Author's Note: Greetings. Feel free to skip past this if it doesn't interest you, but I'd like to take a moment to explain why I'm rewriting this story and what my goals are. I wrote the original version of a Hero in Hallownest as a teenager, and I'm still proud of having completed such a large project. However, the story was not planned out, and the writing was of appropriate quality for a teenage author's first story. I always intended to make a follow up story once Hollow Knight: Silksong released, but as the years passed and my writing improved, I didn't feel that the original would measure up. That's why I decided to fully remake a Hero in Hallownest from the ground up.

With that being said, this story will differ in some major ways from the original, both in terms of makeup and plot (which is why I'm leaving the original up). I'm focusing more on the characters and less on the minutiae of the game world, there will be fewer but much longer chapters, and I'm taking a few liberties as need be with the source material. I hope that those who enjoyed the original story will enjoy this one even more, and that new people can find it and enjoy it too.

Chapter 1: Hallownest Beckons

At this point, Link had given up on finding Navi.

That wasn't easy to do. He had spent his childhood with the kokiri longing for a fairy companion like all his friends had, and when Navi came to him, she became his most valuable ally—even more than Princess Zelda—and a great friend as well. They'd spent many days and nights across Hyrule with only each other's company, and experienced the best and worst of the adventure together.

But, of course, Link wasn't a kokiri, which meant Navi wasn't his fairy. She was a servant of the goddesses, sent to guide the hero on his quest. Link would have liked if she had at least said goodbye before leaving, but the fact was that she had fulfilled her duty and she was gone now. Link's time in Termina had helped him to accept that, and now he only wanted to return home; in looking for Navi, he had turned his back on the friends he still had in Hyrule.

Not that he regretted being in Termina. To do so would be to wish he hadn't saved the land, that the people had all perished as the moon fell, and he would never wish for such a thing. Besides, he had grown a lot while in Termina; learned from its people about how to handle loss and grief. It was, after all, a land drenched in sorrow, but without the shadow of Majora hanging over it, perhaps its people could start to recover.

He had made new friends in Termina, too, but he could never call the place home. Each time he reversed time, returning to the beginning of the three-day cycle of the moon's fall, he was forgotten by the people he'd met and helped. Only Tatl, the fairy who'd accompanied him on his journey, knew what had really happened, and he had no more right to demand she stay with him than he had for Navi. She had much older ties to her brother Tael and the skull kid, who were now both free of Majora's influence.

The skull kid, too, had much greater need of the two fairies' company than Link did. It was out of loneliness that he had fallen prey to the evil temptations of Majora's Mask, and Link had come to empathize with him. He was once a child, like Link, who found himself lost in the woods and was transformed. Perhaps, if things had gone differently, their places would have been exchanged.

So, Link made plans to return home alone. With the spirits in his three masks now at rest, he traveled to their homelands, giving the masks to the spirits' families and explaining what had happened to them. Given that a horse could not make it through the passage back to Hyrule, he left Epona in the care of Romani and Cremia at the ranch. It was difficult to part with his two-time companion, but he knew she would be well cared for. Romani had grown quite attached to her over the three days, and Link would have felt just as bad taking Epona away as he did leaving her behind.

There was one thing, though, that Link would not leave behind. The Fierce Deity's mask, which he'd been given by the children in the moon, and had empowered him when facing Majora's Mask, had no home in Termina that Link knew of. Beyond that, Link felt that the mask's power, like that of the triforce, did not care whether it was used for good or evil. If someone with wicked intentions found it, it could be worse than Majora's Mask—worn by what amounted to a child acting out for attention—had ever been. So he decided to keep it until he could find some way to store or dispose of it safely. Maybe Zelda could help.

So it was that he found himself before the door to the clock tower. Around him, the people of clock town moved busily about, paying scant attention to the hero that had saved them. At least they would remember what he'd done, how close things had gotten. That was more than enough for him.

He entered the bottom of the tower, where the central axle of the clockwork spun. The mask salesman was gone, and the place didn't feel the same without him. Link made his way down the stairs to the basement, where a water wheel drove the contraption. A doorway was open in one of the walls where before a large iron gate had blocked the way. Did the salesman open the gate? Link thought, frowning. Guess I never really had a choice in taking his bargain.

"Link!" a familiar voice, like the sound of bells chiming, called from behind. Turning around, Link saw Tatl floating near the stairs, along with Tael and the skull kid. The fairy flew over to him. "You're really leaving now, huh?" she asked.

"I thought you said you had a carnival to go to," Link chided.

"Well, the carnival's boring anyway," Tatl said, defensively. She paused, her prideful attitude fading. "You know... it was kinda fun. Being your partner, I mean. I wanted to say goodbye before you left for good."

Link didn't say anything at first. The words of the mask salesman echoed in his mind: 'Whenever there is a meeting, a parting is sure to follow. However, that parting need not last forever. Whether a parting be forever or only a short time... That is up to you.'

The man was wise beyond his station, but Link questioned whether that statement was true in his circumstances. Nevertheless, he took some solace from the words, and tried to comfort Tatl. "I'm sure we'll meet again. Take care."

He had turned around partway when Tatl spoke again. "Link, um... I never said thank you."

Link gave her a small smile. "You don't need to."

At that, he turned his back on her fully and passed through the doorway. He walked down the twisting, gravity-defying passage that marked the entrance to the space between the worlds. Except, when he reached the end of the corridor, he emerged into complete darkness. Feeling about with his arms, he found that he was in a stone cave tunnel, big enough to accommodate three or four people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, and much smaller than the cavern through which he had entered Termina as a deku scrub.

This had better take me to Hyrule, Link thought. He considered turning back, but then he perished the thought. He would never be content in Termina.

He moved forward slowly, keeping contact with the walls, which were covered in bumps and protrusions of various sizes. He rounded a corner into a much larger chamber, dimly lit from another tunnel connected to the other side. This allowed him to see that the bumps in the walls were fossils, some of which were several times his height, packed so tightly that there was hardly any bare stone to be seen. The only place in Hyrule Link knew of that was similar was the Shadow Temple, where skeletons were similarly packed into the walls and ceilings in places. But the fossils here were not human; they resembled snail shells and insect parts. He wondered what kind of cataclysm could cause enough mass death to pack the entire ground with bodies.

Shuddering at that thought, he continued into the other tunnel and saw that the light was being produced by a swarm of tiny flying insects, each of which glowed with a gentle white light, bright enough to obscure the view of anything but the creatures' wings. They looked similar to fairies, floating lazily back and forth about the cave. Link stopped to marvel at the sight for a moment, then caught a few of the bugs in a bottle and continued.

Moving only a short distance further brought him out of the cave and onto a colorless expanse of sand. The sky was dark, with no stars, and a strong wind blew incessantly, carrying sand with it.

Realizing that he was nowhere near Hyrule, Link changed his mind about returning to Termina. He turned around and retraced his steps, but when he reached the tunnel he'd emerged from—now with an adequate source of light—he found only a dead end.

Isn't that just my luck? he thought.

With no other options, he returned to the sandy plains on the surface.

It was difficult to move against the wind, so instead he followed it. As he went, an enormous husk of some round, insectoid creature, slightly taller than Link and much wider, loomed into view. Its head was some sort of white, bony material, almost like a mask, with two large holes where eyes once were, and four horns curving from the top. Link peered inside one of the eyeholes and saw that the entire body was hollow. Either this was simply an old exoskeleton that had been shed, or the creature had died and its insides had all been eaten.

Sticking out of the ground near the husk were two metal poles, each of which was topped by the same emblem: an elliptical ring with a crown of four sharp points. Another pole was barely visible in the distance. Approaching it brought more husks of similar creatures into view, as well as more poles, forming a trail. Only a little further, and a towering cliff face became visible. The cliff was also home to many huge fossils, and more poles were embedded in its face, despite the fact that there was no path to reach them.

Climbing it is, then, Link thought, staring up the towering cliffs and making a mental plan of how to tackle the challenge. Just as he was about to begin, he heard a voice:

"So, you'd seek sacred Hallownest?"

Link looked at where the voice had come from. Standing atop a ledge was a lithe creature, perhaps a little taller than Link was. She was humanoid—or, at least, bipedal—with a thin, chitinous black body and limbs. Her head was a similar white material to those of the husks, but with a shape like an elongated crescent, making it hard to tell whether the long upward points were horns or simply part of her head entirely. The garment she wore—which might be described as somewhere between a dress and a cloak, as it was closed in the front but still hung down from her shoulders—was red.

In one hand, she gripped a strange weapon. It was like a sword, only made from a single solid piece of metal, with a handle as long as the blade, and no crossguard. Its entire length almost equaled her height. On the end of the handle, in place of a pommel, was a ring, to which a thread was tied. This thread wound loosely about her in a way that defied logic, eventually running to the inside of her cloak. Link could tell at a glance that both the weapon and its wielder were dangerous.

"Turn back, strange creature. This place is a corpse. It will grant only death," she continued. "As will I, to those who'd seek to desecrate it."

Link motioned with one hand to the dusty plains behind him. "If you want me to leave, you'll have to tell me where I can go. Otherwise I'll starve in this wasteland," he said.

"I know of no such place. Regardless, I cannot permit your entry. You've equipment befitting a warrior. Hallownest has already suffered enough like you."

Before Link could respond, her weapon was flying at him. He rolled away, and it sank into the sand before returning to her hand as she pulled on the string. At the same time, she jumped down from the ledge and dove. Link had just enough time to retrieve his shield before her second attack collided with it. Not letting up, she used the leverage she had to propel herself forward, flipping over his head. Link drew his sword and slashed up at her, which was met by her own attack. The clash of their blades sent her higher into the air, and she landed on her feet behind him.

The two fighters stared each other down, then the creature in red lunged. Link ducked, holding his shield above his head so her attack glanced off, and countered with a swipe from the left. The attack connected with her torso, but only briefly, as she jumped aside in the same instant.

"You fight recklessly, like a hatchling playing with a nail of shellwood... yet your skill is undeniable," she said, clutching her side. The cut was too shallow to be lethal, but it was evidently still painful; Link's sword, strengthened and gilded in gold, was razor-sharp. She threw her weapon toward the cliff, where it lodged itself in some nook, then pulled the string and swung up to its location.

She looked up to the top, then back at Link. "I cannot risk my life here. If you mean not to profane this kingdom, then proceed, but know that I will be watching you. Should you elect to defile the ruins, I will not be so merciful." Having pulled her weapon from its position, she threw it over the top of the cliff and followed it, vanishing from view.

Link replaced his sword and shield on his back. He thought back to what the skull kid had done when he'd entered Termina. I can't seem to get a warm welcome anywhere, he realized. Who was that?

Returning to his previous task, he started up the cliff. There were plenty of handholds and footholds, as well as ledges to stop and rest on, so it was not too difficult, but it was still a long and exhausting process. Luckily, the wind lost its strength the higher he went.

About halfway up the cliff was a strange, round protrusion of black stone set into a recession. A flat, elliptical shape was carved into its side, and when Link got close, a glowing white glyph bearing a message appeared there:

'Higher beings, these words are for you alone. These blasted plains stretch never-ending. There is no world beyond. Those foolish enough to traverse this void must pay the toll and relinquish the precious mind this kingdom grants.'

What is that supposed to mean? The wasteland can't actually go on forever, right? Then again, I didn't really get here the normal way, Link thought, before continuing.

As he reached the top and peered over, he saw a light a few paces ahead. Once he was on his feet, he could see that the light was coming from a metal lamp post. Two lanterns containing similar glowing bugs to the ones from the cave were attached to the pole by spiraling branches. The lamp post was standing at the edge of a footpath that wove between the large, round boulders atop the cliff. More posts were distributed at regular intervals along the path.

The path led broadly forward until it reached the edge of another cliff, and Link could see that he was standing atop one side of a ridge that formed the vague shape of a ring around a central valley. On the opposite side of the ridge loomed a much larger mountain, and in the middle of the valley was a cluster of lights that looked like a town. Directly ahead and below was a large pit in the slope of the ridge, at the bottom of which was the beginning of another, likely more direct path leading straight through the stone. It seemed there used to be a bridge of some kind leading down to the path, but it had long since collapsed. A fall from such a height was sure to be fatal, so Link had to find his way down on his own.

Though it was a long and circuitous route to get to the bottom, soon enough he was approaching the town. The buildings were all round, like they were built to resemble massive shells, and while the town was well-lit, it was eerily quiet. Link wandered into the town's center, where there sat a metal bench under a particularly tall lamp post.

A creature was standing next to the bench. It, too, had a chitinous black body, but it was a bit larger and more round than the one from the cliffs. It had a dark blue shell on the top part of its body, from which an old and worn gray cape hung down about its feet. Its head was much more like those of the husks, with the large round horns being distinguishable from the rest. It had a mouth, which split its face into two sections, and its eyes were near the sides of its face.

"Ho there, and welcome to Dirtmouth," the creature said when Link was close enough to hear. His voice was melancholic and tired. "I am known as Elderbug."

"Link."

"Well met, Link. Quite a few travelers have passed through here lately, but I'm afraid I'm the only one left to offer greetings. Our town has fallen quiet, you see. The other residents, they've all disappeared. Headed down that well, one by one, into the caverns below." He motioned behind himself with his head.

"What's down there?" Link asked.

"You mean you don't know? But then, you are unlike any creature I've ever seen," Elderbug said, sounding more curious than surprised. "Used to be there was a great kingdom beneath our town. Hallownest, it was called. Supposedly the greatest kingdom there ever was, full of treasures and secrets. It's long fell to ruin, yet it still draws folks into its depths. Wealth, glory, enlightenment, that darkness seems to promise all things. If you don't mind my asking, what brings you here, if not the ruins?"

"Fate, you could say." That word seemed to be the most fitting.

"Hm. I would be happy to welcome a newcomer to our town, but you have the look of an explorer about you. You may find what you're looking for down there, but be careful. Many have sought their dreams in the kingdom and never returned. A sickly air fills the place. Creatures turn mad and travelers are robbed of their memories." He turned his head to look behind him, toward where he'd indicated the well was located. "Perhaps dreams aren't such great things after all..."

"Perhaps not," Link said, following his gaze. "But you're right about me. I have things I need to know, and an old kingdom is as good a place as any to look for information."

Elderbug didn't say anything, but Link could feel a mix of understanding and resignation from him.

"Before I go, have you ever seen someone in a red cloak? She tried to kill me at the base of the cliffs."

"Seen her? No. But I have heard of her many times. It seems she wanders the extent of the ruins, protecting them from any would-be looters, and has been doing so since before I was born. Hm. Just another danger among many others, I imagine."

Link nodded. "You've been very helpful, thank you." Absent-mindedly, he gave the bug a handful of rupees.

"Oh, my. What interesting stones these are. Is this a gift? For me?" Elderbug asked, holding one of the green gems up to his eyes.

Link blinked. "Sorry, I assumed you would recognize those. Where I'm from they're currency. I wanted to pay you back for the advice. But if you like them, feel free to keep them."

"Ahh, my, well I must thank you regardless. I'd resigned myself to selflessly giving out advice to passers by, without receiving any gratitude in return. Suddenly, the world seems a little less faded. Fare well in the ruins, friend."

Link smiled and left, heading the way Elderbug had motioned. Indeed, just outside of town sat a well. It had a short cobblestone wall around it, and a tall metal arch straddled it. The arch was decorated, and at its top the metal formed an emblem depicting a shell with three pairs of wings. Below the emblem, three lanterns were attached to the arch, with their light barely reaching the bottom.

A chain hung down into the depths. Link reached out and grabbed it, then lowered himself into the well.