Dong—dong—dong—
Distant bells gradually rang out.
In the night sky, the chaotic blackness gradually dispersed, and the enormous full moon slowly lost its original blood-red hue, revealing its pale true color.
"Gaaah—"
With a head like an octopus's tentacles and a body resembling a human skeleton, the monstrous shriek of the deformed creature was abruptly cut short by the sweep of a colossal azure greatsword.
The twisted flesh crashed to the ground, falling amidst a sea of pure white luminous flowers, gradually dissipating into specks of pale light that surged towards the one who had slain it.
"Heh, that's enough."
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a flame ignited, and the pale light, seemingly highly flammable, instantly vanished, completely incinerated.
Adjusting the triangular hunter's hat on his head, the Hunter casually plunged the enormous azure greatsword into the ground, re-holstered the short-barreled pistol at his waist, brushed off the ashes from his cape, and let out a long breath.
"The Night of the Hunt ends here."
Since leaving his original life and arriving in these bizarre and fantastical otherworlds, the Hunter had no idea how long he had been fighting.
And this dream, belonging only to the Hunter, was merely one segment of it.
Countless deaths and Rebirth, struggling between humanity and bestiality, facing one deformed and desperate beast and monster after another, ultimately, he still triumphed over everything.
He only knew that as long as he continued, he might be able to return to his homeland, or find a new home.
The Hunter looked into the distance; the chaotic edges of the dream were already beginning to fracture and decompose.
The Great One who created the dream had been eliminated, and those who maintained the dream had all relinquished their duties.
Tap, tap, tap—Soon, a slender figure arrived beside the Hunter.
She wore an old, reddish-brown dress, her exposed arms were pristine white, and her face was as beautiful as a doll's, with white hair cascading down her back, exuding an air of elegance.
To be precise, she was a doll; the seams at her finger joints proved this, yet her every movement was indistinguishable from a human's.
"Kind Hunter, the dream is beginning to dissipate, Yharnam has returned to peace—it is time to awaken."
Her tone was calm and gentle, yet carried a hint of reluctance that even she didn't detect.
"Indeed, this is the fourth path—Nona Doll, have I expressed my love to you today?"
Upon hearing the Hunter's words, Nona Doll's exquisite face, uncharacteristically, showed a hint of playful anger.
"Kind Hunter, I hope you would be willing to praise me this way in front of other women as well."
Unlike the serious, focused, and responsible Hunters of the past, this Hunter's personality... was a bit flighty, and, not so proper.
Just yesterday, this Hunter once again went to Cainhurst Castle and proposed for the 492nd time to Annaliese, Your Highness the Queen of the Vileblood—the proud Queen, who had initially been unmoved, had now become shy.
Ms. Maria of the Astral Clocktower, who was her prototype, the true Nona Iosefka, Ms. Eileen the Crow Hunter... whether it was the phantoms of the past or the illusions of the dream, this Hunter would express his affection without reservation.
Of course, every time they met, the Hunter would also insist on expressing his love for the Doll.
Perhaps this was why he did not descend into madness, ultimately becoming completely corrupted, but instead was able to Breakthrough difficulties and reach the very end.
However, today was the last day; the dream shrouding Yharnam had dissipated, and the long Night of the Hunt had finally ended.
All those who were still alive would awaken from this dream, and as for what they would encounter afterward, perhaps even the Great Ones of old did not know.
Just as this kind Hunter had said, what he liked to do most was to choose the fourth option.
Not a perfect happy ending, but definitely doing his best.
The dream was gradually shattering, the sky collapsing, the earth crumbling.
Soon, only the two of them remained in the world, along with the old house behind them.
"Hmph..."
And in the Doll's heart, a certain... impulse... suddenly surged.
It was as if heavy shackles had been completely broken, an impulse even more intense than when the Hunter had given her that small hair ornament that day.
"Kind Hunter... may you find your worth in the awakened world—I also deeply love you, not as a creation, but as a woman."
The second before the world collapsed, the Doll stepped forward, took the Hunter's right hand with her cool palm, and felt his warm body temperature.
"Hey, I was waiting for you to say that, Nona Doll."
And the Hunter tightly gripped Nona Doll's cool hand, giving her a brilliant smile.
"Goodbye."
The next second, the beautiful dream completely dissipated.
A scorching and warm ray of sunlight shone upon the land of Yharnam.
— — — — — —
Whoosh—
In his ears, the sound of churning waves could be heard.
Flowing water gently and peacefully licked his cheeks.
"Hey, still alive?"
A soft voice reached the Hunter's ears, but there was a sense of keeping people at a distance in her words.
Immediately after, a warm finger was placed under the Hunter's nostrils, as if checking for his breath.
"Still has Goki—for a drowning person, damn it, Abyssal Hunters never drown, pat his back, right."
Suddenly, a great force pulled the Hunter's shoulder, easily flipping him over from where he lay on the reef; the immense strength almost crushed his shoulder.
A huge sense of danger struck him from behind, and the Hunter suddenly opened his eyes, beginning to cough violently.
"Cough, cough, ugh cough—Hmph, hah."
After coughing up a few mouthfuls of water, the Hunter opened his eyes and began to breathe in fresh air, looking at the person who had woken him with surprise and vigilance, subconsciously reaching for his empty waist.
But the next second, after seeing the person in front of him clearly, the Hunter suppressed the Battle Intent that had risen in his heart.
A cute girl was squatting in front of him, carefully examining him.
She had clear eyes like rubies, and her snow-white skin, whiter than frost, was adorned with a few glistening grains of sand.
She was wearing a gray jacket, black cape, and trousers, with slightly damp silver-white long hair that cascaded like a waterfall to the ground, topped with a triangular hunter's hat.
Of course, what was more intimidating was the exceptionally large, dark mechanical greatsword on her back, which made a series of sounds as its gears turned.
It seemed she, too, had just been washed ashore.
Behind her, on the vast sea, a blazing sun was slowly rising from the horizon, illuminating the entire sea surface with golden light, and also lighting up her indifferent yet beautiful face.
"Aegir people are all skilled in water. Where are you from, land dweller, Iberia?"
From distant and blurry memories, the Hunter identified the girl in front of him, and could only give a wry smile.
"Ha, let me think... Yharnam, I'm from Yarnam."
The white-haired girl raised an eyebrow.
"Yarnam? Never heard of it, so it's indeed a foreign land—but there's no time, they're already pursuing me, hurry."
Extending a slender hand clad in a black glove, the girl easily pulled the Hunter up from the reef, her tone exceptionally cold.
No, rather than cold, it was more like... sadness, and confusion.
"I'll cut a path and then run in the opposite direction. They can't hurt me. Don't follow me, and you might live—I'm the only one left, no one else can die."
No sooner had she spoken than a dense, rustling sound, mixed with hoarse roars and the slapping of mucus, surrounded them from all directions.
They were a collection of strangely shaped creations.
Some resembled a massive hound, with a soft, boneless body, and a head with no visible organs other than a large, crocodile-like mouth.
Others looked like flowers, but their stems had become moving tentacles, and a bone spike was embedded in their pistils, appearing incredibly sharp.
They seemed to be different, yet also like the same species, merely poorly imitating other life forms.
Disgust, extreme repulsion; just at a glance, the Hunter felt a strong aversion to these creatures.
The Hunter subconsciously reached for his waist, only to find it empty.
He needed a weapon.
At the same moment, a familiar voice echoed in the Hunter's mind.
[Kind Hunter, what do you seek?]
An excited smile appeared on the Hunter's face.
"Goki, just call me Goki, tall and strange—it's good to see you."
Flipping himself up from the ground, the Hunter—Goki—recalled his true name, which he hadn't used in a long time, and spoke it without reservation.
This was said to both the girl in front of him and Nona Doll in his mind.
[Please choose a suitable weapon, kind Hunter. I cannot do too much yet, but at least, I can allow you to protect yourself.]
Immediately after, three familiar weapons appeared in Goki's mind.
The first was a short hand axe, but the handle seemed to have retractable parts.
The second was a gentleman's cane, but it seemed to conceal a mechanism.
The last one was the strangest weapon of all.
[Nona Doll, after saying goodbye with love and then reuniting, do you feel a sense of social death?]
[Please, choose, your, weapon! Kind Hunter!]
Nona Doll in his mind seemed a little angry.
[Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore.]
Without hesitation, Goki chose the third weapon, the one with the most bizarre shape.
No matter what Nona Doll had become, Golden Finger or System, meeting an acquaintance in another world felt pretty good.
A weapon that had accompanied him for a long time appeared in Goki's hand.
"Goki? Alright, don't get too close to me, at least two meters away, no, five meters away, otherwise I'll hurt you—Huh?"
The white-haired girl Skadi, who had already raised her greatsword, turned her head and saw the full appearance of the drowned person, but her red eyes widened slightly in surprise.
An arm wrapped in a dark trench coat was carrying a curved, spiky, rusty greatblade, like an oversized cleaver, on its shoulder.
And beneath the triangular hunter's hat, an handsome face wore an excited smile.
"This... Nona Skadi, I think I can help a bit—you see, I'm a Hunter, a Hunter who specializes in hunting beasts."
The Old Hunter, who had slept in Yharnam, awakened on the deep-sea coast of Terra; this could be considered a strange and wondrous event.
"Today, the Hunter joins the hunt once more."