"Wait a second."
Alistair raised his hand, halting the black-robed figure just as she was about to speak. His gaze had already drifted past her, locking onto the one standing beside her.
Clad in a faded yellow cloak, scorched and frayed at the edges like it had survived a firestorm, the figure stood in silence. Their attire had changed, but the soul behind it had not.
"You think I can't recognize you just because you changed your outfit?"
The figure in yellow chuckled softly, then pulled back the hood. Beneath it was a face pale as bone, eyes empty and pupil-less, but faintly glowing with a mad flicker of yellow flame.
"I never thought that, my dear countryman."
A ripple of unease stirred through the Blessing's light.
"I heard you lacked a maiden, so I thought I'd lend a hand."
Alistair raised an eyebrow. "You just tried to kill me."
"That was a greeting," the yellow figure said, expression placid. "Flame burns brightest when fed. You should know that more than anyone."
His tone deepened, more like a sermon than an explanation.
"As kindling, I have no use for ashes. What I crave is flame. Roaring, devouring, alive."
He took a step back and turned his eyes to the other presence.
"But... it seems you're already spoken for."
He pulled his hood back over his head, hiding his flame-touched face once again.
"No matter. I'll wait."
Then, just before he vanished, his voice echoed one last time:
"When you need me, call that name. Chaos."
With a small bow, the figure dissolved into the air like smoke swallowed by wind.
Alistair stared at the empty space where he had stood.
"That was... cryptic."
He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Flames. Kinship. Mad riddles. He didn't understand a damn word of it. He'd thought he was gearing up for a fight—maybe even a new boss—but after a few lines of bizarre dialogue, the guy just peaced out.
But no time to dwell.
He turned back to the woman in the dark robe, who now looked visibly unsettled.
"Sorry about that. Took a little longer than expected. You were saying?"
The hooded woman didn't speak at first. Her gaze lingered where the yellow-cloaked figure had vanished. Then, slowly, she turned back to Alistair.
"Was she... your maiden?"
"I've never seen her before in my life."
Alistair frowned.
"She just appeared, mumbled something about fire, and left. Called herself Chaos. Might've fought her before... not sure."
"You don't know her?" The robed woman narrowed her visible eye.
"Nope. Though judging by her fashion sense and attitude, she's probably the one people call Mad Flame."
That got a reaction.
The robed woman dropped to a crouch, grabbed his cloak, and stared him dead in the face.
"Who did you say she was?"
Alistair blinked.
"Uh... Madness? Mad Flame? Fire-something?"
The woman remained still for a moment, then slowly released her grip. She stared at him with a more careful expression.
"You really don't know."
"Didn't I just say that?"
She fell silent. When she spoke again, her voice was lower.
"Mad Flame/Frenzied Flame ... it's a forbidden fire. The embodiment of chaos itself. It consumes not just flesh, but thought, memory, purpose. Even in death, it devours. It's the end of all will."
Alistair listened but said nothing.
"Even in despair, as long as life exists, there is still beauty," she continued. "But madness denies that. It exists only to unmake."
He tilted his head. "So... bad?"
"You could say that," she said carefully. "That's why you must never let your flame be consumed. No matter what happens. Never surrender your sense of meaning."
Alistair considered it. He didn't understand much of what she was saying, but he got the gist: madness was dangerous.
He nodded. "Got it."
She seemed skeptical, but didn't push it further.
"I'm Melina," she said at last. "And I have a proposition."
Alistair arched an eyebrow.
"I know you lack a maiden. The Finger Maidens serve the Two Fingers, aiding the Tarnished, guiding them... but you seem to have arrived alone."
She placed a hand on her chest.
"I can help you channel Runes. Transform them into strength. In return, I ask only that you lead me to the foot of the Erdtree."
Her voice was calm. The offer formal.
But beneath it, there was something else. That yellow figure had rattled her. Her vow to help was not just about the Erdtree.
She was going to stay close until she understood what he was.
Alistair paused.
She fit the bill. Black robes, quiet presence, one eye hidden. Fire Keeper material.
He nodded. "Deal."
Melina looked surprised. "You accept?"
"Of course," he said. "So can we... upgrade now?"
"Upgrade?"
"Turn Runes into stats. Come on, you know what I mean."
"Yes... that I can do."
She held out a hand.
"Then let us begin. But first, you must allow me to—what are you doing?!"
Melina recoiled as his hand hovered awkwardly near her chest.
Alistair flinched, pulled back quickly. "Sorry! Reflex! I thought... touching the heart, like with the old Fire Keepers..."
Melina looked at him, half-appalled. "Just... give me your hand."
Their fingers touched lightly. In that brief contact, the familiar warmth of the Blessing stirred. Power surged through him, and the Runes he had collected flowed into strength.
He leveled twice. Health.
Always health first.
After the transfer, Melina reached into her cloak and handed him a golden whistle shaped like a ring.
"This is for you. Torrent has chosen you. Use it when you must travel swiftly."
Alistair examined the whistle, then gave it a curious blow.
With a sudden shimmer of spectral light, a spirit steed appeared beside him—slender, strong, and crowned with twin horns.
A mount.
He reached out and ran a hand along its mane. The creature nuzzled his palm gently.
"Guess he likes me."
"He does," Melina said softly. "It's rare."
She turned to leave.
"I must go. Call on me when you wish to channel your strength."
She stepped back... and collided with something unseen.
There was a faint thump, and a glowing welt appeared on her head.
Melina looked up, stunned. Alistair blinked.
"You... you said you were leaving. Why'd you walk into me?"
"She cannot possess you," said a calm voice behind them.
Alice stepped from the shadows, the air around her still and cold.
"What she sees now is only your spirit form. The body does not exist. Not fully."
Melina froze.
"She's my companion," Alistair explained. "Don't mind her. Low presence. Like a silent status effect."
Alice looked at him once more, unreadable, then vanished as suddenly as she had appeared.
Melina stared at the space she had occupied.
"I... see."
She had no words left.
Alistair, meanwhile, patted Torrent on the side, then swung himself onto the steed's back.
Once seated, he extended a hand to Melina.
"Come on. Let's see what kind of ring this world really is."
***
advance chapters on patreon.com/Zexxxxy