Chapter 1
The Hunt.
The Dream.
Gerhman.
The Old One…!
A sharp gasp can be heard in the vicinity of the area as a young woman wakes up, her eyes opening widely. She stayed laying there for a few seconds before getting on her two feet. She stumbled, her sense of equilibrium disrupted for a moment thanks to the rude awakening. She got it eventually, and soon she blinked her eyes a couple of times before taking a look of the surrounding area.
Countless rows of snow-capped mountains dotted the every single corner of her vision. Snow falls from the sky like an endless sea of white, and the rays of the sun is covered by the haziness that the clouds that wrought this fall of snow.
She frowned.
This wasn't the environment that she had grown accustomed to in the short time she have been in Yharnam. Gone were the dark-filled horrors that plagued the city's streets, gone were the maddening presence of the insanity that permeates Yharnam, and certainly gone was the presence of the eternal moon.
Only the maddening whispers of blood that is uttered unto her ears is the only reminder of the Hunt that she is forced to participate, but even that is beginning to fade.
She checked her gear before going out venturing in this unknown world. Blood vials were a necessity, and that she couldn't lie that it saved her life more than once. Clothing is a little bit lower in the necessity part, but having to wear something for the Hunt is better than nothing. It was a mix of Gerhman's and Maria's clothing to be honest, and she had great admiration for them and when they pass into the afterlife she donned them in honor of their memory. The last thing she checked was her weapon choice, her trusty katana that was with her since she was born. While the blade itself is chipped by the constant battles that she had to go in the Hunt, it still carries its deadly aura.
Satisfied that all are set, she walked towards the unknown to seek out the forbidden truths that is buried in this Earth.
-Outskirts of Unknown Village-
Such friendly environment in the area only made her nauseous. Glimpses of memories before she got into Yharnam began to resurface, but they were overshadowed by the memories that she made in Yharnam. The dark, horror-filled memories that somehow is the only solace she had left.
Stopping, she look at her surrounding area for any signs of beasts. What greeted her this time was a spooky looking forest whose snow-capped leaves added a great deal of mystery with a certain mist that somehow permeates the area.
It was like the ride to Cainhurst Castle.
Moving out of the memory train, she set her sights on a peculiar scene. A normal-looking village, whose buildings were obviously made out of wood, was empty. Dead empty. Raising one eyebrow out of curiosity, she walked towards the village. As she got closer, something familiar got to her sense of smell. It was faint, but it was still there. The stench of blood.
Walking faster, she could smell the stench getting clearer and clearer to smell. As she got into the center of the town, the smell was at its highest. Adrenaline pumping in her veins, excitement rushing down her body, and her grip on the sword tighter, she looked around to see if any beasts are here.
The tell-tale signs of the soft sound that footwear makes when hitting snow reached her ears, and she turned around to face the threat, her sword aimed at it. A….somewhat tamer version of the beasts that she encounters every time in the city, but a threat nonetheless. Both the beasts' eyes and her eyes stare at each other, waiting for any signs for the other to make a move. For a full 5 minutes, each side just stood there with the woman having her sword trained at the beast, while the beast itself has its claws drawn out.
Besides the sound of the wings picking up slightly, silence reigns over the two combatants. The world around them seems to get smaller and smaller until it only encompasses them. The woman's purple eyes seems to glow with power, her long coat fluttering in the wind, all the while keeping a neutral face.
Finally, the beast got tired of waiting and soon recklessly charged at her. Its mouth salivating on the thought of its next meal. Its greedy eyes only register the amount of meat this prey has. The woman, still having her weapon trained at the advancing beast, stand her ground as the familiar feeling of rush entered her blood stream. As her target got closer and closer, memories of old rush through her. She closed her eyes, letting all solidify in her mind before opening her eyes, alit with the unbridled darkness that she inherited in the hunt.
Her prey stopped just a few meters from her and jumped instead, claws extended. She suddenly charged forward, sound of a sword slashing against flesh heard loudly. Both of them landed safely on two feet. A slash on thin air with her sword, and the beast's head is decapitated from its body, falling in a bloody heap. While she would have loved to put this as another tally in kills, she doesn't keep track of her record as the near-constant battles in the Hunt made her forget.
Her ears suddenly picks up the sound of something…flying. Turning around, she could colorful specks flying towards the village. She raised an eyebrow. Beasts aren't this colorful, and they don't fly, right?
As the specks grew larger and larger, she could clearly see some kind of appendages sprouting at their backs, colors different in each individual. Different weapon assortments are held in each individual's hand, gripped tightly, probably at the sight of her. As they got even closer, she could something etched in their eyes. Almost a complete circle with a single line jutting out in the center. Some kind of rune perhaps?
As they landed, she swears that she could have seen these people before. Some distant memories, so reachable yet so far at the same time could explain this feeling she is experiencing right now. As they train their eyes to the surrounding area, she could see their eyes a myriad of emotions, the like of which she could not understand fully. She could even see the White one training her sights at her, anger beginning to show. The Green one had seen it and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Now, now Blanc. Let us not come to blows and speak this through." She said to the one now identified as Blanc who only scoffed. The rest of the group also trained their eyes on her. The focus of all the attention? She doesn't like it, not even one bit. The Green one smiled at her, crossing her hand at her chest.
"With that out of the way, we'll ask one very simple question: Are you the one responsible here?" She asked with a dangerous undertone. She looked at them with a void expression. Are they really going to point fingers at her already for the mess done here? There are so naïve.
"Answer the question, damn it!" She directs a soul-piercing gaze at the one who made the outburst. It was the White one, who has her weapon ready, her grip tightening with every second. She looks at the rest and see them also readying their weapon. She sighed. Such a useless gesture. She didn't have time for this, so she goes for the most logical of all the options.
She turned heels and starts walking in the opposite direction.
"To turn away from us. How disgraceful." She heard that as a threat. Gripping her sword tighter, she looks back to see the Green one already charging at her. She sidesteps out of the way to dodge her attack, then turned to block an attack from the White one. In the corner of her eye she could see the Black and Purple ones charging. Focusing her attention again to the White one, she pushed her away just in time to jump up to avoid the combined strike of the Black and Purples ones.
"Don't present your back!" Turning her head, she could the Green one already on an overhead strike. Thinking quickly, she kicked her out from the sky, and then landing gracefully, weapon still at hand.
"Hya!" She blocked an incoming strike from the Purple one. Chipped sword clashed with a flawless one, as the two combatants tries to overpower the other. In this brief moment of contact, both takes a good look at each other's eyes. While both were filled with determination, the difference between them is striking. One was full with life and happiness, the other was full with madness and null. But the Purple one's reaction caught her off-guard, and as soon as they disengaged from their little battle they got a real good look in each other's perspective.
"Nep….tune?" Asked the Purple one, whose eyes were wide and filled with surprise. The action also stops her and the others who were trying to get a better angle of attack at her.
Neptune. Was it a name of hers? She couldn't really recall, the memories were fuzzy. Such is the price when participating in the Hunt. Still, it hurts her head as something within wanted to break out, show out to the world that it's still here.
"Is it…really you, Sis?" The Purple one asked again. This time her eyes are beginning to water, as she put one of her hands to her mouth as a sign of shock and relief. She could not answer with fully clarity, but she could only eye them with uncertainty. The White one scoffed, and she could have done the same, laugh insanely at the ridiculousness of it all. But now, she couldn't.
"Are you sure, Nepgear? Maybe this is just a doppleganger?" This time it was the Black one that asked, not directed to her but to the Purple one. She could see her nodding back to the one who asked the question. This time her party was uncertain as well, except for the White one, who was absolutely pissed.
"I have enough of this bullshit! Let us end this!" With an angry cry, she charged at her, ignoring the warnings her friends were shouting at her. Blinded by rage. It reminded of…her somehow. Still, she was a threat, and threats are, naturally, disposed of.
She appeared quickly in front of the White one, with trails of smoke coming out of her back. She smiled darkly, as Quickening was an art form that is specifically used for the Hunt. She thrust her sword to the stomach of her opponent, the blade coming out of her back. Her enemy only made a gasp of pain as she was stopped dead in her tracks, and was now clutching the blade in a vain attempt to get it out. The attack resulted in her blood spewing out from the wound, a few staining the clothes of the Hunter.
"Oh…the blood….it sings to me…." She said to her prey, as she relishes the feeling of the warmth the blood gives. It was not enough, and so she yanks the sword violently, the blood from her prey once again spewing out. She gives an insane chuckle as the woman before clutches her wound in a vain attempt to close it. She slowly walks towards her quarry, each step a harmonious melody of insanity that sings only to her ears.
Her vision is beginning to be consumed by the bloodlust, but she didn't care. All she is concerned about is getting the feeling of blood again. Closer and closer as she got, the bubbly feeling of madness rising up from the darkest reaches of her mind. Her lips slowly twitching upward, one of the signs that she is beginning to lose sight of the world. She stops, just a few feet from her kill. She could see the White one staring at her with disbelief and horror, but she didn't mind it. Raising her sword high, she was about to decapitate her when a sudden line, voiced by some ethereal being, uttered in her ear as a warning.
'Fear the old blood.'
Bloodlust and madness gone, she lowered her sword. Shaking her head from the feeling, she looks back at the White one, who was still staring at her with the same look from her eyes. She stared back, contemplating on what to do to the White one. Making up her mind, she reached down to her 'inventory' and pulls out a blood vial. Removing the safety cap, she kneels down, still staring sharply at the girl before her. She grabs her arm, extending it and prepares to inject the blood from the vial.
"What are you-!" The White one didn't have time to protest as she swiftly injects the content of the vial to the 'patient'. The healing properties of the blood takes effect immediately as the wound that she inflicted moments ago started closing. A few seconds had passed, and the wound is sealed tightly. Satisfied of her handy work, she stood up and walks away from the group.
"Wait sis!" She muses that it was always the youngest voice that stops her in her tracks. Looking back, she could see the eyes of her supposed sister looking at her with longing. She didn't quite like the look, as it makes her a little bit nauseous. She breaks the eye contact and presumes her pace towards the direction that she guess that would somehow make her at ease.
Leaving behind a group that only stares at her with a myriad of emotions.
A/N: This was a challenge to make, as I have to decide what kind of personality our precious Hunter Neptune will have after participating in the Hunt. I'm sure you guys like to see what happened to the bubbly personality that she had before the mess that she got into, but that will be answered in the future.
Regarding her Hunter outfit, mixing Maria's and Gehrman's into one package is somehow difficult to accomplish. Maria's elegant design to Gerhman's wear and tear design contrast to one another is what I want to accomplish, and yet it feels…silly. Although In hindsight, having an elegant outfit mixed with that of a badass rusty outfit seems to compensate does it? (If there's any issue, can you suggest an outfit to fit Neptune?)
As seen in this chapter, her main weapon is still her trusty Nep-sword, but she also has the weapons in Bloodborne, albeit not all. Notably, she has the Burial Blade, Rakuyo, Cleaver Sword(if that's how you say to the starting weapon that you have in the game), Ludwig's Holy Blade and Evelyn. Don't worry, she'll have the chance to use those weapons.
As always, leave a comment to suggest anything and gives this fanfic a thumbs up if you like it enough. I'll see you in the next chapter.
-cellum95-
