Bloodborne

Surgit realized that his new habit was imagining the city before it was struck with this beastly scourge. Somehow he started getting the feeling that the night of the hunt was no longer a monthly occurrence. Old Yharnam was devoid of people. Only beasts roamed the streets and the only talking person he encountered was the Gatling man.

Central Yharnam had its share of lit houses. He could hear murmurs beyond the doors as he walked past some of the allegedly inhabited houses. He rarely tried to knock at a door and inspect if the people inside had their wits about them. Somehow, he antic.i.p.ated their reaction. They would either insult him or mock him for being outside. Yharnamites, after all, didn"t take kindly to strangers.

Old Yharnam on the other hand was overwhelmed with beast patients. Surgit"s theory was that the people in the city had all transformed into beasts and drove the few survivors away. The door he had opened before accessing the old hamlet was dusty. Rust had taken over the hinges of the big gate and they emitted an irritating noise as he pushed the door open. No one had come to that settlement in a long time.

The silence that fell over the cathedral and its back porch was unsettling. Gatling man had lost sight of Surgit as he was at least two floors below the clock tower.

He had found a tightly shut door that led towards the top of the tower from the inside. "The old man had really thought about everything, leaving his enemies with only one access," he thought. He wanted to reach the top of the tower, but not if that entailed his guaranteed demise. He vowed to clear his way of every enemy, but engaging in a suicide mission was stupid, not dutiful. He decided to explore the cathedral more before moving on to the next area. He didn"t want to miss out on anything. Leaving things unnoticed could cost him greatly if he ever had to go back all the way to the lantern by the big gate.

The sight of the beast hanging from the chandelier still chilled his bones. He remembered the note he had found in the old pub. Was this the doing of the town folk? Or was it the hunters? He knew that there was some kind of purge in the city.

It was apparent from the crucifixes and the fire. Even beast patients feared fire to death. The only plausible theory his mind could accept was that hunters raided the city before and tried to contain the scourge. Once the situation became hopeless, they decided to burn the city and its beasts then seal it off. "When the hunt Began, the Healing Church left us, blocking the great bridge to Cathedral Ward, as Old Yharnam burned to the ground that moonlit night."

He remembered the note Francis had given him after Surgit and Karla disposed of the colossal beast. Old Yharnam must have been sealed shut by the hunters after the hunt began. But if it had begun only the night Surgit arrived to Yharnam, why was the door so dusty and difficult to open?

The locked door and dust acc.u.mulated on it was proof enough that the city was sealed away for far too long. The people who were left behind must have transformed into beasts and exterminated any threat that came their way. It would make sense to see intruders as enemies anyhow as people were the ones to exterminate them and seal them off in this isolated valley. What didn"t make sense was the door that looked ancient. Something didn"t add up. Surgit didn"t bother asking where he was anymore. It became a question of "when" he was.

Had the hunt just begun the night he arrived to the city or is he and all the inhabitants of Yharnam trapped in some time loop, unable to break free of it? If that was true, was he living in reality? Or was it just a dream? That would certainly explain the nomenclature given to the hunter"s workshop.

Surgit"s head started aching. He already had too many unanswered questions… Having more of them with no hope to reach a plausible answer made his situation worse. His headache got suddenly intense and he held his head and howled in pain. "Oh insightful hunter… Perhaps there is some hope left for the fool…" echoed the voices in his head.

This made him think of all the beasts he encountered in Yharnam. Were they human before? How could he explain the colossal beast he had fought when Paul and Damien accompanied him? Or the giant ones in the Cathedral ward? Was it possible that even their size changed?

After all, what happened in the city was still unclear to him. All he knew was that these beasts wanted him and every other human dead. He needed to dispose of them even if he felt bad for them. He felt like one of those secluded hunters he read about in old books. The ones who would live in big forests and live off the game they hunt. They didn"t hunt for sport but for necessity of survival. And they always felt bad for the living creature they had to kill. He found the a.n.a.logy amusing though as his way of killing was bloodier and more brutal.

He advanced through the back door of the cathedral and found himself on a cobbled street. From a marble railing, Surgit looked down and saw a flowing river down below. He was finally getting to the bottom of the valley. The frightening darkness he had witnessed before from the area beside Iosefka"s clinic had become clearer.

The valley was indeed deep and Old Yharnam was apparently built around a river, as all thriving cities were. The architectural advancement and the building of the aqueducts above in the newer areas of the city proved how wealthy Yharnam had become after the discovery of blood healing.

If the tales he had read were true, visitors from every corner made Yharnam their destination in search for miracles. And that led to the development of the city and the advancement of its technology and economy. No wonder the cathedral ward seemed pretty and clean. It was the area that hosted the Great Cathedral and pilgrims from every corner of the world sought it.

As for Old Yharnam, it seemed like it was a well-kept secret. It was the area that hid the ugly part of what hunters did or had to do. He advanced through the silent dark street. The only sounds he could hear were his footsteps and that of the water flowing in the river, some distance away from him.

He soon found himself in front of a tower next to which, a street took deeper inside the town. The tower had a single ladder that took somewhere upstairs. He decided to go up before inspecting the uncharted area the other street led to.

Once he reached the top of the tower, he opened a metallic door that led him right next to the entrance of the big cathedral, and the clock tower. A convenient shortcut in case he needed to go back through the area one more time.

He took the ladder down again and went through the street. As he walked, silence and darkness enveloped him and he felt uneasy. He reached a square full of pillars that could hide any manner of threats.

He needed to be on guard and make sure that nothing could surprise him and cause great injuries. As the thought crossed his mind, he felt some movements behind him. He turned to check the source of the faint noise and saw a shadow moving between the pillars.

He advanced towards it slowly then felt that something else was lurking behind him. Wherever he turned, he felt like he was being watched. He was surrounded. He clenched his cleaver hard and advanced towards one of the pillars.

As he reached it, his instinct pushed him to jump back as a male beast patient jumped down on him. He almost took the hit head on if it wasn"t for his hunter senses. But that wasn"t enough as another beast jumped at him from behind and scratched his back with its claws. He fell to his knees, staggered by the surprise attack while the other one who almost hit him earlier punched him in the stomach. Surgit screamed in pain and struggled to keep his consciousness.

Their hits were still hard to endure and he remembered why he made sure to avoid all their attacks. Two more beasts appeared from the shadows and Surgit rolled to the side to avoid another attack from his enemies. He quickly took a vial from his belt and injected himself with it, regaining his strength.

He was facing four enemies in front of him but he still felt some more coming from behind. He was surrounded with no source of light. He had to improvise and get out of that dreadful situation. He remembered having two weapons that could be of good use for him.

He took the rifle spear from its sheath on his back and threw it at one beast, impaling it to a pillar. He jumped at the nearest one he could see and hit it with his cleaver with two horizontal swings, injuring it badly. He couldn"t manage to finish it however as he saw another beast jumping at him.

He swung his cleaver diagonally and caught the beast midflight. The latter got stuck in the saw due to its own velocity and body weight. Surgit was happy that he upgraded his strength as the impact didn"t stagger him or slow him down. In fact, he elongated his cleaver, throwing the stuck corpse away from his weapon and swung it at the remaining two that were coming his way.

Meanwhile, two more beasts came running at him from behind and jumped at him. Surgit performed a horizontal swing, slashing the two beasts in front of him and quickly rolled backwards in order to avoid the jumping attack from the other two. He felt that once he got into a fight, his senses became sharper and he could perform feats he wasn"t aware of. It was as if he had gained some new skills thanks to the numerous fights he had been in.

He had five enemies in front of him, one of which was badly injured and incapable of movement. The other four still moved towards him, trying their best to coordinate their attacks. His a.s.sailants were aligned in a two by two line. The uninjured ones were first then came the other two he had hit earlier with his horizontal swings.

The healthy ones attacked first. Surgit prepared to dodge the first one and execute the second. His plan was interrupted as a b.l.o.o.d.y beast patient jumped on him from above. Not only did they have amazing tenacity, but they also had great agility. He dodged the slamming attack and was welcomed by a beast behind him, ready to dig its claws deep within his back. He instinctively performed a back flip and landed behind the monster.

The healthy couple of beasts were already running at him when he landed. He dodged the first monster"s attack and jumped back. They were leading the pace of the fight. Surgit gritted his teeth. He had to do something in order to reverse the tide. From the corner of his eye, as he was dodging yet another flurry of attacks, Surgit noticed the spear, stuck on the pillar.

He jumped to the left and s.n.a.t.c.hed the spear, albeit with some difficulty. He underestimated his strength. Perhaps it was because of the t.i.tle he was given. The beast patients were quickly advancing towards him. He had created a small distance between him and his attackers when he jumped for the spear. But the little instant it took him to take the spear away was enough for them to regain it.

With a thrusting motion, he attacked the beast to his right. The monster dodged the obvious attack and Surgit used the opening he had to jump at the injured beast behind. The poor thing didn"t see the attack coming. In no time, the spear pierced his torso and came out the back. Surgit then hurled his weapon at the other injured monster. The hit connected and the beast fell down as the spear had made a new hole in its skull.

He turned in time to see the other fit monsters attacking. He dodged the first one and shot the second before its attack could land. He quickly inserted his beastly hands and destroyed its internal organs, killing it instantly. He was then faced with only one enemy. The latter tried to flee the scene but Surgit showed no mercy. He ran towards him quickly and decapitated him. There was no room for mistakes. He had to kill every single enemy on his way.