A/N: So I recently have been delving deep into Hollow Knight lore, and had a bunch of ideas bouncing around my head. Like what if I reversed everything, or what if the Knight manages to get up by himself? This story is just the one that I felt like would be the easiest to start with as my first HK fiction as well as the most engaging to read. And yes, I could update my other stories. But what if… I didn't?
Oh yeah side note, me and my friend discussed this idea together. I'm writing a normal 'book' version while he's doing an audio 'book' version. Keep in mind that we'll both take the story in different directions based on how we want the events to happen, so this isn't just a novelization. Go check his out if you're more of a listener then a reader, or maybe if you want to see how these events could have unfolded differently!
Disclaimer: I do not own Hollow Knight. If I did then Silksong wouldn't come out until the next generation, considering my work ethic.
It didn't know when its eyes came into focus, as it could never see anything in here. It was wet and cramped, and it could feel other things shift and move next to it. Despite that, it somehow felt comfortable. However, that would not last.
It wasn't sure how much time had passed, nor how it could understand the concept of time. Only that the small, safe space slowly became smaller. Or was it just that the room inside was lessening? It didn't know. It only knew that its comfortable space had slightly shrunk. Then, as more time passed, it became even more cramped and uncomfortable. Without a way to measure the time, it could only guess how long until the pressure felt as if it were crushing its body. Its body pushed against other things in the confined space, and it learned that it had the capabilities to hear as a crunching sound came from below it. Or had that been above it? To the left of it? (It didn't know how it knew these words, only that it knew it was correct.)
The pressure did not alleviate. In fact, it only got worse. The crushing pressure had become suffocating, and despite somehow knowing it did not need to breathe, it could barely take it anymore. They had learned that they could feel, as the dull ache that had accompanied it before had now become a constant sharp pain. It was incomparable, merely due to the fact that it couldn't compare it to anything.
Suddenly, after (Hours? Days? Weeks? Months?) an indecipherable amount of time, the room finally gave in. The dark, wet space they had come into consciousness from broke open. A small crack that slowly gave in, spilling it out alongside the objects it had been crushed against. Black liquid pooled down on the floor around it, and it lifted its head to look around.
It had been inside a large, round object. Around it were its siblings, all picking themselves off the spiky floor. It noted that the floor was not spiky, as it was not a floor. They were standing on the heads of their siblings, all of whom were dead. It tried to stand up, only to fall forward. Clutching its chest was another sibling. This one was its twin, looking similar to itself but slightly smaller. Their horns were not unlike its own, except thinner and spiked at the top instead of the inside.
It remembered feeling something tight pushing against its chest back in the round object, but it had assumed it was merely an object. Somehow, that thought had brought upon their first emotion. Guilt. It didn't not know how it knew what this was, but it merely did. For some reason, the thought of not acknowledging its sibling brought upon this emotion. It wrapped its arms around its sibling, who in turn shoved their face into its chest.
Despite being roughly the same size, they were surprisingly light. It held its sibling to its chest, and they snuggled soundlessly in its arms. This was when it felt its second emotion. Happiness. It didn't know how long it stood there. Its other siblings had long since walked away aimlessly, but it was fine with standing here with its twin in its arms. They slept soundly in its arms, quietly oblivious to their surroundings.
There, in its arms, was the most precious thing in the world. Nothing was more important. It leaned back against a stone-cold wall, content to simply stand there. If its twin wanted to sleep in its arms forever, then it would stand here and hold it forever. Some of the other siblings passed by, some looking on curiously, but mostly just wandering by. It felt a kinship with them, but not as strongly as with its twin. If it were to ever have to choose between them, it would always choose its twin over its other siblings. It hugged its sibling tighter, tucking their two horns under its chin.
It wasn't sure how much time passed before their twin woke up. However, it wasn't due to natural means. With a loud "BANG", every sibling looked up at the source of the noise. The sound had echoed across the normally silent abyss, catching the attention of every sentient thing there. The twin groggily woke up, rubbing their eyes. It was then when it felt its third emotion. Annoyance. The source of the noise had interrupted the blissful silence and woke up their twin!
Looking up, the twin's mask locked onto its own. Looking curiously at it, the twin reached up and patted its face. It did not react. The twin's head bobbed the other way. It was then that it learned it could talk, but not in the traditional sense.
"Sibling?" They asked, their near silent wisps of void forming words in its head.
"Twin." It corrected.
Its twin bobbed its head side to side.
"Twin? Not sibling?" They asked, confused.
"Twin is sibling." They responded.
The twin still seemed confused, but they were quickly distracted after looking up. Remembering it's former annoyance at the noise, it looked up too.
It saw a bright, blindingly so, light at the very top. Suddenly, nothing mattered. It dropped whatever it was holding. Whatever was in its hand didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was it needed to reach that light. Something called behind it, but that didn't matter. It needed to reach the light. Objects fell around it, but it paid no mind. The light was all that mattered. It needed to reach it.
"No mind to think."
Words seemingly whispered in its ear, but that was drowned out by the need to reach that light! More cries echoed behind it, but it did not care. Whatever that was, the light was more important. Something fell in front of it with a "Crunch", and it used the object as a platform to jump higher. The light seemed so close yet so far, getting closer yet still seemingly years away.
"No will to break"
It grabbed at the jagged wall. Dark liquid spilled out of its hand, as it pulled itself up towards the ledge. Jumping over the gap and avoiding a falling object, it continued its ascent.
"No voice to cry suffering"
Leaping over a pit of spikes, the light was just within its reach. It could almost touch it, and the closer it got, the more the need for the light got stronger. It jumped by a rather large door, and continued to climb past the falling objects that dared to knock it back down to the bottom.
"Born of God and Void."
They barely grabbed onto the ledge of a platform before pulling themselves up, nearly hitting its head on some spikes. It jumped up a bit more, feet away from the light. It was finally here.
It jumped the last gap at the peak which it hadn't realized it had climbed. Being this close, it couldn't think. Its mind was fuzzy. They reached the light. The blinding light. (But something was missing. Something was wrong.) But it could not think, the light blinding even its very thoughts. The source of the light inspected it, and it couldn't even think enough to move. The light touched it, checked it, patted it. The light burned into its very being, but somehow felt intoxicating at the same time.
"You are pure." The light spoke "You shall be the Hollow Knight, and through you, the infection that plagues the kingdom shall be sealed." It hung onto every word, listening and focusing only to the light.
Finished with their examination, the light turned around towards the door. Beckoning it to follow, it couldn't think of anything else (there is something) that they could do. After all, all it needed was the light (something is missing). It walked forward, beginning to leave its dark birthplace behind (don't leave them).
But it hesitated. It could not think clearly, but something was wrong. A muffled voice called, and it looked back. There, a familiar bug (family) hung. It had seen this bug (sibling) before. But where? The light beckoned it forward again, but it remained rooted where it was. The other bug (twin) reached out, their cries for help becoming clearer in its mind but not clear enough to be understood. The light's voice became more forceful, but it was their voice that got tuned out instead.
Its memories, as short as they were, were slowly returning. It remembered its slumbering twin, the most important thing to them. The one that made it feel emotions, the one that had been with it since it had hatched. Their cries for help clashed with the lights demands to follow.
It remembered now. This was the sibling the light had made them forget; the light that made it drop them, hurt them. It promised itself it would never drop them again, that it would always hold onto them and keep them safe. Reaching back out, it offered its hand towards them. The twin grabbed it without hesitation, and it pulled them into its chest. Suddenly, a force hit its back, toppling it forward but keeping a firm grasp on its twin. It would not let go, even as it was pushed to the ledge. And the world flipped.
A/N: I wrote this while listening to the Lace music track on loop ;3 Also the last part which is in parenthesis was supposed to be strike
Also did anybody notice how when Hollow referred to themselves, they used "it" but when referring to the other vessels they used "they/them". Let's see how this develops. Also, I like to think TK and THK are twins, but idk how that works since THK had other siblings in the same egg but WHATEVER ITS MY STORY SHUT UP.