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Five years ago (?)
Metal against metal.
Groans of pain and bestial grunts.
With pistol in one hand and Hunter's Axe in another, the woman was giving her all to overcome her opponent.
A legendary Hunter, consumed by the beast within, who in his madness had ended the life of the woman who loved him.
Father Gascoigne was his name.
The battle had been going on for quite a while, with The Hunter throwing constant feints thanks to her firearm and avoiding Gascoigne's own axe.
Many of the graves in the cemetery where they were fighting had been reduced to mere rubble that was buried as the rain fell. The earth had been stained a dark red, it was as thick as oil, with the water falling from the heavens being useless to wash it away.
Blood from Hunter to Hunter.
"HAH!"
It was a struck from Lady Luck.
The Hunter's axe embedded itself deep into Gascoigne's torso, causing torrents of bloody, unsettling crunching sounds.
Seeing a window of opportunity where there was none, The Hunter tried to shoot straight into her prey's chest. In her euphoria at getting a clear shot, she could not foresee what would happen next.
Along with the burst of the bullet, Gascoigne's axe handle struck her chin, not only deflecting the shot, but the force was such that it sent her into a pile of graves.
"Oh, what a smell is that...! The sweet blood, oh, it sings to me! It's enough to make a man sick."
Aurora frowned her face in annoyance. It was impossible for her not to be frustrated when she let herself get carried away by the ecstasy of the Hunt, a warning Gherman had already given her but apparently it didn't quite stick in her stubborn head.
Pulling the handkerchief down from her face, she spat out a bit of saliva of a reddish hue.
Her battle with Gascoigne had been prolonged by a fortuitous coincidence, one discovered in the wake of the first blow the Ex-Hunter of The Healing Church struck.
As said blow nearly sunk her chest, a musical box Aurora was carrying fell out and began to play its melody, freezing her foe and causing him to mutter a bunch of incoherent gibberish. With such an event, she was able to take a moment to breathe the putrid air of Yharnam, heal herself and think of a strategy to counterattack the veteran foe.
The second time she used the box, it was for the sheer advantage it gave her. This was not a duel of knights or something in which honor had value, this was a monster hunt, something that had to be carried out by poor bastards with nothing to lose so that others would not have to dirty their hands or face what the children said was hiding under their beds.
Without hesitation, Aurora pulled out the music box and once again its music played, drowned out by the sound of the environment and Gascoigne's footsteps. And, still, the veteran could hear it... starting a reaction that could make things much more difficult for the Hunter.
"GRAAAARRRRRRRHHHH!"
His body grew at an unnatural rate, his hat fell off and his clothes tore, giving way to patches of grayish fur. With the two-handed axe made to one side, his hands now adorned with large, sharp claws, as well as his apex predator teeth, became his main weapons.
The Beast had won and Father Gascoigne was no more.
These were the horrors of Yharnam.
But-
"..."
-knowingly that man had looked straight at the worst the city had to offer.
THWACK!
That all had been lost to the horror that his insides grew.
CLANG!
The goal of the Good Hunter had not changed.
A Hunter must Hunt.
Miraculous vitality of the ages, which immeasurable value holds.
If spilled blood was, then with blood atoned must be.
.
.
.
In the Tomb of Oedon, Aurora -F̵̶̳̽͑̀͌͊ͣ̆̋ͭ̈́l̶̘̩̱͚͈̼̮̜̮̻̜͍̄̉̔ͫ̓ͦͨ̒͂͊̑͋͞_̤ͯớ̧̛̖̬̻̥͕͚̮͎̺̟̟̦̄̀ͥ̐ͦ̑̔̄ͮ̑̌͂ͧ͋̔ͥ͌̋̆̅̽ͫ̐̎̏͘͟͢͡ͅr̸̥͚͙̞͊̾̏ͫ̚ą̷̩̹͕̮̱̲͕̝̫ͬ̿ͤ̾ͪ̆͐ͭ͐̊́ͯ͆͘͘͘͟͝- Selene -L̶̴̷̨̥̹̪̬͔̭͖̫͈̰͚̜͉̻͎̗̣̯͌́̽̃̄̔ͥ͐̿̆̋̇̀̈͆̒̂̒̓̚̚͢͠͞ė̵̟̻̟̼͎̮̖̙̞̮̭̻͖̉͛̋͊͒́͆͂ͫ̂́̂́ͫͯ̏̌ͩͥ̊͐ͣ͘̕̕̕̕͠ṳ̶̡̢̲͇̘̞̮̰̫̑ͬ͋̉̒ͬ͢͟͝k̸̡̛͚̼̟ͫ́͒̂͆̀ͧ͟o̧̱̯̯̼͍͖ͫͧͣ̾ͣ̏͂̓͘s̷̨̝͚̫̦̣͚͈͈̮͉̮̜̲̯̜͚ͭͪ̀̃ͦ̾̓̏ͨ̎̏͑ͩͨ̉̃ͣ͆ͧͯͣ̾ͮ̂̕͘͝ͅ-found atonement.
... ... ...
... ... ...
Orario, home of the Apollo Family.
Along the ride in a pompous carriage, Bell Cranel witnessed the sun's embrace once again leave the city and bring with it the artificial light of street lamps powered by magic stones, a sign that Orario's night life was beginning.
Sadly, the holder of the record could not enjoy such sights with so many things crossing his mind. From childlike amazement at the appearance of a Lv.8 adventurer, to the fact that his beloved Goddess and he were headed to the headquarters of the [Apollo Familia], [Familia] whose members Bell had recently confronted due to their off-handed comments.
Bell was naive, but not so naive that he couldn't see that something was afoot. Hestia was somewhat overprotective of him, but he could see that all the warnings he received from his Goddess when his rise to Lv.2 was announced made sense.
Taking a deep breath and slapping his cheeks, he decided to stop overthinking things so much. The God's Banquet was a feast of Gods for Gods, so he decided to fixate on that, on making this an enjoyable event for his beloved Goddess.
Little did Bell know that it was easier said - read thought - than done.
As soon as he arrived, he linked his arm with Hestia's and they waited for Miach and Naaza to step out of the same carriage and head fully inside.
The four were greeted at the entrance of the mansion by those two girls who had been following Bell in the guild that same morning. It was obvious to the white-haired man that, if in the end they didn't approach him, it was because of the fuss made at Hephaestus' announcement.
The red-haired girl seemed to want to say something to him, but she swallowed her words when she saw that Bell was obviously accompanied by two Gods.
Once inside, both the white-haired and the Dogman felt oppressed by the luxury, and there was no other word to describe their feelings.
Doing their best, Naaza and Bell went upstairs with Miach and Hestia to a ballroom located on the second floor, where the real event awaited.
Once inside, things were going better than expected. They met Takemikazuchi accompanied by Mikoto and... Hephaestus accompanied by Tsubaki? That surprised Bell.
The gods and their children exchanged greetings and the odd comment about the party, with Hestia somewhat uncomfortable when Takemikazuchi told her that this didn't give him a good feeling. The Goddess of Home and Family already had enough on her plate, and with her God of Thunder and Sword friend, it all but confirmed to her that Apollo would make a move against her.
The atmosphere swayed that way until Hestia made a comment about a certain Lv.8, to which Hephaestus arched an eyebrow.
"I'm surprised she didn't come with you."
"What were you expecting?"
"Well... You [Familia] now have a Lv.8 adventurer. I bet everyone here expected her to come with you, though I also thought they'd go to the extent of forcing you to bring her along... No offense, Collbrande-san."
"Meh, it's okay. And she had her reasons for not coming," Tsubaki coughed, ready to imitate the voice of that person she had a complicated relationship with. "'Sorry, I don't think I can help but break that bastard Apollo nose.'"
Mikoto, Naaza and Bell gaped.
'How direct!" the three of them thought.
"Hoo~, that's a shame," a new voice joined the conversation, being the most velvety, seductive and mature Bell had ever heard in her short life. "I was hoping to find her here and that she would grant me a dance."
Hestia couldn't help but squeak as a sultry woman with hair and eyes like silver approached the group, with her hurrying to cover Bell's eyes. Behind the woman, following her as if he were her shadow, stood Ottar, the [King], Captain of the [Freya Familia].
"Freya... I didn't expect to see you here," Hephaestus declared, averting her eye.
"Well, I couldn't miss it. Things are getting busy in the city, don't you think? We've got a level eight adventurer in our midst after all this time and... an adorable little bunny who broke the record."
Bell's face grew so hot that Mikoto rushed to touch his forehead thinking he had a fever.
"Get your hands off my son, he's too innocent to fall for your [Charm]!" claimed Hestia.
"Hehe, come on, don't be like that Hestia," Freya said cloyingly to the frustration of the pigtailed goddess.
"For crying out loud, I don't know how you got here before me," and once again, a new voice joined the conversation, being that time a very easily recognizable male voice.
"I-it's good to see you, Hermes-sama," Mikoto greeted him.
"Likewise, Lady Mikoto."
Accompanying the messenger god was his confidant and Captain of his [Familia], Asfi Al Andromeda, who, noticing how her God assessed Mikoto's appearance with perverted eyes, felt the enormous urge to punch him.
To the luck (?) of Hermes, Takemikazuchi stepped forward and hit him first.
Bell wanted to say hello while wondering what was going on, but he was still caught between his Goddess covering his eyes, the enormous presence Ottar was exerting despite being absolutely silent and Mikoto's unnecessary concern for his health.
It was clear to him that she still felt guilty about the Parade Pass.
As for Freya, she would like nothing better than to stay here, having a bit of fun with Hestia and spend as much time as possible with Cranel before he inevitably set his eyes on Aiz Wallenstein, who was on the other side of the hall with Loki.
Unfortunately, that night it could not be.
Her motives for approaching were other and closely related to Hephaestus.
"Hephaestus, may we speak in private?" she said with absolute normality, but both Hermes, Ottar and Miach noticed... hesitation?
Hephaestus' eye widened in surprise, and so did Tsubaki's. Goddess and Captain began to try to make sense of Freya's request, and while Tsubaki didn't quite understand the unusual question beyond the friction between the silver goddess and her friend, Hephaestus understood that there was much more to it.
The relationship between Freya and her daughter was far from simple. Goddess Herrera would go so far as to declare that she was an absolute pain in the ass.
She noticed Hestia about to protest and Hermes about to make one of his 'inteligent' comments, so she beat them to it.
"Sure, lead the way," she agreed without hesitation.
With a slight nod, Freya turned to look at the strongest son of her [Familia].
"Ottar, why don't you convalesce for a bit? This could take a while."
Neither Hestia, Miach or Takemikazuchi could understand where this out of character behavior on Freya's part was coming from, and if they had to be honest, they were about to give up on trying to figure it out.
Hermes was at the opposite pole.
The Messenger God was aware of what would lead to such a request, and although he did not have the full picture, it was obvious to him that [Bloodsight] was in the middle of it.
'The reappearance of the Lumenflower is no coincidence. Neither is the caution with which Evilus moves... She is interfering again."
Turning back to Ottar, who was still serious and unmoving, quickly accepted his Goddess' request, approaching the other adventurers... who didn't even know what to say.
Freya thought it was a bit cute, but she shouldn't waste any more time.
Giving her a sign, Hephaestus nodded and began to follow her, but not before feeling the worried glances of her god friends and her Captain.
On their way, they ran into Apollo, surrounded by a bunch of other gods and adventurers. The host of the God's Banquet looked at Freya with interest, a look that disappeared when he realized that Hephaestus was following her.
Apollo it turned pale.
She decided not to make a big deal out of it.
Finally, they reached a balcony where no one was around, so Freya obliged and closed the door behind them, isolating the two from the bustle outside and making sure their conversation was kept in total secrect.
"Well," Hephaestus began. "What do you want, Freya-AH?"
In a turn of events, Hephaestus was enveloped in a warm hug on Freya's behalf. The Blacksmith Goddess found it impossible not to blush.
"... Thank you..." whispered Freya into Hephaestus' ear. It was a thank you laden with an unnatural melancholy, as if all her senses were telling her that such a thing did not belong in a Goddess of beauty and love.
That preconceived image she had always had of the silver goddess was shattered with a single action, with the sincerity behind her word being the key in Hephaestus' opinion.
"... Why?"
Freya's hug grew tighter. Hephaestus felt something wet on her shoulder and realized she had shed some tears.
"She's back... It's not him, it's not... and it never will be," Freya broke the hug and looking directly at Hephaestus; there was no trace of the tears that, her was sure, she shed. "Flora is Flora, now more than ever."
Hephaestus sighed in exasperation as Freya turned and headed for the lookout. There were so many mixed feelings that it was very difficult for her to process the information.
Soon she joined her companion, both Goddesses watching as the blanket of night embraced Orario and, high in the sky, a large, bright yellowish moon with its light pushed away the shadows.
"… So… we weren't wrong? " she said hesitantly. "When she left Orario, I was so sure I had failed…"
Freya shrugged.
"It was very ambiguous, my dear," she said with regained composure. "But one thing I am sure of."
At that banquet, used as cover against the impending plot against the one who leaps the moon, Hephaestus had one thing for sure, something she had wanted to be certain of for many yesterdays.
The Goddess of Love, Fertility and War, Freya, declared.
"Our pact with Aurora Selene has not been broken."
... ... ...
... ... ...
Normally, another day ended would mean leaving the Guild, going home, taking a relaxing bath, and reading a bit. However, today Eina Tulle made an exception. Almost everything an adventurer did was left solely and exclusively in the hands of their advisor. Nevertheless, there was one thing that can not be hidden; on the contrary, adventurers wanted it to be known among every individual in Orario and beyond: Their exploits.
The Guild kept an extensive record of these — which mostly dated back to the Zeus and Hera [Familias] — in the form of a small library open to the public. It was in this place where Eina found herself, seeking to know more about an individual who should have sent waves through Orario, bringing the winds of change, but who seemed to generate amazement, yes, but also… morbidity and uncertainty.
Flora Leukos.
Since her days in the School District, the half-elf had heard about the woman and her fervor and savagery. With so much myth and prejudice mixed with reality, she dismissed what she heard until her arrival at the Guild. What advisors and other employees said was not very different from what she had heard in the School District, but the fact that people from not only the Guild but all of Orario said it was what made Eina take things more seriously and… steer clear as if it were taboo from any knowledge related to the 'daughter of Hephaestus.'
That had been the case until the aforementioned returned to the city at the heart of the world to declare she had become Lv.8. Hence the consequences: Eina searching for the book on Flora Leukos's exploits.
"How can you be here for half an hour and not find what you're looking for?"
"AHH!"
Eina jumped in fright when her colleague, Rose Fannett, appeared beside her. She had an expression half bored, half funny.
"D-Don't... don't do that again."
"Haha! Sorry, I couldn't help it," Rose smiled at Eina, surprising the half-elf when she extended her hand and offered her a book. "Is this what you're looking for?"
The title was quite simple, being the name of the adventurer. Something curious was that an adventurer's alias was added to their exploit book only when they passed away, and it made a lot of sense considering that the alias was changeable in renowned adventurers who leveled up during their lives.
"How did you...?"
"In all my years here, I only know of one damned person for whom someone would search so much in Section F, and believe me, it's not Finn Deimne."
Eina nodded, still surprised but accepting the book.
She sat at one of the tables around, and unexpectedly, was followed by Rose. Apparently, she would have a reading companion.
"Eh, I didn't expect this from you. Did the announcement push you to finally investigate this adventurer?" Rose murmured a few curses at Royman for making her post Flora's announcement as Lv.8.
"You could say that…" Eina said quietly as she opened the book…
… and was disappointed to see that from the first page it was full of scribbles, amendments, and words indicating certain pages. There were even some folded pages whose tips had been painted, as if to serve as bookmarks.
Rose also glanced at it.
"Sigh, not again."
"Again?"
"It's the tenth time they've done that to the damned book. I swear, Royman is going to fire someone if he finds out."
The seriousness with which she said it let Eina know she wasn't joking.
Guided by curiosity, Eina went to one of the folded pages, horrified by what she saw. Internally, Rose laughed a bit at her exaggerated reaction.
While one side was text, the other was a black and white illustration of four amorphous, eyeless creatures, excessively thin and with corpse-like skin. The four beings held a scroll that they seemed to offer to someone.
The advisor read the description again and again, the final part sticking in her mind.
[… when you hear the soft whisper of the wind and see a shadow gliding through the streets, know that a Messenger has arrived. Listen carefully to their words, for they may be the key to your survival and victory in the endless night of ɎⱧ₳Ɽ₦₳₥.]
"Ugh, someone scratched out the last word… I can't read it."
"Hmm," Rose looked at it in an attempt to decipher it, but it was useless.
Defeated, Eina moved to the next highlighted page.
THUMP!
Rose slammed the book shut.
"Hey! Why did you do that?"
"…Eina, do you really want to know why Orario has vilified Flora Leukos?"
"…I always… wondered why," the half-elf confessed. "At first, they talk about her as the curiosity of the moment, as if she were an eccentricity for which some [Familias] would go to war and suddenly… the tone changed completely, as if she had done something forbidden, say, return a God to Tenkai…
"I can assure you she hasn't done such a thing, as far as I know..." Eina shifted uncomfortably. "If you really want to know, then we have to go back to the worst time in Orario."
The wolf woman opened the book to the second folded page, showing another illustration.
This time it was the plaza surrounding Babel, with the difference that, instead of white and bluish stone blocks, the ground was everywhere stained with some liquid represented by black ink. There were also many dots and unrecognizable shapes.
Eina's stomach turned when an idea came to her mind, and looking directly into Rose's eyes told her she was right.
"A massacre at Babel...?"
"A hunt," Fannett corrected her with complete reliability. "It happened seven years ago."
Eina Tulle understood.
Seven years ago, the war that determined the current state of the city occurred.
"I don't understand why, but they named it The Selene Festival."