Embers crosses two fates

Tarnished

(Another night, another momentary respite from the endless hunt for grace.)

Chosen Undead

(A bonfire. And someone else. Friend or foe in this cursed land?)

Tarnished

Identify yourself, wanderer. Friend or foe?

Chosen Undead

Neither enemy nor truly friend. Just another undying soul seeking purpose.

Chosen Undead

May I share your fire?

Tarnished

The fire welcomes all who still have sense enough not to attack on sight.

Tarnished

Crimson tears? It's not Estus, but it serves its purpose.

Chosen Undead

You know of Estus? You're not from my realm, yet you seem... familiar somehow.

Chosen Undead

They call me the Chosen Undead. Though I never chose this fate.

Tarnished

I'm called the Tarnished. This scar? A gift from Malenia's blade. Died to her perhaps twenty times before I finally prevailed.

Tarnished

Death has become more of an inconvenience than an end.

Chosen Undead

I know this curse well. Ornstein and Smough slew me countless times. The Bell Gargoyles. Seath the Scaleless.

Chosen Undead

Each death was a lesson written in blood and frustration.

Tarnished

To our shared curse then. The inability to truly die, forever bound to our singular purpose.

Tarnished

Whether linking flames or becoming Elden Lord, we're slaves to destiny.

Chosen Undead

(Something moves in the darkness. Not hollows. Something larger.)

Tarnished

You hear that? Movement in the trees. Something large.

Chosen Undead

Our respite ends, as it always must. Ready yourself, Tarnished.

Tarnished

Always another battle. Always another death.

Tarnished

I grow weary of this endless cycle.

Chosen Undead

Perhaps... we need not face our burdens alone, at least for a time.

Chosen Undead

Two cursed warriors might fare better than one.

Tarnished

East leads to Limgrave. I seek a demigod who possesses a Great Rune.

Tarnished

Your company would be... welcome. None else understands this curse we bear.

Chosen Undead

It would be strange to fight alongside another, rather than as a phantom or against invaders.

Chosen Undead

But perhaps our curses aligned for purpose. Lead on, Tarnished.

Tarnished

Together until our paths must diverge. Our worlds call us to different fates.

Tarnished

But for now, we fight as one.

Chosen Undead

(Perhaps in sharing our burdens, we might find meaning beyond our curse. For the first time in countless deaths, I am not alone in understanding.)