So... It turns out tomorrow might be the day, after all! As today, I ended up spending most of my session duking it out with the tough, but stellar optional boss, The Nameless King. But before I talk about him, let's go over everything from where I left off last session.
Farron's Keep was a poison swamp, fulfilling the FromSoft quota of needing at least one of those in a game. So... how about a toxic swamp? You're in luck, because not only did the Profaned Capital host one, so does the Consumed King's Garden! And the Pus of Man are also there, in case you weren't already struggling with the heavy armored knights that hit with the force of 20 semi-trucks. At the end of it all is a simple battle with the namesake of the garden, Oceiros, the Consumed King. His fight took 2 attempts, there wasn't much to the fight, it being a game of dodging the massive creature's swings and the occasional AoE mist or crystal attack.
After that simple battle, I trekked downwards and hit a hidden wall, bringing me to... A darker version of the area that surrounded Firelink Shrine? Protected by an uninfected Gundyr as the boss, no less! Despite the many attempts, this guy rocked! Trading blows, dodging through his lunges, everything about this fight screams war of attrition in the coolest way possible. You aren't fighting something that'll turn into an abomination mid-battle, you're fighting a near endgame brawler that wants to go toe to toe with ya. Upon defeating Champion Gundyr, I sat down at the bonfire, opened the door, and beyond me, Firelink? Darker Firelink, but it's Firelink! I fought through the area, Black Knights the only inhabitants. A breath of fresh air compared to those fast blade swinging hollows and those damn dogs, I'd say!
Upon reaching the entrance to Dark Firelink, I snooped around and found another Shrine Handmaiden, whom I copped the Wolf Knight set you see in my screenshot. Quite the attire, I'd say! Getting to cosplay as Artorias is something I've been wanting to do for a bit. After this, I found a hidden wall which had... Fire Keeper Eyes? Curiously, I returned to Light Firelink and talked with Ludleth, who told me that these eyes have seen some deep horrors. Despite this, I handed them to the Fire Keeper, who was rather reluctant.
With a depressing end in sight, I might as well finish up what else there is. Back in Irithyll Dungeon, I used the Path of the Dragon gesture I acquired after defeating Oceiros, and was taken to the Archdragon Peak. A short area with more enemies that hit like trucks, but it features a boss that's a long, drawn out plunge attack - the Ancient Wyvern has nothing much to write about outside of needing to dodge through numerous heavy hitters on the way to the plunge spot. After this battle, I trekked through the rest of Archdragon Peak, though unwisely rang a bell which opened the way to the aforementioned Nameless King, but we'll get there in a sec. Reaching the top of an area where I should've summoned Hawkwood, I got the Twinkling Torso Dragon Stone and headed back to Firelink, where Andre gave me something Hawkwood left him, telling me to head to the Abyss Watchers bonfire for us to settle things.
Coming out on top, I made my way back to the bonfire near that bell I unwisely rang, but went near where I found the Torso Stone to pick up another set of Ashes for Light Firelink's Shrine Handmaiden to start selling wares. Then, I set out for the task of the day: Defeat the Nameless King.
What. A. Battle. Many swears, many frustrations, so many times of goofing up simple dodge rolls. For starters, his fight opens with him perched on a bird, King of the Storm. After a handful of attempts, it didn't take much effort. Smacking the beak a bunch and dodging the occasional flying lightning bolt and heavy blade swings, the fight usually ended with a sick takedown animation. Fighting the Nameless King himself took more attempts than Pontiff Sulyvhan, but ultimately, once I stopped using a two-handed shield and going on offense and going sword and shield - it proved to be the winning strategy!
After this victory, giving the most disrespectful point down I'd ever given, I headed back to Firelink, told Greirat to begin his tragic last pillage to Lothric Castle, and... Tomorrow I'll talk about my time in Lothric.