Hey guys, what's up, it's the one and only Syn here, the guy who can't seem to keep to a normal schedule. It feels like I've made that same joke a little too much, but what can I say, I'm not very creative when it comes down to making jokes. Anyway, I've been in a bit of a slump as of recent times, I can't seem to get anything right and I feel as though my creativity is just being sucked out of me. I don't even remember what drove me to write anymore, and that kind of sucks, if you don't remember why you do something, then why bother?

Well, that's kind of bullshit, because if the Souls series has taught me one thing, is that if you start something, you better fucking finish it, otherwise you're a filthy casul who can't help but fail. So yeah, that's me pumping myself up for this next chapter. So uh… I think I'll just get started now.

It's been nearly a week since I've made my way to Steelbell and since I've met Robyn and John. To say that they are generous people would be an understatement, they have both provided me with shelter and food, both of which I don't really need, but an Undead deserves a bit of normalcy every now and again.

However, their generosity did not come without its burden, for I have been tasked with both helping train the militia and helping smith their blades. May the gods damn that old codger, Andre, for making me work on blades, I have better things to do.

As I lay on the bed that has been provided to me by my new… allies, let's say, I stare at the ceiling in thought; What exactly brought me to these lands, I heard the bell of awakening when I first awoke, yet the fires have been all snuffed out, so why am I here?

A Watchers' duty is to destroy all signs of the Abyss, yet I have yet to see anything that would indicate the Abyss being here. Yes, the Grimm exist, but they haven't the same effect that the Abyss does.

The Abyss itself is the manifestation of madness and feelings of that nature, those feelings being fear, ambition, anger, and loneliness. Those four feelings are what brought the Abyss through Manus' madness.

Manus was the father of the Abyss, and through his resuscitation, his souls went rampant and mad, and his rampage had continued on until Knight Artorias had slayed him with his mighty greatsword. However, Knight Artorias perished doing battle with Manus, and with that, he was marked down as a legend.

Yet even with all of those things happening, even with Manus slain, the Abyss has still spread farther than it ever should have, but I suppose that all had to do with how humanity is and how it was created.

Humanity itself was born in the dark, and molded by its twisted ways, and when the flame was first linked by Lord Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight and Cinder, Humanity had found some form of peace in death. The fact that humanity did not have to revert back to those soulless husks gave humanity some sort of peace.

Yet, even with the peace of death, the Abyss had managed to spread and manifest into all sorts of things, all sorts of… abominations. But humanity itself is the reason for the spreading of the Abyss, for no matter how pure a human may be, they are all, at their center, dark beings.

I let out a sigh as I stare up at my ceiling, no matter where I go, the Abyss always seems to appear, and now I am having doubts about whether it is I who finds the Abyss, or if it is the Abyss that finds me.

I shake my head, clearing my head from such thoughts, I haven't the time to think on such things, right now I should be helping Andre smith blades for the militia. I force myself out of bed and onto my feet, grab my sword that was leaning against the drawer next to my bed and strap it onto my back.

After placing my Greatsword into its sheath, I pick up my dagger, which was previously on top of the drawer, and place it onto my hip. After making sure that my weapons are both fastened properly onto my person, I make my way out of my room.

Now then, I do wonder what this world has in store for me today, because quite frankly, I've begun to get tired of all of the peace surrounding me. At first, I enjoyed the change of pace, but the quiet is making me anxious.

How long before this peace is over I have no clue, but I will make sure that Steelbell stands. I won't say that I've grown attached to this small town, I simply wish to repay their generosity and move on.

As I make my way down the stairs, I spot Mr. Little standing behind the bar, wiping the inside of a glass, as he always does in the mornings. "Good morning, Mr. Little, how goes your morning?" I ask as I make my way down the last of the steps.

I see him look up from the glass he was wiping and see him wearing a smile, "Ah, good morning boy, would you care for a drink?" I hear him ask as he pulls out a glass bottle that contains what I presume is alcohol.

Hmm, I don't believe that right now would be an appropriate time to be inebriated, considering that I've got to help Andre with the forge, and then help the militia train, and then help Robyn hunt, I feel like my schedule has been filling up.

I shake my head, "I'm afraid that I won't be joining you for that drink, Mr. Little, I have work that needs to be done." I state calmly, and to my surprise, I hear him laugh. I am confused, what is there to be found humorous?

"Hehehe, that sounds like you, boy. But you are aware that taking a break would do you some good, right?" I hear him ask, I don't need to take a break, I am undead, and we undead need no rest, food, or drink, only our will.

I nod as I make my way past the bar and towards to the door, "I will be sure to keep that in mind, Mr. Little, but for now, I have work that needs to be done. If you ever need me, you know where I shall be." I say, and with that, I push open the tavern door and make my way out onto the street.

I look up to the sky and see that the Sun is at its highest peak, I wonder if there are still those fanatics that worship the sun? I shake my head, now is not the time to be worried about such trivial matters, I have a duty to fulfill.

So, it appears to be mid-day, which means that Andre has more than likely started on the blades, so that means that I'll have to hear him complain about me being late, wonderful. Well, I suppose that now is a good time to make my way there.

After a short walk through Steelbell, I finally make my way to Andre's forge, the sounds of metal striking against metal coming from the forge indicates that Andre started the forge without me.

I let out a sigh as I walk up to the door to the forge, "Knowing Andre, he's going to tell me I'm late, and that I should start to show up early." I think to myself as I place my hand on the door knob.

I twist the knob and push open the door, only to see Andre working on another batch of swords for the Militia, nothing too large mind you, just a basic Arming sword. The militia need something to start with, I can't just give them a sword as large as mine and expect them to wield it.

As he strikes the metal on the anvil in front of him, he looks up and I notice a nearly invisible smirk on his face, "You're late, Watcher, you should learn to arrive a little earlier. Perhaps then you would be able to prevent the Abyss, rather than confront it." I hear Andre say as he returns to hammering the metal beneath him.

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying my best to not lash out, although, I see him quirk a brow at my attitude, "Strike a nerve, did I? Well, don't take it too seriously, I wouldn't want you to make a bad decision." I hear him say.

I let out a deep breath as I set my blade against the frame of the door, "And what kind of bad decision would that be?" I then make my way over to the forge and begin to assist Andre with making the blades.

I hear him let out a chuckle as I begin to work on constructing my own blade, "Well, for one, you fighting me unarmed would be a rather large mistake." I hear him say, and why would I have a problem fighting an old man?

"Hmph, and why would I have an issue fighting you unarmed?" I ask, slightly annoyed if I may add.

"Because I know Astoran Boxing, and I've got a trusty hammer with me." I hear him say as he strikes the metal beneath him a little harder than before, trying to threaten me are you?

But suddenly, an idea comes to mind, "Oh, if you're such a good boxer, why don't you go and teach the Militia some things? They could use the strength training." I say, hoping to at least bother the old Smith.

I hear him let out a huff, "Oh, but I've gotten far too old for the boxing, can't you just let an old man rest?" I hear Andre say, playing the 'old man' card, eh?

I simply shrug my shoulders, "I suppose that's understandable, after all, Astoran Boxing must be beyond your talents at your age. Especially with all of the drinking that you were doing." I say with a dry tone, and I notice one of his eyes twitch slightly.

I see him set his hammer down next to the anvil in front of him, "Don't go pushing your luck, boy. Think about how damaging it would be to your pride if an old man like myself beat you into the ground and made you nothing more than a blood stain, it'd be enough to make any man hollow, don't you think?" I hear him say, it seems as though I've struck a nerve.

I let out a chuckle in response to his threat, "So, would I be incorrect in saying that I've won our verbal duel?" I ask, jokingly of course, Andre is one of the few companions I have in this world, and the only one that I have that connects to the last.

I hear him let out a deep sigh as he picks up his smithing hammer, "You should really learn to mind your tongue, Watcher. There's going to be someone out there that's going to be stronger and faster than you one day, and the last thing you'll want to do is anger them." I hear Andre say as he places both of his hands on his smithing hammer.

I simply tilt my head, I don't really believe that there are soldiers out there that could match my skill, but if they exist, then I would be glad to welcome them to their death, if they so wish for it. "Andre, if there are people out there that are stronger than I am, then I'll just come back. We are Undead, are we not?" I ask rhetorically, even if I weren't Undead, I would still do battle with them with no fear of death. I am an Abyss Watcher, the only reason I exist is to do battle with the Abyss, or to eventually fall to it in battle.

I hear the old Smith let out a sigh as he looks down at his hammer, a look of sorrow etched onto his face, "Watcher, I don't think you understand just how many times I've heard someone say that. In all my years of life, I've heard plenty of Warriors say the same thing. Just because we're Undead does not mean we cannot meet a terrible fate." I hear him say.

I let out a dejected sigh, aye, he's right. Even if we are Undead does not mean that death is beyond us. While it may be beyond us in a physical form, it is still possible for us to lose our sanity, to become hollow. "Andre, I-" I go to apologize, only to hear a banging sound coming from the front door.

I see the look of sadness disappear from his face, "Aye, come in!" I hear him yell as he returns to hammering at the metal beneath him. It's almost as if nothing happened.

With that, I see the door open, and I see a man in a green hood step through the door, a short sword strapped to his hip along with a bow and quiver strapped to his back, ah Robyn, good to see you. As he walks in, I notice him give a small wave, "Andre, Jaune, how goes the smithing?" I hear him ask.

I hear Andre let out a grunt as he thumbs to the door behind us, "It's going about as well as you'd expect. And before you ask, all of your blades are being kept in the back, away from prying eyes. Last thing I need is some fool to try and break into my smithy to nab himself one." I hear Andre say, it seems as though he's had a similar experience, how peculiar.

I hear Robyn let out an awkward chuckle as he scratches the back of his head, "What can I say? The lads are eager to actually get their hands on some proper blades and not the tools we use to farm the crops." I hear Robyn say, it's understandable as for why the Militia would want to wield a proper blade, they need to defend themselves somehow.

I hear Andre let out a hmph as he sets his hammer down next the anvil in front of him, "Well, keep your men under control, because if any of them come into my smithy with the intention to steal a blade that I forged, then they'll be leaving with more than just bruises." I hear him say, I doubt they'd be leaving the smithy at all, if they planned on stealing one of Andre's master craft blades.

I hear Robyn clear his throat as he places his hands behind his back, "Right, I'll keep the trainees under control, but can you get me a quick count on how many blades you've smithed?" Robyn asked, to which Andre simply sighed.

I see Andre stand up from his seat and roll his hammering shoulder, "Very well, I'll go check in the back. Boy, make sure that the flames don't go out." I hear him say as he begins to walk towards the back room, and as he walks away, I feel one of my brows twitch. I am no Boy.

Once Andre passes through the back door and into the storage room, I hear Robyn let out a sigh, "That old codger never changes, does he?" I hear him ask, no, no he does not.

I simply shake my head as I step away from the forge, it is probably a foolish thing to leave the blade there unattended, but we can always make more. "So Robyn, what brings you to the forge? I doubt that you would come here just to check on the blades." I say with my arms crossed.

I see one brows raise slightly, "Well, why else, I wanted to check in on you. I guess I wanted to see if you were settling in alright." I hear him say calmly, what are you supposed to be, my father?

I simply let out a chuckle, "Come now Robyn, there is always something that someone needs from me, and you yourself are no different to the others in this small town." I say calmly, and I see his face tense up quite a bit, "What ails you, Robyn?" I ask, Robyn hasn't come to me for a favor in quite some time, it is almost worrying.

I hear him let out a sigh as he leans against the door behind him, "It's my wife, Marian. She has been… ill as of late, it worries me. She tells me that she has terrible nausea and how she's been vomiting, and I just really needed to speak to someone about this." I hear Robyn say, now I'm no miracle worker, nor am I a doctor, but something doesn't sound right.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion, "Is there anything more that you can tell me about your wife's illness? Other things that have been happening as of late." I asked, there must be something more to this illness than just nausea. Not that I would know much of illnesses, being undead nullifies illnesses, all but the Undead Curse.

I see his eyes squint as he places a hand on his chin, "Well, recently she's been… I guess angrier is a decent way of saying it. And it's strange for Marian to be angry, she's usually very well composed. And then she tells me that she has a constant headache. Now I'm not sure if the headaches are on my part, but still, it worries me." I hear Robyn say, concern lacing his voice. But then he leans closer to me, close enough to whisper, "But between you and me, she's also gained a few pounds, but you didn't hear that from me." He whispers into my ear.

I let out a sigh as I bring my hand to my face, Robyn, I know you are no fool, but you are certainly playing the part, "Robyn, when was the last time that you had… intimate interactions with your wife?" I ask.

I see him squint his eyes, either in confusion or offense, but it matters little either way, "Maybe a week or so ago, why?" I hear him ask, to which I sigh again, Robyn please, don't make me say it out loud.

I let out another sigh as I let my shoulders slump, "Your wife… she's more than likely pregnant…" I say in an even tone of voice. For a moment, we maintain eye contact, but shortly after, I hear him let out a snicker, which then turns into a chuckle, and then into full blown laughter.

As he laughs, I see him hunch over as he grabs his stomach, to which I simply glare at him. As he finishes his laughing fit, I see him wipe a tear away from his eye, "Oh, that has to be one of the best jokes you've ever told, Jaune." I hear him say, but as he looks me back in the eyes, I simply quirk a brow at him, "By the gods, you're serious." I hear him say as his eyes widen marginally.

I watch Robyn lean against the wall behind and slow slide down the wall as he places his hands on both sides of his head, mumbling to himself. I crouch down in front of him and reach out to touch his shoulder, "Robyn, are you well..?" I ask uneasily.

As I reach for his shoulder, I see his arms shoot out and he grabs me by the shoulders and he just starts shaking me, "What am I going to do!? I'm not ready to be a father!" I hear him yell as he continues to shake me.

I grab a hold of his arms and force him to let go of my shoulders, "Compose yourself, Robyn!" I yell, trying to regain his attention. Alas, his eyes seem rather distant. As I look down at Robyn, I stifle a sigh as I rub my eyes with my hand. Suddenly, a wonderful idea comes to mind.

I raise my hand to the sky, hoping to return Robyn back to the land of the living by using just a small bit of force, but just as I was going to strike Robyn across the face, I hear the door behind us open and hear the sounds of some rather heavy footsteps. "Oi, and just what is it that you're planning to do to the poor man, Watcher?" I hear Andre ask, well, I am simply trying to help him.

I shrug my shoulders as I turn back to Robyn, "I plan on helping this man with his troubles, dear Andre." I say as I grab a hold of Robyn's arm and pick him up off the ground. "Andre, I'm going to be gone for maybe an hour or two, don't burn down the smithy while I'm gone."

With that, I grab my sword that was leaning against the door frame and place it in its sheath, and open the door, "Come along Robyn, a bit of hunting will help clear your mind." I say to Robyn as I drag him out of the smithy. I do hope that he will recover from all of… this.

After making our way out of Steelbell and into the forest, I notice that Robyn has stopped his rambling and has just gone quiet. As we walk through the forest, I look around and see small rays of sunlight shining through the branches above, it all seems so peaceful, yet, it also feels wrong.

I shake my head, it's probably nothing, perhaps I've spent too much time fighting to enjoy a bit of peace? Oh well, it matters little, right now I need to see if Robyn's mental state is well. I look over to Robyn as we trek through the forest, "So… you're going to be a father." I say, oh you fool, that is not a good way to comfort a distressed ally.

I hear Robyn let out a hollow chuckle as walk through the forest of red, "Honestly, I'm absolutely terrified." I hear Robyn say, "I-I'm not ready to be a father, I'm an ex-huntsman who's trying to keep his wife and town safe, and having a kid is just… it's so much." I hear Robyn say, you were an ex-huntsman?

I simply let out a hum, "Well, I've never had to deal with children from where I am from." I say quietly, the sounds of leave crunching beneath our boots. "Where I am from, we were all at an age where we could take care of each other, as well as ourselves, we were all brothers."

I hear Robyn let out another chuckle, "Must have been nice, having so many people to take care of you." I hear him say, you would think that, but it just meant that there were more people for me to put down if they were ever... turned by the abyss. It only made things more difficult.

As we walk through the forest, I can't help but furrow my brows, when I first came to this land, I couldn't help feel a small amount of joy, but now? All of the tranquility, the quiet, it's making me very… not nervous, but I can't help but feel that something is wrong. I raise my right arm to reach for my blade, if only because I would feel better, but I feel Robyn place his hand on my shoulder, "What's the matter kid? You seem kind of jumpy." I hear him say, his voice laced with a bit of concern.

I let my arm fall to my side as I shrug off his arm, "It's nothing, I just… something feels wrong, like there is something out of place." I say, I just can't quite put my finger on it, and that's what has me so 'jumpy', as Robyn so rightly put it.

As we continue to walk through the crimson forest, I hear Robyn let out a 'huh' in confusion, "What do you mean? I can't see any signs that something has changed. Are you sure you're alright?" I hear him ask, what are you supposed to be, a father figure?

"I told you, I'm fine, and the changes that I have noticed are not those that you may see with your eyes." I say with a huff, I know how to take care of myself just fine, thank you Robyn.

But before we could march any further through the forest to find us some prey, Robyn jumps in front of me, a look of pure confusion etched upon his face, "Just what the hell are you talking about Jaune? This forest is the same as the last time I left it." I hear him say.

I simply shake my head from side to side, "Robyn, let me ask you something, what do you hear?" I ask, and for a moment, we stand in the forest quietly, the wind being the only thing that we may hear.

I see his brows furrow, either in confusion or in worry, "It's… quiet, almost silent really. You're right, something's not adding up, this forest is usually crawling with wildlife and the occasional bird call or two." I hear him say, well I'm glad that you too have noticed.

I nod to him as I raise my right arm to reach for my sword, "Something has scared the wildlife away, and if there are quite a number of that can scare them. Many of those things are not in our best interest for keeping around." I say stoically. As draw my greatsword from its sheath and pull my crooked dagger off of my belt.

I watch Robyn grab a hold of his bow and nock an arrow into place, "Whatever it is that we find, we should make sure that we can fight it, because whatever spooked off the wildlife must have been really mean." I hear Robyn say, well I find it unlikely that this threat would have been kind if the wildlife ran off.

I let out a hum as I approach a nearby tree and stab my dagger into it. With my dagger now inside the tree, I try to move the dagger from its place, to which it take me a moment to actually pull it out of tree, it seems sturdy enough. Without even needing to see Robyn, I can tell that he is somewhat confused, "What are you doing, Jaune?" I hear him ask.

I look over my shoulder, and with an unnoticeable smile, I say, "Getting some higher ground." And with that, I begin to climb up the side of the tree with my dagger, hoping that this doesn't backfire. Truth be told, I've only ever used my dagger like this once before, and it hadn't ended well.

After scaling the side of the tree and making my way up to a branch sturdy enough to sustain my weight, I see a small clearing just little ways North of our current position, but as I look a little closer, I notice a small pack of beasts at the edge of the clearing, ah, it doesn't seem too dangerous. I look down the side of the tree and see Robyn simply leaning against the tree, "Robyn, come up here, there's much to see!" I yell down at him, to which I see his shoulders slump.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." I hear him say from the base of the tree as he draws his short sword, to which he then uses to scale the side of the tree, the same way that I did. As he makes his way up to the branch that I am balancing on, I reach down and pull him up the rest of the way.

Now that we are both balancing on the branch, I point to clearing just up ahead, "Look, it seems that we were right to expect opposition, but it's not as many as we thought there were." I say as we look to the clearing, hearing Robyn hum in response.

It seems like our enemy is composed of no more than perhaps thirty of those wolf-like abominations that the locals call 'beowolves'. When I last faced them, they were little more than a nuisance, I'm certain that with our combined strength, we could most definitely handle them. But just as I go to leap off of the branch, I feel Robyn grab at my shoulder. "Hang on a sec, something still doesn't feel right about this. It would take more than a small pack of beowolves to spook the forest." I hear Robyn say, that is what you consider a small pack?

I furrow my brows in confusion as I stare at the pack ahead of us, "Well, if this isn't the entire pack, then where are the rest?" I ask, and as if it were by my words, we watch as if a hundred red lights went off in the tree line behind the clearing, and with it, a sea of black fur and fang stomped out from the tree line.

Without a second thought, I quickly blurt out, "We must hurry back to Steelbell, we have to inform the town!"

Oh boy, it's been a hot minute since I dropped a chapter for any of my stories, but what can I say? I've been a tad bit busy, but I'm sure everyone's head that excuse, and I'm certain that everyone's tired of hearing it, so I'll stop spewing it. But besides all that, everything has been good on my end, I passed my last semester, which was a massive win in my books. But yeah, enough about me, how have you guys been?

Now before you go and dismiss my question as pure pleasantry, I have a nice little announcement to make. I made a discord server! Yeah, I know, it's not an original concept, but what can I say, I want a place where me and my readers, along with a few friends, can hang out and kick it. Plus, I really need people to chew me out when I don't do any writing, so this is a prime opportunity to get one of your (hopefully) favorite writers to get their ass in gear. So yeah, you want in to the server, hit me up in PM's and I'll send you an invite to the server. I call it "Papa Syndrome's realm of Stupidity". So yeah, hit me up if you want more frequent updates on the progress of a chapter. Anyway, that's all I've got to say, it's been 6 months since I've updated this, but I've got some ideas brewing, and with a proper schedule set up for what I'm putting up next, (it's in my profile) this should let you guys know what to expect next. Anyway, I'm done now, ciao.