Miquella urged,
"Since that's the case, please help Malenia remove the Scarlet Rot as soon as possible."
Because he and Malenia were born from a single deity, they were both Empyreans.
However, because Radagon had not yet become a complete god—and because he had brought back the Scarlet Rot from the Lake of Rot—the twins were born with flaws.
Miquella would remain eternally youthful.
Malenia, meanwhile, was born with Scarlet Rot parasitizing her existence.
Miquella's flaw was mild—he simply could not grow up.
Malenia's was far crueler.
From the moment she was born, Scarlet Rot gnawed at her body and soul alike. Even her Great Rune had been corrupted.
That rune should have been the most sacred among all gods and demigods—yet even it could not escape corruption.
That alone was enough to prove how terrifying Scarlet Rot truly was.
Now that Malenia finally had a chance to be rid of it, Miquella was unwilling to wait even a moment longer.
Arthur nodded and turned to Malenia.
"Prepare yourself. I'll extract all the power within your body. The process may be painful."
He did not bother telling her to endure it.
As a battle-hardened Valkyrie, pain like this was insignificant.
Malenia nodded calmly.
"Do it."
Arthur formed his left hand into a blade and plunged it into Malenia's chest, beginning the extraction of Scarlet Rot.
Despite a gaping wound torn through her torso and blood flowing endlessly, Malenia merely frowned slightly—fully deserving of her title as the Goddess of War.
As her power drained away, her once-upright figure slowly lost strength.
When she was about to collapse, Arthur reached out and caught her.
The sensation startled Malenia.
This was the first time she had ever rested in someone's arms other than her brother's.
The feeling was strangely familiar—just as reassuring as Miquella's embrace—but broader… warmer.
It was an experience entirely new to her.
Unfortunately, she didn't have long to savor it.
Arthur's absorption of Scarlet Rot was nearing completion.
With her power exhausted, Malenia felt her eyelids grow unbearably heavy.
She slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
In the final moment before losing consciousness, a trace of reluctance toward that warm embrace flickered through her heart.
From Miquella's perspective, however—
His sister closed her eyes in Arthur's arms… and her body crumbled into dust.
The ash was guided by Arthur's magic and condensed into a white crystal.
Miquella was all too familiar with such a crystal—his own soul resided in one.
But his attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.
He saw it clearly—
One-third of Malenia's soul was stained crimson.
Those were unmistakable traces of Scarlet Rot.
Miquella asked anxiously,
"Arthur, Malenia's soul is also being corroded—what should we do?"
Arthur replied calmly,
"Don't worry. Once I fully master Scarlet Rot, I'll be able to separate it from her soul."
In truth, he could already wield Scarlet Rot to a basic degree.
He simply wasn't yet confident enough to perform such delicate operations on the soul itself.
That required caution—and experience.
Miquella still looked uneasy.
"But the Scarlet Rot is continuing to spread. Is this really okay?"
Arthur watched the crimson corrosion slowly creeping across Malenia's soul and frowned slightly.
This couldn't continue.
Without a physical body acting as a buffer, Scarlet Rot was spreading even faster.
If left unchecked, it might eventually give birth to a Rot Goddess of the Soul.
Arthur suggested,
"Why not forge another Unalloyed Gold Needle to suppress the spread for now?"
Malenia's original needle had been lost during her battle with Radahn.
Without its suppression, she had bloomed in Aeonia.
That needle had later been found by Arthur, repaired, and given to Millicent.
After her rot was suppressed, Millicent left to travel the world—seeking her memories and origins.
This alone proved that Scarlet Rot could even erode memory.
Miquella hesitated.
"But the main material for the needle is a branch from the Erdtree… and a massive amount of pure gold. We don't have those here."
Arthur waved his hand.
From the Zenith Garden, he produced piles of gold Galleons—and a branch of the Erdtree.
Handing it to Miquella, he asked,
"Is this enough? If not, I have more."
Miquella froze.
"Where did you get an Erdtree branch?"
Arthur hadn't even entered the Erdtree.
Flying up to snap one off was impossible—the Erdtree was surrounded by Thorns of Rejection, a barrier rather than literal thorns.
Only the deep roots—already corrupted by Death—could be touched.
By all logic, Arthur shouldn't have been able to obtain this.
What Miquella didn't know was that Arthur himself had planted an Erdtree.
Arthur only smiled.
"You'll find out someday."
Miquella stopped questioning and turned to crafting the Unalloyed Gold Needle.
Arthur watched closely.
The needle could suppress nearly all negative influences—even Frenzied Flame.
It was a powerful artifact.
Arthur intended to learn everything he could.
Miquella didn't object.
After all, Arthur was the one saving Malenia.
Before long, the needle was complete.
Miquella approached Malenia's soul and gently inserted it.
The Scarlet Rot was immediately suppressed.
Malenia awakened.
She examined her current state—and when she saw the lingering crimson stains on her soul, disappointment flashed through her eyes.
Arthur reassured her,
"Don't worry. Give me some time. Once I fully understand this power, I'll remove it completely."
Her gloom vanished instantly.
She smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
"No need," Arthur replied. "Go spend time with your brother. I'll take care of the Scarlet Rot infesting the Haligtree."
Arthur's intentions weren't purely altruistic.
On one hand, he needed a target to practice wielding his newly acquired Scarlet Rot power.
The Haligtree was perfect.
On the other hand—
He had his eye on the tree itself.
Ever since acquiring the Zenith Garden, Arthur had developed a habit:
If a plant looked special, he wanted it.
A tree grown from an Empyrean's blood was too tempting to ignore.
His idea was simple—
Embed Miquella and Malenia into the Haligtree, then manifest the entire tree into the Zenith Garden.
Three objectives accomplished in one move.
But first, he needed to fully explore Elphael.
Much of the city was built into the Haligtree itself.
If he moved it recklessly, the city might collapse.
As for the inhabitants—the races sheltered by the Haligtree—
Arthur didn't consider them.
Living under the tree's protection, they had already been tainted by Scarlet Rot to varying degrees.
Saving them would be meaningless.
After the Shattering, the Golden Order had malfunctioned.
Those who had received its "blessing" descended into madness.
Though the Haligtree's residents believed they were unblessed by the Erdtree—
That was merely their own assumption.
The moment they were born in the Lands Between, the Erdtree had already marked them.
When they died, their power would return to it.
From the Erdtree's perspective—
That mark itself was also a blessing.
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