Hornet watched as the Knight slept peacefully. Or at least, she thought that they were at peace. It was rather hard to tell, given that their expression never changes. For all she knew, they could be plagued with nightmares. In fact, it was probably more likely that they were at unease.
So what should she do? Wake them up? Hornet had never been in a situation like this before, and it was quite irritating. She would much rather slap the Knight awake and have them tell her what happened inside of the temple. Of course, that wouldn't really be a wise choice. For one, they couldn't even speak. Secondly, she wasn't even sure if they would tell her, even if they could.
"Little ghost… What did you see?" Hornet muttered quietly.
*knock knock*
Hornet jumped and looked at the door. After a moment of hesitation, she grabbed her needle and moved to open the door. She slowly creaked it open, ready for whatever could be waiting for her on the other side.
Of course, there wasn't anything threatening at all. In fact, it's likely that there wasn't anything in this run-down town that could threaten her.
"Erm, hello." Elderbug said. "Are you two doing all right in there?"
Hornet sighed and opened the door fully. She had been on the surface only a few times in her life, and nothing dangerous had ever appeared, even at the peak of the infection. Still though, she didn't want to take any risks, not with the Knight unconscious.
After they collapsed in the Temple of the Black Egg, Hornet decided to take them up to the town on the surface. She hadn't heard very much of the town, only that it was apparently fading, whatever that meant. Given their proximity to the town, it was her safest bet. Normally, she wouldn't interfere with the potential death of a bug or vessel - she was burdened with the protection of the ruins, not the scavengers and travelers who lived within it.
But this one was different. This one had been marked with the Kingbrand. This one was united with the Abyss. And as loathe as she was to admit it, this one was more capable than even herself. She thought that she knew what was waiting for the Knight in the temple. But for it to retreat from its depths after only a few minutes, and passing out at her feet…
Just what kind of unbridled horrors were laying in the Black Vault?
"Is there something the matter?"
Hornet blinked. "Ah… I was just wrapped up in my own thoughts. The ghost is fine, though still unconscious." Elderbug had been kind enough to lend her an empty house, though even if he was unwilling, she would have just taken one with force.
"Ghost?" Elderbug repeated. "Ah, so that's their name? They hadn't ever spoken to me, much less told their name. I've been calling them by the title of traveller."
"I suppose you could call it a nickname." Hornet said. She glanced back at the Knight. They hadn't moved a single inch since she had laid them on the bed. "I doubt that they would possess a legitimate name."
"Do you… know them?" He asked.
"... They are my sibling."
"Hm, there is a resemblance." Elderbug said, looking back and forth between the two. "I don't suppose that there's a reason why they don't have a name?"
"While I appreciate your hospitality, I don't see any reason to say anything more on this matter." Hornet said flatly.
Elderbug nodded. "I apologize; I'm usually not as nosy. It's just that ever since they have arrived, this town has begun to repopulate once more. They even managed to somehow open up the old Stag Station, which had been locked for as long as I can remember. I really can't help but feel somewhat curious about them."
Just as he finished speaking, a slight rustling noise comes from the bed. Hornet turned around and was greeted with the Knight, who was sitting in an upright position and staring at her. Their expression was as unreadable as ever.
"Ah, little ghost. You're in a house in Dirtmouth; I took you here after you had fallen unconscious." Hornet said. After a slight pause, she asked: "Do you remember what happened? About why you were in such a state?"
She could recall the image vividly. She had seen dozens of vessels who had somehow escaped the confines of the abyss, and all of them were stone-faced. Even while they were in clutches of death itself, with their masks cracked and falling apart, none of them ever showed so much as a single hint of sadness, fear, anger, or anything in between. Of course, she knew that didn't mean they were devoid of emotion. The fact that the Pale King had locked them in there meant he considered them failures. Not empty. Not devoid of thought. But even so, they never displayed anything.
The 'little ghost' had been no different. No different that is, until they stepped out of the temple.
'Tears. Black, thick, and made of the void, but tears nonetheless.' Hornet recalled. 'I never thought that I'd see the day where a vessel would cry.'
The Knight, instead of answering her question, stared at her for what felt like a solid minute, Then, with an almost frustratingly slow speed, they nodded.
Hornet walked up to them, slamming the door behind her, ignoring the small exclamation that rose from Elderbug. She kneeled down so that they met eye-to-eye. "Tell me then. What did you find in the temple? What happened to you?"
…
"... Right. You can't speak." Hornet sighed and stood back up. "Well, do you know how to sign? Or perhaps write?"
The Knight bowed their head down, as if ashamed.
"I'm guessing that's a no then." Hornet huffed in frustration. "Alright then, how about I ask you questions? Just nod or shake your head to answer. You can do that much, correct?"
They nodded.
"Did you flee because of the Hollow Knight?"
They shook their head.
"Then, the infection? Or some other unspeakable threat?"
They shook their head again.
"Was there some sort of barrier preventing you from entering the chamber?"
Another no.
"... Okay then, how about this - is your reason for leaving the temple related to why you were crying?"
A pause. Then, they nodded.
"I suppose that's progress." Hornet said tiredly. "The question then, is why were you crying?"
…
Hornet rolled her eyes. "This is getting us nowhere. What, did you lose your geo or something? Did you trip over and scrape your knee?" She asked sarcastically. "Did you actually kill the Hollow Knight, and now you're being overwhelmed with regret?"
They nodded.
…
"What?" Hornet stared down at the Knight. "Are you serious? That's what happened?"
They tilted their head and waved their hand in a sort of seesaw motion: Kind of
"Little ghost, I'm not doubting your combat ability." Hornet said. "I've seen how you handle your nail. But I find it difficult to believe that you managed to slay the Hollow Knight so quickly that they weren't able to utter a single sound."
Suddenly, she perked up. "Unless, the Hollow Knight was already dead? Of course! That makes much more sense then-"
They shook their head.
…
"They… weren't dead. I see. Then, so completely and utterly weakened that a single blow-"
They shook their head.
"You mean to tell me that you defeated the Hollow Knight then?" The Knight nodded. "That if I went into the temple right now and walked into their chamber, I would see the corpse of-"
They shrugged.
Hornet's hand twitched. Suddenly, she felt like impaling something with her needle. Maybe she should take a quick trip back to Greenpath and slay some of the Moss Chargers. Watching them ram themselves into the tip of her needle always did well to relieve her stress.
"This is ridiculous. I've had enough of this game. Ghost, if you-"
Suddenly, the Knight extended their arm and grabbed her hand. They felt cold, but not to an extreme. Their hand - their void felt almost slippery, a half liquid. It was almost like being grabbed by a hand made entirely out of mercury.
The Hollow Knight's almost pathetic body, being dragged around to fight for the infection, and their screams of pain as they stabbed themselves.
Chains appearing around the Knight as they stood above the Hollow Knight, who was either dead or unconscious.
A shiver ran through her entire body. She yelped and instinctively drew her arm back from the Knight's grasp. A spell of dizziness overtook her and she staggered backwards, almost falling over. "W-What in the Pale King's name was that?! "
The Knight blinked. Then, it shrugged and bowed its head again. This time, it seemed to be more abashed, almost embarrassed.
"That… that was…." Hornet shivered again. Almost as quickly as it came, the sense of nausea vanished. "I saw things. I saw… I saw the Hollow Knight? And I saw… you. Ghost, did you do that? Did you show me those scenes?"
…
They nodded.
"How? Could you always do that?"
They shrugged.
"Okay then… I guess that what you showed me answers some questions." Hornet said. If the visions that she saw were to be believed, then the Knight had truly defeated the Hollow Knight. But there were many things that puzzled her. "They raise several more, however. How would I have missed those screams? I was standing right outside of the Black Vault. Also, there were chains wrapping around you - would you not have been trapped?"
They shrugged. Then, they extended their hand again. This time, they didn't grab her hand - instead, they only left it up in the air, like an offering.
Hornet stared at their hand for a while. Then, she let out a groan of defeat. Grimacing, she walks back up to the Knight and grabbed their hand before she had a chance to change her mind.
Black. Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing
Nothing.
Then, symbols. They seemed vaguely similar, maybe some sort of text made up of an ancient or dead language. Below it was a lavishly decorated version of the Hallownest crest. A smaller version was present over the text. Small pillars of light moved about behind the text, though nothing was being revealed by them.
Below the text and crest, there were several more lines of text, seemingly in the same language. To the bottom right of the scene, there was a strange symbol, one that wasn't present anywhere in Hallownest.
Then, it all vanished, leaving behind only a regular version of the Hallownest crest. It flashed once, then vanished. More pitch black darkness that seemed somehow different from before. An endless dark void.
A broken, hollow black egg to the right. A glowing sigil with a few lines of text (This one legible) on the left. The view shifted down, revealing that the Knight was resting on a slab just outside of the Hollow Knight's room. The Grimmchild was sleeping next to the slab, wings wrapped around itself like a blan-
That was all she could take. Hornet pulled back with such force that the Knight, who was still holding on to her hand, was dragged out of the bed. They fell forward before losing their grip on Hornet.
It was as if she were forced to hear a million nails scratching down an endless hall of blackboards, with the noise being amplified by a thousand. Her skull pounded so fiercely that she wouldn't be surprised if it exploded, right then and there. Everything was spinning.
Hornet clutched her head with one hand and used the other to push the door open. She stumbled and fell to the ground just outside of the house. She began dry heaving, stomach twisting and folding into itself. Literal stars filled her vision.
She felt a hand being awkwardly placed on her back. She flinched, expecting a new bout of dizziness and random clips of the Knight to appear, but nothing happened. The Knight only patted her with a sort of timidness that you would expect to see from a shy child. Their gesture didn't do much to alleviate her sickness, but was strangely touching nonetheless.
After several more minutes of dry heaving, Hornet finally found the strength to stand. She was still dizzy, but it was manageable. She walked back inside of the house and gestured for the Knight to follow her.
She sat on the bed and gazed at the Knight as they walked in, closing the door behind them. Her mind scrambled to try and make sense of what she saw, but no matter how she looked at it, none of it made sense.
The Knight jumped onto the bed and sat next to her, temporarily pausing her thoughts.
They turned their head to stare up at her. She found herself staring back at them. Her sibling. Dark void swirled behind its spotless mask, and their cloak seemed perfectly tailored to fit them. Truth be told, they looked exactly the same from when she first met them, in Greenpath. But somehow, they seemed to be completely different. Completely changed, almost like a new vessel. Or not a vessel at all.
After all, what good would a vessel be if it held emotions?