Blood Drunk Hunter (Shadow Slave/Bloodborne Fic)

Seishan Song was strong. In fact, as far as Sleepers went, there were only two who could beat her. The first was Gunlaug, his Transcendent Armor made him much too great of a threat. The other was the hunchback Harus. Even after years being lieutenants together, she still wasn't exactly sure how his Aspect worked. That being said, there was no doubt it was as formidable as his dire strength. 

Seishan Song was also a realist. She recognized that a change was coming to the Bright Castle, perhaps to the entirety of the Forgotten Shore. And that change had a herald with the name of Changing Star. A True Name…none of them could claim such an accomplishment. It made Seishan curious, and what she found made her realize that she actually deserved the accomplishment. She was indeed a force of change. Her ability to easily dispatch a seasoned Pathfinder aside, it was her charisma and manipulation that were the most harrowing of her abilities. In months she had turned the outskirts of the Bright Castle into a unified force. Most of the lieutenants didn't realize the threat. They all called her "girl" or "the Immortal Flame kid." The only exception to this was Seishan. 

Seishan Song could see power for what it was. She could see that this was no child playing hero, but in fact a deadly warrior creating an army. No one else invoked such a wariness in her. With the sole exception of one man, or rather one creature. The Bloody Hermit, as he was called in the whispers of Sleepers, was a mad man. However he was also undeniably strong. Carving apart Awakened Creatures like it was nothing. This was a noteworthy ability. By her estimation, only the lieutenants, Changing Star, and Gunlaug himself could claim they had accomplished such a feat. 

What was perhaps the most worrying about him was the lack of information. For Seishan, knowledge was power, and as the leader of the Handmaidens, she had knowledge in abundance. She knew the inner workings of the castle better than anyone, she knew the secrets of the outskirts better than anyone, and she knew nothing of the Bloody Hermit. 

This irked her, maybe more than it should have. 

She was understandably under a lot of stress lately. After all, she had gone ahead and officially placed her bets on Changing Star. As her secret backer and informant, she now walked along a tightrope that hung over a deadly chasm. Her need for secrecy was paramount, but her need for power had grown as well. 

Seishan's core had been fully saturated for years. It was troublesome to increase her power now. The only real options she had left were gaining Memories, Echoes…and subordinates. Of course, having allies was good too. Changing Star, and her Cohort as well, had great value in that regard. None of them were pushovers. Even the blind girl had gained some Echoes to make up for her lack of combat effectiveness. However, this was not what Seishan wanted, not really. She needed subordinates. Subordinates who would die for her. Subordinates who would kill for her. 

She had a great number in the form of the Handmaidens. They were not weak by any means, but none of them truly measured up to the best of the best. They were far superior to any normal Sleeper, but they were not at the level of those in the legendary Cohorts of the previous Lords, and for Changing Star's for that matter.

However, the Bloody Hermit was at that level. Maybe stronger, even. Which was why she found herself on the edges of the Dark City, alone. It had been a matter of great debate on who would accompany her, but in the end this was the only option. One of her girls had managed to follow the path that Cassia had used to reach his lair, but the problem actually lay in that very fact. Cassia, the blind girl, had come alone. 

If Seishan came with a Cohort, he would no doubt look down on her for needing more protection than the seer. 

On top of that, Seishan didn't need protection. She never showed her true prowess, not to anyone still living. However it was easy enough for her to take a stealthy walk through the Dark City, especially if it was on the edges. 

This was how she found herself at the "doors" of the Bloody Hermit's home. In truth, they were more like two boulders pushed together. After some searching, she eventually found the lever that would open it. It took more effort than she thought, but one of the boulders miraculously moved aside. 

She wasn't sure how exactly it worked, but even though the design was no doubt simple, it was still impressive to see in the Dream Realm. She took note of that as well. Even if his artisan abilities weren't supernatural, he could still be useful in this regard.

The boulder door was slowly rolling back into place, it seemed that it naturally closed on its own. Before it could, she slipped into the cave. 

Her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. Her senses were naturally enhanced by her Aspect, and they were enough to see despite the lonely torch that stuck from the side of the hallway. This hallway was much larger and longer than she had anticipated. Instead of a small singular room, the paths seemed to diverge into several moderately sized ones. The total square footage of the place was actually bigger than her own lodgings. 

However, her analysis of the place was abruptly and totally halted by the smell of blood. Seishan quickly, but subtly lurched forward a step. In less than a second she regained composure, but was shocked by the sheer amount she smelled. In her current condition, it took a lot to pull her out of the indifferent state she always held herself in. The fact that it could, put her on extremely high alert.

Has he died? Did a Fallen Creature manage to get through? These questions sent chills down her spine, the atmosphere of this place was not helping the unease. Following the smell, she eventually came across the answer to her questions on the second door on the right. It followed a different, winding path than everything else. On top of that, there was another "boulder door." Though this time the lever was in plain sight. 

When she pulled it open and saw the sight before her, it made her stagger a bit. Dozens upon dozens of corpses were stacked in organized piles. The room was massive, at least 70 meters in length and 20 in height and width. There were drawers full of specific bones, pelts, and teeth. There had to be at least one hundred, maybe even a couple hundred dead Nightmare Creatures in this room alone. 

This room all but confirmed the Hermit's ability to match the lieutenants of the bright castle. There were many corpses of creatures she recognized. Beasts, Monsters, Demons, and even Devils. There were even corpses of Fallen Beasts. Somehow, the deceptively deadly Corpse Eaters had made their way up here from the catacombs below. There were also a couple of those unsightly Flayed Mourner's who were Fallen Beasts as well. 

Fortunately, all the blood was dried. These corpses had been collecting dust for many months now. If they had been fresh, Seishan might have lost control of herself right then and there. 

Before she could ponder this more, a low, quiet bell started ringing. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was clear what it meant. 

The master of this vile lair had returned home. 

She knew it was the Bloody Hermit immediately. Unlike the corpses in this room, the scent that wafted into her nostrils was oppressively fresh. 

A loud scraping noise echoed throughout the place. Inhuman grunts accompanied them. Seishan steeled herself, then exited the room, pulling another lever to open the door back up. She entered the main hallway, and finally came face to face with the cryptid that had been haunting the Bright Castle for months. 

He was…smaller than she was expecting. However it made him no less intimidating. He was absolutely covered in blood. His attire was soaked, and the light of the torch danced off it, making it shine. He wore a strange hat, and some cloth covered his mouth and nose. A trench coat hung off him. Belts in odd places covered his legs, gloves, and torso. His eyes drew the most attention though. They were bloodshot to an extreme degree, or perhaps a blood vessel had popped. Either way his sclera was mostly red. It creeped onto his abyssal pupils which were currently dilated. 

What was even more chilling was his aura. It reminded Seishan of an old TV that lost its signal. It was deafening, strained, and chaotic. He stood silently looking at Seishan, as still as a statue. 

She took a step forward, ready to break the silence when he abruptly changed. The feeling of coming face-to-face with a beast encompassed her. It was the very same feeling that her elder sisters had managed to invoke in others. It was the very same feeling that Seishan now exuded as she transformed. Her sublime grey skin suddenly exploded with dark fur, canines extending into the most brutal and efficient weapons. She started to summon a Memory too, but it would materialize a second behind his own.

The Bloody Hermit exploded forward with incredible force. Sparks materialized around his hand, forming into a curved greatsword. The blade was perhaps half of the his height, but he wielded it deftly. 

Seishan moved backward, dodging the wide arc of the blade. The momentum of the blade should have taken it into the wall and gotten it stuck, but it inexplicably changed direction. Then, in a confusing motion, the blade had become a scythe, and it fell toward Seishan. 

Ordinarily, she could have dodged it with ease, but the change of weapons was so sudden that it actually managed to nick her, causing a drop of blood to fall. For some reason, this gave the Bloody Hermit pause. 

As the Memory of a dangerous war hammer formed in her hands, sparks appeared around him again, but this time he was dismissing Memories. The daunting scythe, and his hat, mask, coat, and gloves vanished. This left Seishan staring at a boy in a white button-up shirt and trousers. 

"You…really aren't Maria, huh?" The Hermit muttered. His voice was slurred and surly. It gave off the impression that he was drunk. "She would have dodged towards me there. Just like how I taught her."

It took a couple of moments for Seishan to fully process this. He seemed to have attacked her as a test. However now he was blathering on about something else entirely. In a calm and soothing voice Seishan asked, "Are you feeling calmer now?" She dismissed her weapon, and reverted to her normal body, hoping to lower his guard further. 

It had the intended effect. His demeanor became exceptionally casual, it was like a switch had been flipped. "Yeah, sorry about that, it was quite rude," he said as he walked past her. As he did so, he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. It revealed scarred and garish flesh, with prominent veins throbbing against his forearms. "I'm gonna get some water, then we gotta take in the groceries."

Seishan's brows knitted. A picture was slowly forming in her head. To test it, she attempted to continue a conversation. "It was an unconventional welcome, were you perhaps testing to see if I was truly a daughter of Song?" 

"You sing?" came a confused voice from down the hall. "That's kind of a weird hobby I'm not gonna lie, but I suppose we are each entitled to our passions." 

His dismissal caused a frown to crease on Seishans beautiful face. "Why are you acting like you don't know me? You are from a Vassal Clan, are you not?" This assumption had plenty of evidence to back it up. The fact that his title included "bloody" in the first place gave her a suspicion, but this place, this boy, screamed that he had ties to the Beast God. And if he had ties to the Beast God then he belonged to Clan Song. 

"Oh!" The boy suddenly yelled, nearly causing Seishan to flinch. "You're talking about that thing, the…the Legacy people. I told Caster I wasn't with them already, why are you people so hung up on that?"

"Caster?" Seishan asked, the name slipping from her mouth involuntarily. Him bringing up the Han Li boy had…implications. All things considered he shouldn't have even been in the same league as them. The Han Li clan was a fairly weak Vassal Clan.After all, they didn't have any Saints. However, that boy seemed to be quite exceptional, having raw talent that was second only to Changing Star and Seishan herself.

"Yeah, that little shit," the Hermit said as he walked back out into the main hallway. He held two metallic cups in his hands, and despite the fact that he was still acting drunk, his hands and pace were unnaturally steady. "He knows where I live and he hasn't even come to visit, the ungrateful little bastard." As he continued to curse the boy out, he thrust one of the cups into Seishan's hands. 

She took it in stride, grasping the cup with no issues despite her surprise. Looking down, she was surprised to see plain water. Given that he was obviously unstable, she didn't drink it. Though she did take some time to analyze the cup itself. It was, evidently, made from the carapace of a Nightmare Creature. 

"Hey! Help with groceries!" The boy interrupted her musings with a shrill cry. With a deepening frown, she followed the boy outside. As she walked, it became clear what the "groceries" were. She could smell the fresh blood after all. 

After exiting, she saw the pile of a dozen porcupine-like Nightmare creatures. They were all Awakened Monsters. A single one wasn't impressive, but a dozen…In fact, there was an even larger one in the middle, if she had to guess it was an Awakened Devil. 

All of these corpses were tied together into a net fashioned out of a pitch black twine. Whatever monster it had been made from was quite strong, as it held strong against the needles of the Awakened creatures. 

"Bah! I'll just do it myself, just keep the door open for me," he barked at Seishan. It took a lot of effort not to kill him right then and there. She had avoided making any violent moves at him due to her curiosity and certainty he was one of her own. That being said, he had repeatedly crossed a line of respect that all Vassals should show royalty. Seishan was not a stickler for these things, she didn't act like a Princess and didn't enjoy seeing others kneel before her. However, this level of rudeness far surpassed anything she dealt with before…well some Castle Guards and Hunters had said some vile things, but they had all been dead before the next day. Seishan wasn't certain the same thing could happen to the Bloody Hermit. 

The evidence of this was the several hundred kilograms of weight he pulled into a cave he carved himself. 

So Seishan simply bit her tongue and followed him back inside. He threw the dead Nightmare Creatures in the room she had found earlier. He then turned around, grabbed a large knife from the wall, and started cutting. The blade had a chilling air about it. Seishan realized belatedly that it must have been made from Fallen creatures. This was confirmed at the ease in which he found the Soul Shards. He plucked them, and threw them half-hazardly into another net. It was then that it was also confirmed that the larger porcupine had indeed been an Awakened Devil. 

After all of the shards were collected, he stood and took them to the side of the room. She hadn't noticed it before, but there was another room attached to this one. It wasn't guarded nearly as much, but it still had a door. Strangely, it looked like a mundane door. He twisted the knob and opened into a room that shocked Seishan even more than the corpse menagerie. 

In it, there were hundreds, if not thousands of Soul Shards stacked into two different piles. One for Awakened, and the other for Fallen Shards. Impossibly, the Fallen Shard pile included a dozen or so of the invaluable resource. The Bloody Hermit ignored all of that, and lazily emptied the bag on the edges of the Awakened Shard pile. 

Sighing, he turned to Seishan. For the first time, he truly acknowledged her. "So…what do you want."

After taking a couple moments to collect herself, Seishan said what she believed to be the smartest thing to say. "I just wanted to see you." She said this in a lower, more sultry voice.

 It worked immediately, though not in the way she expected. "Gods lady I am in the body of a thirteen year old, don't fucking do that," he blushed furiously. "Ugh, just…give me three hours before we talk again, I'm at 40% right now and that's not a good level for conversation." WIth that he hurriedly walked out of the room with his head down. 

After he left, Seishan took a look back at the tower of glowing essence before her. However, she made no move to grab them. "Huh," was all she said, before turning and following the Hermit. 

…

Exactly three hours later he finally appeared again. Seishan had looked around and explored each room. Finding a bedroom, a bathroom (which appeared newly made), a room with a well, and one with a furnace. The furnace was where he was during the three hour period, he was creating something, but what it was she couldn't be sure. 

There was no greeting area, nor did he give her any direction on where to wait. So Seishan simply sat at a table she found in the bedroom. As she sat there, she mulled over everything she knew. 

It was easy to come to the conclusion the Hermit was insane, but there seemed to be something deeper and more sinister to his strange condition. For one, his strength was extraordinary. His ability to collect monsters aside, the raw power he used to pull the Nightmare Creature corpses back to his cave was nothing short of monstrous. Whatever his Aspect was, it must have granted him a high level of physical augmentation. Needless to say he was…an anomaly. Perhaps a greater anomaly than even Changing Star. At least her strength made sense, being the daughter of Broken Sword and the last scion of the Immortal Flame clan. 

However this boy had appeared from nowhere. Seishan had racked her brain trying to find a name that matched his face but found nothing. She had not changed her suspicion of him being of the Song Clan. It was possible that his Aspect had changed his physical appearance, much like hers had doner. The strange white strands of hair that randomly poked out from the messy black of his head were an indication of this. They were definitely not natural.

Then again, were there any thirteen year olds who had this much power? Who had this much potential? She hadn't known any when she was last in the waking world, but that had been years ago. Perhaps he had been adopted after she had been stranded on the Forgotten Shore. 

Whatever the case, she knew she had to tread carefully. The Bloody Hermit was not someone she could let her guard down around. 

…Then he walked in the room like the most normal person she ever met. 

"I am sorry about that, you caught me at a bad time," he said as he walked in the room. "My flaw inflicts me with a certain amount of madness every time I gain strength. It wears off after a while, but the initial onset is…well you saw for yourself," he chuckled as he took a seat across from her. 

"I see," Seishan tilted her head to the side. "Then I am also sorry about earlier, it appears I made you uncomfortable."

"Yes," he said, eyes narrowing. "I would suggest you don't do that. No matter how you count it, one of us is a pedophile if a courtship were to occur between us." Seishan nearly fell out of her chair at that line. 

"W-what?" she stopped talking before she made a further fool of herself. She had acted vaguely flirtatious with him, but it wasn't because she was attracted to him in any way. She simply thought it the most prudent action to lower his guard. 

Letting out a deep sigh she recomposed herself. "Let's start over then." Straightening herself, she turned taciturn and impassive. "My name is Seishan Song, daughter of Ki Song, and Princess of the Great Clan Song."

The Bloody Hermit slowly blinked. "A princess, huh?" His surprise further unnerved Seishan. "Well, nice to meet you. My name is Gehrman."