Chapter 270: The Gloam-Eyed Queen, and Melina Awakens

The reason Arthur had been able to ignite the Forge of the Giants was not because his flames were overwhelmingly superior.

It was because of the properties contained within the first flame he had cast.

The Flame of Nirvana, inherited from the phoenix, contained immense life force—perfectly aligned with the Forge’s ancient nature as a crucible of life.

Thus, the Forge responded and reignited.

Had it ended there, things might have proceeded normally.

But that flame also carried the blazing heat of Solar Flame.

And afterward, Arthur had added Fiendfire—

a flame that could burn anything and grow stronger as it fed.

Three distinct attributes fused within the Forge, forming a new and terrifyingly powerful fire.

Then Melina had drawn that fire into herself and guided it toward the Erdtree.

From that moment on, events deviated from Arthur’s expectations.

A flame possessing both extreme temperature and the ability to intensify endlessly was never destined to extinguish quietly after merely burning away the Erdtree’s outer thorns.

As for what would ultimately happen to the Erdtree—

That could wait.

For now, the scene shifts back to Arthur. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

After returning to the Zen Garden, Arthur immediately began preparing the materials for human transmutation.

Melina was created by Marika. Calling her a special divine being would not be inaccurate.

More than that—

to enable Melina to wield Destined Death, Marika had infused her with part of the Gloam-Eyed Queen’s essence.

And who was the Gloam-Eyed Queen?

From Arthur’s exploration of the Lands Between, he had learned this:

She was a divine being from the same era as Marika—

and the original wielder of Destined Death.

They had been chosen by different Fingers.

Marika was chosen by the Two Fingers.

The Gloam-Eyed Queen was chosen by the Three Fingers.

The two competed for godhood.

And the Gloam-Eyed Queen was ruthless.

Wielding Destined Death, she possessed the power to grant true death—to permanently remove even gods from existence.

Countless gods fell to her hand.

Arthur had found confirmation of this during a previous trip beneath Leyndell.

While Melina was absent, he had explored the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, where the Frenzied Flame was sealed.

He had not gone there to accept Frenzy.

He simply wanted to explore and see what treasures he might find.

And he had indeed found something valuable:

Fingerprint Stone Shield.

The system’s description read:

A massive stone shield covered in fingerprints. One of the heaviest greatshields.

Said to be part of an ancient god-graveyard. The fingerprints belong to Fingers who could not interpret divine will—perhaps the origin of frenzy itself.

From this, two conclusions were clear:

First—

The Gloam-Eyed Queen had slain so many gods that a dedicated graveyard had been required.

Second—

The Fingers who chose her were indeed the Three Fingers. Otherwise, the shield would not have been located near the Frenzied Flame’s seal.

Eventually, Destined Death was sealed by Marika’s shadow-bound beast—Maliketh, the Black Blade.

The Gloam-Eyed Queen lost her qualification to compete for godhood.

As for her ultimate fate—

Arthur did not know.

But considering Marika had combined aspects of herself and the Gloam-Eyed Queen to create Melina...

It was likely the Queen had not met a peaceful end.

Returning to the present—

Melina was perhaps the most unique of all divine beings.

An ordinary constructed body would never be capable of housing her soul.

Even ordinary soul power would fail to awaken her.

Fortunately, Arthur possessed materials of divine caliber.

He still held a magical crystal derived from Morgott—containing Morgott’s entire life force and soul power.

That would suffice.

As when he revived Ranni, he began with a Silver Tear core.

But this time, he added Morgott’s magic crystal and numerous divine-tier materials.

Finally, he placed Melina’s soul imprint into the Silver Tear embryo.

Under Arthur’s manipulation, the Silver Tear rapidly grew, its appearance gradually shifting toward Melina’s likeness.

However—

When the body reached roughly eleven or twelve years of age, it stopped growing.

Energy depletion.

The same issue he had encountered when reviving Ranni.

Arthur stared at the small, incomplete form before him and fell into silence.

Why was Melina’s reconstructed body even smaller than the one he had created for Ranni?!

Was Morgott simply too weak—his magic crystal lacking sufficient energy?

Or was Melina so extraordinary that she required vastly more power?

The transmutation ritual had already concluded.

Regardless of the cause, it was too late to add more energy.

A soft murmur escaped the girl’s lips.

Melina slowly opened her eyes.

Arthur quickly draped a robe over her shoulders.

She blinked in confusion, surveying her surroundings.

Arthur stood quietly beside her.

In the distance, the radiant Erdtree shimmered within the Zen Garden. For a moment, she thought she was still in the Lands Between.

But upon closer inspection—

This was not that Erdtree.

She turned toward Arthur.

"Where... am I?"

"And why have you become so tall?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Have you considered that perhaps it’s not that I grew taller..."

"...but that you grew smaller?"

Melina paused.

Only then did she realize something was wrong.

Her voice was softer—more youthful.

She raised her hands and examined them.

Delicate.

Small.

Her current form could not be older than twelve.

Perhaps even younger than Miquella.

(She did not yet know that Miquella had already become Trina.)

Yet the sensation was real.

Warm.

Alive.

She possessed a true body.

More than that—

Her once-sealed left eye had been unbound.

Unlike her right eye’s golden hue, her left eye shimmered in a color between blue and violet.

One might call it gloam-colored.

For it carried the legacy of the Gloam-Eyed Queen.

Advance Chapters Available on Patreon

patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554