"The Crimson Coral's Call"

The Lord of The Dead was not inside the mountain, it was the mountain.

With a haunting ease, a pillar of bone messily formed. Then like a beast, it lashed out aimlessly. The sheer size and power of the move left tremors in its wake. Gehrman had created a large amount of distance between himself and the blow. The formation the cohort had been in had shattered. 

However, that formation was useless now anyway. The skeletons were not an issue anymore, instead it was this behemoth of a creature. 

"It's just thrashing in its sleep! Move! We need to get out of here before the bastard wakes up!" Huntress Athena called out.

Gehrman felt his eye twitch. The power of a Fallen Tyrant was far beyond what he had expected. He rapidly began collecting data with everyone of his senses. He took note of how the next giant limb formed, the path it took in smashing the surrounding Sleepers. It was all quite basic, but if Athena's words were true, then this wasn't even the true terror of this creature. 

The cohort was not helpless though. Someone tossed a golden rope to Kai, who flew up to the top of the statue's arm and fixed the rope. 

Cassia was the first to go, nimbly climbing their new opportunity to escape. Gehrman settled into his grove, balancing his weight and nimbly dodging every attack with ease. Still, he hesitated on making a blow in retaliation, he was nervous that doing so would wake up the Tyrant faster. 

However, he quickly changed his mind as Sunless inexplicably dashed toward the Lord of The Dead. He did not seem intent on attacking it, but instead looked to be intent on grabbing something. Whatever it was, Gehrman could not see it. 

Nonetheless he moved to cover him. With a deep sting, he pulled blood from some of his bigger veins, quickly puncturing and sealing them. He had long become adept at this level of Blood Control, pulling it out was painful but easy. Gehrman quickly adjusted to the new drop in blood, forcefully circulating more to reach his brain. 

The blood flew around him before finding its home on his back, on the large, heavy block. Though it didn't have any enchantments, this reinforcement still allowed Gehrman to better handle the unwieldy weapon. It also made the "tricking" process easier and safer. 

He quickly sheathed his blade in the block, a mechanism locked it in place, and the true form of the Kirkhammer became apparent. Gehrman pulled the heavy hammer onto his shoulder and sprinted forward. He partially summoned the [Portable Blood Imbiber], and a single vial (still hot) appeared in a rush of sparks. It exploded and quickly moved forward.

The blood of a Fallen Beast soaked into the massive bone pillar that was falling toward him. Then, just at the moment of contact Gehrman swung the Kirkhammer. 

The technique was similar to what he had used to escape the Flesh Reaver's nest. However, he now had much more essence, so he was able to put three times as much into this blow. His strength had also multiplied, reaching the level that he had in his First Nightmare. And finally, the initial blood used was that of a Fallen creature. 

The result was even more than Gehrman anticipated. 

The sound was reminiscent of the gunshot of a blunderbuss, except much more deep and hollow. The majority of the bone pillar simply exploded. Tiny, harmless bone shards were thrown all around. Dust also was picked up from the shockwave that followed. What was left of the pillar fell forward with much of its force reduced, well away from any of their positions. 

Everything stilled for a moment, with the sole exception of Sunless, who grabbed something out of the bone pile…but there was something else that came with him. The familiar sight of the Corpse Eater made Gehrman's blood run cold. Though he had slaughtered almost two dozen at this point, he had never once let them attach to him. This one was attached to Sunless. 

Incredibly, Sunless raised his blade in the air and started to bring it down. He meant to cut off his arm. Gehrman lunged forward, knowing he was too late. 

Then he stopped at the last moment. The Corpse Eater had inexplicably died. It fell off his arm, lifeless. 

Gehrman's perfect memory brought an answer to his mind. "A demon's blood," Gehrman whispered in astonishment. This wasn't a part of his Aspect, it had to be some kind of Attribute. But what kind of Attribute could kill a Fallen Beast? 

Once again Gehrman's assessment of Sunless rose. He seemed to have even more versatility than Gehrman did. Which should have been impossible considering his astonishing amount of Attributes. 

"Hurry!" Changing Star's voice called out. 

Gehrman turned and sprinted as Sunless quickly extracted the Soul Shard of the creature. With his [Sixth Sense] spread wide, he kept an eye on the Fallen Tyrant who seemed to be fully waking up. The impact of Gehrman's blow had shocked it, but not seriously injured it. 

Gehrman jumped with all of his might, pulling his blood upwards. He was able to get a full ten meters off the ground before grabbing the rope and finishing the climb. Sunless came right behind him. 

As he climbed a gasping and unfathomable roar escaped from the bones as the Lord of The Dead woke. 

However he was too late. Sunless finished his climb. And the Cohort had escaped into the light.

…

"What the hell was that? It sounded like a freaking cannon!" Huntress Athena whirled on him after they had reached the "safety" of the coral labyrinth. It was still dangerous. Many webs were strewn about as a group of spider-like Nightmare Creatures had made this section of the Crimson Coral their home. However, these creatures were all Awakened Monsters. Which, while deadly to ordinary Sleepers, was not much of a threat to this Cohort. With Harus having abandoned his quest to follow them, the most pressing danger was also gone. Now that Sunless's shadow was able to scout ahead again, they were free to talk while they walked.

"A lot of things," Gehrman responded warmly. He actually did want to talk about this, it was crucial the Cohort had a basic understanding of his abilities. "My Aspect allows me to control blood to an extent; though it takes a decent amount of Essence and can only work for a little while. What I did was an application of that which I figured out a while back. I can push blood into a surface, then hit it and simultaneously explode it. The forces multiply the damage, and that was the result. It was how I carved out my Workshop in the Dark City."

"Holy shit," Hunter Athena responded. "What did you say your name was? You can call me Effie by the way."

The transition to casual talk brought a wry grin to Gehrman's face. "Gehrman, nice to meet you Effie." He broke formation to shake the tall woman's hand. 

All around them, the rest of the Cohort eyed him with a mix of reactions. Both Caster and Sunless had wary faces. Cassia and Kai were frightened. Effie was excited. And Changing Star kept her usual mask of impassivity. However, he did see a small tension he hadn't seen before. If he had to guess, she was contemplating the implications and uses of his Aspect. As much as he found the girl to be a bore, she was without a doubt a remarkable leader. Her mind seemed to work in a similar way to Ludwig's, though her charisma was much more forced than his. 

"You heal too," Changing Star said, noting the now closed wounds that he had refused to let her heal (because of course her flame could heal as well as destroy). "Is that the same thing?"

"No, that's my innate ability. Consuming flesh and blood heals me and gives me a modest temporary boost in strength and a very minor permanent boost. Over the last couple months I've consumed a couple hundred Nightmare Creatures, so it's stacked up to make me quite physically capable."

"Gods, where did you find this kid Caster?" Effie laughed in disbelief. 

"We landed in the same place when we were transported to the Dream Realm. I think I've told you this before," Caster replied in a slightly exasperated voice. "...Also, he says he's not a kid."

Gehrman's grin widened. "How nice of you to remember, Caster! Indeed, I have actually gained some more memories since we last spoke. I am now approximately seventy years of age!"

Kai stumbled a bit while the rest gave him looks of disbelief. "Gehrman…remember when you said you were crazy?" The beautiful man asked. "I am pretty certain that you are."

…

The cohort made their way through the labyrinth with relative ease. Gehrman slaughtered his fair share of creatures. Although, his progress was actually slower than usual. He didn't have a true safe haven like he did back in the Dark City, so he made sure never to dip below 75% sanity. Therefore, the amount of blood he consumed was less than usual. He also didn't eat any of the spider's besides what Changing Star cooked for them. 

After the day of navigating the labyrinth, they decided to take a break on an isolated peak of a giant piece Crimson Coral.

It was interesting to say the least. 

All of them stripped down and wore make-shift loincloths and the women had on brassieres as well. They did this to allow their armor type Memories to mend themselves in their Soul Sea. Gehrman was the only one who didn't partake. He dismissed the majority of the [Hunters Attire] which had been scarcely damaged at all. However he kept on his usual casual clothes: the trousers, and shirt. And he rested the Kirkhammer, which naturally couldn't be dismissed like a Memory, to the side. 

He kept to himself for the most part, facing away from the others in order to not be distracted. His thirteen year old body was very unhelpful in this situation…Actually, it was probably fourteen at this point. It had been several months since he arrived in the Forgotten Shore. He likely had his birthday somewhere during that time since it had been in Spring, March 24th to be exact. That should have come and gone a while ago.

But that didn't help him! Could I just cut my testicles off and be free of this? How complicated is that surgery actually? Gehrman contemplated. However, reason won against this. Castrating himself would not be a safe thing to do in any situation. Plus, he couldn't do it without the others noting, and that would be embarrassing to explain. 

He kept himself from taking any blood, lest his madness cause him to act untoward to his new Cohort. 

As they took the day off to rest and recuperate, A myriad of shenanigans went on. Sunless had apparently gotten an Ascended memory from the Corpse Eater, and he gifted the powerful arrow to Kai since he didn't have a bow himself. It was quite a boon for him, since the flying man also specialized in archery. This was a practice Gehrman was not wholly unfamiliar with, but he had to admit that Kai was definitely superior to him.

They also played a game of tug-of-war. After Effie effortlessly beat the other four, Gehrman finally got up from his self-isolation and challenged her by himself. He had been intrigued since first seeing her fight which of them had superior pure physical strength. 

It was a lot closer than anyone had expected. In the end, without manipulating his blood, he was a bit behind her in strength. However, when he applied his Aspect, he was able to beat her. It was a great shock to her, and she seemed momentarily dazed to have lost in her greatest area of expertise, but she quickly got over it and was patting Gehrman on the back soon enough. 

After that he had to run away again. Effie's body being so close was problematic. 

Later, during the night. They huddled around a small fire and shared stories and talked about the future. Sunless revealed he wanted to get a couple memories and retire peacefully. Kai wanted to do some weird singing thing (was he also in the Song clan?). Effie wanted to eat something called chicken wings. Both Caster and Cassia wanted to spend time with their families. And Changing Star wanted to visit her mom, who was something called a Hollow. Apparently, she had died in the Dream Realm while she was still just Awakened. Her physical body in the real world, meanwhile, was left an empty husk. 

When they turned to Gehrman his mind went blank. He had big plans like becoming strong enough to cross the void, make it back to Yharnam, and find the truth of his existence. He also wanted to see if he could help out others, maybe find a new Workshop in the waking world. But the first thing he would do…he wasn't sure. In the end he came to the only answer he felt was true: "Keep hunting. Kill until there are no beasts left to kill," he made this proclamation in a solemn voice. 

The light mood significantly dampened as the rest of them wondered about this insane boy's past. What made him so strong? They each came to a similar conclusion. Loss and grief were the only things that could push someone to Gehrman's level of madness. 

In truth, they were not far off. Though Gehrman didn't realize it. His goals were shaped by all of his past traumas. The hundreds if not thousands of people he had seen die. The people he had seen go mad. The people he had seen lose all hope in an instant. 

He was the Last Hunter of Yharnam, and was thus completely alone. The only things he had left were loss and grief. 

Yet looking around the fire, he smiled. 

These kids weren't bad company to keep. This would be a long and painful journey, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad one.