Chapter Text
Chapter 4: The Omen King and the Witch
Mae found herself once more in the depths of her dreams, back at the Gates of Divinity. The grand marble throne she sat on was cold and unyielding, a stark contrast to the comfort it was supposed to provide. She leaned back, trying to lose herself in sleep, but the peace she sought eluded her. The Gates of Divinity were beautiful, resplendent in their ethereal light, but to Mae, they were nothing more than a gilded cage.
It was a prison all her own.
Lifeless and empty, this place served no purpose but to trap her mind. The towering spires, the endless arena of dry dirt—they all echoed with a silence that gnawed at her. Her mentor was absent, leaving her alone in this void. But why was she here again? Mae wouldn’t be sealed again, she couldn’t be. There were things she needed to do, things she wanted to achieve.
As much as she tried to push her consciousness back to her body, to escape the clutches of this dream, she remained trapped, shackled by some unseen force.
When Mae opened her eyes, she found herself sitting before a massive, shattered ring. The fragments floated in the void, pulsing with a primal energy. It was the Elden Ring—broken, scattered, and terrifying in its incompleteness. Marika had spoken of it before her imprisonment, and Mae knew well the implications. To "become the Elden Ring," Marika had said, was to transcend, to evolve into something beyond human comprehension. Something primal. Something divine.
Mae's gaze locked onto the ring as a burning sensation flared on her wrist. She winced, watching as the rune embedded there joined its siblings, each piece sliding into place within the shattered Elden Ring. She felt a shiver of dread; it was such a small piece of the ring. This meant that her journey was far from over.
She curled up on the cold ground, wrapping her arms around her knees as she tried to think of a plan. But all she could feel was the crushing weight of inevitability, the sense that no matter what she did, she was doomed to walk this path forever.
"Thou hast done well, dear child. The Great Rune of Life hath returned to thee." The voice of her mentor, echoed through the void, laced with an odd sense of pride. But Mae felt no joy, no satisfaction. There was just a feeling of emptiness.
“Let me go back,” she whispered, her voice trembling despite her efforts to keep it steady. “I cannot bear to be here any longer. Please. I must return.”
"This is the only place to which thou canst return," They responded, they spoke with a cold gentleness that made her shiver.
Mae's breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.
“You are wrong ,” She muttered, lifting her head slightly. Images of Divios who she was planning to befriend and understand, of the Tarnished who shared their stories with her and helped her learn, flashed in her mind. She wanted to go back to them, to the world of the mortals, where her presence meant something, or so she liked to think.
“Is that so?” Her Mentor’s voice was almost teasing. "Where wouldst thou return?"
Mae's thoughts drifted to a time before all of this. Before Marika's ascension to godhood things had to be better then. But, it didn’t take long before her thoughts returned to her old life now, felt like a distant memory, a fading dream. The warmth of the sun on her skin, the laughter of friends, the home cooked meals her mother used to make as her father cooked up stories to tell.
But that world was gone, and deep down, Mae knew it. There was no going back.
"I... I know not,” she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.
"Then thou hast thine answer," Her Mentor intoned. "This is where thou dost belong, child. Thou art bound here—to the Elden Ring, to the runes, to us."
Mae didn’t respond, she didn’t want to. There was no point, she couldn’t go back without them letting her.
"Thou art frightening me," She spoke a little higher than a whisper.
They seemed also amused by Mae’s reactions. "There is naught to fear. Thou shalt return soon enough."
Mae’s expression lit up like a small child. "Dear daughter of the Elden Ring, thou hast done quite well."
Her head tilted slightly as she heard their tone—a mixture of condescension and amusem*nt was enough to make Mae question their motives for calling her a ‘dear daughter’. It sent a chill down her spine, but before she could fully process the emotion, the ground beneath her gave way. Mae felt herself being pulled downward, the solid floor dissolving into a swirling vortex of darkness. Panic seized her as she flailed, trying to grasp onto anything to stop her descent, but there was nothing—only the cold, unyielding void.
She tumbled through the abyss, her mind spinning as she struggled to make sense of what was happening. The darkness was all-consuming, pressing in on her from every side, suffocating and relentless. Her body twisted and turned in freefall, with no sense of direction, no sense of time. The silence was deafening, and the only sound she could hear was the rapid thumping of her own heartbeat, echoing in her ears like a drumbeat of doom.
And then, just as suddenly as the fall began, it stopped.
Mae's body slammed into something solid, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She lay there for a moment, stunned and disoriented, the pain radiating through her limbs. It took a few seconds before she realized that the surface beneath her was not hard stone, but something softer, almost velvety to the touch. She slowly pushed herself up on her hands and knees, the ground beneath her shifting and crunching softly.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Mae saw that she was no longer in the void but in a strange, otherworldly place. She was surrounded by a golden ring—an enormous circle of light that pulsed with a soft, golden glow. The light was warm and inviting, yet there was an underlying sense of something else, about it. It seemed to hum with a low, resonant frequency, a sound that reverberated through Mae’s bones.
But what caught her attention most were the flowers. Small, delicate blooms were sprouting all around her, pushing up through the ground and unfurling their petals in slow, graceful motions. They were golden, like the ring, their petals shimmering with an inner light. The flowers seemed to glow brighter as they grew, their tendrils reaching out toward her like tiny, glowing hands.
Mae watched in awe as the flowers multiplied, their numbers increasing rapidly until she was surrounded by a sea of golden blossoms. The petals brushed against her skin as they continued to grow, their soft touch sending tingling sensations through her body. It was as if the flowers were alive, responding to her presence, feeding off her energy.
But as beautiful as they were, there was something unsettling about them. The way they moved, the way they grew—they were too eager, too insistent. Mae felt a creeping sense of dread as the flowers began to entwine around her arms and legs, their stems tightening like a living snare. She tried to pull away, but the more she struggled, the faster they grew, binding her limbs and pulling her closer to the ground.
Mae struggled against them as her sharp movements ripped the gentle stems as she flailed about attempting to free herself. But the flowers did not relent. They continued to wrap around her, their tendrils climbing higher and higher, curling around her torso, her neck, until she could barely move.
The pressure on her chest increased, making it difficult to breathe. Mae’s heart pounded as she fought against the crushing weight, but it was no use. The flowers were relentless, their grip tightening with every passing second. She could feel the life being drained from her, siphoned off by the blossoms that now covered her from head to toe. She tried to scream, but no words left her lips and soon her struggles stopped.
The golden light around her began to flicker, dimming as her strength waned. Mae’s vision blurred, dark spots dancing at the edges of her sight. She was slipping away, being swallowed by the earth, by the flowers, by the ring. A single tear slid down her cheek, mingling with the dew that had formed on the petals around her.Mae felt herself being pressed down against the flowers as the ring light flickered matching her heartbeat.
"Fear not, dear child..” Their voice made her involuntarily relax as she leaned into the invisible touch. "Thou art safe."
A stray flower found itself pucked and pushed behind her ear. She was pulled under as the world went black the last thing she heard was her mentor. "Such an obedient child thou art."
Mae raised her wrist to show the golden scar, her gaze steady as she looked into the Omen's eyes. "I reclaimed what is mine," she said, her voice steady, a mixture of triumph and as she wore a cold grin.
Kill him.
The command rang in her mind, sharp and unyielding. Mae’s stare bored into the Omen, her blood pulsing with a strange, overwhelming urge. But before she could act on it, Divios grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back. The Omen, however, was quicker. With a powerful swipe of his tail, he sent them both crashing backward. Divios twisted mid-air, pulling Mae close to shield her from the impact, but the damage had already been done. Mae had taken the brunt of the blow, and pain exploded through her body as they slammed into the wall.
Divios quickly assessed her condition as he stood, flinging her over his shoulder. Mae’s vision blurred, the edges of her world darkening as she tried to blink away the dizziness. She barely felt the pain that should've been there. Should've felt the bruising of Divios’s armor pressing down against her skin or the horns that ripped her skin as she flung. It should've hurt to breathe, she didn't hadn't recovered enough —her body wouldn't be able to handle much more.
But the Omen did not relent. He charged at them, but his attack was swiftly blocked and kicked back. Divios didn't spare a single second and attempted to gain distance. He needed to get Mae out of there before he could properly face him. He was supposed to be her protector and he had already failed. Mae was already wounded and there wasn't anything he could do to change that.
As Divios was forced on the defensive, Mae’s vision blurred as she blinked several times as she tried to reorient herself. She could feel power just beyond her fingertips and she knew she could grasp it.
Divios blocked and parried every attack as Mae was slowly falling off his shoulder. Mae took the chance to roll off Divios’s shoulder and attempt to focus her energy on a single spell. Her hands glittered with magic as the spell took root and threw the omen into the wall.
She had her chance now, Mae could kill him. With blurry vision and her head spinning she stepped forward. Pulling her dagger from her belt, Mae was stopped by Divios who picked her up and began running. His swift action made the danger fall out of grip as she attempted to free herself.
The Omen hesitated for a moment as he noticed the fallen dagger. The design was strangely familiar by the craftsmanship alone. That moment of distraction was all Divios needed as he sprinted away with Mae safely tucked into his chest. He wouldn’t allow her to slip from his grasp again. There would be no more mistakes if he could help it.
It didn’t take long for the Omen to pursue them as his roars echoed through the tunnels. Divios could hear the heavy thud of the Omen's footsteps behind them, but the tight tunnels gave him little room to maneuver. The tunnels were barely wide enough for the Omen, his hulking form scraping against the stone as he charged after them.
Unable to swing his weapon with his full strength in such a confined space, he resorted to sending beams of golden light hurtling toward them. Divios responded in kind, countering with blasts of fire with a snap of his fingers, each explosion lighting up the tunnel in flashes of red and gold as they fought their way to the sewer’s main channel.
At last, they burst out of the tight tunnel and into the wider sewers, where the narrow walls gave way to a sprawling, dank expanse. The sudden change in space gave Divios a moment of reprieve, just enough time to find a relatively safe spot to place Mae while she recovered. He gently leaned her against a wall, but his attention was immediately drawn back to the Omen as a golden beam of light came hurtling their way.
Divios barely managed to leap away in time, his sword flashing as he deflected the beam with a sharp clang. As he moved, Mae’s vision began to fill with flickers of light, the world spun. Divios spun back toward the Omen, his powerful leg striking out in a vicious kick that sent the creature staggering backward a few feet. Without wasting a second, he jumped back to Mae, carefully positioning her against the wall to keep her out of harm's way.
“Stay here,” he commanded, though he knew she was in no state to argue. Her body was limp, her head lolling slightly as she fought to stay conscious. The numbness in her limbs was creeping further into her mind, making it difficult to focus.
"Thou shalt not lay a hand upon her!" Divios roared, his voice reverberating through the sewer as he launched himself at the Omen, his blade crackling with fiery energy.
The Omen met him head-on, conjuring a translucent golden blade from the very air itself. The two weapons collided with a deafening clash, sending sparks of flame and light scattering around the room.
"The witch is naught but a thief! Nothing more than a foul Tarnished!" The Omen bellowed, his voice filled with fury and disdain as he blocked Divios’s strike, their blades locked as they fought for the upper hand.
Divios pushed against the Omen’s blade with all his might, his muscles straining under the force of the clash. “You are wrong,” Divios spat through gritted teeth, his eyes blazing with determination. "She is more than thou wilt ever comprehend!"
Their weapons clashed again and again, each strike sending shockwaves through the sewer. Divios moved with a calculated ferocity, his strikes aimed with precision to exploit any weakness in the Omen’s defense. But the Omen was a formidable opponent, his golden blade moving with a speed and fluidity that matched Divios’s own. Mae watched the battle through a haze of pain and disorientation. She struggled to get to her feet as magic danced around her fingertips and her wounds began to heal.
Divios's mind raced as he fought, searching desperately for an opening, a way to end this quickly. The Omen’s power was immense, bolstered by the light of the Erdtree and his own formidable physical strength. But Divios had something stronger—something this Omen could never possess.
A Madness unlike any other.
Sensing Divios’s desperation, the Omen pressed his advantage, his golden blade whirling in a deadly arc. Divios barely managed to deflect the blow, the sheer force of it driving him back a step. The Omen sneered, his monstrous face twisting into a cruel grin. “You fight for a lost cause, dragon,” he taunted, his voice dripping with disdain. “She’s already as good as dead. Just like the rest of thy kind.”
But the Omen’s words, meant to cut deep, only drew a response he hadn’t expected—a mad, unhinged laugh. Divios’s sword flared with a blazing crimson flame, the heat of it searing the air around them, threatening to consume the very room. His laughter echoed off the stone walls, wild and unrelenting. He would never lose.
Not while Mae was watching.
Divios’s every strike came faster, more erratic, a frenzied display of power with little reason behind it. He fought like a beast in a blind rage, and the Omen found himself forced back, struggling to maintain his footing. The Omen, formidable as he was, met Divios’s strikes with equal ferocity, his golden blade singing through the air as it clashed with Divios’s fiery onslaught.
Mae watched the battle, a grin slowly spreading across her face as she saw Divios’s madness. Her own magic began to pulse in response, mingling with the flames, turning them golden as they spread throughout the sewers. The fire reflected the state of their minds—wild, destructive, and wholly uncaring for anything but utter annihilation.
As Divios pressed the attack, Mae joined in, summoning spears of golden light that materialized behind her and shot toward the Omen. Divios’s relentless strikes kept the Omen occupied, leaving him little room to defend against the magical assault. The spears found their mark, embedding themselves into the Omen’s tail, which he had desperately used as a shield.
That small opening was all Divios needed.
With a roar, Divios slashed his sword down the Omen’s chest, the blade cutting deep and true. The Omen staggered, his strength failing as he collapsed to the floor, struggling to rise. Mae limped forward, a satisfied smile on her face, the flickering light of the flames illuminating the deep emptiness in her eyes. Circles of golden light appeared above the Omen, and with a swift motion, they descended, piercing his body like pins through a butterfly on display.
"Dear child of Marika, thou hast been judged and found wanting," Mae spoke loudly and proudly, kneeling beside the Omen as his expression shifted from surprise to frantic desperation. He struggled to free himself, but it was futile. “Thou and thy kind shall be erased from this world."
Divios, sensing what was to come, passed her a dagger. Mae didn’t hesitate. She raised it above her head, ready to end the fight, the madness driving her every thought. "Despise this vessel if thou must," she muttered, her voice cold and resolute. "But the blame lies with thy mother."
But just as she thrust the dagger downward, Divios suddenly lunged forward, shielding her with his body. An unknown force struck them both, flinging them back with tremendous power. Mae’s back collided painfully with Divios’s, the impact jarring her mind and knocking the breath from her lungs. She coughed up blood as the realization of what had happened began to dawn on her.
Godfrey had come to the Omen’s defense.
The force of Godfrey’s intervention brought Mae’s mind crashing back to reality. Her eyes darted to the dagger that had flown from her grasp, lying several meters away. Divios pushed himself off the ground, blood trickling down over Mae’s hair as she stared at her hands, her thoughts racing in a chaotic spiral. What had she done? Why was Divios bloodied and beaten? What had driven her to nearly kill an innocent life?
Divios pulled her close, stumbling backward as he tried to put distance between them and the furious Godfrey. “Are you alright?” he asked, his voice strained but filled with concern.
Mae nodded weakly, tears welling in her eyes as she wiped the blood from his face with her sleeve. Her heart pounded in her chest, the reality of what she had nearly done crashing down on her like a tidal wave.
Godfrey ran to the Omen’s side, his men following closely behind. “Son!” His voice was filled with pure, unadulterated concern, the sound of it piercing Mae’s heart like a dagger. She had tried to kill Godfrey’s and Marika’s son. She had broken her oath to Marika.
Mae couldn’t protect her children—not even from herself.
Her heart raced, her mind spiraling into panic as she watched Godfrey break the golden spears that held the Omen captive with his bare hands. He pulled his son close, cradling him protectively against his chest. The sight sent a wave of despair crashing over Mae. She had nearly destroyed something precious, something sacred. And now, the weight of her actions threatened to crush her.
Divios, still bleeding and battered, held Mae tightly, as his mind focused on her as he attempted to pull his mind back. He had seen the madness in her eyes, the same madness that had driven him to fight with such ferocity. But now, all that remained was the aftermath—the broken pieces of what had been and what could have been.
As Godfrey’s furious gaze locked onto Mae, Divios knew that they had to leave, and quickly. But Mae was frozen in place, her eyes wide with horror and guilt. The bond she shared with Divios was the only thing holding her together, and he could feel her slipping. The weight of her actions were too much for shoulders to bear. She was a peacekeeper and lover.
She wasn’t meant for violence.
“We must retreat, Mae,” Divios whispered urgently, trying to pull her away, but she remained rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on the scene before her.
“I…I tried to kill him,” Mae choked out, her voice trembling. “I…I was about to kill him.”
Divios tightened his grip on her, forcing her to meet his eyes. "That matters little now. We must flee,"
Divios held Mae tightly as they stumbled through the tunnels, attempting to make any sort of distance away from the small army making their way towards them. The flickering light of the dying flames burned in Mae’s mind as she struggled to come to terms with what she had done.
But as they moved further away from the scene of the fight, a new sound reached Divios’s ears—the heavy, purposeful footsteps of Godfrey. The echo of his approach was like a drumbeat of impending doom, and Divios’s heart sank as he realized what was coming. Mae had looked back to see a group around the Omen and attempted to mend the damage.
On the other hand, Godfrey was not going to let them leave.
His heavy footsteps made Mae’s heartbeat quicked as she spoke the obvious. “He’s coming for us,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
Divios didn’t need to be told twice. He could feel the fury radiating from Godfrey, a wrath that was as unstoppable as it was justified. Godfrey’s son had been hurt—nearly killed—and no amount of reasoning or pleading would quell the vengeance that now drove him.
Mae found herself swept off her feet as Divios began to sprint away. But even as they started to make some distance, they knew it wouldn’t be enough. Godfrey was faster, stronger, and his resolve was fueled by a father’s fury.
As they raced through the twisting tunnels, Divios could hear Godfrey’s voice booming behind them, each word laced with fury and betrayal. "Thou traitorous wench!" Godfrey's voice reverberated through the stone, shaking the very walls around them. “Offering thy aid only to attempt to slay my sons!"
Divios glanced back, his heart pounding in his chest as he saw Godfrey closing in, his massive form barely fitting through the narrow tunnels. There was no escape—not unless they created one.
They sprinted through the twisting corridors until they reached a dead-end, a section of the tunnel where the walls seemed to close in around them, leaving them with no way forward. Mae’s eyes darted around frantically, searching for an exit, but the cold, unyielding stone offered none.
“Divios, what shall we do?” she asked, her voice filled with panic.
Divios gritted his teeth, the answer already forming in his mind. There was only one option left, one desperate move that might give them a chance to survive. "I shall bring the tunnel down," Divios said, his voice grim. “‘Tis the only way to buy enough time to figure out a way to escape.”
Mae’s eyes widened in shock. “But we’ll be trapped here!”
“Better trapped than dead,” Divios replied, his tone leaving no room for argument. He placed Mae behind him, his eyes locking onto the ceiling above. The stone was old, weathered by centuries of erosion, and it wouldn’t take much to bring it crashing down.
As Godfrey’s footsteps grew louder, Divios raised his sword, the blade glowing with a fierce, fiery light. He took a deep breath, focusing all his strength and energy into the attack. With a roar, he drove the blade into the ceiling, the force of the strike sending cracks spiderwebbing through the stone.
The ground shook violently as the ceiling began to crumble, chunks of rock and debris raining down around them. Mae shielded her head with her arms as the tunnel started to collapse. She trusted that Divios would have a plan to deal with the aftermath.
Godfrey’s roar cut through the chaos, filled with rage and murderous intent. "Thy tricks shall not hinder me, wench! Thy sorcery may have beguiled him to thy side. But thou art naught but a scheming witch, who shall be hunted for the rest of her days!"
Divios struck the ceiling again, the tunnel shuddering under the force of his blow as more stones fell, blocking the path behind them. Dust filled the air, choking and blinding them as the passage began to cave in. He knew it wouldn’t hold Godfrey for long, but it might buy them just enough time to escape.
