One day before the wedding, Mordret had approached Gehrman in the Jade Palace.
"I believe I have some news that you will find interesting," the man said.
Gehrman raised an eyebrow, noting that Mordret was using his real body and not one of the many other corpses in his "closet". This was a new development that Gehrman thought was a positive sign for the psyche of the Prince of Nothing.
Being in one's own body made it much easier to feel human as opposed to wearing someone else like a skin suit.
"If it's about the shit you plan to pull at the wedding, I want no part of it. You're on your own there," Gehrman replied.
"Well, I don't think that will be the case. At the very least I will be taking a Memory off your hands."
Gehrman paused.
"Wanna run that by me again, kid?"
To his credit, Mordret did not buckle under the glare of the seasoned killer and Transcendent.
"I believe I have solved your "Sin Memory" problem. I believe as a part of our deal, I am entitled to one of those Memories in exchange?"
"...I might have said something like that," Gehrman said. He gave Mordret a wary look. The timing of this lined up too well for this not to be a trick of some kind. It was clear that whatever Mordret planned required the [Envious Executioner Gloves], and Gehrman wouldn't put it past the Prince of Nothing to pull some kind of trick in order to get it.
Mordret knew this as well, of course.
"No need for such a face. I wouldn't risk our dear friendship over something like this. I have actually put in a great amount of effort into this, and I would only come to you if I truly had something of equal value to give you."
Gehrman sighed.
"Alright then, I presume you need all the Memories in order for this to work…let's meet up at the workshop in the Butchers Block, I'll get Caster so he can bring the [Prideful Chikage]."
…
"I have done a good amount of research into your world, Gehrman. And I must say it is most fascinating. The Great Ones especially, though you seem to be rather tight lipped about the one inside you," Mordret monologued as moved the summoned Memories around.
Gehrman had the [Lustful Vial] perpetually summoned at the New Workshop, constantly supplying clean water (and as of late) some of the fruity drinks that he had tasted here). However getting it to Antarctica was as simple as dismissing it and resummoning it. He had already notified the people working at the establishment that dealt with the Memory and the distribution of its products. So there weren't any issues.
"I'm tight lipped about it for a reason. She's a bitch. The one in my Soul, I mean. Dealing with Great Ones in any capacity is a dangerous game."
"Indeed," Mordret smiled. "However, I do think it is worth noting that these Sin Memories came from that entity. With that in mind, what they accomplish must have originated from something within Her domain."
Gehrman frowned.
"Listen, if this allows Her to get a foothold in our world anymore than She already has then it doesn't matter how helpful it is, we can't go forward with this."
"Trust me, I don't want some nebulous Void creature invading our world anymore than you do. It will invariably be connected to her, but there shouldn't be an issue as long as we do this right."
Caster groaned.
"And what, exactly, are we doing here?"
Mordret did not look up from his task, but he did smile.
"We are creating Vermin."
Both Gehrman and Caster blinked.
"Huh?"
Mordret turned to Caster with a sly smile.
"I suppose you might not be in the know. I can't imagine you are much of an academic."
"I've read the papers," Caster snarled.
You have? Gehrman didn't say it out loud, but he was pretty surprised by this admission. He had never even heard of Caster expressing an interest in Gehrman's old culture, let alone the idiosyncrasies of his world.
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter too much, since I believe what you posited, Gehrman, was actually incorrect."
He was silent for a moment, surprised at the mood Mordret had taken on. He was acting more snarky than usual, and also more… excitable? Perhaps he actually found this type of thing interesting. He was the only one in this world who truly knew what the beasts of Yharnam were like, having faced them in Gehrman's Soul Sea.
Somewhere along the line, had he picked up a special interest?
"You thought that Yharnam, and indeed the entire planet it was on, was in fact the dream of a Great One, a being of the Void. This, to me, is undeniable. Though it is impossible for humans to look or even be anywhere near the Void, there are still things we can glean from ancient inscriptions from around the Dream Realm. In my time traveling with the Dreamspawn, we came across a few, and so learned of its nature as an antithesis to reality. Yet your past lives existed, they had form and matter, truly the only explanation is a Great One mimicking the creations of the Flame of Desire."
"Your point?" Caster asked, agitation clear.
"At the moment, you identified five Great Ones. The one in your Soul, the one known as Kos, the many Amygdala who are an extension of a Great One, the "left behind" Ebriteas, and the Formless Oedon. Each has some sort of association with elements, akin to Divine Domain. However, there are two exceptions, those being Ebriteas and, more notably, Oedon. This led me to the mistake I believe you made. It was your understanding that an unknown Great One had manifested the myriad of Dream Realities that made up your world, and that these other 5 had all interfered with that original Dream. With your Great One making the beast plague, the Amygdala having their many avatars strewn about and potentially also fathering the Kin of the Cosmos, and Kos clearly made fish-men. Finally, for Oedon, since all you know about Him is His Formless nature, you assumed his creation was Vermin. However, I believe that was the mistake."
Gehrman was stunned into silence. Mordret had just done research, he seemed to have developed a straight up obsession. The fact that he could pull out all this knowledge off the top of his head like this indicated a rather serious hyper fixation.
That's…new. Probably for the best though. So far his only fixation had been manslaughter and revenge. Compared to that, the Dreams of Void creatures are relatively more healthy.
"It was a surface level assumption. There is one other thing indicating Oedon's interference though. He convinced multiple children, or at least attempted to. In ancient Pthumeru, the Queen known as Yharnam was monarch due to bearing his child. Though there were some unknown complications based on what Johann had seen of her during that Night of the Hunt. The child of Yharnam was known as Mergot, and it seemed to inherit the powers of a Great One, as the Nightmare of Mensis was generated solely by the infant."
"Based on the outlines of Johann's Night of the Hunt, there were also several other women who underwent sudden pregnancies and births, though none seemed as successful as Mergot. These too were likely acts of Oedon."
Gehrman nodded, agreeing with Mordret's assessment.
Caster, however, was not having as good of a time with these theoretical musings.
"How on earth does this lead to the Sin Memories creating Vermin?"
Mordret's face lit up in a fake – or maybe it was genuine at this point – smile.
"Because I believe that there is no mysterious true owner of the Dream of Yharnam and its lands. The Great One who Dreamt the reality that you were born in, Gehrman, was Oedon Himself."
Gehrman's initial thoughts were to poke holes in this theory. The most glaring one being a lack of any sort of evidence. But then Gehrman realized what brought Mordret to this conclusion. It was not for anything complex or based on symbolism, instead, this prospect simply answered a nagging question: what were the "divine domains" of Oedon?
Well, if he was the true Great Dreamer of Yharnam, then the answer was clear. His affinity was with creation, matter, and physics. Ironically, the "Formless One" would be the Great One of the most physical of all concepts.
"There is no proof," Caster said. "That's why I hate the Great Ones and these sorts of talks. We don't know anything. They can't be communicated with, hell, they can't even really be interpreted. Their whole existence, the point of it, is being unknowable. So why are we trying to solve this?"
"Because if Oedon is the Great Dreamer, then he couldn't have created Vermin, or rather he wouldn't have. By His nature there probably isn't anything he couldn't make, but in terms of symbolism, Vermin fit more under a different Great One. The first strain appeared in blood, after all," Mordret said.
Gehrman's heart went cold.
"Paleblood."
Silence instantly stifled the room. Gehrman did not tense, nor did his presence expand or change, but his eyes went distant and his thoughts chaotic.
Only after a few moments did he realize why the other two had stopped to stare at him.
This was the first time they, or rather anyone, had heard the name of that entity. Gehrman had omitted it from everything he had written.
The two stared at him, both probably processing the name, attaching it to the unknown thing that dwelled in Gehrman's soul.
Gehrman let out a sigh.
"I'd rather you two not repeat that name," he said in a low voice.
"Certainly."
"Sure."
They both agreed instantly, a slightly nervous look in their eyes.
Mordret recovered first, clearing his throat.
"Indeed, that entity is the father, or rather the Mother, of Vermin. That is my theory, and after analyzing the Sin Memories, I believe that was what the entity was trying to convey to you, Gehrman."
Mordret stepped back from the table with all the Memories splayed out.
"Something I've noticed is that throughout all the Memories, they all release an aura that corresponds to their respective Sin. Naturally something ought to happen when they overlap, and I think indeed something does, but there are more steps in the process."
Mordret first took the [Envious Executioner Gloves] and took the Tool upon his hands. The writhing deep red light glowed ominously, and Caster took a step back, a wary look crossing his face.
However, Mordret did not fire the ghastly red skulls at any of them, instead, he carefully positioned them over the [Lustful Vial], and fired inside.
Gehrman had upgraded the [Lustful Vial], in fact he upgraded all the Sin Memories, to at least the Transcendent. At its current Rank, the [Lustful Vial] had grown greatly in size, and could easily take in multiple of the skulls.
What happened next gave Gehrman a spark of excitement. Ordinarily the projectiles of the gloves would simply pass through or go around inanimate objects. However, this time it appeared to have a unique reaction to the container, and instead of moving outward, shot directly down and met the bottom of the vial.
The entire Tool type Memory exploded with a deep, dark red light. Clearly, they were onto something.
Mordret's grin widened.
"Another consistency through most of these Memories, is the secretion of some type of liquid. Oddly, I do not believe the [Lustful Vial] is the only one that does not need to create a substance, it instead simply takes on the role of container."
Mordret picked up the next tool, a piece of bone with a feral green glow and riveted design. He paused, wincing as the feeling of wrath filled him. However, the aura effects off well.
"Gehrman, if you would, try to get some of the green secretion in the vial without breaking the Memory."
Ordinarily this would be pointless, as the effect of the applied wrath would be vastly reduced and shortened with such a small amount. This time though, the full effect didn't matter, only the presence of the ingredient.
Mordret nodded as Gehrman twisted the tip slightly, allowing a single drop of green to fall into the vial, causing it to immediately shift and whirl with new light.
"The [Gluttonous Reitersplach] and [Prideful Chikage] both only have reactions when met with blood. For these purposes, I would once again like to use you, Gehrman," Mordret said.
Indeed, the Resirsplanch would also create a secretion once it pierced an enemy, sucked that blood, and then its bullets would have something that could be added.
The [Prideful Chikage] was different. It seemed to only draw upon one's blood, thus forming a blood blade. However, the properties of one's blood would invariably change in order to maintain the blood blade. Naturally, this changed blood would be necessary for the concoction they were making.
Gehrman took the sword and let it draw upon his blood. Then, he willed the bloody edge to drop into the vial.
Due to the constraints of the rapier-like Trick Weapon, Gehrman could not stab himself, so Mordret had to face him head on. He gave him a tiny prick on his finger before firing off a round into a net of blood conjured by Gehrman. The bullets with the poisonous properties were then added to the vial.
Now, it looked truly terrifying. The dark red hue had shifted into something far more alive and menacing. It shifted into lighter shades of red, and even some whites, as the concoction mixed and whirled about without any interference from the three of them.
"The [Greedy Bloodstone Tailsman] and the [Slothful Evelyn] will take on the role of stabilization. Theoretically, this vile concoction will become a birthing place for Vermin," Mordret muttered, his eyes lost in the swirl of the liquid.
Caster grunted with indignation.
"You just guessed all of this? Each of these steps? And you thought of this in, what, a matter of weeks?"
Mordret did not take his eyes off the large container.
"I did my best…It all felt rather intuitive after coming up with the original theory that the purpose of the Sin Memories was to create Vermin."
All Caster could do was scoff at that.
Nothing about this was "rather intuitive" and indeed much of it felt like guesswork. Gehrman would find this all incredibly dubious if the Memories didn't have an obvious reaction with each other when their secretions were mixed like this.
Even still, he was a little peeved.
Back in the 2nd Nightmare. He feverishly collected the Sin Memories because he thought it would be the key to somehow dealing with the Transcendents, the largest obstacles of the Nightmare.
However, it now seemed as if that was never Paleblood's intention.
"You said that if this gives the entity a foothold in our reality it would be an issue, right?" Caster said, giving Gehrman a side eye. "So why, exactly, are we letting her creation come into our world?"
Gehrman paused for a moment. He felt there was a risk with this, but he also felt it was surprisingly minimal.
Unlike the Beast Plague which was something unique to Paleblood, almost a direct result of Her essence, Vermin were more independent. They adapted to live and bond with humans, this was clear from the creation of the Vilebloods.
Oddly enough, Vermin had more in common with humans than beasts, despite both creations coming from Paleblood and originating from the "base" side of existence.
Vermin and Sin were intertwined, but what Paleblood didn't seem to realize is that Sin and Humanity were far, far more intertwined than She could ever understand.
Vermin almost felt like an experiment. Paleblood's attempt at understanding lower dimensional lifeforms, and yet, She was still so far removed from them that they turned disconnected from her.
Why would She create the Sin Memories?
Well, it was probably a gamble. Having Vermin in the Waking World and the Dream Realm would be dangerous, as it would offer her a small connection, but so long as Vermin were bonded with humans, that connection would be masked.
Paleblood was probably hoping for an outbreak of sorts that allowed Vermin to infest the entirety of both realms, thus giving her more leeway.
"If we're careful, it shouldn't be an issue," Gehrman said. "Besides, if this works, we can get a system in place. That means every human who can swear an Oath Rune will have a separate, limited Aspect Ability at their command."
The weight of that was utterly staggering.
It would be the start of a new era, one in which humans would take center stage.