Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

No cost too great.

There are perhaps millions of Vessels hatched in the Abyss. Only one will be needed for this endeavour, no matter how much it may pain him.

No mind to think.

The first one he sees does not attempt the climb. It instead prefers to assist its siblings to the top. The Pale King discards these sorts instantly, sending them down before any of them can complete their climb.

No will to break.

A Vessel reaches the top, and he allows himself to hope. But this one will not follow him—it instead waits for its sibling trailing just behind it. This one he throws off as well, and he watches with regret as both failures fall into the blackness.

No voice to cry suffering.

Another one—so close, it grabs the edge—but it cannot quite make the jump, and it makes a pained noise as it struggles to pull itself up to the platform. This one, in its vulnerability, is quite easy to send falling.

Born of God and Void.

He thought the union of two gods, filled with the essence of emptiness, would form a truly hollow being. But as the cruel and the bold and the desperate reach the top, and as they fall in turn, he begins to question the veracity of that assumption.

You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams.

Nothing less than perfection will do—nothing less, to save Hallownest. He knows this. The Vessels do not, but they do not need to.

You are the Vessel.

For a while, he sees nothing but stragglers and Shades until finally, finally another reaches the top. This one—he sees it. The eyes of this Vessel are empty. Hollow. This one—this is the one he has been looking for.

You are the Hollow Knight.

He has begun his stroll through the vestibule leading to the Basin when he hears it. The faintest vibration in the metal below his feet. The Vessel will follow him, will obey his unspoken will—except. Except it does not.

He turns to look behind him.

One final Vessel clings to the edge, its claws clutching tightly to the metal. It makes no noise as it pulls itself higher. The Hollow Knight—his perfect vessel—has turned to look back.

No mind to think…and yet it thinks. No will to break…and yet it has a will.

The Pale King realises, suddenly, that a perfect Vessel cannot exist. His will, exacted on a Vessel, will tarnish it. It cannot be done.

No cost too great. 

The reason the Radiance succeeded was because of the mind, the will, the voice he had bestowed on his subjects. The bugs were not mindless, and so the infection made them mindless.

But if he cannot contain it…what else is he to do?

No cost too great.

If he cannot contain it, could he perhaps destroy it?

The Vessels turn to look him in the eyes. He remains still, and so do they. The first Vessel is no longer hollow, now—it is clear in its eyes.

“You were the Hollow Knight,” he murmurs. The second Vessel struggles, loses its grip slightly. “You are not anymore. You cannot be.”

It glances to its sibling, then at him. It nods, hesitantly.

“But neither is this one.” He inclines his head towards the second Vessel. “Nothing in my kingdom is truly hollow. I made it so.”

The Vessel takes a step forward, as if it is pleading.

They lock eyes.

“You are the Vessel. You will be the Vessel. But you will not be alone.” He clears his throat. “Not truly hollow, but hollow enough.”

It stares back at him. The second Vessel pulls itself up again, over the edge.

“You will be my Vessel.” He strolls past it and pulls the second Vessel over the edge. “And you…You are not to seal the plague away…no. You are to defeat it.”

It struggles to its feet and looks at its sibling, then to him.

“You must have a mind. A will. A voice.” He raises its head, examines its eyes. They are not hollow—they are full. “You are not a Vessel—no, you are a Knight, born to unite the Abyss. You are the Void Knight.”

And with that, he strolls through the entrance. Two Knights follow.

The entrance is sealed behind him.

Chapter Text

The Pale King leads the Vessels through the Ancient Basin, mind racing. What is he to do about the Dreamers? Will their services still be required? Containment can only be a temporary solution at best, but any idea of how he could destroy the heart of the Infection eludes him.

The void has been a powerful ally, but for all its successes, it is not organised. Such is the opposite of its nature, yet to find a way to make it so is the task he finds himself burdened with. For all his eloquent verbiage in the Abyss, he has little idea of how this Knight can achieve the task he set out for it.

There is no other option. For Hallownest, the eternal kingdom— his eternal kingdom—he will do whatever it takes. If that means finding a way to defeat an ancient god with power that rivals his own, he will have to find some way of doing so, for there is no other option.

One thing is clear. He will need to do more research.

—

His retainers are surprised to see two Vessels accompanying him, of course. He will have to explain this to them, and to the rest of his court, but for now he simply orders them to erase any traces of the Abyss that may have dirtied their shells before retreating to his workshop.

Once there, he examines his collected knowledge on void, on the Radiance, hoping to find some small tidbit he may have overlooked in all his days of searching for an answer to the infection plaguing the kingdom. He finds nothing he does not already know—the animus between void and light, the way the Radiance plagues the dreams and minds of bugs. He knows this, of course he does—but wait.

He cannot contain the Radiance—that much he knows for sure. His Vessels are already tarnished, of course. But perhaps…the void opposes the Radiance, and thus dreams. Could a dreamless being destroy the poisonous dreams plaguing the kingdom?

Perhaps the Moth Tribe will have some answers. They have been a great help in his search to seal away the Radiance—a way to repent for their unwitting creation of her plague. He—and likely the little Void Knight—will have to travel to the Resting Grounds, then. No matter; it is a quick journey by stag. He decides he will wait a short while for the Vessels to become accustomed to the palace, and to explain his plan to his court.

Just then, he hears a small rapping at the door, so quiet it could be taken for a whisper. He heads over to discover the Hollow Knight, looking somewhat pensive.

“What is it?” he asks, perplexed.

It inclines its head toward where it came from, then looks at him before turning away. He follows, still confused until it stops at the location he had left both Vessels at—only the Void Knight is not there. The Hollow Knight looks back at him, then points to a cluster of his retainers.

He takes in the scene and almost laughs at the absurdity. The Knight has managed to climb to the top of a gate, now using its worn nail—he will have to find it a new one—to seemingly bounce off the spikes on the top. The retainers are trying and failing to bring it back down.

The Pale King turns his attention back to the Vessel. “How did this happen?”

It shrugs.

“I suppose you both will have to gain some mastery with a nail,” he mumbles, mostly to himself. “Though I would consider a more conventional place to start…”

At that, it makes a small huffing noise before glancing back at its sibling. The Knight keeps bouncing for a short while longer before losing its balance and falling off the gate, faceplanting on the ground. Before the retainers can react, it leaps to its feet, dusts itself off, and walks over to the bench next to him.

A retainer runs up to him, frantically apologetic. “My King…our deepest apologies, it moved too fast for us to catch and—”

“No matter. The Vessel is unharmed, after all.” He dismisses the retainer before turning his attention to the Knight. It looks back at him, the picture of innocence. “What was that?”

It gestures with a sweeping motion at the ground with its nail in the same pose it had been bouncing before.

“Yes…” He resists the urge to laugh, collecting himself. “Yes, but why were you doing it?”

It shrugs, then appears to consider the question further before pointing at its sibling. He looks at the Vessel, awaiting an explanation. The Vessel in question looks back at the Void Knight, unamused, before it points to a small decoration and mimics the move again. It then points to the Knight, then back to the decorations and then the gate.

“You were…bouncing off the decorations with your nail?”

The Knight nods eagerly.

For a moment, he wonders where it could have gotten that idea from, but then remembers the depth of the Abyss—there were certainly enough spikes in there to bounce off, and it would have assisted them in their climb to the top. Useful there, certainly, but not here. Though he could make some use of it in training…at the very least, it would be of some use to the Knights to simultaneously master a nail and hone their dexterity for their eventual duel with the Radiance.

Training can come later, though. For now, he must explain his plan to the Pale Court.

“If you—we will practise that at a later time,” he says, turning around. “For now, I’d like you both to come with me.”

—

The Pale King keeps his expression still as his Great Knights react in disbelief to both Vessels at his side.

Dryya is the first to speak. “My King…I was under the impression only one Vessel would be needed, for your…task.”

“There has been a change in plans,” he replies, maintaining composure. “In no small part due to my influence, a purely hollow being—such that could contain the Radiance eternally—cannot exist.”

“Then your…your sacrifice…” Ogrim appears to choose his words very carefully. “…Was it all for nothing?”

“It was not ,” he says, too loudly, and quickly collects himself. “It was not. These Vessels have a different task. Rather than sealing away the light, they will destroy it.”

“Destroy it?” Dryya’s hand flies to her nail. “Is such a thing even possible?”

It must be. For all I have sacrificed, it must be. “ It is. I have an idea of how to do so.”

Hegemol speaks then. “But…King…even we cannot begin to fight such a formless foe. Can you know for sure…that is to say, can the Radiance truly be destroyed?”

“Even if I were unsure of this knowledge,” he replies, allowing his eyes to flit to the Vessels for the briefest of moments, “I would have no choice, all the same. Sealing her away is a stopgap measure that will only delay the inevitable. To survive, the kingdom has no other choice.”

His Knights exchange glances. Ogrim looks at the Vessels, then to him. “My King…if this is the way you have deemed it best to defeat this plague, then I will assist you in any way I can.” The others nod in assent, though Dryya in particular still looks somewhat uncertain. He can’t say he particularly blames her.

The Pale King nods, once, and is careful to avoid eye contact. “I will train them to properly wield a nail, and then we shall journey to the Resting Grounds. From there, we will…” He trails off there, because what is he to do? He has nothing but a notional idea concerning the destruction of dreams, born from the desperate dream to save his kingdom. “…We will consult the Moth Tribe for more information,” he finishes quickly, taking a deep breath.

“Will you require protection?” Dryya asks.

“Once trained with a nail, these Vessels will be protection enough. Besides, the Resting Grounds have stayed relatively clear of infection.”

For the first time, Isma speaks up. “We…if you require our services at any point, we will of course be happy to assist.”

“I know.” He clasps his hands. “I would expect nothing less. You five, who have been in service to the kingdom for a great many years…you are of course the most likely to understand that when it comes to Hallownest, there is no cost too great.” The words taste like bitter acid in his mouth, and even after they are spoken, they sit heavy in his shell. He looks at the Vessels, and thinks of the hundreds he threw into the depths of the Abyss, and the thousands—no, millions—more that he had never seen, and he feels slightly nauseous. 

No. He raises his head slightly. He cannot think of that any longer. There is no point in dwelling on the past. Their sacrifices were many, but necessary. For Hallownest.

Always for Hallownest.

Ogrim straightens, looking proud. “For the glory of Hallownest, we will always do as you ask, King.”

He allows himself a small smile at that. “Thank you, all. I would also ask that you locate the Dreamers and bring them to the palace. I will need to inform them of their…altered role in the plan.”

“Of course, my King!” Ogrim replies with more enthusiasm than strictly necessary (that he nonetheless appreciates, of course). “We will do so immediately.”

As the Great Knights and the Vessels trail out of the room, he realises that he will have to explain to the White Lady the new plan and hope that she is as receptive as his Knights were.

Chapter Text

The Pale King has never had reason to take the stagways before. There was a station right outside the palace for his Lady’s convenient use, but he did not often leave the palace—there was no need. But it would be a much longer and much more inconvenient journey from his palace through the capital, then the Crossroads to access the tram to the Resting Grounds, especially when the stag could simply take him there with much less effort.

After what he deems to be a sufficient amount of training with their nails, he allows the Vessel to practise on its own and takes the Void Knight to the stag station. It rings the bell, and soon the sound of galloping legs fills the station.

A young stag skitters to a stop and huffs in surprise, bowing as best it can. “My King…! Do you require my services?”

“I do, in fact.” He inclines his head. “I require transport to the Resting Grounds.”

“Ah, such a tranquil place.” The stag nods deeply. “I would be glad to escort you.”

The ride is jolting and rather frightening, and he longs for the comforts of his trams. He is altogether glad when the journey is over, though the Knight seems undisturbed. It simply gathers itself and straightens its cloak, nodding to the stag.

“I hope the ride was to your liking.” He bows again. “If you require my services, simply ring the bell.”

The Pale King simply nods. “Thank you kindly.”

—

A moth is waiting outside of the station to greet him. “Your Majesty. What information do you require from us?” 

“I need information on…on dreams. On how the Radiance is connected to them.” The Knight looks at him questioningly.

“Dreams?” A look of confusion crosses the moth’s face. “Whatever for? We have the Dreamers’ seals handled sufficiently, unless—”

“No, the Dreamers are not the issue.” He glances at the Knight. “My original plan has failed.”

She lowers her eyes. “I thought that might be the case. Yet…a being of Void stands in front of me. A stopgap measure?”

“No. I plan…well, I plan to destroy the Radiance. To do so, I believe more knowledge on dreams will be necessary.”

The moth is quiet for a moment. “You plan…to destroy a higher being in her domain?”

“I hope it will not be in her realm, but nonetheless. Can a dreamless being of Void destroy the dreams of this kingdom?”

“To do such a thing…” She thinks it over. “Though a being of Void naturally lacks dreams…that may not be sufficient for this endeavour. The Radiance lives in dreams—sealed away from the physical world. To enter her realm and tarry with her there…it would be tantamount to sacrifice.”

His eyes harden. “Then it is impossible?”

For a moment, they lock eyes, and she appears to mull it over. “Perhaps…it is not. There may be another way.”

“And what way is that?”

“With the use of a talisman so potent that not even the Dreamers can hide from it.” A sort of smile works its way into her tone, colouring the words with a wry satisfaction. “The Dream Nail—a nail that can cut through the veil separating the waking world from dreams.”

“And this nail can destroy the infection?”

She hesitates. “It…will need to be awoken first—its blade has dulled over the years. The Radiance lurks in the dreams of all the infected bugs, but she does not have enough of her…presence, so to speak, in each of those minds to be defeated there. Whatever corner of the Dream Realm her true form resides in is sure to be well-protected.”

The Knight next to him is listening intently. He glances at it, then back to the moth. “How can it be awoken?”

“This Wielder—” She points at the Void Knight. “—must gather Essence from this kingdom, the bits of light that make up dreams. They can take the form of plants, or memories of the dead, or even warriors. When enough is gathered, even the most secure dreams will not be out of reach.”

“Then I request that you allow us the use of this talisman.” The Knight straightens by his side. “Will the rest of your tribe accede?”

She pauses for a moment. “If they…can prove themself to be a sufficient Wielder, they will allow it, yes.”

“In the case that…they are not, we will have larger problems to deal with, I think.” He lowers his head slightly. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” The moth appears to focus, an odd swirl of Essence coalescing into a sort of nail—though it is unlike any nail he has seen. It almost resembles a hand mirror, and it has a dreamcatcher design engraved into the area above the hilt. The Knight grasps it hesitantly, tilting it back and forth in its hand as if to examine it.

“Does it have a blade?” he asks after a moment of observation.

The moth only smiles. “Why not let your little shadow swing it and find out?”

He hesitates before nodding his approval. As the nail swings forward, an odd beam of light shoots forth from the tip of the dreamcatcher before landing squarely on the moth—but instead of pain, or the soul that normally comes from bugs when struck, Essence particles glow around her before disappearing as quickly as they appeared. The Void Knight seems almost surprised, taking a step back and nearly dropping its new nail.

She nods at that, knowingly. “Ah, so they begin to see the dreams of the kingdom. I’m afraid you’ll find no Essence in the minds of many bugs, including myself, but if you journey across the breadth of Hallownest, I’m confident you’ll find plenty. This kingdom has plenty of dreams to offer, after all.”

It is a benign statement, but it gives pause to the torrent of thoughts rushing through his head, replacing them with a sort of righteous anger. Of course Hallownest has dreams—with mind comes thought, and with thought comes dreams. Dreams are what lead many a bug to the kingdom, what lead many an idealist through the kingdom. From here, in the calm yet still lively Resting Grounds where the dead are honoured, to the capital city bustling with bugs of all ranks and manners, to the little town just outside the Howling Cliffs whose dwellers are content to live their simple, peaceful lives. The bugs dream, and so they hope; they hope, and so they thrive; they thrive, and so Hallownest thrives. Yet the Radiance has severed this prosperous cycle at the roots, and now he finds himself scrambling to destroy an unavoidable side effect of the crux of Hallownest’s being.

He is sure that this Vessel understands what is at stake. It must. For Hallownest, there is no other option. This Dream Nail is a desperate gamble, but he has no choice but to put faith in the Moth Tribe’s rituals.

The Pale King is no stranger to desperate gambles, of course. The Vessels in the Abyss were a desperate gamble (that failed, that could never have succeeded), after all.

This one must work, he thinks as he glances at the nail again. It must. 

For Hallownest—always for Hallownest.

Chapter Text

The Knight draws their cloak tighter around themself as they check their map again, brightly-coloured pins dotting the locations they have found Essence. It has been slow going; the trees may be filled with memories of the kingdom, and they have even found a warrior in the Resting Grounds who would not give up his Essence without a fight, but there haven’t been many of these, and there’s no reliable way to find them so far as they can tell. They hope that these strange cliffs at the edge of the kingdom will have a few lingering dreams.

The few small bugs scattered throughout this barren area present no challenge, and they dispatch any infected creatures quite quickly. It’s when they climb to the top of another cliff that they see it: a bug entirely composed of Essence in front of a gravestone. They approach, gripping the hilt of the Dream Nail.

“I am Gorb! Bow! Bow bow bow bow to Gorb!” the bug shrieks as soon as they get within hearing distance. “The great mind! I am Gorb! Ascend! Ascend! Ascend ascend ascend with Gorb!”

The Knight has no idea what…Gorb means by ascension, and frankly, they don’t much care. Without a moment’s hesitation, they swing their nail through the bug’s body, and the fight begins.

The fight’s a bit tricker than the other bugs they’ve encountered, but that isn’t really saying much. Gorb’s blades might be fast, but they’re also very easy to dodge. The floating around makes it a bit tricky to get any hits in, but they’ve gotten better working within their nail’s reach. So it’s in no time at all that Gorb disintegrates into Essence, promptly disappearing into the blade of the Dream Nail. 

They examine it for a moment; is that their imagination, or does the emblem seem to glow just a bit brighter than it did before? They hope so—they’ve collected around 300 of those Essence particles, and they’re not sure how much more there is to find. Maybe they only need around 350 to power up this odd nail.

Right now, it doesn’t matter. If they somehow haven’t bled this area dry of its Essence, they need to dig up the rest of it, so they hop back down the way they came. They didn’t have a chance to explore some of the passages in these cliff walls, and there’s a possibility they could lead to even more Essence.

Heading their way through a wide and spacious passage, they stumble across a bug—clearly no ordinary bug, though. It’s definitely dead—the lack of movement and aura of decay around it are a fairly obvious giveaway—but it’s large, at least five times their own size. Its mask is strange, looking as if it were stitched together around the eyeholes. 

There’s something oddly foreign about this bug that they can’t quite place. It can’t have come from Hallownest, can it? But it’s a bug, and there might be a lingering dream or two left there, so they swing the Dream Nail directly into its carapace. Unlike the majority of bugs they’ve used the nail on, though, this one has…an odd response. Instead of the normal pinkish-white particles they’ve come to expect, a few scarlet red particles of Essence erupt from its body.

Now, the Knight has not had this nail for long, and they would not claim themselves to be an expert. But they’re relatively certain that this is somewhat out of the ordinary, and they have no desire to stick around in case something happens to go wrong. So they sheathe their nail and quickly turn back the way they came, stopping in surprise as they realise something new has appeared. It almost looks to be a sort of lantern, with a grille at its base. There’s a substance inside the same colour as the scarlet Essence they just saw.

They examine it a bit closer and, without pausing to think it through, strike the grille with their nail. Sparks fly from it, and the lantern appears to glow for a second before it fades away. So, of course, they strike it again. This produces the same result.

Huffing slightly in disappointment—that’s it?—they whack it a few more times before the lantern above them suddenly bursts into flame. They jump back, startled, as the ground underneath their feet begins to shake, and they brace themselves for something, anything, when—

It stops as quickly as it had started, as if nothing had happened in the first place. The grille dims, and more hesitantly this time, the Knight pokes at it with their nail. It does not react.

They stare at the lantern again. The flame is now gone, but they swear they can feel an odd sense of foreboding emanating from it. Is it their imagination, or does the tip of the lantern almost look like a curled claw, ready to grab them at a moment’s notice?

Well, what’s done is done, and there’s no point in worrying. The lantern may be nothing but an odd campfire left behind by the odd bug in the next room, after all. Either way, it doesn’t seem as if they can find any more of the Essence they need in these cliffs at the edge of the kingdom, so they promptly leave, climbing the ledges to navigate back to the little town just outside of this place.

Except the once-peaceful Dirtmouth is now a bit less peaceful and a bit more…scarlet. Two strange tents have appeared, the same colour as the lantern from earlier.

Hm. This might be somewhat of an issue.

—

Ignoring the wary looks the townspeople give them and the tents, they linger outside for a few minutes before striding into the largest tent. If lighting the lantern caused this, then they should make sure whoever set up these tents poses no threat to the rest of the kingdom. That, and they’re curious about all this.

A strange bug plays an accordion at the entrance, the tune a jaunty one with oddly sorrowful undertones. His mask and garb resemble that of the bug they saw in the Howling Cliffs just a short while ago. He nods to the Knight, briefly. “Mm. You called?” Without waiting for a response, he adds, “Speak to Master.”

The suitably ominous tone the word Master is spoken in prompts them to brace themself. Fingers inching toward their nail, they creep forward, preparing themself for anything.

They reach the main body of the tent, and the ground immediately begins to shake. Scarlet smoke swirls around the tent, and another bug appears with a clearly practised spin. They stare at this new bug, eyes widening, and take a small step backwards.

The Knight has not seen too many bugs recently; the places they’ve searched for Essence tend to be somewhat lacking in truly living things. Yet they are aware bugs have some commonalities between them that identify them as similar enough creatures (them and their sibling a possible exception). This bug, however—if one could even call it a bug—does not resemble any other bug in the slightest. He’s at least three times as tall as they are, his long, spindly legs peeking out from under his blue and red cloak that almost seems as if it was braided around them. His eyes are a familiar, piercing scarlet, and his mask—clearly a basis for the masks of the other bugs they’ve seen. Two not-quite horns curl toward the centre of his head in a way that almost reminds the Knight of their own sibling.

“So it was you who called us.” It isn’t a question, and the Knight stays silent, preparing for his next words. His voice grows warm. “Well met, my friend, well met. I am Grimm, master of this troupe.”

Grimm—a strange name for a strange bug. Was that what they had done with the lighting of the lantern?

 “The lantern has been lit, and your summons heeded,” Grimm continues, answering their unasked question. “Yet an odd stage you choose, a dying kingdom desperately maintained by worm and root. It would be perfect earth for our Ritual to take place, if not for my sister’s Ritual still ongoing.”

The Knight’s confusion must be clear on their face. A sister?

“Her power greatly exceeds that of mine, unfortunately. Her realm is, of course, much more expansive.” He sighs. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the Radiance. Her dreams linger in this fallen kingdom much longer than mine.”

They stop cold, processing those words.

This bug’s sister is…the Radiance?

Chapter Text

Hey guys, it's ya boi. So I planned to finish a chapter by the end of August, but I am probably not going to be uploading another chapter until Christmas or so. This is due to the fact that mental illness kicked my ass for three straight months, and by the time that got handled, my aunt died, and then my senior year of high school started literally 5 days after that. I am now saddled with $500 in college application fees, 30 writing prompts to respond to, way too many extracurriculars, a fuckload of schoolwork, and a part-time job. Plus everything that losing a family member brings, so that's great too. TL;DR: I'll probably be spending more time crying/screaming into my laptop than writing for the next few months.

The next chapter will also probably be shorter, but after that I will go back to a more normal length and somewhat regular posting schedule. I will delete this note whenever said chapter goes up. This is just so no one thinks I abandoned/forgot about this fic, because as an avid fanfic reader, unfinished fanfics are the bane of my existence.

Thanks y'all and I hope to see you before Christmas :)