The streets of an unfamiliar city appeared before her, the scent of blood and smoke barely covered the stench of the rotten remains on the sidewalk, the buildings were almost alien, with a style of construction that was far more advanced than the manor she resided, far more unsetling... horrifying even, the pavement below her feet was dirty with soot and mud, the streets which were as large as the main ones in Orario were devoid of life...
"H-hello?" She screamed into the night but no one was beckoned by her faint calls for any sense of life... safety or stability. That is, if it weren't for the snarls of beasts that began to draw closer and closer.
There was no rope to save her, there was no intervention to stop the foul beast, she met kobolds in the dungeon and many more that looked similar but this one had a feeling to it... it was pure fear inducing dread, The monster's claws were as sharp as any weapon she ever seen, it's eyes were filled with an undying lust for her sweet blood.
"A-an e-enhanced species?"
The monster lunged at her coming too close for comfort when it stopped, a bright pale light came into being and white rabbit appeared, the fluffy animal had scared red eyes, it was shaking and once the beast had sensed it's presence it tried fleeing but was intercepted by it's predator.
The scream of a boy rang out and everything went black, Cassandra woke up in her bed safe and sound.
"A nightmare..." her mind tried in vain to process her dream, it didn't feel like a profecy or anything related... perhaps she had finally had a normal nightmare... or perhaps she just couldn't decipher the vision...
She made her mind and wrote what she saw in a small diary she kept by the bedstand in secrecy of all but one member of her familia.
Afterwards sleep had finally caught her and no more dreams plagued her that night.
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The next morning an unrelated rumor had spread through the ranks of the familia, that in Apollo's own words: "His dear sister and her familia were back from her hunt." That usually meant that the god was planning on showing off his familia's power to Artemis.
From the dining hall of the familia many voices could be heard but eventually they started fading as the many members of the Apollo familia began to do their normal tasks and chores, oblivious to the dark haired girl's confusion...
She and her friend had a simpler task than most, to go into the dungeon along with a group of other mages, healers and supporters in order to farm excellia and status, not surprisingly however, direct orders from their god made the group slightly less than what they would bring to a normal expedition, clearly in the hopes of parading out of the dungeon in front of Artemis familia.
The were in the middle of the under resort resting before diving deeper into the dungeon and killing monsters for the rest of the day.
Her friend Daphne was part of the vanguard and usually accompanied the expeditions in order to provide some sense of security in case of the worst possible scenario, altough all she was currently doing is talking to her friend.
"A bunny?" The redhead spoke. "All of this just for a bunny!"
"It's true... all i need to know now is who that bunny is..."
"Oh and what about the other dreams..?"
"They were true..."
"Yes, and you are still yet to explain to me how a tree breaking a branch meant that i was going to get hurt in a routine expedition."
"But you did get hurt!"
"It was a scratch!"
"Because i pushed you away!"
"Oh and you wouldn't have done it otherwise?"
The girl's voice died down...
"Thought so as well, now what does this dream have that is so diferent?"
"It's the details... it felt so real... most of my visi-"
"Dreams!" Her friend interrupted.
"...Most of my dreams are fuzzy, they feel like dreams but this one didn't... it felt as if i was peeking directly into the future..."
"Pffff, you shouldn't take yoursef too seriously Cassandra!" A prum who happened to pass by shouted.
"Goddamn it, shut up Luan, maybe if people talked about your stupid face as much as you talk crap about others you would know you place!" The fierce voice of Daphne quickly defended her best friend.
"Maybe try to let your little friend defend herself for a change!"
"Ignore him Cassandra, let's go somewhere else..."
"Oooh yeah go hide in your little corner, bitches!"
Said the prum although his insults were now slowly getting quieter as the girls walked away from the little man.
"I'm sorry Daphne..."
"Don't be, just focus on healing the others..."
The rest of their training was quiet to say the least, although not silent considering the purpose of letting lower level members slay monsters and use magic.
The cave structure was broken by mosnters around the group, then damaged by the spells of mages and arrows of archers, only to regenerate once again and give birth to more monsters, the bloody cicle was normal to the world yet nowhere near as brutal as the hunt.
Later that day, the entire familia paraded out of the dungeon's entrance, however the intended public was not there, to the frustration of the captain leading the group back to the familia's manor.
The evening was rather uneventful except for a few anouncements about impending expeditions and whatnot. Though Lord Apollo definetively made his discontent towards the "Failed" expedition.
By night time the only one awake in the hidden corner of a shared room was poor Cassandra too scared of what she could see to give in to sleep, yet her efforts were futile as she too was caught by the clutches of Hypnos.
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She was back to the same place as before, although it was now even more desolate, if before it felt eerie for it's lack of movement, now it was as though the world had but embraced it's end.
The streets which were once a dirty grey were now blood red, at the center of the avenue was a giant burning figure, piles upon piles of corpses had it surrounded.
The corpses were inhuman, as if monsters had clawed their way out from the inside... standing above another corpse was the same white bunny as before, now only with his furr matted with blood, grease and all sorts of visceral liquids. It was shaking yet not crying, it was exhausted, something made evident by the heavy breathing motion it was doing.
She ran through the streets trying her best to ignore the hidden growls and snarls of the beasts lying in the shadows and the terrible buzz in the back of her head. When she reached the bunny she threw herself to the ground and grabbed the animal, keeping it close to her chest as she felt a faint cry coming from it...
She knew that her answers would not come for now, still she didn't know what else to do... even in her darkest moments inside the lower dungeon floors she always relied on her friend to help her back up, but now she was alone... with only the weird animal to keep her company.
But that didn't last, to the agony of the rabbit and the relief of Cassandra, the moonlight shone brighter than before and before she could see it, she was back to the world of the awake, no longer in that dreadful place and free to calm herself again. Oblivious to the suffering of the bunny on the hands of the moon.
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Meanwhile deep bellow the guild a daunting task was to be placed on the hands of another familia. The lowly lit stone chamber had a massive throne in it's middle and a single god laid upon it, concentrating it's thoughts on the dungeon deep underground, infront of such powerfull figure was a goddess with blue hair, and perfect features which gave her an air of innocence despite what she was capable of.
"Ouranos... let me see if i understand... there is an ancient monster that was discovered by a scout from Hermes familia, and now you are sending me and my girls to fight it?"
The blue haired Goddess spoke, anoyed but calm enough to not show it.
"I understand your aprehension, however it is non negociable i'm afraid, an oficial guild quest. You have a month untill doing it and failure could spell doom to surrounding villages."
"Why not Freya then?"
"Orario has it's own problems and her members are not as cooperative."
"Hmm, very well..."
The defeated Goddess of the hunt went on to leave the chamber of one of the oldest deities in the world. Truly she could already hear Rethusa's playful complaining about Ouranous' orders. She made her way to the her familia's home in Orario where they rarely spent any time and was greeted by her captain.
"Lady Artemis, you're back! How was the meeting with Lord Ouranos?"
"Hello Rethusa, about that... i need you to round up the girls, there is something i need to talk about."
"Of course Lady Artemis, by the way... a familia member of your brother's delivered a letter to us this afternoon, it's in your office milady."
"Haa... Thank you Rethusa..." The azure haired goddess responded, clearly dreading having to deal with her "dear" brother.
She entered her dusty office, a rustic space filled with some bookcases and a simple bow kept on , rather unkept by the time she and her familia spend outside of the city. The goddess instantly glanced to the letter at her desk, a golden envelope sealed with her Brother's emblem.
The heavily decorated letter read the following:
'Oh dear sister, it's great to hear that you and your beloved familia have return from your expeditions. I'd like to extend a very cordial and humble invitation to you and your girls to a banquet, to celebrate the good times, i hope to hear your response soon.'
Artemis, sensing the obvious, that this is just a way for him to show off decided to not humor his whims for a change, and left the office with a swiftly drafted response.
Passing by their familia's living room, the goddess encountered her familia waiting for the news of their new ancient target.
"Girls, listen up, Ouranos has sent us on a new quest... Before you complain, i know i promised a bit of rest after our expedition near that elven forest, However this is of extreme importance, leaving this monster alive any longer may cause dire consequences..."
"Lady Artemis... shouldn't another familia take care of it then?"
"Yeah, we are not prepared for something like that..."
The familia's response was not that enthusiastic, save for Rethusa who would always have her Goddess' back.
"Ladies, i assure you that my reaction was the same, however, if Ouranos decided that we are up for the task then i have faith that we will do it!"
"You heard her, we've been chosen by the big man himself! Nothing can go wrong with us on the job!" The captain shouted, lifting the spirits of the poor children of Artemis, walking right into their doom.
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The sun was already up for a while and the God Apollo was now impatiently waiting for Artemis' letter, Hyakinthos by his side, only commenting on 'The indecency of that Goddess to be late for something so important!'
No sooner had his beloved captain once again complain about it, the so desired letter arrived, being brought into the god's chamber's by the prum named Luan.
"Milord, Lady Artemis' response is here..."
"That's great to hear Luan, please pass me the letter will you?"
The Prum handed the tray on which rested the letter, the god then grabbed the afformentioned letter and quickly scanned it's contents...
"That little bitch!"
"Lord Apollo?"
"She 'kindly' refused... After all i did for her... all those preparations and services i booked... LUAN cancel everything! i will make my DEAR sister realise the importance of family..."
The god, whose face was red with rage approached the balcony on his chambers, seeing his sister's familia marching out of Orario...
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The Moonlit horizon extended past wooden pillars and the sky was but a mix of blue and blood red hues folding and shifting erratically, the white fog was covering them although providing little cover for the workshop bellow.
There, infront of one of the more isolated gravestones there was a hunter, his hair was as white as the moon above and his eyes as red as the sweet ichor he bathed in so casually. He seemed to debate to himself whether or not he should use it yet, He had just been through some of his hunt's rougher times, he debated to himself if he should go and finish that nightmare... if he could even do so and fullfil the promise he made to Simon.
He eventually chose the gravestone over any time to rest, mostly because he knew there was no one to save him from what rest may bring him, surely enough his self hatred and deep feelings of inferiority caught up to him, a great hero he was... a failure, a violent battle junkie, a hunter almost addicted to blood... and a murderer... Those wounds were not something anyone could heal, the doll could try and fail, meanwhile Gehrman would push him to continue the hunt... to see it through and go back to his home, even if not the same anymore.
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The dusty research halls were the same as he left them, the corpses of dead experiments littered the various rooms, the few that were alive no longer made sounds whenever the hunter passed through the nearby corridors.
He reached the balcony where the living failures had ambushed him once, long before he joined Cainhurst... He shook off the memories for now, he needed to remain focused...
He opened the door in front of the garden on the balcony, the first thing which stood out to him was the giant clock at the wall, it's numerals and symbol clearly displayed an intent not to know the hours or control the time, but to look at something different and foreign.
The cogs that spun the machine were locked in place, their heavy metal mechanisms were far more advance than any he had found untill now, a hollow chuckle escaped his lips as he remembered the time where a simple elevator had absolutely floored him... the simpler times before the hunt showed it's true fangs...
The room had a wooden floor, dirty with blood and the oil required for such heavy machinery, however what puzzled him was the slim female figure who sat on a chair in the middle of the room. White hair as beautiful as his and a face that completely copied the doll's or was the reverse true... he had heard of Gehrman's original reason to create her, in the image of his favourite student.
But a closer inspection saw the discovery of the female hunter's bitter end, a suicide from what he saw... and he couldn't blame her, were it not for the dream he too would have long choosen this exit...
"A shame truly... i have heard much about you." He said as he closed the corpse's eyes as a grim form of respect.
He began to retract his hand when the corpse's own shot towards his wrist and pulled him towards her.
"A corpse... should be left well alone..." The dead woman's voiced her chilling line as she releases the grip from the hunter's hand.
"W-what!" Bell jumped back and prepared the greatsword on his back, falling into a defensive stance with the bandage covered weapon.
"The secrets of the nightmare... it beckons one so sweetly don't they..."
"Yet i've come to learn of their consequences..."
"Then turn back while you can, hunter."
"I'm afraid i cannot."
"Very well... only an honest death shall cure you now."
She lunged, with the intent to kill him right there and then, a sidestep was met with a quicken and the realisation that the oponent had the superior mobility, deciding right there that repositioning is useless, he braced for the piercing impact of the huntress' peculiar weapon, it reminded him of the chikage but was different than any other he had seen before.
The sheer force behind the attack made it difficult to deflect the blow and the follow ups that she threw were harsher and far faster than any other he had received.
She was slowly breaking down his defense, and as Bell fought for the chance of a counter attack, she knew his walls were breaking and decided to end the fight.
It was a simple mix up between the endless sword strikes, a shot of her firearm caught him off guard and a hand made it's way inside his ribcage.
His eyes shot wide open, he stared for what seemed like hours at the face of the huntress who easily overpowered him.
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He was sent to the dream but entirely disheartened, he had a long way to go if he wishes to beat her... However deep down he was weirdly excited... he had been stagnant for so long... ever since joining the Vilebloods he had stopped growing as fast as he was before, sure the experience he got from slaughtering the queen's targets was valuable, but he couldn't see any improvements, but now... he had an idea.
He went up to the Old hunter who sat at his wheel chair sadly gazing upon the pale flowers of the garden, listening to the lone prayers of the doll in the distance, however suddenly becoming aware of the hunter approaching him.
"Ahh... you are back... have you finished what you wanted or sent back by force?"
"By force i'm afraid... Gehrman i wish to ask something of you."
"Direct to the point huh? very well then, i'll hear it."
"Could you train me again Gehrman, like you once did before?"
"That's not a problem however, i wish to know... why is it you need to get stronger? what or who is blocking your path?"
"A huntress, one far stronger than me... your former student lady maria..."
"Oh... hunter please tell me, still sane is she?"
"I suppose so, although not in any envyable position either."
The old man, then asked.
"H-hunter what happened?"
"She is dead, although like you she too is trapped in a nightmare one that i have already vowed to vanquish."
"Come with me... i shall train you again, but it's not going to be easy."
"I wouldn't want it to be either."
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Turbulent waves gave way for hollow winds that carried the scent of the murky sea, whatever was that hung from the horizon was not the moon or the sun, it looked more like a broken eye than a celestial body.
The white sands of the beach were muddy by the dark waters and a shadow of a inhuman corpse laid on the shore. Scared eyes scanned through the landscape where a cruel battle was being fought, a white bunny covered in crimson viscera that resembled the color of it's own eyes.
It's oponent was abhorrent in nature, an atrocious body of mostly human proportions yet devoid of any humanity, it clung to a still pulsing organ from the corpse that washed up the beach. It was an atrocity to nature, such that revealed it's origins from a being who spites the natural order, a member of those which are above the ordinary limits of the cosmos, yet it did not give off a normal divine aura, in it's stead was cold and distant but powerfull one that could not belong to any deity the girl at the same beach had ever seen.
Hollow was the better way to describe it, as it seemed tragic in a way, so close to that which was considered "perfect" but so far from it. Then suddenly a chilling scream rang into the sad beach front and the dream collapsed into the bed of the dark blue haired mage.
Her skin was covered in cold sweat and fearing what that dream meant, it did not fit at all in the sequence she had, were was it that the "rabbit" was fighting, what could it mean to her and Daphne... so many questions that had not been answered... answers she couldn't even fathom.
She looked nearby for any solace or escape from that warped reality that plagued her dreams.
"I-I... I shouldn't think about it too much..." whispered the lonesome girl that slowly sunk further into her pillow, hoping for no more dreams.
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The first few rays of sunshine had already appeared by the ordinary dawn at the forest, there near a dirt road and the fallen leaves laid on the ground near the huntresses' camp. The tents were military style and clearly ordered and coordinated, their supplies secured neatly in on of the larger tents in the middle of the U shape that formed around a unlit bonfire, a symbol of despair and failure in other worlds, though not this one, instead it simply meant that the night has long since passed and the only one awake to see the moment that the sun raised from the horizon was the blue haired Goddess that emerged from her tent.
Her sleep had not been a pleasant one however, and the worries that infested her mind were still very much alive letting chaos loose on her heart, she knew very well that any mistake in the fight that was to come could cause irreparable damage to her Children or even worse.
But if she wanted to keep morale up she must not show any of those conflicting emotions to her familia who would be just as worried for her.
She glanced back to her tent and the weapon she had brought over with her, her dear Orion's spear, though she had long since abandoned the thought of finding him again, something deep in her chest told her to grab the weapon and bring it with her, almost as a goodluck charm, since she could not use it to it's full extent, only one man could, and she doubted that she would find him now.
"*yawn* L-lady Artemis?" The familia's captain had just left the tent she shared with her goddess thanks to her "right as the captain".
"H-huh? Rethusa, you're already awake?"
"Yes... it's pretty hard not to notice you leaving." The captain said with a small pout.
"Is that so... i'm sorry Rethusa."
"Goddess... what are you worried about?"
"Huh!?"
"I've been in the familia long enough to know when something is in your mind."
"It's mostly nothing, i just think that this time Ouranos has been a little too hasty, and i fear that the fight with our next target might become ugly."
"Ha, as if... we have nothing to fear my lady!"
"You know... back in heaven that's what we called 'Raising a red flag'."
"You say that like we don't have enough power to take it down!"
"Rethusa it's not that which i fear... the monster we are after is not normal in any way shape or form... it's ancient and powerful, any attempt to accurately display it's true might is shaky at best."
"Okay you are right..." The young familia capitain said, oblivious to the fact that the other girls were already well awake by the time they finished their talk, all up and ready to continue their hunt for the mighty creature known as Antares.
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A simphony of strikes was ringing throughout the bloodstained boards that made up the wooden floor of the enourmous room, two fighters were trading blows in a frenetic and fast paced fashion almost like the clockwork that decorated the walls and corners of the arena.
One of them was calm, precise and could very well end the fight in any moment, the other was desperate, almost feral yet determined to make progress against his enemy.
Both of their weapons sung the same way when they collided in brutal strengh, a heavy greatsword bathed in holy light, against the weapon of a killer, a perfect copy of the enforcer of the sins of Byrgenwerth.
Suddenly breaking their rythim, the huntress rang her firearm in an attempt to distract the hunter in front of her.
The head of said hunter went down, dodging the shot by the lenght of a strand of his moon-white hair. The huntress the went in for a stab of her sword that he once again dodged.
Afterwards came back the other side of her blade was against his shoulder as she pulled the Rakuyo back in a swift motion but instead of being caught by the sneak attack he rolled to the side with a sweeping motion of his greatsword sending a flooding green light through the room and nailing the huntress.
"Hmmm... you have gotten better, yet your moves are easily read... Gehrman has taught you well i see, just not enough to beat me nor to stand a chance against what is behind me."
Her words cut him deeper than her weapon, and only served to make him realize the true distance that was between them. While he knew that fight against her was useless for now, the experience he got was not, and that experience combined with Gehrman's teachings would lead him into becoming a better hunter.
Unfortunately that attempt was later foiled by her transformed weapon who came down at him faster than before, but at the very least already outlining what he needed to become better at.
"So she is still refusing to let go huh?"
"Yes Gehrman."
"Still, if you survived past her untransformed Rakuyo that means something... many had tried and many failed to bring her down, of course we never fought while going for each other's neck but that is quite impressive..." The old man spoke with a unusual vigor, as if the memories of his first student were the most intresting thing ever.
"I see what you mean, but is there even a weakness to her form?"
"Not for you." The old hunter responded.
"W-what?"
"Ahh... it seems you haven't fought nany oponents with that level of technique, but take my words to heart, if you use the dream to constantly throw yourself at enemies you will never learn from them, and that is a pity really."
"Hmmm... i see..."
"Don't think too hard now, you are a perceptive one, you have a talent to learn, many wouldn't even realise their mistakes without a teacher, you are talented Cranel... you learn faster than even Maria."
"... Thank you Gehrman..."
"Don't need to thank me hunter... now... show me the form i just taught you again..."
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So the stage in Orario is set, maybe it will take a few chapters to reach it, but i assure you it's gonna be fantastic. Expect all the characters shown to come up later once the time is right.