Bloodborne: The Hero and the King

Chapter 8: Insight

"Wet nurse?" Asked the Hero, glancing at the king. The king nodded. "Ok so do we kill it? How do we save the baby?"

"We dont" said the King. "The baby is dead. And yes we kill the nurse. It is a blight. All children of the Great One must die." The king ran at the wet nurse, slashing at its arms, the Hero brandishing his mace right behind. The wet nurse slashed at both of them, knocking them back. It created a mist, and within the mist, the nurse turned into a shadow, and before either the king or the hero realized it, there were 2 shadows within the mist, attacking them. "Becareful!" Called out the king. " the second is an illusion." As they dodged both shadows, they realized that while one took damage, the other was nothing more than a cloud. It didnt take long before the Tonitrus electrocuted the nurse, causing the mist to dissipate and the shadow illusion to fade. The king came up and dismembered the nurses limbs. As it screamed in pain, the baby began crying. As the hero turned to the stroller, he saw the white Queen of yharnam walking past him. She turned to the two and nodded with a smile. As she walked towards the stroller, her arm out stretched, she faded away. The hero ran up to the stroller only to find inside nothing but blood and an umbilical cord.

"What is this?" He asked disgusted. The king walked up to him.

"Do you really not know?" Asked the king, accusingly.

"Its an umbilical cord..of a still born great one." Replied the Hero, unsure of how he had this information.

"And what do you do with these?" Asked the King.

"Devour them." Replied the Hero.

"Is that what you did?" Asked the King. He drew his sword. "Is that why your eyes glow like that? Because you are the new Great One?"

"I-i" stuttered the Hero.

"He wont remember" came a voice. The two turned around to see Malic and Queen Annalise walking up towards them. "But yes that is what he did. I could smell it on him." Said malic. "The absence of a soul."

"No.." Said the Hero.

"Yes" said Malic. "You dream, but youve already ended the hunt before havent you? And instead of replacing the first hunter, you made his mistake, and fragmented your soul."

"You're the greatest of us all" whispered the Queen.

"Or the worst" replied the King.

"No!" Cried the hero, gripping his chest. But he gasped. He couldnt feel a heartbeat. He hadnt been able to feel it before but he never noticed until now.

"The great ones desire children" said the King, holding up the papers he had recieved from Micolash. "And the mothers are human, like Queen Yharnam." He turned to Annalise. "Thats why he didnt take you. You turned yourself into a vileblood and were unfit." Queen Annalise hid her face in her palms."but you..you met the greatest of them all."

"The moon presence" breathed Malic.

"You met the most powerful and the most ancient..and you killed him..to end the hunt.."explained the king."and you became the new moon presence..this mortal form, is just an anchor to absorb power as it grows. Its still an infant somewhere far away, hidden." The king aimed his sword at the hero. "If i kill you, this hunt ends for good."

"But you cant kill me." Said the Hero. "If i die, this is all a dream, ill reawaken."

"I found your grave." Replied the King. "With your remains inside. If i destroy them, your physical form will cease to exist."

"No!!" Cried he hero. " i want to live!"

"I dont care." Replied the King menacingly. "All beasts must die."

"Ooo tough words coming from the King of beasts" taunted Malic.

"I am not the King of Beasts." Argued the King.

"Oh really? So you wield the holy sword, once held by Ludwig, but you are not a beast?"asked Malic. "Tell me, do your eyes tell lies? Because they speak abhorrent creature to me."

"Whatever i am, i am alive, and human." Swore the king.

"Hypocrisy!" Laughed Malic. "You are a beast. You are the same as Ludwig. The same as Laurence. The same as Gherman. The same as all the hunters before you."

"Yes but i am no hunter. I do not dream. I made no contract!"

"Contract?" Asked the Hero. The King unfolded one of the sheets of paper and read aloud.

"One must sign away that which promises them eternal rest. Indeed, hunters thrive in the dream, and if they hope to wake, and continue the hunt, then eternal rest must be taken from them. Alas a true hunter never rests." Read the King. He turned to the Hero. "Every hunter signs their soul over so that when they die, they return to that dream world. How many times did you die before you became a great one, i wonder?"

"All this arguing is pointless." Expressed Malic, growing impatient. "The Great One has blessed us individually. Me with knowledge, you, King with protection, and you, Hero, with purpose."

"What purpose?" Asked the hero.

"To lead humanity to damnation. To birth the next generation of Great ones. Even Kos was orphaned by his creator, you..you still feed yours.." Malic turned to the King, "know your place. You lack the insight to truly understand what has been bestowed upon you." At this, the king marched up to the stroller and grabbed the Umbilical cord of the unborn baby mergo. He glared at it for a moment, before swallowing it whole. As everyone gasped, he went into a satchel, and pulled out another cord. One he had recieved earlier in his journey. He proceeded to eat it as well. As he did so, he felt his mind expand.

"What are you doing?" Asked Malic, intrigued but confused.

"He's eating the umbilical cords of the Great One's offspring. He's eaten 2. But it requires 3 to achieve the same level i achieved.." Explained the hero drawing on knowledge he didn't have memory of gathering.

"So the King of Beast seeks to become a Great one?" Asked Malic. "Interesting"

"I will kill all of the beasts that plague my kingdom." Said the king, his yellow eye turning red, both glowing with a fiery hue.

"Does this include yourself" asked Malic.

The King drew his sword and pointed it at the Hero. "All of the beasts."