Ignoring Blaidd's subtle hints of "Can we not fly down?", Aoko still used the Wind Soaring as a group flight method, bringing the severely acrophobic but resolute warrior directly down from the plaza where Asimi had been earlier.
Because Asimi had replicated part of Aoko's abilities, the sounds of their earlier battle were particularly loud. Even though the avenue leading to the temple was far from Asimi's plaza, it still alerted the guards responsible for protecting the sanctuary.
These guards consisted of a small number of Nox survivors and the silver tears they controlled. Through her communication with Asimi, Aoko learned that the ordinary silver tears were essentially robots pre-programmed by scripts. Without a nearby Nox individual to control them, they functioned merely as automated defense mechanisms, entirely distinct from awakened like Asimi.
Among these places, there were further subdivisions: unshaped silver tears and shaped silver tears.
As their names imply, the unshaped silver tears were like ordinary metallic slimes with simple intelligence and monotone attack patterns. In contrast, the shaped silver tears were advanced variants programmed to transform into humanoid combat forms. However, their intelligence did not reach the level of Asimi's, as they were merely intermediate products developed by the Nox during their pursuit of creating artificial sovereigns.
While Aoko carefully followed Asimi's guidance to scavenge valuable items and scrolls in the area, she also listened to Asimi recounting stories about the Nox people and their history, as understood by a created being like herself.
"...By the time I was created, the war against the Fingers had already reached its final stages," Asimi said in Aoko's mind. "At that time, I didn't yet have fully developed abilities, and my consciousness was still hazy. But I vividly remember the sadness and hatred of my creators. They poured their rage into my creation, granting me intelligence, self-awareness, and a mission I once had."
"And after that… all my creators died, and I fell into a slumber," Asimi continued softly. "When I woke again, there were hardly any humans left in this city. The remaining 'Nox people' were merely the descendants of my creators. Their technological prowess had declined so much that they couldn't even replicate another being like me."
While Aoko could sense the melancholic tone in Asimi's words, she didn't perceive much sorrow. Strictly speaking, Asimi hadn't had much interaction with her creators before falling into slumber. In essence, she was a young being who knew little beyond her assigned purpose, making it hard for her to empathize with the Nox people or share their hatred for the Fingers, who had destroyed the Eternal City.
Nevertheless, Aoko learned many details she hadn't known before from Asimi's accounts. For example, she now understood that the "Night Witch's Miasma" spell summoned toxic fumes that were essentially vaporized materials from silver tear bodies. While this powerful spell could "poison to death" even the undead, it did not affect all silver tears, for whom it felt like a light breeze.
What surprised Aoko, even more, was that silver tears like Asimi, which could merge into her body without causing toxicity, became highly lethal poison when used in vaporized form. There were still many secrets hidden within the silver teardrops.
Underneath a statue that originally held the ashes of imitation tears, Aoko found a sealed, intact tear embryo in a box. This was a highly malleable seed of silver tears, existing in the liminal space between life and non-life. Queen Rennala could use such embryos to perform rebirth rituals for Tarnished, but Aoko had other plans for this object.
Could it be possible to combine such a shape-shifting magical construct with Moonlight Marrow Fluid to create a more powerful magical computer?
Lost in her thoughts, Aoko arrived at the temple avenue guarded by numerous silver tears. Silver tears incapable of replicating their opponents' abilities posed no threat to her or Blaidd. The two dispatched them like slicing through vegetables, pausing only briefly when they encountered a silver tear capable of transforming into a troll. Aoko hurled a fireball into its hollow stomach, melting it from the inside out.
Lifting her gaze to the strange and majestic structure that combined the characteristics of both a throne and a temple, Aoko took out her camera to capture the bizarre and surreal scene before stepping inside.
Blaidd stepped forward to handle the physical labor, straining his arms to lift the lid of a large, ornate chest. Inside lay a peculiar dagger quietly resting at the center of the chest.
Aoko approached, picking up the blade to examine it closely. While it could be called a dagger, its length exceeded that of typical daggers, though it fell short of the size required for a proper combat weapon. It seemed more like a ceremonial tool.
Her fingers brushed lightly across the dagger's surface, and she sensed an eerie warmth emanating from the Blade of Calling. However, rather than the heat of inorganic material, the warmth felt more like the body temperature of something alive.
It was said that this blade was forged using the remains of a certain corpse by the Nox, making it similar to the process of weaponizing divine flesh. This unusual weapon's crafting method intrigued Aoko.
"I don't know," Asimi replied when Aoko asked her about it. "This blade existed before I was born, and it has always been kept in the temple. I have no idea how it was made."
Looking at the bloodstains on the blade, Aoko immediately deduced its last target: the Mother of the Fingers. For the Nox, this dagger symbolized rebellion, while for the Fingers, it represented sin.
The twisted fate of the Fingers began with this blade, and perhaps it would end with it.
However, Aoko still had one lingering question about the Blade of Finger. If the materials for weaponizing divine flesh came from Marika/Radagon's body, then whose divine remains—or perhaps whose godly being—were used to create the Blade of Finger?