Chapter Text
Sands.
Sands, sands, sands and only sands as far as they can see. In the middle out of nowhere, where they could ever see any other living being beside themselves. How long has it been? They’ve lost count; for the sky has never changed its colour. Still the same dark and murky colour with no light. They’ve been giving up on counting their time.
A lone, shadow-like figure, sitting by the barely noticeable road. A pair of long arms as dark as the night sky itself, with their hands carefully placed on top of their lap. The rough wind made their long hair fly here and there. Oddly enough, none of the sand seems to have caught into their body nor their eyes.
Here they are, sitting still and not even minding the sand or the howling wind. Watching and waiting. Barely moving from where they woke up, they couldn’t even move their lower limb to stand and leave. Back then they’d try to stand; arms pushing themselves from the ground yet they couldn’t move. They even tried crawling, alas they never managed to move not even a millimetre.
There once a bunch of creatures that resembled bugs, walking on two legs, travelled past them. Sometimes carts full of them travelled through the harsh desert, fighting against the wind. Sometimes it’s a lone adventurer, with nothing but a nail-like sword and an elongated mask used as a hat (he stopped by their spot, oddly enough leaving a small charm by the rock beside the shadow-like figure and barely acknowledging them; maybe they thought it was a grave). Sometimes it’s even monsters and creatures alike rising from the sands; its mandibles could even be as big as their head, clicking to each other.
They never once cast a glance at them. All of their attempts to catch their attention turns out to be futile. Be it calling and waving their arms, or even screaming for the monsters that lurked behind them. Not even when those bugs are taken down so easily, consumed by the monsters and leaving nothing but the abandoned carts. And not even those monsters would turn to look at them. None.
They were left unseen, unnoticeable.
Alone. In the middle of nowhere. A desolate place where no one would even see nor hear them.
It was a miracle that they haven’t lost their mind, to be honest.
Hey, at least this lone rock by their side can be a good listener. The shadow has decided to name this one Rocky.
(Okay. Maybe, they are slowly losing their mind.)
In a place where no one could see nor hear them, only their own voice can help them going through the everlasting howling of winds. And so they would sing. Humming song that came upon their head, a tune that only they can hear in the middle of the desert. Singing just for themselves with closed eyes.
Stuck in a foreign place, with no memories of what happened prior to awakening. Nothing about their origin, not even their own name! Just nothing, with a sense of unbelonging—they just know they’re from somewhere faraway, not this place and certainly shouldn’t be here. No matter how much they’re trying to remember, nothing ever came into their mind. Just blank, dark canvasses.
And yet they believe, somehow, that they’re waiting for something. For someone.
(No matter how long time has passed, they kept believing. At least, this way they can quell the insanity that slowly creeped into their mind. Humming all while believing that something will come, someone will come, then they can leave. )
From far away, they heard a faint roaring. (Something. Someone.) Under their closed eyes, they saw a glimpse of orange glow. (Somewhere. Someone.) And then there were cracks.
They opened their eyes, only to be greeted by the void itself.
No. Scratch that. It was a pair of dark eyes(eye sockets?) from a mask (a shell?). In front of them stood a little body. Clad in a dark blue, ripped cloak and with an off white head that’s probably almost twice its body. On top of its (their?) head was a pair of slim, pronged horns.
Since when has this one stood in front of them?
No voice. No presence. Nothing.
An anomaly of life itself.
They stared, and the darkness stared back at them. They tilted their head a little, and the head turned following their movement. When they turned around, seeing nothing but sands behind them. Once they turned back, the same face still stared at them.
Is it perhaps—
They shook their head. The head tilted to the other side, seemingly confused. Now, the shadow could stare at the other creature in pure astonishment. Is it perhaps staring at me?
Meekly, they leaned closer. “ You … Can you see me? ” Oh! It’s been so long since they uttered something else besides singing! The creature only stared, then silently without a word nodding oh-so-gently.
For once they sensed something else. Warmth on their chest. The odd feelings of butterflies tickling their stomach. Oh! Oh, how exciting it is! “ You can? Oh, you can! You, you can see me, aren’t you, little one? ”
The rush of excitement made their words jumbled over each other. They found themselves clenching their palms together, trying to ease the sudden rush. “ And you can hear me too! Right? I mean, if you responded to my words that’d mean you can hear me … but, but you can, right? ”
And they nodded again.
Something akin of a squeal escaped their inexistent lips.
There’s just so many questions bombarding their minds. Who are they? What are they? What made them able to see and hear them? What makes them different from those bugs and monsters that have walked past them? The elation of being seen and heard made them shoot the questions without waiting, enough to make the smaller creature take a step back.
The small head tilted around, moving at every question or so. Their small hands (a pair of small, nub like hands. Hands and fingers so small that it's barely noticeable. How adorable! ) raised upfront. Waving a little, as if trying to say something.
The shadow blinked. Finally they leaned back, putting back the space between them. “ Right, right. Sorry! I got too excited! ”
They stared. And shrugged. Oh, maybe they don’t mind that much.
“ Yeah, right! Sorry, again! It’s, like, been so long since the last time I actually to talk to anyone, you see! ” they spoke. “ For some reason, I woke up here alone as this, uh, shadow-like being. I don’t even know what I am! I can’t even stand to leave this place! And I’ve seen many things pass by me, but no one ever sees me or even hears my voice. So this is a first, that’s why it’s pretty exciting! Hey, how did you hear me? Why can you see me? If you can see me, doesn’t that mean you’re special one way or another? ”
The creature just shrugged once more.
“ Ooh, not much of a talker, aren’t you? Sorry, I talked too much, didn’t I? ”
This time they shook their head.
“ Is that so. Thank you, ” they laughed. It feels so hard to contain themselves when they finally have the chance to be heard by someone.
Once again they look over the small creature. They’re rather small, the smallest creature the shadow ever seen after so long trapped in the desert, even. Even when the shadow was sitting, they’re still looking down on the little creature. The top of their pronged horns barely reached their eyes. But the sight of an old, cracked nail behind them told enough about the shadow—they must be an adventurer! A small one at that! How nice!
Alright. Maybe that’s pretty rude.
They turned, staring at the looming cliff far from them. They don’t know how far it is, but it probably would take days to reach that. They’ve seen adventurers like this one alike, heading towards where the cliff was. Most of them never reached it, eaten by the lurking monster first before they could even escape from the desert. Some easily disappear into one of the caves hidden by the sands.
This one is probably also trying to go there.
“ The path upfront is brutal, little one. Many have met their ends in this desert, eaten by monsters and critters alike, ” they make sure to point at the nearest corpse they could see. “ But keep on walking ahead and you shall find the Howling Cliff. And on the other side of the cliff, you shall find the Fading Town itself, standing atop of the fallen kingdom. ”
“ Huh. The Fading Town? Why do I know this? ”
They had started talking before they could even think about it. Weird. Even though they never leave this spot. Not even able to speak or ask another of where they are and what are the nearest places to safely rest. And the names of those areas just escaped their lips.
The masked creature suddenly bowed their head to them, seemingly to both the shadow’s warning and words. What a surprise, this one turns out to be rather polite! They couldn’t help but chuckle to themselves.
They watched the oddly masked creature left silently, footsteps barely making any noises as they walked against the wind to where the cliff are. The shadow waved at them, until they’re sure they’re unable to see them again and back sitting alone.
“ At least you’re still with me, Rocky. ”
Thank whatever being above no one can hear them talking to this single rock, that slowly eroded by the wind for who knows how long.
They couldn’t stop themselves from humming again, this time more of a cheerful tune than the usual calming one. Their head swung slowly side to side, eyes closed as they continued to humm.
Maybe all of this time, all they needed was someone to actually hear them? Who knows having someone listening to them can make them this delighted. Their chest is still warm from the memory. Although they couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad. Their new interlocutor had left as soon as they arrived. But it can’t be helped, right?
Adventurers were always moving. Travelling from one area to another, looking through the wonders of a fallen kingdom and finding hints of its tale and what had brought it to its fall. Certainly, staying in this windy desert full of monsters waiting beneath the sands wouldn’t be as fun as the charm of a fallen and forgotten kingdom.
Will there be another who can see them in the future? If yes, then they shall wait patiently. Maybe this is what they’re meant for, to be the guide for the next adventurer to where they must head next. This is just like an NPC meant to tell the protagonist their mission at the start of a game.
Now what are they even talking about?
Meeting someone after so long must have driven them even more mad.
They snapped out of their thoughts when they heard the shift of the sands in front of them. When they opened their eyes, there stood the same little adventurer. Huh? Shouldn’t they be starting their journey to the cliff?
The little creature had one of their hand out, palm opened and reaching to the other. The shadow stared at it.
“ I’m sorry, little one. I have nothing I could give you, ” they meekly apologised. “ If you want, you can have my companion here. This rock is Rocky! But I am unable to touch it so you might need to take it yourself— “
They shook their heads, almost a little bit too hard. The opened palm still reached to them, as if … as if asking them to join them?
“ Are you inviting me? ”
And they nodded.
They are being invited! That’s amazing! Yet the excitement left almost immediately. Even if they’re invited by this one, can they really leave this place? All of this time, all attempts to move turns to be futile, after all.
Noticing the change of the mood, the masked one tilted their head. Their hand still offered, not even tired with how long they’ve held it out like that. The longer seconds passed, the more guilt grew inside the shadow’s stomach.
Shadow? Can’t come?
Shudder slithered across their spine almost immediately.
What was that? It feels as if an unknown voice is reverberating inside their head. That was not their voice. They’re sure that voice was intruding their mind earlier.
Shadow?
There it is again. The voices talking over their head. It feels empty, but loud at the same time. As if various children talking together at the same time. It’s not that unpleasant, but still surprising. Who’d even though they will have their mind intruded by someone else? Actually, is that really possible?
The shadow stared at the masked one in front of them. They’re still staring and waiting, tilting their heads as if they did not just talk inside their head.
They talked.
They can talk?!
(Even if it’s quite an … unique way, for the lack of a better word.)
“ Are you really … inviting me? ”
Not good? Those childish voices responded once more. A tinge of sadness coating over their words.
It’s not about whether it’s okay or not, to be honest. It’s more about whether they can or can not.
But can they leave?
If they are really allowed to, they certainly would. The idea of knowing what beyond that cliff. Of stories and relics from the fallen kingdom. Of people that they could possibly meet beside the masked one. Of the light and the darkness.
(Dim orange light they’d see when their eyes closed. Those screams they’d hear from time to time, each time becoming louder and louder.)
(Eight pairs of bright eyes, staring down at them.)
They blinked. There it is again, losing in their own mind.
They stared at the little hand in front of them again. One of their hand already raised, yet still unsure whether to accept it or not. They can feel their fingers shaking, itching to take it. But the possibility of disappointment scares them.
What if nothing still changed? Just because someone can see and hear them doesn’t really mean they can actually change them and suddenly take them away from this place. Right?
But if only …
Maybe …
Hesitantly, they placed their hand on top of the masked creature’s smaller hand. The shadow’s hand literally overwhelming the little one’s smaller nubs. They can feel the coldness of their skin, how it’s surprisingly not as hard as they thought.
If they can change their expression, surely the masked one must have been beaming. They gripped on their bigger hand, gently pulling them. The shadow slowly pushed themselves from the ground, and—
… they’re moving.
They’re actually moving?
Oh. Their arms suddenly feel weak. They’re still holding onto the masked creature, as they push themselves even more, until they’re finally standing. They looked down, noticing something like a long skirt falling from their waist down to the ground. Certainly a different body part than the bugs they’ve seen passing by. But they’re sure that they’re currently standing .
They really are standing!
Currently they’re still bending over, hands still attached to the masked one—who currently looked up at them. Seems like even the little one is surprised. Who would even thought the shadow-like creature is at least give head tall over them once they’re standing.
They can’t contain their laughter anymore. Once they let the masked one’s hand go, they started to spin and twirl around. Their arms spread out and their stomach tingling with a different kind of excitement.
“ Little one, ” they finally spoke again, facing the small masked creature. “ Just what are you? You can see me. You can hear me. You talked to me in my head. You can touch me. And I can actually move thanks to you!”
They were only answered with a head tilt. Of course they wouldn’t know either, huh.
But that’s fine. This is more than enough. Oh! Today is such a great day to be alive! Laughing to themselves, the shadow reached for the masked creature’s hands, holding them tightly. “ Thank you, little on. Thank you … ”
Those small hands held back almost as tight. Their head nodding excessively.
Chuckling, they finally let go of those hands. “ Right, you’re going to the Fading Town, right? Is your invitation still available? ” They felt excitement rise once more when the masked one answered with a nod. “ Well, little one, I think I will accept your invitation now. ”
Slowly, they kneeled into the ground once more. One of their hands extended to the masked creature, “ Please take care of me, little one. ”
Blank, dark eyes stared into the hand. Before they took it almost immediately and shook them firmly.
And thus began their adventure together.
Higher beings, these words are for you alone.
Beyond this point you enter the land of King and Creator.
Step across this threshold and obey our laws.
Bear witness to the last and only civilisation,
The Eternal Kingdom, Hallownest.