Accursed Citrine - Yet another Dark Soul/Madoka Magica Crossover

[X] Stay. You can't leave on this note
-[X] Insist Quelana goes to see Quelaan



"You… you really aren't going to go see her?"

"I will not." Quelana replies flatly. "She must suffer in the bed she has made for herself, same as the rest of us."

"But-!"

"Kirika." Oscar murmurs your name behind you, but you ignore him.

"She's your sister!" You exclaim. "I don't understand! Why don't you want to help her? Why do you want her to suffer?" You press your palm to your forehead, trying to wrap your mind around her reasoning. "And why are you just sitting out here?"

"Kirika!" You continue to ignore Oscar, once again getting caught up in your own words.

"What's the point of staying out here in a swamp, just a little bit away from your sisters? You keep talking about your family being punished for something, but why does that mean you have to… to…"

You trail off as the words catch in your throat. It's not that you can't bring yourself to say them. More literally, your voice simply struggles to produce the words. Your chest hurts, and you finally realise the temperature around you has sharply risen again.

"K-Kirika…!" Oscar wheezes, grabbing you by the arm. The metal of his armour feels hot to the touch, and you flinch out of his grip. "Kirika, stop…!"

The mud boiling around you turns into a roar, and gasses erupt from giant bubbles like puss bursting from infected pimples. Tiny sparks flicker in the air, and the gas ignites into towering pillars of scorching red-white fire.

You try to suck in air into your aching lungs, but all it does is cause your throat to burn and your chest to hurt even more. You stagger and keel over, barely even feeling yourself hit the ground amidst your brain's desperate need for oxygen. Oscar seems to be fairing only slightly better, but he grabs you with both hands and wraps himself over you, shielding you from the shower of embers falling from the pillars.

And then, as suddenly as the inferno began, it dies down.

You and Oscar gasp as air fills your lungs again, and he collapses to the ground beside you. You both lay writhing, your bodies still recovering from the hellish heat and suffocation.

It's only once you're able to steady your breathing and calm your shaking body that Quelana finally speaks again in a low, bitter voice.

"Why do you care so much about our affairs, child?"

"Because-" You try to reply, but the words send you into a barking coughing fit. Quelana offers no help, and Oscar's in about the same state.

"Because," you finally manage after almost a full minute, "I… I failed someone important to me. I wasn't able to help when she needed it the most."

You stagger to your feet and rub your burning throat. "I'm not the best with… people, but it's pretty clear your sister needs someone to be there for her. She can't talk to anyone around her, and I've killed the only one who was able to look after her!"

You think back to all the times you messed things up by not understanding Oriko's instructions. How her power's drain on her magic meant she couldn't hunt her own witches. The way she'd get so gloomy or start to break down whenever she was alone for too long. You'd always tried to ignore or brush off that last one. Oriko was perfect. She couldn't have worries like that. She was above it. She was trying to save the world.

The thought sends an unpleasant shudder through your body, but maybe… maybe Oriko needed you just as much as you needed her…

"I… I got the one I care about killed." You admit, swallowing hard despite the pain in your throat. Your hand slips into your pocket, and you grip the shard of Oriko's soul gem tightly. "If there's even the slightest chance that she's still out there somewhere… if there's even a chance that I could find her again…"

You trail off as tears threaten to blur your vision. They feel even hotter than the air, and they burn your eyes.

Quelana, who's been silent through all of this, leans back against her stone pillar and purses her lips.

"Go." She says, entirely void of any emotion. "Go, and do not come back."

Despite her quiet, empty tone, her words broke no more argument. You and Oscar limp away from her little island, gasping and coughing the whole way.

"T-That was insane, Kirika!" Oscar hisses, grabbing your shoulder tightly. "We could've died!"

"It… could've gone better." You admit, shifting on the spot.

"You could've said… quite literally anything else." He retorts. "Gods, what is that invisible woman of yours…?"

---

[] Try to climb back up Blighttown

[] There's another structure nearby…

[] Stop at the bonfire on the way

[] Crawl back to Quelaan to recover

[] Write In

[X] Stop at the bonfire on the way
-[X] Elaborate on who that invisible woman of yours is



"She's… I don't know. I-" You trail off as your boot sinks into the mud, letting grimy water pour into your boot. You make a face and pull it out with some effort. "How about we go somewhere dry, first?" You suggest, removing your boot and pouring out the gunk.

You could've gone back to Quelaan's bonfire in the nest, but returning after only just leaving feels kind of pathetic, with how much you boasted about bringing back a ton of humanity. Instead, you head for the bonfire in the tunnel at the edge of the swamp. That way, you're still moving in the right direction, too.

It doesn't take long to reach the bonfire, and you're already relieved to be back on solid ground again. The sticky web of the spider nest was firm, but the short slog through the soft dirt and swamp water is enough. You were already disgruntled by your argument with (and scolding by) Quelana, anyway. As a result, you plop down by the bonfire with an exaggerated sigh. Oscar follows suit, a bit less dramatically, and the two of you sit in silence for a while.

While you're warming up, you remove your boots and lay them with the openings facing the bonfire. You could just dispel and resummon your outfit to dry them off, but you'll probably be here long enough to dry them naturally. The same goes for your feet, which you stretch out almost touching the flame.

"So…" Oscar says after some time has passed. He leans forward, causing the fire of bonfire to cast dark shadows through his visor. "This… invisible woman of yours."

"Ah, right." You scratch your cheek as you try to remember what exactly you know about her. Not much, you realise. "She wears thick dusty robes that cover most of her, so I don't know what she looks like, but she knows a lot about pyromancy."

"You mentioned her being the spider demons' sister, I believe."

You nod. "Right, but I doubt she's been hiding a giant spider body under those robes." You realise she's never stood up, and picture a giant spider half buried in the ground beneath her. "Er, probably."

Oscar thumbs his chin and stares into the fire. "The question is, who is she? She's clearly powerful, and being related to those demons…"

"She kept mentioning having to atone for something bad her family did." You add. "Well, I think. There was something about hubris, punishments and her 'Mother's follies.'"

"Hubris… Mother…" He murmurs, a frown audible in his voice. "Could it be…? No, surely not…"

"Got an idea?"

He shakes his head. "No, I… I'm not well-versed in the lore and history of pyromancy, so I may be wrong. God's, I hope I'm wrong."

"Are you going to spit it out, or do you want to build up the suspense some more?" You ask, rolling your eyes.

"I think it'd be best to wait until we return to Firelink Shrine. We can see if your pyromancer friend is still there. He would know better than I do."

"Really? You're just going to leave it hanging like that?"

"I don't want to bring down any bad luck. I've found fate has a poor sense of humour if you invoke foul things." He replies, climbing to his feet. "Gods, I hope I'm wrong. The thought of you antagonising… that…"

The cliffhanger grinds your gears to no end, but it seems you have no choice but to wait for the big reveal. Surely, it can't be that bad, right? Oscar's probably just overreacting. Nothing to do about it, though. You'll just have to get moving and hope Laurentius is still at the shrine when you get back.

Unfortunately, you find your things haven't dried nearly as well as you'd hoped, and you end up having to resummon them anyway. Wet boots are bad enough, but you're not walking around with wet socks. Then again, there's still water to cross no matter which direction you go in this damned place, so maybe it was a waste of time worrying about it anyway.

---

[] Try to climb back up through Blighttown

[] There was that other structure near the nest…

[] Write in