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The Knight had made a habit of revisiting old areas of Hallownest every once in a while. It usually obtained some kind of new ability that made revisiting these old locales worthwhile, given that new paths would be opened up. Crystal Peak was one of the Knight's favourite areas in Hallownest, primarily due to the vibrant pink crystals that filled the aptly-named zone. As a result, it was quite exciting to be able to go back. One of the things the Knight was looking forward to most in retreading through Crystal Peak was getting to visit Myla again. She was so sweet and kind, and her lovely energy always put the Knight in good spirits. The Knight was glad to consider her a friend.
It was in the Forgotten Crossroads, having just left from Dirtmouth into the caves below. After stopping by the west side of the crossroads to check in on the grubs, the Knight made its way to Crystal Peak’s entrance, passing the Temple of the Black Egg. The Knight had a strange, uneasy feeling in its gut for some reason, however it just chalked this up to being near that temple. That place always gave it the creeps. Regardless, the Knight eventually reached Crystal Peak’s entrance, the faint glow of pink a dead giveaway that it had been reached. The support beams that held the passageway up stood strong as ever. It was a shock that those things stood the test of time, but the Knight didn’t feel like pondering the strange endurance to time that most structures in Hallownest seemed to have.
One step into Crystal Peak revealed that something was wrong, and the Knight was immediately on edge. Usually, the sound of Myla singing reverberated through the entrance passageway, but this time it was quiet. Well, almost, as the sound of a pick clanging against crystal still persisted. The Knight’s moment of doubt went away at this. Maybe Myla just didn’t feel like singing right now, that must be the reason. A short walk and a hop down some platforms revealed Myla, endlessly chipping away at the same old crystal. The Knight wondered how one could spend so much time mining without getting bored, but it supposed it had no place to judge. Walking forward, the Knight expected Myla to notice its approach, but she seemed to be completely enraptured by her mining work, not even moving an inch at its footsteps. Looks like the Knight will just have to be more direct. The Knight walked right behind Myla and tapped her on the back, and her pick froze in place before she slowly turned around. What met the Knight was not the hopeful and cheery eyes of the Myla they knew, but orange-tinted eyes filled with the unnatural rage of a bug who was plagued with the infection. Oh no.
The Knight instinctively backed away from the now infected Myla, but it was too late, as her corpse had locked on to the little vessel and brandished her pick, letting out a groan. She suddenly closed the distance between the two of them and slashed with her pick, sending a crack through the Knight’s mask. The Knight backed away further, horrified and panicked, and without thinking unsheathed its nail. It was about to cut down this braindead husk, much like all the other ones it had dealt with, but luckily its senses returned and it paused. It couldn’t kill Myla. Not her. It had to find some other way.
Dashing right up to Myla’s husk, the Knight gripped onto the pick she wielded and attempted to wrench it out of her hands, which earned a hiss out of the walking corpse. They struggled for a moment before the husk opened her mouth and bit down on the Knight’s shoulder, causing it to stumble backwards at the pain. Taking this opportunity, Myla’s husk struck the Knight again, further cracking its mask. The Knight, losing its patience, grabbed its nail and swung at the infection-addled Myla’s pick, hoping to knock it out of her grip. The blade connected, and the pick was sent flying across the cave, clattering on the ground. The Knight quickly grabbed onto Myla’s husk and began pinning her down on the cave floor. She thrashed about in response, but the Knight stood firm, holding her down. Grabbing its nail, it held onto the sharp end and struck the enraged corpse in a weak point with the handle of the nail, knocking Myla out cold.
The Knight stood there for a moment, regaining its composure and trying to process what had just happened. As it thought, void began leaking out of its eyes. Why did Myla have to get infected? Why? It was fully hunched over, sobbing silently to itself over Myla’s husk. It had to get her to Dirtmouth, it couldn’t leave her here.
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“Why do you have a husk on your back!?”
Elderbug stood shocked at the sight of the Knight holding an infected bug on its back, walking towards town.
“You can’t bring that into town! What if it infects or attacks someone!?” Elderbug wailed.
The Knight simply shook its head in response, and Elderbug noticed the tears of void leaking from the Knight’s eyes.
“Ah… that was someone important to you, yes?”
The Knight nodded. Elderbug stood there, looking down and thinking the situation over. After a moment of silence, Elderbug lifted his head up to look at the Knight.
“You can keep your friend here. We will have to restrain them, however, to ensure that they won’t attack anyone.”
If the Knight could smile, they would. Hopefully Myla would get better.