VICTORY ACHIEVED!

5/5 - 4 Deaths / 20 Push-ups

Gwyn is down!

Crossing the Kiln (since I've done it 28 times) was easy enough, but I was still witness to at least one moment of classic Dark Souls despair.

STILL getting trolled by the Black Knights

I was close to going back to trying to parry his attacks but saw something impressive when comparing the stability values of shields. One choice stood out as having a very high stability - one thing Gwyn was able to best me against.

On your knees, for thou art vanquished.

In this case, the key to victory turned out to be the Greatshield of Artorias and the Wolf Ring. The amazing stability of the shield plus the poise of the ring allowed me to finally stand up to his attacks and be able to develop a strategy against him.

It was a grueling battle nonetheless, with a many close calls and both good AND bad luck moments. His four slash combos, burning my flesh even with a shield raised, his incredible reach, his ridiculous speed...

I cheered a victory unlike any other when he went down. It was finally complete...

Victory Achieved!

I beat Dark Souls.

Praise the Sun!

Linking the fires...

New Game + didn't take long to kick in. There was no real denouement, no telling me about my choice and the consequences of it. Did I have an alternative to lighting that final bonfire? I noticed that the fog gate was gone...

All of a sudden I'm reminded of the 'Gunslinger' novels by Stephen King.

Fear not brother; I AM the chosen one.

It felt good taking down the Asylum Demon on his first appearance.

Hello up there. I'm back, but I'm NOT the same.

One of the best scenes in the game.

Well look at that; I'm back at Firelink. Perhaps I should do some exploring...

Shield Designs up on Facebook

Posted some shields for the DaS2 Shield Design Contest...

Hope you like 'em!

PLEASE - Click the shield to go to the Facebook Page and Vote if you like any of them! :)

Battered Friend

Dragon Tooth

Trusted Friend

The Black Knight Farmer

5/2 - 26 Deaths (1 Stupid) / 135 Push-ups

MILESTONE: 2000th Push-up!

There's a really awesome shirt waiting for me. All I need to do to get it is kill Gwyn.

I tried... oh how I tried.

Kiln of the First Flame. Get comfortable...

Oh look! There's my blood stain.

I wish I could ask your assistance dear Solaire, but I must face these evils alone.

It was somehow encouraging to see the summon sign of my good friend Solaire. Oh how I wished to bring him along with me to face that evil, but to give in is to truly go hollow.

This fight is for me alone.

This. TWENTY THREE times. 

"Twenty three you say? But above it says 26 deaths!"

I also got invaded twice (went human just to mix things up). I really wanted to beat Gwyn as a human. Or just beat Gwyn. Lost to both invaders. One had a sword that lit me on fire, the other just beat me because I sucked.

They were honorable invaders nonetheless. Thanks for waiting for me to finish the Black Knights, chappies.

I also walked off the foggy stairs sideways while trying to sip scotch and walk at the same time.

Keep scrolling...

If there's one thing to take as a positive of the whole experience, I now have ~100 new misc shards, 18 new Black Knight weapons and 8 new Black Knight shields... So, I guess I'll pretend I was just farming today.

Yup, that was the plan all along... Farming.

Pure Massacre

5/1 - 3 Deaths / 15 Push-ups

Priscilla. Gwyndolin. Gwynevere. The Blacksmiths. The merchants. The Mages.

All these people who've helped me along the way... I feel bad, but time... time flows differently in Lordran.

For now, Gwyn is alone. I am alone.

Soon, one of us will be dead.