(Next day)
'She's late.' I thought, looking around in the sparring ground with no sign of Ais.
"Hey, Allen." A voice came from behind me as I looked around to see who it was.
"Hey, Tiona, what's up?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm waiting for Ais to start our training, but she's late for some reason."
"Ais? I saw her leaving the manor this morning."
"...What?"
"She said she will go to the dungeon and will come back before you notice."
"..."
"Are you ok?"
"Tiona, can you bring Ais over here?"
"Umm, sure, I guess?"
"Thank you."
'Maybe I should practice with hornet needle.'
I summoned the needle to my left hand.
'It's lighter than the nail and good for agility.'
At first, I thought of giving Ais the Needle because of the similarities between her and Hornet, but the problem was that Ais couldn't use silk.
I used the silk to attach it to the needle to try some moves with the nail to make some moves.
'This reminds me of hornet story, too.'
Hornet was born of a pact—the daughter of the mighty Pale King and Herrah the Beast, Queen of Deepnest. She was the one true heir who stood outside the endless, silent horror of the Vessels. While her siblings were created in the void of the Abyss to be sealed, Hornet was raised by the Weavers, learning the deadly art of the Needle and Thread.
When the kingdom fell and the Infection began to seep out, Hornet became the Princess-Protector. She knew the truth of the broken seal, the tormented Hollow Knight, and the monstrous source of the plague: The Radiance. For years, she guarded the edges of the ruin, chasing off trespassers and waiting for a true solution.
Then, I returned from the wastes. Hornet met me in Greenpath, observing my unsettling skill and strength. She saw not the King's flaw, but a terrifying potential. Was this one strong enough to succeed where the larger Vessel had failed?
She challenged me, fought me fiercely, and tested my resolve across the kingdom. Only when I proved my strength by claiming the King's Brand did Hornet finally guide them.
"Beyond this point, the world is unforgiving," she warned. "But there is a strength you possess... a strength the King's sacrifice could not anticipate."
Hornet pointed not toward the Black Egg Temple, but toward the depths of the Junk Pit—where the maddened bug, the Godseeker, had opened a gateway to Godhome, a realm focused entirely on strength.
She knew the King's original plan was flawed. The Infection could only truly be defeated by a being of perfect strength and perfect emptiness, one who embraced the forbidden power of the Void, the very source from which they were born.
She saw me enter the Godhome, conquering pantheon after pantheon, growing stronger with every victory against the echoes of Hallownest's past masters. She was waiting as they emerged, battered but relentless, ready for the final ascent.
Before I entered the final trial, Hornet appeared again, though her stance was softer. She understood that raw strength was not enough. The Void—the dark power I was about to unleash fully—was a destructive, consuming force. To save Hallownest, that power had to be contained.
She spoke of the Delicate Flower, a gift from the pure soul of the Grey Mourner, holding a rare power of protection and peace. She tasked me:
"If you choose to become the final power, you must find a way to temper the destructive truth of your being. Go to the Godseeker. Place the gift upon her. Let this pure thing act as a focus, a ward, or a silent plea."
I, silent as ever (Though I was annoyed by the mission), delivered the flower, then entered the ultimate trial—the Pantheon of Hallownest.
'After that, I don't know what happened to her side.'
[Allow me to help you host]
[Hornet stood alone, far from the chaotic void unleashed within the Godhome. She waited as her sibling, you, defeated all masters, finally unifying the great darkness of the Abyss into the formidable Shade Lord.
In that final moment, as the destructive, oily Void essence poured out of the Godseeker, consuming all in its path, it touched the Delicate Flower.
There was no deafening roar, no consuming darkness. Instead, the flower reacted—a single, blinding pulse of white, pure light. The light did not destroy the Void, but gathered it, neutralizing its chaotic surge. The Godseeker, the essence of the Shade Lord, and the remains of the Flower vanished together into an unknowable peace.
Hornet watched the light fade. She knew the threat of The Radiance was finally, utterly gone, swallowed by the power the King had both feared and desired. The Void was victorious, but thanks to the pure gift, it was contained and balanced.
Hallownest was saved, not by sacrifice alone, but by a final, unexpected act of delicacy and grace. Hornet, the last child of the King, was finally free. She turned her back on the ruined kingdom, ready to face a new path outside the borders of Hallownest, a path hinted at in the silk and song of a new adventure.]
'If so, then the delicate flower sent me in this world, and the void somehow knew I was going to be here, that's why it entered my body before we teleported.'
"Allen."
I turned around, seeing Riveria, who seemed to be looking for someone.
"Do you know where Ais?"
"Guess."
"..."
"Judging by your tone, it seems she did something that annoys you."
"She went to the dungeon before starting the training."
"Then I have a solution for her."
"Punishment." I spoke.
"Correct."
"Do you know anything she's scared of or maybe hates?"
"She's afraid of water. This can help you."
"?"
"Water? Why water?"
"When she was seven years old, I punished Ais for calling me an 'old woman' by tying adamantite to her and throwing her in water. I then started to call it 'swimming training'.
This incident became a traumatic experience for her, which caused her to:
Avoid water in the Dungeon in general."
"..."
"Riveria, Thanks."
"It's no problem after all that what she gets for skipping her training."
"Yep, and I'm going to make a special training for her."
"What kind of training?"
"flying training."
"What?"
"You'll see."
"Alright, I noticed you have another weapon other than the original."
"Well, this is called the needle, which was used by my half-sister who can control spider silk that's stronger than metal itself."
"What do you use this silk for?"
"Closing wounds, strangle the enemy with it, and creating a needle technique for it."
"You said you all came from one mother. Why is your half-sister different?"
"Well, it's a long story, and it seems Ais will take a long time to come, so do you have time for the story?"
"Yeah."
"So, picture this: way before the kingdom of Hallownest fell apart, there was this dark, terrifying place called Deepnest. It's basically a giant cave system full of spiders and creepy crawlies. Their ruler there wasn't the Pale King; it was Herrah. She wasn't just a monster; she was the Queen of the Beast Tribe, fierce and powerful, and she cared deeply about her subjects, the Weavers.
When the Pale King was building Hallownest, the plague—the Infection—started spreading. The Pale King had his plan to seal it away inside the Hollow Knight, but that plan needed something permanent, something eternal. It needed a final, unbreakable seal.
To do this, he needed three powerful bugs to surrender their minds and enter an eternal sleep, becoming the Dreamers.
The Pale King tried to convince Herrah to become one of the Dreamers, but she wasn't having it. She was too vital to her tribe, and she had a deep, primal desire that overshadowed even the kingdom's needs: she wanted a child.
Herrah knew the Pale King had the power to grant sapience and create life, so she struck a deal—a really heavy, political, and personal trade-off.
She said she will become a Dreamer and sleep forever, helping seal the Infection. But in exchange, he must give her a daughter.
The Pale King agreed. He and Herrah conceived a child, and that child was Hornet.
Think about that for a second: she literally traded her freedom, her life, and her consciousness for the chance to have just one child.
After Hornet was born, Herrah fulfilled her end of the bargain. She lay down in her lair, and her mind was woven into the great seal. She became one of the three Dreamers, eternally protecting the sealed Black Egg Temple.
She's just a sacrifice. Every action Hornet takes—her fighting style, her fierce independence—it's all because of Herrah's single, maternal desire.
The Pale King wanted an unbreakable seal; Herrah wanted a daughter. In the end, they both got what they wanted, but the cost was absolutely everything.
To be honest, it's a tragic story of hers."
"It is, and she was a great mother to her daughter."
"You're right, Herrah did not raise Hornet, but she made Hornet possible."
Before I continued talking, I saw Tiona with Ais in view.
"Let's talk later, I have to teach Ais for never leaving my training again."
'I'm going to make her fear heights instead of water this time.'
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