Chapter Text

Darner traipsed across the bridge over the pools of acid. Looking deep into the corrosive lake, he was reminded of Isma. Her and Dryya had died at some point. He knew that they wouldn't get to see a rebuilt hallownest. As he was thinking about this, he approached the towering figure of Hegamol. Ze'mer and Hegamol had disappeared somewhere else. Hopefully, they'd return someday. The silk of his cloak rustled as he searched for the emblem he carried with him. Once he found it, he slotted it inside the stone effigy. The stone and metal scraped and turned. The entrance to the City of Tears had opened. Soft light crept from the path into the entryway, gently illuminating the shell of a fallen guard. Darner had wondering what had become of them in his absence. As he made his way through the capital he tried not to kill any of the infected husks in the hopes that once the radiant goddess had been slain, they would be back to the bugs that once were instead of dropping, lifeless. The rain felt good on darner. He liked water on his shell. The clean water of blue lake was filtered as it came down through the rocks, making the rain in the city pure, clear water that felt good. It rejuvenated him. As he came to the fountain of the Hollow Knight he wondered about the little vessel and Hornet. They were up in the vault far above, trying to free hallownest of the wrathful clutches of its Devine captor, The Radiance. Hopefully, they'd win despite them being outgunned significantly. That hadn't stopped the vessel in his prior exploits. Why should this be any different. He made his way across the city to the elevator shaft up to resting grounds. The cab ascended higher and higher. In one direction spanned a view of the heart of Hallownest, steeped in rain. In the other, the stone walls of the Kingdoms Edge. The ashen land was mostly home to few save for some areas, but darner had gone there to gaze upon the cast off shell in deep deep contemplation. The main attraction was of course the coliseum of fools, an arena filled with warriors. He, along with some of the great knights and guard would go to witness the battles. On occasion, he would partake in fights. Crowds of bugs would be whipped into a frenzy when he showed off his prowess and some of the fancy tools he'd had bestowed upon him. But he hadn't returned in a while. The crowds had become different. They had gained bloodlust. They spent their days watching others battle instead of rebuilding and hadn't cared about death and pain. The Lord fool that they had respected so had fallen and the bugs did not care. Wether through ignorance or apathy, they had let his husk lay there as a symbol of their absorption in the carnage that took place. The infection was also known to spread there. Darner had wondered if he had an immunity, having been consumed by it and not having succumbed, but he wasn't willing to take any chances. The cab reached the top of the shaft. The caverns and chasms of the resting grounds spanned out before him. He walked up through the tunnels filled with memorials of many who had been lost, passing some of the graves he had set out himself to the soldiers he had lost, their helmets that they had once worn sitting atop the stones. He navigated through the winding cemetery until the ceiling opened up to a yawning ravine. It led from the graves to Crystal Peaks. He flew up to the edge of the cliff and landed on the gem encrusted peaks. The purple crystals had a strange energy to them. The light seemed to be fading slightly and slowly from them. The radiance was the one who gave the crystals their energy. Without her they would be worth little more than vanity. The kingdom relied on these crystals for power and without them they would need an alternative source of energy. The caverns were wide and the walls glowed with the clear stones protruding out like sharp spikes and on occasion shooting out rays of light. Eventually, darner reached Hallownests Crown. He looked over the edge at the plains that stretched as far as the eye could see. He had bid everyone left farewell and he had visited all the places he had previously known, reminiscing all about the life that had escaped him. He was ready to fly the nest and venture off into the unknown. He had everything with him he needed and he had the knowledge he needed to travel safely. And yet, he felt something was missing. He looked back towards the kingdom and walked over to the ledge overlooking dirtmouth. Never did he think he would have to leave. That he would need to give up the safety of the land that had raised him for the harsh, unforgiving wastelands that lay beyond. Below, the town of dirtmouth, one of the last settlements of survivors lay below. Even though it was not stricken with infection, it seemed to be waning. Most of the doors were boarded up and few bugs roamed the streets. After looking down at the place he had spent his life in for a long moment. He rose to his feet and started towards the other cliff face but stopped in front of the statue of the radiance. Some bugs had told him that the radiance owned this land. That she was the rightful owner and the the pale beings were thieves. Darner knew that while the pale king took this land from her, it was done rightfully so. She was a tyrannical ruler who forced all under her to do her bidding. She was a tyrant. Everyone was her slaves. Why would anyone want her to lay claim to the kingdom? Her followers were doomed to live a miserable existence. They had no free will. They were mindless. What drove them to resist with such rage for the one who loved them while trying to submit to the one who treated them like tools? All it could've been was fear and deception. The way the ones plagued by the infection behaved was what the radiance wanted of everyone. Why would someone embrace such a fate? He was enraged by those who vehemently advocated for everyone to revert to their old ways and condemn the one who had given them life. The shade from the abyss would soon bring upon the goddess her well deserved retribution. All would be free at last. What would happen next he would find out upon his triumphant return. But for now, he would seek the one who had pushed back against the goddess in the first place. The vast lands stretched evermore in all directions. There were so many places to search. So much land to cover. So many kingdoms, all independent of each other. But he wasn't unequipped. Inside him was a strange sense. He wasn't sure how or why he had it, but somehow he was able to sense the presence of his monarch. He didn't know wether he was born with it or if he attuned to his power through his years of faithful service, but he somehow felt it deep inside him, and somehow he knew what it was that was calling him. He was ready to set off into the darkness with only his strange abilities to guide him. He set off, not looking back. The trek that he was made for had begun.