Hey guys. I decided to give you all a taste of what my next piece will be and see how you all like it. This does not mean I will not be updating or continuing my other stories. I have decided to give them each a rewrite starting with No Longer Lost to Light, which was my first attempt (I'm sure some of you remember that first coming out). If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to PM me. I love hearing from you, and I want to know what your thoughts are. Thanks, and love you all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Dark Souls 3. Those are property of FromSoftware. I do own some characters I have added in here, but other than that this is all my speculation/twist on the classic Souls games.

Flickering Flame

Pre Chapter: "Rebirth"

All was still in the Cemetery of Ash, for there was no reason for any commotion. The world was dying, and no one alive was sane enough to care. The sun above, despite shining brightly, blanketed the graveyard in a solemn, depressed light—quite fitting for the resting place of the Flame's rejected few, the Unkindled. For not too far away sat the temple of the greatest beings in all of Lothric's history: Firelink Shrine, home to the thrones belonging to the Lords of Cinder.

The Lords, all but mere legends, were revered as near-gods in their respective times, for they alone possessed souls powerful enough to link the First Flame. Few beings in all known history displayed such power, fewer so with the mettle to sacrifice their souls to preserve the world. Farron's Undead Legion, the Abyss Watchers. Aldrich, Saint of the Deep. Yhorm, the giant ruler of the Profaned Capital. These names held power, and to some degree, still did in this age.

However, as the link of fire is threatened, the Lords must be resurrected to partake in the linking. Only one has returned, and not nearly with enough power to continue the Age of Fire. It is in these dire circumstances that the First Flame will call upon its most despised and hidden champions to return the Lords to their thrones, no matter what the cost. Thus the Unkindled are created out of the ash left behind by those who failed to satisfy the need of the Flame.

Again and again the unkindled are sent out with the mission of bringing the Lords to link the Fire, and yet it is to no avail; for as the Unkindled tire of their journey, their minds and souls begin to hollow to the point of no return—an ill-fated curse courtesy of the Great Lord Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight and the founder of the First Flame. For, to be Unkindled means to be human, and to be human and survive in such a world as Lothric, only Undead can have a chance of completing the task; to assign such an arduous task to a carrier of the Darksign is to curse them to a fate of Hollowing, for what is man to do when thou hast not a purpose, but to Hollow?

And so it is that the Flame will call upon its first champion. The champion from an age long ago, before the Profaned Flame, before the Judgement of Gundyr, and even before the birth of the Undead Legion. From a land known only in legend: Lordran, the land of the ancient gods, where the oft-told tale of a certain human was born.

For the Flame has no option but to call upon its first and most powerful champion: the Chosen Undead.

Suddenly, a bell in the distance began chiming. No birds rushed anywhere, but there was a sense of foreboding that followed in the quietness that accompanied the ringing. For a moment, all had gone back to the empty silence of before. Then, a rough grinding noise broke the silence, the culprit being the top of a grave that was slowly sliding off its stone coffin. Once it was free of the edge of the grave, a hand reached up to grip the edge, followed by the rest of the arm, and eventually a whole upper body.

This is the story of the last Ember in the Age of Fire.