As established in the previous chapter, Morrowe is ambushing the Prophet on the Liurnian Highway, his Scimitar in hand.
The Prophet hears horse's hooves behind him and looks.
Morrowe swings at the Prophet; though his attack is masterful, the blow is deflected by the thickness of the Prophet's armor.
Morrowe sheathes his Scimitar, while the Prophet tries to recover from his surprise.
Morrowe pulls out the Knight's Greatsword from his back.
Two distant figures on horses are watching the action from afar.
They're Maleigh and Millicent. Maleigh: That man in the armor, and that blind woman. Maleigh: Both of them harbor a spark of the Flame of Frenzy.
Maleigh: I know you look down on me for attacking helpless people, Maleigh: but one of these days that pair will not be.
Maleigh: That's a flame even Marika fears. Maleigh: Not a flame ending destiny, nor a flame severing the Erdtree.
Maleigh: A flame that makes one renounce life. Maleigh: A flame inducing madness.
Maleigh: Think low of me, Maleigh: but even if I had the head of a shardbearer or a traitor, Morgott would be happier with theirs. Millicent: ...
The Prophet sticks out his hand. He's still not recovered, but he can still cast Catch Flame.
Morrowe thrusts his sword forward, forcing the Prophet to try to deflect with his hand. Torrent, noticeably, is pushed to the west.
The Prophet tries to put out a gesture of peace, but Morrowe stabs forward again.
Morrowe: Don't even bother asking for mercy. Do you think we're comrades, because we fought someone else's wars? Morrowe: You think I don't know you use your flames to kill people?
A jar is thrown at Morrowe; he deflects it with his cape.
Boc has thrown the jar. Hyetta watches helplessly.
Morrowe closes in on Swift again, backhanding Boc off Torrent. Hyetta: Boc!
The Prophet casts Catch Flame; Morrowe narrowly evades.
He returns his Greatsword back to his hand; he stabs forward again, forcing the Prophet in a defensive posture and Torrent to back toward the west.
Torrent's legs are dancing at the edge of the cliff, facing the great Liurnian lake.
The Prophet sees he has nowhere left to go.
Morrowe stabs forward again; the Prophet narrowly dodges by moving his upper body.
Morrowe stabs again, not missing this time; Torrent's legs dangle in the air.
Morrowe: Women! Jump, to save your lives!
Hyetta desperately holds onto the Prophet's chest armor. Melina is at a loss for what to think.
Then, to Morrowe's surprise, Torrent somehow jumps on the air.
Torrent has jumped over Morrowe and Swift.
Landing on the other side of Morrowe, the Prophet casts Catch Flame.
Unable to evade in time, Morrowe throws his cape against the fire, preventing it from hitting him or Swift.
Morrowe stops Swift, as he is about to jump off the cliff; the Prophet swerves right, running Torrent on the narrow landbridge leading to the Eastern Tableland.
Morrowe watches as Torrent pulls ahead, leaping off the end of the landbridge.
Morrowe spurs Swift on. Morrowe: Swift, go.
Swift turns, heading down the landbridge.
He - or she? I forgot Swift's gender - reaches the end of the landbridge.
Morrowe and Swift leap off the landbridge, his hand on his Scimitar.
An image of Morrowe in his past life, on another horse; they are in the same pose, but Morrowe has brought his horse against some enemy in a raid in the desert, terrorizing men with his saber. Morrowe has never elaborated this to anyone, but he was a fearsome bandit back in his day and, for mysterious reasons, his association with Maleigh has returned to him his hunting instincts.
Swift lands on the Eastern Tableland. The Prophet is a distance away from them.
Swift quickly gains grounds on Torrent. Morrowe is holding his Greatsword in one hand and the Scimitar in the other. How a rider controls their horse without their hands, I don't know, I'm not a horse expert.
The Prophet tries to cast Catch Flame again, but Morrowe deflects his hand with his Greatsword.
With the Scimitar, Morrowe tries to flip off the Prophet's helm, but he only manages to push it up halfway.
Another rider emerges from a rock formation.
It is Rileigh the Idle on horse. He fires a bolt from a crossbow at the Prophet.
The bolt lands in the Prophet's throat, as a result of his helm being lifted up.
Something from the bolt is spreading through the Prophet's neck. Unbeknownst to him, the bolt is tipped with Scarlet Rot.
The Prophet, blind and very sick, nearly barrels through Rileigh's horse; Rileigh's horse steps back.
The Prophet sprays fire from his hand back and forth, hoping to ward Morrowe off. It works.
The Prophet speeds off, the rot spreading from his throat to his heart and head. Morrowe and Rileigh gather.
Morrowe: That was supposed to do it, right? Rilegh: S'posed to.
Morrowe: That man's not normal. I saw what he did to Radahn. Morrowe: A bolt in the throat's not enough.
They pursue the Prophet. They are heading into the Ruined Labyrinth.
Torrent charges ahead mindlessly. Blood spurts out of the Prophet's mouth.
His helm falls, moving the bolt in his throat. In the background, an Ancestral Follower is nocking their bow.
Melina takes Torrent's reins. Melina: Hyetta, this is the Scarlet Rot. The same that destroyed that General. Melina: You have to remove the bolt from his throat.
Melina skillfully navigates Torrent around the Followers' arrows; she is a much more skillful rider than the Prophet (the Prophet mostly got around on Torrent's own skill than his own). Hyetta puts her hand on the bolt. Throughout this process, the Prophet has been passively puking.
She tries to pull it out, but she is nervous and her hand trembles.
The Prophet puts his hand over Hyetta's.
They pull the bolt out, releasing a geyser of poisoned blood from the Prophet's throat.
Followers are attacking the trio with their Jawbone Axes, but Melina narrowly dodges them.
The arrows fired at Melina and Torrent are forcing them into convoluted trails. They are now crossing the fallen statue leading further north into Liurnia.
The Prophet is still puking, and with his throat crushed he is hardly able to breathe. He is near-falling over Torrent; Hyetta tries to keep him upright.
Morrowe and Rileigh wind through the Followers, pursuing the Prophet.
The Prophet faces his mortality, his eyes to the ground.
He looks up. Time has stopped, and something is glowing.
Marika, her face obscured (I feel like I have to repeat this detail every time for my sanity), is gigantic and looking to the direction of the Erdtree. Her hand is on her chest. Marika: My son, look upon me and take after my action.
Hyetta: From behind! Rileigh the Idle has fired a bolt from behind; Melina somehow dodges it.
Morrowe charges ahead of Rileigh, Swift storming the statue.
The Prophet raises his hand.
He finally closes it successfully into a fist. Fire pours out of his fist.
He pushes his helm up and presses his fist on his throat.
The flames scar his throat but purge him of the Scarlet Rot; he has casted Flame, Cleanse Me.
Morrowe sweeps in.
The Prophet, recovered, casts Surge, O Flame! throwing fire in the air. Morrowe nimbly ducks under it.
Melina and Morrowe have arrived into a wide open field, surrounded by the isolated columns and giant statues of an ancient civilization. Looming in the distance is a Wandering Mausoleum, a tomb on four stone legs. The ground rumbles as the Mausoleum walks.
The Prophet is about to cast Catch Flame, but Morrowe slams Swift into Torrent, shocking them.
Morrowe with his Scimitar cuts Torrent's legs.
Torrent shrieks in pain. In the chaos, Morrowe tries to kick Melina off Torrent, but she is a ghost. Morrowe seems to have forgotten this, but I guess he'll remember next time.
The Prophet tries to cast Catch Flame again, but Morrowe deflects the Prophet's hand with the Scimitar. Torrent leaves blood in a trail behind him.
Unexpectedly, the Prophet uses his other hand, shooting flames against Morrowe and Swift. The two take the full blow.
Morrowe has fallen off Swift, with Swift in pain. Because the flames were directed specifically for Morrowe he is set on fire; he is rolling on the ground, trying to extinguish them. However the heat has scarred Swift.
Melina guides Torrent onto a slope, entering further into the ruins.
Rileigh the Idle shoots past Morrowe's prone body.
Hyetta: My lord! Rileigh shoots a bolt; the Prophet deflects it on thickest part of his forearm's armor.
Rileigh unsheathes a dagger, the Scorpion's Stinger, a dagger colored with Scarlet Rot.
The two horses pass many Ancestral Follower worshippers; they stamp on the ground, looking upon their object of devotion which is not shown to the reader.
Rileigh closes in. Hyetta: My lord! That dagger's blade has the Rot!
The Prophet casts Flame Sling, throwing a fireball at Rileigh, who dodges it.
Rileigh tries to stab the Prophet, but the Prophet holds back Rileigh's forearm.
The horses enter the view of the Followers' object of worship: a Minor Erdtree, surrounded by golden trees, similar to the trees on Altus Plateau. An Erdtree Avatar, the same Gareth and Meilyr fled not long ago, can also be seen. The Followers are shocked by the Tarnisheds' intrusion of their revelry.
Fire issues out of the Prophet's hand, but Rileigh has slipped out in time.
The Followers are becoming hostile. Melina sees a certain rock formation in the distance.
Melina: Everyone, hold on, tightly.
Melina pats Torrent, knowing he is in pain. Melina: Torrent. I trust you.
Rileigh charges ahead.
He tries to stab the Prophet, but Torrent has jumped.
Torrent has jumped onto the rock formation.
Torrent continues to leap on the rock, climbing higher and higher.
Torrent, from the top of the rock, jumps onto the plateau where the Frenzied Flame Village. (I try to be as game-accurate as possible - which you can observe, since I twist myself into knots obeying certain details - and yes, I have done this, there are enough footholds on the rock to do this with Torrent, it's just a huge pain in the butt to get right. AFAIK this Minor Erdtree is a dead-end other than this rock which is potentially a developer oversight.)
An Ancestral Follower slams their Jambone Axe into Rileigh the Idle. I haven't describe the Ancestral Followers since they haven't been prominent, but if you don't know what they look like, they are giant, Arnold Schwarzenegger-looking fellows.
The Followers beat Rileigh into minced meat.
They pull his limbs apart and tear out his bones, reusing every material in his body.
Morrowe, burnt, and Swift, scarred, watch this savage scene from afar. Morrowe: Mmm. I have to climb now. Morrowe: I have half a mind to just give up.
Torrent lands on the plateau, but his legs are in so much pain from Morrowe's assault.
Torrent collapses. Everyone falls off - Melina, Hyetta and the Prophet (remember that Morrowe knocked Boc out).
The Prophet checks on Torrent's condition. Melina: I know you are concerned about him. Melina: If you return him to the ring, he will recover, eventually.
The Prophet raises the Spectral Steed Whistle; Torrent dissipates.
Hyetta: But why...why did they attack us?! Melina: ...
Melina: The life of the Tarnished is hard. Melina: We can only move onward. Boc is old enough to protect himself.
They move along the southern edge of the plateau, with the Prophet watching from the cliff for Morrowe's movement.
Melina sees a village - the Frenzied Flame Village. If only she knew this was its name. Melina: A village - a well-fortified one, at that. Melina: We can rest here.
They enter the village, looking around. This particular village has rather high walls around it, in contrast to every other village in the Lands Between - perhaps it was a castle at one point in time. Melina: Wait. There are people here. One can see Tarnished and soldiers from Raya Lucaria here.
Melina looks upon the village's inhabitants; they are all hunched on the ground, almost lifeless. Melina: ...Though it looks like they've all lost the will to live.
A giant fire can be seen flaring above the walls of the Frenzied Flame Village. A chill goes through Melina, and she's a ghost.
A giant yellow flame, with a black hollow center, blooms, gigantic in the sky on a tower some distance away from the village; this is the Flame of Frenzy. It has the appearance of a giant malevolent eye peering over the landscape.
The Prophet looks up in horror.
The violent yellow plumes of the flame dance in his pupil.
The hunched-over villagers rise, their eyes burning with the frenzy-flame.
The Prophet steps in front of Melina and pours fire onto the villagers, burning them.
The villagers moan and cover their burning eyes.
Sparks of yellow fire erupt from their eyes in ecstasy.
The Prophet holds onto Hyetta, pushing her forward as he continues to set them on fire.
One of the sparks of yellow fire hits Melina, singeing her finger. Melina: Ah!
Melina looks at her finger, while running. Melina: Even this fire can injure spirits... Melina: It is a danger to every form of being in the Lands Between.
The Tarnished move northward, leaving the other end of the castle.
Blocking the Tarnished is the armor of a familiar person.
It's Edgar who, we recall, died, after throwing himself off the Bridge of Sacrifice. His eyes are burning, like the villagers.
A close-up of his eyes, which are melted. It's up to you whether the Frenzied Flame people say anything at all, or the sound of the fire overtakes everything.
The Prophet blows Edgar away with a fireball. (Anticlimactic, but no one here knows him.)
They see the Church of Inhibition, making their way toward it.
They reach the Church. Melina: I think... I think we are at the highest point of Liurnia. Melina: This is a dead end.
The Prophet sees the villagers pursuing them.
He sets them on fire, as they push themselves into the Church.
The interior of the Church, with its giant statue of Marika crucified. In the corner of the Church is a dead Finger Maiden, sitting on a chair. Melina: Torrent is hurt, and a strange malevolent spirit inhabits this place... Melina: How will we prevail?
Melina approaches the dead Finger Maiden. Melina: Who is this?
Melina looks around, getting closer to the Finger Maiden's face.
There are no eyes in her eye sockets.
Melina hears shrieking outside of the church.
Inexplicably, the villagers have stopped themselves before the Prophet and have dropped to their knees, shrieking.
The giant flame with the black void grows larger and larger. The eyes of the villagers begin to melt, and they finally fall down, dead.
The light of the flame is reflected off Hyetta's blindfold. The flame's violence is painted in shadows on her face. Hyetta: I see it... I see it... Hyetta: The light.
A column of yellow flame appears before the Prophet.
From the column, a knight emerges, wielding a large spear. The knight's armor is utilitarian and not ornamented; it shows age, its cape weathered and frayed. However, the most notable trait of this knight are the burn scars on the armor, with the area of the chestplate covering the heart severely melted and deformed. The same can be said for the top half of the helm. As for the knight's flesh, he looks squishy, compressed, as if he were the same texture as the Grapes Hyetta enjoys eating. This is Festering Fingerprint Vyke.
Vyke begins with the Frenzyflame Thrust, throwing himself wildly into the air with his spear in hand.
The Prophet runs into the church.
Vyke thrusts his spear into the ground, causing yellow flames to leak from the tip of the spear; a three-forked impression is left on the ground. The church is now bathed in yellow flame.
Vyke rushes through the entrance of the church, the shadows of the flames thrown upon his armor.
The Prophet bathes Vyke in flames.
Vyke pushes past him; it is clear he is aiming at Hyetta.
The Prophet holds Vyke back. The Prophet, interestingly, isn't really a man of notable strength.
Vyke pushes the Prophet back.
The Prophet throws a fireball at Vyke's feet; Vyke is not affected by the pain.
Vyke trips the Prophet; the Prophet falls on his face.
He raises his War Spear high in the sky.
He pierces through the Prophet's hand (which had recovered this chapter, amusingly) with his War Spear, crushing the bones and muscles in it; the Prophet's fire dims.
The Prophet grabs Vyke's leg, casting O, Flame! on it; a great fiery explosion consumes Vyke's leg.
Though Vyke isn't hurt by the flames, the explosive force does tear off his leg up to the knee; he falls.
However, he still lands with the Spear thrusted into the Prophet's other hand.
Vyke forces his whole weight on the Prophet's hand; the blood from the Prophet's hand splatters his helm.
Melina and Hyetta watch this gruesome fight in horror. Vyke picks himself up with both hands.
He gropes for his blown-off leg.
He fuses the leg back onto the stump with flames.
He picks himself up, motioning toward Hyetta.
Hyetta puts her hands over her face, a helpless gesture to protect herself.
Vyke charges forward.
Vyke is consumed in yellow flames from behind.
The Prophet, with his wrists, has thrown off his helm and removed his blindfold, somehow; he has casted Frenzied Burst with his eye.
These yellow flames are the only flames affecting Vyke. His cape is set afire.
He drives the War Spear, regardless, through Hyetta's abdomen.
He carves through Hyetta, slicing the spear downward.
The Prophet is in shock.
Vyke removes his spear from Hyetta's body.
Hyetta's fingers twitch. Hyetta: My... My lord...
Vyke looks at Melina, a look which conveys he sees her.
He removes his helm, showing his melted face; however, as has been shown in datamines, he is still pretty handsome.
His pupil reflects Melina's image.
The Prophet, in a rage, pulls Vyke's head back with his forearms.
The Flame of Frenzy surges out of the Prophet's eyes wildly.
The Flames pour into Vyke's eyes, in an Inescapable Frenzy. The malicious intent and madness would melt the brain and soul of any normal person.
And yet, Vyke is not normal. He grapples with the Prophet, twisting and throwing him on the ground. It's clear who the actually-skilled combatant is.
Vyke's eyes surge with Frenzy Flame.
The Prophet's eyes surge with Frenzy Flame.
Both combatants pour yellow flames from their eyes, the other's flames somehow consuming theirs in the Unendurable Frenzy.
Melina helplessly covers her face with her arm.
The walls of the Church begins to melt.
The statue of Marika also melts.
Hyetta's body also melts.
Sparks fall on the Prophet's armor. The Tree Sentinel armor, designed for the greatest of the Erdtree's warriors, is actually beginning to melt from the Frenzy Flame; holes are growing in it.
The same can be said for Vyke's armor, this armor that has endured flames in the past.
Vyke, suddenly, covers his eyes with his arms.
Vyke is overwhelmed by the Prophet's flames.
Vyke is set aflame by the Prophet's yellow flames.
Vyke is melting, sinking before the reader.
The Prophet, in his rage, pours more and more flames, his hands crucified.
Vyke sinks and sinks, lowering deeper into the earth.
The Prophet unleashes a torrent of flame.
Vyke is now, simply, gone.
The fires die in the Prophet's eyes.
The Prophet is now alone.
Everything is now gone. The church walls are gone, the statue of Marika is gone, and Vyke is gone, leaving no ashes or any kind of particle behind. The feeling is eerie, as if the passions of the previous moment had no origin or reason behind them. There is simply nothing left, not even memories. Meanwhile, the giant flame grows larger and larger, coloring the sky and lending the atmosphere an ominous feeling.
The Prophet, at a loss, looks around him.
He sees Melina, in the distance.
He walks toward her.
Melina, intimidated, but not afraid from her convictions in her goals, stops him. Melina: Stop. Melina: I saw what you did.
Melina: You are not my friend. Her gaze isn't hateful or angry, but firm, as if to demonstrate her willingness to use every tool in her disposal to escape or fight, even if those tools are limited because, well, ghost.
The Prophet is disconsolate.
He falls to the ground.
He prostrates himself before Melina, tears falling to the ground.
Melina: ...
Melina comes closer to him. Melina: You...appear as if you are whole. Melina: I thought you had lost your soul.
Melina kneels down and embraces the Prophet. Melina: Come to me. None of this is by your fault. Melina: I know, I know.
Melina: I miss her too. The pair are engulfed in the single sun of madness in the distance.
Morrowe is watching this where they cannot see, his profile covered in shadow. (Morrowe, interestingly, does not have an indolent character.)
He grips onto his scimitar tighter. Whatever he believed before, he has even more of a reason to kill the Prophet now.
Maleigh's voice: Morrowe. Maleigh: What happened after you climbed up?
Maleigh: What did you see?
Morrowe: ...I lost them.
Morrowe leaves.