"Greetings, Tarnished. My name is Gowry. In the past, people called me a sage."
The "people" he referred to were the Kindred of Rot—those insect-like beings who worship the Scarlet Goddess sealed beneath the Lake of Rot by the Blind Swordsman.
They were the abandoned followers of that goddess.
Even now, they still waited for their deity—now known as the Scarlet Goddess Malenia—to return.
Aside from that, Gowry was also the adoptive father of Millicent.
Millicent was a noble swordswoman.
Yet she was deeply connected to Malenia.
One could say Millicent was a fragment of Malenia's will—or perhaps even her daughter.
Seen from that perspective, Gowry's reason for adopting Millicent was obvious.
"…Tarnished, I have a request for you. Please, I beg you to accept it."
"This is a matter that only a Tarnished strong enough to cross the Scarlet Swamp of Aeonia and remain in good health can accomplish."
"Of course, I will not ask you to work for nothing. If you agree to my request…"
"I will tell you the secret hidden within Sellia, Town of Sorcery."
The old man spoke continuously, never giving him a chance to interrupt.
But it didn't matter.
"I'll help you."
He nodded lightly.
Gowry's face lit up with joy.
He then briefly explained Millicent's situation.
She lived in a church on the cliffs behind Sellia.
Millicent suffered from the disease of rot and had been bedridden for years.
The rot within her came directly from Malenia herself.
It was the purest and most concentrated form of Scarlet Rot.
Without a doubt, Scarlet Rot was one of the most terrifying forces in the entire Lands Between.
Even during the height of the Erdtree's glory, Miquella, the one closest to Marika, had been powerless against it.
Because of that, Miquella chose to abandon the Golden Order and create a new doctrine—the Unalloyed Gold.
It was said that once completed, it might cure Scarlet Rot.
Although Scarlet Rot could not truly be cured, it could be suppressed.
The Unalloyed Gold Needle, forged by Miquella and once embedded in Malenia's body, had the ability to suppress it.
Gowry's request was simple.
Retrieve that needle.
Its location was deep within the Scarlet Swamp of Aeonia, carried by the wandering commander General O'Neil.
That was everything Gowry knew.
Having accepted the task, the Tarnished immediately set out.
The name Aeonia came from the Scarlet Goddess.
Beneath this swamp lay the Lake of Rot in the lower reaches of the Ainsel River, where the Scarlet Goddess had once been sealed.
Throughout the swamp, Aeonian Butterflies fluttered everywhere—colorful, decaying butterflies said to have once been the wings of the Scarlet Goddess.
But strangely, the abandoned followers of the goddess were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, countless Cleanrot Knights wandered the swamp.
These knights had once followed Malenia to Caelid.
Now they had lost their minds to Scarlet Rot and become monsters roaming the swamp.
"Finlay, what do you think?"
"…Master, I do not know how to answer."
Finlay, whom he had summoned earlier, walked beside him through the swamp.
But now she lowered her head and fell silent.
Once, she had firmly believed that following the Goddess of Rot, Malenia, had been the right choice.
But now…
After experiencing countless cycles alongside the Tarnished, she truly did not know how to judge it anymore.
Had attacking Caelid with Malenia really been the right decision?
Was this truly the future she had hoped to see?
A sky covered in red clouds.
A land devoured by Scarlet Rot.
She did not know.
Or perhaps she simply could not bring herself to answer.
The only thing she could do now—
Was grant death to the former comrades who had once fought beside her.
Soon, the Cleanrot Knights wandering the swamp were all cut down by Finlay.
Eventually they found General O'Neil.
Corrupted by Scarlet Rot, O'Neil wandered the swamp without reason or sanity.
The Tarnished did not know much about him.
Only that the old general had once served Godwyn, the first demigod to die.
After Godwyn's assassination, Miquella sought not only to cure Scarlet Rot but also to revive Godwyn.
Thus O'Neil, one of Godwyn's followers, joined Malenia's army in the campaign against Starscourge Radahn in Caelid.
Even so, despite fighting in a war he perhaps should not have joined, the old general remained worthy of respect.
Even now, he still refused to release the tattered banner in his hand.
Though he had lost his sanity, he continued to fight.
That alone earned the Tarnished's respect.
So he decided to show the old general some sincerity—
To grant him an honorable death in battle.
However, just as he drew the Sacred Relic Sword and prepared to strike, Finlay suddenly ran forward and knelt before him.
"Master. I know this request is presumptuous… but I ask that you allow me to personally send General O'Neil on his final journey."
Her eyes held both determination and pleading.
Once, she and O'Neil had fought on the same battlefield.
If she wished to see an old comrade off—
That was understandable.
"…Very well."
"I'll leave it to you."
"Thank you, Master. I will deliver victory to you."
Finlay drew her scythe and charged forward.
Their battle ended almost as quickly as it began.
With swift, relentless strikes, Finlay forced O'Neil into retreat.
Even during the Shattering, O'Neil had not been her equal.
Now, after honing her skills through hundreds of cycles, the difference had only grown greater.
In mere seconds—
O'Neil fell beneath her scythe.
Finlay returned and knelt before the Tarnished, offering the broken Unalloyed Gold Needle with both hands.
"Well done."
He accepted the needle.
Finlay dissolved into mist and vanished.
Although this had been her own request, sending former comrades to their deaths could not have been easy.
He tightened his grip on the broken needle.
Then his gaze turned toward the church atop the cliffs near Sellia.
He suddenly wondered—
What kind of expression would Finlay make when she finally met Millicent?
Finlay knew Millicent existed.
But they had never met face to face.
The thought made him smile faintly.
Soon he summoned Torrent and returned to the ruined shack.
"Oh my… as expected of a seasoned Tarnished."
"You recovered the needle so quickly."
Seeing the broken needle in his hand, Gowry handed him a worn piece of parchment.
It described the secret of Sellia.
"Come, let me examine the needle closely."
He took one half of the needle and inspected it carefully.
"…Hmm. Yes…"
"My, my. Such exquisite craftsmanship. It understands life itself—so delicate, yet fearless…"
"It must have been forged by a master craftsman possessing those very qualities…"
The Tarnished stared at him with lifeless eyes.
What nonsense was this old bug pretending?
Everyone knew it was crafted by Miquella.
Everything he described clearly referred to Miquella and Malenia.
And besides the Lands Between, who else would forge a needle meant to suppress Scarlet Rot?
Anyone with even a little knowledge of Miquella could guess the answer.
For some reason, the old man in the red hood began to resemble a certain white-haired magician in his mind.
"…Please wait for a moment."
"No matter how well-made a needle is, if it is broken in two, it is useless."
Gowry began repairing it.
Meanwhile, the Tarnished stepped outside and sat by the cliff.
In the distance stood the magical town of Sellia.
Truthfully, Sellia's secret wasn't that complicated.
The town was covered by a magical seal.
Lighting the braziers atop its towers would remove the seal.
But for him, such trouble was unnecessary.
He could simply tear it apart with brute force.
Even the sealed gates of Raya Lucaria Academy were the same.
He simply ripped them open.
That said, Sellia and Raya Lucaria had deep historical ties.
Sellia was founded by descendants of the Nightfolk, survivors of the fallen Eternal City.
This was inferred from a stone monument.
Starscourge Radahn earned his title because he once truly destroyed a falling star.
A star that would have struck Sellia.
Radahn stood as the town's shield and shattered the meteor.
The only people in the Lands Between threatened by falling stars were the Nightfolk of the Eternal Cities.
Incidentally, Raya Lucaria had been founded by astrologers.
And those astrologers likely descended from the Nightfolk as well.
The last queen of Caria, Rennala, had once been an astrologer who witnessed the full moon.
Thinking about it that way—
The war between Caria and the academy was almost laughable.
They were essentially fighting their own kin.
Perhaps the centuries had caused them to forget their shared origin.
Time passed.
Day turned into night.
Night became dawn.
Finally, Gowry finished repairing the needle.
"Thank you for waiting."
"The needle has been restored. It can now suppress the rot."
"Could you please give it to the girl, Millicent?"
"Of course, you will receive a reward."
He returned the repaired needle.
The Tarnished accepted it with a smile and set out for Sellia.
But after leaving the shack, he took the needle out again.
A cold laugh escaped him.
"Heh… just as I thought."
This needle was clearly different from the Unalloyed Gold Needle in his bag.
The real needle was entirely golden and still carried traces of pure dew left behind by Millicent.
But the needle Gowry repaired had a crimson weld where it had been fused together.
A closer look revealed the truth—
The welding power came from Scarlet Rot itself.
That explained why, after reaching the Haligtree, the needle eventually failed to suppress Millicent's rot.
"You old bug… just wait."
He tossed the fake needle into the corner of his bag and spurred Torrent forward.
This time, he would give Millicent the real needle.
That should prevent her death.
And allow her to fulfill her wish of meeting Malenia.
As for Gowry—
That old bug could wait.
Once Millicent left, killing him would not be too late.
He soon fought his way through the area, tearing apart Sellia's magical seals and reaching the Church of the Plague.
Ironically, two insect creatures resembling skeletal centipedes guarded the entrance.
Seeing that made Millicent's purpose painfully obvious.
She was merely one of the tools Gowry intended to use to recall the Scarlet Goddess—Malenia.
In fact, Gowry had raised four daughters like Millicent before.
After killing the guards, he entered the church.
In the corner, curled up in pain, was a girl with vivid red hair—
Millicent.
But he did not wake her immediately.
Instead, he rang the Spirit Calling Bell and summoned Cleanrot Knight Finlay again.
"Master."
"Go take a look at that girl."
"Does she seem familiar?"
He smiled and pointed toward the suffering girl.
Finlay looked over—
And froze.
"That is…"
It was her first time seeing Millicent.
That face.
That crimson hair.
It was unmistakable.
Although there were slight differences in appearance—
She was almost a perfect copy of Malenia.
"Master… is that Lady Malenia's child? Millicent?"
He nodded, satisfied with her reaction.
"That's right."
"She represents the pure side of Malenia. A talented swordswoman."
"But like Malenia, she is burdened with Scarlet Rot."
"…I see."
Finlay lowered her head.
She felt sorrow for the girl.
She did not ask the Tarnished to cure Scarlet Rot.
Because she knew—
That was impossible.
Even Miquella had struggled with it.
What she did not know was that this Scarlet Rot had originally been granted by Malenia's father—
Radagon.
Long ago, after marrying Rennala, Radagon studied sorcery at Caria.
He sought to become the perfect champion.
In that pursuit, he sought other powers.
Deep beneath the Ainsel River, within the temple worshiped by the Kindred of Rot, he discovered the power of the sealed Scarlet Goddess.
After returning to the Erdtree, he became the Second Elden Lord.
And from him were born Miquella and Malenia.
The Scarlet Rot that afflicted Malenia—
Was the inheritance of that power.
So if one asked where the root of all this tragedy began—
The answer would still point back to Radagon.
Unlock 100+ advance chapters on Patreon — every follow inspires me to keep going!
patreon.com/legacyverse1