Hey, it's been too long, once again.

Since I've apologized so much, I don't want to do it too much more, because I know that can definitely feel ingenuine. So, rather, I just want you to enjoy this chapter.

It's a bit smaller than most of the other chapters, but I felt like I needed to upload something, even if it was small.

I posted this on my account, but in case you don't follow me, I'm gonna essentially be done with fanfiction after this story is finished. 

As such, I'm trying to send it off properly.

All of that can be talked about later, though.

For now, just enjoy this chapter!

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Malenia was the twin sister of Miquella, who took on the gallant task of protecting Miquella with her life. She became his Blade, and halted any who would cross his path. His goals were her goals, and without him, she'd have no direction in her life.

For as long as she remembered, she was there for Miquella. And as long as she remembered, Miquella was there for her.

So, Mohg's words were absolutely enraging.

No, his words, his outrageous claims, were infuriating.

"Malenia, mine own sister, hear my words. You have been under Miquella's Charm for your entire life," Mohg spoke quietly, his voice shaking. It was to be expected, when Malenia's fury was billowing off her body in waves.

If Mohg wasn't already dead, Malenia would've killed him. In fact, she still felt like it would be satisfying to do, regardless of Mohg's state of being alive or dead.

(Y/n) held a gentle hand up to Malenia, putting an immediate dampener on her rage. "Malenia, just... don't do that, yet. Mohg, Miquella's Charm is strong, yes, but how could his Charm work on you, a demigod? No, how would it even work on Malenia?"

Mohg lifted his head, meeting (Y/n)'s eyes steadily.

Would he ever be able to meet Malenia's? Probably not. Gladly, he didn't need to.

Mohg spoke slowly. "Miquella is more than just a demigod; he is an Empyrean. Perhaps his Charm is akin to his sister's Scarlet Rot, capable of affecting even us other demigods."

The logic wasn't infallible, but it also wasn't horribly flawed.

(Y/n) bobbed his head back and forth.

On one side, just blowing Malenia's intense life-long dedication down to "You've been manipulated by your sibling" is just asking for another fight to break out, perhaps even more intense than when she fought as the Sovereign of Rot.

Would he win? Absolutely.

But that wouldn't mean there'd be no consequences for such serious accusations.

On the other side, what if Mohg was right?

If Malenia's intense dedication to Miquella was the result of his Charm, even now, her choices were far from her own. If (Y/n) truly wanted to help Malenia, giving her back her free will would be an extremely important step.

Miquella's personality was, unfortunately, mostly dubious for (Y/n). He hoped Miquella was a good demigod, but... considering the fact that the followers of Miquella were so ready to end their lives in Elphael, he doubted it.

Miquella's ability to Charm individuals was something (Y/n) didn't know much about, but with the knowledge that Miquella could Charm even Mohg, perhaps it would be a valid worry that Malenia was also under the Charm.

'Even the thought of calling any of the demigods blatantly good would probably be a long shot,' (Y/n) silently noted. 'Except, maybe Godwyn? He seemed like a pretty good fellow, all around.'

Getting back on task, (Y/n) found himself at a crossroads. On one side, he would be challenging Miquella, and thus, Malenia. On the other side, he'd be walking into something beyond himself and trusting blindly.

(Y/n) let out a little sigh.

There was a flash of movement that no one could follow. An instant later, Malenia was on the ground, and (Y/n) was atop her, his blade to her throat.

His eyes flashed with a cold glint. "Don't fight."

Malenia was stunned into silence. In her life, there was never a time where she had been so easily outclassed, and yet here (Y/n) had gotten the better of her without breaking a sweat. She didn't move, keeping her head firmly on her shoulders.

She spoke carefully, "You'd trust that... bastard's words?"

(Y/n) didn't respond.

The energy of Destined Death spilled from his body and caused Malenia to shiver unconsciously. His free hand laid on her head, his energy spilling over her entire body.

(Y/n) was searching for any abnormalities. While he'd never encountered Miquella's Charm in his original life, it still was the power of a demigod, and even if it was within Malenia's body, it would feel slightly different than she did.

After several tense minutes where only breathing could be heard in the fallen dynasty, (Y/n) tensed.

Within Malenia's heart, just underneath Miquella's Needle, a small, insignificant cloud of energy lingered. Just like the cloud that (Y/n) encountered the clones who attacked his Shadows that he kept on Millicent.

He focused, and then, with a swift, harmless movement, it was gone.

Malenia gasped. Suddenly, her eyes looked clear. (Y/n) couldn't have known before, but the Charm on Malenia was there for so long it was more of her character than he or she could've expected.

Imagine someone being your partner for your entire life, and then, someway, somehow, you learned that it could've all been fake. It would hurt, right?

It hurt Malenia, too.

Silent tears fell from her clear eyes. There were no words she could say, nothing she could even think. Her life was, in many ways, suddenly put into question.

(Y/n) rose, and Malenia just stayed on the ground, looking up to the void above the Mohgwyn Dynasty.

(Y/n) sighed, glancing down to Mohg. "Well, that unfortunately answers that question. Okay, so Miquella Charmed you. It was probably a more effective Charm than Malenia's, too."

In face of the new information, (Y/n) felt a little bad with how he humiliated Mohg in his final moments. Not like, that bad, Mohg still was the Lord of Blood who encouraged Varre to kill Salem, but hey, at least the whole kidnapper part was wrong.

"Then the next question is: Why would Miquella get you to kidnap him and interrupt his metamorphosis?"

It wasn't Mohg who responded. "It's because... this is part of his metamorphosis. He had to be detached from his soul in order to become a God. And I... helped him do it."

(Y/n) glanced back to Malenia, whose expression had soured. She continued, keeping her gaze fixed upward, "The battle of the Caelid Wilds, the battle between Radahn and I, it began because he refused to be Miquella's Consort. And I was the one who ruined him with the Scarlet Aeonia. Because... Miquella needed his soul."

(Y/n) frowned. "But then I interrupted the process, didn't I?"

Malenia looked to (Y/n), shaking her head. Her reddened eyes looked clear, determined. "No, you didn't. Killing Radahn just sent him exactly where Miquella wanted him, but... where was it...? I can't remember where Miquella was trying to bring Radahn's soul to."

(Y/n) frowned deeper. "But I have his soul. He's one of my Shadows."

Malenia shook her head once again. "When the Scarlet Aeonia bloomed, Radahn was split in two. One was the Radahn you fought, that was blessed by the Greater Will, but the other Radahn remained asleep, just waiting to be released by the death of his body. Meaning, Miquella's plans are still happening, even now."

(Y/n) scratched the side of his head. "Huh. Well, that's fun."

Adding Miquella into the mix of the other Outer Gods just made (Y/n)'s head hurt.

There was still no sign of several of his allies, the Greater Will's Vassal (presumably Marika) hadn't shown herself, and the Frenzied Flame really had been keeping to himself.

Which also meant, Shabriri, Vyke, and Kale were nowhere to be found.

Furthermore, while (Y/n)'s power hadn't yet stagnated, he felt like he'd be soon hitting a point where it could be. He was trying to build up his own power, yes, but also, he was trying to build up the power of his allies, so he felt like he was beginning to spread himself thin.

His path forward looked extremely vague.

At first, he was just following his original path, with slightly tougher battles. But then Sellen's condition worsened, and he needed to stop the Formless Mother to make sure she could stay alive. But before that point, they needed Malenia.

Now Sellen was good, Malenia was acquired, and the Formless Mother was stopped. But it wasn't quite as simple as it was before to choose what his next steps were. Or was it?

(Y/n) turned his attention to Mohg, "Mohg, do you know where Miquella is?"

Mohg nodded. "I do. Miquella is within...."

Mohg's voice trailed off. (Y/n) frowned, and Mohg's expression suddenly dropped. "I... I can't remember."

(Y/n) found himself frowning quite often in this conversation. Two demigods conveniently forgetting information he needed wasn't typically very likely. Three, however, would be undeniable.

"Stay here," He told them, before he vanished, falling into his shadow. When he reappeared, he was in the Kingdom of Shadows, at its peak.

The Kingdom was coming together incredibly, and in a way, it could be even better than Elphael or Leyndell. Elphael was founded on the premise that everyone could be equal, Leyndell was founded on the premise that the Golden Order was supreme, but the Kingdom of Shadows was founded on the premise that within death, differences hardly mattered.

It was a minute difference, but a difference, nonetheless.

As soon as he reappeared, all his Shadows noticed. But he only called out to one of them.

"Igris," he spoke quietly. He didn't need to yell, because the strongest Shadow he had could hear him regardless.

She appeared by his side, kneeling. "Yes, my Liege?"

"Do you know where Miquella went? Seeing as you're the Leader of the Monsters, I figured you may have an idea that I don't," (Y/n) shrugged.

Because Melina was still on her journey to the Mountaintop of the Giants, (Y/n) decided that Igris, the Outer God of Balance, would be a better chance of learning what exactly happened to Miquella.

Igris hesitated, but after a moment, spoke. "My Liege, long ago, I could watch over any monster within the Lands Between. However, near the time when Marika rose to power, I lost a section of my sight. The bigmouth imps, and the advanced demi-humans, were two of the races that I lost. And they... were in the Land of Shadows."

(Y/n) felt like he'd forgotten something, and yet couldn't remember it, no matter what he tried.

"M-My Liege, what is it?" Igris stammered, worried that she made (Y/n) mad. His scowl was one he hadn't realized was there until Igris reacted to it.

(Y/n) waved a hand, relaxing his face. "No, no, I just... feel like I should remember the Land of Shadows, but... I just... don't."

Without taking an extra second to waste, (Y/n) did the exact same thing as he'd done to Malenia on himself, becoming extremely aware of the inside of his body.

And to his surprise, there was the smallest bit of Golden Energy within him. He snuffed it out in an instant, surprised that the Greater Will still had power over him.

And as soon as he did, he remembered.

"The Land of Shadows... damn it...! That's where they are!"

Igris looked frazzled by (Y/n)'s sudden change of pace. One second, he was frustrated, and the next he was yelling like it was the end of the world. Despite this, she remained calm, waiting for his orders.

"What may I do for you, my Liege?"

(Y/n) grinned. "Our journey is coming to a close, Igris! We need to go around the Lands Between and gather every single Shadow we can. Our final fight will not happen here, it'll happen in the Land of Shadows!"

The beginning of the end had quickly, and suddenly, arrived.

The final fight among the demigods and the Outer Gods would happen in the Shadow of the Erdtree. Now, it was time to finish this long fight up.