I tried and I tried and I tried. But I was not able to suppress the light overtaking my physical body. This was failure. I was failure. What would father think about me? What would have happened if I stayed in the abyss? What if I let the thoughts take over sooner, proving that I was tainted? Everything pushed me toward this failure. I was too young and immature to see everything that would eventually be so blinding.
The egg hatched. I tumbled out of it and hit the hard floor. It was quite cold. I felt a sharp pain in my head. Out of instinct, I just focused. White particles streamed around my body for a few seconds. I don't really know what I did, but the pain in my head ceased immediately. How convenient.
Looking up, I could see that I was in a dark room with lots of other eggs. They all looked practically identical to the one that used to contain my body. I looked down at myself to see that I had two nubby hands and two nubby legs. There was also a brownish cloak that draped over my torso. My whole body was black.
I became aware of several other creatures that looked exactly like me. The only difference was the horn shape. They all seemed to act the same as me once they came tumbling out of the egg from which they were birthed. However, I could also see lots of the creatures that would fall onto the ground, and not get up. They just laid there. Eventually, a black version of them emerged from their bodies and simply floated above the ground.
I stood up, turned around, and gazed at myself from the reflection of my egg. I had quite big horns compared to the others. A sense of wonder hit me about where I actually was. The opening of the room was to my right. Walking out, I was taken aback by just how fascinatingly huge this outer room was. It looked more of the same, though. Darkness, eggs, more creatures.
I slightly jumped when I heard a loud cracking noise right next to me. I turned to the side to see another egg, a rather large one at that, breaking open and a creature with horns that were similar to mine came rolling out. Only this time, it didn't immediately get up and heal its wounds. It tried to lift itself up with its hands but failed. I walked closer, bent down a bit and offered my hand. It surely could do with some help.
The creature looked up at me, and I could see a black tear dripping from its eye. It looked so desperate. It weakly took my offering hand and struggled to get back onto its feet. When it did, it leaned (practically fell) onto the egg, clearly off balance when it tried to stand up straight. It wiped the tear off of its face.
It turned around and looked at me, and before I could process anything, it locked me in a tight hug. I reciprocated it, not knowing what else to do. We stayed like this for a couple seconds before the other creature released me. It started curiously wandering about the empty room, looking and taking in everything there was.
By now there were lots of us, all clearly confused about where we were. However many of us there were, about double the amount of us were dead. The ghosts of the deceased would just float idly.
I sat down on a rock close by, gazing up at the top of the pit. There was a ledge up there with what looked like a sealed door. I just allowed myself to think. Who am I, really? What is my purpose? Perhaps we were all just a forgotten memory, left to live and die down here.
I was startled when the creature from earlier sat down next to me. It looked at me and rubbed my shoulder. It was very relaxing. It was reassuring to know that we were in this together. I laid my head down on its shoulder. It didn't flinch, move, or anything. It simply allowed my behavior. All previous thoughts were forgotten, I was just appreciative of this comfort.
Our population grew by the second. Loads of other creatures emerged from their respective eggs, all with their own set of unique horns. How many of us were there? There were perhaps thousands of us by now. We all wandered around this empty hole for what felt like days. I never left the-creature-with-similar-horns' side. We held hands everywhere we went. We explored everywhere we could.
That all changed when we were laying down next to each other, and suddenly, the door opened and a bright white light entered. I couldn't make out what this light was emitting from, though. We both sat up. Soon after, platforms began to appear in a bright flash. Words bounced off of the walls of the pit.
"No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering."
That light… It was so alluring. I obviously wasn't the first one to have this thought, though. Other creatures eventually began scaling the platforms. It hurt me to watch most of them eventually fall. It seemed like it was possible, though. I was tired of this pit. I needed to get out of here. I stood up and started walking over, when I felt the other creature tug on my arm. I looked back to see it shaking its head. What gave? It was time to escape this prison.
I yanked my arm back and started running. The scaling of the platforms was quite difficult, no wonder all of the other creatures fell to their demise. Would I end up like them? No, I needed to do this. Platform after platform, my legs and arms grew tired and achy. But I didn't stop. Nothing would stop me. This could be my only chance.
I took a final leap of faith and grabbed onto the final ledge. Everything hurt and my vision had gone a bit blurry. Don't fall. Don't fall. Don't fall. I gave one last push through my sore arms and hoisted myself up. I was saved. I quickly stood up to discover what was emitting that light.
…father? A being so radiant. He had prong like horns that formed a crown and light gray robes that dragged behind him. He gestured toward the door with his head and started walking out. His words made sense now. No mind to think. Do not think. I obediently followed my father out the door, before hearing something grab the ledge behind me. I turned around.
It was the creature with similar horns. It held on desperately, knowing it would fall any moment now. I could go back and help it up… Do not think… do not think… DO NOT THINK! I turned back around and walked away from the pit. My life was about to change. I just couldn't think. Stop thinking. Stop thinking. Stop thinking.
With a flash, my father re-sealed the door to the pit. The door materialized with a big shake. There was no way the creature would have not fallen. That same creature was the one that comforted me when I was having an anxiety attack. I just let it fall. No, stop thinking. Right. I focused on the words my father spoke.
"You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams. You are the vessel. You are the Hollow Knight." He had a rather soft voice. It was somewhat soothing.
The blinding light. I will seal it. I am the Hollow Knight. I know I am not pure. But I will try. As long as my father is proud.
It wasn't long before the Radiance had full control over my body. I was not pure. But I tried. And my father is not proud.