Chapter Text
O it has been far too long. Subaru sat on the edge of the Hunter‘s dream, his legs hanging down pointing towards the unending abyss. This hunt, no, this nightmare had long ago come to and end, yet he still was confined to this nightmare of a world observing many black colossal pillars decorating the sky. The whole situation made him chuckle, he wants so dearly return to his origin, his parents and his home country. Yet he knows that he truly shan‘t ever cross that border, after all, he‘s no longer Human. His return is not a question of possibility and skill, he himself knows best what he truly is capable of, but it‘s a question if he even should return. And Subaru knows of what will perspire should he ever chose to retire his way in Yharnam and visit earth. He‘d sully the place like the Great Ones did with Yharnam, the city of blood administration. And it‘s not a matter of kindness and heroism that might make it possible for him to somehow end the corruption of his power with the environment. The Great Ones were sympathetic in nature and kind to lesser beings. Benevolent, even if they cause chaos everywhere they are.
„Exepct Flora, haha…“ He murmured infront of himself while his eyes showed a hint if nostalgia.
He reminisces his time as a Hunter. All the terrible experiences and all the pain that it had caused to his body and soul. All the people he saved and all the people he killed. He had a mentor which wore the name Gehrman, and a Doll which he secretly loved. Now, he‘s completely alone and stuck in solitude forever, and that for many years.
Yharnam, a city filled with hideous beasts had a few survivors… Iosefka was one of them and the first person he talked to when he just woke up in that foreign land. Even tho she was rude, she gave him many tools to survive the hunt, like her blood vial. For some reason he trusted her and sent every survivor he found towards her clinic in hopes of helping those who lost it all in the scourge, like the girl who lost her father Gascoigne and mother Viola and even Gilbert who was the second Person he ever found and first true friend.
He felt proud of his good deeds but once when strolling through the Forbidden Woods he managed to find a hidden path leading to Central Yharnam that was also connected to her clinic. He still vividly remember all the things he has seen in that day, all the blue fungi like creatures that wandered through the clinic. Of course Subaru disposed of them as fast as possible fearing for Iosefka‘s life. He rushed and searched the entire house till his eyes finally managed to locate Iosefka who experimented on one of the survivors Subaru sent her. At that moment he began to despair at her and killed that woman on the spot.
After the man whom Iosefka experimented on turned into one of those bluish truffle beings he realized that the beast‘s in the clinic were the people he thought he once saved from the scourge. But at the end he just sent them towards a trap and killed them. He felt betrayed, he felt weak, his soul was shattered. He hated Iosefka for fooling him and cursed at her for causing all this but whilst searching for possible survivors in that damned clinic he found a long ago rotten corpse of a woman filled with maggots.
While trying to identify the corpse he noticed the many familiar features of that decorated her being, her hair, clothes and even the eyes. After a while he had no more doubts about it, this was Iosefka. So who was the woman that told him to sent all survivors in that clinic? An imposter? He didn‘t know it since he burned that monster‘s corpse hours ago, and frankly at that point nothing really mattered to him.
He was to be blamed for this tragedy, the true Iosefka herself had long ago passed away and he didn‘t even notice it. Yet minutes ago he was the one to curse her? Subaru felt like the most miserable existence. He stormed towards the first Hunter Gehrman and pleaded for his many questions to be answered… How could the people he saved turn into beasts in the first place? What are the Great Ones what caused the scourge? German stood silent and just gave him the Eye of a Blood-Drunk Hunter… After this night he unraveled the many secrets the world hid from him…
„The Syk and the Cosmos are One… Those foolish scholars aren‘t the smartest are they?“ Subaru chuckled to himself. He didn‘t laugh at the absurd dichotomy that the Sky are Cosmos were the same, he learned the truth behind that statement long ago. The choir only stated the obvious. The Cosmos is an entity directly above head and not some abstract concept…
Kos, Or some say Kosm. The Great One originating from the ocean was above us all the time. And not just above us, it was everything.
Subaru gazed at the moon. „I should‘ve known better… After all, aren‘t you the same Moon Presence? Or should I call you Flora?“
„…“
He was alone with no one, even he himself didn‘t expect someone to answer. Oh how he wished that everything stayed the same. How he wished that this foolish disciple Laurence didn‘t found the healing church. How he wished that the choir didn‘t experiment on the orphans. And how he wished that the Hunters didn‘t massacre the villagers of the Fishing Hamlet. He was there and saw the aftermath that the Hunters caused, he has seen the few unlucky villagers that survived…
The Hunters knew of the connection between ocean and this Fishing Hamlet, so the few survivors had their head covered in a sack by Hunters then filled with ocean water directly, always drowning them. All those atrocities just so that the Hunters could get closer to the truth of Kos.
Speaking of Kos, he had seen the blasphemous violation of her body. And for what have they slain the Kos deity? To get the eldritch blood so that they can turn into Kin? How foolish, don‘t they know…? That we all as well as Kos originate from the same place, the universal mother called ocean that had given birth to all of us.
There was never a real reason for what had happened to have happened. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower summarized it the best didn‘t she? She knew very well how the secrets beckon so sweetly. How human curiosity can cause many disasters.
He has seen too much, Subaru knew too much, He wished he could‘ve stayed ignorant but he knew he needed to end his time in Yharnam.
And to end it he was in dire need of information, as much as possible. After firstly awakening in the clinic he saw a note on the table. Seek Paleblood to transcend the hunt. This was the only hint he had at the beginning and frankly, he didn‘t understand anything, he didn‘t even know the person that wrote the note, was it him?
He came upon many of those notes and he almost never understood their meaning. That changed when he found a particular note in the lecture building. Three third cords. The notes always guided him towards the umbilical cords… That time where he ascended the Oedon Chapel as the note told Tim to enter the old Hunter‘s Workshop, he also found an umbilical cord. At that instance of discovery he had yet to understand what it meant, but now had a goal.
He hastily rushed to find the other two umbilical cords, he knew it would finally end his time in Yharnam.
After slaying Mergo‘s Wet Nurse Subaru finally had the three third of umbilical cords complete yet nothing happened. He put them all in one place expecting magic to somehow bring him back to his original word, but nothing happened.
Next thing he knew was that the three third of umbilical cords were consumed by him. Even now he didn‘t understand why he did it. Maybe it was an instinct, maybe a reflex.
He went to Gehrman again to get answered but the whole workshop was on fire. The Doll directed him to the great tree behind the workshop and Subaru saw him patiently waiting. Subaru approached him but suddenly Gehrman proposed something to him. Either Subaru submits his life and gets freed from this whole nightmare or they will fight. Excepting to be answered rather than fighting Gehrman angered him, the hidden truths can‘t be just forgotten even if they‘ll give him peace in absolute ignorance. Even after going through all the terror he still wanted to know more. And more he did know at the end.
During the fight he had heard Gehrman chanting in a low voice for the moon to be merciful in latin. Merciful to whom? After defeating the first Hunter, the very same moon began to descent and the whole instigator of his mentor‘s pain and solitude began to show herself, the Moon Presence.
The Moon presence is the Paleblood. Subaru fought with all his might to defeat that evil beast, never before had he swung his Saw Cleaver so hard and fast against an enemy.
After the fight he laid on the flower field whilst exhausted breathing in and out. Suddenly he found something in his stomach change, his whole being began to transform and the result?
Subaru himself turned into a Great One. That was the start of his Childhood‘s beginning.
He had a squid like appearance and was nurtured by the Doll, but that was uncountable moons ago.
Subaru starred into his pale hand. He had a humane appearance again, the exact same as before he turned into a Great One. This was just one of his knew perks as a Great One, the ability to be a shapeshifter. His true appearance was far more Eldritch, he himself didn‘t want to look at it as it always brought him bad memories back. Instead he turned human and wore his old leather Hunter Tricorne and black attire. Those were the only thing that gave him warmth in this cursed world. The Doll was long gone, even tho he loved her, he knew that she was but a Doll, and a Doll can only ever be a Doll. Out of benevolences he freed her from the Hunter‘s Dream with her consent. Her serving him for eternity would be torture, even if she were programmed by Gehrman to be subservient. He alone needs to suffer, there‘s no need to share his pain with anyone. Right?
Suddenly he perceived as the room around him slightly bent for a fraction of a second. „Is… A Great One trying to interfere with the Hunter‘s Dream?“
He put himself in a fighting stance trying to protect himself from the possible interference of a greater being. But nothing happened.
Then, everything happened and Subaru found himself teleported to a street filled with curious looking creatures.
He began observing his surroundings and found out that he was in a medieval european looking street filled with Humans and Demihumans of all kind, from Lizard to Dog.
„Where…? This obviously isn‘t fake.“ Subaru already knew of the truth, his many insights told him that already. This is…
„Another world huh?“ He began walking down the street and smiled as he looked at the colorful tiles that enriched the roofs. Grey was the only color that defined Yharnam, and he was sick of it. He hated the depressed atmosphere, but now walking through the city made him feel happy on the inside.
He heard everyone in approximately ten meter talk and comprehended everything instantly. Every voice and every word he didn‘t understand, he automatically knew.
For someone like Subaru who had always been alone or with the Doll never really had the chance of testing his heightened insight as there never really was a chance for him.
„Watch out!“ A man yelled to a kid who fell infront of a carriage that was approaching in a very high speed. A bunch of civilians started to panic as they observed how the giant carriage pulled by a earth dragon approached the poor boy with alarming speed.
Immediately Subaru grabbed the child and carried him to the sidewalk where he could be safe. To the civilians it looked like he had teleported but he knew that this teleport was just his immense fast speed he’d honed in Yharnam to survive and get through the night.
Suddenly the crowd started to cheer and clap. Subaru carefully placed the boy on the ground and put his palm on the shoulder. „Next time be more careful boy, promise?“
The boy started to nod and cry before his mother finally made it to her child and hugged him. „Thank you kind Sir.“
Subaru nodded and continued his adventure in this yet again foreign world.
He arrived at the marketplace place and saw many fruits he never ever saw in either Japan nor Yharnam.
´Apple?´ He though he was quite surprised when he saw and apple stand. But he soon shook his head and almost began to chuckle when he read the sign. ´No… Appa!´
„These are some weird clothes you're traveling in boy.“ The green haired merchant said.
Subaru tilted his head slightly. „Are they truly so weird mister?“
„Yes they are!“ He yelled. „Is it possible that you might be from Gusteko boy?“
´Gusteko huh? That must be the country on the north.´
„Yes sir that‘s my origin, what gave it away, the clothes?“
The merchant looked at him suspiciously. „I don‘t see anyone else here with black hair, do I boy? Anyways, wanna buy some Appas?“
„No honestly I‘m full right now.“
Suddenly the man yelled. „Then get out of the food market boy!“
Subaru nodded, started walking towards a suspicious looking alley and sat on of the wooden boxes that were placed there. „So I really was Isekaied this time?“
Suddenly tears flowed out of his eyes. „If only it had been like that from the beginning… Why Flora, why did you bring me to Yharnam?“
When he first arrived in that cursed place he was just a naive 17 year old child that was still full of energy, ready to adventure through the old city. Soon he realized that his time in Yharnam would not be your typical isekai he read so much about. He experienced his first death. It was hell.
„If only I were never been brought to that dammed city!“ He cursed to himself.
After going though all that hell he now possesses massive strength, but was this power truly worth it? He had to go through so much, sacrificed so many friends and at the end he even killed his own mentor. And for what? More insight? He was truly a hypocrite blaming others for the exact same thing he is guilty of, and he knows it.
But now after going through that hell he can finally can relax and enjoy this new world starting from Zero.
He felt a weird flow of energy in the air, it reminded of the Great Ones yet it was vastly different, it was ancient yet not the same way those eldritch beings are. ´It feels like arcane but it‘s… not? If this truly is a fantasy isekai like I‘ve read in my life as a human this must be the source of magic, mana.´
The being who teleported him to this world had yet again another feel of energy, it was ancient, not as ancient as the mana or the Great Ones, but it had by far the most sinister feel to it.
„Truly an Isekai…“ He whispered infront of him.
„What are you blabbing on about?“ Suddenly a voice came out the other end of the alley and three men came to him
„If you don't wanna get hurt, cough up whatever you've got!“
„CRAP!“
A voice shouted from behind. „Move it, move it! You guys outta my way!“
Subaru saw a red eyed blonde girl running through the alley with inhumane speed.
´Is this also magic?´ Subaru thought as he pondered at the girls speed. ´No, this energy feels the same but is fundamentally different.´
Just as fast as the blonde girl appeared, she disappeared jumping over the wall with incredible acrobatic skills.
„What the hell was that?“ The short dwarf with a bob cut yelled.
Their leader that wore light blue shirt and a choker with spikes started speaking up to his two friends. „Dunno and I honestly don‘t care! You there! Give us your money!“
He then pulled up two blades from underneath his cloth, pointing them towards Subaru.
„Dear dear, it‘s my first day and I already have to fight thugs?“
„That's enough!“ A stern authoritative voice came from the end of the alley.
Subaru and the three robbers turned their heads to the owner of the voice.
´Doll?´ He thought as he saw the silver hair. But it wasn‘t her and Subaru realized it instantly as he locked in with her amethyst eyes. Her skin was as white as snow and her eyes radiated a strong violet. ´Beautiful…´
„It seems like my time in this other world will be far more enjoyable than Yharnam.“