The Research Hall was eerily quiet, the patients that roamed its halls and spiraling staircases having been strapped to their assigned beds by the handful of staff that still remained, who themselves had retired for the night. The only source of noise were the footsteps of it's returning guardian, who had just returned from a meeting with the Vicar of the Healing Church.
She had gone to beg Laurence to put a stop to the experiments, to the cruel conditions and procedures the patients had been subjected to. When he had dismissed her, stating that each of them was a stepping stone to a far greater goal, she had erupted in a rage, chastising the former Byrgenwerth scholar for being blind to the suffering he had inflicted through his blind pursuit of a higher calling. Laurence had been quick to point out her hypocrisy, that she was just as culpable as he was, if not more.
Maria's appearance lent credence to his words. Her eyes were sunken, her face almost expressionless as she forced herself to climb the stairwell that led to the Hall. She had scarcely slept in the past several days, only eating when one of the doctors under her watch brought her a meal out of concern, before retreating just as quickly as the former hunter all but shouted for her to leave. Having isolated herself from her colleagues and friends, the only company Maria had left was the voice of Mother Kos, cursing her for the part she played on that fateful night.
"Mother is dead, her baby taken. Mother is dead, her baby taken!"
She hurried into the room where the elevator to the upper levels of the Research Hall was located, drowning out the stench of the dissolving bodies of the latest set of failures, which now seemed to number in the hundreds. She had been close so many times and even then, it had not been enough. So many had been reduced to shells of their former selves; skeletal, pale and begging for her help as their minds withered away, seemingly forgetting that they had only her to blame for their condition.
She closed the door as she entered the room, pressing her forehead against it as searing tears pour down her face. Despite this, she felt hollow. She had nothing left: no home, no family, no purpose. All that was left was a husk of what was once a proud warrior, an individual who's confidence radiated in every room she entered.
"Is that you, Lady Maria?" A voice rang out behind her, causing Maria to turn her head towards the source.
It was her. The blood saint that had volunteered for the process a few months ago, eager to be a part of something greater. She had shown promise from the start, so much so that Maria had taken her under her personal care, nurturing her into what she hoped would be the breakthrough she had been seeking for so long.
Yet as time went on, she found herself growing fond of the patient. She had been one of the few to have retained some semblance of sentience as her transformation progressed, allowing her to communicate no differently then if she were still a normal human. Maria had confided in her more times then she cared to admit, sitting and talking with her until the early hours of the morning. And unlike her other patients, she had even learned her name.
"Adeline. Forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude." She said to the patient, who was strapped to a chair on the other end of the room.
"No need to apologize, my lady. Tell me, how is Laurence? It has been long since I've spoken to him." Adeline said, her current condition leaving her unaware of Maria's current disgruntled state.
"He is well." She lied. "How are you feeling?" She gently asked, trying her hardest to hide her distress.
"Oh, I'm elated. I can hear it, plain as day. That wonderful sticky sound. Drip, drop. Slip, slop." She said before giggling in delight, which only served to worsen Maria's guilt.
"Tell me, Lady Maria. Do you think that water drips, even down deep below, at the bottom of the sea?"
Maria could not bring herself to answer her question, instead turning her head and moving towards the elevator in the room, desperate to rid herself of this depressing sight.
"My lady? Is something troubling you?" The Blood Saint's question froze Maria in her tracks. Somehow, she always seemed to know if she was having doubts.
"I'm simply tired, is all. I was just going to have a short rest." She lied, but it seemed Adeline saw right through it.
"Come now, there's no need to hide your troubles. Have a seat. I would be happy to listen."
The offer caught Maria off guard and after a few moments of indecision, she moved away from the elevator and sat herself down on a nearby chair.
"Do you think ill of me?" She asked her patient, who tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"Why would I?" Adeline asked.
"Do you not feel like you've been wronged by me? By the procedures I've had you undergo? By the way I've treated you like a specimen rather then a person?" Maria clarified; her voice devoid of any sort of emotion.
"Of course not. Before I came here, I was nothing. A simple blood-saint among dozens of others, all but invisible. But now, I have something that guides me…guides me towards something greater. And I owe it all to you." She earnestly admitted, but while she no doubt meant for it to elevate Maria's spirits, it had the complete opposite effect.
It broke her heart to see Adeline in such a state, relishing her growing insanity and swaying like an excited child as she was strapped to a chair, needles protruding from her arms as a result of her offering to provide her blood to treat the ever growing number of patients as their supply ran dry; remaining blissfully unaware of the sorry condition she was in. She deserved so much better than this. All of the patients in this hall did.
"Here. I wanted you to have this." Maria took out a key that she had used to access a balcony where she had gone to relish the smell of the gardens below and gently placed it in Adeline's hand.
"What is this, Lady Maria?" She asked, her voice full of curiosity.
"I'll be going away for the next little while. When someone comes by, show them this. They'll understand." She said to her, closing her fist around the key as she did so.
"When will you be back?" Adeline inquired, as Maria slightly tightened her hold on the patient's hand.
"I don't know." She said in reply, holding back tears.
Rising to her feet, Maria made her way to the lever that controlled the elevator to the upper levels of the Research Hall. She did not say a word as the contraption slowly made its way down, the sound of it's descent echoing throughout the room before the door finally opened.
"Good night, Lady Maria." Maria turned towards the patient one last time, forcing a small smile onto her face even though she could not see it.
"Farewell, Saint Adeline." She managed to choke out, stepping into the elevator and beginning her ascent to the upper floors, leaving her alone in her quarters.
After she exited the lift, Maria's back slumped against a nearby wall, sinking to the floor and pulling her knees against her chest. She pulled out a small container she had pocketed in the lower levels of the hall, her hand shaking as she felt the last semblance of warmth disappear. Burying her face in her hands, she descended into a fit of sobbing, the hurricane of guilt and hopelessness that raged within finally becoming too much for her to bear.
….
Maria was snapped awake by the tolling of the bell, her eyes darting around the room in a brief moment of panic. She had been spared from reliving the worst part of that night, where she had spiked her drink with poison and slowly perished, every moment filled with indescribable agony. Little did she know that her torment was just beginning.
These torturous visions had become a common occurrence in her time in the Nightmare, leaving her afraid of closing her eyes lest she relive another painful memory. But left with nothing to keep her occupied, she finally succumbed to her fatigue, dozing off in her chair as the smell of the flowers blew in from outside.
After collecting her bearings, she swept up her Rakuyo and moved towards the gates of the Clocktower, hoping that some fresh air would help calm her down. The massive Lumenwood in the gardens outside the Clocktower swayed in the breeze as Maria walked amongst the smaller flowers that grew around it, the space s a lot emptier without its celestial caretakers.
The beings that had resided in the gardens were the closest she had ever gotten to achieving the Church's goal of creating a being that can commune with the Great Ones. Years of trial and error, as well as overwhelming amounts of mind-numbing medicine, had let them evolve into something beyond human; but even then, the astral powers they had commanded were seen as the bare minimum. Thus, they were branded failures and were discarded as superfluous, leaving her no choice but to start anew.
The former hunter lowered herself to her knees as she admired the peculiar flowers, taking in their scent as she picked out what seemed to be the most developed of the bunch. She had always been fond of the plants, for they provided even a semblance of relief from the pungent smell of the halls below, both to her and to her patients. But they also served as a small reminder of the life she had left behind.
She hearkened back to her time training with Gehrman, of the vast field of white flowers that had bloomed beside the Workshop. It was there where she had matured as a warrior; slowly, but surely surpassing each of her fellow hunters in prowess. She still remembered the day when she had finally bested her mentor in a duel; it had been the only time out of hundreds she had managed it, but the prideful look in Gehrman's eyes had filled her with a joy that hasn't been trumped since.
Maria signed as she continued to stare at the flower. Those had been the happiest days of life; she had a place to call home, a community to call her own, her whole life carved out in front of her. How naïve she had been back then, not aware of the torment that awaited her. She had hoped the Church would fill the void that the hunt had left behind; but now, she would give anything to return to those times.
"Out for some air, I see?"
Maria was startled by the sudden noise, grabbing her weapon and spinning around to strike the intruder. As they skillfully blocked her incoming attack, her eyes widening as she recognized who it was.
"Zoran?!" She exclaimed as she saw the hunter griping the handle of his axe with both hands, his eyes widened in shock. "Gods, I'm so sorry…I could've killed you…" She breathlessly tried to apologize as she backed away from him, covering her face with her hand in embarrassment.
"Killed me again, you mean?" He corrected her, the casual way he referred to their bloody battles catching her by surprise.
"Right, but…still…" She slowly realized her mistake, with silence falling over the gardens as the two hunters caught their bearings.
"Look, if you're not in the mood, I can come back another time and…" Zoran started to say before she interrupted him.
"No, no, it's fine. I just…I still haven't grown used to this, is all." She admitted, looking of to the side before she remembered the topic of their last meeting. "Did you come to a decision?" She asked him.
"Yes, I…I visited Master Valtr just a couple hours ago to discuss that very thing. He seemed to know what I was there for before I even started speaking." He stated, also opting to pretend their violent greeting hadn't happened.
"And what did he say?" She continued, having regained her usual demeanor.
"He said that I was free to leave whenever I saw fit, but that he was somewhat disheartened that I was leaving. Apparently, he had higher hopes for me." He replied, seeming somewhat saddened as he did.
"How so?" She inquired, genuinely curious.
"He explained that he had long ago lost the ability to see the vermin that the League sought to exterminate, leaving him all but useless to our order. He has long been searching for someone to replace him, so he may return to the life of a simple confederate and leave the position of Master in more capable hands." As Zoran spoke, Maria realized the hopes Valtr had placed on him.
"Did you accept?" He stood in silence for a moment before responding.
"I was honored. Truly, I was, but…I unfortunately had to turn him down. I just can't see myself doing this forever. Besides, I'm no leader; never was, never will be." He appeared slightly downcast as he spoke, seemingly unsure if he had made the right decision.
"Zoran, you were not beholden to accept. If you don't think you're ready for that type of commitment, there's no shame in stepping back." She told him, stepping a little closer to him.
"I know, but…I felt like I owed it to him somehow. The League gave me a sense of camaraderie, a sense of purpose even; and to simply turn away an opportunity like that, when he truly thought I was worthy of it just feels wrong." Maria placed a hand on his shoulder, with the hunter looking up at her in slight surprise.
"But it was your decision to make, not his. Don't let a sense of duty cloud your judgement."
Zoran seemed to take a moment to ponder her words, eventually acknowledging them with a silent nod, with Maria offering a small smile in return.
"I presume that isn't the only reason you're here?" She asked.
"I suppose you can say I've come across a revelation of sorts since we last spoke." He said in response, eliciting a soft sigh from her.
"Come inside. Tell me what happened." She instructed him, leading him back into her sanctuary and allowing them to take their usual spots, with the hunter beginning his latest story.
…..
Looking over the edge of the railing, Zoran could see the interior of the Grand Cathedral, where he had discovered the late Vicar Amelia praying at the altar of the one who had built this institution from the ground up.
He did not know if she had been aware of the heinous acts the Choir had committed, but it would not have come as a great surprise. It seemed far more likely to him that the authority of the Vicar had been severely eroded in recent years, with the Choir and the School of Mensis engaging in a power struggle that enveloped all of Yharnam, as she found herself incapable of bringing them to heel.
Yet what he found in the Upper Cathedral Ward had shaken him to his very core, completely shattering any illusion as to the true nature of the Healing Church.
The orphanage of the Cathedral Ward had been a testing ground for the Choir's continued attempts to make contact with the Great Ones, devoted as they were to their fanatical view of themselves as their "delegation". Their emissaries had sprouted from the ground almost like weeds, threatening to overwhelm him before he managed to slay the one that was bending them to it's whim, freeing them from their painful existence.
This hadn't been the first time he had come into contact with the fruits of their labor, having discovered that the doctor Iosefka and the patients under her care had been transformed into similar creatures by a follower of the Choir, who had appropriated her clinic into a personal laboratory. He had slain the imposter, catching her in the act of attempting the ingestion of an unknown object, no doubt part of another twisted ritual.
The Great Ones. That's what it all came back to. The inherent desire to ascend humanity to a new plane of existence, where they could stand as one with the Gods. It was a goal that Byrgenwyrth, the Church and its successors had been willing to go to any lengths to achieve. And it had amounted to naught.
Zoran made his way to the elevator at the other end of the walkway, unsure of what other secret lay in wait. But as he entered what looked like a vast cavern, the inside of his head seemed to swell, as it often did when he stumbled upon something he shouldn't have.
An eldritch creature seemed to prostrate itself on the other end of the cavern, a few thin rays of light shining upon an altar resembling a creature he had slain to shatter the illusion of the world around him. The hunter cautiously approached it, tightly gripping his axe in preparation, ineffective as it may be against such a foe. Yet as he got closer, it did not pay him any attention, not so much as shifting as he waded through the knee-deep water and came to a rest right beside it.
A dozen tentacles lay in a heap around the creature, its almost skeletal wings drooping as its head rested against the ground. But instead of filling him with terror, it evoked a most unexpected feeling.
Pity.
Unsure of what to do, Zoran approached the creature, hesitantly reaching out a hand towards it's enormous, heaving head. Just as he was about to touch it, it suddenly began to rise from its stupor, water dripping from its head as it rose to its full height, towering over the hunter. Two green eyes protruded from a mess of tubes on either side of its head, a red mound of flesh at it's centre. Despite the disturbance, she did not attack, instead looking down at her visitor like a curious child would at an ant.
The hunter looked up at the forgotten Great One, its grotesque appearance giving way to a strange, otherworldly beauty, as if he were staring at the cosmos themselves. To think that there were so many more just like her, hiding in plain site in the world around him and whispering from the heavens without form. And that so many are still blissfully unaware of their existence.
Almost subconsciously, Zoran raised one arm above his head and extended another to the side, mimicking a statue that he had come across in the upper levels of the ward. The creature seemed to tilt its head to the side in curiosity, but did not seem to react beyond that, even as the hunter continued the position for almost a minute. He proceeded to slowly change the positions of his arms, moving them as if they were the hands of a clock and making it so he maintained the position on the other side.
After a few moments of tense silence, the Great One slowly lifted up two of it's twisted limbs and raised them over it's head, it's almost skeletal wings rising along with them. As this happened, Zoran gripped his weapon, preparing himself to move out of the way of the attack that would surely follow. However, he could see something forming above the creature; an exceptionally bright light. The hunter shielded his eyes from the blinding light as the creature threw it's limbs to either side and after he was certain that the sudden flash had passed, he opened his eyes. And the sight that met him made him audibly gasp.
The cave they were in was now darkened and all around him swirled thousands, if not millions of stars. He stared in awe at the expansive cosmos, his gaze slowly making it's way up towards the very center of this miniature universe. All of the stars seemed to be flowing into this singular ball of light, slowly rising higher and higher until they came together at that singular point. And as he stood there transfixed, a series of incomprehensible whispers erupted in his head, though they did not seem to cause him any pain even as they continued to grow in volume. Yet, it felt as if the thoughts in his mind were not his own, but rather the attempt of communication by some higher power. He could not make out the mutterings, but he somehow understood the emotions with which they were delivered. Pain. Loneliness. Regret.
He had never seen anything like it. It was...
"Beautiful..."
He finally tore his eyes away from the light as he heard someone speak in a strange, faintly feminine voice. His eyes darted around to discover that the creature, who had put on this display for him, was still there. It was itself looking up towards the light, yet somehow the way it did so made it seem as if it was...longing for it. There was a sense of melancholy about the creature as it continued to look up towards the heavens, not paying any attention to it's human visitor. And he now understood why.
This had been the being the Choir discovered deep within the Tombs, the one that had supposedly aided them in their research of the "cosmos", helping them peer into the great beyond. But she wasn't doing it out of charity, but for a very specific reason. She was trying to ascend as well.
Having been left behind by her fellow Great Ones, this creature was left alone in the labyrinth, looking towards the stars in a vain attempt to achieve the greatness she was supposedly destined for. To that end, she had provided the Choir with her blood, which they used to perfect the methods of the Research Hall and transform the orphans under their watch into true Kin.
But the failures continued to pile up and soon, the Choir was on it's last legs, it's scholars succumbing to the beastly scourge one by one. And through it all, she remained here; abandoned and all but forgotten, yearning to transcend this limited plane of existence.
The light began to dissipate and soon, the breathtaking display of stars faded away to reveal the depressing cavern the two of them were in. The creature lowered it's head and drooped it's wings, it's emotionless mess of flesh and tubes doing little to hide it's sadness from him. Zoran found himself wanting to help it in some way, not wanting to live it trapped here. But what was he, a mere mortal, to do?
"What is your name?" He verbally asked, unsure of whether the creature would even understand him. Much to his surprise, it looked in his direction and after curiously looking down at him for a little while, projected another message into his mind.
"Ebrietas.." That voice again. It sounded so...sorrowful.
"You want to be up there. Among the stars with your brethren." He stated this more as an acknowledgement then a question.
"Yes." Much like last time, this message caused something to write deep within his head. He could tell that this was the most he would get from her: single words and simple phrases. It was clearly difficult enough for her to communicate with him like this; the fact that he could understand her at all was itself a miracle. This was no doubt what Willem had been seeking for so long, to bring his thoughts to a level where they would even come close to matching those of a being of her splendor. Yet instead of feeling pride or joy, Zoran found himself sharing in this "Ebrietas's" sadness. And he understood now why she had shown him that brief glimpse of a higher plane.
"What must I do?" He asked her.
Ebrietas began to lower herself down so her head was mere inches away from the hunter, dozens of black eyes staring back at him. At first, he was unsure of how to continue, afraid that even the slightest movement would startle the creature. Yet it didn't so much as budge, instead appearing as if it was beckoning him forward.
And suddenly, a single, desperate plea passed through Zoran's mind.
"Free….me…."
The hunter looked up at the Great One, who's expressionless mess of flesh now seemed to be plagued with sadness. He had no idea how he could possibly honor her request, how a mere mortal could possibly kill a being of her power, much less in a way that was humane. Eventually, he pulled out a long silver sword that had been a common weapon amongst the hunters of the Church and approached the creature, who did not move from her position.
He hovered the blade just in front of the Great One's head, its numerous eyes closing in anticipation. Placing a hand on the center of its head, Zoran slowly eased the blade into the exposed flesh, which the creature did not even seem to react to, as minor of a wound that it was to one it's size. He kept the sword embedded in its head, staying in his position for an untold amount of time until its stirring tentacles seemed to go limp. In short time, her body began to fade into a ethereal white particles, until the Great One's entire body had fully dissipated. Still holding the blood covered sword, Zoran watched as they traveled up to the small opening at the top of the cave, where a few rays of light from the outside still poured in.
"Be one with the sky, Daughter of the Cosmos." He uttered to the late Great One.
Turning to leave the cave, the hunter took one more look at the weapon he was carrying, before wordlessly discarding it into the water and continuing on his way to the lift that had brought him here. As he exited the desolate building, Zoran did not look back for even a moment as he crossed the bridge that led to the Healing Church workshop, the skyline of the city they had pushed to the brink of destruction layed out below him. But as he made his way further away from the building, he could make out a single, broken message.
"Thank…you…"
…...
Maria leaned back in her chair; her head hung low as she listened to the horrific revelations. All the things that Zoran had described: The Choir, the exploration of the labyrinths, the usage of orphaned children as test subjects; had all stemmed from this very building. From the very experiments she had overseen and abetted.
To think that the Church had gone in the direction that it did only worsened her already overwhelming guilt, as even in death, she had somehow managed to bring misery to countless more innocent souls. This was the legacy she had left behind.
"Are you alright?" She looked up at her visitor, having almost forgotten he was there.
"Yes, of course." She swiftly responded, trying to mask her shock from the concerned hunter. How had it come to the point when the Church was willing to kidnap and experiment on orphaned children, for a goal that she had long tried and failed to achieve. Unless…
"He's gone, isn't he?" Zoran seemed to immediately understand who she was referring to, silently nodding. "Did he at least die human?" This time all the hunter did was turn his head to the side, but his silence provided all the information she needed.
Their relations have never been ideal, in no small part because of the distrust Laurence exhibited towards her due to her Vileblood heritage in the first few years they knew each-other. But a mutual respect was eventually established between them, though she hesitated to call them "friends"; rather close and trusted colleagues. In any case, she received no joy from the news of his passing. She had recognized that Laurence had not been acting himself in the last few times she had spoken with him, becoming more erratic and obsessive in his decision-making and shutting himself away from his followers, as if he were hiding something. Really, it should've been obvious to her what he was hiding.
"What was he like?" Zoran suddenly asked, drawing her attention once again. "Almost everything about present day Yharnam can be traced back to him, but beyond that, I have no idea who he really was." Maria looked of to the side as she struggled to formulate a reply.
"Laurence, well…let's just say he had a lot to prove." She stated simply.
"From the beginning he was convinced that what he was doing was just and most of us followed him without question, all while he ensured that the more radical members of the Church were kept in line. But Laurence's ambition was terminal. He was brilliant, that much is certain; but it was clear to anyone who knew him that he was desperate to escape Willem's shadow." And Maria knew Laurence well; maybe too well.
"He was the one who authorized your experiments, was he not? If he was trying to set himself apart, why would he take so much inspiration from him?" He asked in a tone that made it clear he had doubts about the picture she painted of him.
"Laurence and Willem were ultimately striving towards the same goal, the only major difference being the methods with which they went about trying to achieve it. He allowed this hall to operate in order to appease those that still remained devoted to Willem's vision, but made it distinctly clear that all the experiments were to be strictly voluntary and limited to members of the Church only." She continued.
"Part of the reason I was here was because he asked me to keep them in line, but from the beginning it was clear that they answered to Laurence, not me. And when it seemed that his authority was slipping, they began to grow more…ambitious in their efforts." She revealed, which seemed to come of great surprise to the hunter.
"And the blood? If he knew of its effects, why did he insist on administering it to the masses?" Zoran inquired, still skeptical as to the true nature of Laurence's character.
"Believe it or not, he truly believed the Old Blood could be used as a source of good and took it upon himself to find a way to quell it's more…unsavory side-effects. As time went on, this goal turned into an obsession and as the scale of the scourge accelerated, he became desperate. He hid the connections between beast hood and his treatments, trying to shift the blame on the growing number of new arrivals to Yharnam while granting Ludwig sweeping authority in order to combat the scourge. But soon his mind began to crumble and the foundations of the Church crumbled with him." Her eyes drifted to the floor as she found herself wondering how the Church would've looked like had Laurence's vision come to pass, of the good he could've done.
"Well, I'm sure you know the saying. The road to hell is paved with good intentions." She paused briefly then, her eyes shifting to the side.
"I would know."
A brief silence settled over the Clocktower as neither hunter seemed to know what to say. Maria's attention settled on a small wooden cross that hung from a chain around Zoran's neck; it lacked the intricate design of the symbol carried by hunters of the Church and had an additional two crossbeams, with the bottom one slanted. She recognized it as a symbol of the Orthodox Church, an institution that hadn't held sway in these lands since the days of the Romans.
"Would you consider yourself a religious man, Zoran?" She asked him, which drew his attention back to her.
"Before coming here, I was. Devoutly, at that. But discovering that not only are the Gods real, but that they are hidden in plain sight, completely uncaring for our plights unless they can make some use of us is…it's a lot to take in." He admitted, a small smile forming on her face as she remembered the first time she had been made aware of the existence of the Great Ones.
"Easy to feel insignificant, isn't it?" She said, more as a statement then a question.
"That's putting it lightly. It's almost like everything I thought I knew has just...evaporated. Knowing what I know now, I can't possibly return to the life I had before; because even if I purge all these wretched eyes from my head, I know they're there. And to make matters worse, no one is going to believe me."
Maria mulled over his words. So many had gone mad in pursuit of these eldritch Gods, yet so many more were unaware that they even existed; dismissing those who recognized the unfortunate truth as heretics and madmen. But in her time, she found that enlightenment seldom led to prosperity.
"Knowledge has always been a double-edged sword. Many brilliant minds went unnoticed during their lifetimes, their insight dismissed as heresy. Some folded and took the truth to the grave, while others remained steadfast in their views. And overtime, their ideas would become engraved into how we view the world." She paused briefly before continuing, with Zoran listening to her address with a keen interest.
"Knowledge on it's own is neither a curse nor a blessing. How you choose to use it is what tips that scale."
After she had finished, Zoran began to slowly clap his hands, causing her to tilt her head in confusion at his actions.
"How very profound..." He stated in such a manner that she wasn't sure if he was being sincere or if he was teasing her.
"I'm just happy to see that you're getting something from this." She responded, choosing to play along.
"Oh, by all means, do go on. We'll be sure to fulfill Old Willem's vision in no time." He jested, his sudden shift in conduct baffling Maria.
"Very funny." Was all she managed to respond with. As the two sat in silence, Maria scrambled to find a way to continue the conversation.
"Since we're on the subject, remind me again. How did you manage to communicate with that creature?" She inquired, the method he had used was still unclear to her.
"Funny you should ask, actually. Just before, I ran across a rather peculiar statue...or at least I hope it was a statue." He began, though she failed to see how it was relevant to her question.
"And?" She encouraged him to continue, deciding to humor him.
Well, see, it was staring at the moon and it's arms were raised in this very strange position; like it was trying to contact something. I guess it just…popped into my head at that moment." He explained, leaving Maria in a state of disbelief.
"You made contact with a Great One…by improvising?" She stated in a mixture of confusion and amusement.
"I suppose you can say that." He lightheartedly replied, leaving Maria even more curious.
"Show me how."
Zoran looked at her with a slight uncertainty, taken aback by the request. He soon rose to his feet, raising one arm overhead and extending another to the side, his position almost mimicking the hands of the clock behind him. Maria covered her mouth with one of her hands, stifling a laugh as she took in the ridiculous sight before her.
"What?" The hunter asked in surprise and more then a little embarrassment.
"You'll forgive me, it's just…" She began as she regained her composure, even though she could not shake the smile that formed on her face. "You look absolutely ridiculous."
He didn't say anything in response, instead opting to shift the positioning of his arms so they formed a parallel pattern. As he did so, she could've sworn she saw him raise one his eyebrows upwards, almost as if he were smiling back at her. She slightly shook her head in amusement, both at his comical position and what it represented.
"So after all this time, I would've had better luck raising my hands to the heavens and hoping for a response." She remarked, eliciting a slight chuckle from her visitor, who finally decided to lower his arms.
"Before I forget, I…I have something for you." He said as he reached into the bag that was strapped over his shoulder.
Maria could only look back in surprise as he pulled out a collection of books, before approaching her and offering them to her.
"You'll get more use out of them then I. Besides, I imagine it can get quite dull here." He explained, though Maria had still not shaken of the surprise his actions had instilled in her.
She hesitantly accepted his offer, taking the books in her hands and briefly observing the spines of each book, finding works authored by Von Goethe, Hugo and Chaucer. She began to wonder where he had gotten these, as to her knowledge Zoran had not expressed a particular interest in literature. That's when an obscure memory found its way into her mind.
"These are Gehrman's, aren't they?" She asked, realizing she was holding a small part of the Workshop in her hands.
"I may have…appropriated a few of his books. If he knew, he didn't try to stop me." He acknowledged, with Maria looking up at him with a look of slight astonishment on her face, which soon shifted into a smile.
"An odd hunter you are indeed. Thank you." She said in earnest, looking on as Zoran bowed his head and moved to leave the Clocktower, disappearing through its gates once again.
After he had left, Maria began to read, yet no matter how long she spent poring over the books, she did not tire. She had developed a love for reading during her time at the workshop, something she had been unable to do with Cainhurst's strict censorship laws. Though with the sheer size of Gehrman's collection, she had never been able to properly go through them all. Happy to have something to take her mind of the nightmare that swirled around her, she ended up finishing all three novels by the time he returned.
He brought three more with him.
...
Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this lore-heavy chapter. It may seem a bit odd how the last two chapters pretty much turned into character studies, but I really wanted to devote some time to the two most important concepts in all of Bloodborne, which I felt I unjustly skimmed over last time. Some may disagree with my characterization of Laurence, but I always saw him as someone who aimed to leave a lasting, positive impact on humanity and ultimately became blind to the suffering he caused, desperate as he was to achieve what he thought was his destiny.
Oh and in case you're curious, the books were The Sorrows of Young Werther, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Canterburry Tales. Make of that what you will.