Messemer placed his hand on the sealed gate leading into the Erdtree, feeling it carefully—feeling the will of rejection. He realized this did not originate from his mother, Marika.
This discovery undoubtedly strengthened his resolve to burn away the Thorns of Rejection and enter the Erdtree to rescue his mother. As for becoming Elden Lord—he didn't care. If his mother wanted him to be king, he would do it. If she chose someone else, he would reluctantly accept it.
…No, if it was the Tarnished, Messemer thought he probably wouldn't accept such a king so easily. But he would follow his mother's command.
His palm had already been cut by the thorns of rejection, red blood flowing out—but Messemer didn't notice. The blood trickled along the thorny vines covering the gate and suddenly ignited, burning with black and red flames.
These flames burned away part of the rejection's thorns, but new thorns quickly grew to fill the gaps. This showed that Messemer's flames could indeed counter the thorns of the Erdtree, but the power wasn't enough to completely break the seal.
Did he have to rely on the Flame Cauldron atop the Mountaintops of the Giants...?
If that's the case, then let me... Just as Messemer was debating whether to make that choice, he heard voices nearby. Turning around, he saw his sister, Melina, speaking with that same Tarnished.
Him again... Messemer was slightly annoyed, but he also noticed that the Tarnished had already acquired two Great Runes and had earned the right to compete on equal footing.
During his time occupying Leyndell, Messemer had already activated the third Great Rune using the Divine Tower. Undoubtedly, he was now the strongest demigod in the Lands Between. Even Radahn in his prime wouldn't be able to defeat someone with three Great Runes.
"Melina! I found the hidden demigod!" the Tarnished said excitedly. "A strange guy with Omen horns all over his head—he's hiding in the underground area of Nokron, the Eternal City... But they're not directly connected—I got there through a portal."
"...Is that so?" Melina carefully observed the Tarnished. The power of the runes within him was vast. It was evident he had endured many hardships to obtain that Great Rune atop the snowy mountains. "You've acquired two Great Runes... Without a doubt, you now have the qualifications to become Elden Lord. Tarnished, what is your wish now?"
"I..." The Tarnished scratched his head, unsure of what to say. Ever since coming to the Lands Between, having lost all memories of his past, he had no real goals. All his motivation came from others. It was Melina who had rescued him from unconsciousness, and they had formed a mutual pact. So he acted for her sake—killing demigods, seizing Great Runes, and making it this far.
"I don't have any wishes," he said after thinking for a moment. "If you think I should become Elden Lord, Melina, then I'll do it. But I'm someone without memories—I don't even know how to be a king. Would that be okay?"
"...I see." Melina turned to look at the Erdtree, still radiating brilliant golden light as if recalling her childhood beneath it.
"...I'm not someone worth becoming king for, Tarnished," Melina said, turning her back to him. "Perhaps you should try to recover your lost memories before making a decision."
"But if you do decide to become Elden Lord," she added, turning back and looking at him seriously, "I will go with you to the Mountaintops of the Giants—to the sealed Flame Cauldron—to help you break the Erdtree's seal."
"Seal? What seal?" The Tarnished was confused at first, then suddenly realized and said anxiously, "No! Melina, you can't! Listen, I met a strange person in the snowy mountains. That person was killed by Lady Aoko, but he said you would—"
"He was right," Messemer interrupted, walking down from the Erdtree's gate. "I won't allow you to do that, Melina. I won't let you become the Flame to ignite the Erdtree!"
"...This is the mission given to me by Mother, Messemer," Melina said coldly. "Just like the mission she gave you to kill all Omens. I won't interfere with your mission, so please don't interfere with mine."
"It's not the same!" Messemer raised his voice. "You don't have to become the Flame! I'm already close to breaking the seal of the Thorns—if I'm given enough time, I can..."
Halfway through his sentence, Messemer suddenly noticed a charred object drifting down in front of him. He reached out and caught a piece in his hand. When he gently pinched it, it crumbled into powder, leaving a black mark on his palm.
It was ash.
He quickly looked back. Ash was falling from the Erdtree's crown like snow, and black flames engulfed the tree. The once-lush branches and leaves were now rapidly turning to scorched ash, drifting across the Lands Between.
Not just Messemer—Melina and the Tarnished also stared at the strange sight, speechless.
"Is this how you broke the seal, brother?" Melina asked, as if recalling something. "Did you find the remains of a fallen one in that sealed place and try to burn the Erdtree?"
"It wasn't me!" Messemer said anxiously. "Someone must have done something in the Shadow Realm using the Erdtree's shadow. Could it be the remnants of the Omens...?"
...
Far away in Liurnia, Aoko and the others also noticed the raining ash and the pitch-black flames engulfing the Erdtree.
Undoubtedly, this was different from what she remembered—when the Erdtree was burned by the giants' flame, it smoldered slowly. But now the tree was engulfed in a raging fire, so fierce she could see it even from Liurnia.
Was this the work of the Godskin Nobles? Or the mysterious Queen of the Dusk-Eye, returned to take revenge on Marika and the Golden Lineage?
Aoko didn't know. Even Ranni, who knew many secrets and had orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives, was at a loss.
An elderly Tarnished, tall, and strong, bearing the spirit of a lion, stood atop a slope in the Altus Plateau. He planted his battle axe into the ground, raised his head, and silently watched the burning Erdtree.
"...The king returns, the long-awaited king returns," murmured a wandering spirit by the roadside. "Our first king will once again reveal the Elden Ring..."