The incense of Oedon Chapel greeted Zoran as he faded in from the Hunter's Dream, glancing around the sanctuary to find that all the people he had sent there were still there. The old women rested in a chair by the right-hand exit, seeming a lot calmer than she was when he had last spoken-or rather attempted to speak to her. The narrow-minded man aptly reclined on a pedestal at the back of the Chapel, the mere act of convincing him to come here serving as a greater challenge then most beasts he's encountered thus far. The blood-saint Adella sat on a fallen pillar, turning her head to the newly-arrived hunter and smiling at him, with the hunter offering a slight nod in response.

After being abducted by an overwhelmingly powerful brute, he found himself trapped in an unfamiliar part of the city, where he happened upon the blood saint kneeling in terrified prayer not far from his crumbling cell. Himself unsure of how to escape, Zoran took her along with him so they could search for a way out of the area together, not keen on the idea of setting her out on her own in so perilous a location; she did prove herself capable of defending herself to an extent, but that meant little in the face of the odds they faced. They eventually found their way out and in gratitude, Adella offered him a vial of her blood, an offer he had to turn down. Instead, he gave her a strange weapon that Gilbert had given him some time ago, telling her to keep it close by in order to protect herself and the others if need be.

Turning around, he saw another of the people he had brought to the chapel kneeling in front of its watcher, appearing to be locked in conversation with him. They were an odd pair, to be sure, but seeing the deformed Samaritan happily conversing with the prostitute brought a smile to Zoran's face. As he observed them, he saw another figure just behind Arianna, who peeked out from behind her and noticed his presence.

"Mr. Hunter!" The little girl exclaimed as she ran towards him, her face alight with joy. He knelt down as she approached, letting her envelop him in a hug.

"Hello, little one." He warmly greeted her as he returned her embrace. "You settling in alright?" He asked her as he pulled away, his hands on her shoulders as he looked at the orphaned girl.

"Yes, I'm okay. The man in red was terribly kind to let me stay here." She answered, albeit with a hint of sadness. Not that it should've come of any surprise to him.

With both of her parents now dead and her older sister missing, she had been left alone in her family home, with no means of defending herself. Not wanting to leave her for dead, Zoran had offered to escort her to the nearest safe-haven, carrying her on his back as he made his way towards Oedon Chapel. As they ventured through the area where her parents had met their gruesome end, he had asked her to close her eyes, a demand she must not have followed in full, as she had tears in her eyes when he set her down in the lower level of the Chapel. Seeing there was no use in hiding the truth from her, he gave her the red jeweled brooch her mother had carried; comforting her as she mourned the loss of her family.

"I wish mum and dad were here, Mr. Hunter. They...really would've liked this place." She said with a sniffle, Zoran's heart sinking as he observed the heart-wrenching sight before him. No one deserved to experience such pain, especially at so young an age. The least he could do was ensure that she survived the night. As it was, he owed her father a debt.

"You know I'll miss them, too. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to save them." He apologized to the girl.

"You don't need to be. It wasn't your fault." She told him, managing to compose herself if even a little. Whether she knew or not that Zoran had been the one who killed her father, he wasn't sure; but she had more then enough weight on her shoulders as is.

"Once this is over, we'll make sure that you'll find a new home. I promise." He swore to her, with the little girl looking up at him with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Can I stay with you, Mr. Hunter?" She asked, the hunter taken aback by the question.

"I would love to, but...I don't exactly have a foothold in this town, see?" He explained to her in as simple a way he could, which she seemed to understand regardless.

"Oh. Oh, okay. But, you'll still be here, right?" She questioned, seemingly worried he was leaving.

"Of course. I'm not going anywhere." He assured her.

The woman of the night cleared her throat, causing both the hunter and the girl to look in her direction. She had been patiently waiting for them to conclude their conversation. standing by the side with her arms crossed as she smiled at them.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Mr. Hunter, this is Mrs. Arianna. She's been..." She started to introduce the woman to him before Arianna cut her off.

"It's alright, dear. We've already been introduced. Just wait for me while I have a quick chat with our friend here. I'll be back with you in just a moment, okay?" She told the girl, showing considerable gentleness with her.

"Okay. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." She said with a nod of her head as she went off to the opposite end of the chapel.

Zoran rose to his feet as the new arrival approached him, who softly smiled as she watched the girl walk away.

"Well, hello again. You weren't lying. This is a safe place." She warmly greeted him, stopping just a few steps in front of him.

"Already making connections, I see?" He humorously asked her, noting her apparent fondness for the girl.

"Oh, she came to me, believe it or not. She was still rather scared of the one in red and the others weren't paying her much attention, so I figured I'd give her some company. Not that I'm complaining, that is. She's a good kid." Arianna explained, sighing as she observed her attempting to strike up a conversation with Adella, who seemed unsure on how to approach the situation.

"So, the whole towns turned, has it?" She observed, gazing over at the other residents as Zoran turned along with her. "Quite a big family now, aren't we? Though, I'm afraid I seem to be the black sheep…" She was rather blunt in her statement, causing the hunter to softly chuckle.

"Guess that makes two of us." He said, the Lady of the Night smiling in response.

"Thank you, again. I really do owe you a debt." She softly expressed.

"You ought to be thanking him." He lightly pointed his head in the direction of the Samaritan. "This is his Chapel. I was just the messenger." He stated, not wanting to get sole credit for this undertaking.

"Oh, don't you worry. I made sure to express my gratitude for his hospitality. Few would be willing to take others in during so perilous a night, especially without asking for anything in return." She assured him, no insincerity present in her words. She continued.

"Still, I'd like to tender my thanks, but…I haven't much to offer, as you can probably tell." Zoran found himself flustered, as well as being grateful that his shocked expression was hidden from the woman's eyes. When he looked away from her in embarrassment, the escort lightly laughed, clearly amused by his reaction.

"You're not from around here, are you dear?" She queried, with the hunter finding himself puzzled by her question.

"What gave me away?" He rebounded, trying to recover from his apparent gaffe.

"What you're thinking off doesn't exactly sell in this town anymore, darling. From what I understand, once you get the Church's fancy blood in your system, the only thing you want is more. So, in order to get by, I had to…change the nature of my services." She explained, with Zoran realizing almost immediately what she went.

"I see, then. Forgive me, I must've misunderstood." He calmly apologized, though Arianna softly smiled soon after.

"Off course, if you're interested…" She began, but Zoran interjected before she got the wrong idea.

"No…no, that won't be necessary. Just don't go back out there and you can consider us even." He dismissed, with the escort once again chuckling at his discomfort.

"Very well. But, if you have a change of heart, the offer still stands." She said to him before moving towards the set of stairs that led to where the other refugees were located.

"We are still talking about your blood, right?" He asked her as she walked away, with his bold remark seemingly taking her by surprise.

"Whatever suits your fancy, dear. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a word with the nun." She said in reply.

With that bizarre exchange finally concluded, Zoran approached the host of the Chapel, who appeared much more joyful then when they last spoke. He had come dangerously close to killing the figure in front of him when he first arrived here, though he strangely did not react even when he brandished his axe. After that, he decided to listen to what he had to say and seeing no reason to doubt his words, complied with his request, hopeful as he was that the few survivors who remain would be safe here.

"Ahh, kind hunter. Welcome back. Please, make yourself at home." The Samaritan proclaimed, pure joy in his voice.

"Oh, I won't be staying long. Just wanted to see how the new arrivals are settling in. I hope they haven't given you too much trouble." Zoran said, with the Dweller nervously laughing in response.

"Well, they don't offer me much in terms of conversation, that's for certain. Except for that one lady you sent over, that is. She doesn't mince words, but she's a kind one. I can tell." Zoran looked over to see Arianna attempting to speak with Adella, who did not seem fond of the prospect.

"Well, what are we outsiders to do?" He stated with a slight shrug, looking down at the disfigured man with a smile. "You seem quite cheerful, considering." He noted.

"Well, you see… I sort of hoped that, my asking you, turned out to, you know, help 'em out in the end… I've never been of any use to anyone, you see… Just, happy about it, is all." He explained, with Zoran softly smiling behind his mask.

"I don't suppose there's anyone out there worth saving anymore, but you did all ya could. This here Chapels a haven for so many now, thanks to you." The Samaritan expressed.

"Come now, don't sell yourself short. This is your domain, not mine." The hunter reminded him, though he knew that the Dweller meant what he said.

"Maybe so, but we both know those folks would've told me off faster than they could blink. But you…you went out of your way to point them in the direction of this place, even though most of 'em want nothing to do with ya. Amazing, really. Not' cause you're a hunter, but because you're you."

Zoran found himself at a loss for words. It's been long since he'd had such kind words expressed about him, even before he came to Yharnam. Just as he was about to speak again, the Dweller let out a light sigh.

"Makes me think, once dawn breaks, maybe I can just, you know, start over. Makes it easier to bear all o'this, you see?" He remarked, what appeared to be a genuine smile appearing on his face.

"Wouldn't that be the dream." Zoran finally spoke, before turning towards the lantern in the center of the Chapel.

"If you please, kind hunter… When the night of the hunt passes, s'pose, we could be friends, maybe?" The Samaritan's sudden request stopped him in his tracks, the hunter turning around to look at the dweller in surprise.

"Now, I know I hardly deserve it, but… Give it a thought, if you wouldn't mind, o'course." After a brief silence, Zoran moved back to where the Dweller rested and knelt down in front of him.

"I'd be happy to."

The Dweller's face suddenly contorted in surprise, as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Wh…what?" He sputtered.

"Come to think of it, I don't believe we've been formally introduced. Do you have a name?" Zoran inquired, with the Dweller seemingly scrambling for an answer.

"I, I… I may've once, but…I'm afraid it's lost to me now." He admitted, still appearing surprised that this conversation was happening at all. The hunter looked idly off to the side, slightly saddened by this revelation.

"Well then, I'm sure we'll think of something. As for me, my name is Zoran. Pleasure to meet you." He said as he extended his hand. Despite his apparent blindness, the Dweller seemed to recognize the gesture, slowly extending his own malformed hand and tightly gripping the hunter's arm, nervously laughing all the while.

"Don't overdo it, now." Zoran politely warned, trying his hardest to hide the discomfort he felt from the force of his grip.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The Dweller said as he loosened his grip. "I'm just… overjoyed, really. That you'd even give me the time o'day! You've really made life easier. Thank you." He expressed, with Zoran bowing his head in respect.

"Pleasure was all mine."

With that, he rose to his feet and once again made his way towards the lamp, casting a glance to the right corner of the chapel to find Gascoigne's daughter sitting beside Adella on the pillar and offering her hand to the Nun, who hesitantly accepted it as Arianna seemed to giggle at the sight before her, the two elderly Yharnamites looking on in bewilderment as this happened. Zoran then knelt down before the lantern and held out his hand, fading back into the Dream with a wide smile on his face.

…..

Quite some time later, the hunter stood in the middle of a vast empty hall, having just slain an enormous beast that guarded a chalice that would grant him passage to the next set of labyrinths. He had managed to make a hefty amount of progress, finally finding his way through the Forbidden Woods and slaying the guardians that awaited him at the end. He had also found another survivor to send back to Oedon Chapel, running into him in a dimly lit cabin in the middle of the forest, seemingly fleeing from one of the beasts plaguing the area.

Zoran suddenly remembered that he had not visited the haven in a while and was curious to see if the man had made it there in one piece, considering how far he had to travel to get there. Having spent the last several hours making his way through this labyrinth, he figured it was about time for a well-deserved rest. Focusing his thoughts on the Hunter's Dream, he went through the usual motions and soon found himself awakening within the Chapel, met with the pleasant scent of it's beast-repelling incense…

And the stench of blood.

The hunter froze in shock at the sight before him, his eyes widening in horror. Adella's body lay in a heap close to the pillar she had claimed, her neck bent at an unnatural angle with a horrified expression etched on her face; the weapon he had given her was destroyed, it's pieces scattered across the floor. Everyone else was nowhere to be found, but Zoran could see Arriana's shoes lying by the pillar where the blood saint had sat, leaving him to praying that it meant she and the girl had managed to escape the carnage. That only left…

"Kind…hunter…" A weak voice called out behind him, sending a chill down the hunter's spine. He slowly turned around, his throat constricting as he laid eyes on the source.

The Dweller lay sprawled out among several destroyed pots, his tattered robes stained with blood as he struggled to draw breath. Zoran ran towards him, kneeling down and desperately holding up his hand.

"Gods above, what happened?!" He hastily questioned, panic gripping him.

"He…he came in from the outside. They're dead…savaged and murdered every one! A beast, here… why…?" The Dweller feebly questioned, yet even as he said those words, everything seemed to click into place. The beggar was also nowhere to be found.

"Be still. The woman and the girl. Where are they? If they ran off, they may yet be alive. I can still save them." The hunter tried to give his friend some semblance of hope, who appeared to be on the verge of tears as he tightened his hold on his hand.

"I only wanted to help… Just once in my life… They told me it would never work… My mum always told me, everybody kept telling me… I should've known, I should've…" The dweller's breathing grew weaker as he attempted to string the words together, guilt hanging over every word.

"No, don't say that. You did help these people, more then you can imagine. Please, just hold on-I'll find the one who did this and make them pay." Zoran practically pleaded with the Dweller, holding back the tears that welled in his eyes as he realized he was partly responsible for his predicament.

"Gods, please, I'm sorry, so sorry…" He begged for forgiveness, his voice growing faint. Very soon, his movements ceased and his grip on the hunter's hands loosened.

Zoran tightened his hold on the deceased Dweller's hand, his tears finally escaping from their confines as his heart seemed to sink into his stomach. He had trusted him, given him a place to retreat from the terror of the outside without asking anything in return, except for a simple request to inform any remaining survivors of his safe haven. And now, he was just another victim, but unlike the others, he had died completely unseen, without so much as a name.

"Stay back, you monster!" The hunter was snapped from his mourning by a loud scream, which seemed to come from the direction of the staircase of the Grand Cathedral. Releasing the dwellers hand, he ran out the leftward exit, brandishing his axe and pistol in preparation. Outside, he saw no sign of Arianna nor the beggar, but then he heard another cry coming from further up the staircase, causing him to run towards it.

The first thing he saw was Arianna's body lying on the top steps, her blood flowing down the stairs as a torch lay nearby. But as he neared the top, he could make out a pair of voices. And what he heard made his blood boil.

"Oh-hoh, quite a feisty pair of wenches, weren't they? Such a shame, too. There was something very special about that one." The beggar said, holding a serrated dagger in one of his hands as he stalked towards the horrified little girl, who was crawling away from him with tears in her eyes.

"Leave me alone, you evil...…!" The girl defiantly exclaimed, before being cut off when the man clasped her mouth shut with his hand and lifted her up with minimal effort, slamming her into the closed gate behind her; the orphan looking back with unbridled terror in her eyes as she struggled to escape his grip.

"Hmmm. I'm not exactly the picky sort, but I've never been very fond of children. Most of the time they're just not worth the effort." He noted while hovering the blade just in front of her stomach. "Still, you know what they say. The more, the merrier..."

The beggar froze when he heard the sound of a gun cocking, turning around to find the hunter pointing his flintlock pistol at him, barely paying any attention to the bleeding stab wound on his shoulder nor his charred skin.

"Ah, hello again." He greeted in mock politeness, not showing an ounce of fear. The girl muffled something that was obscured by the beggar's hand, as if she were trying to warn him. But Zoran didn't pay any attention to it, glaring at the bone-thin man with complete disdain.

"Put. Her. Down." He ordered, his voice dripping with venom. The beggar's only response was to grin at him in defiance.

"Very poor choice of words, mate."

Zoran was unable to react in time as the beggar plunged the dagger into the girl's stomach, her cry being muffled by his hand. The hunter let a shot fly, striking the murderer in the back and causing him to loosen his grip on both the girl and the knife; running up to him and swinging the axe with all his might, leaving a deep gash on his side as the beggar cried out in pain. The murderer caught Zoran by surprise by flinging his head back and striking the hunter in the face, loosening his grip on his weapon as he stumbled back from the blow. He then elbowed him the stomach and followed up with an uppercut that sent him flying back, tumbling down a few steps and leaving him short of breath.

The beggar rushed down the steps towards him just as he rose to his feet, but this time Zoran was prepared; blocking his incoming strike with his forearm and landing three consecutive blows to his stomach. The hunter then thrust both of his hands forward, staggering his opponent before bringing down both fists over his head and spinning around with all the strength he could muster, striking the beggar across the face and knocking him to the ground. Not wanting to waste anymore time, he ran back up the stairs and to the little girls's side, preparing one of his vials in order to safe her.

But she did not even stir as he knelt down beside her, looking up at the blackened sky with no light in her eyes. Not wanting to believe it, Zoran moved in to check for a pulse, holding on to a faint hope that she was simply in shock. But there was no sign of life as he placed his fingers on her neck.

"No. No, no, wake up. Please, wake up..." He softly pleaded as he attempted to shake her awake, despite knowing it was pointless.

She was gone. They all were.

"I really do owe you a terrible lot. Finding me such a nice place to live… Oh-hoh… This is simply a smashing place." The beggar mockingly thanked him as he made his way up the steps, clenching his jaw and lightly laughing after he had concluded.

Zoran's hand began to shake, every semblance of his being seething with hatred. Plucking his axe of the ground, he spun around and rushed towards the beggar, thrusting the tip forward and sending him flying back. The enraged hunter then launched himself forward as he ran and attempted to bring his axe down on the beggar, who rolled out of the way as he landed. Not ready to let him get away, he slammed into the murderer with all his might and pinned him to a nearby wall. As his target attempted to push him back, he pulled back a fist and punched him in the face, staggering the beggar. Tossing his axe aside and gripping him by the throat, he brought his clenched fist down on his face again and again, not letting up for a second as his nose shattered beneath his blows. Yet through it all, he just kept on smiling.

"You sniveling bastard! I'm going to string you up like the filthy beast you are!" Zoran cried out in rage as he continued to beat the beggar. As he brought down his fist for yet another blow, the man stopped the blow with his palm, showing a surprising amount of strength for his appearance.

"A beast, am I?" Before Zoran could react, the man grabbed him by the neck and threw him away, his arms flailing as he sailed through the air. He eventually crashed into a downtrodden carriage, pain enveloping his entire body as he lay sprawled across the ground. He barely managed to pull out a blood vial and plunge it into his thigh to bring some relief from his injuries, his blurry vision adjusting to find the beggar descending the steps.

"Oh, you are a sick puppy! You drink the blood of half the town, and now this?!" The man's words seemed to be much more spiteful then before, stumbling down the last few steps and falling to his knees as his body began to writhe in pain. "And you call me a beast?" He yelled out as his feeble body started to transform into a creature more then three times his original size, his fur crackling with sparks of electricity.

"You hunters have got far more blood on your hands!"

Zoran weakly rose to his feet just as the beast rushed towards him with an unexpected burst of speed, it's enormous arm sailing past him and shattering the carriage behind him. Not letting up, he attempted to strike the hunter with his claws two more times and bringing both of his fists down in front of him, forcing Zoran back. Clearly outmatched in terms of raw power, the hunter rushed to reclaim his dropped weapon and turned to find the creature chasing after him, mindlessly swing in front of him with an seemingly pained yell.

Going on the offensive, the hunter cleaved into the beast's arm with his axe, though this only seemed to enrage him further. Slamming its free hand into the ground, it summoned a lingering bolt of lightning seemingly from thin air, catching Zoran off guard and sending him flying into the air. Landing on the ground with a crash, he rolled off to the side as his attacker attempted to crush him with his massive fists, each strike leaving a small crater in the ground.

"Die! Die, Die! Hunters are killers, nothing less!" The enraged beast yelled out as their battle grew more intense. "And you call me a beast? A beast?! What would you know?! I didn't ask for this!" Zoran blocked out his guttural voice, having finally managed to gain the upper hand, nimbly evading his careless attacks and whittling down his strength bit by bit. He wasn't going to let him escape his punishment.

The two combatants found themselves on opposite ends of the arena, the beast roaring at him before charging at him yet again. Fully prepared for the attack, Zoran ducked underneath the attack and swung his transformed axe in an arch, embedding it in the beast's leg. As he reacted to the pain, the hunter pulled the axe back and swung it once more, severing his leg with a yell. As the transformed beggar collapsed the ground, Zoran swiftly jumped on his thrashing body and before it could shake him off, brought his axe down on his cranium.

But he wasn't done yet. Raising his axe overhead, he brought it down on the beast's head again and again, not stopping until he was completely exhausted. Despite his efforts, the transformed beggar continued to hold onto life, weakly gasping for air even as the top half of its head was left as an unrecognizable mess.

"Rancid beasts…every last…one of us…" Those were the last words the beggar spoke before he finally perished, his blood red eyes seemingly staring into Zoran's very soul.

When he was sure he was dead, the hunter tumbled of its corpse and landed on the ground in exhaustion, the unyielding nature of their battle not even giving him a chance to heal his wounds. After resting on the ground for an untold amount of time, he weakly began to climb the staircase, the menial task appearing nigh insurmountable after his ordeal. He weakly stumbled over to the girl's lifeless body, dropping to his knees and gently taking her in his arms as his hands shook. Looking at the blade still embedded in her stomach, he came to a startling realization.

It was Adella's.

He had remembered that the blood saint had appeared to have grown fond of the girl as well, having realized that her father had once been a hunter of the Church. Her and Arianna had taken it upon themselves to look after the girl, though Adella had obviously believed the escort to be a bad influence on her. At least, originally.

He had not taken either of them up on their offering of blood, which he hypothesized to be the source of the animosity the Blood Saint displayed towards Arianna. The few times he had visited the Chapel after her arrival, he noticed that the two women had grown unexpectedly close, freely conversing as Gascoigne's daughter rested against them. The old man had even made an offhanded comment about how the two would sometimes sneak off to the lower levels of the Chapel together, but wasn't entirely sure what they did there; although he had his suspicions.

The incense must've repelled the invader for some time, leaving him to scout out the Chapel from the outside and pick off it's residents one by one. The two elderly Yharnamites were his first victims, leaving the building and being ambushed by the beggar before being taken away. Adella had gone looking for them no doubt, managing to escape before she ended up like them and rushing back to the Chapel to warn the others, at which point the beggar invaded the haven by force. As this happened, Adella ordered Arianna to take the girl and to attempt to escape by rushing towards the Grand Cathedral, not knowing that the gate had been shut by the beggar to prevent anyone escaping his clutches. In desperation, the Blood Saint had attempted to protect them, barely slowing him down before being overpowered; not knowing that her efforts had been in vain.

Zoran held the deceased girl in his arms as he broke down in tears, rocking back and forth as he was hit with the reality of his situation. Without him, this monster would not have found this place. And everyone within would still be alive.

They had been given the chance to wait out the night in safety, to see the morning sun and try to start their lives anew. And now that morning would never come.

And it was all his fault.

…..

Zoran sat with his eyes set to the floor, trying his hardest to contain himself. No matter how hard he tried to wipe them from his memory, the images from that gruesome night seemed to be forever etched in his mind. He had been correct in his thoughts, finding the mangled bodies of the two missing Yharnamites just in front of the temple leading to Old Yharnam, along with several other infected victims. He had taken the time to arrange the victims of the massacre side by side in the middle of the Chapel, covering their faces with pieces of cloth; all the while, he had to contend with the crushing silence that blanketed the supposed safe-haven. Once his work was finally finished, he had sunk to his knees, completely breaking down for the first time that night.

After he recovered some semblance of control, he set the body of the beast that carried out the massacre ablaze, leaving his body to burn as he retreated to the Hunter's Dream. He had not returned there since, instead taking his anger out on the beasts that seemed to infest every inch of Yharnam. Yet with every monster he felled, he could not escape the haunting words that the murderer had spouted during their battle, lingering in the back of his mind like an ever-present phantom. Out of all the horrible things he had witnessed during his time as a hunter, that single event hung over him whenever he went. He just couldn't seem to escape it.

"I see, then. You feel like you are culpable for what happened that night, don't you?" Zoran heard Maria's question loud and clear, but he could not bring himself to talk about it anymore.

She had suggested that he attempt to transcribe what had happened to her, something he had been hesitant to do at first, but eventually accepted after she reassured him she would not force him to discuss it in detail.

"Zoran? Can you hear me?" She asked, notable concern in her voice. He had not said a word for several minutes, attempting to hide his eyes from her beneath the brims of his hat. But throughout the meeting, one thought solidified itself in his mind.

"I killed them…" He quietly uttered, which Maria seemed to hear.

"You know that's not true." She stated, trying to dispel this notion from him.

"He found out about the Chapel because of me. If I hadn't told him, he wouldn't have…they would all still be…" He attempted to convey, but words seemed to fail him as his guilty conscience seemed to take over.

"You're letting him get to you. He merely said those things to try and divert the blame away from himself. It was nothing but an excuse." She said, though her statement had little bearing on how Zoran felt at that moment.

"That doesn't matter! If I had just gotten there sooner, I could've stopped it. And instead I condemned them to an entirely preventable death, because I was fiddling around while Rome burned!" He expressed with more aggression then he intended, though Maria's calm demeanor did not change because of it.

"You can't be everywhere at once." She reminded him, her voice soft and reassuring.

"I didn't need to be. If I had just known…if I…" He found himself breaking down again, images of the people that he had supposedly saved flashing through his mind.

As he dissolved into tears, Maria rose from her chair and took a seat next to him on the stairwell, no doubt there to try and comfort him. After ignoring her proximity for a few seconds, Zoran turned to her and let her take him in her arms, holding onto her as he wept.

"I should've protected them, Maria. They're all dead because of me!" He lamented, with his host softly hushing him in response.

"It's alright. Just let it go." She quietly said to him as she softly traced her hand along his back.

This embrace continued for quite some time, until Zoran's crying eventually died down. Yet even after it had ceased, he kept holding on to her. This wasn't the first time she had consoled him after they had discussed sensitive subjects from his past and each time, she had shown a great deal of patience with him. As strange as it was, it brought a feeling of comfort and security whenever she was close to him.

She finally released him not long after, both of her hands remaining on his shoulders as she looked back at him with a warm smile. He still remembered a time when he thought the kindness she had supposedly shown to her patients to have been insincere, nothing more then a façade to further her own ulterior motives. She was still no saint by any means, but her actions with him as of late had completely shattered his perception of her. She had been attentive, understanding, tender even.

Just like her.

"Doesn't get any easier, does it?" She softly asked him.

"No. No, it doesn't" He admitted, his voice slightly hoarse.

"I get it, you know. There was a time when I desired nothing more then to turn back time and undo my past mistakes, but I learned very quickly that pondering what could've been only makes things worse." As she spoke, Zoran found himself unsure of what she wanted him to take away from her words.

"I left a child to die that night. Pretending it didn't happen won't just make it go away." He said somewhat passively.

"I'm not asking you to forget it. I'm asking you to accept it. Move past it. And to make sure a similar tragedy never happens again." She explained. Zoran saw the value of what she said, but it also evoked a slight frustration considering who it was coming from.

"Wasn't that philosophy what lead you to where you are now?" He questioned, Maria appearing slightly taken aback by his question.

"But you see, that's just it. I didn't accept my mistakes, I fled from them." She admitted, though these did little to quell his frustration.

"Does this lecture have a point?" He demanded, his patience with Maria's incessant vagueness beginning to test his patience.

"The point, Zoran, is that you shouldn't hide from what you have done, all while letting the marks of the past weigh down on your soul. Acknowledge your sins and use them as a means to better yourself, instead of letting yourself be defined by them."

Zoran lowered his head, finding himself unable to maintain eye contact with her.

"It's…it's far too late for me. There's simply too much blood on my hands." After he said this, Maria moved one of her hands beneath his chin and gently lifted his head so he was looking at her again.

"I don't believe that." She softly stated.

Zoran found himself incapable of saying anything else as he looked back at Maria, surprised that she seemed to have that much faith in him. Her hand soon found its way to his cheek, her gloved fingers running along his leather mask as she warmly smiled at him.

"It's never too late…" She practically whispered to him as her hand trailed further up his face.

Zoran hand shot upwards and grabbed Maria's wrist just as he realized what she was doing, causing her to cease her efforts. She looked back at him in surprise, with the hunter glaring at her in return.

"What was it you said about my "wild curiosity"?" He questioned her with a hint of displeasure.

"Zoran, I…" She started, no doubt trying to apologize before he cut her off.

"Just…don't." He said as he released her wrist and rose to his feet, with Maria looking up at him in what he assumed was concern. He understood what she was trying to do, but he just wasn't prepared to let it happen. Especially not under these circumstances.

"I…I have to go. There are matters I must attend to." He hastily excused himself, moving to leave the clocktower. After a few moments, Maria stood up as well and tried to get his attention.

"Zoran, wait. I didn't mean to…" She lightly called to him in what must've been an attempt to apologize, which was silenced as soon as he turned towards her.

"We've all done things we regret, haven't we Maria? Sometimes being sorry just isn't enough."

With that, he continued his march; with Maria making no further effort to stop him from leaving, which was probably for the best. Approaching the lamp outside her clocktower, he focused his thoughts on the Hunter's Dream, with no particular destination in mind beyond that.

...

Author's Notes: So here's that super important event that effected the main character more profoundly then anything else in his journey that I didn't include in the original for some God-forsaken reason. Also, I made the conscientious decision to have Zoran actually recognize that sending a child out on their own in the middle of a hunt to be a horrible idea and instead to have him bring her to Oedon Chapel, which I now realize makes more sense for his character.

The final new chapter will be a lot more lighthearted then this one though, but I'm going to have to make more then a few edits to the original chapters in order to fit the sequence of events I'm transcribing now. I aim to release the updated chapters alongside the final new one, so it may take me a little while until it's all finished. So be on the lookout for that.

Merry Christmas to all those celebrating and happy New Year to all!