Because Cosmos In The Lostbelts isn't enough to traumatize Ritsuka. Let's throw him in Yharnam instead!

Also lmao Bloodborne. That is all.

WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER

It truly was astounding on how everything could go horribly wrong in just a mere moment.

"Sempai!"

He really didn't deserve Mash. Despite how frail she had become ever since the Temple of Time and the Doctor... Roman's sacrifice, she was still as strong as ever. At least, for now. Her grip still held some strength as she held onto his arm like a lifeline. Behind her, Chaldean staff and alike arose in panic as the emergency lights blared.

The Control Room's monitors went haywire. Da Vinci and others were hard at work. They're fingers typed away rapidly and shifted through the many screens above. Their efforts being futile as the screens glitched, the enrapturing portal trying to ensnare him being the likely cause as it increasingly turned narrow, yet big enough to hold him.

Try as he might, his hold against her hand weakened and weakened by the second.

Mash yelled out again, but the deafening noise of the portal warping him to gods know where blocked everything out as servants filled the room. It was too late, and the only thing Ritsuka could do was shout as he was fully pulled into the warp.

The last thing he saw was Chaldea's symbol.

The clamping of hooves and trampling of leaves was the only sound Iosefka could hear as she gazed beyond the window of the horse drawn carriage.

She had grown used to the utter blackness of the night time in the woods. The trees masked in the darkness looked like black trunks against a bluish charcoal sky, the path would become deepest brown and the moonlight would bleach the stones within it.

Hadn't every painting of woods at night been like that? Even if there was a moon tonight its silvery rays would not penetrate the dense canopy above.

Yharnam was not too far, she had taken these roads countless of times and was familiar with the woods leading to the city by now. Various crates of blood stored in clean vials swished and groaned in their wooden confinement in the cart just behind hers. Secured tightly, of course.

Odeon knows just how prissy the Church would get if any blood were to be damaged. She knew first hand on how precious the crimson substance mattered in a city such as Yharnam. It was their prime attraction, afterall. Visitors from lands far and near would enter the city in search for cures and ailments, or for uncovering the many secrets the old city had over the centuries. Ironically though, Outsiders were treated badly by her fellow citizens. Shunned and shamed for only seeking help or for genuine curiosity.

Greedy and selfish, keeping their beloved healing medium to themselves. Even some of the healers and doctors she knew treated outsiders as if they were the cause of the Scourge of Beasts.

It was hypocritical and appalling, to be frank. She was a doctor, no matter the past or actions committed, a patient was still a patient.

She shook her head, neverminding those thoughts, idly flattening her white dress as the silent hum of her companion filled the small carriage room.

"Something on your mind, Norbert?" Iosefka asked the wheelchair bound man.

Norbert gave a small chuckle as he reclined slightly, leaning into the back of his old wheelchair as he tipped his withered hat. "Oh, nothing to worry about, Iosefka." Was all he said.

Iosefka didn't bother with a response or inquiry. She knew she would get no answers at the end. Norbert was clever in dancing around questions easily.

Even by standard Blood Ministers, old Norbert was by far one of the more older Ministers to have lived to this age. He had shown her the ropes back when she was young, yet he was cryptic and vague as he was when she was just a nurse in the clinic.

The man was wise just as he was ancient. He knew more than he let on, and in the many years she knew him, she was still clueless about him now as she was in the past.

Her eyes travelled back to the window, catching sight of a scene that worried her.

A heap of black laid bare on the cobblestone road. Furred arms with claws stuck out, dripping with blood, stained the road. Even with the distance she could recognize the beady red eyes and mutated snout and fangs that, once, was human.

A Beast.

Thankfully, it was dead. Curiously though, what she would have thought have been a bloody mess filled with carnage and entrails, a sign that meant of a hunter, was little more than a pool of blood surrounding the beast. A slash to the neck, indicating its death.

She frowned as they passed by the bleeding creature. Whoever did this was not as brutal or savage as the most hunters she had seen. The killer may not have been a hunter at all. The wound the beast supported was rough, as if the slayer was in a panic, which was likely in most cases, yet minimally messy, accurate to where the jugular was found, almost as if the beast's killer knew what they were doing, but was clumsy all the same.

Before she could think of anything else, the carriage stopped to an abrupt end. She gave a soft yelp, the cart shaking in response as the horses neighed. Norbert gave a grunt of irritation. Taking a look back to the cart behind them, she gave a sigh of relief as the vials of blood didn't look harmed.

She turned to the front. "Why have we stopped?" Iosefka questioned with a frown.

In front of them, the carriage driver gave a grunt as he looked back. "Sorry about that Ma'am! The horses seem to have stumbled upon something!" The Yharmanite said with a grunt, fiddling with the lantern to fix it.

Her frown still on her face, she stood up and opened the carriage door. Grabbing a hand lantern from the seat, she stepped out and into the front of the carriage as the driver calmed down the horses so she could check the disturbance. Lifting the lantern, she took a good look at the road blockade.

Her eyes widened.

"By Odeon!" She gave a horrified gasp.

A body of a male laid down on the road. Black hair was scattered and unfurled, stained with dried blood; crimson. As was the clothes that were once pristine white. His trousers were cut and torn in various places, as was his top. Curiously, the back of his right hand held a strange red mark of some sort, firmly engraved to the skin. In his other hand was a bloodied and broken blade that was shattered to the base.

Whoever this was, must have been the one to have killed the beast she had seen. Tragically though, it meant a beast had claimed another, she realized. Sighing sadly, she crouched down and took a closer look.

Death was a common happening among those who had crossed paths with beasts. Moreso if ones occupation was that of a hunter.

Then she heard deep and shallow breaths coming from the presumed dead male.

Clipping the lantern to her waist, Iosefka immediately pulled the barely breathing survivor with care as to not to disturb his wounds. A closer look revealed a youthful face that absolutely did not deserve to die.

Death was very much common to Yharnam. But Gods be damned if she could at least save one soul, especially one so young.

"Ready the horses!" Iosefka shouted to the driver as he glanced to the young boy she carried.

"By the Gods… he's just as young as my daughter!" The driver shivered, but nodded at Iosefka's command.

Norbert had already set up an emergency stretcher by the time she opened the door. Iosefka got to work, laying him down on the stretcher grabbed the medical kit by her side.

As the horses neighed and the carriage soon started moving once more, Iosefka carefully undressed the young man, cursing softly at the horrible wounds he had attained.

There was the white jagged end of a broken bone cutting through the skin and blood ran freely in thick scarlet rivers down to the end of his leg and trailed down to the stretcher, matting them together as it soaked into his black slacks.

Deep gashes and cuts littered his body. A particular wound she noticed was sliced in the flesh of his upper chest. It was heavily oozing out blood and there was a bluish-purple bruise forming around it.

"He's been infected." Norbert examined. "The beast had already done damage. And he's looking to have lost quite amount of blood. If he had killed that beast down the road, then its blood must have spilled into his wounds."

"We can still save him." Iosefka insisted. "Yharnam is close, as long as we can prolong his survival we can head to the clinic in time and stabilize his condition long enough for a blood transfusion!"

A small groan came from the young man in question.

"Ugh… uh…"

Was all he could let out before he started coughing rather violently.

"Please, save your strength." Iosefka gently hushed him. "Rest now, we will help you in time. You will not die here."

He whimpered at the mention of death, his right hand twitched. His grasp weakened, and a black collar that had a symbol of two silver rhombuses melded together dropped to the wooden floor.

"C-Chal-"

Another violent fit of coughs.

"You heard the lass." Norbert placed a hand on the young man's arm. "Rest."

Try as he might, he persisted to talk, only to end up with the same coughs. Iosefka rubbed his shoulder assuringly with a calming smile on her face. "Please. We will arrive to Yharnam soon enough. From there we can heal you. But for now, sleep." She ordered him with a stern, yet kind tone, the young man couldn't help it, his eyes grew heavy, before he fell unconscious.

The carriage shook roughly against the rough brick road.

With a soft sigh, Iosefka leaned back onto the seat.

She had denied the rumors, shied away from the truth. Assured herself that hunters would take care of it before it could worsen. It was already bad enough when reports of beasts started coming through the last few weeks, but this was the last confirmation to her worst fear.

"The hunt is going to begin…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Indeed it will." Norbert nodded gravely. "It seems things are going for the worst for Yharnam. That blasted town..." He muttered.

"The morning will come, and the hunt will end, as it always does." Iosefka mumbled. Ever the optimist she was, she felt confidence in the hunters. They were Yharnam's protectors. Have been, for decades, this was all too common. The hunt will soon pass, as it always has. Yet, as she told herself this, there was a sinking feeling in her stomach that things won't turn out as good as she thought it would be.

Even Norbert could notice her shaking optimism, but pretended he hadn't noticed."As does all hunts, but this hunt in particular…" The Blood Minister glanced at the battered young man resting with interest.

"...Is going to be special."

Pain was all he could feel.

Already, he felt the familiar wrappings of bandages across his body. The pain was subdued, for now, at least. The ache was dull, not unlike how it was when that… thing, werewolf or something else clawed and bit into him. Still, he was no stranger to various types of wounds. Long before that creature raged against him, he saw things that could eat that thing like a measly meal, and he's fought things that would give that furred thing a run for its money. But damn did it still hurt like hell. The medicine he had been given had remedied most of the feeling, now it felt like a dull sensation, only applying enough pressure to be an annoyance.

Blearly, he opened his eyes.

The sight of a high hanging rooftop supported by wooden cross beams was the first thing he saw. Then, the smell of a strange incense and medical supplies filled his nose. From his view, he could see the top of a shelf filled with vials of… what looked to be blood, and other types of liquid he was unfamiliar with.

Where was he?

Another singularity?

He opened his mouth to speak, only to let out a soft cough.

"Oh, so you're finally awake."

The creaking sound of a wheelchair made him turn his head to the side.

An eldery man dressed in what he could guess as victorian-esque clothes sat by his side. He saw his face, and found himself feeling just a little unnerved. There was something... beastly about him... as if the aura he irradiated was wrong, savage... even bloodthirsty... Yet most disturbing were his eyes, as light shone upon his face... or better said, his lack of eyes…

A curved tophat adorning his head, and strangely, wrappings of bandages around his eyes. A lantern held by the back of his wheelchair, as he fumbled with a piece of paper, his beard was ruffled, as was his hair.

"You took quite a beating when we stumbled upon you." His gravelly voice filled the room. "Impressive for one as young as you to have fought a beast and killed it. Mostly men at your age and even older would have been eaten right away." He chuckled.

"Wh… whe-" He tried to talk. His voice was coarse and rough.

"Now, now, don't strain yourself." The old man chided him, like he was scolding a child. "You've lost quite amount of blood, you know." He informed him offhandedly as he guided his wheelchair to the side, taking out and preparing something too dark for him to see. "But, you've stumbled onto the right place."

When the old man returned, he set up a rusty IV stand next to the bedside.

"Yharnam is the home of blood ministration. This town has been filled with secrets new and old for young men like you to find." He rolled to his side with a laugh. "You need only unravel its mystery. But, where's an outsider like yourself to begin?"

Done with the preparations, the old man turned to full look at him.

"Easy, with a bit of Yharnam blood of your own... but first, you'll need a contract…"

He held up the paper he fiddled with previously, along with a pen.

"Take your time lad, we have all night."

Shakily, he raised his bandaged hand, and grabbed hold of the pen the old man held. Despite his wounds, he did his best to make his handwriting cohesive for the wheelchair-bound man to understand.

As he finished, the old man took it back and examined it. How he could with bandaged eyes? He did not know the answer to that.

"Hm… Ritsuka Fujimaru. An oriental, I presume. You hail from the east, then. Yes?" Without giving him time to answer, the old man chuckled and placed the paper away. "Ah, it doesn't matter. Yharnam is accepting to all. If you follow their rules. But alas, what's been done is done."

"Now that everything has been all signed and sealed, let's begin the transfusion." Ritsuka grew uncomfortable at that, glancing at the dirty and unsanitary looking container that held the dark substance within. The old man seemed to have had notice, "Oh, don't you worry... whatever happens…"

Slight pain filled Ritsuka's senses as the man roughly jerked the tube into his arm, and the tainted blood started to surge from the container and into his veins. Leaning close, the old man whispered to his ear, his crooked teeth being shown as he grinned.

"You may think it all a mere bad dream…"

Ritsuka groaned.

He was pretty sure the needle he had been injected with was not clean.

Looking around, he found himself alone.

"He… Hello?"

Silence.

The… hospital? Clinic? Looked to be abandoned. The old man was not there, as was the lantern that kept the light. Now, he was surrounded by darkness. Deep, and suffocating, he felt something amiss…

His eyes traveled down to the side, and below him, stood a pool of blood, seemingly dripping from his other arm, where the blood he originally had was being let out, to be replaced by Yharnam blood...

Strangely, the puddle kept growing, and growing.

Wider and wider, it spread.

Then out came a claw.

Then a snout.

All dripping by the crimson liquid.

This shouldn't be possible.

Was what should be his thoughts. But, he had seen crazier than a creature coming out of a puddle of his own blood. Yet he feared it all the same.

As if manifested by the blood itself, a monster appearing as a ravenous humanoid wolf-like beast, covered in blood and grime, was crawling out of the pool, oozing blood. It looked nearly identical to that beast he barely managed to kill back in that god forsaken , this was missing skin and flesh in different places, and it crawled with an inhuman, almost painful step, towards the table. Unlike the savage, and animal like crawl he had seen the beast in the woods did.

Ritsuka tried reacting to it.

Pain, fear, and panic all welled up inside him

It was like an unstoppable snowball in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't concentrate on anything else rather than run away and don't look back. His was heart starting to beat harder and faster, adrenaline levels rising and instincts took over, yet he found myself unable to move a single muscle to defend himself from the vicious monstrosity.

It lunged at him to strike.

And all Ritsuka could to was close his eyes.

Only for it to recoil. As if, as it reached forth, somehow it was repelled, recoling as if he was the beast. Ritsuka could only watch in shock as the monster spontaneously combusted , bursting into flames. It struggled to desperately to put itself out, roaring in pain and rolling down to the wooden floors in absolute agony as it fell out of his view.

What just happened?

He didn't have time to think.

He felt something touch his legs.

More and more... as if tiny hands started crawling on his body. He turned to find the source. His eyes widening these… little things started appearing. They were strange, small and deformed, as if tiny corpses shining in moonlit silver... all with their mouths agape and their expressions in awe. Strangely, he felt no sinister intent... somehow. These things seemed friendly, despite them covering his body.

Slowly, more enclosed him, and his eyes grew heavy once more, the call to sleep was tempting, despite the events that transpired, as if his will was being forced to slumber.

And so, he did.

Darkness was all he knew.

"Ahh, you've found yourself a hunter…"