While Nia and Waifu were trying to find a way to cure Ligma's hollowing, Ligma sat silent trying to understand the situation.
Fire Keeper: "Your friends told me to watch you, but I have no real way of keeping you here." she said walking up to Ligma.
Ligma: "I don't have any memory of those people but now that I know I'm hollowing, I'm at a lost."
The Fire Keeper looks at Ligma curiously seeming to notice something.
Fire Keeper: "Forgive me but you have been on a dangerous quest, correct?" she said leaning closer to Ligma.
Ligma: "Yea I was sent on pilgrimage to spread the influence of my church." she said looking up at the Fire Keeper.
Fire Keeper: "You have not been awakened yet; the souls you would obtain on your journey are wild and uncontained."
Ligma: "Awakened? souls? What are you talking about?"
Fire Keeper: "You and your friends are a vessel for souls; you can use the power of souls to make yourself become stronger, but If that power is not awakened and tended to by someone like myself It causes the souls within you to become wild, and they burn at any bonfire you rest at." The Fire Keeper out stretches her hand to Ligma. "I could awaken the dormant power within you if you would like."
Ligma looks at her hand for a moment before taking it. Ligma waits a couple of moments before she feels an energy awaken within her, she is now aware of the number of souls she carries with her... which is 0.
Ligma falls back upon receiving this power.
Fire Keeper: "Now you have control over the souls you collect you may use them however you see fit." she says taking a step back. "And there is no need to thank me I'm just carrying out my duty as Fire Keeper."
Ligma looks at her and gives a slight smile before standing up and taking a deep breath.
Ligma: "I'm going to meet up with myself proclaimed friends, if what they say is true it would be unfair to at least not let them try and restore my memory."
Fire Keeper: "Very well like I said I won't stop your actions."
Ligma looks around and sees Nia and Waifu In the tunnel under the stairs talking to someone. Upon finding them she walks over and catches them talking to a strange old lady.
Nia notices her out of the corner of her eye. "So have you decided to join us despite having no interest in us." she said turning towards Ligma.
Ligma: "I simply decided that it wouldn't be fair if I left without at least giving you a change to prove that what you say is the truth."
Waifu: "So does that mean you'll be joining us!" she said grabbing Ligmas hand.
Ligma: "I suppose it does... could you let go." she said looking at Waifu in annoyance.
Waifu: "Oh... right." she said removing her hand.
Ligma turns to Nia. "So, what do we need to do?"
Nia: "Are you aware of souls?"
Ligma: "Yea I've been enlightened about the existence and use of them by the Fire Keeper, why?"
Nia: "We need 20,000..." Silence fills the room as they look at each other blankly.
Ligma: "20,000!?... let me not get ahead of myself, how many do you have?"
Nia: "...0."
...
Ligma: "This was a mistake." she said face palming.
Waifu: "So how do we come up with 20,000 souls?"
Handmaid: "If you need souls seek strong foes, the stronger they are the more they will give." she says letting off a quiet giggle.
Ligma: "Is there a foe that give a lot of souls?"
Nia: "Maybe but we would have to kill a lot of them, it would take days."
Waifu stays quiet, it seems she is thinking about something.
Ligma: "What about you." she says as she looks at Waifu.
Waifu: "Well there is this one guy I met before I ran into you guys, He- he did seem strong."
Nia: "Ok well where is he?"
Waifu: "the thing is I think he's mad at me."
Nia: "why would he hold a grudge against you specifically."
Waifu: "Well I kind of pulled a sword out of him and he started to attack me, so I ran through a gap he couldn't fit through."
Nia: "Well this is probably our best option, so Waifu lead the way."
Waifu looks at Nia and Ligma nervously before nodding her head. "In that case follow me." Waifu walks over to the bonfire in the middle of the shrine.
Nia and Ligma watch as Waifu walks up to the bonfire.
Waifu: "You should probably get closer to the bonfire, I don't know how exactly I transported you last time, so it's better that you guys stay close."
Once the tiro was next to the bonfire Waifu stretched her hand towards the fire and in a similar manner as before the light of the bonfire surrounded them before they were transported somewhere completely different.
After a couple of seconds of darkness mixed with the warmth of the bonfire, they find themselves facing off the edge of a cliff, looking out they see the shrine sitting at the end of the cliff edge they are on. The cliff edge they were on was thin and looking down no visible bottom could be seen.
Behind the trio was a bonfire and behind that was a rock wall covered in graves and fallen structures that blocked off the other side of the cliff.
The moans of hollow could be heard as if they were just around the next corner.
Ligma: "Where are we now?" she said looking around.
Waifu: "We are in the Cemetery of Ash; this is where I woke up a couple of months ago."
Nia: "So where is this guy?"
Waifu points towards a path that would be to the right of the bonfire if you had you back to the cliff edge. Looking over Nia and Ligma saw a small path, the path itself was almost maze like with a couple of large boulders and tree roots blocking some parts of the path.
Waifu: "Once we walk through this path we will arrive where I last left him." she said clutching her staff. "So just stay behind me, also any hollows you find should be week." she said now walking into the path.
Walking down the path they find a hollow holding a strait sword staring right past them.
Ligma stands in the back clearly impatient but keeping her frustration to herself as Nia prepares to stick the hollow down.
As Nia takes one more step forward passing up Waifu the hollow notices her and lets out a low moan before stumbling towards her.
As the hollow stumbled towards her Nia noticed something, this hollow was slower, and its weak and fragile body was covered in a worn black robe. Waifu was right these hollows were considerably weaker than the hollowed solders at the High Wall.
After a couple of seconds, the hollow was right in front of Nia raising its sword to strike her. With little effort Nia was able to hack into the hollows side cleaving it in half. The hollow let out one more moan before falling silent.
After the hollow had died Nia as well as Ligma and Waifu felt a strange presence within them. everyone seemed to react to this except Waifu who had already been familiar with this feeling.
Ligma: "That was strange... 10 souls?" she said looking down at her body.
Nia: "10? Ha, I got 20... Wait how come you get the souls for the hollow I killed!" her voice echoed through the mountain.
Ligma: "How the hell should I know, you know you've been at my through ever since we met!" she said pointing at Nia.
With this sudden loud burst of sounds 2 hollow further down the path heard them and started to walk towards the sounds.
While Nia and Ligma were arguing Waifu saw the hollows approaching and readied her staff.
Waifu: "SOUL ARROWS!"
As Nia and Ligma were arguing two flashes of blue light flew past them and hit both of the hollows in the face instantly. The sudden attack had Nia and Ligma cease there bickering.
Once again, the trio feel more souls accumulate within them.
A strong tension develops between Ligma and Nia.
Waifu walks in between both of them and grabs their hands "I know that things are tense right now but please Nia I ask that you calm down and Ligma I ask to be a little more patient with us."
Nia looks at Waifu and lets out a "Humph" before taking her hand back, Ligma looks at Waifu at almost smiles before gently taking her hand back.
Ligma: "Alright." she said before taking a deep breath.
Waifu: "It's not much further until we get there." she said as she walks past Nia.
So, the trio walk down the path for not even a minuet before they make it to a big doorway that leads into an open round yard with more graves lining the corners. In the middle of the room a large knight kneeled in the middle seemingly dormant.
Waifu: "Thats him."
Nia: "This is It, it's just a guy." she said with a smirk forming on her face.
Ligma: "Why don't you go say hi then." she said with a slight smile forming.
Nia: "Hmph, maybe I will." she said taking out her axe.
Upon Nia entering the arena the knight rose from its dormant state. It stood at about 10ft tall and wielded a large halberd. Its armor was grey and had a design on the stomach that resembled a six-pack abs. Its helmet had rectangular eye slots as well as a slot for breathing, its helmet also had what resembled a crown engraved into it.
Now fully up the knight whose name was Iudex Gundyr started to walk to Nia.
Nia felt a chill run up her spine upon seeing this, but it was nothing compared to the fear she felt during her fight with Vordt. So, she grabbed her axe with both hands and ran at Gundyr.
Ligma stayed in the back seemingly wanting to fight as little as possible while Waifu is prepared to assist Nia if she needs it.
Once Nia was only 10 feet away from Gundyr she swung her axe into his thigh, it was a direct hit, but Gundyr didn't flinch instead he raised his halberd above his head and slammed it down on Nia.
Nia unfortunately couldn't avoid the hit but because she was so close the actual blade of the halberd didn't hit her only the iron pole.
The attack caused Nia to grab her head in pain.
Nia: "Damn he hits hard!" she said backing away from him.
Waifu: "HEAVY SOUL ARROW!"
A flash of blue light darts towards Gundyr striking him in the face. This attack makes him lose his balence causing him to fall to one knee.
Waifu: "Do It now Nia!"
Upon hearing this Nia picks herself up and rolls towards Gundyr.
Gundyr looks up as he tries to stand up but is stopped by an axe crashing through his chest. In an instant Gundyr is thrown back into one of the many puddles that cover the arena.
Nia: "HAHAHA, and just like that Its over!" she said flipping her ponytail back.
Nia starts to turn around before she is stopped by the sound of water splashing and armor clinking together.
Looking back at Gundyr he has turned on his stomach and reveled a strange viscous black substance pouring out from his upper back.
Seeing this Nia takes a step back. Gundyr tries to scream but it's muffled by the armor and the fact that he is a hollow, so it comes out as a demonic screech. Nia continues to step away from Gundyr as the black liquid starts to cover his upper body.
Gundyr then starts to stand still covered in this liquid, he turns to the trio; his left arm then suddenly and violently twists and contorts as the black liquid burst through the plate of his armor. The liquid extends far beyond his arm and then hardens into a claw with 3 claws.
Then from his back a giant raptor like head emerged made of the same black liquid. The head rested on his right shoulder and extended his height at least another 16 feet.
Once his transformation is fully complete the raptor like head eyes glow red and it lets out an ear-piercing scream.
Nia: "This looks a little too familiar for my taste." she said as she ready's her pyromancy hand. "But if its anything like the monster from all that time ago this should put it down.
Without wasting a second Nia launches a fire ball at Gundyr... But unlike its lesser cousin this one does not react when the attack hits its skin.
Then suddenly Gundyr jumps into the air towards Nia, he seems to want to squash Nia with one attack.
Waifu: "HEAVY SOUL ARROW!"
While in the air Gundyr is hit by Waifus attack but it doesn't seem to stop him.
Nia: (Dammit I can't dodge his surface area is way too big to dodge)
Thinking quickly Nia drops her axe and raises her hand up.
Nia: "COMBUSTION!"
Right as Gundyr lands on Nia she cast combustion making sure she can deal as much damage as possible before he landed on her.
Waifu: "Nia?!" she said running up to Gundyr.
After a couple of seconds instead of getting up the black liquid seems to retreat back into Gundyr leaving only a corps which Nia was under lying unconscious.