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Chapter 188 A Promise Against Oblivion
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Naruto moved lightly across the surface of the lake, each step sending faint ripples outward. His gaze was distant, his mind turning over thoughts he could not quite settle.
Is this like Beatrice's situation? he wondered, recalling the witch whose presence in the present had been pulled from the past. Yet something in his gut whispered that this was not the same.
Beside him, Oscar swam lazily, his small form cutting gentle arcs through the moonlit water. The little lizard could easily walk atop the surface using chakra, but he made no effort to do so. Instead, he seemed content to dog-paddle, his scales glimmering under the pale glow.
Naruto glanced down at his companion. "I keep thinking about it. What if Princess Dusk really did slip through time like Beatrice? But… it feels different. I can't explain it. Maybe it's my draconic side talking. Dragons existed before time even began. Maybe that gives me some kind of sense for… temporality."
Oscar slowed his strokes, tilting his head to give Naruto a skeptical look.
Naruto lifted a hand. "I'm not trying to sound smart, alright? But how else do I explain this feeling in my gut?"
Oscar chirped once in reply, his tone dry.
"No, it's not my stomach acting up because I ate too much ramen," Naruto replied, rolling his eyes. His expression grew more serious as he focused on the figure waiting ahead. The water parted softly around his steps as they approached her.
Princess Dusk stood by the shore, the silver light of the lake around her. Her eyes were unlike any Naruto had ever seen, colored like the dusk itself. He thought that maybe her parents had named her Dusk because of her eyes.
"So, it is thou who rescueth me? Most gracious, I am deeply obliged. I am Dusk of Oolacile."
Naruto straightened slightly, giving a small bow. "It's my duty to help others whenever I can. Name's Naruto Uzumaki."
Oscar hopped onto the shore and dipped his head in a neat, courteous bow of his own.
Dusk regarded them both, her gaze lingering on the faint blue trim of Naruto's knightly attire. "I see the blue of Astora's knights still guards the royals of Oolacile," she said, her voice carrying a trace of nostalgia.
"Pardon?"
"The legendary Knight Artorias vowed to save my kingdom from an ancient evil."
Naruto's eyes widened. The name alone sent a thrill through him. "Wait… you mean you knew him? What was he like?"
"A true example of knighthood," Dusk replied softly. "Even if our meetings were brief. Yet as a knight of Astora, I had thought thou wouldst know more of Sir Artorias than I."
"Why would I know that?"
She seemed surprised by the question. "Because Artorias was once a knight of Astora before he took his place among Lord Gwyn's chosen."
The revelation hit both Naruto and Oscar like a thunderclap. They stared at her, jaws slack.
A wide grin began to spread across Naruto's face. He looked to Oscar, his voice bubbling with excitement. "You hear that, bud? Artorias is from Astora! Hehehe!"
Oscar gave an approving chirp, his tail flicking with amusement.
Dusk covered her lips with one hand, laughing softly at Naruto's boyish enthusiasm. "I see Sir Artorias still inspires hearts even after so many generations."
A shadow clone standing beside them, the same one that had healed Dusk moments before, spoke up apologetically. "Sorry about that. Boss is someone who really likes Artorias."
Dusk's smile remained, but her brow furrowed faintly. "Strange… thou callest thy twin thy boss."
"Oh, I'm just a shadow clone, Princess," the clone said casually.
"A… shadow clone?"
Before she could ask further, the clone vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving only curling wisps in the air.
Dusk's eyes flew wide, and she took an involuntary step back, her voice trembling in disbelief. "By the flame… what manner of sorcery is this? It is no illusion, nor glamour, and yet it doth bear flesh, movement, and will of its own! Never in all my years have I seen such a thing. This is no conjuration known to Oolacile, nor to any school of magic in my age! Tell me, how in the name of the First Flame did Astora come upon a spell to forge living doubles of thyself?"
Her hands hovered in the air as though torn between warding him off and touching the fading smoke where the clone had been. Her breathing was quick, her golden-violet eyes darting from Naruto to the faint dispersal of chakra in the air, like a child staring at lightning for the first time.
Naruto chuckled at her visible shock, clearly enjoying it. "Nothing to worry about, princess. It's just a forbidden jutsu."
"I… I see. Pray forgive me if my alarm hath shown too plainly. I did not mean to doubt thee. If this be a forbidden art, I must apologize if my presence hath forced thee to make use of it."
"Oh, no worries. It's forbidden for others, but for me? I can use it without a problem."
In an instant, the clearing was filled with dozens of Narutos, each identical in detail, their eyes sparkling with the same mischief. They surrounded the princess in a loose circle, bowing with exaggerated formality before vanishing in synchronized bursts of smoke.
Dusk clapped her hands together once in delight. "Since Sir Naruto hath shown me his craft, then courtesy demands that I reveal mine in turn."
"So you know soul magic?"
"Nay," Dusk replied with gentle pride. "Oolacile's sorceries are not of so direct a nature. They are of a softer kind, more subtle. Our magic is… how doth one say? A gentle approximation of the world, rather than the bending of it to our will."
Naruto grinned. "Show me."
Dusk inclined her head in graceful agreement and stepped forward, her feet barely disturbing the grass. From the folds of her gown, she withdrew a slender white branch, so delicate it looked as though it would snap beneath the weight of her own hand.
Lifting it high above her head, she traced a slow, deliberate arc in the air. Golden motes drifted downward like falling petals, each one gleaming as if it carried the light of the setting sun. Then, without sound or smoke, she was gone.
Naruto blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "She went invisible…"
Activating his Hawk Eyes, he scanned the area. Even in invisibility, her faint silhouette flickered in the ultraviolet spectrum, yet there was something odd. Wherever she stepped, there lingered ghostly afterimages, but these too were invisible to the naked eye, a paradox of presence and absence.
His curiosity deepened. For just a moment, he dared to open his Soul Sight. At once, his senses recoiled. Her soul was gone from the weave of the world, as if reality itself had drawn a veil over her existence.
Then…
Boo.
A hand touched his very soul. He whirled to see Dusk's spirit emerge from the darkness, smiling gently. His eyes widened as her soul bore no Darksign. She was untouched by undeath, wholly human. It explained why her corpse could still exist elsewhere in the basin.
Closing his Soul Sight quickly, Naruto exhaled. "That magic… is unlike anything I have ever seen."
"I thank thee, Sir Naruto," Dusk replied with quiet sincerity. She reached down, pinching the sides of her gown between thumb and forefinger, and dipped into a deep, formal curtsy.
Naruto gave a polite bow and said, "Princess Dusk, I am planning to visit the old man, Andre. You would be far safer in his company than in this place."
"Ah, yes. It would be my pleasure to join thee, Sir Naruto."
"Nice," Naruto said with a grin. He cast a sidelong glance at Oscar and gave him a subtle nudge with his foot.
Dusk, noticing the exchange, tilted her head slightly. "Pardon me, but is something the matter?"
"No, nothing's wrong. It's just that Oscar here is going to transform into his ravenous form and be your horse."
Oscar, without missing a beat, opened his mouth in a wide yawn, then flopped to the ground as if preparing for the most determined nap of his life.
"Dude, come on," Naruto said in exasperation. "You're going to carry a princess!"
Oscar lazily turned away from him, his tail flicking in open defiance.
Dusk brought a gloved hand to her mouth to hide a giggle. "Think nothing of it, Sir Naruto. Pray treat me as any ordinary traveler. The title of princess meaneth little, for I could do naught but watch as my kingdom fell to a great evil. I deserve not such privilege as to ride thy noble companion, whilst I yet have the strength to walk."
Naruto blinked at her, genuinely impressed. In his eyes, she now seemed far more honorable than the daimyō of the Wave, who clung to title and pride even in weakness. Dusk understood her own helplessness and did not expect the world to kneel before her simply for the circumstances of her birth.
Oscar, apparently unmoved by her humility, decided to take matters into his own claws. Slipping like a shadow beneath the folds of her gown, he startled her into a gasp.
Her face flushed a deep crimson, both from surprise and from the indignity of the situation. "O-Oh! Wh–What in the name of the flame?!"
Before she could recover, Oscar's body expanded and shifted in a shimmer of light, his form lengthening into the ravenous beast. In one swift motion, the princess was lifted into the air, finding herself seated quite without her consent upon the creature's broad back.
Then Oscar was off like an arrow, his claws tearing into the earth as he bolted across the Darkroot Basin. Dusk clutched at his mane, her gown fluttering wildly in the wind as she cried out in a voice both panicked and pleading, "Sir Naruto! I beg of thee, help me subdue thy unruly beast, for he heedeth me not!"
Naruto doubled over laughing at the sight, slapping his knee before breaking into a sprint after them. "Don't worry, princess! He's just… uh… enthusiastic!"
Oscar's bounding form grew smaller in the distance, and Naruto failed to notice the silent figure observing from above.
The Great Grey Wolf, Sif.
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Naruto walked through the doorframe to Andre's workshop. The scent of hot iron and fire filled the air, but there was something sweeter beneath it.
The warm, heady aroma of fermented fruit.
Andre stood at his workbench, not with a hammer in hand, but with a squat clay jug, pouring a deep amber liquid into a cup. The blacksmith's massive hands were surprisingly delicate in the task, as though the drink demanded as much care as any blade.
"Don't you have anything better to do," Naruto asked, "than blacksmithing… or getting drunk… or getting drunk and then doing blacksmithing?"
Andre did not look up from the clay jug he was pouring into a wide cup. "Hah. That's how I keep my head straight in this place."
"Really? Even with me visiting you all the time?"
"You keep me questioning my sanity, lad. If I drink myself to death, it will likely be your fault."
"Oh, please," Naruto scoffed. "You call that a glorious death or something?"
"Hah. Not glorious. Just honest."
Dusk, who had been quietly taking in the warm, slightly chaotic air of the workshop, let a small, polite laugh escape her lips.
Andre's eyes flicked to her. "Well now. You've brought company. Hah. You did not snatch her off the road, did you?"
"Hey!"
Dusk stepped forward with graceful composure and bowed slightly. "Nay, Master Andre. Sir Naruto here hath delivered me from peril. I, Dusk of Oolacile, am forever in his debt."
Andre's gaze sharpened at the name, though his voice remained steady. "Oolacile, eh? Hm. There's a bonfire upstairs. Best rest while you can."
"Thy kindness is most gracious," Dusk replied, dipping her head. She stooped to lift Oscar into her arms, the little beast giving a smug chirp, and made her way toward the stairs.
Naruto turned back toward Andre, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught it—the faint shimmer in the air near the end stairwell. The outline of a figure, bending light around it. She was not going upstairs at all.
Naruto raised a hand toward Andre. "Wait."
Andre's brows furrowed. "What is it?"
"She's still here," Naruto murmured.
The shimmer moved again, stepping quietly back toward them. It grew clearer, the distortion fading, until Dusk stood before them once more, her composure as calm as a still pond. "Forgive mine intrusion. I heard… my home's name. Pray, Master Andre… speak further."
Andre's eyes narrowed slightly, but his tone remained even. "Very well. But you may wish I had not." He leaned forward, resting both hands on the workbench. "Three hundred years ago, Oolacile fell. Something evil came for you. Knight Artorias cut it down, but the land and its people… finished. Ashes and memory, that is all that is left."
For a moment, Dusk's composure cracked, a tightening around the eyes. She stepped back, her voice faint. "Three… hundred…"
"Dusk—"
She shook her head, turning sharply. "I… must go." Before Naruto could stop her, she vanished in a ripple of light, the invisibility swallowing her whole. Light footsteps fled into the distance.
Naruto cursed under his breath. Damn it…
Andre set his cup down with a dull thunk. "Best let her be. She will likely slip back to her own time, same as Beatrice. And when she does… she will die with the rest of them. Knowing will not change that. It will only weigh her down."
"You do not think she deserves to know the truth?"
Andre's gaze was level. "Truth is a heavy thing, lad. Drop too much of it on a soul, and it will break before it can stand."
"She's stronger than you think."
"Maybe," Andre said. "Or maybe she is just carrying herself like a princess should. Does not matter. The Darkroot stands where Oolacile once did. All that remains of her people is what the soil remembers. And soil is not in the habit of talking back."
Naruto's hands curled into fists. "I have seen her corpse near the Basin. Older. Lifeless. Long gone."
"Then you already know the end to her story."
Naruto slammed his fist into the wall, splintering the stone and leaving a small hole. Damn it! Why is Lordran this cruel?
Andre met his gaze. "Because that is what it is. This land will grind you down, break you, and scatter the pieces. No care for who you are. The sooner you learn that, the longer you will last. But even then… no promise you will keep your soul."
Naruto's breath came slow and heavy. "What do I do then?"
"I would tell you to leave her be," Andre said. "Let her go back. Let the past stay buried. But I know you will not."
"I want to help her… even if she does go back."
Andre smirked faintly. "Hah. That is just the sort you are. Here. Drink." He poured a cup and pushed it toward him.
Naruto sat heavily on the bench and took the cup, the warm, spiced mead burning pleasantly as it went down.
The forge fire crackled, throwing restless shadows across the walls. Beside him, Andre drank in silence.
"Thinking does not suit you, lad. When you talk to folk, you speak straight. No need to rehearse a thing. You know that better than me."
Naruto let out a sigh and took a long swig of his drink. "I know… but I want to clear my head before I talk to her."
"Fair enough. You were gone a couple days. Something happen back in your world?"
Naruto glanced at him, then began to tell the story. He spoke about the fight with Gato, Guren, and the schemes that had gone sour for the enemy. Andre barked out a laugh when Naruto described how he dealt with Gato, shaking his head in approval. But when Naruto mentioned he did not want Sasuke or Sakura in Lordran, Andre's face went still and thoughtful.
"That is for the best," he said at last. "This place would break them. No need to bring them here to find out."
Naruto nodded, pushing the thought aside. "Anyway… I have been thinking about ringing the Bell of Awakening."
Andre gave a low hum.
"So… got anything for me? Advice? Warnings? Something dramatic about destiny?"
"You will do fine," Andre said simply.
"That is it? Is not the Bell of Awakening a big deal?"
"It is," Andre replied, standing and patting Naruto's shoulder. "But you are strong, lad. Stronger than most Undead who have ever set foot here. You will manage."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, old drunk."
Andre snorted at that, then paused. "Oh. The Black Knight armor. Nearly forgot."
Naruto's eyes lit up. "You fixed it?"
Andre scowled and pulled off his right glove. The skin beneath was burned raw, dark marks climbing his palm and forearm. "No. Could not fix it."
Naruto's excitement died instantly. "What happened?" He fumbled in his inventory, pulling out every healing item he had.
Andre waved him off. "That will not help. This burn came from demonic fire."
"Demonic fire?"
"Aye," Andre said, his tone steady. "Long ago, the silver knights of Lordran marched against the demons of Izalith. They say the flames of Chaos burned them black. From that day, they were called the Black Knights. The fire still lingers in that armor. When I put my tools to it, the flames bit me through leather and steel."
He flexed his hand. "It is not ordinary flame. It burns the soul as much as the flesh."
Naruto stared at the burn, guilt twisting his gut. "I'm sorry, Andre."
Andre reached over and tapped him on the head. "No need for that. You did not know, and neither did I. Life is like that."
Naruto gave a slow nod. "Okay. But at least give me the armor back so I can keep it safe."
"Not a chance. I will find a way to work it."
Naruto could not help but smile at the stubborn tone. "Guess I am leaving it to you. In that case…" He dropped the steel armor set on the workbench with a thud. "Something else for you to fix."
Andre gave a short laugh. "Hah. Fine. But I will have that Black Knight set ready before you can say Hollow."
"I will hold you to that."
Andre looked up from his work, voice turning serious. "Do not get yourself killed. Neither of us wants to see you go Hollow."
Naruto raised a thumbs-up to Andre as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.
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The forge's heat gave way to a cooler breeze drifting through the upper archways. At the top, Oscar stood alone beside the narrow path that led toward the looming gates of Sen's Fortress.
Naruto's sharp gaze caught the distortion of light near the ledge. It was Dusk, wrapped in the shimmer of her sorcery, standing motionless and looking out at the forest ahead.
Oscar shifted restlessly. Naruto bent down, scooping him into his arms. Easy, buddy, he murmured, stepping outside. Out across the courtyard, he spotted a familiar round silhouette in the distance. He lifted a hand in greeting.
"That is Sir Siegmeyer of Catarina," Naruto called out gently toward the shimmer that marked Dusk's presence. "He is a wise man. If you wished to speak of your troubles to another, he would hear you well."
The air shimmered but gave no reply.
"Look… I know it is scary. Everything you knew, gone in an instant."
"I doubt that thou dost truly understand," came Dusk's voice, faint and almost lost to the wind.
"Maybe not exactly," Naruto admitted. "But I found out my clan was gone too. The one time I thought I had found another member… they were already dead." He exhaled slowly, staring at the stones beneath his feet. "It would be wrong for me to say I know exactly how you feel. I do not. But I do know what it is like to think you have lost everything, and that there is no way to get it back."
There was a pause, the silence stretching between them. Then, slowly, the shimmer broke. Dusk's form came into view, her hands folded before her, eyes downcast. Her face was caught between composure and something far more fragile.
"Thou speakest as one who hath walked among shadows," she said at last. "Yet thy manner is… unguarded. I cannot tell if this is a strength or a folly."
"Maybe both. But if I am honest with people, it makes it easier for them to be honest with me."
Her eyes flickered with something unreadable. "Honesty… A princess is taught to weigh every word. There are duties, masks one must wear, for the sake of the realm and the people. Yet in my heart, I am weary of such masks."
"Then take it off," Naruto said simply.
"Thou speakest as if it were so simple."
"I am not saying it is easy. But you are not in Oolacile anymore. You do not have to play the part all the time. Sometimes you just… need to let yourself be a person, not a title."
Her lips parted slightly, as if she might answer, but no words came. Instead, her gaze wavered, the weight of everything she had lost pressing down.
Naruto stepped closer, his arms opening in silent offer.
"A princess is not meant to touch others without formality. Such closeness is… forbidden."
"Maybe where you are from," Naruto said quietly. "But right now? I think you just need someone to hold on to."
For a long moment she stood still, her hands trembling ever so slightly. Then, with a small, almost imperceptible movement, she stepped forward into his arms. The rigid poise of a royal melted away, and she pressed against the armor-clad shinobi as though she might fall apart without that anchor.
Naruto held her firmly, not speaking, letting the sound of her uneven breaths fill the quiet.
After a while, she spoke into his chest, her voice thick. "Thou art a strange knight, Sir Naruto. Strange… and kind."
He gave a small smile she could not see. "Guess I have been called worse."
She let out a soft, shaky laugh, and then the tears came in earnest. She did not try to stop them.
They stayed like that until the storm within her passed, and when they finally sat together on the steps, Oscar nestled quietly in her lap, she looked at him with an expression that was still sorrowful, but no longer entirely alone.
A few minutes later, Dusk's voice broke the silence. "Sir Naruto… may I pose a question to thee?"
"Sure. What is on your mind?"
"When thou didst discover that thy clan was… no more… what action didst thou take?"
Naruto tilted his head slightly, unsure how to answer. "When I found out?"
"Aye," she said softly. "What didst thou do?"
"Truth be told… nothing. I am still figuring it out. I have thought about making my name as big as possible so the world does not forget me… or the Uzumaki name. But that is just an idea. Not a plan. Not yet."
Dusk inclined her head slightly. "So thou dost not know the path forward… yet thou art certain that thou wouldst not have the world forget?"
"Something like that," Naruto said with a small shrug. Their eyes met, and in that moment they both recognized the same undercurrent, that quiet fear of fading from history.
Dusk's expression grew more resolute. "Then, Sir Naruto, I have a proposal for thee."
He straightened, sensing her seriousness.
"I would see the sorceries of Oolacile live on," she continued. "Even if the land itself is swallowed by time, so long as our craft is practiced, Oolacile is not wholly gone. I would teach them to thee. My art, my people's art, entrusted to thy hands."
Naruto felt something stir deep inside him. Her words struck at the heart of what he had been avoiding. The truth that he had done little to honor his own clan's memory. He could tell himself it was because he did not know how, but deep down, he knew that excuse was not enough. If he had truly tried, he could have found a way.
He drew in a steady breath and met her gaze. "Alright. I will carry the magic of Oolacile with me."
Her face softened. "My heartfelt thanks. I am… pleased beyond words." There was a light in her eyes now. The look of one who had found a worthy steward for something precious.
"Then you should probably start making some scrolls. Andre could get you parchment, and while you do that, I will go ring the Bell of Awakening. That bell is… important to me."
"As you wish, my dear knight," Dusk said while lifting Oscar gently from her lap and placing him back into Naruto's arms.
Naruto turned to leave, but inside, his thoughts were a tangled knot. Part of him knew he could stay, learn the art of Oolacile directly from her. But another part of him feared how much it would hurt when the time came for her to leave. Knowing she would one day die and that she already had, in another time… made the thought unbearable. If he learned only from her scrolls, it would be easier. Easier not to face the pain of knowing that he had lost another friend.
Yet there was another weight pressing on him. The guilt of neglecting his own heritage. He had not truly sought the history of the Uzumaki clan, nor done anything to carry their legacy forward. That failure lingered like a bitter taste.
But it was not too late. As he stepped away, Naruto made a silent vow. If the chance ever came, he would go to Uzushiogakure. He would uncover the strength of his clan, claim their lost heritage, and ensure the Uzumaki name endured.
With that promise burning quietly in his chest, he carried Oscar down up to the Undead Church.
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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 89, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.
To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!