Boletaria.

This was an entire Kingdom that has seen better days. But I heard recently that it was completely overrun by Demons. Ones that fed off souls, leaving nothing but husks and deformed monstrosities far beyond my worst nightmares. And so I ventured through the thick fog, finding myself in the depths of a Castle. I wanted to do something about it, in fear of the fog spreading to my side of the world. I was hoping to find any sort of settlement to get a better survey of the land and prepare for battle. But unfortunately, my time was cut tragically short at the hands of Vanguard demon.

But instead of facing oblivion, the vast darkness of eternal sleep, or anything resembling a paradise that the church speaks of, I awoke in the Nexus. It was quite a dark and grim place, full of people like me. My body was dead, yet I was fullu conscious and aware of myself in a spectral like Soul Form. There I met a beautiful maiden in black. I was told that she was a demon, but strangely, I felt drawn to her. I reached inside of her, finding a new source of power. I trusted her. I needed her. I would fight for her and for all the other fallen Souls that have come through this place.

My long quest was soon laid bare in front of me. There was a way to save Boletaria and rid the Demon scourge for good. I had to collect 5 archdemon souls in order to reveal the source of this endless nightmare. As I did so, I could see firsthand what the pursuit of power left many innocent people. The power of Demon's foolishly intertwined into both the miracle arts and sorcery itself. Yet both were always at odds with one another.

I didn't know what to make of it. But I was a man of decent faith. So I sought guidance from Saint Urbain and his disciple. I never took much stock on what the church made of "God". But my cynicism grew a plenty. What sort of God would leave behind a world of endless suffering and demonic threats around every corner? I couldn't take much of it anymore. I was in the middle of facing the dreaded Storm King. My faith was wavering. I cried out for help one more time. And suddenly, two more brave men stood up with me. I could sense a comradarie with them. They too have seen what I have. They were also tasked with the same mission. Were they different incarnations of me from other Boletarias? I paid not much mind there. We had to slay this Archdemon menace. Thankfully, my insights into this part of Boletaria has revealed a legendary weapon ready to strike down this foul beast alone.

But would I really make it? Would I be drawn to the power of Demons instead? It was very tempting every step of the way, to be truly monstrously huge and powerful creatures that had a simple, yet cruel life. No... not today. I had a purpose. I will not fall into despair and have my soul form dissipate into the aether. I will fight. I will grab my holy Mirdan Hammer. I will strike down this great evil no matter what it takes. No man or demon will stop me.

Me. The wandering hero. Thrust into the worst of sitatuons.

A slayer... of Demons.

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SIX entire games conquered by your local, beefy pegasus! I'm glad to experience this game that kickstarted this whole lineup of Fromsoft's library in its best form. Many thanks to both Cruros and Non for being my support and awesome guide throughout this whole journey. This ended up being my shortest game yet, but the experience was very impressive as always! Outside of the confusing and tedious world tendency system, I say this game is very solid, even with every area being disconnected instead of the open world we got in future Fromsoft games.

Game Stats + Credits

Clear Time: 28 hours, 44 minutes (Clear conditions - All bosses completed, all black phantom encounters, all White tendency events cleared)
Armor Used: Brushwood Set
Weapon Used: Mirdan Hammer + Moonlight Greatsword + Adjudicator Shield (Faith/Regen Build)
Easiest Bosses: Leechmonger (FIRE SPAM! And little else with how slow it was)
Coolest Bosses: Dragon God (I love some puzzle bosses! Great spectacle), Old King Allant
Hardest Bosses: Flamelurker (Seriously?! Ultra aggro asshole that provided little openings for attacks)
Most Annoying Boss: Maneater (Begged for help to clear this boss from my friends. Gank bosses always suck, and the level geometry doesn't help either. One of the worst encounters I dealt with across all six games.)

Non (Right) owned by:  nonsequitur

Cruros (Left) owned by:  cutthroat777

Setting: Shrine of Storms (From Demon's Souls)

Artist:  omny87