Acquiring Elden Ring's most powerful summon previously involved being possessed by a Mimic Tear
The Mimic Tear is arguably the most powerful Spirit Ash in Elden Ring, but the path to earning it seems to have been a lot less straightforward.
Anyone who played Elden Ring for any length of time will extol the virtues of Spirit Ashes - the AI warriors and monsters you can summon to aid you. The game has plenty of these designed for different scenarios, and players have been bringing them along to major boss fights and challenging areas.
But one summon in particular has been... controversial. The Mimic Tear (found in the Eternal City of Nokron secret area) simply spawns a copy of your own character, warts and all. By calling on it, you effectively have another one of you fighting alongside you.
Needless to say, Elden Ring players quickly realised that they can create boss-destroying loadouts for their mimics, and then switch back to their standard loadout after summoning it. Having earned quite the reputation, FromSoftware ended up nerfing the Mimic Tear in a subsequent patch.
Considering how powerful it is, the way you acquire the Mimic Tear Spirit Ash never quite made sense. You simply find it in a chest like many other items in Elden Ring. But this seemingly wasn't always the case.
Modder Nullrinn (via VaatiVidya), dug up an entire questline dedicated to the Mimic Tear that was cut before the game came out. This quest would have introduced a new character, complete with her own dialogue. Though it's not explicitly stated, there's strong indication that the Mimic Tear was designed as a reward for the end of that quest.
As you can see in their video below, Asimi is a Silver Tear that looks just like the rest, but when you approach and try to kill it, you'll trigger the dialogue - which kicks off the quest. Asimi explains that she's basically achieved consciousness and asks to... live inside you.
By doing so, you effectively carry anotherh person with you everywhere you go, Melina even comments on it. Seeing as that's where Silver Tears originate from, Asimi will have new dialogue when you visit an Eternal City. She's even going to ask you find a particular chalice and drink from it.
Asimi explains that this will quench their thirst, but it instead allows them to become a fully formed being, living on as a copy of you. This story doesn't have a happy ending, of course, as you'll eventually meet Asimi again and would need to kill her - and your reward likely would've been the Mimic Tear.
Nullrinn restored the quest, which is how they were able to go through the various steps and unlock the hidden character and their dialogue. Of course, you won't be able to do the same in your own game, unless they release a mod that does the trick.
Our Elden Ring guide may not tell you how to unlock cut content, but it certainly offers plenty of useful guidance.