Lucian stayed with the ancient king for a long time after that, asking question after question until he had wrung the place nearly dry.
In the end, he obtained quite a bit of information about that sealed land.
For instance, something Lucian found particularly fascinating—the ancient forging ruins.
Forging had once been a technique of the Fire Giants, and also a ritual of reverence toward their god. That knowledge was eventually inherited by their descendants, the Trolls.
During the war against the Fire Giants, the Trolls helped forge a great many weapons, including a certain type of golem.
The towering constructs now scattered across the Lands Between, those wielding massive greatbows or colossal halberds, all originated there.
The imps and watchdogs, too, were among their creations.
Beyond that, there was the homeland of the flying dragons, Jagged Peak; and the mysterious Fingerprint Pit—the Finger Ruins…
After listening to the ancient king's account, Lucian couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement. It felt like he'd missed out on two hundred dollars' worth of DLC content.
By now, Lucian had already risen from before his throne.
After hearing so much explosive information in one go, he needed some time to process it all.
So he decided to go find Sif and play with him for a bit.
When Lucian had led the Drakeblood Knights to Caelid, he hadn't brought Sif along.
Instead, he'd had the logistics corps transport all the Drakeblood Knights' equipment back to Stormveil, Sif included.
Selinsax had already flown back from Caelid ahead of time as well, and it was mostly her who'd been taking care of Sif.
At present, Selinsax and Sif were living together in a building near the plaza in front of the throne.
But when Lucian entered the room, the scene before him made him freeze.
Selinsax was sitting on a chair to one side, carving meat from the leg of some beast, clearly preparing to feed Sif.
Meanwhile, Sif—now several times larger than before, had pinned a "toy" beneath his body, rolling it around with his paws.
Every so often, Sif would dash off to one side, crouch low, then pounce on it again.
And the "toy" being bullied so relentlessly was a round, silvery Silver Tear.
Yet no matter how much Sif tossed it around, the Silver Tear showed no reaction at all.
Lucian looked at Selinsax and asked,
"…Hmm?"
"Where did that come from?"
Selinsax tapped her chin with a finger, thought for a moment, and said,
"Sif picked it up himself."
Lucian opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
"…Picked it up?"
Selinsax nodded.
"Yep. Picked it up."
"I thought it was unbelievable too, when I first heard."
"The logistics crew who brought Sif back told me that when they passed through Mistwood, Sif suddenly dashed off."
"When they caught up and found him, he'd already picked up this Silver Tear."
"But this tear doesn't seem to have much vitality."
"From the moment Sif carried it back until now, it hasn't moved at all."
"I figured it was some kind of defective specimen, or maybe half-dead already, so I didn't bother with it and just let Sif play with it."
Lucian silently mulled this over.
A Silver Tear found in Mistwood…
That area was pretty close to the meteor crater leading down to Nokron.
Could it be the Mimic Tear that escaped back then?
The more Lucian thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
He walked over, pulled Sif aside, then crouched down in front of the lifeless Silver Tear.
He poked the dull, inert puddle of silver twice with a finger—but it still didn't react.
Lucian rubbed his chin, considering what state it was in now, and how he might wake it up.
After a moment's thought, he reached into his spatial disk and took out the silvery-white chalice he had once obtained from the secret chamber in Nokron.
The instant the chalice appeared, an intensely concentrated substance, practically liquid "mystery"—spilled outward, filling the surroundings with an arcane aura.
Only now did Lucian realize that after leaving the underground regions saturated with that same power, the "mystery" contained within the chalice was actually this dense.
As the aura spread throughout the room, the Silver Tear on the floor began to tremble faintly.
Meanwhile, Sif—already lively to begin with, became even more energized, looking one step away from tearing the place apart.
Holding the silvery-white chalice in his hand, Lucian waved it lightly in front of the Silver Tear.
Within seconds, the tear stirred, as if coming back to life, flowing forward toward the chalice.
Selinsax stood up and walked over, crouching beside Lucian.
Watching the suddenly animated Silver Tear, she looked surprised.
"It's actually reacting… it really does seem like it's waking up."
Lucian pulled the chalice back, making the tear lunge at empty air.
"You're awake?"
"What are you?"
The Silver Tear seemed only now to notice there was a person in front of it, and began to writhe slowly.
Flattened against the floor, it spoke toward Lucian:
"Wuu… I'm so thirsty…"
"I really want… the chalice… could you give it to me?"
Lucian gave the silvery-white chalice a small shake.
"If you want it, you'll have to answer my questions first."
"What are you?"
Though it had no limbs or facial features, Lucian could clearly feel the Silver Tear "staring" fixedly at the chalice in his hand.
"My name is Asimi. I am a Silver Tear."
"I can transform into many kinds of beings, imitating their movements and behavior."
"But unlike the others… at the moment of my birth, I gained intelligence."
"I have self-awareness. I can speak, think… and I have desires."
"So… may I have the chalice?"
"I would be very grateful…"
Lucian silently pulled the silvery-white chalice farther back, away from Asimi, who had already begun climbing onto him with absolutely no sense of personal boundaries.
Good news: this really was Asimi, the self-aware Mimic Tear.
A cut concept from the game, a Silver Tear that possessed its own consciousness.
And a self-aware tear was far more dangerous in combat than ordinary Mimic Tears.
"You want it?"
"What can you offer me in return?"
Asimi thought for a moment, trying to understand Lucian's words.
Oh, now that she thought about it, she had heard something like this back in the Eternal City.
Apparently, if you wanted something in the outside world, you needed to exchange something of equal value.
But she was just a Silver Tear, what could she possibly have to trade?
Lucian looked at Asimi, who had frozen stiff in place, and asked,
"What's wrong?"
Asimi slowly shrank back.
"Asimi… has nothing to exchange…"
"The chalice… can't be obtained…"
Lucian didn't quite understand her reasoning, but there was no way he was going to let this opportunity slip.
"That's fine," he said calmly.
"If you don't have anything to trade, then you can work for me instead."
"As long as you create value for me, that value can be used as the exchange."
Asimi suddenly understood.
So that was how it worked, coming to the outside world really had been the right choice.
After thinking for a moment, Asimi spoke to Lucian:
"Mm… then, may I ask, would you allow me to parasitize inside your body?"
"If I live within you, I can assist you in battle."
"In that case, the chalice would effectively become part of your power. What do you think?"
To Asimi, this was essentially a contract of servitude.
The attraction of the silvery-white chalice was simply too overwhelming—no, too irresistible to a Tear.
And since Asimi didn't truly understand the concept of freedom to begin with, she sold herself off without much hesitation.
Lucian nodded.
The deal was sealed.
"Alright. I accept."
Asimi moved closer again and said,
"I'm different from my other companions. I require a special process to take on another's form."
"So please come closer, and draw me into your body with your mouth. After that, I will become one with you."
As she spoke, Asimi split her body apart, revealing her true core.
Unlike the cores of other Tears, Asimi's core was something extremely unusual.
It was a pale green mass, mist-like in nature—neither fully material nor fully illusory, suspended between the two states.
Asimi explained,
"I once heard from those who took care of me…"
"My core was born from a spirit grave. I am a very rare kind of illusory lifeform."
"Because of that, I can only take on that form by merging with another. Even now, I have never truly transformed before."
Selinsax, standing nearby, widened her eyes and stared at Lucian.
"Please wait, Master?"
"You're not seriously planning to absorb this unknown thing into your body, are you?"
"And it literally called itself a parasite. A parasite!"
Truth be told, Lucian was hesitating as well.
After all, a game was a game, but reality was reality.
In the real world, inhaling a blob like this into his body… honestly, it felt more than a little strange.
And who knew what that sensation would even be like?
But after a bit of thought, Lucian still made his decision.
"It's fine."
"If anything goes wrong, I can just roast it from the inside with the power of the sun."
Lucian leaned in toward Asimi's core and drew it into his mouth.
'Wow… Lord, your body is so warm…'
Once inside, that ethereal core spread rapidly through Lucian's body, soon permeating his entire form.
Asimi was now able to communicate with Lucian directly, almost like a soul-to-soul connection.
'Host, the process is complete.'
'I can now shift freely between material and immaterial states.'
'Whenever you need me, you may simply call me forth.'
'Please take good care of me from now on, my lord.'
Lucian examined himself and carefully sensed his condition. There was nothing unusual.
"Asimi, come out once and let me see."
Asimi agreed, and soon condensed a physical body in the open space beside him.
During this process, Lucian could feel Asimi's presence within him continuously decreasing—until, at the very end, a single core remained inside his body.
A "person" identical to Lucian in appearance and clothing soon appeared beside him.
Asimi's manifestation consumed a portion of Lucian's vitality, mana, and stamina.
But it was nothing more than an amount that would recover quickly.
Asimi looked at the body she had just copied and was visibly shocked.
"Wow… my lord, I can't completely replicate your strength."
Lucian nodded. His current stats were extremely high, this was only to be expected.
Still, if Asimi could be strengthened through the silvery-white chalice, she should eventually be able to bring out his full power.
Selinsax wasn't surprised at all by Asimi transforming into Lucian. She had seen plenty of Mimic Tears back in the Eternal Cities.
But Sif, upon seeing a second Lucian appear out of nowhere, was utterly startled.
He ran back and forth between the two Lucians, staring at them for a long time, clearly unable to figure out what was going on.
Looking at Asimi—who was now indistinguishable from himself, Lucian suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
After all, a being identical to oneself appearing right in front of you was… unsettling.
So he asked,
"Can you change your appearance?"
Asimi tilted her head, puzzled.
"My lord, what's wrong? Does it not look similar enough?"
Lucian shook his head slightly.
"No… it's because it looks too similar."
Asimi was even more confused.
"But I can't copy others. And if I transform into someone else, I won't have your power."
She began thinking as hard as she could, trying to fulfill her lord's request.
The lord seems to want only a change in appearance, without altering the power…
Ah! I see. Then she should take on a female form.
After all, she herself felt that she was female.
So Lucian watched as the "him" in front of him began to change.
Hair grew longer.
The Adam's apple faded, facial features subtly softened, and the chest of the sorcerer's robe slowly filled out.
After a short while, a woman bearing about seventy percent resemblance to Lucian stood before him.
Asimi now had long, flowing black hair and striking features.
"Well? my lord, how is this?"
She spun around lightly—her voice, too, had become unmistakably feminine.
Now Sif could finally tell Lucian and Asimi apart. He lingered near Asimi for a while, memorizing her new appearance.
Selinsax, however, visibly struggled to hold herself together.
She looked at Asimi a couple more times, then burst out laughing.
To be fair, Asimi really had retained many of Lucian's features.
Viewed on her own, she was simply a beautiful woman.
But when standing next to Lucian, the resemblance was uncanny—more alike than most siblings could ever be.
Lucian looked at the feminized version of himself, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Well… this was technically his own request.
It was a bit hard to process, sure—but honestly, it looked fine.
Anything was better than having another person who looked exactly like him.
—
[Asimi Image (Lucian's Female Version)]
—
[T/N: Asimi (Original Game Lore)]
Asimi, Silver Tear was a cut NPC in Elden Ring who would have played a central role in a full questline involving the Mimic Tear summon. Originally, Asimi appeared as a sentient Silver Tear at the Artist's Shack in Limgrave, pleading with the Tarnished not to kill her. She offered to live inside the player character in exchange for "untold power," promising a symbiotic relationship.