Naruto: The Chosen Undead-Chapter no.224 Darksouls

Read advance chapters of all my works or want to support me.

https/www.p.a.t.r.e.on/Adamo_Amet

Join us on discord:

https://di..scord.gg/h3kDw7ma

••••••••••••••••••

Chapter 224 What is Magic?!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The heat of the bonfire washed over Naruto, carrying the smell of smoke and charred bone. The crackle of flames mixed with the clang of distant hammers. For Naruto, it was like stepping back into a home he had not realized he missed until he returned. The familiar warmth of the bonfire seeped into his skin, pulling away the lingering weight of Konoha's politics.

They passed through the Undead Church like clockwork, dispatching hollows with the kind of efficiency that came from having done it enough times that it stopped feeling like a fight and started feeling like a commute. Naruto even fenced with the four Balder Knights at the same time.

After clearing the last of the resistance they took the elevator down into Firelink Shrine.

"Looks like Reah and her bodyguards are already off to the Catacombs." Naruto observed, glancing around the empty church ruins.

Oscar chirped and nudged him toward the bonfire.

Griggs sat beside it with a small cauldron balanced carefully over the flame, ladling estus into it from his flasks. The soup shimmered with a faint golden light that had absolutely no business being that pretty. Naruto stopped walking and stared at it for a full second.

"Naruto?"

"Yo." Naruto dropped down at the bonfire beside him.

"Splendid timing actually. Would you care for some?" He was already reaching into his bottomless box for two bowls. Griggs poured for Naruto and then, without any particular fuss, poured a smaller measure into a shallow dish for Oscar, who dipped forward and regarded it with what appeared to be dignified appreciation.

The taste was genuinely difficult to explain.

The most honest description was that it tasted like nothing at all, and yet the warmth that spread through his chest loosened something behind in his body and mind. He sat with the empty bowl in his hands for a moment longer than necessary enjoying the feeling it brough him.

"Thanks for this."

Author's Note

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Now let's get into the Q&A.

Q. Is the study of miracles actually forbidden by the gods?

Yes, and this is explicitly canon.

The Archdeacon's Staff hints at it directly. Its description states that Archdeacon McDonnell's sin was channeling faith for sorcery, and that this trespass transformed what was once a symbol of ecclesiastic authority into a catalyst for sorceries.

The reason the gods forbid it is because they do not want humanity to realize that miracles and magic are two sides of the same coin. Both are the soul producing an effect upon reality. Magic achieves this through understanding. Miracles achieve it through faith. The mechanism is the same. The gods would very much prefer that nobody figures that out.

And canonically, if enough people have faith in something, they can create entirely new miracles. We see this play out across the series. In DS3, the Deacons of the Cathedral of the Deep, who were supposed to contain the horrors of the Deep, were gradually seduced by it and developed heretical miracles like Gnaw that drew on stagnant darkness rather than divine authority. In Londor, Liliane's Sable Church spread miracles built around the suffering of Hollows, miracles that no longer pointed toward the ancient gods at all but toward humanity itself. People had started putting their faith in their own kind and the miracles followed.

The gods built a wall between sorcery and miracles specifically to prevent people from seeing the bigger picture.

Q. Does Naruto even need Dismantle?

I saw this take across multiple platforms and I just want to clarify because I think the comparison landed differently than I intended. I was not saying DS1 Naruto now has Dismantle. I was saying the Blade of Wind functions similarly to Dismantle in a way that made me excited when I noticed it, an invisible slash fired from the fingertips that opponents cannot see coming. That was the fun comparison.

The point was never that Naruto uses it like Sukuna. The whole idea is that DS1 Naruto develops his own unique relationship with the Blade of Wind that is entirely his own. What that looks like, and how it eventually surpasses Reto's usage, is something I want to build toward properly. So no, he is not just doing Sukuna cosplay with a wind jutsu. That would be boring and you guys deserve better than that.

Q. Can you raise your stats through training alone?

I got this question a few times and did my best to answer it each time so let me just give a proper answer here.

Yes.

Naruto can technically train his way to stronger stats without spending souls to level up. The catch is the time investment is brutal compared to conventional leveling.

Think of it this way. Naruto could go full Rock Lee for an entire month, maybe even a full year of dedicated grinding, and his stats might move by ten points if he is lucky. Compare that to a month of active soul gathering and leveling up through the conventional system and that same investment of time produces dramatically more growth.

That said, training based stat growth is not useless. It is just slow. And given that Naruto is going to have an increasingly harder time leveling up conventionally going forward, due to the rune bound to his soul making each level up progressively more expensive, those small incremental gains through raw training are going to start mattering more than they used to.

So yes, expect to see a few level ups earned through pure effort in the future. It felt right for his character and honestly given what is coming, he is going to need every point he can get however he can get them.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

That's it for now.

If you have questions about decisions I make, feel free to ask. I do not mind explaining my thought process. And if you have ideas, drop them in the comments. I genuinely enjoy reading them, even when I do not use them.

As always, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment, and follow along with this story. Your feedback means more than you know, and it helps push me to make each chapter bigger, sharper, and more true to the worlds of Naruto and Dark Souls.

Until next time, Praise the Sun.

Adam

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[ 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 15k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 98, 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!