I saw my savior in front of me. The man who had dropped the corpse with the key was lying on rubble behind a cell door. The door was broken, jammed in the doorway. I wasn’t sure how he got in the cell in the first place. I grabbed the bars and opened my mouth, trying to communicate with him, trying to get his attention. No words came out. I could not talk no matter how hard I tried. I took my dagger and struck the metal door; perhaps that would get his attention. However, he just laid there, staring at the ceiling. I kept on hitting the door. I didn’t want to give up. I didn’t want to believe that he was most likely dead. He was one of the first traces of humanity I had seen in this god forsaken world, and I didn’t know if I would find any other.

Tired and exhausted, I gave up. Maybe he’ll keep his sanity when he’s reborn. I turned away from the cell and walked up to the edge. I hadn’t even realized that I was on the second level around the courtyard. I walked over to the left. There was a broken staircase with a corpse just barely out of reach. Maybe there’s an entrance leading to the other side of the stairs. I headed over to the right side. There were two more staircases:one leading up, one leading down. I went down since I could already guess where it would lead to. I was right. I went to the bottom and reached the door leading to the courtyard that had previously been closed. I opened it and walked back up the stairs. I hadn’t seen any paths, so the way forward must be on this final staircase. I started walking up the stairs, when I noticed something coming towards me.

I rolled over to the right, falling off the stairs and barely dodging a huge iron ball that was barrelling towards me. The object crashed through a wall, revealing a room behind it. I walked through the new entrance the ball had created. It was the cell the knight had been in. From this angle I could see that there was a hole in the ceiling. Perhaps he had fallen through? I quickly ran over to him. He looked up at me. He looked up at me! He wasn’t dead!

“Oh, you… You're no Hollow, eh? Thank goodness…I'm done for, I'm afraid…I'll die soon, then lose my sanity…I wish to ask something of you…You and I, we're both Undead… Hear me out, will you?”

I nodded my head, my hopes somewhat crushed. After he dies, he will become a hollow. A body with no soul. A monster that can’t be reasoned with. I had imagined journeying together, learning what had changed in these lands since I died. But fate would not have it so, it seems.

“Regrettably, I have failed in my mission…But perhaps you can keep the torch lit…There is an old saying in my family… ‘Thou who art Undead, art chosen…In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords…When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know’. Well, now you know… And I can die with hope in my heart…Oh, one more thing…Here, take this. An Estus Flask, an Undead favourite. Oh, and this…Now I must bid farewell…I would hate to harm you after death…So, go now…”

I took the two items he gave me. The Estus Flask was a flask filled with golden liquid. It felt similar to the bonfires. It most likely has regenerative properties. I was about to give it back to him so he could heal his injuries, but I stopped myself. He knew he was one death away from hollowing. Perhaps he would rather get it over with, than live with that constant threat looming over his head. The other item was a key. I didn’t know what it was to, but I’m sure I will find out soon enough. I wanted to stay with him, listen to him talk about the outside world till he died, but I also wanted to respect his final wishes. I turned my back on him and left the room. I heard the sound of a sword piercing through stomach, and a body slumping to the ground…

As I walked up the stairs, I had the feeling of something invisible entering my body again, but this time it was much stronger. There was another hollow at the top of the stairs. It must have pushed the iron ball down. This one came towards me with a rusty chipped sword. I easily parried with my shield and riposted, killing the hollow. I pushed the dead body off my dagger with my foot. There it is again, that feeling. I continued forwards and walked up to a gate that led to an outside portion of the asylum. I pulled out the key the knight had given me and used it on the gate. It opened.

I walked to the end of the hallway and onto a terrace. This part of the asylum looked as if it had been abandoned for centuries. Piles of bricks littered the ground, broken off of walls. In some areas the floor had broken away. There was a corpse sitting against battlements on the right. I walked over to it. Finally. I reached down and picked up a sorcerer’s catalyst, examining it. It was about a meter long, made of wood. It was a pretty standard tool for most sorcerers but it was better than nothing. Now I can finally use soul arrow.

I continued on, shield up and catalyst ready. I peeked around a corner to my left. There were three hollows in front of stairs leading up to another wall of mist. I stepped forwards, baiting the hollow closest to me. I caught its attention and started backing away from the other two. It snarled and ran at me with its sword raised. I lowered my shield and lifted my catalyst, channeling mana through it. It took less than a second. A ball of mana emerged and shot towards the hollow, leaving behind a streak of blue light. It locked onto the hollow’s chest, exploding on impact. The hollow died instantly.

I was somewhat impressed. These hollows are by no means strong, but for a spell to kill one in a single hit, and to have thirty uses...I felt much safer now. I repeated the same process, baiting another hollow around the corner and killing it with a soul arrow. The last hollow was an archer. I walked around the corner with my shield raised. It loaded an arrow and shot at me, hitting my shield. I lifted my catalyst and fired a soul arrow. The hollow moved to the side at a futile attempt to dodge. The arrow followed the hollow’s movements, moving to the side and hitting it in its chest.

I stood at the top of the stairs, facing the wall of mist. I knew what was behind it. I could hear the roars of the huge demon behind it. Based on my surroundings, I’m guessing that I’ll be above the demon after passing through the mist. I looked over the edge of the terrace. It overlooked a cliff. If I jumped off I would not survive. There’s only one path forwards, and that’s the double doors behind the demon. I went back to the stairs, preparing myself. I have a shield, a knife, and a catalyst. Maybe I can catch it off guard and jump down with my knife, stabbing it in the head. After that, my best bet would be to stay at range and kill it with magic. I nodded, trying to assure myself that my plan would work. I took a deep breath and ran through the wall of mist.

I jumped off a small platform on the other side and plummeted through the air, above the huge demon. The sheer size of the monster still amazed me. I had my knife gripped firmly in the right hand. I fell onto the demon, plunging my knife as hard as I could into its head. It roared in pain. I pulled my knife out and jumped off the demon, rolling onto the ground and springing back to my feet, my shield already raised. The demon thrashed around for a moment, shaking the entire room. I was afraid the ceiling might collapse, or at least what’s left of it. The demon calmed down enough for it to spot me. The delight in its eyes were gone, replaced by pure hatred. This was no longer a game of cat and mouse. This was a fight to the death.

I stepped back and lifted my catalyst, bombarding it with soul arrows. I could tell it was doing a large amount of damage. The demon slowly lessened the distance as arrow after arrow exploded across its body. In my joy of having the upper hand, I made a fatal error. I misjudged the reach the demon had. It swung its huge club, catching me on the side. I flew through the air, crashing into a wall. I sat against the wall, body partially destroyed and demon lumbering towards me in delight. Luckily, I had enough energy to pull out the estus flask. I took a swig, the sweet ambrosia entering my body, healing it.

I got back up to my feet. The demon was clearly angry, but I had another problem. I was backed into a corner with no way out. I could maybe cast one more arrow before the demon reached me. I raised my catalyst, channeling mana through it once more. I fired the last soul arrow at it. The arrow exploded on its stomach and the demon screamed. It fell to the ground and its body turned to white specks, fading away. A large black key dropped in its place. I gripped my catalyst, still in shock over what had just happened. I defeated that monster. I killed it.

I picked up the key. This is it. This is my way out. I don’t know how, but I just know. I slowly walked up to the doors and used the key on the it. It worked. I put my hands on the giant metal doors, and after struggling for a moment, pushed them open.

Outside the doors was a stone path that led up a hill. I walked along the path, passing through a graveyard in the ruins of destroyed buildings. There were a few people that weren’t affected by the plague. This must be for them. The graves were poorly made. Gravestones were placed lopsided, and some graves didn’t even have gravestones, just whatever was at hand. I continued along the path, reaching a clearing. And it was there that the path ended. No. It wasn’t supposed to end here. It was supposed to take me far away from the cursed asylum, far enough so that I could find any undead that had still kept their sanity. But it didn’t. I walked to the end of the clearing, wondering if I should just abandon my journey here. Did I think I was the ‘chosen undead’ in the fairytale that knight had told me? That’s all it is: a fairytale. There is no such thing as the ‘chosen undead’. There is no hope for humanity. I peered off the edge of the cliff, only to be taken by the claws of a giant bird. It flew away from the North Undead Asylum.