Warning: I talk a lot. Don't wanna hear my author's notes, skip the bold part.

Hi. It's been a little bit since I last posted But I'm wanting to I swear. The last few weeks have been hectic for me. I won't go into detail but I'm not in great condition. For those of you who do read this story sorry about the wait. I've been trying to even out some tasks I need to take now. But I'm continuing the story. I did ask for some advice from some certain individuals with things like creative writing, and I keep receiving advice that isn't advice. Just criticism on what they think I do wrong. Not so much how to get better. Anyway while I am recovering both physically and, idk motivationally I'm just gonna try and recapture the idea at it's source. Now I'll be starting with Blake, but I'll try and make this chapter a little different. I try to focus on a different aspect of dark souls for each character. Also irony. Or just cruel fate. You probably don't know it, but I do. That I allow you know that much.

God this place is dark.

I stared at the fire without interest. This fire. It kept a sword in its heart. A coiled sword. This was the only thing around here that didn't try and hurt me.

Or kill me for that matter.

The fire seems to keep them away. These things. I don't know what they are. Demons maybe? They had curled horns, dark purple skin, blood that was black. They sounded like a possible description for ancient demons. Blake knew little of the pre aura ages. Grimm were always present in history on Remnant. Maybe demons were too. Maybe this was their return. They came back from the darkness and cast a shadow over the world. And the ones who remain were suffering the same fate as her. Yeah. That sounds believable

It doesn't matter. You were brought back again.

"Ugh shut up!", a shouted at myself. I gripped my head in pain. It constantly throbbed. Every thought provoked something that felt wrong. Even the sound of my own voice sound strange now. I haven't talked for so long that I'm alienating me from myself! I closed my eyes hard hoping to block out whatever's in sight. I just needed to not see these things for a minute. I drew in a shaky breath only for it to not come back out. I can't even live the right way. I have to will myself to breathe. Nothing feels normal anymore.

It almost comes out as a sob. Almost a cough even. I won't cry though. I have to keep grip on something. If these thoughts were invading me now I could only imagine the impact they'll have on me if I actually break down and cry. It sounds tempting. Not because of depression overwhelming me, because it will make me tired. No matter how long I stay or move, or try and rest, well I'm just never at rest. There's a constant feeling that refuses to go away. It's not a feeling. I can't put it into words.

Yes you can. You just haven't come to terms with it.

…

Silence is more preferable to responding to them. It's hard to tell when the thoughts are mine and when they aren't. They're always in my head. I can only try and make sense of them.

"You won't leave me alone. It's like someone constantly talking in my head", I said to no one in particular. "It's like a constant static in the background. I can think on my own, and I know what's mine. But you keep whispering these things until I think them myself. But these aren't mine! What happened to me?!", I yelled. No one was there to answer. Not even the fire.

We are the same.

No we are NOT!

Yes we are. You just haven't accepted it yet!

"Shut up!", I yelled again. The little flame grew in my hand once again. It appeared in my hands every once in awhile. Or around it. It combusted into life without me even knowing most of the time. It flared and glowed brightly defying any source for it's simple needs. Then, it did something weird. It whipped and whirled and made the sound that only fire could make, then it turned into something else. It grew black. A dark, thick deep sticky substance of black. I don't know why sticky. Perhaps because it stuck onto this fire that seemed to never leave me. Just like the voices stuck onto me. There was somehow a defying light inside the blackness. It was a dull, and grey and gentle light. It looked tired almost. Maybe that's what's left of the fire after it turns into this.

It is not turning into this. It is one and the same. Just as we are.

We are NOT the same! My life was never like this before you showed up!

"I was never battling with myself in a constant conversation by a fire and I never felt like this before I Died!"

I started speaking instead of thinking without realizing it. I guess thinking aloud is the one way of coping with the overpowering voices in my head.

They're my voices.

I inhaled sharply. That one felt too real. I didn't even know if that one was my own. I felt sick. It was such a terrible feeling. My mind is being violated! Is this it? Is this how my life ends? It didn't end from my body actually dying, so would this be how morality works now? Just slowly unraveling until you've slowly lost so much of your mind you're not there anymore?! I didn't want to die! I wanted to do something successful with my life. I wanted to become a huntress. I wanted to make a difference for the Fanaus and the Humans. Not this. This unending nightmare. If this is dying, this is torture. What is death really going to be like? Was this new me going to take over? Can I ever finally rest?

We're not going to take over. We are going to coexist. In harmony. Don't you see? We are the same.

I looked up at the world around me. The moon was shattering back together. The sky grew dark, but never turned night. Parts of the emerald forest was on fire and never went out. Murky dark water swamped the ground on drew poison to any of the skin that touched it. The once green leaves that defined this nature of her world all died. And with them, her world died with it.

The world around me was all new. All the new experiences to come with it. Those who simply didn't experience them themselves, simply didn't exist.

"No. Nothing is the same anymore."

For once, there was silence in my head. It looks like we agreed on something. This something was real. That I know. I knew I'd never be the same anymore. Not after I grabbed the ember. Not after I grabbed the fire. Whoever that was gave me a curse. Or some fate worse than death.

…

Silence. We agree on this too. If we really are the same, then they have to believe that's true.

"Ugh! Nothing makes sense", I said to myself. The voice still wasn't there. It was silent. It was only my own. "Oh thank god. I need to act before I think myself to death. At least you can't control me. Whatever you are. Darkness I guess."

I stood up on the small mound dirt that mounded against the poisonous water. I had gone two ways. One way to the horizon, where I could see the moon. The other way along it's end when all i found was a desert of ash and dust. I guess I could try going the other way. The only way I couldn't see an end through. Into the forest. Or at least what's left of it. Whatever this world took and replaced there I actually didn't know. Towards the fires on more of the trees, and the monsters that lurked in the waters. Yup. That's the direction I'm going.

Into the darkness.

It's funny how I wasn't afraid I was going to die.

Fear not the dark my friend. And let the feast begin.

We have no such needs as fear. We are moving toward our fate with new embrace.

Blake moved effortlessly from tree to tree to whatever landmass she could find sticking out of the toxic water. Blake had already made the mistake of going into it once. The bodies. Oh the bodies she found. She'd like to say they were long dead, but her sense of time was changed now that the day no longer cycled. Everything just hung inbetween. The sky was grey. The shadows were mild. And any light she found made a stark difference. It's all been fire. Trees burn above water seemingly forever and their firelight made just that little difference. The fire was something different now. Especially after this world crashed into hers.

Her boots scuffed the ground as she landed on whatever land mass this was. The dirt no longer clean or covered in red leaves was unknown to her. Probably killing whatever fertility that came with the poisoned water. Her surroundings grew thickly the same the more she looked around. But on this piece of land was something new. A crucifix. And on it seemed to be a crescent. Not unlike a moon.

She walked up and observed the piece. It looked like a handmade piece. The crescent itself seemed to be the center piece. It just didn't make sense. Who would so precisely make this perfect shape and stick it on such a crudely made cross? It looked like it took some moderate skill. Maybe there was something intelligent in these lands.

Blake didn't seem interested however. It did stand out, but so did a lot of things to her. The monsters that looked like deformed humans with purple skin. The poison the contracted into her body when she stepped into the water. The things that live in the water itself. The bodies. Fire. Her death.

Nothing was special about this.

She lazily kicked the wooden base and was surprised when it just fell over. It broke into jagged pieces on the ground and scattered. Blake was thinking. Nothing makes sense. The tiny land she was standing on was no bigger than a boat. Who put this here and put their time into making it if it could just be knocked over so easily? If it were a grave someone would have at least tried to prevent that. Maybe it was old. It was covered in moss after all. Taking her Gamble shroud she decided to move on. Between each tree she grappled her landing spot and anchored onto it before jumping. The last thing she needed was to fall in that water again.

This place seemed to go on forever. The air carried a thick brown color to it. Eventually the horizon smudged into a brown blur. Tree to tree she kept going. She passed many of the things in the water. They looked like giant slugs with horns. That's probably what they were. She stopped at a tree and watched the creatures below.

The seemed to be gathered around something in the water. What was it? Another corpse? She could see a dull grey arm sticking out of the water. This water seemed deeper. She must be moving inland where the forest would drop.

She didn't have her ammo she used before she died. She had used it on some of the purple monsters. Oddly they had a few forms. Most were feral and crawled along the ground like cats, some stood on their hind legs like people. They even had weapons of some kind. Mostly just sharp sticks of various sizes. And even a shield made of bark and some cloth for wears. She wanted to keep them at a distance, and so she used her ammo executing them. She wanted to observe before she was comfortable in close combat. Good thing they didn't climb trees.

The slugs gurgled around the body. She guessed they were probably predators of this mashed up forest. They were eating a person. At least she thinks it was a person. She could have gone down there and quickly killed them to see what the body had on it, but the last time she had done that she gained this curse, and the fire that kept appearing at random. She remembered it clearly.

-Flashback-

She was running back from the horizon. Desperately trying to find help. The poison contracted into her body and made her feel deathly ill. She had tolerated the pain for so long, but after fighting so many of the monsters, she felt too weak. She knew they didn't like the fire though. Her luck ran out as she failed to find the trees burning. But she found something. In the murky water lay a person. From what she could tell it was a man. He was dressed in animal pelts and a bronze medallion on his head and chest. In one hand clutched to his chest was the tiny ember. In the other outstretched just above the water, was a small flame. It fit calmly in the palm of his hand with his fingers curling around it in his dead grasp.

She stumbled forward to inspect the man. He lay there, his wounds were clear to his death and the poison likely finished him off. But his wounds were different. They were clear slashes and cut into his body. The monsters couldn't do this. Not with their weaponry. Still weak, she saw the fire and looked with desperation. She grabbed at his hand and lifted his arm, surprised to see the flame moved with it. It didn't seem to follow the concept of fire she knew. Cautiously she grabbed at the tiny flame, and lifted it into her hand.

Surprised it didn't burn she cupped it into her hand and stared at it. The delicate flame was as lively as ever. It danced in her hand and seemed to not stop. She looked to the other object in the dead man's hand. A large ember rst in his clutches, almost as if he were trying to protect it. Keep it from something else. She lifted his arm and took it from his grasp. Just like the flame in her palm it didn't burn. Holding them lightly together she saw if there was any interaction between them. She fumbled around with the objects desperate for anything to produce. She was growing increasingly weak and needed didn't think she could handle much more of the forest.

Her aura didn't counter the poison. Her breathing grew ragged. She knew she wouldn't last much longer. Each swing of her weapon required more strength. At best she could run. With her weapon on her back she trudged forward. Land wasn't too far. The trees were scarcer around the outer parts close to the horizon. But she managed to find one. She finally got out of the water. Her boots were dirty. Her clothes not much better. Black blood stained her skin and her clothes. She fell to the ground and leaned up against the base of the tree. She closed her eyes and braced for the worst. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she coughed. Too tired to pay attention she dropped the ember beside her. The flame clung to her hand as she tried to conserve whatever energy she still had.

.thud.

A sound drew closer. It was faint now. Her eyes opened long enough to see a figure approaching. Blake's breaths were shallow. She was either going to die or lose consciousness. The figure was tall, armored and human. She noticed a pale cape draping behind it. It carried an incredibly huge sword below it's waist, and a dagger at it's hip. It was walking towards her.

She fell to weak to stop whatever this thing was now. It threw down the dead body of one of the many monsters that roamed the place. She looked up at the person with tired eyes. They had a pointed hat and a face covered up by a very high colar. She only briefly caught a glimpse of their eyes before everything started to darken. She fell to her side in an attempt to move and coughed. She saw the fire in her hand. The ember. And the foot of the person stopping in front of her. They bent down and picked it up.

Typical, Blake thought.

The last person she sees will be the one to take something from her. She was confused then after when the armored hand grabbed hers and wrapped the ember in her fingers. Forcibly he crushed it against the palm of her hand only for it to disappear. She gasped loudly and caught her breathe only short as the flames danced across her being. Then in a cast of light she felt her soul explode. Still unable to cast her breath, she struggled for air she reached for the air in panic. The flame danced in her hand in front of her. Then it turned black. Then back to it's normal flame.

Behind her hand she saw the person stand again. His posture straightened. He stepped back in what seemed to be surprise. Their eyes made contact one last time before Blake's hand slumped to the ground, and he lifted his sword into the air. Even in one hand he held it without much effort. The last thing Blake saw was the sword coming down. It was quick. It was silent. And afterward it was just dark.

That's when Blake heard the sound. She disappeared when she heard this sound. And it came back when she opened her eyes to see the bonfire. And then, something much worse. Something she had been battling with since her revival.

The thoughts started.

-end flashback-

Blake still sat it the tree looking over the slug creatures in the water.

They died a worse death than I did.

And ending that thought she moved on. She stopped the next tree however as something became visible in the brown fog that surrounded everything. There was something built. Some kind of structure fallen over into the water. Taking notice she hurried across from tree to tree until she made it over. It appeared to be a bridge. A broken fallen piece of a bridge. One end lowering into the mud, the other standing up on whatever broken chunk of support came with it. It effectively made a ramp.

Blake hopped off the tree and carefully landed on flat of the bridge. It seemed stable enough. It was made of stone brick. She didn't recognise it from anywhere remotely near the forest. Furthermore she guessed there was more to the bridge. Looking down the opposite end she saw the end going into the water. It wasn't sinking so it didn't just happen to fall here. It had already settled.

How did this get here?

As out of place as it was it was a cornerstone that she might find something nearby. Looking upward she saw nothing it could have possibly fallen off of. Nothing around here seems to have anything to explain how it got here. What's more is she had yet to see any grimm. She could only assume the poison kept them away. But grimm anatomy was unknown. It was always unknown. They could only base it off the creatures they were based from.

Wherever they were she could only hope what happened for her wouldn't apply to them. Or her team. If they managed to survive then maybe there was a chance she could make it out of this hell. Dying isn't an easy task, but neither is living in this place.

Content that she wasn't going to get any answers for the bridge nearby she decided to move on. Surveying the area she could not see any other landmarks to go to. It was back to aimlessly traveling through the trees. Sighing she took gamble shroud in hand and was about to grab to the next tree when she saw, something weird. In the immediate area there was only a single tree that stood out. It was unlike the pine trees that were common in the forest. It was smaller with thicker branches. And hanging from said branches was a giant sack.

She wondered what could be produced from such a large mass. It would only fall straight down into the poison. Even more concerning was that it was placed from a tree. That only meant she was more vulnerable than she thought.

Not wanting to find out she decided it'd be best to hinder it's growth. THrowing gamble shroud she severed the stem attaching it to the branch and watched it fall. It splashed into the water with a gurgle. Whether it would die from poison or from something taking advantage of it being vulnerable, she hoped it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.

Catching Gamble Shroud again she simply moved onto the next tree. What had she become. She was so against killing. But these things, they weren't people. They weren't even merciful. Everything in this forest or this swamp has only tried to kill her. And they had. She would normally be considerate of taking somethings life. But this changed things. Especially now that she came back.

She had scaled deeper into new territory by now. The trees became more apparent along with the sacks that came with them. She was beginning to lose track of where she was headed. She couldn't even see the sky over these brown fogs.

"This is hopeless", she said to herself. She sat on the branch for just a moment. She focused on the atmosphere. Trying to pick up something with her ears. Anything. She needed some kind of orientation. Removing her bow she closed her eyes and listened. Her right ear twitched.

There was movement. Well there was movement everywhere, but this was slightly stronger. And less stable. She quickly tied her bow back on and headed in the direction of the disturbance. The closer she got the more apparent the noises became. There was a struggle.

She landed on a particularly large tree. She didn't exactly find anything she liked. Below her was a large stretch of land above the water. On it was a deathstalker fighting off an assault from all sides. Blake made sure to stay quiet. She didn't want to draw attention.

The deathstalker was biting, clawing stabbing at a fast pace. Multiple of the purple creatures swarmed the grimm. The massive claws could only keep off so many. It picked up one it each claw, severing one in half and biting the head off the other. It's legs stomped frustratingly keeping from attacking its side and underside. One attempted to crawl up and was crushed to death. It extended its tale and spun around knocking down any behind the giant insect. They recovered too quickly however and began to climb on.

While it continued its assault at the front the purple creatures attacked between each segment. The sticks they used for weapons broke elsewhere but eventually broke the thick armor covering the grimm. The black flesh cracked and broke and bled underneath. The giant insect grimm roared out in a high pitch scream of pain. It managed to shrug off a few before managing to stab a few off its own back with the stinger.

The purple creatures were dwindling in numbers but only seemed to grow more aggressive. The creature's clawed and stabbed at the eyes as they saw vulnerable. Losing sight made the creature thrash and panic. It swung its claws as if they were wrecking balls now becoming more aggressive. It was no doubt getting desperate.

Suddenly Blake heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. Even in the thick water they still carried enough weight to feel the tree shake. To Blake's left approached a giant monstrosity. It carried a head of horns just like the ones that were small and purple did. But it carried a much more sinister look. It had the head of a giant lizard and its flesh almost looked stripped from its body. Its ribcage was practically showing and its entire being was covered in filthy masses of fur or dead plants and thatch. The eyes carried a red hue that loosely matched the color of it's being although a little closer to purple.

And in its grasp was an entire uprooted tree. Long dead by the looks of it. It approached the deathstalker likely getting tired. Poison was going to take effect and being blinded only ensured its doom. The monster approached with menace in its eyes. The death stalker in a wild attempt to save itself grabbed onto the hind legs of the tree wielding beast. The beast seemed to feel no pain as it raised the tree.

The smaller creature backed off and growled at the sight. Almost as if encouraging the larger one. The tree raised and bashed into the death stalkers head. The deathstalker prevailed although not for long. It came down again and again, each time harder than the last trying to break the armored grimms head. The tree splintered and broke in protest until some red masses appeared from its roots.

They took the form of skulls and broke into the death stalkers head armor. It cracked and shrieked under the pain as the tree kept coming down. The creatures massive strength was proving too much. Finally the roots of the tree penetrated the insect's head. It kept going however. The shrill cries grew quieter with each smash. Eventually there were no cries and the deathstalker grew limp. It kept going however, now grinding the inside of its brain with the roots of the trees. It heaved one last heavy slam into the grimms now squashed head until it got stuck, then ripped it out in and giant explosion of blood and yellow substance. The grimm then died.

The giant creature gave a triumphant roar signaling its execution. The smaller ones did the same and flung their limbs about in excitement. They had just killed it. As the body started to smoulder and turn to black smoke Blake had decided she'd seen enough. She had best leave before they catch wind of her presence. Before she left however she saw the sky opened up. The fog no longer covered everything at distance and she could now see what was not there before.

The sky was filled with a darker atmosphere than the grey one she had found recently. And towering above her were three massive towers. If she had to guess, somehow were related to the bridge in some way. They spanned a great distance, although reachable in her eyes. Then she watched in curiosity as one of the three of them carrying a fire, went out.

The roars and growls of the monsters below brought her attention back. Wherever the towers were relatively, that meant someone had put out the fires. She could assume, but it was all she had. That's where she was going.

Okay. So that was the first chapter for Blake. I know it took a while to finally get her and I'm sorry about that. But time has been taxing. And I'm not doing so great. But beyond that, this chapter may or may not strike you as incredibly eventful. This chapter requires a little bit of lore knowledge to understand what's actually going on. Specifically the link between humanity and the abyss, and a little about the black flame and Abyss watchers. And oh boy someone put out one of the Farron fires before her. Care to take a stab at who it is? Well, it's probably not who you think. Just like Blake experiencing her first death. If you didn't like this chapter I don't blame you, it was kind of done in a different way than my usual ones. And people don't' like change. But rest assure I will make a lot more happen within the next few chapters. I hope you all enjoyed. At least a little bit. No? Ah whatever I'm talking to nobody probably. Until next time.