Lucian accepted the Sun's parting gift and descended from the sky, completely satisfied.
This time, the harvest was truly unprecedented.
Originally, he had only intended to blow up the Lord of Frenzied Flame. He never expected the Sun to intervene.
Not only had it completely crushed the Frenzied Flame here, it had even showered him with an absurd amount of rewards.
Just like that, what had started as a peak-level showdown had suddenly turned into a freebie match.
Praise the Sun!
The miniature sun above Lucian's head gradually faded away, and his head returned to its original form.
The arm formed from the Frenzied Flame also gradually restrained its power, transforming back into a mark upon the newly regrown arm.
Now that his appearance had returned to normal, Lucian began taking stock of what he had gained this time.
The thing that excited him the most was naturally the Great Rune that had been transformed and now contained the laws of the Sun.
The Great Rune had previously been completely blank, capable of carrying only a bit of magical power.
But now, this Great Rune was no different from the Mending Runes in the game that could alter the ending.
If he merely intended to repair the Elden Ring in the same way as the game, building upon its existing framework, then this would already be more than enough to usher in the Age of the Sun.
The endings in the original game were not exactly that great.
Even the seemingly best Perfect Order had its own shortcomings.
It was just that in the past, Lucian had plenty of ideas but lacked the ability to personally create a Mending Rune.
After all, he wasn't some top-tier programmer like Goldmask.
Goldmask was an absolute master who could repair the laws and loopholes of the entire Lands Between through nothing more than calculations.
Although Lucian possessed tremendous strength, he was still completely helpless when it came to this sort of thing.
Previously, after all, the power of the Sun he possessed was merely raw power. It did not touch the core of its authority.
The Great Rune now possessing actual laws had undoubtedly solved that problem.
However, Lucian already had his own ideas regarding how he would govern the Lands Between after becoming Elden Lord.
In fact, if there were a better option, he might not even choose to preserve the Elden Ring as this manifested structure of the world's laws.
But that part was still far too distant.
He would have to make the decision based on the circumstances at that time.
Apart from the Great Rune, the tremendous increase in his own strength was also something Lucian was extremely pleased with.
Not long ago, he had finally managed to scrape together enough Runes to push three attributes in one of his forms beyond their limits, bringing his strength to an entirely new level.
But opportunities to obtain a massive amount of Runes in one go were extremely rare.
With every level gained, the number of Runes required for the next level increased dramatically.
The amount Lucian now needed for a single level had already reached an utterly terrifying figure.
Yet in the real Lands Between, obtaining Runes from enemies wasn't like the game, where later areas simply gave more and more Runes.
Obtaining Runes was far more difficult, while the amount required only continued to increase.
On top of that, the attributes in his normal form were already far from their limits, meaning he would need many more levels to strengthen them.
For example, his lowest attribute at present, Faith, was only at 33 points, still a long way from the limit.
In other words, breaking the limits of those attributes in his normal form was practically an impossible dream.
Just as Lucian was worrying about the enormous Rune deficit he would face in the future, this time it had somehow been solved in one stroke.
It was truly an unexpected windfall.
The Sun had recovered the energy that should have naturally dissipated and converted it into Runes to strengthen Lucian.
Even after accounting for the enormous amount of energy inevitably lost during the conversion, the remaining power was still immense.
Using that residual energy, all of Lucian's attributes had been raised to terrifying levels.
In the form enhanced by the Great Rune, Lucian's Vigor, Strength, and Dexterity had already been raised beyond their limits on their own.
After this round of strengthening, Endurance had also broken through its limit.
All four physical attributes had now surpassed their limits, giving Lucian an incredibly powerful body.
But the true harvest was fully reflected in his ordinary state.
The vast majority of the energy had been directed toward the attributes that had previously been lower.
Aside from Arcane, the attributes in his normal state were not particularly high.
If converted into the amount of Runes required for leveling, it would probably have taken around sixty or seventy million.
That would have been extremely difficult to accumulate.
Fortunately, the enormous amount of energy had allowed Lucian to make up this shortfall and instantly increase his strength.
At this point, Lucian's attributes had reached an utterly terrifying level.
In his Great Rune-enhanced form, the attributes that had broken through their limits were:
Vigor: 70
Endurance: 70
Strength: 65
Dexterity: 65
And in his normal state, the four attributes that had broken through their limits were different:
Mind: 70
Intelligence: 65
Faith: 65
Arcane: 65
The improvement was enormous.
It had merely required him to rely on the Great Rune to convert and redistribute some of his attributes, piecing everything together to achieve this result.
Although he hadn't managed to make every attribute in both forms break through its limit, and there were still some shortcomings if one insisted on looking for them, Lucian was already completely satisfied.
Both forms now possessed the strength of a lord.
That alone had saved him an incalculable amount of time.
And, more importantly, it had all been free.
The energy had been created out of thin air through Wind Spirit Moon Shadow's enhancement, while the Sun itself had handled the conversion.
As for the Frenzied Flame arm and the continuously energy-producing core...
Possessing the completely harmless power of the Lord of Frenzied Flame had also greatly increased Lucian's strength.
Even though he had only just obtained it, its power was already almost catching up to Gravity, which he had spent a long time honing.
And the core that continuously generated energy further increased Lucian's already terrifying endurance.
If he had obtained these things under normal circumstances, they would have been incredibly significant gains and enough to make him excited for a long time.
But compared to everything else he had gained this time, these two excellent abilities could only be considered icing on the cake.
——
Seeing Lucian walking toward them, everyone's faces finally relaxed.
It was truly over.
But Lucian looked at the winged serpent beside Melina with confusion.
Where had this snake come from...?
And why did this snake have wings?
Lucian remembered that in the game, there was only one place where he had seen snakes with wings: Volcano Manor.
And even then, they weren't living snakes.
They were merely statues at the entrance.
Lucian looked toward the others and asked,
"What's that?"
Irina blinked.
"This... We encountered it while we were hiding from the Frenzied Flame."
"After we helped clear away some of the Frenzied Flame, it simply followed us."
"It seems to be nothing more than an apparition, but it doesn't seem hostile, so we didn't pay it much attention..."
Melina nodded and added,
"I have a very familiar feeling when I look at it. Some of the memories that are still sealed away have started loosening."
"I think it must have something to do with my brother. I just can't be certain yet."
Lucian looked at the winged serpent.
A serpent from the Land of Shadow...
Messmer 'The Impaler'?
Black Knight Harold had mentioned it before as well.
They had only learned of Messmer's serpentine nature afterward, and that was what caused them to follow the commander of the Black Knights in launching their rebellion.
Now that they had encountered the winged serpent, the truth would probably come to light very soon.
At this moment, Liliana flew in front of Lucian and pointed toward the sun-shaped mark burning on his chest.
"The Sun descended just now, right?!"
"Why did it actually intervene? In my memories, it has never responded to anyone."
Hearing Liliana's question, Melina and Irina also looked toward Lucian with curiosity, waiting for his answer.
Irina followed up with another question.
"Was it because of the Frenzied Flame?"
Lucian casually threw a robe over himself. After thinking for a moment, he decided to explain some information about the Sun to them.
If he intended to establish the Law of the Sun in the future, then naturally he would also need to spread the faith of the Sun.
The Sun itself had no need for faith, but if Lucian wanted to properly govern the Lands Between, he would naturally need some means of ruling.
It was impossible for him to rely on brute-force suppression every day, or to govern everything through sheer personal charisma.
Establishing a faith would be a very good method.
Now that he explained everything clearly, Melina could also help him consider things in the future.
With that in mind, Lucian organized his thoughts and began explaining.
"The Sun projecting its consciousness here this time had nothing to do with the Frenzied Flame."
"It simply sensed the powerful solar force I released here and intervened."
Rubbing his chin, Lucian continued describing what he understood about the Sun.
"As a deity, even I have difficulty completely understanding its thoughts."
"But after several encounters, I've gradually come to understand some of its patterns."
"Apart from spreading its light, it doesn't interfere with the operation of the worlds."
"The Sun itself doesn't have any particular attitude toward the Lands Between."
"After all, to it, the Lands Between is merely one of the many worlds illuminated by its light, albeit a somewhat special one."
"Its purpose in illuminating the worlds is because once darkness descends, the world will fall into an abnormal state."
"That is the purpose behind all of its actions, and its core logic."
"It once allowed me to see what happens to worlds that fall into darkness. It was a catastrophe beyond anything the Lands Between could imagine."
After a pause, Lucian continued.
"However, for reasons I don't know, it is currently making a pilgrimage."
"The darkness of the cosmos is simply too vast. It can't illuminate every world, so before leaving, it can only help as much as possible."
"But an unexpected situation has appeared in the Lands Between."
"Before it could completely move away, the Faded Sun appeared in the Lands Between. It was a means of attempting to resurrect Godwyn."
"The Faded Sun actively blocked the sunlight. Perhaps it hoped to make use of that darkness."
"At that point, the Sun attempted to communicate with the Lands Between and find a solution."
"Unfortunately, the faith of the Sun no longer exists, so there was no one capable of communicating with it. There was nothing it could do."
Melina couldn't help asking,
"The Sun is so powerful. How could it be unable to deal with the Faded Sun?"
Lucian shook his head.
"Although the Lands Between's laws that reject the power of Outer Gods can't restrain the Sun's power, it has already moved far away. It won't simply turn back because of this."
"Besides, this is an affair of the Lands Between, so it will only seek out someone within the Lands Between to resolve it themselves."
"After all, this is merely one world among many. If there truly is no way to save it, then there is nothing it can do."
"Fortunately, I unexpectedly gained its favor, successfully established a connection with it, and received the power it bestowed upon me."
"As for the price, I need to shatter the Faded Sun."
"But after seeing how much I had grown just now, it changed its mind."
"Rather than simply having me destroy the Tarnished Sun and leaving it at that, it wants to nurture me."
"If I have the opportunity to become a Sun myself, then I will be able to illuminate the worlds around me."
"For it, having companions capable of dispelling the darkness is undoubtedly a good thing."
After hearing Lucian's explanation, everyone's expressions varied.
They had never expected the Sun to possess such a meaning, silently protecting the Lands Between all this time.
In any case, everyone understood one thing:
The Sun truly was a pure and benevolent deity.
Melina looked at Lucian and asked,
"Now that the Lord of Frenzied Flame has been dealt with, is there anything else we need to do?"
Lucian chuckled twice. He glanced at the winged serpent before looking toward the horizon.
"We don't need to do anything right now."
"If nothing unexpected happens, someone very much wants to meet us."
"I'd guess he'll probably arrive here soon."
"Let's wait for a little while. It'll save us the trouble of going to find him ourselves later."
Following Lucian's gaze, Melina looked toward the winged serpent and immediately understood who he was talking about.
If this serpent really was related to her brother, then he should already be on his way.
——
Before long, a rapidly approaching flame appeared along the horizon.
Black-red flames were dazzlingly bright as they rushed toward them, dragging a long trail of fire behind them.
A massive spear, its blade adorned with a slanting flame-like design, fell from the sky first and plunged deeply into the ground.
The flames followed immediately afterward, crashing onto the earth and erupting into a fierce wave of fire.
A tall, slender figure emerged from within and reached out to seize the great spear.
Messmer 'The Impaler' had made his grand entrance!
Seeing him in person, Lucian couldn't help nodding.
His brother-in-law was pretty handsome, and his strength wasn't weak either.
Unfortunately, it seemed that physical disabilities were also hereditary in this family. He was missing his left eye.
And the moment Melina saw the tall, slender figure within the flames, memories associated with him began appearing before her eyes.
More and more fragments of memory resurfaced.
Finally, Melina spoke to the figure.
"Brother..."
Hearing her call, a faint smile appeared on Messmer's stern face.
Messmer remembered what the winged serpent had shared with him moments ago.
Melina's memories seemed to have been damaged, to the point that she didn't even recognize the winged serpent.
Fortunately, some of her memories seemed to have returned now.
At least she could still recognize him.
Walking toward Melina in large strides, Messmer smiled and spoke.
"Melina… I never thought to find thee here."
"It gladdens me beyond words to see thee once more."
"Ever since I was left behind within the Land of Shadow, and thou wert taken from me by Mother, not a single word concerning thee ever reached mine ears."
Melina nodded gently.
"Mother had a mission for me to fulfill."
"My memories were hidden because of it."
Messmer raised his head and sighed.
A mission...
The two siblings had both been completely bound by their missions.
Even if they had willingly accepted them.
But soon, he turned his head and looked at the people surrounding Melina.
When he clearly saw Lucian's Tarnished eyes, Messmer's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.
"Melina, wouldst thou introduce me to thy companions?"
Melina nodded and looked toward Lucian first.
She bit her lip, then spoke rather shyly.
"This is Lucian... He is my... lover."
The moment Messmer heard Melina's words, the expression on his face changed dramatically.