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"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Chapter 1: A New World"
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This was it. She now stood at the end of her journey, having defeated those who she had once called her sisters. Yet, as she lay on the ground from exhaustion, she recalled the fate that would have met her should she continue her path.
'Accept your fate, dear sister. So that you may be reborn into your destiny.'
The words still echoed in Millicent's mind, revealing that the destiny she had been seeking was to be reborn as one not herself. To be renewed as a scarlet Valkyrie once Malenia had ascended into godhood.
To think the path she had decided to tread long ago; the destiny that she decided to seek out, was merely nothing more than to become a servant and a shell of the present.
That was not what she desired. To abandon the self that she was now. The woman, who was granted a second chance at living. An action that would be akin to spitting on the gifts and feelings that she had experienced thus far.
With a pained gasp, Millicent removed the gold needle that was previously inserted into her body. Not a moment later, she felt the previously halted scarlet rot within her start to writhe once more. It returned with a ferocious fervor, causing all her senses to scream at such sudden pain.
Still, the offshoot of Malenia felt no more regret with her decision. The death she would eventually succumb to was much more desirable than what would have met her further down the road.
Stings of pain continued to invade her body, her physical state deteriorating as the disease continued to spread throughout her being. Thankfully, the sudden sound of footsteps served as a momentary distraction, as the Tarnished approached from the site of the battle.
"Millicent…" The Tarnished spoke in a somber tone.
"Oh, hello," she quickly put on a smile, "Thank you for lending your hand."
"Without your help, I could not have defeated the quartet," skilled as she was, a disadvantage against four would have been too much for even her. Without the Tarnished's aid, her skill with the blade would not have been enough to fill in the gap.
Yet, she could not help but feel embarrassed, "I feel as if I've been in your debt from beginning to end."
Her smile turned genuine, "Thank you. With your help, I was able to live as my own person, if only in passing."
The Tarnished's smile spoke a variety of words as if returning the thanks. Millicent continued, "I pause to even tell you, but…"
The red-haired woman saw his face morph into confusion, a feeling of hurt sprouting in her words as she contemplated her next words.
"I took out the needle myself."
The words seemed to send the Tarnished into a shock before worry showed. He quickly searched around looking for the needle, yet it was a fruitless endeavor, as the scarlet woman had long since thrown it into the pits of rot.
However, the sight of her cherished companion's actions struck her more than the rot spoiling her. Millicent wanted nothing more than to apologize and remind him that all was fine. The thought of simply picking up her sword and following the Tarnished on his journey entered her mind more than she could count. Yet, it was not meant to be, and she had already committed herself to her decision.
Steeling herself, Millicent spoke up before the Tarnished could, "Tell whoever put you up to this. That if I am to flower into something other than myself, I would rather rot into nothingness as I am." Her companion's face grew sorrowful at her words, yet he could understand her reasonings.
It pleased her to see that he understood, but she could only grimace in pain as the rot continued to spread through every inch of her flesh.
"Please, let me pass alone," the Tarnished immediately disagreed, but she continued, "The scarlet rot writhes now, worse than ever. Soon, I won't be more than a mound of flesh."
"Curse-laden, untouchable," her tone grew more despondent, "I wouldn't want such a thing to bring you harm."
The scarlet-haired woman started to feel it; the sensation of herself slipping away. Dark spots began to grow around the edges of her vision while her Tarnished could only watch in muted despair. It saddened her, and Millicent felt the need to act.
Yet, her death was only but seconds away. Her strength was all but gone and her grip on this world loosened by the moment. Gathering the last ounces of her will, she spoke through her last breaths.
"Thank you… Tarnished… For everything."
With the last thought of her dear friend in mind, she quietly passed as reality turned dark.
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"Mmmm…"
Underneath a vast foliage of trees, a woman slept peacefully against a tree. Garbed in a light-gray tunic and robes dirtied by scarlet tint, her ash-red hair stood out from the rest of nature.
"Hmm…?" Stirring from her slumber, she blinked herself awake and soon found herself observing her surroundings.
"Where…?" Millicent could not help the urge to question, as her location was no longer that of Elphael. "And... how…?" Her mind quickly pushed out the remaining amounts of drowsiness once she came to a realization.
She was alive, and no longer within the brace of the Haligtree.
The vibrant surroundings of healthy plant life and wildlife, along with the piercing rays of the sun that seemed to shined brighter than the Erdtree; her observations threw her off.
Such a view was something only comparable to the wilderness of Limgrave, or the holy land of Leyndel and the Altus Plateau. Yet, all of those did not compare to the… liveliness that accompanied the place she was in.
As much as she wished to marvel at the setting, more distressing thoughts paved their way into her mind.
She was not dead, which was an impossibility lest she was immortal. Millicent was neither a god nor a demi-god, and although she was of the blood of a demi-god, she was certain she had perished after her battle with the quartet. Moreover, how had she arrived here? To traverse the distance between the Haligtree and the mainland was no small feat, only possible through passing of grace sites.
Millicent did not receive any blessing of grace, so that was an impossibility in her mind.
Most importantly, the red-haired woman had naught but a clue about her current whereabouts. Putting that into thought, one place to start was to determine which lands she currently stood on. Thankfully, a task that was not hard thanks to the holy tree that oversaw all.
The Erdtree, the heart of the Golden Order, served as a waypoint and compass for any traveler seeking to identify their location within the Lands Between. As the golden tree was viewable even from the hidden city of Miquella's Haligtree, it would serve perfectly to achieve her task.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Finally having arrived at a temporary goal, Millicent stood and began searching for a way out of the forest. She shuffled out of some bushes and passed through the trees, taking some time to admire the various signs of life wandering about. A couple of birds lay resting on a nest on top of a branch, butterflies flapped to and fro, and the harmonious melody of nature's voice added to the environment. It was simply beautiful, a beauty that none had ever seen in the ravaged terrains of the Lands Between.
Which all the more added to the impossibility of her situation, the swordswoman thought as continued her long trek through the woods. Despite the beauty of her new situation, it was all an unknown to her; new changes that should have all been impossibilities. It soon began giving way to panic deep within her, and she struggled to hold it in only with the hope of finding the Erdtree.
However, rather fortunately, she was able to confirm the presence of her sword within her personal void. All manner of the living in the Lands Between possessed a blessing from the gods; it was storage contained within one's soul that allowed them to store a small number of belongings. So, she felt glad to see that she still possessed her trusted blade, and the thought brought slight comfort to her soul.
Change gradually made its way to her vision. The sights had stayed more or less contained the same beauty and novelty, but a gradual increase of light was visible from the other end where she stood. A clearing, which should grant the swordswoman enough space to see the Erdtree.
Millicent subtly picked up her pace, briskly traversing through her nature-filled surroundings. On the way, she supposedly held onto a long branch as brief support-
"!"
-only to find herself stumbling, nearly tripping as the wooden object that should have served as support suddenly snapped to the ground. Glancing at the branch in her grasp and shocked to see it withering away into scarlet ashes.
"No…"
Millicent remained speechless at the sight, and it only took her a moment to recognize the reasoning behind the ashes.
The scarlet rot, the fatal illness that she contained for the majority of her life. Many questions sprung forth, once more bringing light to how she lived without the gold needle to hold the disease at bay.
Yet, all of it was too overwhelming. Millicent quickly put the thoughts away, shelving them for future thought. At the moment, the thing she wanted to do was to see the Erdtree and ease her thoughts. Then, and only then, everything would come after.
A few paces later, she soon found herself under clear blue skies, only tinted red by the sun seemingly setting down the horizon. The scene differed from the much dimmer skies of the Lands Between, and that only piled onto the other unknowns she had been experiencing thus far.
Gazing around, Millicent expected to see the tall figure of the Erdtree-
"Huh…?"
-yet its grand visage was nowhere to be seen.
The scarlet-haired woman spun around a few times, hoping to catch sight of it. But, it was not there. Fear and panic slowly crept their way in, and a thought she thought impossible came to the forefront of her mind.
"I-it cannot be… the Erdtree..."
The Erdtree was gone. No matter how much she searched for it, the holy tree was nowhere to be found. 'It is impossible,' she thought, and it should have been. Yet now she stood here, in an unusual environment with no Erdtree in sight. Millicent could feel all the feelings she had trapped in all burst out at once. For the first time since she had received the scarlet rot, she was truly overwhelmed by it all.
Unbefitting of her usual calm demeanor, she plopped and knelt on the ground in sheer disbelief. Unlike the journey she had undergone the past few months, where she sought to find her destiny with a plan in mind, she was completely clueless now. Not simply clueless, Millicent was stuck in a land completely alien to the place where she had recently been in.
For the first time too, the swordswoman realized, she was alone. Despite embarking on a one-way trip across the entirety of the Lands Between, at least the Tarnished was there to accompany her through every step.
Staring up to the now pitch-black skies, she idly noted the stars that twinkled above.
Then, when Millicent thought that there was nothing more to add to the situation, her eyes widened.
There, in the spot where the glory of the full moon was for all to see, was instead a shattered moon in its place.
That was the last straw for Millicent, and the realization came to her later than it should have.
She was no longer within the realms of the Erdtree.
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As Millicent's feelings spilled forth, it was natural that the beasts that detected feelings were able to detect her.
In a spot not too far off from the clearing, a creature of bearlike stature was hunting for prey in the woods before its head snapped in the direction of the negativity. The creature certainly emulated a bear, but it was far from a normal one. With a size that would dwarf a normal bear's three times over, fur as dark as the night sky, bones that stuck out from its limbs and back, and a bone-colored mask that covered its entire face, it sniffed a few times as its red eyes shone in the dark.
Prey. It had finally detected prey, and it was prey that emitted negativity. A human.
A glint made itself known in the alpha ursa's eyes, and it let out a primal roar as it charged straight in the direction of the human source.
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"This cannot be…"
Despite a few minutes having passed, Millicent was still tangled in her thoughts. Questions presented themselves left and right, and she was left with no answers. The grass she was kneeling on had long since withered away, as a small patch of red grass circled her. Yet she paid it no mind.
Her mind drifted to her current circumstances. Her supposed death, her second life, the disappearance of the Erdtree, the shattered moon, all of it. She could ascertain she was no longer home, and that she was alone. Alone with no tarnished to help her.
'Tarnished…'
If the Tarnished were in her shoes, what would he do?
"GROARRR!"
"!"
Before Millicent could contemplate it, a guttural roar resounded throughout the clearing. Very quickly, she turned around to the sound of the disturbance. Moreso due to honed instinct, she willed her sword into existence and caught it with her right prosthesis.
Then, a beast she immediately compared to a runebear burst out from the forest trees. Its pitch-black fur and bones sticking out through its skin proved itself different, and that it was no manner of beast she had encountered before.
While Millicent took note of its sudden appearance, the alpha ursa did not wait for a second longer. With primal rage, it charged straight at the woman and raised both of its claws in an attempt to crush her.
If it had been Millicent at the very start of her journey, she most likely would have perished right then and there. Unfortunately for the ursa, she was not.
Without an ounce of hesitation, the swordswoman rushed forward with practiced speed. The ursa had not been able to comprehend due to its lack of intellect, raising its claws had left its chest and belly wide open.
Naturally, as someone who was skilled in the art of battle, she took advantage of it.
"GROAHH!"
Tightly gripping her blade one-handed, Millicent slashed two times across the ursa's belly with precision and power fitting that of an expert. As the alpha ursa roared out in surprised pain, the scarlet-haired woman wasted no time and leaped upwards.
With an ease that should not have been possible for a woman of her stature, she gracefully sliced through the ursa's head clean. As fast as the fight began, Millicent ended it just as swiftly.
Lightly landing on the ground, Millicent stepped out of the way and allowed the alpha ursa's body to fully keel over. Separate from the body, its head landed a few meters out from the body.
Once she confirmed in silence that the beast was truly dead, her sword returned back to her personal storage and she let out a breath she did not know she was holding.
In truth, she held no fear for the monster that had just attacked her. Although more menacing in appearance and power than a runebear, it was nowhere near as strong as the strongest of foes that she's faced. Rather, her first encounter with its species seemed to only add credence to the fact that she was no longer in the Lands Between.
The thought still scared her now.
"But…"
As Millicent overlooked the dark bear now fading away, she mulled over the previous thought she was holding before its appearance. What the Tarnished would do in her situation?
"Heh."
She could not help but let out a light chuckle as something clicked in her mind. How simple, she thought, yet it was something she could not see in her mind.
Throughout her journey through the Lands Between, she encountered many foes and traps that she had been caught unaware of. Enemies that could very well end her life in a moment. Yet, in the face of all of that, her companion had simply stood his path and faced them. No matter if it was against the terrifying Godskin Apostle or the four sisters who confronted them at the Haligtree, he never wavered.
Millicent could not help but sigh, "I truly am in your debt once again…"
"Thank you, Tarnished."
Even if she did not know where to go, she would do as her dear companion would do. Stand her ground and simply move forward.
It was with renewed determination that a new journey had started, this time under the gaze of a broken moon.
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Yo wassup, to whoever is reading this, I hope u enjoyed the start of this new story of mine :)
After seeing Millicent's ending in my playthrough of Elden Ring, I felt that as she was best girl, she deserved more. Lo and behold, while lying down on my bed at 3 am, this crossover came to mind.
Anyways, constructive criticism is appreciated, and my upload schedule will be random :
Adios!