In the end, the Great Witch left the choice to Shin.
For her part, she was leaning toward Torrynt.
After all, Marika had explained further in the group chat — the "dual-form" nature of an Empyrean was a genuinely unusual circumstance.
It wasn't a simple case of two souls sharing one body. It was closer to two bodies and two souls existing simultaneously within the same vessel, with the male form and female form not even sharing senses.
In the Elden Ring DLC — the Shadow of the Erdtree — Torrynt was eventually carved away from Miquella and cast aside entirely, becoming a fully independent being in her own right.
So in theory, it wasn't quite as awkward as it sounded. But that was only in theory.
— Shin had absolutely no interest in being targeted by a certain pretty-boy. What if, instead of going after Director Mogus, the guy set his sights on him?
So Shin very legitimately declined every single option, temporarily relieving himself of this round of "matchmaking" headaches.
In a strange way, he almost had to thank Marika for producing such a collection of exceptional children. If even one or two of them had been remotely normal, he'd have had a much harder time wriggling out of the Great Witch's plans.
Of course, Marika's commission still needed to be carried out. And it wasn't a difficult one at its core — she was trapped inside the Erdtree and simply wanted information about the outside world.
Specifically, about the Shattering currently tearing the Lands Between apart.
So over the course of those 48 hours, Shin mapped out his route from memory, teleported between grace sites Marika had left behind, ran a group livestream, and covered a wide stretch of the Lands Between.
He didn't have the guts to wade directly into the war between demigods — but he had plenty of guts to spy on them.
Though the gap between the demigods themselves was, to put it mildly, enormous.
At the low end, there was the pitifully feeble Grafted Prince who could only staple a dragon head onto himself and breathe fire. At the high end, there was the Starscourge General, who could single-handedly pin down an entire meteor shower with his bare hands.
As long as Shin didn't come face to face with any of the truly overpowered demigods — and as long as he steered well clear of things like the Frenzied Flame — his current abilities were more than enough to swagger across the Lands Between with his head held high.
48 hours passed in the blink of an eye.
[Spreading Witch Factor (Temp Account)]: Lady Marika, I've gathered all the intelligence I could.
[Spreading Witch Factor (Temp Account)]: Of your daughters — I haven't been able to locate Melina yet. Malenia is leading her army northward, and Torrynt... oh, rather, Miquella should still be within Leyndell, which hasn't fallen.
[Spreading Witch Factor (Temp Account)]: [Image] [Image] [Image]
[Spreading Witch Factor (Temp Account)]: As for Lady Ranni — she is currently concealed within a hidden space beyond Caria Manor. She has erected magical barriers; conventional means cannot get inside.
[Spreading Witch Factor (Temp Account)]: That should cover it. More or less.
With one burst of effort he sent everything at once, and Shin finally let out a long breath.
The photos were mostly taken by slipping close-range into the armies participating in the Shattering and capturing them through the livestream feature. There were plenty of familiar faces among them — enough to give Marika, stuck inside the Erdtree, something to look at.
[Lord of Lands Between]: The "Omen King," the cursed "Blessed King," holds the line against the coalition's assault. Leyndell has not fallen. The war drags on into a stalemate...
[Lord of Lands Between]: ...Sigh. Perhaps I made the wrong choices back then. I should never have sent those two brothers to that place. It is what led to all of this.
Even through the words in the group chat, anyone could see just how complicated Marika's feelings were in that moment.
After all, the group livestream was public — nearly every member now knew the full picture of what was unfolding in Marika's Lands Between.
Leyndell, the Royal Capital, teetered on the edge under the coalition's assault. But the ones holding it together were not the blue-blooded nobles who prided themselves on the Golden lineage — they were the "Omen Twins," her own flesh and blood, once cast into the city's sewers and abandoned by the Eternal Queen Marika herself.
The "Omen King" Morgott, single-handedly, had turned back the assault of the "Mightiest Demigod," Starscourge Radahn, charging to the frontlines time and again to drive the coalition back, keeping the capital's interior free from the fires of war.
The "Blood King" Mohg had fortified the sewers beneath the capital, sealing off the passage so enemy forces could not slip in and sabotage from within.
Whether looked at through the eyes of Leyndell's citizens or any outside observer — what these two Omens had done was the stuff of heroes. Morgott especially, returning good for evil, stood out as something close to nobility of character.
But Shin knew that Marika's thoughts were not the same as anyone else's.
[Queen of Britain]: There is no need for despair, Lady Marika. Things have not taken the worst possible turn.
[Queen of Britain]: At the very least, the capital you once ruled has been held. And your children have not let you down.
[Lord of Lands Between]: No — what I regret is that I did not take Morgott and his brother out of the city altogether, from the very beginning. I should have sent them somewhere far away.
[Queen of Britain]: ?
Morgan clearly could not follow Marika's line of thinking.
[Lord of Lands Between]: In my original plan, the fall of the capital was meant to be a good thing — it would have brought the war to a swift close. My children would have quickly determined a new sovereign, bringing fresh order to the Lands Between.
[Lord of Lands Between]: But now things have become complicated... Perhaps I should activate a contingency.
[Lord of Lands Between]: You've worked hard, child.
[Lord of Lands Between has sent an exclusive points gift]
[System Notice: [Spreading Witch Factor] has claimed the exclusive points gift — 1000 points received]
[Lord of Lands Between]: For a while starting now, I need to focus on certain matters. My activity in the chat will decrease — I ask for everyone's understanding.
In the chat, the [Lord of Lands Between] profile now showed an "Away" indicator. One look, and Shin knew — Marika had likely gone to activate the contingency plan she'd prepared long ago: the awakening of the Tarnished.
For now, the overall trajectory of Elden Ring's story hadn't shifted dramatically — except that Marika might be jump-starting the Tarnished plan somewhat earlier than originally intended.
But there was nothing to be done about that. After all, this commission had originally been issued to the Great Witch in the first place.
Had the Great Witch herself gone through the [Boundary Breaking Talisman] to the Lands Between, her power might have been enough to tip the scales of the Shattering in some way.
As things stood, Shin in his current state was utterly unable to influence a war between demigods — and time had been short besides.
Though that wasn't to say the trip had been without its gains —
For instance, during his infiltration of Leyndell for the livestream, he'd happened upon a certain someone sneaking around and trying to make a run for it — a cross-dressing, diminutive figure making his escape from the capital.
Shin had helpfully knocked him out from behind, and used the system to strip away his Great Rune and his Mimic Veil on the spot.
He didn't feel the slightest bit bad about it. As far as Shin was concerned, this was a genuine service to the people.
Without his Great Rune, the little guy would likely find himself free of his more... ambitious delusions. He'd probably settle down, govern his territory like a proper lord, and stop fixating on his little grafting hobby.
He still had a loyal band of followers, after all. When the Tarnished eventually arrived at Volcano Manor, they'd probably have him to thank for the thriving, lively atmosphere they'd find there.
[48-Hour Countdown Complete]
[[Boundary Breaking Talisman] has been used. Group chat privileges returned.]
Just as arriving had been — no spinning, no lurching — just one blink, and Shin was back on Witch Island.
His feet had barely touched the ground when he felt a figure slam into him like someone who had been lying in wait at his respawn point.
"Big brother~!"
The voice belonged to Meruru — muffled, catching on a sob.
The location the talisman had taken him from was his bedroom, so that was naturally where it returned him to.
He wasn't sure whether Meruru had been tipped off by the Great Witch and come to wait, or whether —
"Sob... big brother, I thought you'd gone away to some other place and were never coming back...!"
When Shin's keen sense of smell picked up Meruru's scent lingering all over his bedroom sheets, he quietly revised his theory.
The silver-haired nun had probably barely left his room these past two days.
He dearly hoped she'd at least remembered to make the Great Witch her meals on time. The last thing he needed was his skeleton-soldier of a mom starving to death.
To be continued…