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The large temple stood before the great King of Hallownest. Its stature was as threatening as it was magnificent. The temple was never meant to be too grand; its sole purpose was to hold the very vessel standing right beside him. The king looked to his side. The looming frame of the vessel stood tall and straight. Trained to perfection by many years of effort and skill. The vessel’s outer cloak shined with a brilliance only pale beings like them could replicate. Its mother, the Queen of Hallownest, spent many a fortnight creating such delicately woven fabrics. Slung across its back was a nail fine-tuned and sharpened to perfection by the greatest smiths of Hallownest. The blade was sharp enough to cut through solid stone. The vessel looked down at its father, its dark void-filled eyes gazing straight into the similar eyes of the King. It was impossible to tell what the vessel would think, if it could think at all.
No mind to think
The phrase repeated within the King’s mind. That was one of three requirements needed for a vessel to be pure. Purity was the only way it could contain the god-sent plague ravaging the kingdom. The King started walking into the temple, the vessel followed. Inside the archway of the temple was a structure, pitch-black in color. Through tireless nights, the King perfected the art of manipulating the dark substance known as void.
Thanks to the King’s, and a select few others’, ingenuity, they created a shield to stop the spread of the void’s effects outside the structure. The only entrance, in and out, of the void egg was a single passage. While currently open, it shall be sealed shortly after the vessel’s initial containment. The seal will be created by the sacrifice of Hallownest’s three most powerful bugs, other than the King and the Queen.
Upon walking into the darkness of the egg, the floor glowed in a pattern similar to the ones strewn throughout the KIng’s palace. The interlacing patterns spread, creating a walkway leading up to the epicenter of the egg’s voidic power.
The two walked deeper within the void egg. Each step echoing off the infinitely dark walls. Their features only illuminated by the patterns on the floor. Even the King’s natural and godly glow was deafened by the consuming effects of void.
The King looked back towards the entrance. Outside awaited his five knights, the greatest fighting force the kingdom has to offer, and his wife. They all awaited the King’s return to announce that the vessel had taken in the infection.
The poor being, it is to bear the entire weight of the kingdom’s salvation. The plague, sent by an angry goddess, has infected too many bugs, all whose wills were not strong enough to save them. The will of each bug, poured into a willess being.
No will to break
The second rule of purity. For a vessel to be purely empty within, it mustn't have a will clogging up its being. To have a will is to have a resistance against the plague, no matter how weak the resistance may be. The vessel cannot have any resistance, its entire goal is to hold the goddess prisoner.
The King and vessel reached just outside the center. A smaller egg would be the final containment for the vessel. Once it had absorbed the god, it would never leave.
Outside of the center, was a singular chair. The King had used it himself while perfecting the egg’s structure. Beside the chair, was a stone tablet. It had a single message carved into it by the King himself.
Vessel. Thought bound, you shall know the state of the world.
Hallownest will be whole again.
It was a sentiment. A final message that none other will see. A promise that its actions will not be in vain. The King looked at the vessel. Its shell, similar to his. Its form, similar to the Queen’s.
The King continued, the vessel following behind. They stepped into the dimly lit center. A few lumafly bulbs on the top, allowed for light to be seen. The void wouldn’t enter here, since it is protected.
Six chains lay, enchanted with powerful seals, ready to hoist the vessel high into the air. The vessel walked to the center, waiting for the King to finish the task.
The King searched for words to say. A final speech to send off the vessel to its infinite imprisonment. However, he found none. He wished the vessel would speak a final goodbye, but he knew that too was impossible.
No voice to cry of suffering
The third and final requirement for purity. Without a voice, it would truly be empty. Without a will, it will have no resistance. Without a mind, it will have nothing to lose.
The king thought back. He thought back to the creation of the vessel. He thought back to the millions of others who had died alone and afraid. All those who didn’t meet the three requirements, the three rules. All of them his own spawn; his own children.
The King looked back at his child. It’s empty eyes seemingly not-so-empty. The King knew. He knew that this would all be in vain. He knew he had failed. For inside this vessel was a mind. For inside this vessel was a will.
The King’s own abilities led him to realize far too late that his goal was unobtainable. His foresight warned him too late. But, this would be a temporary fix. It will give him time to figure out another way to stop the plague.
He failed at his own personal goal. He had grown attached. He had grown to love the being he swore not to. This is why he always showed it compassion and love. This is why this vessel was his child.
He gestured for his child to kneel, and so it did. The king tried to speak, but he couldn’t. He never thought he’d struggle saying goodbye to something he trained for years to send away.
He decided that if anything, now would be the final moment of love. The final moment where maybe he’ll become less of a monster.
The King pulled his child into an embrace. A hug that felt right. His child froze. Never in its life had it received such an emotional moment from its father. But after a moment, it too embraced. The hug lasted for longer than the King could remember. The moments felt like hours.
The King finally let the love for his child, the love of being a father, out. And with one final sentence, one final interaction before the sealing, the King told his child, “I love you.”