Word count 9,805
For a moment, I took in the starting area of the Nightmare of Mensis.
That is to say, the cave covered in screaming human skulls that seemed to come out of the rocks.
Charming, truly.
Especially if we go with the theory that these are actually the souls of the damned, doomed to this Nightmare…
Well. In any case, I went out of the cave, killed a beast which had maggots… worms? Parasites within it that bursted out of its corpse.
Proper application of fire, however, proved to once more be useful in solving most recent problems in my life.
Then I gathered some Coldblood and loot, turned around a corner… And stared at the Brain of Mensis causing Frenzy in the area.
Now, see, in the game having to deal with it, on top of the beasts, is something of a pain in the ass.
I, however, was a Gamer. Thus I calmly went to the nearby Lantern hidden behind an outcropping of rocks (with more screaming human skulls made of rocks on it. Naturally.) and activated it.
Then I paused, and considered some of what awaited me from there on.
More specifically, some of the events unlocked by killing Micolash, the boss of this place.
I frowned… Then changed plans.
I'll deal with the mad bastard later. For now, I really should go deal with Cainhurst first.
Mostly so that I could meet and introduce myself to Queen Annalise before Arianna gave birth to a Child of Blood.
Because telling the Queen of Cainhurst "Sorry Your Majesty, the Child you sought to be blessed with by the gods ended up being born from another woman. Who? Oh, the local whore was the mother." on my first meeting with her would… probably not be the best idea ever.
So with that thought in mind, I returned to the Hunter's Dream.
Waving to the Doll and telling her of my new plan to go to Cainhurst first, I returned to the Lantern which had appeared after the Witch of Hemwick was killed.
Though not before informing her of Patches' death. The news made her look… satisfied.
Well, the Doll's protective instincts aside, after dealing with a few of the madmen beyond the witch's abode, I stood by the road cutting through the area, the Cainhurst invitation in hand.
Not a minute later, a carriage driven by horses appeared, before stopping in front of me.
And when I said "driven by horses," I mean that they were the only living beings there. There was no human in sight.
That didn't stop the door to the carriage from opening on its own with a creaking sound, however.
Shrugging, I entered.
And off I went to Cainhurst Castle.
I had to admit, I was pretty giddy on the inside.
I was in a royal carriage! And I was going to meet an actual Queen!
How awesome was that?!
I was so taken by the experience of travelling by Royal Carriage that, when I finally arrived to Castle Cainhurst, I didn't even care that, when I turned around, I saw the horses long dead corpses covered in snow, or the bridge behind it so utterly broken there was no possible way the carriage should have been able to take it.
I mean, Cainhurst Castle itself looked impressive!
Sure, it was full of bloodthirsty beasts and ghosts, but oh well.
Who cared about those! Royal Carriage! Castle! Queen!
I mean, I was one of the most powerful Hunters in the world, a legitimate multiple times over GODSLAYER (and French) beside, but still!
What was left of me that was still the man from Earth who read such things on the internet was in heaven currently.
So with all that being said, onward!
I had a Queen to rescue from the undead abomination of a Zealot who held her captive for who knows how long!
"TO ADVENTURE!" I shouted gleefully, holding my weapon high, before stepping forward.
Oh, and I took out the Threaded Cane, quickly gaining the (Whip Wielding Mastery) Skill through a few swings in the air.
It was about time I switched to learning how to fight with yet another one of my Hunter weapons, anyway.
Thus prepared, and not really caring that the massive gates of the castles opened themselves on their own, I entered Cainhurst Castle.
And quickly activated the Lantern within the courtyard.
Then, starting by the right part of it, I swept the area for loot. Sure, there were some more maggot… worm… parasite things, but fire took care of that.
And then, well, I had to deal with the actual threats of the place.
That is to say, the Bloodlickers, massive and bloated abominations that kind of looked like overgrown ticks more than anything else.
Well that, or jumping spiders. Because damn could these things jump!
Fire and whip still let me triumph, however, so eventually I was free to enter the castle itself- though not before collecting the loot- including a lot of Numbing Mists.
Though I did take a moment to just… stare at the Bloodlicker so utterly bloated with blood it literally couldn't move.
Then I killed it. From afar, of course.
The sheer explosion of Blood from its death was something to behold, and served well to confirm it had been a good idea to kill it while standing far away from it as I did.
Then, once I entered the Castle, something else left me staring in surprise.
That is to say, I could see the ghosts. Normally, they stay invisible until you pick up an item or kill one of the mad servants scrubbing the floor, but here I could see them, clear as day.
Interesting. One of my perks, or was it my high Insight perhaps, which allowed me this?
Either way, it didn't matter.
Pursing my lips, I decided to use the Arcane Infusion skill- it was still under level 50, so that, too, needed level up- and then charged the ghosts.
Who all looked like blindfolded, wrists-bound women holding a knife/dagger.
Who had their throats slit.
And were obviously murderously angry about their fates.
I had to admit, fighting ghosts like that felt WEIRD.
VERY weird. Especially since they did, sort of… bleed when hit.
They still "died" though, so that's what mattered most.
Area cleared, I quickly found the Reiterpallasch, a rapier with a built-in pistol.
Then I went up the stairs, killed more ghosts, found more loot, entered the Banquet room and cleared that too, allowing me to find the Noble (Alluring) dress.
That was the exact same dress that Arianna is wearing back in the Chapel, might I add.
Then I kept going, going out on the Castle ramparts, and meeting my first… Well, they are officially called the "The Lost Children of Antiquity", but really they are essentially Gargoyles.
A few fireballs and attacks with my whip/cane helping later, it, and a few mores of its kind were killed, and I was free to loot the place and keep going.
To find the Executioner Set!
… Which I had no interest in wearing, but whatever. It's found, I kept going and entered the Library, proceeding to send a lightning bolt to the blowgun user at the end of the room (since being hit by its darts would make all ghosts become lost in Frenzy and focus on me)- and then I cleared said room of ghosts.
Which allowed me to find the Vileblood Register and the Evelyn!
A weapon that I was eager to upgrade, because it would work very well with my High Bloodtinge stat.
It was also the gun used by one Lady Maria, so if it was a good enough weapon for her, it was a good enough weapon for me, too.
Still, I didn't immediately start using it- It needed to be upgraded, first.
Speaking of, I went left, using the elevator there to create a shortcut that opened to the Castle's courtyard- and the Lantern there.
Using it, I returned to the Hunter's Dream- I had a weapon to upgrade and (100000) Blood Echoes to use!
Once back in the Dream, I quickly catched up with the Doll on my progress before using my Blood Echoes.
For (49950) Blood Echoes, I first leveled up my (Whip Wielding Mastery) skill to level (100/MAX).
Then, for (37750) Blood Echoes I did the same with (Arcane Infusion).
With my remaining Blood Echoes, I finished by upgrading my (Empathy) skill to level (98).
Nodding and thanking the Doll, I then went to upgrade my new gun to (+9), before returning back to Cainhurst Castle.
Back to the Hunt I went…
Using the newly opened elevator helped me return to where I stopped, I then made my way upstairs, clearing the room and then making my way down and out of the room by…
Well. Falling off ledges into other ledges.
Once into the new room, I cleared that too, and found not only the Knight's Set… but the Executioner Gloves!
An item that I eagerly put on, because it was an awesome one which allowed me to throw the spirits of the Dead at my enemies!
A few things about that item: first, as far as I understood, it wasn't actually originally from the Executioners- it just ended up in their possession.
Secondly, it worked through the use of Blood Echoes… So to speak.
What was the Old Blood, really? And what of the Blood Echoes?
Well, the Old Blood basically contained the lingering "Wills" of the Dead, and that was exactly what the "Echoes of Blood" are.
They are the Echoes of the spirits of the dead, seeking to live further through the livings.
Thus, when you check the description of HP in Bloodborne, you'll notice that it stands for the "will to live" of your character.
Thus, Blood Vials were quite literally all about borrowing the will to live from the Echoes of the Spirits of the Dead in the Old Blood to heal oneself and keep on living.
It certainly explains why Ghosts can give Blood Echoes, or why the Gloves allowed one to unleash Spirits on one's enemies through the Blood coating said Gloves.
And of course, the last proof one needs is to look at the pictures of Ritual Bloods- and the differences existing between the less potent version… And the most potent version.
I titled my head, remembering perfectly the Ritual Blood levels (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5).
Needless to say, it really showed the truth of Blood Echoes/Old Blood quite well.
Though now that I thought about it, it really wasn't surprising a Soulsborne game would have its characters grow stronger though what is essentially souls- just with the added Blood as a "Holy Medium."
Speaking of which, Gehrman telling me that hunters partook in "Communion" in the Chalice Dungeon? Yeah, it was him basically telling me to "Go and kill stuff, so that you can grow stronger."
I mean, why else would a Hunter go to a place full of monsters, really, if it wasn't to go kill them?
So yeah, those gloves called to the Echoes of the Spirits within the Gloves to come out and kill stuff. And with my Arcane Stat being what it is…
Well. That was going to do some serious damage, needless to say!
All that done with, I once again went outside, walked on more ledges to find some loot and then entered a room with a device that allowed me to move part of the library over.
Which created not only a shortcut, but also uncovered a ladder that I used to go to a new part of the area with more loot.
Then I took some stairs, went up the roof to kill more Gargoyles and find the Knight's wig, carefully walked on the rooftops to eventually come across some more loot, followed by a ladder to end up on more rooftops.
There I found some Bold Hunter's Marks, and I glanced at my Blood Echoes for a moment, before shaking my head- I had only (25000) of them.
It really wasn't worth the trip back to the Hunter's Dream, even with the Boss just ahead.
So with that, I stepped forwards.
And came across the infamous Martyr Logarius.
BOSS BATTLE
MARTYR LOGARIUS
I frowned thoughtfully… And then blinked.
Wasn't the building behind him supposed to be hidden from sight until we acquired the Crown of Illusion from the boss? Because I most definitely COULD see the hidden building.
… Let me guess- High Insight proving itself useful once more? Or maybe my high Int/Wis stats.
Perhaps both. Speaking of...
Martyr Logarius
Level 90
I hummed. Either way, I had an undead Zealot to kill once and for all. And unfortunately for me, the bastard was actually pretty resistant to... mostly everything, really.
Fire, Lightning, Arcane, etc- he was resistant to it all.
Still, resistant didn't mean immune.
And I did have a new Arcane weapon to use…
Something that he apparently agreed with, as Logarius proceeded to send dozens of deadly spirits my way.
I Quickened away, starting the fight as I usually do- he might be resistant to magic, but about a Black Hole?
From the scream of pain coming from him, that worked well!
Of course, he wasn't happy about losing a good chunk of health in one attack, so he proceeded to charge at me.
With enough speed he actually created a snowstorm from the snow-covered rooftop.
Not that it was a real problem- I was immune to the cold and ice, though I had yet to actually level up my other skills in the field.
What was more of a problem was the undead martyr now barely held back by my Threaded cane, his Staff/Scythe uncomfortably close to my face.
I grunted, and Quickened away, his scythe coming up to try and slash at me- and my Whip/cane rising up to fight back in a flurry of blows.
Then he jumped back, tracing a line in the air from which blood-red spirits emerged, before flying at me.
I dodged, using my new gloves to send back a wave of dozens of my own spirits- High Arcane showing its worth- and for a while both of us sent waves after waves of bloodthirsty spirits at one another while dodging all around the place like crazy.
Then he stopped and charged at me again, using both his scythe and the sword in his other hand to try and overwhelm me.
Waiting for just the right moment, my new gun came up and fired, staggering him and allowing me to crush his heart- or what was left of it, since he was undead- in a visceral attack.
THAT seemed to piss him off, because he began glowing red and I could FEEL through (Empathy) his sheer bloodlust going through the roof.
It certainly seemed to have helped his strength, because he became even faster and more powerful, and the rooftop we were in quickly lost any of its nearby towers as blows capable of destroying buildings were exchanged at speed beyond mortal comprehension- unless they had the Old Blood like we both did.
I actually ended up getting the (Wind Resistance), (Wind Infusion) and (Wind Magics) skills out of it as the sheer shockwaves of our fight were enough to act like cutting blades of wind or smash entire towers to dust.
That actually made me think, and slowly but surely I started experimenting with trying to create a sort of "Elemental Armor" during the fight made of Wind- the goal being to use that as a sort of makeshift "Aura" like in RWBY.
Still, that was something I was working on in the back of my mind. My greater focus was on the brutal exchange of blows between Logarius and myself, as I alternately created countless different spells of various kinds to try and kill him.
Something he "politely" replied by sending more and more spirits my way, on top of various exploding spirit skulls, spirit waves as an AOE attack surrounding him, several Aerial dive attacks, and an actual storm of swords somehow.
Eventually I started relying on Void Magics, using area of effects spells that "ate" the Arcane powers of his attacks and used them to feed my Mana reserves, or even some kind of vitality-stealing "Aura" surrounding me that fed on Lorgarius' HP and transferred said HP back to me.
That last part eventually seemed to do the trick, as he slowly got weaker and slower until one of my slashes took his right arm off and, ruthlessly using his moment of weakness, I performed an Elemental Visceral Attack.
By which I mean I covered my hand with Void magic, and once it was within his chest I made it "explode" around his organs.
By the way he collapsed, and by the rather impressive hole where the inside of his chest should have been, that worked spectacularly well!
Though I was once again silently thankful for my immunities, because much like with what I tried with Vicar Amelia, that attack would have cost me my arm if I wasn't immune to my own spell.
Still, before his corpse had finished disappearing I immediately Quickened to his cut off arm and took his staff/Scythe.
Because like hell I wasn't going to claim such a badass weapon!
Besides, I needed to learn how to wield a scythe before my fight with Gehrman, so it would do as a substitute to the Burial Blade.
Now, should I call it the Staff of the Dead, or something along the lines of the Spirit Scythe?
PREY SLAUGHTERED
I smiled.
First try! Hell yeah!
I was now Level (86)!
I also got (+25) for all my Stats for beating the boss on my first try.
I also got a (Necromancy) Skill book, so… that was nice?
And a (+15) for (Scythe Wielding Mastery), which I gladly used.
And (40000) Blood Echoes and some Insights, too.
I also got more Insight Skulls, and a Vermin.
That I swiftly crushed beneath my boot.
That made… What? The third now? One from the Shadow of Yharnam, one from Darkbeast Paarl, and now the third.
Maybe I should go talk to Valtr then- if I remember well, you need five dead vermins to become the new Master of the League…
Still, that was for later. First, I activated the newly appeared Lantern.
Then, I took the Crown of Illusions, put it on my head (if only because I had a CROWN ON MY HEAD! That was AWESOME!) and, after feeling like a king confirming that there was no change to my surroundings, whether with the Crown or not, I entered the building before me, putting the crown in my Inventory.
Time to meet Annalise, the Blood Queen of Cainhurst!
And yes, I called her the Blood Queen, because that was how she was originally supposed to be called.
Certainly, that is her title in Japanese, which is actually a direct reference to the title of Yharnam, the Blood Queen of the Pthumerians.
A reference that sadly got eaten by the translation to English.
Speaking of which, the name "Vileblood?" Yeah, another thing born from English translation. The original Japanese words are "the Impure Blood Clan."
The original words are "the Impure Blood Clan."
See, the reason why the Healing Church wanted to demonize the people of Cainhurst was because the "Impure" Blood of Cainhurst was actually closer to that of the Great Ones than the blood the Church gave to the people.
In this case, "pure" was more along the lines of "diluted," thus the more "impure" the Blood, the closer it is to that of the Pthumerians- and that of the Great Ones.
That is why Queen Annalise is so pale- her skin tone is actually the same as Queen Yharnam, because the so-called "Vilebloods" were, in fact, the closest "heirs" to the Pthumerian that could be found.
Which is why Adella the nun is jealous of Arianna, despite being groomed as a Blood Saint, even HER Blood isn't as potent as that of Arianna's, the latter being from Cainhurst as Queen Annalise is.
So the true reason that the Church declared them heretics was a matter of legitimacy- the Church could hardly call itself the chosen of the gods when the "Vilebloods" were the actual "heirs" to the Pthumerian's people.
I mean, the very fact that Arianna, of all possible people, was the one chosen to bear a Child of Blood should say a lot.
It does make one wonder if the reason that Annalise wasn't the one chosen was only because she was "hidden" by Logarius when the Blood Moon first rose...
Either way, it meant that, while the Vilebloods themselves may have committed atrocities towards the people of Yharnam, said atrocities only happened after the Church declared them all as abominations- for no other reason other than a massive cover-up.
Well, there were also theories that the Church was legitimately worried that Annalise would SUCCEED at having a Child of Blood, which would make the legitimacy of the Church even harder to defend than it already was.
One more proof was the "Vilebloods" perk on the jumpdoc- it specifically gives bonuses to interactions with Great Ones and Eldritch Beings in general.
All that to say- I had no issues with becoming a member of the "Impure Blood Clan." Indeed, it actually benefited me.
And it wasn't like anyone would be there to take issue with it… Except Alfred.
Who was already falling to madness anyway. I'll give the man that- if you help him "kill" the queen, and then leave him be, he'll just go kill himself where he can originally be found praying, having decided that with the Vilebloods finally dealt with, and with him falling apart, he would die as a man proud of his work in life. Or as a Martyr, like Logarius.
Still. I had no intention of having Annalise be brutally maimed, especially when she was immortal anyway- so all that could be done if one wanted her gone was to crush her body- which Alfred would do once confronted by the undying queen.
As someone who died many, many times in all sorts of painful ways, I know all too well that, just because one is immortal, doesn't mean being killed doesn't HURT.
… Still. With all that being said, I did have a condition to becoming a Vileblood…
I was the Good Hunter, after all- and I wanted to make that clear.
Ah, and here came the Throne Room.
With Queen Annalise sitting on her throne, looking at me with… curiosity, interest and some gratitude, probably for killing Logarius. I can't imagine she didn't hear the battle outside of her throne room.
"Visitor… I claim no subjects, but here lieth Our throne. Kneel afore us… or get thee gone."
I did as requested. She -was- a Queen, after all, and I was in her own throne room to boot.
She nodded, her curiosity rising.
"Visitor… Moon-scented hunter… I am Annalise, Queen of Castle Cainhurst, ruler of the Vilebloods, and sworn enemy of the Church. Yet, Our people are murdered, and We are prisoner to this wretched mask. What is it thou'art in search of?"
I looked up, looking her in the eyes- or trying to, with the mask on and everything.
"Truthfully… I came here to become a Vileblood, if possible. I have no issue with your people, being an outsider from Yharnam, and having discovered enough of the lies and sins of the Healing Church to know better than to trust their words on anything. Thus, if you would have me, I'd like to become a Vileblood."
She looked at me with even greater curiosity.
"Well, well… An odd hunter thou art indeed… We've tired of these piteous nights… Share in Our plight, and take oath against the church. If thou wouldst this path walk… …I prithee partake of my rotted blood."
I frowned slightly.
"I do have a request, first- and a condition. Nothing I believe you will be against, but I believe you deserve to be informed before we proceed."
She stared at me for a moment, before nodding.
"Very well. As thanks for slaying Our sworn foe, Logarius, thou may speak thy mind."
I nodded in thanks.
"The condition is that while I will gladly kill any blood-drunk hunters- or ones that will try to kill me for being a Vileblood- I will not kill any hunters who are both sane and uncaring of my status as Vileblood. I understand that Vilebloods and Hunters have a… complicated history, to say the least, but with Yharnam as it currently is, we need as many hunters to fight off the beasts as we can get. That, and…" I paused. "Someone very dear to me named me as The Good Hunter, a title I bear with pride. I will not taint that title with the killings of those who did me no harm."
The Queen stayed silent for a time, before nodding.
"Very well. If that is thy will, We shall accept it. And the request?"
"I came across the last of the Executioners in Yharnam." I declared, and the Queen tensed, a feeling of hate passing through her- before being ruthlessly crushed through sheer Willpower.
"He must die- but I wish to kill him as a hunter, not as a Vileblood- for he is showing the first sign of succumbing to the beast within, and thus must be killed for the good of all. My request is that I may leave this place as a hunter, so that I may track him down and kill him as one, rather than as a Vileblood. It is my desire to grant mercy and peace to those I grant death to, and killing him as a Vileblood would make his death more about revenge for Cainhurst than one about granting a man mercy before he falls to damnation."
She stared at me, before eventually sighing.
"An odd hunter indeed… Very well. The death of the last Executioner, whether by hunter or Vileblood, will please Us greatly either way. If that is all, then thou may leave, and we shall speak again when the deed has been accomplished. We await thy return, Good Hunter."
I nodded, rising and activating the Lantern close by, before returning to the Dream.
I had another zealot to kill, after all.
I didn't bother picking up the other Cainhurst summon nearby- I wouldn't need it.
Once in the Dream, I went to the Doll to upgrade my skills.
I had (65000) Blood Echoes in total, and for (54310) I leveled up the (Charged Attacks) skill to MAX.
For (1990) Blood Echoes, I finished leveling up (Empathy).
And finally, with (8600) Blood Echoes I leveled up (Arcanes Missiles) to level (41).
Thanking the Doll (and kissing her silly), I then made my way back to Yharnam.
Returning to the Chapel, I noticed that nothing had changed- Arianna still looked in pain, the old lady was still sleeping, the paranoid man was still paranoid and warily looking at everyone, the dweller was still where he was, the girls were quietly talking on the side…
Well, they were, until they saw me.
Then Violetta once again hugged me, as per usual.
Honestly, I was happy to see her and the others. It had been some time for me, after all.
"Mister Aeon! You're back!" She shouted happily.
I chuckled, hugging her back before ruffling her hair.
She stepped back out of range, eyes narrowed, and I smirked at her.
"Welcome back, Hunter Aeon." said Vanessa, a smile on her face as she stared at both my smirking self and her pouting sister.
I nodded and smiled at her. "Vanessa. Everything's alright?"
She nodded. "It is, thank you for asking. Me and my sister even managed to get some sleep, though not as much as we'd like."
I sighed. "Fair enough. Though at least one did..." I pointed out, looking at the sleeping old woman.
Vanessa shrugged. "She took sedatives. I'm not surprised she is still sleeping… Even with the outside being as it is."
Right on cue, a bestial roar echoed in the distance.
I looked drily in its direction. "Quite."
Violetta suddenly took my right hand, looking up at me with only a slightly strained smile.
"So, Mister Aeon, have you fought any more deadly beasts? Were they as scary as the ones you told me about before?"
I glanced at Vanessa, who was trying- and failing- to not look as curious as her sister.
I sighed, then nodded. "Well, I suppose that I can tell you some of what I encountered while on the hunt…"
Violetta let out a cheerful "Yay! Story time!" while Vanessa stopped even trying to look anything but eager to hear me speak of my adventures.
So with that, I took the girls on a corner of the Chapel, and gave an (edited) version of my hunts.
Even with me hiding some things, the girls still looked at me with awe.
Maybe telling them about unleashing Volcanoes and Black Holes had something to do with it? I mean, it's hardly like I was the only one throwing that kind of bullshit around!
Well, either way, eventually I finished my tale, and leaving the two oddly silent sisters behind I went to find Alfred.
… I did get (+10) with Vanessa, so I guess she really liked my stories?
Still, I finally did find him after some time, and I smiled- he had his back turned to me, currently looking over Yharnam as he was from an elevated position where we were.
Thus, sword in hand I sneaked behind him- and decapitated him in one swift strike.
I nodded, happy to have given him a painless death, before getting the Wheel Hunter badge and (7000) Blood Echoes.
And Logarius' Wheel. Not that I was interested in wielding that weapon.
Again, an Executioner, I was not.
No "Radiance" Rune however, but oh well.
I was rather dubious over just how "holy" that Rune truly was, considering that it was the rune of a bunch of zealots who commited genocide in the name of a corrupt organization, anyway.
So, with that being said, I burned his corpse to ash, made my way back to the Chapel, to the Dream- and Cainhurst.
Time to become (even more of) a vampire!
I appeared at the Lantern in the throne room, before kneeling in front of the Queen.
"It is done. Alfred, the Last Executioner, is dead." I declared, before taking out the Wheel Hunter badge and showing it.
Queen Annalise nodded, and I could feel the satisfaction and joy within her.
"Thou have done well. We understand that you did as you did as a Hunter hunts a man close to beasthood, but it is pleasing news nonetheless."
She paused, before presenting her right arm, creating a deep cut on her arm which let her blood flow out.
"Very well. Drink deep of Our blood. Feel the spreading corruption burn."
I came closer, and began to drink her blood.
My eyes widened as I could feel the blood go through me, invigorating me and strengthening me and making my whole body burn as it changed and grew stronger.
Then I took a step back, and with a few seconds of meditation I was able to shake off the after-effects of the whole experience.
I could understand why Vilebloods sought out their Queen's blood though. The stuff was potent as hell.
To someone like me, a Gamer with experience with the weirdest shits in Bloodborne however, it was easily pushed aside. I had much greater goals in life than to obey anyone.
No- one day, it will be me sitting on a throne.
Speaking of…
Annalise nodded. "Now, thou'art too a Vileblood. We two, the very last on this earth."
I smiled. "Indeed. Speaking of which, I believe I have a few things that should stay with you."
I took out the Vileblood Register out of my Inventory, which caused some curiosity from the Queen, though her focus quickly shifted to the book…
And then she inhaled sharply when I took out the Crown of Illusions- also known as the Crown of the king of Cainhurst.
She stared at both items for a moment, before getting up and taking them both with only slightly trembling hands.
After looking at them in silence for a time, she gently put both on the empty throne on the right of her own, before sitting back down, her gaze resting on the Crown especially.
Well, as much as I could tell with the mask in the way.
Eventually, she spoke again, her voice soft.
"We find Ourself once more in your debt, Good Hunter. And a great debt it is, to have given us back the Crown of Our king- and the book of Names of our people, to say nothing of having slain the last of our ancient foes- and their leader before that."
She gently took the book, opened it, and then looked at me.
"Perchance, do thou have writing tools upon thou?"
I took out the ones I used for my journal and gave them to her.
She took it, thanking me, before looking up at me.
"There is one thing we must yet request of you, Good Hunter."
I blinked. "What is it?"
"Your name." She replied, some amusement in her voice. "Thou have yet to give Us thy name- only thy title."
I blushed, noticing that, yes, I hadn't given her my name yet.
"Aeon, the Good Hunter, Vileblood of Cainhurst, Your Majesty." I replied proudly.
"Aeon." She repeated, before writing the name down. "Does it have any meaning?"
I was silent for a moment, before answering: "It means Eternal."
She looked up at me.
Then she nodded. "A good name. A strong name." She paused. "Do thou have any other titles, too?"
I smiled. "Well, I mean I am a multiple times Godslayer, too? So that should count, right?"
She stared at me.
I looked back without flinching.
She slowly put the book down.
"This… requires context, Sir Aeon, if thou please."
"It's… kind of a long story?" I replied.
"That is no matter. Please, speak of it in full. Spare no details." she commanded.
I mentally shrugged.
"Very well. It all started when I signed up a contract with a shady-looking guy, and it kind of all went downhill from there…"
And then I told her of my adventures in Yharnam, from my first death, the Hunter's Dream, and everything that followed.
Including my fights- and kills- of multiple Great Ones.
I could feel the Queen's stunned shock and awe as I kept talking growing over time, and by the end of it she just kept staring at me in silence long after I was done talking.
I coughed politely.
Annalise shook her head, before leaning back in her throne, her gaze still fixed on me.
"Long have We lived… But never have We heard such a tale. Or any which could claim to come even close to it."
She paused, before looking at the book on her lap.
Then she wrote something on it.
"Let it be known that on this day, Aeon, the Good Hunter, the Godslayer, has joined the ranks of the Vilebloods of Cainhurst. May he do his name- and titles- proud."
She looked up at me, closing the book and giving me back my writing tool.
Then she nodded. "Thou have told Us much of thyself. As the second to last Vileblood, and as thanks to all that thou have done for Us, We shall now speak of Cainhurst… And Ourself, its Queen."
And then I listened, as Queen Annalise herself gave me a history lesson on Cainhurst- and her own life, too.
For the most part, it was as I expected. The story of Nobility, in all its good, bad and ugly glory.
A whole lot of politics, of the games played between the powerful, of the alliances and betrayals- the usual.
And then the Blood was introduced to Cainhurst and its people, and that certainly changed things quite a bit- and at the same time, not at all.
The Rules of the Game of politics and influence changed, but the essence of the Game itself didn't, nor its players and their motivations.
Well, with the exception of a desire to birth a "Child of Blood," at least.
And all that led to many events- the rise of the Healing Church brought about the war between the Church and Cainhurst, the horrors wrought by both sides- it all led to the Great Slaughter of Cainhurst by the Executioners in the end.
The Vilebloods, for all that they were united under their monarchs, were still crippled by internal division, on top of lacking the masses of zealots that the Church could call upon.
The nobles falling into some pretty… uncivilized behaviors didn't help.
The worst people of this place made Elizabeth Bathory look like a sane, civilized woman by comparison.
A fact that I frankly didn't bother hiding my disgust of.
"You do understand, Your Majesty, that some of what you are telling me your people got up to behind closed doors would have had me join in with the Executioners in killing your people to put an end to such madness, right?" I pointed out drily.
She sighed. "We know. And the only thing We can say in Our defense is that, at the time, We thought that the continued unity of the people of Cainhurst was worth… overlooking some less than acceptable behaviors in some of Our people."
She shook her head. "Trust Us when We say that We had a lot of time to reflect on Our failures- and the cost of them. There is little that thou can say that We did not already think about at length. Perhaps, We may yet do better in time- certainly, with Our flesh as undying as it is, We have the time to try."
I nodded. "Very well. As long as you understand that I am the Good Hunter- with all that implies. This world suffers enough as it is. I will not let further evils happen on my watch."
She looked at me, and I could feel a smile on her face.
"Thou have a noble spirit. Even despite all that thou have encountered in the Long Night. We pray that it will remain. We find Ourselves… happy, to have someone to call kin once more- and one with such strength of will."
She paused, before tilting her head slightly.
"Thou will now travel to the Nightmare that thou have spoken of, yes?"
I nodded. "Indeed. The Night of the Hunt will not be over until all the sources of the scourge of beasts has been dealt with. The Nightmare I recently came across is where I will find such a source."
She nodded. "We understand. As We've said before, We too, have become tired of these endless Nights of the Hunts. Go, then- We await thy return. For the honor of Cainhurst."
I nodded, bowing. It was time to return to the Hunt…
And to finally kill that madman with a cage on his head.
Once back in the Dream, I looked up a few things, such as my Rep with Queen Annalise.
And then blinked in shock. I was already at (90/100) with her? That was… Impressive.
Then again, I got (+10) from my "Friendly aura" perk, and then (+40) for my "Aura of king" perk, and after that…
Well, (+10) for being a Vileblood, (+5) for giving the Vileblood Register, (+15) for giving the Crown of Illusion, and (+10) for killing Logarius and Alfred…
Yeah, it adds up fast.
That aside, I did gain a new perk:
"Vileblood": Your blood bestows incredible stamina rejuvenation, allowing you to recover from fatigue extremely fast. You may also grant this trait to anyone who drinks a good dose of your blood, though it wears off shortly after. . . You didn't think that was all, right? Recovering stamina is the most mundane special quality of your strange blood. Whatever is in it has caused Great Ones to become highly interested in you. "The Great Ones that inhabit the nightmare are sympathetic in spirit, and often answer when called upon." This holds doubly true for you, as the holder of this forbidden blood. Great Ones and their kin are more responsive to your call for aid, some even being outright protective. Not all act so parental and kind though, and becoming a more noticeable existence for things you can't fully understand the motivations of has the potential to backfire in spectacular ways. (Note: Post-Jump, Forbidden Blood allows similarly alien and eldritch beings to become more amiable, though don't expect them to be nearly as "sympathetic" as Great Ones. Be wary of asking the aid of things like this as well, for who can say what form this helping hand will take.)
Useful!
… Especially when I noticed that my regen was now at TWO per cent by second!
That means I went from needing 1min40s to fully regen my HP to only fifty seconds!
I wasn't quite on the level of regrowing whole limbs in a blink of an eye, but going from all but dead to fully healthy in less than a minute was pretty bullshit in it's own right!
I also gained the Corruption Rune (though it was the Impurity Rune in Japanese) and the Cainhurst Badge.
And I finally had the (Blood Infusion) and (Blood magic) skills! At last!
I hummed, quite happy right now, then went to learn the new Runes I had.
Sure, the vast majority of the new runes were hardly granting any new Eldritch Insights that the others usually granted me, being the Great Deep Sea, Stunning Deep Sea, Fading Lake and Great Lake Runes, all of which I already had learn close equivalent of, but the Corruption Rune, on the other hand…
I saw the Old Blood spread in humans bodies;
I saw the changes, the mutations, the evolutions, for good or ill, of all who bear the Old Blood.
And I saw, as the closer to the original Blood one possessed, the stronger, the GREATER one became.
Great Ones are sympathetic in spirits; the closer one's Blood is to them, the closer to Kin and Greatness one becomes.
The Blood of Cainhurst was close to that of the Pthumerians. Closer than that of anybody else in this day and Age.
Is it any wonder, then, that those of their Blood enjoyed the attentions of the Great Ones more than any others- to the potential envy of all others?
And from that envy… A great slaughter was unleashed.
Leaving naught but a few left behind to bear the Impure Blood of those closest to Kin of the Pthumerians…
I blinked.
Then I blinked again, as the Doll stood nearby, looking at me with curiosity.
"Dear Doll? Is something wrong?" I wondered.
She shook her head. "No. I just… When you returned from your latest excursion in the Waking World, I felt a peculiar sensation of… familiarity from within you. Somehow, your already soothing presence became even more so… How strange…"
I mused on that for a moment, before catching her up on my latest adventures.
By the end of it, the Doll was nodding.
"I see. So you believe that the Blood of the Cainhurst line is closer to that of the Pthumerian people than anyone else's can claim to be, and the Pthumerian's Blood was itself closer to that of the Great Ones' than any others, thus what I felt from you. Interesting…"
Then, she shook her head, before smiling at me. "Well, I personally enjoy your new status, so I have no problem with it. Though I do have a question- you said that the Queen desired a Child of Blood?"
I blinked, then nodded. "Indeed. Supposedly, the Blood Dregs that I can now acquire thanks to the new rune I learned can help with that, though I am personally doubtful- if she never had one before during the height of Cainhurst, why now? Then again, perhaps the ritual that Rom was connected to prevented the Great Ones to bless her as she wished…"
The Doll stared at me for a moment. "Do you want her to succeed? It seems as if you have no problem with her having such a child, since you still wish to give her said Blood Dregs…"
I stared back for a long moment.
Then an old thought came back to me.
"Why not more?" I had thought when I had claimed my first Umbilical Cord.
Why not more, indeed…
I smiled. "Well, if the Queen wants a Child of Blood, that is her decision to make, no? So if she were to succeed, all the better for my new ally."
She nodded. "I understand." The Doll replied, and my smile widened.
Well then, I might get more Umbilical Cords out of this night than I thought… I noted.
Then, nodding in satisfaction, I left the Hunter's Dream for the Nightmare of Mensis.
Returning to the Nightmare of Mensis, I quickly made my way up the building up above me (the frenzy attacks doing jack shit to my Gamer self) and entered it after getting the loot around it.
And then, there were spiders.
Lots and lots of spiders.
I was, needless to say, rather unamused.
Thus, I unleashed my own counter-bullshit, proven effective time and time again:
AND THEN, THERE WAS FIRE.
It worked great!
While looting the place, I passed some time amusing myself with the thought that, if the whole Hunter/God thing didn't work out, I could always start working as a pest exterminator extraordinaire.
I was pretty sure I was downright overqualified for the job, in fact!
Then I came across that one Choir member that was theorized as a possible spy into the local cult.
Who had to be the worst spy ever, considering his very clearly Choir affiliated outfit.
Well, either way, while I had to respect his choice of using his own version of Ludwig's holy blade as a weapon, I was still the better swordsman by far.
Though as I looked at his newly headless body, I decided it might be a good idea to switch weapons.
I did get my hands on a Staff/Scythe, after all…
Taking the Spirit Scythe out of my Inventory, I kept going, singing to myself.
Entering the building before me, I first went to take the loot close by, then opened the shortcut, activated the Lantern and then went to find another, weaker version of the Eye Rune!
Then I went back up, and came across the enemies known as "Mergo's Attendants."
Which, frankly, were hardly a problem. Lightning spells worked great against armored opponents, cooking them in their own armors.
That, and I was enjoying sending the spirits of the dead at my enemies by using the scythe/gloves combo.
Looting the place up, I eventually took the elevator to go upwards…
And then came across more evidence of the Evils of Dogs!
Because I found crows… with dog heads!
Yes! Such unholy abominations had been wrought into existence by the local evil cult!
Truly, a greater proof that both the Cult and Dogs were Evil, I could not think of!
Thankfully, I was armed with cleansing Fire, thus it was with great glee that I proceeded at their most thorough exterminations!
Praise the Emperor!
… Wait, wrong setting.
And then, because one breed of abominations wasn't enough, I came across dogs with crow heads!
Truly, the Evils of this Cult knew no bounds!
Nonetheless, once their foul, unholy existence had been thoroughly purged in cleansing flames, as was right and proper, I activated the elevator nearby and returned to the Hunter's Dream.
I had (125000) Blood Echoes to use, after all!
Once in the Dream, I went to the Doll to upgrade my (Multi-strikes) skill to level (99) for (120900) Blood Echoes.
Damn it, so close!
Then I checked my gemstones, upgraded my weapons, and took a deep breath.
It was time… to kill the most evil boss in Bloodborne!
The man so evil he created unholy abominations out of dogs!
DOGS!
I shuddered. Truly, Evil knew no bounds, and I once again drew strength from the fact I was the GOOD Hunter!
It was thus up to me to put an end to this most foul and wicked cult who unleashed such horrors upon an innocent world!
TO WAR!
Scythe and gun (+9) firmly in hands, I left the Dream, to face my most dreadful foe yet- the man so evil as to experiment on dogs!
*Cue shudder*
Back in the Nightmare of Mensis, I took the bridge leading to the Boss, killing the animated puppets at the end of it and then finally coming across Micolash, Host of the Nightmare!
"Ahh, Kos, or some say Kosm... Do you hear our prayers?"
"No, we shall not abandon the dream. No one can catch us! No one can stop us now!"
And then he began cackling madly. Because of course he did, the creepy madman.
BOSS BATTLE
MICOLASH, HOST OF THE NIGHTMARE
I grunted, entering a very foggy room filled with animated puppets who were ALL murderous.
After cutting my way through, I finally saw the Boss.
"Come here, you madman! I'll make you pay for your sins!" I shouted to him when he began to run away in the corridors of this place.
Naturally, he just began laughing harder.
Jerk.
Unfortunately, trying to corner him was much harder than in the game, as he sadly was smart enough to NOT go to the room with only one entrance.
Still, after… a while of running after him, shooting at his ass, waving my scythe in the air murderously and slinging insults at him, all in a way that probably would make for some great comedic animation, I finally cornered him in the room.
Naturally, a whole bunch of puppets started attacking me immediately, trying to protect their controller, but I was done playing games and just used my scythe to send a cutting wave of fire at them all.
Then I charged Micolash.
And then Quickened like hell when he used the Augur of Ebrietas Arcane spells my way.
"Fuck you! I can do it, too!" I shouted, sending my own bunch of tentacles his way.
See, that was the issue with eldritch gods- they literally had no problem supporting two people trying to kill one another at the same time.
… Though I did feel like my own spell was stronger. Wishful thinking on my part, perhaps?
I certainly had little time to try and find out, as Micolash replied by A Call beyond, sending a dozen Arcane stars my way.
And again.
AND AGAIN.
"Okay, you want bullshit? I'll give you bullshit!" I shouted, before using my newly upgraded (Multi-strikes) skill to cut down each wave of Arcane stars before they came too close.
That certainly surprised him, long enough that I was able to hit him with a full (Multi-strikes) attack.
He fell, his dismembered corpse collapsing into silver mist…
Before I heard him laughing harder from elsewhere, proving that he somehow escaped death.
I grunted- the next boss phase had begun.
Then I left the room, quickly going up the stairs and into yet another fog-filled room full of puppets, while Micolash kept on ramblings.
"Ah hah hah ha! Ooh! Majestic! A hunter is a hunter, even in a dream. But, alas, not too fast! The nightmare swirls and churns unending!"
"As you once did for the vacuous Rom, grant us eyes, grant us eyes. Plant eyes on our brains, to cleanse our beastly idiocy!"
"How about a scythe up your ass! Stop running and fight!" I shouted, once again trying to catch up to him while dozens of puppets kept trying to kill me.
Seriously, I kept trying to shoot him, or throw spells at him, but every time he Just. Kept. Dodging somehow!
Eventually he entered another room, whose heavy door closed in front of me.
I grunted, then went to where I knew a hole in the ceiling of said room was.
Killing more and more puppets and cursing the bastard all the while.
Seriously, stand up and fight already! It isn't as if throwing legions of arcane-empowered puppets worked against me!
Eventually, I found the hole in the ceiling of the Boss room, Micolash's voice echoing out.
"The grand lake of mud, hidden now, from sight."
"The cosmos, of course!"
"Let us sit about, and speak feverishly. Chatting into the wee hours of..."
"New ideas, of the higher plane!"
I fell down into the room, turning towards him.
"No." I replied, before using my scythe to send dozens of spirits his way.
He snarled, using the tentacle spell to open a path through the wave of death coming his way.
Then, he tried punching me in the face- he had no weapon after all, just his arcane attacks.
Of course, I had over (500) strength, so even without a (Hand-to-hand Combat Mastery) skill (which I gained in the ensuing fist-fight) I proved myself more than capable of sending him ass over head with a broken nose to boot.
He grunted as he landed painfully on the floor, before quickly dodging my scythe- which went through the stone floor like a knife in butter.
A quick sweep of my scythe when I tore it out of the ground sent yet more spirits flying his way, and after rolling away he stood up, put his hands in the air- and this time, I was the one left dodging the Arcane stars from A Call Beyond.
When he tried again, I used (Multi-strikes) to swipe the attack away- though this time, he immediately charged at me, trying to catch me with the Tentacle spell.
But I had fully expected him to be ready for that, so his attack only opened himself to mine: I Quickened underneath the spell, using the fact that I could turn my body to fog to better avoid it- and then, when I was close enough, my scythe struck.
To his credit, the deadly blow was avoided through a desperate dodge… But I still got his left arm.
"Aaaargh!" he screamed, staggering, before glaring at me.
I replied by shooting at his right knee.
He collapsed, and I swung again.
"DEATH TO ALL EVIL DOGS!" I shouted in triumph.
The sheer insanity of the words actually caught him off-guard, and instead of dodging he stared at me in utter confusion.
My scythe thus impaled him in the chest.
"Now I'm waking up, I'll forget everything..." He cried out in dismay.
I snorted. "Fool, you're already dead!"
"What?!" he exclaimed.
And then he died.
PREY SLAUGHTERED
And I snickered hard at successfully pulling off that meme in real life.
Then I cleansed the area with fire. Lots of it.
Just in case. Because seriously, experimenting with dogs? The horror! The insanity!
Oh, the Humanity!
Once I was satisfied, I looked at my gains.
First, I was nowlevel (89)!
One more level and I'll be a Legendary Hunter!
Secondly, I got (+4) Insights skulls, and (55000) Blood Echoes.
I further got (+25) to my stats for killing him on my first try.
I also received the Mensis cage, which… Thanks, but no thanks.
I had no desire to put a cage on my head, what kind of madman would do that?!
I looked at the ground where Micolash's corpse was.
… The answer was obviously: one which I wanted nothing to do with!
I also got a (+15) Skill book for (Hand-to-hand Combat Mastery), so that was good.
And I got not only a Vermin- that I swiftly killed- but some Blood dregs too.
I'll have to go see Valtr- and the Queen. But that was for later.
Because for the time being I backtracked, in order to get all the items in the area, such as the Iron Door Key, or yet another Moon Rune.
Then, I finally took the bridge leading to the Lantern and activated it, before going out, killing more abominations against nature, taking the loot, and then taking the nearby elevator to go into the "secret" area which requires you to jump mid-descent.
Then I took the loot in the nearby chest, and then slaughtered my way through the frenzy-inducing female monsters, taking the loot along the way.
After that was a room with several spiders with human heads, much like the former Patches.
They died swiftly through sufficient use of fireballs.
Then I made my way down some stairs, and activated the device that released the Brain of Mensis into a massive hole in the ground.
Satisfied, I then made my way down the hole in the ground in the last room I went by, killed the frenzy-inducing woman and the two spiders, and found the Choir Bell in a nearby chest.
After that, I took the nearby door, and collected the various Insights and gemstones, before unlocking the iron door and then backtracking to go collect my very first Blood Rock!
Which I'll use to upgrade my gun to (+10)!
Finally!
Though I probably could make Blood Rocks thanks to Gehrman's lessons, so it isn't- quite- as all-important to me as it is in the game.
Then I went into the first room of the building in front of me, which now had a new elevator, which I took to go into an incredibly dark area where I met the Brain of Mensis.
I then used the "Make Contact" gesture, getting the highest Moon Rune.
And then I killed that abomination of an Evil Great One, obtaining the Living string ritual material.
Satisfied that I was done, I took the elevator back up, and then yet more elevator to go all the way back up top.
And then I made my way back to the Hunter's Dream.
I didn't want to go kill Mergo quite yet, after all.
First, I had (70000) Blood Echoes to use. Then, I needed to go see Valtr, deal with Eileen's quest, get the third Umbilical Cord, kill Ebrietas, finish the Chalice Dungeons, learn and master as many skills as I could- such as mastering all Elemental magics- and of course…
Go deal with the Hunter's Nightmare, Mergo, Gehrman… And my Moonlight benefactor after that.
I smiled. The end was in sight- soon, soon I would be a god.
And then… well.
The Omni verse awaited.