The Hound (Stufe 1) mail warning

There was once a man that gave all of his trust and loyalty to a little girl.
The little girl soon grew up, swallowed by an infernal vortex of darkness.
The man saw all he gave, all of his hope, fading along with the sun, into an eternal eclipse.
Once again his values failed him, once more he lost something precious in his life.
Kneeling to a newborn Queen of the shadows, he put his trust and his loyalty in her hands one more time, one last time.
But deep inside his heart, the hope to see the sun rise again burnt bright.

Backstory

Gerhman spent the last months of his life in happiness, side by side with Sunny, a little fox maiden. She gave him what he had lost: a reason to keep going, a place to feel home and a warm smile to melt his cold heart.
But happy times didn’t last long: darkness approached and made a chained prisoner of the little fox, stealing from the man’s arms the last little joy he had in his miserable life.
Knowing he was no longer a fighter, nor a hero, all he could do to remain to the side of the little fox was submit to her and the evil Goddess, or at least, pretend to do so.
There were jobs that only he could have done. Taking care of the fox was one of them.
And if taking care there meant watching silently what she became despite having his heart crumbling, he was willing to sacrifice himself to the cause.
He swore loyalty one last time, not to the dark being in front of his eyes, but to the little girl that was still somewhere inside her bleak heart.
She wanted a hound, and a hound he would’ve made out of himself.
Protecting her at all costs, no matter what.

The Mark

Gerhman’s shoulder has been marked by the evil Oni. The mark allows the dark entity to know exactly where the man is and to teleport to him instantly at her will. The mark also grants great powers to him, such powers he’s not willing to use ever. Similar to Sunny’s mark, it glows of a faint red and black light and hurts whenever the Oni decides that it’s time to play with her toy. The darkness of the mark slowly corrupts the host’s body, draining life energy from Gerhman’s tired bones. The mark might be dispelled only by the Oni herself, and will disappear in case she happens to be sealed away.

The Hound

The Shrine’s halls are dark and empty as was the man that is walking them, meaninglessly. To Gerhman this obsidian building is nothing more than a monument to his failings and a mausoleum to the people he held dear, and after all where can a deadman be if not a tomb? Part of him died a long time ago, he tried to get a new start trying to be a different man, a bartender, a janitor....a dear friend; but the Oni took this from him, giving him another chance to stay with the one he loved, he knew that this was only to torment him, but this is a punishment that he deserves; so he can never forget. In the end, Gerhman realized that he couldn't change what he is: an obedient soldier who is uncaring for the suffering in this cruel world; he just needs to stick to his last mission, the last case he will try to solve.