It was disorienting, to say the least. The Knight could only look around in a confused sort of awe, their mind trying to make sense of the sudden rush of new senses. It was like their brain was being divided into several parts, and each part was trying to make sense of different things. Like how Hornet, along with the rest of Dirtmouth, seemed to have been replaced by the Resting Grounds. Or how their body seemed notably lighter.
The Knight blinked. Lighter?
They withdrew their hands underneath their cloak and rummaged around. It only took a few seconds before they noticed that they were missing a hefty sum of geo, along with a few of their charms.
That confusion grew into sharp fear when they realized that one of the missing charms was the Voidheart. The charm, bounded to their very soul, was missing. In an instant, the cold air around them dropped to a freezing temperature and the Knight suddenly felt like they were breaking apart. Why is this happening? They thought, running their hand over their chest, tracing the shape of each charm equipped.
The Mark of Pride, Quick Slash, Wayward Compass, Shaman Stone, and Nailmaster's Glory. All well and good, except for the fact that there was no Void Heart. They picked at each individual charm over and over again, hoping that for some absurd, inane reason that the Void Heart would appear. Then they could relax and sigh at their own stupid mistake, and continue onwards, to an answer. Yet no matter how many times they checked, that charm, the proof of their reunion with the Void, it would not appear.
As if moving on their own, their hands abruptly broke away from the Knight's chest and moved to their charm case. They had already opened it once, only to see that a few slots were missing. Why open it again? Could the Void Heart be there? No, that couldn't be possible. The Void Heart was embedded, infused with their very being. It was a stamp from the Abyss, a permanent mark. No amount of power could have separated them, save for one of a god.
'But it's still MISSING.' The Knight thought, bringing their charm case out from underneath their cloak. Missing, so why not check? Perhaps for some reason, the unequippable charm had managed to find itself into the case. And sure enough, when their shaking hands managed to crack open the thin box, they found that the Void Heart was not there. And yet, in it's place, there was a faintly glowing charm that radiated a bright royal aura.
The Kingsoul.
Why? Was the only thought that they could formulate. It became very hard to focus - the world around them began spinning again and the small humming that was coming from the charm was louder than anything that they had ever heard. It was louder than the pained shrieks of the Radiance, a vomitting of white noise that somehow managed to mix beautifully with the quiet, calming background music of the Resting Grounds.
…
The Knight practically slammed their charm case shut, stuffing out the glow and sounds of the Kingsoul. And yet that music remained. 'Music?'
Their head jerked and twisted around. No matter how hard they looked, they could find no likely source for the music. They jumped up from the bench and tried to follow the source of the slow melody that filled the room, but found that it surrounded them equally, perfectly balanced. It was as if they had their own personal orchestra, playing the melancholy tune from inside of their head.
The Knight began pacing around the room. They walked in measured steps, travelling in perfect, consistent paces. Each step echoed in the room at a volume that was barely audible through the music. They walked in circles, and it felt like that at each step they took, they were being taken closer to madness. They tried to count how many laps they made around the room but found that their mind began to wander back to the music and how strangely familiar it was.
It was almost like they had heard it many times before.
'Stupid. Stop. Calm down.'
With those frazzled words bouncing around in their head, they took one more lap around the room and then left through the door. They jumped down, falling in between the long trail of platforms until they finally landed on the ground. From there, they began walking, each step taking him the exact same distance as they did back at the bench.
Their mind drifted and drifted, until they began to think of nothing. Their mind filled with nothing, empty thoughts that suffocated the music and confusion. It brought an uneasy peace, an anxious calm, and they found themselves unable to think of anything else. It was only a few moments until all of that cold nothing was rudely ripped out from their thoughts when they fell through a hole in the ground.
'Why is this here?' They thought, lifting themselves up from the dusty floor. Their eyes connected with a lever, and their sluggish mind worked to remember that they had used the switch, and that it had opened the hole in the floor.
They shook their head and jumped down from the platform. Then, they looked to their right - if their memory would serve, then they should remember that that way lead back to a few infected guards and a tomb. The left path would take them to the Blue Lake.
Where they had last seen Quirrel.
A heavy weight rested on their chest. All at once, that old freezing wave of grief and regret was made anew and all the Knight could do was sag his shoulders a little and walk forwards because this sensation was becoming all too familiar to them. They were afraid, more than anything in the world, that they would get used to this sad tumbling and that these feelings would lose their color.
They could scarcely remember their first fight with the Hollow Knight. What was going through their mind back then? What sorts of things and memories were they experiencing with the Hollow Knight? They could only imagine how sharp and deadly the emotions that they had felt were. Why, the difference between then and now was probably so great, that they may as well be an empty vessel again.
'Not true,' they thought harshly. After that, the thought that crossed their mind was 'This is a dream.'
Because, what other explanation was there? What explanation was there for the missing Void Heart, the sudden appearance at the Resting Grounds, the music? What explanation was there for Quirrel, crouching at the ledge of the Blue Lake? With his nail by his side instead of on the sands, and with a blazing, vibrant color that screamed that he was alive, that he was really there?
The Knight found themselves looking at his back. Quirrel's head perked up and he turned to face them. His eyes lit up with recognition and a tired smile grew on his face.
"Again we meet my short friend. Here at last, I feel at peace."
They stared at him silently, stoically. Then with almost no hesitation, they brought out their hand and poked him in the shoulder. It was solid and felt warm, despite the chilling air around them. Their finger bounced back, and it was only then, did the Knight begin to think that maybe, possibly, Quirrel was really there.
"Hm?" He gave them a puzzled stare. "Is there something the matter?"
The Knight stared back, stone faced and unmoving. And then they blinked, and black tears started leaking from the eyes of their mask. They rushed forward and without a second thought, wrapped their short arms around his torso. His weight was so solid, so real, yet unbelievable at the same time. He felt like an impossible anchor amidst a depressed sea of contradictions. Why was he here? Why did he return? How was any of this possible? A hundred and one questions bounced around in their mind, begging to be asked, for the impossible.
"A-Ah, what's wrong?" Quirrel asked with a faint panic in his voice. "My friend, are you crying? I… What sort of conundrum would cause someone like you to react in this way?"
A shot of anger rips through the Knight's cloud of relief. What would cause them to react like this? How could he ask something like that? What sort of mad reason did he have to up and vanish for so long, only to return and act like nothing's happened? It wasn't fair.
They formulated a memory - Quirrel's nail stuck on the shores of the lake. At that, they felt Quirrel's body stiffen up. He emitted a short gasp and drew back from the Knight, face suddenly pale and sickly. "What in the world? What was that? No, furthermore, what was that image? Did you send that to me? How?"
The Knight pointed at Quirrel's nail. Then, they pointed at the ground.
"... Yes, I saw that." Quirrel said, putting a hand up to his head and letting out a shuddering breath. His face was still pale. Looking at it, the Knight suddenly found themselves feeling a bit guilty. Even if they had only shown him a single moment, they had put more force into it than what was needed. That one image had probably left him as sick as Hornet was when they had first done this to her.
"But why? Why did you show me that?" Quirrel asked. "This is all very strange, you know. I'm not sure what sort of meaning you're trying to convey?"
They stared at him incredulously. Was it so hard to realize that what he had done hurt ? Every memory of him was pure agony. They thought that he was dead. Why couldn't he just know? That this one single action had brought them so much pain?
In an almost childish fit, the Knight pointed at him and stomped on the ground. Their hand shook with both anger and nerves. Quirrel stared at them for a few moments and then sighed. "Okay, okay. I… I think I know what you're trying to say. You're upset, aren't you? I guess you care for me a bit more than I realized."
The Knight's eye twitched. At the time, Quirrel might as well had been nothing but a tool to them. He helped them, and perhaps they appreciated him for his assistance, but there was nothing else. But ever since that moment, that gain of thoughts, of feelings…
They dipped their head down sadly. Quirrel shifted around a bit before awkwardly wrapping their body in a tense hug. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll stick around for a while longer. Don't worry."
…
"There's one question I need to ask, however." Quirrel said quietly. The Knight backed away and looked at him with questioning eyes.
"How did you know?" Quirrel asked. "How did you know that I was planning to… erm, leave?"
'How did I… know?' The Knight tilted their head. What was he saying?
"It seems odd that you would know." Quirrel said. "It was almost as if you read my mind… you didn't, did you?"
The Knight only grew more and more confused. What was happening? He was talking as if he hadn't disappeared yet, as if this was their first time talking at the Blue Lake…
"Again we meet my short friend. Here at last, I feel at peace."
The same.
No, it was all the same, wasn't it? That was it. And the charms. Void Heart. The Geo. All of it.
The Knight realized that there was no music here, at the lake.
They found that they weren't very surprised by this.