I apologize for any grammar mistakes, the beta is gone, I don't speak English as my native tongue, I tried to correct any mistakes to the best of my abilities. I hope that the story compensate for the probably bad grammar. The cover of the story is now a art made by SofiaMunhoz, also DRMAK made a short story inspired on this one, I thank both of then, it feel me with joy seeing others being inspired by my work.
Fire was consuming the hunter workshop, the books, the supplies all was being destroyed, it was strange, was she supposed to feel something? This place was she should consider her home, as she was born here in all maters of the world. Now it was ending the place she stayed most of her tiny life and it didn't matter to her, nothing inside the workshop was of any worth. The weapons were at the outside, some clothes a good amount of supplies, the rune workshop tool, the blood gem tool, so nothing was lost.
Doll was at her side watching the burning, unfazed too by what was happening maybe because she was reading a book or by her own nature. She stop reading, slowly closing the book and tossing into the fire.
"Good Hunter what is it your wish?"
"Nothing, Doll….. He is waiting at the garden, isn't he?
"Yes…. Do you wish for me to go with you?"
It had been a long time since the hunter looked at Doll, actually looked at her and in the same way actually talked to her
"I would like that"
They both walked in silence until the entrance of the garden, the hunter didn't said a word while she entered, the flowers touched her pants, the strange fragrance of then….. While the hunter was walking in direction of it's fate, the Doll just stood there, her complexity appeared just like her appearance unfazed.
What a deceit, her mind was mess, conflicted thoughts were running without stop, no problems or questions at her mind where new but now she could knew that they existed. What was that supposed to be? She was created for a function, she couldn't simply decide to go against or to seek for something new alas it was her fate. She wanted to stop the hunter, stop her to hurt even more, she couldn't, her function dictated to watch and help, never to stop. Still her want to stop the hunter wasn't just another part of her programming? What way to better help hunters then stop then of doing there dangerous tasks? Still she wanted to stop the good hunter of her own free will? But an instrument had a free will? What part of her, was her?
As the Doll continue to think about her own existence, her earlier thought of following her duty forgotten, all of this thinking due to the end of the hunt. It wasn't the first time, she had this thoughts, and depending what happened at the garden, she would have it again, again and again. All where trapped at a cycle, the city, hunters, beasts….. there was no alternate path for those inside, always fated to repeat…
The smell of flowers was so weird, it was like nothing else she had faced until now, she couldn't even put in words. So different from the usual smells she dealt with it wasn't rancid, acid it was something new…. For her at least. Adding that she was almost certain that was the first time seeing a flower, not even her fake memories had then, she knew the name and function but no the real.
This wasn't good, she didn't want new or strange, it could distract her of the fight that was bound to happen. All this garden was a problem, it was bright, colorful and open, she didn't like it, at all, she would have preferred a fight inside a sewer without light. That was where she had been conditioned to fight, not here on a place with so much brightness, maybe it was a tactic of Gehrman?
Hunters have to squeeze every advantage and facing your enemy in a territory unknown and hostile to then was a good tactic. This place was as she continue to venture inside a death trap, open with multiples places where an attack could come from, the flowers where deep enough to hide enemies on then specially if they were wearing white clothes. Even more insidious was the brightness, she never had seen it, such natural light, not even the brief time she saw the twilight at her arrival could compare to this.
At least, her target wasn't hidden or far away, he was close waiting at the base of a tree, at his wheelchair, the same face and place that she had seen him all the earlier time. She approached with the weapon in her hand, she wouldn't start a fight… for now, she just needed to confirm something. He started to speak, as she got close enough, she interrupted him:
"What am I?"
"What do you mean by that hunter?"
"I know everything, Gehrman"
He didn't show any sign of care or surprise to this revelation, he continued with the same posture and tone of voice.
"That is a strange question and the answer is obvious, you're a hunter. Now please, question decently
"Where did I came from?"
"A womb, next"
"From a woman?"
"No, from a man, what kinda of question was that?"
That wasn't how she viewed how this conversation would happen, at least he was answering the questions…..
"Who were my parents?"
"Your mother was a hooker, the father is unknown, don't need to say anything, I will add some more details. You're mother sold you to me, I don't know her identity or name, I just give her a bag of gold and some litters of blood and received a baby.
He continued, strange… she was feeling nothing, no anger or hate, just nothing.
"What did you expected? That you're the lost children of some rich family?"
He was right, what she actually expected?
"Why me?"
"Your mother was the first in line"
She stayed in silence
"No more questions?"
"Whenever you want to start, you just need to say "I refuse"
"I refuse"
This was strange… The scythe is coming from the right side, it will descend, two steps back and it will pass harmless, he will follow-up with another attack using the elbow, dodge this one then attack….
Was she supposed to feel this?… He jumped in the air, wait a bit... one, two, three, jump to the left, he is open now charge and release…..
this nothing?… Changed stances, now it will be faster, just attack when he finish the third strike, a brief window, don't get greedy….
Wasn't she supposed to scream? Demand answers? Cry even?….. get down, then roll to the side and shoot him….
Now there is just that, this void, this nothing…. Shoot, he stumbled now, now charge and release, then follow-up with another attack….
Why didn't she demanded more? Of how was she created, made or anything?…... Why I stayed in silence?….. His blade pass centimeters from the neck, get down, now his blade return cutting back where my neck was, now he is open, now time to attack…..
It wasn't a she, it was me, I didn't talked, I didn't demand… Punch, dodge the blade, another punch, no space to use the weapon, move to the left and throw another fist
For some reason, I feel the need to thanks, Gehrman, things are much easier now, no questions, problems, emotions… His scythe is coming, wait a bit…. Shoot, he is open now, charge and release.
If I not feel anything, why I am fighting him? Why not just stand in the dream for eternity? Or wandering trough the eternal night of Yharnam? ….Gehrman just exploded, a strange aura emits from his body, he attack, so fast, dodge to the right, shoot, dodge again and another shoot.
I don't feel anything anymore but I remember feeling a sense of duty to end the hunt and rage against Gehrman. It's worth fighting for just this memories?…. His scythe comes again, move ahead and attack, ignore the damage, attacking will heal.
There is another thing that is moving me…... I remember all the killing I did this night, beasts, people, gods…. Strange…. I lied to myself, I can feel something about that and… it hurts…...
There are many words to say about Gehrman life, so many, books could be told about it, but for the moment, I think that all that is necessary is that he didn't died with Maria in his mind or the Hunter. He died with just the thought of release, such a euphoric thought that it occupied all spaces of him as life left his body.
Not so different from the mind of the Doll, looking of the scene of Gehrman dying, she didn't feel angry, vindicated or sad. She felt confused, unbelief, incapable of grasping of what just happened, never in here mind could Gerhman die.
He was like the plants, the gravestones, the hunt and her unchanging, eternal… the hunter just stayed there looking at the corpse that was gone. Maybe she should approach…. Just to see if she would need any help at the hunt, of course
A goal made impossible by a strong wind that almost made her fell on the ground, she quickly balanced herself but not the hunter. Not only the wind hit her, but made her weapons and clothes vanish, that wasn't the sight that drawn the attention of the Doll, what did was a gigantic mass descending from the moon to the garden.
The doll know of course what it was, it was over for the hunter, it would bound her to the dream and everything would repeat. The hunter was without the weapons or it's attire as it was given to the dream and now it's master demand it back. Still… there was something that Doll could do…..it would be against everything she was created for. It would put the hunter at stake, against the will of the hunt and it's master, still…..
The doll slowly kneel the little ones creatures appeared at her feet carrying an old badge, she picked and looked at it. It was so old that her meaning was forgotten to all but to it's last owner that was recently deceased, a little force with her finger and would break. Still it meant something, that was important, it just need a little push, a last call to action, that would need something to fuel this call. She knew exactly what to give, the old beings of the legends used souls, the hunter used blood echoes, she would use herself.
The gown of the doll vanish, it was still not enough, the shawl was next, it need much more, piece by piece was gone, things have value of much they meant, this clothes wouldn't be enough. She gave it more, first it was a piece of her, then her finger, then her feet, then the rest of her arms, it didn't stop and she would allow it.
As she was being consumed, she wasn't angry, sad or crying, she was at peace, as the magic consumed her entire body. It wasn't enough, so she started to give, the little things that she had, the memories of the hunters that arrived at this workshop, how the Crow Hunter liked to have tea each time she arrived and…
Then it ended and she started to give the more hurtful ones, when the hunters arrived in pain, all the times Gehrman shot her, when the hunters left to hunt beasts and her fear of then getting hurt….
Now the happy ones, when a hunter finally managed to defeat a beast and they arrived so happy, some of then even offered her drinks for commemoration. She refused all then of course, she enjoyed this time, they were happy and that was all that mattered….
Who was she? She…. She was…. Something…. That was supposed to help hunters?….. what were hunters? What was help? She didn't know but why, she knew that she had to give more right? To this "help" happen to a "hunter"….
Then nothing was left
How she thought that would work? Consume three umbilical cords of older ones and get enough power to fight the thing controlling the hunter dream. It sounded delusional when she had read, now as the thing called Moon Presence was approaching, the Hunter was incapable of moving, it was delusional. How eating remains of other beings would give her some power against this? This wasn't like all the others she faced, it was much bigger then a mere beast in all senses of the word.
It wasn't make any movements beside slowly descending from the sky, she wanted to run to the burned remains of the house and search for any weapons to shoot this thing. She couldn't just even move, this Moon Presence was stopping her of managing any resistance. The hunter was at it's creature lair, using instruments provided by it, in the end it wasn't so strange that now it was using her like a puppet.
So it was in that moment that the Moon Presence feel an irregularity in it's centuries old plans, ones that were so complex that the human mind could never comprehend it's scope and goals. It was coming from somewhere in her domains, it was coming from one of it's instruments, what it was doing?
The hunter exploded with light, one moment, she was naked, unarmed and trapped by the snare and power of the moon presence. After this explosion of light, she was dressed, armed and free, she could move her limbs again and at her hands was a blunderbuss and the burial blade. Her clothes were the classic hunter attire…. There was something at her pocket, she didn't know how she know it but there was something at the back of her mind telling to check it.
It was two things, the bone of Maria that she gave Gehrman a long time ago and….. a broken crystal, it looked similar….. it was the tear that Doll shred…. It was destroyed now, the hunter understood what that meant, another one…..
The Moon Presence had been throw back by the explosion, the hunter picked the bone quickly tied to it's left wrist. The burial blade was put at it's scythe mode, she checked the clothes full with bullets and blood vials. She was ready for just one more fight, just one more beast…just one more time.
She started to run, her enemy had been stunned, by what had just happened, it's appearance was even worse than all the others beasts she faced. This wasn't a mockery of the human form, neither something completely alien, it was a disgusting mix of the two notions. Tentacles sprouting from the back and something that looked like a head, long arms and legs that belonged to some bipedal beast in the way they were. What made most of the body was just the spine with the chest open, the ribs looking like something as a mouth, the thing didn't have a heart…. She would have to cut the head….
Her first hit at the being considered a god among dozens of dimensions was lackluster, not that it didn't hit it was straight at the point, at the middle with the intention to cut it in half. The problem was that it didn't cut, it cut through the flesh and bone with easy still the body remained together. Immediately she had to dodge as the thing jumped back with the tentacles at it's back almost hitting the hunter.
She moved close and another hit was made, the time at the thing, gut? As earlier that thing wasn't cut in half but as before, blood was spilled of the thing. She attack again and again, only blood was spilled, no clear damage was show at the body, different when the being attacked. As she was hit immediately she was jumping back and a blood vial was injected at the point where she felt pain, her entire chest.
She dodged another claw attack, she of course followed with one of her own, then the thing jumped back, her chest was weird, the pain was still going. As she was running at the direction of the enemy, a giant piece of meat, bones and blood suddenly appeared atop of the hunter. She immediately dodged to the right as the thing crashed on the flower, another one happened, then another.
The damn Moon Presence was making these things, she tried to advance just to four of those thing appearing ahead of her, if she went ahead, this wold crush her. She dodged to the left this time, she at some point would lose her breath and then she would be hit by these mass of meat.
The hunter would need to be faster than blobs failing at her, she could try to run or….hope that this time Gehrman didn't lie about something. She shook her left hand, she felt a draining sensation, the next blob when she went to dodged, she didn't simply dodge it. She disappeared and appeared when she wanted to dodge, much faster than before, well now things would get interesting.
A curious thing about the garden beside the fight between an old god and a hunter was the flowers, they were all white during the fight with Gehrman. When he died and Doll vanished, they changed it's color went for white to red, a minor thing in comparison to the grand scope of what was happening.
Still when a giant flurry of red petals of the flowers that reassembled a lot roses started to appear at every quickstep that the hunter was doing. If Moon Presence was a lesser being it would find very fitting for the figure that was coming at it's direction to be making flurry of red petals. It would probably laugh, crack a joke, or make a commentary about forced references for the sake of audiences expectations. Alas the only action of this being was to create even more of the blobs of meat to stop it's enemy, it was a useless action, the hunter had already reached it's target.
A simple thing that didn't need implanted memories or the teachings of an old obsessed man was to never take stupid risks. Why fight against two beasts at the same time if she could attract one of then with a pebble, if carrying a large charge blood echoes better retreat to the dream and ask for Doll to channel it. It's something that she learned quickly, when you could play safe, do it….. she really shouldn't do her next action, she should do a simple slash at the face of her enemy…..
As the moment that the her slash was going to connect, instead of a scythe traversing the flesh of the Moon Presence a flurry of red flowers petals hit it. Not even a second after this complete harmless attack, a hunter popped at the back of the old god at the full speed of her run, it wasn't a good hit, it was a brutal one.
She didn't simply popped of existence, her body was at the vertical side, by that her scythe wasn't ready to slash but to penetrate the flesh. Her attack was targeted this time at the body, it hit it's mark completely, not only that it was so strong that the scythe cut the flesh, forced the entire body to the ground.
The hunter by it's movement manage to dislocated it's right shoulder and landed in a weird position, quickly it raised up, the enemy wasn't dead. The attack had been so strong that the scythe had pinned the body of the Moon Presence to the ground, she simply picked the blunderbuss with her left hand, took aim at the head and didn't stop shooting.
Unfortunately the situation didn't last long in a fit of acrobatics and body contortion rarely seen, the old being manage to rotate it's upper body and deliver two slashes at the hunter. This time she was sent a good distance as her scythe was immediately removed, landing a close distance of her fall.
As always she quickly raised up, this time a gigantic amount of pain hit her chest and gut, she looked down… and she was pretty sure that she wasn't supposed to be seeing her ribs, lungs, heart and that was her stomach? She injected blood vials no stop at her body until she stopped seeing her organs, bones and her skin was back at her upper body. As soon her body heal, she picked the scythe of the ground, the being wasn't dead neither it looked like it was wounded, this would change.
It didn't change, she had attack the Moon Presence multiples times, slashing, shooting, penetrating, kicking even and nothing. Sure blood was spilled at huge amounts but no visible damage was seen, no marks of penetrations or cuts. She had no way to know if she was getting closer to defeat this thing, even worst she could all this time causing no damage.
The next move was new, at least her enemy put one of her hand at her head and screamed, this time the hunter wasn't hit, neither she felt pain. Her only feeling was sucking, she felt as her life was being drained for her body, she was feeling weak by the moment. She ran at the direction of the old one, her weapon being transformed in a curved sword and the blunderbusss was ready.
The thing was still with it's hand on it's head, the hunter attacked, at this moment she was with no intention to give damage but to cause pain. She shot as attacking, kicking, using the blunderbuss as a club, anything that caused some pain quickly. The feeling of draining didn't stop but by each attack she was hitting, she was putting more to be drained, the sensation stopped, a gigantic scream was heard and everything exploded.
The Moon Presence wasn't on the ground anymore it was on the sky, it's arms open, it's tentacles moving as her having it's own conscious. The hunter tried to shoot it but for some reasons the bullets weren't hit, they were being repelled by some reason. It got worst, te ground, she was on started to move, then crack, the entire place of the dream, the flowers, the ground, the remains of the workshop started to collapse. Not only that but the extremity of the dream started to collapse on the nothing, it didn't stop there, piece by piece was cracking and failing, soon it would reach the place where she was….
If she was going to fall, she was going to take someone with her, the tree that was at the end of the garden had not fallen, the angle it was allowed for her to climb it and …. Maybe…. She run, transforming the burial blade at it's scythe mode again, the ground cracking even more, she reached the tree, she didn't even need to climb, it was at a diagonal. She couldn't diminish her speed, each of her steps was calculated and quick, she had no margin of mistake… In no time, the end of the tree was reached, there was it, with no hesitation, she jumped….
She immediately quickstep at the direction of the Moon Presence, it was above her the draining was much stronger….. it was still distant…..again….. again…. again….. again…. Everything of her was hurting, she couldn't give up, just one more time…
The Moon Presence wasn't expecting for the hunter, to reach the place where it was, neither for it to be capable to attack. So when the scythe hit it in the middle of it's body, it lost it's posture and started to fall with the hunter. As she was failing, she could see the entire dream crumbling to the nothing bellow, it felt good, she felt happy by watching the place where she was molded being gone.
She passed at incredible speed at the debris, it was over, now she would have to just wait for the fall to end, for all to finally end. She couldn't see the ground just gray clouds at the "ground", also it didn't appear she was approaching then, the only thing that could mark her descent was the giant tree that the hunter workshop was located above. There was a problem, not her failing to her death, she had no problem with that, down bellow here was the Moon Presence, failing to, it hadn't died and she was pretty sure that it was looking at her.
The blobs of meat started to appear in front of her enemy, very soon the first of then start to approach her, she weirdly dodged it. Moving on the air was very complicated, she could open her arms and legs to slow her descent and to move to any of direction, she would move her entire body to the direction she wanted to go, it was so strange. She was hit by one of the blobs of meats, the strange mixture of bones and meat hit her on the legs, it destroyed her entire left thigh.
She injected some blood vials and started to move using the quickstep, now it become much easier to dodge and she felt a lesser draining then when she was fighting on the ground. Her scythe was still with her, the blunderbuss too, now she just needed to end this fight….. just one more time.
The speed of her descent was doubled as she used quickstep to help dodge the obstacle and was getting a good amount, still she need to be faster. No more turning to the sides, the only way is forward, any dodge was going to be done by going forward, she need this speed.
She was getting closer, she prepared the scythe and herself, she would do something stupid again, this would likely destroy her body but the amount of damage that it would do… She was getting close, she could feel the arms of the creature preparing to attack her as she approached then she turned around and quickstep at the direction her back was, the most she could.
She appeared behind the Old Being, just like she did before, put this time, she was at full speed of a free-fall, making her sudden turn a good shock on her body. It didn't matter, what mattered was her next attack, it landed beautifully.
It screamed even louder than before, it's entire lower body had been cut, she could swear that the legs were still moving as they were separate limbs, making her going up, dodging any chance of her enemy to retaliate. The problem of this action as that she didn't thought that other things were failing at a higher speed, she noticed that soon, just as a blob of meat that looked more like a stalagmite pierced her.
The amount of pain she was suffering was immeasurable, even more by her attempts to remove this mass of bones that had destroyed her spine and guts. Her legs weren't responding or she was in such much pain that she wasn't noticing then, she could only use one hand to try to remove the other holding the scythe…Her hand was drenched in blood by that it was slipping, she was punching beside a gigantic amount of pain, it wasn't budging from it's position.
The Moon Presence was sending even more blobs of meat, she was barely dodging it, each quickstep she did the pain increased and she was getting more weak. The blood vials, she was injecting weren't managing to stop the bleeding from the hole, she had neither close as she couldn't manage to remove it.
There was only one solution, to kill it's enemy before she died of blood loss, a last attack….. what a weird sensation….. not of anger, despair or fear just peace, she was almost happy, time for a last dance…. just one last time.
She started to quickstep as before, the notion that this would be her last moments, made her pain diminish to nothing. Without problems she dodged all the obstacles send in her direction, she was faster then before, more agile, what a burden the fear of death was.
Never fail in complacency, that is instead of doing a quickstep and attacking the back of the old one for extra damage, she fell at it like a bullet. It wasn't expecting it, as it's head was turning when she her scythe pierced as a lance, it was expecting an attack in the back. This time it didn't scream in pain, the only way of noticing the damage was the amount of blood that was being expelled from the point of impact. It was like an inverted waterfall, the scythe was stuck at the chest but the amount of blood emanating was making her drenched in red.
One of the arms of the Moon Presence immediately picked her, instead of smashing or slashing her with the other arm, it's just hold it with it's hand. Her last attack hadn't been fatal, even with the amount of blood, that the wound was making it hasn't been enough to finish this thing….. The Old One it approached the hunter of it's face and…
She wasn't failing anymore, neither she was at the arms of the Moon Presence, she was in the middle of creepers, that were black and full of thorns. How she arrived at this place? why her wound had disappeared? why her clothes and weapons had changed? What was happening? STOP…. She had to first get out of whatever place she was, then she would start to question more, one thing at time.
Her weapon was the saw cleaver, it looked exactly like the one she received when she started the hunt…she tested against one of the vines and it immediately cut it. She advanced in this tangle of vines cutting the ones ahead of her, she didn't know the direction, she was going but anyplace outside of this plants would be a good one.
As she advanced, some of the thorns of the vines started to damage the clothes, strangely they didn't hurt the nameless skin, then the weapon started to cut with more difficult than until it break. The hunter attire was in shambles, most of it was destroyed, the rest was clinging to the skin, thanks to some miracle.
She stopped, it was impossible to advance, she had lost the attire that was partly protecting her from the vines and the weapon to cut then. They weren't strong enough to survive against this vines, something stronger would be need it… Suddenly her attire and weapon had changed to a Cainhurst Attire and the Chikage… how?….. She continued to cut, she would make the questions latter.
There was no way quantify her advance, so she didn't know how long she was cutting but as before her clothes and weapon started to wasn't long that, she was again with shambles and a broken weapon. Now would be great to have something that was more sturdy and…. The attire of the Powder Kegs and the Stake Driver immediately appeared at the nameless body. It seems that, she just need to wish for something here and she would get it…
Every time, she wished for a better way to open this thing, some attire of some workshop appeared along a weapon, it never repeated and it was only with weapons she had seen. She lost account of the several times, her attire and weapon were gone and she change then by another, it was doing fine…..until it ended. Stake driver, the Arm of the weird being, the Cane…... all had been used, all possible attire that she had worn had been gone. Nothing was left…
There she was at the middle of a tangle of webs, all the weapons and attires she had used destroyed and still no way of escaping this place. At least all the things that were broken and ripped apart weren't her body….. She moved her hand to touch one of the thorns, it didn't hurt her or even pierced her skin, she tried to push the vines apart with her hands but they didn't even budge.
She picked the remains of her weapon and put it closer to the thorns, it destroyed the remains as it took some damage of it's own. They could only destroy what was a threat to then, her hands weren't a threat, neither her skin, neither her body… and neither her. Only the instruments she used were something that could open the way, things that could be used by anyone. Her body had no value, neither herself, the only thing that it mattered was things external to the nameless.
It never mattered, she was chosen by pure coincidence, a personality was created to help at the start but no at the end, everything that she was, wasn't hers. It was all suited and designed to appeal to others made by others, the nameless was just a conduit to that a puppet waiting for it's strings to be pulled.
The vines would never be destroyed by her hands, because they were never a threat to others, she was never a threat to others….. Because there was no "she", the nameless wasn't a person but an instrument of the will of others, not different from a gun, it mattered who was wielding not the object. The figure that was slowly curling up in the ground at the middle of the vines, discovered that a long time ago but never thought about that until now, for some reason this thoughts were running throughout it's head.
Desires of vengeance and retribution…. It was all for others, nothing belonged to the nameless, even the mistakes that it caused, was just the instructions of others. How can someone blame an axe for cutting a tree down?
Even with the nameless resign to it's place and way, something was wrong at this line of thought… if only the things that could hurt the vines were destroyed by the thorns, why the attire were destroyed? Why the weapons remained were gone, they didn't pose a threat anymore…. Doll was at the same state of the hunter but….. Why Doll chose in the end to sacrifice itself for the hunter, how can an object disrupts the will of it's user? Why Simon told the nameless the truth if it wouldn't matter in the end, because how can an object disrupts the will of it's user? Why Eillen tried to convince the nameless to turn away and escape the hunt, how can an object disrupt the will of it's user? Then how could SHE had resisted the Moon Presence, caused damage and threw a wrench on it's plan because how can an object disrupt the will of it's user, even if anything that she think and did was set up... there had to be something that was her... but of course there was... myself.
BECAUSE I AM NOT A OBJECT, I risen from the ground, strength and determination flowing through all my body I took the vines with my hands and started to put pressure and it snapped, now the thorns were causing damage. One by one, I started to yell as I did this action, I need to shout my realization "I was thinking it wrong, it isn't my memories that affirm my being, neither a name, this is all just concepts. I thought that I need to be to exist but I only need to exist to be."
Vine by vine were removed, blood was now spilling from all of my body, I didn't stop talking "My existence isn't a good or decent one, I am a monster, that need to be punished at all moments of it's life but I am and that is something that no one can remove of me. Not you, not Yharnam or the hunt, my existence belong to me and no one else, because if it didn't all of the suffering that I inflicted on others would be for nothing and the hopes that others put on me would be for nothing... I can't allow that to happen."
The vines stopped, I was not in the middle of then anymore, neither I was dressed in tatters while bleeding all over my body. Failing, that was the first sensation and a familiar one, I didn't need to look at myself to know what my clothes were. What was that I just experienced? Some sort of illusion by the Moon Presence? A hallucination created by my loss of blood? My mind finally breaking? Whatever it was, it helped, it was like a weight had been lifted, a persistent noise that turn in a silence, a wound that finally heal.
Still…. Still there was one last thing, the Moon Presence was still alive, she was very bellow the hunter, it was missing the entire lower half and had still the scythe trespassing the body but still moving. I am tired, why couldn't let it go? It had suffered more than it will in it's life, it would probably take uncountable years to return to it's apex of power. Was it enough punishment? For making me this thing, for destroying the life of others countless beings… The answer was very obvious, I sighed….. just one more time….. one more time.
I checked my clothes, I had no scythe, gun, knife or even gunpowder, I had only two empty blood vials, two syringes against an old god. I prepared myself a syringe in each hand, My arms were put closer to my body, I started to gain speed, I was ready.
It wasn't expecting me, the first syringe is gone quickly at the body of the thing, I put my left hand at the "neck" of the thing, I need support for what I will do next. I stab the other one at that disgusting face, one, two, three, four… I lost the math at this moment I am just stabbing, I feel something crushing my chest, I don't stop with the stabs. Blood start to spill into my mouth, all of my body is hurting like it's being squeezed, I won't stop…. I continue at this point there is no more syringe, I am punching the face, I can't feel my fingers neither my hand, I only feel my arm moving up and down, up and down. The pressure is unbearable, I stop punching, I retreat my left hand, I don't need the support anymore, being squeezed was making my place stable.
I don't punch, I stick my hand at the battered face of the Old One like I would do a riposte, this time, it's not to grab and push. I also stick the remains of my right hand, both entered easily at the flesh then I started to open my arms. It screamed so loud and the pressure increased, I felt my bones breaking one by one, I continue to push, the only thing in my mind was my arms…. My vision was getting blooded and hazy…..
It's said that you see life going between your eyes when you die, according to my implanted memories, I have never experienced that on my multiples deaths. I knew that in moments I would die, my heart would be crushed, my brain shutting down soon after. This time I wouldn't wake up in the dream, my existence would be gone, I cannot fathom that concept but it don't feel scary, it feel comforting…. Just a few more seconds and all would be over….then it stopped.
The pressure was gone, death hasn't come for me but for the Moon Presence, it was dead, a god had been killed. I release my hands from the almost split head, I let myself to be disconnected of the corpse, it didn't vanish or it's blood came at my direction it continued to fall. As all things on my life, I expected more, as I was seeing the corpse failing even more quickly to the unending abyss that we both were.
"This worked better then we could predict"
"Much better? This has gone perfectly, one of our enemies is dead, there influences on this world has been destroyed, all of their assets had been killed or disposed, the only thing left is the remains of city
"I have a plan for that, I would need the assistance of some of your assets."
"What a great thing, of course I would give help, tell me the plan first…..
"I am wounded, don't you trust on me?"
"Neither you on me."
"Fair, but before I detail to you, what about her?"
"Her? Strange question, she has done all that she could do for us, there is nothing more… oh, well I see what you mean but that make her one of your assets…..
"Asset? I am just preventing the born of one of our enemies, she has consumed the umbilical cords, it will turn her on one of then if she stay at the place. We just need to change the place, where she is residing and everything will be fine."
"I agree with you, then how about the interior of yellow dwarf?"
"It would be a waste don't you think?"
"Waste of what? I thought that you wanted to prevent her transformation, my suggestion is the best way for it, in milliseconds would be over, with no chances to alter any of my plans or yours.
"I was thinking another place, where we could use her, she has managed to kill one of our enemies, why use her to take down another one?"
"Don't try to trick me, with such a weak lie, I know very well to where you intend to put her, nothing on that place is even close to one of our enemies… Alright there is something that it has similarities but only that.
"Of course you would say that, if it succeed, it will be a win for you."
"It happen….. so will you want her?"
"Yes, she will fit perfectly at my plans"
"So you know what that means then?"
"Go ahead and pick one for you too"
"I will, I will…
What is that? I extend my hand to catch before it vanish, it's a piece of paper…. I was wrong it isn't paper it's parchment, it has a hunter symbol on it. I know what this is…. it's a bold hunter's mark, it allow a hunter to awaken with the blood echoes it's carrying.
Strange that I found it here but it's useless, I had used this before, I always awaken on the hunter workshop. Now that the dream is destroyed…. It wouldn't work? But if it did where I would go? With certain, a better place then an undying fall… but then what? What I would do? My job has been achieved, kill all the beasts and my vengeance too, what is left for me? There is only one thing left for me…suffering, whatever I go, I will seek for it, I can be a being but that doesn't excuse my actions.
Staying on this situation is to good for me… This is paradise, there is nothing around, no sounds, smells or anything to look at beside the same gray clouds bellow that I never got closer. This absolute and total nothing, I can hardly feel my body or myself. This is to good for me, I will continue to another world, there will be shot, slashed, broken, burn, mangled and much more. When my time come by a small mistake or an impossible odd, I will die with a smile on my face, because this is what wait me…. I press the mark against my face…..just one more time.
It's over, my first story is over, I don't know how to feel about it, beside feeling that the story could always improve both in grammar or plot but I had been holding this chapter so much... it's best to make it real then to keep perfect in my head.
As it's the end of the story, it's complete, the plot, the themes and the character had all been explored to their maximum on this "installment", "book"? I will write a sequence where the Hunter go to Remmant, the part that all of you are excited to read... I already know why, all of you want to see the reactions of the other characters seeing this "Ruby" and how edgy she is... oh boy I will disappoint a lot of people.
Writing this story was like navigating a ship that is slowly sinking, I knew where I wanted to go but as the travel went along, people got out( I had 3 betas), a good amount of hiatus, a ton of rewrites( Someday I will rewrite the first chapter again) and a ever increasing payload of work that made writing a fanfic pretty hard. Actually my analogy was horrible forget about it, it has nothing to do with a ship.
This story was all planed from the start, I lied on on some author notes, a author that is creating a story chapter by chapter is incapable of putting themes or good twists on the story. This type of things take a long time... I wonder how many of you didn't noticed that I never said the word Ruby beside the small chapter that passed on Remmant.
So... the more important question is when the sequel will come out... I want to write something before I write the sequel, either will be something in relation of how much of a personality of someone is earned from the parents and how much the sins of the parents weight on the children this would appear on this site. Or how a stagnant society continue to exist through inertia but it's extreme fragile as it will proved when it fall by a individual not dying that is authorial(The way that the book market is set, it will never see the light of day)... or if one of my friends insist probably something about being incapable of changing due to the past and ponies.