I'm sorry that this took me so long to get done but I wont give you guys an excuse for why I went so long without updating, I procrastinated ALOT. and then I finally decided to just get off my ass and finish this thing I mean I literally have 11 more chapters and then this story is done :P
but, without further ado. Let's Begin Chapter 14.
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After Flora had closed the sphere that allowed them to see how Onnen and Thaeon were fairing they were still looking for information to give themselves an advantage over the immense numbers that both The Choir and The Order of Mensis had, Gaile peered into the next sphere and saw what appeared to be a gathering of White Clerics standing among a seated council of finely dressed men and women clad in hooded white robes with red sashes tied at the waist, which was overlooking a small army of lesser ranked Black Clerics all was silent until one spoke from beneath his hooded cowl, "According to my agents and intelligencers within Mensis' ranks it would seem that the Keeper has fallen pregnant by the Hunter. Which in turn means that that pit of monstrosities no longer serves us any purpose." He paused before continuing "Furthermore, Intelligencer Edgar has reported that the Keeper has made mention of Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos I believe it is fair to assume that the Keeper will look to her for safety." The apparent council member finished as another began to speak his piece.
"The pit will serve its purpose, when she gives birth to the child that already grows within her womb. Assuming the birth comes without complications..." he finished and looked to the next member beside him who had started to speak but was cut off by an unknown voice to his direct left. "What of the Hunter? Not only is he impossible to kill by normal means, but he is also a skilled fighter and will die as many times as needed to ensure her safety." One of the standing clerics spoke garnering the attention of the seated council members "Who are you to speak out of context like this. We did not ask for your opinion." One of the seated women spoke with a firm yet understanding tone. To which the cleric responded with a swift apology and bow as he began to take his leave from the council chamber to join the others below. "Forgive me… I was out of line and it wont happen again..." at which the center most councilman replied
"No… No it wont." He said as he fired a quick burst from a Reykjavik Gasmaschinenpistole from under the sleeve of his robe shooting the man in the head several times with pinpoint accuracy. "You two gentlemen, take 'that'" he said pointing the pistol at the dead body. "to the pit, our lovely creations are without a shadow of a doubt famished." He said before suddenly looking right in Gaile's direction startling him and almost making him fall backwards before he spoke "We should reconvene elsewhere my friends, For I fear we aren't among our own here." as he stood to take his leave the woman seated next to him spoke "Sebastien was right you know, he may have spoken out of line but he still hit the nail on the head" her words stopping the man cold as he looked at her over his shoulder and spoke "Be that as it may..." He paused for a moment starting to walk off again. "Hrmmmph. Do as you will, I have business in the Research Hall."
Gaile blinked for just a moment before closing the view off and muttering under his breath "Just what the hell was that… It was like he looked straight at me."
Elsewhere Nerco was currently watching in on The Order of Mensis at their headquarters in Yahar'gul where a gathering of The Order's High Stratum were beginning to take their respective seats, once all were seated, the meeting began. "As we may have already realized, we could still persuade the keeper to come to us, however it's very unlikely but not impossible." One spoke from beneath the wide brim of his hat. "As for the hunter, while he can be killed by conventional means, he will continuously come back to life because of the Hunter's dream. And so, this is why I would suggest that we capture him instead, if we do so, the keeper will come to us, she will do anything to remain close to him." He finished as he looked to his immediate left and motioned for the man seated next to him to speak his piece. "You presume too much, the only reason you would suggest this is because that hunter killed your son, and now, you wish only to torture him while he's trapped in a cage, if that's what you want, you might as well join those fools in The Choir. The Keeper will listen to the hunter's bidding, if he is captured, he will bid her to flee and she will do so, reluctantly but will do it regardless. We should focus our efforts on what she mentioned, Ebrietas, the daughter of Cosmos." The man finished before the older man once again spoke from beneath his hat never looking up at the others as he held in his hand the amulet that his son wore. "Indeed, though this raises the question, why would she offer them sanctuary? is it merely a play from her to have an easier access to the child? or is it truly genuine compassion?" He finished before looking over across the table as a metal gauntlet clad fist slammed down on the table in anger. "ENOUGH! It is of no matter! If she stands in our path, we will do what we must. As for the hunter, ensuring that he causes no trouble to us is vital, however Richter, putting him in a cage for you to torment is out of the question, we will come to a solution later, for now, we must focus on acquiring the Keeper." The armor clad man finished as he calmed himself before Richter spoke in a deathly calm tone that made the other seated members look at him with slightly fearful expressions "You gentlemen can do as you wish but the hunter is mine and I wont be denied my revenge." The man said as he stood, and walked out of the meeting Beasthunter Saif in hand the tattered coat tails of his old hunter garb following behind him, before long the armor clad man from before spoke again.
"God damn him!" he shouted as he once again buried his fist in the table "That stubborn son of a bitch is going to get himself killed looking for that damned hunter!" before a woman in vibrant bloody red hunter garb who was seated at the table spoke "Richter is one of our strongest, even more-so than his own son. I have confidence and faith in my lover that he will return victorious." She spoke with confidence. "Will you not do the same gentlemen?" Another, deeper voice spoke out as a man clad in a Cainhurst Knight's helmet stepped into the room and into the light further revealing his appearance he was wearing the light green garb of the Healing Church's Tomb Prospectors, she knew it by heart as she had dealt with more than a few in her time as a guardian. What she saw next both intrigued and frightened her as she saw the unmistakable intricate weaving of Boneash Gauntlets on his arms and lastly, he was wearing a plain old pair of Hunter's Trousers fixing his unseen eyes on the red clad woman he then spoke "Oedon, its been too long" the revelation causing the sitting council members to all look in her direction awestruck, as they stood in the presence of a great one. Oedon however, glared in annoyance at the helmet clad man "Nice to see you to Mr. Jainkoaren" She said as she casually looked in Nerco's direction and winked and blew a mock kiss to her. She was pulled from her spying by a light tap on the shoulder by Flora.
"Nerco, as much as I hate to do it I'm going to have to close this off lest she find you both." She said motioning at her stomach, much to Nerco's irritation. "The child hasn't even formed yet there's no possible way she could sense us both!" she said with a raised voice. "You don't know Oedon like I do Nerco, She's got a unique way of sensing things." she paused before continuing "She almost locked onto you and would have breached this place if I hadn't pulled you away." Elsewhere with Richter after he walked out of the meeting before its conclusion he had bumped shoulders with Mr. Jainkoaren, an enigmatic man who had recently become a major benefactor to the order. After a quick apology he went on his way. Walking forward and around the corner of the long corridor he had stopped at his quarters and went inside locking the door behind him, only stopping when he was in front of a locked storage chest that held trinkets and trophies from his time as a servant of The Hunter's Dream. There seemed to be no way to open the chest as it had a metal plate that sealed the chest shut, engraved on it was the symbol of The Hunter.
Removing the glove from his right hand, he bit down on his thumb with his elongated canines, the only proof he has that he was ever a Hunter, besides the piercing glare that all hunters and huntresses share in common, once the blood began to pour from his punctured thumb he smeared some on the metal plate and like acid it began to eat away at the metal breaking the seal and allowing Richter to open the engraved oak chest. Inside among many hunter trinkets, he produced a small wooden box with a similar seal on it. Once again smearing his blood on the seal it popped open slightly and inside was what looked to be a Bold Hunter's Mark, but this was very different to the common hunter tool, this piece of parchment was a deep bloody red with the Hunter rune glowing so brightly that it actually emitted a small amount of light. "The Great One Hunter's Mark, my greatest achievement as a hunter. Now it finally serves a purpose..." He muttered as he packed the rolled up parchment into the lining of his jacket and left his quarters only to find some long lost friends waiting at his door. "Ah… it's been a long time my old friends." He said greeting the childlike messengers that he hadn't seen since he was severed from the dream after completing his hunt many lifetimes ago. Walking past them he felt a tugging on the leg of his pants and looked down to see one of them holding on for dear life the rest begging him not to go through with his plan. "I am sorry my old friends but this is something I have to do..." He said as he wrenched his leg free of their grip and continued onward stepping into the chapel and kneeling at the lantern that for him wouldn't light at least not anymore. "You will light the way for me… One last time..." He said coldly as he lit the piece of parchment on fire and set it inside the lantern casing "To The Hunter's Dream..." The others burst into the sealed chapel in time to see him vanish. "GOD DAMN HIM!" the armored brute screamed slamming his fist into the wall "Easy there Lanius, you're going to have a heart attack if you keep up like this." Spoke another councilman behind him. "Calm down my friend…" He said, resting a hand on the towering man's shoulder. Just then a raven flew through one of the open windows in the chapel and landed on the mans forearm clutched in its talons was a rolled up message "Sebastien is dead, he was found out at some mount and killed." the message read and the councilman fell to his knees with a grief stricken expression on his face.
The Dreamscape was just as Richter remembered it, there were small gardens everywhere, "Likely the Doll's doing..." He thought to himself. Then he noticed her, Sitting on the small outcropping next to the staircase that led up to the workshop, fast asleep. "She's still here after so much time..." He muttered under his breath as he silently walked up the winding staircase and peered inside the slightly ajar door. "There you are you son of a bitch" He said just a little louder than he had wanted to startling the Doll from her slumber "Good Hunter?" Hearing her voice, he turned to face her "Ah! ...Richter? But… how?" She asked in shock at this point Flora looked up, something didn't feel right. There was someone here besides the three of them and the Doll. "Gaile, Nerco be on guard there's someone here that doesn't belong..." She said as she vanished in a flash of bloody red moonlight. "Nerco go hide I know you want to help me fight but please… for our child do as I ask..." Gaile said firmly as he walked out the side entrance locking eyes with Richter as he went toward the large meadow where he fought Gehrman. With hatred glaring in his eyes Richter followed silently before stopping to ask him "Why here?" to which Gaile turned from his place next to Gehrman's wheelchair "Because I know you wish to have revenge for your son. I know that I have wronged you and for that I apologize but you and your fellows and The Order of Mensis need to leave us alone or many more than just your son are going to die." Gaile said flatly locking the Burial Blade into it's Scythe form as Richter followed suit unfolding his Saif into a Sabre.
Back in Yahar'gul, Oedon was walking the corridor when she heard another of Lanius' angry outbursts "GOD DAMN HIM!" she heard the shout and walked around the corner to see Lanius comforting his friend and hunting partner once he had received the news of his brother's death at the hands of The Choir "Whats the matter with you two ...and where is Richter… he wasn't in his quarters when I looked there" The mere mention of his name earned a hateful glare from Lanius as he gestured toward the flickering lamp. "He went home." He said flatly.
With Gaile and Richter the fight was well into its adolescence as both were covered with deep wounds and gunshots but Richter was older, more experienced and not to mention faster. As he dashed toward Gaile folding his Saif as he did so catching Gaile in a flurry of slashes and stabs before Gaile countered with a switch, sending Richter flying across the bloodied meadow as he broke the Burial Blade back down into a Sabre only for it to be knocked from Gaile's hand by a well placed gunshot from Richter as he dashed forward to claim his revenge only for Gaile to grab his wrist and break it forcing him to drop his Saif, Gaile followed with a vicious kick to his knee breaking his leg and making him fall backward only for Gaile to grab the Saif as it fell to the ground and impale him on its extended blade "This is it for you Richter… Go and join your son in hell." He said as he viciously ripped the serrated Saif out of Richter's abdomen, His golden eyes narrowed to slits as the beast within became more and more excited. It was the terrified screaming of Nerco that brought him back to his senses.
With Oedon's arrival into the dream she immediately started searching for Richter's Pulse as their bond allowed them to feel one anothers presence so long as both continued to draw breath she watched with concealed presence as the fight unfolded Richter scoring the first set of hits against Gaile never letting up and on occasion Gaile would counter with a well placed switch or reverse attack not really injuring Richter but rather giving himself some room to breathe… That is until Gaile's aura began to turn sinister and dark as he actually started hitting Richter back, trading blows with him on several occasions and then it happened Gaile killed Richter with the merciless ferocity that only a beast would show picking him up by the neck and bringing him in to feed she noticed his lover, The Keeper hiding away in a small alcove deciding she could take whatever punishment Vridd decided to inflict upon her she materialized in an explosion of blood and red mist in front of Nerco, Her piercing red eyes set in slits as she glared murderously at her as a mass of fleshy red tentacles exploded from Oedon's back and flooded out from under her coat wrapping Nerco in the coils she was able to let out a single scream of terror before a large red tentacle was stuffed into her mouth to silence her.
"That's enough out of you." She said through her glare as the red tendrils started snaking all around her seemingly tasting her skin, their texture was reminiscent of a tongue and she shivered in revulsion and then let out a gasp as one dove under her armor and began prodding and stroking her left breast teasing her ever so slightly as a devilish smirk graced the red clad woman's features. "Enjoying ourselves are we?" She asked in a malicious, yet sultry tone as another tentacle snaked around her thigh and started rubbing itself on her outer lips earning a deep blush and a light squeak from Nerco. She braced for it, the feeling of that thing pushing its way into her, but it never came, instead she fell to the floor in a shower of blood as all the tentacles that were suspending her above the ground and playing with her had been severed by a single attack causing the woman to let out a scream of agony
"Leave her… alone." Gaile said venomously as he stood between Nerco and the Woman with Richter's Saif in hand and the Burial Blade slung across his back. Sensing a presence behind her the woman turned on a heel just in time to block a flurry of slashes from Flora's blood red Zanbatō she skidded backward with a wide eyed look of fear on her face as she locked eyes with Flora's murderous glare "This realm is mine Oedon… You shouldn't be here." She said as she readied her weapon for another attack "I came here looking for my mate but your …Child has already killed him." She said as she glared murderously at Gaile. To Nerco's Shock the tentacle that were still coiled around her melted into blood and rushed back to Oedon "It was fun playing with you Keeper, we're going to have to pick up where we left off some other time" she said with the same devilish smirk from before as she too began to melt into a puddle of oozing blood that faded out of existence. But not before leaving an ominous warning for the three "A mate for a mate Good Hunter watch her closely because I will have her sooner than you think..." Turning back around to face Nerco, Gaile found she was curled into a ball shivering in disgust and revulsion at what almost happened to her. When Gaile knelt down to touch her she nearly burned him as a shockwave of fire blasted out from around her forcing him back. It was at this moment that she came out of her stupor with wide tearful eyes "Gaile! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean t- mmph" Once again she was silenced with a tender kiss that she returned once more with tenderness to match "I'm sorry..." She said once more. "It's okay Nerco, you didn't hurt me." He said as he held her in a loving embrace that both tugged at Flora's Heartstrings and at the same time made her jealous of what she could never have with Gaile.
After breaking from his embrace with Nerco, Flora suddenly spoke catching his attention. "Gaile you're going to need something much stronger than the Burial Blade if you want to take on someone like Oedon" Looking at her and then back to Nerco he nodded "You're right but where and how do I find something like that, and don't you dare suggest I use Ludwig's Sword, that 'thing' made him into the monster he was when I fought him in the nightmare." He said with nothing held back. That is until Nerco decided to speak. "Gaile… I could forge a new weapon for you, after all I made Onnen and Thaeon's swords Muramasa and Yasutsuna" She said looking at him with an unreadable expression. "Its a forging process I use called Soul Synthesis and I have just the soul in mind to forge a new weapon. So, let me have the Burial Blade and Richter's Saif" She said as she whispered a short incantation as a large forge began to form in midair as it was beckoned from the Ashen Void by Nerco the gate sealed itself and an impenetrable veil of nightmare fog surrounded Nerco as she worked in secret using a technique that the uninitiated are not permitted to witness.
Hours passed and without warning the veil of fog dispersed and Nerco walked through the gate carrying a cloth wrapped bundle in the shape of a sword. Passing it to Gaile who slowly undid the binding cords that held the heavy cloth wrapping in place unveiled what Nerco could say without a doubt was her finest work. "This Gaile, Is the Crissaegrim" She said as she held out her hand "But its not complete I still have to synthesize a soul into it to permanently temper the blade into this form" pulling from the Ashen Void a withered bell that appeared to be made of Boneash she rang it thrice and spoke a name "Markus Akabane." Before long a figure of pale blue mist began to form eventually taking the shape and appearance of the maggot who tried to rape her in Old Yharnam.
"The Hell? ...Oh, its you again" He said spitting in the direction of Nerco's feet which she ignored.
"You've been chosen to serve a higher purpose." She said with a satisfied tone as she speared her hand into the ethereal figure causing him to gasp out in surprise "What the hell are you doing to me?!" He asked in genuine fear and a terrified scream as Nerco forced his now shining form into blade of The Crissaegrim.
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To Be Continued in Chapter 15 where they finally begin to move to Ebrietas's lair