205 Karla's Revelation

Karla and Surgit were back in the Hunter's Dream. Karla had asked Surgit to find a place where both hunters could speak privately. They were both sitting in the hunter's workshop. Karla took the seat closest to the fireplace. She looked tense, absorbed in dark thoughts.

"What's on your mind?" Surgit asked.

Karla looked up, her eyes unfocused. "What?" she absentmindedly asked.

Surgit's lips parted into a wry smile. "You've been out of it since Francis left for the Upper Cathedral Ward. What's worrying you so?"

Karla shrugged. "I don't know where to start," she said in an undertone.

Surgit let his back fall on the sofa. "Start from the beginning then," he said.

Karla inhaled sharply. "You know how I got the blood ministration after I went to the past?"

Surgit nodded.

"Then I came back here, and you killed me," she said with a dark tone.

"That was to show you this place," Surgit said with a nervous smile.

Karla shifted in her seat. She looked at the fire licking the logs. She smacked her lips then shot a fleeting look at Surgit. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She just stared at the hunter, blankly.

"What's up with you?" Surgit asked. His eyes narrowed and his forehead creased.

"I don't know how to tell you this, nor do I think you'd believe me," Karla said then nervously giggled.

Surgit leaned in toward her. "Ever since I killed you and you came to the hunter's dream, your mind hadn't been present with us, not really. It clearly tortures you. So let it out your chest. Yharnam has challenged my beliefs at every turn, nothing you say can surprise me."

Karla snorted. "Remember the last time you said that?" she asked with a wry smile.

Surgit let out a heavy sigh. "Just out with it, will you? You'll just hurt yourself by bottling things inside."

Karla looked around her, as though looking for a way out of this. She sighed then locked eyes with the hunter. "I asked you to listen to me after all. So here goes..." She took a deep breath then loudly exhaled.

"When Francis and I woke up in this city of horrors and nightmares, I felt terrified. The more beasts I slew, however, the more relaxed I felt about this hunting thing. After a while, I felt as powerful as a hunter. I didn't need the blood, I was already strong," Karla said in an undertone.

"You saved my skin against the Cleric Beast back then. Come to think of it, I was always amazed by your prowess in battle, even against beasts," Surgit said, thoughtful.

"Here's the thing," Karla said then abruptly stood. She started pacing around the workshop. "When you first became a hunter, how long did it take you to get used to blood consumption?"

Surgit shrugged. "I never really thought of it. I had hideous monsters after me. I just used them to mend my wounds."

"I always had a special aversion toward the blood," Karla said in a dark tone. She stopped then looked at the hunter, across from her. "I never understood why until you killed me."

Surgit frowned. "I don't follow," he said.

Karla chuckled. "That's why I hesitated to tell you, still hesitating in fact."

Surgit's creases grew deeper in his forehead. "Karla, you either tell me what it is in your mind, or we just go train. Francis has disappeared to do gods know what. We have a red moon above our heads that's corrupting the dream as well. There are too many mysteries surrounding us. No offense, but I don't think I can take another one."

Karla scoffed. She crossed her arms and shot Surgit a venomous look. "Here's your mystery then," she hissed at him. "When you killed me, I felt this surge of memories flooding my brain. I saw myself, some other version of myself I just never remembered until then..." Karla slowly walked toward the couch and collapsed on it. When she spoke next, it was in a faint, almost inaudible tone.

"I saw myself running through the streets of Yharnam, in company of some other hunters. We fought beasts and slew giant monsters. I saw them all die, one by one. Then I saw myself kneeling to that old man..."

"Do you mean Gehrman?" Surgit asked.

Karla nodded. "I don't know what to make of it," she said in a trembling voice. "The worst part of it is, I remember the doll and all the times I spoke to her, well the other version of me anyway." She looked up at the hunter, a look of utter despair plastered on her face. "Have you seen such memories when you first landed here, in the dream?"

Surgit opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't find the words to express what he was feeling. He shook his head, dumbfounded. Karla cursed under her breath.

"I've given it a lot of thought but came up with nothing. What does it all mean?" she spurted out. Her face was turning red. Fat creases took shape in her forehead and around her nose. "Have I lived through this nightmare before? Have I escaped, only to come back to it once more? Am I doomed to remain here forever?" Karla asked nobody in particular.

Surgit held his head in both hands. He began rocking back and forth, trying to make sense of this whole affair. Then he burst into uncontrollable laughter. Karla raised her head toward him, frowning. When she saw his crazed face, laughing as though he couldn't control it, she began laughing too.

It was only after a long while that they finally fell quiet. Surgit wiped tears from his eyes then looked at Karla. "You've travelled to the past and came back. You survived despite all the odds conspiring against you. Now, you're telling me you've been here before? I really don't know what to think. Do you believe the memories are true?"

Karla shrugged. "I can't tell. When I relived the memories, I could smell the beasts a mile off. I could taste the blood in my mouth as I decapitated every monster that stood in my way. I still remember how much I enjoyed it. Then how I began to dread it..." Karla shuddered. "That explains why I always hated the blood when I first landed here."

"And I thought I was the complicated one..." Surgit said, thoughtful. His eyes suddenly lit up, as though he remembered something crucial. He leaned in toward Karla, a wide grin on his face. "Do you remember how you left this nightmare?"

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