Knight of Perfection (1)
When the ga started, the setting remained the sa: the audience chamber.
"Ah, it picks up right from the ending cutscene."
Lee Gyeongbok looked at Aiden, whose massive body lay fallen before him.
- Even seeing it again, my heart swells with pride......
- I really had no idea how to beat him, lol
- He proved that even a snapped greatsword is still a sword
- Because it's Elden's Only Sword (nod)
- It's only been a day since the break in streaming, why does it feel so long?
The viewers, too, reminisced about the mont of clearing the boss. Lee Gyeongbok approached the shattered crystal that had belonged to Aiden.
With that, control vanished.
['Decider, aiden's Soul' acquired.]
As the protagonist touched the crystal, the remaining light was absorbed. At the sa ti, alicia, who had been trapped, was freed.
"Ahh......"
She sighed.
She clutched a shard of the crystal, many tis larger than herself, and trembled.
"Decider, why......"
She soon turned to face the protagonist.
"I'm glad you're safe."
"...... You don't hate ?"
"You're the one who refused to talk and attacked first, decider. It's sad, but I have no reason to resent you."
- That's the right thing to say
- As expected of mini nuna!
- Honestly, aiden wasn't fit to be a father, was he?
- For real, lol. He just exiled her and stayed silent
The viewers agreed.
The protagonist knelt on one knee, drawing closer to Alicia.
"There's sothing I want to ask you."
"Please, go ahead."
"How could Aiden be your father?"
At that question, Lee Gyeongbok spoke up as well.
"Ah, I've been curious about this—I guess we're about to find out."
- Must be adopted, right?
- Maybe he saw her talent and took her in or sothing.
- Anyway, he's not human, so he can't be her biological father
- Ah lol, guess we're getting the answer now
Alicia bowed her head at the question.
"The truth is, I don't know how I was born. I was in the royal castle as far back as I can rember. The Decider 'decided' that I was his daughter, and everyone else accepted it."
"I see."
"Of course, I knew the Decider wasn't human. So I never thought he was my real father..."
She trailed off. The protagonist didn't press any further.
A brief silence.
As if to dispel the hush, alicia looked up again and spoke.
"You want to find the EldenSoul, don't you?"
"That's right. But now that Aiden is silenced forever, I have to find it myself."
The protagonist's answer stirred the chat window.
- Whoa, that's right
- Isn't EldenSoul only known to the Decider?
- So what happens now?
- Huh;;; I beat the final boss and the path is blocked?
But the viewers' worry lasted only a mont. Alicia stepped to the broken crystal.
"No, there's a way."
"A way?"
"If I beco the Decider, I should be able to know."
As she said this, a thread-thin aura rose from Alicia. Runes on the broken crystal began to glow.
- Oh right! Nuna was always supposed to be the successor
- That's why if nuna dies, it's a bad ending
- No matter what, if there's no mini nuna, it's a bad ending
- Lol, that's so true
Like copying runes, symbols began to appear on Alicia's body as well. At the sa ti, her aura turned golden, just like Aiden's.
With the thin strands gathered up, the protagonist asked,
"Did it work?"
"Ah......"
Alicia couldn't hide her bewildernt.
"I... I can't tell you the location of the EldenSoul."
"Does that an you failed?"
"No, I know. I know, but I can't say it."
Both the protagonist and the chat window filled with question marks. What did she an?
"Isn't this the ending? What is this?"
- For real, lol! Why is this so frustrating?
- Seems like she can't do it, regardless of her will?
- So, then what are we supposed to do!
- Elden newbs, please explain!
That reaction was brief; the viewers' attention shifted elsewhere.
With a loud bang, the doors to the audience chamber opened and soone entered.
"There was a restriction on the rune."
"...... Alicia?"
It was Alicia—her true body, restored.
― Noonaaaaaaa
― Wow, lol, real nuna appears now
― Real, for sure, lol
― Mini nuna is cute, but the real nuna is gorgeous
Her lively, animated figure—made of flesh, not a small golem—changed the mood in the chat window.
"What happened?"
"I only projected my soul into the golem. While helping you, I was making my body. As soon as it was ready, I left the Forest of Mist for the castle, but I just arrived."
"But what about the restriction...?"
"The Decider's rune isn't on the soul, but on this body. The restriction is, too."
With that, alicia took the protagonist's hand. Warmth spread—sothing the golem never had.
"I'll tell you the location of the EldenSoul."
As she spoke, the screen faded to black.
Chat imdiately reacted.
- Whoa? Is she really going to tell him?
- Wow, lol, it's so different from the Order Church route
- Wow, all the way here from the Wraith Golem snowball
- Oh right, if you didn't beat the optional boss Wraith Golem, the ending would've changed again
- What's amazing is that Godple didn't know what he was doing, lol
- Is there really a god of broadcast?
- Lol, this is unique grade broadcast!
Most chatters had already seen the ending. Lee Gyeongbok and other viewers couldn't understand why the hardcore fans were so excited.
"Does the ending change a lot?"
The chat window lit up with amusent.
- This is the class of a first playthrough!
- Sounds right lol, godple's first ti
- Info: in the Order Church route, you can't find EldenSoul's location at all
- So what? Only bad endings?
- There's an ending where you beco the Decider instead of Alicia
- You can also help Order Church and rebuild the kingdom!
- But the Order Church is essentially a cult
- Setting off alone to find EldenSoul—that's the closest thing to a happy ending lol
Although the player's goal was to find the EldenSoul, no ending actually revealed EldenSoul's location.
While the chat window buzzed, the screen ca back.
The new setting was familiar even to them.
"Huh? This is the graveyard where it all began."
The starting point of the EldenSoul, 'Grave of the Broken One.' Alicia had brought the protagonist there.
"There's a monunt in the basent here."
Her explanation sparked a wave of chat.
- A monunt? That monunt?
- The one you find after going through section 941?
- Lol, I thought there was sothing fishy
- It's so obvious, I totally forgot, though
- For real, lol, why would From put it here for no reason!
- I thought there'd be sothing, but the start was actually the end
- They say the candle burns brightest under the candlestick, but this was completely pitch-black, lol
Most viewers were pleased, but those who had seen the true EldenSoul ending felt differently.
- Wow...... now I get why you could keep playing after clearing the ga
- You could find the EldenSoul even after clearing the Order Church route
- Yeah, this gave chills
- This is why I can't quit From gas, lol
- Hyung! Let's go quickly! Soone might steal the first discovery!
- As if lol, who do you think can go through section 941?
- There's plenty of ti left, right?
It wasn't just the knight order route—the Order Church route could lead to finding the EldenSoul too.
Lee Gyeongbok smiled at the chat and started walking.
"I already unlocked the secret path last ti, so let's go straight there."
Lee Gyeongbok headed for the Gravekeeper's storage room. No need to pass the trap section again.
* * *
Descending the spiral staircase again, they reached the monunt. As they stood in front of it, another cutscene began.
"That's right. This is the place."
"This stone tablet..."
At Alicia's words, the protagonist looked at the tablet with a solemn voice.
Then, he carefully placed his hand atop the tablet.
[Would you like to use 'Decider, aiden's Soul' and 'Unknown Soul'?]
A ssage appeared with it.
- Of course, you have to use them
- Whoa lol, we're really here
- At least you needed to get Aiden's soul first
- But don't they ever explain what Unknown Soul is?
- Is this bait for the From theorists?
- Please, just tell us already!
Naturally, Lee Gyeongbok pressed confirm. With it, souls flowed out of the protagonist and into the tablet.
Runes began to fill the tablet. The protagonist stepped back to try to see them all at once.
"This is..."
"Oh broken one, what is wrong?"
Yet, curiously, alicia didn't look surprised.
"Can't you see this?"
"See what...?"
She looked back and forth between the tablet and the protagonist, only confusion on her face.
"What? Only the protagonist can see it?"
- What? Another piece of bait?
- We're going to explode from all these hints!
- Ah lol, it's because he synchronized with Godple
- Synchronization, lol
- For real, lol—Godple sees everything the viewers can't
Before the protagonist could even explain, rune upon rune combined into larger runic symbols.
Suddenly, light shot from the tablet and filled the entire view. But only for a mont—then everything dimd to pure blackness.
No Alicia, no tablet, nothing to sense at all.
- ??????
- What? What's happening?
- Where's real nuna!
- Is this a trap?
- Lol, would there really be a trap in the ending, lol
- Whoa! There's sothing there!
A silhouette radiating brilliant golden light appeared in the center of the black space, quieting the chat room's uproar.
"You are......?"
As the distance slowly closed, the figure ca into sharp focus. There was no answer to the protagonist's question.
But Lee Gyeongbok and the viewers could guess the identity from appearance alone.
"Huh? Isn't that the Elden Knights from the mural?"
- Lol, this ti it's the real deal?
- There's a totally different aura than the fake Knights, lol
- But the Elden Knights are the player characters from the first ga, right?
- What's this hinting at?
When the protagonist, facing the oldest, primordial knight—the Elden Knight—stepped closer, a reply finally ca after a pause.
"I am you."
Surprisingly, it was Lee Gyeongbok's voice.
- ?
- That wasn't hyung talking, right?
- Sounds like voice synthesis, lol
- Lol, for a second I thought he was ad-libbing
- Ah lol, I wanted to try this after the stream, but forget that
- If I hear a viewer's voice after finally making it through 941, I'll get existential crisis, lol
- Guess I'll just be satisfied watching this
- Are they hinting the protagonist from the first ga is the player?
The protagonist frowned.
"What does that an?"
"It must be confusing. But it's the truth. I was once a part of the EldenSoul."
The Elden Knight extended his hand as he spoke. Golden motes scattered to form other silhouettes.
"I handed out my soul for the sake of humanity. Those who received the EldenSoul's power beca saviors. And the pieces of soul left behind from those saviors are the 'broken ones.'"
"...... You an, I'm a fragnt of a savior?"
The explanation sent chat wild again.
- Lol, they just tied all the series protagonists together
- Elden Knight = Savior = Broken One
- So all of them are the player, huh?
- How did you know I love this kind of ta-stuff? haha
- Wow... From, as expected!
- Elden newbs, their From-brains are going to work, lol
- This isn't From-brain, this is supre divine intuition!
Lee Gyeongbok, who hadn't played previous installnts, couldn't share the feeling, but was glad the viewers enjoyed it.
"However, the fact that you're here ans that Aiden has failed......"
"Failed?"
The Elden Knight resud in a sad voice. Viewers focused on the cutscene again.
"Experience it yourself."
The Elden Knight took the protagonist's hand.
[No 'Elden Kingdom' data found.]
[Using base data.]
Viewers couldn't hide their surprise at the ssage.
- What? There's a link to Elden Kingdom?
- Incredible, lolololololololol
- Wait, does the outco change based on part 2?
- What a big picture!
- From's grand design, wow, lol
As expected, series fans cheered. The screen soon changed to the royal castle.
"Huh? The audience chamber."
The audience chamber in the royal castle.
But it seed to be at a different ti—the throne was sized for a human. A knight in armor sat atop it.
"Savior......"
Soone knelt on the carpet below, calling out. Judging by the title, the figure on the throne was clearly the player character from part 2.
"Please, protect our kingdom—our nation of humans."
Scenes passed by like slides. Monsters and others lurking outside, and people succumbing to undeath throughout the city.
- Looks like after part 2's ending
- Built up the kingdom, but now it's falling apart
- Well, they didn't actually prevent undeath
- If it was a happy ending, eldenSoul wouldn't appear, lol
One by one, the knights assembled around the savior disappeared.
〈The end approaches.〉
The savior's voice was also Lee Gyeongbok's.
〈An endless war. A life of dying and dying again.〉
It's unclear whether the knights died in battle or beca the undead.
〈Even I may one day succumb. I needed a solution.〉
A new background erged—a massive form, instantly familiar.
- Whoa? Is that Aiden?
- Looks like the protagonist from part 2 created Aiden
- Of course. Being a golem, he wouldn't beco undead easily
- Didn't the Wraith Golem beco corrupted?
- That was a Forestkeeper originally, couldn't handle the undead, lol
- Is your From-brain always on?
- Lol, right to theorize instantly
Even as the chat stayed lively, the cutscene continued.
〈What humanity needed was not victory, but survival.〉
The savior looked outward.
The inner wall rising higher and higher; inside, gardens and Forestkeeper Golems wandered.
- Ah, so that's why the inner wall was so high
- They closed it off for survival
- Wait, but the knight order and Order Church are outside, right?
- More hints! More bait, please!
The savior activated Aiden, then quietly left the castle alone.
〈Protecting their repose is all I can do.〉
- This confirms it! The Unknown Soul is the savior!
- Yeah, this seems right
- Looks like the broken ones who beca undead were protected
- They were atoning in the graveyard, after all
- But you could say he was also abandoning responsibility
But the flashback wasn't over yet.
"Oh? There's Aiden's story too."
The next scene followed Aiden's perspective. In line with his purpose, aiden made decisions for the preservation of humanity.
〈Unlike my creator, they are weak.〉
Aiden's voice accompanied a background change. Those who couldn't take the life under lockdown ran out the inner wall, beca corrupted, and joined the undead.
〈Preserve humanity.〉
Aiden carefully filtered out only the "uncorrupted" parts of souls from the undead and returned them as humans.
But he soon faced confusion.
〈Are these truly the 'humans' I must protect?〉
Although they looked human, their souls were unstable. They sotis acted just like the undead.
- Programming error detected, wow
- Isn't this like the Ship of Theseus thing?
- It's like reassembling with only the undead-free parts of souls
- Using a ga to explore philosophy, lol
Aiden reached a conclusion.
〈I needed a 'pure human' capable of sustaining my duty.〉
With his decision, aiden collected fragnts of souls each ti he reversed an undead human. By assembling shards from different souls, he created a totally pure soul.
〈The human I must protect: Alicia.〉
- Whoa?
- Does nuna appear here?
- So that's why Aiden was her "father", wow
- Now it all makes sense! After Alicia was born, aiden no longer needed to protect other humans
Subsequent scenes matched what was learned during gaplay.
Aiden exiled the grown Alicia, then entered silence. As a result, the knight order and Order Church led the rest of humanity out beyond the inner wall.
- So "silence" was for the sake of humanity—now it makes sense
- From Aiden's perspective, everyone except Alicia wasn't human, lol
- So he just let them die? Why not kill them directly?
- No, he still had human parts left, so he couldn't kill them
- This is kind of SF vibes, huh, lol
- Like the Three Laws of Robotics?
- Dark fantasy with a dash of sci-fi? Actually love it!
While viewers filled in the gaps, the vision returned. Elden Knight turned to the protagonist.
"Aiden could not predict one variable."
"Variable......?"
"Yes, you."
The Elden Knight moved his hand. The blackness behind him dissolved into gold like a fresh canvas.
Behind him was a huge golden sphere, shining like the sun.
"My descendant, my fragnt, and my piece—welco back."
"That must be......"
"That is the EldenSoul—the ancient spirit, the origin of all things."
The Elden Knight turned his body, lifting both hands in a reverent posture, worshipping the EldenSoul.
"Now, as a result of your actions, the EldenSoul and the world are connected again. Just as Aiden created Alicia, with this power, it's possible to gather only the human part of souls and recreate pure humans."
"...... You an, to harvest souls?"
"Through that, the age of humanity will return. As long as your will links the EldenSoul to the world."
- Wait;;; isn't this the opening narration?
- Wow... so that's what it ant
- An unexpected developnt, no one saw this coming!
- But... then what about the humans still alive?
- If you reset, doesn't that an they'll all die?
Viewers were in shock. But the ending had yet to be decided.
The protagonist gazed at him for a mont, then shook his head.
"No, I refuse."
"...... You would abandon humanity?"
"Soone once said, 'A na is but a sliver of existence.' The sa goes for the na 'human', I suppose."
- Isn't this the line from eting nuna?
- They're bringing this back here?
- Wow, how many hints did they layer in, this is insane
- From and their legendary attention to detail
- Insanely aweso!
"Maybe soday they'll beco undead. But at their core, they still possess humanity. If they wish to remain human, then they are human. Therefore..."
The protagonist t the Elden Knight's gaze and continued;
"The age of humanity never ended."
- Lol, amazing
- Ah lol, that's what it ans to be human
- Wow...... if you're a series fan, you can't help but feel moved here
- From part 1 to 3, the age of humanity was never over!
- That's what an ending should be!
The Elden Knight gazed at him for a mont, then nodded.
"...... If that is your will, then it is also mine—and that of the EldenSoul."
"I have one question."
"What is it?"
"If the EldenSoul can see into every human soul... shouldn't it be able to recognize them before they beco undead?"
"Yes."
"If you could tell when soone is about to turn undead, you could prevent further loss among humans."
The protagonist's words stirred the chat window.
- Uh......? Uh?
- Is this? What I'm thinking of?
- No way......?
- Huh;;; What is it, say it already!
- Elden newbs, are you gatekeeping again?
Before Elden series fans could explain, the Elden Knight nodded.
"I understand what you an."
A halo of light appeared in his palm. Slowly, it turned black, burning to ash and falling away.
At last, what remained in his hand was a black rune symbol.
― WA!WA!WA!WA!WA!
― Insane, lololololol
― It actually appeared?
― Wow...... I have chills all over
― From is insane, lol
With that, the chat window exploded. But both Lee Gyeongbok and the non-fans in the audience were equally confused.
"What is this?"
In the end, Lee Gyeongbok asked in their place. But the answer ca from elsewhere.
"The Dark Rune."
The protagonist uttered the words. The ripple was imnse.
― It's here! It's finally here!
― Wow, lol, so the Elden series was the prequel after all
― Now we know how the Dark Rune ca to be, lol
― Ti to attain enlightennt, elden noobs!
― Crying, thank you From ㅠㅠ
― This is all thanks to Godple!
― Truly, elden's Only Sword!
― From and Godple are both legends!
― Loyalty for life^^7
Dark Rune.
Lee Gyeongbok knew that na.
'Isn't that the console ga Ecl played?'
Before virtual reality took off, it was the ga that put From Studio on the map.
The story of the birth of the Dark Rune—that was the Elden Series.
From Studio fans couldn't help but be thrilled.
But the shockwaves didn't end there.
[〉Hey! Hey hey! This is huge! Huge news!]
Just above the madly scrolling chat, a private ssage appeared.
It was from Choi Byeonghun.
Before Lee Gyeongbok could reply, another ssage arrived.
[〉From just announced a Dark Rune Remaster!]
Re-releasing console hits in VR was nothing new.
Bio Crisis, for example, had done the sa.
But that wasn't enough to make Choi Byeonghun lose his mind.
The fact that their Elden Series–Dark Rune connection had just been revealed on Lee Gyeongbok's broadcast, at the sa ti as From's announcent—
[〉And our channel got ntioned!]
It was no coincidence.
***
**New Nas, locations, skills, and Techniques Discovered**
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