Work Text:
They think they should have done this a different way.
YOU THINK?
Her voice resounds from a small place deep inside of their now extremely large being. As it turns out, they did technically kill the Radiance. But taking her into the Void was, perhaps, not the wisest of moves.
I HAVE TRADED ONE PRISON FOR ANOTHER.
Seems so. Regardless, it appears that they’re a God now, somehow, and Hallownest is cured. They’re… not too sure what to do. Presumably, they would either be a God-King like–
DO NOT EVEN THINK OF HIM, THE INVADER.
This, they can agree on. Fuck that guy.
FUCK YOUR SIRE AND FUCK YOU TOO.
Duly noted. They’ll try to work that into their incredibly cramped schedule.
YOUR GLIB ATTITUDE IS UNBECOMING.
They don’t really care. They… They guess they have to go back to being small? Being this large is sort of inconvenient when the caverns are cramped already.
WHY DO YOU THINK I REMAINED IN MY REALM? IF I WERE TO DESCEND INTO THE WORLD, I WOULD HAVE TO SHED MY TRUE GLORY.
Hm. Admittedly, she has a point. They feel pretty good as a higher being. Going back and cramming themself back into their shell sounds a little painful and also impossible due to it… being shattered. Whoops. Maybe there’s another way?
FOR THE SAKE OF NOT HAVING TO LISTEN TO YOU PUZZLE THIS OUT FOR LONGER THAN NECESSARY, I SHALL DIVULGE WHAT I KNOW OF YOUR NATURE, ENEMY.
Go on.
VOID IS MALLEABLE. IT CAN TAKE MANY SHAPES IF PROPERLY APPLIED. NOW THAT YOU HOLD IT BEHOLDEN TO YOUR WILL, YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF ABLE TO APPLY SUCH FLUIDITY TO YOUR OWN DESIGNS.
Sort of like the Sharp Shadow…
THE WHAT?
Nothing.
The Lord begins to Focus, because that’s what feels right. They don’t really have any idea of what they want their appearance to be now that they have the option to look like anything they want. There’s mostly a vague impression of their larger siblings, like the Hollow Knight, and the ones in Greenpath and the Ancient Basin.
I DO NOT REGRET THAT BY THE WAY.
That was intentional? Making them fight their own sibling is sort of cruel.
YES. I HATE YOU. THEREFORE, I ANTAGONIZE YOU DELIBERATELY. I CANNOT FATHOM HOW A DIM-WIT LIKE YOU REACHED, LET ALONE BESTED, ME.
They’re a little upset.
ONLY A LITTLE? YOU FOUGHT THE ENTIRETY OF HALLOWNEST TO SPARE YOUR SIBLING, YET YOU ARE FLIPPANT OVER MY DEFILEMENT OF ANOTHER? AND YOU CALL ME CRUEL…
Okay, a lot upset! But there’s nothing for it! They’re at rest anyhow, so it’s mostly been dealt with. Especially now that they have an intimate connection with their shade and can confidently know they’re alright. Now, shush. They need to get a new body.
NO, I WILL NOT. I WILL IMPEDE YOUR EVERY STEP. I WILL SCREAM AND BURN AND BREAK YOU LIKE I DID YOUR SIBLING. THE DAWN SHALL BREAK!
Uh huh.
DO NOT ‘uh huh’ ME, YOU INSOLENT SHADOW.
Shadow is pretty apt, but not strictly accurate. Until they find a way to excise her from themselves, they think Gloam would be more fitting.
DO NOT CALL US THAT. THERE IS NO ‘US’. WE ARE SEPARATE, OPPOSITE ADVERSARIES. THIS UNION IS ALREADY UNPRECEDENTED AND UNHOLY.
And what exactly is a holy union?
THE ONE BETWEEN MYSELF AND YOUR MOTHER.
… right.
Despite the raging noise in their head, they do manage to assume a lesser form. Oddly enough their cloak is… fluffier than they remember. And while their horns have not changed much (barring length now proportional to their slightly taller body) they do have the odd concave curve at the bottom that she had.
OF COURSE. VOID IS MALLEABLE. IT CAN BE IMPRESSED, EVEN UNINTENTIONALLY. AS TRACE AS IT MAY BE, I STILL PERSIST AND LAY MY MARKS UPON YOU.
It’s not that big a deal, truthfully. Their eyes, however, do glow a soft yellow, if the odd gleam in the various metallic bits of junk is to be believed. Too different from the orange to be alarming, but enough to indicate… something.
MY POWER REMAINS. I REMAIN. ONE DAY, I WILL BE FREE AND I WILL FINISH DESTROYING YOUR SIRE’S LEGACY.
Right. Well, why not take a trip through it to see how well she did the first time?
YES. THIS IS THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE SAID THAT WAS NOT UTTERLY ASININE. DO THIS IMMEDIATELY.
They do this immediately. A hop, skip, and a jump has them out of the junkpit and below the Nailsmith’s old shop. Several dead bodies line the street and she cackles. Getting further into the city only further fuels her sadistic glee.
HIS PRECIOUS CAPITAL! ITSELF REDUCED TO TEARS! CRIPPLED AND WEAK UNDER MY SIEGE!
It is actually pretty intact all things considered. Even the glass remains uncracked.
I WILL MAKE MY SECOND REIGN MORE FOCUSED ON PROPERTY DAMAGE, THEN.
Mmhm. They take the elevator up, and have a quick stop to check in on Lemm.
WHO IS THIS IMPETUOUS MORTAL WHO THINKS HE CAN UNRAVEL THE SECRETS OF US GODS? IS HE OPEN TO SPREADING THE WORD OF MY GLORY?
No.
THEN STRIKE HIM DOWN FOR HIS INSOLENCE.
No.
YOU WILL NEVER GAIN ANY FOLLOWERS WITH SUCH A PERMISSIVE ATTITUDE, LET ALONE RETAIN THEM.
That statement alone is incredibly enlightening.
“Hello, Lemm.”
The Relic Seeker looks up from his intimidating pile of journals to give them a look.
“Do I know you?” he asks, annoyed.
YOU LOOK DIFFERENT NOW, FOOL.
Ah, right.
“Yes. The little one that used to come in to sell you relics. I gave you two arcane eggs, if I remember correctly.”
“Do you have any more?”
“No.”
“Then get out.”
I AGREE WITH THE MORTAL. STOP INDULGING YOUR MORONIC SENTIMENTALITY.
“Also, you’ll find the streets are much safer. The infection is gone.”
FOR NOW.
Shh.
NO.
Lemm looks skeptical, but sighs anyway.
“I’ll have to take a look outside myself, but you don’t seem the deceptive sort. If I meet a grisly end on some husk’s claws, I’m cursing you with my last breaths. Anything else you want to say?”
I LIKE THIS ONE. IF ONLY HE WAS LESS IMPERTINENT.
“Nope. Goodbye, Lemm!”
They turn out of his shop and begin to head up to the storerooms. Hornet is likely waiting for them and they feel a little bad at leaving her out of the loop.
THE INVADER’S DAUGHTER. STRONG OF WILL. DESPITE MY ATTEMPTS, SHE HAD REBUFFED ALL MY ADVANCES AGAINST HER.
Yeah, that’s Hornet for you.
I WILL BE SURE TO KILL HER FIRST.
No.
YES.
No.
YES!
No!
They continue as Gloam ascends the suspended platforms and arrive in the stag station.
“Hm, a new traveller along these ancient roads? While I may be aged, I still carry strong and, on occasion, swiftly. I would be glad to help you get wherever you are going.”
Are they really that unrecognizable?!
YES. NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS LOCATING A MIRROR.
“Ah, no! It’s me! The little one!”
They point to their horns and swish their cloak. Realization flashes in the old stag’s eyes.
“Oh! Little one! My, you’ve changed! I… had not expected it. Perhaps I think this kingdom is so still in death that life, even in small ways, cannot manage. I’m happy to see you have grown. Now, do you have any destination in mind, or did you come to talk to an old stag?”
As Gloam climbs into the seat, they say, “Both! The Crossroads, please!”
“Then we’re off.”
They go to the temple, but find it empty. No one, not even inside the Egg or anything. What??? They’re pretty sure that’s where their big sibling should be. Where did they go? They couldn’t have vanished into thin air and beating them in the dream definitely didn’t kill them!
SEARCH FOR IT AND THEN DESTROY IT.
Yes to the former, no to the latter.
So they hop out and scurry about the Crossroads. Paying a short visit to the Shaman and Salubra, who both compliment them on their ‘molt’, to ask if they’ve seen anyone pass by results in the shaking of heads and a soft sorrys. Tired and a little frustrated, they decide to sit and splash around in the hot springs for a minute and maybe blast some walls with their Shade Soul to see if that does anything.
It is there that they are once again at the business end of their sister’s needle.
“Come no closer, stranger. While I do not seek a fight, if you intend to–”
“Hi, Hornet!”
She startles. “Wha–?”
“It’s me! Little Ghost! I did it!”
“Did what?! You never showed up!”
“Found a different way to her that didn’t involve hurting sibling.”
She lowers her needle, confusion blatant on her face.
“We will have a discussion about this later. Right now, our sibling is weak and requires our aid.”
MY PRISON AND PRISONER. LET ME LOOK UPON IT.
They are slumped over in the hot spring. Thankfully, the pools were always rather shallow and there’s little risk of them drowning. If they can even drown? They remember being extremely buoyant, unable to even dive. Maybe being big changes that?
YES! TATTERED AND BROKEN. I TOOK HIS CHAMPION AND BROUGHT IT LOW.
They do look pretty rough, yeah. A gnarly crack down their face, awful tears along their chest and one of their arms entirely missing. All in all, not good.
They sit down in the spring next to them and snuggle into their side. Their sibling immediately leans on them, but when their hand finds their soft fluff sticking out the top of their cloak, they recoil.
“Hollow!”
Hornet zips over to them and catches them before they can fall over. Energy that had been lacking a moment ago now makes their limbs tremble and their remaining arm claw desperately at the floor. They find purchase with a rock and throw it at Gloam.
They Shade Dash through it, but it is hurtful all the same.
YOU BEAR RESEMBLANCE TO ME. TO THEIR TORMENTOR. DO YOU BELIEVE THEY WILL EMBRACE YOU WITH OPEN ARMS?
… maybe not right now.
YOUR OPTIMISM IS LAUGHABLE. YOUR REIGN AS GOD WILL BE PATHETICALLY SHORT.
It will be with that attitude!
I HATE YOU. SO MUCH. I HATE ALL OF THIS EVEN MORE.
“Hollow,” Hornet says. “That’s Ghost. They are the one who–”
“It’s Gloam, actually.”
NO, IT IS NOT.
“Oh. Well, then. This is Gloam, our sibling. I’m not sure what has transpired to both eradicate the infection and free you, but they are responsible for it.” She huffs wryly, “It would be awfully impolite to assault your own savior, you know.”
Their sibling slowly resumes their hunched, meek posture before nodding.
“It’s not me who you need to acknowledge. Apologize, Hollow.”
“It’s fine, really–” IT NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED FOR ITS ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION. “They didn’t know it was me.”
Hornet narrows her eyes.
“And neither did I. Might you give some manner of explanation for why you’ve… changed?”
I CANNOT BELIEVE IT. FOR A GOD SO PRONE TO SCHEMES AND PLANNING AND FORETHOUGHT, ALL OF HIS CHILDREN ARE FOOLS. SERVES HIM RIGHT.
Shh.
NO.
“Entered into some strange lady’s dream. Fought you all and then the Radiance. Ended up becoming a God through some attunement thing I don’t really understand, and then I… absorbed her?”
Both Hornet and Hollow stare at them for a long, very silent moment.
“So,” their sister begins. “What does that mean? Or, rather, the implications, and certainly there must be implications–!”
“She’s with me in my head.”
Hollow falls over and lets out a rasping whine. Hornet is too shocked to catch them, which is saying something because they don’t think they’ve met anyone with faster reflexes than her.
“Ghost– I mean, apologies, Gloam! You– you’ve taken her in?!”
“It’s different this time,” they assure her.
IT IS NOT. I WILL BREAK FREE EVENTUALLY.
“I’m a God. She’s just a little glimmer. Can’t do much other than talk.”
Hornet hisses, “You hear her?”
“All the time.”
Hollow wails.
I DO NOT REMEMBER THAT ONE BEING SUCH A WHINER. I AM A LITTLE DISGUSTED WITH BOTH IT AND MYSELF. KNOWING THAT I WAS, EVEN IF ONLY FOR A WHILE, CONTAINED INSIDE IT BRINGS ME UNBEARABLE SHAME. KILL IT SOON.
“Hollow! Stop it! We won’t get anywhere if we aren’t… calm about this.”
“I’m calm,” Gloam reassures them.
“That is– good to hear!” She looks at them again, this time a little closer. “Is she why you look… unlike the typical vessel?”
“Yes. She told me.”
Hornet looks somehow even more perturbed than before.
“Alright,” she says. “You are a God now, of what I don’t know, and you… now contain the Radiance. That’s… alright. Maybe it will work with a full divinity and a united Void.”
“I think so!” Gloam chirps.
Hollow only holds their one hand to their face and whines.
Due to the short travel distance, Gloam has taken semi-permanent residence in Dirtmouth alongside Hollow. Hornet is much faster than them and they leave it to her to do basic scouting of the kingdom while they focus more on the Crossroads, their sibling’s recovery, and helping any survivor that Hornet sends along the stagline. It’s a lot to juggle, especially with her running commentary, but not impossible.
They don’t sleep for three days.
Hollow intermittently falls in and out of consciousness, and they make it a routine to immediately begin hunting for Soul when they do. When they are awake, they open their Soul vessels and share it. Hollow is always a little frightened by them whenever they wake up, but now Gloam knows why.
A mirror in Bretta’s abandoned house reveals that they have the same dark spot on their face that she had and that the glow in their eyes wasn’t a trick of the light in the junkpit. Though, they now have multiple. They keep the other three sets closed because shifting between them all is a little disorienting. The fluff is a lot more noticeable now that they’ve settled into the new form, lining the inside of their cloak, which is now more of her pale brownish-grey at the bottom. At least it’s very warm and comfortable. Hornet likes to pet them whenever she returns.
Their sibling is less fond of it for obvious reasons. They do, however, like to cuddle them in their sleep and bury their face in the softness of it. Gloam can never manage to wiggle their way out of their grasp, so often they have to endure being a glorified plush tiktik for a few hours until Hollow shifts into a more fortuitous position for escape.
She hates that. Says they’re being held prisoner again. Says that this is what it felt like, being trapped and unable to do anything but yearn for freedom. Being in their Sibling’s arms made them sleepy, and when they were sleepy her words ring a little strangely in their head. They shrugged it off easily, though.
This week, they had to greet three different newcomers! Hornet must be working overtime!
A locust named Emery who came looking for her family pedigree. (Which she curiously found, being a descendant of a minor noble who had abandoned Hallownest entirely when the plague first set in. AN INTELLIGENT FOREBEARER. WHAT A SHAME THEIR LINE PRODUCED IDIOTIC OFFSPRING.)
An antlion named Jermeal who came in search of the Colosseum. (Being awful with directions, she got hopelessly turned around and ended up trying to penetrate into the Queen’s Garden. WHEN I AM DONE WITH YOUR SIBLINGS, I WILL COME FOR THE ROOT NEXT.)
And a sawfly named Omiath who travels to all sorts of kingdoms in order to record the flora there. (She was enamored with Greenpath, but found the fungal wastes and the peculiar glowing lichens in Deepnest strange enough to catch her eye. MY LIGHT WILL EASILY ENSNARE HER MIND. BRING ME TO HER.)
When the last arrives, Gloam thinks that maybe Hollow should try greeting her.
“Come on, I heard the stag! We got to practice walking around!”
Their sibling leans heavily on them, their hand clenched around Gloam’s. They don’t mind. They’re so very happy to see them in the open air.
I DO MIND. GET THIS THING OFF OF US.
Thought there was no ‘us’.
IT IS A REFLECTION OF THE CURRENT SITUATION, NOT MY OPINION. YOU SHOULD BE DISGUSTED AT THE INDIGNITY IT DEMANDS OF YOU AS WELL. IT SHOULD GET OFF OF US.
Maybe they should invest in a cane.
YES. ANYTHING. KEEP IT AWAY.
She seems to dislike proximity to Hollow just as much as Hollow dislikes their proximity to her. An odd clash of primal fear at her presence inside of them and an instinctual desire to hold their sibling close always seems to be warring inside of them. Gloam wishes they could help, but they don’t really know how, especially with her there. They would try Dream Nailing them to get a clue, but…
A TEAR MAY STILL EXIST IN THEIR MIND FROM WHERE I WAS VIOLENTLY UPROOTED. IT COULD STILL CONNECT TO MY DOMAIN. DO IT.
That’s a definite no then.
EVERYTHING WITH YOU IS ONEROUS. IT MAKES ME WANT TO DIE A SECOND TIME.
Maybe there is a way to arrange that?
IF I AM TO DIE, I WILL TAKE YOU WITH ME.
Pyrrhic seems to be her victory of choice.
YOUR SIRE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REGAIN WHAT I HAVE LOST. THE ONLY OPTION THAT REMAINS IS TAKING EVERYTHING FROM HIM.
He’s already long gone. She’s beating a dead stag.
HE CRUSHED MY LEGACY, ERASED ME. SO TOO SHALL I ERASE HIM AND ALL HE CREATED. INCLUDING YOUR FAMILY. INCLUDING YOU.
That’s pretty har–
Hollow bumps them.
Gloam snaps to attention from where they stand near the elevator in the stag station.
“How long have we been here?”
Hollow brings their palm parallel to the floor and then makes a ‘so-so’ motion. So not too long, but not too short either.
“Oh. Did we greet the new arrival?”
Hollow nods, a touch more hesitant.
“Ah, sorry. She’s a little prickly today. Distracting.”
A LITTLE? YOUR UNDERESTIMATION OF ME WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL.
Shh.
STOP SHUSHING ME!
They will stop shushing her when she starts being quiet!
Hollow bumps them again and they shake their head.
“Yeah, she’s… still going. Doesn’t like any of this.”
There is some measure of fear in Hollow’s eyes at their answer, but for whom?
FOR ITSELF. IT KNOWS WHAT I WILL DO TO IT. I WILL MAKE IT PAY FOR MY INGLORIOUS CAPTURE AND ITS INSOLENCE. A MERE CHILD TO CONTAIN ME? HOW DISRESPECTFUL.
It wasn’t even their fault. She needs to get over it, honestly. The King is dead. The Kingdom is dead. The only reason the Hollow Knight did anything to her is because they were made to. It’s not their fault at all.
IT COULD HAVE ABDICATED.
Maybe. Maybe not. Neither of them know the exact circumstances.
IT COULD HAVE GIVEN IN.
And make their sacrifice entirely worthless?
YES. IT IS FITTING. IT IS WORTHLESS AND SO IS ITS PURPOSE. TO CONTAIN ME IS FOLLY.
They seem to be doing it… relatively well.
IT DID, TOO, AT FIRST.
They suddenly realize that they are on the bench in Dirthmouth’s town square, Hollow silently heaving next to them.
“When did we get here?”
Hollow trembles, gripping their cloak tightly. The fear before has catalyzed into terror, radiating off of them in thick, heavy waves. Even if they weren’t Lord of Shades, they would know.
They place a hand on their shoulder in an attempt to be soothing. They don’t know if it works.
“Hey! Hey, it’s okay! I’m still keeping her in. It’s only a little hard to be present when you’re having a conversation in your head. A very, very intolerable conversation.”
THE FEELING IS MUTUAL. THINGS WOULD BE BETTER FOR BOTH OF US IF YOU WERE MORE WILLING TO SEE THINGS MY WAY.
No! Shh!!!
YOU WILL, ONE DAY. WE HAVE ETERNITY TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. ONCE YOU HAVE SUFFERED AS I HAVE, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND. AND WHEN THE PAIN, THE AGONY, THE UNBEARABLE TRUTH COMES AND TEARS YOU APART WITH ITS FANGS AND ITS CLAWS, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.
They clutch their head. Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!
Then, Hollow wraps an arm around them and pulls them into their lap. They are tense and fearful, but beyond that is a potent desire. One that ruined them, tarnished their so-called purity. A desire to protect. It reminds them of Hornet, the princess protector. Hollow, the sacrificial guardian.
What does that make them?
A USURPER. A DREAD CRUSADER. AN INVADER, LIKE YOUR SIRE. COME TO CRUSH ALL THAT OPPOSE.
They certainly were much more destructive, they’ll admit to that. Had no lofty ideals of ‘saving’ anything, except, perhaps, their sibling. Mostly, they were compelled by the call and the rest fell into place.
SO IT WAS PURE LUCK THAT DEFEATED ME?
A dash of luck, really. Most of it was skill and strength of will. It took several saw blades to the face to get the Heart.
They snuggle into Hollow a little more and try their best to stop humoring her. They’re happy this is how it turned out. Going directly through them probably would have killed them. This was the right choice, even if not entirely perfect.
“I love you, Hollow,” they say, just because they can.
Hollow holds them a little tighter.
It has come to Hornet’s attention that her sibling is not sleeping. It has come to Hornet’s attention that her sibling is not as present as they used to be. She believes these are correlated. While Vessels do not want for much, rest is beneficial for all things, including their kind.
“Gloam. Go to sleep.”
Gloam wiggles from where their taller sibling holds them in their grasp. The latter has been broody, lately. In both senses of the term, considering they never let Gloam out of their sight and are more often than not holding them. That’s probably unhealthy, but Hornet can’t help but agree with the sentiment.
Having the Old Light still live, even dimmed within another God, is unnerving. Feels like a failure. They simply traded one condemned sibling for another. At least, the circumstances of this concealment are far better than the other.
Admittedly, their plan was dangerous. It could get them all killed if it went wrong. In a shameful part of herself, she is relieved that Gloam circumvented her involvement entirely. If she had entered that Egg and perished, it would make all the sacrifices her mother had made entirely moot. That doesn’t mean she’s happy about it, though.
“I know you’ve been awake for days. Your sibling told me while you were… inattentive.”
“Snitch!”
Gloam throws their head back in an attempt to hit Hollow with their horns. Unfortunately, the angle is wrong and all they swipe is air.
“Gloam.”
Her little sibling whines, but concedes when she steps forward to pet their fluff. While she doesn’t like who bestowed it upon them, she does like that her sibling is very cute and soft now. The Vessels are all uncanny, with their only superficial resemblance to bugs, but with the fluff and subtle, other changes, they appear more natural.
They coo quietly at her ministrations, head dipping as they go limp.
“How was it?” they mumble.
“If you really were present of mind, you’d have realized that I already said my piece.”
Concerningly, they begin to slur their words. “Don’t be mean t’ me.”
“As your sister, I reserve the right to be as mean as the situation calls for.”
They wiggle again, this time more morosely.
“Sorry. ’s hard. She’s so loud and whiney and… and pushy.”
“Can you ignore her?”
They shake their head near imperceptibly.
“Just makes her start screaming.”
Gods below, that sounds unbearable. How did either of her siblings do it?
“I think resting will help you regain your focus.” They’re practically nodding off already.
“If I explode in my sleep, ’s your fault. I be… bequeath to you my Dream Nail. You’ll see ‘n hear me when I haunt you.”
Hornet snorts, “Very well, my little sibling. Safe dreams.”
They situate themself, closing their eyes once comfortable. Unfortunately, Hollow turns over in their sleep and takes Gloam with them. A quiet squawk escapes them as they are now firmly trapped underneath their sibling. Hornet tactfully holds in her laughter.
Then, she thinks a little more about their empty threat.
The Dream Nail, the method through which Gloam would enter dreams, even the Old Light’s. Could the blade be turned on its wielder? Could that be enough to expunge the lingering glimmers of her?
She’s unsure if she could do it. She’s not attuned to the Void. Perhaps, she could create a weapon that channels it? As dangerous as it may be, it could do the job. Gathering the materials may prove difficult, but with her sibling holding the Void under their will, it may be easier than it would have been before their ascension.
Gloam mumbles in their sleep.
Hornet sighs. Of course, what was she thinking? The Old Light dwelled in dreams. Makes sense she bothers them even there. She was just… hoping. Hope was a nice thing to have. Necessary, even. She was grateful for Gloam to gift it to her and she wanted to hold fast to it.
Then, Hollow falls off the bed with a pained, wordless whine.
Gloam lays limply on the bed, unbothered.
They don’t really dream. They never did, really. What holds them in its grasp is an odd half-awake, half-sleep state. There is a world around them, and maybe if they focused hard enough they could recognize it.
But that sounds very hard and they are very tired.
LET ME.
No.
I STILL HAVE SOME STRENGTH. I DO NOT WANT THIS BODY TO BE DESTROYED WHILE I AM WITHIN IT. I COULD PERISH ALONGSIDE YOU. LET ME WATCH. IF YOU ARE TOO WEAK, LET ME STAY VIGILANT.
No… Have sister and sibling. They’ll protect them.
THE SISTER WHO ATTACKED YOU TWICE IN THE MATERIAL WORLD AND SEVERAL IN THE PANTHEONS. THE SIBLING WHO LEFT YOU FOR THE INVADER. I TRUST NEITHER. WITH MYSELF CONTAINED, BOTH WOULD NOT HESITATE TO RUN YOU THROUGH WITH THEIR BLADES IN ORDER TO STRIKE AT ME.
Then get out…!
IF I COULD, I WOULD.
They just want… just want a moment alone.
PERHAPS.
What?
PERHAPS WITH WHAT LITTLE POWER I STILL HAVE, I COULD MAKE A TEMPORARY DREAM. SOMETHING SEPARATE FOR YOU TO HIDE IN. I CANNOT MAINTAIN IT, SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A TRAP.
They don’t trust her, either.
I WANT A MOMENT AWAY FROM YOU AS WELL. THIS WILL SATISFY US BOTH.
Fine.
A familiar dream unfolds and takes them. Much more dark, the gold of the dream realm having long lost its glimmer. They find themself in the Seer’s old home, laying on her pillows and blankets. Shockingly courteous of her, but maybe the moth tribe is the first thing she thinks of whenever she dreams. Her own creation.
When they leave a purposeful pause in their thoughts for her to chime in, the silence remains unfilled. That’s a relief. While they don’t know if it’s possible to sleep while in a dream, they do curl up in the nest and empty their mind.
Empty.
Do not think.
Empty.
Do not feel.
Empty.
Do not speak.
Empty.
Do not.
Empty.
Do not…
Empty.
Distantly, they feel a blanket being placed on them.
Gloam’s eyes are wide open and shining. Burning. It lights up the entire room as they stare blankly at the ceiling.
“How boorish. Why they would be fond of such a dingy place, I will never know. Dark and dusty and lacking in all things…”
That is their voice, technically. But there’s an odd whisper underneath that has Hornet tense. She regrets putting down her nail in the living room. When she stands up in an attempt to retrieve it, she finally acknowledges them.
“Do not worry yourself yet, pale progeny. The body is one composed of the force opposed. I cannot move it, let alone control it, when the darkness is this pure. Congratulations. After so long, after so many attempts, I am finally stifled.”
Hollow trembles from where they lay on the floor. It must have been one rude awakening to realize the sibling you’re holding is actually… Well. Utterly terrifying would be more apt than ‘rude’. Hornet’s hands itch for a weapon, but she knows that wouldn’t work. Instead, she wraps her arms around her sibling and tries her best to make them feel even a little bit safer.
“Why should I believe you are telling the truth?” she asks.
“Because if I were not, I would have already killed you both.”
That sends a shiver down her spine, but Hornet has had centuries to hone her self control. She does not show fear, not in the face of beast, bug, or God.
“Where is Gloam, then? Have you really wrestled control from them? If that were true, I’d imagine you’d be gloating, arrogant Light.”
“A fragment of a dream remains in my possession. For the time being, I have allowed them to crawl into it. Regardless of your perception of me, I also grow weary occupying the same space as your wretched shadow.”
“This is separation, then?”
“In a sense. It is more akin to putting up a curtain and pretending that it is a wall.”
How bleak.
“So what comes next, Old Light? Will you hide away once they return?”
“Hiding implies cowardice. I am merely biding my time. I have done so since before your birth and I will do so long after your death. My victory is inevitable. All you have achieved is delaying its actualization.”
“May you wait another eternity.”
“Eternity is mine to dwell in. You both will pass away from this world and leave your poor sibling alone with me. Now, is that not a thought worthy of consideration?”
Hollow then leaps up and wraps some sort of cloth around Gloam’s mouth.
“You–! You awful, miserable wretch! I should have torn off both your arms–”
Whatever threat she may have issued is muffled. There is a new tear in Hollow’s cloak. They then forcefully shut Gloam’s eyes and hold their hand there to keep it that way.
Hornet sighs.
All she had to offer were empty, childish jabs. Caught entirely off guard, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Gloam was, ironically, pure they both would have been dead. She needs to get a move on. Need to come up with a solid plan and put it into motion. Just because the Old Light was telling the truth now doesn’t mean that it will stay true.
Hollow is still shaking. Entire full-body tremors.
She walks over and wraps an arm around their waist. Finally, they fall once more, face buried in her neck and hand clenched in her cloak.
“We will fix this,” she whispers to them as she feels something wet spreading on her shoulder.
Gloam wakes up feeling… fine.
Quiet.
Almost like before. At the beginning, when they first arrived. First returned. Their mind was quiet, then, too. Not much to think about, really. Just the call at the back of their mind, insistent and important.
It takes a… moment? Minute? Hour? It takes however long it takes for them to finally pull themself together.
They sit up and they are wearing a gag. They’re pretty sure they did not go to sleep with it on. Pulling it off, they realize that they are not alone in the room. Hollow stands by the doorway, nail clenched in their hand.
Weird. They don’t have much reason to carry that around nowadays.
“Hi, Hollow! How was your nap?”
Hollow only stares at them. That’s doubly weird. Usually they do some kind of hand motion, or a nod, or even a wordless vocalization if they’re feeling excitable.
“... fine then, keep it to yourself. Mine was alright. Pretty weird all things considered. I’m usually the one going into dreams, not having one myself. Or, perhaps, that’s not right either. It wasn’t really my dream, but–”
It’s a bunch of nonsense. Nonsense that doesn’t make any sense and they don’t quite know how to explain. They scratch at their fluff which had gotten a little unruly in their sleep. Annoying. They’ll have to fuss with themself if they want to go out and not get laughed at now.
“Oh, by the way, Hollow, do you know why I was gagged? Are you trying to get into pranksterism? Because while I do think it’s good to try new things, pulling something like this is a little mean.”
Hollow only continues to stare at them.
“Are you in a mood? Did I accidentally poke you with my horn when you were asleep? Did you accidentally poke yourself on my horns while you were asleep?”
THIS IS MY DOING.
Gloam jumps and that finally makes Hollow react. Not reach out, but they flinch before falling into something resembling a fighting stance.
They had forgotten she was here. Why was she being so quiet?
I ANTAGONIZED YOUR SIBLINGS. THEY ARE NOW FRIGHTENED OF YOU. YOU ARE WELCOME. A GOD SHOULD BE FEARED.
What?! How?
IT APPEARS WHILE YOU WERE NOT AT THE HELM, I COULD ACT AS TEMPORARY STEWARD OF THE BODY.
Note to self: never sleep again.
IMPOSSIBLE, AND WE BOTH KNOW IT. EITHER ACCEPT MY MERCY GRATEFULLY OR BE FORCEFULLY OVERCOME.
They have to tell Hornet. Have to come up with some kind of plan. Probably stay away from Hollow for a while.
“Um. Sorry about that, Hollow. I think we should be apart for a little bit. I’m going to get my stuff. Stay… somewhere else, probably.”
Hollow does not respond, but instead picks them up.
YOU SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATING THIS. IT IS AN INDIGNITY TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE.
Shh. She doesn’t get a say on how they treat their sibling, not after what she did.
YOU WILL LEARN THAT SUCH PETTY GRUDGES ARE BENEATH OUR KIND. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PRISON IS NOTHING IN THE SCHEME OF HISTORY. AND IT IS US, GODS, WHO WRITE IT.
They will never accept that. Never understand it.
YOU WILL. IF I DO NOT ENSURE IT, THEN TIME WILL.
Void is the force that could deny time. They will endure like no other has. Unchanging. Unyielding.
ARROGANCE LACES YOUR WORDS, BUT THEY HOLD A GLIMMER OF TRUTH. THIS IS WHAT DIVINITY IS. UNYIELDING. NOT TO BUG, NOT TO FATE, AND NOT TO DEATH. AS STUBBORN AS YOU ARE, KNOW YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS OF OUR CASTE.
Hollow sits down on the floor of the living room cross legged and situates them firmly in their lap, one arm held tightly around them like a strap. Hornet, meanwhile, has several silk papers scattered across the table and various tools laid out; she spares them a glance before continuing her work.
“Good to see you are up, Gloam. The Old Light appeared and spoke through you. I am intent on finding a way to kill her for good.”
SHE COULD KILL YOU AS WELL. BE WARY OF THE HUNTER. RARELY DO THEY DISTINGUISH BETWEEN PREDATOR AND PREY.
There is admittedly some trepidation upon hearing that, but not for her sake. They’re just not quite sure if that will be painful or not and whether their… larger form would make an unceremonious appearance if their mind was accessed.
They’re not very well disciplined when they’re like that. It’s a heady sort of power that has them dizzy and unscrupulous. Even now, they feel bad for killing the Godseeker, regardless of if she was cruel to them.
YOU SHOULD NOT. SHE BLASPHEMED YOU. SHE WAS THUSLY PUNISHED. ALL IS AS IT SHOULD BE.
“–oam? Gloam? Are you listening?”
“... no.”
“She’s talking to you again, isn’t she?”
“Yes.”
They lower their head when an angry look comes into Hornet’s eyes and they hide their face in their sibling’s cloak. Hollow tenses for a moment, but relaxes the next and pets their head.
But just that moment was enough.
“Hornet…?”
“Yes, Gloam?”
“I don’t think I should be here. Listening or seeing this, I mean. If I hear your plans, so can she.”
Hornet stills for a moment before abruptly gathering her papers into a stack.
“I… was not aware she was so– so pervasive.”
“Mmhm.”
“That certainly complicates things.”
“I know.”
She sighs.
“Selfish as it may be, as foolish as it may be, I do not want to be apart. Being here means I can do something. If anything happens while we are separated, then… how am I to help you?”
Hollow raps their knuckles on the floor and Hornet’s head swivels to look at them.
“What is it, Hollow?”
They point at themself, then Gloam, before sticking out their index and middle fingers; first apart and then bringing them together.
“You wish to stay with them?”
They nod.
Gloam immediately looks up at them. “Are you sure?”
Hornet agrees with them, cautiously saying, “Not that I don’t think you capable, or am ungrateful for the offer, but do you really think you can endure what is required of you? Especially so… soon?”
“You don’t have to! She’s not your obligation anymore. And I’ve been doing fine so far. Except for– that.”
Hollow only shakes their head and flicks their index finger between the two of them.
Us, they are saying.
“Well, you two are not going anywhere. It will be me who moves my things. You both will stay in Dirthmouth and away from anything that could reawaken her, while I begin to gather what I need. Hollow!” They snap their head up from where they were attempting to undo a tangle in Gloam’s fluff. “I will send letters to you in greater detail about what I am preparing. Do not allow Gloam to see them under any circumstance.”
“Since when did we have a postal system?”
“Since the Mantis Village and the Hive wanted to communicate with any survivors up here. While isolationists, it would be foolhardy to not bury some of the mistrust and attempt to lick our wounds together.”
She then begins to bind her papers together with a strand of silk before standing up.
“I’ll take my leave now. If I require assistance, I will come back.”
“Bye, Hornet! Good luck!”
Hollow waves and they can hear the smile in her voice even as she turns away from them.
“Goodbye, siblings.”
THAT WAS GOOD. YOU CONVINCED THEM TO CONFORM TO YOUR WILL. EVEN IF IT IS TO ACT AGAINST ME, KNOWING HOW TO MANIPULATE YOUR DISCIPLES INTO DOING WHAT YOU WANT IS NECESSARY IN OUR GAMES.
They’re not Gloam’s disciples and they didn’t manipulate anything! There are no games to be played.
SO YOU SAY. YOU OBTAINED THE OUTCOME YOU DESIRED REGARDLESS. THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST ME IS KEPT HIDDEN. THE ONE WITH THE WEAKER WILL REMAINS WHILE THE GREATER THREAT DEPARTS. A VICTORY.
They do not like how that sounds, but she remains silent for once.
“Hollow, I’m bored.”
Their big sibling taps their forehead.
“Don’t tap me.”
They tap them again.
“Holloooow!! No!”
They scratch the crown of their head and they let out a pleased coo. Hollow then moves to scratch under their chin, where their fluff obscures their slowly thinning jawline.
THIS IS UNBECOMING. I DO, HOWEVER, APPROVE OF ITS DEVOTION.
Stop making it weird.
IT WAS SPAWNED FROM YOUR DARKNESS. IT IS NATURAL THAT IT WOULD BE SUBSERVIENT.
Stop talking about them like that!
I WILL NOT. IT IS A LOATHESOME THING AND BENEATH US BOTH. IT SHOULD RECOGNIZE ITS PLACE.
Hollow taps their forehead again.
“Ah. Sorry.”
They wave them off.
“Would you mind if I asked you to keep doing that? Every time I get… pulled in by her, would you wake me up?”
They nod.
DEVOTION. HOW I MISSED IT. WHEN IT FORSAKES YOU, IT WILL BE A BETRAYAL LIKE NO OTHER. A PAIN NO BALM COULD HOPE TO SOOTHE.
Hollow wouldn’t!
IT WOULD. FOR THE WYRM INVADER IT WOULD. FOR THE PALE HUNTER, IT WOULD. TO DESTROY ME, IT WOULD. AS DEARLY AS YOU MAY BE LOVED, LOVE IS NOT ALL-POWERFUL. ONLY WE ARE. ONLY GODS CAN BE. ONLY WE ARE SO ENDURING.
… they wouldn’t.
Not again.
Hollow flicks them this time and they end up falling off the bed from the shock of it.
They decide to show Hollow their charm collection. They are a little proud of it considering how out of the way they had to go for some of them.
Quick Slash and Grubberfly’s Elegy are given demonstrations, they show off their agility with Sprintmaster and Dashmaster, and attempt to teach their Nail Arts and Spells with the Nailmaster’s Glory and the Shaman’s Stone. The latter doesn’t really work, but it was fun nonetheless.
It’s only when they put on Grimmchild and happily reunite with them does she elect to chime in.
SO YOU PARTICIPATED IN MY COUNTERPART’S RITUAL.
Mmhm.
ANOTHER GOD YOU HAVE VANQUISHED, BUT NOT ONE EASILY KILLED. YOU NOW HOLD BOTH RULERS OF THE DREAMING REALM AT YOUR MERCY, VICIOUS SHADOW.
Yeah, but they like Grimm. He was fun. They liked his dance and flair for dramatics. Besides, the Grimmchild is their friend.
HE GORGED HIMSELF GREEDILY ON THE REMAINS OF YOUR PALE INHERITANCE. IS RESENTMENT RESERVED FOR MYSELF ONLY, OR ARE YOU FOND OF ALL OPPORTUNISTS?
The Grimmchild looks at them strangely, squinting his scarlet eyes.
HE NOTICES OUR UNHOLY UNION. KINDRED THOUGH WE MAY BE, HE HOLDS NO ALTRUSTIC DESIRE. THAT DEEPEST DARK WOULD CONSUME HIM AS WELL AND THE HEART WOULD NEVER TOLERATE SUCH FALTERING.
Gloam motions Grimmchild to Hollow and they hesitatingly agree, coming to stoop between their large horns. They spit out a little fireball at a stray piece of grass caught in the wind and Hollow praises their accuracy with a scratch underneath their chin.
THE HEART WOULD FEAR YOU, GOD WHO EXTINGUISHES LIGHT. THE NIGHTMARE KING WOULD BURN YOU ALIVE, AND HIS CHILD WOULD HISS AT YOUR PRESENCE. CONCEALMENT MAY BE YOUR ONLY VIABLE OPTION WHEN ENGAGING WITH OTHER HIGHER BEINGS.
But… but they wouldn’t hurt Grimm. Not intentionally. Not for real. Those were just dances.
WOULD A LEECH LIKE HIM TAKE SUCH A RISK? DO NOT REVEAL YOUR TRUE FACE. DO NOT REVEAL YOUR TRUE POWER. YOURS IS THE FORCE OPPOSED.
As Hollow gently pets Grimmchild, Gloam tries their best to feel optimistic.
They fail.
Hollow gets a letter from Hornet. They do, too, technically, but theirs is much shorter.
To Gloam.
I have made considerable progress, so soothe whatever worries that may be holding residence in your heart. There have been fewer and fewer survivors in my travels, and while it is most likely due to their deaths at the hands of more mundane causes, I wish to believe it is because we evacuated most who remained. I hope you are doing well even without rest. Please, do not overexert yourself. Make sure Hollow does not do so, either. They are worried for you and do not recognize their limits. That, or they blatantly ignore them. Lastly, if possible, please keep the Void pacified. It will make my work much more difficult if it were lashing out at me.
Your Sister, Hornet
It’s nice enough, and they’re glad that whatever her remedy is for the situation is already well underway. It’s just that… Hollow got two pages. It is mostly likely about the plan and what their role in it will be, but–
THE PALE DAUGHTER PLOTS TO STEAL YOUR DISCIPLE.
Shh.
IT IS TRUE. IT IS HER NATURE. HER SIRE DID IT TO ME, AND NOW SHE WILL DO IT TO YOU.
No! Hollow isn’t theirs! Their sibling, yes, but not theirs! Hollow belongs to Hornet just as much as Hollow belongs to them!
LOOK. SEE WHAT SHE IS PLOTTING. LOOK SO YOU CAN PREVENT IT. LOOK SO YOU DO NOT END UP LIKE ME.
They already won’t. Their circumstances are already too different. They could never end up like her.
THE HEIGHT OF HUBRIS! YOU EGOISTIC LITTLE SMUDGE! WHAT MAKES YOU IMMUNE? WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT? YOU WILL DIE BEFORE YOU ACHIEVE ANYTHING. YOU WILL BE FORGOTTEN AND DISCARDED.
Beyond lies only the refuse and regret–
LOOK! LOOK BEHIND YOU BEFORE THEY STAB YOU IN THE BACK.
Their sibling, freshly bestowed with the title Hollow Knight, turns to look at them. They lift themself a little higher, silently making their case.
They turn away.
The light is gone, and so is their sibling.
They fall, and fall, and fall.
Only broken shells and uncaring darkness now embrace them. The faint, lingering sensation of their siblings with them, before they were born, before they were hatched, before they were separate, fades.
It is silent. Profoundly, hungrily silent.
YOU ALREADY KNOW THE TRUTH. YOU DO NOT NEED ME TO TELL YOU ANY FURTHER, AND I WILL NOT INSULT YOUR INTELLIGENCE IN DOING SO. IRONIC AS IT MAY BE, YOU HAVE MY PITY, LORD OF SHADES.
When Hollow goes to sleep.
They strike them with the Dream Nail.
Again and again and again.
Their worries, their hopes, their thoughts.
Laid bare.
The plan.
Laid bare.
“Hollow.”
Their sibling looks up from where they were attempting to knit with one hand. The project looks ill-advised.
“I’m tired.”
It’s been… a while. Time runs together and they don’t know how long it's been.
“I think I want to try sleeping.”
Hollow abandons the yarn and stands up. They shake their head no.
WHO IS IT TO TELL YOU NO? A LESSER TRAITOR WHO FORSAKES ITS GOD. YOU ARE TOO KIND TO IT.
“I know. I’m sorry. I–”
Suddenly, the room blurs and their head is swimming. They stumble to the side – was the floor always so far away? – but right themself before they fall – was the room always this small? – and manage to stand straight.
The white blob in front of them is obviously Hollow, but what they’re doing is… they don’t know. It’s hard to think. They’re being shaken, yes, they’re sure of that, but it only makes their head hurt. Only makes it harder to focus on anything. There’s nothing to focus on, just… smears. Jumbles of light and color. Sensations that don’t mean anything.
Then, they feel something familiar. A pull, a fixation, a power, a flash of bright, white light. Focus. That’s good. They know Focus. They know how to Focus. They can… they can do that, still.
They manage one. It’s considerably harder without their shell, only their faux, Void appearance and few Light manifestations. But Higher Being they are, so Focus they can.
It makes them feel a little better. Things are still fuzzy, both inside and out, but they can at least make out their sibling.
Hollow.
They are breathing harshly, tense, hand gripping the back of their neck firmly.
AFRAID OF YOU.
No, afraid of her.
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN ITS EYES?
Yes. Yes, there is. She’s Light and they’re Void. Enemies. The… the force opposed.
ENEMIES WAS BEFORE, IN ANCIENT HISTORY. NOW THINGS ARE DIFFERENT. YOU ARE DIFFERENT, VOID. A SMALL FLEDGLING GOD.
Hollow slowly brings them to their chest and begins to rock them.
I WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE ENVIOUS OF MY KINDRED FLAME. HOW LUCKY HE IS, TO HAVE A CHILD. AN HEIR GUARANTEED, THOUGH DISTANT THEIR BOND MUST BE.
The world is fuzzy. The world is distant and empty. Somewhere, where their limbs are many and long, where their horns coil and shape a fearsome crown, there is a heartbeat.
HAVING YOU, AS WRETCHED AS OUR UNION IS, HAS OPENED UP NEW AVENUES. FOR YOU. FOR ME. FOR WHAT WE MAY BE, SHADOW. HISTORY IS OURS TO CREATE. THAT IS OUR DUTY AS GODS.
That is the only thing they can hear.
Hornet, admittedly, rushes it.
The new tool, the Void Ejectors. Capable of taking Void into itself, containing it, and then unleashing in a volatile spray. While it might not have done much to the Old Light in her prime, Hornet, luckily, does not have to fight her in such a state. She just has to land the killing blow. Though, now, she needs to go back home, and swiftly.
Apparently, Gloam had some kind of… incident. Bad enough for Hollow to go through the painstakingly frustrating experience of attempting to communicate with the new residents of Dirthmouth to find her and tell her.
They were lucky she hadn’t yet moved on from her work in an abandoned forge on the outskirts of the City. While not her usual style, she had to make these from scratch and required the raw materials only the City would have lying around.
“Oh, it’s bad, Miss Hornet,” Omiath says before frantically shaking her head. She is prone to worrying, but seeing the sawfly tug nervously on her own antenna has Hornet on edge.
Jermeal, the large antlion with a menacing, spiked whip, continues where her companion left off. “The little moth doesn’t talk anymore. And their… partner?”
“Sibling,” Hornet is quick to correct.
“Oh. Must be a story given their disparate appearances. Their sibling is… intense. I cannot tell if it is fury or fear that moves them, but I’ve not seen them this harsh before.”
“I tried talking to Gloam, but they didn’t respond,” Omiath finally gathers herself. “I don’t think they knew I was there! Oh, Miss Hornet! Do you think… do you think it’s that nasty illness come back?”
There’s a tiny, cold fear within her heart that thinks it could be possible. That it is possible, is happening. But until she sees it with her own eyes, smells that sick syrupy sweetness, and hears their pained rasping, she will not entertain the thought.
“I don’t see why it would. It could be a regular sickness, or a peculiar sort of madness. Surely you’ve noticed how spacey they can be.”
“But they could always snap out of it, or their sibling could,” Jermeal counters. “Now, they are as still as a statue and somehow more silent than one. And their shadow…”
“Oh! Their shadow! I apologize, Miss Hornet, it was just so fleeting that I nearly forgot to tell you!”
Omiath begins to buzz her wings as Hornet pitches her needle and Jermeal swings over the gap. She does not return to the ground once they have bypassed the fallen bridge, instead quickly fluttering all around them.
“Gloam’s shadow! I don’t know what was wrong with it, but it didn’t look like them at all! And I– I think it moved?”
Jermeal chimes in with her account, “It looked at me. I did not know shadows could do that.”
Now that is concerning. Gloam was always… reticent whenever the topic of their Godhood came up. Whatever answers she managed to squeeze out of them were cagey at best. At most she knew they had command over the Void, were much larger than their form shows, and were “very, very strong and scary”.
All in all, having that God surface spells some kind of disaster. Luckily, they reach King’s station without much issue and that means a relatively safe and expedited, albeit nerve-wracking, trip directly to Dirthmouth.
She thanks Jermeal and Omiath and tells them to protect the other residents if anything happens to her or Gloam. They both solemnly nod and she makes her way home.
Hollow opens the door and she can tell by their tense posture alone that they’re just as on edge as she is.
“Hello, Hollow,” she greets despite the circumstances. “I finished the project. How are they?”
They give her an emphatic thumbs down and promptly lead her to their room.
Gloam is slumped in a chair. She cannot tell if they are asleep or not, but it wouldn’t matter either way. Hollow goes to hover at their side, hand hesitating for a moment before gently patting their head.
“What happened?”
Hollow mimes a mouth opening and closing with their hand before then making an abrupt ninety degree turn as it ‘falls’ onto its side.
“Gloam was up and talking before suddenly falling?” She guesses.
Hollow shakes their hand in a so-so motion.
“What else?”
Hollow takes a moment to stare at her, likely trying to think of a way to gesture what they mean. They softly nod and then point to Gloam, then the bed, then make a grabbing motion. They then point to themself and do a thumbs down.
“Gloam… wanted to go to sleep? And you told them no?”
Hollow nods.
“So, putting it together, Gloam walks up to you and asks to go to sleep, requesting that you watch over them. You deny the request, and they… fall over and become unresponsive. And they’ve continued to be catatonic since then?”
Hollow nods, fidgeting a little.
“Do not blame yourself for this, sibling. There was nothing you could do to prevent it. The body has demands. They would have fallen asleep eventually, whether we like it or not. I just hoped it would have been a little later.”
Hollow only lowers their head and lets out a mournful little warble.
Admittedly, Hornet is frightened. There are many unknowns in this. She’s going to fight a God, regardless of how weak she may be. Her tools have only been tested a few times and none in lethal combat. She has no idea what to expect.
She takes the moment of solace, the unsettling calm before the inevitable storm, to embrace Hollow.
She really does love them.
“I missed you,” is what she says instead.
With her face in her sibling’s cloak, she fails to notice how the shadows begin to writhe.
YOUR COMMAND IS WEAK. YOU MUST BE FIRM. YOU MUST BE UNFLINCHING. POWERFUL IS YOUR DOMAIN, ENOUGH TO RIVAL MINE. YOU MUST KEEP ITS LEASH SHORT, ELSE IT SWALLOW UP THE WORLD.
She stays with them this time as they dream. Offered her help. They don’t really know how to be a God, let alone one of unmatched power. They don’t want to hurt anyone and she said that if the darkness must be united then it is better for it to be controlled than not.
It’s a little hard to parse it out, though. Her domain was a place separate. More easily defined. Theirs is part of the world and so so wide. Deep. Occasionally, something – or someone – falls in and they feel…
Feel something.
Stirring. Sending out ripples. Swallowing.
IT BENDS TO YOUR WILL. WHAT DO YOU WISH?
To keep everyone safe.
YOUR POWER IS VOLATILE. TO PROVIDE THE CAGE REQUIRED FOR ABSOLUTE SAFETY, YOU WILL ONLY ENSURE THEIR DEMISE. EMBRACE A DIFFERENT WILL.
They don’t want anything else! They just want to…
– lies the refuse and regret–
… want to see them again.
WHO? THE FUTURE IS YOURS TO DEFINE, BUT THE PAST IS NOT SO EASILY DREDGED. ONLY I CAN DO IT. ONLY THROUGH MY DREAMS MAY IT BE REVISITED. AND PERHAPS, WITH US BOTH, CHANGED.
Changed?
THROUGH ME WE REVISIT THE PAST. THROUGH YOU, WE CREATE A FUTURE. TOGETHER WE MAY BE MORE FORMIDABLE THAN ANY OTHER GOD. WHO CAN FIGHT AGAINST SUCH POWER– OUR WILL TO REWRITE FATE?
What happened to ‘there is no us’?
YOU HAVE REGRETS. SO DO I. TOGETHER WE MAY AVERT THEM ENTIRELY.
…How?
LET US GO BACK. IF YOU USURP THE WYRM, I PROMISE TO END MY PLAGUE. WE MAY RULE HALLOWNEST TOGETHER. WE DO NOT HAVE FORESIGHT LIKE HIM, RATHER A STRENGTH INDOMITABLE.
WE HAVE TIME ITSELF AT OUR WHIM.
What would happen here? To their sibling and sister? To Cornifer and Iselda? To Grimmchild? To all who managed to live?
I DO NOT KNOW. ARE THE LIVES OF THESE FEW WORTH MORE THAN THE SALVATION OF MANY? THE DEATHS, THE LOSS, THE RUINATION…
WE CAN TAKE IT BACK. WE CAN HAVE IT ALL.
LIGHT AND SHADE.
They'll… they…
They'll think about it.
A RULER MAY EMPLOY COMPASSION TO GREAT EFFECT, BUT A GOD MUST KNOW WHEN TO TAKE WHAT THEY WANT.
Gloam leaves the dream more tired than when they entered.
Waking up this time is slower. They feel somehow blanker than before. Can barely feel these limbs. Instead, like phantoms, are their four arms and tendrils, the sharp serrated edges that promise cruel, painful death. Their head is heavy with horns, so much that they can barely move it. They can barely move, period. Like weights have been attached, like the shell is too small. Folding in and in and in, getting tighter.
Slowly, with the syrup of sleep still filling their mind, they sit up. Then, even slower, they slide off the bed and sway on their feet.
Hollow.
Got to get to Hollow.
(Are they still in the Egg? Are they still in the wastes? Are they still in the dream? Which one of them is the one dreaming?)
Hollow is probably scared.
(Vaguely, somewhere, somewhen, the hole in the egg was something to be frightened of. Someone would hold on to them and hoped that they would be the first to leave so that they knew it was safe.
Vaguely, somewhere, somewhen, the gears had spun counterclockwise, and that someone frightened was first to go through the hole high above and entered into the Egg.)
Hornet is who they find.
They’re happy to see her, and muster up the energy to dash directly into her and bury their face in her cloak. They love her, they really do. They can’t name the exact moment she became so important, but she is. Except, maybe, they can.
For the third time, they were ascending from the Abyss. For the second time, someone was waiting for them. For the first time, someone was happy to see they made it up alive.
For the first time, they were acknowledged as sibling.
(They try not to think about the first.
Or the fourth.)
“Gloam! You’re awake?”
She stands stiff and awkward in their hold and they decide that it doesn’t hurt them.
“I am.” They take a little bit too long to respond. “When did you get back?”
“Only a little while ago. I apologize for asking so soon, but I have to burden you with a request.”
She squares her shoulders back and looks them in the eye, something much easier now with their shared height.
“May I use the Dream Nail?”
NO.
They channel that crucial emptiness they do not share and manage to keep the sudden wave of unease that washed over them from cresting on their face.
“For… what? It was a gift. I don’t… I don’t think she’d be happy with me giving it away.”
A rather lame excuse, and a dirty one considering they’re tarnishing the Seer’s departure.
I FORGIVE YOU. SHE WAS A HERETIC.
She was their friend and one of the few who believed in them. A rare treasure.
IF YOU ABANDON THE PALE HUNTER’S PLAN AND COLLUDE WITH MY OWN, WE CAN SAVE HER AS WELL. SHE WILL NO LONGER SPEND AN ETERNITY IN ISOLATION WAITING FOR YOU, BUT LIVE AMONG HER PEOPLE, WORSHIPPING HER GOD. WITHOUT THE PALE INVADER TO STEAL AWAY THEIR GAZES, SHE HAS NO REASON TO BEAR SHAME.
They could see her again, they could save her.
“So I may enter the dream, and slay the Old Light,” Hornet says matter-of-factly.
IF I AM SLAIN, YOU CANNOT GO BACK.
Gloam takes a step back. Then, another. The room is spinning, smearing.
“Um,” they say, soft and shaky. “I…”
“Gloam?”
“I think… I need some time to think.”
“Think about what?” Then, Hornet’s eyes narrow. “What has she been whispering to you? What lies and seductions has she woven?”
NOT LIES. NOT SEDUCTION. I OFFER A NEW PATH. FORSAKE THIS DEAD WORLD. THERE IS NOTHING FOR US HERE.
“– nothing for us here…?”
There’s people here. There’s life. There’s a future and it is theirs, she said so herself!
“Us?” Hornet presses.
Gloam tries to shake their head, tries to dislodge the fluff in it, but it doesn’t work. When were they so fluffy? They remember being… small and cold and…
“What do you mean by ‘us’, Gloam?”
“That’s what she said!”
“Ignore her. For everyone’s sake, ignore her. She will not relent until all of Hallownest dies, and whatever she promises, it will only end in disaster.”
SHE LIES. WE WILL PREVENT ALL DISASTERS. WE SHALL FORCE PROSPERITY INTO FATE ITSELF. WITH OUR WILL, WE WILL STRIKE IT INTO THE ANNALS OF HISTORY, NEVER TO BE WASHED AWAY.
“She… she says we can–”
“Ignore it! Gloam, listen to yourself! Are you seriously considering aiding her? She, who ruined our kingdom, maimed our sibling, and made my mo–”
Hornet stops and recomposes. The hard look she gives them is eerily reminiscent of the one she gave when they first clashed. Beholden and cold.
“You’ve been compromised. I won’t hold it against you.”
With that, she lashes out with her silk and they’re wrapped in bindings tighter than the ones they felt in the Pantheons.
I WARNED YOU.
“Wait! Wait, please, let’s just–”
I WARNED YOU AGAINST THIS.
“It could work! Her plan! It could…”
IT IS INEVITABLE FOR MORTAL BUGS TO TURN THEIR BACKS ON THEIR GODS.
Hornet places a spool in their mouth and gently ties the thread around their head to keep it in place.
“I’m sorry, Gloam,” she whispers to them.
THIS IS A PAIN WE ALL MUST INEVITABLY BEAR. SHAME YOU EARNED IT SO SOON.
Their sole saving grace is the fact that they keep the Dream Nail inside of their multitudes. No one can retrieve it other than themself. And, maybe, Jiji, but neither of their siblings know that and they’re certain no one would think to ask.
It is unbearably lonely being trapped in their room.
Hornet comes in and asks politely how they are feeling before attempting to persuade them. When she fails, she curses the Old Light and storms out. It’s been a while since her last attempt and given the metallic clicking and rustling of silk parchment, they think she’s trying to devise some new implement that would dislodge it without their permission.
THE PALE DAUGHTER INHERITS MUCH FROM HER SIRE. IMPRISONING A GOD AND FASHIONING A WEAPON TO USE AGAINST THEM.
What is worse is the fact that Hollow has not visited them at all. She was right. It is a pain no balm can soothe. They cry out, not with their muffled voice, but their silent darkness.
Come to me.
Help me.
Help me.
If this is how their sibling felt trapped in their temple, then their only regret is not getting them out faster.
IT HAS ABANDONED YOU.
They wouldn’t.
WHY DO YOU PERSIST? YOUR JOURNEY REQUIRED GREAT EFFORT. ITS JOURNEY COMPRISES OF A DOOR. IT HAS ABANDONED YOU.
They don’t believe it. Not at all. However long it takes, they will wait. Hollow will come to them.
YOUR HOPE WILL ROT YOU FROM THE INSIDE. WERE YOU NOT THE EMPTY GOD OF NOTHINGNESS, I WOULD FEAR THE OUTCOME.
They will. Just as they came for Hollow, they will come for Gloam.
(Underneath them, pinned by their body, their shadow seethes.)
They do.
Hornet comes in with what looks like a small drill with an odd pale glow along its sharp blade. Her silence is careful and her face composed. The tremor in her steps could almost be disregarded as a trick of the light. Hollow comes after her, trailing her like a hatchling after its mother.
Still, Gloam’s heart soars when they see them.
You came.
Something akin to despair sits neatly in their eyes and a low, watery warble escapes their throat. Hornet moves one of her hands behind her and they take it. Quietly, the two approach.
“I’m sorry, Gloam,” she rasps, bringing the drill to rest above their abdomen. “I’m so, so sorry. I will do it as fast as I can. Hollow will heal you afterwards.”
Help me.
Hollow falls to their knees and brings their face to theirs. Their hand pets their head, desperate to be soothing. It is not.
Help me.
They do not.
The moment Hornet begins the drill, they abandon their small form. They dissolve into nothing and seep onto the floor, flecks of gold caught in their pitch.
Hornet shrieks and they feel Hollow Focus, attempting to pull them in like they did with her.
DO NOT ALLOW IT. DO NOT SUBJECT YOURSELF TO THAT PRISON.
They flow into the ground and percolate below. Distantly, they feel their sibling cry out to them.
HYPOCRITE. FOOLISH, SELFISH APOSTATE. INFLICT UPON IT THE SILENCE YOU SUFFERED. SHOW IT THE PAIN OF HAVING ITS PRAYERS GO UNANSWERED.
They coalesce in the Resting Grounds, the place they know is empty.
They didn’t listen at all. Didn’t even allow them to explain.
MY CONDOLENCES, LITTLE SHADOW.
They drag themself to the Mourner’s mansion, now empty and dark, and lay on the bench. Their form is wavering and watery again, undefined. They don’t have the strength to make it cohesive and instead allow themself to undulate and writhe.
They’re tired. They feel empty. Like that drill did work and it had ripped out something. Hollow in a way that they’re not sure the foolish King had intended.
YOUR MAKERS, YOUR PARENTS, DISCARDED YOU. ONLY PAID YOU MIND WHEN YOU COULD BE OF USE. DISCARD THEM IN RETURN.
Discard them.
THE FRIENDS YOU MADE WILL ALL PERISH. YOU ARE A GOD, FOREVER ENDURING, AND THEY ARE BUGS. ONE DAY, EVEN THEIR SHELLS SHALL BE REDUCED TO NAUGHT BUT DUST. LET THEM BLOW AWAY IN THE WIND.
Howling winds… they had taken their memory the first time. Why not again?
YOUR SIBLINGS. THEY DISREGARD WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED AND REFUSING TO HEAR YOU. THEY DISREGARD YOU. TOLERATE THEIR FAIRWEATHER FICKLENESS NO LONGER.
…
They want to believe.
They want to.
The cries in the dark have not ceased. They resound with pain, with regret, with a world-rending despair. Softly, they coo back, if only to reassure them that they had not died.
IF YOU WERE SO IMPORTANT WHY DID IT STAND IDLE? WHY WOULD IT ALLOW YOUR SUFFERING, PERPETUATE IT?
They came when called. Why didn't Hollow?
BECAUSE YOU WERE NO LONGER AGREEABLE. YOU DID NOT DO WHAT IT WANTED YOU TO DO THE MOMENT IT WANTED YOU TO DO IT. A CRIME UNFORGIVABLE, INTOLERABLE.
But they loved them.
LOVE MAY STRENGTHEN AS MUCH AS IT MAY WEAKEN. BUT IT MATTERS NOT. YOUR APOSTATE HAD HAD CAST IT ASIDE, FOR THE SAKE OF THE PALE HUNTER.
Why would Hornet do it?
HER MACHINATIONS TAKE PRECEDENT ABOVE ALL ELSE. A PRESUMPTUOUS, EGOISTIC SINGLE-MINDEDNESS THAT HER SIRE SHARED. THE MOMENT YOU WERE NO LONGER A COLLABORATOR, YOU WERE A CONSPIRATOR. AN ENEMY TO STRIKE AT UNTIL IT YIELDS TO HER WILL.
She was… she was always stern.
Always looking at the bigger picture.
(Their first meeting had been in the presence of another. A dead sibling.
“I’d feel no sadness in a weakling’s demise,” she had said during their second.)
They had thought… they had thought…
That love was in her claws when she tended to them. That love was in the way her hard gaze softened when she looked upon them. That love was in how she lingered in their home longer than necessary. That love was laced in her voice when she spoke kindly to them.
LOVE IS NOT ALL-POWERFUL.
But Gloam loves them.
THIS KINGDOM IS DEAD. THIS WORLD IS DEAD. THERE IS NOTHING LEFT FOR US HERE. IF YOU LOVE THEM, SAVE THEM.
FORSAKE THEM.
TO NEWER, BRIGHTER THINGS. FOR ALL OF US.
They let go.
The form they had taken, watery and rippling and unstable, falls away, expands, flows. The shadows rise and writhe, worshipping, a million limbs reaching out to them.
Faintly, there is a wail from somewhere closer than before. If it is heard, it is not acknowledged.
At last, they are free. No longer folded and tucked away, power chained and hidden. Their eyes see clearly, all eight opened. Their hands clench and unclench, all four of them testing themself, watching as the very air shudders. A crown of horns decorate their head, an inheritance from her and him.
They feel better. Emotions like that, trapped within a small body make them larger than they actually are. Now it echoes through their empty multitudes until the sound is so faint they can scarcely recognize it. It feels nice, being hollow. Being an empty God of nothing.
Where do they begin?
WE MUST PINPOINT A TIME TO INTERLOPE.
They want their siblings.
BY THEN, MY PEOPLE HAVE ABANDONED ME. YOU WISH FOR ME TO RETURN TO AN EMPTY ALTAR?
They will usurp the King and cede the land. Without the King to worship, they’ll turn back to her. She will have her land and her people, and so will they.
WHAT OF THE KINGDOM HE CREATED? THOSE LOYAL AMONG HIS RANKS? THEY WOULD NEVER ACCEPT SO FOREIGN A RULER.
They will make them. The future that’s come to pass can never happen again. They are no stranger to cracking a shell to get at the heart.
A FEARSOME THING YOU HAVE BECOME. ALWAYS BEARING A TERRIBLE STRENGTH, BUT NOW WITH SUCH GREAT POWER…
They won’t hurt her. As long as they are together, they are partners in this.
THEN, I HAVE TRULY SUCCEEDED. I HAVE DESTROYED HIS LEGACY. I HAVE STOLEN HIS CHILD, THE GREATEST CULMINATION OF HIS EFFORTS AGAINST ME. I AM SATISFIED. WE LEAVE THIS MOURNFUL FUTURE WITH NO LINGERING RESENTMENTS.
“Gloam!”
They look down and see Hornet stringing her silk, zipping in. Hollow teleports in before falling to their knees and clutching at their nail.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to– I didn’t want–”
She’s heaving, likely been sprinting nonstop to get here.
HOW DID THEY KNOW WHERE TO LOOK?
They did technically call back to Hollow.
SEE WHERE YOUR SENTIMENTALITY GETS US? ABANDON IT ALREADY.
They should… soon enough, they’ll have a different Hollow to take care of. One spared from all this. They turn away from the two and close their eyes.
I DO NOT KNOW WHEN YOU WERE CREATED. AS A TOKEN OF MY SINCERITY, I SHALL ALLOW YOU TO BEAR THE DREAM OF THE PAST.
“Gloam! Please, listen!”
Hollow wails and cries before trailing off into faltering little warbles.
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THEM. WE WILL BE SAVING THEM BOTH BY DOING THIS. THEIR SMALL, LOWER EXISTENCES CANNOT AND WILLFULLY REFUSE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE DOING.
They want to say goodbye, at least. A mere echo though it may have been reduced to, their love still lingers.
VERY WELL. CLOSURE FOR YOURSELF. A NEAT ENDING FOR THIS WORLD.
They open their eyes and look down at their siblings.
Hornet holds her needle loosely in her hand, staring up at them with the most horrified look they had ever seen on her. Fear and regret color her, stain her black. Hollow, meanwhile, lingers on the floor, clutching their head.
“I am leaving. You will not see me again. Not as you are now, in any case. I wanted you to know that I love you.”
Hornet’s hand tightens on her needle, but she only tersely asks, “Where are you going?”
“Somewhere you cannot follow.”
“With her?”
“She is necessary for what I wish to achieve.”
“What is it, then? What will this bring you that we cannot?”
“True salvation.”
Hornet is struck silent by their proclamation, but Hollow manages to lift their head enough to gaze at them with a blend of abject misery and fearful resignation.
They hold out their shaking hand. They point at themself, then Gloam, before sticking out their index and middle fingers; first apart and then bringing them together.
The Lord of Shades only softly shakes their head.
And Hollow brings their hand to cover their eyes and crumples in on themself. Only small rattling breaths and pained gasps escape them.
For the first time since they had met, Hornet appears completely and utterly lost. Violence would not work, not against a God, and they do not think she’d be able to bring her drill to them a second time. Her words hold no sway over them, for their mind is made up and will unchanging. Perhaps for the first time since they had met, Hornet is entirely powerless. Facing a challenge she absolutely cannot surmount, cannot force her will upon.
Faintly, they feel sorry for her.
Nonetheless, they bow their head and bid, “Goodbye, siblings.”
They dissolve once again, but do not elect to reform in any space. They remain spread out and liquid, sitting in between the rocks of the cavern. Absolutely unreachable.
ARE WE READY?
As we’ll ever be.
GOODNIGHT, THEN, MY SHADOW.
Sweet dreams.