The cold bit deep through the Tarnished's ragged cloak, creeping into his bones like shards of ice. He lay face-down on uneven stone, rough against his cheek, damp with something dark and sticky. The dank smell of mold mixed with an undercurrent of iron—the unmistakable scent of old blood, decades if not centuries old. His breath came ragged, rasping in shallow bursts, like a man drowning but clinging stubbornly to air.
His eyes fluttered open, capturing fragments of his surroundings: the cold gray walls of what must have once been a crypt or tomb, crumbled and choked with vines and moss, shadows clinging to every crevice. Somewhere distant, the faint drip of water echoed, tapping in time like a slow, mournful heartbeat.
For a moment, the Tarnished had no memory—no name, no past, no purpose. Only the aching emptiness inside his chest and the raw, bitter taste of dust in his mouth.
His hands twitched, fingers scrabbling weakly against the rough stone as he tried to push himself upright. Every muscle screamed in protest, a chorus of pain and fatigue from wounds unseen. But even in his disoriented state, something prickled at the edges of his mind—a whisper, a flicker of awareness that refused to be snuffed out.
Then, without warning, a cold light bloomed inches from his face.
It was unnatural.
Not the golden glow of grace spoken of in tales, warm and comforting, but a sterile, digital shimmer, humming faintly like distant thunder. Letters and symbols appeared in the air, translucent but vivid—an interface overlay, a system booting up in his mind.
[SYSTEM BOOTING…]
Subject ID: Tarnished_001
Cognitive Link: Established
System Integrity: 94.7%
Welcome, User. Installing PRIMARY FUNCTION: SOUL ABSORPTION ENGINE V1.02… COMPLETE.
The words echoed inside his skull, cold and mechanical, devoid of the warmth or meaning he expected. His throat was dry, tongue swollen and heavy, but he forced himself to speak.
"W-what… is this?" His voice cracked.
No answer came but the steady pulse of the system's glow, hovering like a phantom between life and death.
He tried to sit up fully, clutching at his side—and found only a broken hilt. The metal was corroded, the blade shattered long ago. Panic surged like a storm. No weapon. No shield. Only weakness.
Then, a sound: scraping metal, a wet, sickening noise that made his blood run cold.
From the shadows ahead, a grotesque figure emerged.
It was a monster, an abomination. Limbs fused and twisted together, dozens of arms growing from its misshapen torso, each grasping rusted blades or hooked weapons. Its face was a mask of flesh and steel, one eye glowing with a malevolent golden light.
The Grafted Scion—the first trial of many in this land cursed and blessed.
The Tarnished scrambled to his feet, disoriented but desperate. His hand closed on the broken hilt, fingers trembling. The creature lunged with unnatural speed, slashing with brutal intent.
Pain exploded across his chest, breath leaving him in a choked gasp. The world spun violently, stars of light and shadow flashing before his eyes. The last thing he saw was the beast's cruel grin, before the darkness swallowed him whole.
He awoke again, gasping, somewhere else.
The air was thick and damp. Stone walls curved around him, jagged roots and moss clinging to cracks and crevices. The distant roar of a waterfall filled the cavern, the sound rushing and tumbling like a wild river. The scent of earth and fresh water mingled with an intangible tension—a strange electric hum buzzing just beneath the surface of reality.
His mind was clearer now, but the system interface was glitching, flickering unnervingly.
[SYSTEM REBOOT INITIATED…]
ERROR 401: UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY DETECTED
Security Override Failed. UNKNOWN INTERVENTION ACTIVE.
Words scrawled in jagged red letters across his vision:
NULL SPEAKS
You were not meant to see the strings.
You were not meant to pull them.
Now you must.
The voice was cold and distant, like a whisper carried on the wind but somehow threading directly into his thoughts. Fear clawed at his heart, but beneath it stirred a spark of determination. If this System was a prison, then he would break the bars.
In the corner of the chamber, near a cracked statue, something caught the light—a chest, shimmering and flickering, edges blurred as if glitching between two realities.
He approached cautiously. The chest bore a strange symbol—an angular black mark that seemed to ripple like static.
Hands trembling, he opened it.
Inside lay a sword unlike any he had seen.
The blade was thin and black as night, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. Tendrils of shadow seemed to writhe along its surface, almost alive. The hilt was wrapped in a smooth leather that pulsed faintly under his fingers.
The system interface immediately updated:
ITEM ACQUIRED: VOIDWALKER'S BLADE
Damage Type: Corruption | Attribute Scaling: ???
Bound to Fatebreaker Class
WARNING: INTEGRITY COST – 2% PER USE
He gripped the blade and instinctively swung it in a low arc. A ripple of dark energy left a trail in the air, crackling with static. It felt alive, humming in tune with his very soul.
But a warning echoed in his mind: every use would drain his "integrity." What that meant was unclear—but it felt ominous, like the sword demanded a price.
He rose, stepping into the light filtering in from a fissure above. Outside stretched the familiar yet alien world of Limgrave—fields of tall grass swaying under a cold wind, ancient ruins crumbled and overtaken by nature, and far in the distance, the immense, golden branches of the Erdtree reaching toward the sky.
Yet the air held a strange tension, as if the land itself was infected.
A system alert chimed:
VIRUS A DETECTED – ENVIRONMENTAL CORRUPTION LEVEL: 8.3%
The Tarnished's heart quickened.
Suddenly, a low growl echoed from the woods behind him. Shadows shifted, and a pack of wolves emerged. But these were no ordinary beasts.
Their fur flickered like a broken illusion, eyes glowing a piercing red, bodies twitching unnaturally as if trapped in a corrupted loop. One wolf lunged—jerky, spasmodic—but lethal.
He slashed with the Voidwalker's Blade, the air crackling with dark energy as the wolf disintegrated into fragments of code. But as the last beast fell, it exploded violently, sending a shockwave of corrupted energy hurling him back, pain exploding through his body.
[INJURY DETECTED – RIGHT ARM: 63% INTEGRITY]
The system beeped urgently:
ADMIN OVERRIDE TOKEN AVAILABLE: 1
His arm throbbed, blood warm against cold stone. Desperation drove him to activate the token.
A ripple of golden light pulsed from him, cleansing the corrupted ground, sealing wounds, and dispelling the twisted corruption around. The grass returned to vibrant green; the wolves' distorted shadows vanished.
The token was gone.
ADMIN OVERRIDE TOKEN USED. REMAINING: 0
INFECTION SUPPRESSED – TEMPORARY. ROOT CAUSE: NULL.
The name "Null" echoed ominously, like a specter haunting his mind.
He pressed on, toward the Gatefront Ruins. The sun dipped low in the sky, painting the land in fading amber. There, amid broken stones and shattered banners, he found her.
Melina.
She stood with grace and melancholy, robes shimmering faintly like moonlight on water. Her eyes, pools of sorrow and hope, met his.
"Will you accept my accord?" she asked, voice soft but resolute.
The system offered a choice:
[ALT PATH AVAILABLE: DECLINE FINGERMAIDEN | UNLOCK ROGUE ROUTE]
The Tarnished hesitated. To accept was to submit to grace, to fate, and the Greater Will's plan. To refuse was to walk an uncertain path—a rogue's way, fraught with peril and secrets.
He declined.
Melina's form flickered, eyes darkening as she faded into sparkles of light.
"Then may you find your own fate… and live to regret it," her voice whispered, fading into the twilight.
Alone now beneath the dying light, the Tarnished felt the weight of the world upon him.
No longer a pawn in a divine game.
But a breaker of fate.
Night descended like a shroud, the blood-red moon casting eerie light across the land. The wind whispered through broken trees, carrying a chill that seeped into his bones.
From the shadows came corrupted knights, their armor cracked and flickering like broken code, weapons glowing with malevolent fire.
The Tarnished gripped his Voidwalker's Blade tightly, heart pounding. Each swing sent waves of corrupting energy, but the infection spread, the system warning flashing in his mind.
This was no ordinary quest.
This was a system.
A curse.
And the only way forward was to break it.