The Ashen Keeper

Chapter 34

"Nobody really knows how Yharnam came about. But the people in Yharnam still call themselves human.

For most, Yharnam is a fantasy city where you can only go there through dreams and nightmares. But for me, it was a reality.

I was only made aware of its existence due to a friend I made back in my childhood.

He calls himself Willem. I do not know where he is now for, he disappeared."

"We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood; Fear the old blood, my friend, fear the old blood."

"Those were his exact words as I recall. He told me that his world was formed by the blood that showed up on a barren planet.

That blood eventually evolved into what they call the great ones. They are gods that created everything in their world. Everything there was created using the very blood that formed them.

However, humans there was very vulnerable to disease. They however, had great strength. Because of this, they longed to evolve into higher beings or in their words, become a great one.

The great ones that you will witness on this plane of existence are nothing more than projections that cannot be comprehended by the mortal mind.

As such, they appear as terrifying abominations. It is said that Yharnam was created by these very gods before they ascended beyond the mortal plane.

They had elevated their consciousness beyond the physical realm. Despite them not existing in the physical plane, the great ones could still operate and interfere in the waking world. The waking world is what you would call this plane of reality.

Yharnam could be said to be the tomb of the gods themselves before they left the physical plane behind. There exists a Labyrinth under Yharnam which was carved by the Pthumerians, the servant of the old ones as their tomb.

It is said that the Pthumerians are superhuman beings who has discovered the Eldritch truth.

It is in this labyrinth that they found traces of God-like beings called the great ones.

Of all the strange lifeforms that exists in the nooks and crannies of the Labyrinth, the slugs are clear signs of the left-behind great ones."

"Left behind?", she asked.

"Yes, not all great ones ascend to the beyond. By the fact that slugs were signs of them, I can imagine that you would know what they looked like in the mortal realm.

Like all others in Yharnam, Willem too wanted to ascend to the realms of the great ones. So, he attended an academic institute in Yharnam called Brygenwerth.

It is said that Brygenwerth was built atop the tomb of the gods themselves. Eventually Willem became the head of Brygenwerth.

I recall Willem telling me that it was situated by a giant lake and within a secluded with a gigantic forest. Brygenwerth would go onto giving birth to many influential scholars and organizations.

Yes, I recall Willem very well. The man was obsessed with the truth and believed in pushing the limits of humanity.

It was during when he presided over Brygenwerth that the scholars there discovered terrific things between the tombs.

They found a holy medium that led to the foundation of what he called the Healing Church and the establishment of blood healing.

This is what Yharnam is famous for. They can heal or cure almost anything using the blood of great ones found within the tombs. From what I know, Willem did not approve the use of the old blood.

It is after this that the presence of the great ones was confirmed to be reality and not mere myths. This led the scholars of Brygenwerth to launch inquires into the great ones and the old blood.

This is all I know about the city of Yharnam. I believe there are more to this than what I just said but it was during this time that I lost contact with Willem. You will have to find out more on your own."

"How do I get to Yharnam? Thou hath not mention a single fact about getting to Yharnam."

"Oh yes, the only way to access Yharnam is through a dream. Everything in the world Yharnam is located was created by the great ones. This include things like the sun, the moon and stars.

The entire planet is hidden in another dimension. I do not know how you can get there. The only reason I met Willem was due to the world tree so, you will have to find more from there."

"The world tree?"

"The nine realms are connected with what we call the world tree, Yggdrasil. In my youthful days, I hang myself from Yggdrasil for nine days and nine nights to prove myself worthy of the runes.

I also give up an eye for it as you can see. It was during this time that I dreamt of Yharnam. It healed my eye for me. That is why I can see into your soul as you may have noticed.

My eye was never supposed to recover but, as you can see, it still works well despite a blindfold over it."

That explains why Odin was able to see the everlasting dragons when the Ancient One could not. However, the Ancient One was far more proficient in sensing the emotions and feelings of other beings.

She is certain that the Ancient One would be able to sense the changes in Hela.

"I welcome you to stay in Asgard for as long as you like since you have prevented the prophecy from coming true. You killed Hela while I could not."

"Thou jest, my dear Odin. Surely, thou can kill thy with the amount of power thee possess."

"Yes, but I am restricted by fate itself. I could not kill her even in my prime. Fate would have weakened to the extent I would have been killed by her and start Ragnarök.

The moment I try to attack her, I can already tell that Asgard will be destroyed. Hela can be killed yes, but not by an Asgardian.

No Asgardian, no matter how powerful can kill her. But you can since you are not one of us."

So, this was why Odin asked her for help even when he could have summoned the entire country of Asgard to go on a crusade against her. For now, she had no idea what to do.

She could not hang herself from the world tree since that will empty her soul and fill it with runes instead. Doing this meant that the everlasting dragons could no longer live in her soul.

She supposes she should train Wanda to use her powers better now that she is finally free of her chores.