Nightmare's End

Present: A Letter and Some Brotherly Love

"MARIA!!" Stephetheon called from the Lumenwood Garden, making his throat hoarse. He had dropped his weapons off in the dream, leaving his hands free to cup around his mask. A corpse of a Failure still laid at the base of the tree. "Maria!!"

Steph began to feel more than a little panicked.

He ran to her chamber, only to find a note on the table next to her chair. His heart beat in synchronization with his reading it:

To the skilled and noble Silver-Mask (for I know not your name),

After our duel, I found myself contemplating the purpose I had been living for. In the end all I did was provide comfort for the victims of the Healing Church. How sickening, the irony of that name. If there were any truth in it, I believe Yharnam wouldn't have been made into the cesspool of blood and beasts it was when I was lost. I can recall my earliest days as a hunter, accompanying Gehrman on the Nights, slaying beasts, trying to make a difference and protect the people of Yharnam. When did it become so much worse than a few dozen?

Laurence. That damnable boy, with hair like the fires in the streets and eyes like the sky we once had. It was him, and the scholars he corrupted. If only they had heeded Willem's warning. In the end it cost Laurence his life, turning him into the very thing he once deemed below him. He became a beast. I should hope you know the story.

He was returning to the Grand Cathedral after his walk through the Ward, giving prayers for the "sick". Quite suddenly (I believe it was after he imbibed of more blood), he collapsed onto the ground, convulsing, when, as one of the Blood Saints came rushing out, his body expanded violently, splattering the young woman in his blood. She screamed when the transformation was complete, her senses returning. Before her stood the first Cleric Beast.

What used to be Laurence screamed terribly, and crushed the poor girl with his massive left arm. Ludwig the Holy Blade had heard the commotion and rushed out with a handful of his closest apprentices, and together they torched the beast, pulling him down with hooked ropes thrown at his head and shoulders. All that was left when the fires died was his skull, with a few strands of hair clinging on.

Such was the fate of the honorless Laurence. To think I once fancied him... No matter. I may not be able to reach outside this Nightmare, but I may find my redemption here. Seek the Skull beneath the Eye, and find me at the Cathedral.

Best of Luck out on the Hunt,

Maria

***

Stuffing the note in the pouch of his belt, Stephetheon rushed to the lantern and returned to the Dream, only to reconnect (quite literally) with his master.

"You dumbass!" Wolfgore shouted as he drove his silver fist into Steph's mask, knocking him off his feet and onto the cobblestone pathway. "What in the name of Oedon were you thinking? What were you searching for, all alone? Was it Lady Maria? Did you abandon me at the castle so you could go off on your own into the Nightmare? Gods damn it, Stephetheon, I can't believe this."

Stumbling back onto his feet, Stephetheon made for the workshop. "Wolf, I need your help. What do you know of an Eye, or a Skull, in the Nightmare?" He grabbed his scythe and spear, and returned to his master.

"What?"

"I found Maria. I fought her, before we left for Cainhurst. I tried to find her again, but instead I found this letter, telling me to retrieve some skull, presumably Laurence's, and then meet her somewhere, but it mentions an eye of some sort. The Eye, the way she wrote it. What does that mean?"

Wolfgore sighed, putting his brain to work. "There was an Eye Pendant in the Cathedral... We placed that in the altar in the Research Hall.... It was an elevator! A chamber must be below. Let's go."

Sure enough, they found their way to the altar, and there it was. On the platform that was raised when the elevator was used, the Skull sat on a new altar. Stephetheon praised Wolf's quick thinking, and rushed to the stairwell, only to realize something.

Where do we go? Steph asked himself, trying to connect dots. Fortunately, he had been born with an at least average brain, and determined their new destination. "Wolf, the Cathedral! The flaming Cleric Beast! Maria means to awaken it!" With that, they were off.

***

Running up the steps, Stephetheon saw that there was no axe wielding mega-Kin standing guard. All by herself... he thought. They came to the gate, and there she was. Stephetheon felt his heart jump to his throat at the sight of her.

"You came!" Lady Maria exclaimed, rushing toward him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes. "Thank you, for opening my eyes. What is your name?"

"I-I'm Stephetheon, and this is-"

"Wolfgore, my lady," Wolf announced proudly, bowing respectfully. As he stood, he continued his introduction, "Now that's Wolfgore to you, Mr. Wolf was my father."

"Aye." Stephetheon stood uncomfortably, waiting for Maria to move her hand away. "You're Lady Maria."

"Indeed, but I sense my letter was merely a reminder of my name. Where did you learn it?"

"We spoke with Queen Annalise, at Cainhurst Castle. She told us you were lost nearly thirty years ago."

"It's been thirty years? Well, that explains her rise to queenhood. She was a princess when last she wrote to me. Anyways, by now you must know why I am here. The beast ahead, that is Laurence, and hunting him is what I must do, with or without your aid. What shall it be, then?"

"We're with you, Maria. Blood and blade."

*****

woot woot! Almost 500 reads! I've never, ever reached that many reads before. This chapter will probably be edited heavily in the future, because 90% of it was written in less than an hour, so I'm not too happy with it, but I'm happy with the storyline so far. Lemme know what you peeps think, please! Have a good day, and may the good blood guide your way! 💜💜💜