After hearing the witch's words, Bai Shi quickly recalled the lore surrounding her.
This was Bernahl's witch. She had willingly offered herself to the flame but lacked the quality to become kindling.
In the end, she could only remain here, ceaselessly searching for a way to burn herself.
She continued to do so until her skin split and her flesh was seared, never giving up, waiting for the day she could sacrifice herself for Bernahl.
Bernahl was the first war master Bai Shi had wanted to seek out after arriving in this world.
Though a Recusant, he upheld a knightly code and the dignity of a hero.
He was patient in teaching Ashes of War to any Tarnished who sought to learn, unlike other Recusants who would kill on sight.
Unfortunately, Bai Shi still hadn't had the chance to meet him.
Bai Shi had a great fondness for Bernahl and Vyke, two would-be lords.
It was a different feeling from the one he had for other characters; respect was perhaps the more fitting term.The stories of these two in the game were not particularly long, but their brief narratives were enough to reveal the grandeur and turmoil of their lives.
Two men who had come closest to becoming Elden Lord, both of whom had walked down forbidden paths for the sake of their maidens.
Vyke embraced the Frenzied Flame, attempting to burn the Erdtree with his own body.
Bernahl raised the banner of rebellion against the Golden Order.
Setting aside judgment on the rightness of their actions, their sheer resolve was undoubtedly moving.
This was not the story of a hero, but it would ultimately forge heroes.
However, Bai Shi knew little about this witch, who only existed in scrapped content.
It was true that Bai Shi hadn't met Bernahl yet.
But he knew where to find him.
He was certain to be at Volcano Manor.
Still, Bai Shi hesitated to tell her.
"No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen any other Tarnished in this area."
In the end, Bai Shi told her the truth, refraining from revealing Bernahl's location.
If he could in the future, Bai Shi would certainly help Bernahl and his witch.
But now was not the time.
The witch lowered her head in disappointment.
"I see. It seems Lord Bernahl still does not wish to see me."
"I suppose it makes sense. I am useless, after all. Not only can I not help him in battle, I cannot even become kindling...."
"I am not worthy of a lord as noble as him. It is only natural that he would leave me...."
Listening to the witch's self-recriminations, Bai Shi was momentarily at a loss for words.
He had no connection to her, and this was a matter between the two of them.
Perhaps he should ask about her safety instead.
"Are you leaving this place? It isn't very safe around here. You shouldn't stay for too long."
Bernahl's witch shook her head resolutely.
"No. I have not yet become kindling. If I cannot become kindling...."
"I... I will not leave this place. This way, Lord Bernahl will be able to find me as soon as he returns."
It seemed she had no intention of leaving.
Bai Shi looked at the cloth strips wrapped around the witch.
They bore the charred marks of fire and were stained with dried, black blood.
On her hands, a fiery blood, still molten and crimson, had yet to cool.
"Are those wounds on your body alright?"
Bai Shi had only wanted to keep the conversation going.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
Bernahl's witch was trying to burn herself with lion's fire, testing if she could ignite the great flame cauldron.
If she started talking about it now, things could get complicated.
Melina was still by his side, and she had not yet returned to Leyndell to discover her purpose.
If she learned about the flame now, would she immediately recall her mission?
After all, Melina was a maiden created for that very purpose.
Thankfully, the witch only touched briefly on her wounds and was unwilling to say more.
"...Thank you for your concern."
"These are the scars of fire, caused by its constant burning."
"A healing incantation can mend the wounds, but I cannot let the flames die."
"I'm sorry, but as for why I must do this, please forgive me for not being able to tell you...."
The only Elden Lord Bernahl's witch wished for was Bernahl himself.
So when she realized that continuing would reveal sensitive information, she fell silent.
The man before her was also Tarnished; there was no telling what he might think if he learned the purpose of the kindling.
Bai Shi breathed a sigh of relief.
Bernahl's witch hadn't revealed anything crucial.
He didn't want Melina to know about these things so early on.
He wasn't ready.
After some thought, Bai Shi decided to bid the witch farewell.
"Well then, I should be on my way."
Bai Shi had originally intended to stay the night in the Smoldering Church.
But the atmosphere felt far too heavy and strange to remain.
In the end, Bai Shi led Torrent away from the Smoldering Church.
Returning to a spot just before the Smoldering Wall, Bai Shi sat down on the ground.
He wouldn't rush to cross the wall into Caelid, a land rife with Scarlet Rot.
If he was going to rest, he might as well do it on the Limgrave side.
Since he had rested at a Site of Grace before leaving Summonwater Village, Bai Shi was actually in excellent condition.
But he had always maintained the habit of resting whenever possible.
Only in these moments could his mind truly relax.
Torrent lay on the ground, exposing his soft belly.
A horse would normally sleep standing up if it were on guard.
But Torrent was Torrent. When he wanted to sleep, he would flop down with absolute relaxation.
Perhaps it was because he trusted Bai Shi; in any case, he never seemed worried about his safety.
Bai Shi didn't stand on ceremony, leaning right against Torrent's belly as if it were a backrest.
Soon, Bai Shi felt Melina sit down beside him.
For some reason, he had been feeling Melina's presence more and more lately.
It was probably related to his increased Arcane.
Bai Shi's Arcane had originally been only seven, but his Great Rune had added another seven.
It had effectively doubled his Arcane stat.
As for the Arcane stat, Bai Shi had never quite understood its function in this world.
It couldn't possibly be like in the game, increasing item discovery and the efficiency of status effects.
Discovery was a moot point; this was a real world, and he could just loot corpses.
As for status effects, that required observing an opponent's movements and striking their weak points.
But with sufficient dexterity and a basic knowledge of physiology, one didn't need a vague stat like Arcane.
Based on Bai Shi's personal experience, these things had far more to do with dexterity than Arcane.
Perhaps Arcane was something akin to Insight or a Sanity value?
"Bai Shi, your hand, may I have it?"
Bai Shi removed his gauntlet and offered her his right hand.
A warmth blossomed from his very soul.
Seeing Bernahl's witch seemed to have stirred something in Melina.
"The burns on her body..."
"I have burns on my body as well."
"And when I saw her, I had a strange feeling... like an omen."
Melina's spiritual form also bore the marks of burns, right on her hands.
Bai Shi had known this for a long time.
Bai Shi grew tense. Could Melina have already figured something out?
Melina was very clever. If she connected this to her own situation and thought about it, she might soon deduce the truth.
Melina continued, "According to her, the reason for setting herself alight is something she can't tell us, yet it is related to her Tarnished...."
"Then it's likely that by igniting herself, she could be of great help to her Tarnished, though she has failed."
"I just don't know why one would need to ignite themselves, nor what purpose it serves."
"But what's strange is, I wasn't surprised at all when she spoke of igniting herself."
"Instead, I felt a strange sense that it was a perfectly natural thing to do, as if...."
Bai Shi cut Melina off. "That will never happen."
"They must have lost their way for some reason to end up like this."
"There is absolutely no reason to burn someone to accomplish something."
"Absolutely not."
Melina squeezed Bai Shi's hand.
"...Yes. I believe you."
——
The light of the Erdtree shone once more, casting its glow upon the Lands Between.
Torrent leaped high over the Smoldering Wall, officially arriving in Caelid, a land tainted by Scarlet Rot.
The air in Caelid smelled awful.
It was a very peculiar odor.
The faint, cloying sweetness of Scarlet Rot, the stench of decaying corpses, the acrid smell of burning things.
These scents mingled together, creating a truly foul aroma that mirrored Caelid's current state of chaotic misery.
Everything within Bai Shi's sight was covered in Scarlet Rot.
Looking ahead, he saw a wooden platform with a few simple huts nearby.
Further beyond was a Minor Erdtree.
Just like the one in the Weeping Peninsula, though called a Minor Erdtree, it was immensely tall.
Especially here in Caelid, a place almost completely devoid of life, this Minor Erdtree appeared even more colossal.
However, set against the crimson sky, it too seemed utterly forlorn.
Bai Shi recalled there was a Minor Erdtree Catacombs there.
But there was nothing of value inside, so there was no need to make a detour.
Bai Shi and Torrent proceeded along the main road.
They currently had no map of Caelid; following the road was the most reliable option.
Although Hilbert had researched in Caelid for a long time, she had always been one to wander as she pleased.
So she had never drawn a map, nor had any intention of doing so.
Even when telling Bai Shi where she lived, she had instructed him to follow the main road.
Unable to take shortcuts, the journey was a bit more tedious.
But in an unfamiliar land, it was better to stick to the road.
Though there was nothing here that could threaten Bai Shi, it would be a problem if he wasted time getting lost.
As they passed the huts by the platform, an even thicker stench of death wafted out.
Bai Shi glanced over.
Inside the dilapidated huts were several piles of sludge-like flesh, squirming and crawling.
Within the fleshy sludge, things like bones churned and tumbled.
Nearby, several red-eyed wild dogs were gnawing at them relentlessly.
These flesh piles were the Wandering Nobles.
Or rather, they were once the Wandering Nobles of the Lands Between.
The once-gift of immortality had now become a curse.
The collapse of the Erdtree's cycle of rebirth meant they could no longer find their rightful rest.
Whether their bodies were torn apart by beasts or crushed into a pulp...
Or even eaten and excreted, they remained undying.
Even when their flesh had been reduced to such a state, they simply merged, becoming another form of life, and continued to wander the Lands Between.
How tragic.
They didn't want to become like this.
But the immortality forced upon them ensured they would live on, no matter what form they took.
Continuing forward, Bai Shi soon encountered a large group of rotting Wandering Nobles on the road.
They were numerous, their bodies in an advanced state of decay.
The clothes they once wore had long since turned to dust, leaving them stark naked, some with bone fully exposed.
Scarlet Rot crawled all over their bodies.
It clung to their forms, sprouting all manner of pustules and flora.
But even this could not halt their aimless wandering.
They seemed to have no destination, yet loosely followed a leader at the very front.
That leading noble still had what was once a golden ornament hanging from its body.
In its hand, it held a decaying wooden staff—no, what was once their standard.
The leader probably no longer knew where it was supposed to go.
It seemed they had failed in their attempt to use the Scarlet Rot to kill themselves and had just emerged from the Swamp of Aeonia.
Now they were moving toward the Smoldering Wall of Caelid, searching for the next possibility of death.
He had only just entered Caelid, and already he had witnessed one tragic scene after another.
Bai Shi frowned, but there was nothing he could do.
If he wanted them to find peace, he would have to restore true death to the Lands Between.
That was not something he could accomplish right now.
For now, he could only press on.
But the road was not without its dangers.
As Torrent galloped along the path, a massive "mouth" suddenly appeared underfoot, snapping at him.
Torrent leaped over it with graceful ease.
At the same time, a huge, dog-like creature charged from the side.
Its forelegs were short, its head enormous, and it ran on its two hind legs, resembling a T-rex from his past life.
Thus, the creature had earned the moniker "T-rex Dog."
It aimed for Torrent while he was in mid-air and pounced.
A normal horse would have surely met a gruesome end, but this was Torrent.
With a second jump, Torrent effortlessly landed on the T-rex Dog's head.
Bai Shi thrust his sword-spear downward, precisely piercing its skull.
The T-rex Dog collapsed to the ground. Though dead, its body still twitched.
"A joint hunt?"
Bai Shi had Torrent stop so he could get a clear look at the thing that had ambushed them.
It was a flower.
It resembled the Miranda Flowers he had seen in the outside world.
The difference, however, was that this entire plant was incredibly flat, as if it consisted only of the flower head.
It was unclear whether its root system was buried deep below or if it truly just grew this way.
After its failed attack, the man-eating flower slowly flattened its petals, spreading out on the ground again, awaiting its next ambush.
Soon, the flower had its petals laid out completely flat.
Then, amid a hazy mist, its petals gradually mimicked the appearance of the stone path.
From the outside, it was hard to tell it apart from the other stones without careful observation.
"It can mimic things?"
"And there wasn't a hint of killing intent before or after it struck. I suppose that's to be expected of a plant."
It wasn't just the Wandering Nobles who had been warped by the Scarlet Rot.
The changes to the ecosystem here were even more profound.
Bai Shi retrieved a bottle of perfume from a pouch on Torrent's saddle.
It was the Withering Perfume Hilbert had given him.
Since he'd encountered a plant, he couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Time to test it. The Withering Perfume.
Sprinkling a little of the perfume into the air, Bai Shi summoned a gust of wind to blow the powder onto the ground near the flower.
As the specks of perfume landed on the ground beside the flower, it quickly took effect.
In less than twenty seconds, the man-eating flower suddenly broke its mimicry.
Its branches and leaves began to twitch, slowly turning black and shriveling.
Soon, the flower that had just ambushed travelers on the road had completely withered.
It was now nothing but a dry, yellowed, and charred husk.
"Oh? I didn't expect it to be this effective."
It seemed this would be a useful tool for clearing out plant-based mobs in the future.
Although the plants weren't strong individually, clearing them out one by one when there were many would be troublesome and a waste of energy.
Putting the perfume away, Bai Shi continued toward the Swamp of Aeonia.
Hilbert lived in a ruin right next to the Swamp of Aeonia.
The ruin was so close that a few steps out the door would land you in the Scarlet Rot.
In Hilbert's own words, living here was very convenient for her experiments.
Bai Shi had no idea how she managed to live there.