Elden Ring, but with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow

Chapter 512 'Mother of Fingers' Maeter
Bai Shi and Ashimi exchanged a glance. Without saying a word, they jumped into the passage under the seat that led to the ruins of Mia's Finger.

The passageway beneath the church is incredibly long and ancient, its construction date unknown.

In a short while, Bai Shi and Ashimi had crossed the passage and were greeted by an ancient ruin.

In the pitch-black underground, there was a huge cavity large enough to hold anything, and a stone road that stretched forward suddenly appeared beneath their feet.

Bai Shi and Ashimi landed gently, officially stepping into the last finger-shaped relic.

The moment they landed, a dark figure rushed towards them.

The attacker was wearing the same black armor as Yoran, but his weapon had been changed to a grappling hook, and he was already leaping and slashing towards Bai Shi.

Bai Shi glanced around casually and immediately saw that the newcomer was not a living being, but a puppet being controlled.

Without him having to lift a finger, Ashmi had already instantly appeared behind the puppet and severed its magic with a single finger.

The puppet of the Black Night Swordsman immediately collapsed to the ground. Bai Shi stepped forward to examine it and discovered that the puppet was connected to Yolan's fate.

After thinking it over, Bai Shi decided to keep her and give her to Yolan later.

There were no further obstacles on their journey, and Bai Shi and Ashimi easily arrived at the last hanging bell.

Bai Shi gazed at the hanging bell of the ruins and took out the slender, light blue stone necklace with several holes on its surface.

Only by possessing this pendant with the hole can one ring the bell located within the mysterious ruins and wage this final battle.

However, Bai Shi was not in a hurry to blow the bell. Instead, he turned to look at Ashmi beside him.

This time, it wasn't Bai Shi who requested it; it was Ashimi who took the initiative to suggest that he follow him to deal with the Mother of the Fingers.

Bai Shi watched Ashimi staring at the hanging bell, sensing her change.

Her pupils reflected the ghostly light of the bell, but held an emotion he had never seen before—like an undercurrent surging beneath the frozen surface of a lake.

Bai Shi's fingers gently caressed the holes in the rough necklace as he asked:
"This seems to be the first time you've proactively offered to participate in a battle with such a strong desire."

Can you tell me what you're thinking right now?

Ashmi glanced at the hanging bell, then turned to Bai Shi and said seriously:
“Host, the time I have spent by your side has been the most fulfilling and enjoyable time of my life.”

"It was through following your journey that I was able to truly transform from a 'creature that only knows how to imitate' into the unique life form of 'human being'."

Ashmi's mind flashed back to the Eternal City, and she gently recounted the events of her past to Bai Shi:

"It is because I now clearly understand the emotions that humans possess that I finally know how much those people in the Eternal City cared for me."

“I have memorized all their teachings and stories, but I still can’t understand them.”

"I'm so stupid, it took me until today to understand."

“Those witches of the night were only supposed to teach me about combat, but they always did things outside their duties and treated me like one of their own.”

"Knowing that I don't need to eat, they still prepare bread and mead for me when I transform into their form..."

“What seems like a commonplace scene of happiness was something I couldn’t understand back then.”

"Whenever I think back to those smiling beings who tried to teach me what life is, who wanted to show me this world, and who perished under the meteorite, here—"

Ashmi placed his right hand on his breastplate, but the imitated armor did not contain the prince's anger.

But at this very moment, flames began to ignite within the void, and Ashmi's anger was flowing forth.

"—It will feel pain just like a human."

Ashmi raised her head, allowing Bai Shi to see the determination in her eyes.

Ashmi's eyes used to be like mirrors, reflecting only the shadows of others.

But now, those eyes are brimming with complex emotions that are no different from those of a human being.

Regret, reminiscence, anger... and an overwhelming desire for revenge.

Bai Shi had never seen such strong emotions and such a clear purpose in Ashmi's eyes before.

Ashmi used to enjoy the process of fighting because she had no reason to fight; she only saw it as a way to grow and understand the world.

But this time was different; she had her own reason to fight.

Because she came with the purpose of revenge, Ashmi will not fight with the indifferent attitude she used to.

What she longed for was an intensely passionate and fiery revenge, a final tribute to those who had passed away.

“They once told me: ‘Even if you can’t be the perfect weapon, at least be someone who can sigh for the falling leaves.’”

"If I really become human... if I were human, I would definitely avenge those people, right?"

Ashmi spoke with unprecedented excitement about his thoughts, his reflections after becoming human.

"I don't know what kind of grudge the Knox dynasty has against the Mother of the Finger, but that's not important to me."

"I only know that there is an emotion driving me, that I should do this, otherwise my heart will be torn apart."

"Compared to the hunger I felt for the Holy Grail, this tearing pain was insignificant, yet it caused me far greater suffering."

"So please let me take my revenge like a human being!"

Even if the dead won't come back because of this, I still want to do it!

Bai Shi looked at Ashimi and clearly sensed the sense of conviction emanating from her heart.

Ironically, the Mother of the Fingers destroyed the Knox dynasty with a meteorite, and as punishment for blasphemy, the once mighty dynasty declined.

However, it was Ashmi, the creator, who ultimately inherited the last glory of that dynasty and raised the banner of revenge for those who had died.

After a moment, Bai Shi handed the perforated necklace to Ashimi, who solemnly replied:

"I have never seen such intense and turbulent emotions in your eyes."

"Ashimi, congratulations."

"This means you have come to understand what regret and anger are, and you have grasped the meaning of revenge."

"As one of the last living beings in the Eternal City, you naturally have the right to swear revenge."

Bai Shi reached out with both hands into the void and took out two pitch-black weapons, one long and one short.

Relics of the Knox dynasty—pairs of 'hunting finger knives'.

The jet-black twin blades hissed in the void, seemingly roaring in anger at the unfinished duty that was about to be completed.

Bai Shi held the katana named 'Shadow of the Stars' in his hand and then handed the hunting finger knife to Ashmi.

"Humans are not creatures that only possess positive emotions, and that is an unavoidable fact."

"Facing one's own emotions and not letting oneself down or those around them is the way of human survival." "Revenge for those people or things that cannot be undone is legitimate and sacred to the individual."

"If you can feel your own pain, it only proves that you are still alive."

"If you can feel the pain of others, then you are a human being."

"Ashimi, you have truly become human."

"Fight alongside me once more—let us embark on the path of hunting fingers together."

Ashmi reached out and grasped the hunting finger knife that Bai Shi handed him, a solemn expression on his face.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

"Then please let me, as a human being, be angry just once for those things I didn't have time to be angry about in the past."

Bai Shi and Ashimi stopped talking and turned to walk towards the hanging bell.

Having fought side by side, the two had long since developed a deep understanding of each other.

Bai Shi and Ashimi are like real siblings, completely trusting each other.

Today, armed with pairs of hunting finger knives, they are about to slay the deity hiding behind the borderlands.

Ashmi stood in front of the bell, one hand gripping the hunting finger knife and the other clutching the perforated necklace.

She leaned forward and gently blew on the ancient, unman-made object, its mysterious sound floating in the air.

The night sky is very dark tonight, however, this is not a bad omen.

—This is actually a harbinger of a magnificent, impending downpour of light.

The three finger-shaped ruins have been sounded one after another, and those who understand the truth of the gods will be guided by destiny to that unknown and mysterious place.

A beam of starlight emerged from the bell, gently enveloping Bai Shi and Ashimi.

Without resisting this force, the two quietly waited for the deity to lead them to their doom.

The bell, meant to summon those who could glimpse secrets and truths, now turned the audience into a premeditated murder.

The gods hunt, the hunt for fingers... it doesn't matter what this journey is called, the Mother of Fingers is destined to perish.

Having accepted the call of that power, Bai Shi and Ashmi's bodies left their original positions and were teleported away by the light.
-

After a brief period of darkness, Bai Shi and Ashimi opened their eyes and looked around at their surroundings.

At this moment, they found themselves in a unique world.

The azure waves above were like light gazing at the sea from the depths of the abyss, or like stargazing from the darkness.

The area is surrounded by countless enormous stone fingers, scattered haphazardly everywhere, and even overhead are huge hollow stone pipes hanging down.

Before them stood a strangely shaped finger-like creature.

Bai Shi gazed at that unique life form and compared it to the phantom he had once glimpsed.

However, he had only seen the head of the Mother of Fingers from afar during their brief encounter, and had never seen her whole body.

Even with his deep understanding of the bizarre shapes of finger creatures, Bai Shi never imagined that the Mother of Fingers would look so terrifying.

The Mother of Fingers has a structure that resembles a giant scorpion, except that what supports her body on both sides are dense and thick fingers.

On the front and back sides, the head finger and tail finger stand tall, pointing towards the sky like the two fingers.

The little finger is made up of two fingers that spiral and intertwine, then separate at the end, from which countless tiny fingers grow out.

However, those fingers did not seem to grow naturally on the intact skin, but rather appeared to be growths that grew from some abrasions.

A tiny universe seemed to be held high towards the stars, as if pinched by the tips of those two little fingers.

The Mother of Fingers is able to receive messages from the Supreme Will—even though she has been abandoned because of destruction, she still awaits the message.

On His head, which is facing forward, there is a huge, wet crack, and the fingers are moving inside, showing faint signs of life.

Ymir's body was clearly modeled after the Mother of the Fingers, and this transformation was made for the purpose of childbirth.

Two enormous arms hung down to the sides of the head, and at the center of the fingerprint on the fingertip at the tip, there was a small eye shaped like a wart.

That eye stared blankly into the distance, seemingly gazing at something.

This bizarre creature is the dazzling daughter of the supreme will, the mother of all two fingers and finger worms, and the initial meteor that fell to the borderland.

—Métier, the 'Mother of Fingers'.

The finger-like creatures each had their own unique and rugged shapes, which turned out to be some of the characteristics inherited from the Mother of Fingers.

Those who embark on the path of the fingers are not corrupted by mistakes, but truly become the life of the fingers.

In any case, Bai Shi couldn't help but sigh that these gods couldn't be judged by human standards, since they probably wouldn't care about that anyway.

Compared to Bai Shi's thoughts, Ashimi's mind was much simpler.

She didn't care what kind of being the other was, or how ugly they were; she was there to kill them and for revenge.

Sensing Ashmi's undisguised killing intent, 'Mother of Fingers' Matilde slowly came to her senses and turned to look at the two of them.

The wart-like little eye in the center of the fingerprint stared at Bai Shi and Ashmi, scanning the somewhat familiar visitors up and down.

Upon seeing the weapons in the hands of the two, the Mother of Fingers trembled.

On His head, a bright red wound has not faded to this day; this shallow injury on His massive body seems to be branded into His life.

And this was the wound that the Hunter's Finger Knife had left on His body.

Upon seeing the blasphemous hunting finger knives in Bai Shi and Ashmi's hands, the wound immediately began to throb with pain.

The Mother of Fingers let out a loud hiss, like a song from the starry sky, even somewhat melodious.

But His next move immediately shattered this brief change of fortune. He turned to the side, his fingers wriggling beneath him, lunging forward like a crab.

Ashmi came for revenge, and the Mother of the Fingers thought the same thing.

He will make mortals who dare to blaspheme pay the price.

Bai Shi gripped the Star Shadow Katana tightly with both hands. The weapon, born from a corpse, emitted a cold light and revealed its fangs.

Ashmi, gripping the hunting finger knife, leaned slightly forward beside him, his eyes flashing with determination.

Facing the relentless onslaught of the Mother of Fingers, even the weapons in their hands trembled as if they were breathing.

Without a word or any communication, Bai Shi and Ashmi faced the Mother of Fingers from the left and right, slashing their swords in a staggered manner.

(End of this chapter)