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Bloodborne belongs to FromSoftware, Horizon Zero Dawn belongs to Guerrilla Games

Chapter 11: The Will of the Hunt

LOG: USRC Breach: Data Corruption Minimal

Lieutenant General Johnathan Rook: It is with great sorrow that I announce the passing of General Aaron Herres. Yesterday at 1500 hours, a Horus unit breached the United States Robot Command. General Herres and the men stationed were able to destroy the Horus unit before succumbing to their wounds. All in all, we lost many good men yesterday. Unfortunately, with the loss of USRC, we have lost our last military stronghold in the fight against the plague. The only life left on Earth now exists in bunkers with barely enough food to last two months. Operation Enduring Victory has been a failure. Zero Dawn was not completed in time. I fear this may be the last transmission by any human from this doomed planet. To anyone who hears this, if life does somehow continue after this unmitigated apocalypse, I speak on behalf of General Herres. We are so sorry. We failed.

…/…

The first thing Aloy noticed when she opened her eyes was that she was no longer in the arena with the Khopesh and Winter Lanterns. The last thing she remembered was looking at the strange entity and then… pain. Excruciating pain.

She slowly stood up and looked around. The area she was in was certainly strange. A pale moon hung incredibly low in the sky. Lower than she had ever seen it. A field of strange white flowers stretched fifty in all directions. The field was ringed by a wall of tombstones. Beyond that, stretching endlessly in all directions was a vast expanse of clouds and pillars. There was nothing.

The only thing breaking apart the strange ethereal monotony of the landscape around her was Cyrus. The Good Hunter was sitting in an old wooden wheelchair. For once, she could see that he was asleep. His head swiveled towards her as she stood up. The Good Hunter slowly stood as well. He slowly approached. Unlike normal though, he moved as if someone else were moving him, like a poorly controlled puppet on strings.

A strange sound resounded all around her. She could even, somehow, feel it inside her head. A second later, The Hunter's mouth opened.

"It seems we are destined to meet sooner than intended." Cyrus spoke.

"Cyrus?" Aloy asked.

"No. I am not Cyrus Bishop. My Hunter is merely a puppet for me to speak to you, huntress." Cyrus said.

"Who are you? What are you?" Aloy asked, slowly drawing her bow.

"There will be no need for that." Cyrus's hand waved across his body, and Aloy's bow vanished in a red mist. "As for who and what I am… all you need to know is that I am his… patron."

Aloy relaxed slightly.

"In due time you will come to learn much more about me. For the time being I am forced to use this… inferior language for you to understand. My Hunter has spent enough time in my realm to understand my words. A luxury that I can't afford you." Cyrus's master said. "Still, we can answer some questions now."

"Why do you want to speak with me?" Aloy asked.

"You pledged yourself to me, did you not?" The entity asked.

"No. I didn't." Aloy denied.

"Dear Huntress, did you not realize what you agreed to?" The strange sound warbled, like it was laughing. "My Hunter gave you one last chance to back out. You decided to press on. You wanted to know for yourself. And now you are a part of my Hunt."

"But-" Aloy began.

"But nothing." The entity relayed. "You have made your choice. Now you will become one of us."

"Why me?" Aloy asked.

"Why not you?" The entity countered. "You've gained the interest of my Hunter. You piqued my curiosity. You are an… abnormality amongst humans."

"What do you mean?" Aloy interrupted.

"I have exerted my will upon this world for many millennia. Cyrus has been the hand of my will. You aren't the first you I've ever encountered. Cyrus failed to recruit her last time. He succeeded this time." Cyrus said.

"Elisabet?" Aloy asked.

"That was her name then. Now her name is Aloy." Cyrus smiled. "And I do hope you prove to be more cooperative than my Hunter was in the beginning."

Cyrus walked towards her in strange halting movements. Aloy took a step back. The presence in her mind grew stronger as Cyrus's body approached. She gulped as an arm reached and gently caressed her cheek.

"You have something else to you though." Cyrus said. "Something I find myself wanting."

"Why should I help you?" Aloy asked, despite the fear that was settling in her stomach.

"I thought I made that clear. You don't have a choice, Huntress. You've already pledged yourself to me. But we are not without sympathy." The being explained. "Help us and let us help you. Beyond the knowledge that I can bless you with, my Hunter can gift you weapons better suited to dealing with your enemies. We can train you in all sorts of skills and knowledge that come with being one of us. I can teach you stories long since lost to the chaos. This need not be a hostile relationship. My Hunter moved past that; you need not start where he did."

Cyrus's arm raised, palm open and face up. Aloy looked around. Her thoughts whirling in her mind. The promise this being had given sounded too good to be true. Yet, if what Cyrus said was anything to go by, it wasn't enough.

"Does Cyrus know about this?" Aloy asked.

"Our conversation? Yes." The being said. "Of the exact words? Unlikely."

Aloy hesitated. She glanced at the offered arm.

"If the decision to work with us willingly is hard to make, perhaps I can sweeten the deal." Cyrus's patron spoke. "There are many of us throughout existence. Many with far worse intentions towards your plane than I. I can train you to protect your world from them, as I have with my Hunter."

"Can you teach me about my world's past?" Aloy asked.

Cyrus smiled. "Easily. I already promised that didn't I?"

"What do you want from me?" Aloy asked, looking at the offered limb once more.

"I want two things from you, for now. I want you to gain the insight to see beyond the veil. I also want you to enter the dream. Cyrus will give you a transfusion and truly induct you into our order. Once there, we shall speak again." The entity relayed.

Cyrus walked back to the wooden wheelchair and collapsed into it. As limp and lifeless as when Aloy had first laid eyes on him. The world around her began to fade. Her vision faded to black.

Aloy felt something hard and solid against her back. She bolted upright, eyes wide open. The field and endless sky were gone. The moon no longer shone. She was in a metal barracks. The corpses of dead monsters and machines were nowhere to be found. Cyrus was gone as well. Aloy stood up and walked out of the room.

"SIR, A HORUS UNIT HAS BREACHED! WE'RE LOSING MEN LEFT AND RIGHT!" She heard a voice yelling.

Aloy started walking towards the voice.

"Goddamn it!" Another voice spoke. "Get out of here! We don't stand a chance against that thing!"

"Not without you sir!" The first voice responded.

"Son, what I'm going to do will damn us all to hell." The second voice answered.

"Doesn't matter." The first voice said.

Aloy entered the room at the end of the hall. It was a war room of the old world. That much seemed clear. Monitors lined the two side walls. A circular table sat in the center of the room. Sitting in one of the chairs, watching the holograms playing around him was Cyrus Bishop. Well… he wasn't so much watching as he was listening. His hands were steepled in front of his face and his eyes were closed.

"Fine." The voice of an older man said. "System, activate failsafe blood moon."

"Failsafe activating." A synthetic voice announced.

"Apologies, Cyrus." The older man said.

The hologram cut out and returned to what was presumably its default state. Aloy didn't understand the symbol all that much. The best way she could think to describe it was as a simplified drawing of a person hanging upside down.

"Glad to see you're awake." Cyrus spoke up.

"What was that?" Aloy asked.

"The last transmission from this base. General Aaron Herres's last words." Cyrus said. "It doesn't reveal much, but I now know how there were Winter Lanterns in there."

"Your handiwork." Aloy concluded.

"Yep." Cyrus admitted. "My patron wanted him in the Hunt. He actually learned a lot about me and my history. When the fighting started, I was one of the first people Herres called for help. My patron gave him a way to survive should everything fall apart. Never knew what it was. Now I do, I guess."

"I think I met your patron." Aloy stated.

"You did. He's… certainly different." Cyrus replied. "I didn't expect you to meet her so soon."

"Uh… they said it was sooner than intended." Aloy answered, uncertain.

"I know. You probably would have a few more months of normalcy if this were the standard timeline." Cyrus said. "I don't suppose our… unanticipated friend is with us? You've been out of it for a couple days now."

"Sylens?" Aloy asked.

There was a moment of silence.

"So, you finally decided to wake." The gruff man stated. "Good. Now we can continue towards the Zero Dawn project facility."

"Not quite." Cyrus spoke up.

"You can hear me?" Sylens asked.

Cyrus turned his head and pointed at a focus attached to his ear.

"Figured it would be handy to have all parties in the room for the duration of this conversation." Cyrus spoke.

"You've linked a network between us." Sylens stated.

"Yep." Cyrus confirmed. "An old friend taught me how to do it. Now, I know the whereabouts of the Zero Dawn facility from the past. What I don't know is the current state of the facility. Something I was hoping you might."

"Sylens?" Aloy asked.

"Indeed." Cyrus said. "I'm transmitting the location and the video file I found it on to you now."

"Sunfall." Sylens stated. "It would seem that we need to head to the heart of Shadow Carja territory."

"Why did you want us to wait?" Aloy asked. "As far as I know, there was no way you could know about that."

"You're right." Cyrus said. "That area, though, resonates with… otherworldly forces."

"Your patron?" Aloy asked.

"Of their world." Cyrus confirmed. "I've been feeling the presence of another for a while now. I suspect it will be more of a fight than we originally thought."

"Another what?" Sylens asked.

"Another entity beyond your comprehension." Cyrus answered. "Good day to you, Sylens."

Cyrus stood up and removed the focus from his head. He dropped the small triangle of metal in one of his pockets. He began walking away. As he reached the door, he spoke up again.

"When you're done here, head down this hall, take the second door on the right. I'll be waiting in the room beyond." Cyrus said.

Aloy hesitated.

"Your friend gets more intriguing as time goes on." Sylens said. "Could you enlighten me as to what he was talking about?"

"You didn't hear his explanation a couple days ago." Aloy asked.

"I did." Sylens confirmed. "What he spoke of, though, sounded to be little more than the ramblings of a madman who puts too much faith in gods he's created for himself."

"I bet he wishes you were right." Aloy muttered as she walked down the path Cyrus had previously tread.

Beyond the door Cyrus had told her about sat Cyrus, in front of an old wrought iron lantern. The pale blue light just barely illuminated the small tubes and the vial of blood in front of him.

"Unfortunately, the proper equipment for this is lost to us. So, I have to make do." The Good Hunter said.

"For what?" Aloy asked.

Cyrus just pointed at the side of his head. Aloy quickly picked up his meaning and removed her focus.

"You are going to be part of the Hunt. It is time for you to become a Hunter. Unless I am mistaken in what you talked with my patron about?" Cyrus queried.

"No… how did you know?" Aloy asked.

"Lucky guess." Cyrus stated sardonically. "Now, for this to work properly, I have to give you a blood transfusion. Hence the blood vial. This will hurt."

"A blood transfusion?" Aloy asked.

"You'll see." Cyrus said. "I suggest sitting down."

Aloy did as he said and sat down. Cyrus opened the blood vial and secured one end of the tube into it.

"Arm." Cyrus commanded.

Aloy hesitantly extended her arm. Cyrus grabbed it roughly. He lowered a small dagger and stabbed into her arm. Aloy would have pulled her arm back, had Cyrus not held it so tightly. He placed the other end of the tube into the bleeding hole in her arm. He lifted the vial above his head and let the crimson fluid flow down.

"All you need is one drop. Don't know why I can't just do it my way. Injecting it into your thigh would be much simpler." Cyrus muttered.

Aloy felt her vision beginning to darken. Consciousness was failing her.

"I'll meet you in the dream." Cyrus stated as the world faded to black.

ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY…/…

Data Log TEH-011

Thank you to all who read this, your feedback and views are much appreciated.

Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.

End Log S.T.K.