I awoke with a start, scrambling to my feet and gazing around for enemies. I found naught but sand and the ruined stone of an old temple. In the center of the temple, a bonfire. And in the distance, the Jungles of the Ara. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

So... I had died my second death, then. And it was every bit as horrifying as the last, if not more so. I tried to shake myself, to brush off the memory of that Hollowed Aran rending me in two so easily, eating my innards... I will admit it was hard. Hard enough that I found myself shaking somewhat. I shook my head and tightened my grip on my blade.

I could not let this break me. It was but one death among likely hundreds more in the future, for an Undead's fate is to die, again and again, until they go Hollow. This was nothing. If I let this shatter me here, all I had done up until now was for naught.

I would not let that come to pass.

Thus, I marched forward into the jungle again. Once I reached the stairway, I began to tread more carefully, listening for any signs of the Hollowed Aran. I heard nothing but the sound of the wind's cries as it howled through the chasm. My body tensed up as I stepped out onto the bridge. Then, I finally heard the sound of claws scuttling on stone, and rolled out of the way of a body slam, coming back to my feet to be met with the sight of the Aran woman once more.

I raised my shield just in time for her claw to rake against it, along with her other arms, the Hollow trying to wrench it from my grip. I grunted and gave her a swift kick to her gut, knocking her back. She screeched at me, but I held my ground.

She then whirled around, her scorpion-like tail poised to swipe me off the edge of the bridge. In response, I blocked the blow, then, with a cry of effort, cut off the appendage. Blackish-yellow blood spewed forth as the tail collapsed and flailed about, the Aran screaming in pain at the loss of her tail.

She was writhing in pain on the stone of the bridge, and, taking my chance, I charged her, shield raised and boots clamoring upon the ancient hewn stone. I slammed my shield into her, pushing her to her back. She flailed, a stray set of talons cutting into my armor and drawing blood.

I let out a brief cry of pain, then continued my assault through her maddened swipes with renewed fervor, thrusting my steel blade through her heart. She screeched in pain once more, the unholy sound ringing in my ears, before she finally collapsed and went limp. I pulled my blade out as her accumulated souls flew into me.

I ignored the feeling of adrenaline and bloodlust from it, taking out my Estus Flask and sipping it, my wounds healing near instantly. The same, however, could not be said for my armor. I checked it over, noting that while she had made a few gashes, it wasn't terribly compromising.

I looked to her body, specifically her rotting face. "...I'll end this curse, ma'am. I promise." With that, I began my trek across the bridge to the gate tower that lead to the city proper.

It took me some time, as there were more Aran hiding and scuttling around, thus earning my armor a few more gashes, but the wounds were healed quick enough with my Estus. Regardless, I reached the intricate gate tower, statues of Aran knights and warriors and priests lining it's outer, marred yet still glorious walls of what I could tell was quartzite.

As I pushed the gates open and walked inside, I quickly noted a bonfire in the center of what used to be a checkpoint, likely for visitors to the country before the Curse.

The bonfire, however, had someone sitting by it. They were relatively smaller than me from what I could tell, and wore splintmail armor of what must have been black iron, but dagger sheathes littered it, lined up on straps across their torso. They were stout, as well, and a set of yatagans were sheathed on their back. They also had black fur and dog ears.

They seemed to hear my approach, and turned to look. I could tell once they did that they were a Diamond Dog, and female at that, with a black mask covering their muzzle. She stood up.

"Who are you?" she asked, voice rough yet still like silk, an undertone of an accent to it as well.

I bowed. "Sir Octavius, Knight-Scholar and Head of the Order of Thornclad Eyes." I resumed my earlier position. "And you, miss?"

"...Mori, of the Kingdom of Dogs," she responded, slowly removing her hand from one of the many knives she held on her person.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mori," I replied with a smile under my helm.

"Same to you," she responded. She sat back down by the bonfire. "You can sit if you want," she offered. "Just don't try anything, and we'll get along fine."

I nodded, walking over and sitting across from her. I placed my blade and my shield next to me, then stared into the flames. We sat in silence, the only noise resounding throughout the chamber being the humming of the bonfire, along with the crackling of the eternal flames that made it up.

In time, the gashes in my armor healed with the strange magicks of the bonfire, the golden vapor dissipating from it and retreating back to the flames that birthed them. More quiet contemplation followed, until Miss Mori spoke up, looking to me with her sky-blue eyes.

"So, what's your story? You must have come here for a reason, right?" she asked.

I nodded. "I came here because it was the next stop on my way to Equestria." She hummed in response. "And what of you? What brings you out here, to the city of Arath?" I gestured to the walls around us.

She paused for a moment, her gaze lowering from mine to look at the dancing flames. "...Just looking for something I've lost."

My brow raised in curiosity. "What is it that you've lost, then?"

"A symbol of my rank. It's precious to me, to say the least," she replied. I hummed, musing on what she'd told me.

"Well, mayhaps I can help you find it," I offered. Her head immediately shot towards me.

"Really? You'd do that? Even for an Unkindled Dog like me?" she asked, eyes wide. I smiled under my helm and nodded.

"Of course. It's a knight's duty to help those in need," I answered easily. I could see her eyes widen more, before the outline of a smile was seen through her mask.

"Thank you, truly. I've not been witness to such kindness for a long time, much less offered it," she said, before holding out a paw towards me. I smiled and shook it.

"Always glad to help, Miss Mori," I responded.

"Well, now with you by my side, we're sure to make it through this city with ease," Miss Mori entertained.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" I asked, standing up. She smiled and stood up as well.

"Indeed. Let us be on our way, then," she replied.

With that, we began our journey together through the city of Arath. With any luck, I might find clues to my past here, as well. I certainly hoped so. And in the process we might just find Miss Mori's lost symbol. I smiled under my helm as we walked down the stairwell of the tower to the city below.

I had a good feeling about this.

EDIT: Fixed some grammatical errors.

Well, the long awaited chapter is finally done, after multiple rewrites and a lot of contemplation, it is done. I hope you all enjoyed it to at least some degree, because I know I did. Anyways...

Thanks for reading!

-Timeless Celestial