Bloodborne: The Death of Sleep is a four-issue limited comic series based on Bloodborne.
Description[]
Published by Titan Comics, written by Ales Kot and illustrated by Piotr Kowalski, its first issue was released in February, 2018.
The series serves as a tie-in to Bloodborne, featuring two new characters in an original story set before the events of the game. The plot focuses on a nameless hunter attempting to escort a mysterious pale child out of the never-ending nightmare that plagues Yharnam.
Plot[]
In the burning district of Old Yharnam, an androgynous hunter armed with a Saw Cleaver and a Hunter Blunderbuss advances through the streets, reminiscing on how they recognize all of the countless beasts and hostile Yharnamites they have battled and slain.
The hunter faces off against a Blood-starved Beast.
The hunter rendezvous at a Cathedral, where they are greeted by Djura and a group of his Powder Kegs. After taking a walk, denouncing The Healing Church and desiring to start a new life, Djura presents the Hunter to a meek, frail, and sickly child. Though the hunter is initially indifferent, the child reveals themself to bleed white blood, alluring to what the hunter seeks - Paleblood. Djura urges the hunter to take the child with them to transcend the hunt, but the conversation is quickly cut off by a raid from the beasts. In the chaos, the Hunter comes face to face with a Blood-starved Beast, which they recognize yet again. After a brief battle, the hunter is quickly overpowered and killed by the creature.
Gehrman urges the hunter to find Paleblood.
Waking up in the Hunter's Dream, Gehrman and The Doll greet the tired hunter, now wishing for death. Gehrman informs the hunter that if they truly want to be free of the Hunter's Dream, they must seek Paleblood to transcend the hunt. The hunter teleports back into Yharnam city where they are to relive the exact same circumstances as before. Gehrman remarks to the Doll that he too longs to be free from the night.
The hunter being treated by Iosefka.
After facing the same strenuous ordeals as before and reuniting with the child, the two explore the Forbidden Woods, the hunter in search of a certain healer who could assist them. Both look behind them to view the city of Yharnam from a distance engulfed in flames, the Blood-starved Beast staring back at them atop a building. After a grave encounter with a Great Snake Ball, the child and hunter, now deeply wounded, descend into the 1st Floor Sickroom where they are treated by a sympathetic Iosefka. The hunter returns to the hunter's dream where they confirm to Gehrman they have found Paleblood, though Gehrman is less than conclusive. The hunter and Gehrman discuss the morality of their actions. Gehrman quotes Martyr Logarius - "acts of goodness are not always wise, and acts of evil are not always foolish, but regardless, we always strive to be good..." Gehrman suddenly informs the hunter that they should leave, lest the "Presence" overhears their conversation.
Returning to the clinic, the hunter encounters the same Blood-starved beast lingering in the interior, though it is unaware of their presence. Iosekfa quickly tells the hunter to come through a door leading to her library before they take any action against the beast. Within the safety of the blood-library, Iosefka prompts the hunter to leave so that the risk of contaminating her clinic alongside her patients is minimized. Iosefka says that once they leave, she'll lock the doors behind, and the hunt can continue. The hunter replies that they are no longer concerned with the hunt, instead wishing for a map to the Fishing Hamlet so that the two can procure a boat. The child, speaking for the first time, remarks to the two that they made the beast leave the clinic, their white-colored blood trailing down it's nose.
The Moon Presence.
Back in the hunter's dream, Gehrman mourns how he will never be able to see Iosefka again, and sobs to the Moon Presence looming above him over what it had him do.
The Amygdala.
The hunter and child take leave.
After a period of time, the hunter and child are seen traversing through a desolate valley, now engaging in casual conversation. The child then asks if they could borrow a cloth, to which the hunter asks why. The child, blood pouring out of their eyes, nose and ears responds with "My eyes. I can't see." The hunter is later seen piggy-backing the unconscious child, contemplating on the validity of the child being Paleblood and how they were able to deter a monstrous beast. However, the hunter still notes that the Blood-starved Beast is continuously stalking them from afar. At an isolated ruin, the hunter makes camp for the two to settle. The hunter asks the now healed child of their origins. The child responds with that all they remember is "a sea of fog". The child then asks if the hunter is worried about the beast above them, to which the hunter responds with that they cannot see any beast. Concluding that it was mere faulty eyesight, the child decides to fall asleep. At the top of the ruins, an Amygdala stares down at the two.
The next day, the two take leave, the Amygdala still watching them from afar. Time passes, with the two crossing vast empty lands until taking rest at another ruin, a hunter's corpse with a Whirligig Saw nearby. Soon, the Blood-starved Beast catches up and the hunter takes arm with the Whirligig. After a brief battle, the beast pins down the hunter, now accepting their endless fate. However, the child walks up to the beast and implores the hunter to cover their ears. Suddenly, the child extends their jaw and lets out an blood-curdling screech, the beast splitting into two and killing it once and for all. Perplexed, the hunter then asks for the child to help them up.
The Fishing Hamlet.
The two finally arrive at the Fishing Hamlet, seemingly abandoned. The child looks up at the hunter and asks "it all began here didn't it?" The Hunter sees beast-like footprints within the muddy path ahead of them, citing that perhaps the Hamlet is not as abandoned of its villagers as it seems. The Child points to a note written by Gehrman on a billboard. The note reads that the hunter would never know what Paleblood truly is, and that he cannot tell when nightmare ends, only that he is weak and wishes to be free from it soon. The child announces to the hunter that they're getting weaker, and the hunter forced to carry them. The hunter wanders through the desolate village. The child, their nose bleeding, asks the hunter if they see "them". To which the hunter sees nothing. From the child's perspective, three Amygdalas are looming over them.
The Child transformed.
The child guides the hunter through one of the monstrous Great Ones, cautious not to disturb it. However, the child's voice becomes more and more sickly and inhuman, and the hunter soon looks down and sees that they are holding the child no more, but a grotesque monstrosity. Terrified, the hunter drops the malformed child and vomits, the child citing that perhaps it is not what they seek after all, and that they may have been human once. The hunter brandishes their Saw Cleaver and prepares to kill the beastly child, but the child's plea of "is that you, uncle Djura?" stops them in their tracks. Coming to terms as to why Djura was so protective of the beasts in the first place, the hunter refuses to kill the nibling of the old hunter. Instead, the two get into a rowing boat and sail into the misty ocean, awaiting whatever fate has in store for them.
Notes[]
- This series uses the Hunter rune before the story is shown in each comic.
- The nameless hunter in this comic book is dark-skinned with blue eyes, and their face is noticeably feminine, with their body-shape being very masculine in appearance, aiding in the ambiguity of this Hunter's gender.
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
