When Alex slowly opened the doors of the Hunter's Workshop, the interior of the workshop appeared before him and Alucard. It was a small but cozily gloomy room that combined a modest library with a single bookshelf and stacks of books standing nearby.
In each of these books, hunters recorded their observations, knowledge, and useful advice to share with those who would come after them. Opposite the mountain of books stood a small shelf with jars filled with an unclear murky liquid. It was clear that the contents of these jars were also somehow connected to hunting monsters. A little further, in the center of the workshop, were wooden cabinets and boxes, their doors slightly ajar, allowing a glimpse of what was inside.
From the slightly open cabinet door, old materials used for hunting and creating various devices designed to make fighting monsters easier could be seen. And a few steps from the cabinets stood the Hunter's workbench, where hunters maintained and repaired their weapons before heading out for the night hunt.
The entire workshop looked as if it had been used for many years by different hunters. Stopping at the entrance, Alex and Alucard carefully looked around until their gazes fell on an elderly man sitting in a wheelchair with his head lowered. He was wearing old, worn-out clothes whose edges had long frayed, and an old hat adorned his head, partially covering his cloudy eyes.
While Alex and Alucard were examining the workshop, the one who managed this place slowly raised his cloudy gaze. Gehrman — the first hunter whose hands had killed a huge number of monsters — lifted his aged face to get a better look at those who had entered his workshop. For the first time in many cycles of the hunt, a long-forgotten surprise flashed in his cloudy eyes.
Gehrman no longer remembered how long it had been since he had felt such emotions. After all, everything always repeated from cycle to cycle. He no longer even remembered the faces of those hunters who cycle after cycle ended up in the Hunter's Dream. But the end for all these hunters was the same: they chose to awaken from this nightmare and left it forever.
Only the tombstones scattered throughout the area served as a silent reminder of these hunters. But even after forgetting most of his life and the faces of those he had known, the terrible events that could not be forgotten and served as a constant reminder of what he had done still remained alive in his memories.
One of such heavy memories was connected to the Fishing Hamlet, where he and other hunters committed an unthinkable atrocity against its inhabitants. After that massacre, he lost his apprentice, whom he considered his daughter. The one he considered his daughter could not bear the guilt for the massacre they had carried out.
Gehrman saw how she withdrew into herself and tried to atone for what had been done. But in the end, guilt prevailed, and she took her own life. The loss of his apprentice and daughter was not the only tragedy that followed the massacre in the Fishing Hamlet.
Because of the hunters' actions, the entire village was cursed, as were all those who participated in that massacre. Everyone touched by the curse heard the mournful cry of the child of the Great One, who was taken from the womb of its murdered mother and forced to undergo terrible experiments.
The eternal cry of the Orphan of Kos rang in Gehrman's ears, gradually driving him mad, while the emptiness in his heart from the loss of his daughter and apprentice only grew deeper and could no longer be filled with anything. In a fit of desire to bring back the one he considered his daughter, Gehrman acted like a man possessed.
In the end, he created the Doll — a perfect copy of Maria. But the Doll was nothing more than a doll created in the image and likeness of Maria. Then Gehrman began searching for a way to give her life. The only person who did not let Gehrman drown in despair was Laurence. Even though their paths had diverged, they still remained friends, even if they walked different roads.
While Gehrman searched for a way to bring the Doll to life, Laurence was by his side, supporting his friend's obsession so that he would not break. Gehrman did not refuse the help, knowing that before founding the Healing Church, Laurence had been the personal apprentice of Master Willem, the head of the Byrgenwerth Institute.
However, all their attempts and experiments led to only one conclusion: he would not be able to bring Maria back, no matter how hard he tried. The realization of this once again plunged Gehrman into the abyss of despair.
And when Gehrman thought he could sink no deeper into the lake of despair, news came to him: his friend Laurence, with whom they had once begun their journey, had disappeared without a trace. The loss of Maria had been a terrible blow to Gehrman, and he did not want to lose his friend as well, who continued to support him despite their diverging paths.
As soon as the news of Laurence's disappearance reached Gehrman, he immediately set out to search for him. Gehrman looked for any trace that could lead him to his friend. But no matter how much he searched, no matter how many traces he found, in the end he only found a monster.
The members of the Church said that this monster was Laurence. After killing him, Gehrman did not want to believe that he had killed his friend with his own hands. This truth plunged Gehrman into even greater despair. And in a fit of despair from the loss of his loved ones, he took the most insane step of his life.
Gehrman was left in complete solitude and despair, locked in his workshop. His order of Hunters had been disbanded, he had lost his daughter and his friend. All he had left was old age and hopelessness. Day and night, locked in the workshop, he looked at the Third Umbilical Cord he had taken from the Fishing Hamlet from the body of the Great One washed ashore.
Gehrman had kept it for years without touching it; it simply gathered dust on the shelf where no one could see it. Day and night he stared at the Third Umbilical Cord, as if fighting for the remnants of his sanity, of which there was less and less. His eyes were red from insomnia, but he did not blink, continuing to stare at this thing.
And when madness, despair, and loneliness reached their peak, Gehrman made the greatest mistake of his life, which cost him his freedom. He used the Third Umbilical Cord to call upon the Great Ones. And, to his misfortune, one of the Great Ones answered his call. On the brightest moonlit night, the Moon Presence descended upon him. From that day on, he became the Caretaker in the Hunter's Dream, watching over this place and guiding the hunters who found themselves here.
Trapped in the Hunter's Dream, Gehrman did not even think about escape, because he had lost all will to fight, and only faint remnants of hope sometimes broke through from the depths of his subconscious. Since then, an endless cycle began: the Moon Presence watches, hunters hunt, and he guides them in this hunt and awakens them from the dream at the end.
But the new cycle caused feelings in Gehrman that had long since withered among these endless repetitions. Instead of one hunter, two entered his workshop. And he could feel the thick smell of the blood of the monsters they had killed coming from them.
He had enormous experience in hunting, and he immediately understood that these two were radically different from all the hunters who had ever ended up in the Hunter's Dream. For a brief moment, hope flashed in his eyes, which just as unnoticed faded before it could even flare up. Gehrman simply knew: there is no hope in this place, there is only eternal hunting, obsession with blood, and madness.
At the same time, while Gehrman was looking at the two newcomers, Alex and Alucard were also examining him. Alex saw only a broken man who had lost everything and simply wanted to leave, but could not. Alucard, however, evaluated Gehrman differently: she saw a man who had killed many monsters and was still capable of taking up a weapon and fighting again.
At that same moment, a desire awakened inside her to cross weapons with him and find out what else this old man was capable of. She saw that there was almost no will to live left in his eyes, but she was sure — he could still fight. Gradually, the smile on Alucard's face grew wider with anticipation of a fight with such a hunter. Alucard leaned forward slightly, gripping the saw-axe tighter in her hand.
And before she could do anything, Alex pinched her ass to cool her ardor. He didn't even need to look at Alucard to understand what was going on in her head right now. Feeling Alex's hand squeezing her buttock, Alucard's attention instantly switched to him.
Alex only shook his head, making it clear that she should forget about what she was thinking right now. Gehrman himself watched this interaction and felt the bloodlust directed at him, but did not react in any way. He simply continued to look at the two visitors with his cloudy gaze.
"Oh… You must be the new hunters… Welcome to this dream. For now, it will be your new home. I am Gehrman, friend to the hunters. I will help you in any way I can," Gehrman suddenly spoke in an old man's voice.
"As I've already understood, this place you called a dream. Can you give more details about this place? Or is that all we need to know for now?" Alex asked, lighting a cigarette.
"Hehehe… Of course, you two don't understand anything yet, but there's no need to rack your brains over it. Everything in its own time…" Gehrman said in an old man's voice, chuckling lightly.
"Maybe you could say something useful or practical instead of acting all mysterious, old man? Or is that all you can say?" Alucard asked, narrowing her eyes at Gehrman.
Gehrman shifted his gaze to the woman in the red suit and saw in her the same self-confident hunters he had met many times in previous cycles. But in Alucard's eyes he noticed something he had not seen in others: traces of controlled madness, obsession, thirst, and many other emotions.
Alex, meanwhile, had already taken a book from the table and begun reading it. The book he had chosen was dedicated to the use of mercury in hunting monsters. The sound of a turning page immediately attracted Gehrman's attention, and he looked away from Alucard, turning his gaze to Alex.
In Alex's eyes, Gehrman saw a lively interest in new knowledge. And at that moment, a thought flashed through Gehrman's mind that rather interesting hunters had arrived in the Hunter's Dream: one thirsted to fight and kill monsters, the other sought knowledge. And they had come together, creating a very strange duo.
"So, old man. Will you say anything else useful? Or will we have to find the answers to our questions ourselves?" Alex asked, raising his gaze to Gehrman.
"Go and kill a few monsters. It will benefit you both. After all, that's what hunters do! You two will get used to it…" Gehrman said, chuckling in an old man's laugh.
"I wouldn't call that useful advice. But fine. Gehrman, do you mind if I take a couple of books to read?" Alex said, pointing at the book he was holding in his hands.
"Of course, take them… Once this was a refuge for hunters. A workshop where hunters used blood to improve their weapons and flesh. Now we don't have many tools, but… you can use whatever you find… even the doll, if you wish…" Gehrman said, shaking his head to show that the entire workshop was at their disposal.
"Oh. So I still have to find the tools myself. What could be better," Alex said, rolling his eyes.
Gehrman only smiled slightly and turned his wheelchair, slowly rolling out of the workshop to go to the place where he usually spent his time resting. Alex and Alucard watched as Gehrman slowly rolled out, then exchanged glances.
Alucard slightly raised an eyebrow, showing that this was not what she had expected. Alex only shook his head and took a few more books from the shelf that he had already eyed. Approaching the workbench, he began quickly examining everything around to understand what tools were missing. Alucard walked over to Alex and sat down on a chair, watching as he rummaged through the drawers.
"What are you planning?" Alucard's voice sounded in Alex's head.
"I'm checking what tools are missing. I'm going to make full use of this workshop. And while you're sitting there, maybe check that cabinet and see what's in there?" Alex mentally replied, rummaging through the drawers, then pointing his finger at the only cabinet in the workshop.
"Do I look like the kind of woman who finds this interesting? You promised me we would return to the streets of Yharnam when we finished talking to this old man. And you're once again delaying my fun. My patience is already at its limit," Alucard mentally said, kicking Alex in the leg.
"I'm doing this so I can understand how weapons work in this world and how they were improved to hunt monsters more effectively. Everything I'm doing is to give you the opportunity to hunt even better. So please, help a little. The sooner I finish, the sooner we can move on to the hunt," Alex said, turning his head toward Alucard and giving her a blank look.
"Fine. I'll play along with you one last time," Alucard mentally said, standing up from the chair.
"If you find anything interesting or something that looks useful, you can give it to me," Alex mentally said, smiling and looking at Alucard.
Alucard lazily rolled her eyes and only nodded her head. Alex smiled slightly and continued checking the drawers on the workbench, meanwhile taking his notebook out of his pocket. Alucard walked over to the cabinet Alex had pointed at and opened it. All she saw were old materials that were already unusable.
Lazily examining the cabinet and drawers, the only thing Alucard managed to find was old dust-covered clothing and a pointed hat. Shaking off the dust, Alucard thought that this was the only intact thing she had managed to find. Pulling out the entire set of attire, she threw it onto the workbench in front of Alex. Seeing the clothing, Alex immediately recognized the standard hunter's outfit. Without wasting time, he began quickly changing into it.
Alucard watched all this with a bored expression on her face. She still didn't understand Alex's childish delight in such small things as ordinary clothing. While Alex was changing, Alucard shifted her gaze to the shelf with books and began running her finger along the dusty covers, feeling no interest in them whatsoever.
The only reason she was still behaving calmly was Alex's presence; otherwise she would have already lost control. Stopping looking at the books, Alucard shifted her gaze back to Alex, who had already completely changed. Alex was dressed in a black Victorian suit, with a pointed hunter's hat on his head and a mask covering half of his face.
He wore a short black cloak falling from his shoulders, a sturdy black suit capable of protecting against claws, black leather gloves with iron plates, and high iron boots with protective overlays. Seeing Alex in such attire, Alucard lightly licked her lips. She really liked how he looked in this clothing.
"Well, what do you think? Does it suit me? Now I look like a real Hunter from Yharnam, not like a man who was accidentally thrown into another world in the company of Dracula," Alex said, spreading his arms to the sides so Alucard could fully examine his new outfit.
"I admit… You look very appetizing in this outfit. If you want, we can play the game 'hunter and monster'. You can try to subdue me, and I'll resist," Alucard said, walking over to Alex and lowering the mask that covered half of his face.
"Why did the conversation suddenly turn to role-playing games? I just changed clothes for cosplay. Now we're dressed almost the same. Only for some reason I look like I escaped from the forest, and you look like you escaped from a castle," Alex said, slightly pursing his lips and looking into Alucard's red eyes.
"Oh, how cute. You want to play the game 'mistress and her servant'. I don't mind. You could have just said so right away," Alucard said, leaning closer to Alex.
"I would say yes. But I've finished examining the workbench and noting down what's missing. So we can return to Yharnam," Alex said, quickly kissing Alucard on the cheek.
Alucard's red eyes glittered for a moment as she began thinking about what to do. On one hand — to go to the city that had turned into an endless nightmarish hunt, on the other — to do something no less intense with Alex. But she was not the type to choose in such situations: she wanted both, and she would get both.
Smiling widely and baring her sharp teeth, Alucard grabbed Alex's hand and dragged him after her onto the street. Leaving the Hunter's Workshop, Alex and Alucard once again found themselves on the street. Alex knew how to leave the Hunter's Dream, and holding Alucard's hand, he led her down the steps. Along the steps were unique gravestones that differed drastically from the other tombstones in this place.
Alex led Alucard to a gravestone from under which the Messengers protruded, stretching their small hands in different directions as if dancing their own dance. Alucard looked at Alex with interest, asking with her gaze how they would return to Yharnam. Before leaving the Hunter's Dream, Alex plucked one of the moonlight flowers and approached the Doll, who still had not awakened.
"We'll be back soon. I hope by then you will have awakened," Alex said quietly, placing the moonlight flower in the Doll's hands.
"She hasn't awakened yet, and you're already showing her your love. I'm jealous," Alucard said with amusement in her voice.
"Is that so?" Alex asked, turning his head toward Alucard and looking at her with a light smile on his face.
"No. I just felt like saying it. You already belong to me anyway. I don't mind sharing with others if you give me enough of what I desire," Alucard said in a cheerful tone, not hiding her thoughts and desires.
Alex chuckled lightly and once again touched the Doll's hand, then walked over to Alucard. Standing next to her, he took her hand again and placed it on the gravestone. The moment they touched the gravestone, the Messengers immediately came to life and began stretching their small hands toward Alex and Alucard.
And immediately after that, an ethereal puddle appeared under their feet once again, from which the hands of the Messengers emerged and pulled them down. Once again experiencing the sensation of being pulled, Alex and Alucard returned to that same lantern on the street near Gilbert's house.
The moment they appeared, the loud sound of a bell rang out again, followed by Gilbert's cough. Alex lit a cigarette, looking at Gilbert's house, and thought that he would need to return later. He remembered that Gilbert would change and become different, and when that happened, he would give what Alex needed to implement his plan.
Alucard, on her part, took a deep breath, once again sensing the palette of smells that filled the Central district of Yharnam. The smell of blood, burned bodies, and the smell of madness mixed with something alien to her. But Alucard had already understood to whom or what this smell belonged. And this alien smell only aroused desire and hunger in her.
"My love, if you've enjoyed the local smells, how about we move forward?" Alex said, looking at Alucard, who had thrown her head back, inhaling the surrounding air.
"Yes. I can hear them all… All of them nearby. I can hear the blood running through their veins. I hear it all. And soon they will all become my food," Alucard said, lowering her head and looking at Alex with a bloodthirsty gaze.
Alex brought the cigarette to his lips and nodded slightly, showing that he had no objections. Passing by Alucard, Alex headed toward the small bridge behind Gilbert's house that connected two rooftops. The side that was closed by an iron gate did not interest Alex for now.
Walking a little further, Alex and Alucard stepped onto a small bridge and immediately heard the sounds of footsteps below, strange voices of people, and a more distinct smell of burning bodies. Looking down, Alex saw deranged Yharnam residents crazed by blood wandering aimlessly, following their old habits — killing monsters and burning them on bonfires. The residents of Yharnam had long since unknowingly become monsters themselves. Alex saw far more deranged residents than he had expected.
And while Alex watched the behavior of the deranged Yharnam residents with interest, Alucard stood on the railing, gripping the saw-axe in one hand and the Hunter Blunderbuss in the other. And without waiting for Alex's words, she simply stepped forward.
Alucard landed with a crash on the head of a Yharnam resident, crushing him with her weight. The nearest residents immediately rushed at Alucard with screams, swinging their weapons at her. Alucard raised the blunderbuss and aimed it at the first resident. She pulled the trigger, and mercury shot flew from the barrel, hitting the Yharnam resident's head directly.
The head burst from the impact, and his body went limp, falling to its knees and then to the ground, splattering blood on Alucard's shoes. Without wasting a second, Alucard unleashed a slaughter, tearing apart the bodies of Yharnam residents with the saw-axe. Limbs and blood flew in all directions under Alucard's maniacal laughter.
"Well, the main thing is that she's having fun… But it's better to play it safe," Alex said, leaning on the bridge railing and watching the slaughter below.
Alex knew that in a fit of bloodlust Alucard might start drinking the blood of the killed residents, even if he had told her not to. And that was why he knew a way to prevent it. Alex lightly tapped his finger on the railing of the bridge he was standing on.
At that moment, the shadow from his finger began to expand. When the shadow had grown large enough, a black cat with red eyes emerged from it. The black cat lazily looked at Alex, licked its paw, and ran it behind its ear. Alex looked at the black cat he had created with one single purpose — to collect blood and everything related to blood in this world.
"Keep an eye on her, little one. You know what to do," Alex said, stroking the black cat's head.
In response to its master's words, the cat lazily yawned and looked down with its red eyes. Slightly twitching its tail, the black cat deftly jumped down, using small ledges to descend. Landing on the roof of a destroyed carriage, the black cat opened its mouth, and the Blood Echoes of the killed Yharnam residents began to flow toward it. A red sphere of blood began to form near the cat's mouth, which it immediately swallowed.
After finishing absorbing the nearby Blood Echoes, the black cat jumped down and ran after Alucard. Alex, still standing above, took a drag on his cigarette and stretched slightly, as he had a different goal in this place. Crossing the bridge, Alex headed toward the steps to descend below.
And as soon as he approached the steps, a deranged Yharnam resident jumped out at him, clutching a rusty butcher's cleaver in his hands. Alex quickly took a step back, dodging the strike, and raised the Hunter Axe. He activated the mechanism on the handle.
At that same moment, the axe handle lengthened, and the sharp spike pierced the deranged resident's head. Alex sharply jerked his hand, pulling the spike out of the head. Making a sweeping strike, he drove the axe blade into the resident's head, splitting it in two.
"Next time don't do that. I got so scared I even killed you," Alex said in a monotonous voice, collecting Blood Echoes from the dead resident's body.
Alex knew that in this city there were few people he could talk to, but that didn't stop him from talking to corpses. Putting the crystallized Blood Echo in his pocket, Alex began descending the steps. Going lower, he saw another Yharnam resident who was pretending to be dead. Alex quickly approached and kicked with a sweeping motion.
The kick landed on the resident's head, driving it into the iron fence. Applying a little force, Alex pressed the head between the thin iron bars with a disgusting sound. After killing another one, Alex lowered his leg and wiped the blood on the ground. Before leaving, he lightly waved his finger, collecting Blood Echoes from the dead resident. Descending to the street below, Alex looked in the direction Alucard had gone and took a drag on his cigarette.
"I hope she doesn't go too far, so I don't have to search for her in this labyrinth of streets," Alex said, exhaling cigarette smoke.
While Alex was looking in the direction Alucard had gone, a Yharnam resident who had already partially turned into a beast slowly approached him from behind. Its face was covered in fur and wrapped in bloodied bandages, and its eyes twitched aimlessly, without clear focus.
Its hands were covered in wounds and furrows from which beastly fur was growing. And before the resident could get close to Alex from behind, he sharply turned around and aimed the barrel of the Hunter Pistol at it.
The resident who had decided to sneak up only managed to raise its hand with the torch when the sound of a gunshot rang out, and the mercury bullet hit it straight in the eye. The resident's body immediately fell to the ground and began twitching.
"You breathe too loudly. Next time don't do that," Alex said, holstering the Hunter Pistol and looking at the dead Yharnam resident.
Adjusting his hunter's hat, Alex stepped over the corpse and headed toward the closed gates leading to Iosefka's Clinic. Lightly whistling a melody, Alex reached the closed gates and kicked the mechanism responsible for opening them. The iron gates opened with the creak of the mechanism, revealing the passage further.
Already about to walk forward, Alex heard a loud thud behind him. Taking a few steps back, he looked out from behind a destroyed carriage into the alley. Alex saw a huge man with a massive body holding an enormous cleaver in his hands, which he was slamming against an iron coffin wrapped in iron chains.
This sound had attracted Alex's attention. Trying to remember the name of this man with the enormous cleaver, Alex entered the alley, kicking aside trash with his foot. Stopping a couple of meters from this mini-giant with the cleaver, Alex kicked a stone lying at his feet.
The small stone hit the mini-giant right in the back of the head, and he clumsily turned toward Alex. Alex innocently waved his hand when the mini-giant turned. In the same second, the mini-giant rushed at Alex, raising the massive cleaver above his head. When the blade was about to descend on Alex's head, he took a step to the side.
The blade sank into the ground, striking sparks. Alex stepped on the blade, looking at the distorted face of the mini-giant. The mini-giant didn't even try to pull his massive cleaver out of the ground and immediately swung his hand at Alex's head. Alex extended his arm and redirected the strike to the side. Following the inertia and his clumsy body, the mini-giant fell to the ground.
"Hmm… I remember you. But I don't remember your name. And I doubt you'll tell me your name," Alex said, looking at the mini-giant who was trying to get up.
Once again, the mini-giant emitted a guttural growl, continuing to clumsily rise from the ground after the fall. Alex lightly kicked the massive cleaver and tossed it up into his hand. When the mini-giant stood up and turned, Alex was already standing next to him, raising the enormous cleaver for a strike.
Alex delivered a sweeping side strike, and the blade of the massive cleaver sank into the mini-giant's flesh and bones with a crunch. The mini-giant grabbed the blade of his own cleaver with his hands, preventing it from moving further. Alex smiled and released the cleaver's handle, taking a step back. Taking a step back, Alex delivered a spinning kick and struck the edge of the cleaver.
From such a strike, the cleaver finally cut through the mini-giant's body and sank into the wall behind him. Alex glanced at the bisected mini-giant on the ground and saw something among the pile of deformed entrails and blood that shouldn't have been there. Squatting down, Alex took the object that had caught his attention in his hands. And the moment he took it, he felt as if he was holding metal in his hands.
"Oh… So that's what this is. This is a Blood Stone Shard. Lucky. But how to use it…" Alex said, rotating the Blood Stone Shard between his fingers.
Not wanting to think at that moment about how to use the Blood Stone Shard, Alex put it in his pocket and, putting his hands in his pockets, headed toward Iosefka's Clinic to talk to Iosefka herself and take her blood.
Passing through the iron gates, Alex, paying no attention to the revived Yharnam resident he had killed before going to the Hunter's Dream, continued on. Returning to Iosefka's Clinic, Alex thought that he would need to find time to read the books he had taken from the Hunter's Workshop and better understand how to use items like the Blood Stone Shard.
To be continued...
(So, a quick introduction to Gehrman, and the hunt begins. Well, I think I'll skip the unnecessary wandering around Yharnam, keeping only the important and necessary. Luckily, I can peek at where I need to go in the game itself, just by turning on the PS5. As for some lore moments, as usual, I'll have to figure them out myself. Yes, that happens, too; this is the kind of game where you have to literally make up lore out of thin air. As I already said, I'll only talk about the lore when some important character or specific location appears. Either at the beginning of a chapter or in conversation. You get the idea. Okay, I'll go get something to eat. Peace, love, and a night of hunting.)
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