Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Hill did not rush to the path guarded by the Black Knights, but instead prepared to go to Farron Keep from the gate guarded by the Exile Brothers.

Standing far outside the fortress gates, Hill did not see the Exile Brothers.

Hill's unease grew until an arrow flying towards her startled her awake.

The arrow was aimed right at her face, and Hill had no choice but to dodge. But another arrow seemed to have known her position all along and fell in the direction she had dodged.

Damn it!

Hill cursed under his breath, planted his swords in the ground, and used the fixed points on the swords to forcefully pull himself to another place.

However, before Hill could even get out of position, the first two arrows exploded as if they had a trigger fuse, the moment they hit the ground.

[Explosive Crossbow Bolt: A crossbow bolt that explodes upon impact. It deals fire damage in a small area. Due to concerns about its explosive potential, very few can be carried. This is an experimental weapon by the weaponsmith Edmund; use it knowingly and without complaint.]

Shockwaves and flames rose up, stirring up the surrounding mud, which then fell as muddy water filled the sky.

Curled up in the mud, Hill avoided the main damage by using the dense roots of the surrounding trees. The blasted wood chips hit her like shrapnel, but fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s special equipment provided good protection, which saved Hill's life.

Just then, the sound of a bowstring being pulled taut reached Hill's ears. Using the tree roots as cover, Hill quickly peeked out.

"Damn it! Clint, you almost killed me!"

Hill's words did not cause Clint on the other side to lower his weapon. Instead, he nocked a few more arrows and aimed them at Hill.

Clint's voice was devoid of any emotion, yet a hint of murderous intent emanated from it, as cold as ice.

"Step forward! Prove who you are!"

Faced with the threat of death, Hill had no choice but to step forward and show the Godhild swords to Clint.

Upon seeing the familiar weapon, Clint slowly loosened the bowstring, carefully placed the arrow back into the quiver, and leaned against the pillar by the door, saying, "You shouldn't have come..."

Hill, wiping the mud off her clothes, stormed towards Clint, saying, "I shouldn't have come. What could possibly be here... holy shit, what happened?!"

Hill stood at the gates of Farron Keep, below which lay the fortress itself. But now, half the fortress was gone; the once lush forest had withered, leaving only the scars of flames. The adorable Mushroom People were using the remaining half of the fortress to plant trees and rebuild the original forest.

Clint leaned against a pillar, cautiously watching the outer edge of the Crucifixion Forest, and said without turning his head, "The thing being suppressed escaped. The Undead Legion went straight in, but only brought back Geralt, who was almost dead..."

"What did you say!"

Geralt is dying...

------------

Chapter 354: A Failed Exploration

When Hill found Geralt, he was resting in a makeshift shelter built by the Lone Mushrooms. The Lone Mushrooms running and playing around him carefully avoided the area to prevent any trouble.

Geralt lay on the bed, leaning against the window, watching Hill arrive, and laboriously reached out to greet him.

Hill's first thought upon seeing Geralt was: How did he get so badly injured? His second thought was: How is he still alive?

A wound extended from the left chest directly to the lower right abdomen. The subcostal arteries and veins were visible on the pale ribs. The diaphragm was pierced, and the liver hidden under the ribs was still moving rhythmically.

The flesh and blood around the wound had all disappeared, leaving half of Geralt's heart exposed to the air, with a tear in the pericardium that ran in the same direction as the initial wound.

Black energy lingered around the wound, constantly eroding the flesh and emitting a harsh corrosive sound. Hill, who had just arrived nearby, smelled an indescribable strange odor.

The exposed wounds, with their missing flesh and blood, would have sent a normal person to hell long ago. Yet Geralt was still clinging to life, leaning against the headboard.

"Are you alright? Never mind, is there anything else you'd like to do?"

Hill abandoned her words of comfort and went straight to Geralt's dying words.

Geralt leaned against the headboard, just about to open his mouth, when the slight movement triggered a sharp pain in his wounds that made him gasp.

"My last words were, 'I hope I can still be saved...'"

Hill watched Geralt's antics and calmly said, "I'm serious. Anything you want, I can make it happen..."

Geralt's eyes gradually darkened, and he reached out as if to grasp something.

Hill sat down next to Geralt, reached out and took his hand, feeling only the terrifying touch of his icy body.

"I think... I just want to find a quiet place and do nothing. I want to live a normal life, without fighting, without all this trouble... I just want..."

Geralt's hand gradually became weak, and then his entire arm went limp.

Hill watched Geralt slowly close his eyes, his exposed heart no longer beating, black energy gradually seeping into the heart and emitting a foul smell.

Hill placed Geralt's arm back beside him, tidied his messy hair, and then sat down beside him quietly, watching.

Hill didn't know what was wrong with him; he just sat there blankly, his eyes gradually becoming vacant.

"Actually, you should shed two tears; that would be a proper way to remember me after my death..."

Geralt's weak voice rang in her ears, and Hill snapped back to reality, looking at Geralt in front of her and opening her eyes again.

"You! You... how are you still alive?"

Hill's exclamation brought a dark line to Geralt's already weakened face.

Geralt's fingers twitched; he no longer had the strength to even lift his hand.

Geralt said in the softest of voices, "Someone's bringing something to the door. If you don't hurry, I'm really going to die..."

Hill rushed out of the house, only then noticing the loud flapping of a dragon's wings outside, and two mushroom-like figures carrying a huge box towards her.

Mushroom Lonely Man placed the box in front of Hill, his dark eyes urging her on.

Hill dragged the box and found it was full of golden holy water bottles. Just getting close to them gave people power.

Hill dragged the suitcase to Geralt's side and hurriedly asked, "How do I use it?"

Geralt was too weak to speak at that moment, and could only gesture with his eyes, staring at his wound.

Hill picked up the holy water and poured it onto Geralt's wound. The holy water burst into thick white smoke as soon as it touched the wound.

Like the sizzling sound of frying meat, or the explosion of a gas blast, the moment the holy water clashed with the wound, Geralt convulsed in pain.

Geralt could only grit his teeth and say, "Continue..."

Hill showed no mercy, pouring bottle after bottle of holy water into Geralt's wounds.

Time passed, and empty bottles were scattered all over the room. Geralt was lying on the bed, panting heavily.

Geralt's wound had mostly healed, but it was still there, and you could even stick your finger inside it.

Geralt, leaning against the headboard, looked at the wound on his chest, which he could only cover with bandages.

Just as Geralt was about to get up from the bed, he collapsed face down onto the bed.

Hill helped Geralt up, pressed his hand on Geralt's wound, and looked at him as if he were a threat.

Geralt leaned back against the headboard and said in a weak voice, "I was careless, I didn't dodge..."

Hill just stared at him expressionlessly, waiting for Geralt to continue.

"I originally thought that by gathering the strength of the entire Fran, we could accomplish a great victory in one battle and directly destroy the Tomb of Carthus. But I miscalculated. Not only did I fail to kill him, I almost lost my own life."

I'm practically half 'dead' now. Having lost my physical body, my spirit and bones have merged, making me a skeletal creature active on the outskirts of the abyss…”

Hill kicked the holy water bottle at his feet and asked, "Aren't these things supposed to heal your injuries? Inside the control center, this holy water can be loaded onto a fire truck..."

Geralt said with a wry smile, "What you've seen are all cheap stuff. Any blessed water counts; I could make a whole bunch of those. But what we just used wasn't like that. That was truly blessed by the goddess of abundance and grace. This box is practically Ash's only remaining stock..."

Geralt explained that if it weren't for Hill's arrival and help, he might have truly returned to the First Flame.

Geralt and Wolnir, the overlord of Carthus, made a pact to explore the Abyss and find a way to defend against it.

But unexpectedly, in the abyss, where darkness obscured vision and the constant whispers of the talkative insects filled the air. These whispers continuously disturbed the soul, leading it to fall into the abyss.

The power of the abyss was constantly eroding Geralt, and in the end, without any battle taking place, he simply became lost in the abyss.

Wolnir, living up to his title of Overlord, shared his power with Geralt after years of roaming the Abyss, allowing Geralt to escape the Abyss with his guidance.

This is the reason for Geralt's injuries; the power of the dead can transform any life into its post-death form.

With some of his power gone, Wolnir was unable to suppress the Carthus skeletons who had been seduced by the abyss, which led to the riot in the catacombs and the destruction of half of Farron Keep.

The Abyss is a convergence of humanity, but humanity is not the Abyss. The Dark Soul that the Dwarf King obtained was only close to the power of the Abyss before it was sealed away by Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, in an attempt to stop the spread of darkness.

The Abyss has always existed; in Dark Souls 1, the Extinguishing the Flame ending allows one to become the King of the Abyss. This is also a way to perpetuate the world.

But things are different now. If the abyss is allowed to spread, the world will eventually return to darkness. The plan to rebuild Dark Souls from Ashes has become a pipe dream.

This is why Geralt explored the Abyss. However, this exploration ended in failure, not only injuring Geralt but also causing Wren'ir to lose a portion of his power.

Tyrant Wolnir, although it is a program-killed boss in the game, you only need to break the three bracelets on its wrists to let the Abyss take it away.

But Warnir was the one who conquered nations and destroyed the crowns that symbolized the supreme power of their kings, leaving only one for himself, thus forging the title of Overlord.

Wolnir, in its quest for greater power, sought to become the last to die. It slaughtered the clergy and stole four treasures to protect itself from being swallowed by the abyss.

But this was merely to protect himself from being devoured. Carthus, once invincible, became the target of the Undead Legion's destruction due to the power of the Abyss. Thus, Carthus's kingdom was destroyed.

Now, with Carthus's rebellion and Wolverine's weakened state unable to suppress the Catacombs of Carthus, Geralt is forced to choose a new path.

------------

Chapter 355: The Base in the Desert

After resting for a long time, Geralt finally regained some strength, got out of bed, and put on his equipment.

Hill sighed and said, "You're in this state, and you still want to go out?"

"There's nothing I can do, it's my responsibility. I caused this, and I need to put an end to it..."

Geralt slung his longsword back over his shoulder and stood in front of Hill, saying, "I'm sorry, I only found out about all those phone calls you made to me after I left Carthus's Tomb..."

Hill shook his head and said, "Forget it, it's no use talking about this now... But you, be careful, don't die..."

Geralt laughed heartily, which aggravated his chest injury, causing him to bend over.

After a while, Geralt, breathing to ease the pain, said, "I'd like to ask you for a favor..."

Hill rolled her eyes at him, annoyed, and said, "Go ahead and say it, consider it your last words..."

"Remember Ghost Rider from last time? I have a plan! I can banish Carthus to Hell. Anyway, Hell is always in chaos, so leaving him there will save me the trouble..."

In reality, Geralt was thinking that placing Carthus in Hell would be a perfect fit, since Hell is where the dead belong, and Wolverine would be perfectly suited to it.

Hill sighed and looked at the confident Geralt, asking, "How?"