Chapter Text
At the edge of the Royal Waterways, in the Junk Pit, everything was pure chaos. The body of a large bug was shaken by black tendrils emerging from it, as if they were trying to escape from it desperately. A loud roar, that would have stunned anyone standing by there, echoed in the huge cavern.
Soon, an enormous shadowy figure appeared, its presence dominating all of its surroundings. It had four arms, but no legs, as it seemed floating in the air ; vision was provided to it by eight slanted, white eyes, which contrasted with its fully black body. They looked down at a small figure, seemingly minuscule in front of the mighty Higher Being.
The tiny bug raised his eyes in response, their cold and penetrating, yet sweet gaze meeting with the monster's scary and aggressive one. For a long time, neither of the two void-constituted beings broke eye contact, staring at each other as if they tried to evaluate the other's capacities and strength. Suddenly, the large entity took off and flew in the direction of the City of Tears, passing just above the little knight's horns. They turned around, watching the creature rushing towards the waterways' exit, still confused.
They had never really been good at understanding all of these powerful gods and other omniscient or omnipotent beings, as their purpose in life was still very unclear to them. Despite that, they had learned a few things about their creation and the times before their birth through various sources, whether it was thanks to the red-robed, agile Hornet, the thoughtful and friendly Quirrel or any other eccentric bug they met with in the vast kingdom of their father.
Speaking of this one, they were still wondering if they were really the heir to the throne now. It was not that they were particularly eager to rule a population made of a bunch of mindless husks, but they would have been curious to see some of his acquaintances' reactions... if they didn't know already.
But whatever had happened to the big idiotic moth, Ghost - as they were usually named by his sister Hornet - really wanted to know who, or what, that huge thing was, and what was its goal now. Even if the small vessel didn't always comprehend what was happening around them, they were almost sure that its intentions were not pure ; and if they were truly the new monarch, they could certainly not let it do any damage to their kingdom.
With that being said, they started to make his way towards the City of Tears.
Hornet was facing her sibling, her needle drawn, staring at them with her usual piercing eyes. They stayed motionless, returning her gaze questioningly. Their head had a crack near the middle of it, and their left arm seemed completely missing. For one moment, the spider felt a slight feeling of empathy as she watched the Hollow Knight's wounded body - until she reminded herself that it was still possible for them to be an opponent. She looked back at their nail, firmly fastened in their back, on her guard. After a while, both of them realised none of them represented a threat to the other, and finally Hornet sheathed her weapon, walking towards the vessel.
"Sibling..." she started. "It's been a long time, hasn't it ?"
As one could have guessed, no answer came. She knew her sibling had been specifically conceived to be deprived of talking capabilities, so she wasn't really expecting a response from them.
However, they kneeled down and offered their hand to the spider, as if to invite her to make peace. Even in this position, they were taller than her - their size was, at first glance, quite intimidating still. Hornet nonetheless took their hand in hers, and they stayed gazing at each other for a while. This lasted until the Hollow Knight, began to lose their balance, suddenly feeling dizzy. She tried to hold them back, but they quickly regained control over their body and made a quick sign with their head, as if they were trying to say "I'm fine".
Their sister then started to realise what it must be like for them at this moment, just being released from their chains after years of suffering, imprisonment and loneliness. Actually, the vessel only had fuzzy memories of their time containing the Infection within themself, because of the control the Radiance had over them - but Hornet didn't really have any idea of what exactly happened inside the Temple of the Black Egg.
She quickly thought about what to do now. For sure, her sibling needed some well-deserved rest - but as for where they could have that, she didn't really have a clear answer. But, even as the evil moth goddess seemed to have lost some of her influence over the world, there wasn't a location that she knew of that was really the kind the Hollow Knight needed - serene, calm and comfortable. So, the spider resorted to bring them to the last place any other bug would have thought of : her home, in Deepnest. It was certainly neither the most heart-warming nor the most reassuring location in the world, but there wouldn't be any crowd, and she could even make them a little room where they could rest peacefully.
"Come with me." she finally invited. "It's time for you to go home."
Quirrel was lost in his thoughts as he was contemplating the reflections of the large cavern he was in in the clear, shallow water of the Blue Lake. More precisely, he was reflecting on the slight shift he felt only a few minutes before ; he could not tell exactly what, but he was almost sure that something very important had happened.
"Mother..." he murmured while watching the perfect mirror that the water made being deformed by little waves. "What should I do, now ?"
Despite still being very uncertain of his own memories, the pill bug had now remembered everything, or almost, about Monomon. His parent.
He remembered the stories she used to read him when he was just a little grub. He remembered what she taught him about mathematics, biology and geopolitics. But, most important of all, he remembered her laugh, when he asked her questions about why she was always wearing a mask, or why she was often meeting with Lurien and Herrah at the King's palace.
He chuckled at how innocent he was back then. But he quickly scowled at the thought of what he had done then.
He had killed her.
Or rather, he had helped someone kill her - but his mind refused to make the difference. Feeling shameful, he reminded himself of the rapid succession of events that led him to this difficult situation. First, he had met with the little grub that never talked - what a curious being ! - and they had entered the Teacher's Archive together. Soon after, they had had a short fight with some kind of jellyfish-looking monster, and they had entered the room where Monomon was, plunged into an eternal slumber inside of her tube filled with green liquid. Quirrel vaguely remembered taking off his mask - or rather, his mother's mask - and hereafter, everything had turned fuzzy, the world seemingly flooded by strange light particles. He was not certain of what exactly had happened during that time, but he knew for a fact that when his vision returned to normal, neither the little bug nor Monomon were to be seen.
The pill bug stood up and planted his nail in the ground. He didn't really know why, but he wanted to separate from his weapon, at least for some time. Even as the world was crowded with aggressive, infected bugs, he was a little tired of carrying that instrument of death everywhere with him, and he was not exactly what he would call a great warrior either.
Then, he looked back towards where he had come from. As much as he had loved seeing the Blue Lake with his own eyes, the Resting Grounds were not a very comfortable place to stay in for a long time, and he would now rather be in any other place in Hallownest. So, he started to move back towards where he came from, the City of Tears.
After a few minutes of walking, he arrived in front of the monument dedicated to the Dreamers, stopping before the three huge monoliths. He gave a quick look to each one of them, staring a little longer at the one representing his mother.
Quirrel sighed. Whatever had happened, he would have to move on. He continued on his way towards the capital of Hallownest, without imagining for a second what was happening there.
Ghost had followed the mysterious creature for quite some time now, and they were starting to lose track of it. Despite being able to sense its presence, thanks to the power of the Void Heart, they were rather small, and the Higher Being was very fast.
When the little vessel exited the sewers and arrived right under the city, they were left with no clue about its possible next destination. Was it going to the depths of the Abyss, where it most likely found its origin ? Or did it decide to head towards the capital, hoping to make a coup d'état ? They opted for the second option, but mostly because they really loved the ambiance and quietness of the City of Tears.
For sure, they were not going to be disappointed.
After slowly making their ascent, Ghost finally arrived in front of the gate leading to downtown. They opened it confidently, and were instantly drowned into a swarming crowd of bugs running in all directions, seemingly panicked. They were then pushed around by dozens of insects trying to make their way who knew where, jostling each other in the process and not caring in the least about what the others were doing. The poor vessel instantly felt overwhelmed by this horde, as they tried to get to safety while avoiding all of the citizens of Hallownest moving frantically in all directions. After some time and a lot of trouble, they finally succeeded to find a small corner in between two alleys that wasn't filled to the brim with a bustling crowd.
There were still a few bugs passing by, looking at him suspiciously, as if they were some kind of bizarre creature coming from outside Hallownest ; but Ghost didn't really care about them. Instead, they took some time to think about what had happened to the City of Tears they knew so well. They were aware that a lot of the former citizens had been possessed by the Radiance previously, but they never had realised that there were that many of them. Probably, they were wandering inside the buildings or somewhere the vessel couldn't have noticed them - but still, they were really taken aback. Despite having seen with their own eyes the moth Higher Being being defeated by the great dark figure, they hadn't yet envisaged what would be the consequences of that disappearance. Indeed, the vast majority of the insects living in the kingdom were infected, and waking up such a large amount of people at the same time certainly provoked some chaos.
However, the little knight was starting to feel quite tired, as it was getting late. Thus, they decided to be brave and defy the hectic crowd in order to get to a bench that they knew particularly well from their previous visits. They didn't want the trip to be long, but going there would undoubtedly be more lengthy than usual, considering the current density of population in the streets of the city.
In the very same mess that was the former capital of the Pale King's lands, Quirrel was very startled as well. He had been expecting to recognise the calm and peaceful place he had visited before, and instead, he witnessed something that was unlike anything he had seen since he came back to Hallownest. Through the window of the building he was in, he could observe a considerable amount of insects down the streets. Some were in large groups, seemingly talking about important things ; others just wandered around alone, as if they were trying to find something particular in the gigantic city. But what jumped to the pill bug's eye the most was how they seemed so much more organised and civilised than the usual zombified, orange-eyed beings he was used to encountering. From where he was, he couldn't really distinguish what they were doing ; nonetheless, he was almost certain that they had been freed of something, something that somehow prevented their minds from making clear and constructive thoughts.
Quirrel then began to realise that if he wanted to find a place to sleep, he would have to find a place that was not surrounded by hundreds of insects trying to piece back together all of their society. According to the map of the city he had, he was at the west end of the city, not far from King's Station. He decided to head there first, since it wouldn't take very long and it would allow him to have a better general view of the city. As he made his descent, he started meeting with several bugs, who either quickly greeted him or ignored him completely, focused on their current task. And thus, he finally arrived before the door leading outside, and opened it.
Fortunately for the pill bug, progressing in the streets was actually very feasible, as most of the insects who were previously outside were starting to come back inside the buildings. Most probably, they didn't want to stay out in the rain for longer, or maybe there were simply going back home - but whatever had caused them to leave the cold exterior of the city for the warm inside of their houses, Quirrel was delighted that he could explore around without having to make his way to where he wanted to go. But suddenly, he saw in the distance what appeared to be a large group of bugs gathered in a circle, all looking down to something that he could not see from where he was. He tried to get closer, jostling some of the passers-by in the process. Around him, he could hear silent whispers saying things such as "Who is this ?" or "The King...". As he moved nearer and nearer, he started to recognise what - or rather, whom - all of the citizens were looking at.
"You ?" he asked, startled, as he looked down at the little black figure who had murdered his mother.
A Wyrm never truly dies, does it ?
We can still feel it, you know... Your blinding light...
For how long has it repelled us ? For how long were we unable to escape the bodies you confined us in ?
Everything is your doing, Pale Wyrm . And you know it. You always knew it. You knew that you would end like this ; like a poor normal bug, condemned to watch the destruction of what you had assembled together.
No society is meant to last forever. Kingdoms and empires rise, prosper, and are ultimately doomed to fail. How well do we know that...
Voices were resonating in the Pale King's head, coming from all directions at the same time ; they sounded different, but he felt as if they all belonged to the same being, watching him from above the palace itself.
Since he retreated inside the dream of one of his moulds, he had become increasingly weaker physically, and his Higher Being powers had started to be depleted ; nevertheless, he managed to articulate these words :
"Whoever you are... Don't be a coward... and show yourself..."
Us, coward ? Interesting reproach, coming from someone who abandoned his own kingdom when his subjects needed him the most...
The former King didn't answer, and soon after the mysterious voices started echoing again.
Furthermore, we are a Shade. It is our nature to not show ourselves in the light of other Higher Beings... If we can still consider you as one...
The Wyrm reflected over the words of the entity. Was it a Higher Being, like him ? In any case, there was no doubt that he wasn't nearly as powerful as he once was, but he still felt remnants of his former strength, still lingering inside of him.
"What... do you want ?" he asked his strange interlocutor.
Suddenly, the voices all roared around him, as if immensely angered by his words.
We want revenge ! You may not be the one who tortured our sibling, but you are the one who imprisoned them and left them to their cruel fate ! No light shall rule these lands anymore, Wyrm !
The dream began to shake around the Pale King, as if an external force were trying to get inside it. Despite the situation being quite unsettling, the former monarch was still very confident about the protections that he had put around the mould's body, to ensure that no one could get to him. However, it seemed more and more likely that whatever was the thing he had talked to, it was able to cut through the defence and infiltrate the dream. The former monarch started to panic. In spite of all of his knowledge, coming from thousands of years of existence, he wasn't very familiar with the concept of dreams, and what was truly possible to achieve with them. At this moment, he wished he had spent more time talking with the Seer of the moth tribe before sealing himself off.
His reflections were cut short by an enormous cracking sound, leaving him no time to think. Trying to gather his forces, he managed to get up and exit the throne room, staring at all of the void tendrils seeping through the connection between dream and reality.
"No... cost... too great..." he muttered.
With those words, he threw himself out of the glass window, hoping that it would bring him somewhere safer, somehow.