New Yharnam was a far cry from what had once been the Grave Citadel. What was once a swampy, ruined city had become a vertical behemoth over the landscape, its highest peak reaching close to the clouds.
Now that Gehrman was a Saint, he had true power over the Citadel's Component, a unique power that each Citadel had.
In his case, it was a rather tame ability to moderately control the amount of water and mud in the swamp that the city was built on. However, it had not taken Gehrman long to figure out how to take advantage of it.
Creating specific sedimentary composites using the bones and other pieces of Nightmare Creature corpses allowed Gehrman to create a type of rock that was supernaturally tough.
An average Awakened could take a sledgehammer to any random wall or street and only manage to make the smallest of dents or cracks.
Still, with Gehrman's Transcendent Blood, it was all too easy to carve up a large amount after mass producing it.
They had long built a sort of base for the city that stood above the true swamp underneath.
Even as a Master Gehrman had enough control to allow the city to be raised in elevation by manipulating certain areas at a time.
Now that he could really mass produce building material, New Yharnam was finally fully complete.
There were now a few hundred Awakened anchored to the Citadel, as well as a couple hundred more Sleepers who were taking their time familiarizing themself with the Dream Realm. They couldn't anchor to a Citadel until the Solstice, and at that point they would be scattered to the winds, having to make their way back to a Gateway in order to return as an Awakened.
However, Gehrman could still physically transport them here, which is exactly what he did.
The city was not as bustling as the New Workshop, but there were already a few establishments set up. Gehrman had reached out individually to fund Awakened who wanted to set up their own shops or restaurants in the Dream Realm, as he wanted such things to be prevalent in his Citadel.
Indeed, there were now a handful of both, but much to his utter happiness, there were also a whole two bars.
These would be great, but not enough to fully satisfy Gehrman's bachelor party ambitions.
So he contacted the restaurant owners and asked about turning their place into a bar for the night. Gehrman considered making an event out of it, inviting Awakened from all around to come and enjoy the festivities, but he didn't have that much time.
Which was most unfortunate. He really regretted not planning this sooner.
Still, he was able to share his recipes, alcohol concentrations, and thoughts with those who would be their drinkmasters for the evening. He also gave them the freedom to come up with their own drinks with the resources provided, as well as encouraged them to talk with the two actual bar owners.
Standing out on the street as the sun set, Gehrman took in the scenery of his Citadel. If he pretended it was louder, imagined the clopping of hooves and the screams with Yharnamite accents, then it really felt like he was home.
However, that was quite difficult. The city was a ghost town further down. Only in this upper section were there a series of shops and other services.
The imposing castle that had been given some gothic flair in the distance also messed with the image.
It was nostalgic, but also a bit haunting.
"I bet it will be less strange later tonight," Gehrman smiled.
…
Gehrman was a bit surprised when he went to pick up the last of the groomsmen. He had expected a human vessel of gross size and strength, maybe another Master even. However, Mordret was in his actual body.
"Good afternoon," the Prince of Nothing said kindly.
"You're gonna have to drop the niceties tonight. This is a night of truth, revelry, and bullshit. So no snobbery, I already talked to Caster about that too."
Mordret's face remained the same.
"Am I the last one then?"
"Indeed, you know what they say- save the best for last," Gehrman smiled and slung an arm around Mordret's shoulder.
Both the comment and the casual action made the young man's facade break a little, revealing a hint of unease.
However, he didn't have much time to dwell on it, as suddenly he was pulled into the Dream Realm.
Opening his eyes, Mordret looked around with an appraising glance.
"Like the renovations? It's not done yet but it's quite spiffy if I do say so myself," Gehrman puffed out his chest a bit, pride filling him.
"It is unique," was Mordret's only reply. After a moment though he did make one more remark. "The windows seem a bit smudged, or rather, quite dirty in very many of these establishments."
"We don't have janitors yet so there's nothing to be done about that," Gehrman said.
He gave the Ascended a long look to emphasize a silent note.
'Don't you dare think about pulling anything tonight.'
Mordret did not seem to react, but his eyes did sharpen a bit at the shift in atmosphere. Eventually, he broke out into another smile.
"Of course. Now then, shall we begin?"
Gehrman smirked and clapped Mordret on the back, unsettling the guy once again. Then again, if Mordret hadn't reacted the first time, Gehrman wouldn't have found it so fun to do such physical interactions.
They crossed over to the closest bar.
It was decorated as any bar in Yharnam would be. Prominently wood with a polished countertop and dim lighting. At the same time, a random assortment of items littered the wall. All of them appeared to be from the Waking World, so at least one of the new Awakened had a storage Memory.
This place appeared to have quite a few posters of singers and bands. It didn't fit the style of New Yharnam, but Gehrman did appreciate the frames fitting the fashion even if the flashy images didn't.
Gehrman blinked and looked behind the bar, a bit surprised to see no one there.
Then he followed the noise.
Then he noticed a missing frame and poster from the wall.
"Oh right, I kinda forgot Kai was famous."
"What?" Mordret looked at him, and then the table filled with a gathering of people with confusion.
As they walked closer, they were able to make out the scrambling words of the barkeep.
"The Night from Nightingale! Such penmanship. A beautiful signature, sir, truly beautiful. It's an honor, sir, a true honor. Gods, this will be a family heirloom, I bet. Can't wait to show it to the missus."
Kai smiled back warmly, a humble yet excited expression on his face.
"I'm so happy to hear it. In truth, I thought the name "Night" was all but overshadowed by my being an Awakened now. I'm glad to see that my music still has an impact."
"Well of course sir! It reached us even out the Outskirts you know. Well, we had to go looking for it a bit on those public computers, but music meant a lot to a lot of people out there, you know. When you sing, it's the same sound for our ears as it is for citizens, a true equalizer, I say. That there is something beautiful."
A complex mix of emotions appeared on Kai's face. Most of all though, he seemed genuinely moved by the compliment.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Randall," Gehrman said as he walked up behind the barkeep.
We got these record playing things figured out at the Butcher Block, I really need to make more and have them playing throughout the city, that would be pretty nice wouldn't it."
The man, Randall, was a Sleeper from the New Workshop. Though he still trained many hours a day, he had taken a bit of a reprieve after passing the 1st Nightmare. He had once been a personal body guard for a far off District Boss, but he took his family to the New Workshop after hearing about their fight with the Awakened Mercenaries.
Apparently, this bar was a dream of his. He had a place set up in the New Workshop before this, but circumstances changed.
In truth, he hadn't really planned to become Awakened, but his child contracted the Nightmare Spell and was now a Sleeper, one of the thousand or so teenagers, not a Hunter who had willingly taken on the trial.
In a show of solidarity, both the father, and even the mother trained for months and just recently managed to become Sleepers themselves. It was a beautiful story, one that Gehrman made sure to keep.
In any case, tonight he was a barkeep.
"Oh! Boss!" Randall spoke roughly, a crooked and wild grin on his face. "I can't tell you enough how thankful I am. This has been the greatest day of my life. Er, besides the wedding day of course…and Junior's birth of course…but besides that this is the best!"
"Then we expect the best drinks! Our fun is in your hands Randall!"
"Of course, Boss! I cooked up something really special, don't worry, you'll be having a great time in no time, that's a promise."
The burly man ran on behind the bar and immediately started working.
Gehrman took the opportunity to look around at everyone.
Caster was looking at Kai with a dubious expression. Probably wondering how such a genuine person could exist on this earth.
Oskar had his eyes on the barkeep who was mixing their drinks.
Kai himself was teasing Sunny about how this person from the Outskirts had heard of him, but Sunny hadn't when they first met.
Mordret, meanwhile, was looking at everything with a lost expression.
Gehrman nudged him and they all sat down together at the table.
"Gehrman, why did you have Nightengale in that group chat as 'Kai?" Oskar asked, his voice a bit miffed. "I thought the Titan killers were the hot shots but you got a damn idol at this thing."
"Well, that's his name. Most of the time people don't go by their True Names in casual conversation. Throwing it out a bunch is dangerous. Kai didn't really have much of a choice because the Government pulled it out of him the second we returned from the Forgotten Shore. Word of advice, unless your Government, don't ask anyone their True Name," Sunny said.
Mordret gave the shadow a sidelong glance, but Gehrman wasn't exactly sure what was up with that.
Either way, the subject was moved on from.
"Good to know, Titan Killer. Okay, so it was you and this comb-over-guy who killed the thing, right? Mordret, was it?" Oskar asked.
The mirror-like eyes of the Prince of Nothing shimmered a bit.
"Well, Sunless here did all the hard work. Dealt the final blow too. I was just there to cheer him on." Mordret gave Sunny a pointed look.
He opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it.
It was clear that Sunny wanted to deny it because of his habit to shy away from the spotlight, but if he did, he would be giving Mordret credit.
A diabolical plan on Mordret's part to trap Sunny in an uncomfortable spot.
"Huh," Oskar said, eyes still trained on the barkeep. "Waitt, did you say when 'we' came back from the Forgotten Shore? Were you one of those kids trapped there?"
Sunny grunted.
"Yeah."
"He wasn't just trapped there," Kai suddenly butted in. "He was the reason we were able to make it out alive. He fought off several Awakened creatures at once as a Sleeper, and he sealed away the Dark Sea."
Oskar's eyes finally moved over to the two friendlier Masters.
"Gods, you really are all crazy…wait if you sealed the Dark Sea then doesn't that make you the kid from the movie they made about Changing Star and that whole fiasco? The little scout guy who was always saying-"
"I did not always say that," Sunny's voice turned bitter. At the same the shadows in the bar grew darker, and the air staler.
Oskar's face paled a bit and he held up his hands.
"Hey, no insults here, I was a fan."
Sunny sighed and grumbled something under his breath.
Gehrman suddenly had a realization.
"Wait, they made a movie about the Forgotten Shore, and you were in it? I gotta see th-"
"No," two voices sounded simultaneously.
Surprisingly, Caster said the reprimand along with Sunny. They looked at each other for a moment, and then looked back at Gehrman.
"Please don't," Sunny said.
Gehrman looked over at Caster. The thought came to him then, how was he portrayed in such a film. Obviously the whole thing was a gross parody, but Gehrman was curious.
"Hey what's with all this yelling," Randall's gruff voice returned. "This is a happy night, yeah? So be happy!"
He sat down a platter of different drinks, most of them consisting of smaller amounts. They were each separated into three sections, two small, and one much bigger.
"Alright, I talked with the other guys that we are doing this with and I have been placed in charge of getting a feel for your individual tastes. I got a few to try out, and let me know which you like best, and we'll go from there, sound good?"
Randall chuckled, clearly excited to see how this will turn out.
"Alright, at the far end this is the stuff for Mr. District Boss, it's only a bit stronger than normal stuff. Technically you could probably take normal stuff and get by fine, but I heard lots of words about you, District Boss, so I made 'em a bit stiffer."
Oskar's face spread into a fake smile.
"I appreciate that, but don't call me a District Boss anymore. That's from a bygone era."
"Hoho! Yeah I suppose you're right!" Randall laughed. "Anyways, this big section here is for all you Masters, my deepest respects and congratulations by the way. And of course for this final bit we got the strongest stuff. I tell ya boss, I looked at this thing you made and I gotta tell ya, half of a shot would disintegrate a normal guy's liver. Hell, it could probably take out my liver too! It's something, I tell ya,"
Oskar suddenly looked very nervous.
"Okay, but you're sure that that's his side and this is mine, right? Cuz I don't want to destroy my liver. She's worked too hard to meet and end this early in my life."
Randall scoffed.
"Of course! I don't wanna get thrown down in the butcher block myself for killing a higher up now, do I? I don't! I'll tell you that."
"He got it right Oskar, I can tell the difference between the alcohol and your good," Gehrman reassured him.
The guy still looked a bit dubious at the drink, but ended up shrugging and taking up a glass.
"Alright!" Gehrman said, gesturing for everyone to take up a drink of their own. "A toast to my getting married and to this being a night we might forget!"
The clink of glasses was heard around the table.
It warmed Gehrman's heart. Caster, Oskar, Sunny, Kai, and Mordret all sharing a drink together. Most of these guys hated each other, and yet they came together for this.
It made him happy.
And indeed, everyone, including Caster, had a bit of a smile on their face.
Before they took the final sip Gehrman could just make out Randall's mutterings from across the bar.
"This oughta be good."