Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

At the bridgehead of Chuanlin Bridge on Yatan Plateau, our round table tour group was stopped by an old woman with fingers folded, who looked like a charlatan pretending to be a fortune teller.

However, her words "someone else is coming" caught my attention.

"Old lady, may I ask, has anyone else come to your place for finger-relief before us?" I asked curiously.

But I saw the wrinkled face of the old woman with the toga ring slightly curled up into a smile, and she slowly stretched out her hand towards me, but did not answer.

——······Is it because you are old that you didn’t hear my question clearly?

So, I couldn't help but raise my voice and asked again: "I say, old lady..."

"Come, let me interpret your fingers first, then we can talk about other things." The old woman interrupted me slowly.

It turns out that she can hear. By the way, why is the sense of déjà vu of this charlatan becoming stronger and stronger? Let’s not talk about anything else for now, let me tell you your fortune.

I have a stubborn temper and refused to bargain: "No, you tell me who has been here first, and then I will show you my finger."

"Ow—"

Oh my god, what an old woman! Suddenly, a lion-like roar came out of her throat, and the cane in her hand trembled violently, causing the high chair under her to creak.

The sunken eye sockets became even darker, as if they wanted to suck in all of people’s mental energy: “Interpret...Interpret, give me your finger quickly, let me interpret!”

——How old are you, and you still act like a spoiled brat?!

——Moreover, this feels like a forced sale. If I’m determined not to give her the finger, I’m afraid I’ll have to force my way into the boss fight with the old woman who can untie her fingers.

"Mrs. Jiezhi, please interpret it for me first." Just as my eyelids were trembling slightly, Colin came forward and stretched out his hand.

The old woman who had untied her fingers immediately put away her boss-like aura and smiled happily: "Oh, oh, thank you so much. Let me, an old woman, take a good look at your fingers."

...Changing one's attitude is faster than turning the pages of a book.

"After all, when the magic ring was broken, it also broke the string in the hearts of those who were blessed, turning their obsession into madness." Roger seemed to see through my thoughts, and came over and said with a smile, "But I didn't expect, Zero, that you would be so resistant to reading the fingers?"

“······It’s not that I’m resisting.” I couldn’t help scratching my face.

——But, I already knew what the old woman would say, so I just wanted to get the information and didn’t want to waste time.

But in the end, it took more time.

“······Oh, oh!” On the other side, the old woman had obviously finished interpreting Colin’s fingers. “······With a dream of gold in your heart, you create a perfect and prosperous era. But when the glory fades and the road ahead is difficult, what choice will you make? Hehehe~hehe, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, everything is an inescapable curse... Curse, that is the curse of Queen Marika!”

--Um? !

——Although it still sounds like the Riddler in the game, it seems to be quite consistent with what I know about Mr. Colin’s story.

——This old woman is quite capable!

Ke Lin frowned slightly, but still bowed respectfully to the old woman who helped him: "Thank you for your guidance, old lady."

"Then it's my turn next, old lady." Roger also extended his hand generously.

The old woman who untied her fingers leaned forward impatiently, grabbed Roger's palm, and carefully examined the lines on his fingers: "Thank God... Oh, oh, oh... People who intend to go deep into the darkness, what do you want to gain from death? Hehehe... Then go and find it! Find it! Under the golden haze, it is a blasphemy against eternity, it is the curse of Queen Marika, a curse!"

——······It’s the Queen’s curse again. I remember that in the game, this old woman who can interpret fingers also said something like a curse in her voice to A-die.

——It seems that this old lady has a deep grudge against Marika, and everything can be related to the curse.

However, Roger was thinking deeply about the old woman's words: "Under the shadow of gold...Zero, what do you think it means?"

"Hmm? I guess they are asking you to look under the golden tree." I responded casually.

——This is already the answer. After all, the dead prince Godwin is indeed hiding deep in the roots of the golden tree.

But I hope Roger doesn't ignore the old woman's question: "What do you want to get from death?"

However, before I could say anything more, a gaze with a strong sense of oppression fell on me. It seemed that if I didn't give in today, a battle with the BOSS would really begin.

Sighing, I offered my hand to the old woman who was untangling my fingers.

The old woman was ecstatic, as if she had received a gift from the emperor. She took my hand, and her dry, rough hands seemed to be rubbing a treasure: "Oh, thank God... Oh, oh... There is collapsed gold in the east and a blasphemous giant snake in the west..."

——It doesn't matter which side you choose! It's the same no matter which side you choose! This is a curse, the curse of Queen Marika!

——You see, I said it was exactly the same.

······Um?

I suddenly realized that the old woman's chattering had stopped unconsciously.

——Is it over already?

I tried to pull my hand back with a little force, but the other person still held my hand tightly, and his eyes had completely left my fingers and were looking at my face instead.

Then the old woman lowered her head again, looked at my fingers, and even put down the crutch in her other hand and checked my fingers one by one.

"Well, that hurts a little." I couldn't help but want to pull my hand back.

The old woman suddenly burst into a scream: "Ah - curse, curse, curse! This... This is an unforgivable curse!"

While yelling, she even grabbed her crutches, jumped off the high chair, and staggered but ran towards the nearby bushes at an extremely fast speed: "... Destroyed! Everything is destroyed! The flames, the flames destroyed everything, hehehe... This is a curse on the border!"

My eyelids trembled slightly.

——······Medical miracle, it turns out this old woman can run so fast?

The rather exaggerated performance of the old woman aroused Roger's curiosity. He also came to my palm and took a closer look. "Hmm? Your fate looks quite terrible, Zero."

"Who, who knows? Hehe~" I laughed dryly twice in silence, and suddenly felt a strange gaze.

Colin turned his head and glanced away almost at the same time.

——Teacher Colin seems to be wary of me... Ah, could it be that he misunderstood the old woman’s words?

- After all, speaking of flames, Mr. Colin would inevitably think of his red flame prayers, and he just happened to teach them all.

"Oh wow, someone has scared the old woman away again. You guys seem to be having quite an interesting time." At this moment, an old and vicissitudes of life voice was heard from the direction of the Broken Bridge.

Oh, of course it’s not the old man with the finger-cutting skills, but a wandering businessman.

——However, “again”.

"Ah!" I suddenly realized.

"What's wrong, Zero?"

"That old woman slipped away before she told me who had been here!" I sighed helplessly and walked up to the wandering merchant who had spoken to me. "Old merchant, could you please tell me who scared that old woman away before... Of course, the information fee will not be small."

——You’d better learn your lesson.

The old merchant immediately smiled and said, "Dear guest, if I remember correctly, the last time the old woman was scared away, it was two red-haired women. They were possessed by the power of disaster that could corrupt everything."