I've done nearly everything else available on the map. (Can't access areas in water/don't know how the stones work yet.) And I'm able to get through the "first phase". But in his second, I can rarely seem to block the 'perfect parry-only' attack & that's basically enough to kill me + his attacks are so numerous that he eventually burns through my shield too. Plus, damage of any kind, nearly resets the absorption meter down to half. Making the boss feel completely unfair.

How exactly does the perfect parry work, and when exactly are you suppose to use it? Because I feel stuck without a 2nd option. And I'm starting to feel like the button prompts aren't even being consistent. Because I've experimented with the perfect parry timing & cannot get it to work regularly. So am I missing some random hidden path? Or am I really meant to flawless this f**king boss?