To this day, Melina still did not believe that Arthur had any way to strip her of her identity as kindling.
That was fine.
He would prove it with action.
The Forge of the Giants lay at the easternmost edge of the Mountaintops of the Giants.
Whether it was Marika's intention to keep people away from the forge, or simply the aftermath of the brutal war against the giants, the massive cauldron stood alone on an isolated island.
Its only connection to the mainland was a colossal chain, two or three meters thick.
From afar, the cauldron was riddled with cracks—clearly Marika's handiwork from long ago.
For a brief moment, Arthur considered whether he should simply manifest the Forge into his Zen Garden as well.
After thinking it through carefully, he abandoned the idea.
The thing looked half-destroyed. He didn't know how to repair it, nor did he know what practical use it would serve.
Bringing it into the Zen Garden would turn it into nothing more than an oversized ornament.
More importantly, the Forge was deeply bound to the Lands Between.
He had no idea whether its eternal flame would even persist if removed from this world.
And what if removing it caused unforeseen consequences?
His teacher and his future mother-in-law still lived here. If something went wrong, regret would come too late.
Shaking away the thought, Arthur rode Torrent toward the Forge.
Moments later, he climbed atop the enormous structure—standing along the rim of the great cauldron.
Looking down, the interior appeared hollow and vast.
Only at the very bottom, like a common earthen stove, lay glowing embers burning red.
Above them rested a layer of long-burned ash.
Arthur withdrew his gaze and stepped toward a break in the rim.
There, a Site of Grace flickered.
After activating it, Melina's figure slowly appeared before him.
She did not look at the Forge first.
She looked at him.
"Thank you for bringing me here," Melina said softly. "My journey will end at this place."
"Throughout this journey, I have watched… observed the Lands Between."
"I have come to believe this world must be repaired. And that death must fall equally upon all."
"…Are you prepared?"
"Prepared… to say farewell?"
In the original game, this was where she would ask whether the Tarnished was prepared to commit a grave sin.
But she did not say that now.
She was no longer a scripted program.
She knew full well that with Arthur's strength—and his lawless temperament—he would never care about the so-called crime of burning the Erdtree.
"Wait," Arthur said. "Don't be in such a hurry."
"Let me try something first. Let's see if I can burn away the thorns that reject us."
Melina said nothing. She stepped aside and watched.
Arthur moved to the edge of the rim and raised his left hand.
A brilliant crimson-gold flame ignited in his palm.
The moment it appeared, intense heat radiated outward, tinged with a faint aura of life.
He had obtained Nirvana Flame from Huang Xi and Solar Flame from Dong Huang.
By fusing the two, he had created this new flame now dancing in his hand.
Ordinarily, merging two high-tier flames would not be so simple.
But Arthur's body had long since maxed out its resistance to fire.
Within him, the flames had blended into a new power entirely his own.
Before the temperature could continue spreading outward, he tossed the flame down into the Forge.
The fire descended slowly and finally touched the glowing embers at the bottom.
In the next instant, from the point of contact, the flame spread rapidly throughout the entire Forge.
Arthur lifted his head and looked toward the distant Erdtree.
But the Erdtree did not ignite.
No flames rose from its branches.
He frowned.
Wasn't igniting the Forge supposed to burn away the thorns that barred entry to the Erdtree?
The fire was clearly burning.
So why was there no reaction?
At that moment, Melina spoke quietly.
"I told you… it will not work."
"I do not know how your flame was able to rekindle the Forge. But without a sacrifice… this is as far as you can go."
Arthur refused to accept it.
He waved a hand and summoned his modified blue Fiendfire.
The azure blaze surged downward and poured into the crimson-gold flames below.
Yet aside from adding another color to the inferno, nothing changed.
Arthur narrowed his eyes, thinking.
He recalled a word Melina had just spoken.
Sacrifice.
He remembered that word from his previous life as well—words spoken by Enia, the Finger Reader at the Roundtable Hold.
"…Seek the kindling. At the highest point in the Lands Between lies the great Forge, wreathed in smoke. The flame capable of burning the Erdtree rests within."
"But to make that flame surge, a special kindling is required—one who can see the flame's vision."
"Only by offering that person as sacrifice can the Erdtree be burned. And the path to the Rune of Death will then be revealed."
The term "vision" appeared only rarely in the Lands Between, but when it did, it carried profound meaning.
Enia had once interpreted the words of the Two Fingers:
"Marika's sin is grave beyond measure. Severe punishment is not undeserved. Yet even under punishment, she remains a god—she remains a vessel of vision."
Marika was described as a vessel of vision.
And within her, she bore the Elden Ring.
But Arthur did not believe "vision" simply referred to the Elden Ring.
If it were that simple, then nearly any Tarnished could serve as sacrifice.
After all, many Tarnished had the chance to enter the Erdtree and stand before the Elden Ring.
Yet there was one additional condition for a Tarnished to become sacrifice—
They had to embrace the Frenzied Flame.
And that was something Melina would never allow.
The path of Frenzy ran directly counter to her will—her mission.
Arthur slowly exhaled.
In his mind, "vision" felt less like a title… and more like something else.
Something tied to the future itself.
Advance Chapters Available on Patreon
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554