Nia: "so coming this way was a big waste of time..." she says dropping to her knees.
Nia was overcome with despair upon grasping the reality of the situation. Everything they just did was pointless.
Ligma: "If it makes you feel better at least I got something out of this." She says wiping herself of the black biomass and her own blood.
Nia: "..."
Waifu: "well maybe this wasn't for nothing we still never checked out that caged door from before."
Ligma: "Hey good thinking Waifu I all but forgot about that door." she says scratching the back of her head while smiling.
Nia: "Let's just go." she follows Waifu reluctantly.
The trio make their way past the 2 large hollows from before, it would seem that the hollows are starting to heal lost body parts. They are still dead but yet their body refuses to give up.
The trio arrives at the caged door. Waifu walks up to the door and pulls, but the door doesn't budge.
Waifu: "The door doesn't open from this side." she says looking over her shoulder.
Nia: "... What do you mean it doesn't open from this side, are you stupid or something... don't answer that."
Ligma: "Well in any case it looks like this door doesn't open." she says trying to open the door herself.
Nia: "ugh, just my luck, let's just go back to the bonfire." she says storming off.
Ligma: "let's just go back to the bonfire for now Waifu." she starts to walk after Nia.
Waifu: "Ok." she follows closely behind.
So, the trio make their way back to the bonfire on the tower.
When they make it back the trio collectively sit at the bonfire to recover their strength.
Ligma: "look at the bright side, we will never have to go over there again." she says looking at Nia.
Nia looks at the bonfire but seems to acknowledge Ligma's words.
Waifu: "Sorry to interject but what are hollows." she says lost in the bonfire's warmth.
The trio go silent for a second a light breeze covering the silence.
Ligma: "Hollows are Just people... People just like you and me." she says gazing into the bonfire.
Waifu: "So we could go hollow at any time, and we won't know!?" she says quickly looking at Ligma.
Nia: "No not exactly for someone to go hollow you must fall into despair... and then die." she says looking at Waifu.
Waifu: "But I thought when you die you go to heaven or stop existing." she turns her gaze to the bonfire again.
Ligma: "No that would be a mercy, I've seen many fellow clerics go hollow. Some slowly fall into their hollowing and some turn after their first death. Sooner or later hollowing come for us all." she keeps her gaze fixed to the bonfire.
The trio falls silent, the wind halts unmasking the silence.
Waifu: "Well I don't care; I consider you guys my friends, and I refuse to let you guys go hollow!" She says standing up.
Waifu: "If you need a reason not to go hollow let that reason be protecting me, as you saw before I am a very squishy sorcerer, and I can't take a hit."
Nia: "Very well then I will also be counting on you to protect me from the back line." she says now standing up.
Ligma: "I brought you back from the brink of death before, so I have no problem with this arrangement." she says now standing up.
The trio look at each other with determination, the light of the bonfire surrounding them.
...
Then all of a sudden, the bonfires light dims almost like its hiding from something.
Nia: "Thats new." she says looking down in confusion.
Then all of a sudden, the trio gets a chill that runs up their spines.
???: "IT'S BEEN SOOOO LONG HA HA HA HA!"
A voice is heard from the top of the stairs were Nia once descended, and Waifu once fell from.
???: "A WHOLE NEW WORLD FOR ME TO PILLAGE! I ALMOST CAN'T BELIVE IT MYSELF."
The trio looks up to see who is talking but the dark sun obscures him, they could only make out a dark silhouette of a man clad is some type of armor.
Nia: "Who the hell are you!" Nia says preparing for battle.
The figure jumps down from the top of the stairs yet seems to land unhurt.
Upon seeing this Waifu and Ligma get ready for a fight.
???: "Who am I? Now that's an interesting question!... I'm the man who will turn you hollow."
Now with a better view of the stranger he is clad in armor made of pure stone, something like that couldn't be worn by a normal person. He has a strange green shield on his back, and no visible weapon.
Nia: "Enough talk if you came here to kill us just go ahead and try." she says now forming a fire ball in her hand.
???: "Oh, I see there's something special about that hand of yours, my hand is also special, why don't you come here and see what I can do with it." He says walking towards them with his arms stretched out.
Waifu: "HEAVY SOUL ARROW!"
A flash of light blue light strikes the stranger in the face causing a cloud of blue smoke to appear on impact.
???: "Did you really think that would be enough... TO KILL ME?!" he says now starting to run at the trio.
Nia: "Stay behind me!" she says with her eyes locked onto the man.
Nia looks at the stranger running at them unsure of how to continue. Before Nia could think of a plan the stranger was in her face so trying to grab her by the neck.
So, Nia attempted to throw the fire ball while backing up. She was able to hit him directly in the side, but it had no effect, so the stranger grabbed her by the neck
And before she knew what was happening the stranger started to lift her up with one hand.
Nia grabbed his arm and tried to kick him, but he remained as still as a stone statue.
The man then Slammed Nia into the ground headfirst.
As Nia started to regain her vision from being slammed, she felt something drain from her. He was draining her life force threw his hand.
Ligma: "FORCE."
A white light exploded from Ligma that made the man stumble back and fall down.
Nia: "Couldn't you do that sooner!?" she said trying to stand up.
Ligma: "sorry, but magic doesn't faze him, and fire has no effect, we have no way to kill this guy, at least not in the normal way." she says helping her up.
Nia: "So were fucked?" she says looking at Ligma.
Ligma: "Yea probably but if nothing else we could try to by some time if we jump him." she says, her eyes trained on the stranger.
???: "Do you know how long it's been since I've been knocked down, it's been far too long. I am going to enjoy this."
Waifu: "HEAVY SOUL ARROW!"
Waifu launches another spell at him and once again it has no effect.
???: "Thats starting to get annoying." he says locking eyes with Waifu who is behind Nia and Ligma.
Nia: "I got a plan. we will run away to the stairs to the left next to the bonfire."
Ligma: "Are you crazy! we don't know what's over there! We could have Hollows and this guy to deal with."
Nia: "Just trust me."
Ligma looks at Nia with a confused panic in her eyes but nods her head regardless.
So, Nia and Ligma run back towards Waifu.
Waifu: "I assume you guys' ha-" she is cut off as Ligma picks he up and throws her over her shoulder.
Waifu: "What are you doing!" she says squirming to get free.
Ligma: "stop moving Nia has a plan."
the stranger sees this and starts to run after them going about the same speed as they run down the stairs on the left side of the tower.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs the layout of the wall was similar to the other side but there was another staircase on the tower across from them that went down into the tower as well as one that led to the top to the left of that one.
As for hollows there are no big hollows but plenty of praying hollows and one sword hollow that notices them to the right.
Ligma: "He's right behind us where do we go?" she says now running past the praying hollows.
Nia: "Head for the staircase going down into the tower!" she says dodging and pushing the sword hollow out the way.
???: "Thats your plan! Hahahahahaha, don't you know, Creatures of this world can't touch me!"
Nia heard this as she made it to the top of the staircase. The sword hollow started to close in and while they were distracted a hollow holding a lantern and a broken sword that was down the staircase they were about to go down let out a horrible scream.
The scream woke up a couple of the praying hollows and they started to walk to the trio.
???: "Do i even need to do anything at this point, I'll just let the hollows eat you alive and if you are not hollowed after that I'll be back to kill you again, HAHAHAHAHA." He says surging his shoulders.
Waifu: "man this doesn't look good; Times like these is when I get hungry." her stomach growls.
Ligma: "now is not the time for food." she says trying to think of a way out of this.
As Ligma starts to panic and Nia starts to get ready to take all the hollows on at once Waifu reaches into one of her pockets and pulls out a strange seed.
Waifu: (in her head) "I found this seed at the shrine glad I saved it for when I was hungry."
And with one bite Waifu ate the seed.
As soon as she swallowed it all the hollows stopped and turned around facing the stranger.
???: "The hell?... No, you couldn't have got one."
The hollows start to surround the stranger as he gets ready to fight them.
???: "fine if I have to kill a couple of weakling hollows to get to you, I will do just that!"
The stranger throws his first punch and a hollow.
HEAVY SOUL ARROW
FIRE BALL
The stranger is suddenly hit by a mixture of fire and magic. The blast has him step back and grab his helmet where it hit.
From the back Nia take advantage of this new development and start to spam their spells at the stranger.
???: "DAMN YOU!"
left with resistance the hollows overwhelm the stranger and knock him to the ground; he is helpless as multiple hollows hold down all of his limbs and start to rip off his armor
???: "DAMN IT, I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS!... AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The hollows tear into his flesh and start to eat him alive.
???: "I WILL NOT HOLLOW FROM THIS, I WILL BE BACK AS LONG AS YOU DRAW BREATH I HAVE MY P-" The sword hollow drives its sword into the eye hole in his helmet killing him.
All the hollows that were in the area are now feeding on his corps.
The trio Fall silent watching the event unfold.
Nia: "we should kill the hollows while they are still distracted." she says grabbing her axe.
Ligma: "Right."
Waifu: "..."
So, the tiro easily dispatches of the hollows one by one as they feed on the stranger's body.
The hollows did not seem to care that the hollows next to them were dying they just kept eating.
After only a minute the hollows were no more but something was off the stranger's armor was missing as well as his corps. The hollows couldn't have eaten the bones so where did it go? Perhaps the trio will never know.