"Quirrel, what did that ill-tempered miss mean by infection?"
He sighed, knowing full well the question would come after they escaped the buzz of onlookers. "Should I be blunt?"
Blinking with suspicious expression, the Pale King, although he no longer truly possessed that title, huffed. "What content in it requires so much difficulty to divulge?"
"You have no idea, child."
"Such a rude titling."
"Then should I call you Etiolate, as Hornet suggested?"
"I refuse on behalf of my dignity." He sat down in a pout.
"You're pouting."
"Absolutely not."
"Then chose a name." 'There's not a chance in the name of Hallownest that I could refer to this child as a king' went unsaid.
"Uhh," he fumbled, then slapped a hand over his mouth. "On terms that it not be that crass word, I shall respond."
Quirrel hmmed. "Etty, is that alright."
"Peculiarly specific, but I believe it shall do."
…
"Wait! Did you derive Etty from that word?"
The look on Quirrel's face was all he needed to know. "You duplicitous-"
"Pause your rant, you did explicitly agree to it."
Seeming more petulant than ever, he stopped arguing. "Correct. I hastily agreed without ruminating on it. Rest assured I will not fall prey once more and continue with your explanation now."
Ah, they were talking about the infection. He almost forgot. Laughing to himself, he lead him into a part of town less trodden in. "There was once a goddess, the old light that used to rule Hallownest, although it wasn't called that at the time."
Etty listened with rapt attention, drinking in every word. A remarkably good student he would be if this were a school and if he were not so high-strung.
"I remember Monomon, my old teacher, found out a little of what it was like at the time through bits of information prised out of crumbling artifacts; bugs held little more than base instinct, though vivid emotion still thrived. For much, maybe even the majority of history, life took this form, but…"
"Something happened." It wasn't a question.
"Yes, and that something was the Pale King." No recognition showed on Etty's face. Either that or the kid was a damn good actor.
"Quite the title. Simple yet regal."
Quirrel had to hold in a snort. "Yes, yes, but that is beside the point. Hallownest wasn't big enough for the two of them, and according to confidential past research the power struggle began when he exerted his mysterious influence over a few scattered populations of bugs, granting them enough presence of mind for them to fear reverting to their original state. It later expanded to the devout moth tribe and, to a lesser degree, Unn's children.
Maintaining an expression of deep thought, he muttered, "Confidential?"
"The knowledge of these could have undermined the image of an all-powerful god. Some of the later bugs under the King did not even realize there were kingdoms prior to Hallownest, but some did speculate of a civilization that worshipped the very darkness itself. We now know that substance to be void."
"Void, you say? I recall that lady mentioning void beings. Was she suggesting the existence autonomous creatures composed of that matter?"
He nodded. "The Pale King fiddled with it, 'the power opposed,' he called it. Due to my position as the highest student of Monomon, she was cleared to share the information with me. It was the ancient enemy of the gods of light and partially due to that that he decided to experiment with it. To contain the infection, I mean. The guards of his palace were also made of void, but I digress. Look how well it all turned out."
"It failed?"
"It didn't appear to at first. The plague disappeared for a period of time, but the old light eventually broke out of its initial container, the Hollow Knight themself."
Etty started, then said, "The fellow which escorted me to this location?"
"The one and only."
"That scarred, damaged creature? How?"
"They weren't always like that," sighed Quirrel, picturing the towering figure in their prime. "Once upon a time they were whole and powerful, selected from the many vessels the King created. Even they weren't strong enough and she soon began to exude her power in the form of the infection. Vast swathes of the population were wiped out and only a few survivors made it, many of whom were mantids, who, as violent as their traditions are, were usually powerful enough to reject it."
He rested his hand against his face in a gesture of thought and raised a brow. "What of the non chosen?"
"Not sure. I've never heard. A relatively large number, I know, but they all just seem to have disappeared," answered Quirrel. Honestly, he did wonder. How could they all vanish without some sort of record?
"Questionable, but not of current importance."
Quirrel didn't even blink when the flash of a pure nail came blunt side down.
"Ack!" cried Etty, leaping up to face his assailant.
"I wonder if that's called retribution," he said under his breath as Mikkel came out from the shadows, seemingly unperturbed by the presence of their father.
It seemed as if petty umbrage was Etty's most common state of mind at this point, and it was no surprise when he started flinging indecipherably old curses at them; he jabbed fingers and tossed accusations in the face of an expressionless vessel.
Quirrel genuinely did not know what their feelings and opinions were on this situation. There wasn't a guide on what to do when your friend's supposedly dead father reappears as a child with no memories of the crime he's committed. He really wish there was, he thought as he grabbed Etty and attempted to calm him. To the pillbug's surprise, the knight leapt up, nabbed their father from his grasp, and took off.
"Mikkel? What in the king's na- I mean Hallownest- are you doing?"
In response, they merely glanced back, then kept moving. Quirrel followed.
He doubted that they would truly harm him, but considering who Etty was... well, you never know.
The trio dropped through the well and headed past the many times repaired waypost to the open room of platforms. The gruzzers that flew mindlessly about the room were no longer present, of course, but he could practically hear the buzzing. However, rather than descending like he expected, they dashed across the room to an entrance on the opposite side.
As he watched, Mikkel plopped the slightly winded child in front of a massively bloated, elderly-looking grub.
Suddenly, it struck him.
"Etty, do you know what that is?" he asked, pointing at the dozing Grubfather.
"A… rather substantial grub?" The knight stared him down.
"Yes, but why?"
"Why? What are you posing a question of?"
Preparing for another explanation, Quirrel walked up to Etty and told him to face his ear toward the old grub's belly.
"Hear it?" he asked. "Hear the sound of chattering grubs?"
"Yes, but-" a dawning look of horror crossed his face. "That horrid old wretch!" he cried.
"Hush, they've been in there for a while, it's quite alright actually."
At Quirrel's words of assurance, he calmed down marginally and threw him a somewhat bewildered glance. "Alright is relative. Will they escape alive and whole?"
"Oh, more than that," he laughed. "The baby grubs will emerge not as grubs, but as grubberflies."
"A metamorphosis?"
"Yes. The old Grubfather chose to sacrifice the rest of his short life to ensure that the rest of his children would grow to their fullest, safe and sound within his belly."
It was then that Quirrel noticed the knight, gently rubbing the top of the Grubfather's head. He had to revise what he had said earlier about him. He didn't seem to be dozing, more like close to the edge of death.
"Ah seems like we're lucky," he said, watching a small split open
Evidently confused, the child said, "How so?"
"We're about to witness a birthing, in a sense."
The split immediately grew and flew open. The hum of silvery grubberfly wings filled the air, and they all wasted no time zipping around on newfound flight.
Etty stared on in silence, mouth partially agape as he took in the shimmering new forms. His eyes still followed them as they lighted down next to the corpse of their former guardian, apparently mourning his death. It was heartfelt and short, and they disappeared as quickly as they were born.
"A sacrifice for his brood," Etty murmured. He turned around to face where the knight was standing. "Why did you usher me to this happening?"
But they were already gone.