Quentin Smith had come to believe that everything had rules and patterns to follow, and if you figured them out, one could take advantage of that. Then, one day, a man showed and destroyed all the theories he had created. Quentin believed that if multiple new additions arrived at the same time, then they were connected in some way. While people, both killer and survivor, had shown up completely by themselves with no connections to anything already here. They never showed up alongside another group. More importantly, no recent arrival, or anybody for that matter, should be able to manipulate the area like that.
Quentin was suspicious of this newcomer Nicholas. Not only did he have no connection to Zoe Baker or this Baroness, but he wasn't even near any of the cursed locations. When Nicholas first told how he got there, Quentin thought he must have been near the original location of the Cold-Wind Farm, but Nicholas wasn't in the right state. It seems the Entity broke one of its own rules to get him here.
Quentin was suspicious that Nicholas was hiding something. He decided to observe Nicholas whenever they were in the same group.
After each session, Quentin became more convinced that Nicholas had a secret. His ability to have his songs play seemingly from out of nowhere was suspicious on its own, but being able to interact with things in ways even the killers can't was what clenched it for him.
Quentin tried to subtlety talk to the others about it, but they dismissed him. Nicholas's antics made it more bearable. Quentin realized he would need help from someone who hadn't been subjugated to this nightmare yet. Quentin got his wish when Vittorio Tiscano showed up.
Vittorio had proven to be a man of logic as well as magic when he listened to Quentin give his theories about this realm and how Nicholas's presence defies all that. Vittoria had agreed with Quentin's suspension of Nicholas. While Vittoria had entered this place of his own will, he had to use a ritual to enter. The fact that Nicholas just wandered in was unusual to be certain.
Quentin and Vittorio began observing Nicholas whenever they had the opportunity, to the point that neither of them really worked on anything else. Which may have been the Entity's desire all along.
Quentin thought he would have even more help when Renato and Thalita Lyra showed up, but they both decided to give Nicholas the benefit of the doubt. One day, Quentin was working on a generator with Dwight and Claudette. They had both complained that he had spent too much time obsessing over Nicholas and not enough time helping them escape.
Which caused two things to happen. First was that none of them noticed that the music stopped playing and that the perk Merciless Storm was active. The sudden explosion and sealing of the generator caused everyone to take an involuntarily step back. Quentin turned his head just in time to see three hachets come flying towards them. In the blink of an eye, all three of them were on the ground.
Quentin couldn't understand what was happening until an idea clicked in his head. The music was also suppressing the killer's abilities. Which was why the instinctively focused on Nicholas. The Huntress was soon standing there, Quentin realized they would have to rely on luck to unhook themselves. As the Huntress reached down to pick up Claudette, a rather loud and inhuman scream could be heard all around them, and suddenly, everything was covered in a very familiar black fog.
...
Claudette was having a bad day. Well, if she was honest with herself, she would have to admit she's never really had a good day, even before the Entity brought her here. When she first entered a round with Nicholas, Claudette felt good. Mostly because all the attention was off her.
Claudette was an introvert, after all. Her blog used to be her only way to comfortably interact with others. Claudette looked up at the approaching Huntress, trying to think if anybody had any tricks to help them. Her mind was blank. Claudette closed her eyes in anticipation of what was about to happen.
Claudette opened her eyes when she heard that monstrous scream. She felt like screaming herself when she saw that cursed black fog swirl up around her. The next thing Claudette knew, she was in an open field. Two things immediately caught her attention. First, it wasn't just her there. Everyone was there, survivors and killers alike. Second, there were a lot of door frames. At first glance, they don't look like they lead anywhere. Any vision was obscured by fog.
Most people were weary of the killers, who were just standing there, unsure what to do. It was Jeff Johansen who first got close to one of the doors. It stopped bellowing fog, and Jeff heard the distant sound of a barking dog. He muttered a name under his breath and walked right through the door. It immediately disappeared, and so did Jeff.
That seemed to have gotten the killers' attention as they began to move. It was then that Quentin yelled, "These doors appear to be the way out!" Claudette then heard Vittorio say, "I agree, but there is no way of telling where they lead!"
Claudette's attention was suddenly drawn to a very distinctive elk noise. The Huntress was standing next to a door. While Claudette could not see what was happening inside, she caught the Huntress's reaction. With speed nobody thought she was capable of, the Huntress threw a hachet through the door. The door immediately disappeared, and the Huntress dropped to her knees and began glowing.
That was when all hell broke loose. The ground began shifting, almost like it was alive. Quentin yelled, "If we don't act now, we may never get a chance to leave again!"
The next thing he did, many would call foolish. Without looking, Quentin jumped into a random door. Not only did it disappear, but so did another one. It was at that moment that everyone learned that each door was meant for a specific individual, and if you entered the wrong door, you could rob someone else of their chance to escape.
Things became even more hectic. The killers started moving with purpose. Their intent was to keep the survivors from escaping. Chris Redfield made a jump through, and suddenly, the Hag dropped to her knees and began to glow.
At that time, the doors became aggressive, actually forcing people through them survivor or killer it didn't matter. As fewer doors were available, it became even more chaotic. As Claudette tried to move towards one of the few remaining doors, she felt a sharp pain in her back. As she turned around, she saw that the Cenobite had hooked her.
Claudette desperately tried to reach for the door when a chill ran down her spine as she heard the Cenobite say, "No one escapes from here." Claudette was about to scream when out of nowhere a door slammed right into the Cenobite caused them both to vanish. Claudette looked back at the door she was trying to reach, only to see it was gone as well.
With that, the last door disappeared. Before Claudette could get her bearings, the fog returned and swallowed her up.
As Claudette once again checked her surroundings, she learned that she was not alone. First, Claudette saw the killers. They appeared to be in three separate groups. The first group, who were just standing there in a daze, was made up of the Trapper, the Wraith, the Hillbilly, the Doctor, the Oni, the Deathslinger, the Executioner, the Blight, the Trickster, the Nemesis, the Onryo, the Dredge, the Knight, and all four members of the Legion.
The second group was the smallest of the three. They weren't in a daze but still looked the same. It was like their purpose was different from the first group. The second group was made up of the Pig, the Skull Merchant, and the Baroness.
The third group was the most changed. Honestly, if the Huntress still hadn't been wearing her bunny mask, Claudette might have thought they were a new group of survivors. It took Claudette a minute, but she figured out who used to be what. The third group was made up of the killers formally known as the Nurse, the Hag, the Huntress, the Spirit, the Plague, the Artist, and (Claudette was still not sure because she was by herself) the Twins.
The second thing Claudette noticed was that of the survivors, it was only women. Claudette didn't know how to feel. She was part of a group that was made up of Meg Thomas, Nea Karlsson, Laurie Strode, Feng Min, Kate Denson, Jane Romero, Nancy Wheeler, Yui Kimura, Zarina Kassir, Cheryl Mason, Cyrillic Bennett, Lisa Garland, Elodie Rakoto, Yun-Jin Lee, Jill Valentine, Sheva Alomar, Claire Redfield, Mikaela Reid, Haddie Kaur, Thalita Lyra, Rebecca Chambers, Ada Wong, and Zoe Baker.
Claudette couldn't help but suspect that this was on purpose. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the Huntress singing that lullaby. Claudette felt it was different. The song was soothing and comforting, instead of the usual terror inducing. Claudette looked back at the Huntress, and that was when she saw Nicholas, unconscious and his head laying in her lap. Claudette's first reacting thought was, 'What and how did this happen?'
(They may never know, but you will.)
...
It was formless, nameless, and ageless. It feeds off hope and indulges in suffering. Its victims wanting to know who to curse simply called it the Entity.
There were rules it had to follow, well, guidelines anyway, they were self-imposed. Their purpose was to make things more entertaining and not draw unwanted attention. It enjoyed itself immensely until one day a man wandered in. For some reason, one of its snares became attracted to him and brought him in, instead of luring him in.
What annoyed it the most was the fact that this man seemed to be able to manipulate its realm. He would depower its killers and uplift its would-be victims.
It tried to manipulate the situation, brought in new killers and new locations, but was unsuccessful in its goals. Then, it decided to wait for an opportunity. One came along soon enough, and the Huntress did not disappoint. True to her title, she managed to hook this interloper. It was excited, because once it devoured the interloper, it could expelle him into the void and be rid of him forever.
As it began, it's little game. It suddenly felt something was off. Then, before it could figure out what it was, it felt pain.
It began to scream, not from the brief pain it felt, but because this interloper had started a Rite of Challenge. The rite was something it had avoided because during this time, its victims and killers could escape.
The rite was simple enough. It would pour its energy into the challenger. Either the challenger would explode or it would be consumed by the challenger.
The process began, but something felt off. The interloper was doing something impossible. During this ritual, neither of them should have control of the realm, but this man could, he was choosing who would escape, he even was arranging it so that some of its killers would be altered. It could feel myriad of emotions, anger, fear, despair, and amusement.
That last one felt out of place, but for some reason, it felt like it would be okay. Then, it realized it was being assimilated. It would continue to exist, but not as it was just part of something else. With curiosity, it waited to see what would happen next.