Authors Notes:

Hey everyone and welcome. I'll like to let everyone know that this won't be updated much until I get done with my classes. I have another fic I'm already working on and this one seems to be a brief break from that one. If you like this story don't forget to comment!

Word of warning, the story is going to be a bit darker compared to the other fics on this site. I would like to see what everyone thinks of this chapter. Also let me know some corrections and additions I should add.

Thanks for reading.

-2/18/2020

The Northern Undead Asylum is situated upon a mountain covered with fog as far as the eye can see. It was made to house the accursed beings who were twisted by the Dark Brand. In order to keep them prisoner till the end of time. Until they degrade into their feral forms before withering away into dust.

In the deepest reaches of the facility is a room buried beneath tons of solid stone. Where the only exit is a endless corridor where the light should've never reached. However, a crack started to form above this cell over time. Creating a fissure that allowed sunlight to pour in that fought away the darkness.

This light caused whimpers and cries to spread out. The few conscious undead clash against their cells. Desperate to get closer to the light that brought warmth, hoping it'll keep their minds intact.

Years go by and their cries muffled out. They lost their rationality and turned hollow one by one. Until the point where only groans escaped their lips. By the time the cages crumble into rust, the freedom they always wanted was replaced with their never ending hunger. They no longer had the desire for the light as they were only shallow shells with no mind. Already forgotten by history as the eons of time passed them by with no wardens keeping watch over them anymore.

Time continues to tick, the sun rises and sets, the undead aimlessly wander the halls and the deepest cell remains closed. Everything was how it should've been for all time, but then one day it abruptly ended. The unending cycle final broke.

Above the cells at the outskirts of the keep is a Knight of Astora. He has fought his way through the heart of Lordran in search of a cure. Ending up here above the crevice that brought the light down into the depths. A dozen paces away from the entrance of the asylum.

As he rests on a boulder he watches a Balder Knight charging towards him. And as the hollow lunges forward it falls into the darkness below. Unaware it fell into the hole between them. Tumbling through the crevice and into the oldest cell.

Oscar chuckles slightly at the sight. It has been a while since he could have a good laugh while catching a breather. The outskirts of this place is littered with endless undead. More than he ever thought to find outside of Lordan. Hopefully this place will give him a clue to cure his curse. As it is one of the oldest structures still standing since the Age of the Everlasting Dragons.

After a quick break he stands up. Peering over the ledge and thinking.

There appears to be slabs of stone below. Should I go down or head to the front gates?

Tossing a stone down he listens carefully. Hearing the echoes of the rock as it reaches the bottom.

Too far. I don't think I'll survive if I make a mistake going down.

Oscar will have to try his luck elsewhere. Otherwise he'll have to do a frontal charge on the keep.

Glancing back towards the hole he gave out a shout. Interested to see if his voice would reach anyone down there. Seconds go by and nothing returned his call. He gave it a try not expecting anything at all. He had wasted enough time and he'd rather leave the open terrain he is in.

Dashing off towards the ruined keep Oscar hid out of sight of the passing hollows. However, he failed to notice the shadow trailing him from up above. Watching every single movement he did as this was its job. To make sure no one would disturb the Undead Asylum.

Dust is thrown into the air. The Balder Knight lays on the ground as it is crushed by stones falling on top of it. It soon breathed its last as a quick death welcomed it. Once it eyes glazed over, white light flickered out of its body. Traveling through the stone walls and out into the distance.

Eventually the dust settles inside the cell. Covering the rubble and the corpse inside. Strangely there was no one locked up inside with no traces of a hollow or undead ever being here. Only outside the room could one see a few hollows waking up from their long slumber. Where they started to gather in front of the old cell filled with light. In hopes of something to sate their hunger that throbbed inside their worn souls.

Day turned to night and before long a week has passed. The hollows have long departed already and rain began to fall outside. It soaked through the ground covering the walls before pooling onto the stone floor. Turning the dust into mud as the wind started to pick up. Then out of nowhere a low rumble began to shake the ground.

All across the prison are feral hollows standing eerily still. They sniffed the air and opened their ears but, as quickly as the turmoil began it dissipated. Soon they began to mindlessly explore the ancient asylum in search of the source of the disturbance.

A lone hollow stumbled his way back towards the empty cell it visited days ago. Peering thoughtlessly into the room.

Its red skin could be seen as it hung tightly to its shriveled frame. It tried to open the cell with its broken sword. Banging against it repeatedly. Instinctively knowing that something big was about to happen. Something that could potentially ease the pain it felt from its hunger.

Every hit echoed down the dark corridor. The clash of metal continued for hours until a loud shatter interrupted it. Inside of the room is a black line appearing in the air. It grew larger until fracturing like broken glass. Releasing spatial ruptures that sliced through solid granite like hot butter. Destroying the impervious iron door into pieces and bisecting the mindless hollow in two.

As it collapsed to the floor it stared up wordlessly into the void. Its body soon lost the ability to move and white light seeped out of it and into the abyss. Feeding the spatial crack enough to widen it for a person to fall through.

A male tumbled out of the air. Landing face first into the petrified straw bed. His body is naked, standing at six foot with brown messy hair that laid tangled across his shoulders. Following his appearance is a flame so foul and black that it decayed the very ground it seeped out of. Drilling into the mans chest and charring his skin, until his flesh started to melt into a dark eclipse where his heart should've been.

"AHHH!" He flailed, cried and screamed.

The scent of burnt skin and lingering fumes of the curse choked him. His body was already transforming into a twisted dark being. Same as those that were wandering the ancient halls of the asylum.

His arms could no longer support him. He collapsed into the straw bedding as darkness came forth. Blocking out the warmth of the sunlight for a second before disappearing completely inside of John.

The world blurred together as his eyes fluttered open to adjusted. Sharp needles stabbed him on his sides as he pulled himself up. Gently he removed the pins and winced as red blood dripped down his abdomen. Holding his gut he took a look at his surroundings.

He is inside of a stone room, the walls are covered in green moss, broken pieces of iron laid scattered at the entrance and a vague lump could be seen underneath the rubble.

"Ugh... where the hell am I?" He clutched his head. "Why... am I naked?"

Pants would be good right now. He didn't want to know if he awaken inside of a normal dungeon or not. Either way he'll be better off with pants than in his birthday suit.

Unwrapping himself John crouched down. Searching the room again until settling his eyes onto the rubble. Distracting himself from the cold he hurriedly removed the stones covering the lump.

I was home alone relaxing. Then I fell? And ended up he-

"What the fuck!" He jumped backwards. "T-that's a body!"

The faint light revealed the mangled appearance of the hollow. Its skin is pale grey with visible bones poking through to the surface. The whole figure is covered head to toe in damaged plate mail and the eyes were sunken in, hidden underneath its face mask.

"No..." Pacing back and forth. "This, this isn't something I can deal with. I-I'll need to leave a-and make it out of here."

Nudity was the last thought on his mind. There is a dead body and he could easily be the next victim. Escaping his cell he briskly strode through the corridor. Noticing torches that flickered all the way down the hall. Creating shadows that danced alongside the walls.

Enough time has passed that he managed to calm down. He notice his chest felt raw as he traced his fingers over it. Feeling a circular depression in his skin that cut deep enough that he had gorges in his sternum.

Breathing quickly he turned towards a puddle on the floor. Finally being able to see what he just touched.

"Black..."

A perfect black circle is imprinted into his chest. It devoured the light coming off the torches as if it was the abyss itself. John had to peel his eyes away or he would've been lost in a trance forever. And as he looked towards his surroundings again he noticed a faint comfort coming over him. As if the darkness itself seemed to be welcoming him.

The lingering image of the eclipse was shoved out of his mind. He began to walk further down the hall trying to push away his discomfort. Passing numerous lit areas and places surrounded by the soothing shadows.

He knew that he was under ground. Inside of some sort of prison judging by all the cells scattered around. And then there was that shuffling noise he's been picking up for a while now.

Wait... Noise?

It's been ten minutes of hearing it and John knew he wasn't hallucinating either. A soft scratching noise was coming from the right, inside of shadows that separated the torches from one another.

It was already too much to ask him to rush forward and ask for help. He didn't know who they were and whether they'll might try to capture him or not. However, there was only one direction to leave this place and John didn't want to turn around to where he left the corpse at.

Calming his nerves he watched the outline faintly moving towards him. It appeared to be 'human' at the very least and was built smaller than him.

"Hello?" Covering his junk and giving a macho wave. "D-do you know where we are?"

His voice echoed more than he wanted. The figure stumbled from his call and stopped to gaze at him. Two lifeless white eyes met his and a slight groan escape its lips. Followed by hurried steps as the silhouette drew closer.

Unconsciously his foot step backwards. John was about to dash away, but waited to see what this thing wanted.

A hand shot out into the light. Covered in red mummified skin until another appeared carrying a broken sword. The sunken face of this creature cause him to gulp loudly as its lipless mouth showed a set of yellow jagged teeth causing him to shiver.

"Nope I'm out." Walking backwards. "There is no way I am going to let myself get eaten by a zombie even if I'm dreaming."

Silent groans reached his ears and made the encounter worse. The hollow seemed to be getting excited at the sight of his smooth healthy skin and instinctual knew he would be a good meal. Making it give off louder grunts towards him.

Taking another look John definitely confirmed his decision to get the hell out of there. There is no way in hell he'll let that thing touch him. Turning around he ran. Passing torches as they flashed by and over murky puddles which covered his legs in a layer of mud.

If he recalls correctly then there should've been a weapon next to the corpse he found. A perfect deterrent from being mauled to death in the new reality he seemed to find himself in.

Brushing his hand across the rubble, John wedged the Balder Side Sword free. Its shorter than an estoc having a fatter blade and a handle to fit both hands. The weapon felt lighter than he thought and he could easily give it a swing. But before he could test it out he felt cold sweat dripping down his back.

Waddling into view is the red skinned zombie. It appeared from the darkness while scraping its broken sword along the wall to steady itself as it walked over the sharp iron shards. Not even flinching as its feet tore open and bled black blood across the stone floor. Instead the hollow picked up its pace once it saw John in the sunlight.

It couldn't control itself any longer. The hollow charged forward determined to not let him escape.

John fumbled his sword and managed to point it in the right direction. He didn't think about swinging or trying to dodge the lunge coming towards him.

A light thumb impacted his sword. Less than he expected, but it managed to lift his spirits up. On the other end is the hollow thrashing on the tip. Having its heart pierced by the blade until it puncture through and out of its back.

It didn't give up and never registered the pain. The hollow continued to swing its arms towards him, pulling itself along the swords length. So close that it could taste John on its shriveled tongue.

John felt disgusted by this thing. It was salivating all over itself and splattered some on his face. It even dripped into his mouth when he tried breathing. This anger knocked him out of his stupor and placing both hands on his sword he tugged with all his might, ripping the sword diagonally up and out of its shoulder with a twist.

The feral hollow looked at him before buckling to the floor. Black blood poured out and evaporated quickly. Then a white light escaped its body and flew towards John. Getting absorbed by the Dark Brand as a new sensation started to overwhelm him.

For a brief second he felt a unbearable thirst followed by ecstasy that muddled his mind. However, as soon as it came it dissipated. Allowing him to get off his high and put together all the pieces of the puzzle.

"You got to be f***ing kidding me. I just had to wake up in Dark Souls!"