Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

"You'll see the Lord of Cinder when you get to the Firelink Shrine... You have to defeat the Ashen One first to reach the Firelink Shrine... As for powerful souls, since my wish in my original world was already fulfilled, I didn't pay much attention to that, and I didn't ask about it specifically at the time..."

"That's alright! One last question! Where did you get your information from?"

"After defeating the Judgement and reaching the Firelink Shrine, which serves as the Ash's stronghold, many Ash who have come to this world will gather there to communicate. That's how I learned this from talking to other people there!"

Sensing Xiaoyan's urgency, Lianzhi also became nervous and blurted out the information in one breath without punctuation.

"Okay, I understand, thank you!"

With her eyes slightly closed, having processed all the information, Xiaoyan suddenly picked up her longsword and stood up.

"Um...where are you rushing off to again?"

"Go and take down that tin can!"

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YOU DIED

Despite her confident declaration that she would take down the Ash Judge, Little Flame quickly returned to the campfire.

"Don't laugh!" — Qin!

Zhi sat upright, watching as Xiao Yan walked towards the arena again, leaving another sword mark on the ground beneath her.

YOU DIED

This time, Xiaoyan held out for a longer period of time. She discovered that when dealing with an enemy with such refined martial arts skills, seizing the gaps between each move, rolling and dodging before attacking, could greatly increase her survival rate. So now the problem was to become familiar with the opponent's moves. If she could dodge all the attacks, defeating this guy would be a piece of cake.

"that……"

While pondering her battle strategy, Xiaoyan completely ignored Zhi, who had something to say, and headed straight for the arena.

YOU DIED

"Damn it! Once I get a scratch, my movements become sluggish, and I can't dodge anymore!"

Xiao Yan returned to the campfire, grumbled, picked up her longsword, and prepared to leave again.

"I have information about healing injuries during battle!"

Zhi finally found an opportunity and loudly attracted Xiaoyan's attention.

"Ok?"

Xiaoyan looked over expressionlessly.

"That's it! You should have found those two glass bottles in the initial message, right? The green one, you replenish some of the collected elements in it every time you return to the campfire, and drinking it during battle can effectively heal wounds! The other one can restore mana!"

"this?"

Xiao Yan took out the element bottle and shook it.

"That's right, that's right."

"Very good, thank you for the information." — Qin!

Sword marks on the ground +1

"Why are you cutting me again? QAQ"

"Who told you not to say so sooner!"

You didn't even give me a chance to speak! QAQ

The roar within roared as it watched Little Flame charge into the arena once more.

YOU DIED

"This bottle has way too little stock! It'll be empty after just three drinks!"

After her usual complaints, Xiaoyan prepared to leave the campfire once again.

"Wait! I have more intelligence to share!" — Qin!

Sword marks on the ground +1

"I hadn't even finished speaking when it attacked! QAQ"

"Stop talking nonsense! Get to the point!"

"It's about the shield! Xiaoyan, is that equipment from your original world? Although I don't know its specific performance, it looks like a small round shield, which should be very suitable for shield parrying!"

What does "shield parry" mean?

"It means 'to deflect an attack with a shield and then counterattack'!"

"Very useful information, thank you." — Chin!

"They cut it again! QAQ"

YOU DIED

"Yes, the shield parry is indeed very useful, but the strength is quite different from his, so some attacks cannot be deflected."

This time, Xiaoyan didn't leave immediately. Instead, she sat down in front of Zhi and stared at her with an extremely imposing gaze.

"Do you have any more information about the battle, senpai?"

"Shivering...shivering, everyone said to just let me knit."

"Ok?"

"No problem, Lord Yan! I will tell you all the information I know right away!"

The girl described it as follows...

"So, does that mean we, as 'ashes,' still retain some of our original abilities?"

"That's right, that's right! After all, we were once complete individuals, and there will always be something etched into our souls that remains!"

"I understand, then" — Chin! ×3

"He actually slashed three times in one go! QAQ"

"Because this time I'm expressing three times more gratitude than usual!"

When did expressing gratitude become about stabbing people with a sword?! QAQ

"Alright, this time, we'll definitely take down that tin can!"

May you have great success in your military campaigns!

Xiao Yan embarked on her journey full of enthusiasm, leaving only the wounded heart of Zhi to wander aimlessly in the wind.

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Homura Akemi's Intelligence Compilation Manual (Note 3)

Homura Akemi's message: This world is far more complex and dangerous than I imagined. In order to effectively reduce the number of deaths (just kidding!) and increase the chances of survival, it is necessary to develop the habit of organizing information at any time. So I created this information manual. For now, I will organize and archive the initial message and the information obtained from Ryougi.

Information about the world itself:

World of Fire and Fire: Ashes' name for the world currently struggling to survive.

Ashes: The remnants of an individual who died in their original world, existing in this world. (This world itself also has individuals called Ashes, but the specific definition needs further exploration—by Zhi)

Death: It is now almost certain that all the ashes from the other world entered this world after they died; at the same time, in this world, the ashes are "immortal".

Ember: Ashes have an inexplicable craving for embers, which may hold the secret to why they were summoned to this world. However, most of the Ashes who entered this world through reincarnation or by traversing death may harbor a stronger desire: to find a way to be resurrected in their original world, which is their greatest goal.

Parallel Worlds: The worlds inhabited by the Ashes differ in time and space. Occasionally, they can see the illusory images of Ashes projected from other worlds into their own. However, they can only communicate with the illusory images of other Ashes at campfires and firework sites. The specific reasons for this remain to be investigated. (It is said that there is a way to enter other worlds—by Zhi)

The original world: the world where the Ashes were before their death. It is said that by offering a powerful soul to the only Lord of Cinder who sits on the throne, one can temporarily return to the original world.

Information regarding special items:

Campfire: Ash's best friend in this world. When a campfire is usable, the area around it is absolutely safe. You can rest at the campfire and fully recover your condition, fill your Elemental Bottle, and revive monsters in your world. You will also revive at the campfire after you die.

Elemental Bottle/Elemental Ash Bottle: It contains elements that can restore injuries and magic power, and can be filled at a campfire.

Information regarding the characteristics of Ash (another world):

Residual Ability: Ash's ability in the original world will have some residual effects, and the specific amount of residual effects varies from person to person.

Special item residue: Items (including but not limited to equipment) in the original world will be partially carried over to this world. If the item has certain special functions, only a portion of it will remain.

Information regarding the battle:

Injury: Getting attacked will cause injury; that's common knowledge! Accumulated injuries will lead to death, and a fatal wound will result in immediate death. Recovery can be achieved using an elemental potion or by sitting around a campfire. (The underlying mechanism is still unclear.)

Special combat resources: including but not limited to mana, used to release the power of ash residue, which can be restored using elemental ash bottles or by sitting at a campfire.

Stamina: A measure of Ash's mobility. It is significantly weakened when injured. Stamina can be restored by stopping strenuous exercise or using items. Stamina weakened by injuries can be restored after healing the injuries.

Kill: Being attacked will cause injury, which is common knowledge to the enemy! Accumulate enough injuries, or directly inflict a fatal wound, to complete the kill.

Shield parry: The technique of using a shield to deflect an attack and then counterattack seems to be very useful in this world.

Rolling: The technique of using rolling to dodge attacks seems to be very useful in this world.

Vulnerability attack: An attack performed at the moment the enemy launches an attack, or when there is a significant opening. Strictly speaking, shield parry also falls under the category of vulnerability attack, which seems to be quite useful in this world.

Note 1: Homura is from 2011. Since the anime does not mention the time of the story, it is based on the release date of "Puella Magi Madoka Magica".

Note 2: "Zhi" is from 1995, taken from the timeline of the story in "Kara no Kyoukai Murder Investigation (Part 1)". (Author's note: Isn't it common sense to state your world line when introducing yourself?)

Note 3: This information compilation manual will be used as a means of disclosing the world view and settings of this book. It will be continuously supplemented as the story progresses. This is the first time it has been released, and there may be a lot of information. In the future, only the newly added parts will be released. Where the settings in the story are different from those in the original work (games, anime, etc.), the settings in this book shall prevail. The author reserves the right of final interpretation (laughs).

The bosses in Chapter 5 can all transform twice.

Xiaoyan stood once again at the fog gate of the arena, adjusting her equipment.

Shield! Equip it in your left hand; Longsword! Carry it in your right hand; Elemental Flask! Hook it at your waist for easy access; and finally, your remaining abilities!

On the way here, Xiaoyan roughly explored and found that she still had two remaining abilities that could be activated with magic. One of them was the ability of magical girls to strengthen their bodies with magic. Due to the current shortage of magic, she could not strengthen herself to the level of a superhuman as before, but she could still greatly improve her physical fitness.

Secondly, there is her incomplete ability to stop time. Strictly speaking, this ability was given to her by the shield with the hourglass embedded in her left hand, so it is more incomplete. She cannot stop time in the outside world at all. However, she can speed up her own time, but it consumes a lot of magic power. She can use up all her current magic power in an instant and directly enter a dizzy state of magic power depletion. Therefore, she has to use it as a trump card at a very critical moment.

She took a deep breath, and purple magical flames emanated from her body, strengthening her. Then she slowly exhaled, raised her hand to push open the fog door, and slowly walked inside.

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Gundyr once again saw the ashes that had drawn the spiral sword from his scabbard. Gazing into that unwavering gaze, which remained steadfast even after six deaths, he slowly drew his weapon.

He vaguely remembered being the Ashen Judge, seemingly a hero who failed to fulfill his mission… or perhaps not. His memories were fragmented, perhaps not even his own, yet they told him he had become the sheath of the Spiral Sword, waiting for a hero to appear who could truly accomplish this mission.