Chapter Text
Ghost felt it. As he struck the final blow, he fell into the darkness of the void. Great black tendrils shot out grasping the Radiance. The Radiance roared out in anger and defiance as she resisted against the tendrils which were trying to pull her into the dark abyss of the void from which they had sprouted from.
But it was no use. The ascended Ghost, The Shade King, held her too tightly. They began to pry at her, forcing more light from her grasp. Claws of shadow tore at her repeatedly.
She roared out in pain as Ghost…the newly Crowned Shade King, slashed at her again and again, more particles of light leaking from her wounds with each slash.
It was too much. The Goddess of Light and Dreams felt her body being destroyed. And in the Shade King’s claws, they grasped her very essence. They dove down, into the Void, and took with them the Godmaster as well.
In the physical plane, the Temple of the Black Egg simply…faded from existence…
The Hollow Knight stumbled out, dazed and confused, with a single thought, to return to the city of tears.
The Hollow Knight looked down at his hands, surprised to still be alive. Looking around he saw an unconscious Hornet…and the cracked mask of the one who had freed him from his torment, his little brother…Ghost.
Meanwhile…
Deep in the resting grounds, a single moth egg rested. An orb of light floated down into it. The egg began to shake and crack.
Slowly, more cracks appeared on the egg, bright yellow light leaking through the cracks… pulsating almost like a heartbeat.
Finally, the egg hatched in an explosion of light. A small moth, her wings slick from hatching, slowly opened her eyes.
She had white colored fluff, three prongs sticking up from her head, almost like a crown of sorts, and her eyes were yellow and glowed in the darkness. Looking around, she saw no one. And being an infant, there was only one thing she could do…She sobbed for hours, alone, in the darkness…
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Resting Grounds, another moth’s antennae perked up as she detected a sound.
The Seer walked out from her makeshift house, her cloak unfurling into her wings as she flew off towards the source of the sound.
The Seer landed on the ground in the deepest part of the Resting Grounds, her wings folding back into a cloak as she could make out the sound to be that of an infant crying.
The Seer followed the sound and came across the young infant. The Seer picked her up, and the infant stopped crying to look at them.
The infant moth’s glowing yellow eyes stared into her own ruby red ones with curiosity, her small wings flapping, some excess slick splattering The Seer in the face, making her reel back slightly to wipe her face off, making the infant giggle.
“You hold a great light within you, and great dreams as well.” The Seer said.
The Infant stopped giggling and yawned, falling asleep.
“Oh, Little Light, I shall keep you safe.” The Seer said, rocking the infant moth in her arms.
“I’m not sure how many years I have left, young one, but I will be sure to make them last, for the both of us…You need a name…Luz…a word uttered by our ancestors, meaning light…” The Seer said as she walked back to her home in the Resting Grounds with the newly named Luz in her arms.
Years later…
In the City of Tears, a familiar moth was walking alone. Luz was much older now, 14 years precisely. She was much taller now, standing at about 5 feet, her wings draped over her like a cloak, and holstered on her back was an elegant and sharp nail.
Luz walked through the shattered city, and passed a statue. Resting at its feet, the cracked mask of a long dead bug. She glanced at the plaque, identifying the dead bug as the Hollow Knight. The more she looked, the louder the screams became, so she turned away.
Since she had been born, Luz had always been plagued by horrific voices, screams, and nightmares of darkness. Her adoptive mother had tried to help her, tried to ascertain the cause of what plagued her, but never could find out what.
Luz began making her out of the city, but while the screams got softer, they still refused to be silent. She pushed herself faster, climbing her way out.
Luz jumped and flapped her wings to propel herself up to the edge of a cliff, pulling out a mantis claw to hook onto the side of the cliff and climb up to the top.
Luz pulled herself up and put the Mantis Claw back into her inventory bag, which was a standard item for explorers, enchanted to fit most items in flawlessly.
She made her way to the tram between the old cross roads and her home. Getting on, she sat down and focused on the vibrations of the cart, enjoying the ever increasing silence. While she could never escape the screams in her dreams, they are silent during the day while she’s at her home.
Eventually, the tram came to a stop upon arriving at the other end of the track.
Luz stood up from her seat and exited the tram and continued to trek towards her home.
She finally made it to the Resting Grounds…walking past the various graves, she could see glowing dreamcatcher shaped particles coming off a few but paid them no mind as she kept walking.
She pulled open the tarp that she used as a door, and looked into her small home, it was full of little treasures she had found over the years.
Since her adoptive mother passed away 5 years ago, Luz had been on her own. Luz had always known she was adopted. Her mother, The Seer, hadn’t hidden that from her. But she also let her know that she still cared for her regardless.
It had been hard when she finally passed, Luz remembered crying for what felt like days before she had the strength to bury her. But since then she had gotten stronger.
Since then, Luz had taken to exploring the silent caverns and ruins of what her mother taught her was called “Hallownest.”
Hallownest had once been a great, thriving kingdom. Lore tablets she discovered on the outskirts of a town called “Dirtmouth” referred to Hallownest as “The Last Great Civilization.”
But the kingdom had fallen into ruin.
Nothing she found really explained why, just a reference to some form of infection.
Luz set her nail down and sat on a rather large pillow which served as a couch.
Luz laid down on her side and closed her eyes as she attempted to drift off to sleep, her wings unfurled to cover herself like a blanket.
But…when she finally drifted off to sleep, that’s when the familiar nightmare began. It was always the same nightmare, over and over, for the last 14 years. A pitch black void of darkness, and a thousand, echoey, angry voices shouting at her. She never could really make out what the voices were saying because they were all seemingly mingled together so much that they were incomprehensible, but two, distinctly male sounding voices seemed the loudest amongst the chorus of nightmarish screaming.
Luz tossed and turned in her sleep as she tried to ignore the screaming voices.
Eventually, she woke in a cold sweat, as she normally did. Her sleep was rarely ever pleasant.
It was one of the reasons she even left her home at all. Even outside her home the voices were never as loud as when she slept.
Plus, adventuring kept her from growing lethargic. And it allowed her to take her mind off of her recurring nightmares.
Luz hugged herself and wrapped her wings around herself tightly, almost like a swaddle, the pressure made it feel like she was getting a hug from her adoptive mother, who always hugged her to calm her down after a nightmare.
After a few minutes, Luz got her heart rate under control and loosened her wings to their cloak form, her arms also hanging down at her side.
Luz let out a breath she was holding in and ran her hands through her head fur, feeling how damp it was.
She gets up and puts on her crown, before looking for something to eat. Her crown was strange. The Seer said she was born with it on, and it grew with her, but she could take it off whenever she wanted.
Putting thoughts of the weird, probably magic head piece she was born with aside, Luz grabbed her nail and took out her map, trying to decide where to explore today.
Luz’s glowing yellow eyes lingered on the Fungal Wastes on her map. Aside from the Mantis Village and the entrance to Deepnest, Luz hadn’t really explored much of the Fungal Wastes.
The mushrooms down there were very… hostile. And the Screams could be so loud when she went deeper. Still, it might be fun. Maybe she could finally find a new charm.
Throughout her travels, Luz had collected a variety of charms. Charms were small badge-like items which had been enchanted to either allow their owner to use an ability, or give them some form of arcane boon. Luz always made use of the Wayward Compass and Gathering Swarm charms.
The Wayward Compass allowed her to see where she herself was on her map, and the Gathering Swarm made it easier to collect Geo, the currency of the realm.
She made her way to the entrance of the Fungal Wastes, then held her breath for a moment. The screams were oddly silent, so with trepidation, Luz took the plunge.
The Fungal Wastes were named as such because the entire place was overgrown with various species of fungus, both sentient and non-sentient…or…formerly sentient.
But deep within the Fungal Wastes there lived a tribe of warrior bugs known as the Mantis Tribe, who were ruled over by the Mantis Lords.
The Mantis Tribe were fiercely territorial and not very fond of outsiders, but they respected those who could defeat them in combat.
Although…when Luz first ventured into their village she had received an even less friendlier welcome than most outsiders. However, it was rescinded when she beat the Mantis Lords in one on three combat.
And even then…the Mantises were still passive aggressive towards her for reasons she could tell were more than just her being an outsider, but couldn’t put her finger on it.
As she came to the entrance of the village, she instead turned and went deeper.
And soon, in her explorations, she came to the intersection of the Fungal Wastes and the “Royal” Waterways. Having no desire to explore the glorified sewer, she turned around. Only to find a large Mushroom in her way. Its eyes were cloudy, but the way it moved signified its potential danger. She unveiled her nail… and collapsed. Her head filled with wails and screams, louder than they had ever been while she was awake.
Luz writhed on the ground, clutching her head in pain as she was suffering from sensory overload due to the intensity of the screaming.
“Make it stop! Please, make it stop!” Luz cried out in agony as she clutched at her head.
She struggled to her feet, and began running away from the mushroom. She swung her nail wildly as she half consciously ran through the waterways. All too soon, she made it to the other side, falling down the destroyed elevator shaft.
Luz tumbled through the air as she fell for who knows how long. She attempted to slow her descent by opening her wings, fighting through the splitting pain in her head to do so.
She still lands on the ground hard. She knows she’s never been this far down, and now the screams were even louder than they were in her dreams.
Luz was now screaming in agony as the pain in her head was stronger than ever before. Her heart rate and breathing were more erratic than ever as well as she continued to clutch her head.
“Make! It! Stop!” Luz shouted in agony.
From the ground around her, dark shadowy spirits with white glowing eyes emerged and began to surround her, the screaming increasing. The pain was so much that Luz began shedding tears. However, a golden aura began to emanate from Luz as her wings fully unfurled.
“MAKE IT STOP!!!” Luz shouted in an otherworldly voice as her wings flapped and sent the shades flying backward with a wave of golden energy.
Luz sat there on her knees as she continued to clutch her head, the pain was still there, but it was less excruciating than it was prior, but still pretty painful.
She forced her eyes open, and so a blinding white light, contained in a doorway.
Luz could feel a warm, soothing feeling emanating from the door. Luz forced herself to her feet and stumbled towards the door, folding her wings into their cloak form and holstering her nail on her back as she did so.
The screaming began to grow in intensity again as she got closer towards the door, but Luz fought through the pain and, utilizing the enchantment of the Mothwing Cloak, dashed towards the doorway.
As soon as Luz went through, the screaming was gone. Luz collapsed to her hands and knees and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey, kid. Are you okay?” A female voice asked.
Luz raised her head to see what looked like the strangest creature she had ever seen. She, at least Luz thought it was a she, had a pale, smooth, squishy surface, as if she had no exoskeleton. Two sharp protrusions stuck out from the side of her head, and she had a long mass of fur coming from the top of her head.
The woman covered herself in red cloth, like that spider Luz’s mother warned her not to talk to.
“Kid, seriously, are you alright?” The woman asked again.
Luz was snapped back to reality and replied.
“Um…yes…”
“Are you sure?” The woman asked.
“Yes, I am. I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you.” Luz said.
The strange creature smirked.
“I’m Eda the Owl Lady! The most powerful person on-” Eda was saying before Luz cut her off.
“Sorry, I meant I don’t recognize what you are.” Luz clarified.
Eda blinked.
“What?” Eda said in confusion.
Then she smacked her head.
“She came through the portal.” Eda muttered mostly to herself.
“You were raised in the human realm, weren’t you?” Eda asked.
“What’s a human?” Luz asked.
Eda furrowed her brow in further confusion.
“Okay, seriously, who are you, and where are you from?” Eda asked.
Hearing the frustration in Eda’s voice scared the still quite unnerved teenager.
“I-I’m Luz. I come from the Resting Grounds, i-in Hollownest. Daughter of The Seer. L-Last of the Moth Tribe.” Luz stuttered.
Eda gained a confused look.
“Hollownest? But I thought my portal opened near a human city called Gravesfield. What’s going-“
Eda was cut off when a guard rushed over.
“Eda the owl lady, you are Under arrest for… ah Crimes…Right…Come out of the tent with your hands up!”
“Oh for Titan’s sake…” Eda groaned as she facepalmed.
Stepping to the front, Eda glared at the pair of incompetent guards that wanted to arrest her.
“Now is not the time. There's a scared lost kid I’m dealing with right now.”
“Oh, sorry.” One of the guards said, rubbing the back of his neck.
He was elbowed by the other guard .
“I-I mean, you’ll have plenty of time to comfort them in a cell! That was right, right?” The guard said, turning to his companion.
The other guard gave a thumbs up. Eda narrowed her eyes at the guards.
“You assholes would really arrest a kid who has done literally nothing wrong?”
“Fraternizing with a criminal!” The other guard exclaimed.
“Look, I don’t even know the kid, okay?!” Eda shouted.
Luz called out from the back of the tent.
“Excuse me, Ms. Eda? I’m feeling a bit better. You said something about a portal? Could you use that to send me home?”
“Sounds like she knows you.” The other guard said, crossing his arms.
Eda glanced between the two guards before she raised her staff and whacked them both with it, sending them flying backward a few feet.
“Get on the Staff, Luz! We need to ditch.”
Eda drew a spell circle and her entire tent folded up into a bag which Eda slung over her shoulder. Eda then pulled a key out of her hair and pressed a button on it and to Luz’s surprise, the door she came through folded up and disappeared.
“What are you waiting for?!” Eda called out.
Luz looked at Eda, then jumped on the staff.
Luz held on for dear life as they took flight. When they were high up in the air, Eda spoke softly to her.
“Its okay, kid, we’re far enough. You can open your eyes now.”
Luz slowed opened her eyes, looking out in awe at the Boiling Isles.
“Are you a priestess?” Luz asked as she saw the giant skull of the Titan.
Eda raised an eyebrow.
“What? Hell no, what gave you that idea?” Eda asked in confusion.
Luz pointed out at the skull.
“That’s a god right? Does your magic not come from them?”
“Well, maybe, yeah? But that doesn’t make me some priestess of the Titan.” Eda answered.
Luz just tilted her head in response.
“Okay, I have a lot of questions for you, kiddo, but in the meantime, welcome to the Boiling Isles.” Eda said.
As they flew, Luz took in the feeling of the wind rushing through her fur. Ever since Luz had come here, she hadn’t heard the screaming at least once…maybe…maybe her suffering was finally over?
Eventually they descended downwards towards a house with a dilapidated stone tower next to it, and a large stained glass window in the shape of an eye on the front.
“Is this your home?” Luz asked.
Eda smirked.
“Yep. Welcome to the Owl House, kid.”
Luz and Eda dismounted the staff and walked towards the front door which had the face of an owl carved into it, then, to Luz’s shock, the owl face spoke.
“Hoot Hoot! Hi, Eda! Is that a bug I spy?! Delicious!”
Luz then screamed like she had seen death itself.
The bird tub stretched out towards Luz, only for Eda to smack him in the face with her staff.
“No eating people, Hooty. We’ve talked about this. Just because they look like a giant bug doesn’t mean they’re not a person.” Eda said sternly.
The bird tube, now identified as Hooty, slumped down in what Luz couldn’t tell was either shame or disappointment. Hooty the retreated back into the door and it swung open.
Eda turned to Luz and saw that her fluff was standing on end.
“Sorry about Hooty.” Eda apologized.
Luz looked quite shell shocked, but quickly shook herself.,
“I-It’s fine. Just keep that thing away from me.” Luz said as she and Eda entered the house.
Luz looked around at the living room, and at the giant owl mural on the ceiling.
“You have a very lovely home.”
Eda gave a small smile.
“Thanks, kiddo.”
“So, do you live here alone? Well…aside from that…THING…in your door?” Luz asked.
Then, the whole house rumbled. Eda however was not fazed by it.
“Actually, I have a roommate.”
Then, a deep booming voice spoke from upstairs, descending down the stairs.
“Who dares intrude upon I, the King of Demons?!”
The voice became more high pitched and childish as Luz got a full view of the source of the voice, a small fluffy creature with a horned skull-like head, wrapped up in a bath towel and holding a rubber duck.
Luz gasped at his adorable appearance and dashed towards him, scooping him up and pulling him into a hug.
“Oh my gods! Eda, he is sooo cute! Who’s a little guy, who’s a little guy? Is it you, is it you?!” Luz said babyishly.
King squirmed around in Luz’s grasp, trying to free himself.
“No! I don’t know who your little guy is! Eda, who is this moth demon?!”
Eda snickered at King’s predicament.
“King, this is Luz. She came through my portal.”
King stopped squirming and looked at Eda in confusion.
“Weh? What was a…moth demon…doing in the human realm?”
Luz then stopped squeezing King.
“There’s that word again, seriously, what is a “Human?” And furthermore, what is a demon? I’m just a moth.”
Eda clapped loudly once, taking a breath.
“Okay, everyone. I think it’s exposition time, for all of us. Let’s start with your questions Luz. A human is a type of sentient animal that looks like Witches, that’s what I am, but don’t have magic. And demons are the wild life of the boiling Isles that aren’t Witches. Now it’s your turn. Where exactly are you from and what kind of people live there?”
“I’m from the fallen Kingdom of Hallownest. The people that live…well…lived there, were various species of bugs. I myself am a Moth, a member of the Moth Tribe…actually…that last of the Moth Tribe…I…never knew my birth parents…and my adopted mom… she died of old age 5 years ago.” Luz answered, looking downward.
King and Eda gained sympathetic looks on their faces.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, kiddo.” Eda said, putting a hand on Luz’s cloaked shoulder.
Luz sniffled.
“Th-thank you.”
“Wait, did you say your kingdom fell?” King asked curiously.
Luz nodded.
“Yes, Hallownest lies in ruins…but I was born long after the kingdom fell.”
Eda rubbed her chin in thought as she processed all of this.
“Okay, you definitely aren’t from the human realm. Still…how did you end up coming out of my portal? That thing usually only leads to the human realm.”
“I…don’t know. Can your portal even get me home?” Luz replied.
Eda shrugged.
“I don’t know. Maybe?”
Eda pulled out a key and pushed a button on it. The door unfolded, and opened. Though unlike when Luz passed through, the other side was completely visible. It showed lush green grass surrounded by trees.
Luz looked at the place in awe.
“This is beautiful…but…this isn’t Hallownest.”
“Sorry, kiddo.” Eda said sympathetically.
“It’s…fine.” Luz said as she walked back through the portal and into the living room of the Owl House.
The portal closed as Luz crossed over.
“You can stay with me until we figure it out.” Eda offered.
“Thank you.” Luz said with a bow of her head.
“Oh! Maybe she could help with our problem!”
“Wait…problem?” Luz asked curiously.
Eda smirked.
“Yes. You see. King was once the mighty King of Demons. But his Crown of power was stolen by the Evil warden Wrath, turning him into, well this.”
“You mean this precious little fuzzball?” Luz asked as she picked up King and snuggled him again, much to his disliking.
“Exactly. Wrath put his crown behind an anti-magic barrier. Now I’m not sure how magic works in your world, but I think it should be different enough that the barrier won’t recognize any magic you might have. And if not, I can break the enchantment. If I push myself.” Eda muttered that last part.
Luz then put King down. Eda’s story was clearly a lie. King was a child. It was obvious. And yet… Luz stared at the child, younger than herself. And something felt different. All her life Luz had felt above others. Not in the sense she thought she was better than them, or that she in someway superior. But rather she had aways felt as if she was subconsciously looking down from some ledge or hill. But this child felt like she was at her level, maybe even above it.
“Okay.” Luz said.
“Yay!” King said excitedly.
“So, where exactly IS the crown?” Luz asked, turning to Eda.
Eda smiled.
“Somewhere super fun.”
Eda did not elaborate, even as they flew to wherever they where going, until they were on a hill over look a large building.
“Welcome to the Conformitorium!” Eda said.
“This does not look fun.” Luz said nervously.
“Not to stay at, but it will be to break in! Here’s the plan, I’ll go distract the Warden while you two sneak in and find the crown.” Eda said.
King pointed up to a window high up on the tower.
“You and I will sneak in through there.”
“Okay.” Luz said as she pulled her Mantis Claw out of her inventory bag.
“Hop on my back, King. And hold on tight.” Luz said.
“I’ll see you two shortly.” Eda said as she mounted her staff and flew off to do her part.
King got on Luz’s back and the two of them began ascending the side of the tower via the Mantis Claw. As they were climbing the side of the tower, King asked.
“Uh, Luz, why aren’t you just using your wings to fly us up to the window?”
“Because this is more fun.” Luz answered.
With one final pull, Luz pulled them through the window and into the building.
Once inside, Luz put her Mantis Claw back into her inventory bag.
“I can sense my crown’s power, this way!” King said as he tugged on Luz’s cloak/wings.
“Ow! King, please, don’t do that.” Luz winced.
A voice then called out.
“Hey, moth girl. How’d you get out of your cell?”
Luz turned to see a female witch with a darker skin complexion than Eda in a cell.
“Uh, I’m not a criminal.”
“Not yet you’re not.” King said slyly.
Katya crossed her arms as Luz started walking away.
“Well neither am I.”
Luz stopped.
“What?”
“Yeah. The Warden just likes to lock up anyone that’s different.” Katya said angrily.
Luz was utterly dumbfounded.
“B-But that’s a complete and total abuse of his power! Why hasn’t anyone done something about him?!” Luz exclaimed.
“No one cares. Wrath can keep people in here better than any warden before him, so they just let him lock up who ever he wants. As long as he doesn’t let the real criminals escape.” Katya grumbled.
Luz’s looked hardened.
“That’s wrong. It’s just wrong!”
Luz looked around and saw a large lever.
“And I’m fixing it.”
Luz grabbed the Lever, but before she could pull it down, she heard deep footsteps.
“It’s the warden! Quick, hide!” Katya warned.
Luz ducked into an empty cell, only to realize a she had a problem. Her glowing eyes, light gray wings, and white fur.
So she closed the cell door, locking herself in, hoping that Wrath would assume she was just another prisoner.
Warden Wrath slammed the door open and walked in, standing tall and imposing.
“What’s going on here?” Wrath demanded in a menacing tone.
The eyes of his mask passed over the entire room.
“Well? I heard you talking.”
Then, a small bipedal creature with a large nose spoke up.
“We will never give in, you creep! Fight against the oppressors!”
Wrath turned to their cell and opened it.
“Hooray, I’m free!” The creature rejoiced.
Wrath then violently grabbed Tinella and squeezed her tightly.
“Let this be a Lesson to you. There is no place in society if you can’t fit in.”
Wrath then walked off, clutching Tinella in his hand, slamming the door behind him.
Luz glared as she watched the warden walk off with Tinella in his fist. Luz then drew her nail.
With slash like lightning, the bars of her cell fell to the ground. She exited the cell with King and walked over to the lever.
“I’m putting a stop to this.” Luz said as she pulled the lever.
Katya’s cell, along with those next to hers, opened.
“Thanks, kid, we won’t forget this.” Katya said as she and her fellow prisoners ran off.
Luz walked to the door to the contraband room, where she met Eda.
“There you two are, good news, the Warden is distracted torturing some poor creature.” Eda said with a smirk.
Luz winced at that. Eda took notice of this.
“You good, Luz?”
“Let’s just get this over with so we can leave.” Liz said softly.
“Okay.” Eda replied.
They got closer to the door, and King started bouncing.
“I can feel my crown near!”
King wiggled out of Luz’s grasp and rushed off. Eda snorted.
“He gets so adorable when he’s thirsty for power.”
Luz watched in minor amazement as King ripped a door nob off, seeming through pure natural skill. Then she watched him run face first into the giant pillar of white light that she presumed was the Anti-magic barrier. Eda picked him up.
“Why don’t you let the person that might have a chance try first.”
Luz took that as her que and put a hand out towards the light. She got close, and rested her hand against it. It was there, trying to stop her, but it felt so delicate. Like a thin layer of Ice forming over a pond, just thick enough to rest your hand on, but not thick enough to provide any real resistance. Eda sighed.
“Oh well. Stand back ki-” Eda was cut off when Luz lightly pushed at the barrier, and it shattered like glass.
Luz reeled back in shock. Eda and King were gobsmacked, their jaws practically on the floor.
“What…the…hell…?” Eda muttered in disbelief at what she just witnessed.
King fully recovered, and he scamped up the pile of junk that been hidden behind the barrier to claim back his crown. Eda walked up to Luz.
“How did you do that?!” Eda asked in disbelief.
Luz looked down at her own hand in shock.
“I-I…don’t know. Didn’t you say you could do it?”
“Yeah, but not that easily! I would have needed to hit it with a really strong spell. You must have a massive magical reserve to do that.” Eda said in astonishment.
Luz then suddenly heard the familiar chorus of screams and grabbed her head in pain, falling to her knees.
Eda kneeled down to Luz, concerned for the moth’s wellbeing
“Luz?! What’s wrong?!”
“Screams. Too Loud!” Luz whimpered.
Eda furrowed her eyebrows.
“No one’s screaming, Luz.”
“In…my head…” Luz sobbed as glowing gold tears spilled from her eyes.
Eda gained a concerned look.
“Please…make it stop…” Luz whimpered.
King grabbed his crown, which was just made of cardboard, and rushed over.
“Eda! What’s wrong with Luz?!” King asked in worry.
Luz slowly looked up at Eda. Eda then turned to King.
“We’re getting out of here now, and I’m gonna call a friend in the Oracle Coven who owes me a favor. Come on, on your feet, nice and easy.” Eda said softly as she helped Luz stand up.
Then, surprisingly, the screams started to fade away.
“They’re…they’re gone…the screaming…it stopped…” Luz muttered.
“Luz, what was that just now?” Eda asked in a serious tone, laced deeply with concern.
Luz wrung her hands together.
“E-Ever since I was born, I-I’ve been plagued with never ending nightmares every time I fall asleep, a-and horrible, howling screaming, almost every waking moment.”
Eda looked even more concerned at that. Luz continued.
“My Mom did everything she could to try and find a way to make it stop, but nothing worked.”
“There’s nothing you can do?” Eda asked.
Luz shook her head. Eda gave her a sympathetic look.
“I’m so sorry. Luz: It’s been much better since I came here though.”
Eda sighed in defeat.
“Okay. Let’s get out of here before the Warden loses his head.”
“Too late.”
Wrath appeared behind Eda, his hand formed into a pendulum blade. L
He swung it, and felt it clang against something metal. In the blink of an eye, Luz had drawn her nail, thrown Eda out of the way, and blocked Wrath’s attack.
Wrath was stunned by this.
“What the-“ He was cut off when Luz gathered up an orb of light in her hand and threw it at Wrath, it hit him in the chest, exploding on contact and sending him flying backwards into a wall.
Luz turned to face Eda and King.
“You two, get out of here, I’ll handle him.” Luz said, pointing her nail at Wrath.
“Kid, you can’t be serious! You can’t fight him with your…condition.” Eda exclaimed.
“They’ve never really happened during a fight.” Luz said, glancing back at Eda.
Wrath pulled himself off the ground and turn his other hand into a hammer.
“I can handle this.” Luz said with certainty.
Wrath charged at Luz, raising his hammer fist into the air, Luz dashed forward, her entire body seemingly becoming light particles and she literally phased right through Wrath.
Wrath was confused by this, Luz, now behind Wrath, took advantage of his confusion and slashed at his calves with her nail.
Wrath roared out in pain and fell to his knees, but he was far from down.
Wrath forced himself to his feet, his slash wounds already healing themselves.
“Wrath: That hurt! Now you’re gonna get it!” Wrath shouted angrily as he extended his blade arm into a tendril with the blade on the end and swung it at Luz.
Luz swung out with her own nail, parrying and launching Wrath’s attack back at him. Wrath retracted his arm, growling. He pulled off his mask and opened his mouth, spewing fire.
Luz jumped and flapped her wings, propelling herself upwards to avoid the flames and summersault midair to land on her feet behind Wrath and slashed her nail at him again, hitting him in the back with another light orb as well.
Wrath was sent flying face first into another wall.
Wrath fell onto his back and attempted to pick himself up, only for a medium sized piece of rubble to hit him on the head and knock him out.
Luz, seeing that her enemy was unconscious, sheathed her nail.
Luz then turned to Eda and King.
“Someone would’ve heard that, let’s go.”
Eda and King were awestruck by Luz’s combat prowess. Eda shook herself out of her stupor and replied to the moth.
“Yeah…let’s get going.”
King then snatched a bunny plushie.
“Not without my new minion! I have named him, “Francois!”
Luz chuckled at King’s enthusiasm as he wore his obviously fake crown proudly.
They quickly make their way back to the owl house. When they walked inside, Eda brought Luz to a small room.
“This is a spare room I have. I don’t have any extra beds right now, so you can sleep on the couch if you want, but I wanted you to know that you have a room to yourself.” Exa said.
“Thank you, Eda.” Luz said as she set her nail against the wall.
“One more thing, kiddo.” Eda pulled out a potion bottle containing a dull blue liquid.
“This is what we call a Dreamless Sleep potion, not sure if it’ll help you with…whatever the hell is going on with you, but I figured it was worth a try.” Eda said as she gave the potion bottle to Luz.
Luz accepted the bottle and stared at it for a second before looking back up at Eda.
“A Dreamless Sleep potion?”
Eda nodded.
“Yeah, they’re made to help people with reoccurring nightmares be able to sleep better.”
“I see…interesting. According to my adoptive mother, we moths delved among the realm of dreams, yet never had we conceived of something like this.” Luz mused.
“Okay, you’re seriously gonna have to give us a history lesson.” Eda said with a smirk
“Um…sure. But, I don’t know that much. When the kingdom fell, most of its history was lost to the ravages of time. And what little I do know was taught to me by my mother, and pieced together from lore tablets I discovered in my travels.
“I see…well anyway, kid, it’s getting late. Goodnight. Hope that potion helps.” Eda said as she exited the room, closing the door behind her.
When Eda was gone, Luz glanced down at the potion again.
“Yeah…me too.” Luz muttered.
Luz sat down on the bed and took the cork out of the bottle.
Luz then downed the potion.
She then lied down on the couch and settled into what would hopefully be her first good night sleep.
To be continued…