Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

Homura Akemi's Intelligence Compilation Manual

Information regarding the battle:

Combat skills: Techniques that can be used after a certain level of mastery over a weapon. More like a permanent state than a skill, in which one can use the weapon with ease and employ some special techniques.

Chapter 8 One Fire Keeper, Two Turkey Fields

After an unknown amount of time, Xiaoyan felt that the energy she had lost in the battle with the katana-wielding man had been restored. She got up from the big tree she was leaning against, stretched slightly, and muttered to herself comfortably.

"Compared to the quickness of sitting around a campfire, resting and recovering naturally is still too slow. Although it's very pleasant, as expected, Ash doesn't have that much time to waste."

After adjusting her posture, she followed the wall and explored until she reached the entrance to the sacrificial site.

The sacrificial site was a temple that resembled an ancient tomb. At the entrance, the roots of some trees grew in a tangled mess, and two torches were placed on either side of the ancient brick wall, illuminating the empty entrance.

She went inside and was greeted by a solemn throne standing on a high platform opposite her. The platform descended in tiers, with other thrones of various shapes arranged around it. In the dim light of rows of candles, it appeared so solemn yet eerie.

After walking a few more steps, the view suddenly opened up. This temple could truly be described as a cave, with a wide circular space dug out below the ground. Curved stairs extended along the walls, connecting the upper and lower levels. On the lowest level, an entrance could be seen in the distance, seemingly leading to a deeper part of the underground.

She stood on the steps at the entrance, gazing in awe at the vast space. Then, she was drawn to a solitary figure at the very center of the building.

It was a woman with white hair, her long white hair coiled into a braid and hanging down her back, seemingly reflecting the shimmering light of her exquisite robes.

Xiaoyan walked down the steps, and the sound of her footsteps echoed in the empty sacrificial ground.

The woman turned her head.

"Welcome to the campfire, Ashes from afar."

Her beautiful face was adorned with a silver headdress that obscured her eyes.

"I am the Fire Keeper—"

Her delicate lips moved, producing a melodious sound like a clear spring, which soothed the parched heart of ashes.

"Those who maintain the campfire and serve you."

"If you need help in searching for the embers in your heart... then please use my services."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Yan walked right in front of her. She clasped her hands together and stood there quietly.

This was the first time Xiaoyan had encountered a local resident in this world who could communicate with her. The fact that such a stunningly beautiful woman offered to serve her left Xiaoyan momentarily stunned.

“Serve? This should be the first time we've met. Making such a promise to a stranger just doesn't feel real to me.”

After a moment of stunned silence, she came to her senses and looked around curiously. She didn't see any other ashes like the one in the weaving. Had she gone to the wrong place?

"No, I am the Fire Keeper, and you are the Ashes. Our pact began the moment you became Ashes."

"Alright, so what kind of help can you offer me?"

"Lord Ash, those without fire are but embers of firewood. Therefore, after passing a series of trials, you will gradually fill your own firewood and gain your true power, and I can help you with this. Lord Ash, please actively pass each trial."

"So, you can restore our original power?"

"It helps you gradually gain real power. Of course, you'll get even more after you complete all the trials."

Xiao Yan frowned. She was not used to this roundabout way of speaking. She suddenly missed a certain chatterbox. Although Zhi would talk without any regard for other people's ability to understand and just dump everything into their heads, at least she didn't have to figure out the meaning of these words herself.

"I suggest you first stick the Spiral Sword into the campfire over there. That way, your Sacred Ground will be complete."

"No rush, let me wander around first."

However, Homura has other things to do now, so she puts the Fire Keeper's explanation aside for the time being and hopes to find a more convincing information exchanger recommended by Yuri.

"As you wish."

The fire-preserving woman didn't insist. She gave a gentle bow and slowly stepped aside.

Xiao Yan then ignored her and headed towards the cave she had just seen.

As soon as she entered the cave, she heard several old coughs, followed by a hoarse voice.

"Oh dear, oh dear, here comes Lord Ash."

This is an old woman sitting on a bench. She is wearing a tattered robe, and her eyes under the hood seem to be covered by a cloth, so it's unclear whether she is blind.

"I, this old woman, am a servant at this sacrificial site. Whether it's weapons, armor, tools, or magical items..."

"We have prepared everything that is necessary to help you accomplish your mission."

"...Of course, I'm an old woman who doesn't die, but I'm not doing charity work."

"Lord Ashes, go and take the soul, then bring it back."

"In the end, isn't this how adults, you rely on to survive? Hehehehe..."

Does this mean that all the native inhabitants of this world have this habit? They either completely refuse to communicate, or they ramble on and on before anyone else can even speak, with a lot of roundabout and indirect information.

"Ah, I am indeed ashes without fire. So, it seems you're just selling items here? But... what is a soul?"

Although she disliked this way of communicating, she keenly noticed a key word, so she had no choice but to continue the conversation.

"Oh dear, didn't the Fire Keeper tell you? You should go and ask her."

But the old woman, who had been so talkative just moments before, gave a perfunctory answer after hearing the question and then fell silent, no matter how much she pressed her for an answer.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yan walked up to the next person, a blacksmith. But before she could get close, the blacksmith, who seemed to have overheard their conversation, spoke up from a distance.

"My Lord Ash, who has no need to steal souls, instead of wasting your time here with us, why not plant your spiral sword by the campfire and embark on your true journey?"

The burly blacksmith didn't say much, but his aloof tone was what really infuriated people.

So she didn't even bother to speak to him, and walked straight past him into the cave.

After searching around and finding nothing else in the cave, she spotted a fourth person on the steps near the entrance.

It was a person carrying a greatsword and wearing some kind of uniform. He was muttering something like, "The Ashes Without Flame are not only useless, but they're also half-baked who can't even die properly." "They actually sent a bunch of half-dead people to find the Lord of Cinder, and even dared to dream of bringing him back to his moldy throne." "Those people are all heroes who linked the fire! How could we possibly do it?"

But as soon as she walked over, he only glanced at Xiaoyan and stopped talking, just sitting there with that dejected look on his face.

Well, looks like another guy who's impossible to communicate with.

She had no choice but to return to the Fire Keeper.

"Lord Ash, I know you have many questions, but these are not questions that I should answer for you. So please repair the bonfire at the Firelink Shrine, find the right person, and then we can exchange information."

The beautiful woman seemed to sense that Xiaoyan had a lot of questions, and she suggested again that Xiaoyan light the campfire.

It seems that this is the only way out for now. Xiao Yan resignedly thought to herself as she drew the spiral sword she had obtained from the Ash Judge.

She arrived at the very center of the sacrificial site, found the bonfire that was now just ashes and had no flames, and slowly inserted the spiral sword into it.

My vision was filled with familiar flames, but before the flames disappeared, lively sounds rushed into my ears.

"You wait for me in the Dharma King's backyard, let's have a good spar!"

————————————————————————————————————————

Homura Akemi's Intelligence Compilation Manual

Information regarding the sacrificial site:

Fire Keepers: They are said to serve the ashes in order to fulfill a contract, and they seem to know the origin of these ashes.

The old woman: She seems to be an old woman who sells props. I don't know why, after asking about the currency of the transaction, which is souls, she suddenly stopped paying attention to others... Is there something wrong with this soul?

Blacksmith: I don't even know what he does. He doesn't explain anything and just kicks people out. It's inexplicable.

The bonfire at the Firelink Shrine: It requires the spiral sword obtained from the Judge to be used, so it seems very important. The people at the Firelink Shrine have repeatedly emphasized that I should light the bonfire first. Does this mean something?

PS: Yunxi: 744486102 Thanks to readers 【Arcuied】 and 【Magical Girl Homura Akemi】 for their donations.

Hey, Little Flame, go back and suffer! Don't just travel through time like that! ≡ω≡

Exploring the plot in Chapter Nine is like digging a tunnel for archaeology.

"You wait for me in the Dharma King's backyard, let's have a good spar!"

The noise rushed into her ears, giving her a fleeting illusion that she had stumbled into another world.

Her vision returned to normal, and she saw only a blurry figure about her height, which brushed past her and disappeared in front of the campfire.

It wasn't until the man with the rude words and hoarse voice disappeared that Xiao Yan had a chance to take a look around.

Several illusory figures were scattered throughout the main hall of the sacrificial site, instantly adding a sense of liveliness to the hall.

The person closest to her was a tall, slender man. He seemed to be the one who had been challenged to a duel by the guy who left. He was dressed in a vagrant-style outfit, and his face was covered by a mask under his hood, revealing only a pair of indifferent eyes.

He glanced indifferently at the suddenly appearing Xiao Yan, then silently walked to the campfire and teleported away.

He didn't say a word the whole time, it's really hard to imagine how such a cold guy could have gotten someone angry and challenged to a fight.

"The short guy was so angry he lost his mind. Li probably doesn't even know who the Dharma King is, yet he invited him to the Dharma King's backyard. It's more like he's going to be punished in the forest."

Now it was a woman dressed in knight's armor who spoke. She sat on the steps, her helmet set aside, her long golden hair cascading over her shoulders, and a smiling face beneath her broad forehead.

She was looking Xiao Yan up and down as she suddenly appeared.

Not far from her, on the steps, another petite brown-haired girl was hugging her legs and shivering. She was wearing a blue and white school uniform, which seemed out of place in the environment.

When Xiaoyan looked over, she seemed to still be in shock from the previous argument. As soon as she met Xiaoyan's eyes, she buried her head between her knees and dared not look at her.

"Hey kid, you must be one of the newest recruits, right?"

The woman who had been sizing her up suddenly spoke up. She stood up, holding her helmet in one hand and her other hand on her hip, walked up to her, and looked down at her.

"It could only be you, with long black hair and an expressionless face, exactly as Zhi described."

"Are you the senior that Zhi mentioned?"

Despite the woman's imposing posture, Xiaoyan still asked her question with composure.

“That’s right, I was asked by Zhi to provide you with some information here, but, Miss, you’ve kept me waiting quite a while.”

The woman wore a smile, but Xiaoyan could still easily detect the anger within it.

Xiaoyan fell silent. If this woman was truly asked by Zhi, then calculating the distance from the sacrificial site to the court, she wouldn't have needed to spend so much time to get here. Moreover, she had not only sparred with the katana-wielder for a long time, but had also stayed in an unknown world for quite some time. Considering all this, she had indeed stood someone up. Although Zhi hadn't specified a time, at this point, she could only tell the truth and explain why she was late.

"I killed a guy with a katana along the way, which delayed me a little."

"Huh? You actually killed Katana Bro right now, Miss. Talking nonsense will lower my opinion of you."

A hint of surprise appeared on her ever-smiling face, but it was quickly masked by her unchanging smile.