Melina

A/N: This chapter and the next are pretty fucking heavy, or at least they're meant to be. You should hopefully get a gut-wrenching feeling by the end of this if I wrote it right.

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She had been confused, at first. While their earlier journey had not exactly been rushed or particularly urgent, Melina had felt like, in the wake of their newest pact, there would be a sense of purpose attached to their need to reach the Mountaintop of Giants as fast as possible.

But instead of making his way ever onward, her Tarnished had descended into the depths beneath Leyndell. Instead of making for the forbidden lands, he had entered the Subterranean Shunning Grounds.

Upon reaching the Cathedral of the Forsaken, and facing Morgott's twin brother, Mohg the Omen, Melina had thought she understood her Tarnished's goal. He had slain the one brother… perhaps it made sense to slay the other. Omens were pitiable creatures, but also misbegotten and curseborn wretches all the same. In the wake of Morgott's death, who was to say that Mohg would not rise up to cause trouble?

She had been ready to praise her Tarnished for the act, and ready for them to finally move on… when he had instead rolled against the back wall of the Cathedral. In doing so, he had exposed a long forgotten cruel secret of the Golden Order that her mother had built. So long forgotten and so cruel was it, that Melina herself didn't know what was happening until the Tarnished was already making his way into the depths.

This was the Frenzied Flame Proscription. Half-buried catacombs, so deep in the earth below the Royal Capital that they lay even beneath the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, which in turn lay beneath the sewers. When she saw the Nomadic Merchants, when she heard the music being played, Melina's heart had stopped in her chest, despite her incorporeal form.

The bodies were numerous. Merchants who had once thrived as members of the Great Caravan, only to be accused of heretical beliefs. Their entire clan had been rounded up by the Golden Order, and buried alive far beneath the earth, even further down still then the Royal Omen Twins had been buried. It would have been kinder to the world, in Melina's humble opinion, if they'd been buried dead, rather than alive.

For in leaving them alive down here to suffer eternally, the Golden Order had given these merchants the chance to chant a curse of despair… and summon the flame of frenzy that gave this area its name this day.

As her Tarnished reaches the bottom of the massive chasm, Melina wants nothing more than to stand in his way. Straightening up from his final fall, she watches him stare at the doors that lead to the Three Fingers. No… no, no, no…

Just as despair is welling up inside of her however, he stops, turns, and begins walking in another direction. Melina can only blink, as he makes his way to a seemingly nondescript section of the wall and rolls right through it, somehow knowing it to be an illusion as well. She can only watch on, stunned, as he goes from the Frenzied Flame Proscription into the Deeproot Depths.

So relieved is she, by his seeming rejection of those doors, that she barely pays much mind to what he does next. Oh, certainly, it's all a little bit alarming, what he and the Deathbed Companion Fia get up to together. Not that Melina minds her Tarnished having his way with the other woman. After all, she cannot be there for him in that way anymore, so it's for the best, isn't it?

And at the same time, it's not her place to remark or judge what he intends to do in reforming the Elden Ring. If it is his wish to take the Mending Rune that he and the Deathbed Companion made together in the throes of passion and add it to his form of the Elden Ring, who is Melina to comment on the matter? No, she'll be long dead by the time her champion sits upon the Elden Throne as Elden Lord. Better to leave her feelings on the matter to herself.

It is the weakest she's ever seen him, to be sure. He's never actually taken a wound before; in all the time he's been with her. But now, as he ascends from Deeproot Depths, he looks exhausted, pale and clammy. Of course, the more he walks, the stronger he gets. Quickly, his stamina returns to him. Quickly, his vigor is recovered. All is well, in the end.

Even his infantile act of making off with Fia's undergarments draws little more than a soft smile of amusement to Melina's face, as he continues on his way, having finished his business with the Deathbed Companion. Truly, her champion is quite the lecherous man. But he is also a good man.

Really, she's just relieved. Why she thought for even a moment he would take such a disastrous path, Melina couldn't say. As he ascends back through the Deeproot Depths, making his way up and up, retracing his steps, she's not even worried. It's clear now that he somehow learned of a secret path to the Depths that lay all the way down here underneath the Royal Capital, and simply intended to handle his unfinished business with Fia while he was in the area.

Melina couldn't begrudge him that, now, could she? And truly, it wasn't as if he had any intention of betraying her and all the world by succumbing to the temptations of the Three Fingers and the Frenzied Flame. No, even as he once more approached the Frenzied Flame Proscription, she's at ease. He will, after all, walk right past it, and begin the arduous climb back to the top. Then, he will make his way to the forbidden lands and the Mountaintop of Giants and this, all of this, will finally-

No… no, what is he doing? Once more, a searing panic wells up in Melina's incorporeal chest, as she watches with her Tarnished through her one open eye. He steps back into that chamber, the chamber with the door, the chamber where her heart had nearly stopped that first time… and he turns TOWARDS it, rather than away.

Walking over to the Site of Lost Grace sitting almost innocently before it, he settles down and begins to unstrap his armor, slowly… but confidently.

In her panic, in her horror, it takes Melina a long moment to realize he's taking his time and giving her a chance to intervene. He doesn't want to do this. She needs to step in. She needs to stop him.

"… If you intend to claim the Frenzied Flame, I ask that you cease."

Materializing beside him, Melina drops to her knees, barely managing to keep a begging tone from her voice as he slowly looks up at her, gazing at her with solemn eyes. She finds herself struck by those eyes, frozen stiffen for a second before finding her voice again after licking her lips.

"It is not to be meddled with, Brave Tarnished."

Her eye flicks over to the door, burning bright and coyly with the orange of the maddening Frenzied Flame. Through that door is only heartache, pain, and despair.

"It is chaos, devouring life and thought unending."

Flicking her gaze back to him, Melina hopes to see that her words are getting through to him, that he's beginning to understand. Instead, she finds something much, much worse. Her Tarnished is still taking off his armor, still removing his clothing… still looking at her with a gaze that she now finally manages to read correctly. He isn't beginning to understand. He ALREADY understands.

No… Melina is not this bad of a judge of character. Surely not. This… it goes against everything she's seen of him so far! Every action he's taken, every person he's saved, every monster he's slain… why would he throw it all away, for this?! Unless… unless he's broken upon the weight of what he's seen. Unless he's come to feel like there's nothing left worth fighting for. It doesn't make sense, but it's all Melina can think of in that panicked moment.

She's on a time table. He's removing his armor… because one must be laid bared and naked before they meet with the Three Fingers. He knows this tradition and is preparing for his meeting. Melina HAS to convince him to desist before he's done, or he might just leave her sitting here, and go on without her.

"H-However ruined this world has become, however mired in torment and despair, life endures! Births continue!"

Her voice grows in volume, not as calm as she would want it to be, but then, this is the Frenzied Flame they're talking about. There's no calm to be had here, though she tries to rein herself in all the same, even as she stares at him, beseechingly.

"There is beauty in that, is there not?"

Letting out a shuddering breath, Melina clasps her hands together, almost in prayer. The Tarnished has continued to remove his armor, silent as ever, silent as the grave. Not for the first time, she wishes she had her mother here with her. This… all of this was Marika's Will after all. From Melina's birth, to finding this Tarnished, to the journey they'd undertaken so far together.

Marika would know what to say in this moment, to get Melina's chosen champion back on the right path. But Melina? Melina felt like she was grasping at straws. Her eyes are watery, as she chokes out her next words.

"I-If you would become Lord, do not deny this notion. Please… leave the Frenzied Flame alone."

And yet, still he continues to strip. Until finally, the last piece of armor is away. He is laid bare, ready for his meeting with the Three Fingers. As ready as any mortal can be, that is. He doesn't move though. Doesn't get up and begin walking towards the doors. So perhaps she still has a chance. Lunging forward, she places her hands on his arm, catching his eyes with her own.

"Please! Put a stop to this madness. The Lord of Frenzied Flame is no lord at all! Not when the land they preside over is lifeless!"

He stares at her, solemn as ever, and to her surprise, brings a tender hand up to her cheek, rubbing a circle into her bone with his thumb. Melina's breath catches, and suddenly… she realizes what he's doing. Why he's here.

"N-No… d-do not…"

He's come here for the ability to control the flame of ruin, to be able to burn the Erdtree himself. Damn it all. This is what she gets, for picking a champion who cannot speak. She'd gotten so used to him seeming to understand everything immediately, that she'd refrained from explaining even this much. Now here he was, going out of his way to try and make her plan work, not even realizing…

"Think not of the kindling, my Tarnished. I shall see to that! I do not need you to take the Frenzied Flame unto yourself to help me burn the Erdtree. All I ask of you is to make the journey!"

She's almost frantic, her single eye welling up with a tear she didn't even know she could shed, as she clutches at her lover.

"I know I've asked you to commit a cardinal sin. But this is not the way to go about it! This is not the path I wish to travel!"

He looks away from her then, looks to the Site of Lost Grace. When he looks back, Melina's stomach drops as she sees the resolve and determination in her eyes. It's then that she finally realizes it. He knows. He always knew. Her great secret, the truth she'd tried to obfuscate from him… he was aware that to burn the Erdtree away and clear the path for him to become Elden Lord, she had to die.

Melina had been mistaken yet again in her assumptions. Her Tarnished hadn't come all the way down here because he didn't know how they were going to burn down the Erdtree. He knew exactly how Melina intended to burn away the brambles and open the path. He knew… and he didn't approve.

Yanking her hands away from him as if scalded, Melina rocks back on her knees, processing this new epiphany. Unfortunately, she does so far too slowly, for the moment she lets go of him, he stands up and turns towards the door, taking one step and then another in its direction.

"Y-You mustn't!"

Her voice has never sounded shriller, as he slowly walks away from her.

"Tarnished! If you go through that door, everything will be ruined! Please! You will no longer be fit to be Elden Lord! I will not be able to stay at your side! Either way, you will lose me! This is not the correct path!"

He stops and for a moment Melina's heart leaps, the kindling maiden feeling a small ember of hope inside of her. But he only turns the top half of his body, his shoulders and neck, to look back at her. The rest of him stays facing the door, even as he offers her a sad smile. Placing two fingers on his lips, he lets the hand fall her way… and then turns back and continues walking.

Melina opens her mouth to try again, a thousand different things she wants to say to him resting on her tongue, eager to escape her lips. But… none of them ever do. She chokes instead, a sob tearing through her chest, and a moment later he's at the door. Naked and bared, just as the Three Fingers require, her Tarnished slams his palms into the door and begins to push with all of his considerable might.

Even still, the door is slow to open. Painful, heart wrenching seconds go by as Melina watches him force his way into the room beyond and ultimately… step inside. As the door closes behind him on its own, Melina stays where she is, listless. She should… go. Leave now. But she finds that she cannot. She finds that her body refuses to move, refuses to even dematerialize on her as she just kneels there, drained and exhausted in a way she's never experienced before.

The kindling maiden can't say how long that is… only that she barely responds, when the door shudders open once more. Slowly, it's pulled open from inside. And then there's the sound of feet plodding against the stone of the catacombs, as he walks back towards her, still naked.

Only when his presence is right next to hers, and he sits down beside her kneeling, swaying form, does Melina finally deign to look up at her Tarnished and gaze upon him. His flesh, once chiseled and perfect and blemish free, his body which had never taken a blow in her presence… is now covered with intense, extensive scarring across his entire torso and back, wrapping over his shoulder.

It's done then. He's let the Three Fingers mark him. He's ruined everything.

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A/N: Alright, alright, put down the pitchforks everyone. Remember, the Tarnished has a Plan. Trust in the Plan. I have a feeling tomorrow's chapter will clear up a lot of these emotions some of you might be feeling right now~

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated/encouraged! Let me know what you think!

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