Fear the Old Blood

+ Core of a Vicar: give to the messengers to receive a gift

+ The echo of a cleric: Pop to receive echoes

+ Gold Pendant: Pendant of Vicar Amelia. Use to change into a Blood Gem, which fortifies weapons. This pendant, passed down among the vicars who head the Healing Church, is a reminder of the cautionary adage. To reveal the adage, touch the altar skull.

Surgit was standing atop the Vicar's unmoving body. "Remain wary of the frailty of men. Their wills are weak, minds young." He repeated the same sentence over and over again. His mind was in shambles. He managed to destroy the vicar in a few well executed strikes. The worst part this time around: he wasn't in control of the beast but he was a bystander watching the fight. He knew that if he didn't act now, he'd lose all control.

He immediately popped the echo he received from Amelia then closed his eyes. As soon as he was at the space where Surgit could check his echoes, he saw three Green clusters orbiting a blue one. Surgit's heart started beating fast as he opened his eyes and walked towards the altar in the Great Cathedral. He finally got a blue echo which will allow him to get a new rank. "All that's left now is to touch this hideous skull and see what happens."

Surgit advanced towards the skull at the altar. He had developed a habit as of late. Whenever Surgit saw something, he'd take his time looking at its details in order to remember everything about it. He made a mental note to write everything down on his notepad in the dream. He couldn't afford forgetting everything he had seen so far.

From the place he was kidnapped to, to the old workshop he found at the tower, he didn't want to forget the little details he had worked hard to remember. Then there was the prayer the vicar was repeating. He needed to go back to the dream in order to write all of it down. There were some hidden meanings in there.

Surgit walked towards the skull and inspected it. There was a diagonal cut on the skull that extended from the top part all the way to the lower jaw. A big section of the skull was destroyed from what appeared to be a serious injury. "That might have been what killed this beast," Surgit was thinking out loud. "What's a beast this hideous doing at the altar of the Great Cathedral of the Healing Church? And why was I told to inspect this skull? Hmm.. let's see"

Surgit approached the skull and put his hand on it. A purple gas-like aura enveloped the skull then extended towards Surgit. Soon after, he found himself observing the countless people speaking to the old man on the chair. This was the same scene he had seen while invading other worlds. Surgit felt his body being transported towards one of the images by some unknown force.

After a short moment, Surgit found himself standing next to the two people as both of them talked. The young man started speaking: "Master Willem, I've come to bid you farewell." Willem! Surgit's heart skipped a beat. He'd read about this man for so long, he would've never linked him to the old one on the chair. After all, he had never seen the man before. Willem spoke next: "Oh I know, I know. You think now to betray me."

Surgit felt like a spectator, watching some historical event he had always dreamt of witnessing. The young man spoke again: "No, but you will never listen. I tell you, I will never forget our adage." The old man listened to his student while rocking on his chair. With every movement, the chair would make a creaking sound. Master Willem sighed and then said: "We are born by the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood. "

Willem's voice changed into a lower tone before he continued: "Our eyes are yet to open." Surgit felt Goosebumps upon hearing the next sentence. In unison Willem and Laurence both said: "Fear the old blood."

'They knew of the effect of blood on people. They knew!' Surgit's heart palpitated even faster. The young man wearing a student uniform advanced towards his master. "I must take my leave," the young man said then walked out of the room. Surgit was left in the room observing the old man as his chair never stopped rocking. "By the gods, fear it Laurence."

Surgit opened his eyes and found himself back at the Great Cathedral. He sat on the ground next to the altar and held his head with both hands. "Laurence, who created the greatest church our humankind has ever seen, was aware of the side effects of healing blood…" His parents have always told him to never believe legends and tales. They always cautioned Surgit that if something sounded too good to be true, then it probably was.

Getting to Yharnam and getting a cure for his disease was a dream come true for Surgit. All he wanted to do was to get a second chance to build his life and live like others. Little did he know that fighting against fate and challenging the laws of nature didn't come without drawbacks. He found himself thinking about how much his personality changed since he arrived to Yharnam.

If it were Surgit with his current state of mind, he would probably accept his fate and welcome death. Death was better than turning into a bloodthirsty beast. Death was better than being stuck in a place where he had to kill and kill and kill. Death had surrounded Surgit so much that he no longer thought about it as a threat. He missed that feeling. Death was now just a waste of his time.

"This healing church surely found a way to experiment on people." Surgit was analyzing what he had just seen. He stood up and started walking around in the cathedral while speaking to no one in particular. "Hi we're the Healing Church, we offer you a miraculous blood that can heal any ailment. In exchange, you tell everyone you know about it and create a movement that will change history."

"But in reality, we're not actually curing you. We're just using the people who come to us in good faith as guinea pigs. Have faith though, we have holy church doctors who will examine the symptoms you show after a long use of blood. If we see a bad reaction, you will be eliminated. If you run from us, our hunters will find you and kill you."

Surgit was making faces as he launched himself into his crazy monologue. From everything he had seen before in Yharnam, Surgit managed to link some puzzles together and made his own conclusions. Whether they were right or wrong, only time will tell as he delves deeper into the secrets this city held. After all, if Yharnam was good at something, it was hiding its secrets very well.

The adage he had witnessed during Willem and Laurence's conversation was his password to access the forbidden woods. Surgit had found a note earlier stating that. However, he didn't know where the entrance to the forbidden woods was. He decided to go the dream, upgrade his skill and use his notebook for a while.

He needed a break from all the calamities Yharnam kept throwing his way. He also needed to cool his head and find out if his beastly transformation will be contained. As much as he loved the strength it allowed him, he feared getting possessed and losing himself completely. "I wonder if the blood they administer to hunters is the Old Blood…"