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Bloodborne belongs to FromSoftware, Horizon Zero Dawn belongs to Guerrilla Games
Chapter 7: The Moon's Puppet
LOG: Blissful Rest: Data Uncorrupted
Travis Tate: Took you long enough.
Cyrus Bishop: The scourge has kept me busy.
Travis Tate: I can tell.
Cyrus Bishop: Why'd you call?
Travis Tate: I've been drafted into-
Cyrus Bishop: A super-secret project that will hopefully save humanity? And you've found a way to get me in too?
Travis Tate: Yeah… how'd you know?
Cyrus Bishop: You aren't the first, old friend.
Travis Tate: Who else?
Cyrus Bishop: Don't know, but they've promised me rest.
Travis Tate: Zero Dawn could provide that too.
Cyrus Bishop: Not the way Ice Cap can. A blissful, dreamless, endless rest. What more could I ask for?
Travis Tate: There's no convincing you, huh?
Cyrus Bishop: My mind is already made up.
Travis Tate: I won't even see you on the other side.
Cyrus Bishop: No.
Travis Tate: Good luck, old friend.
Cyrus Bishop: Good bye, Travis.
Travis Tate: Any last advice before you leave?
Cyrus Bishop: Yeah, fear the old blood.
Travis Tate: I will.
Cyrus Bishop: Fear the old blood.
…/…
Aloy's return to Meridian was heralded by a contingent of the city's guard leading her through the market towards a more imperious structure than the already opulent Meridian. Cyrus pondered as to the nature of Aloy's crime as the group walked passed. Assuming, of course, that she had actually done something wrong. Knowing her, it was probably someone calling her to speak with them.
Whatever it was, the business was not his. He did need to speak with Aloy, but for the time being, he had some exploring to do. The lower quarter of the city was reminiscent of Old Yharnam. A poorer region located under the city proper. If nothing else, the Good Hunter wished to see the lands below. The large wooden elevator down was an impressive feat of engineering for a people group who had probably never even seen the Apollo database.
Admittedly, he was not impressed. It wasn't reminiscent of Old Yharnam like he had assumed. Rather it was more of an agricultural district than anything else. A few merchants here and there, but nothing too groundbreaking. His wanderings soon found him following a road out of the district.
The road wound through a small ravine. Vegetation grew along the sides of the road. All in all, it was actually quite peaceful. Quiet. The respite from noise and civilization was something that he always welcomed since Yharnam.
The Good Hunter sighed and sat against the rock wall. The quiet rustling of leaves was calming. His time in this world was different, but welcome. It was a world he could see himself actually enjoying in due time. The wandering machines, thus far, had made for satisfying hunts. Not as satisfying as The Great Ones had been, but still satisfying.
His musings ended as he felt a pull. The same familiar yet always strange eldritch pull of the cosmos. Cyrus stood and followed the direction the pull was leading him. He followed it back into the city of Meridian. The pull was coming from somewhere in the city. He barely even noticed that the moon had already begun its descent as he walked through the city.
It didn't take him long to find what was pulling him. He entered a circular arena-like building that seemed to be a place of worship. In the center of the arena was a small lantern. A Hunter's lantern. Cyrus sighed and walked towards the offending wrought iron light. He snapped his fingers over the lantern. Four messengers bubbled into existence around the light, beckoning the Hunter to sit.
Begrudgingly, Cyrus did. He closed his eyes and felt the world shift around him. When he opened them. The Good Hunter noted he was sitting in Gehrman's old wheelchair, next to the tree in the Hunter's Dream. A crimson moon hung low over the field before him.
In the flowers, stood the very Great One that kept him bound to the dream, just as it had kept Gehrman bound. The dark crimson being sat on thin bony legs. Long tentacles flowed behind it from its head and tail. They seemed to move with minds of their own. The blank, eyeless face hole simply stared at Cyrus for a good minute. Cyrus glared at the eldritch entity, not that the being was really phased by anything Cyrus could do. For all the power and ability that Cyrus had, the Moon Presence could easily turn him into little more than a puppet. A marionette for the cosmic horror to control.
The creature leveled its own gaze against Cyrus. The Good Hunter could barely suppress a shiver as he was inspected with intense scrutiny by the eldritch being. Paradoxically, his being had only gotten stronger since the Night of the Hunt had ended. Once upon a time, Cyrus had hoped that the Moon Presence would have weakened as the Hunt it seemed to subsist on no longer existed. Such wishful thinking.
There was no doubt in Cyrus's mind that he stood no chance against the eldritch abomination in front of him. He probably could have stood a chance even when the being was weaker during the Hunt. Even then, though, when he had first met the being face to face, it had an indomitable presence.
The creature pointed towards him and spoke. The words came out in a language that was so inhuman that no one should understand it. Not even he could even respond in the same language. However, for those who had seen and experienced the cosmic nightmares as long as the Hunter, the language was understandable.
"A dreamless sleep. A respite from the nightmare you keep me trapped in." Cyrus growled at the being.
More inhuman sounds.
"So long as another Yharnam doesn't appear in this world, I will uphold my end." Cyrus replied, leaning back in the chair.
He wouldn't admit it out loud, but the Moon Presence was quite accommodating to him. Resting his legs was quite nice. Especially the peg leg. Standing on a cosmically enhanced peg for extended periods of time could be incredibly painful.
The Moon Presence gestured to the tombstones around the field and spoke again.
"It takes time. I've been in this new world for a few weeks. They don't know me. They don't know you. They don't know about any of this." Cyrus replied.
Inhuman words resounded in his mind. Cyrus winced.
"Her name is Aloy. She seeks knowledge of the past and revenge."
The Moon Presence spoke. It gestured at him again with an open outstretched palm.
"Very well, I will make her a Hunter. When she begins to learn of my past, I will start teaching her of you." Cyrus relented. "Eldritch truths must be learned slowly."
The Moon Presence made a motion that could only be described as smug agreement before it spoke more in its unearthly language.
"At your will." Cyrus stated.
The Moon Presence lifted off the ground and vanished into the crimson moon. Cyrus breathed a sigh of relief. The dream began to fade and Cyrus opened his eyes. The sun was high in the sky. People were milling about. More than one curious glance was sent his way. Some of the men in the fancier robes were keeping a much closer watch on him.
Cyrus stood and stretched. Feeling various joints pop, he sighed in relief. Sitting for so long wasn't very comfortable. He did note that the lantern he had seen the night before was gone. No evidence of its existence remained.
Cyrus shrugged and walked out of what he presumed to be a temple area. Aloy and a contingent of Oseram guards stormed past. Surreptitiously, Cyrus followed. They broke into a building on the mesa's edge. Cyrus walked in after the guards began their sweep of the place. The building was empty save for many barrels of neon green liquid.
"This doesn't look suspicious at all, does it?" Cyrus stated, drawing the attention of everyone in the building.
"Cyrus." Aloy greeted.
"I take it you've found… whomever it was you were looking for?" Cyrus questioned.
"His name is Dervahl." Erend answered. "He killed my sister and plans to attack Sun King Avad."
"And this is…?" Cyrus prodded, gesturing to the barrels.
"Blaze." Aloy answered. "Enough to level at least this half of the city and the palace."
"We're trying to think of a way to prevent this from detonating." Erend said. "I think I found something."
On the ground, in the middle of several of the barrels was a strange device. It looked like four iron balls had been filled with the neon green blaze. The circular device in the center of the four balls could really only be described as a detonator of some kind.
"Looks like there's a simple solution here." Cyrus said.
"What did you have in mind?" Aloy asked.
"Well, this looks like a detonator of some sort. It goes off and the rest of this blaze goes off too, and the city goes with it." Cyrus said. "Clearly we need to get rid of the blaze or the detonator."
"There's no one living below this side of the city." Erend said. "Just rocks and trees down below."
"How do you-" Cyrus began turning to the vanguard captain.
His words died in his throat as he saw Erend looking out a large open window.
"We could throw the bomb out here." He stated.
"That'd work." Aloy said.
"You two, help us with this." Cyrus commanded, gesturing to two of the vanguard.
He, Erend, and the two guards lifted the bomb and hobbled over towards the window. It wasn't the heaviest explosive in the world, but it was quite awkward to carry. The device began to beep at them when they picked it up. The four men hurried and heaved it out the window. The bomb exploded shortly after falling out the window. The blast wasn't the biggest, but it would have been more than enough to ignite the rest of the barrels.
"I'm going to go to the king and let him know what's going on." Erend said. "We'll send some guards this way to clear out the building."
"I'm going to see if there's any other way for him to get in the city." Aloy said.
"I'll… wander. If anything comes up, I will join the action." Cyrus muttered as everyone else left. "Just like before Yharnam, always being left behind."
Of course, he wouldn't get much of an opportunity to wander. The pull of the eldritch demanded his attention. He could feel the pull originating from the palace across the bridge.
"Why would you want me there?" Cyrus muttered.
He followed the pull across the bridge. He could hear a strange and awful screeching as he neared the palace. He had never before heard a sound like it. It got less and less bearable as he followed the stairs around the building. His view at the top of the stairs, where the screeching sound was emanating from, would probably have worried him if he knew more of the people. Erend and the guards he ran off with were on the ground holding their ears. Alongside him were two other men. One was an older looking man with regal garb and the other was a younger man with a strange headdress and white and gold garment. Cyrus presumed the man to be the Sun King. The device emanating the sound looked to be a turret of some sort.
Cyrus merely glanced at it before smashing it with Ludwig's Holy Blade. The sound cut off to the relief of the men on the ground, though they still looked quite out of sorts.
"You aren't the red-haired Nora." A voice called.
Cyrus turned and saw a scarred Oseram standing just down the stairs he had ascended earlier.
"No. That would be my compatriot." Cyrus said.
"I've heard of you." The Oseram replied as Cyrus stepped towards him. "Rumors of a strange nomad with stranger garb have reached me from my men. You certainly have no tie to Meridian, why are you helping them?"
"A god wants me to." Cyrus said, feeling the eldritch pull emanating from the Oseram. "Far be it from me to understand why the Great Ones want what they want."
Cyrus swung the blade at the man he presumed to be Dervahl. The Oseram backstepped just out of his reach.
"Fine then." he growled and leveled his own weapon at Cyrus. "We have an intruder!"
He fired the weapon. A blast of compressed air slammed into the Good Hunter with the force of an angry Cleric Beast. Cyrus felt himself be thrown into the wall. He could feel bones crack. An arrow bit into his leg. With a growl, Cyrus pulled the arrow free and injected the Healing Blood into his body.
He stood and rolled out of another blast from Dervahl's weapon. It seemed to take a second to reload, a second that Cyrus took full advantage of. In quick succession, three poison daggers had bitten into Dervahl's arm. The Oseram fell to one knee as the poison began working its way through his body.
While he was down, Cyrus turned towards Dervahl's men. The four other Oseram on the balcony were felled quickly enough. Simply slice through the throat or stab into the upper body brought them death, or at least a state near it.
Cyrus sheathed Ludwig's Holy Blade and took out the Burial Blade. Dervahl was just starting to recover when he felt a blade at his neck.
"You move or speak, and it will be your head." Cyrus intoned, pressing the blade slightly into Dervahl's neck.
A small trickle of blood dripped onto the scythe. A commotion drew their attention as the men who had been incapacitated earlier had walked out onto the balcony. Aloy had joined them a quick second later.
"Looks like I missed the party." Aloy stated.
"What kept you?" Cyrus asked.
"Dervahl's men. A large force under the palace were waiting for a signal of some sort. I see you took down Dervahl." Aloy replied, gesturing to the men at scythe point.
"Indeed." Cyrus said. "I take it you're Sun King Avad?"
Cyrus pointed at the white and gold garbed Carja noble.
"Yes." The man said. "And who are you that saved us and Meridian?"
"Cyrus Bishop." Cyrus replied. "Now, what are your plans for this man?"
"I've been told the Claim wants him, where he will face justice for his crimes." Avad answered.
"Erend, what would his punishment likely be?" Cyrus asked.
"For the murder of my sister and so many others, he would likely be sentenced to life imprisonment or death." Erend answered.
"Would he also be sentenced to death under Carja law?" Aloy asked Avad.
"Yes." Avad said. "Though his fate lies with his countrymen."
"So, we are in agreement about his likely fate?" Cyrus asked, lowering his scythe.
"Yes." Avad and Erend both said.
The rest of the guards nodded in agreement.
"Good." Cyrus replied.
Before anyone could react, Cyrus swung the Burial Blade as he imagined Gehrman would have done if he had submitted to the First Hunter and ended the Hunt. Dervahl's headless body slumped over. His head landed on the stone next to it.
"His fate was for us to decide!" Erend yelled.
"I cannot condone the murder of an unarmed man." Avad said, shock still on his face.
"You didn't." Cyrus said.
He gestured with his scythe at the king.
"Judge. You pronounced him guilty and suggested the punishment."
He gestured to the rest of them assembled.
"Jury. You agreed with the judge."
He rested the scythe on his shoulder pointed at himself.
"Executioner." Cyrus finished. "He was a loose end that needed to be tied off. I learned long ago that you don't leave people like him alive when death is to be his fate."
Cyrus pushed past the stunned group.
"I will wait outside the city." he told Aloy. "Olin said that we could find clues about why the cult is hunting you in a ruin called Maker's End."
Aloy simply nodded as he walked away.
"He's not wrong." Cyrus heard the other noble said. "Knowing him, Dervahl would likely have escaped on the way to the Claim, if not before then."
"Are you saying we should thank him?" Erend asked incredulously.
"I'm saying that he tied up what was indeed a loose end."
ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY…/…
Data Log TEH-007
Since last Friday, the internet at my home has been out. Hence why there was no chapter last week. Believe me, guys, I would love to give you a chapter every day if I could. But there's this pesky thing called Life that keeps getting in the way of once-a-week uploads, let alone once a day. I try to do it once a week, but as time goes on, it becomes a once when I am able. Next week, for instance, my cousin is getting married and I'm an usher in her wedding. If I can, I'll post the next chapter. If not, well… at least you have advanced warning this time.
Thank you to all who read this, your feedback and views are much appreciated.
Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.
End Log S.T.K.