I had the SAME thing happen to me... disc when talking to Joko. THEN, while roaming around the forest I got stuck. Twice. Yes, I fought Bal 4 times. When I finally got to the eater of souls it was a joke. I finished it in 5 minutes. Run back to Joko's jail cell and use a ranged weapon. Run a circle around the jail cell, he'll never hit you and you can kill him easily.