“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and

strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”

-H.P. Lovecraft

“Our eyes are yet to open…Fear the old blood. “

These were the words spoken between Master Willem and Laurence. From
the cautious teacher to the ambitious student. Fear what you do not
understand. Fear the old blood.

And so our story begins, as you might have guessed, with blood, ancient
blood. Deep below the city of Yharnam lies the ancient underground
Labyrinth of Phtumeru. You know it as the Chalice dungeons. The old
labyrinth was carved out by the Pthumerians, superhuman beings that are said
to have discovered a sinister truth. The hunters had another name for the
labyrinth; they called it “The Tomb of the Gods,” for below, they found
traces of godlike beings named “The Great Ones.”

The Great Ones could function on transcendental planes of thought, meaning

they had elevated their consciousness beyond the physical realm. The
benefits of operating on this plane are unclear. Perhaps it was in the name of
immortality, or perhaps power, as even beyond, the Great Ones could
interfere with beings and events in the waking world. Whatever the case, it is
clear that some sort of ascension took place, as there are numerous references
to some Great Ones being left behind. Of all the strange life forms that reside
in the nooks and crannies of the old labyrinth, the slugs are clear signs of the
left-behind Great Ones.

One such Great One appears to be abandoned Ebrietas, a left-behind being

who apparently did not ascend with her brethren. One day, Ebrietas would be
discovered by the humans above, in a crusade that begins with a character
named Willem. Master Willem presided over a prestigious place of learning,
Byrgenwerth. Situated by a tranquil lake and secluded within a gigantic
forest, Byrgenwerth housed the minds that would change the world. In fact,
everything sacred in Yharnam came to be traced back to Byrgnwerth,
including the most influential characters within our story.
Bloodborne’s lore is very character-driven and there are five who I’m going
to help you become familiar with. There was Master Willem, Runesmith
Caryll, Laurence, Micolash, and Gherman. I’ll introduce them to you in the
order that they become relevant in the story.

As I said, Master Willem was the head of the school at Byrgenwerth. The
man was obsessed with the truth and believed in pushing the limits of
humanity. In almost every dialogue and description, Willem is referred to as
Master or Provost, clearly deserving of a great deal of respect. Many would
eventually diverge from his tutorage but few can say that they didn’t owe
everything to his research, for while Willem presided over Byrgenwerth, the
scholars there discovered terrific things in the tombs below the city of
Yharnam.

Once a group of young Byrgenwerth scholars discovered a holy medium deep

within the tomb. This led to the founding of the Healing Church and the
establishment of Blood Healing. It’s hard to be sure exactly what was found,
but we do know it was related to the Great Ones. On the ground floor of
Byrgenwerth College we find the Pearl Slugs, remnants of the great ones and
at the very top of the college we find the Empty Phantasm Shell - an empty
invertebrate shell that is said to be the familiar of a Great One.

After this discovery, whatever it was that showed them that the Great Ones
existed, the Byrgenwerth scholars launched an inquiry into the great ones and
the old blood; for from this point onwards there is an explosion of lore and
history and references to what the scholars found in the tombs below
Yharnam. Many of these references come from Runesmith Caryll, the second
character of our story.

Caryll transcribed the inhuman utterings of the great ones into what we now
call Caryll Runes. In true Lovecraftian fashion, it is really likely that it’s
impossible for humans to comprehend the speech of the great ones but Caryll
apparently had a knack, a talent for creating a visual representation of the
Great One’s words. The hunter who receives this workshop tool can edge
Caryll runes into their mind to attain their wondrous strength.

“Provost Willem would have been proud of Caryll’s runes, as they do not
rely upon blood in any measure.” - Rune Workshop Tool item description
This statement is curious; it tells us three things: first, Provost Willem and
Caryll were close,as Willem would have been proud of him. And second,
Willem didn’t have a chance to be proud, so it’s possible that the two lost
contact. And thirdly and most importantly, Willem would have been proud
BECAUSE the runes did not rely on blood. In other words, Willem did not
approve the use of the old blood, the blood found in the Tomb of the Gods.
The “Metamorphosis” rune states “the discovery of blood made their dream
of evolution a reality. Metamorphosis, and the excesses and deviation that
followed, was only the beginning.”

Willem believed in a different path. He believed in attaining more insight, for

humanity’s eyes had yet to open. The “Eye” rune states that ‘Master Willem
looked to beings from higher planes for guidance, and sought to line his brain
with eyes in order to elevate his thoughts. And with these descriptions, you
should have some idea of the scale of ambition of these characters, with the
discovery of beings greater than them came a desire to ascend into Godhood,
to push humanity into its next stage of evolution. The only question was
how? blood? Or insight? And this was a question that split the ranks of the
Byrgenwerth scholars.

It’s how we arrive at a scene we see early on in the story, with Master Willem
and Laurence parting ways.

[LAURENCE]: “Master Willem, I’ve come to bid you farewell.”

[WILLEM]: “Oh I know, I know. You think now to betray me”

From this scene, we can infer that Laurence was a high-ranking student of
Master Willem because, firstly, Laurence refers to Willem as ‘master’, and
secondly, Willem clearly regards Laurence highly enough to call this
‘departure’ a betrayal.

[LAURENCE]: “No, but you will never listen.”

Laurence disagrees, he does not see it as betrayal and here we come to the
heart of what their disagreement is about. Essentially, it boils down to the
difference between the two resources in the game. Willem believes man
requires insight and knowledge to ascend, Laurence believes in the power of
blood. Laurence attempts to reassure Willem, telling him he will always fear
the old blood, but that this fear will not stop him using it

[LAURENCE]: “I tell you, I will not forget our adage.”

[WILLEM]: “We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by
the blood. Our eyes are yet to open.”

[WILLEM and LAURENCE]: “Fear the Old Blood.”

[LAURENCE]: “I must take my leave.”

Laurence leaves the Byrgenwerth scholars, presumably with a small group of

rebels and goes on to found the Healing Church. Willem remains at
Byrgenwerth and attempts to elevate his thoughts to a higher plane. He will
return to our story at a later time so, while I tell you of what Laurence went
on to do, imagine Willem here, in Byrgenwerth, sitting in his rocking chair
over the lake, musing on how to acquire insight and elevate his thoughts to a
higher plane. Everything Laurence would come to achieve was based on the
knowledge he had come by in Byrgenwerth. In retrospect, we clearly see why
Willem saw Laurence’s departure as a betrayal.

Perhaps Willem himself even planted these ideas in Laurence’s mind. A note
in the lecture hall reads: “Master Willem was right. Evolution without
courage will be the ruin of our race.” Laurence had courage, but it is likely
that his courage bordered on arrogance. The Byrgenwerth student uniform
states: “the Healing Church has its roots in Byrgenwerth, and naturally
borrows heavily from its uniform design. The focus, not on knowledge or
thought, but on pure pretension would surely bring Master Willem to despair,
if only he knew.”

So Laurence threw caution to the wind and put his faith in the old blood.
Think on human history; imagine if, in any era, a church was founded that
had access to a substance that could cure any illness. Imagine if this church
gave it freely to a city, how powerful that city would become and how
powerful the church would become within it. This is exactly what happened
in Yharnam. People came far and wide to be treated with the miraculous
Blood of the Gods and the people of Yharnam put their faith in the Healing
Church.

In fact what happened in Yharnam is eerily similar to what happened in the

tombs deep below, where the blood was originally found. And as you know,
many chalice dungeons, especially those of Loran are now overrun by
horrific beasts. The Lower Loran Chalice states: “there are trace remains of
medical procedures in parts of ailing Loran. Whether these were attempts to
control the scourge of the beast, or the cause of the outbreak, is unknown.”
The Ailing Loran Chalice states:“the tragedy that struck this ailing land of
Loran is said to have its root in the scourge of the beast. Some have made the
dreaded extrapolation that Yharnam may be next.” Yharnam WAS next.

Through overuse of the healing blood, the city would eventually succumb to
the scourge of the beast. Until then though, Laurence and the Healing Church
manage to grow in power, with the miraculous healing properties of their
special yet infected blood. Yharnam grows to become a city of worship and
fear. As you explore throughout the city, you see the influence of the Church
everywhere. With Yharnam’s resources, Laurence clearly had the power to
grow the Church beyond what would have been possible at Byrgenwerth. All
the while he continued exploring the labyrinth below Yharnam.

The tomb prospector set reads: “Attire of the tomb prospectors who explore
the old labyrinth on behalf of the Healing Church. The Healing Church traces
its roots to Byrgenwerth and is therefore aware of the ruins’ true importance.
These ruins contain much more than hunter trinkets, indeed, they hide the
very secrets of the old Great Ones sought-after by those with the insight to
imagine greatness”

On top of this, Laurence split the Church into multiple branches, each with a
different purpose. There was the Choir, the School of Mensis and the
Workshop.

We’ll get to these branches as they become appropriate but the main purpose
of the Church, at least to the people of Yharnam was the administration of
blood healing. Within the Grand Cathedral itself lies a note that says:

“Heir to the ritual of blood, purveyor of ministration Place your hand upon
the altar’s sacred covering and inscribe Master Laurence’s adage upon your
flesh.”

Blood ministers would have been those who administered the blood healing.
How else would the people of Yharnam be so obsessed with blood? In
Yharnam, they produced more blood than alcohol as the former is more
intoxicating. However, the ministration of blood was likely a means to an
end, for the Healing Church still intended to commune with the Great Ones in
hopes of ascending humanity to a higher plane. This task was given to the
Choir, a group who were a part of the Healing Church.

Members of the Choir were both the highest-ranking clerics of the Healing
Church and scholars who continued the work that began at Byrgenwerth. The
shroud that covers their eyes indicates their debt to the teachings of Master
Willem, even though their paths diverged. The Choir, garbed in black and
white with the familiar eye covering, occupied the Upper Cathedral Ward. It
seems to have been their job to research and make contact with the Great
Ones. The Great Isz Chalice became the cornerstone of the Choir, the elite
delegation of the Healing Church. It was also the first Great Chalice brought
back to the surface since the time of Byrgenwerth and allowed the Choir to
have audience with Ebrietas.

Ebrietas was the left behind Great One who came to reside below the Grand
Cathedral. We are told that the Grand Cathedral is the birthplace of the
Healing Church’s special blood. And if the church were indeed using the
blood of the Great Ones, then who’s to say it wasn’t Ebrietas’ blood? The
augur of Ebrietas is one of the secret rights of the Choir, used by the high-
ranking members of the Healing Church. The Augur Reads:

“A remnant of the eldritch Truth encountered at Byrgenwerth. Used

phantasms, the invertebrates known to be the augurs of the Great Ones,
tooled to partially summon abandoned Ebrietas. The initial encounter marked
the start of an inquiry into the cosmos from within the old labyrinth, and led
to the establishment of the Choir. Those who used this tool are said to sprout
tentacles from their arms as if from the great unknown. “

One of the few rights that allow one to directly utilize the power of the Great
Ones and evidence that the Choir had approached the Eldritch Truth. The
augur for Ebrietas is an arcane method of fighting that was actually shared
with the second subsection of the Healing Church, the School of Mensis. The
upper echelons of the Healing Church are formed by the School of Mensis,
based in the Unseen Village.

This brings us to our next important character Micolash who was likely the
head of the School of Mensis. The School of Mensis was, as the name
implies, a place of learning, research and experimentation for the Healing
Church. Their student set reads:

“The Healing Church has its roots in Byrgenwerth and naturally borrows
heavily from its uniform design”

The school was based below Yharnam in a place called Yahar’gul, the
Unseen Village. Clearly the work of Mensis was intended to be kept a secret
from the people of Yharnam.

“The hunters of Yahar’gul answer to the Village’s founders, the School of

Mensis. Hunters in name only, these kidnappers blend into the night wearing
this attire”

These were not true hunters. That title was saved for the third subsection of
the Healing Church the hunters of the Workshop. These capable warriors of
the church appeared as the scourge of the beast began to show in Yharnam.
The Workshop hunters served under Gerhman, the first hunter who you’re all
familiar with. The hunter attire reads:

“One of the standard articles of hunter attire fashioned at the workshop. A

fine piece of hunter attire that provides stable defence to anyone facing
Yharnam’s beastly threat. Allows one to stalk beasts unannounced by cover
of night.”

It’s possible the unannounced part of that sentence is to do with killing beasts
without them noticing you but it could also be because the Workshop was a
secret institution. The original workshop is located in a very hard to find part
of Cathedral Ward and think about it, you don’t want the townsfolk believing
that the blood is turning them into beasts. When that information is floating
around, you want to avoid panic at all costs. So the hunters hunted beasts
under the cover of night but the hunters and the beastly scourge couldn’t stay
a secret forever.

In what would come to be called Old Yharnam, a new disease appeared. The
Antidote tablets description reads:

“It was called ashen blood. Used to treat ashen blood, the baffling sickness
that ravaged Old Yharnam long ago. These tablets only provide short-term
relief. The ashen blood ailment eventually triggered the spread of the beastly
scourge. “

Think about that. We know that the old blood heals every illness. We know
that the old blood causes the beastly scourge and we now know that the ashen
blood caused the beastly scourge to spread. In short, it seems like people
were infected with the ashen blood and the medicine that they had only
provided short-term relief and they were forced to imbibe the old blood
instead. It’s even possible that the Healing Church used this ashen blood to
gain power, swooping in with this miracle cure and liberating the people from
the ashen blood disease.

Since ashen blood seems poisonous in nature, perhaps the Church even
poisoned the populace just for that excuse to use the old blood because if you
had an excuse to get the populace to believe in you, that would have been so
powerful. But whatever the case, the beastly scourge was triggered
overwhelmingly in Old Yharnam, we know that much, to the point where
they actually had to burn it down and cordon off Old Yharnam from the rest
of the city. Deep within the ruins of Old Yharnam, in an abandoned building
you can find a hidden whisper of a forgotten thought.

“The red moon hangs low and beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other
choice, than to burn it all to cinders?”

With this, the hunt became known to all. Perhaps the Church feared an
uprising from the people of Yharnam, for a note in Central Yharnam reads:

“When the hunt began, the Healing Church left us, blocking the Great Bridge
to Cathedral Ward, as Old Yharnam burned to the ground that moonlit night”

As a result, Gerhman’s workshop was sealed and closed With the scourge of
the beast known to all, perhaps there was no need for secrecy anymore.

” A badge crafted long ago at the Workshop. Attests to one’s prowess as a

hunter of beasts. The Workshop is gone, and no group recognizes this
meaningless badge” - Description of the Saw Hunter Badge

At this point, the Church retreats. They block themselves off in Upper
Cathedral Ward and come up with a new strategy for dealing with the
scourge of the beasts that is spreading throughout Yharnam. Eventually, the
Workshop hunters would disband and the Church founded the Church Hunter
Workshop in its place. Ludwig was the chief hunter of the Healing Church,
which consisted of hunters garbed in black and white.

“Most Healing Church hunters are elementary doctors who understand the
importance of early prevention of the scourge, achieved by disposing of
victims, even potential victims, before signs of sickness manifest themselves.
Their black attire became synonymous with fear and that peculiar Yharnam
madness.” - Black church hunter attire

The black church hunter’s job was clear. Remove any sign of the scourge of
the beast even if it hasn’t manifested itself yet. The fear that it inspired in the
citizens shows most in Upper Cathedral Ward are deathly afraid of the
Church. The white church hunters jobs were a bit different.

“These doctors are superiors to the black preventative hunters and specialists
in experimentally backed blood ministration and the scourge of the beast.
They believe that medicine is not a means of treatment but rather a method
research and that some knowledge can only be attained by exposing oneself
to sickness.” - White church Garb

Their experimentation might explain the monstrously large church giants who
would have been particularly useful in the fight against the beasts. Ludwig’s
great sword exhibits several departures from the Workshop’s design
suggesting that the Church anticipated much larger inhuman beasts. On top of
this, Ludwig took a much more overt approach to beast hunting. Nightly, he
would embark upon Central Yharnam across the Great Bridge to fight back
against the beasts but he was not alone. The population of Central Yharnam
joined the hunt as well, swelling the ranks of the hunters.
Ludwig, the first hunter of the Healing Church, once recruited Yharnamites
to serve as hunters.

” This hunter’s attire was made for new recruits and has excellent
straightforward defence but not nearly enough to allow an ordinary man to
stand any real chance against the beasts” - Yharnam hunter gloves

It sounds like a very clever move as it probably stopped the populace blaming
the Church and likely formed more of a ‘us vs. them’ mentality. Meanwhile,
in Byrgenwerth, Master Willem had an epiphany “We are thinking on the
basest of planes. What we need are more eyes”

Willem took this very literally. The remaining students of Byrgenwerth

appear to have been transformed into multi-eyed, fly-like creatures and more
importantly Willem himself found an umbilical cord of a Great One which
was a very significant and powerful artifact.

“Provost Willem sought the cord in order to elevate his being and thoughts to
those of a Great One by lining his brain with eyes. The only choice, he knew,
if man were ever to match Their greatness.” - Description of one of the
Umbelical cords

Used to gain insight and, so they say, eyes on the inside. Although no one
remembers what that truly entails. It’s difficult to know exactly how Willem
came across or created an umbilical cord so we’ll have to go into that in
another time. Just know that he has one, for now. When we encounter
Willem, he directs us to the Great Lake. The power of great bodies of water is
actually referenced in a few runes.

“Great volumes of water serve as a bulwark guarding sleep and an augur of

the Eldritch Truth. Overcome this hindrance and seek what is yours” - Rune
of the Dissipating Lake

The Lake, and what lies within it, hides the truth. Rom the Vacuous, the
Byrgenwerth Spider that lies within and there’s a lot we don’t know about her
but I’ll tell you what we do know. Various studies and notes can be found
around the grounds of the Byrgenweth lake.
“The Byrgenwerth Spider hides all manner of rituals, and keeps our lost
master from us. A terrible shame.”

“The Spider is certain to reveal nothing, for true enlightenment need not be
shared.”

I believe this is what the ‘Vacuous’ part of Rom’s name refers to. This
creature is somehow hiding the true nature of the world and when you defeat
it, you don’t need insight to see the world for what it truly is.

The night moves forward, the Blood Moon descends and after killing Rom,
we are finally granted access to what remains of Yahar’gul, home of
Micolash and his School of Mensis. The School of Mensis appears to have
grown apart from the Healing Church and the Choir. There is little
information on Micolash and his School but we can prove that there was a
split.

Firstly: Micolash uses the augur of Ebrietas, a secret right of the Choir shared
among the high-ranking members of the Healing Church. This suggests he
was trusted with this information and was once a sane member of the Church.
To prove that there was a split between the Healing Church’s Choir and the
School, we note clear signs of distrust and fighting between the groups.
Imprisoned inside Yahar’gul is the corpse of a member of the Choir and
inside the nightmare of Mensis we find, who the official guide calls Edgar,
Choir Intelligence. Clearly, the Choir was suspicious of what was going on in
Yahar’gul, with the School of Mensis and based on what we find there in
Yahar’gul, it seems the Choir had good reason to be.

The School of Mensis were attempting to commune with the Great Ones and
they succeeded. As Willem did, they found an umbilical cord. We find four
cords in the game that allow contact with the Great Ones and Micolash had
one. This cord granted Mensis audience with Mergo, an infant who may have
been the child of the Pthumerian Queen, Yharnam and Oedon, a Great One.
As we know, most Great Ones reside in the nightmare realm and whatever
ritual they performed with this cord ripped Mensis and its students into a
nightmare. That’s why you find the lecture hall in the nightmare and that’s
why there’s hundreds of dead students throughout Yahar’gul, all wearing the
cage that appears to have delivered them to their harrowing nightmare.
Micolash’s own corpse provides a gateway into then nightmare and we find
him there, clearly insane, wandering the halls. Micolash believes that it’s
possible to ascend towards becoming a Great One, citing Rom as his
example. Rom, however, is not fully developed, rather she has the blood of
their kin. And let’s just go back to Rom for a second. When you defeat Rom,
Queen Yharnam appears. She’s a Pthumerian woman who has clearly
suffered a childbirth gone horribly wrong.

She is linked to the nightmare of Mensis, to the ritual that Rom was hiding
and she appears in this nightmare looking up towards Mergo’s loft, where
Mergo and his wet nurse reside. Queen Yharnam hails from the Pthumerian
civilization that was in power long ago and she was blessed with a child of
the Great Ones. From the way she appears, outside Mergo’s loft, it is clear
that her consciousness, her spirit, was pulled into this nightmare as well.
Even when you encounter Queen Yharnam’s real self in the Pthumerian
Tombs, the baby Mergo screams whenever you hit her and even when you
kill Yharnam in the tombs, it is clear that she is not actually dead, but her
horrific consciousness is only asleep and it stirs in unsettling motions.

Her consciousness seems to be showing up here in the nightmare, completely

separate from her physical form The same thing is happening with you, with
Micolash, with the Great Ones in the nightmare with you. You all exist in this
nightmare that Mensis created. So your next question is, which Great One
impregnated Yharnam with Mergo all those years ago? I believe it is formless
Oeden.

“The Great One Oedon, lacking form, exists only in voice” - The Formless
Oedon Rune

To cite the fastest evidence to present there’s nothing in the cradle after you
defeat Mergo, and Mergo himself, the child, has no form. Also his cries are
heard throughout your adventure, he exists everywhere. Additionally,
Mergo’s Wet Nurse has no form under their robes and also the women that
are impregnated when this blood moon descends are all related to Oeden but
we’ll get to that in another study.

When you defeat Mergo’s Wet Nurse, you get a message unlike any other
that you’ve received thus far. Instead of “prey slaughtered”, you get
“nightmare slain” you defeated a true Great One that’s elevated its
consciousness to the nightmare realm: and the game is nearing its end.
However, all of this should make you think “The nightmare of Mensis isn’t
the only dream world I’ve set foot in, is it? This entire time I’ve actually been
journeying out from the Hunter’s Dream, guided by lanterns that led me to
Mergo and her wet nurse, all of which is made possible by Gehrman and his
Doll.”

Travel to the hunter’s Workshop in the waking world and seek the truth.

“Every Great One loses its child, and then yearns for a surrogate. “

The Third Umbilical Cord precipitated the encounter with the pale moon,
which beckoned the hunters and conceived the hunter’s “dream” Next to the
cord is the unanimated doll. Take a hairpin from this real doll and then pass it
along to the doll in the dream. When you give her the hairpin, she sheds a
single tear, which reads:

“Created from the shining silver doll tear, this blood gem is a quiet yet
unfaltering friend that continually restores echoes, the life essence of a
hunter. Perhaps this doll’s creator had wished for such a friend, albeit in
vain”

It’s clear that Gehrman called upon the Great Ones using an umbilical cord
similar to the manner in which Micolash did.

“The Great Ones that inhabit the nightmare are sympathetic in spirit and often
answer when called upon.” - The Moon Rune

Gehrman, lonely and lacking purpose after the Church had no more need for
his workshop, must have called upon the Great Ones. A Great One
responded, the Pale Moon Presence and imprisoned Gehrman within the
dream. For while Gehrman sleeps, he utters this rare piece of dialogue that
clearly shows he does not want to be here.

“…Oh, Laurence… Master Willem… Somebody, help me. Unshackle me,

please, anybody…I’ve had enough of this dream… The night blocks all
sight…Oh, somebody. please…”
So for what purpose was the dream conceived? Well, the Doll tells us that
countless hunters have passed through here. And all of the graves tell us that
as well. Eileen the Crow and Djura the watcher of Old Yharnam both have
dialogue that is testament to that fact. They talk about how they’ve been
though this dream before as well. So why are hunters being sent through this
dream, unable to pass away, just forced to go out into the world and kill
beasts?

It becomes clearer when you kill Mergo’s Wet Nurse. You return to the
hunter’s Workshop burning down, the dream’s purpose fulfilled Ergo, the
purpose of your dream and your hunt appears to have been to slay a Great
One. Three endings are presented to you The first: Gehrman offers you a way
out of the dream. He asks you to accept your death, for if you do, then you’ll
awaken in the waking world of Yharnam and your consciousness will be no
longer linked to the dream. The trophy for this ending reads:

“You lived through the hunt and saw another day.”

The second option is to reject Gehrman. He suggests that to do so must be a

decision caused by madness and he pits his will against yours to forcibly
remove you from the dream. All the while, he entreats you to accept your
death and be freed from this dream. If you overpower Gehrman, we meet
with the Moon Presence, the being that appears to have conceived this
nightmare, just like the nightmare Mergo conceived. It embraces you and in
the cut scene to follow, we see ourselves performing the same role that
Gehrman did. Hosting the dream, likely a slave to the Moon Presence or
perhaps it’s surrogate child, guiding hunters throughout this dream in an
effort to slay other Great Ones.

The trophy for this ending reads:

“Captivated by the Moon Presence, you pledge to watch over the Hunter’s
Dream.”

There’s one key thing you need to remember. The Great Ones are a race but
they’re a race unlike any other. Each Great One is entirely unique and they do
not necessarily work together. In fact, from the existence of the dream, I’m
almost inclined to believe that the Moon Presence is hostile towards other
Great Ones. In the third and final ending, you consume three umbilical cords
and resist the will of the Moon Presence, you overpower it. And in the cut
scene to follow, the Doll coddles the being you have become You have
ascended, truly, as few have before you.

The trophy description states: “You became an infant Great One,lifting

humanity into its next childhood”

So after the end of all this, you probably still have questions. What is pale
blood? Why does the Moon Presence guide hunters towards killing beasts
and Great Ones?

Which ending is the good ending? Given that the general nature of the
game’s subjective and interpretive world…who is to truly say?