Disclaimer: RWBY and Hollow Knight do not belong to me. They belong to RoosterTeeth and Team Cherry respectively.

This chapter took both a really, really long time and no time at all, somehow. Either way, please enjoy the show!

Intermezzio: Lotus from the Mud

Professor Ozpin didn't want to have to do this. Lie Ren had, out of all of his students, come the closest to dying. Weiss Schnee had fared the best, with light bruising across her legs. Blake Belladonna had a lump on her head and a sprained shoulder. Nora Valkyrie suffered bruises across her entire body. Jaune Arc, Pyrrah Nikos, and Ruby Rose all were shaking off the affects of what was in essence an anesthetic so heavy they might not have woken up. And Yang Xiao Long had undergone the same, but now had the smell of strange magic all around her after their 'miraculous' rescue from the no eyed bug.

Ozpin would have to speak to her about that. How had things gone so wrong so quickly?

And Lie Ren. Lie Ren, who was only a first year, was in the infirmary with multiple lacerations across his torso and arms, a long gash over his right arm that had come perilously close to bone. Puncture wounds across his legs, the faint traces of a mild toxin in his blood. With the exemption of a few cuts across his torso and his arm wound, all of his injuries had been haphazardly healed by his aura. His aura that broken - as far low as a person's aura could be without their body starting to shut down. Suffice to say Lie Ren was suffering under symptoms of starvation, dehydration, and severe exhaustion. This wasn't to say his wounds hadn't been patched. They had, with bandages made from a substance like silk but not quite and an unknown paste that Ozpin had to assume was herbal. Herbal or no, Beacon's doctors had panicked at the thought of unknown medicine coursing through Lie Ren's body and had scrubbed him clean and redressed his wounds.

Lie Ren had been passed out for most of that. It was a testament to Lie Ren's own dogged will that the boy was now awake.

The Headmaster desperately wished he could let Lie Ren rest. The boy looked only seconds away from passing out, bags under his eyes an ugly purple and skin sallow. Despite obvious exhaustion Lie Ren gave Ozpin his full attention. Ozpin didn't dwell on how that attention flickered every so often, Lie Ren scanning over the room for threats.

Putting on the best reassuring smile he could, Professor Ozpin sat down on the bed next to Lie Ren – the bed that had narrowly become Nora Valkyrie's till Ozpin had managed to convince her to sleep in her dorm – and spoke to his student.

"I know it's been a long day, Mister Ren. But I need you to tell me everything that has happened to you."

Lie Ren stared at Ozpin for a moment. Before taking a deep breath and beginning his tale.

It's okay darling...Everything's okay…

He'd barely managed to escape the monster. The monster that had worn his mother's face, that had dragged him deep into the darkness and-

His leg twinged, and Ren pressed the makeshift bandages that he'd sacrificed part of his shirt for against the wound. Warm blood seeped through the fabric. It wasn't closing as fast as it should've. He was burning through his aura fast. Too fast. He'd have to turn off his Semblance before his aura became too thin. But not here.

Skittering and hissing and shrieks and screams echoed all in the darkness that surrounded him and he needed to be alert. One wrong move and he'd…

Panic would be reasonable. Panic would kill him. With the help of his Semblance he dulled the edge of panic, smothered the fires of rage, pushed away the waves of terror. It's why he'd practiced with his aura day after day since he'd awakened it. It wasn't as powerful as Nora's High Voltage, or as flashy as Yang's Burn. But at the end of the day, it kept him alive. Ever since he was a kid, it had kept him alive.

Ren slowed down, taking deeper breaths. After a moment of listening to the background cacophony, he dialed down his Semblance. Enough to give himself a break, but not enough to let everything crash over him.

He had to escape. Get out of here and back to Beacon. The question was how? The monster had attacked him, dragging him away into the shadows and these caves. If it had been human, he'd have said some sort of teleportation semblance. But that monster was not human. Was he even in Vale anymore? Could he even get back-?

Ren unclenched his jaw as Tranquility flowed through him again, beating away panic and despair. His mind no longer clouded or buzzing, his path became clear. Not easy, but…

He had to find the surface. Had to escape these caves. Then, he'd find his way back to Beacon. To Nora.

The surface.

Muttering an old prayer his father had once taught him, Lie Ren continued to walk.

Lie...You have to run!

He was in a larger cavern now. Stretching his arms out, he didn't brush up against walls or a ceiling. Not for the first time tonight, he wished he had the night vision of a faunus, or even just a flashlight. Anything to navigate the labyrinthine mess he'd been dragged into. At least Tranquility increased his ability to sense the aura of others, through their emotions. The stronger the emotion, or the more malevolent, the easier it was to feel.

Perhaps he should count it a blessing that everything in this forsaken place wanted to eat him.

There was no rhyme or reason to these caves. Not built by humans or faunus then. Considering the chittering and shrieking and the blankets and curtains of sticky webs covering the floor and ceiling, Lie Ren had an idea of what had created these caverns. He'd already had the pleasure of meeting most of it's inhabitants – multiple eyes suddenly appearing in the dark before small spider shaped lumps the size of his head mobbed him, pillbugs with teeth like beowolves that boiled from the ground in a shrieking swarm. At one point he'd found the corpse of a beetle that was only a head shorter than him, and scarcely had a moment to wonder before it twitched violently, spindly legs bursting from its carpace in a twisted mimicry of the monster than had brought him here.

Had he not been using his Semblance, he'd have wasted a clip of ammo then and there. Not that is mattered much anymore – he was down to half a clip. Jaune had once asked him why he kept Stormflower on him all the time. Lie Ren had managed to shift the conversation to different topics without answering his team leader's question. Jaune was a nice guy. He didn't need to know why Lie Ren carried his weapons around all the time, or why Nora was so eager for a fight.

No matter. Yang had called it paranoia, and part of Lie Ren took solace in the fact that he could prove that he wasn't paranoid, simply cautious, to the blonde brawler when he saw her next.

If he ever saw her at all.

His aura flickered as struggled to keep Tranquility. He couldn't loose it now. He could drop it later, when he was finally free. He had to – needed to think clearly.

Engrossed in the herculean effort of fueling his semblance with the dwindling reserves of aura he had, he didn't notice the loose stones under his sandals shaking till the monster burst from the ground. In the total darkness, his eyes could barely make out its shape – only sharp edges and glowing eyes the size of his head high over him. Through his aura…

It was easily as big as a tram, as long as a small train. Most of it's body was still in the ground, even as it loomed over him. And it was mad at him. Very mad.

He scarcely had a moment before the monster lunged towards him. Body protesting, Ren kicked the ground, propelling himself into the air as the monster plunged into the stone like a knife through hot butter. Stumbling on the landing he twisted out of the way as it erupted from the ground. Tips of exoskeleton brushed against his fingers and Lie Ren poured some precious aura into his palm, blasted the monster with a palm strike.

The hope had been to pierce the exoskeleton, drive the creature away with pain. For all that it wanted to eat him, it wasn't a Creature of Grimm. It lacked the sheer hatred of all life that made up humanitites monsters. Instead he heard his palm blast splash against the creature's skeleton. Burning it to the point it glowed red but not breaking it. The creature shrieked and Ren stumbled. Tranquility dropped, black dots filled his vision and suddenly he couldn't get enough air no matter how hard he breathed. His aura fizzled in erratic bursts of pink, no good no good no good-!

The monster reared over him, glowing eyes boring into him.

It lunged.

A bolt of white light streaked through the darkness, a bright comet, slamming into the creature's face. Ren blinked furiously, eyes burning from the sudden light. The creature's shrieks drilled into his ears, the ground thundering underneath him-

As the creature ran away.

In the sudden too silent darkness, Lie Ren first heard soft footsteps. Then a dim orb of light, floating closer and closer into view. Lie Ren gripped the half of Stormflower he still had and forced Tranquility. Just as the tide of emotions that had almost drowned him ebbed away, the being holding the lantern came into view.

"Oho! And what might you be?"

Definitely not human. Not faunus either. They were...the best Lie Ren could describe them was as a blob of darkness that was roughly human shaped. Much shorter than him, though the large snail shell they wore as a helmet helped matters a bit. Blank white eyes, that glowed brighter than the muffled yellow light of the lantern that dangled from his knobbly staff, observed him. The top of the staff was decorated with a bug's white 'skull'. A garland made of tiny white masks adorned its neck. Lie Ren couldn't discern any expression from the inhuman figure. At the very least whatever it was, it didn't hold any malevolent intentions for him.

After everything, that was an unparalleled relief.

"I..." Lie Ren coughed, throat dry. The snail creature waited patiently, staring at him with unblinking eyes. "I am Lie Ren."

"Oho?" the snail creature laughed in a soft pleasing voice, "And what might be a Lie Ren at home?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What might you be apologizing for? Did you commit some sort of crime? Ohohohoho!"

Lie Ren stared, nonplussed. Had a night full of monster's robbed him of the memory of horrible jokes, of all things? Shaking his head, Ren replied the best he could.

"I'm a human. From Beacon."

"Human? Never heard of them before. Your kingdom of Beacon must be a strange and bright place, ohohoho!"

"Beacon's not a kingdom," Ren corrected before he could stop himself, still offbalance, "It's an Academy in the Kingdom of Vale."

Even if this strange being had never heard of Beacon, surely they'd have heard of Vale. Right?

"Oho? Kingdom of Vale? Never heard of it. What might a Vale be?"

As Ren pondered for the first time why Vale was named Vale, the snail creature chuckled.

"I myself am a simple Snail Shaman. From the Kingdom of Hallownest, I suppose. Though I'm afraid the both of us are far from home now, ohohoho!"

"Where...Where are we?" Lie Ren stopped his hands from shaking. Couldn't drop Tranquility now. He couldn't.

"Oho? You are a stranger to these lands then. This is the dreaded Deepnest!"

"Deepnest?"

The Snail Shaman hummed.

"Tell me, this academy of yours. It is a warriors academy, is it not?"

"I-It's an academy for hunters," Ren said, taken aback.

"Oho? Wonderful! You see, I'm in need of some help. My dear demesnes, a safe haven for weary travelers, has been infested. I am but a humble Shaman, and was driven out of my temple by the beast. But you! You have quite the skill in battle, ohoho! Surely you could clear my home out with no problem!"

Lie Ren shouldn't trust the Shaman. But the truth of the situation was clear. As sleazy as the Shaman seemed to be, they hadn't done a thing to hurt him. Yet. But it wasn't as if he could put up much of a fight. Ren knew that if he declined the Shaman's request, all that they would do is shrug their shoulders. And leave Ren to die.

A temple. A safe place to recuperate. A place out of this hellhole.

Tranquility thankfully kept the desperate urge to say yes at arms length. Instead Ren said, "I'm afraid I might need a moment's rest to help you."

"Oho? You agree to assist me then?"

When Ren nodded the Shaman let loose a hearty laugh.

"Ohohohoho! Such a generous soul you are! To help me in my time of need like this...Yes, there is no doubt Lie Ren. You are a dear new friend, ohohoh! Yet, my new friend, it is not wise to dally in the Deepnest."

"Just need to catch my breath," Ren wheezed.

"You need more than that I'm afraid. You're burning through your Soul to keep that power of yours awake. Worry not! Your new friend happens to be adept in matters of the Soul, ohohoho!"

The Snail Shaman grasped their staff with both stubby hands and began to wave it around, humming. The skull atop the staff began to glow and-

Something that felt like pure white aura began to coalesce in mid air. Ren looked away, the sudden bright light burning his eyes. The stale air around them whirled around before calming once more. A hum had filled the cavern. When Ren looked back, a gentle glow hovered over both him and the Snail Shaman. In the middle of that glow was a shifting blob of white aura.

"What…?" Ren began.

"Ohoho! Have no fear, my friend Lie Ren. That right there is a little nasty spell of my own creation! I feel that it would suit you very well, ohoho!"

Lie Ren stared at the blob of aura. The Snail Shaman hummed happily.

"Go on, take it! Do not be afraid! That spell belongs to you now! You'll have need of it, ohohoho!"

Lie Ren stared for a moment longer.

This was a bad idea, on multiple levels. But…

Unbidden, Nora popped into his mind. Gritting his teeth, Lie Ren stood up and grabbed the 'spell'

The sudden flood of strange aura that filled him shocked him so much that he dropped his Semblance. For a brief moment the calm that Tranquility brought hung about in the air, delicate as freshly fallen leaves

Then everything crashed over him. The panic, the despair, the fear. The hatred. His mind was filled with images of Kuroyuri in its last moments. His home burning, the hordes of Grimm washing over the populace and tearing them apart. His mother's worried smile, the last she'd given him as she tried to comfort him seconds before their house collapsed, burying her under tonnes of rubble. His father, injured but running off to face the monster that had destroyed their life. The Grimm that was man and horse fused into one abomination. Kuroyuri destroyed, him and Nora the only survivors. The hunger that followed as they tried to find any sign of civilization in the wilds of Anima. The gnawing hunger that grew worse as Ren overtaxed his newly discovered Semblance to hide them from the Grimm. The bandits who hadn't cared that they were just children. That would've killed them, or worse, had that storm not rolled in. His mother, body twisting and contorting as the legs of a spider erupted from her skin-

Ren was floating in the air. Someone was screaming and with a start he realized it was him. Pain and rage and fury filled his being, overflowing-

Everything went dark.

Listen to me son...You have to be brave now...Do you understand!?

"Oho? You've woken up!"

Lie Ren's eyes opened, and he became aware of several things in quick order.

He was no longer in a dark cavern but was in a small cave, grimy lanterns giving off a dim light. He was on top of some bedding, thin blankets underneath him and what looked like a ribcage over him. On the walls of the strange ribcage hut, white masks stared down at him with empty eyes. Startled, Ren sat upright. He saw the Snail Shaman sitting outside the hut.

Lie Ren snarled silently. The urge to shatter the Shaman's hat, then break that staff and snuff out that light caused his aura to boil.

Swift at the heels of those vengeful feelings came horror and shame, and Ren slammed open Tranquility. His semblance chased away the dark feelings. But unlike before, they did not disappear. Ren could still feel them, lurking under his skin.

"What did you do to me?" Ren hissed.

"Oho? My apologizes! I'm afraid I should have warned you about the power of that spell. The last one who accepted it had also fainted, ohoho!"

Ren took a deep breath, once more thankful for his Semblance's calm. His aura was no longer dwindling, no doubt because of the Shaman's 'spell'. Ren didn't dwell on that too much. Aura transfusion, outside of specific semblances, were something modern science still couldn't do. That a strange inhuman being had managed it so cheerily...

"Ohoho! Quite the neat little spell you have yourself! To be able to keep your calm, even when you sorely wish to hurt me. Now don't look so surprised, ohohoho! The moment I laid eyes on you, Lie Ren, I could see the darkness that cloyed your soul. Nothing to be ashamed about! We've all been shattered by life, one way or another. Ohohoho! That why I decided to create the spell Vengeful Spirit! That darkness inside of you, that urge to hurt the world that hurt you? The spell twists those feelings and uses your Soul to give it lethal form, ohohoho!"

Lie Ren took another breath, and looked at his hands. Grey and de-saturated, Tranquility having leeched the colour from him. Yet still he could feel the darkness lurking underneath the calm.

His darkness.

"Is it...truly just my own?" he wasn't sure what answer he wanted.

"Ohoho? Thinking that I gave you some of mine, Lie Ren? Ohohoho! I'm flattered, but my vengeance shall be mine alone. All I gave you was my spell and some Soul. I'm dead tired, to be frank. But neither of us are dead, are we? Ohohoho!"

Lie Ren sat there for a moment more. Before crawling out of the hut and standing up. The Snail Shaman stood too, gazing at him with those blank white eyes.

"Where is this temple you spoke off?" Lie Ren asked, letting Tranquility flow away. The darkness returned as the calm flowed away, but Ren was in control of himself again.

"Ohoho? Quite eager to honour your promise? Not that I'm upset, ohohoho! If only more folks could be as honourable as you, Lie Ren!"

Lie Ren brushed against the pockets of his pajama pants, feeling half of Stormflower's weight. Taking out the jade bladed-pistol and twirling it around, he stared at the Shaman.

"Lead the way."

Take action, son…

"Ohoho! Don't worry about this gate, I'm sure it will open once you've rid the temple of the wretched beast inside. I'd join you, but giving you my spell has exhausted me. I'd be of no use to you but as a distraction, ohoho! Don't fear! My ancestor's spirits are most definitely looked over you, ohohoho!"

It was almost refreshing, dealing with someone as straightforward as the Snail Shaman after the Deepnest. The Snail Shaman just wanted him to do one selfish little task, and would no longer bother Ren. He could respect that.

Giving the horizontal bars that had closed the entrance of the temple as soon as Ren had stepped into it a droll look, he made his way further into the structure. On the walk from the hut, Ren had managed to calm himself to the point that he no longer needed Tranquility. It helped he was no longer in the Deepnest, though he was still underground. There had been brief torches that had light the way, fires flickering in the darkness and illuminating the deep purple rock that made up the cavern walls. The temple was no less an eerie structure. Resembling a mound of stone held together by pillars of wood and ragged curtains of cloth more than any temple Ren had ever seen. Inside, Ren resisted the urge to take off his footwear. The Shaman hadn't told him too, and the floor was-

-it seemed to be made up of stone masks. Thousands of them, piled together till they made a solid floor. Empty eyes stared up at him as he made his way further into the structure. From the walls, stark white masks resembling no Grimm he'd ever seen silently observed his progress.

Ruby, he thought with a slight shudder, would enjoy this place.

It wasn't just the macabre decoration that sent shivers down his spine. It was plain as day that the temple hadn't been made with humans in mind. There were no stairs whatsoever to be found. Sheer walls stood between him and ascending to the upper floors of the temple. Brushing a hand against the stone Ren felt hundreds of indentations. Marks from where others had climbed it perhaps?

Ren skipped the need to emulate whatever other pilgrims had done before him, running forward and jumping onto the next floor. Again and again, and the absence of stairs wasn't the only alien architecture he found. At one point he entered a large chamber whose floor was a bed of spikes. Ren mutely observed the lethal flooring before glancing at the islands of stone platforms of varying heights scattered across the chamber. The only way of crossing the chamber would to jump from platform to platform.

It was ridiculous. Even more so than the 'temple' Headmaster Ozpin had the first years travel to as initiation. Yet there was an ancient presence to the temple. Ren could feel the ghosts of a hundred footsteps who had traveled the same path he was traveling now.

Just as he could feel the cold foreign presence deeper in the temple. The beast that the Shaman had spoke of, no doubt.

Ren forged onward, the cold feeling growing as he made his way further past strange architecture. The air became clammy on his skin. The torches were fewer and farther apart.

So cold it had become that Ren was surprised his breath wasn't condensing. Dropping down into another large room, he barely had a moment to breath before the beast spoke.

"My my my! Who might you be?"

It was a pleasant voice. Matronly, reminding Ren of a kindly nurse he and Nora had meet in Mistral. She had treated them to lunch and refused to accept any sort of payment, taking them to a local clinic afterwards.

A slender shape slithered from the shadows. A fat jet black worm, three pairs of spindly legs near her face. A mask with four eyeholes shaped like horizontal teardrops and a crescent moon smile gazed at him. Ren stepped back and the 'beast' giggled.

"Don't be shy, little one. Not that I can blame you. Nasty little creatures roam these lands now. And you, my dear, seem to have run into some of the nastiest of them all."

"Pardon?" Lie Ren asked. He didn't reach for Stormflower. Not yet.

"I can see the silk cling to your skin, and I can see the wariness in your eyes. More than anything, I can smell home clinging to you. You've been to the Deepnest, haven't you?"

"You're from the Deepnest?" Ren asked.

"Why so surprised dear? Did you think the Deepnest was filled with nothing but monsters?" she snorted, "Typical fare for one of Hallownest, of course."

"I am a stranger to both Hallownest and the Deepnest," Ren said.

"I can see that dear. I've never seen a bug like you before. But you must be very, very strong to survive the land of the Weavers."

"You mean the Deepnest."

"Indeed! Don't let the little bugs of Hallownest fool you. The denizens of the Deepnest are the most intelligent species that wander these lands. Minds deep enough to weave a history thousands of cycles long, and keen enough to match the fury of the Mantis, the numbers of the Fungaloids, and the power of Hallownest. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, but we of the Deepnest survive still. Perhaps that it why they call us monsters."

"Perhaps its the way you welcome guests," Ren deadpanned.

The 'beast' laughed. It was a rich and mirthful sound, even as she slithered closer around him.

"You cannot begrudge the nasties of the Deep for their hunger, my strange friend! Might is the law of the Deepnest, as it is everywhere. The hypocrites of Hallownest call us beasts. Tell me though, who it was that trapped you in this den with a 'beast'? I expect that Shaman thought that you'd kill the poor old Midwife of the nest, or that you'd die by my hands and he could find some other unsuspecting fool to do the job again. Nasty people, those Shamans."

Lie Ren watched her, noting that she had yet to say anything patently false. Mind whirling, he spoke.

"I had thought that the Shaman had referred to a simple monster when he asked me to do this. I am not comfortable hunting down a being who can speak."

"How...noble," the Midwife said at last. Her tone held nothing but polite confusion.

"You seem very wise, Midwife. I'll soon be on my way, but first may I ask you a question?"

"Why of course!"

"Which way is the surface?"

Lie Ren waited with bated breath as the Midwife hummed in thought.

"The surface? My, my, but that is a faraway place. It's been many years since I've seen it...I'm afraid," the Midwife's tone turned apologetic, "I'm afraid I can no longer...no longer remember the way...I haven't eaten for a while and I'm…

D..."

The Midwife's mask split open, revealing beady eyes and jaws filled with rows upon rows of silver sharp teeth. With a harsh cry she lunged towards him. He managed to twirl out of the way of snapping teeth and pool aura into his hands. Blasts of pink scored across the Midwife's skin, drawing a scream from her jaws. Ren leapt into the air to avoid jaws as the Midwife laughed.

"Naughty naughty! Just sit still, my strange friend, just one bite! Your blood smell E!"

Ren ducked another dodge, but his body couldn't contort the way the Midwife's could. Ren bit back a scream as she turned around in a flash, jaws closing over his arm. Aura glowed as it resisted the Midwife's razor bear-trap of a blow but did nothing to dull the phantom pain of fangs closing into his flesh.

It was automatic, Ren thought later. The darkness that had been festering inside of him since the Shaman had given him the spell writhed, and with a snarl he placed the palm of his other hand in the Midwife's face.

Something inside him snapped, his aura pulsed, and a flash of light erupted from his palm. Pink aura, his aura, took the form of a shapeless wraith and rocketed forwards. Through the Midwife, who's scream was like knives against a chalkboard, and smashing into the wall behind her. The attack left behind a ruined pillar and melting stone.

Ren stared in shock, even as the Midwife reared back, still screaming.

"Nasty, nasty, terribly little brat!" she shrieked. Her mask glowed red hot and her eyes were screwed shut. But the powerful attack had left no other wound and Ren realized with a start they she could still smell him-

With a roar the Midwife blindly lunged at him and Ren rolled out of her way. Stone shattered under her blow and she screamed louder, rage mixed with her pain.

It was there that things began to go wrong.

Neither he nor the Midwife noticed the way the floor crumbled as they fought. How the room shuddered after Vengeful Spirit destroyed part of the wall.

As Lie Ren prepared for the Midwife's next attack, the floor underneath them buckled and fell apart, casting both human and bug down into the dark depths underneath the temple.

I'm scared…

If he ever got back to Beacon, he'd thank Headmaster Ozpin for his lessons on 'landing strategies'. The light of the temple a faraway point above them, stone all around him, and a furious Midwife screaming and thrashing in the air.

None of this was ideal.

Ren tucked himself into a dive, dropping out of the range of the Midwife's jaws. Dropping further into the dark, and whatever floor lay below. He had no intention of going splat. Throwing his arms out and angling towards the wall, Lie Ren brushed against stone before kicking off from it. His velocity took him to the next wall and he kicked off from that too.

Bouncing off walls like a demented pinball, Lie Ren fell. At one point he had to twist out of the way as the Midwife fell past him, lunging towards him in a desperate last attempt. He almost didn't make the next kick. For the first time this night, luck was with him and he made it. Moments later he watched the Midwife disappear into the dark below.

It didn't remain gloomy for long.

Lie Ren thought the first glowing spores a trick of the light. A product of a stressed mind stuck in the dark for too long. What was at first brief motes of yellow-orange turned into clumps and then a cloud thick as mist. Lie Ren coughed, almost missing the last jump off a wall that would stop him from slamming into the ground.

Hitting the ground in a tuck and roll caused a cloud of spores to violently explode into the already clogged air. The ground was spongy, a carpet of dirt and countless threads of fungus. Getting up to his feet and coughing as he tried to breath, Ren sacrificed the rest of his remaining shirt sleeve to turn into a mask.

It was difficult to see his surroundings. Glowing spores hung heavy in the air, ranging from as large as dandelion heads to as small as dust motes. This gave the air the look of city smog at sunset. Yet it was the brightest place he'd come across this night, and that he was thankful for. He had landed in what seemed to be another cavern. The walls and ceiling were obscured from his vision, thought that more had to do with the fog of spores than any assumptions on cavern size. Sprouting from the ground all around him were mushrooms as tall as trees. All dark green with orange-yellow spots. The floor itself looked like a light sprinkling of snow had passed the night before. But it wasn't frost but countless threads of mycellium, growing like grass in this strange cavern.

Lie Ren waited with shallow breaths. When he didn't die or otherwise feel inconvenienced after several moments, he relaxed and counted his luck. That's when he noticed a light, glinting in the gloom footsteps away from him. Taking out Stormflower, ready to fire at a moment, Lie Ren made his way towards the light.

The light turned out to be a small chunk of metal, scattered with the loose stones that had once been the temple floor. It was a button really, the type you'd pin to a shirt. The sight was so mundane that Ren couldn't help but stare at it for a moment. Mundane as a button might've been, it too showed signs of being from Hallownest. Made from grey metal, it resembled an abstract carving of a housefly's head. At least, that was the only way Ren could describe it.

Grotesque the pin might've been, Nora popped into Ren's head once more. She had a small collection of pins among her scant few possessions. The pin found itself in Ren's pocket before he could think.

It was a promise. He'd get out of here and give it to Nora. She'd probably laugh and call it gross, and-

"Lost in thought, Y?"

Ren threw himself to the side, just in time to avoid the Midwife's attack. Eyes burned as more spores were thrown into the air. The Midwife cackled.

"Don't think you can escape little ol' me so easily, deary!"

The Midwife reared to her full height and Ren stumbled back, raising Stormflower.

Figures blurred from the spore-filled gloom, charging towards the Midwife. The Midwife screamed and thrashed as praying mantises as tall as Ren attacked her. Each mantis had dark blue abdomens and dull green carpaces. Their heads, bright white, weren't quite mantis but nowhere near human. Yet their beady black eyes held burning intelligence and fury in equal amounts. Bladed white limbs cut through the air and into the Midwife's hide, making a sound like swords clanging against armor.

"Defiler! Dark one!" a mantis with one eye missing hissed.

"Monster of the Nest! Evil One!" a mantis with blue markings painted under their eyes screamed.

The Midwife writhed and shrieked, ripping the head from the mantis with the blue markings off with a single bite.

Ren stared wide eyed at the violent frenzy, not sure what to do. Finally the Midwife screamed, bucking the remaining three mantises from back.

"Wretched, deplorable, despicable creatures!" The Midwife's mask slammed closed and she turned tail and ran. Two of the mantises chased after her. The other, the one eyed mantis, watched them go before turning to the corpse of their comrade. Black eye filled with something akin to sorrow, but Lie Ren didn't put Stormflower down.

The Midwife's cloying hunger faded away with each second, yet the air still sparked with hostility.

A moment passed, and just as Lie Ren thought to speak the mantis twisted around and flung themselves at him.

"Wait-!" he cried out, dodging lethal limbs.

"Stranger! Enemy!" the mantis hissed.

"I don't want to-!"

The mantis lunged with a sudden burst of speed and Lie Ren found himself on the ground. The mantis had managed to pierce through his once more low aura, scoring a shallow slash across his shoulder. Pinning him to the ground, razor limbs raised to rend him into pieces, Ren had no choice but to wrench his hand free and aim Stormflower's barrel towards their head.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

Lie Ren pushed the body off to the side, scrambling onto his feet. He brushed hair away from his face, and his hand came back covered in white blood.

Tranquility was upon him in an instant, and Ren spent the next few moment cleaning himself and not dwelling upon what he was cleaning.

He could justify himself easily. It was self defense. It was him or the mantis. They weren't human.

He remembered the spark of clear intelligence that had burned into the mantises dark eye, the aura that had thrummed within them, and was thankful once more for his Semblance.

Moments later, as clean as he could be and wondering if he should bury the mantises, he heard the chatter of more in the distance. Alien words that were becoming louder by the second.

Not for the first nor for the last time that night, Lie Ren ran.

Me too…

The mantises were relentless.

The creatures of the Deepnest had been relentless as well, but they hadn't been ruthless. Their aura had been hungry and voracious, not cold and lethal. Ren wasn't sure how long he'd run through the fungal caves and spore filled caverns, several mantises right on his heels. Silent, swiping at him whenever they got close.

He was barely fast enough to outrun them, yet only just. The mantises could match him movement by movement in feats of acrobatics. At one point in a desperate attempt to finally lose them Ren had flipped into the air and onto a large mushroom, hoping it was as bouncy as the cave floor was. The mushroom had been all that and more, launching him into the air like a trampoline. But he scarcely had time to catch his breath as he climbed into a small cave in the wall before the mantises followed suit, leaping from the mushroom before climbing the sheer stone wall by slamming their limbs into stone like ice picks.

Firing bullets blindly behind him, he had managed to kill several mantises. For each mantis he killed, a replacement seemed to appear from the sporey smog. All around him he could feel dozens of other presences keeping up with the chase but simply watching. He was surrounded by mantises. Chased down like fox by hounds. Being hunted for sport.

Firing behind him once more, Ren cursed as the gun clicked. He had finally ran out. As if waiting, a mantis peeled away from the group and rushed towards him, bladed limbs stretched to skewer him. With a snarl he kicked it away before bringing his hands forward, Vengeful Spirit erupting from his being. The aural wraith smashed through several mantises, leaving behind burned corpses.

And the mantises around him paused.

Lie Ren ran. A desperate burst of speed to avoid the creatures hunting him. He only had a moments head start. He could feel the mantises begin to chase after him once more. He couldn't keep up like this. They'd run him to the ground before long. He had to shake them loose someho-

The path before him forked, ever so slightly. A smaller cave off to the side of a larger opening. Ren lunged, sliding into the off-path and scrambling back to his feet. As silent as he could he made his way further into the tunnel, waiting with bated breath.

At the mouth of the tunnel, at the fork in the path, several mantises stood anxiously. Ren stopped breathing, stretching his Semblance to its limits to sense the slightest movement.

For a moment he thought his plan had worked. Then, as one, the group of mantises turned towards the tunnel and lunged. Ren stumbled back as they poured through the small opening.

Something behind him shoved him onto the ground, Tranquility fell apart, and since when was there something there-?

Ren rolled onto his back in time to see a massive figure slam the first of the mantises into a wall, cutting it clean in two with a blade as large as Ren himself. The rest of the mantises fared no better as the giant cut them into ribbons. Till there was only Ren, and the giant bug that had saved him.

The acrid smell of blood filling the cavern, Ren stood up on shaky feet as the bug turned around to face him. They were easily as tall as the Hollow Knight, and as wide as they were tall. Stout in figure, a deep blue carapace was covered by dark red armor. A thick blue cape of fluff flowed from their shoulders and practically encompassed them entirely. The massive sword was held in one hand alone, resting on the bug's shoulder. Their head was a stern white mask with a pair of large eyeholes and a smaller pair below that almost looked like nostrils. Three horns jutted straight up into the air like a crown. A red headband tied tightly around their forehead. They were unlike anything Ren had seen tonight.

The bug stared down at him before snorting. Their voice was deep and gravely, echoing through the tunnel.

"What might you be looking at?" the bug asked, acidly. His tone broke Ren out of his stupor and he began to bow.

"Thank yo-"

The bug shoved him out of the bow. As Ren stumbled back, the bug loomed over him.

"I have to wonder if you're a fool or an idiot."

"There's a difference?" Ren grumbled.

The weight of the bug's glare grew.

"Either you had picked a fight with the mantises on purpose and were attempting to lure them in here. Or you were an unfortunate creature who go lucky enough to survive the fury of the Mantis Tribe."

"I wasn't looking for a fight," Ren growled, "I had no intention of even being here!"

"That makes the both of us," the bug grumbled.

Frustration melted away as Ren watched the walk past him, deeper into the tunnel. The bug walked like a warrior, steps light and sure, but there was a palpable feeling of exhaustion about his aura. With one last look towards the dead mantises, Ren hurried after the bug.

"Stop following me," the bug snapped as Ren fell into step next to him.

"How can you be so sure that I am following you and not the other way around?" Ren asked, tone dully glib. As the bug muttered darkly under his breath Ren continued. "I could also simply be traveling in the same direction as you without any intention of following."

"Yeah?"

Lie Ren nodded and the two of them walked in silence for a moment.

"The way I see it," the bug finally said, "Is that you've got a mouth smarter than a Fool, and you'll live for as long as one of them unless you stop following me."

The giant bug whirled around, staring down at him and Ren's eyes slid towards the massive blade. Before meeting the bug's gaze.

"The way I see it," Ren said quietly, "Is that I can take my chances with you or the mantises. Against one skilled foe or several ferocious one, I'll always choose the one."

"You want to take your chances with me?" the bug asked flatly.

"Don't underestimate me just cause of my size," Ren warned, "I won't go down as easy as you might think."

The bug starred at him. Sardonic laughter bubbling from his throat, the bug shook his head.

"I don't know if you've seen yourself recently, but you look like hell. I don't particularly know what hole you clawed your way out of-"

"It was the Deepnest."

"-That would explain your appearance. You look like you're holding yourself up by sheer will, and you want to fight me?"

"Not particularly. But I'd like to fight the mantises less."

"You'll need more fortune than you seem to have to avoid that," the bug said darkly, "We're both in the heart of the Mantis Tribe's territory."

Ren looked down from the bug's gaze. For the first time he noticed the countless scratches carved into the bug's armor. When Ren looked back, the bug's glaze had turned glare. Without a word the bug turned around and continued walking. Ren followed him. To his mild surprise the bug didn't say anything.

The both of them walked through the dark tunnel in silence. The spores, though still ever present, had thinned and Ren enjoyed the relatively clean air while he could.

"Never seen your kind around these lands before."

Ren glanced at the bug. No other comment forthcoming, Ren turned his gaze forward once more.

"I'm not from Hallownest."

"You're not from nearby either. What brings you to these lands?"

"Mitigating circumstances."

"Yeah?"

"By which I mean a monster dragged me into the Deepnest."

The bug snorted and Ren continued.

"I'm a human. Have you ever heard of them before?"

"Never. Are all you 'humans' so squishy looking?"

"For the most part, yes. Our skeletons are on our insides."

The bug paused and finally stared at him with an emotion that wasn't abject annoyance.

"You're fucking with me."

Lie Ren shrugged and clamped down on the urge to giggle. Ren had a feeling that the bug was scowling at him. The bug had probably been scowling at him this entire time, but Ren could say for certain that he definitely was now.

Staring the bug straight in the eye, Ren clamped down on his right wrist with his other hand. After a moment of that he began flopping his hand around.

"For the glory of the nail, enough already!"

The bug stomped away and Ren bit back another bout of laughter before running after him.

"My name is Lie Ren."

"Yeah?…I am called Nailmaster Oro."

"And what might be a Nailmaster when at home?"

"You are either ignorant or truly alien," Oro muttered, "Tell me at least you know what a nail is."

"You mean that sword you carry?" Ren asked. Looking at it, it did resemble a nail in form, if only just.

"Blade, sword, nail. They all mean the same," Oro grumbled, "For a moment I thought you truly were so ignorant as to not know what a nail was."

"I favour smaller blades," Ren twirled Stormflower in his hand. Oro gave the green weapon a once over before scoffing.

"What sort of design is that? Looks impractical."

"It works well enough for me," Ren shrugged, fidgeting with Stormflower's blade. His weapon – or at least, half of his weapon – had been put through the wringer tonight. Even if he no longer had ammo, the last thing he wanted was for it to jam.

"You never did answer my question."

"I have no obligation to answer whatever strange questions you ask, Lie Ren," Oro was silent for a moment longer before grumbling, "Nailmaster. We who live and breath the arte of the nail and the life of battle. Disciples of the great Nailsage, the three of us became masters of the sacred nail artes."

"Three?"

Oro's aura became surlier. Ren watched him carefully.

"...My brothers."

Ren didn't ask his next question immediately. Rather he wrestled with the words till he was satisfied with them.

"What are they like?"

"Hmm?" For a moment Ren wasn't sure that Oro would answer his question. "...My brother Mato is master of the Cyclone Slash and is skilled in his own right, strange though his notions of loyalty and honour may be. And brother Sheo was the greatest of us. Master of the Great Slash, our master's star pupil. He was...aloof. Kind, mind you, but aloof."

"And you?"

Oro snorted, giving Ren a glance he couldn't decipher.

"I am the master of the Dash Slash. And no, I won't teach it to you. Not unless you got quite some geo on you."

Ren filed away the question of what geo was and shrugged.

"I'm not terribly interested."

"Oh? Think you're too good for it?"

"Not at all. But I doubt out styles are compatible. You favour powerful strikes-"

"-And you don't?"

"I favour precise attacks," Ren sheathed Stormflower and took the strange pin from his pocket. He needed something to fiddle with. "Get in the enemies face, hit them where it hurts and hit them fast, then dodge out of the way. Rinse and repeat."

"That puny nail of yours enough to hurt?"

"Stormflower is a pair. I lost the other half in the Deepnest," Ren traced the grooves of the pin and tried to ignore how much that stung, "And I'm not helpless without a 'nail'. As my soul is my defense, so too is it my offense."

Oro grunted, sounding begrudgingly impressed.

"Using Soul to fight? Didn't take you for the type."

"Do you not use aura?" Ren asked, surprised by the concept. Sure, Jaune didn't use aura all that much in combat. But that was only due to inexperience. He'd never heard of a warrior who didn't use aura.

"If you mean using my Soul, no. I have no interest in spellcraft. My life is devoted to the arte of the nail. Not that I begrudge those who use the Soul," as Ren digested this anvil of a revelation Oro glanced down at the pin, "That explains the charm you've got there. It's a Shaman charm isn't it?"

"A what?"

Oro mimed for Ren to hand the pin over, and began pointing out the spiral whorls etched into the lower third of the charm.

"I'm no charm lover, but I've come across a few of them. These snail shell patterns are a sure sign of one of those Shaman's charms."

"...What's a charm?" Ren finally asked.

Predictably Oro stared at him as if he were an alien. Ren couldn't make out the grumbling that followed, but none of it sounded flattering.

"Charms," Oro said finally, "You know, objects that bestow blessings – or curses – upon their wielders?"

"You mean to tell me this is a magic pin?" Ren couldn't help the skepticism for leaking into his tone.

"I don't pretend to understand how they work. But they work. If you don't believe me, that's your choice."

Oro shoved the pin – the charm – back into Ren's hands. Ren stared at the circle of metal for a long moment before finally pinning it to the remains of his shirt.

The effect was immediate. He felt the charm pull on his aura, not enough to create a noticeable drain but enough to feel a tug. A tug that was almost lost to the immediate sensation of the world opening to him.

Ren was no stranger to his extrasensory abilities. Fully fledged hunters told tales of how they could sense danger coming and feel ill intent. Ren had learned long ago that as a child he already had that level of perception, and ever since then had worked to improve it till he could sense an attack from a block away. But this was something else. He could feel the aura of his surroundings, truly feel it the way he could see light and hear sound. Oro's massive banks of aura became sharper and clearer, so clear that Ren could practically see it as a cloud of white hanging over Oro's body. He could feel the minuscule flashes of the aura of the spores around him and the threads of fungi in the dirt under his feet.

That was more of a shock. Everyone knew that everything with a soul had aura – humans, faunus, even animals. The Grimm had no aura. But since the discovery of aura, the question of whether plants had aura had plagued scholars, with no satisfying answer in sight.

"I've just answered one of life's greatest mysteries," Ren mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

Ren blinked as Oro waved a hand in front of his face. He realized that he had stopped walking and that Oro was steps ahead of him. The Nailmaster glared down at him, but Ren could see the concern bleeding into his aura.

"I'm fine," the words were out of Ren's mouth in an instant. Oro didn't seem to believe him but didn't press further, turning around and continuing to walk. Ren followed after him, a finger brushing against the charm.

It was pulsing. Ren was seized by the urge to rip the charm off and grit his teeth. The sensation wasn't...bad. Just strange. But he'd be a fool to ignore how helpful this could be. It could be used for all sorts of things.

Such as sensing the hostile presences barreling down the tunnel behind them.

"Oro, we have hostiles inoming!"

Oro turned around. Had one look at Ren's expression. And swore.

"Run!"

We'll keep each other safe…

The mantises were steps behind them, and Ren hadn't wondered why not one tried to lunge at them till he and Oro burst out of the tunnel into a large cavern filled with a veritable forst of mushrooms and a militia of mantises. Mantises staring down upon them from the tops of towering mushrooms, glaring down at them as they flew in the air. Ren barely had a moment to realize it had been a trap before the mantises were upon them.

"GYASOOOO!"

Ren stumbled under the force of Oro's battle cry. There was a veritable pressure to it. Like the Hollow Knight's cry, Ren thought with a start. Despite Oro's insistence that he didn't use aura, Ren could feel the aura charged into the cry. The mantises charging at them seemed pushed into the ground by the roar, and Oro wasted no time in capitalizing on that.

He charged forward with the grace of a dancer and all the strength of a bull. With every swing of his blade at least one mantis died, Oro's blade rending them into pieces. At one point Oro dodged several mantises trying to surround him by leaping high into the air, a distance of twice his height. The ensuing destruction caused by his blade-first slam into the ground distracted the mantises enough for Ren to slam his palms into several warriors who tried to capitalize on Oro wrenching his blade from the ground.

If it hadn't been for Tranquility, Ren would've stumbled at the sensation of aura flowing into his being with every blow of his that hit. That would've inevitably lead to his death. Tranquility kept mute the kneejerk reaction of horror and revulsion as Ren realized that he was siphoning parts of the mantises own auras with every strike.

He had to take every advantage he could. His pool of aura was low enough as it was.

They trudged through the onslaught of mantises, Oro cutting a swath through the hostile tide and Ren dancing between his powerful blows and taking out stragglers that the Nailmaster had missed. It was like fighting with Nora, and Ren slotted himself as Oro's backup easily. For a moment it seemed like they would manage to escape.

So caught up the frenzy of the battle, Ren didn't notice the groups of mantises swooping overhead and dropping projectiles until it was too late. Ren saw the first of the projectiles – an orb of what looked like corded fungal thread – in his periphery and didn't waste a moment kicking it away.

Under the force of his blow the orb exploded into a cloud of spores as thick as dustbunnies and sticky as glitter. Ren rocked back as several more spore bombs exploded around them, eyes stinging and senses assaulted by the amount of aura around him. Oro roared somewhere near him, but Ren soon lost track of the Nailmaster. Blind and overloaded, Ren ran. Striking out at random as he tried to escape the deathtrap that was the spore cloud. His wild strikes occasionally hit an unlucky mantis, but for every blow he landed his aura took a hit from a precise slash from every direction.

Scream tearing from his throat Ren unleashed a Vengeful Spirit from both his hands. Chitin searing and crunching, Ren bolted. Running till the air surrounding him thinned, till the world around him wasn't so bright with life-

The ground underneath him changed from dirt to wood and Ren tripped, tumbling across the floor. Tranquility broke and phantom pain spiked across his body as his low aura tried to shield him from the sudden blow. Scrambling to his knees with a hiss, Ren scrubbed his eyes free from the film of spores blinding him. Blinking away tears, Ren found himself in a dark wooden corridor. Strange patterns and slashes were scored into the walls. The wood itself was nothing that Ren recognized, purple brown in colour.

Ren was broken out of his sudden shock by the harsh hisses and clicks that he'd come to recognize as mantises. Ren wasted no time getting to his feet and running back the way he had come, toward the outside world.

In hindsight he shouldn't have done that.

A group of mantises awaited him outside. When Ren whirled around several mantises had already blocked the corridor. The corridor turned out to be the entrance to a sprawling clump of wooden structures shaped like young bamboo shoots, a massive boxlike structure in the middle of the clump. Hundreds of mantises climbed and clambered over the buildings, many watching him. And high above him, standing on top of the walls separating the buildings from the outside cavern, were three tall figures.

Mantises, unlike any of the smaller ones he'd fought so far. Willowy in figure, clothed in black shoulder cloaks that draped over their shoulders and reached their 'waists'. White heads tapered into a pair of tall dark blue horns rather than antennae, like the high crowns of ancient Mistrali rulers. Their arms did not end in blades but in hands. In each of their hands was held a silver lance longer than they were tall. The way they held the weapons shattered any hope that they didn't know how to use them, and Lie Ren realized with a sinking feeling that he was about to die.

He shifted into a combat stance, Tranquility leeching the colour from his body even as his aura flickered. He felt too cold and too hot at the same time, and desperately wished he could just collapse. Discipline was all that kept him from doing so.

The first of the great mantises spoke. Her voice was deep and cold as stone.

"Thou hast greate courage, to draw thy nail against us."

The second great mantis spoke, her voice quiet as velvet and strong as steel.

"Strange creature garbed in verdant tatters and who beren the marks of combat most arduous. Thou arte most brave or most foolish, of which I cannot say."

The third great mantis spoke, her voice raspy and biting as fire.

"Dispense thy nail, o forein wirling! Wight who hath invaded our village, thy fate is sealed! Only death awaits thee!"

The mantises surrounding him were silent. Waiting to see what happened, Ren realized. He met the eyes of the three great mantises. The third bristled as he did and they all tensed. Not out of fear, but anticipation.

"And if I refused to let myself die by a mob? To kill anymore of your people?"

The third mantis scoffed.

"Thou hast no choice. Kill lest you be killed! In these lands, the law is thus!"

"Unless..." the second interjected, "Thou hast faith in thy strength, faith in thyself to best us in combat."

"Thou wilst die either or!" the third snapped.

The first great mantis stared down at him.

"Speak, pitiful creature. Wilst thou stake thy honour and meet the Lordes of the Mantis in battle?"

What else could he do?

"I have far too much to live for-" Ren began, tone cold and dark as Vengeful Spirit churned under Tranquility.

"As dost every life," the third lord scoffed, "Thou thinke thy honour is moren in importance to others?"

"I still have yet to have my vengeance," the scream of the Grimm that had killed his parents echoed in his mind, "Nor have I found my justice. I have yet to admit my love," Nora hanging upside down from a tree, grinning from ear to ear as she bopped his nose with a finger. Ren took a deep breath, trying to ignore his fluttering heart.

"Mostly I just refuse to die here," he finally said.

The Mantis Lords stared down at him.

"A most excellent sentiment," the first said, and that was all the warning he had before she appeared inches before him in a flash, lance raised to skewer him.

...What's your name…?

Fighting the Mantis Lord was ten times worse than fighting Ruby Rose. A great deal of that might've been because Ruby was a cheerful girl who tried to get along with everyone and was the sort of person to try to trap a bug under cup and release it rather than killing it. The Mantis Lords was not.

That minor difference in personality aside, they had startlingly similar styles of fighting. Rolling out of the way of the Mantis Lord's first jab Ren aimed his palms towards where she should've been, hoping to end the fight with one well timed strike of Vengeful Spirit. What he instead saw was nothing followed by the Mantis Lord materializing overhead, lance pointed downward.

Lunging out of the path of the Lord's attack seconds before she slammed into the ground Ren watched the Lord dash away with a speed that would make even Ruby pause. A beat of the heart later she was in in front of him, lance aimed at his chest.

Metal passed scant inches past him as Ren ducked. Without wasting a single moment Ren twisted in close to the Mantis Lord, palms pulsing with aura as he slammed them into her. He was rewarded with a hiss before she disappeared, reappearing at the edge of the crowd. Ren bit back a curse as she slashed her lance, a discus of razor air peeling from her blade and hurtling towards him.

Ren saw the flaw in her attack as he desperately dodged and then jumped as it curved back like a boomerang. She stood still, concentrating on the razor wind and he could feel her aura inside the attack-

The moment the discuss missed him a second time she dashed out of sight and was upon him again and Ren had little time to think.

Twirl, duck, lunge, dodge. The Mantis Lord's assault was unrelenting in ferocity, and her speed never flagged. Ren got several more stray palm strikes in, narrowly avoiding blows that would shatter what aura he had and skewer him through in an instant, before the perfect moment made itself clear once more.

The Mantis Lord dashed out of the way of a kick, appearing behind him at the edge of the crowd once more. Lance curled back, aura pooling-

The moment the Mantis Lord swung her lance, disk of razor wind whirling towards him, Ren launched two Vengeful Spirits in quick succession. Sapped of energy he couldn't manage to get out of the way of her attack in time, the edges of the disk cutting through his aura and slicing a gash in his arm.

His following grunt of pain was echoed by the Mantis Lord as his aura slammed into her, burning her carapace and sending her stumbling. Ren watched with bated breath, grey-red blood dripping down his arm as she disappeared, reappearing at next to the other two Mantis Lords.

Had he done it?

Not even Tranquility could prevent the cold pit that opened in his stomach as the other two Mantis Lords, as one, leapt from their perch onto the ground. The world seemed to close in on itself, a low buzz in his ears muffling the cry of one of the Mantis Lords as she charged at him.

Her lance never reached her. A massive blur of red and blue slammed into her, sword slashing through the air with such speed that a sound like a distant thunderclap followed.

"What is the meaning of this?"

All three Mantis Lords sat high above them. The one with the furious voice spat down at him and Nailmaster Oro, who stood between Ren and the Mantis Lords.

"Who art thou, daring to interfere in our duel?!"

Buzz fading away Ren became aware of the angry clicking coming from the mob of mantises around them. Oro's gaze never turned away from the Mantis Lords.

"I am Nailmaster Oro, disciple of the Great Nailsage!" he bellowed.

"The Nailsage?" the soft spoken Mantis Lord asked, tone curious.

"I care not who thou art, miserable curr!" the angry Lord snapped, "Wretched wirling! Honourless wretch!"

"My brothers and I seem to have more honour than you could ever hope for, Sisters of Battle," Oro growled, "Never did I think I'd see the Lords of the Mantis Tribe fight against an opponent already so bloodied."

The angry Mantis Lord erupted in a string of apoplectic clicking, Even the calmer Lord seemed furious at Oro's words. Both stilled as the Lord Ren had defeated held up a claw.

"What dost thou care, Nailmaster?" she asked.

"The being called Lie Ren is my disciple," Lie Ren fought back a choking cough as this was said, "And what Master does not come to the aid of their Student?"

"Speak thy meaning whatsoever Nailmaster," she hissed, "These lands are not Hallownest, our laws not thine. To intercede in a battle of honour is to condemn you and the strange one to death."

"Are you simple beasts, Lord of the Mantis?" Oro asked. Before the Mantises could tear them apart he continued. "Nay, you are not. The Nailsage spoke highly of your honour. How you upheld the bargain you made with the King of Hallownest ages after its fall. How when your kin turned their backs on your code of honour you cast them out from the tribe. You fight for the well being of your tribe. Just the same I will fight for my student!"

A silence followed Oro's proclamation. Lie Ren stared at the Nailmaster in no small amount of wonder and bewilderment.

"Thou stake thy honour, for thy student?" the Mantis Lord finally asked.

"I do," Oro growled. Ren started as under his breath Oro muttered.

"Come on human, get up."

"What?"

"Fight, or we're both dead."

As one the Mantis Lords stood up, grasping their wrists and popping them with a sharp crack. The following battle cry sparked some primal part of Ren's soul into action.

"DHR'OSSA!" the Mantis Lords yelled, voices blending together into a single contralto cry.

"GYAAAEEESSSSOOO!" Nailmaster Oro bellowed in reply

Ren scarcely had time to pull himself together as the Mantis Lords disappeared and reappeared around them, lances braced as they lunged as one.

Nora…

"Hmph. Waking at last?"

Lie Ren grumbled, curling the blanket closer around him and rolling away.

"Nora..." he complained.

Moments later he crashed into the wall. Sitting up with a panicked gasp he found Nailmaster Oro standing over him, expression unimpressed.

"Feh. Falling asleep at a time like this," Oro grumbled.

Ren blinked, still dazed by sleep. Looking down at his 'blanket' revealed Oro's cape which the Nailmaster ripped out of his hands. The room wasn't Beacon's dorm room but a small wooden room whose only entrance was bared by a gate.

Memories of the battle came rushing back at Ren at the same time the pain did. The entire thing had been a terrifying blur, the Mantis Lords attacking and disappearing in a chaotic harmony. No one ever staying in one spot for more than a moment, Ren desperately trying to bat away a precise blow that would kill Oro while he tried to deal with the other two Lords. Even with the vampiric charm he wore, his aura had broken halfway through the battle.

Looking down at himself Lie Ren saw the aftermath. His shirt was now gone, sacrificed to patch the gash across his arm. His entire torso was wrapped in tight silken bandages, wounds stinging under the dressings. Trying to stand up Ren stumbled as pain tore across his hip. Oro watched, expression unreadable, as Ren slowly got to his feet.

"Did we…?" Ren hesitated, staring at the bars barring their room.

"We put on a good show," Oro grunted. His chestplate had a long gash scored into it. "We have proven our honour to the Mantis Tribe. We're safe."

The Nailmaster looked away as Ren dissolved into quiet sobs. Ren viciously grabbed reign of his emotions after a moment of indulgence, schooling his expression and wiping away tears.

"S-Sorry about that."

"No shame in it," Oro grumbled, turning back and pushing a plate towards Ren's feet. With some difficulty Ren managed to sit down and observe the food proffered. Thin slices of what he recognized as mushroom sat stacked on one side. To the other side were chunks of quivering white flesh that Ren hazarded might've been grub-flesh, though much bigger than any grub he'd ever encountered. A bright green sauce had been drizzled across it.

"What, you humans don't eat stuff like this?" Oro asked.

"Lots of people would be repulsed by the idea," Ren took some of the meat in his hands and took a bite out of it, careful to make sure he didn't start ravenously devouring the food and choking. As delicious and surprisingly spicy as the food was, it would be an embarrassing way to go after everything else. "The grubs back home are about the size of my fingers. I used to fry them in a pan with salt," he recalled fondly. It'd been ages since he made that dish. Nora had never tried it despite his insistence it was good.

"Grubs that tiny? How do you humans even feed yourselves..." Oro shook his head, "Not my problem. The Mantis Tribe are known to eat their food rawer than anyone who isn't from the Deepnest. They substitute spice and sauce for the char of a flame."

"Have you eaten?" Ren asked, tearing a bite from one of the mushroom slices. Aside from its taffy-like texture it tasted surprisingly like truffles, of all things. He'd given a small box of them to Nora for her birthday once, thinking that they wre the 'truffles' she'd been gushing about days earlier. It turned out she had been talking about chocolate truffles, which in turn had nothing to do with actual truffles, but they'd had a good laugh over it. As tasty as they had been, it hadn't been worth the price.

"Don't you worry about me. I can take care of myself."

Oro fell silent as Ren continued to eat. After a moment, Ren finally asked the question that had been burning on the tip of his tongue.

"Why did you call me your stude-?"

"Would you rather have died?" Oro growled, "You should feel honoured. I don't normally take charity cases. Since I'm such a nice fellow I won't ask you to pay the 800 geo fee, unless you don't shut your mouth."

Ren watched Oro glower at him before smiling.

"Of course Sifu Oro," Ren said, bowing.

Oro's glower increased and the Nailmaster looked away with a grumble. Ren didn't bother stopping the laughter that bubbled from his mouth.

My name's Lie Ren...

When the mantis came, Ren couldn't help but tense up. Anxiousness fizzled into polite bewilderment as the mantis opened the gates to the room and bowed. Ren couldn't help but bow back and Oro snorted.

"Somouns from the Lordes of our People," the mantis hissed.

"Best be going," Oro grunted, standing up, "Guests we might be, but the Mantis Lords are a testy bunch."

Ren kept a careful eye on the mantis, who had bristled at Oro's words. Despite that the mantis did nothing else as they lead them to the Mantis Lords. None of the mantises they came across did anything to Ren or Oro as they traveled through the village of the mantises.

The Mantis Village, much like everything else he'd seen tonight, was unlike anything he'd seen before. Familiar in some ways but alien in others. Every room's doorway was closed either by thick purple curtains or iron bars. The walls, covered in scratches and the occasional mushroom, were also covered by countless masks. No doubt from those unfortunate enough to have been hunted by the mantis tribe. Yet for all of their ferocity Lie Ren caught starling glimpses of tenderness. Mantises grooming each other, speaking to each other in lows hisses. Several airborn mantises chasing after each other in what looked like a game of tag. A mantis with countless tiny pale versions of itself walked past Ren and he couldn't shake how curiously the mantis nymphs stared at him. The sounds of sparring and the scents of strange aromas filled the spore saturated air and though they were completely different in every way, Ren flashed back to his once home of Kuroyuri.

The Mantis Lords were waiting for them upon towering thrones of wood. The mantis that had guided them gave the Lords a deep bow before leaving. Ren did his best not to squirm under the gaze of beings who not too long ago had tried to kill him.

"Greetings, Nailmaster Oro. Disciple Lie Ren," the first mantis lord spoke. To Ren's surprise she and her sisters bowed to them.

"Greetings, Lord of the Mantis Tribe," Oro bowed back, Ren following. "You called for us?"

"We have a question for thy student, Lie Ren," the soft spoken Mantis Lord said. Ren glanced at Oro, who motioned for him to move forward.

"What question might you have, Lord of the Mantis Tribe?" Ren asked, trying to match Oro's inflection.

"First answer us thus," the surly Mantis Lord spoke, "What are thou? We hast never seen a creature such as thyself before."

"I am a human," Ren hesitated, wondering if he admit more.

"Speak thy mind, Lie Ren," the first Mantis Lord drawled. Flushing a bit, Ren cleared his throat.

"I am a human, from Beacon Academy in the Kingdom of Vale. And before today, I had never seen bugs such as yourself," Ren pressed on even as the Mantis Lords glanced at each other, "Never heard of the Mantis Tribe, or the Deepnest, or even Hallownest."

"Truly?" the quiet Lord asked. The brash Lord scoffed.

"Surely thy jest! No matter how far thy kingdom lies, you must've seen beings such as us! And I doubt thy proclamation of ignorance on Hallownest. How could thou find thyself here without knowledge of its name?"

"I don't know," refusing to quail under the stares Ren continued hurriedly, "I had been wandering the halls of Beacon when...When I saw what looked like someone...close to me," Ren's tone could've etched metal, "Next thing I knew it turned into a monster and dragged me into the shadows. I barely escaped it, and next thing I knew I was in the Deepnest."

Ren was barely done with his sentence before the sullen Mantis Lord slammed a fist onto her throne. Ren was almost certain that part of the throne had cracked from the blow.

"Nosk!" she hissed, voice strangled by fury.

Not sure if that was yet another esoteric mantis swear word, Ren glanced at Oro. The Nailmaster seemed similarly confused by the word. It was the softspoken Lord who came to his rescue.

"A moste evil creature, foulest of the Deepnest's spawn," absently the Lord clawed at the arms of her throne, "Even the dark tribe who dwellest in the Nest abhor the Nosk, twister of hearts and emotions."

Nosk. Finally a name to place to the monster.

"Thou didst well to escape the Nosk's clutches," the first Lord spoke. Ren blinked. There had been a glimmer of pride in that voice. Trying not to think to hard about it, Ren shrugged.

"I didn't escape unscathed. Lost half of my weapon in the struggle."

"That thou did escape with thy life, even caught twixt the Nosk's clutches, means that thou ist luckier than most," the quiet Lord spoke, tone droll. Ren couldn't help but flush at the gentle reprimand.

"Didst thou truly apparate here through sorcery, Lie Ren?" the grouchy Lord asked, voice sharp.

"I have no idea how I showed up here. I don't know if its sorcery. I've never-" Lie Ren's words stuttered to a halt as he suddenly realized that he had seen something like this. Very, very recently.

"Speak, Lie Ren."

"A few days ago," Lie Ren began, not sure where his next words would take him, "A classmate of mine summoned a creature called the Hollow Knight."

You could've heard a pin drop in the ensuing silence.

"Did I say something wr-?" Ren began, wondering if he'd just signed their death warrant.

"Thoust given us much to think about, Lie Ren," the first Lord interrupted, "My sisters and I must give thought upon all thou hast told us."

That was a clear dismissal if Ren had ever heard one. As they were escorted out of the chamber room Ren turned towards Nailmaster Oro.

"Is there a reason they reacted so strongly to the Hollow Knight?"

"Can't say. Don't know much about them. They were Hallownest's secret knight. The knight who wasn't one of the Five Great Knights. Apparently there aren't many records of him," Oro grumbled.

"You refer to Hallownest in the past tense quite a bit," Ren noted, "is there any reason why?"

"Hallownest is no more. The real one at least."

"...The real one?"

Boop!

Ren stared out towards the outside of the Mantis Village, towards the Fungal Wastes. At least, a facsimile of the Fungal Wastes if what Oro said was true

"Let me get this straight," Ren said at last, "This entire thing. Everything I've encountered. It's just a copy of the 'real Hallownest'?"

"Don't take that tone," Oro snapped, "I'm just as much as in the dark as you are. All I know is that one minute I was in my den in the real Hallownest, and the next I'm in this...this twisted mockery, where nothing makes sense!"

"That's why the mantises are..."

"Don't be mistaken. They've always been prickly towards outsiders. But the current situation can't be helping them."

Ren nodded, mind still reeling.

"And that's why you're leaving."

Nailmaster Oro gave his equipment one last look over before staring down at Ren.

"There's nothing for me here. I intend to get to the bottom of this dark magic, and escape this false land."

Ren nodded. That was fair enough. He wanted to do the same. To get back home.

"Are you sure-?"

"Your wounds will slow me down," Oro turned around, "I have no wish to have to coddle you. The Mantises won't decide to suddenly kill you, so have no fear there. You'll only get in my way. And I'll only get in yours."

"Huh?"

Nailmaster Oro turned his head to the side. Dark eyes stared at down at Ren.

"You are my student, are you not? Forge your own path through this world."

Before Ren could say anything, Nailmaster Oro dashed away. Though not as fast as the Mantis Lords, in mere moments he was a dark speck lost among the clouds of glowing spores.

Ren stood at the walls of the village for a moment more, aware of the gaze of several mantises on him.

"May fortune guide you, Sifu Oro," he said at last.

Nora…

"-And that's the story," Ren shook his head, "Had enough time for a quick nap before the village alarm rang. They have an alarm for when denizens of the Deepnest attack, like we do with Creatures of Grimm. And when I learned that it was the Nosk..." Ren shrugged, "Imagine my surprise when I found Nora, Weiss, Blake, and the Hollow Knight."

"Your friends were quite worried about you, Mister Ren," Ozpin managed a ghost of a smile. Ren returned it with his own small haunted smile.

"Yeah...Is that all, sir?"

"All for tonight, Mister Ren." Ozpin stood up, ignoring how his knees popped, "I won't keep you up any longer."

Lie Ren didn't stay awake long after that. Ozpin stared at the face of his student, the bags under his eyes and the countless fresh scars across his body, and felt all the years of his age. Pressing fingers against his temples, trying to ward away the headache, Ozpin left the infirmary. The dark of the night exacerbated his mood. Eight of his students, in mortal danger in the span of a day. Coming only inches away from death's door and he had been useless.

As Ozpin stood in silent halls, cursing the world and himself, moonlight flashed against the glass of the windows. And for the briefest of moments he saw rows upon rows of inhuman graves where his reflection should've been. And heard the shrieks and screams of Hallownest echo from the darkness.

Your mother and I love you…

A semester of electrodynamics, quantum physics, stellar dynamics, and the whole pandemic bodied my writing hard. Writing the next chapter for this fic just wouldn't happen no matter how I tried. Till I tried another approach. Hence an interlude looking into what happened to Ren!

I'll repeat, Hallownest wasn't a nice place. I felt bad for Ren several times during this chapter.

The Snail Shaman is an enigmatic character, though pretty much all NPC's in Hollow Knight are. I can't help but wonder why he created the Vengeful Spirit spell, and what keeps him bound to the (Real) Ancestral Mound/Temple.

The Midwife is bonkers, but I don't think she's the sort of boners everyone else in Hallownest was. I couldn't find any sort of sign that she was infected by the Plague, which leads me to think that she was always just...like that. Presumably she was nicer to the dwellers of the Deepenst, but it still paints an interesting picture of life in the Deepnest.

The Mantis Tribe is another fascinating topic, especially trying to consider how they work as a society. I decided to take the fact that none of the Mantises have dialogue in Hollow Knight as them not being fluent with the tongue of Hallownest, having their own native tongue and being unwilling to learn Hallownest's language due to their xenophobia. As such I peppered their dialogue in this fic with smatterings of Middle English.

As for Lie Ren, like I said before I wonder how he and Nora managed to survive the wilds of Anima after their village was destroyed. Ren's semblance probably helped them with the Grimm, but what about the bandits? In addition, while bugs aren't normally food for most people in the West, I doubt Ren and Nora had the luxury to be picky. Fried grubs is the least disgusting thing that Ren as made canonically too, considering his 'nutritional energy drinks' cause Nora to grew nauseous just by thinking about them.

I like to think that the Mantis Tribe gets their trademark spicy sauce by diluting the venom of certain Deepnest species.

The next chapter shouldn't take the godawful time this chapter did. Thank you all again for reading this story!

Tune in next time!