Felise was horrified.
It took a lot to truly unsettle her these days. She had been a Handmaiden on the Forgotten Shore and was now a Blood Sister serving as a close retainer to Song Seishan. As far as Awakened went, she was about as high up on the totem pole as they could get. She had seen hell and survived.
Yet what she witnessed now made it all seem painfully normal by comparison.
Her Princess and one other Blood Sister stood in the place called "The Butcher Block".
It was situated one kilometer outside Fort Balmuth, and yet, over a thousand people now lived here. The people of the New Workshop had left their temporary base and put up shop here. The pit of death was just the centerpiece, the mantle, of this godsforsaken place.
A singular tunnel was dug deep into the ground, connecting the Siege Capital and this place. It was reinforced with materials of Corrupted Nightmare Creatures that Gehrman had somehow plucked from the upper atmosphere. On top of that, it was built to collapse at any sign of infestation.
So far though, nothing had come close.
That was because Gehrman, the overseer, had become an absolute monster.
He was always ridiculously powerful. She recalled going with Seishan to find him after that fateful night when he had died for the first time. A dozen of the stronest Sleepers of the Castle Gaurd and a damn Fallen Devil lay dead, surronding his corpse.
He had taken all of them with him.
Then, as Master, he had gained such power that the highest powers of Song used all their influence to get them on his side.
His movements had been somewhat mysterious as a Master, though everyone knew what he was doing, his end goal with the New Workshop was unclear.
He kept killing powerful Nightmare Creatures well above his Rank, but he also spent a lot of time doing mundane things, so it felt more subtle than it really should have been.
Now that he was a Saint, that subtly was gone.
He was, in a word, public.
The Government had barley been able to put a thin veil over him as a Master, but as the newest of 2 dozen Saints, it was simply impossible to do that.
So instead, they went in a new direction.
Gehrman had explained to Seisahn (and Felise by proxy) how he worked with the Government to do a sort of debut. He didn't appear in some big media thing, but they did create a documentary on the New Workshop itself. Multiple accounts were taken from the Outskirts folk, a few of them sharing personal videos they managed to snag. One particularly morbid one showed the colossal red wings of the "Red Judge" returning, carrying the corpse of an enourmous Corrupted Devil in tow.
The internet went ballistic, such power as a Master was unheard of.
This project was started all the way back at the start of Chain of Nightmares, as the Government worried that Gehrman's renown would grow too great during the Chain of Nightmares, they wanted to be able to control the narrative when the buzz became too much, so they had it prepared.
It was only released a few weeks ago, right after Gehrman's return from the 3rd Nightmare.
It was then announced a sequel to the documentary would be released, and just yesterday it went live. At the behest of Gehrman, it was made public and free to everybody, he himself paid the cost of the documentary's creation.
This new documentary was hastily made, but upheld the quality and mystique of the original. It detailed the New Workshop's journey in Antarctica, the creating of weapons and the work of the Awakened who served under Gehrman.
The part about them being former mercenaries was cut, instead painting them as brave Government soldiers who volunteered for this new Government program headed by the Red Judge.
Naturally, the mundane "Hunters" were also cut completely from the narrative. The Government didn't want their citizens to start thinking that any of them could take on Nightmare Creatures if they just trained, after all.
In Felise's mind this made perfect sense, but at the same time, those mundane Hunters had killed Nightmare Creatures. It was inexplicable, but with Gehrman being the one who trained them, it made some sort of twisted sense.
As for Gehrman's backstory, it was kept purposefully mysterious. They didn't introduce him. They would just things like, "It was at that time when the Master known as The Red Judge started the New Workshop, spearheading the program to help those of the Outskirts defend themselves against Nightmare Creatures."
The reasoning for his being there and where he came from was left vague, and that only served to stoke the fires of the documentary's popularity.
However, nothing compared to the turn at the end of the documentary.
It was decidedly freaky as hell.
Gehrman had asked for this final part, and it had more than the desired effect. It was all handheld footage from a personal device. With the Chain of Nightmares, there were plenty of glitches, but that only added to the effect.
The long hall Seishan and the Blood Sisters now traversed had been shown. It's consistent lights and pattern made it a liminal space that was creepy on its own. But they had also added the sound of quiet groans of pain, and edited in scenes of Nightmare Creature corpses forming the walls during some of the glitches.
Then it opened to the true Butcher Block. Multiple stair cases jetisoned out from the tunnel, some going up, and some going down.
The one recording had gone up to the highest level of the Butcher Block, the place where Awakened Nightmare Creatures were stabbed, put near death, and then killed with crossbow bolts fashioned from the bones of more Nightmare Creatures.
This section of the Butcher Block had greatly reinforced walls, not mirrors. Instead, an alarm would sound, the person at the indicated crossbow would fire, and the wails of death could be heard.
Then the video showed the lines of crossbow weilding awakened firing repeatedly as the alarm, which was inexplicably the sound of a harp string being plucked, sounded over and over. The cacophony melded into a sweet, eerie symphony that barley drowned out the pained wail of death on the other side.
Finally, the last shot was the one that caused the most discourse.
It was a short video, corrupted from a nearby Gate. It showed the ever-morning sky of Antarctica, and above the clouds, and after the camera zoomed in a great amount, a small black dot appeared before everything abruptly ended.
However, in a single frame before the credits rolled, faint text could be seen on the black screen. Only if one took a screenshot and brightened the image could they read it.
"The One The Beasts Have Nightmares Of"
The melody of the harp song that had played in the clip before returned as the credits rolled.
That last line, was on its own a bit cringey. But with that "found footage" taped on the end, it was nothing short of haunting. Most of the comments were things along the line of.
"Why did they use that harp music?! Creepy as h***."
"Is that last shot of the Red Judge?"
"I think I just pissed myself."
Felise herself had to admit that she was also quite spooked by it. Later that night she would go to her room and pull up the documentary's watching them both. Watching that last part in the dark only served to creep her out more, but reading the comments helped.
One thread in particular stood out to her.
'Dude this sh** is so random, why did they put that analog horror at the end?'
'It's a Government stunt obviously, clearly there was no real danger. You could even see the editing done in post. I bet all of it was faked.'
'Uhh are you dumb?? Why would they want us to freak out over this actual horror show???'
'IDK man, probably just to cause buzz online. I mean, ur talking about it, so it worked.'
'Why would they need to create buzz, he's a new d*** Saint for gods sake, there isn't anyone who won't be talking about it.'
'...Well, probably because he's a Government Saint. I mean, the Legacy Clans didn't claim him, and this is a directly sponsored project…'
'Still! There's no need for the horror!'
Then, a third commentar interrupted the thread.
'It's obvious why they did it. It's kinda screwed up, but, I mean, are you worried about the Nightmare Creatures anymore? It sounds like the Red Judge has got things on lock. You know that hidden line, it's basically proclaiming that this isn't horror for us, but for the Nightmare Creatures. Kinda metal ngl.'
Felise pondered on that last comment for a while. She thought back to each of the choices made for the filming of that final part, and indeed it did seem that way. The walls were made of Nightmare Creatures, Awakened were slaughtering hundreds of them with detached ease.
The initial shock would get people talking, but it was that fact, that they were safe because something even more terrible was on their side that was truly going to settle into society at large.
Now that she thought about it like that way, it gave her comfort.
Still, what she saw after reaching those stairs that the video had was even more unsettling than what the glitched recording had captured.
Gehrman had led them down. They had entered a poorly lit and sprawling maze that ended at an elevator. Then too, they went down further.
The deepest level of the Butcher Block was not where the Corrupted Nightmare Creatures were killed and vetted, it was actually a large, empty room right beneath that pit of Great and Corrupted blades.
Gehrman looked around a bit before settling his eyes on a spot on the wall. Pushing it, an unseen button clicked. A creak happened as slabs of stone were pulled by a chain, revealing several monitors, they were glitching, but the view was still evident by looking through the multiple cameras.
It showed both the dreadful pit of the Butcher Block as well as the sky above.
"You can see everything from here." Gehrman said. "Or, you can join me on the surface."
He pressed another hidden button and a hallway opened, another elevator appeared. Felise did not care for these contraptions, she was used to the smooth, almost teleportation-like modern elevators in NQSC. These things were pulled with chains and physics, and though they had yet to break down, she could imagine easily a situation in which a simple engineering error would cause it to break down.
Still, she didn't have a choice.
"I don't care for the glitching screens, and I doubt I will be in any danger up there," Seisahn said. Her tone held no apparent emotion, but Felise could tell that some sort of feeling was running through her.
Anxiety, apprehension, perhaps even the fear Felise herself felt? Even she couldn't parse it.
Gehrman nodded, but instead of heading toward the elevator, he went to a separate wall and paused. He seemed to be considering something.
"In all honesty, I knew you were going to go to the surface, but I wanted you down here for this." He turned to face Seishan, a innocent smile on his face. "Pick a number, one through thirteen."
The Princess paused for only a moment before saying "Seven."
He pressed a few more things on the wall, and then, a low, mourning hum sounded throughout the room.
No, throughout all of the Butcher Block.
The string instrument, probably a cello, was played expertly, and the quality of the music was very clear, which surprised her.
"I had a bunch of record players made. It was tough to get it loud enough without technology that the Gates would interfere with. Not to mention hiding them in the walls."
When Gehrman moved, his steps felt lighter. He closed his eyes and seemed to sway to the music.
"I did not expect you to be fond of classics, though I must admit, I do not believe I can name this song." Seishan moved to stand alongside him, if not for everything Felsie had just seen, it would have seemed almost romantic.
"Thats because it isn't a classic. A while back I looked through things Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach and curated a playlist. It's several days long, and constantly expanding. I have it playing through the streets of the New Workshop, and some of the people there took it upon themselves to create their own. They received some help from modern technology in their instruction, but otherwise it is their own ears and talent that created the melody you here now."
"Does it remind you of home?" Sesishan asked.
This made Gehrman pause right before the door, and he looked over at her, some surprise on his face.
"Yharnam did indeed have a music scene reminiscent of this style, how did you know?"
"I have looked into the era of our history most similar to Yharnam based off the architecture and technologies you have told us about. It's not perfect, but the mid 1800s Victorian Era of England is quite close."
Gehrman just blinked at her, staring for a moment. Then he just wordlessly pulled the lever, and the metal gate squeakecd open.
They all piled in, but it was much roomier than Felise had expected, and it wasn't crowded by any means.
As they rose, the song continued.
"How long will it play for?" Seishan asked quietly.
"It totals at 324 seconds, so just a couple more minutes."
"Quite a specific number."
"Indeed, that is because when it finishes, I will start. Everyone knows to be in position by then."
"I see."
The pair returned to silence, and it was a bit awkward. Seishan and the Blood Sisters knew, in theory, what came next.
However it was tough to believe the reports. They wanted to know how his Transformation Ability worked (assuming that was what allowed him to pull this off).
The elevator stopped then, and they were released into another empty, heavily fortified room. This time, there was a simple ladder at the end, leading up to a hatch.
The mundanity of it struck Felise as out of place, but despite his abilities Gehrman climbed it all the same.
This is a ritual. Felise suddenly realized. The music, the long elevator ride, the ladder, all of it is to calm him before…whatever is about to happen.
The memory of the Madness that took over Gehrman on the Forgotten Shore flitted into her mind, and it made her stomach queasy.
Pull yourself together, your a Blood Sister for gods sake.
Still, this was a Saint.
It was hard to wrap her head around that, even if he did exude an even more deadly pressure than before. He looked young. Not child like anymore, but not as old as the other Saints who were all squarely in middle age or older.
The hatch opened, and the winds of Antarctica hit them as they climbed out. The yawning abyss of the Butcher Block's pit of blades dug into the earth a few dozen meters away.
Gehrman stretched, his head tilting toward the hole. Before, the music had seemed wistful and calm, but now, it echoed darkly throughout the pit. Much, much louder than before. It was nothing short of haunting.
"Are you going to finally show off your Transformation Ability?" Seishan asked. "I admit, I'm curious."
To their surprise, even though Gehrman smiled brightly his response was negative.
"If I can help it, neither you or anyone else besides Nightmare Creatures will see it," he paused, remembering something. "Uh, though I suppose Sunny did see it that one time. That was a slip up."
He shook his head, returning his focus.
"Anyway, enjoy the show."
And with that, enormous blood wings tore from his back, raised in the air, and he was gone.
Felise blinked. Had he teleported? Gone invisible? Or-
Her thoughts stopped as she turned to see her lady, Seishan's eyes were high above. Just like in the video he showed them, he was nothing but a black speck in the sky. If not for being an Awakened, there was no way she could even notice it.
"He flew up there in a single second, that was well over hyper sonic," Seishan mused. Felise noted the confusion on her face, and only then did she realize something odd.
Why weren't they pushed back? Several sonic booms should have been released from such movement, and yet nothing like that occurred.
Felise thought on it for a moment, but came up with absolutely no explanation for how he could pull that off.
Seishan didn't seem to have an answer either.
Neither of them could puzzle it over further though, as it was that moment that the horror started.
The air changed, it felt dryer all of a sudden. An odd tang stung her tongue, like slightly expired old piece of fruit had sat there for a moment. There was a palpable ripple.
It was his presence. He should have been way to far away, but there was no doubt the feeling emanate from Gehrman.
"Has he transformed?" Felise asked. It was a bit out of line to ask questions of her lady like that, but Seishan was likely the one of the very few Masters who could actually see that far. Plus, Seishan was not a cruel mistress by any means. In fact the two of them were friends, in a way.
"He has, but he's built a sphere a blood around himself, so i can't see what it is."
Felise looked up again, the dot still appeared black to her, but if she looked at it in a certain way it did occasionally glimmer red. Or maybe she was imagining things.
The three of them stood in silence, like viewers waiting for a play to start.
Then, it began.
Tendrils of blood moved out. There were too many to count. They shot over incredible distances, holding strong despite that.
The heavens aboved changed color. Most of the blood appeared to be in liquid form, so it did not blot out the sun, instead simply dying it a reddish brown hue. The tint was not overpowering and the change was actually subtle. Still, shadows were cast by it, creating an odd effect where rays of light shown through, and strips of shadow layered the ground.
Felise was suddenly pulled back into a memory that was buried deep in her subconscious.
When she was very young, perhaps only 6 years old, her parents had taken her to an aquarium. It was a very rich experience that not many could do, not many marine life forms survived to the modern day, but through genetic engineering a good amount of fish were reintroduced in these sanctuaries.
At one point, they walked through a tunnel made of glass, waters surrounded the sides and ceiling, it was as if she stepped into another world. Back then she had cried, terrified the glass would break and the water would pour in and suffocate them all to death.
It had taken a long time to get her to go through, and when they did, she had another fright as a very large creature, a shark, had passed overhead.
She had caused quite a commotion that day.
Now, no such screaming or crying were made from her, but that feeling that the shark had given her suddenly came flooding back.
Something so alien, big, and powerful.
Felise stood mesmerized. They all were.
Then they heard the screaming. It was inhuman and bestial screams, but the pain, shock, and anguish was of such dreadful quality that it made her heart stutter all the same.
Those tendrils appeared to creep and crawl across the clouds above, but suddenly, as they returned their speed was unnaturally quick.
Like how an extended tape measure snapped back viciously, so too did the tendrils pull a great many things back to its source.
They could see them, new black dots were within the grasp of the tentacles. No, not grasp, they were impaled. Needles of blood stuck through them, poking out and through their bodies.
As soon as Felise had that relization, they started to rain from the heavens. The tendrils held onto them, moving with such speed she was surprised the Nightmare Creatures bodies didn't shatter from the pressure. They didn't though, instead, a new cacophony sounded as dozens and dozens of Nightmare Creatures were thrust into the pit of the Butcher Block. Most kept to the first level, but a handful went to the second level.
"Oh gods," Felise couldn't help but wince. The screams were so damn guttaral. They were Nightmare Creatures, and each of them deserved such a death. However this was just… unfair.
It wasn't anything close to a fight.
Gehrman could have just slaughtered them, but that wasn't good enough. Felise tried to imagine having such strength. Being able to single handidly wipe out everything, but more than that able to so completely defeat everything that he could safely have underlings offer the killing blow from behind walls, not even facing the creatures.
Felise snapped herself out of it, the horror she was feeling was a good thing, this abomination was on their side after all.
Yet the image of him doing this to entire armies of humans seemed all too plausible.
If he wanted to, Gehrman could spread his tendrils downward and skewer the three of them with no issue.
Hell, he could destroy all of Fort Balmuth that way. It wouldn't even take an hour before he killed everyone, Saints included.
Felise spared a glance at Seishan, imagining the look of despair and disgust on her face. This was her fiance after all, how would she react to this horror show?
She nearly took a step back after seeing her lady's face.
Her sublime, features had curled and morphed, but not into something abhorrent, but instead a child-like wonder.
Felise relized in that moment what was going through her lady's mind, and though she would never betray her, though she would always love and serve her, she did feel a bit afraid of her in that moment.
For at that moment, Song Seishan thought to herself-
Ah, it's truly amazing.