Elden Ring: The Shattering!

The Cuckoo soldier quickly ran over, using a spear to pin the frail and weak man to the ground. Before he could take a breath, a scream came from the side. Another madman directly smashed through a window, leaping out while holding a lantern in his hand. He threw it around recklessly, shouting incomprehensible words and screaming.

As the room caught fire, the Cuckoo soldiers regained their composure and continued their killing. Then, they shouted to those around them, "What are you doing, stop daydreaming and help put out the fire!"

The people, as if waking from a dream, hurriedly grabbed pots, bowls, and other containers to fetch water from the lake. After a while, things finally calmed down.

Apart from the weeping landowner, the soldiers exchanged glances, only to find several incomplete corpses on the ground and a faint smoke rising from the burning house.

Kaelith sat motionless in the shop, observing the chaos unfold, while casually listening to the conversations of the other customers.

"This is the second time this has happened in ten days."

"Yes, calling in the aromatherapist didn't help, and when we asked the priest, he couldn't give an answer either."

"There's a war outside, and more people are falling ill. Is there even a chance for survival in this world?"

...

Kaelith had a lingering doubt. The people were incredibly fragile yet incredibly resilient, like weeds that, after war, would inevitably struggle to restore normal life.

The Shattering had indeed spread across almost all of The Lands Between, and surely the Demi-Gods weren't fools… If they forcibly relocated the people and taxed them, or conscripted them from somewhere, the world should have recovered to prosperity after the war ended.

But the Tarnished only saw the desolate Ruins and the distorted people—few of them could be reasoned with. This was definitely not the kind of disaster caused by war.

Watching this chaotic scene, Kaelith finally understood that to truly see the world as it was, one had to strip away the concept of "ordinary people." Only then would the world appear unyielding, where even two madmen could cause such a disturbance...

If there had been two hundred or two thousand people, this small town would have likely turned into Ruins. By the time the Tarnished arrived, would there only be remnants of devastation?

"Is it a blessing, or a curse?" Kaelith rubbed his eyes. In fact, this was quite normal. Was it really possible that someone had traveled all the way to The Lands Between, fought countless wars, just to offer blessings?

How could that be!

Kaelith even felt that there was something wrong with the Golden Order's abandonment of "death," but it hadn't been evident before. Why were these issues surfacing now, at this very moment…?

"Elden Ring's Shattering aftermath?"

He formulated a guess, conveniently placing the amnesia condition within the scope of investigation. After all, this body was also blessed, and Kaelith didn't want to unknowingly turn into a senile old fool.

He placed several Runes on the table, donned his head covering, and left the small inn, immediately catching up to the Cuckoo soldiers. When the soldiers saw a Sorcerer following, they exchanged glances. The leader of the small squad hurriedly greeted him.

"Sir, what brings you to us?" The squad leader was very polite, as the Academy was still their primary sponsor.

"How much do you know about those suffering from amnesia? Tell me all the information." Kaelith asked in a haughty tone, while pulling out paper and a pen.

The squad leader seemed briefly startled, mentally wondering why someone so focused on studying would suddenly take an interest in the people's welfare. But since Sorcerers were scholars by nature, he didn't think too much about it.

"Amnesia appeared in the town a long time ago, but it's been happening more frequently recently. We've dealt with about ten cases so far, all of them suddenly going mad."

Occasionally.

Kaelith nodded and asked again, "Has it appeared in the army?"

"Not yet, though some of the brothers say their memory isn't very good. The knights don't seem to feel anything."

It depends on individual strength.

Kaelith jotted down a note, then asked, "What are the symptoms? Do they all have aggressive tendencies?"

"Not necessarily. For example, in the northern hills, some people are afflicted but don't show any violent actions. We just leave them be, instructing their families to report on time."

Are the symptoms different?

"Take me to see them."

The soldiers, unfazed, immediately led Kaelith north, toward the small ferry town. The roads there were even busier, and the group wandered through alleys, eventually entering a wooden shack.

The households here were mostly ferry laborers. Trash was scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with a sour, pungent smell. Normally, a Sorcerer wouldn't bother coming here, but Kaelith didn't care... If he hadn't been wearing Hierodas to cover his head, such a detail might have made people suspicious.

His identity fit too perfectly, and the soldiers had no doubts. Kaelith looked around and noticed that every house in the narrow alley had its doors tightly shut, and there wasn't a single shadow to be seen… But then, he spotted a bald man placing several loaves of bread in front of a door, suddenly freezing in place.

He had seen this man before. It was the one who had served him food at the welcoming dinner, a trainee. The man also noticed Kaelith and stood there, surprised, somewhat flustered.

"Sir? Should we capture him and interrogate him?" The Cuckoo squad leader also saw the sneaky bald man, and since the man wasn't wearing a Sorcerer's robe, he immediately turned into a threatening figure.

"No need. Don't waste time." Kaelith nodded slightly, as if acknowledging the greeting, and led the way into the wooden shack.

Inside, the smell was worse, with discarded pots, pans, jars, and leftover food and wine scattered everywhere. The squad leader scanned the room and immediately cursed aloud.

"That damned woman really ran off, didn't she think she was so important?"

Kaelith didn't have the patience to deal with these domestic quarrels. He walked over to the bed, where he saw a man lying on it. The man had no fat, his body was so emaciated he looked like dry kindling, and his appearance was somewhat deformed.

Kaelith kicked the bed, and the man reflexively opened his eyes. The golden blessing in his eyes was still present, but his pupils were blank, devoid of any spark of life.

The symptoms were somewhat similar to those of a senile old man.

As Kaelith pondered, he saw the man slowly sit up. The soldiers immediately gripped their sword hilts, but the man seemed to not notice them. He walked to the water pot, took a sip of foul-smelling water, then staggered back to the bed, continuing to stare blankly at the ceiling.

Kaelith didn't move, feeling a chill running down his spine. He finally found the words that best described this situation.

A soulless corpse.

Aside from some basic instincts, this man could no longer be considered "human." He had lost his mind, and only the barest semblance of life was kept alive.

It was known that under the blessings, the golden children wouldn't fall ill or die of old age. This soulless corpse would remain here indefinitely… unless one day, after years of neglect, the wooden shack collapsed and turned it into salted meat.

The room inside was eerily quiet, even more unsettling than the blood and carnage of a battlefield, where a soulless corpse was on display for all to see.

The squad leader swallowed nervously and quietly walked over to Kaelith. "Sir, do you have a solution?"

"No." Kaelith answered decisively. He was not Marika.

"So why the hell are you here?"

The squad leader fell silent for a moment. The room truly stank, and he pounded his chest in frustration. "We still have patrol duties. You can take your time."

With that, he waved his hand and led the brothers out, leaving the strange Sorcerer alone in the room.

Kaelith didn't respond or pay them any attention, falling deep into thought. After studying with Sellen for a while, his combat abilities were not the only thing that had improved; his analytical skills had also increased significantly.

After some hesitation, he placed his staff on the man's face. The light illuminated the contorted features, and he used a Glintstone Pebble to relieve the eternal suffering of the man.

He struck directly, and Kaelith closed his eyes, carefully feeling the energy drawn from Dragons Heritage. After a few seconds, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Not even as useful as a hunting dog, can be dismissed as nothing."

Kaelith didn't focus on leveling up for now. During his idle moments, he had experimented with hunting dogs and even crabs. This slight improvement was barely noticeable, but in front of him was a human who seemed to have nothing but weakness. Kaelith nearly couldn't detect any trace of life.

This kind of experiment could only be done by him. He knew that Dragons Heritage drained life force and soul, so why was a human with the blessing so much weaker than a dog?

"Talking about the physical condition, the root cause of this sickness seems to be the soul, right? Like being drained dry, leaving only a faint trace to maintain 'immortality.'"

Kaelith imitated Sellen's pose, holding his chin, and pondered the nature of "senility." This was truly the great catastrophe, and it was connected to the destruction of The Lands Between.

So what about the Erdtree?

Combining the memories of two lifetimes, he felt that it was more than likely related to the shattering of the Elden Ring...

After all, there was no mention of "senility" in the "Golden Age," proving that the phenomenon did not exist before the Elden Ring shattered.

It was no wonder Erdtree was willing to sacrifice all the Demigods to cure the Elden Ring and spread its influence. How could Erdtree continue to fish in the stagnant pond?

As he was deep in thought, he suddenly gripped his staff tightly and turned toward the door. "Who's there!?"

The wooden door creaked open with a loud noise, and a shadowy figure appeared, dressed in a priest's robe. Yet, he wore a wide-brimmed hat that obscured his face.

"I didn't expect a Sorcerer to start caring about senility and relieve suffering... That's destined to be in vain, just like how no matter how firm an order is, it will still collapse." A deep voice echoed from the man, who paused at the door and lightly pressed his wide-brimmed hat down.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Kaelith turned around and stared intently at the figure, feeling an eerie, powerful presence, like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water—clear to see, but untouchable.

"Because you wish to explore the truth," the man turned slightly, bowed, and said, "I am Shabriri. Are you interested in learning about a completely new kind of faith?"