"A Hunter, she walks upon the shore, ♪
Her homeland behind, her path ahead. ♪
Parents and children, all lost to her. ♪
Her lover already buried in the sea. ♪"
Ethereal and lonely singing echoed above the beach.
"[Molotov Cocktail
Explodes with violent flames upon hitting a target, one of the earliest tools used by Hunters in the factory.
Since the tragedy of Old Yharnam, fire has become a symbol of monster hunting, as people believe fire can purify the unclean.
Certain types of monsters are particularly afraid of fire.]"
Splash.
The pistol's hammer sparked, igniting the oil-soaked cloth. A dark brown glass bottle, half-filled with lamp oil, was smashed onto the woodpile, instantly erupting into a roaring blaze.
Molotov cocktails were Goki's favorite little gadget; no matter what monster it was, he'd always try one—as the saying goes, 'the hairier, the weaker to fire.'
However, this time, Goki specifically exchanged blood echoes for this item not to be a monster Hunter, but for a funeral.
On the pyre, the Abyssal Hunter, who was in Skadi's squad, lay quietly, gradually being consumed by the flames.
The Seaborn parasitic in her body had been eliminated. Skadi, wielding her greatsword, cleared the small forest near the shore in less than five minutes, like a logging machine, and carried back several thick logs.
After a little processing, Goki had constructed a cremation pyre.
Yharnam was trapped by the Great One's power on the day the Blood Moon descended. Until Goki killed one Great One after another, less than one percent of the original prosperous blood ministration city of Yharnam's normal residents remained alive.
For the deceased, Hunters often resorted to cremation; only fire could prevent bodies from mutating and decaying. As for the Soul... there was not much they could do about that.
Looking at the deceased Abyssal Hunter, Goki felt the scorching heat on his face and sighed.
"Alas..."
Having fought in Yharnam for an unknown amount of time, the corpses Goki had seen and the madmen he had killed were already countless, and he himself had died who knows how many times.
Goki was already numb to death itself.
Nevertheless, he still felt a pang of sorrow seeing a warrior fall.
In front of the burning pyre, the white-haired Hunter sat on a log, her eyes slightly closed, softly singing an ancient song.
The song, chanted in Aegir, flowed from Skadi's lips, echoing on the sun-ddrenched beach, forming a chorus with the sound of the waves.
"A Hunter, she walks upon the shore, ♪
Her homeland behind, only sorrow remains. ♪
Her path has no end, ♪
Her path is shrouded in mist. ♪"
Goki understood Aegir and could feel the sadness in the Abyssal Hunter's song. She was pouring out the bitterness and desolation in her heart.
At least, in her own view, she was the last Abyssal Hunter—as an Old Hunter who had been away from home for many years, Goki understood this sense of loneliness.
"[Actually, there are two more. No, better not tell her.]"
Goki had largely recalled the game's plot of Arknights.
Besides Skadi, two other Abyssal Hunters survived the final battle.
However, Goki would not tell Skadi about this directly for now.
Firstly, it would be illogical for an outsider like him to know this—he wasn't that familiar with Little Orca yet. What if she became wary and chopped him into mincemeat?
Secondly, Goki's arrival had already changed the course of the plot.
If Goki hadn't been there, Skadi would have chosen to walk away from civilization, not towards the nearest big city, and certainly wouldn't have encountered this Abyssal Hunter parasitized by Seaborn.
Just now, if Goki hadn't intervened, Skadi might have broken free from the Seaborn's mental attack, or perhaps... she would have directly become Red Skadi.
While Red Skadi might be alluring and soft, Goki still didn't want Skadi to become like that. It would be better for her to be a happy Orca playing golf.
Since the plot had already been altered, Goki could no longer be a prophet; the original plot content could only serve as a reference.
What if giving Skadi too much hope would later turn into despair?
Of course, there was another matter Goki would also conceal from her, at least until Skadi could slowly accept this setting.
This Abyssal Hunter was not "parasitized" by Seaborn.
More precisely, the Seaborn Blood within the Abyssal Hunter's body was awakened, causing the Abyssal Hunter to transform into a Seaborn and integrate into that hive-mind network.
After all, the "Abyssal Hunter" combat unit, for the underwater civilization of Aegir, served as both vanguard and suicide soldiers.
They were warriors, yet also beings to be wary of, capable of becoming enemies at any moment.
"[Let's take it one step at a time—Nona Doll, you're also curious about this new world, aren't you? Where would you like to explore?]"
"[I only wish to be by your side, kind Hunter.]"
"[Oh, I love to hear that.]"
Listening to Skadi's sad song, Goki chatted with the Nona Doll in his mind.
Goki had a rough assessment of their current situation.
The Nona Doll was not some Golden Finger or System, but genuine, an actual power belonging to Goki himself.
Dream and Blood were the greatest themes of Bloodborne.
Great Ones created dreams, and their spokespersons maintained them.
And the Great One who created the Hunters' base camp—Hunter's Dream, the Moon Presence—had just been slain by Goki himself with the Moonlight Greatsword not long ago, thoroughly dead.
Although Goki refused to become a tentacle monster like the Moon Presence, he still controlled the Moon Presence's power—Hunter's Dream itself.
The small hut surrounded by the bright flower sea now resided in Goki's mind—after all, it was a dream, and it was quite normal for a dream to be in one's head.
In the future, Goki could not only use blood echoes to upgrade and exchange weapons and items but also perform enhancements and buy/sell equipment.
However, it was still somewhat difficult to overlap the dream with reality, like in Yharnam, and bring his warm little bed from Hunter's Dream into reality.
Hunters in the game didn't sleep, but Goki in Yharnam still needed to rest in the dream.
"[However, I feel like it will be possible in the future, as long as I have more blood echoes.]"
Crackling.
Before him, the log pyre blazed fiercely, engulfing the Abyssal Hunter's body.
In Goki's mind, the number representing blood echoes suddenly jumped upwards.
+4000, exactly the income from the first boss in the game.
Subsequently, five pale characters appeared deep within Goki's consciousness.
"Prey Slain."
Goki turned slightly, pulling out a small bottle from his Pregnant. Inside flowed a reddish-green liquid.
This was something he had secretly extracted from the Abyssal Hunter while Skadi was chopping wood, hoping the Nona Doll could analyze something from it.
And now, the analysis results came out the moment the Seaborn completely died.
"[Seaborn — Aegir Blood
Blood left behind by a Seaborn-transformed Abyssal Hunter after death. Seaborn will track the blood of their kin.
The blood still retains the power of both Seaborn and Aegir people. If injected into the bloodstream, it might grant considerable power, whether from the Seaborn or the Aegir people is unknown.
The deceased Hunter thanks you for granting her freedom.]"
"...Yakshasa Candy?"
After a moment of hesitation, Goki put the blood bottle back into his Pregnant. It was best not to try it easily unless it was a critical moment.
Not far away, Skadi's song also reached its end. The ethereal melody still echoed over the beach, but she had composed herself.
"Goki, you should try to use firearms as little as possible against Seaborn. Their thoughts are uniformly controlled, and they will transmit their experiences to other Seaborn. When they devour a new individual, their entire species will develop new mimicry."
With her back to Goki, Skadi secretly wiped her eyes, then raised her greatsword and walked towards a clump of bushes at the edge of the beach, beginning to swing it vigorously to dig a grave for her comrade.
"We should be fortunate that no stronger evolved existence appeared today—this is also why Abyssal Hunters use cold weapons against Seaborn. Advanced technology is very likely to stimulate the rapid evolution of the Seaborn species."
Skadi's tone returned to its usual calm. While digging, she looked at Goki.
"Understood. Actually, my weapons aren't that advanced; their main power still comes from the mercury and blood within them... but I will be careful."
Goki, who had seen the plot, knew that Seaborn did not have the evolution speed of Orks; they were not a warrior race with advanced weapon data etched into their DNA.
Seaborn were merely clumsy imitators of other species, evolving slowly and steadily. Even when individuals actively underwent rapid evolution, they would be hindered by some force.
But it was always better to be cautious. There were many secrets between Seaborn and Aegir, and who knew how powerful they truly were. Goki had to be careful—what if it really had the same effect as Hercules' Twelve Labors? Goki couldn't find the Chain of Heaven.
After tidying the Abyssal Hunter's ashes, Goki and Skadi buried her and erected a simple tombstone.
By the time everything was finished, it was already scorching midday.
"So this is a land dweller's funeral... I truly know little about the world beyond the sea."
The funeral was just a formality, but somehow, Skadi felt much better.
Calming her emotions, Skadi shook the dirt off her greatsword and let out a long sigh, as if bidding farewell to her past.
Then, she turned to look at Goki.
When she was in Aegir, she often heard other Abyssal Hunters describe the land nations. In their descriptions, it was barren and backward, and the people living there were no different from monkeys.
But now, it seemed that was indeed just typical Aegir arrogance.
"For the path ahead, I will need your help, Goki."
On the contrary, the land dwellers were excellent, powerful, and skilled at using superb tactics and techniques to compensate for physical differences.
Undoubtedly, Goki was a respectable Hunter.
Moreover, besides that, he was also quite good at comforting people.
Thinking this, Skadi extended her hand without hesitation and grasped Goki's wrist.
"Then thank you for the compliment. We'll just look out for each other on the way."
Before Goki could even be modest, he was suddenly pulled with great force onto Skadi's back.
"But that doesn't mean you don't need treatment—our original plan remains unchanged; we'll continue to Saltwind City. You're too slow, I'll carry you."
The next second, Skadi stomped the ground, and a whistling wind rushed past Goki's ears. Skadi lightly jumped, leaping over two meters high.
"Hey, hey, hey—slow down! An Old Hunter can't handle this!"
"I'm not even the fastest among the Abyssal Hunters!"
The two Hunters, one male and one female, both left their hometowns and sprinted towards the unknown.
Two Hunters, from their respective oceans, walked onto the shore.