Chapter 16: Death and All His Friends
"Damn" Sirris breathed onto her hand, covered in her own blood, which began to freeze. Across the bridge was her opponent, clad in mail, face obscured by a helmet, and wielding a large axe. On his chest, his tabard had the design of a deer's skull with antlers. He slowly walked toward her, dragging his axe along the stones in the bridge, a sickening grind that sent sparks where it went.
Sirris got up, blood smearing her face from a cut on her eye, and readied her estoc, trying to keep a strong stance as the man approached.
"Now now, lass. What's the matter? Finally bitten off more than you can stomach?" the man said, head tilted down and eyes tilted up.
Sirris didn't speak and steeled her gaze into the man's pale eyes.
"Thought it'd be simple, eh? But now I get to give out a taste of your own medicine, wench."
"I'm only after one man, I have no quarrel with you, Finger!"
"But you do now, lass." He raised his axe to his hands. "And I'm not leaving empty handed, just because you're a weak-kneed toad."
The man charged, prompting Sirris to do the same. Sirris tried to stab her estoc into the man's head, but the man pivoted slightly, grabbing the estoc with his hand and using her momentum to throw her on the ground.
As Sirris began to get up, the man delivered an uppercut to her, sending her flying back. Sirris' front armor was split and a large gash appeared on her face, making it more bloodied than before. She curled and shook as electric shocks as blood stained the pile of snow beneath her, with her strength weakened from the blow. Before she could muster energy to get up, her head was forced down by the man's boot and she felt painful electric sparks crackling on her neck, the axe he wielded brushing up against it.
"Hah. Hah hah hah!" the man began to laugh as he raised his axe. "Hah hah h-AWWW!!!" the man was flung from Sirris' broken body and further along the bridge. "Grrr, what in- who the hell did that! I swear I'-" the man stopped, his pale eyes widening behind his mask as he saw his assailant.
Stepping over Sirris was a knight in full armor, wearing a crown on his helmet and wielding a large, green greatsword. The Knight lifted his head to face him. "Creighton the Wanderer."
"T-that's not- you can't be...how are you still alive?" Creighton muttered.
"I would have asked you the same question, except I know what you owe your survival to. All to stave off hollowing?"
"Piss off, you can't be any better! Even with all that innocence back then, the only reason you can survive is if you're like me. You hear me? You're no better!"
"Actually, I
am Creighton."
Creighton breathed a primal growl but quickly composed himself. "You sound like
him! That damn prick with the ring! That….that...
fuck, what was his name!?!"
"Honestly, I should have killed you both. In the end,
you were a backstabbing knave too."
"...You bastard!" Creighton charged, raising his axe and brought it down to The Knight.
The Knight, however, grabbed the shaft in his off hand holding the blade above his crowned helmet. "I didn't think it possible Creighton." He then turned his head, slowly, to stare into Creighton's shivering eyes. "You have gotten
weaker…"
The Knight threw off the axe and immediately used the free off hand to give a punch to Creighton's abdomen. As he stumbled back, The Knight swung the brilliant green sword at him, shining bright as it slammed him backward.
Creighton got up, poured a cup of Estus upon his faceplate, and then resumed his attack. He hacked and slashed, but The Knight rolled and pivoted aside, causing him to miss each one. Creighton gave a downward chop, which glanced off his shoulder armor, sending shocks down The Knight's body.
The Knight briefly flinched, but turned his head to Creighton. The Knight then threw his free hand to Creighton's neck and before he could lift his axe to defend himself, Creighton was lifted and then thrown on to the ground. The Knight brought the green sword down on him, but he rolled to the side and scampered back in fear. Creighton began fishing something out of his back pocket as The Knight rushed toward him. Creighton found what he was looking for: a black crystal, and crushed it in his hand. Just as The Knight swept his sword across his previous position, Creighton had vanished.
The Knight stared at the empty space Creighton left behind and breathed a sigh. "I'm not
much better…" A raspy, ghoul-like gasp came from behind him, and turning around he saw Sirris was crawling away from where she was nearly killed, trailing blood behind her, clearly in pain. He walked over to her, and while she flinched in fear, she relaxed when he handed her a glass bottle with red liquid. "Here, drink this, it should make you feel better."
Sirris took the bottle and sloppily let the liquid touch her lips, giving her enough strength to sit up and nurse her wounds. "T-thank you...who was he? I recognize him as one of Rosaria's...fingers, but you seemed to know of him."
He turned to look at the snowy city behind him, beyond the bridge. "A person from my past, I'm afraid."
"And just who are you?"
He moved to her and looked her in the eye. "I am a Bearer of the Curse. I am one of many, but the last of my kind." The crown on his helmet caught her eye, but before she could ask more, he began moving. "I will make sure of that. It's the least I can do." The Bearer walked away. "Seek Misery, struggler."
Before Sirris could get up, the Bearer was gone.
"It is done then? Another lord back to their proper place?" Ludleth said to Pyrrha, who was sitting from the ledge in front of his throne. Across the room, the throne of the Abyss Watchers stood, with several small skulls wearing their metal hats, and the air around it was distorting from invisible heat.
Pyrrha continued to sulk. It was odd to her that, despite not having a good night's sleep in what felt like forever, she continued trying. But another nightmare left her restless and brought her to Ludleth.
"Fine kindling for the thrones, are they not Ms. Nikos, the Lord-Slayer?"
"Don't call me that." Pyrrha snapped, prompting Ludleth to send a curious look to her. Pyrrha immediately realized what she said and how she said it. "Ludleth...am...am I doing the right thing?" she began to shake. The words were harder and harder to get out, not without the dam in her eyes bursting.
Ludleth's face softened and looked to the Abyss Watcher's throne. "I apologize, Ms. Nikos, I suppose I got carried away. But, you mustn't stray from this task, to bring the Lords of Cinder to their thrones, it is a just thing that must be done."
"I feel terrible...Ludleth, I don't know what this leads to, how this fits together, and I just killed them and brought their...souls, back to the thrones I've been told they are trying to escape. I am violently going against everything I ever held as right, and I don't know where this goes."
"I apologize for your turmoil, and understand that I
do understand your peril, but if it puts you at ease, this task is in the name of our survival. Without it, civilization, the skeleton of which you have seen, will never return, and the chaos and despair gripping us." Pyrrha sank on her ledge trying to make sense of it all. Ludleth could do little, not even so much as a hand on her shoulder. "I realize you do this in an attempt to return to where you are from?"
"Yes. I- I feel like it's selfish, after everything I've seen. How despite seeing so much suffering and misery in your world, I just want to go back to my own, where I don't have to worry about that anymore."
"Nonsense. If you didn't have such a drive, such a need, you probably wouldn't have even gotten this far. It's a humble goal, after becoming as skilled and powerful as you are, to only desire the simplicity of your home."
"It's always something I was comfortable with I guess…"
"I know you will do what you feel is necessary, I only ask you continue, for all our sakes."
Pyrrha stood up, and heaved a sigh. She then turned around to face Ludleth. "Why do you continue in this. Every other lord abandoned their thrones. Why didn't you?"
Ludleth froze and said nothing for a long while, but Pyrrha stood where she was, unmoving. "Because it is my duty….and because I am afraid of what will happen if we fail. I am sorry, but that is all I can tell you..."
Pyrrha walked to what used to Yoel's alcove, but Yuria was not there. She looked around and stepped forward cautiously to look for her, albeit foolishly, since deep down she knew she wasn't there.
"Are you looking for something Champion of Ash?"
Pyrrha sharply turned around, staring at Yuria where one would presume her eyes were. "Where were you?"
"Oh, forgive me milady, I was talking with Ms. Irina of Carim."
"About what?"
"Nothing in particular. I was interested in finding a way for us both to help you. Now, was something on your mind?"
Pyrrha continued to stare at the elusive woman. "Those people you came with when we fought the Abyss Watchers. The Darkwraiths."
"Milady, whatever you've heard I c-"
"
I am not stupid Yuria!!! I can feel their darkness, and I can feel the empty space they should be, even without my Aura. And from what Hawkwood told me, they are even worse in behavior, I have heard they invade others and take their souls, is this true?"
"It isn't as simple as that!"
"Did Yoel know about this!? Is…" she motioned to her dessessicated face "
this all connected!?! Why are you with them!?"
"ENOUGH!!!" Yuria's shout froze them and the air around them as it echoed throughout the shrine. "I...have been patient. I have done nothing but serve you faithfully and I shall continue to do so. And you may send me off if it soothes you, but you
cannot judge me. You and I both know you are an outsider. You have lived in a land of comfort and answers… Our people know of no such things. You don't know this place, how we live. How we die. How we live past our death."
Pyrrha's eyes fluttered and she backed off, sitting down in the alcove where Yoel was, where the sunlight shined through the roof. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She covered her head in her hands, her mind hurting as it thought.
Yuria remained silent as well, but it was clear the heat she was burning under the mask was cooling off. Finally she approached Pyrrha. "You...are worried, about your condition?"
Pyrrha curled her body and nodded, staring through the stone in front of her.
"I don't much understand it. In my homeland, we worship death and hollowing. There are those in Londor who would envy you."
"So Yoel knew this would happen to me?"
"Hollowing was the side effect. Yoel told you he brought out your 'inner strength' I assume? That was his aim. He truly did have the best of intentions for you."
Pyrrha buried her head in her arms.
Yuria saw this and leaned down to her. "If it really troubles you, I have something that can mask your appearance."
Pyrrha raised her head, eyes faded and weary nonetheless wide in surprise. "H-how?"
Yuria pulled something from her sleeve, a simple, black ring. While it was unremarkable in design, it seemed to hum and "glow" with a faint, dark outline. "It won't cure your hollowing, but you don't need to be reminded of that."
Pyrrha stood up and took the ring, looking at it intently. Yuria looked to her belongings that she had sitting against the stone wall, retrieving a polished shield with which to use as a mirror. Pyrrha hadn't put on the ring yet, however. She stared at it for a long while, hand subtly shaking the longer she held it. She motioned to put it on her finger and, after brief hesitation and a deep breath, slid it on.
A puff of air seemed to blow over Pyrrha, and she looked at the shield. Her skin was restored, her hair healthy and strong, and her green eyes vibrant. She was herself again. More or less. But she wasn't as jubilant as she thought, as she should have been, and she didn't know why.
Yuria looked to Pyrrha as she collected her thoughts. "You look beautiful, Ms. Nikos."
Pyrrha had returned to where she and the others had fought the Abyss Watchers, their bodies still strewn across the room, including the ones that they personally had killed.
Hawkwood was nowhere to be found, the only evidence of his existence being his round shield, which was left next to the bonfire. Pyrrha picked it up, taking the moment to reminisce about the pitiless, fatalistic man. She sadly rested the shield back on the floor.
She went to the staircase revealed when the altar moved and went down, covering herself in shadow as she went. She finally emerged from the dark tunnel, entering a stone room similar to the Abyss Watcher's chamber above, but ahead there was a chasm lined with pillars, a stone bridge connecting her end to the one across the gap.
The floor she walked on was littered with several bones and skulls, and closer inspection showed the pillars were lined with tombstones. The air was sour, stale, and dusty. This place was a giant tomb, the likes of which Pyrrha couldn't imagine. The swamp she came from before was teeming with hostile, rotted life. This place was completely lifeless.
She walked slowly to the bridge and began to cross, but she stopped. She heard a blowing of the wind. She looked around, but brushed it off as a draft. However, she heard a clicking and straining sound coming from behind her, and she rapidly turned around with her weapon and shield raised just as she was hit by a large sword, sending her flying back near the edge of the thin bridge.
The thing that attacked her was a large, cloaked, walking skeleton with glowing red eyes and a curved greatsword.
It stepped forward to her as she got up, glowering menacingly. The second she stood, it brought the sword down diagonally. Rather than block it and get knocked off the bridge, she rolled toward the strike. Not a second after her roll she swung at the skeleton, who rolled back...and vanished. Pyrrha looked at where it was in confusion. Behind her however, she heard a rush of air and she swirled around to face it.
Her sword clashed with the skeleton as it stared her down. Before the robed skeleton could disengage, Pyrrha delivered a quick kick to what would have been its abdomen but was instead the spinal cord. The robed skeleton stumbled backward, eventually losing its footing and plummeting down the chasm.
Pyrrha breathed heavily and safely walked across the bridge. Through the archway, there was a room with several of the stone lined pillars with scattered bones on the floor. She continued through the room, but she flinched when something began moving under her foot. In a shock she lifted it, revealing it to be a bone, which immediately slid behind her. Following it, she saw several other bones assembling a skeleton, headless and without a left arm nevertheless rising to face her with a large cleaver.
She raised her sword to fight and the headless skeleton began to circle around the pillars. Finally the skeleton attacked, with Pyrrha blocking. She attempted to slash in retaliation, but the skeleton, with impressive dexterity, turned its sword while it was on her shield to block it.
The skeleton shoved her away before pulling the sword closer to it, circling her once again. Pyrrha brought out a slash when she saw an opportunity, but the skeleton bashed her arm away and proceeded to impale her through her armor.
While not as damaging as the riposte she suffered at the Undead Settlement, it still brought an intense pain as copious blood poured out of her and her breath spilled from her mouth. The skeleton pushed her off its sword and onto her back, where she saw other bones moving away from her and sliding elsewhere. She rapidly got up, automatically and numb from the pain, quickly drinking Estus to heal her wounds. However, behind her, another skeleton that had formed grabbed her sword arm and threw her behind it, sending her careening off the ledge. However, it was a short fall, softened by the pile of jagged bones below, into another room in the catacombs.
The skeletons began to file down the stairs as Pyrrha emerged from the pile of bones, some clinging to their skin. As they drew closer, Pyrrha calmed down and focused, extending her sword arm behind her. As they began to charge again, she made a sweep with her sword, severing all their spines at once, knocking the bones from their frames and scattering on the stone floor.
Breathing a sigh of relief she healed a bit more of her wounds but stopped when she saw one of the skeletons reforming. She readied herself, but as the skeleton fastened its head and stepped forward, it was instantly decapitated by an invisible force. Pyrrha got off the pile of bones and stepped forward cautiously, trying to see what killed the skeleton.
Suddenly, three knives struck Pyrrha in the side, and looking in that direction, she saw another one of the robed skeletons. She only saw it for a split second before it faded into dust like the other had. Pyrrha kept hearing for its movement and slashed at the empty air, not so empty as the robed skeleton revealed itself in order to dodge away. As it hopped away it threw another set of knives at Pyrrha, who blocked them this time, before disappearing.
The robed skeleton manifested in front of Pyrrha before immediately disappearing as she swung. It reappeared behind her, slashing at her back, and causing her to drop her shield. She turned around to face it, but still got hit with another attack. She deflected two or so attacks, but was being overwhelmed by the relentless flurry of attacks. A final slash on Pyrrha caused her body to spill much blood from all the attacks she suffered, and she collapsed.
The robed skeleton raised its sword for a killing blow, but right as it came down Pyrrha stabbed her sword into the skeleton's blade to knock it away before turning her sword to plunge it into the middle of the skeleton's ribcage, cracking it and shattering when she turned it. The skeleton fell back, with its red eyes falling dark, before disappearing once again.
Pyrrha looked around in a panic, unsure if it was dead or not and if there were more around. Her physical status was less than perfect, feeling ever weaker from the amount of blood she lost and the wound she suffered. She head a crunching of bone and clinking of metal behind her and she swirled around and thrust her sword.
"Pyrrha?"
The person, Anri of Astora, grunted in pain as the sword sunk into his midsection. Pyrrha's eyes opened wide and she felt a stinging pain in her cheeks and eyes with a numbing in her head.
Anri, however, only reacted by grabbing the blade. "It will take a lot more than that to kill me, Pyrrha Nikos." He then pulled the broadsword from his abdomen, shuddering from the pain as Pyrrha remained still.
"Anri I-I'm so sorry…" Pyrrha shook, tears faintly forming in their ducts.
Anri waved her off though, "it's alright, Pyrrha, you couldn't have known." He then reached into his pocket and took out an Estus flask, raising his helmet just enough to put it to his lips, and Pyrrha couldn't see his face. "Ah, that reminds me, have you seen Horace anywhere? At all?"
Pyrrha snapped out of her shock. "I-I haven't...is something wrong?"
"He has become...he's run off. I've not been able to find him since."
"And you think he's here?"
Anri began rubbing his neck with his gloved hand, "I...am certain of it… Can you help me find him?"
Pyrrha smiled "yes, of course."
The two walked through the catacombs, passing the bones on the floor and walls. "Your appearance has changed." Pyrrha's eyes widened and her skin felt clammy, but Anri quickly diffused this. "Your armor is different, and you have cut your hair."
"Oh...I'm glad you noticed I suppose." Pyrrha scratched the back of her head in nervousness, taking the time to also feel her cut hair.
"Pyrrha...you are not from this world, are you?"
Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh, somewhat darkly. "Is it that obvious?" she joked as she stepped over some bones.
"Oh yes," Anri chuckled along with her. "I just wanted to know, what is it like there?"
Pyrrha hesitated, trying to collect her thoughts and feelings. For in truth, no one had asked her about her own world, until now. "It...it's a rather diverse place. Our people used to be plagued and besieged by dark creatures known as the Creatures of Grimm, that were focused on preying on us."
"Nothing too out of the ordinary I suppose." Anri quipped. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."
Pyrrha lightly laughed. "But even still, despite the Grimm, we pushed them back and made four kingdoms. There was a period of almost complete peace and prosperity."
"Really?"
"We had so many advanced inventions. Lightning to power our homes and devices, advanced medicine…"
"I had only heard of one kingdom that could accomplish such after the darkness came. I believe it was called...Drang, I believe. I don't know."
They went through an archway, that lead to a staircase down to another section, all above the chasm.
A biting cold gripped Pyrrha and her face became crestfallen. "And then…"
The two stopped when they saw something in the middle: the same robed skeleton Pyrrha had fought on the bridge directly above them.
"I...didn't think he'd survive that," Pyrrha said.
The skeleton got up and began shambling over, but looked up in shock. The two turned around and discovered what it saw: a giant ball, made up of several skeletons held together.
"Run!" Anri cried. On cue, the ball of skeletons fell over the entrance where they entered and began to roll down. They quickly bolted for the exit, shoving aside the skeleton warrior Pyrrha had fought, who had been knocked down once again but the ball.
They continued running down the steps as the ball began gaining on them. They approached the end of the path, but Pyrrha pulled Anri to the left, causing the ball to crash, stiff and solid, against the wall. It then, under its own power, rolled back and up where it came.
The two got up and swept the dust off themselves. They continued walking somewhat shaken from the run.
"I am loathe to admit it, but that was quite exhilarating." Anri said.
"It is...but I still find it so frightening still."
Anri grew solemn and looked at Pyrrha. "People...remain dead in your world," he stated, with Pyrrha nodding her head. "It wasn't always like this. People lived, people died. kingdoms were built, like yours I suppose. But then people died...and they rose again with the Darksign. They couldn't die, and they went mad, they turned on everyone. Demons rose from the darkness. The light...the
fire, faded. It's one thing to face creatures of darkness, it's another to face your own as you do, knowing they will be the ones to kill you in the very end."
Pyrrha covered her mouth and closed her eyes. "Anri...do you ever feel...like you are a side-character in someone else's story?"
"All the time actually. It's rather frightening, really."
"I never truly gave it thought, until I came here."
"I suppose it matters not, for me at least. I have my goal, however small, that I want to see through. Once it's done...I'll think of something...What about you?"
Pyrrha kept walking with Anri in silence. She thought of what he had said, about how their world worked, all the things that happened to ruin it. She thought of the kingdoms that fell around them. She thought of the one she died in. "Anri-"
*
Clunk!*
Pyrrha's eyes widened as she looked at what she stepped on: a stone pressure plate. Up ahead, three fire bolts came speeding over to them. Anri threw Pyrrha and himself to the ground as they whooshed overhead, along with another set of three.
The noise attracted attention though. Behind them, bones began forming into intact skeletons. The two moved ahead quickly but stopped when they saw two skeletons along with one of the shadowy skeleton warriors.
One skeleton with a peaked hat threw a ceramic plate at them, which Anri split in half with his sword. On impact with the blade, however, it exploded in a shadowy mist and swirl, and Anri was blasted back into a railing, stunned for a short time.
The shadow skeleton dashed forward with the large curved sword. Pyrrha deflected the blow with her sword and blocked an attack made by one of the other skeletons. Anri recovered and gave a slash at one of the skeletons, splitting it in half. Pyrrha held the shadow skeleton at bay with her shield, but the skeleton slid the sword and butt her in the head with the pommel, knocking her back.
When she stumbled backward, the stones fell beneath her and she fell.
"Pyrrha!" she heard Anri cry out before continuing his fight with the multitude of skeletons. Pyrrha got up, ankle deep in water, apparently having fallen in a sewer or water duct. She tried calling to Anri, but she looked around her and saw she was surrounded by giant, sore covered rats.
They charged at her, but with a few quick slashes, even the largest fell. But behind her, she heard a clattering sound.
She turned around and saw a skeleton, standing upright and encased in a spoked wheel. The skeleton pointed at her before jumping and rolling the wheel toward her. Pyrrha raised her shield, but when the skeleton made impact, it grinded and turned against it, and eventually her endurance gave out.
Her shield was smashed aside and she fell into the water, her skin being grinded against the spikes on the wheel. She quickly got up and attempted to fish her Estus flask out of her pocket, but the bonewheel skeleton had already turned and began spiralling toward her, knocking her aside.
Pyrrha looked up, seeing the bonewheel skeleton turn toward her once more. Pyrrha gave a fierce glare toward it. It began rolling toward her, but Pyrrha rose and grasped the wheel, using its momentum to throw it at the opposite end of the wall. The bonewheel skeleton slammed into the wall, shattering it and the wheel it was attached to.
The battle above had grown silent, but before she could call Anri's name, she saw another of the robed skeletons across the room. She quickly began running and she passed an archway out of the sewer.
Stumbling out of the sewer, she was in a cold, dark cavern, lined in stalactites/mites. She walked slowly, looking around for any way out. Ahead of her was a long, rickety bridge leading across a large chasm, seemingly held together by string, ready to collapse at any time.
"Horace? Horace!? Pyrrha!?"
'Anri,' she thought, relieved to know he was alive. "Anri! I'm here. I'm-" she stopped however. Behind her, away from the foot of the bridge, was an enormous field of bones and skulls. One femur bone began to vibrate and then move. Soon the entire field began to move all forming a massive army of skeletons. Pyrrha began backing away.
"Pyrrha!" she heard behind her. Anri was on a ledge overlooking them, and threw a firebomb between her and the skeletons, breaking apart some that tried to charge. "Quick, across the bridge!"
The two began running as fast as they could across the bridge. The skeletons began following them, causing the bridge to shake with sheer numbers. Anri fell behind, deciding to hold them off, knocking a few off in the process.
Pyrrha reached the end of the bridge, but Anri was still dealing with the horde of skeletons. "Cut the bridge!" he heard him scream. Pyrrha hesitated, and looked as Anri kept fighting. Anri looked behind him yelled again, "CUT THE BRIDGE!!!" A skeleton approached from behind and grabbed onto him. At that point Pyrrha cut a rope on the bridge.
She was preparing to cut another, but the bridge was so weak and unstable, and so burdened by the weight, it began to give out before collapsing completely. A large deluge of skeletons poured down off the bridge, and Anri rushed to reach the end, but the bridge completely fell before that, sending him falling.
"Anri? ANRI!" Pyrrha cried out. She looked down the bridge, but she couldn't see Anri anywhere. Pyrrha feared the worst and fell onto her back. Hot, painful tears began pouring from her eyes. She put her hands to her eyes and mouth and tried to stifle her sobs. Her body began to shimmer and spark, but she couldn't notice.
"I'm sorry…"
She moved on. She grimly marched forward from the bridge and pushed aside the large double doors in front of her. Ahead of her was a large room with a stone staircase at the end leading to a throne, with a marble altar in the middle. On the altar was a chalice made of a human skull.
She slowly walked toward it, before feeling incredible nausea, which only compelled her to come closer. She reached out with her hand, and the second an atom grazed against it, the room shook.
"Enter the realm of our Lord, Wolnir..." a voice said.
Suddenly a cloud of dark smoke emitted from the cup, more than what was capable of fitting within it. The room began to be covered by the smoke, and soon the room was made pitch black.
Everything was different in the void. She felt neither cold nor warm, and the air was extremely stale, as though the air was frozen in place. She began walking, though she couldn't see where she was. The surface felt like rock and declined downward, but it was almost invisible, covered by the void.
Ahead, shining in the darkness, was a faint light. Pyrrha tilted her head and approached it. As she grew closer, her Darksign began freezing, and she felt uneasy. When she finally made it to the light, the surrounding area began shining brighter. When she looked up, she gasped. Above her was a giant skeleton, with a golden, gem-encrusted crown and two gold bands on its wrists. And it was staring right at her.
The skeleton, who could only be assumed to be this "Wolnir," raised its hand, preparing to swat at Pyrrha. She rolled back just as it flattened the speck of light. She took out her sword and shield and faced down Wolnir.
Wolnir swiped across the surface where they stood on, pushing Pyrrha away. She began hacking at Wolnir's fingers, but the bone was strong and barely made any scratch.
Wolnir bashed Pyrrha back. As she looked up, she saw the skeleton lord's golden wrist rings, scrawled with bright runes. The wrist rings…
Pyrrha got up and made a beeline to one of the rings. Wolnir noticed and tried to smash her with its hand. Pyrrha rolled forward and delivered a slash to the ring, sending gold sparks all across. She kept striking and slashing, gradually chipping against it until finally it broke, exploding into gold dust, while Wolnir flinched back, grasping its forearm.
Enraged, Wolnir picked up Pyrrha and threw her back. After she was done rolling across the dark floor, Wolnir put its palm to its head, a glowing swirl of light generating. It slammed its hand to the ground, and from that spot, several skeletons arose.
She couldn't afford to be distracted, not this long, not anymore. She took a sip of Estus before running again to the bracelet. The skeletons tried to stop her, but she clashed swords with one, slipping away in the process while rolling past another. She made another chop against the bracelet, causing a large chip. However, one skeleton grabbed her from behind and restrained her. She took its arms and threw it over to Wolnir's chest cavity, where it dissolved into bone meal. This shocked Pyrrha, but she didn't let up on the bracelet. However, a skeleton came from behind her and swung its sword at her. She quickly dodged, causing the skeleton to hit the bracelet instead, breaking it and killing the skeleton.
Wolnir once again recoiled, but this time directed its gaze toward Pyrrha. It then took its hands and started pulling itself toward her. As it went, the skeletons it summoned were disintegrated when it got close. Pyrrha tried running away, but the incline she was on ended with a dead end, blocked by a wall of fog. Wolnir got close and knocked her on her back.
Wolnir put up its hands, and from them formed an object. In its hands was now a gigantic, runed greatsword proportional to its size, and it started shining within it. At the same time, the darkness of the void circled around it in a contradiction of terms.
It was prepared to strike down with it, and Pyrrha stared shocked at it while lying on her back. It began bringing the sword down but Pyrrha, out of pure instinct, put her hands in front of her. Wolnir's sword stopped ahead of her and began shaking.
Pyrrha heard the groan of metal and her mind raced. She was thinking of Penny Polendina, straining and in pain from the wires being wrapped around her, shortly before they split her piece by piece. She thought of pushing Jaune against the wall in a fit of stress. She remembered using her shield as a projectile shortly before Cinder shot her. But the odd thought out was Anri, falling to his certain death without being able to do anything.
"Arrggh!!!" Pyrrha cried out. Wolnir sword began warping and twisting before finally it snapped, turning into gold dust like the bracelets. Wolnir grasped the ground underneath it in fatigue. Soon, a strange wind began blowing toward them, and Wolnir gripped the ground harder trying to keep from being sucked back.
Pyrrha herself was having trouble holding on, but then Wolnir grabbed on to Pyrrha's leg, and began being pulled into the darkness. Pyrrha gasped, but out from the fog wall someone grasped her hand. She looked up and was relieved. Anri of Astora was alive, and had grabbed her hand and plunged his sword into the ground anchoring them into the surface.
Wolnir's mass was taxing on them, and Anri began to grown in pain. "Just hang on!" She heard a bone crack and Anri cried out in agony. Pyrrha held on regardless, her leg in enormous pain.
Finally, Wolnir could hold on no more, and the hand fell away. Wolnir fell into the darkness, never to be seen again. Anri and Pyrrha began panting and breathing heavily as the shadow fell away from the room.
The skull chalice was no more, and a bonfire appeared. Pyrrha got up and saw Anri, and a wave of happiness surged over her. "Anri…"
Anri got up with a groan. "Pyrrha." His armpit was leaking blood.
"I...I thought you were dead."
"So did I, until I awoke on a ledge and saw the bridge there like a ladder."
Pyrrha got up and looked at the throne, which had been destroyed from unknown causes, revealing a tunnel. "All that's left is out I suppose." She breathed.
She began to walk out, but stopped part way through. She turned around and saw Anri hanging his head despondently.
"I… can't leave now. Not without Horace."
Pyrrha was crestfallen at this reminder. "That's right. He's still out there somewhere."
"He's a dear friend and companion. I'd have been lost for so long. I can't just leave him." The two paused for a long while. "What were you going to tell me?"
"Hmm?"
"You we're going to say something, before we got separated. What was it?"
Pyrrha's mind raced before she solemnly remembered what she was about to say.
"When I was about to die the first time, before I appeared in Lothric, I regretted that I would die and never see my friends and family again. That my existence would end. But here, I live in a world where death is meaningless and so common. It's torture." Pyrrha's hand unconsciously started rubbing the ring Yuria gave her, the one hiding her hollow appearance. "And now...all I want is to stay dead, and just let this nightmare end."
Anri was silent for a long time. Finally he step forward to Pyrrha. "I remember the first time I died. Facing down my foe was to be expected. Even inevitable. But death became my friend, and my battles were fought harder. I remember the first time I died, but dying got easier; it's how you die that leaves your mark. Prepare to die…" he then put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him with teary eyes, "but remember to go beyond death." Pyrrha smiled at him, and Anri took her hand and put the doll they got at the Cathedral of the Deep into her palm. "For whatever reason, our fates are intertwined. I will see you again, Pyrrha Nikos."
Pyrrha took the doll. "I'll make it a promise I guess," she smiled.
"May The Flames guide your way."
The two parted ways. One to find a friend. One to find an answer.
Author's Notes: First of all, a thousand pardons for this being late, and I mean a thousand and I mean late. This took awhile to make, a lot of hours were lost. Most of it was from playing Galactic Civilizations II (and now III), but there were lost nevertheless.
However, I hope I made up for it by making this the second longest chapter in the fic (beaten out only by the Deacons of the Deep, which was the season finale of sorts). If you're still reading, thank you for being patient with me.
I will admit, looking back, the Catacombs weren't that long, but I made a point to make this a character episode and the Catacombs (well, the parts that were in this) served that well. Also decided to add a bit of the Bearer of the Curse in there while I was at it.
Although I was late, I hope to see you again at 12 PM PST on Friday. Stay Tuned though, just in case 
Be sure to review or PM me if you have any questions.
