It's been a long time since I've posted anything, now hasn't it? I find it kinda nice that out of all of my stories, this is one of the few ones that I can go back and read without feeling too...cringy? Obviously, while I read it, I notice the terrible amount of grammatical mistakes scattered throughout it. Hopefully, I can continue the different kind of writing that is different when it comes to most BloodBorne/RWBY writings, and how these carry more of the Gothic theme to it. Hopefully from this point onward, my grammar will have improved drastically to the past, and if not, well…
Do I remember where I was going with some of these pieces, especially the latest one...maybe? I'll try to recall what was going on through these mad ramblings of mine, but if something seems off, do understand that it has been almost 3 years since I last touched this story, so I gotta go back into my adolescent brain that had never touched alcohol and understand how I could write such maddening things.
In other news, I hope everyone has also seen the possibility of BloodBorne on PC for a remaster. I know I'm excited, well, that and Demon Souls also. Biggest reasons why I would even get a PS5 at this point. That's all I've got, a big thanks to all of those that were cool with everything going on in my life, and I'm healthier than ever, so again, chapters will more likely happen at a pace faster than 1 or 2 a year.
Old, moss-covered walls lined the never-ending corridor that stretched to either end of the opening of the once guarded room. Cracks littered upon the walls, and one might wonder how it still even stood with the roof begging to be relieved of whatever pressure lied upon it. Holes laid along the wall and had evidence of recent travel of smaller creatures, those of enlarged spiders if the previous encounters proved anything. Blood splatters ran down the wall as a body slowly slid down the wall, it's horribly mangled appearance ruined ever further after the removal of a large stone block from it's sunken chest. The young man grunted as he lifted it up over his shoulder, only to slide if more towards his center back and twist it. It released the grip and allowed a sword to slide out of the large hammerhead. He dropped it to his side before sliding the sword into its own scabbard.
He glanced around the corridor before stepping into the room, covering his nose is a quick notion before pulling out a vial of strange silver liquid and dropping it onto the back of his hand. With a strong whiff, the young man lowered his hand and had a much more composed look upon his face as if the smell was no longer affecting him. He continued his journey into the room and took notice of only a small glimmer that resided on a dismembered corpse, it's arms cleanly ripped off of it. He gave another look around the room and took notice that the deceased might have tried to hide away in this room, apparent from the bag of decayed supplies and the now burnt away torch that hung upon the wall.
Sitting on the corpse's lap appeared to be a book and a small ring. The young man stepped forward before offering a small prayer to the corpse and taking hold of the pair of objects. A flipping of pages and he landed on a single page that had it's corner folded inward.
"The inhuman beings known as the Great Ones imbued this Ring of Betrothal with some special meaning. In the age of the Great Ones, wedlock was a blood contract, only permitted to those slated to bear a special child."
Ronto Blorminstitch - Researcher of Great Ones
The young man glanced at the ring before closing the book and leaving the room. He stepped out and saw his compatriot removing a large wheel contraption off of a beasteal corpse like that of the one that was previously guarding the room. He started to walk over to the figure before calling out to them.
"Master Logarius, I found something of interest."
"Hmmm?" The large cloak started to turn, and with it revealed a large man covered in the apparel that is shared throughout all Executioners of the Healing Church. What made him so different from the others, was not only the more outlined golden colored cloth, but the large amulet that hung from his neck. It shined a vibrant blue from the middle, the sapphire giving off a glow of its own that clearly contrasted the gold that surrounded it. The amice hung around his neck, but over his head as well; different then the younger Executioner that stood in front of him.
"What is it Young Alfred, does it bring us any closer to solving the clues to this twisted labyrinth?"
The young man pulled out the book and ring before holding it out in front of him to Master Logarius. The Master gently took the items from the boy before holding the ring in front of his eye, only to place it aside before he began flipping through the pages of the book. His expression grew darker as he skimmed the pages, almost a look of disgust overcoming his already demeaning glare. He dropped the ring in between the books pages before closing them and holding it back out to Alfred.
"Take this back to where you found it; it means nothing to us now."
Alfred took it, glancing at it one more time before speaking. "Master Logarius, what do you mean? It speaks of Vilebloods and-"
The older man brought his hand up the boy to stop his words. "Put that away where you find it, now." He said with a mucher sterner voice than before.
Alfred nodded his head before returning it back by the decaying corpses side. He walked out of the room and saw that his Master was pacing rather erratically now. "Master Logarius, what might be the issue now?"
The man stopped before turning towards Alfred. He stepped forward to the boy slightly before stopping himself. "The words within that book lines directly to what we've been looking for. Those filthy Vilebloods and their corrupted blood reeks of betrayal to the very church itself. I've always suspected there was something wrong about them, but to be tied to such things; I'm not even surprised at this point."
"What do you mean-"
"They are Beasts that partake in others' blood Alfred. Monsters that share the skin of Humans, and try to play off that they're the same as me and you. Entire bloodlines run throughout that entire cursed place; a breeding den on animals that take on human culture." He stopped his foot onto the Beast that laid dead on the ground a few times before letting out a small chuckle. "We will remove the head that sits upon the shoulders of these traitors; for if we can't even do that, are we even Executioners?"
Alfred had no fear, but only admiration of the man that stood in front of him; the justice that paved his path becoming clearer and clearer with time. "I will join you Master-"
"You will not!"
The air permeated with silence after his words continued to echo throughout the many chambers of the labyrinth. Alfred felt his knees buckle, his face full of despair from the declaration from his master. "But...But why Master? I...I pledged myself to the Church, to the Executioners, to you! Why do you deny me our purpose, my purpose!" His knees struggled to stay straight but quickly gave way, making him collapse to the ground.
Logarius stood there for a second before taking a knee next to the boy, a saddened look on his face. "Alfred...Young Alfred. I pity those who take up this mantle of responsibility, but this shawl that we wear is one of pride, and duty. The Vilebloods are a disease that must be removed from this world, but if by some chance we fail-"
"Then let me join you! Another Hunter will always improve such chances-"
Logarius shook his head. "Then who will be left behind? Who will there be to fight the Beasts that roam these streets, causing harm to anyone that lacks the scent. There is a chance that we will not return, and because of that; I'm entrusting you to carry on that work that we do here. Do not follow in my footsteps Alfred, this is my duty that I started, and it will die with me as well."
Alfred looked lost in his worries, and even began to tear up. He was no more than a day over the year of twenty, and had no one but the Church to rely upon. Captain Ludwig took him under his wing, and allowed him to meet Master Logarius; from there he dedicated his life to assisting him in any way he could...and yet here he was being told he could no longer follow this path. He wasn't even a full-fledged Executioner yet, let alone a Hunter; but that wasn't the reason his Master denied such an action.
"It's...It's not right Master...Why are you the one to present to me such a fate…" His gaze fell to the floor. "Are you taking Senaise as well...only to leave me?"
Logarius shook his head in denial. "Senaise will stay here alongside you. The two of you have followed me since the beginning, and are more like a daughter and son to me more than anything. I could never put my family's life in danger...We will return though Alfred, for the blood makes us strong, and we hold our sanity true."
He stood up, lifting Alfred to his feet as well. "I entrust my badge to you; you've learned how to use it, and I trust you will find time to master it as well. Your senior Executioners will follow me into battle, so I entrust the two of you to rebuild the Executioners with those sharing in the ambition to remove any Vileblood that survives, and if they are all gone; then we move onto the Beasts that roam Yharnam."
Alfred looked towards Logarius before fully standing on his own two feet. The boy nodded his head before walking forward. "Then I'll fully become an Executioner when you return?"
"Indeed my child."
Alfred paced for a few seconds before stopping and turning around. "Alright. I'll accept it. Senaise and I will hold down these grounds until your return, Master Logarius." A smile and slightly red eyes looked at the larger man. He returned the smile before picking up his weapon, a large wheel covered in blood and walking out.
A girl could be seen running towards them, her scarlet red hair tied up into a ponytail, and a mask covering her nose and mouth along with a garb that matched the other two. A sword laid in its scabbard at her waist like that of Alfred's, but what was different was that she had a larger blunt sword attached to her back with a similar locking contraption like that of Alfred's hammerhead. "Senaise, why are you still wearing that?" Alfred shouted out to the girl.
She returned a gesture to what some might deem as slightly childish, the act of sticking one's tongue could be told even behind the mask. "Unlike you Alfred, I don't enjoy partaking in the act of playing around in the blood of Beasts. I can't even imagine their blood getting close to my face, I do have a sense of tact for the most part."
The two began to argue with one another, like a brother or sister would; possibly even life-long friends that have been together since childhood. Logarius sighed before walking towards the exit of the Labyrinth, and deeming that they were indeed done with this place...for now.
The six individual's sat quietly in the room, no one daring to say a word and disrupt the silence that floated around. It didn't help that the four guests seemed to have forgotten what they were indeed previously talking about before Queen made his presence known, and revealed his half-naked self to them. Weiss kept her eyes towards Arianna who was smiling and partaking in her milk. Ruby kept glancing towards the weapons on the racks that hung upon the wall, and even the previously named 'Chikage' that sat on Arianna's lap. Yang and Blake both had their eyes on Queen, one trying much harder to hide her glances while the other sat back in amusement as she stared.
Queen was the one to break the silence of the group and he loudly sat down in a chair that was located in the corner of the room before covering his torso up with what looked to be a simple cotton shirt, much to the displeasure of Yang. "Are we going to keep sitting around and saying nothing, or will you four state your curiosity and resolve this issue that you presumably carry?"
Arianna set her cup down before speaking. "I'd prefer if you didn't act so rudely to our guests, Queen. You're nightly sessions means you won't be going to sleep any time soon, and I'd much rather spend my time talking with these lovely ladies then sit in silence while waiting on you to come back again."
Blake was the one to speak up. "What does you mean by 'nightly sessions', is there something in class that he's having to catch up on, or don't necessarily get?"
Queen leaned back in his chair, causing it to squeak slightly. "They're my weekly rituals; a special gathering of 'essence' if one were to name it. In your words, I need to balance out my body from my mind, otherwise they'll mix and cause a mess."
Blake started to open her mouth to question his statement but was stopped by Arianna.
"As I've stated before, his form from before is the cause of his body and mind mixing, at least to simplify it in your terms; balancing his Aura flow. If he doesn't maintain and understand the separation of the two, then he will lose himself in the process and fully become a Beast. Rather a sad way to lose oneself."
Blake began to open her mouth to comment on the action, but retracted her words and kept them to herself. Weiss however was one that couldn't stay quiet after hearing the words over and over again.
"You speak of Beasts as if they're different from Grimm. How exactly are they so different?"
Queen scoffed at her comment but kept to himself. Arianna glared at him for a moment before speaking. "Grimm are manifestations of...negative feelings as some might describe them. A collection of the despair that coagulated to create a monster from a ground of negativity. I take it that you've heard the many things of how Grimm might originate from?"
The four girls nodded their heads in agreement. Arianna took in their approval before continuing. "Beasts, as we've been referring to them for quite some time, are very different in many, many ways. They are a creation of mankind, and are a mistake as well. Humans dabbled in research that eventually claimed a number of lives. You see, the Beasts we speak of are men themselves…" She stayed quiet for a few seconds in an attempt to gauge the reactions of those around her, but all she got was confusion.
"So you're saying...you hunt Humans?" Weiss asked in a questioning tone, a slight hint of worry in her voice.
"Of course. It was our mistake that brought them to that point, the least we can do is dispose of them as well." Arianna took another sip from her cup before Blake angrily slammed her hands on the table.
"So you're just killing other humans that succumbed to this fate! You didn't even try to fix the problem?" The sound of chair legs hitting the floor was heard behind the girls as Queen was now sitting forward in his chair; almost as if he was ready to stop Blake in case she did anything. Arianna however just stayed calm in this situation before placing her cup back onto the plate.
"This has been going on for much longer than myself or Queen. It all started when those who dabbled in the transfusions began to share it with the rest of the world, stating that it had healing properties like no other."
Blake seemed to hesitate before speaking. "You mean...blood vials?"
A small smile crept onto Arianna's face. "You know of the blood then? Yes, in a different sense, the Old Blood as they called it acted as a source of a cure to anything out there. Once disease-ridden patients were cured in a matter of days after consuming the miracle drug."
"But there were side effects that were hidden from those who partook in the 'cure', correct?" Weiss asked.
The smile on Arianna's face seemed to grow, which she tried to hide with the cup. "You are correct Ms. Schnee. The Healing Church hid the fact that if one were not strong enough-" She took another sip of the milk before setting it down, the once smile now craftly hidden once again. "They would succumb to becoming a Beast, and lose all semblance of their humanity. Of course there were trials on attempting to fix such a problem, but in the end it all resulted in fruitless efforts. They decided that it was easier to hunt the Beasts and quell the infection than to cure it."
Yang sat back in her chair, a look of slight disgust in her eyes. "And the two of you signed up to do these things? To kill your fellow humans? That alone seems pretty messed up in my opinion."
"Did we ever say we were only just Humans? We partook in the blood as well Ms Long." Everyone turned around to see Queen dangling a vial of the crimson liquid in front of him, only to slide it back into a vial holder where others like it resided. "Any and all Hunters have done so the moment they decided to become Hunters. If anything, we're less human than anyone in this room, even the young miss over there." He gestured towards Blake who in turn flinched at his words.
The four girls went quiet as they began to recall their pasts. Each of them encountered a Hunter when they were younger...They also understood that it would mean that each one of them held their life in the balance of fully becoming a monster, or retaining their humanity for powers. They couldn't even begin to understand how they struggled with such a thing.
A clap shook them out of their senses and the four turned to look at Arianna, who was now standing up. "All of this talk has taken a rather dark turn, and I am partially to blame for that as well; for that I do hope you accept my apology." She walked over to a nearby cabinet and began to rummage through it before Ruby spoke up.
"It's...It's not your fault...All that you guys do is not your fault…" Queen scoffed at her words which got a reaction out of Yang.
"Watch it 'Wheel boy', my sister is trying to be respectful of your situations and you laugh at her for it?"
"If I wanted anyone's opinion on our work, I would have asked. I just find it admirable that someone can even say that after finding out that we kill humans for a living-"
The closing of a drawer rather loudly stopped his words, and Arianna could be seen glaring at him once more, of which promptly made him turn his head away and mumble under his breath.
"Thank you Ms. Rose for your sentiments. We rarely get such words of kindness from those outside of our profession, and it's a nice welcome when it comes to this change." She walked to the girls and held out four small paper pouches that were tied up with twine at the top, to which the girls stared at before staring back at Arianna. "It's but a simple antidote from our homeland. It's nothing like the blood we use, but just a medical concoction to cure one of many sorts of poisoning. It's a staple when it comes to Hunters." The four shared a look with one another before taking a pouch for themselves.
"Come now. It has gotten rather late, and you ladies need sleep, especially you Ms. Rose. A Hunter needs to grow if they want to protect those that are close to them." Arianna spoke while ushering the girls to stand up as well. The four of them awkwardly got up while Ruby bashfully kept her eyes away from Arianna's. "Don't let tonight's words linger on your mind. It is our duty that we took upon ourselves, just as your duty you choose to follow as well. No matter what, in the end, we choose to hunt those that seek to end mankind as we know it."
They eventually reached the door, all while Queen was sitting in his chair trying his best to avoid eye contact with any of the guests. "Good night young Hunters, and may the hunt forever be in your favor." With those words, the door closed on the four of them. Just as quickly as they were let in without a single word, they were also pushed out without being able to say a single thing.
They all stood there for a second trying to understand what exactly just went down. Were they confused, conflicted, worried, or all the above? They couldn't pinpoint the exact feelings they were having now, but their thoughts were broken up by Yang speaking.
"Well...That went better than expected. Might as well skedaddle now that we're no longer wanted...Last one to the room has to buy Ruby cookies!" With that, she was gone; all but leaving the other three to stand there in confusion. They each thought about partaking in the little act that Yang just said but instead just took their time walking back to the room in contemplation of all that just occurred.
Yang quickly arrived at their room and dashed inside before quickly closing the door behind her; the heart that lay within her chest was beating rapidly, the noise slightly rebounding in her ears. She held her ear up to the door before walking over to her drawer and pulling out a small paper pouch. The sound kept getting louder the more she handled the pouch; her fingers struggled to undo the twine knot at the top, only to pull it off letting a small darkened garnet object fall to the ground. Yang quickly fell to the ground to grab ahold of it, her heart threatening to explode within her own chest.
Her hands finally wrapped around the garnet-colored ball, slightly firm to the touch but she could immediately tell that it was something that one would digest. A scent floated up to her nose, the smell grabbed hold of her own sanity. Everything around Yang seemed to expand, her senses becoming stronger than ever. The sound of footsteps caused her to snap her sight around, in a moment she was back up on her feet and wrapping the ball back into the paper pouch. The sounds kept getting closer as she struggled to tie up the pouch, and before the hand even touched the doorknob, Yang was back on her bed with a book in hand.
The other three girls walked into the room with a slightly curious glance, and upon seeing Yang in bed with a book and a smirk grin looking at them; a even more curious look overtook them. Weiss stood there with her mouth agape while Blake looked more along the side of happy then taken back; all while Ruby spoke out. "Since when could you read upside down Yang, and why Blakes heretical book?"
The two besides her looked at Ruby before going back to Yang. Weiss simply shook her head while Blake lost her look of happiness and instead gained one of disappointment.
"Why did you let her leave with that?"
Queen got up from his chair while he walked over to his bed, grabbing hold of a full box of silver bullets, watching his fingers from touching the silver themselves. He glared at his reflection while glaring at his canines in the bullets before responding. "It never hurts to have another Beast helping in the hunt, even if it is just a pup." He licked the teeth before closing the box. He turned around to see Arianna wiping a wet cloth on her exposed skin, the remains of makeup slowly coming off with each wipe and revealing the stitches that lie beneath.
"What you did was needlessly involve someone that wasn't needed in our endeavour, Queen. You could smell that which we desire didn't you, it lingered upon all four of them."
"Especially upon Ms. Schnee. I could feel it emanating off of her out of them all. The sickening scent wouldn't stop threatening to grab a hold of my mind. What are you even searching for-'' A crashing sound resounded throughout the room and as quickly as the chair toppled over, the tip of a rapier was pointed at Queen's neck. Arianna was holding her Reiterpallasche with a leg put in between his legs, the other on the wall next to his head. Queen grinned at Arianna who was staring down at him.
"If you're going to kill me, you might as well do it Vileblood. We're both tired of playing a part of the Healing Church at this point, as we've already fooling everyone here and that idiodic League Master. How long will you wait to put your hands around the Executioners neck; I can tell you that my patience is growing thin Knight. How much longer will you hold that fake name as well?"
The two stared at one another before Arianna stepped away from Queen, clicking her tongue after turning her back to him. "You don't know these feelings I hold in my heart for my dear Alfred." A small chuckle left her lips. "He left us to die in that castle at the foot of our Queen, but I knew it wasn't the end. We hold something that will always tie us to one another." Her arms wrapped around her body, Reiterpallasche still in her hand.
"Oh how I wonder how he would feel if he found out that I was the one who took everything from him? His Master? His cause? His love? Can you imagine the face he would make in front of us?" A slight shudder went through her body before she chuckled once again, all while Queen watched in disgust. She dropped her weapon to the floor before bringing a hand up to her head only to grab ahold of her hair and pull it down off of the head it once rested upon.
The wig fell onto the floor and revealed a collection of golden blonde hairs cut only to below the ears. "He watched us fall into the endless pit within the Labyrinth, the despair in his eyes will forever be burned into my mind. The pleasure we feel even now, just simply remembering the look." A large smile crept onto her face before she spun around to look at Queen, all her scars and stitches viewable to all those that wanted to look except those still hidden by her gown.
"How long we spent at the bottom stitching the two of us together as one so that we may live in such a cursed place; her pleading cries sounding like a pleasant tune to my ears. The look we received from our wonderful Queen was the most wonderful thing we could have asked for; the disgust and pity we felt from her sent a shiver down our spine as we kneel before her." Her tongue licked its way across her lips.
She brought the ring that hung around her neck to her lips before letting it fall back down. "While our Queen dismissed my declaration of love for her, this is a gift that Alfred hung onto, and it belongs to us-" Arianna did a pirouette before glancing at the ring in the reflective light.
Queen stared at her in a strange manner while he was sliding his cloaks on. "Are you going to propose to the man that killed you?"
Arianna glared daggers at Queen before picking up her weapon. "Why would we ever propose to the man who killed us? Alfred will finish his act and propose to Us! If not, then he might as well relish in the fact that he can kill us once again." She slowly shuffled her way over to the weapon rack before placing Reiterpallasche back in its place. Her shoulders slumped after walking back to where she was sitting before. "What are you even still doing here; return to your Labyrinth you Beast. Even in that form, the smell sickens me."
Arianna didn't even bother to turn around to look at Queen as he walked out of the room while awkwardly moving through the door with the giant wheel. "Blood crazed woman...and you say I'm the Beast of the two…" He shook his head before closing the door, the bell ringing through the dorm hallway.
Heavy panting escaped from Alfred's mouth as he slouched against the trunk of a tree. He brought up his arm towards his mouth before wiping at the dripping liquid that threatened to spill out of his throat. Alfred glared down and saw that blood splattered his once white cloth. Cursing under his breath, he glared up towards the clouds and saw a shattered moon, one that was very different to the red moon that once sat up in the sky. His legs started to give out before a glimmer of crimson came from the corner of his eye; his knees completely gave out as he ducked underneath the slice that came from his left.
The blade cut through the air while leaving behind a bloodied mist, only for the blade to slice the tree where his head once stood.
Alfred rolled forward before running towards an opening in front of him, the moonlight shining ever so brightly. His feet felt heavy as each step brought him that much closer to the light. The sound of multiple gunshots made him duck his head but came up effortless as he felt two bullets collide into his back. The impact caused him to stumble forward for a few steps before eventually falling onto his chest and sliding into the moonlit opening. He tried to hold in the feeling but spit out a ball of blood in front of him, staining the green grass crimson.
'I...I can't...not here…' Alfred thought as he began to climb to his feet, only to stumble back onto his hands and knees. 'I sent it away so I could gather my mind once more...I have to retrieve it and...and…' Before he could say anymore, he felt afoot, step onto his back and force him onto the ground. A groan escaped his lips before a foot collided with his stomach and made him slide a few feet away and onto his back. He glared at the figure walking towards him, the moonlight fully lighting his assailant. "No...There...there were none left?"
The figure stood still while he held a long-bladed katana at their side with a double-barreled pistol in the other. The silver helm glinted off the moon while the black-feathered coat blended in with the shadows that stood behind that. The only sound Alfred could hear was the soft breathing of that who lay underneath the helmet. It sheathed it's sword only to hold out the pistol towards Alfred, the man more saddened by the fact that his life would end without fulfilling his goal then his actual fear of death. 'I apologize young Hunter, I'm afraid I won't be able to meet you again.'
He waited for the click of the flintlock to happen but was instead met with a sudden grunt and the sound of bone crashing into metal.
Alfred opened his eyes and witnessed the figure that once stood over him was now standing more than a few yards away, their hand on their head while the other was on the ground. In front of the figure was a large blackened monster with white plating covering its body. Alfred knew of these creatures as he's encountered more than a few since coming here, 'but they normally traveled in packs if anything.' he thought to himself.
Alfred didn't let the thought linger as he climbed back to his feet, and began to run away from the threats that now stood behind him. He heard the crashing of metal and bone as he continued to run away, the lone tower standing in the distance being his only lead towards civilization.
This was a long piece compared to what I've written for this story...I believe so anyway. I hoped everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it in the span of two days. I can't say I put 110% effort into this (As I could've written a lot more in terms of wording and maybe not leaving on a cliffhanger as well) but I know all of you are absolutely wonderful people.
Thank you all once again for the love and support after my recovery. You all have waited a very long time, and I hope I was able to deliver something of your time. That's all I've got for tonight, sleep well Hunters; and see you next time.
-I plan to do more 'backstory' writing for more of the NPC's like I did Alfred's. I love all of them, I just feel like they could have more to their backstory, kinda like how our loveable Master of the League has his little piece of lore, I want more of the NPC's to have that as well, and hopefully I can fulfill that.
-The entire thing with Arianna was probably last minute, and by far one of the more disturbing things I've written and just been okay with. Kinda bone-chilling as I'm not a big person when it comes to those kinda things, but I thought It would have been somewhat cool to go with that.
-Wild thing while I was writing Master Logarius, it tried to auto-correct it into Martyr. Wild, google docs knows.