[Elden Ring: My Ending] Chapter 52

Konstantin quickly realized why Ranni had been so afraid of the Baleful Shadow: it was different. Different in every way.

Every smallest detail screamed of unnaturalness, from the space-warping image drenched in bloody-black hues, to the strange force emanating from it.

An unnatural, cold power, somehow reminiscent of casuals' strength, yet vastly surpassing it.

Kosta didn't expect to feel the uncanny-valley effect tugging at the edge of his consciousness just by meeting the cold, lifeless gaze of Blaidd's reused asset.

Asset reuses… They had always angered and unsettled players. But what Kosta saw now would have incited something far beyond mere fear or frustration.

In anyone else, that is.

“Bloodborne gave me way more than I thought,” the man stated flatly.

He’d seen worse shit, anyway.

"Be careful!" The demigoddess tried to sound confident, pressing herself closer against the man's head. "It may look weak, but it's not."

The moon had been just as cold and alien to the world, yet for Ranni it felt familiar. Something comforting, despite its chilling nature. But the Baleful Shadow clearly lacked those feelings: it radiated rage, a fury from the deepest cosmic Abyss(1). Simply standing before this creature and enduring its hostility was already a heroic deed.

"This will be interesting," Kosta murmured. "Stay hidden for now."

The "hiding place" turned out to be Kosta’s inventory—a spot understood only by him, to which the doll carrying Ranni's essence barely had time to feel surprised before disappearing inside.

“How peculiar…”

The demigoddess’s deep voice echoed pleasantly in his consciousness. Once inside the relatively safe space, untouched by the creature’s cosmic aura, she immediately felt calmer.

No—more than that. She felt something odd. A warmth.

Soothing. Encouraging.

Ranni couldn't recall the last time she'd experienced something like this—a feeling of absolute trust, the certainty that she could pass on some, if not all, of her burdens to someone else. Fully confident that everything would be alright.

Someone who wouldn’t betray her.
Someone who wouldn’t use her.
Someone who wouldn’t disappoint her.
Someone who wouldn’t let her down.

It was dangerously tempting.

Adjusting to the strange subspace, she directed her attention toward the Shadow:

“O Shadow, thou'rt the last. Tell the Two Fingers, That Ranni the Witch cometh, to rend thy flesh. With a fateful wound, ne'er to heal.”

Ranni, deeply satisfied by finally delivering this long-rehearsed line, puffed herself up proudly. Truthfully, it didn’t even matter to her if the Shadow had heard it.

Konstantin, choosing not to remark upon the dreamy waifu’s clearly practiced speech, swiftly understood why the Baleful Shadow was such a fearsome opponent: it restricted him. Even though he didn't sense overwhelming power from the creature, the area around it, warped by an alien force, subtly changed Kosta’s perception.

Or perhaps it wasn’t his perception, but the very world itself.

If casualness had levels, then the Shadow's casualness stood above that of mages, bending even the world's laws to its whim. Konstantin himself had been unconsciously doing something similar.

And the man could feel it. He felt something genuinely trying to restrain him—and partially succeeding—despite his own strength resisting it.

The Soulslike superfan’s heart began beating faster.

From her position, Ranni saw clearly how Konstantin's gaze sparked with excitement, how his face twisted into a faintly crazed smile.

She knew he loved battles. Loved tough fights, ones that could truly test him.

Challenges.

Yet, having absorbed so many runes—including Great ones—he hardly had worthy opponents left in this world.

Thus, it wasn't surprising at all that a warrior and sorcerer so obsessed with combat was thrilled to encounter someone capable of posing a threat. Even a minimal one.

Ranni couldn’t truly comprehend this, but she could accept it. Moreover, from her current vantage point, she was gifted with the unique opportunity to witness something she'd once only read about:

A brave knight rescuing the princess whose ring he'd brazenly stolen right under her nose! A knight who dared to reach for her foot! That is—her fate!

Kosta frowned slightly: at the edge of his consciousness, he thought he had heard… something. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, but judging by its tone, the waifu wasn't exactly suffering.

However, he didn't have much time to ponder it further.

Konstantin and the Baleful Shadow didn't waste much time exchanging glances—the Shadow lunged first.

An unnaturally swift dash, smearing space, completely ignoring inertia, followed by a sweeping strike of its massive bloody-black sword.

Konstantin, completely unsurprised by the attack, leaped aside thoughtfully, gauging his own sensations.

“The invincibility frames. They are almost gone.”

He had two options: either unleash his own force to seize control of the encounter, or retreat to a safe distance beyond the Shadow's influence, restoring his invincibility frames entirely.

But… why would he?

A broad grin appeared on the man’s face, a sword materializing in his hand. Kosta met the Shadow’s empty gaze once more, bowing respectfully and deeply, greeting his opponent with genuine joy.

The Shadow, completely indifferent to the Tarnished's gesture, charged again.

A swing.

A roll.

A strike!

Konstantin leaped away from the spinning Shadow, eyeing the chunk of metal remaining in his hand—now reduced to a stub.

Ordinary iron, even backed by Kosta’s inhuman strength, couldn't harm a being born from the cosmic depths.

He tossed away the broken remnant, drawing out Melina’s gift instead. He didn't know at which stage his custom sword currently was, nor had he yet collected all the necessary smithing stones—but for now, what he had would suffice.

Now it was Konstantin's turn to attack.

Ranni had never been interested in close combat. An astrologer, a princess, a demigoddess, and an Empyrean—considering her position, melee was fundamentally incompatible with her.

Yet, that didn't prevent her from appreciating the duel unfolding between the one who sought to protect her, and the creature determined to harm her.

At first glance, their battle seemed like that between two ordinary warriors. Sure, immensely strong, impossibly swift, agile (though, admittedly, that applied mostly to her Tarnished rather than the slightly clumsier Shadow), but lacking any sense of grandiose scale…

Their blows and weapon swings didn't reshape the landscape, their dodges left no craters in the earth. Simply a fight between strong yet ordinary warriors.

Wide swings, thrusts, occasional leaps, evasions, and rolls. What exactly was so terrifying about it that even she—one of the most powerful sorceresses ever known to the Lands Between—had never witnessed before?

Perhaps only her vantage point allowed her to grasp how horrifying this clash truly was.

Reality's very laws. They shifted—subtly but constantly. Each strike, every movement by the Tarnished and the Baleful Shadow, affected… everything. Reality itself repeatedly adjusted before her eyes, reacting to these seemingly ordinary attacks.

The giant sword, similar to the one wielded by her adopted brother, somehow reached Konstantin. It shouldn't have reached him, yet it did. Not always, and yet—on the Tarnished’s body, despite clearly avoiding all attacks, wounds somehow appeared, healing with considerable difficulty.

Yet the Tarnished kept pace: his glowing demigod-strengthened club left dents on the cosmic being’s body. Ranni knew precisely how powerful Kosta’s blows were and what consequences should've followed, yet this cosmic entity apparently had different ideas.

The Shadow’s body seemed unwilling to accept damage. At times, it succeeded in rejecting it, but never completely.

With every passing moment, both warriors accumulated more and more wounds.

Ranni didn't know how long the battle lasted. She knew it wasn't very long, yet to her, each second stretched into eternity—an eternity that ended as abruptly as it had begun.

A blow!

With another particularly heavy strike from the club smashing into its face, the Shadow staggered, finally showing signs of weakness. Konstantin didn’t allow his enemy a chance to recover, striking once again.

And again, and again, and again, and again…

The creature from the cosmic depths collapsed, but that didn’t stop Kosta from methodically pounding it until the warped reality around the crimson-black entity finally stabilized, and the being itself…

Faded out, like an extinguished candle.

The runes it released—mere scraps compared to what Konstantin had already absorbed—flew into the man’s body, decisively marking his victory.

Nodding solemnly, he raised his arms to the Sun in praise.

It had been a glorious fight, offering him more of a challenge than all his recent battles combined.

For a moment, Konstantin gazed at his defeated opponent, his eyes glowing with sunlight, before shifting his gaze to the club now covered in golden radiance.

All his fighting spirit vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.

“…the waifu’s gift…”

Ranni sensed all the pain of the universe in the man’s voice. And she could even understand him: the dead branch of the Erdtree was now riddled with cracks, clearly indicating its durability was far from eternal.

Not against creatures that came from the depths of the stars, at least.

“Weapons are merely tools,” Ranni offered gently, trying to soften her voice as much as possible. “Melina wouldn't worry over such a minor thing. Think about yourself, Konstantin.”

Genuine concern slipped into the demigoddess’s tone.

Even though Kosta seemed unfazed, his condition left much to be desired: another set of clothes reduced to tatters, his body covered in wounds healing with visible difficulty. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Tarnished was drenched head to toe in blood.

Even Radahn’s Scarlet Rot hadn’t managed to impair Kosta’s regeneration as severely as the Shadow’s power had(2).

Kosta pulled the doll containing Ranni from the secluded space separated from the world and smiled.

“Thanks for worrying.”

From within the doll emerged the proudly puffed-up spectral visage of the demigoddess.

Konstantin immediately noticed something significant had changed in her gaze.

“A future king cannot wear clothes befitting mere warriors,” Ranni announced haughtily. “Your favorite maiden found you a good tailor, but she overlooked some details. I'll handle this matter myself later.”

Drenched in blood, Kosta blinked in surprise.

Now two of his best waifus had commented on his attire. The man had already accepted his fate, but now he had absolutely no chance.

Of course, the demigoddess had no intention of ending the conversation there:

“A splendid battle. Thank you.”

She was thanking him not only for saving her life but for everything. In record time, he had given her more emotions than she had experienced over perhaps the last few hundred years.

Positive emotions, inspiring hope and belief that something in their world could still be fixed.

“…Everything turned out to be more complicated than I thought. Now I can finally face… them.”

Kosta saw how cold and ruthless the waifu’s eyes turned the moment she thought about the Two Fingers who’d hunted her all these years.

The demigoddess paused briefly, giving Konstantin a pointed look:

“Farewell, my dear friend. Tell Iji and Blaidd… that I lo—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Kosta cut her off, his voice instantly becoming stern. “You’ll win and tell them how you feel yourself.”

Preceptor Miriam had a point: one of his best waifus was far too absent-minded, and that could lead to disaster. Kosta doubted she intentionally left Iji vulnerable to the Black Knives’ slaughter. He’d always had questions about how she'd planned her departure(3).

Apparently, the demigoddess simply hadn't considered that her faithful servant, who'd watched her grow up, wouldn't abandon the place he'd come to call home. To her, it must have seemed obvious. As for Blaidd, that was self-explanatory.

Though, in the half-wolf’s case, Kosta suspected Ranni simply didn't know how to help him at all and had accepted the outcome.

Ranni didn’t appreciate being interrupted by Konstantin, yet she understood why he did it, and…

Decided not to argue, submitting instead.

“I'll do as you say,” Ranni agreed, maintaining her importantly puffed-up appearance.

Without another word, in a flash of starlight, an ancient key appeared in front of the small doll, hovering before the man. Kosta raised an eyebrow, about to say something—

But the doll in his hands was now just a doll. No longer bound, the demigoddess had left her vessel to exact revenge. Nothing would stop her now.

For some reason, the man had a feeling the demigoddess had simply fled, not knowing how to explain her actions.

The Tarnished stared thoughtfully at the chest key, wondering how he was supposed to have found her earlier without even knowing where to look.

One of the best waifus could plan her actions years ahead, yet apparently, when it came to other beings whom she didn't need to kill in the most cruel and inventive ways possible in the Lands Between… she seemed to be a little at a loss.

“Have you finished your tasks, Konstantin?”

Melina’s calm voice snapped the Tarnished from his musings.

“How's Blaidd?”

“I’ve handed him over to Nepheli.”

Konstantin smiled with satisfaction.

“Excellent. Thank you, Meli-Meli.”

“You should think about yourself first,” the false Finger Maiden replied anxiously.

Her chosen champion was covered in blood, and though his wounds healed right before her eyes, it brought Melina no comfort. She could scarcely imagine what kind of enemy could inflict such injuries upon the Tarnished—but she knew exactly for whose sake he'd faced it.

That wicked witch had dragged her chosen champion into a terribly dangerous scheme.

Konstantin glanced down at himself in surprise. His tattered clothes had vanished entirely, leaving only a loincloth behind, perfectly intact and untouched by battle—not even a trace of blood upon it.

“I feel great,” he declared confidently.

Seeing the blood-soaked man practically glowing with joy, Melina found herself easily believing his words.

She sighed.

At that moment, Melina saw clearer than ever: if she didn't restrain him somehow, he'd surely get himself killed one day—even without any wicked women's schemes.

She'd been such a fool, wanting to sacrifice herself.

“Before heading to the capital, you should prepare properly,” she said firmly. “I’ll draw you a bath. It’s been too long since your last visit to Stormveil Castle, Konstantin.”

“Alright,” Konstantin shrugged casually. “But there's still something else I need to do.”

“Something else?” Melina blinked.

Could it be that he intended to postpone the journey to the capital even further? Her brother must be going insane from waiting!

The Tarnished shook his head.

“I need to open the chest in front of Rennala. And while I'm at it, I want to check something else.”

The queen was sick. After personally handing over her Great Rune, she'd lost the ability to continuously rebirth… her "daughters." Konstantin hadn't acted properly by forgetting about her for so long.

Kosta felt it would be meaningful for her to witness him opening the chest with the key. He'd also take the chance to clarify something else.

He had no intention of delaying the journey to the capital. He'd wanted to visit it for a long time—not to mention Fia. The Deathbed Companion wouldn’t wait forever.

“The chest…” Melina whispered.

In the Goddess’s daughter's mind flashed the image of Queen Rennala’s furious daughter, as the Tarnished shamelessly snatched the chest away.

Perhaps it was better not to dwell on that too much and just start heating her champion’s bath.

As Melina fully processed her own suggestion, her accursed eye nearly opened, and her cheeks flushed crimson.

Hadn't her offer sounded suspiciously like an invitation to share the bath… together? Th-they hadn't even had the ceremony yet—how could she imply something like that so soon?!

But after all, she was his maiden, and then there was the ring…

Konstantin glanced in confusion at the spot Melina had occupied just a moment ago.

Apparently, he’d have to tell her about the slightly damaged gift later.

(1) There’s a theory that "outer space" as we understand it doesn’t exist in the Lands Between. Instead, Soulslike inhabitants perceive an endless Abyss (or something similar), where the Outer Gods reside in its depths. The frequently mentioned stars may actually be personifications of extraterrestrial beings—something that could explain certain gameplay and story elements quite well.

(2) It’s worth clarifying that the game never specifies how powerful the Baleful Shadows truly were. Their unexpected strength in this interpretation is a creative reimagining of the Shadows that the demigoddess feared, forcing her to stay hidden from them for so long.

(3) Neither Blaidd nor Iji have happy endings in the game: the former succumbs to madness, while the latter is killed by the Black Knives hunting down traitors—though the war counselor at least manages to take them down with him.