Chapter 1: The Family Bound By Void

It was long until its new body burst out of the Godseeker, it's long void tentacles were bursting out of any opening it could find. The knight's shell was just within arm's reach and it desperately tried to fit itself inside the tiny shell. Somehow, by some miracle, it was able to fit its entire body into the shell. But as it tried to take one step, it's shell began to crack. Void began seeping through the cracks and the tiny knight felt a sense of urgency. It didn't want that thing bursting out of it and hurting all the bugs it had met on the way. It began running far away from the Junk Pit. It needed a safe place to unleash this thing and it knew exactly where to do it.

...

It remembers back to when it finally found all three dreamers and it was on its way to the Temple Of The Black Egg. It had finally made peace with its siblings and the Void itself. It had explored almost every nook and cranny in this entire dead kingdom and it thought it was ready. But as it stood outside the infected temple, the source of all the infection, it felt something. It hesitated to walk inside the infected temple. Then it simply ran away from the area. It couldn't do it. I mean, how could it? He just felt something right then and there, the knight couldn't save this kingdom as much as it wanted to.

Want. It wanted to save this kingdom. That was when the knight realized it truly couldn't. This desire. It would doom them all. The knight knew this because it already happened before. Back when the knight first tried to escape the Abyss, it saw it's older sibling's spark when they first saw each other. Then the knight remembered that it felt emotion, way before it even crawled out of the abyss and entered Hallownest.

Anger. Dread. And sorrow. Anger over their heartless father. The dread of what would become of its sibling. And sorrow that it knew its sibling wouldn't live up with their father's impossible expectations. The knight didn't realize this before, but it first got to Hallownest, it knew that it felt emotion. It felt emotions it couldn't describe. Emotions it couldn't express. Emotions it couldn't show. If you were there with the knight as it explored the old ruins of Hallownest, you would know what it had felt.

Wonder, as it explored the beautiful ruins of Hallownest. Curiosity, as it explored its depths and secrets. Fear, as it anticipated for the next scary monster that would pop out. Accomplishment, as it defeated truly terrifying and difficult opponents. Sadness, as it once again explored the graveyard of its discarded siblings. And finally, hope, as it spoke and bonded with the few friendly faces spread across Hallownest.

The knight knew that it couldn't take on the mantle of Hollow Knight. It knew wasn't hollow, far from it. It would simply doom itself a life of isolation and loneliness until the Infection would inevitably burst out of him. So it ran. Even if the knight could contain the Infection, it didn't want to. It realized that it wanted to keep exploring Hallownest and maybe the kingdoms beyond Hallownest, but it couldn't. But as the knight walked familiar paths, it knew it had done all it could. The knight constantly tried to find excuses for itself to keep exploring. It simply couldn't however.

It knew couldn't run away from this forever, but it desperately tried to find new areas to explore. But as it explored the Royal Waterways, it found a strange new area it had never seen before. It was filled with mountains of junk and trash. How did the knight miss this?! But it happily began to explore the newly dubbed Junk Pit.

There wasn't much, but there was a strangely large cocoon in the Junk Pit. The knight didn't know what it was, but it saw a simple lock wrapped around the cocoon and it knew it had to find another key for this. It explored Hallownest, its entire layout remembered by heart, and it leads to him going back to the Coliseum of Fools. Again, there was a whole new area that the knight never knew about but would happily take the chance to explore. It eventually got a simple key from a strange fanatic bug that seemed to have gone insane without the Infection's help.

Eventually, it went back to the Junk Pit and unlocked the cocoon and it revealed a very large bug. It was still alive and the knight wondered what would happen if it hit the bug with its Dream Nail. What happened next would change the knight's life and maybe the entirety of Hallownest forever.

The knight was transported to a strange new realm called Godhome and it was there when the knight faced its greatest challenge yet. The knight was put through a deadly trial where it would fight the Gods Of Hallownest, most of which wore familiar faces. Pantheon after pantheon, the knight valiantly fought and attuned with the gods. It had died dozens of deaths as it fought through the pantheons with bindings that made the knight feel like the bug it truly is. After the knight thought he had finally defeated the fourth pantheon, the true and final pantheon revealed itself to the weary knight.

It didn't know if it can handle it anymore, but it wanted closure and so it fought the fifth and final pantheon of Hallownest. There, it had fought every single god it had ever fought. With no charms, it's nail severely weakened, it's shell ever so delicate, and capacity for soul reduced. It had died dozens of more deaths, each one getting further and further into the pantheon, only to be struck back down to the start.

The knight wanted to give up. It wanted to leave Godhome. But didn't have anything else left to do besides going back to that cursed temple. So it kept fighting. Over and over, he had attempted to fight the fifth pantheon. When it finally reached to its elder sibling, the knight defeated the Pure Vessel and it had thought it defeated the pantheon. All its hard work had finally paid off. Or so had it thought.

The knight had a vision, a vision that involved the knight, the Pure Vessel, and their siblings. It was confused to what this vision meant, but it felt a form of kinship and comradery until they were all blinded by a bright light. A thundering screech roared throughout the vision before they were all consumed by darkness and a new guttural roar overpowered the screech.

That was when the knight was transported into a strange new room it had never seen. The light that illuminated Godhome could be seen by the knight. It was blindingly bright, but the knight could see the bright orb form wings. Then suddenly a large bug appeared in front of the knight. It appeared vaguely similar to the Seer. With a loud and mighty roar, the large bug began to attack and the knight was in the fight of its life.

The Absolute Radiance, Forgotten God Of Light

The knight wasn't prepared for this, but it quickly drew its nail and began fighting this new foe. It had never seen such a powerful foe before. This god was unrelenting, merciless, and above all, angry. The knight could barely keep with this god's attacks and it quickly fell to the god's light.

What was that? Why is it so powerful? Why did its presence feel so familiar? These were questions the knight was asking itself when it woke back up. Instead of feeling frustration or anger, it felt curiosity. The knight wanted to know what that god was. In all its time exploring Hallownest, it never encountered this being before.

It's newly invigorated curiosity soon drove the knight to challenge the pantheon with gusto. It soon began fighting the pantheon and because of all its practice, it was able to get to the last god of the pantheon quicker and quicker. After only five failures, the knight had finally triumphed over this god. But something strange happened. Instead of returning to Godhome, its shell shattered into pieces and the knight's shade was soon absorbed into a growing ocean of Void.

The mass was shapeless, without form or posture. But when the knight's shade was absorbed into the Void, it was given form. The form was given focus. All of a sudden, everything was finally clear to the knight. This god. This... monster. This was the reason why Hallownest had fallen. It was the source of the Infection and the sole reason why knight was created in the first place. The all-powerful god whose bright light was overtaken by a more paler one.

This god was now trembling in fear in the Shade Lord's hands, like a doll in the hands of a child. Guided by an unrelenting fury, the Shade Lord began tearing through the forgotten god. Essence began pouring out of the god as it screamed out in pain. With one last slash, the light was snuffed out and the Void began to leak and spread throughout Godhome. All of the Godseekers of Godhome was finally attuned with the God Of Gods.

...

Now in the present, the knight was running as fast as it could to the Abyss. With every new area it had entered, the cracks in its shells have been getting bigger and bigger by the minute. But as it ran, it passed by the bugs it has been fighting during its time in Hallownest. Their eyes weren't glowing a sickly orange, the bugs weren't aggressive, and they have seemed to regain their minds. The knight paid them no mind, but it was glad it didn't have to waste any time fighting them.

The knight eventually got to the entrance of the Abyss and at this point, the knight's shell was almost nonexistent. Void tendrils were constantly bursting out of any opening they could find and the knight's shade was desperately trying to claw its way out. When the knight finally got into the Abyss, the knight finally let its shade go free and the knight's shell finally shattered. The giant shade was now roaming the Abyss and it was finally free. But now, it doesn't know what it will do next. As the shade looked at the Abyss, it saw its siblings broken shells lying all across the bottom of the Abyss. Then it finally knew what needed to be done.

The Shade Lord picked up a handful of the broken shells and began to repair them. One by one, each shell was fixed and as pristine as the day it was made. The Shade Lord focused its large pools of its soul into repairing as many shells it can. The Shade Lord wanted to give back the lives that were wrongfully cut short. It wanted its siblings to be finally able to live their lives as they want. As hours passed, the Shade Lord was beginning to shrink as it allowed the shades forming its large body to be free and live their own lives as their separate entity.

Soon, an entire village of vessels was reborn into new bodies. The Shade Lord was know reduced to the size of a normal shade. The great powers it may had was now gone, but the shade was content with this. Soon, the new shade entered the last pristine shell and it too joined the rank of its siblings. The floor was no longer littered with the shells of its siblings. For the first time, they can all see the bottom of the Abyss. It was happy to see its siblings wander around in their new bodies and the Shade Lord felt a sense of satisfaction when it did.

The knight realized that its siblings didn't know where to go and had no guide into this world. So, the knight decided to guide them throughout Hallownest and let them feel the same wonders that the knight had felt during its journey in Hallownest. But the knight realized that its siblings don't have the equipment and powers they need to properly traverse Hallownest. They couldn't climb walls, they didn't have wings to help them reach higher places, they didn't have weapons to defend themselves from the local wildlife.

The knight knew this would be hard to help its siblings traverse Hallownest, but the knight was happy to pass on its knowledge to its siblings. There were many vessels who wanted to make a life for themselves here in the Abyss. These were the older vessels that have been here all their life and were either too scared or content with living here. The knight respected their decision and left them there. Soon, for the next few hours, the army of vessels traveled Hallownest with the knight as their guide. Some vessels decided to stay in some areas that they liked and would want to live there.

As the army of vessels traveled, they were getting smaller and smaller as they ascended Hallownest. The knight didn't want to force the vessels to go where they didn't want to and politely said goodbye to them. Area by area, Hallownest was more lively as the vessels decided to stay.

...

More time had passed and the family of 10,000 vessels was reduced to 700 by the time they've gotten near the surface. They had explored as much of Hallownest they could. The Forgotten Crossroads were restored and were no longer infected, the knight had learned its siblings had all the upgraded Void spells and abilities the knight had learned, and there was only one thing the knight wanted to do before going back to the surface.

The knight decided it wanted to go alone for this one and it traveled to the Temple Of The Black Egg. It was no longer covered with the glowing orange bubbles of the Infection. The Black Egg was open and the knight went inside of it. The knight walked a long and dark hallway and there was a room at the end of it. The knight entered the room and it saw its elder sibling bounded by chains. It was no longer covered in the Infection and it looked at the knight with curiosity as the knight explored the room.

The knight decided to free its elder sibling from its bondage. When all the chains were destroyed, the knight bravely walked up to the Hollow Knight and put its tiny arm on its sibling's cracked shell. The knight began to focus it soul and began repairing the Hollow Knight's shell. When the shell was fixed, the knight and the Hollow Knight looked at each other in silence. Then a quiet child-like voice began to speak

"Brother."

The Hollow Knight reeled back from the knight and drew its weapon. The knight didn't flinch and stood its ground.

"Everything is going to be okay, brother. You don't have to suppress your emotions anymore. You're free now."

The Hollow Knight was confused, but it quickly told itself not to feel anything. That was its mission. The knight felt was the Hollow Knight was feeling. It understands the struggles it had gone through and without hesitation, the knight hugged its elder sibling.

"Don't worry. Your job is done. You don't need to stop telling yourself not to feel anymore."

The knight then touched the Hollow Knight's shell and began to show the Hollow Knight the destruction of the Radiance that had caused this Infection. The knight had learned that it shared the minds of all Void entities and thanks to its Void Heart, can speak with any Void creatures at will.

It was safe to say the Hollow Knight was stunned to see the Radiance be destroyed. For decades, the Radiance and the Hollow Knight fought with each other in the Dream World and when the Radiance finally got the better of the Hollow Knight, its influence began leaking out into Hallownest. To see the Radiance being physically destroyed made the Hollow Knight elated.

Unfortunately, it doesn't know how to express those emotions. For so long, it had told itself to never think, to never feel, to never hope. But these very thoughts are what doomed Hallownest in the first place. This was how the Radiance was able to slowly break the Hollow Knight during its slumber.

But now? It can finally let go of those thoughts. But it doesn't know how to.

"Don't worry, we'll go through this together. I and many others are going through the same things we're going through."

The Hollow Knight felt more at ease and the Hollow Knight soon hugged its younger sibling back. Soon, both of the knights walked out of the temple and they saw Hornet standing right in front of the entrance of the egg. Both the Hollow Knight and Hornet drew their weapons, but the knight was able to calm them down by going between them and telling its elder sibling that Hornet is one of their siblings.

The Hollow Knight lowered its weapon but was ready to fight at a moment's notice. Hornet was still at unease, but also lowered her weapon.

"I had never thought that this Infection would die out so quickly. I was on my way to the temple when bugs everywhere were slowly regaining their minds. Everyone was confused and somewhat scared. When I did get to the temple, I saw that the Infection was completely gone. I know you did something little ghost."

The knight didn't know how to tell Hornet since it didn't have a voice, but Hornet simply says, "It doesn't matter how you did it, the Infection seems to have been destroyed and it seems that Hallownest's protector isn't infected anymore. Plus, I've seen the others on my way here."

The knight was a little worried and pulled out its nail. If Hornet had killed them, then the knight would avenge its fallen siblings.

"Do not worry about them. I've left them alone for now. Plus, I don't think I can handle that many opponents alone. The long night may be finally over, but there are many things I must do now. Many bugs have regained their minds and with our siblings populating Hallownest, they'll need some guidance to settle in their new lives. I will leave you and your family alone to your devices. Farewell, little ghost, you've done more for this kingdom than I ever could."

With that, Hornet quickly left and disappeared. Both of the knights looked at each other and the knight said to its elder sibling, "Let us ascend to the surface brother. The rest await our arrival."

The Hollow Knight nodded and they began making their way back to the surface. When they climbed the chain leading up to Dirtmouth, the entire sky was blue and bright, the same bright orb that shined back in Godhome was back. Just outside the well, both knights saw their siblings hanging out in Dirtmouth, exploring the tiny hovel at their discretion. The Hollow Knight also decided to wander around the village and meet some of the locals.

Elderbug didn't seem to mind the company and when the knight walked up to Elderbug, the elderly bug said, "Oh it's you again and it seems you've brought company. Friends of yours I assume?"

The knight nodded.

Elderbug sighed and said, "I've never seen Dirtmouth this lively in ages. You're quite the interesting little bug, aren't you? It has been quite the night, hasn't it? I never expected something like this to happen, not by my life. When you first entered Dirtmouth, I didn't think you were going to come back out of those wretched ruins. Then- Oh, sorry about that. You probably don't want to listen to an old bug ramble. If you need a place to rest, you're free to use any of the empty houses here. Your friends are more than welcomed to join as well."

The knight once again nodded and bowed to Elderbug.

"Ah, so polite. So are you planning back on heading to Hallownest again?"

The knight was silently thinking about it and it finally found its answer. The knight shook his head.

"Oh, now that's surprising. Looking to see the rest of the world eh? Just be careful, dark heartless beasts wander the wilds and will destroy anything breathing. I'm sure you'll have no problem dealing with them though. You survived an entire night down in Hallownest and a few mindless beasts surely won't stop you, now would they?"

The knight nodded once again.

"Well, safe travels and all that. Stay safe out there child, I feel like there's a lot more than ruined kingdoms and monsters out there."

The knight nodded and bowed to Elderbug before leaving to Cornifer's map shop. The knight saw a couple of its siblings inside the shop, exploring and browsing the shop. Cornifer was still loudly snoring in his bed and Iselda looked pretty tired.

"Oh, more customers. Listen, I'm going to close the shop soon and get to sleep. Need anything before I close up?"

The knight was thinking about it and looked at the shelves behind Iselda. It looked like there were more blank maps and the knight pointed at them.

Iselda soon asked, "You want these blank charts? Hmm..." Iselda was thinking if she should sell her husband's blank charts. After thinking about it, she decided to sell them to the tiny bug. She'll get to spend more time with her husband if she does."

"I'll sell all five of these charts for 250 geo. Trust me, you're doing me a favor by doing this. I don't need Corny getting himself hurt down there."

The knight agreed to pay for them and now had five blank maps. The knight bowed to Iselda and she waved the knight goodbye. The knight also told its siblings to leave the shop and they complied.

The knight gathered its siblings and they were congregating at the center of town. The knight soon asked all of them, "Which one of you wants to stay here in Dirtmouth? I don't want to force anyone who wants to stay at Dirtmouth to leave."

A few of the knight's siblings rose their hands and the knight nodded to them and motioned that they can leave. The siblings who wanted to stay separated from the group and waved goodbye to the others. The rest of the siblings began to leave Dirtmouth and get to the top of the Howling Cliffs. The Hollow Knight could easily scale the cliff without the use of a Mantis Claw and some of its younger siblings climbed on the Hollow Knight's back.

Eventually, they all reached the edge of the Howling Cliffs. Ironically, the cliffs were nearly dead silent and the strong winds that prevented the knight from leaving died down completely. Finally, they all left their dead home and were going on new adventures in the vast world outside of Hallownest.

Population Of The Hollow Tribe: 650

Author's Note: Hey there and thanks for reading to the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this story and now the knight is going on an adventure with its siblings. I wanted to give the knight's story a happy ending and this is what I thought would work best and I hope you like the ending I gave to the knight's story. Anyway, I'm going to give the vessels names in the next chapter since I don't want to keep on referring to the player character as 'the knight' any longer than I have to.

Before I end this author's note, I have a quick question: What would be a good name for The Hollow Knight?

Tell me how I can improve this chapter and give me suggestions on how this story will go. That's all for now, I'll see you next time I update this chapter.