Introduction and short story based on Hollow Knight, a game by Team Cherry.

Hallownest. A world where bugs are the dominant species, living in harmony with nature. That was until Radiance.

When Radiance was born, Hallownest started plunging into chaos. Little by little, the bugs of Hallownest began falling into a trance, victim to the influence of the Radiance. The Godly moth rose to power as more and more bugs joined her hive mind. But then the king of Hallownest fought back.

Searching for a solution, the king discovered that the radiance could be contained in a being made of void.

To trap the Radiance, the vessel had to be rendered emotionless, the ultimate hollow knight.

However, the plan backfired. The vessel was devoid of all feelings, except for one dim emotion. Longing. The vessel longed to prove that he was worthy of his burden. And that longing was his Demise.

the vessel worked for a while, resisting the Radiance's influence, until it encountered its feeling of longing. Using that against him, Radiance took control of his body enacting its plan once again.

With Hallownest in utmost peril, the king used his last resort. He created another Knight, this one with a different purpose. With his last words, the king urged the little beetle out into the world, to fulfill its quest. Defeat the Radiance.

After venturing through the expanse of Hallownest with only one goal in mind, The Knight, with the help of Hornet, confronts the Radiance. Temporarily harnessing the void, The Knight manages to deal the final blow and end the Radiance.

The Present. After the triumph of The Hollow Knight, Hallownest has finally returned to normal. Bugs return to their families in open arms after being in a trance for so long. As things wind down, local bugs have reported seeing The Hollow Knight all over Hallownest, but no one is sure of his exact location. 

“Zzzz,”  Zzzz.” “Zzzz,” “Zzzz.”

After a long day of gathering supplies in Greenpath, The Knight takes a short break to catch his breath. Or maybe a couple  hundred breaths.

   !

Rustle rustle.”

“!” In a sudden movement, the Knight is awake and at arms, holding his blade in a defensive position.

“Hop!” A small cricket hops out of the bush. Nothing to be afraid of. 

Relieved, The Knight lowers his guard, leaving his blade out in the open.

“Hop!” Intrigued by the shiny object, the cricket grabs the blade with his mouth and examines it.

“?” Caught off guard, The Knight takes a few seconds to realize what has happened.

“!” No longer puzzled, The Knight lunges forward.

...

“...” Head hung low in resignation, The Knight walked away, wondering what to do next. It occurred to him that he could find a replacement for his trusty sword and equip a temporary spare, instead of having to search for it for an endless amount of hours.

After combing through the ancient texts of the famous City of Tears Library, The Knight comes across a book titled; “Ancient Weapons for Warriors.” In the volume for blades, The Knight learns about the Void Sword, a weapon of unfathomable power.

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖁𝖔𝖎𝖉 𝕾𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉:

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔙𝔬𝔦𝔡 𝔖𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔳𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔭𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔠𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔫𝔰 𝔬𝔣 ℌ𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔱. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔬 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔭, 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔲𝔯𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔪𝔶 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔟𝔶 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔱. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔟𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔠𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔰 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔪, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔡 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡. ℌ𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯, 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔦𝔰 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔞𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔢𝔳𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔟𝔶 𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔄𝔫𝔠𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔅𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔫, 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔡 𝔤𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔱𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔞𝔫𝔶𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔰𝔢𝔢. 

   !

Intrigued, The Knight begins to close the book, satisfied by what he found.

“Looking for a new blade?”

“!” The Knight turns around and gazes into the eyes of an old and wise ant, who appears to be the Librarian.

“Even though it seems like a simple thing, acquiring the Void Sword is no easy task. The ghosts of Ancient Basin are vicious, and they have no mercy.

“...”

“No changing your mind then. Might as well help you on your journey. If you walk down the hallway, take two lefts and a right, the last door at the end is full of supplies. Take as much as you need.”

“...” As a token of appreciation, The Knight leaves a few geo (Part of Hallownest’s monetary system.) and a few meadow berries, a delicacy only found in Greenpath.

As he waves goodbye to the Librarian, The Knight leaves his book open, forgetting to return it to the librarian. And on the next page it reads;

𝕭𝖊𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖊, 𝖓𝖔 𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖎𝖙 𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝕬𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝕭𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖓 𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊!