Naruto: The Chosen Undead-Chapter 141 - no.140 Dark Souls

Below, at the forest's edge, Beatrice stood... flickering.

Her form glowed gently, vanishing and reappearing like an old candle about to gutter out. A soft, pulsing glow caught his eye. The young witch stood in the clearing, her body shimmering and phasing in and out of sight like a flame caught in the wind. And just like that, Naruto was gone, leaping from the ledge, boots slamming against the stone of the broken bridge. He bolted across the forest floor, a blur of motion, until he landed hard in front of her, eyes wide with concern.

"Beatrice, what's wrong?"

"Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to... Bea, you're literally flickering like an old light bulb in a haunted house!" Naruto said, his voice rising with anxiety.

She laughed softly.

"Are you dying?"

Beatrice shook her head. "No. I'm returning."

Naruto frowned. "Returning?"

Beatrice's glow pulsed again as her body wavered faintly. "Yes... I'm going back to my own time."

"You're from the past."

It wasn't a question.

She nodded. "The flow of time is... convoluted in Lordran. Twisted, tangled. People like me get pulled from our own timelines without warning, sometimes to watch... sometimes to act. I saw you fighting those stone knights. I shouldn't have been here at all, but... I couldn't just stand by."

Naruto's heart sank. "So you're leaving?"

"Time's trying to fix itself. It's pulling me back."

He reached into his pouch, pulling out a worn stone—white, smooth, warm to the touch. "Will this help? A jolly guy gave it to me. Big armor. Talks about the sun a lot."

Beatrice's eyes widened. "A white soapstone?" She took it from him with both hands, reverent. "These were created in my time. When time began to tear, the scholars and witches figured out how to send pieces of themselves—phantoms—to aid others across the land. Summon signs, dark invasions, it's all connected. Sorry, I'm rambling. I do that when I get nervous."

Naruto smiled, watching her fidget. "I think it's cute."

Beatrice flushed instantly, her fingers fumbling with the stone. "That's... kind of you." She pricked her finger, letting a single drop of blood fall onto the soapstone. It glowed briefly, then dimmed with a soft pulse of magic. She handed it back.

"There," she said quietly. "I might not be able to walk this world anymore, but if you ever need me, this will summon my phantom. I'll fight with you again."

Naruto stared down at the stone, clutching it like it was made of gold. "Thanks, Beatrice."

"No thanks needed."

A moment passed. Beatrice flickered again, brighter this time, like a candle about to go out.

A minute ticked by.

Beatrice was still flickering.

"You know," Naruto said with a deadpan stare, arms crossed, "I thought this part would go faster. Y'know... poof, sparkle, dramatic final words, the usual."

Beatrice gave an irritated click of her tongue. "Shut up."

Naruto grinned. "Just saying. Kinda killing the mood."

She gave him a look so flat it could have skipped across a pond.

"Anyway," he continued, undeterred, "since you're still halfway here... can you teach me magic?"

Beatrice blinked as her right arm popped fully back into existence. "Seriously?"

"You're technically still present," Naruto said, all innocent-like. "And I'm nothing if not efficient with my time."

She sighed, half-annoyed, half-amused. "I find it strange. Knights and squires typically don't dabble in magic. Miracles, sure. But magic?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not exactly your average knight."

Beatrice gave a short laugh. "That I won't argue with." She adjusted her flickering staff and added, "Very well. Since I have a few seconds left before I snap out of existence, I'll give you a primer."

"Yes."

"First, understand this: there are many schools of magic. Vinheim is an institute, not a school."

"Oh yeah, I remember reading that in the class selection. Thought that was the magic itself."

"Nope. Vinheim teaches soul sorcery, but there's also the light-based magic of Oolacile, the frost school, the ancient moon sorceries, and many more... all of them unique. But what ties them together is this: magic is the application of your soul's understanding of reality."

Naruto blinked. "I'm following."

"Think of your soul not as some poetic metaphor, but as a thing truly seated within the cage of your flesh—a slumbering observer in a decaying shell. Magic... is not light or fire. It is the soul's scream against the structure of reality. A will so enlightened it reshapes the world around it. The more you grasp how your soul presses against the walls of this fragile world, the more the world begins to bend in response."

To her surprise, Naruto didn't look lost. He looked thoughtful.

Beatrice smiled. "You're sharper than you let on."

"I try."

She gave him a light tap on the forehead with her flickering staff. "Well, you've got the fundamentals. All you need now are spell scrolls—learn from them, practice, increase your intelligence, and in time, you'll make the path your own."

Naruto sighed. "So this really is goodbye then?"

Beatrice's expression softened. "It was an honor fighting beside you, Naruto Uzumaki. An honor this witch will never forget."

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Her body shimmered, golden light blooming across her form like dawn across a lake. Wisps of her spirit lifted into the air, scattering upward like petals caught in a wind only she could feel.

"Goodbye, most strange squire," she said with a final smile, just as her figure dissolved into golden light.

Naruto stood there for a moment, holding the soapstone she had left behind.

"...I'll be the weirdest sorcerer the world's ever seen," he whispered. "Promise."

The Darkroot Garden was quiet again.

But somewhere, in the weave of time, a witch was smiling.

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Naruto let out a long, weary sigh as he stepped through the forest's edge and approached the bonfire. He leaned back and tilted his head toward the canopy above. The stars of Lordran didn't move, and neither did the moon. Time here hung like dust in still air—suspended, waiting.

Soon, he knew, the world would reset. But for now... there was stillness.

His thoughts drifted to Beatrice—the strange witch from another time, whose parting words still lingered in his ears like an unfinished melody. Her presence had been brief, but powerful. She hadn't just helped him fight; she had helped him see... see the shape of a different power, a different path.

"What would have happened," Naruto murmured, staring into the fire, "if I'd picked sorcerer instead of pyromancer?"

The thought was fleeting. He almost smiled at it.

He was honestly back to the level of strength he'd had when he fought Zabuza. Barely. But it wasn't enough. Yet the promise of magic, how it intertwined with chakra like breath and bone, gave him something new. A path forward.

A way to move the world not just with force, but with his soul.

He tilted his head to the sky and whispered his thanks to Beatrice, wondering if time would ever slip her through again.

If fate would let them fight side by side once more.

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Along the depths where silence weeps,

The drowned bells toll in shadowed keeps,

The black tides whisper—

Through New Londo.

Strange is the path where breath must fade,

Where sunless kings in void are laid—

But stranger still waits,

The Everlasting.

Songs that no mouth dare repeat,

Where winds die cold beneath his feet,

Shall echo once more—

In New Londo.

Thou, unseen, through time unthread,

Shalt speak the words the flame once said—

Then meet again—

The Everlasting.

Not by name, nor face recalled,

But by the weight of dreams forestalled—

A witch shall walk—

To New Londo.

~ Beatrice's Song, from The Nameless Calamity Vol. I, Scene Unknown

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Author Note

Damn, that was crazy, right? Let's get into it.

1 – Beatrice as a Side Character

She's honestly one of the most intriguing and powerful NPCs in the lore of Dark Souls. In the Moonlight Butterfly fight, she's level 45. In the Four Kings of New Londo fight, she's level 85. That is not a random jump. That is intentional.

In the lore, Beatrice is a hero of old who slipped through time, exactly as Solaire said: "The flow of time itself is convoluted; with heroes centuries old phasing in and out."

Beatrice was never meant to stick around. Her presence, like that of other phantom summons, is fleeting. But she made an impression. If you wanted her to remain a permanent character, sorry... but that does not mean she is gone forever. The Witch Who Fought the Abyss will return. I have an arc planned for her, and all I will say is this: when Beatrice meets Naruto again, it will matter. A lot.

Still, I would love to hear your thoughts on Beatrice in this Chapter. Did her presence hit? Was her brief time in the light enough?

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2 – The Poem of Beatrice

If you did not realize, the poem at the end was inspired by Cassilda's Song from The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. It appears in the fictional play within the 1895 collection.

Let us look at the original:

Cassilda's Song

(from The King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2)

Along the shore the cloud waves break,

The twin suns sink beneath the lake,

The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,

And strange moons circle through the skies,

But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead;

Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed

Shall dry and die in

Lost Carcosa.

Now that you have read that... go back to the poem in the Chapter.

What do you think it means? What do you think it foreshadows about Beatrice? About Naruto?

I have something big planned for their next meeting. And it will not be in Lordran. And it will not be in Konoha.

But it will be beneath a drowned city of kings,

Where the dark flows like water,

And ghosts still remember what it meant to have a name.

So tell me what you think the poem meant.

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That's it for now!

As always, I appreciate you all taking the time to read, comment, and just come along for the ride. Thank you all for your support—you make writing this story such an incredible journey! As always, thanks for reading.

—Adam

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word Chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 66, since that's where this Chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!