Naruto: The Chosen Undead-Chapter 149 - no.148 Dark Souls

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Chapter 148 The Knight and the Gods

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Naruto stepped onto the elevator, the ancient chains rattling as they pulled him up toward Firelink Shrine. He was satisfied with the strength he'd gained. The next step was simple: return to Andre, die, and respawn back in the Elemental Nations. Fifteen days in Lordran. He hoped everything back home hadn't gone to hell in his absence. But halfway up, he heard a wet squelch sound, a flutter of wings, followed by crying.

His instincts screamed, and he was already sprinting the second the platform locked into place. Up the worn stone steps. Around the corner.

His breath hitched.

A crow was perched on the iron bars of Anastacia's cage, its talons sunk deep into the rusted metal. Its head jerked with unnatural spasms. But Naruto's eyes weren't on the bird.

They were on what hung from its beak. A strip of torn flesh. Red. Wet.

Anastacia's tongue.

Still tethered to her mouth by a glistening thread of sinew, the crow yanked and twisted, trying to pull it free—dragging her stolen voice out inch by inch. Anastacia sobbed quietly, her body curled into the corner of her cell, her hands pressed over her mouth as if trying to hold in what was already being taken.

Naruto didn't think. He moved.

His Zweihander cut the air.

Shink!

The crow's head dropped to the floor. Its body flailed, wings beating frantically for a few final seconds before stilling with a soft thump. Blood spattered the stone. The foul thing twitched once more, then lay silent. Anastacia gasped. Her eyes were wide, glassy with terror, yet they didn't move from the corpse. Not from fear. From recognition. Of what almost happened.

Naruto stormed up to the cage, grabbed the bars with his left hand. Crack. Groan. With a grunt, he forced the metal apart, slipping through and dropping to his knees beside her.

"Drink," he said, pulling an Estus Flask from his pouch and holding it to her.

She hesitated.

"Drink," he repeated, his voice firmer, gentler.

Slowly, she took it. The golden light trickled down her throat, and Naruto felt her trembling begin to ease as the warmth spread through her fragile frame. He exhaled in relief and pulled her into a soft hug.

"You're safe," he murmured. "I took care of it. You're safe now."

Her body shuddered against him. She gripped his tunic like it was an anchor. For a long moment, they just stayed like that—still, quiet, breathing. Naruto glanced around the room. No bed. No blanket. Just cold stone and silence.

His jaw clenched.

Why was an innocent girl subjected to this hell?

But instead of rage, he reached for something lighter.

"Hey," he said softly, pulling back, "wanna see something cool?"

Anastacia blinked, still sniffling.

Naruto flicked a shuriken from his pouch, spun it across his knuckles, then balanced it on one finger before flipping it across to the next. A simple trick. But in the right moment? Magic.

Her eyes widened. And the corners of her lips curved just slightly.

"... Amazing," she whispered.

His grin lit up the room.

He reached into his inventory and pulled a torn page from his journal. Folded once. Then again. A crease. A corner tucked. An edge turned. He handed it to her. A paper flower.

"Ever tried origami?"

She shook her head.

"Well, then..." He pulled out a second page and handed it to her. "Let's change that."

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As Naruto gently guided Anastacia's fingers through the folds of paper, teaching her the quiet rhythm of origami, he made a quick shadow clone to handle the rest. The clone wordlessly slipped out of the cell, crouched beside the crow's body, and examined it.

But the moment it touched the corpse.

Pssshhhh.

The crow melted like wax in fire, dissolving into a puddle of dark mist. Like it had never been real to begin with. Naruto blinked. His eyes narrowed. What the hell...

The clone didn't hesitate. It sprinted down the spiral stairs to Rickert's cell. "Hey, you ever hear of a crow that melts after you kill it?"

Rickert looked up from tinkering with the flintlock Naruto had left him. "A what now?"

The clone filled him in, voice taut with urgency.

Rickert shook his head slowly, face troubled. "I don't know anything about crows like that... but if it was targeting Anastacia? Might've been sent by the Way of White. She's their prisoner, after all."

That made Naruto still.

When the memory hit, the real Naruto clenched his jaw. The Way of White. The bastards just kept crawling up from the cracks. Fine. Time to get answers. He walked across the shrine's moss-streaked courtyard, boots echoing off the stones, until he found him.

Petrus of Thorolund, in all his false holiness.

The cleric stood up when he saw him approach, his mace already in hand. "You dare approach me again?"

"Shut up," Naruto growled. "I'll pay you 1,000 souls if you answer a question."

Petrus paused.

Then, the tension in his shoulders melted away. "Ah, of course, dear brother. What knowledge do you seek?"

"A crow attacked the Fire Keeper. Tried to rip out her tongue. You know anything about that?"

"Hmm... now that is peculiar indeed..."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, and Naruto felt his patience thinning.

"Tell me," Petrus said finally, "did you... heal her tongue?"

Naruto's fists tightened. "Yeah. I did."

A shadow passed across Petrus's face. His next smile was thinner, sharper. "Then that may be the problem."

"What?"

"I have never heard of a crow targeting a Fire Keeper for her tongue. But if the tongue was never meant to be there..." Petrus tilted his head, mock-thoughtful. "Perhaps... the gods are merely correcting a mistake."

Naruto's chakra flared in his chest.

"You should cut it out again," Petrus said casually, like it was a piece of rotted meat. "After all, it was likely removed in her village, to prevent her from ever speaking a god's name in vain. And now... you've restored the source of her sin. The gods are simply correcting it."

Naruto's glare could've split stone. "I'm not doing that. She didn't deserve any of this."

Petrus gave a flippant shrug. "As you like. I only offer what wisdom I've gathered in service of the gods."

Naruto turned, disgusted rising in his throat. This wasn't wisdom. This was rot. This was the kind of thing that masked cruelty behind golden robes and hymns and worse still...

He felt helpless.

If some divine force was actually behind this then he was powerless to stop it. For all the strength he'd gained in Lordran... he couldn't protect her. Not from this.

"Ah, but perhaps I could interest you in a new miracle?" Petrus called after him, his voice sticky with false kindness. "Something to keep your mind off the Fire Keeper's... predicament?"

Naruto didn't even look back. "Maybe later," he muttered, walking to the elevator.

But deep down, he was already planning his next move. And when the time came, he'd make sure that bastard would regret ever opening his mouth.

Naruto barely touched the ground as he leapt off the elevator, chakra flaring in brief, silent bursts. His boots skimmed the wall before his body flipped upward—feet latching to the ceiling with pinpoint control. He sprinted along the stone overhead, weaving through the narrow shaft's gaps and crumbling supports until he reached the top.

A flicker of movement and he slipped silently back into Firelink Shrine.

Time for phase two.

Two fingers flicked up.

Poof.

Three shadow clones appeared at his side.

Transformation Jutsu.

In a puff of smoke the clones took form, one wearing Kakashi's familiar flak vest and tilted headband, another in Sakura's pink hair and red dress, and the third sporting Sasuke's trademark scowl and Uchiha crest.

The "Team 7" trio approached Petrus.

"Yo," the Kakashi clone greeted casually, one hand raised in lazy salute.

"Hn," the Sasuke clone added, arms crossed.

"Hi!" Sakura chirped brightly.

Petrus turned to them, robes rustling. "Ah... new faces. Unfamiliar, and yet..."

He frowned.

"You carry the aura of the Baptismal Rite. The blessing of the Way of White flows through you."

The clones tensed but the Sakura one quickly laughed it off. "Oh, that! Yeah, we actually met a member of the Way of White on our travels. They—uh—baptized us, but we never learned the miracles."

"Hmph." Petrus' tone curled with disdain, though he forced a smile. "Then I assume you've had the... pleasure... of meeting Lady Rhea and her little band of guardians?"

Naruto's ears perked up from where he listened, hidden on the roof.

The Kakashi clone nodded smoothly. "We did. She was very generous, but..." He let the sentence trail, glancing sideways. "I found myself wanting more. Something deeper. Something purer."

Naruto let the words drip with calculated devotion. "I wish to further serve the Way of White," he continued, his voice lowered. "Perhaps even join a hunt for the Undead. I hear there's one stirring trouble around these parts."

Petrus's eyes sharpened but his mouth twitched into a slight, approving curve. "You are wise to pursue a truer path," he said, voice like velvet hiding a blade. "Rhea... stands where she does not through merit or piety, but by virtue of a bloodline soaked in heresy. Her father, that false bishop, was a traitor to our faith. A coward. A liar. She's just a naive child, dressed in holy robes, given purpose only by her name."

The bitterness in his tone couldn't be mistaken.

Naruto's clone inclined his head in faux humility. "Then allow me to learn from someone of true devotion. May I buy from your wares?"

At that, Petrus brightened instantly. "Of course," he said, practically glowing. "I would be delighted to offer a true follower what he seeks."

"I'd like the Homeward Miracle," said the Sakura clone sweetly.

"That will be 8,000 souls."

"Don't worry, I'll cover it," the Kakashi clone interjected, arms folded. "Let my students pick, and I'll pay for everything in one go."

Petrus gave a small nod, turning to retrieve the scroll. He held it just out of reach, clearly waiting for the payment first.

"I'll take Seek Guidance," the Sasuke clone added.

"2,000 souls," Petrus muttered.

"I'll take the Great Heal Excerpt," the Kakashi clone said casually.

Petrus froze. His hand stiffened mid-reach. "How... do you know about that miracle?"

Naruto blinked behind the transformation. He only knew about the Excerpt because Petrus offered it to him when they first met. But that reaction, it wasn't normal. Was the Excerpt not supposed to be public knowledge?

"Oh," the clone said smoothly, adopting Kakashi's lazy tone. "Some knight named Naruto told us about it. Said you had a few good ones tucked away. Even named them for us."

Petrus hesitated, then slowly nodded, masking whatever internal panic he was hiding.

"That scroll is 10,000 souls. Your total comes to 20,000."

Naruto raised his hand, forming a glowing soul orb in his palm, letting the light dance across Petrus's greedy eyes. He didn't have 20,000 souls. Not even close. But he had a plan.

His gaze snapped suddenly to the staircase above them. "Oh! Lady Rhea! What a surprise."

Petrus's head whipped around, his posture stiff, gaze frantic but there was nothing.

No noble lady.

Just empty stone and silence. And when he turned back, the scrolls in his hand were gone. So were the strangers. For a beat, Firelink Shrine stood still. Petrus blinked. Once. Twice. Then his hands clutched at air, as if trying to squeeze ghosts.

"Wait!" he choked. "Where...?!" Realization hit like a collapsing tower. The miracle scrolls. All three. Gone. And not a single soul in return.

From the rooftop, Naruto's real body had to physically slap a hand over his mouth to keep from howling with laughter.

Below, Petrus's face twisted in outrage. "Damn you, Rhea!" he hissed, voice shaking. "I know not how, but I know you had something to do with this!" He stormed off, eyes wild, searching the ruins for enemies that didn't exist.

Naruto shook his head, glancing at the three stolen miracle scrolls with a smirk.

Before he left, he made one last shadow clone and whispered a command. "Stay with Anastacia. Protect her."

The clone nodded and vanished down the stairs toward her cell.

With that done, Naruto turned and walked toward the elevator, satisfaction humming in his chest. Petrus got what he deserved. But this was far from the last time Naruto would cross paths with the Way of White. The deeper he dug, the more it became clear: the church wasn't just hiding secrets from the world... it was hiding them from itself.

And some of those secrets belonged to the gods.

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The clone of Naruto watched quietly from his crouched position as Anastacia delicately finished folding the paper swan. Her hands trembled, unsure but determined, and when the final crease was made, she smiled. Not a large smile, not a triumphant one, but a small, innocent curl of her lips. Childlike. Pure. The kind of smile that should've belonged to someone far from a place like this.

Naruto clapped gently. "You did great."

Anastacia's head tilted slightly, as though she weren't sure if she was allowed to be proud. But she smiled again, shyly, holding the swan close to her chest. "You know..." the clone started, rubbing the back of his neck. "You could come with me. I've got people back where I'm from. A place. It's not perfect, but it's safe. And you'd never be caged again."

Her smile faded. Her voice came quiet, but there was strength behind it.

"My duty is here."

The clone sighed and glanced at the iron bars. "You sure it's your duty? Or is it just what they told you your whole life?"

Anastacia lowered her gaze, but she didn't answer. The clone stared a moment longer before nodding, and with a grunt, bent the bars back into place.

Before turning to leave, he slid a kunai between the bars.

"I don't know if my words'll ever stick, but just remember. You've got a choice now," he said softly. "That's yours. To protect yourself."

Anastacia nodded, her fingers gently curling around the foreign weight. She held it to her chest, unsure of what it meant to hold a weapon, only that it was something he had trusted her with.

As the clone turned away, she sat back, the candlelight flickering over her and the small origami swan resting beside her. She picked it up, tilted it, made it dance. For the first time in what felt like lifetimes, a quiet laugh left her lips. Not strong. Not loud.

But real.

Hope.

Then came the voice. "Such a sight of innocence. A shame it belongeth to a sinner."

Anastacia froze.

Her gaze snapped up. The paper swan slipped from her hands. A crow, far larger than before, now perched atop Naruto's clone. Its talons dug into the boy's head. His eyes were wide, glazed over like he was sleeping with his eyes open.

"Thy tongue was stripped for thy trespass," the crow crooned, wings twitching with contemptuous elegance. "And yet here thou sitteth, reborn in blasphemy. Dost thou think thy penance complete?"

Anastacia shrank back against the wall, gripping the kunai as the crow continued. "Thou knoweth well thy curse. Thy voice is but sin given shape. Wilt thou cut it free again, child? Wilt thou silence the serpent within?"

Anastacia's chest trembled. She brought the blade to her lap, the cold steel stark against her shaking fingers. The clone's mouth moved, barely a whisper, caught in the crow's hold. "Ana...stacia..."

Her eyes flickered to him.

He was trying. Even bound, his will fought the bird's grip. Even when entranced, he still called her name.

Her name.

She looked down at the blade.

I was never meant to speak.

She looked at the swan.

I was never meant to be seen.

She looked at him.

But I was seen.

Her grip on the blade loosened.

"Thou believeth this knight to be thy savior?" the crow rasped, voice like parchment torn in shadow. "This fool, this mortal boy, whom I didst ensnare with naught but a whisper of unreality? A mere flicker of thought and behold, he is naught but a prisoner in his own mind."

Its beak tilted toward the clone still frozen, trapped in dream.

"I wonder, sweet vessel... should I show thee what becometh of such knights when their minds unravel? Wouldst he still remain gentle? Or would the spiral claim his soul entire?"

Anastacia's hands flew to her mouth. "Please... don't."

The crow's head snapped toward her. Its eyes burned with cruel light. "Then do it."

Her breath hitched.

"Take thy blade. Cleanse thy blasphemy. Restore thy silence. Let not the defiled tongue twist once more within thy flesh."

Anastacia shook as if the words themselves struck her. She looked at the kunai, still slick with the faint memory of her hope.

She raised it.

The metal kissed beneath her tongue, cold and unyielding.

The first cut was shallow.

A gasp escaped her as the taste of iron spilled across her palate. She bit down to stifle a scream, tears leaking from her eyes.

The second slice plunged deeper.

Her body convulsed, the muscle spasming in panic. The sound of her breath became a wet, gurgling rasp as she felt something vital tear. Blood gushed over her lips, drenching her chin and staining her robes in terrible red.

She gagged, trembled.

And then with one final tremor of will, she jerked the blade sideways.

Her tongue fell.

A soft, awful slap echoed through the hollow chamber as the severed flesh hit the ground, twitching as though still begging for mercy. Blood pooled at her knees. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, silent and burning. The crow ruffled its wings, satisfied, voice cold and commanding.

"Knoweth thy place," it said. "Thou art not maiden, nor mother, nor self. Thou art firekeeper—flame's slave. Thine duty is to serve. To silence. To sacrifice."

It paused, one gleaming eye fixed upon her broken form.

"Not to dream."

Then, with a shriek like the death of light, it took flight, wings scattering ash and whispers as it vanished into the broken sky.

Anastacia collapsed to her side, gasping through blood and tears, clutching the kunai to her chest.

The paper swan lay beside her, crushed and red.

A gift from a boy who had smiled at her. Who had seen her not as flame's servant, but as a person. She had heard the stories of knights saving maidens, of swords drawn in righteous fury, of chains broken by kindness. Tales whispered like lullabies among the desperate. Fantasies passed from lip to trembling lip, between those caged beneath the world, daring to believe in the impossible.

But Anastacia was no maiden.

She was no noble's daughter, no princess in a tower awaiting salvation.

She was a firekeeper.

A sinner.

A nameless soul born to serve and suffer silently.

A vessel without worth.

And yet...

And yet...

She dared to dream.

Just for a breath. Just for a moment.

That Naruto Uzumaki—that foolish, loud, kind boy who called her friend—might be the knight to save her. A girl who once longed to speak. Who once longed to live.

Even if it was a sin to be born outside her fate.

Even if it was blasphemy to want more than silence.

Even if it condemned her, she let herself dream of the knight that would stand before the gods.

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Naruto sat cross-legged as the elevator rattled upward toward the Undead Church. In one hand, he flicked through the miracle scrolls, mentally reviewing their descriptions with the narrowed eyes of someone already feeling buyer's remorse.

[Item: Great Heal Excerpt]

[Description: Great miracle cast by advanced clerics. Restores high HP.

Great Heal Excerpt borrows from only several verses of Great Heal. As a result, it can only be cast a stark few times.]

Naruto hummed, rubbing his chin. Right. That explained why Petrus looked like he'd swallowed spoiled milk when he mentioned it. If Rhea was a high-ranking cleric, and this scroll was only an excerpt... then Petrus probably stole it. Cut and pasted divine scripture just to make a quick buck.

"What a bitch," Naruto muttered under his breath. Still, a powerful healing miracle had its uses.

He flipped to the requirements.

[Faith Requirement: 14]

[Spell Uses: 1]

He stared. Then stared harder.

"You're joking."

One cast? One?! For two whole levels of Faith? His eye twitched. "This is as useless as Petrus' bowl cut." With a grumble, he shoved the scroll back into his inventory. Maybe he'd come back to it if Hinata's mother ever needed more than the Estus could offer.

Onto the next.

This one looked... weird. No words. Just a smudge of paint, like someone had dragged a wet brush across the scroll in a lazy half-circle.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."

[Item: Homeward]

[Description: Great miracle cast by advanced clerics. Return to the last bonfire rested at. Would normally link to one's homeland, only the curse of the Undead has distorted its power, redirecting casters to a bonfire. Or perhaps for Undead, this serves as home?]

Naruto blinked. "...So it's just a miracle version of a Homeward Bone?"

Actually... that sounded useful. Instant teleport back? Could come in handy in either world. Especially if he had no Bones left and a backpack full of souls.

Then he checked the requirements.

[Faith Requirement: 18]

[Spell Uses: 1]

Naruto physically recoiled like he'd been slapped. "Six levels in Faith?! For one cast?!" At this point, he was starting to lose faith in miracles, period.

With a sigh, he pulled out the final scroll.

[Item: Seek Guidance]

[Description: Miracle of clerics on an Undead more guidance from other worlds. Guidance facilitates communication between Undead, but their value varies greatly. A balance of faith and wisdom is required.]

He squinted.

"...So it's just a miracle version of the Orange Soapstone?"

Still, he checked the stats.

[Faith Requirement: 12]

[Spell Uses: 5]

Finally. Something he could actually use. The Soapstone messages had helped him once or twice before. If this miracle uncovered even more hidden messages, maybe he'd actually get some useful hints. Or at least a few chuckles.

He rolled the scroll up just as the elevator ground to a halt with a groan. The ruined hall of the Undead Church stretched before him. Naruto glanced up to the second floor, half-expecting the Channeler to be there, dancing.

Nothing.

Even the Berenike Knight was gone.

Guess those two were like the Black Knights. Naruto frowned, disappointed that the Channeler's ridiculous robe was no longer available to loot. He'd really wanted to try it on, if only to mess with Kakashi.

But his disappointment faded as something caught his eye. A faint orange glow shimmered near the cracked floor. A Soapstone message. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Blacksmith Ahead."

His eyes drifted to the Seek Guidance scroll still clutched in his hand. ...Wonder if this thing shows anything different.

He stepped forward, gripping the catalyst tightly. The scroll's text danced in his memory, and he recited the incantation with a reverence that surprised even him.

"O lost souls who walk between light and dark, let your wisdom pierce the veil of silence. By the grace of the divine, may your echoes guide my steps, your voices rise from the abyss, and your truths be laid bare before me."

The words left his lips like warm mist in the cold.

The vision this time was different.

Flickering, like candlelight in a storm, came visions that were rapid and disconnected, yet somehow linked. Not one... but many.

A woman in ragged white robes, her hands trembling as she traced a glowing symbol into the mud before collapsing, a hollowed shriek caught in her throat.

A knight, face half-melted from fire, dragging himself across blood-slick stone, his last act a prayer whispered into a cracked talisman before he died with his forehead pressed to it.

A young boy, no older than Konohamaru, hunched beneath a broken arch, drawing a symbol into the dirt with shaking fingers. His lips moved as if begging someone, anyone, not to take the same path he did.

An old cleric atop a cliff, wind howling around him, carving glowing lines into the rock with the very last of his strength. As he finished, he fell backward smiling.

Hundreds of them.

Dying, warning, praying.

Each one leaving behind a piece of themselves—not power from above, but something pulled from within.

Naruto's eyes snapped open, breath catching in his throat. His heart thudded, but it wasn't fear.

It was clarity.

The Seek Guidance miracle... it wasn't from the gods. It was a patchwork of will. Of desperation. Of hope. The final messages of the dead.

Naruto stood silent in the cathedral, the faint orange script on the stone glowing like dying embers.

Miracles don't have to come from gods, he realized as he remembered how Beatrice was able to use a miracle via magic. So then... "Can I make my own miracle?"

The thought struck him like lightning. If miracles could be born from human will—from soul, from memory, from meaning—then maybe... he could craft one himself. But how?

His thoughts shattered with a ping.

[Heavy Soul Arrow has been replaced by the attunement of the Seeking Guidance miracle.]

"Let's not get hung up on the advanced stuff," Naruto muttered. "Do what I can, for now."

He raised his hand and cast Seeking Guidance.

The air shimmered like hot air. The usual message "Blacksmith Ahead" remained. Then... shadows formed. Faint silhouettes, glowing like firelight on soot, flickered into existence. One knelt, pointing toward Andre's workshop.

"Blacksmith ahead."

Naruto blinked.

Then more appeared. One trudged toward the church doors, raising a spectral hand.

"Elevator ahead."

It walked two steps farther...

WHAM.

Naruto flinched as an illusion of a massive mace—just like the Berenike Knight's—crashed down from above, smashing the figure into glowing dust.

"Whoa..."

He let out a low whistle. Useful. But he frowned again.

"Still... one spell slot? For this?"

He could only attune a handful of spells at a time. Carrying around Heal, Soul Arrow, Homeward, and now Seek Guidance? He needed options, but the system didn't want to give them to him freely.

Then an idea sparked.

"Wait a sec... my clones can attune spells on their own, right? So what if I made a few in advance... sealed them into storage scrolls... each loaded with different spell setups?"

His grin returned.

"Emergency clone loadouts," he muttered. "One for healing, one for nuking, one for support... and they just pop out when I need 'em."

A workaround. Classic Naruto style. Until he had the attunement to manage all these himself... he'd outfox the system with good old Shadow Clone Jutsu. And it felt damn good to win at his own game.

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Naruto strode toward the bonfire, sitting down and stretching his legs with a relaxed sigh. "Hey, Andre!" he called.

From the forge below, Andre's gruff voice echoed up through the stone. "Well, you took your time!"

"Yeah, yeah. Ran an errand. Found Rickert."

"Did you now? That poor bastard still locked up in New Londo?"

"Yep. Some kind of cage. I could break him out, but... he wants to stay. Wouldn't say why."

"Hmph. Figures." A pause. Then louder: "So? You get the magic you were after?"

"Yeah. Picked up some soul sorcery. Still learning."

Andre gave a short, booming laugh. "A knight tossin' spells. Sounds like an Astoran noble's daydream."

"Is it really that rare?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Well, I'm not a knight yet."

"Damn right. You're a squire. Oscar's squire, no less. Don't start givin' yourself titles."

Naruto fell quiet for a moment. His fingers traced the hilt of his sword. "...Yeah. Squire of Oscar." He let that settle, then pushed the thought away. "So. Want to keep training me?"

"Weren't you going home?"

"I am but I'll leave behind clones to keep practicing with you."

"Good. Maybe they'll finally craft a functional smoking pipe."

Naruto blushed. "I'm getting better, okay?!"

Andre just grunted.

Naruto stood, ready to use the Ring of Sacrifice and return home. But then his eyes drifted to the towering silhouette of the Grand Fortress.

He had spotted Siegmeyer from a distance, the familiar round bulk of his Catarina armor standing motionless in front of the great iron gates of Sen's Fortress. The knight hadn't moved an inch since Naruto had last seen him, still lost in thought, still waiting. The world had shifted, but Siegmeyer had not.

A man of patience or a man trapped by indecision?

Naruto exhaled and stepped forward. "Sir Siegmeyer," he called out, straightening his posture.

The older knight blinked and turned, as though waking from a daydream he'd been lost in for hours. "Oh! Hello there, young squire," he boomed, his voice as jovial as ever.

Naruto glanced at the towering gate behind him. Still shut tight, still unmoving. "...I see you're still waiting for the gates to open."

Siegmeyer let out a hearty laugh, deep and booming. "Just goes to show good things come to those who wait! Hah hah hah!"

Naruto didn't smile. Not this time. In the time Siegmeyer had waited, Naruto had fought his way through the Undead Church, faced down the Moonlight Butterfly, descended into cursed depths, learned soul sorcery, boxing and blacksmith, healed a crippled girl, and slain an Undead Dragon. Fifteen days of hardship.

And this man had just... waited.

For a flicker of a second, frustration churned beneath Naruto's calm. But he buried it. Siegmeyer had earned his respect. He wouldn't let impatience sour that.

He stood tall, like a knight-in-training should. "Sir Siegmeyer," Naruto said, tone level, "may I ask you a question?"

The older knight perked up. "Oh? Ask away! I could use the company."

"Are knights allowed to use magic?"

Siegmeyer paused as Naruto noticed the subtle shift—the tension behind the armor, the way the knight's jovial presence grew guarded. "...It's complicated," Siegmeyer said finally.

Naruto waited.

"A knight can use magic," he said, slowly, carefully, "but to do so is to stray from tradition. It would be... frowned upon. A knight who practices magic risks being cast out by his peers."

Naruto frowned but didn't care, as he had lived his entire life as the outcast. He had no noble title, no true homeland. He wasn't even officially a knight.

"Why?"

"To answer that, you must know what knights were made for. We were created to fight the everlasting dragons. To slay a dragon was to prove one's valor and honor."

Naruto's thoughts drifted to the Undead Dragon and the scale he had taken from its corpse. The Dragon Crest Shield resting in his inventory. That knight had hunted the beast. And now...

"What happens when a squire kills a dragon?" Naruto asked.

Siegmeyer paused. "That squire would bring great honor to their master. And in many cases... would be knighted."

Naruto's lips parted then curved into a smile. That meant... he had brought honor to Oscar. But the warmth of that thought flickered. Can I call myself a knight now? Or would Oscar even approve of what I've become?

Siegmeyer continued, unaware of Naruto's spiraling thoughts. "But as for magic," he said, "it is distrusted for a reason. Because the one who first unlocked the secrets of sorcery was not a man. He was a dragon."

Naruto felt his gut tighten. "Seath the Scaleless."

"Indeed. A dragon who cast down his own kind, who sought knowledge above all else. He taught humans how to harness the soul, how to shape the world with thought and will."

"But he was still a dragon," Naruto said.

"And the knights... were made to kill dragons."

Naruto's eyes lowered. "So they couldn't accept that their greatest enemy became their greatest teacher."

Siegmeyer nodded. "Pride. Tradition. Fear. Take your pick."

"...Then why isn't magic forbidden?"

The older knight chuckled. "Because no matter how much knights protest... there's always another war. Another dragon. Another foe that demands more than steel can offer."

Naruto exhaled slowly. "So they turn to the thing they hate."

"They always have."

For a moment, they stood in silence. Then Naruto spoke, quieter now. "...If I keep using magic, I'll never be a true knight, will I?"

"Being a knight isn't about tradition. It's not about sword or magic. It's about protecting what matters. If magic helps you do that then use it, and hold your head high."

Naruto looked at him, genuinely startled. "Sir Siegmeyer..."

"Hah!" The knight laughed again, but there was no mockery in it. Only warmth. "Don't let the ghosts of old honor stop you from forging your own."

Naruto smiled, small but sincere. Then he turned toward the path leading home. "Goodbye, Sir Siegmeyer."

"Goodbye, knight Naruto."

Naruto paused mid-step. He glanced back. "I'm just a squire, Sir."

Siegmeyer's laugh echoed gently through the air. "The reinforced drake sword on your hip begs to differ."

"I... don't know if I'm ready to be a knight."

"Well, my dear friend, no one is ever truly ready for anything worth becoming. Readiness is a myth comfort tells itself before running."

"Can I really do this?"

"Surprisingly, you already have," Siegmeyer replied. "You stood for the weak. You bled for strangers. You raised your sword against evil not for glory but because it needed to be done."

Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it again. He took a breath and began to walk again.

Behind him, Siegmeyer raised his voice one last time. "May your sword be swift, your heart be steady, and your purpose ever your own. Walk forward, Naruto Uzumaki... for the world does not wait."

Naruto didn't turn back. He just walked.

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word Chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 71, since that's where this Chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!