"NGAAAAAH!" He grunted as he stabbed both his arms at the abomination that was Mergo's wet nurse. It screamed in agony as it dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind only feathers of its former self.
"Finally... You poor thing can rest now." The hunter thought to himself as the cries of the infant died down, until only the wind whistled of this nightmare that Mensis created.
He then put his weapon over his transformed arm and let the ancient tool return his arm to its original, human state.
"I still can't believe that a hunter before me came with the idea to fight the beast with the same coin." He continued his train of thought as he inspected his beast claw, he had imbued it with the power of blood of his prey and the strange metal that he found during his travels.
"Time to go back to the dream, maybe now I can get my answers." He approached the lamp that the messengers were waiting for him.
When he first met them he was completely disgusted by them, but as time passed on he put their appearances apart and accepted them to be his helpers.
He bowed down at the lamp and let his body and spirit be transported to the other reality, that was the Hunter's Dream.
Hunter's Dream
It took him a few moments to get his senses back, when it did though he was shocked.
"What in the great ones name..." He said out loud as the hunters once home was burning in flames.
He approached the doll with questions circling in his head.
"What's going on here, Doll?"
"Good hunter, you have come… Dawn will soon break… This night, and this dream, will end. Gehrman awaits you, at the foot of the great tree. Go on, good hunter…" She said, her tone never changing, her expression always emotionless. Though the sense of sorrow is felt.
"He finally wants to talk... Thank you, Doll." He said as he took only two steps before stopping. "For everything." He added that last part as when his mind was at the verge of insanity, when the blood was crawling over his skin. She was there to help him.
She tilted her head to the side, not knowing what his words actually meant. After his last words he walked down the steps, passing the once locked gates to a field of white flowers.
"These flowers... They look like what Maria had on her small table..." He thought as he carefully walked over the flowers to the great tree, Gehrman was resting on his wheelchair beneath it.
The moons light shined on the Hunter's attire. It consisted of old hunters trousers and arm bands with a mix of the hunters original garb and hat.
"Good hunter, you've done well. The night is near its end." He said as he took a deep breath.
"Stop." The hunter spoke to him, his lazy eyes looking at him. "Before you say anything else, I have a few things to ask and to give."
"Ask and give? I'm too old to receive gifts, but I can share with you my knowledge. Before you forget it all that is..."
"First and most important, here. I think Maria would've liked for you to have this." He said while giving Gehrman, Maria's Rakuyo to him.
"Maria..." He whispered as he cherished his once beloved student. "I miss you so much..."
"So it's true, you've modeled the doll to look like her to remember her. Didn't you?"
"Yes... But she simply isn't her." He said as he glanced to the side.
"Then, this dream... Is it actually a nightmare?" His question surprised the old hunter.
"How did you..."
"I saw the original hunters workshop and in the mansion, a third of an umbilical cord. I'm guessing you used it to call a great one."
"...Yes, it's true. Lawrence and master Willem told me they would wake me up. They haven't yet..." He hung his head while placing his remembrance beside his chair.
"Where's the great one?"
"Its around here, watching every moment you and I do." He responded while he noticed the hunter looking around.
"I know you want to wake up, Gehrman. To be unshackled from this terrible dream."
"How did you..." He asked once again surprised by the hunter.
"I've heard you while you slept, for far too long you've been trapped here. And this dream, no... This nightmare has been going for too long." He said while looking straight at the moon, for some odd reason a horrible stare was over looming the hunter from there.
"You can't fight it, good hunter. The great one is too powerful to resist it." He said as he saw the hunter grabbing something from his satchel.
"Not for long." He said raising three thirds of an umbilical cord.
"That's!"
"If this can call a great one, then it can resist it as well." He said as he crushed the cords, successfully absorbing it.
"I see... No one has ever tried it before. May you the greatest luck, good hunter." He said as he rose up from his chair. "But I'm still obliged to deal with you, after all..."
He said as he attached the blade to its original state, a rather long scythe.
"Its always the hunters helper to clean up." He said as he slowly walked towards the hunter.
"I see reason won't work anymore..." He said as he lowered the hammer of his hunters pistol. "That's fine... I hope you can truly rest after this, Gehrman!" He yelled as he dashed to his once helper.
With the end stick he hit the hunters left arm and did a quick swipe with his blade, it entered deep enough on the Hunter's skin and flesh to bleed.
"Tonight, Gehrman joins the hunt!" He announced as he followed with another swipe, to end the poor hunter.
The two hunters attacked each other with everything they both knew how, bullets flew, blade and claw struck and they danced on the white carpet of flowers.
Each rush made some flowers shed their petals, each clash made sparks igniting stray pellets.
The fight went on for minutes, but through their eyes it was at the very least an hour. Both skilled and groomed to be the finest.
"Haa... Haa..." Both hunters stopped their tracks for a split second to catch their breath, before going at it again.
Their blood tainted the pure whiteness, their sweat enriched the soil and their grunts of pain echoed through the nightmare.
"Grh!" Gehrman stood still as he was visibly in pain.
The good hunter just watched as the moons rays gave Gehrman more strength than he already had before.
"Must be the great one giving his host power..." He thought as he applied fire paper on both his claws.
The rise of power reached its peak and the old hunter unleashed a shock wave, making the surrounding flowers unleash their perfect petals.
With one high jump, he prepared his scythe to throw a wind slicing attack to his foe.
The hunter did not evaded, he took the hit straight on and waited for his prey to fall down.
With the lightest touch on the ground, the hunter ran to him and started to rip apart his old mentor. Though he did not stagger anymore thanks to his power rising.
Both hunters were ditching it out as much as they could, but their fatigue were fastening themselves too quickly. They stopped their attacks and looked at each other.
On one side an old tired hunter, foolish enough to summon a great one to end the hunt. On the other side, a young hunter that witnessed the horrors of the hunt, the insanity of yharnam and carrier of the sins of his forefathers.
"Good hunter... I know I have no place to ask during our fight, but... What is your name?" He asked with his eyes losing the spark to fight.
"...David." He responded, though it looks like he doesn't remember his last name anymore.
"David... It was nice to have met you... Even in these circumstances." He said while gripping the hilt of his weapon.
"You as well... Master Gehrman!" The hunter yelled as he dashed to his helper.
"David!" He responded to his pupils cry as they clashed one last time.
The keen hunter staggered a bit, but remained standing. Gehrman however, fell to the ground with his weapon by his side.
David walked over to him, a deep wound was embedded between the liver and lung area.
"Gh... I lost..." He said as his breathing was erratic, blood gushing out of the wound as he tried to move.
"This had to be done, master." He said towards the dissipating figure in front of him.
"I know... I've done this cou-countless times..." He said to him while he coughed out blood. "Thank you... David..." He said as he handed him his weapon. "The night and the dream... were long..." His last words before completely disappearing, only leaving behind his old badge.
"Rest now... You deserve it." David whispered as he donned the badge on his neck. "Now then..." He said as he looked over the moon.
A horrible skeleton creature with what looked like tentacles on its neck and tail was slowly descending down to him.
It said nothing as its arms enveloped him and then closed the gap between the both of them as an attempt to absorb the human.
"Stop!" David screamed as the power of the umbilical cord resonated with his will to resist the great one.
The great one, the moon presence also known as Flora as the doll prayed to it, did not took this rebellion lightly and shook its head viciously as a beast would before locking its malformed face to the hunter.
"This has gone for far too long! You great ones think you can play God? Well, I refuse you all!" David declared as he injected two blood vials in his blood stream, healing all wounds that Gehrman once inflicted on him.
The great one became infuriated with the defiant hunter and gave a thundering roar throughout the whole dream, making certain areas flutter in response to its power.
The doll walked ever so calmly to the entrance of the garden looking at the thing she prayed for all these years.
The moon presence ravaged its way to its foe while the keen hunter applied bolt paper on both his transformed hands. Once done, David rushed head first against the thing he refused and rebelled.
Both parties attacked with swipes, both shed their blood once more on the delicate flowers, both aiming to kill one another. Who is the hunter and who is the prey?
Many times the hunter would almost die if not for his blood vials, though it pains him to use the blood that turned everyone into a beast, he had to use it to win against this great one.
"Dammit!" Cursed the hunter as his claws were just out of reach of his prey, he could only give rapid attacks before dodging a heavy swipe from his target.
Then he remembered Gehrman's weapon, the burial blade.
"Please! Gehrman give me your strength to end this night and this dream once and for all!" He prayed as he transformed his arms back to normal while wielding his masters weapon. He grabbed his pendant that was the old hunters bone and let its powers aid him.
The hunter dashed at an incredible speed from all sides leaving a dust of his afterimage behind, successfully hitting the supposed vital spots of his prey.
Each slash made the beast screech in pain, each shot pierced its flesh and its clash with metal would sever its skeletal bones.
David cried as he ran to its prey with his scythe ready, the beast knowing if it didn't do anything would surely succumb to a lower life form concentrated its power around its body to give one last attack to its foe.
The hunter leaped at the air while making a downward swing with gravity aiding its power to him. It finally collided with the head of the beast, right in the middle.
The beast fell onto the floor, but not without releasing its stored power to punish its downfall.
David flew all the way to the metal bars near the gate, bending them with the power that repelled him.
"Heh.. heh.." He chuckled as the great one exploded into a bloody mess around the garden. "Take that.. You son of a bitch.." He said while being covered in blood.
The world around him was beginning to flutter and bending trying to find its source of power to keep it a float.
The doll slowly walked over to the beaten, tired hunter. He sustained heavy damage, but could heal himself if he used his blood vials.
"Oh.. It's you.." He said with tired eyes to her. "What are you doing here?.."
"..." She said nothing as she only spoke small words to him from time to time.
"Not much to talk are ya..?" He said as he gripped his pistol with his left hand on his lap. "This is it.. No more dreams.." He said to her with his hands shacking. He held on his masters weapon with his other hand.
He put his beast claw behind is belt to not lose it during his fight against the moon presence.
"Will you be okay?" She asked to him while bending down to his level.
"...I don't know that far ahead... But I wish you the best, Doll." He said with a small smile under his mask. He knew what he needed to do before the world chose his body to be the new vessel.
He unsteadily aimed his gun on his left temple, pulled the hammer down and breathed erratically. The world was coming closer to him, every second that he took to pull the trigger.
The pressure was heavy, his eyesight blurring, he looked at the scenery and the doll one more time before pulling the trigger and everything went black.