"I knew Grandfather Gibson wasn't wrong to place his trust in you," Kueye said. His voice was still low and raspy, yet Raven could detect a note of genuine joy within it. "We shall fight side by side to eliminate the threat of the ants and restore peace to the depths."
"Gibson?" Raven repeated, stirring the Viscous Glow-Mushrooms in the large cauldron with an iron ladle. "That is the High Priest's name, isn't it? It's quite different from the naming style of your people."
"A priest's name is different from that of an ordinary Clayman," Kueye paused. "They possess knowledge; I imagine their names carry deep, profound meanings."
"I actually think a name like Kueye is quite nice," Raven said, ladling the mushroom soup into a wooden bowl. "But tell me—does one receive a new name upon becoming a priest? What happens to the old one?"
"I do not know." Kueye shook his head. "For as long as I can remember, no new priest has emerged in our settlement, and it seems the same is true for the others. Though the Clayman settlements grow larger, our priests grow fewer. I fear that one day, we will lose their guidance entirely."
"I see. So you wish to become a priest to change this trend." Raven looked thoughtful. "What exactly is the standard for priesthood? Is it so rigorous that no new priest has appeared in all these years?"
"The standard resides within the High Priest's heart. When I have met it, Grandfather Gibson will surely tell me," Kueye said, standing up. "Another group of our kin has arrived. I must go to receive them. Please excuse me."
"...I see. See you later." Raven swallowed the words he had been about to say. He already had a suspicion, but some things were better left unsaid—besides, he didn't have the spare energy to worry about that right now.
"I'll have another bowl." Lansseax held out a smaller pot, though its capacity was at least half that of the main cauldron.
"...You could just drink straight from the big pot, you know."
"Can I, really?" Lansseax asked. Before Raven could even finish, her hands had already dropped the small pot to grip the two handles of the cauldron. "I've always wanted to do that!"
Raven offered a small smile, took his bowl, and stood up to survey the surroundings. Over the past few days, new Clayman settlements had been migrating here continuously to join the coalition against the ants. Now, the river bend was bustling, filled with the slow-moving forms of the Claymen.
Initially, the Claymen had been wary of the expeditionary force. However, after the Black Blade Kindred and the knights had sallied out several times to rescue Clayman migrants pursued by the ants, they quickly accepted these agile friends. Many Claymen now slept right in the middle of the expedition's camp, completely off-guard, to the point where the soldiers had to watch their step every time they stepped out of their tents.
Raven took a sip of the delicious, hot mushroom soup. The warmth spread all the way to his toes, yet a certain spot in his chest still felt as if it were touched by a lingering chill. He wandered halfway through the camp before sitting down, as was his habit, in front of a weathered statue of an old man.
The old man's face was mottled and blurred; his beard spread across the front of his wide robes like tentacles, and vine-like appendages emerged from beneath the hem. Kueye had mentioned that this was likely a deity worshipped by the ancient Uhl Dynasty, far older than the Erdtree.
He knew nothing of this god, yet every time he sat before the statue, an inexplicable, eerie sense of peace washed over him—like a traveler returning home. This time, the sensation was exceptionally vivid.
Worship Him, worship Him, worship Him...
The statue's eyes transformed into swirling seas of stars, exerting an endless gravitational pull. His consciousness began to drift from his physical shell, eager to plunge into the center of the vortex and slide toward the unknown reaches of deep space. A pale, ink-colored wind blew from the void, and the whispers of the stars echoed in his ears.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" A hand slapped his shoulder.
Raven snapped awake with a start. He realized that at some point, he had stood up and was now only a step away from the stone figure, his hand reaching out toward it in mid-air.
Within the sea of his consciousness, the Yellow Sign flipped half a turn before returning to silence.
Chewing on a grilled mushroom, Lansseax curled her middle finger and rapped on the statue's forehead. Clang, clang.
"Don't do that," Raven said helplessly.
"It's just a common, solid stone statue," Lansseax said, circling the sculpture. "Strange. In my memory, the gods worshipped by the Uhl Dynasty didn't look like this. But when I think back carefully... yes, this is exactly the image."
Raven was confused by her circular logic. "Wait, is this a god of the Uhl Dynasty or not?"
Lansseax rubbed her temples in frustration.
"Perhaps it's been too long and my memory is getting fuzzy," she said, quickly giving up on the thought. "Besides, it's common for the images of gods to evolve and shift over time, especially for these non-existent false gods."
"False gods?"
"At the very least, they never showed a single miracle. Those so-called incantations of the ancient dynasty were nothing more than pure sorcery. It's no wonder they eventually abandoned their old faith and turned to worshipping the Scarlet Rot. Those fellows who called themselves 'Great Kings' all turned into misshapen Fungal Kings, covered in mushrooms. I even slew three of them once; one strike from my bolt and they'd just... pop and spray juice everywhere—"
Lansseax looked down at the grilled mushroom in her hand and pulled a face. "Why do I have to talk about this while I'm eating?"
"...You could have left out the 'spraying juice' detail." Raven set his bowl down, trying to erase the memory of the Viscous Glow-Mushroom he had just been chewing. "Kueye believes the Claymen are the remnants of the ancient dynasty."
"The Uhl Dynasty was founded by humans; they all eventually became Kindred of Rot," Lansseax said firmly. "The Claymen are likely some emerging subterranean race that occupied the ruins later. When the various races joined forces to seal the Rot, we never saw any Claymen."
"No," Raven shook his head. "Kueye and his people may truly know nothing of the past, but the priests are definitely not that simple. And the god the ancient dynasty worshipped was by no means a false one. Quite the opposite—hmm?"
He stopped and flicked some dust off Lansseax's shoulder.
Tiny pebbles were cascading from above with a soft rustle. Raven looked up toward the dark ceiling of the subterranean cavern and suddenly raised his hand. Dragonbolt converged into the shape of a spear, leaping from his palm with a fierce, crackling sizzle.
The crimson lightning illuminated the ceiling for a split second, revealing the hideous forms of countless giant ants hidden among the stalactites and rocky crevices. A moment later, darkness reclaimed the space. The deafening thunder echoed through the cavern for a long time before being swallowed bit by bit by the gloom.
Finally, everything fell into a silence so absolute one could have heard a needle drop.
Plop.
The scorched carcass of a giant ant, pierced by the Lightning Spear, fell into the Ainsel River, bobbing on the surface.
Plop, plop, plop—
Like a drumbeat following that first signal, the sound of falling bodies became continuous as massive splashes erupted across the dark water. The giant ants leapt into the Ainsel like rain, wading toward the shore.
The Claymen hurriedly formed a spear wall, attempting to drive the ants back into the water. A brutal struggle erupted on the banks in an instant. On the ants' side, there were hellish, frenzied screeches; on the Claymen's side, there was only silence. Stone harpoons and chitinous limbs pierced through one another as countless corpses began to drift downstream.
"These ants are limited in number; they aren't the main force." Raven grabbed Lansseax, who was preparing to transform and join the fray. "The main force is coming from that direction."
Incalculable numbers of giant ants surged out from downstream of the Ainsel. Leading them was a creature like a moving mountain—it had the hideous, terrifying lower body of an ant, but its upper torso was that of a tall, semi-naked woman.
"A Numen?" Raven lowered his glintstone telescope, his expression grim. "A hybrid of a Numen and an ant... Damn it. What power would create such a twisted lifeform?"
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Elden Ring: The Unborn One's Journey Through Elden Ring(250 Chapter - Ongoing)
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