So, I have decided that I will only be continuing my reading fanfiction for chapters 3 and 4. So, anyone who wants to take over, then talk to Namikaze88. Also, I have decided to write a Darksiders fanfiction. So, be expecting that. Anyway, let's begin chapter 2.
Chapter 2: The Samurai and the Sorceress
Torva stopped the song he was listening to and looked to the sky. He was perched atop one of the many buildings that dotted Yharnam. He had thought he had heard something. He stilled himself, focusing his enhanced hearing that he gained from the old blood and the long hunt.
He heard the sound again: a loud, inhuman scream.
"I know that sound." He said has he rose to his feet, the Death Song disappearing in wisps of smoke. "That's the Cleric Beast. But I should not be able to hear it unless…"
He stood there for a second longer, before taking of like a bat out of Hell. He jumped down and raced across the streets, slaying any beast or crazed Yharnamites that crossed his path, heading for the bridge that lead to the Cathedral Ward. This city, which has held him prisoner for so long, hid no secrets from him. He knew them all through his continuous hunt.
While he had no idea what to expect when he reached the bridge, what Torva did see was enough to stun him in inaction. There stood the Cleric Beast, facing of against a Hunter that Torva had never seen before. Based on the Hunter's build, they were male. He was dressed in the clothes of a Hunter, but the coat was modified to include a hood, reminiscent of the one on Foreigner Set. He wore the gauntlets and boots of the knights of the Cainhurst Vilebloods. His though were stained red. He wielded three Chikage in their standard form: two in his hands, and one in his mouth. A crimson sash held the sheathes in place on the left side. Around his neck, he wore a red scarf with tattered ends, the scarf pulled up to cover his face from the nose down.
Torva started to scale the nearest building, utilizing his finely honed strength and agility to reach the roof. He observed the battle with great scrutiny. The unknown Hunter wielded his three blades with great skill and dexterity. He countered each of the Cleric Beast's strikes with the proficiency of a master swordsman. Not a single move was wasted. Which made Torva wonder why he had not struck the beast down yet. The Hunter had several opportunities to do so. The answer came when Torva saw the smirk and glee in the swordsman's eyes.
"He's toying with the Cleric Beast." Torva softly muttered to himself. This spoke levels of the swordsman's confidence and experience. Only the most proficient or the most arrogant of Hunters would act as such against a beast of that size. "I do not know you. You are new, which means either the loop has ended, or it has begun to change…"
Torva continued to contemplate the things as he watched the fight. Then, he noticed a shift in the swordsman's posture. He had grown bored with the fight. He sheathed his blades and, moving has swift as an autumn wind, charged the beast. The beast charged as well, rearing back its left arm. The swordsman grabbed one sword and as the two passed, the swordsman drew the sword. They stopped a few feet from each other, the Cleric Beast splitting from shoulder to hip as the swordsman disengaged the blood-tinge and sheathed the blade. Torva smirked at the scene. 'He could be a powerful ally.'
Torva ran to the other side of the roof, before turning around and jumping off the roof onto the bridge. This caused the swordsman to turn around, and stared at him with a wary gaze, one hand resting on the hilt of one of his Chikage.
"Hail, Hunter. I am glad to see that I'm not the only sane Hunter left in this accursed city." Torva called out while slowly approaching. "Tell me, how many hunts will this have made for you?"
The swordsman's eyes widened a little at the question before he spoke. "This is my fourth hunt. How many have you been on. And who are you?"
"I lost count many hunts ago." Torva replied as he came to a stop. "I am Torva Messor."
"Clemis of Hysteria, Knight of Cainhurst Castle. Why have I not seen you before? Surely we would have crossed paths in the Dream?" Clemis inquired.
"I wondered the same. I assume that something, probably a Great One, has been keeping us from meeting." Torva replied, rubbing the chin of his mask in thought. A distant howl sounded. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation in the Dream, so we are not interrupted."
The swordsman nodded in agreement.
-BHM-
"So, you were a samurai who fell ill with an incurable disease. A friend recommended you see a healer in the mountains." Torva summarized. "Upon reaching the healer, you were told that she couldn't heal you, but she could send you to somewhere you could be healed. You received a tonic that she told you would take you there. You drank it, and awoke to find Gehrman giving you a blood transfusion. Since then, you have been on the hunt four times. And on each of the past three hunts, you swore your loyalty to Queen Annalise, and let Gehrman kill you."
"That is correct." Clemis stated, seated in a chair across from Torva at the work table. The Doll came up with a tray of tea and milk that Torva had stored in his chest. She prepared a cup of tea for Clemis and handed it to him. "Thank you."
Torva sighed, and accepted a cup of milk from the Doll. "Thank you, Doll."
"You are welcome, good Hunters." Doll said as she proceeded out to the graves.
"I must say, that is a rather dull story for such a unique samurai." Torva commented. "I have only known of two swordsman who wield three swords, and only one of them used them simultaneously."*
"Most would think you mad if they heard yours." Clemis countered. Torva laughed at that.
"Ain't that the truth!" Torva exclaimed. The two fell into silence after that. Clemis glanced at Torva's weapon.
"If I may ask," Clemis asked, causing Torva to looked towards him. "where did you come across that blade? It looks similar to the blades used by the Vilebloods, but different, and I have never seen any blade like it in Cainhurst Castle."
Torva looked at his Rakuyo and his eyes gained a sad look in them. Grabbing the blades, he put them on the table, both in the sheathes he had made for them. "These blades, which I named Kuro'awaremi, are weapons of my own make. They are based of the Rakuyo, wielded by Lady Maria of Cainhurst, a cousin to your queen. My greatest opponent, and greatest regret."
Clemis was silent for a moment before asking, "Who was she, and what happened to her?"
"…She was one of Gehrman's students." Torva finally muttered out. "After...certain events, she was assigned to watch over the research center at the Clock Tower. I found her after entering the Hunter's Nightmare, a place where Hunters who have succumbed to the blood go. She…was one who bore a burden that she didn't deserve."
Silence followed his statement, until…
"FUCK!"
Both Torva and Clemis were startled, looked at each other, and raced out to the front of the workshop. Arriving in the gardens, they find a female Hunter. She had a slim face, caramel skin, ethereal green eyes, pale red lips, and black hair that was waist-long and wild. She had two jagged scars over her right eye that went down and ended level with her lips. She had a yellow-green tattoo on her left cheek that went down her neck. It took the form of a tribal leaf.** She was decked out in the Crowfeather set, but instead of the mask and hat, she wore a band of red cloth reminiscent of a gypsy's, and she had the Executioner's gloves on her hands. In her ears were large gold loop earrings and a smaller one in her lip. From her side hung the Blades of Mercy and Evelyn. She was currently kneeling and pounding the ground, the doll standing near, ever the patient one.
"Damn cock-sucking, piece-of-shit beasts! I was this fucking close to lighting the same lamp! Aaaaaaaagh! I hate this fucking cit-" She ranted before Torva loudly cleared his throat. She looked towards them, and blinked owlishly. Raising an eyebrow, she spoke. "The Hell? Since when are there other hunters in this weird dream place!?"
"Technically speaking," Torva starts, "there's always at least one hunter in the Dream. And until I met Clemis here, we both thought we were the only Paleblood Hunters. Apparently, that is not true."
The female Hunter gained a confused look at this. "Then how the fuck have we not crossed paths before? Did we just keep missing each other, or is something keeping us from meeting each other?"
"Most likely the latter. Though the who, how, and why are still a mystery." Torva stated, glancing at his silent companion. Who, he noticed, had his hand on the hilt of one of his swords.
The lady snorted and stood, brushing her clothes off. "Well, at least it's nice to meet some fellow Hunters that aren't bat-shit insane. The name's Raven. Raven Hooke. I'm guessing the guy with the swords is Clemis, so who are you?"
"Torva Messor," Torva said with a bow, "at your service."
"Well now." A fourth voice said. Raven started at this, while Clemis whirled around, crouched and ready to draw a blade at a moment's notice. Torva simply turned to see Gehrman as he rolled up in his wheelchair. "This Dream has never hosted so many Good Hunters at once. Perhaps this is a sign of a long hunt ahead."
Raven scoffed at that. "You always say that, you old geezer. I hardly doubt that this one's going to be any fucking different."
Clemis glared. "Show some respect! Master Gehrman is our senior and the first of us all. You would do well to remember that."
"Wait…" Torva said, "This isn't your first hunt, is it?"
Raven scratched the back of her head and replied. "Well, yes and no. It's hard to explain and you'd think I'm crazy if I told you."
Torva smirked. "Try us."
-BHM-
"So, wait." Raven started. "You mean to tell me that all three of us have on this same hunt for at least two times?"
Torva nodded. "That is correct."
"…Damn." Was Raven's intelligent reply.
"The real question is, what is keeping us in this loop?" Clemis questioned. He turned to Torva. "You said that it could possibly be a Great One."
"Yes." Torva replied. "Though it can't be any of the ones I've slain. None of them displayed any abilities that would signify that they had such powers…Raven, how exactly did your last hunt end?"
"I remember facing Mergo's Wet Nurse, and returning to the Dream, but I can't remember what I did when I got there." She said, eyes closed, and hand to her head.
"Hmm." Torva sounded. He got up and moved towards his trunk. "At any rate, we need to head to Yharnam."
The two other looked at him, then at each other, then back. "Why?"
Torva placed his Hunter's Pistol in the trunk and pulled out another pistol. It was long, like Evelyn, but it was thicker, and in place of the wood, it had an ashen material that resembled bone. Attaching it to his back, he turned around and smirked.
"Because we've got a family to save."
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So, here's chapter 2 of the story. Hope you like it.
*- The people mentioned here are Zoro Roronoa from One Piece and Rath from Battleborn.
**- The leaf-looking war paint from Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
