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Chapter 190 The First Bell of Awakening part 2
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Lautrec leaned lazily against the balcony railing of the Undead Church, his golden armor glinting faintly in the torchlight. The horde of hollows that once filled the pews stood frozen mid-motion, each one encased in jagged crystal.
The floor trembled beneath his boots. The roof groaned and shook, dust drifting from the rafters as another thunderous crash echoed from above. The battle still raged at the top of the church.
A slow, amused chuckle left his lips. "You are very different from most undead who stagger through this cursed land…" Lautrec murmured to no one but himself. His sharp eyes roved across the altar below and there he saw it. Empty. The Firekeeper's Soul was gone.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue. "So you've already plucked it from her shrine. Bold." His grin widened, the mirth never touching his cold eyes. "Perhaps you truly are fated to walk the path of the Chosen Undead."
He tilted his head back, golden helm gleaming faintly as his gaze shifted toward the rooftop where the battle had just gone quiet.
"But if that is your destiny, then it is a cruel one. The gods will dress it up in prophecy, bind you in chains of duty, and call it salvation." He rested his hand upon the hilt of his shotel, stroking the curve of the blade as though it were a lover's face. "Do not fear, friend. When they make a slave of you, I will be there to free you from those shackles. Heh… heheheheh."
The laughter slithered through the church, echoing against stone walls.
He turned to leave, his gait measured, almost careless. He would make his way back to Firelink Shrine, wait, and watch. But then...
A ripple passed through him. A pressure. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled beneath his helm. His entire body stilled in an instant.
"…Occult!"
The word came with a sneer, but also with interest. He straightened, every trace of nonchalance gone. His eyes darted upward to the ceiling as another vibration shook the beams.
"Why?" Lautrec muttered, voice sharp as a blade drawn from its scabbard. "Why does such blasphemous power seep from the heart of the Undead Church, of all places? Why would the gods themselves forbid magic... and yet let it fester here?"
Slowly, he turned from the balcony, steps ringing softly against the hollow stone as he made his way up to the rooftop.
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The rooftop shook beneath their feet. Solaire and Naruto braced side by side, shields raised high. The twin-headed gargoyle lunged forward, both maws snapping like wolves.
Naruto's boots skidded across the tiles, his Black Knight shield groaning under the pressure. The monstrous strength of the fused gargoyle was too much. With a final heave, he was flung backward, sliding across the rooftop until he struck the base of the spire. While the monster was focused on the two knights, the little beast sprang onto the gargoyle's hunched back. With a sharp hiss of chakra, Oscar unleashed a torrent of jagged crystals, carpeting the creature's shoulders and spine.
The gargoyle roared in fury. Both heads whipped around, flinging Oscar off its back. He tumbled across the rooftop, crystal shards scattering around him, but landed on his paws with a growl.
Above, both heads inhaled deeply. Sickly, green black flames began to churn in their throats, coiling like venomous smoke.
Before the breath could be unleashed, a spear of lightning split the air. Solaire's miracle struck one head square in the jaw, snapping it to the side. Almost at the same instant, a volley of compressed wind bullets cracked into the second head's temple, staggering it.
The beast reeled, but only for a heartbeat. With a guttural bellow, it charged. Both heads lowered like rams, and the gargoyle barreled forward with the weight of a runaway carriage.
Oscar reacted first. His body hardened, fracturing into his ravenous crystal form mid-leap. He spun and hurled a massive crystal shuriken towards the monster.
The gargoyle's wings snapped open, the air booming as they carried it upward. The shuriken whistled past, but Naruto was already there. He caught it mid-swing. Pivoting on the balls of his feet, he twisted and hurled the shuriken back, this time straight into the monster's ascent.
Both heads roared in unison. Flames erupted, twin torrents of black green fire that consumed the spinning crystal in midair. The explosion expanded outward, flames pouring over the entire rooftop in a suffocating wave.
For a moment, everything was swallowed in fire.
Then the shields gleamed through the smoke.
Over fifty Naruto shadow clones stood shoulder to shoulder, their shields locked into a turtle formation. Fire battered against the barrier, but the clones held, their bodies flickering and breaking apart one by one. As they perished, they left behind a veil of thick white smoke, covering the entire rooftop like mist.
From within the haze, the counterattack began. Lightning spears lanced upward. Magic bolts and wind jutsu followed, tearing into the air around the gargoyle. The fused beast twisted and roared, flapping its wings furiously to scatter the smoke.
But that was only the distraction.
The real Naruto crouched high above on the cathedral's spire, his silhouette hidden against the stone finial. Bow drawn, he loosed an arrow tipped with a shard of glowing blue titanite. It whistled through the air, piercing the joint where one of the gargoyle's massive wings met its back.
The beast screamed as stone cracked and flesh split, its flight stuttering.
Down below, Solaire raised his shield, voice ringing across the rooftop even amidst the chaos. "Strike true, my friend! The flame of jolly cooperation burns brightest when all hearts align!"
The shadow clone beside him nodded sharply before unleashing another volley, joined by Oscar's crystalline barrage. Together, their attacks forced the gargoyle to reel and stagger, keeping its attention fixed on them.
Meanwhile, the true Naruto tugged subtly on a wire no eye could see. The arrow embedded in the gargoyle shimmered faintly as the chakra-conducting ninja wire snaked back to his fingertips. With a sharp pulse of energy, Naruto sent his chakra surging towards the arrowhead.
One of the gargoyle's heads snapped with frightening speed. Its jaws clamped down on the chakra wire, not to cut but to hold.
"What?!" Naruto's eyes widened as the beast jerked its neck, dragging him upward.
The world became a blur. Wind screamed in his ears, the cathedral shrinking below as he was yanked into the sky like prey caught in a hawk's talons. He tried to hold onto the wire, but the second head lunged and bit clean through it.
Snap.
The line severed, and Naruto was suddenly weightless.
Then came the fall.
The sky opened beneath him, an endless drop yawning toward the cracked rooftop of the church. His stomach lurched violently as gravity seized him, the pit of his gut twisting into cold iron. The wind tore at his face and roared past his helm, so loud it drowned out thought. For an instant, there was only the terrible realization of how far he had to fall, and how fragile the body really was.
But Naruto was no stranger to falling from impossible heights.
"Not dying to this," he growled through clenched teeth.
In one desperate motion, he unequipped his armour set until only his battered orange boxers clung to him. Lighter now, freer, he dug into his inventory and pulled free a blanket.
The absurdity did not matter. Survival did.
With frantic precision, Naruto grabbed the ends of the blanket to his hands and feet. Chakra control helped him hold onto the blanket without tying it. The fabric snapped and caught the air, ballooning into a crude, makeshift wingsuit. His descent slowed barely, but enough to matter.
Below, Solaire and Oscar could only stare, mouths hanging open.
Naruto was not finished. His fingers flew through hand signs, even as the wind tore at his cheeks.
Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!
The sky exploded with puffs of white smoke. A hundred Narutos burst into existence, their bodies spiraling alongside him. In perfect synchronization, they locked their arms and legs together, stretching the massive blanket wide above the church like a kite.
The effect was immediate.
The giant living wings caught the air, pulling Naruto's descent into something controlled. He was no longer plummeting but gliding, riding the pull of the clones' strange formation. Periodically, a few clones released bursts of fireballs downward, the blasts acting as jets that lifted and steadied the contraption.
The rooftop trembled under the clash of battle, but for a moment the entire world seemed to pause.
"By the sun…" Solaire whispered. "Absolutely glorious. Madness married to genius."
Oscar only chirp, shaking his head.
"Fina's great tits… what is this?"
Lautrec stepped onto the shattered rooftop, his golden armor gleaming in the firelight of the ongoing battle. For all his arrogance, even he faltered, staring upward with something that looked very much like disbelief. Above the cathedral hung a sight so ludicrous it could only belong to a madman's dream.
"Oh, hey." Naruto's voice broke the tension as he detached from the formation, landing lightly on the broken stones. He took off the blanket, re-equipped his armour set, and grinned as if nothing were strange. "What are you doing here?"
Lautrec's eyes flickered, but his tongue was smooth. "I… came to help," he lied, the words flowing like honey.
"Thanks, but we've got it covered."
"Naruto," the sunlight warrior said gravely, his eyes turned skyward. Following his gaze, all heads rose.
High above, a green ball of fire streaked downward, trailing smoke like a burning star. The twin-headed gargoyle was returning, its broken wings carrying it in a meteoric dive.
"Guys, you know what to do next."
"Dattebayo!" a hundred voices roared in perfect unison.
The clone-kite detonated into motion. Each Naruto released a torrent of fireballs, their bodies propelling themselves like living rockets into the path of the descending gargoyle. The sky blazed orange and red as they intercepted the beast, their formations collapsing into controlled chaos.
Explosive seals shimmered into existence across each clone's chest.
And then the heavens themselves split.
One by one, the clones erupted into blinding bursts of fire and chakra, until the sky became a storm of suns. The cathedral below shuddered as a shockwave rolled across the land, rattling the spires and flinging dust from their cracked stones. A thunderous roar of flame and light swallowed the gargoyle's descent, painting the sky in a colossal bloom of fire that could be seen for miles.
Naruto raised his hand in salute.
Oscar mirrored him with a flick of his paw.
Solaire followed suit.
Lautrec, however, only stood and stared, golden fingers flexing against the hilt of his shotel. His eyes narrowed, his thoughts hidden. Were they geniuses? Fools? Or simply mad beyond measure? He could not decide.
"I did not even get to name this jutsu…" Naruto muttered, lips pouting as the smoke above thinned.
"What would you call it?"
Naruto's eyes sparkled like a child unveiling a masterpiece. "Heaven Defying Multi Shadow Clone Cooperative Aerodynamic Interlock Formation: Improvised Reverse Descent Arrest and Controlled Thermal Updraft Generation Blanket Kite Jutsu!"
There was silence. Even Oscar looked away. Sweatdrops might as well have fallen down all their faces.
"…Let us simply call it Storm King," Solaire suggested.
"That works too."
But Lautrec's voice cut through the brief reprieve. "It is not dead."
The words froze the air.
Above, the smoke twisted, shadow consuming flame. And then, with the fury of a god's hammer, a mass plummeted.
The Pseudo Rebis Gargoyle crashed upon the cathedral rooftop. The impact shattered stone and splintered wood, the floor caving inward as the monster's bulk crushed through. Debris exploded outward in a storm of dust and shards, the shock rattling the entire church.
Naruto unleashed his shadow clones. They caught the falling knights in a net of hands, guiding Oscar, Solaire, and even Lautrec safely to the cathedral's ground floor.
The dust settled.
There it stood.
The gargoyle was no longer stone. The false flesh of divinity had sloughed away, revealing the abomination beneath. A writhing colossus of exposed muscle, pulsing veins, and glistening organs clinging grotesquely to the shape of the twin-headed beast. Its skin, what little remained, was stretched and torn, half red and half white, as if two bodies had been stitched together by madness. Silver, mercury-like blood seeped from its wounds, steaming as it touched the broken stone.
It loosed a roar that rattled the marrow of their bones.
And the world answered.
From the ruined doors of the church poured hollows in a maddened tide, rusted blades and broken bodies driven forward by some unholy call.
"I will handle this," Lautrec said coldly, stepping forward as he whispered to his gold ring. "Oh Fina… bless this fool in his battle."
Then he was gone, moving like a serpent through the mob, his laughter and the shrieks of the dying hollow filling the outside.
Meanwhile, inside, the Pseudo Rebis Gargoyle struck. Its twin necks shot forward, not with the rigid strength of stone but with the whipping, grotesque fluidity of serpents. The flesh-snakes lunged, snapping to crush them whole.
Naruto leapt aside, rolling across broken pews. Oscar slammed a crystal barrier into being catching one head mid-strike.
"Buy me time!" Solaire asked.
"Got it!"
With a surge of motion, Naruto sprang onto Oscar's back, his black knight halberd drawn. Oscar braced, his ravenous crystal form skittering forward, weaving between strikes. At the apex of the movement, Naruto leapt high and brought the halberd down in a cleaving arc that cut through sinew, and the white head tumbled to the floor in a spray of mercury blood.
The red head screamed. A wave of fire burst forth, a furnace-blast that consumed the crystal wall and painted the cathedral in molten light. Oscar skidded back, his claws flashing as he raised a jagged barricade that blackened beneath the flames.
And then came the sound.
Like the tolling of a war drum, heavy and resonant, it shook the very air. Solaire rose. His body was cloaked in golden radiance, like a shard of the sun itself. In a single strike, he thrust. The bolt tore through the red head and blew it apart in a thunderclap. The cathedral's walls trembled with the force.
But the gargoyle did not fall.
Headless, blinded, its body surged forward with hideous momentum, a marionette of meat and madness. Solaire braced with his shield, golden aura straining as the monster crashed into him. Oscar roared, crystalline spikes bursting from the ground, spearing the abomination's torso and pinning it to the broken floor. Its blood hissed against the crystal, but still it moved, thrashing and clawing forward with hateful strength.
[ Name: Pseudo Rebis's Gargoyle ]
[ HP: 1 / 3,000 ]
Naruto's breath hitched. His eyes narrowed. He remembered the Undead Dragon and the same impossible tenacity, the same refusal to die when flesh was ruined and bones were broken. Something bound this thing beyond life and death.
Something unnatural.
He inhaled, chest steadying as he used Soul Sight.
The gargoyle was something else entirely. Its soul was grotesque, wrapped in mercury-like chains that clung tight around its essence. Those chains writhed, tethering the beast to a single ember of pitch-black fire that pulsed like a diseased heart.
Naruto steadied his bow. He drew an arrow, nocking it with care, and whispered to himself as he let the chakra flow through him. With telekinesis guiding its path, the arrow split the air and struck true.
The black heart shattered.
Naruto closed his eyes as Soul Sight faded, yet madness gnawed at him. His stomach turned as the gargoyle's corpse convulsed. Black flames erupted from within its body, consuming it in a grotesque blaze. Its mercury blood did not spill; rather, it seeped away into the cracks of the world, as if the earth itself hungrily swallowed it back into the abyss.
Solaire raised his voice. "An amazing shot, my friend. It rivals the female archers of old."
Oscar sagged back into his regular form, crystalline armor shedding into fragments that cracked against the stone. The little guy panted, exhausted but smiling faintly.
Solaire flicked a golden coin toward Naruto with his thumb. The coin spun in the air, catching the light before landing neatly in Naruto's palm. Its surface bore the radiant symbol of the sun, a face smiling serenely from its center.
"That is my thanks," Solaire said with bright cheer. "For this most jolly cooperation."
Naruto turned the coin over in his hand, then grinned. "Sun bro, after this… can you meet me at the Sunlight Altar?"
"Of course," Solaire replied without hesitation. His phantom form shimmered, flickered, and then dissolved like sunlight breaking into motes.
The church was silent again. Naruto took a long breath, closing his eyes to try and push down the unease in his chest. That gargoyle… it had a soul. It had been alive. But someone had twisted it, chained it, used it as a puppet. Why? For what purpose? And what was that black flame? Why was its blood mercury?
The great doors of the cathedral groaned. Lautrec stepped through, his armor dripping red. He paused, looking at the smoldering ash where the gargoyle had once stood. His tone was dry, almost casual. "Oh. You defeated it."
"Yeah," Naruto said quietly. "Want your share of the soul?"
Lautrec chuckled darkly and shook his head. "No. I barely lifted a hand in that fight. Besides…" His gaze drifted to his golden ring as his voice grew sharp with conviction. "Fina would not smile upon me if I touched a soul tainted by the occult."
"Who's Fina?"
Lautrec did not answer. He stepped into the elevator, and without another word the platform shuddered and descended toward Firelink Shrine.
Naruto exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders. He bent down, scooping up Oscar in his arms. The little guy gave a weary chirp, fluttering his stubby arms. Naruto pressed a quick kiss to the top of his crystalline head and smiled. "That was a fun fight."
Oscar gave him a flat look, but his eyes softened, and he chirped again.
Naruto raised his hand.
[ Victory Achieved! ]
[ You have gained: ]
[ 15,000 Souls ]
[ Twin Humanity ]
[ Sunlight Medal ]
[ 1 Homeward Bone ]
[ Gargoyle Tail Axe ]
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Somehow, despite the brutal battle, the spire still stood. Naruto seized the chance and climbed, now standing before the Bell of Awakening.
The bell was titanic, blackened brass streaked with green corrosion, suspended by chains that groaned with age. Beneath it waited a lever, set into a heavy gear assembly.
Naruto wrapped both hands around the lever. Chakra poured into his arms, muscles reinforced, skin toughened to withstand what was coming. He pulled.
The gear clanked. Metal screamed.
GONG.
The sound slammed into him like a shockwave, rattling his teeth and crushing his lungs. His whole body trembled as if struck by a hammer, and only the chakra strengthening his bones and flesh kept him from collapsing under the sheer force of it. The Bell of Awakening did not simply ring; it roared.
The spire quaked. Dust fell like pale snow as the bell tolled again.
GONG.
Oscar jumped at the second strike.
Naruto staggered to the edge, boots gripping the weathered stone. He gazed down into the endless mist. Silver tides shifted and parted, revealing the ruined skeleton of the Undead Parish, Firelink Shrine's lonely bonfire, and farther still, a broken aqueduct carving the cliffs like a scar.
Above, beyond the fractured dome, loomed the massive walls of the City of Gods. Distant. Unreachable, for now.
He lifted his head and waited.
Oscar padded up, blinked once, then curled beside him with a soft chirp.
"Patience, buddy," Naruto muttered. "No way you ring a bell like that in Lordran and nothing happens."
Oscar blinked again, slow and unimpressed, as if saying, Wake me when something explodes.
Naruto sighed and leaned against the wall. "Yeah, yeah. Fair enough."
The bell's echo lingered, still rumbling through the air.
A minute passed.
Then another.
Any moment now.
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Author Note:
1 – What is the second phase of the Gargoyles about?
This is something I have been thinking about for a long time. The chapter you just read is probably my third draft, because I kept reworking how I wanted the second phase of the fight to feel. I wanted it to be more than just "another gargoyle drops in." After a lot of research into folklore and alchemy, I finally settled on the idea of using the pseudo-Rebis as the second phase.
So let's not beat around the bush. What exactly is the Rebis?
To answer that, we need to look at alchemy itself. Alchemy is often dismissed as a pseudo-science, but many of its ideas have carried symbolic weight for centuries, inspiring art, literature, and of course, games like Dark Souls. FromSoftware borrows heavily from alchemical and occult imagery, even if only in symbolic form.
For example, let's look at the Caduceus, often represented by the twin snakes spiraling around a staff. In alchemy, the two snakes represent dualities: male and female, sulfur and mercury, sun and moon. Their union around a single axis is meant to symbolize the balancing of opposites into harmony. Dark Souls directly references this symbol with the Caduceus Round Shield, a piece of equipment whose design reflects that alchemical emblem. We can also see the theme of twin serpents in the primordial serpents Kaathe and Frampt, who act as opposing but parallel forces guiding the Chosen Undead.
Another alchemical pairing is the King in Red and Queen in White, recurring figures in many alchemical texts such as the Rosarium Philosophorum. The King in Red symbolizes sulfur, fire, and the masculine principle, while the Queen in White symbolizes mercury, water, and the feminine principle. Their union is the alchemical "marriage," a step toward the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. We see echoes of this symbolism in Dark Souls as well, particularly in the imagery tied to Gwyndolin, whose associations with moonlight, water, and dual identity fit neatly into these alchemical archetypes.
Alchemy also speaks of the Prima Materia, the raw formless substance from which all things are said to be created. It appears in three symbolic forms: mercury, water, and void. This maps onto themes in Dark Souls: the Abyss represents the void, the Deep in Dark Souls III is tied to water, and mercury-like substances and symbolism appear often in FromSoftware's other works, most clearly in Bloodborne's quicksilver bullets. The point is that alchemical and occult traditions serve as rich soil for FromSoftware's worldbuilding, whether subtly or directly.
Now, back to the Rebis.
In alchemy, the Rebis (from the Latin res bina, "double thing") is the result of the "alchemical marriage" of opposing forces into one perfected whole. It is often depicted as an androgynous figure with two heads, one male and one female, standing on a dragon while holding the sun and the moon in its hands. The Rebis represents the successful fusion of opposites into unity, a necessary step toward reaching the Philosopher's Stone. Texts like the Rosarium Philosophorum and the Theatrum Chemicum describe it as the embodiment of harmony between contradictions.
So why did I choose the Rebis for the Gargoyles?
Because the Gargoyles in Dark Souls already come in pairs. The first phase is one gargoyle, then another joins in. They are not individuals but constructs, puppets of the gods. For the second phase, I wanted to transform this idea into something more meaningful: the two gargoyles fusing into a pseudo-Rebis. I say "pseudo" because the fusion is forced and unnatural. True Rebis is the perfect balance of opposites into a new being, but the Gargoyles are artificial creatures, hollow shells animated by magic. Their fusion is more of a grotesque imitation of alchemy than the real thing, echoing how Anor Londo's gods manipulate and distort deeper truths for their own ends.
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2: Who is Fina?
Some of you may be interested to know who Fina was in relation to Lautrec.
Fina is one of the members of Gwyn's clan who resided in Anor Londo during the Age of Fire. She was known for possessing a fatal beauty and for the fact that her love, protection, and favor were as fickle as the weather.
She is essentially the Aphrodite of Dark Souls.
After Gwyn linked the First Flame, and after Gwyn's firstborn son was dethroned and exiled, she abandoned Anor Londo together with nearly all of the other deities and moved to an unknown location.
Even after she left Lordran, Knight Lautrec became extremely devoted to her. Adrift on a sea of isolation, only his faith in the love of his goddess remained true, and so he forsook everything else. He was so deluded in his misplaced devotion that he forged a replica of her arms wrapping around his own armor in a depiction of her embrace.
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3: How and why did the Gargoyles get this second phase?
One of the big reasons I like adding second phases to boss fights in my story is that it gives me a way to challenge Naruto while also weaving in the more obscure corners of Dark Souls lore. Each new phase is more than just a gameplay twist. It is an opportunity to bring up speculation, hidden mechanics, and unanswered questions that FromSoftware left in the margins.
For example, earlier in the story I touched on how magic in Dark Souls can be cast through faith, not just intelligence. Little details like that open the door to bigger discussions about how flexible the game's systems and its lore really are.
The Gargoyles' second phase is my way of tying in the concept of the Rebis with the occult. In Dark Souls, the occult has always been present, though it is often kept in the shadows. We have Occult weapons, such as the club Havel himself wielded, and we also have the Dark Ember, which allows the creation of occult weaponry. The connection between the occult and the Dark is made explicit through these items, as well as through the fact that the gods themselves feared this knowledge.
So, how do the Gargoyles get tied into this? The answer lies with Velka.
Velka is the one deity who I believe would know the truth about Naruto and his draconic side in my story. When Naruto rings the first Bell of Awakening, he is essentially drawing the eyes of the gods upon himself. But Velka, knowing what that would mean, intervenes.
Instead of letting Naruto immediately be noticed by the gods of Anor Londo, Velka uses the power of occult sorcery and the Dark Ember to manipulate the Gargoyles. She twists their magical construct nature and forces them into the grotesque pseudo-Rebis form I described earlier. This not only buys Naruto more time before the gods truly take notice, but also reinforces Velka's role as the manipulator working in the background. The Rebis is not a natural union. It is an occult distortion meant to serve Velka's hidden goals.
And now, to shift back to Naruto himself: what did you all think of the Clone Kite sequence? Personally, I loved writing it. For me, it captures Naruto at his best: creative, chaotic, and unpredictable. Combining the Fireball Jutsu with Shadow Clones in such an offbeat way felt like peak Naruto energy. And having Solaire call the technique Storm King was a reference to Demon's Souls.
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4– What was Solaire's power-up, and why did he compare Naruto's archery to specifically female archers of old?
If you have played Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III, then you will know that Solaire used a miracle that is not found in Dark Souls I: the Sacred Oath miracle.
Effect: Increases damage absorption by 10% across the board, while also increasing damage dealt with all weapons and spells by 10%, for 60 seconds.
As for Solaire comparing Naruto's archery to female archers, it is linked to the description of another miracle, Lightning Arrow:
"The few female knights who served in the age of the gods used this miracle for dragonslaying. Draw lightning bow to fire a lightning arrow. The lightning arrows offer a great improvement to the range of the spears, and were said to have been used to pierce the eyes of the dragons from afar. But remember, beautiful stories are always marked by embellishment."
Solaire's comparison is not meant as an insult but as a form of respect. Female knights were rare in the age of the gods, and the miracle they used was both powerful and elegant.
Now, my question to you all is this: do you want Naruto to gain miracles from Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III since they would technically exist within the lore, or should Naruto only have access to miracles from Dark Souls I while other NPCs like Solaire make use of content from the later games?
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That's it for now!
As always, I appreciate you all taking the time to read, comment, and just come along for the ride.
Thank you all for your support—you make writing this story such an incredible journey!
Until next time,
Adamo Amet
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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!