Ranni let out a long breath.
Even though Lucian suddenly appearing without warning made her momentarily flustered, the truth was that she had been yearning for this crucial weapon for a very long time.
The Fingerslayer Blade was something she had dreamt of obtaining.
So Ranni steadied herself, pushing away every unnecessary emotion, and faced Lucian with her usual composed seriousness.
"Thou speakest true. I have awaited this blade for a span beyond memory."
"Indeed… I would behold with mine own sight whether its might is as the old legends foretell."
"Pray, bring forth the Fingerslayer Blade, that I may gaze upon it with mine own eyes."
Lucian nodded. From his spacial disc, he retrieved the Fingerslayer Blade and held it out to the Ranni sitting properly on her chair.
Ranni reached out with both hands and accepted this ancient treasure of the Nox Dynasty.
The blade was crafted entirely from the bones of the dead, stained with blood from some unknown creature.
Ranni had seen the Two Fingers before—she knew their essence intimately.
So with just one glance, she understood:
This weapon had once truly inflicted harm upon beings like the Two Fingers.
There was no doubt, this treasure born from remains was indeed the supreme weapon capable of wounding the Fingers.
Now that the Fingerslayier Blade was in her hands, the most vital link in her grand plan was complete.
All that was left was to wait quietly, wait for the moment she would truly step into the dark path.
After confirming the blade could perform exactly as expected, Ranni stored it away and looked at Lucian.
"Thou hast my thanks. This task would not have been so readily achieved alone."
"Thus, thy role in our accord stands concluded."
"The hour turns to me, to honor my own design."
"I shall guide thy companion's soul to its vessel, and see their body restored."
For Ranni, this was not a difficult task.
However, she would need an appropriate physical vessel.
Lucian previously stated he wanted to use a body produced through Rebirth.
Which meant everything hinged on Lucian conquering Raya Lucaria Academy and freeing her mother, Rennala.
"First, thou must free my mother from her confinement within the Academy."
"Only then, once thou hast secured a vessel through rebirth, may I lend thee aid in reaching thy end."
"When our accord is spent, then shall I act. Until that hour, thou need'st not fret."
"…Tell me. When dost thou intend to set foot in the Academy, and deliver my mother?"
When she mentioned Rennala, Ranni's tone softened without her realizing it.
Now that she held the Fingerslayer Blade, she felt an unexpected lightness, as if a weight had finally been lifted.
Her goal had never been so close.
The only thing she still worried about… was her mother.
Of her two brothers—one had been lured away by Miquella, and the other had been devoured by the Immortal Serpent.
Blaidd and Iji already knew the path she intended to walk. They knew the sorrowful fate that awaited her.
And though Ranni still wondered about Radahn's cryptic comment regarding his promise with Miquella…
Searching for a missing Empyrean was far less urgent than achieving her own purpose—destroying the abhorrent Two Fingers.
But her mother—Rennala, was the one person she could not bring herself to abandon.
Only once Rennala was safe could Ranni finally be free of lingering attachments.
With the Fingerslayer Blade secured, Ranni was noticeably more relaxed—even Lucian could sense the fleeting gentleness in her expression.
Lucian couldn't help but feel a bit moved.
Ranni always acted cold and detached, but she cared deeply for the people around her.
She simply was too resolute—she would never abandon her goal even for family.
She would bear the pain of severing those ties alone.
Because only that kind of resolve could walk her into the moonlight.
Ranni's Dark Moon was cold—yet like all moons, its light retained a faint gentleness.
No matter its form, moonlight was always gentle.
Lucian considered his remaining tasks and spoke:
"I still have a few things to finish in Caelid. I'll need a few days."
"Once everything is settled there, I'll head for the Academy."
Ranni nodded.
"Then see that thou dost not keep a vengeful witch waiting overlong."
Lucian glanced toward the outside of the tower.
The Academy's towering silhouette pierced the horizon, its magical seal still flawless.
But to Lucian, that seal was nothing but a joke.
"Don't worry. It won't be long."
He looked back at Ranni.
Right now, she existed only as a soul clinging to a doll's body. The doll couldn't fully house a demigod's soul, so her essence constantly floated just slightly apart from the vessel.
Normally, half a transparent face could be seen faintly beneath her hat brim.
Ever since Lucian saw the white dwarf and the sun, his sensitivity to soul energy had improved drastically.
Now, he could faintly perceive soul colors.
And at this moment, he could clearly see the tone of Ranni's soul beneath her hat.
Her soul—like her brother Radahn's, had long, vivid red hair.
The ethereal red strands draped over the doll's blue hair looked… oddly harmonious.
"Ranni, during the Festival of Combat—you were there, weren't you?"
"When the fight ended, I thought I saw you on the dunes."
Ranni shot him a surprised look.
She had indeed gone to the Wailing Dunes in pure soul form, appearing only for the briefest moment.
She hadn't expected he would notice.
But this was trivial, hardly worth concealing.
She answered openly:
"Aye. I did attend the Festival."
"And when thy battle was done, I beheld my brother's soul."
"That aside… there is a matter of import I must speak to thee of."
Ranni recalled her earlier conversation with Radahn and slowly continued:
"Thou didst say, ere now, that thou wouldst keep the Fingerslayer Blade close at hand—as a safeguard against the Fingers. Is that so?"
Lucian nodded.
He held no particular grudge against the Two Fingers at Roundtable Keep, but who knew when they might change? Besides, the Fingers in the Lands Between were numerous.
To fight such entities, he needed methods capable of harming them.
Since Ranni brought this up, she clearly had new information.
Her expression grew complicated as she spoke again:
"By my brother's words…"
"The Greater Will forsook the Lands Between… long, long ago."
Lucian frowned slightly.
After the Shattering, it was known the Greater Will forsook the demigods and withdrew its influence.
But Ranni's tone implied something far earlier, far deeper—
A truth long buried.
Lucian had already known this much; Ranni could not possibly be learning it only now.
But her next sentence made him freeze on the spot.
"The true Greater Will departed at the dawn of creation."
Lucian almost couldn't believe it.
The Greater Will left that early?
Then what was the entity that had been acting in the Lands Between afterward—sending down commands, guiding events, manipulating fate?
Wait.
Ranni had said "the true Greater Will"…
There was a fake one?
So everything that happened in the Lands Between afterward was orchestrated by this so-called false Greater Will?
Seeing the thoughts forming in Lucian's mind, Ranni nodded faintly.
"There exists a false Greater Will within the Lands Between.
For countless ages, it has masqueraded as the true Greater Will, toying with the fate of all who dwell here.
Though false, its power is vast.
To other beings—even to gods, it is a force nigh impossible to resist.
And so, to the Lands Between, it is no less than the true Greater Will itself."
Lucian understood her meaning and nodded.
The difference in power was too vast, so vast it created a gap like two separate worlds.
If the false Greater Will and the true one differed as much as a mayfly staring at the sky…
Then the beings of the Lands Between, facing the false Greater Will, were like frogs at the bottom of a well gazing at the moon.
After all, if the true Greater Will was on the level of a creator god—an existence whose stature surpassed even the sun—Then for this impostor to deceive countless gods and still remain unharmed…
Its strength must be terrible beyond comprehension.
Even if it was counterfeit, it was still an entity that could not be opposed.
"Unbelievable…"
"All this time, what we believed to be the Greater Will… was fake…"
"This information is truly astonishing."
But once the shock settled, Lucian began to think.
This false Greater Will definitely remained in the Lands Between—it wasn't like the real one, which left the world entirely.
Meaning… Lucian might encounter it one day.
An invisible pressure settled on him instantly. An enemy of that magnitude was no laughing matter.
For the sake of his own life, Lucian would absolutely max out every charge of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow before even thinking about confronting it.
Even the Two Fingers possessed strange, unique powers that required the Fingerslayer Blade to counter. So what would a Greater Will—even a false one be like?
Perhaps the blade was his only hope.
It was said the Fingerslayer Blade could wound the Greater Will and its servants.
Lucian originally assumed that part was exaggerated legend.
But now… perhaps not.
If the true Greater Will had long since departed, then the blade's "legendary history" might be more terrifying than he had imagined.
Perhaps the blade had once harmed the false Greater Will itself—
And that was why it had been annihilated.
The Fingers existed everywhere, there were even dead ones hanging from the Divine Towers.
The Fingers chose Empyreans, fought each other, and died in the process.
For the false Greater Will to destroy an entire civilization simply for losing one pair of Fingers seemed unlikely.
After all, nothing so far showed that the impostor valued the Fingers that much.
But if the Nox had stabbed the false Greater Will itself—Then the destruction of the Nox civilization made perfect sense.
Somehow, the Nox learned the Greater Will was fake—and even discovered its true form.
They experimented on the Fingers first.
After confirming the blade worked… they attempted to attack the false Greater Will.
This was the true origin behind the blade's legend—And the true reason the Nox Dynasty was wiped out.
So the Fingerslayer Blade's value was even higher than Lucian had assumed.
Once Ranni used it to slay the Two Fingers, he needed to retrieve it from her immediately.
Lucian let out a long breath.
"I understand."
"Thank you for sharing such rare information."
"Speaking of which… what happened to General Radahn's soul afterward?"
Lucian asked curiously.
Since Radahn had revealed these things to Ranni, then his soul must have been lucid.
The Erdtree system had collapsed; souls could no longer reincarnate.
But Ranni, who mastered the soul arts, might have ways to preserve or guide one.
The moment Lucian finished speaking, Ranni's expression became… extremely complicated.
This was the first time Lucian had seen Ranni's expression completely out of control.
Through clenched teeth, Ranni said:
"Regarding that matter…"
"I am compelled to speak of a certain individual, one most detestable called Miquella."
"He has seized Radahn's soul."
Lucian blanked out again.
"…Miquella?"
"Miquella took Radahn's soul?"
Ranni slowly nodded.
She had long felt there was something suspicious about Miquella, but she had never imagined he would make a secret pact with her brother.
Though she still didn't know what happened between them or what their agreement was…
Ranni was sharp. She quickly pieced together certain possibilities.
She, Miquella, and Malenia were all Empyreans.
Empyreans were demigods capable of one day establishing a law of their own.
Malenia obeyed Miquella completely—she had no will of her own.
Thus, only Ranni could rival Miquella.
But Ranni refused to become a puppet of the Fingers. She had zero intention of becoming the next vessel of the Elden Ring.
So Miquella was the only one who openly desired godhood.
In hindsight, everything he did—even during the assassination of Godwyn, aligned with that goal.
Looking back at Miquella's actions before and during the Shattering…
Everything aligned perfectly with the ambition of someone seeking to ascend.
And if Miquella wanted to become a god, he would need a king to accompany him.
That was the ancient rule of the Lands Between—God and Lord.
Ranni laid out her deductions one by one, explaining them to Lucian.
Lucian listened utterly stunned. Why were today's revelations one bombshell after another?
He had originally assumed Mohg targeted "the pretty little boy" simply because he was… well, Mohg.
But it turned out Miquella was also like that? And somehow also involved with Radahn?
What happened to this world to make the Lands Between like this?