It had been a long time since Lucian last set foot in the Roundtable Hold.
Standing there once more, he suddenly found the place strangely unfamiliar.
Ever since Tarnished from across the Lands Between had begun returning, the Roundtable Hold had grown far livelier than before.
Its layout and furnishings were unchanged, but perhaps because he had been away for so long, everything somehow felt different.
If he had to pinpoint the change...
It was probably the atmosphere.
There were far more earnest young knights now, giving the Hold a brighter, more honorable air.
Passing by many unfamiliar faces, Lucian made his way toward Smithing Master Hewg's workshop.
To his surprise, however, the forge was closed.
Stopping outside the door, he heard a slow, gravelly voice coming from within.
"Your divinity, have mercy, and grant me forgiveness."
"The road is yet long. A God is not easily felled."
"But one day, without fail, you will have your wish."
"So please, grant me forgiveness, Queen Marika..."
A peculiar expression crossed Lucian's face.
Eavesdropping wasn't exactly a good habit.
Then again, he hadn't been trying to.
Objectively speaking, every private room in the Roundtable Hold was well insulated.
Setting aside a certain all-hearing fellow, even an ordinary Tarnished pressing their ear against the door wouldn't be able to make out anything inside.
The problem was simply that Lucian's hearing had become far too sharp.
The soundproofing might as well not have existed.
By the time he realized what he was hearing, Hewg's words had already reached his ears.
Still...
It didn't matter.
He had heard this dialogue back in the game anyway.
Not dwelling on it any further, Lucian knocked on the door.
If possible, he would rather not interrupt the old blacksmith's prayers.
But with Godfrey's return potentially imminent, there was no time to spare.
The prayers inside stopped immediately.
A moment later came the heavy scrape of chains dragging across the floor.
The door opened.
Hewg looked up and met Lucian's eyes.
Seeing his visitor, the old smith looked mildly surprised.
"...Oh... it's you."
"I was wondering who it could be."
After speaking, Hewg nodded to himself.
"Come to think of it... it has been a long time since I last forged a weapon for you."
"Mm."
"The job remains the same."
"Come then. Show me your weapon."
Hewg pulled the door fully open before turning back toward his anvil.
After entering, Lucian quietly shut the door behind him.
A storm spread silently through the room, sealing it completely so that not a single sound could escape.
What he intended to discuss next...
He wanted no one else to hear.
Standing before Hewg's workbench, Lucian spoke solemnly.
"Master Hewg."
"I want you to forge me a weapon capable of slaying a god."
The moment those words left his mouth, Hewg's entire body stiffened.
He stared blankly at the forge for a long while before finally speaking.
"A god-slaying weapon..."
"Such a thing is no simple task."
"Ordinary Smithing Stones are utterly incapable of producing a weapon fit to slay a god."
"Only the legendary Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone offers even the slightest possibility."
"It is said those stones are fragments of the Ancient Dragon Lord's stone scales."
"They possess the power to distort time itself."
"Only a material like that..."
"Only that could possibly forge a god-slaying weapon..."
Lucian smiled and nodded.
He placed several gleaming Somber Smithing Stones upon the anvil.
Every single one was a high-tier stone.
Among them were two especially remarkable pieces.
Unlike the others, these stones possessed perfectly formed shapes, their razor-sharp edges almost unnaturally precise.
A faint distortion of space and time radiated from them.
Merely looking directly at them caused one's eyes to ache.
"Exactly."
"The stone scales of the Ancient Dragon Lord."
"It is said he sits beyond the flow of time itself, and so his scales carry traces of temporal distortion."
"I already knew all of that."
"That's why I came to you."
Hewg stared silently at the extraordinary smithing stones.
He had never imagined Lucian would casually produce two Ancient Dragon Somber Smithing Stones.
Then again...
This was the Sun King, Rex Solis, whose reputation now shook the Lands Between.
Aside from Lucian...
There was probably no one else capable of obtaining such treasures so casually.
The old blacksmith let out a weary sigh.
He had forged weapons his entire life.
Yet now...
For the first time in many years, he felt genuine pressure.
Forging a weapon capable of slaying a god...
It was something he had never truly accomplished.
No...
That wasn't quite right.
He had tried once before.
He had simply failed.
Failed miserably.
"I can't promise I'll succeed..."
Lucian merely smiled.
"I don't mind."
"Just give it everything you've got."
"I trust your craftsmanship."
Hewg fell silent for a moment before replying quietly,
"...Very well."
"If you're willing to place that much faith in me..."
"Then I have no reason to refuse."
"Show me the weapon you wish to strengthen."
Lucian nodded.
Reaching into his storage disc, he withdrew the Sword of Night and Flame and handed it to Hewg.
This time...
He intended to raise the Sword of Night and Flame to its absolute pinnacle.
At present, Lucian possessed two Ancient Dragon Somber Smithing Stones.
Given that, there were only a handful of weapons worthy of using them.
Although he had collected countless weapons over time simply for the sake of collecting them...
There were only two or three that he genuinely relied upon in battle.
Euporia had already reached its limit after absorbing the powers of Abundance and Scarlet Rot.
It could no longer be strengthened with smithing stones.
However, because Lucian still had no complete solution for Scarlet Rot, he could only leave it in Asimi's hands for now, since Asimi was immune to status ailments.
Logically speaking...
The best choice would have been the paired Starscourge Greatswords.
As twin weapons, they naturally required twice as many smithing materials.
But the payoff was equally extraordinary.
Two unrelated god-slaying weapons...
And a matched pair of god-slaying weapons...
Were concepts on entirely different levels.
Yet in the end...
Lucian chose not to strengthen the Starscourge Greatswords.
Instead...
He chose the Sword of Night and Flame.
As his very first god-slaying weapon...
He couldn't deny he had a selfish reason.
Once upgraded, it would become the symbolic weapon that represented him.
The Starscourge Greatswords had always been General Radahn's signature weapons.
Using them as his own symbol somehow felt... strange.
The Sword of Night and Flame, however, was different.
It had been personally given to him by Ranni.
Its meaning to him was incomparable.
Of course...
That wasn't his only consideration.
From a practical standpoint, the Sword of Night and Flame served as the perfect vessel for the power of the sun, allowing its blazing solar flames to be unleashed without restraint.
That reason alone made it worthy of the highest priority.
After all...
The greatest power Lucian now possessed was the power of the sun.
Compared to every other force at his disposal, it overwhelmingly surpassed them.
If he could draw out the full potential of that solar power...
Then this god-slaying weapon would undoubtedly eclipse any other weapon he could possibly forge.
The only reason the Sword of Night and Flame had begun falling behind was because it had only been upgraded to +7.
During its last two battles, it had nearly been reduced to scrap by Lucian's own Solar Flame. Further reinforcement was no longer optional.
Once the Sword of Night and Flame was strengthened further, it would be capable of withstanding even greater amounts of the sun's sacred fire, allowing Lucian to unleash far more of his true power.
Master Hewg accepted the sword, running a rough hand over the blade, his brow gradually furrowing.
"...How did it get burned this badly?"
"I'm going to have to repair it before I can reinforce it."
Lucian scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
'Well... how Glintstone indeed.'
As for why a perfectly good sword had ended up like this...
He'd save that explanation for some future episode of MythBusters with Master Hewg.
Right now, there was something much more important to ask.
"So there's no serious problem?"
"It won't affect the final reinforcement?"
After carefully examining the weapon from hilt to tip, Hewg reached his conclusion.
"None whatsoever."
"The blade has suffered physical damage, but its inherent properties haven't been disturbed."
"In fact... the burning has actually done it some good."
"That incredibly pure flame has refined the fire aspect already residing within this weapon, elevating it to a higher level."
Only then did Lucian finally relax.
Who would have thought that nearly burning the sword to ruin, twice, had actually purified it? Aside from a few external scars, it had only become stronger.
By then, Hewg had already picked up his hammer, set the Sword of Night and Flame upon the anvil, and prepared to begin.
Before starting, he glanced at Lucian.
"You don't have to stay here the whole time."
"For people like you, watching a blacksmith work is probably unbearably dull."
Lucian nodded but made no move to leave.
"How long will the repairs and reinforcement take?"
"This is too important. I don't intend to let it out of my sight."
Hewg pondered for a moment.
"Worried about that All-Knowing fellow?"
"Weapons don't interest him much, but I understand."
"In that case, wait here."
"Compared to forging a weapon from scratch, reinforcement doesn't take very long."
Lucian nodded.
If it wouldn't take too long, then waiting wasn't a problem.
Since he'd accidentally overheard Hewg's solitary prayer outside, he had become curious about the old blacksmith's past.
It would make for a good way to pass the time.
"Actually... I accidentally overheard your prayer just now."
"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. It's just... the Roundtable Hold's soundproofing isn't quite enough for my hearing anymore."
"What you said about Queen Marika... it caught my attention."
Hewg didn't seem bothered that Lucian had overheard him.
It wasn't exactly a shameful secret.
Besides, being heard through a closed door was an accident in itself. Hewg could only blame himself for not being more careful.
After letting out a weary sigh, the old smith asked,
"So... you want to know the whole story?"
Lucian nodded.
"I do."
"And besides that, I'm curious about your past."
"A smith of your caliber is one of only a handful in the entire Lands Between."
Hewg tossed the Sword of Night and Flame back into the furnace to reheat it, speaking without turning around.
"Very well."
"Just don't expect too much from an old man's tale."
"Smithing... is the craft of the Giants."
"In ages long past, forging was considered an act of worship."
"And the Trolls inherited that sacred tradition from them."
"My story... began in those distant days."
As he hammered the reheated Sword of Night and Flame, now glowing bright red once more, Hewg spoke calmly.
"Back then, the Crucible of Life was still branching endlessly."
"Every living thing was different. Creatures bore one another's traits."
"My body wasn't the withered, frail thing you see today."
"The Crucible granted me a physique that surpassed others of my kind."
"Even the Leonine Misbegotten couldn't compare to what I once was."
"But among the Misbegotten... I was an outcast."
"Ordinary Misbegotten came in many forms, but there was still a certain resemblance among them."
"The Leonine Misbegotten, with their unique appearance, were born leaders. That alone marked their status."
"A strange anomaly like me wasn't accepted."
"Against so many of them, I had no way to resist."
"So... I was driven away."
Hewg chuckled bitterly.
"Funny thing is..."
"I was cast out by the Misbegotten... yet while wandering, I was taken in by the Trolls and the Giants."
"From then on, I lived among them."
"And it was there that I learned the art of smithing."
"I still don't know whether they simply mistook me for another kind of their own..."
"Or whether they were simply kind enough to take me in."
"Back then, there were even horned humanoids larger than Trolls, almost the size of Giants."
"It wasn't easy to distinguish races with any certainty in those days."
"Though perhaps..."
"They were simply showing mercy."
Hewg's hammer never slowed.
He spoke of his own life as though it belonged to someone else.
Before long, the Sword of Night and Flame had regained its former sharpness.
The repairs were complete.
Picking up the Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, Hewg began the true reinforcement.
Lucian remained silent the entire time, leaning against the wall and listening.
"In the end..."
"What I used to be no longer matters."
"I'm a slave."
"That much should be obvious from the shackles I'm wearing."
"But I've never told anyone who enslaved me... or why I'm here."
Turning slightly to glance at Lucian, Hewg continued,
"...Don't misunderstand."
"I'm not lamenting my fate."
"My becoming a slave has nothing to do with any of you."
"And I never hated forging weapons."
"No matter what my station is, I can still make weapons stronger."
"Skill... and time... never betray a craftsman."
"...And while I work..."
"...I can temporarily forget just how terrifying that person truly was."
Only then did Lucian finally speak.
"'That person'...?"
"Do you mean Queen Marika... or King Godfrey?"
Hewg raised his head.
"Queen Marika."
"Though if we're being precise..."
"It was both of them."
"You know how the War against the Giants ended... don't you?"
"I stood with the Giants."
"I fought King Godfrey myself."
Under Hewg's unique forging technique, the Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone gradually melted into the Sword of Night and Flame.
"I forged the Grafted Blade Greatsword."
"And I was its very first wielder."
"As you'd expect..."
"I was defeated by King Godfrey as an enemy of the Erdtree."
"Using the Grafted Blade Greatsword consumed nearly all of the Crucible's life force within me."
"I was on the verge of death."
"But Queen Marika took an interest in my skill as a smith."
"And because my body was different..."
"I wasn't one of the Giants or Trolls who carried the power of the Fell God."
"So she changed my fate."
"She saved me from death..."
"And remade me into what you now see, a common Misbegotten."
"From then on..."
"I forged weapons for the sake of her wish."
"As for what that wish was..."
"...I'm sorry."
"A brand was carved into me."
"I cannot speak of it."
With a final thunderous strike, Hewg brought the hammer down.
The Sword of Night and Flame flashed brilliantly.
Blood instantly streamed from Hewg's eyes.
Averting his gaze from the blade's edge, the old smith smiled in satisfaction at Lucian.
"Excellent."
"The blade cuts even the eyes of those who merely look upon it."
"Now..."
"That is what a god-slaying weapon should be."
Lucian stepped forward and grasped the newly forged Sword of Night and Flame.
The instant he raised it, space itself seemed to fracture around the blade, as though reality had been cleanly severed.
[Sword of Night and Flame +10]
A weapon truly worthy of slaying a god.