived.

As Geoffrey began to climb the stairs up the tower he could feel an eerie aura overwhelming the building. He had not faced a single hollow since entering the building. He understood why when he reached the top. There was door that led up to what seemed to be the top of a wall connecting to another tower. He could hear the movements of hollows up on the top of the tower he was in, but across the wall was another enemy on top of the tower. It was a giant, hairy demon with a bull-like head and a giant axe. Geoffrey could see that the blade portion of the axe was covered in blood, Geoffrey was definitely not the first undead to make it this far. Before alerting the demon, Geoffrey found a ladder leading up to the roof of his tower and dispatched the hollows.

Afterwards he steeled himself and advanced towards the demon. By the time Geoffrey was halfway across the wall it jumped down and pursued Geoffrey. With it being much bigger than Geoffrey, he was able to dodge its attacks by staying between its legs and attacking its ankles. But soon the demon would catch on and start to jump around, Geoffrey took a few hits in the process. Geoffrey had to come up with something fast, his Estus Flask was running low and he was not expecting to last much longer. That is, until he realized he could climb back up the tower he came from and leap down and strike this demon just like he did the last one. He dodged the demon’s next attack and sprinted back to the tower, he scurried up the ladder just as the demon swung at him and missed. The demon let out a huge roar and began to prepare to jump up to meet Geoffrey on the roof. However, Geoffrey was too fast, he was able to jump from the building a hit the demon with a deadly plunging attack to the face. The demon let out a big moan and fell to his knees and died. Just like the previous demon, it faded away in an eerie white smoke. I did it! Geoffrey thought to himself as he collapsed from exhaustion.

After regaining his stamina Geoffrey explored the tower the demon was originally perched on, as he climbed down he found himself at a much larger bridge than the two he had crossed earlier to his left. To his right was a little outcropping in the bridge. There he saw an odd man staring towards the sun. The man was not phased when Geoffrey approached him, but as he got close he could see that his armor and shield had a giant sun depicted on it.

“Well now you don’t appear to be a hollow, thank the lords! I was beginning to think I was all alone out here.”

Geoffrey looked puzzled at this man.

“What? Are you wondering why I was staring up at the sun? Well no need to worry, you see I am an undead, and as such I came here to Lordran to pay my respects to the Lord of Sunlight himself, Gwyn. It’s on this very land that Lord Gwyn once lived after he defeated the Everlasting Dragons during the Age of Ancients. It was a splendid victory that brought about the Age of Fire, that both you and I are enjoying right now!”

So, this place is Lordran, the land of the Ancient Lords. Geoffrey thought to himself.

“You seem like a good chap, here take this,” the man handed Geoffrey a white stone that looked almost like a writing utensil. “It’s a soapstone, you can use it to lend other undead warriors like ourselves a helping hand when they are in a tight spot. If you see mine around, I’ll be sure to give you a hand!”

Geoffrey gave the man a blank look this time, how could he know which sign was the man’s?

“Oh, that’s right! Hah hah hah! You don’t know my name; how can I expect you to know its me without it? I am Solaire of Astora, and one day I wish to be as grossly incandescent as this beautiful sun. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Geoffrey chuckled, Solaire was a bubbly man for sure, but nonetheless he could tell that Solaire was a nice man. After chatting for a bit, the two parted ways as Geoffrey continued forward and Solaire stayed back to admire the sun. As Geoffrey walked away he reflected on the knight of Astora he had met, and then it hit him. Oscar… A chill had run down Geoffrey’s spine as he quivered to think of what had happened to him, he was surely hollow by now.

Getting back on track Geoffrey had to cross the massive bridge, as he got closer he realized there were burn marks all along the floor of it. A terrible thought crossed his mind that he hoped would not come true. But it did. As soon as Geoffrey stepped on to the bridge he ran, there was a set of stairs leading below into one of the tower portions of the bridge and Geoffrey bolted towards it. The dragon had returned. It blasted the bridge with a fiery inferno and all the hollows that were bumming about it were burnt to a crisp. Geoffrey surveyed the area from behind cover, he saw that underneath where the dragon was perched was an entrance to a huge building and a bonfire. He gave it everything he had and was just able to reach the building without getting burned. Geoffrey collapsed at the bonfire.

After a nice nap, it was time for Geoffrey to figure out where he was. After checking out the area past the bonfire, Geoffrey could see a church, and on top of it a giant bell. That’s a Bell of Awakening, this must be the Undead Parish. As soon as Geoffrey finished his thought he was knocked back. He neglected to notice the giant boar covered in gleaming iron armor that was by the entrance to the church. After a few fireballs it was dispatched of, and it even left its helm, tusks and all. Geoffrey felt a little guilty putting his new helmet on, but he felt it made him look cool. As Geoffrey entered the church he was met by three impressively skilled hollow swordsmen, and in the back towards an altar a giant knight in black armor. As Geoffrey approached the knight in the back he could hear the sounds of spells being cast. He looked above to the second floor and an odd caster had begun to dance around with his trident-like staff, sending shots of magical energy right at Geoffrey. He had to dance around them what taking on the black knight but afterwards ran up the stairs and rushed the mage and its army of hollows.

After clearing out the building he found an elevator on the first floor. Upon inspection Geoffrey found that it led back to Firelink Shrine. As he continued to search the church Geoffrey found a side door that led to another tower. He checked it out and found a friendly blacksmith by the name of Andre down in it’s basement. Geoffrey also found a bridge leading to a massive gate that barred entry to a huge fortress. Sitting at the door was a knight in rather plump armor and a helm that resembled an onion. After chatting for a bit, Geoffrey learned the man’s name was Siegmeyer of Catarina. Siegmeyer had reached an impasse when he was stopped by the gate, he needed to get through urgently but had no clue how. Neither did Geoffrey, but he wished Siegmeyer luck on his adventure as he returned to the church.

It was now or never, Geoffrey had made his way to the roof of the Church and could see the entrance to the bell tower. However, that eerie aura fell over him again as he stepped out onto the roof, he did not make it more than four steps onto the roof when suddenly a gargoyle from atop the bell tower came to life. He rushed at Geoffrey with an enormous stone halberd and an axe-tipped tail to catch him as he dodged its initial attack. The two traded blows for a while before Geoffrey got the idea to cut off the gargoyle’s tail. If he could cut it off, then he could take advantage of its new blind spot and take care of this beast in no time. Geoffrey was able to sprint behind the beast and cut its tail clean off, he was even able to salvage the axe it had been attacking him with. At this point the gargoyle was getting tired and Geoffrey could tell it was almost dead, but as Geoffrey went in for the finishing blows another one had jumped down. The second one was nowhere near as strong as the first. This one lacked a tail and spent more time breathing fire at Geoffrey than swinging his halberd. Almost as a sign of respect Geoffrey hurled a few fireballs to end the fight. Geoffrey, reveling in his accomplishments did not even notice the gargoyles fading away as he scurried up the tower. As he reached the top he found the bell and a lever. With all his might, Geoffrey pulled the lever and the bell began to toll. One bell down, one to go!

CHAPTER 3

Geoffrey decided to head back to Firelink Shrine after ringing the bell and see if that crestfallen knight had any idea on how to get to the next bell. As a matter of fact, he did.

“There are two paths you can take to get to the bell located below Blighttown. One requires a special key that takes you straight to it, while the other has you go through the lower parts of the Undead Burg and through the Depths before getting to Blighttown.”

Of course, I don’t have the special key. Great…

Back in the Undead Burg Geoffrey explore the lower regions that at one point seemed to be slums. There place was dirty and full of thieves and nasty dogs. Geoffrey hated the dogs, they were very fast and could gang up on him easily, but he managed. Down in the lower streets he found a mage who was trapped. His name was Griggs of Vinheim and he explained that he was in search for a legendary mage by the name of Big Hat Logan who had come to Lordran recently. Geoffrey was unsure why, but the name Logan seemed oddly familiar.

As Geoffrey made his way to the end of the slums he came upon a locked door, presumably leading into the Depths. Geoffrey eventually found the key, on a demon. This time the demon was not alone, it had two guard dogs that tried to trap Geoffrey in place while the demon swung at him with its two giant swords. Geoffrey was able to make quick work of the dogs and brought the fight to a one-on-one. The demon was pretty fast, it was incredibly skinny compared to the other two he had met and knew its way around a sword. But Geoffrey’s new axe from the Gargoyles was able to take it down no problem. Now Geoffrey had the Key to the Depths.

The Depths themselves were the sewers for the Undead Burg. It was filled with rats and other nasty creatures. The initial area was similar to the slums area he had just been through. He even found a fellow pyromancer named Laurentius of the Great Swamp. The two bonded over their interest in pyromancy and Laurentius agreed to go back to Firelink and the two could study together when Geoffrey got back. The rest of the Depths was a maze and Geoffrey found himself getting lost here and there. Eventually he found his way to a huge room, it appeared to be similar to be a massive version of one of the buildings by the church. Geoffrey entered the room from a side of the wall with several floors to it. There was a huge section beyond the balcony he stood on that seemed to be a battlefield, Geoffrey could only imagine what monstrosity was waiting to meet him there. On the highest floor Geoffrey found a mage just like the one at the church, but instead of an army of hollows it was accompanied by three giant rats. After taking care of business upstairs it was time to enter the arena.

The arena was a foreboding place that put Geoffrey on edge, normally he could at least see his opponent in some capacity but this time he was clueless. As he got closer to the center a small lizard head popped up on the other side of the room. On the far wall opposite the one Geoffrey came in from was a huge chasm. Within that chasm was that small lizard head. Well, it was small until the rest of its body appeared as it climbed up to the arena. It was none other than a massive dragon, and just any dragon. This particular dragon had no skin on its lower portion from the neck to the hind legs. It was able to bend its back and make all of its ribs pop out. This thing is absolutely disgusting.

Geoffrey was in for one hell of a fight, this was by far the biggest enemy he had ever had to face. He was able to run from the previous dragon, but this hulking monstrosity was not avoidable. The dragon tried to ram Geoffrey into walls of the arena, but if he was able to dodge correctly he could dish out a lot of damage to its tiny head. But this dragon was not going down without a fight, as Geoffrey got close it began to vomit all over the floor, making Geoffrey have to keep his distance where the dragon had the advantage. The fight when on for several minutes, but eventually Geoffrey got the best of the massive dragon and won the fight. A sight of relief came from Geoffrey as he collected a key the dragon had been protecting, finally he could enter Blighttown.

Geoffrey thought he could relax after his encounter with the Gaping Dragon, but the worst was far from over. Blighttown was a mess. Its inhabitants were a bunch of feces covered barbarians that constantly gnarled and screamed. It. Was. Hell. The place was huge, the upper layers that Geoffrey was on were made out of wooden scaffolding which led into the bottom area which was a huge swamp. The swamp was no better than the upper layers. Giant mosquitoes pestered Geoffrey for what seemed like forever and huge barbarians chucked full size boulders at Geoffrey. Nonetheless, Geoffrey fought through the pain of the poisonous swamp to reach an odd den. The den was made out of what appeared to be spider webs and as Geoffrey followed the path he found a pack of weird men with giant egg sacs protruding from their pack, praying to something deeper in the den. That eerie feeling hit Geoffrey again. The bell is close!

Geoffrey found himself in a giant arena, a setting that was becoming all too familiar to him. As he entered another creature entered from a tower across the room. It was a disgusting spider, but on top of the spider, towards where its neck would be, was…the upper half of a girl. Wait, she’s…nude! Geoffrey was caught off guard when the girl winked as she pulled out a huge sword that looked like a spider’s leg and licked her lips.

The creature knew what it was doing by throwing Geoffrey off, it was able to bring his guard down and get in a few hits. The spider began vomiting lava onto the arena while the woman slashed at Geoffrey. Geoffrey stayed in close and got in a few hits of his own until the creature created a huge blast of energy that shot Geoffrey back. Geoffrey rushed back in to the creature’s sides and this time prepared to dodge the energy blast now that he knew how it would cast it. Within a few more cycles the creature was defeated, and Geoffrey could make his way to the tower.

In the tower Geoffrey found the second Bell of Awakening and gave it a ring. As Geoffrey walked around he went to lean on a wall but was startled when he fell down upon leaning back. An illusory wall had caught him off guard, but behind it was another egg sac man, but he was not praying this time. Geoffrey approached him, and he turned out to be friendly. His name was Eingyi, and he served the Fair Lady. Upon questioning he was able to see the Fair Lady and Geoffrey learned that she was the sister to the creature he had just defeated, Quelaag. Eingyi explained that the Fair Lady and Quelaag were daughters of the Witch of Izalith, one of the four ancient lords. He was king enough to let Geoffrey rest at their bonfire. Geoffrey had a long day and without even realizing it he had dozed off to sleep.

            Suddenly it was bright, Geoffrey had woken up in a strange new place. It was nothing like his world that he knew. Suddenly the vision began to play out, Geoffrey was able to figure out that what he was seeing was someone else’s life. He had no control over the movements that person made, he was being shown something: a vision. So many faces passed as this person went about their life. Not a single one was familiar to Geoffrey.

            Geoffrey went on watching this boy’s life. Season changed as time went on yet to Geoffrey it felt like minutes. He came to understand that this boy was important for some reason. Why else would I be seeing this? He thought. However, he was unable to make out the boy’s name. He saw the boy’s friend’s day in and day out. Geoffrey’s life was so much more different than the boy’s. Geoffrey saw no signs of anything he had come to know, he wasn’t sure if he was even in Lordran anymore.

            One day, Geoffrey noticed the boy struggling, he seemed to be in pain. Admittedly Geoffrey did not pay attention to the visions all the time as he was still able to move about in this black void where the visions appeared. So, Geoffrey did not understand what had happened. When suddenly Geoffrey turned around and saw that the black void was no longer so empty. A massive city had appeared behind him, and at the very back of this city was a huge castle.

            Without hesitation Geoffrey began to sprint towards the castle, he knew deep down that the boy was there. It was when Geoffrey made it to the center of the town and halfway to the castle that a man in black-hooded robe appeared.

            “Go back from where you came from, he doesn’t need to be bothered by you.” The hooded figure then raised his hand and shot out a massive blast of dark energy. It sent Geoffrey careening into a building, the little bit of armor he wore was able to soften the blow slightly, but the building was damaged. Geoffrey was without a weapon, so he steeled himself and made a run for the castle. The hooded figure was outraged at this move and began to pursue Geoffrey.

            “I SAID BEGONE!” The hooded figure now leaped from rooftop to rooftop shooting balls of dark energy at Geoffrey’s feet. Geoffrey caught on to this and started to run in a zigzag pattern to help evade the attack. Geoffrey had just about made it to the castle when the hooded figure sent out his last resort. Suddenly the sky above Geoffrey was littered with swords made entirely of dark energy, all aimed directly at him. Without skipping a beat Geoffrey bolted towards the castle entrance. He saw that the path leading to the drawbridge had been partially destroyed by the onslaught of energy balls and that one of the statues of a knight had its shield lying on the ground. Geoffrey snatched the shield and covered his head with it. Suddenly, from above he heard the hooded figure scream, “DIE!” The swords came down instantly but thanks to the shield Geoffrey was safe, he had made it in to the castle.

            As soon as Geoffrey had made it in the drawbridge shot up and closed off the castle from outsiders. The castle was very simple, nothing too extravagant. It kept enemies out and that’s it. As Geoffrey explored he found the throne room on the second floor of the building. The first floor was mostly living quarters and outposts for guards, but the second floor contained the dining area, kitchen, throne room, and towers leading to the bedrooms. Behind the throne of the throne room was a passage up to the central, and highest tower. Geoffrey deduced that the boy would be at the top.

            Indeed, he was. Sitting on a bench overlooking the area behind the castle, was the boy Geoffrey had been searching for. He wore a black robe just like the man who tried to stop Geoffrey from entering. The boy had longer blonde hair that shinnied in the light. The boy turned his gaze from the lands beyond the castle towards Geoffrey. His eyes seemed devoid of color, they pierced through Geoffrey’s soul.

            “I’m sorry Geoffrey but now is not the time,” he said.

            “B-but I just want to know what’s- “Geoffrey was cut off.

            “I don’t get why you’re here either. This place should only be accessible to me. It is my heart after all.”

            “Y-your heart?”

            “Yes. I know, that can be hard to understand for someone who doesn’t have one.”

            “What do you mean I don’t have a heart! How can I be alive without one?”

            The boy turned his gaze back to the lands outside, “You’re nothing but code Geoffrey, a fake being I made, don’t worry you’ll understand soon enough.”

            “Then what about that guy in the robe that was chasing me outside?”

            “Him? He’s just an illusion I made.” The boy began to walk about the room, he walked over to the wall to Geoffrey’s left. He stopped by a picture that was on the wall. There were four people depicted on it, however three of the faces were crossed out, two with a black ‘X’ and the third with a big red ‘X’. “I made him because I’m weak…WEAK AND PATHETIC!” The boy slammed his fist on the wall, the picture had fallen off and the frame that held it smashed into pieces. “I don’t deserve it! It is my job to be punished and that’s his job! To show me, just how pathetic I truly am.”

            “Let me help you!” Geoffrey blurted out.

            “I said I don’t deserve it. It is my place in this world to embrace pain, it is all I know how to feel. I DON’T NEED A DAMN HERO LIKE YOU!” Tears filled the boy’s face as he clenched his fist and rushed Geoffrey, punching him in the gut. “You damn heroes just run around, helping people. But you bastards leave the second things appear fine. I have more layers than you can even imagine, you’ll just run away. Like they always do…” The boy prepared another punch, but this time as he threw it Geoffrey caught it. Tears resumed running down the boy’s face. “Just run away, its what they always do. No one wants to save me after they see how deep these scars go…”

            Suddenly the castle disappeared, and Geoffrey was alone in the void again. He looked around frantically before he was suddenly unable to move. As his eyes closed and he drifted off back into unconsciousness he could hear a distinct voice talking to him, “I told you to stay away. What did you think would happen? You’re nothing but data, did you really think you could save your controller? Pathetic.”

CHAPTER 4

            When Geoffrey awoke he found himself at Firelink Shrine. What, how did I get here? How long was I out for? The Crestfallen Knight seemed to have disappeared, however Laurentius was over where he used to be looking out over the cliff.

            “What? You’re awake. I’m so glad, I was thinking that we had lost you for good.”

            Geoffrey inquired about how he had gotten to Firelink, last he knew he was in Blighttown.

            Laurentius explained, “I had taken a trip down there and found your body lying in the swamp, some guy in black robe was milling about by your body. He had his hood up so I wasn’t able to see his face. Luckily, he left one of those weird bones by your body, you know the ones that let undead like us magically travel back to a bonfire in an instant? That thing. I thought I almost heard him talking to you for a second. Something about someone being ‘his plaything’, I haven’t a clue what that was all about.”

            So that was all, real…

            “Well I might as well fill you in on what happened while you were gone, you’re looking pretty confused. The depressed knight guy mysteriously vanished, and the cleric’s friends showed up. But interestingly that huge gate by the Parish is now open. It opened around the same time you disappeared, so I thought the two events were somehow connected, since you’re awake now it might by worth your time to head there and check it out.”

            Siegmeyer! Geoffrey remembered that his onion-knight pal was waiting to get in to that fortress. I better go make sure he’s okay! After thanking Laurentius, Geoffrey made his way back to the fortress entrance as fast as he could. When he got there Siegmeyer was no where to be found. Geoffrey took a deep breath and ventured in to the fortress.

            The fortress was littered with trap after trap after trap. There were narrow bridges that were accompanied by swinging blades that were meant to catch any intruders off guard. On top of that there were giant lizard men who wielding huge swords and smaller ones who threw lighting magic at Geoffrey. Geoffrey had been taking his time with the fortress, one wrong move and he could end up at the bottom in a pit with some nasty monsters. Eventually he made it to the upper floors of the fortress that were all outside. As Geoffrey climbed some stairs he was caught off guard by a giant throwing massive firebombs from the highest tower above him. Geoffrey proceeded to rush through the area and make his way up the tower to take the giant on. As he finished the beast off he looked out over the edge of the tower and saw a giant, metal golem blocking the ruins of what was once a doorway. He had seen a doorway on the floor below him and Geoffrey figured out that was where he needed to go next.

            The golem was quite slow with its movements and its attacks, clearly that giant was meant to back the golem up in combat. The arena itself was quite small for housing a huge guard that was made entirely of solid iron. There was a central platform that was connected on both ends by a narrow bridge. Geoffrey was able to recognize that the golem hated fire, after hurling a few fireballs its way it began to panic and started to lose its balance. Geoffrey hit the golem in the ankles a few times and suddenly it fell backwards and went tumbling down thousands of feet back to the ground floor, it did not survive the fall. Geoffrey felt a little guilty for how little a challenge the fight was, but he did respect the very nice axe it was wielding. If only I could have it.

            As Geoffrey was heading back towards the main building he was suddenly lifted into the air. Three frail winged-demons came and grabbed him, flying him above the wall that the golem was guarding. As Geoffrey went over the wall he saw it, Anor Londo, the city of Lords. He had heard the cleric ramble on about it one day, it was the original home of Lord Gwyn and his family. As the demon’s put Geoffrey down, he was finally able to see the scale of this massive city. Everything was huge. The city was made so that Lords and humans could live together, with Lords being much bigger than normal humans the city was made to accommodate them. As Geoffrey explored he found a firekeeper sitting by a bonfire, this one dawned a set of armor, clearly, she had some history of defending her home. The two chatted for a bit and the firekeeper told Geoffrey to head into the huge cathedral at the end of the city.

            Little did Geoffrey now how arduous of a task it is to get into a huge cathedral. He had to make his way through several buildings to get onto the main road that chapel was on. The first one had him climbing about in the rafters while getting assaulted by a bunch of guards. The other one just had him navigating a few floors but getting into that building was the hard part. Two archers were stationed at the entrance to this building which connected to the side of the cathedral and was conveniently the only way in. These archers were insane, but with enough skill Geoffrey was able to take them out and make his way in to the building. In there he found Solaire who helped him out a bit and eventually Geoffrey was able to get into the main cathedral and open the doors so that he did not have to take the same path he did previously.

            As Geoffrey continued to explore the cathedral he found another area off the side opposite to the one he came in from that housed a blacksmith. The blacksmith was a friendly giant who just so happened to be making an axe that was exactly like the one the Iron Golem was wielding. Geoffrey quickly bought it and made his way back into the main hub of the cathedral. All that was left was the inner chambers, and that all too familiar eerie feel swept over him. This time it felt heavy, much heavier than anytime before. As Geoffrey made his way into the inner sanctum, he was greeted by a huge warrior in heavy armor who carried a massive hammer. At the same time a knight leaped down, lance in hand, and stared Geoffrey down from the other side of the room, Geoffrey was in for the fight of his life.

            The knight was incredibly fast and was on top of Geoffrey before he knew it. He got a few hits on Geoffrey with his lance but luckily, Geoffrey was able to get away before the warrior caught up to them. The fight continued on like this for several minutes, the knight rushed Geoffrey, Geoffrey dodged and ran away, and the warrior caught up and did a huge attack. The knight was almost dead when suddenly Geoffrey stopped paying attention to the warrior and got punished for it. He had snuck up behind Geoffrey and hit him with a massive hammer swing, Geoffrey was thrown into the back wall and the knight quickly followed up by stabbing Geoffrey with his lance. Suddenly Geoffrey could hardly keep his eyes open and everything went black.

            When Geoffrey woke up he was back at the bonfire with the armored firekeeper. Geoffrey thought by all accounts that he should have died there, but he was confused as to why he did not. Then he remembered, he is undead, when he dies he just goes back to the bonfire. So, those two killed me… Geoffrey shivered as he thought to himself.

            “Did Ornstein and Smough give you a rough time?” The words came from the firekeeper. “They have a habit of killing any challengers. Especially with Smough’s hammer, he used to be an executioner back in the day, that guy is downright creepy. And Ornstein, he used to be one of Gwyn’s knights. He used to slay dragons with Gwyn way back when, he’s quite skilled with a lance, I’d watch out for him. Hell, they work too well as a team.”

            The firekeeper helped Geoffrey come up with a plan to defeat them, she herself was unable to join the fight but she gave him some pointers. The main thing Geoffrey had to do was corner Ornstein and deal with him quickly, once the pair was reduced to one they would be much easier to deal with. Other than that Geoffrey just needed to keep his eye on Smough and not get caught off guard by his hammer.

            After the strategic discussion it was time to get back in their and give the pair hell. The firekeeper was right, Ornstein and Smough were a deadly duo. Geoffrey dodged many of their attacks waiting for the right moment, after the trio’s dance had reached its climax it was time to strike. Geoffrey clenched his axe with everything he had as he cornered Ornstein and severely wounded him. Ornstein tried to fight back by shooting lighting at Geoffrey, but it was no use, Ornstein fell to Geoffrey’s axe! As Geoffrey ran across the room to get a better angle on Smough, something odd happened. Smough went over to Ornstein’s body and slammed his hammer into him. Ornstein struggled to get up and evade Smough’s attack but failed. Smough now had seemingly absorbed Ornstein’s lighting magic and was heading straight for Geoffrey.

            Smough leaped into the air and slammed down, butt first, on to the ground. As he did this lighting covered the floor and even hit Geoffrey. There was no time to waste, the firekeeper had told Geoffrey to stay close to Smough due to his hammer’s arc being so far away from the body, but this new lighting attack forced Geoffrey to stay alert and not get caught off guard. The two traded blows for a few minutes until Geoffrey had completely emptied all of his Estus Flask. He had no way of healing now, he could tell Smough was getting tired and injured heavily too. This next attack had to be the one. Geoffrey clenched his axe tighter than he ever had before, everything was ridding on this one attack. As Geoffrey rushed Smough his massive hammer came swinging, Geoffrey was certain he would be hit. Geoffrey closed his eyes as he gave one last swing and he braced for Smough’s hammer, but it never came. Geoffrey had been able to strike Smough quick enough. Smough was dead. Geoffrey’s axe and shield fell to the floor as he collapsed due to exhaustion.

CHAPTER 5