Chapter Summaries

Fang Zheng urged Irene and Doctor Yusefka to help him break the Night of the Hunt, then persuaded Doctor Yusefka to reveal Yharnam’s hidden history. The account traced the nightmare to Byrgenwerth College’s discovery of Sumerian ruins and its experiments with divine blood, which ended with something going wrong.

• Fang Zheng argued that they had to act against the Night of the Hunt, but Irene warned him that worse secrets and beings lay behind it and then left.
• Doctor Yusefka agreed that they should try to change things, and Fang Zheng pressed him to explain the Healing Church’s secret.
• Doctor Yusefka revealed that Byrgenwerth College had excavated ancient Sumerian ruins beneath Yharnam and found records of a way to evolve humans.
• The scholars used the records to create a method involving blessed blood, and Headmaster Willem became their first test subject by taking Blood of the Gods.
• Willem’s apparent improvement led the other scholars to follow his example, and Byrgenwerth began giving the blood to volunteers until their experiments went wrong.

Fang Zheng learned how the Healing Church’s use of Blood of the Gods led to beast transformations and the Night of the Hunt. Yosefka directed him to Archbishop Amelia at the Grand Cathedral for answers.

• Fang Zheng recalled that excessive Blood of the Great Ones had driven apprentices to frenzy and caused them to transform into monsters.
• Lawrence broke with William over whether humanity should use the Great Ones’ blood to ascend, then left Byrgenwerth and founded the Healing Church.
• Lawrence used Blood Ministration to cure illnesses and fund research, but its widespread use caused dependence and turned some patients into beasts.
• The Healing Church formed hunters to contain the beasts, then resumed Blood Ministration when blood-sickness spread through Yharnam.
• Yosefka told Fang Zheng that a secret Church operation had cursed Yharnam and said Archbishop Amelia might be at the Grand Cathedral.
• Fang Zheng set out to find Amelia and speak with her.

Fang Zheng broke through the Grand Cathedral’s locked gate and found Archbishop Amelia praying inside, but she transformed into a beast before Irene could grant her peace. Fang Zheng pushed Irene aside and prepared to face the monster himself.

• Fang Zheng encountered a locked iron gate, and Irene explained that only the Hunting Captain could open it during the Night of the Hunt.
• Fang Zheng struck the gate with his greatsword, destroying it and killing the monsters beyond it with the flying fragments.
• Fang Zheng and Irene entered the Grand Cathedral and found Archbishop Amelia praying at the altar, bloodstained and near collapse.
• Amelia begged Lawrence to save her, and Irene drew her blades to grant her peace.
• Amelia transformed into a huge beast, and Fang Zheng pushed Irene aside, saying he would handle it.

Fang Zheng defeated the transformed Amelia without being wounded, while Irene watched in disbelief. After Amelia died, Fang Zheng noticed that the creature seemed familiar, and Irene recovered the Archbishop’s gold watch before Fang Zheng decided to return to the chapel and give his kindling to the Fire Keeper.

• Fang Zheng dodged Amelia’s attacks and struck her repeatedly with his greatsword while Irene watched from the sidelines.
• Fang Zheng exhausted Amelia and killed her with a final blow to the head, gaining another surge of power.
• Fang Zheng inspected Amelia’s corpse and wondered why the monster looked familiar.
• Irene removed a gold watch from Amelia’s claw and identified it as the Archbishop’s token.
• Fang Zheng decided to return to the small chapel, rest, and give his kindling to the Fire Keeper.

Fang Zheng restored part of his Power of Existence and realized the Archbishop’s transformation resembled infection by the Abyss. After the Fire Keeper confirmed her presence in this world was no coincidence, Fang Zheng returned to the chapel and asked Doctor Yusefka what Bestialization was.

• Fang Zheng gave some of his power to the Fire Keeper, who used it to ignite an altar and burn away part of the black sludge.
• Fang Zheng recovered some of his Power of Existence, faintly sensed the Reiji Maigo again, and saw that his system repairs had reached 10%.
• Fang Zheng recognized similarities between the transformed Archbishop and creatures infected by the Abyss.
• Fang Zheng asked the Fire Keeper whether her presence in this world was connected to the Bestialization, and she confirmed it was.
• Fang Zheng returned to the chapel and asked Doctor Yusefka what Bestialization was.

Fang Zheng learned that the Healing Church’s Blood Ministration did not use the original Great Ones’ blood and decided to seek answers at Byrgenwerth College. As Lady Sophie suffered after a nightmare, Irene offered to guide him there, choosing to trust him.

• Doctor Yusefka explained that Master Willem believed the Great Ones’ blood revealed humanity’s hidden bestial nature, and said Willem had hidden the original blood at Byrgenwerth College.
• Orianne asked Doctor Yusefka to examine Lady Sophie, who had woken from a nightmare in pain and confusion; a sedative eased her distress somewhat.
• Fang Zheng realized he needed to find Byrgenwerth College but did not know where it was.
• Irene offered to guide Fang Zheng to Byrgenwerth, saying she trusted him because he had never undergone Blood Ministration and might change Yharnam’s fate.

Fang Zheng and Irene traveled through the Forbidden Forest toward Byrgenwerth College, fighting the grotesque creatures that ambushed them along the way. At a mill, they attacked a bandaged man who claimed to be a survivor, and he transformed into a huge beast wreathed in lightning.

• Fang Zheng and Irene made their way through the Forbidden Forest while discussing Fang Zheng’s origins and fighting snake-filled villagers and a fly-like monster.
• Fang Zheng and Irene heard a crunching sound and found a bandaged man eating in the courtyard of a mill.
• The man asked Fang Zheng and Irene to help him find safe shelter, claiming he was a survivor.
• Fang Zheng and Irene attacked the man, and he blocked Fang Zheng’s greatsword with his arm.
• The man roared and transformed into a massive black beast surrounded by crackling lightning.

Fang Zheng and Irene fought and killed a Dark Beast that could transform into a human and wield lightning. After Irene explained the beast’s history, they continued toward Byrgenwerth College.

• The Dark Beast revealed itself, and Fang Zheng and Irene began fighting it.
• Irene distracted the beast while Fang Zheng stabbed it with his flaming greatsword, and Irene struck its eye.
• The Dark Beast knocked Irene into the grass, but Fang Zheng beheaded it as it tried to flee.
• Irene treated her injury with a Blood Potion and explained that hunters gained power through blood.
• Irene told Fang Zheng that a Dark Beast had once terrorized Yharnam’s Old Town before Henrik and others subdued it, and they continued toward Byrgenwerth College.

Fang Zheng and Irene searched Byrgenwerth College and found Headmaster Willem’s records about the Great Ones, Lawrence’s research, and the origins of the nightmare. They learned Willem had buried the secrets beneath the lake, leaving them to investigate there next.

• Fang Zheng and Irene searched Willem’s office and found his experimental records.
• Willem’s notes described how the Sumerians sought ascension through the Great Ones’ blood and were destroyed.
• Willem recorded that the blood awakened humanity’s beastly nature, while Lawrence continued his research after finding Ebrietas beneath Yharnam.
• Willem’s final record said Lawrence and the others had made the wrong choice and that Willem acted to prevent the Blood Moon from descending again.
• Fang Zheng concluded that Willem’s actions were connected to the endless Night of the Hunt and decided to search for the secrets beneath the lake.

Fang Zheng and Irene questioned Master Willem about the endless Night of the Hunt and learned that he had sealed the world in a time loop to prevent the Blood Moon from rising. Fang Zheng set out to kill Rom, knowing this would end the loop and bring the Blood Moon.

• Fang Zheng kicked open the locked door to the lake platform, where he found Master Willem sitting in a rocking chair.
• Willem initially pointed toward the lake instead of answering, but Fang Zheng refused to leave until he spoke.
• Willem admitted that the endless Night of the Hunt was his doing and warned that the Blood Moon would unleash the Great Ones’ power upon Yharnam.
• Willem explained that killing Rom at the center of the lake would end the time loop and lead Fang Zheng to Mensis, who sought to create a Great One.
• Fang Zheng decided to kill Rom and leaped from the platform as Irene tried to stop him.

Fang Zheng was transported to a sunlit, altered version of Yharnam, where he encountered a strange hunter who could not hear him. After defeating an attacking hunter and cutting through a sealed gate, Fang Zheng continued into the plaza with the other hunter following him.

• Fang Zheng emerged in a changed chapel and found that the surrounding Yharnam was sunlit and partly buried beneath mudslide-like debris.
• Fang Zheng met a hunter with a huge chin who called him part of the Undead Legion, though the man could not hear Fang Zheng's replies.
• A hunter attacked Fang Zheng on the chapel stairs, and Fang Zheng killed him with his greatsword.
• Fang Zheng cleaved through the chapel's sealed iron gate and headed into the plaza while the strange hunter followed.

Fang Zheng followed Big Chin through Yharnam and watched him use a firearm to parry a hunter before finishing the fight with a brutal attack. After studying the technique, Fang Zheng realized it could complement his own parries, and his Silver-white Short Sword began to tremble as he wondered how to use it.

• Fang Zheng found the Grand Cathedral altered and followed Big Chin after he took an eyeball badge from a monster's corpse.
• Big Chin led Fang Zheng through Yharnam and approached a hunter armed with a firearm and a Cane Sword.
• Big Chin shot the hunter during his attack, staggered him, and killed him with a move he called the Tao Zhe Attack.
• Fang Zheng studied Big Chin's Gun Parry and realized he could combine its timing with his own parry to counterattack twice.
• Fang Zheng glanced at the Silver-white Short Sword in his left hand, and it began to tremble faintly.

Fang Zheng and Big Chin fought their way through a blood-soaked nightmare and confronted the monstrous Cursed Ludwig. After Fang Zheng struck Ludwig down, the monster regained its human form and took up its moonlit greatsword, challenging Fang Zheng.

• Fang Zheng realized his shortsword could be upgraded, but he would need to return to the dream and find the Fire Keeper.
• Fang Zheng and Big Chin crossed a battlefield strewn with corpses and encountered a blood-covered man who warned them that Cursed Ludwig was coming.
• Cursed Ludwig charged Fang Zheng and Big Chin, and Fang Zheng evaded its attacks before striking its foreleg and flank with his greatsword.
• Big Chin attacked Ludwig by grabbing its backside, drawing its attention and suffering a counterattack as he called for help.
• Fang Zheng charged his greatsword with flames and knocked Ludwig into a wall, causing the moonlit greatsword on its back to fall free.
• Ludwig regained his senses, took up the radiant greatsword, returned to human form, and challenged Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng defeated the Horse-faced Monster after it fought with renewed skill and unleashed a powerful attack. As the dying creature revealed its name was Ludwig and pointed Fang Zheng toward the Healing Church’s greatest sin, Fang Zheng ended its suffering.

• The Horse-faced Monster wielded its greatsword with the skill of a Knight, while Big Chin distracted it with his Chain Sword.
• The Horse-faced Monster charged up a devastating strike, and Fang Zheng countered it with the Sword of Piercing Truth’s Summon Death Thunder Flash.
• Fang Zheng used the opening to decapitate the weakened Horse-faced Monster, whose body melted into a pool of blood.
• Ludwig expressed regret for his past and warned Fang Zheng that the Healing Church’s greatest sin lay ahead.
• Fang Zheng asked the dying creature’s name, learned it was Ludwig, and pierced its head with his sword.

After killing Ludwig, Fang Zheng absorbed a strange power from the greatsword and explored a prison and church linked to the Healing Church. He followed Big Chin into what seemed to be the Church’s research facility, where a grotesque woman searched for her eyes in a pool.

• Fang Zheng grasped Ludwig’s greatsword, saw a vision of a masked figure, and absorbed a cool power that connected him to the world before the sword went dark.
• Fang Zheng found an imprisoned man muttering prayers, then entered a church filled with corpses and a sculpture that made him question where the Healing Church obtained its blood.
• Big Chin returned, used the church beast’s badge to raise the altar, and led Fang Zheng toward the facility’s lower level.
• Fang Zheng entered a vast research hall and saw a sack-headed woman searching a foul-smelling pool for her eyes; she did not respond to him.

Fang Zheng uncovered how the Healing Church used Blood Saintesses as blood sources and test subjects, then found Lady Maria in the nightmare. He dismissed the Church’s cruelty as comparatively mild and challenged Maria with an account of even worse experiments on children.

• Fang Zheng learned from the laboratory records that the Healing Church injected adaptable people with the Blood of the Great Ones and drew their enhanced blood for Blood Ministration.
• Fang Zheng discovered that the Blood Saintesses’ heads grew into giant, independent lifeforms, and learned they were drawn to the deep sea and the sound of dripping water.
• Fang Zheng defeated one of the Healing Church’s failed messengers in the sunflower field and entered a hall where Lady Maria was waiting.
• Lady Maria asked Fang Zheng what he thought of the patients and the Church’s secrets, and Fang Zheng said the suffering was acceptable because the subjects had chosen it.
• Fang Zheng described children subjected to far crueler experiments, leaving Lady Maria stunned and speechless.

Fang Zheng confronted Lady Maria over the innocent people trapped in the nightmare, then fought her when she refused to abandon her duty. The battle left Maria wounded and determined to unleash her full strength.

• Fang Zheng told Maria he wanted to help people escape the nightmare, describing the child and Lady Sophie who were waiting for lost family members.
• Maria said she had to protect the nightmare and challenged Fang Zheng to defeat her.
• Maria split her twin-bladed sword and attacked Fang Zheng, whose greatsword pierced her chest but was stopped by a shield formed from her blood.
• Fang Zheng and Maria exchanged fast attacks, each struggling against the other's strengths as they fought to a standstill.
• Maria thanked Fang Zheng for a chance to enjoy a pure battle and drove both blades into her own body.

Fang Zheng defeated Lady Maria in a fierce sword fight, gaining new insight into his swordsmanship. Maria agreed to help him end the nightmare, and they noticed Big Chin waiting at the doorway.

• Maria unleashed Cainhurst's power of blood and overwhelmed Fang Zheng with a fast sword combo.
• Fang Zheng ignited the First Flame and fought back, using fire and the Wolf Sword Technique to defeat Maria.
• Fang Zheng helped Maria to her feet, and they both said they had enjoyed the battle.
• Fang Zheng asked Maria to help him end the nightmare, and she agreed.
• Maria noticed Big Chin at the doorway, where he asked if their fight was over.

Maria explained to Fang Zheng how the Healing Church’s pursuit of ascension led to Kos’s murder and the hunters’ curse. She opened the clock and invited Fang Zheng and Big Chin to follow her to the source of the nightmare.

• Maria recounted how Byrgenwerth’s experiments with the Blood of the Great Ones failed and Lawrence founded the Healing Church to pursue a Third Umbilical Cord.
• Lawrence’s Blood Moon ritual failed after a Cainhurst member stole the Blood of the Gods, and the Healing Church later split from the rising School of Mensis.
• Lawrence learned that Kos was pregnant and sent hunters, including Maria, to kill her and take her unborn child and Third Umbilical Cord.
• Maria rejected the hunters’ actions, threw her weapon into the village well, and swore to stop fighting, but Kos’s curse trapped the hunters in a nightmare.
• Maria told Fang Zheng that he might end the nightmare, then used an Astral Sign disc to open the enormous clock and led him and Big Chin toward its source.

Fang Zheng, Maria, and Big Chin fought their way through a ruined fishing village to the shore, where Kos’s corpse and its undead child lay. Fang Zheng reassured Maria that what she had done had protected the world, then advanced to fight the Orphan of Kos.

• Fang Zheng and Maria slaughtered the fishmen in the abandoned village while Big Chin struggled to fight and fell into a dry well.
• Maria led Fang Zheng and Big Chin through a cave lined with transformed figures to the shore beneath an eerie, eye-like sun.
• Maria identified the enormous corpse on the beach as Kos, and the Orphan of Kos crawled out from its remains.
• Fang Zheng told Maria that her actions had protected the world and that she had no reason to feel guilty.
• Fang Zheng ignited his greatsword and charged toward the Orphan of Kos.