Elden Ring: With God Chapter 9: The Lands Between

“Hmm?”

Bai Shi savored the strange sensation from just a mont ago.

“I was… I was touching the Grace.”

Bai Shi suddenly noticed sothing strange.

He hadn't fully trusted Hakan, yet upon seeing the Grace, he had uncontrollably ignored the potential threat and touched it directly.

This strange attraction made Bai Shi feel like a moth drawn to a fla at night. No wonder there had been an "Erdtree conspiracy theory" faction when people discussed the ga's lore in his past life.

Hakan's eyes widened.

“You can still see the Grace?”

“Yeah… it should be the Grace.”

Seeing no way to hide it, Bai Shi simply admitted it openly.

“...You're definitely not an ordinary Tarnished.”

“I don't think there's anything unusual about .”

Bai Shi shrugged.

“No, you've just returned to the Lands Between. You don't know what kind of ability seeing the Grace is in this age.”

“An ordinary Tarnished's Grace was stripped from them long ago when they were banished from the Lands Between.”

“Any Tarnished who can still see the Grace today is a figure of heroic stature.”

“If Godrick of Stormveil knew about you, he would definitely send an army to kill you.”

Hakan spoke with great excitent, the words pouring out of him. Bai Shi hadn't expected this side of him.

“Is that so? Don't worry, I'm great at running away.” N??w novel chapters are publ??shed on novｅlfire

“Hah—, Bai Shi, I... no, forget it.”

Bai Shi was completely bewildered. Can the cryptic people please get out of the Lands Between?

“It's fine, go ahead and say it.”

But Hakan's attitude was suddenly very firm.

“No, I'm not qualified to say such things right now. In any case, I'm glad I t a guy like you.”

Hakan paused for a mont.

“For now, let's focus on getting back to the mainland. I'll give it my all to get you there.”

Bai Shi was genuinely confused now.

What is with this guy? His attitude beca so respectful after learning I could see the Grace.

“Shall we keep going, then? Do you need to rest?”

“No need. I'm feeling a hundred tis more energetic right now.”

With that, Hakan shouldered his great curved sword and continued to scout ahead.

Bai Shi shook his head and followed silently.

“I don't get it.”

The two made their way through coffins and jars, and soon ca upon a peculiar skeleton.

The skeleton was sitting against a wall, its limb bones covered in red brandings, like extinguished charcoal.

After a careful search, Hakan found two items: the Tarnished's Furled Finger and the Finger Severer.

He handed these to Bai Shi as well. Like the Tarnished's Wizened Finger he'd found in the Chapel of Anticipation, these two items were related to the ga's multiplayer features.

Bai Shi didn't know if these multiplayer-related items were still useful, or how to use them.

But it was never wrong to collect them first.

They set off again, and after just a few minutes, a circular hall appeared before them.

White candles burned sporadically, illuminating the entire chamber.

A massive do hung high above. Various objects were scattered about haphazardly. In the very center stood six pillars on a large, circular, engraved floor. The pillars connected at the top, forming a structure that resembled a gazebo. Six candles burned on the pillars.

Bai Shi walked past Hakan to examine it more closely. The circular floor was decorated with concentric circles of interwoven Erdtree root patterns. In the very center was a small, pot-lid-sized protrusion.

He knew this was a kind of elevator in the Lands Between.

“Co on, we have a chance to get out of here,” Bai Shi called to Hakan, turning his head.

Hakan nodded to show he understood.

“Is there anything I need to do?”

“No, just bring your companions, and we'll all stand between these pillars.”

Hakan now trusted Bai Shi completely and did as he was told.

Once the warhorse and the white wolf were also on the platform, Bai Shi walked to the center and stomped hard on the chanism.

With a rumbling sound, the device, which had been dormant for ages unknown, began to operate.

The floor beneath their feet started to rise, carrying them ever upward.

Hakan and his companions had never seen anything like this. The warhorse and the white wolf imdiately dropped to the ground, whimpering.

Hakan wasn't doing much better. Though his face remained a cold mask, Bai Shi could see his legs trembling.

The elevator ascended, rotating slightly as it went.

When they reached the upper level, a flight of stairs leading even higher appeared before the group.

“I never imagined sothing like this could exist in the world.”

Hakan's face was pale. The white wolf stood up and yelped, as if echoing Hakan's words.

“Haha, it's a fun experience, isn't it? What's there to be afraid of.”

Seeing Bai Shi's cheeky grin, Hakan's face flushed red, but he stubbornly retorted:

“Who's afraid!”

Bai Shi chuckled and ignored Hakan's bluster, walking straight toward the stairs.

There weren't many steps, and soon he arrived at a door.

Bai Shi took a deep breath and lifted the heavy doors with both hands.

A dazzling light shone through the crack, montarily blinding him, but his hands didn't stop. The great doors were raised completely.

Bai Shi's eyes quickly adjusted to the light. He gazed out and beheld one of the world's most magnificent sights.

The massive Erdtree stood upon the land, piercing the space between heaven and earth like a pillar that separated them. Its layered branches covered half the sky, endlessly showering the world with light.

Several colossal, pillar-like structures, also spanning from earth to sky, were scattered in the distance. So were close by, displaying their full majesty, while others were hidden in the mist, their silhouettes barely visible.

On a towering cliff in the distance, a formidable castle, shrouded in a storm, looked down coldly upon the land.

Countless massive, shattered ruins were strewn across the ground, a testant to a bygone glory that no longer existed...

This was the Lands Between, a land forged in blood and fire. And it was the battlefield upon which Bai Shi would ride.