Another Dreary Hunt: Forbidden Studies

6 O'Clock: Rom, The Vacuous Spider

Rom's POV

I awoke first, my head pulsing with waves of searing pain, my eyes taking years to focus on the...Emptiness around me. There was nothing, a twisting void of milky white fog and rippling water around my feet. Solid like stone yet as cold as ice. When I looked up I saw the moon, watching me from overhead. She was enormous, terrifying, she filled me with dread. A name filled my mind as I gazed at her illustrious form, "Flora." I grabbed my head as the thoughts became sound, a voice bouncing around my mind. "Like me, the moon presence guards great knowledge. Truths any one mortal man cannot comprehend. You have already tasted but the cream of such wisdom." Kos muttered, the waters around me growing more and more violent. "I-I have, and they have helped me in ways I cannot describe. You have helped me. Without you-"
"He'd be dead." My eyes were drawn toward the still body of Chester, bloodied yet alive. "Yes...Thank you." I smiled, kneeling down in the water.

"Your thanks are appreciated. You have been good to me, my dear Rom. You challenged those who wronged me, used my power to cleanse such vile abominations, you are my prophet." The voice grew louder, closer. I felt the waters rumble but looking down I could see nothing but the rippling waves. "As the night draws to an end, and dawn breaks the horizon I ask of you one last thing."
"Anything, Kos...You have saved me so many times, it's the least I can do."
"Foolish Rom, this is the most important moment of your life." I heard a giggle, gentle and horrifying.

My arm began to burn, I could see the white flowers which had bloomed since I last prayed to Kos were now glowing with searing white light. I tried to scream though I was silent, my lungs burning with not a breath escaping. They crept their way up my body, breaking through my flesh like insects burrowing through my skin. Blood poured from the wounds yet the flowers stayed pure white. "The truth hurts, kills, drives men to their destruction. You have seen the nightmares one person who has seen the truth can create, the wrath of the Church. Thus I ask you, my prophet. Protect this eldritch truth, be the bulwark of Yharnam, and defend them against such horror." My eyes widened as my vision faded, becoming an inky black expanse of fear. I struggled, thrashed around but the burning would not stop. Then my skin began to stretch, tear apart as it felt like I was growing.

Thoughts, dwindled. Fear, faded. A gentle lullaby began to loop in my head, the warmth of Kos filling my heart. The wamrth of Kos flling my hart. Te wmrth f Ks fng m hrt.

...

Chester's POV

Eventually my eyes shot open, my lungs sharply taking in a deep breath before my aching muscles pushed me to my knees. I looked down at my battered reflection in the scarily solid water before looking up at the eternal lake ahead of me. There was nothing for miles; not a civilisation, nor a beast in sight. There was fear, but not as great as the relief I felt. "You're...You're a genius, Rom." I laughed. "How did you know!?" I stood, brushing dust and dirt from my clothes. "You know what, it doesn't matter! I'm just glad we made-" I turned and saw.

A large grey mass sitting about ten meters away from me, it was curled into a thick crescent with rough skin and a garden of glowing white flowers atop its back. Below were hundreds - No, thousands - of scuttling and shifting legs. Insect-like and sharp, they tapped around for comfort in the water, eventually settling in the ripples. At one end swayed a twisting mass of tails, curled at the end with a blue glow. At the other, was a thick grey stone covered in black marbles, glassy eyes splattered on the head like paint. A circular, jagged mouth, agape in an eternal scream.

I reached around my belt and found purchase on my blade, yanking it free and pointing it at the creature. "Rom!?" I looked around, "Where are you!?" My voice echoed into the abyss, without a single answer. Though my yell alerted the beast. With surprising speed it turned and looked at me, its legs clicking as it covered its face with the tails. "What have you done with her!? You kill her, you wretch!?" I interrogated, the monster jolting out of shock. The reaction surprised me, as it seemed to recoil and move back. "W-Where is she!?" I lowered my blade slightly, watching as it pulled away its tails with a tilt of the head. It stared into the water for a minute, completely still before the silence was broken by the sound of dripping water. Tears, falling from their black eyes. It let out a cry, like that of a whale, before looking back to me.

I dropped my sword, my mind pulling me back to the flowers on her arm. How guarded she was over the subject. "Rom?" I asked before walking closer. "What...What happened?" She backed away, the garden glowing a lush blue before the water between us iced over. "Please! It's me, Rom, Chess. I just want to help you." She slowed down, allowing me to walk a little closer. As I drew nearer, the clearer her sorrow became. Though dark, her eyes were sombre and scared, I knew I could not abandon her now. "I know you're scared, I know you're confused. Hell, I have no idea what happened...I just know that I'm here for you." She was still now, protecting herself with her tails. "Remember the forest when I woke up? The kiss? That was all genuine, I...I'm not very good at this sort of thing but...I love you, Rom." I eventually reached her stony face, and slowly reached my hand closer as her tails retracted back. "I swear, when all this is over, we'll get as far as we can away from Yharnam. Somewhere quiet, peaceful, maybe snowy? I know you like that. Somewhere where the truth doesn't matter, the Church doesn't matter. Only us."

I gently placed my hand on her head, and felt the Rom I knew slip away as a stinging pain ripped through my chest. I looked down to see a thick shard of ice sink into my torso, the blue crystals freezing my blood as it shot from the wound. "R-Rom..." my mouth filled with iron, my words drowning in my blood, as I felt my vision fade.

"See? I made it stop." A familiar voice comforted me, my last thoughts of the frizzy-haired foreign girl in the library.

A/N: And there it is! I do hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I had a blast exploring the lore of one of my favourite games. I plan on continuing this series with other characters in the future, so keep an eye out for the next edition of Another Dreary Hunt!

Love you all, and I'll see you in the next one!