PinkSnake - Elden Ring First Flame - 484

Chapter 484: This Is Not the Lord

The space inside the tree was vast and boundless, filled with a faint white mist that gave it a hazy, mysterious feeling.

Wind howled in through the hollow of the tree, sounding in waves as if playing a grand, epic movement.

At times, the wind was like the roar of war drums. At times, it was like the soul-cries of thousands upon thousands of people, impassioned and tragic, just like the sound Marika had once played for Nolan in that beautiful dream that night.

The sound made one think of those brave souls who dared to raise the banner of rebellion against the gods. They were roaring, they were howling, they were challenging fate.

The inside of the Erdtree was not sacred in the way people imagined. It was not peaceful, but filled with desolation and barrenness.

This was no place for pilgrimage.

Along with the “roars” of those “heroes,” the atmosphere grew even more oppressive and heavy.

There was no flawless sacred sanctuary here, only a helpless lament echoing through the air, and a dead, silent world.

Nolan slowly raised his head. His gaze passed through layers of white mist and landed on the shattered golden ring suspended in midair.

Only a small section at the bottom of the ring remained, hanging there unsteadily. Above that ring, a woman’s figure was especially striking.

Her body was pierced by a broken red spear, and her hands were tightly bound by arcs of light, suspending her from that incomplete ring.

The woman’s upper body was bare, while her lower body was wrapped in a black skirt that flowed like a heavenly waterfall.

Her long golden hair fell like drifting clouds, contrasting with the black skirt and creating a singular beauty.

Yet that beautiful appearance could not hide the wounds on her body.

Her pale skin was covered in cracks, as if she had been torn apart by force.

Her body was like shattered stone, and she seemed a broken doll, radiating a heartbreaking fragility.

The woman’s eyes were like clear spring water, lustrous and bright, as if they could reflect all things in the world.

Crystal-clear dew clung to her bare feet, like the first drop of morning nectar on blades of grass, carrying a fresh breath.

Set against this barren land, her beauty seemed so dazzling that one could not help wanting to cover one’s eyes, as though afraid that radiance would pierce straight into the depths of the heart.

She was the Empyrean of the Numen, the Golden Goddess chosen by the Fingers, bearing her sins in the high heavens.

“Am I beautiful?” The girl’s voice was clear and pleasing, like heavenly music.

“Beautiful.” Nolan nodded instinctively, but the instant he spoke, he froze.

Because the voice had not come from above, but from behind him.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to wait outside?” Nolan said, reaching out directly to grab Trina’s face and pull it.

“I-I-I... I accidentally followed you in!” Trina cried out in pain, hurriedly patting Nolan’s hand to signal him to let go.

He was truly angry.

“With so many people outside, how is it that you’re the only one so careless?” Nolan said irritably.

Feeling the pressure on her face gradually lighten, Trina begged, “I really know I was wrong. Can you let go of me first?”

Nolan gave a cold snort and released the fingers pinching her face. This Trina was truly bold beyond belief. There was nowhere she did not dare enter.

Trina quickly rubbed her cheeks, which had been pinched slightly red, and muttered,

“Instead of spending time bullying me, why not hurry up, finish the fight, and go back? I’m not the only one who wants to come in. If you keep them waiting too long and everyone outside rushes in together, I’m not taking responsibility.”

Nolan took a deep breath and forced his emotions to calm.

He looked at Trina and said helplessly, “Why are none of you ever easy to deal with?”

Trina did not mind at all. She puffed out her little mouth and said with a grin, “Isn’t that because the most troublesome one is right here?”

“Can you still get out?” Nolan had no time to trade banter with this little Goddess and asked directly.

“I can’t.” Trina shook her head. “So if His Majesty the Lord of Cinder can’t win, neither of us can get out. Don’t worry. I already gave the Spectral Steed Whistle to the Queen, so go ahead without concern.”

“You’re the one I’m most concerned about.” Nolan flicked Trina on the forehead with his finger, truly having no way to deal with this willful little Goddess.

The little Goddess suffered another heavy blow and immediately covered her forehead with a cry of pain.

Nolan had not used much strength at all. Just as he was about to complain about Trina’s exaggerated acting, he heard the sound of impact from the ground.

He turned and saw Marika, who had been hanging in the sky, fall and crash onto the ground.

Nolan stared at Marika. Her beautiful hair burned like flame, gradually changing into vivid red.

Her body underwent a violent transformation. Lines of muscle gradually emerged. The swelling muscles were not as rugged as Godfrey’s, but possessed a unique beauty.

Marika was changing, a transformation from woman to man.

That was Marika’s other half, the Lord Consort Radagon.

The transformation felt long, yet in truth, it happened in only an instant.

When the change was complete, a tall red-haired man lay on the ground.

He slowly stood, picked up a stone hammer from the ground, and golden Erdtree patterns lit across it at once.

Within the man’s broken body, the increasingly bright sigils of the Golden Order could be seen. The left half of his body had incomplete limbs partly condensed from black mist.

“Father.”

Trina gazed at that familiar yet unfamiliar face and could not help crying out softly in surprise.

Although she had long known that Radagon was Marika’s other half, seeing this miraculous transformation with her own eyes still left her dazed for a moment.

Radagon, however, seemed not to hear his daughter’s call. The tall red-haired man merely raised the stone hammer expressionlessly and swung it casually.

“Nolan Bethel, sinner who profanes Gold!” Radagon’s voice was low and cold, and flakes of skin like stone dust were still falling from his face. “You dare stand before the Lord of Gold.”

The dust was blown away by the storm stirred up from Radagon’s casual swing of the stone hammer, and he saw the Lord clad in gold and silver armor, with a little girl clinging to his back.

He felt that girl was somewhat familiar, but at this moment, everyone besides Nolan was unimportant.

This sinner who had colluded with Marika had to die here. The Lord of the Golden Order would execute him personally.

“You know me? Did the Two Fingers communicate with you?”

The corners of Nolan Bethel’s mouth lifted slightly, revealing a contemptuous smile. Who had the right to condemn him?

He was the Lord of Cinder. A Lord needed no one else to pass judgment, and no one could stand high above him.

Radagon? The Lord Consort of the Eternal Queen? Not qualified enough.

Nolan watched Radagon walk toward him step by step and continued, “I once thought you would also be an opponent on my path of lordship. Now it seems you are not.”

“A Lord is one who rules with dominance. A Lord is one of benevolence and virtue. A Lord is one who surpasses the common world. A Lord is one who stands at the summit of all beings and holds all ages in his grasp.”

“But look at yourself. You cannot even control yourself. You are only a puppet driven by the Golden Order. You are not a Lord.”

Radagon’s expression did not change, as if he had not heard Nolan’s words, or perhaps he simply did not care.

Nolan was right. He was not a Lord. What he needed to do was protect the Golden Order. Nothing more.

Nolan silently watched Radagon, his eyes calm.

If Radagon had shown even the slightest emotional fluctuation under such humiliation, Nolan would have been happier. After all, killing a puppet truly was too dull.

But Radagon’s reaction was disappointing.

This was not a Lord.

Nolan drew his sword, charged, and swung. The blade cut through Radagon’s body.