After resting, I got up again and walked to the door. The slightly patterned door was pushed open with a heavy blow, and it seemed that something had changed, and I didn't know why, but I walked out of the door, and a road winded upward, leading to the place I had just seen, where there was a fire burning, and it was a little different from everything around me.

With joy and inexplicable fear, I walked forward, avoiding the battle with the enemy, walking up the steps and into the place where I could not remember the name at all. The throne appeared in front of me like that, lined up from the middle to the sides, except for the first one on the left. Walking down the stairs, I also met a person sitting on the stairs, wearing a black suit, a black cloak and a big sword behind his back, and seemed to be very frustrated.

“...... Oh, you're not a dead person, too. "As soon as I walked up to him, he suddenly spoke, and in this circular sacrificial arena, the voice echoed, slightly startled. But what is he talking about, is he talking about me? But how can I be immortal?

"I'm the same kind as you. The ashes without fire can accomplish nothing, and they are half-hangers who can't even die. "Strange fellow, before I could think of what to say, he spoke to himself, but what was he talking about—fire?

“...... It's ridiculous. "I also think yes, if I have an expression on my face, it must be a smile.

"A group of guys who can't die, they actually want to go to the salary king, and they want to bring the king back to the moldy throne." He must be talking about those thrones! However, who else in this world but me? Could it be that he is one of them?

"Those people are all heroes who spread fire! How can we do this kind of thing? He sighed, and I was curious, as if he were about to say something that I could not refute.

"That's what you think, right?" He sighed contemptuously, then laughed to himself, saying no more, as if he had finished his mission. I still want to ask something, but depending on his attitude, I won't say anything.

I left him alone and continued to walk down. A graceful woman in a black robe stood beside a brazier, her white hair but her eyes were obscured by something, a small cloak covering her shoulders and white stripes on her chest.

"Welcome to the campfire, Lord Ash without fire." Her voice seemed to reach me directly, and I felt a sense of peace of mind carved into the depths of my soul.

"I'm the firewoman—" she introduced herself, I wanted to see her eyes.

"Dedicated to maintaining the campfire, and the people who serve you."

"If you need help recovering the kings who have abandoned their thrones."

"Just call me as much as you want!" When she said something like this, my heart couldn't help but be touched, but so what? We've only met once.

"Lord Ash, please show the Spiral Sword to the campfire." She continued.

"That sword is proof of ashes, and it will lead you to the land of kings—"

"Lothric, the home of kings and the land of wandering confluence." Is that where I'm going? I took out the spiral sword and made a bad decision.

"Lord Ash, the fireless are vessels for the soul."

"So you can turn the ownerless soul into your own power."

"And I can help with that."

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"Lord Ash, please bring the soul of the ownerless..."What souls are not souls, what is that, is it the white mist that pours into my body?

It's somewhat ridiculous that the soul becomes the power, the soul of the ownerless. I must have defeated them! Are those who have no words and don't talk about their reasons the same kind as me? The hatred of the same kind, the resentment of the same kind, will I also become that kind of existence? I don't know, I don't know, there are some vague places in my memory that I don't know what to do.

I plunged my spiral sword into the campfire, and the flames burned, illuminating the slightly dim place a little, and I felt a warm current from the flames, a warmth. An indescribable sense of strength and mission makes a distant scene gradually clear in front of you.

"Goodbye, Lord Ash, may the flames guide you."

I turned my face to look at her, and she stood silently beside the brazier, as if she knew where I was going, but I was in no hurry to leave, and there was much more to explore in the place called the Fire Rite Ground. So I let go of my grip on the spiral sword, and walked over to the hole behind her, where a candle was lit, and around it some precious utensils, and in the center of it sat a man, a man wrapped in a robe.

"Oops, oops, there's an Ash Lord!" As I walked over, she said, "I seemed to be some kind of adult, as the firefighter said."

"My old woman is the maid of this sacrificial ground."

"Whether it's weapons, armor, props, or spells..."

"Anything you need to help you on your mission, you're ready to go."

“...... Of course, my old woman is also immortal, but I am not a philanthropist. "So, what do I need in exchange?

"Lord Ash, go and take the soul, and bring it again." Soul? Why are they all thirsting for souls, is there a lack of souls in this world? Doesn't everyone have a soul of their own? Isn't it enough to have a soul?

"After all, this is how you make a living, my lord, right?" She chuckled grimly. I felt scared, but nothing I did defended me.

“...... Lord Ash, if you think my old woman's stuff isn't selling. She said this to me after I looked at what she was selling.

"Excuse me, bring the ashes." Ashes?

"That way, old woman, I can use my ashes to turn something new out."

"Isn't it a curse for us to die to feed on death?" The immortal longs for death, for the soul, for the world, how twisted, how contradictory.

“...... Have you ever heard this immature statement? ”

"So-called, the road to the embers requires sacrifice." What is this implying again?

"So, Lord Ash, if it's convenient for you, go find the Wax Stone."

"Then bring me some more souls and give them to this old woman." She laughed to herself again. Then I didn't say anything more, and I didn't care about her, but went on walking inside, towards the sound of the iron, and then I saw another person.

"Yo, it's a new face again!" He said unceremoniously with his bare upper body full of muscles.

"I am a slave in this sacrificial ground, and my name is Andrei."

"As you can see, I'm a blacksmith who crafts weapons."

"You're looking for the Salary King."

"It's not an easy trip, you're going to need a strong weapon."

"So, let me forge your weapon!"

"I'm a blacksmith, and that's what I was born for!" After saying that, he ignored me anymore and just struck the iron himself over and over again.

"When it comes to weapons and armor, they're basically durable." As if he suddenly remembered something, he continued, adding.

"Still, if you overdo it, of course it will still break."

"So if the durability drops, you need to repair it."

"You can use light powder, or just go campfire and rest."

"But if the weapon still breaks, come to me!"

"I'll fix it in good condition." He spoke with confidence.

"Then again, if the weapon breaks, they will be uncomfortable themselves."

"The ways of forging weapons can be roughly divided into two categories—"

"Simple strengthening, and qualitative change strengthening."

"Enhancement is very simple, does not change the essence of the weapon, purely enhances the weapon;"

"And qualitative change enhancement is to change the essence of the weapon, which belongs to high-level forging."

"Wedge-shaped stones are needed for strengthening, gemstones are needed for qualitative transformation, and the materials needed are different."

"And then it's my blacksmith's job."

"You're welcome, just leave it to me."

"The weapon is a comrade-in-arms, if you forge it well, it will never betray you." I agreed with what he said, but he never said anything more, just a rhythmic iron on his own.

I continued to walk back and forth between the holes, the circular sacrificial ground, also with a circular space, but there were no more people, only candles burning, and my heart suddenly emptied. After his curiosity was exhausted, he returned to the campfire, sat down again, let the vision of Lothric become clearer and clearer, and closed his eyes until a light came.

"Goodbye, Lord Ash, may the flames guide you," the firefighter said, but this time, I didn't open my eyes to look at her.