The horrors of the upper cathedral ward

Francis and the woman were watching the fight from the closed gate above. They heard a lot of noise from below earlier: too many gunshots. They wondered whether the hunter down in the graveyard had been disposed of or not. Finally they decided to go down and have a look.

From the closed gate, they saw the hunter transform into a hideous beast that launched furious attacks at Surgit. The sane hunter on the other hand fought well and disposed of his enemy in the bloodiest possible way. As Surgit walked out of the graveyard and went back towards central Yharnam, Francis turned towards the woman and said.

- "Good god, why do these people always have to decapitate each other to be satisfied?"

- "Hunters like killing beasts, and most of the time, they love killing each other." Replied the woman in a placid tone. "Do you still want to go through blood ministration?"

- "I believe that we can control our minds and shape them the way we are. Being simple minded will lead you to be addicted to blood. I am not one of those blood crazed people and will not be."

- "Spoken like a wise man. I really believe that you can make a difference in this city. After all, we've been stuck in these nights of the hunt for too long. If you can find a way out of it, everyone will be extremely grateful."

- "With the knowledge you bestowed upon me and the possibility of elevating my mind by following master Willem's words, I'm sure I can find a way out."

- "You're a resourceful man Francis; I wish you all the best. We must part ways here. Your path lies in the Cathedral ward while mine is towards Central Yharnam. That hunter helped me out a lot by disposing of Gascoigne."

And with these words, the woman walked through the open the door Surgit had left open. She turned around and looked at Francis from the other side. "I guess this is farewell, be careful on the way up to the great cathedral, the key I gave you will only grant you access to the upper ward, getting there will be dangerous." She said with a grave tone in her voice. "Don't worry, I'll be careful, I survived this far, I guess I can make it there if I stay vigilant." Francis was scared at the idea of making his way to the upper cathedral ward alone but at the same time, he had to gather all his courage and get to the top. The information he and the woman shared motivated him to receive the blood ministration and look for ways to elevate his thoughts.

He heard a great deal from Surgit about the snippets he managed to gather about Yharnam and Byrgenwerth. And with the additional information he received from the healing church doctor, he was even more excited to find out the truth about the city and what its scholars had been searching for before the city fell to the beastly scourge.

So he headed upstairs and found himself at the second floor, above the library where he conversed with the doctor. He found himself in a chapel. Jars were put everywhere, next to the walls, around the altar, next to the numerous statues that decorated the place. Next to the altar, a strange creature sat down, not minding Francis' presence. He also saw three doors, each led somewhere outside the chapel.

"Hi there" he said, addressing the sitting creature, hoping that it was capable of speech. The doctor told him that there was no danger in the chapel as incense warded off beasts. And the jars he saw were full of burning incense. "Can you tell me which door takes to the upper cathedral ward?" The strange creature turned slowly towards Francis. It had while eyeballs, as if it were blind. It wore a long red robe that extended to the floor and its skin was ashen gray. "Hey there, I didn't hear you come in. Yes the upper cathedral ward must be accessed through the door on your right." The creature had a man's voice and it seemed friendly. Francis didn't have much time to waste talking to it though as he knew that Surgit will eventually make his way up to the chapel. He didn't want to see him. He wanted him to think that Francis had died when Karla did. He found the door, went through it and closed it tight. From all the three ways leading out, that one was the only one that had a door that could be closed off.

He turned back and took an elevator to go up. He found himself in the last floor of the chapel. There was a sleeping old man on a wheelchair. 'I know what you are, sir, trying to lure me in, faking your sleep then shooting at me with your gun.' He'd been in a similar situation with Karla in Central Yharnam and he wasn't about to be fooled again. He walked on tip toe to avoid alerting the man of his presence.

There was one door leading out of the chapel into a bridge connecting to a tower. The ascension was going to be hard. That much he knew. But he didn't expect to see so many enemies roaming about and patrolling the tower. The doctor had given him a concoction which is supposed to make him invisible. The blue elixir could numb one's senses and needed to be used with extreme caution. She had only one to spare and he didn't have time to try it out yet.

'Well, I won't have any second chances at ascending this tower. I should just keep my concentration. How hard could it be?' He drank half the vial and felt all his muscles tingle. The strange sensation almost made him faint and it was with great difficulty that he managed to move. The lady doctor warned him not to move too quickly and to plan his path before he started walking towards it.

He did so and walked slowly through the bridge. No one had spotted him yet. He saw a couple of snipers on the level above and a man-beast patrolling the floor he was headed to. He got inside the tower without any problems. He realized that he could've died without the help of that lady.

Five more enemies were inside the building, waiting for any intruder to make his way in. He saw stairs that took to the upper floor and took them. With each step he took, he felt his heart beating heavily against his chest. The effect of the elixir would ideally last for two minutes. He counted the seconds in his head and hoped that the two minutes would suffice him to reach a safe place, away from the beasts that would cut him to pieces if they ever spotted him.

He reached the second floor and managed to get outside. There were no more stairs leading up but he knew that he had to get to the top, and that was in the floor above. A troll was patrolling the second floor along with the two snipers, and as he managed to slip past them, he found a ladder leading to the balcony of the last floor.

Francis went up at the most opportune moment as the effect of the elixir had worn off. He decided to scout the area and make sure that there are no enemies. He didn't want to take another sip of the elixir. It could come in handy once he reached the upper cathedral ward. He sneaked a peak into the room and saw two more old men on a wheelchair. They wore plague doctor masks that reminded him of the woman who killed Paul.

He went back next to the ladder and took an empty bottle he had seen on the floor. He threw it on the opposite side of the balcony and the men on the wheelchair went looking for the source of the noise. Francis then ran in, he saw a closed door and made for it. He used the key the lady had given him and unlocked the door. The men had noticed the ruse and were coming back towards him. He closed the door behind him and locked it. Those two had no way of getting inside without the key.

He looked back and found himself next to another bridge. It connected towards a mansion that had a triangular dome and two conical towers on each end. Mist surrounded the mansion and made it look petrifying and at the same time thrilling to look at. He needed to use extreme caution as the place felt ominous. A woman's voice could be heard in the distance, singing as if in an opera. The voice made the place even more terrifying. 'Why is there a woman singing? And why is her voice this strong around here? I haven't heard a thing until I came through here.' Suddenly, Francis felt a terrible pain immobilize him. His head started shuddering and he couldn't move or say a word. His muscles started contracting and he thought that he was going to die. The pain seemed to last for eternity and he couldn't bear it anymore. He finally managed to let out a terrible scream and fell to the ground, unconscious.