Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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. Link 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.

Chapter Text

If Termina had been dying, Hallownest was dead.

That fact was immediately obvious when Link reached the bottom of the well. He had dropped onto an old road, its stones cracked and its surface broken by the weight of centuries. Husks and broken pieces of wagons sat beside the road, long since relieved of any valuables, and the way was dimly lit by bent lamp posts. A signpost stood nearby, but it only pointed back up to Dirtmouth, so Link went right for no reason in particular.

The road led into an immense cavern with an almost equally immense inhabitant: the corpse of a giant bug, repurposed for use as a building. Its mouth served as a doorway, and windows had been placed where its eyes once were. Carved above the doorway were three images of masks, shaped like inverted teardrops. One had a single hole in the middle, another had two holes near the bottom and two smaller holes above those, and the third had six holes of roughly equal size in three pairs arranged vertically.

The inside was lit by dozens of lanterns hanging on chains from the ceiling. Its expansive space contained nothing except for a huge, impossibly smooth sphere of inky black stone. On the side of the sphere facing the door, part of its surface was cracked away, giving way to a layer of lighter stone laden with grooves and markings. In this layer was an oval-shaped doorway blocked by another large stone. The same three masks that were carved into the outside of the building were also set into this stone.

A bug was standing in front of the sphere, looking up at it. Its gray body was like a pillbug, and similar in size to Link, but it had two arms and two legs which were black and chitinous, and its face was white with two large eyes. A white mask, shaped like an inverted teardrop, was sitting on the top of its head like a hat, secured by a gray piece of fabric wrapped around its head. At its side it was holding a weapon similar to the one the red-cloaked warrior had used, but much closer in both form and size to a conventional one-handed sword.

The bug turned around when it noticed Link enter. “Hello there! How delightful to meet other travelers on these forgotten roads. Not too long ago another fellow came through here. They were short, but they had an air of strength about them. I daresay you have a similar air, but of course one must be either strong, clever, or lucky even to make it this far. My name is Quirrel.”

“Mine’s Link. I guess you’re here to explore Hallownest’s ruins?”

“Yes, indeed. I have something of an obsession with uncharted places. This old kingdom holds many fascinating mysteries, and one of the most intriguing is standing right before us.” He turned back to look at the sphere, and Link stepped forward to stand beside him. “A great stone egg, lying in the corpse of an ancient civilization.”

“An egg?”

“Well, perhaps it is presumptuous on my part to call it that. It resembles an egg in passing, but what its true nature is, I can only guess. I do so love a mystery... And who knows what other marvels lie even deeper below us?”

Link smirked, then shook his head, at himself rather than at Quirrel. “You know, at first I just wanted to get home, but you’ve almost got me excited for another adventure.”

“I’m glad to hear it! But I must say you are unlike any bug I’ve seen before. What kind of place is it that you hail from?”

“A kingdom called Hyrule. Do you know about it?”

“No, I’m afraid not, but my time in the sands beyond this land has clouded my mind. Perhaps the bugs of Hallownest knew of such a place, back when their kingdom still thrived.”

“That was my thought too,” said Link, ponderously. “So you came from the wasteland? Did you run into someone in a red cloak when you arrived?”

“Indeed I did. She gave me an awful fright! I thought for a moment that my time in this world was over.”

“We’re in the same boat, then.”

Quirrel nodded. “Seems she’s taken it upon herself to protect these ruins from being desecrated; quite the undertaking for just one bug. She has nothing to worry about from me, though. I have just come to explore, not to profit. It is a good reminder, though, of the danger that still lurks in this kingdom. Plenty have come before us and met their grisly end. That shining nail you carry is much finer than my own, but remember to be careful. I should quite like to meet again.”

“Of course.”

“Well, then. I have stared at this egg for long enough, I think. I will be on my way now.”

Link watched Quirrel leave, then did the same. Continuing down the road brought the sound of footsteps to his ears, and as he passed through a narrowing of the cavern he saw a group of three bugs ahead. They resembled Quirrel, though with rounder bodies, and one of them—the largest—had a single long horn emerging from its forehead. They were shambling back and forth through the area for seemingly no reason.

“Hello? Are you alright?” Link asked, approaching them cautiously.

As soon as he did, they turned toward him. The horned one lowered its head and charged, while the other two chased after with flailing arms. He sidestepped the horned one, which continued past him, then pushed another away with his shield and struck the third with his sword’s pommel. It staggered back, but only for a moment, then blindly threw itself back at him. He slashed at it, cutting its torso wide open, then dealt with the other two in a similar manner. An orange mist escaped from their wounds when they died, accompanied by a sickly-sweet smell.

I guess that’s what Elderbug meant about bugs losing their minds down here, Link thought. He wondered idly if there was a way he could have saved them, but a second look at their bodies revealed that their insides were rotting away. They had been animated by some strange force, and Link decided it was probably a mercy to kill them.

Further into the caverns, the single road became a confusing mess of intersecting passageways and broken terrain. Link wandered without direction, fighting off more shambling animated bugs, until he happened upon one particular passage containing an overturned cart and a bent set of rails. The supports lining the tunnel were made of wood—or something similar—and the tunnel itself was uneven, without even a remnant of a paved path. A pink light was shining in the distance, and the sound of a woman singing echoed down the corridor.

Link entered, and soon saw small patches of pink crystal growing from the edges of the tunnel, which became larger as he went further in. Each glowed with some internal light, but at the end of the tunnel Link found that the majority of the light was coming from a particularly large crystal embedded in a wall of the chamber. A bug, much like the ones he had been encountering, was striking the wall with a pickaxe. She wore a helmet with a small lantern attached to the front, and was the source of the singing.

“Bury my mother, pale and slight. Bury my father with his eyes shut tight! Bury my sisters, two by two. And when you’re done, let’s bury me toooo!”

She noticed Link enter and stopped her mining. “Ha ha ha, do you know that one? It’s one of my f-favorites! My n-name is Myla!”

“It’s catchy,” Link said, then introduced himself. “What are you mining these crystals for?”

“Riches! These crystals are worth a fair b-b-bit, but I have a feeling that there's something even more valuable hidden just a bit deeper in! I can almost smell it! Ha ha ha! So, what are you down here for? If you came to g-get wealthy, there’s enough for both of us, just grab a pick and join in! Or if you don't feel like d-d-d-digging, you can just sit and sing with me! Ha ha ha!”

“I might take you up on that,” Link said. He sat down against one of the walls of the chamber and listened as Myla continued her song. The rest, like the first four lines, was quite grim in its subject matter, perhaps as a way of confronting such thoughts without being overcome by them. After listening for a while, Link retrieved his ocarina and accompanied her singing, quickly committing the song to memory. While playing, he noticed that someone was watching them, but he couldn't make out who, and they soon left. 

“That’s a b-b-beautiful sound,” Myla said. “I’m glad... ha ha... I’m glad you like the sound of my voice! You can c-come visit me again if you like!”

“Take care of yourself,” was all Link gave for an answer.

“Oh, don’t w-w-worry about me! This is hard work, but I don't mind. Down here, I can k-keep working without even sleeping. It's fun!”

Link frowned a little. “Don’t work yourself to death,” he said, before leaving.

The mining tunnels didn’t extend much farther, so Link returned to the crossroads, trying to navigate the twisting passageways. Eventually, he wandered into a sort of gatehouse. Through the opposite doorway he could see a small village, but the way was blocked by a large sleeping creature. It was not humanoid like the bugs Link had encountered so far, but instead looked something like an enormous fat fly with tiny wings. Its tube-shaped mouth retracted and extended as it breathed.

Link tried both to squeeze around the creature and to push it out of the way, but it was simply too big and heavy. He remembered the giant horns that his deku scrub form had had, and thought of how easy it would have been to wake the creature by playing them.

As he was considering simply turning back, the creature awoke on its own. Its tiny wings started beating lazily, but were nevertheless enough to lift it off the ground. Link hoped he could just pass by the creature, but as soon as it saw him it charged. He jumped out of the way, and the creature bounced off the floor, then continued on, slamming into the walls and floors as its momentum carried it forward.

Link stayed light on his feet to avoid the blundering monster, which seemed barely able to control its own movement. Eventually it did manage to bring itself to a stop, but all it did was reset itself to charge again. Link stepped aside and drove his sword into the beast as it passed. It still continued bouncing briefly, though it was no longer flapping its wings, and the movement wrenched the sword from Link’s grip before the creature collapsed, dead. The same orange mist escaped from its wound.

Link went to retrieve his sword, but before he could, the creature’s belly rumbled and seven smaller versions of it burst out. Link braced himself for an attack, but it never came. The flying creatures just buzzed haphazardly about, paying no mind to him.

I guess it was pregnant, Link realized. He checked the monster’s remains and found that its innards were not rotting like the humanoid bugs he had been running into. So this stuff can affect the living and the dead.

He went on into the village, and found it deserted, except for a few walking husks. There were a lot of little round huts, but they had all been abandoned for a long time; some of the roofs had collapsed. Having found nothing, Link was about to leave when he noticed a small bug sitting in one of the huts. It had huge round eyes, antennae on the top of its head, and wore a dark blue cape over its black body. It appeared to be in a sort of daze, staring ahead without even noticing Link’s arrival. The sickly-sweet smell of the orange mist lingered weakly around it.

“...ugghh, Oro, you oaf... You wield your nail... like a club... Esmy... how much deeper do we have to go...” the bug said. His voice was high-pitched.

“Hey, are you alright?” Link asked.

The bug jerked out of his stupor. “Oh! What?! Who are you?!” He looked around him. “...I see. This old village. What a strange dream, to have led me down here! If you hadn’t found me, I don’t think I would’ve ever woken.”

“A dream?”

“I’m Sly,” the bug said, ignoring Link’s question. “Usually, I live an uneventful life up in Dirtmouth. The air in these ruins doesn't agree with me, so I'd best be getting back.

If you return above, come and see me. I'm probably the friendliest face left there.”

“If I end up there again.”

“You’re exploring, then? Very brave! Plenty of courageous wanderers have been lost to the hunger of these old caverns. You have your nail though, and I can tell just by looking that you know how to wield it,” Sly said, referring to Link’s sword. “Well, I’ll be off then.” He paced quickly out of the hut and disappeared around the corner.

He didn’t even learn my name, Link thought. He took a cursory look around the village again, then left. Not long after, he happened upon a trail where the husks and other hostile bugs had mostly been defeated already. Wondering who else might be down in the ruins, he followed the trail for some time until he heard a humming sound from above. After finding a way up to the higher level, he found the source of the sound.

It was a round-bodied bug with a long mouth and even longer antennae which hung most of the way down his back. He wore glasses and had a pouch full of rolled-up papers strapped to his back. More papers were scattered on the floor around him, which he seemed not to care about. He was rolling up another paper to place in the pouch when Link arrived. He didn’t seem like the fighting type, and didn’t even carry a weapon, so he couldn’t have been the one that left the trail of bodies Link had been following.

“Hmm? Ah, hello there. Come down to explore these beautiful old ruins? Don’t mind me,” he said. “I've a fondness for exploring myself. Getting lost and finding your way again is a pleasure like no other. We're exquisitely lucky, you and I.”

“What are you working on?” Link asked.

“I’m a cartographer by trade, and I just finished mapping this area. Would you like to purchase a copy?”

“I would.” Link produced a handful of lumpy silver coins, and some shaped like shells, that he had found with some of the husks. “Do I pay with these?” he asked.

“That will do nicely. Geo is what it’s called, I believe,” said the bug, taking the money and handing over a rolled-up map. “Just imagine how these highways must have looked during the kingdom’s height, thick with traffic and bustling with life! I wish I could have seen it.”

“I’m sure it was quite the sight,” Link replied. “I’m Link, by the way.”

“Oh, yes, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? I should apologize for that. Spending a lot of time alone has made me forget the niceties of conversation. My name is Cornifer. My wife Iselda and I just moved to Dirtmouth. She’s just now opening up a shop there. Stop by sometime and she may have something useful for you. Anyway, I'll let you return to your travels. With a little luck, we'll meet again.” He finished packing up his supplies and left down one of the roads.

Link watched him go, then opened up the map. It was a confusing mess of criss-crossing roads, but by tracing his steps from the well in Dirtmouth, he was able to find his current location. He then noticed that, not far away, there was a passage leading somewhere else, outside of the crossroads.

He set off in that direction, soon reaching a road where a few bushes lined the edges of the path. Ahead, a large sign loomed, topped by a metal crest depicting a shell with wings; the same crest that had been over the well in Dirtmouth. Link approached the sign to read it:

‘The Pilgrim's Way

‘Travelers of Hallownest, descend through verdant wilds and fungal groves to the city at this kingdom's heart. There all wishes shall be granted, all truths revealed.’

Just as he finished reading, a ball of bright orange liquid hit the ground beside him.

Standing in the path ahead was a large bug with bulky forelimbs and a long, thick neck. It had shiny, dark plates on the outside of its body, while its belly and face were made of a softer white material. It was spitting the orange liquid in Link’s direction, and where it hit the ground, it bubbled and smoked, leaving a shallow dent in the stone.

Link took cover behind the sign, then drew his bow and readied an arrow, but as he was about to fire, another bug arrived from behind him. It was short, with a black body under a gray cloak, and its head was bony white, shaped something like a rounded cylinder. Two horns emerged from the top of its head on either side, curving inward as if to form an incomplete ring. A cracked and worn nail was attached to its back. It reminded Link of the red-cloaked bug, except that as it neared, he saw that it had no eyes; only a deep and unsettling blackness where they should have been.

The strange bug turned its gaze toward Link. “Uh, hi,” he said, not knowing whether it was going to attack him or not.

The bug gave no answer. It moved forward, avoiding the larger bug’s spitting attacks, then a blast of white-hot energy shot out of its chest, slamming into the beast before it could react and knocking it back some distance. The bug continued down the path, and Link decided to follow.

Chapter Text

It was hard to imagine that so much life existed in the ruins of Hallownest.

The path wound through lush green caverns that teemed with vegetation, while little flying bugs darted about. Rivers of bubbling green acid ran through the caverns, pooling into ponds. Occasionally, a larger bug covered in moss-like fur jumped out of the foliage and attacked, but the little bug dealt with these quickly, even with its nail in a state of disrepair. The orange mist escaped from their wounds as well.

“You can handle yourself, I see,” Link said. “What are you looking for down here?”

The bug gave no answer.

“Not a big talker. I get it.”

The road ended suddenly at the edge of a chasm, but continued on the other side. Evidently, there had been a bridge at one point, but it had long since collapsed. The red-cloaked bug from the cliffs was standing on the ledge, but she turned around and left when the little bug reached the edge of the broken road and looked at her.

“Do you know her?” Link asked. “She seems to know about this place.”

The bug didn’t answer. It jumped off the road onto a ledge on the side of the chasm, then continued down toward the bottom.

Realizing he wouldn’t get any answers from the strange bug, Link retrieved his hookshot. With all the plant life in the area, there was plenty of material soft enough for it to sink into. He aimed it over the chasm and fired, and as the chain retracted it carried him to where the road continued.

Along the road, Link was attacked by more plant-like bugs, including some which looked like giant bushes and charged toward him, but upon being hit, their leaves scattered and he saw that they were actually quite small as they retreated underground. The path led through a building resembling those in the crossroads, populated by a few more husks, then descended. As Link was following it, though, the red-cloaked bug passed by, swinging from her thread and going higher up in the cavern, off of the road.

Using the hookshot, Link followed her into a tunnel, which then forked into multiple paths. Choosing one at random, he came into a chamber where the tunnel widened. As he passed through, one of the bushes jumped up and attacked him. Link had his sword and shield at the ready, though, so he blocked the strike and hopped out of reach.

The bug had a tall, somewhat round green body, with a ‘beard’ of moss-like fur, and it towered over Link, at roughly twice his height. It held a nail and a shield made from shell, and from its stance Link could tell it was well-trained: a knight of some kind. “I’d rather not fight,” Link said. “Why not just let me pass?”

The knight grunted but didn’t speak, keeping its shield in front of its body while advancing. It swung its nail with a lunge, hitting Link’s shield. Link responded with a thrust, but the knight jumped back out of his reach. It spat a ball of thorny vines, then lunged again, so that both attacks arrived simultaneously. Link rolled to the side and slashed at the knight’s backside in the brief opening of its attack. Like all the other bugs, sickening orange mist seeped out from its wound.

Is this curse affecting everything down here? Link wondered. He continued on, perturbed by the thought.

The tunnels continued upward, into a large cavern where the vegetation was largely absent. Link heard the sound of a struggle from further in, and, heading towards it, saw two bugs above him. One was large and monstrous, like an enormous dark-colored wasp, with a large set of mandibles on its white head. In them, it held the second bug, who was grunting in his attempts to escape. He resembled the strange silent bug from earlier, but one of his horns was larger than the other and he had eyes and a mouth, which was much like Elderbug’s mouth.

Link readied his bow and shot an arrow at the wasp-like bug, which didn’t kill it but did cause it to drop its prey, with the small bug landing unconscious on the cavern floor. It detached from the wall and let out a deafening screech, and a veritable swarm of smaller versions of the creature—a bit smaller than Link’s head—emerged from cracks and recesses throughout the cavern. They started to surround him as the larger one hovered overhead. One of them flew closer, and Link cut it in half, but the others still pressed in around him. Link wished he was still able to cast Din’s Fire, which would have dealt with the situation rather quickly.

The leader screeched again, then swooped down with its mandibles open. Link jumped aside, but this brought him close to the smaller bugs, who began nipping at him with their tiny jaws. He spun quickly with his sword, killing at least three, and the rest backed out of his reach. The leader swooped down again, and Link ducked under the attack, taking cover with his shield. The creature closed its mandibles around the shield and wrenched it from Link’s arm, twisting his shoulder and knocking him over in the process. The smaller bugs swarmed around him, and he swung wildly at them while returning painfully to his feet.

As the leader prepared to swoop in again, Link realized he wouldn’t be able to keep up a drawn-out fight. He jumped as high as he could, flipping over the giant bug, and sliced downward at its large abdomen. It continued flying for several moments, then the buzzing of its wings slowed before it crashed to the cavern floor. The smaller bugs fled away into the far reaches of the cavern.

Link returned his sword to its scabbard and gripped his shoulder, wincing in pain. He retrieved his shield from where it had fallen, then noticed that the bug he’d rescued was waking up.

“Just what do you think you're doing?!” said the bug. “You dare to come between me and my prey? Is it a habit of yours to scurry about, getting in the way and causing bother? Know this, cur. I am Zote the Mighty, a knight of great renown. Cross me again, and you'll find out why they call my weapon 'Life Ender'.”

Link frowned. The bug’s nail was made from what looked like wood.. “Who is ‘they’?” he asked.

“I'm a Knight. I'm not interested in your childish games,” Zote responded. “Begone! Lest I draw my nail...”

Link shook his head and walked away, still massaging his shoulder. I like the quiet one better, he thought. He also thought that ‘knight’ was a title better suited to it than to Zote, and—not knowing its name—decided to call it that.

The vegetation returned as the tunnels took him back down, twisting and turning until he reached a vast acid lake. Round boulders were embedded in the cavern’s walls, and pillars stood along the lake’s shore, all carved with spiraling patterns. An old and cracked—but still beautiful—stone building overlooked the lake, while a metal platform near it jutted out above the surface. Another moss knight was standing on the platform, staring out over the lake. Even as Link got nearer, the knight didn’t attack, or even seem to notice.

Link stepped into the building. The inside was just as overgrown as the rest of the tunnels, the walls choked with vines. A part of the ceiling was broken, letting a beam of gentle light in. The light illuminated a large pear-shaped stone statue in the center, leaning slightly. It was carved with the same spiral designs as the stones outside, and two large antennae emerged from the ‘head’ at the top, with some smaller ones nearby as well. There was a stone bench near the statue, and Quirrel was there, but was sitting instead on a small boulder across from it. He was wiping his nail with a white cloth.

“Oh, hello there Link!” Quirrel said, looking up. “Seems we both tread far from the path. I can hardly believe those dusty old highways led to such a lush and lively place!”

“Tell me about it,” Link said, sitting on the bench. “Though ‘lively’ can also mean ‘dangerous’.”

“Have you been hurt?” Quirrel asked, seeing Link gripping his shoulder.

“Not badly.”

Quirrel nodded. “Hallownest is perfect for vigilant explorers like us. Death can come at any moment if you aren’t careful. Did you see that strange fellow out there? He seemed quite taken by the lake. I’d planned to offer greetings, though figured I’d first tend to my nail on chance our meeting goes poorly.”

“Good decision. They don’t seem to like trespassers.”

“Yes, I wonder how much of that behavior is caused by the madness gripping this kingdom, and how much is their own. Perhaps this land is sacred to them somehow. This building suggests some form of worship, though its idol has clearly been long forgotten. Doubles equally well for a moment's respite, though,” Quirrel said with a chuckle.

“Sacred, huh? This place reminds me of my home a little,” said Link. “At least, before its guardian was cursed.”

“Perhaps they are more similar than you realize. A revered presence once slept deep within that lake...” Quirrel’s head jerked up. “Did it? What would make me think such things?”

Link didn’t offer up any answer.

“Regardless, I must ask what brings you here, to the edge of Hallownest’s domain. If you’re looking for information about other kingdoms, you’d be unlikely to find it here,” said Quirrel.

“I’m trying to find the bug in the red cloak. I thought she might know something, and I saw her around here somewhere.”

“Well, good luck. I haven’t seen her since the cliffs myself.”

Link nodded. The pain in his shoulder had abated somewhat, so he left the temple and headed back into one of the tunnels in the walls of the cavern. It wound a short distance before opening up into a chamber of moderate size. A leaning pillar stood in the chamber’s center, at the base of which lay the corpse of a bug much like the silent knight Link had encountered earlier, though this one had four smaller horns on the sides of its head. It was impaled with its own nail.

“What is it you seek here, stranger?”

Link turned to his side to see the red-cloaked bug standing on a ledge where another tunnel emerged from the wall. She jumped down into the chamber and approached him.

“I have watched you, as I said. It is not wealth or glory that brings you to this old kingdom. Why, then, have you come here?” she asked.

“I wasn’t lying to you. I’m lost, and I’m trying to get home,” Link answered. “It’s a place called Hyrule. Do you know about it?”

The bug stared at him for a moment, scrutinizing him with her gaze. “...Very well,” she finally said. “If it is merely information you seek, then follow the Pilgrim’s Way to Hallownest’s capital. There you may find your answers, if you don’t fall to this kingdom’s infection first.”

“Thanks. But first—”

“Go. I have business here that is my own.”

Link shrugged and heeded her words, using his hookshot to reach the ledge she had entered from. As he left down the tunnel, he passed by the silent little knight going the other way.

“Come no closer, ghost,” he heard the red-cloaked bug’s voice echoing down the passage.

Ghost? What could that mean? he wondered, but continued on.

He soon found his way back to the road and began to follow it. More mossy-furred and leaf-covered bugs assaulted him, as well as some fat flying bugs, but none were particularly threatening. Still, he kept his guard up, which proved wise when he felt a presence behind him. He hadn’t heard it approach in the slightest, only noticing it when he felt the slightest movement of the air around the back of his neck. Dread ran down his spine and through his body.

As fast as he could, he spun around with his blade leading, feeling it connect. He saw only a flash of black chitin, sharp teeth, and white eyes as he raised his shield for an attack that never came. Whatever figure it was that had snuck up on him, it leapt away and vanished from his sight in an instant.

What was that? If I had attacked a moment later, I’d be dead, Link thought. His heart still pounding, he continued.

At one point, near the road, sat a large round stone carved with a message: ‘Those who stray from the White King's roads shall face the law of Unn.’

The White King must be the king of Hallownest. So this place isn’t part of the kingdom, then. I guess that’s why the moss knights were guarding the rest of the caverns.

The road ended—intentionally, this time—at the side of a deep canyon filled with pale pink fog. Large bubbles drifted lazily up from within the fog, while a small footpath descended the side of the canyon, quickly disappearing from view. Link followed it and saw many strange jellyfish-like creatures of various sizes drifting aimlessly through the misty air. The whole area had a tranquil atmosphere that put his mind at ease.

Reaching the bottom of the canyon was by no means easy, but he was not attacked during the descent, which was a welcome change of pace. Parts of the path were still paved, and signs depicting the head of a horned creature pointed downward. As Link neared the canyon floor, a stone platform serving as a sort of square came into view, along with a carved and decorated stone wall in the canyon’s side. An arched doorway formed the entrance to a corridor leading into the structure, and another sign depicting the same horned creature’s head stood nearby.

Link entered the corridor, which led into a huge rectangular chamber ringed by two balconies. He was standing on the top balcony, and across from him was another exit. In the walls of the floors below were more doorways. A slight smell of rot pervaded the chamber.

He descended a stairway to the bottom floor and went through one of the doorways. On the other side was a room, crossed at the opposite end by a tunnel whose floor was sunk by several feet. The tunnel was gated off, though, and near the ledge stood a strange contraption: a metal box on a pole with a slot in the front side. Link placed some coins in the slot, and the entire device retracted into the floor. Moments later, it was replaced by a similar pole, only with a bell at the top, and the gates blocking the tunnel opened.

He rang the bell, and the sound echoed through the chamber. Nothing happened at first, though, and he was about to turn around, when he heard the rumbling sound of galloping steps approaching. A huge horned beetle, laden with a saddle sporting two chairs and a large bag, entered from the tunnel and stopped at the edge of the platform.

“Greetings, little one! It seems more than one traveler has taken to Hallownest’s ruins lately,” said the large bug, its voice low and gruff. 

“Quite a few, actually. I’m Link. Who are you and what is this place?”

“I am the last of the stags, and you stand in the Queen’s Station. We stags once carried passengers all throughout Hallownest through the stagways. It’s been many years since they were last opened. I’ve grown tired and stiff and I’ve forgotten much, but the sound of the bell will always call me back.”

“And someone else has already opened some of the stations?”

“Yes, though they weren’t much for conversation. The stations in the Crossroads and the Greenpath are open, and the station in Dirtmouth was only ever closed to outside entry. It gladdens me. As more stations open, I can once again travel the kingdom freely, and my memories begin to return to me. If you continue to open them, you will have my deepest gratitude. And of course, I will take you through the stagways any time you wish.”

“I’d like to visit Dirtmouth, I guess.”

“Then climb aboard and we’ll be on our way.”

The stag traveled quickly and the tunnel was quite direct, so reaching Dirtmouth only took a few minutes. As Link stepped out of the now-open station, he saw that the town had gotten significantly more lively. Two of the buildings had lights on: one with signs posted all around, and another with a large decorative pair of glasses hanging over the doorway. He also saw Zote standing at the edge of town.

Elderbug waved. “Oh, you’ve come back! Very few ever do,” he said. “A lot has happened since you left. Our shopkeep’s returned, and a young couple just opened a map shop. That might excite adventurous types like yourself.”

Link nodded and headed into the map shop, the building with the glasses.The space was quite small, filled with a counter, a shelf full of rolled up papers, and a bed hanging off of the back wall. The bug behind the counter seemed far too tall for the place. She resembled Cornifer, but was much thinner with a large abdomen distinct from her torso. She was leaning on the counter, looking bored.

“Come to buy a map have you?” she said. “I’ve only got two right now and I’m fairly certain Cornifer told me you already bought one of them, what with the green getup and all. It’s really him you should be talking to, but what a surprise! He’s headed down below.”

“I’m guessing you’re Iselda?” Link said.

“That’s right. You must be Link. Feel free to look around. I’ve not much interest in retail myself, but I’ll sell you what I’ve got.”

The two maps were the Crossroads and Greenpath, the former of which Link did indeed already have. He bought Greenpath’s map but didn’t really look at it yet. His goal at the moment was to get to the city, after all.

When he came back outside, he decided to speak to Zote, wondering what he was doing there.

“What is it you want?” Zote said. “Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. I am Zote the Mighty, a knight of great renown. Tremble before me! While you were hiding here in your dingy little village, I ventured into the dark pit below us and slew a great beast. It had sharp mandibles and atrocious manners.”

Link frowned again. “I was there. We talked. And I killed the monster.”

“What kind of drivel are you talking? Clearly everyone in this dreadful town has lost their minds. Or maybe you never had them in the first place. I’ll be heading back below as soon as possible.”

Link shook his head, abandoning the conversation. He was about to go back into the town when he noticed someone standing by the well. Curious, he approached. The bug was humanoid, with black limbs, and seemed to be wearing some sort of armor fashioned from the shell of another creature, both a breastplate and pauldrons. It was holding a round metal shield and wearing a turquoise hood that shrouded its face in darkness.

“Hm? You, there,” the bug said. His voice was high and drawling. “You wear that nail with ease. If you’re in search of combat, you’ll find no great warriors in this decaying burrow.”

Link glanced at Zote, and the bug followed his gaze, then gave a short chuckle.

“I’m Tiso. I've heard an arena exists somewhere below. One built for our like. Meet me there and we'll test what skills you possess.”

“No thanks. I have enough fighting to do as it is.”

“Afraid of me, are you? Well you’re right to be. Still, I expected more from someone who carries himself like you do. I’ll be heading down soon. If you change your mind, come and find me.”

Tiso didn’t seem interested in carrying the conversation on longer, so Link left, and went into the store across from the map shop. It was tended by Sly, the little bug Link had rescued from the village in the Crossroads. Various objects were scattered around on tables and shelves, including broken masks, containers, and keys. The faces or masks of large creatures hung on the walls, along with a nail about twice Sly’s height.

“Ah, hello! I knew we’d meet again,” Sly said. “How do you like my cozy little store?”

“It’s nice,” Link said. “Not sure what all of this is.”

“Oh, me neither. But I get some customers who like to collect things of the sort. You want something practical, then? Might I interest you in a lumafly lantern? You can carry it with you in dark places.”

Link produced the bottle of glowing bugs he’d caught the cave beyond the cliffs. “Like this?” he asked, with a grin.

“Well, then,” SLy said, sounding disappointed, “I suppose I can’t offer you much of interest. You’re evidently well-equipped already. That nail you carry is a fine weapon, made by someone extremely skilled no doubt. A nail is an extension of ourselves, it is the instrument by which we shape the world around us. It's a sacred duty to keep its edges sharp.

“...Heh, sorry. I shouldn't ramble on like that. If anything you see strikes your fancy, bring it here and we’ll talk pricing.”

Link looked around a bit, but left without buying anything. He took a rest on the bench in the square, then rode the Stag back to the Queen’s station, where he found Quirrel there, standing on a second-floor balcony and staring out over the space.

“Isn’t this something? I’d not expected to discover so huge a stag station after that foggy descent,” Quirrel said. “The bugs of Hallownest must've been an impressive lot, building such grand structures so far into these wilds.”

“Yeah. Makes me wonder what the city looks like,” Link replied. “I’ve been all around, but I’ve never actually seen a town bigger than a few thousand people.

“We have something in common then. I traveled the plains of the surface for a very long time, but never have I seen a place so wondrous as Hallownest. Can you imagine this place in its time? Hordes of bugs traveling about the Kingdom; stag bells ringing; the station bustling with activity and life...

“Now only our like even know it exists.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. They simply took in the enormity of the construction before them.

“That’s a special thing I suppose. To cherish these sights, even in their decay,” Quirrel finally said.

Link nodded. “It might be good that places like this are mostly unknown. Keeps people from dwelling on the past.”

“Perhaps so. Regardless, it’s the perfect place for a quick rest, so I’ll stay here a little longer.”

Link said farewell to Quirrel, returned to the third floor, and left through the doorway opposite the one he had entered from. On the other side, the prevalent greenery was gone, replaced instead by an abundance of fungal growth. Blue-capped mushrooms with yellow spots grew over most of the walls, floors, and ceiling, leaving little of the bare surfaces visible. They ranged in size from smaller than Link’s fist to larger than his whole body. Round, balloon-like creatures covered in fungal growth—also of various sizes—were floating in the air. The rotten smell that was present in the station became much stronger here, to a noxious degree.

A sign nearby depicted a city and pointed forward, so Link went in that direction. The road was fragmented, with only pieces of pavement between stretches of broken ground. The larger balloon creatures spat some kind of toxic gas at him when he passed under them, so he shot them down. Like the bugs and plants, they expelled the orange mist of the infection.

As he followed the path upward, one of the large mushrooms nearby jumped out of the ground, revealing that it was actually a vaguely humanoid creature. It yelled a battle cry, then rolled into a ball and charged, leaving a trail of gas where it went. Link jumped aside, and when the mushroom unrolled, he stabbed it.

He heard more cries from the caverns as multiple others jumped down at him from above or rolled toward him from a distance. He held out his sword, focusing his energy in the blade, and when the mushrooms were surrounding him, he spun around, releasing a disk of magical power that killed them all at once. It was a technique the great fairies had taught him.

Higher up, the road became less fragmented, with several longer stretches of unbroken pavement. It eventually met a building: a sort of greenhouse full of plants in gardens and hanging from baskets. The mushrooms were mostly absent, except for a few little ones scattered about and two huge ones on opposite sides of the room. As soon as Link entered, the little mushrooms stood up and ran away from him, stumbling around on account of having no eyes yet. The huge ones sprang to life as well: the furthest one spat a ball of corrosive venom, while the nearer one slammed its head down at him. He rolled away and tried to counterattack, but the mushroom’s cap had a tough surface with a springy consistency, and even his gilded sword simply bounced off.

The mushroom didn’t stop, slamming its massive head down repeatedly while its ally continued to spit from a distance. Link was hard-pressed to avoid both their attacks; when he dodged a slam from the closer one, it took him into the path of the other’s spit, forcing him to block with his shield. The venom splashed across it and onto his arm, burning him painfully.

Trying to take advantage of his opponents’ size, he rotated around to the other side of the nearby mushroom, using its body as cover from the other’s spitting attacks. Staying light on his feet, he kept just out of reach of its slamming head until it finally paused its assault out of exhaustion. Link leapt in to attack, slicing across its torso, deep into its soft body. As it fell, he rushed toward the other, thrusting his sword into it and ripping it back out before it could bring its head down on him.

He rested in the relative safety of the greenhouse for a few minutes before moving on. The road continued past pools of acid, with another sign pointing the way to the city. More of the smaller mushrooms and the balloons attacked him as he went, as well as some immobile fungi that expelled exploding spores at him.

When he entered a strangely empty cavern, the ground below him began to shake. He braced himself for attack, but the bug that burst out with a shout made no attempt at one. She had a large, dark blue body with short and stocky black limbs. She wore a brown mantle decorated with sand-colored beads and a ring-shaped brass brooch. Her head was covered by a brown sack with eye holes cut into it, and she carried a massive club—about as big as she was—that seemed to have been fashioned from the tusk or horn of an enormous beast. While she was large, she didn’t stand much taller than Link.

“Ah ha! The steps of a warrior. You got the look of an adventurer, so we’ve much in common. I’m Cloth,” the bug said.

“Link. What were you doing underground?”

“Do you think I was hiding? I was just napping before I head out again. Gotta keep me strength up. I’m looking for dangerous places. I’ve heard of a tribe further down. Warrior types, I hear, and I’m itching for some serious combat.”

“I see...” said Link. “Well, thanks for the warning.”

“Gladly! Keep sharp and stay alive, my adventurous friend, and let’s meet again on the road ahead,” Cloth replied.

Link went on ahead, and only had to go a bit further down before he came across a huge sign with the same city emblem the other signs had borne. It was topped by the metal seal of a winged and crowned shell, which seemed to be associated with Hallownest. In the cavern wall beside the sign was a corridor, still lit with lanterns. He went through, coming into another chamber, where a long metal bridge stretched over a large acid lake.

Another sign stood in front of the bridge. ‘Here ends the Pilgrim’s Way. Hallownest’s Heart lies open before you. Proceed onward to share in its glory,’ it read.

Author's Note: I made this Hunter's Journal entry for Link (hopefully you could guess who that mysterious attacker was) just for fun. You'll have to pretend he has the gilded sword and the mirror shield here.

Chapter Text

As it turned out, Hallownest’s Heart was not open.

At the other side of the bridge, a massive gate of solid stone blocked the way, wrapped in chains. A statue of a large armored figure stood in front of the gate, with an indentation where its hands met, implying that something was meant to be inserted there.

You knew about this, didn’t you? Link thought, referring to the red-cloaked bug. Guess I’ll have to find another way in.

He turned back, and found that the only way the caverns proceeded was down. At the bottom of a chasm was a wooden gateway, flanked by pikes on which the heads or masks of various creatures had been impaled. The passage, evidently, served as a mark of territory.

With no other way forward, Link stepped through. The chamber on the other side had more pikes, and standing in its center was a strange bug. It was tall—almost twice Link’s height—with a slender body that partially stuck out behind its legs. Its head was small, at the end of a long, thin neck, and its forearms had serrated claws along their length. It did not attack Link on sight like most of the other creatures he’d encountered, but simply stared him down.

“Hello?” Link said. “You don’t look infected.”

The bug (a mantis, Link realized) simply motioned for him to leave.

“I’d be happy to go if you could tell me how to get to the city. I can’t just turn around and leave.”

The mantis said nothing.

“Alright then, bring it on,” Link said, raising his shield and inching closer.

The mantis lunged, its arm extending surprisingly far. Link blocked the attack with his shield, but was unable to counter before the mantis had recoiled out of reach. The attack was precise and deliberate, an attempt by the mantis to gauge its opponent’s capabilities.

As Link moved forward, the mantis moved back, always maintaining exactly enough distance to strike him with a lunge. It lashed out again, trying to get around Link’s shield, but he managed to see it coming and block it in time. Another attack quickly followed, and this time Link pushed against the attack with his shield, knocking it well aside and providing a brief opening. He leapt forward with a downward slice. The mantis brought its other arm up to defend, and Link sliced most of it off.

He assumed the mantis would retreat after that, but he was wrong. As soon as it could, it brought its other claw down on him. It was too fast to avoid completely, so Link gambled on matching it. He thrust as hard as he could, striking the mantis in its abdomen just as it struck him across the back. It died, and Link fell to one knee with a grimace. Even through the pain, he noticed how no orange mist had escaped the mantis’s wounds, and he couldn’t help but respect its skill and devotion to whatever it was defending.

The cut on his back turned out to be fairly shallow, owing to how he had been moving along with it. The mantis’s claws had dug into his skin but hadn’t had time to rake across it. He sat and recovered his stamina before moving ahead.

Several more mantis warriors waited in his path. Others could fly but had short limbs, attacking instead with sharp stingers on their abdomens. Link was prepared for the reckless disregard they showed for their own lives, though, and had less trouble than with the first. He tried not to kill them, electing to sneak around them or disable their attacks when he could, but their relentlessness meant that it was often a choice between his own life or theirs.

As the caverns wound further down, he passed by another wood-lined passage, the walls nearby decorated with more masks and even some mantis claws. On the other side, he could see wooden buildings built on top of each other in some sort of stacked settlement. Quirrel stood nearby, staring through the passage and tapping his chin thoughtfully. Link called out to him.

“Hello again!” Quirrel said. “I suppose you've already met with the tribe of this village, hmm? They seem a little distrustful of strangers... to put it lightly.”

“Tell me about it,’ Link said, sarcastically. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I have my secrets too, of course,” Quirrel answered, playfully. He turned back to the passage. “Look at the masks and faces they use to mark their territory. No doubt they belong to beasts they have slain. Quite a gruesome display, and an effective warning to potential intruders.”

“Except for us.”

“Yes, well, I’m not going any further than this. I’m afraid I’d be no match for the lords of this tribe. They’re more than mere brutes. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the sickness in the air that clouds the mind of lesser beasts... they resist it. They retain their intellect and their honor, though also their lethal traditions.”

“They’re certainly skilled fighters. But I am glad that the infection hasn’t taken over completely.”

“It makes the world seem a little brighter, doesn’t it?” Quirrel said, looking at Link again. “You’re going to the capital, I presume? My own route takes me there, but finding a way in presents a challenge in itself. Still, if you seek it out as well, it might not be long before our paths cross again.”

The two of them left, each in a different direction. Link followed the caverns further down, where, below pools of acid and a small outlying building of stone, he found a number of pipes running out of the cavern wall, with water pouring steadily from their ends. Most were no bigger around than his head, but one of them was easily large enough for him to stand upright inside, though it was sealed by a grate. All the pipes were directed away from the city.

Must be coming from the sewer, Link thought. I bet I could get into the city through there. He retrieved one of his bombs, lit the fuse, and threw it onto the lip of the pipe, against the grate. The bomb blew a dent into the pipe below, but shattered the grate almost entirely. He climbed up into the pipe and went inside.

It led into a series of large, orderly rooms, some of which had walls that opened into the side of another, truly massive chamber. Little ball-shaped creatures floated in the air and moved toward him when he passed beneath them. He tried to push one aside, but as soon as he did, it inflated to several times its former size and knocked him over. The others did the same upon touching a surface or each other, and Link was quickly surrounded by their enlarged bodies squeezing in on him. They pressed surprisingly hard, and if he had been unarmed, they may have killed him, but as it was, his sword ‘popped’ them rather easily. Still, when he saw any more in other rooms, he tried to move past them quickly.

Continuing on, he encountered another bizarre group of creatures. They were fleshy, with no eyes, and their circular mouths opened to reveal rings of sharp teeth. Some were small and could fly, while others were roughly Link’s height, walking upright on skinny legs. All of them attacked him blindly and relentlessly when he neared, and the larger walking ones could even survive being split in half, with the lower half revealing a mouth of its own and the upper half flying on wings too small to carry the entire body’s full weight. They had no sense of tactics, however, so while they were dangerous, it wasn’t hard to deal with them.

Despite being a sewer system, the water running through the tunnels was not particularly dirty, which, Link realized, was likely because the city’s population was probably mostly dead, and so was producing far less waste than the sewers were built for. The smell was actually far better than it had been in the fungus-infested caves, perhaps because that was where all the waste actually ended up, but as he wandered around a corner, that changed. A heavy stench wafted toward him from down the corridor, where several balls of dung roughly two feet tall were standing.

Disgusted, he turned away and headed in a different direction, but he found that all the paths either circled back on themselves or led to dead ends. Not wanting to possibly spend hours or even days more searching for another way into the city, he headed down the corridor. Around the next corner, the walls, floor, and ceiling were almost completely covered by dung packed onto them, and he heard a boisterous male voice echoing down the passage. As he continued through a few more turns, the balls of dung became bigger, some only a little shorter than he was. The passage ended at a large rectangular room where the dung seemed to compose the entire floor. Balls of it filled one end of the chamber, and some of them towered at several times Link’s height.

There was another passage starting from the opposite wall, but as Link made his way there, the ground started rumbling. Moments later, someone burst up out of it with a loud shout, pounding on his chest. He was a large bug, about twice as tall as Link, with a round body and a shiny red shell. His face and horns were dark blue, as were the long, slightly scoop-shaped claws that made up most of his forearms. A dung beetle.

Upon finishing his shout, the beetle scooped up a ball of dung and hurled it at Link, then another. Link hopped out of the way, trying to stay on his feet, as the beetle launched himself into the air and curled into a ball. He bounced around unpredictably, and while Link tried to keep upright, he ended up having to roll away from a particularly close call, getting dung on his arms and back. Displeased, he thrust his sword at the beetle as soon as he finally landed, but it merely glanced off of his nearly-spherical torso.

The beetle rolled back out of reach, laughing, and submerged himself back in the dung. The ground began to rumble as a slight bulge moved along it, going back and forth until it was just below Link. He jumped away right before the beetle rocketed out, spraying dung out around him. As he fell, he brought both claws down on Link, who blocked one each with his sword and shield.

The sword dug into the beetle’s arm somewhat, and no orange mist leaked from the wound. He’s not infected, Link realized. “Wait!” he said, but was drowned out by his opponent’s incessant shouts, which had never really stopped.

The beetle pulled his claw off of the sword and reached back, scooping up another ball of dung as he brought the claw back around. Link was getting frustrated now; he intercepted the claw by slamming his shield into it, causing the ball of dung to fly off in a random direction, then jumped up and smashed his sword’s pommel into the beetle’s head, stunning him. He staggered a few steps backward, then fell onto his back. Acknowledging that he was already filthy, Link sat down with a sigh of exhaustion.

A few seconds later, the beetle recovered and sat up. He stared at Link for a moment. “Oh, I see,” he said. “I’m afraid I must apologize. That was entirely my fault. I mistook you for one of those mindless skulking husks, yet you bested me in the most majestic knightly fashion. Such joyful, vigorous combat! I'd almost forgotten the feeling.”

“Joyful for you, maybe,” Link said under his breath, which he was taking only through his mouth (though that hardly helped). “I’m Link.”

The beetle nodded. “I was once a Knight you see. My name is Ogrim. By the grace of our good King, I stood proudly before the throne, watching Hallownest swell to greatness. Then that nasty business with the affliction...”

“You mean the infection that makes all the bugs here into mindless beasts?” Link asked.

“Oh, yes, but it’s more than it seems. No mere illness it is. It appears in the dreams of bugs, plagues their minds, before spreading to their bodies. We knights defend against the physical, but a formless enemy. How to defeat such a foe?

“Our King tried in his own way. A cruel means it was... And still, eventually, we were brought low.”

“Cruel how? What did he do?” said Link.

Ogrim shook his head. “Bah! It’s no use to discuss something so morose. You’ve invigorated me. ‘Tis truly a delight to meet one whose strength can match my own. Now, I must make up for my behavior. Tell me, Link, what is it you seek down in Hallownest?”

“I’m trying to get home. Have you heard of a place called Hyrule?”

“I don’t believe I have,” Ogrim said, thoughtfully. “It must be a fine kingdom to produce a knight such as yourself.”

“I’m not a knight.”

“Really? My mistake. I daresay you deserve the title.”

“Well, maybe I’ll have it one day, but I need to get back there first.”

“Of course,” said Ogrim. “But why would your search for information bring you here? Are you trying to get into the city through the waterways?”

Link nodded.

“Yes, I suppose that would be a good place to look... Come with me.” He stood up and walked out the passageway opposite the one Link had entered from. On the other side was a chamber, with one of the walls being occupied by a large, vertical pipe. Glass along the pipe’s side revealed that it was empty. Ogrim turned a large valve on its side, and moments later, bubbling green acid filled it from the bottom.

Ogrim pointed down a corridor leaving the room. “This hall will take you to an old lift shaft, which you can climb up to reach the city. However, if you follow the pipe, it will lead you to her grove. If she deems you worthy, she may give you something that could help you, should the city not provide your answers. There is a library, in the Fog Canyon, that holds even the most secret knowledge. It is difficult to reach, being surrounded by acid, but it may become your last resort in Hallownest.”

“...Thank you,” Link said. He had not expected nearly so much help from this dung beetle.

“I should be thanking you, for bringing me to my senses. Go now, mighty warrior! You’ve proven your honor! Good fortune on the path ahead.”

Link said goodbye and left down the passageway. As Ogrim had said, it ended at an incredibly deep shaft, and fairly wide as well. The sides were covered in wooden scaffolding, and winged husks wearing armor and carrying nails and lances were climbing or flying around. They moved to attack when he entered, but a few arrows dealt with them quickly.

Again, just as Ogrim said, the acid-filled pipe emerged from his side of the shaft, descended, and entered the opposite wall. Near where it met the wall was another passageway. Link climbed around the shaft on the scaffolding and made his way in. The tunnel twisted, passing by pools of acid, and at times the floor was submerged beneath it. Soon, though, it ascended, leaving the collected acid behind. Large leaves and vines began to appear on the walls and ceilings, growing slowly thicker the further he went.

The tunnel stopped at a ledge looking over another chamber, one that still glistened with moisture and held a few small pools. Link realized it had been filled with acid before, but that the pipe had drained it away. A sign on the wall next to him had a simple drawing of Ogrim’s face and a message:

‘Only those who prove their honour in combat may enter the grove beyond.

‘-The Defender’

Link hopped down into the chamber. Past it, the tunnel continued up and forward until the leaves had gotten as large as his body and the vines covered entire portions of the walls. Then, it ended with a drop. Below was a huge, open cavern illuminated by the distinct green glow of the acid, which covered its entire bottom. A platform, seemingly composed entirely of knotted vines, jutted up in the center, directly beneath him. He took several of the long vines and braided them together into a rope, then climbed down. Inside the cavern, vines the size of tree trunks stretched from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, and there were massive columns of leaves looming throughout the space.

The platform stretched to the nearest wall, where a peculiar tangle of leaves and vines jutted out from the wall, suspending some glowing green object that hung almost all the way down to the platform’s floor. Link approached, finding that on the underside of the jut, the vines fused together into the shape of a vaguely feminine face. It was more like a mask, really, white in color with six black eyeholes. Its expression was locked in what Link thought was a mix of sadness and regret, though it was hard to tell.

“Are you the one Ogrim was talking about? You don’t look like you’re doing very well,” Link said. “How long has it been since he’s come here?”

Whoever she was, she didn’t seem to be cognizant that he was even there. He turned to look at the object hanging from the vines. It looked almost like a kind of fruit, though it was shaped like a teardrop. He hesitated, looking back at the face in the vines, then plucked it.

Nothing happened, so he took a bite. The fruit was crisp, like an apple, and sour. When he swallowed, a stinging, burning sensation ran through his body, leaving a tingling in his fingertips. He continued eating, and he could feel some sort of power flowing into him. With a little experimentation, he realized that the acid in the lake would be repelled before he touched it, leaving a bubble of pure water that he could swim safely in. He took advantage of this to wash the dung off.

With his new ability, he was able to make it back to the lift shaft quickly, as the cavern connected back to the tunnels through an underground river of acid. He climbed to the top of the scaffolding and into a short rising passage. He could hear the sound of rain on stone echoing around him, and there was a soft light at the tunnel’s end.

He emerged into a cavern so large he could hardly see the edges. It was filled with huge towers, all with a strange rounded architecture. Their windows bulged out from their sides at seemingly random intervals, and closed-in walkways stretched through the air to connect them to each other. Rain poured down from the ceiling onto the buildings and streets, where it flowed down drains and into the waterways below. Husks of many different bugs wandered aimlessly. Even ruined, this city was more impressive than any settlement Link had laid eyes on before.

Hallownest’s Heart, open before him.

Chapter Text

A somber atmosphere filled the streets of Hallownest’s capital.

The incessant rain was part of it, surely. As was the sight of the long-dead husks of bugs, reanimated as mindless drones by the infection. But primarily the sadness came from how empty it was. The streets were wide enough to accommodate crowds of people and the buildings were filled with storefronts, some still stocked with items, but nobody was there.

Link wandered across the city, not really paying attention to what direction he was going, until he reached a part of the cavern with mushrooms growing along the walls, evidently near the edge of the Fungal Wastes. A hut sat on a ledge on the wall, shaped like the head of a bug with a single large horn. Smoke was drifting up out of the horn, which apparently functioned as a chimney, and the warm light of a fire shone out from the door and windows.

This being the first sign of actual life he had seen here, Link climbed the steep path up to the hut and stepped inside, where a large furnace illuminated a bug sitting at a metal workbench. He had a bulky, round body with segmented plates, a prominent horn resembling the one on the hut itself, and a large, bushy beard that hung halfway down his chest. He was tapping lightly on a nail with a hammer, and more nails were sitting around the hut.

“Have you brought me another nail to be honed? Leave it on the ground and return later, if you're still breathing,” the bug said, inattentively. When Link didn’t say anything, he turned his head. “Hmm? Oh. I thought you were someone else. If you’re after a nailsmith, you’ve found one. I’m not much for talk, but if it’s a nail that needs repair then you’ve come to the right bug.”

Link thought for a moment, then drew his sword and held it up to the Nailsmith, its golden edge glittering in the firelight. “If you think you can improve it, be my guest.”

“Oh, my... I’ve never seen a weapon such as this,” said the Nailsmith, stopping his work. “What exquisite craftsmanship. The methods used to create it are unfamiliar to me; I worry if I try to improve it I may only damage it...

“Ah, but seeing this has inspired me. I see there are still other smiths with skill to match my own. The desire to forge a pure nail burns brighter within me now. Perhaps, if you ever return to me, my skill will have grown enough for me to improve on even your weapon.”

“Good luck,” Link said, returning the sword to its scabbard. The Nailsmith went back to work, and he returned to the city proper.

As he started wandering the streets again, he heard the sound of battle from around a corner. When he rounded it, he saw Quirrel standing over the body of a sentry husk, wiping viscera from his nail. Link approached.

“Good to see that you made it here as well, my friend,” Quirrel said, when he noticed him. “Did you just come from the Nailsmith? I believe our small companion took their battered old nail there, and now it’s looking as sharp as ever. He must be quite skilled, though your weapon appears fine enough already.”

“That’s about what he said,” Link replied. “The little knight in the gray cloak is here too, then?”

“Yes, I believe they headed into that tower, though that was quite some time ago,” Quirrel said, pointing up at the city’s second-tallest building. “The bugs there were all obsessed with harnessing the energy of the soul, so I doubt they have any information of use to you.”

“How do you know that?”

Quirrel faltered, as if he had just realized what he’d said. “I... am not sure. It seems my mind is not entirely my own down here. Perhaps I’d better return to the surface to clear my head.”

“You don’t know anything else about the city, do you?”

“Not that would be of help to you, I’m afraid, though I did see signs indicating someone else lives here, near the city’s center.  I am here only to observe, so I’ve not looked through the records here. Ah, but what a place this is, with rain pouring down ceaselessly, even underground.”

Link nodded, looking up. He wondered how such a thing could even happen.

“I am led to believe that it comes from cracks in the stone above,” Quirrel said, as if he knew what Link was thinking. “All that water lies up there somewhere. I’d like to see it before I leave this kingdom.”

“Yeah...” Link trailed off. “Must be quite a view.”

“I imagine so,” Quirrel said, then turned to look at Link. “I am glad I get to share these sights with others. Good luck in your search, friend.”

As Quirrel took his leave, Link set off toward the city’s center. Just like Quirrel had suggested, he found a sign whose paint was significantly brighter and less faded than the rest of the signs in the city. It pointed to the second floor of a nearby building, and when Link made his way there, he found a similar sign hanging on a door. He pushed it open and stepped through. Inside was a cozy office filled to the brim with trinkets of all sorts, some neatly organized on shelves and others piled haphazardly. A large window on the opposite wall looked out to the city, and a wide desk sat in the room’s center.

A strange bug was sitting behind the counter. He had a red shell with fur around his neck, and his white head had tendrils which hung down to the floor like a long beard, as well as two curved horns in the middle of his forehead, with the lower one being longer. He looked up from a stone journal he was reading when Link entered. “Aye aye. Come searching for rare items have you? Well hands off! This collection is mine and I won't be selling to grubby wanderers.”

“I’ve got enough rare items as it is,” Link retorted.

“Oh? You’re not a scavenger after Hallownest’s treasure, then? You’ve certainly got the look of one. No doubt you’ve left plenty of corpses in your wake with those weapons you carry.”

“It’s a dangerous place out there.”

“Hm... Alright. I don’t know why, but I feel I can trust you. My name is Lemm. I am a scholar of this kingdom’s history.”

“Great!” Link exclaimed, in what was the loudest he’d been since leaving Termina. I guess she really wasn’t messing with me, he thought. “Have you ever heard of a kingdom called Hyrule?”

“I’ve never seen any other kingdom mentioned in writings from Hallownest,” Lemm answered. “In fact, the bugs of the kingdom believed theirs was the only civilization in the world.”

“Oh,” Link muttered, dejected. “Why would they think that? Didn’t bugs come to Hallownest from across the world?”

“It was a belief spread by the king to encourage bugs to worship him. Perhaps those who knew better were encouraged to stay silent by some means. Now, is there anything else, or are you going to get your damp self out of my home?”

Link was taken aback by the sudden hostility.

“What? I said I trusted you, not that I wanted your companionship. I’ve got work to do, so if there’s nothing else you need, out with you.”

Link frowned. “You set your shop up in a place where it never stops raining, and you complain that I’m damp?” he said under his breath.

Going back outside to stew in his frustration, Link found a fountain in the middle of a square. It was large and impressive, towering over him, and at its top stood four statues: a central figure, surrounded by three others. The outside figures were covered completely by cloaks hanging down from masks on their faces—the same masks that decorated the black egg in the Crossroads above. The central figure also wore a cloak, though with embellishments, and its head was fully visible. It looked much like the red-cloaked bug, although the insides of its horns had some jagged protrusions. A plaque on the side of the fountain bore an inscription:

‘Memorial to the Hollow Knight.

‘In the Black Vault far above.

‘Through its sacrifice Hallownest lasts eternal.’

Evidently not, Link thought. Sacrifice, huh...

“Again we meet, Link,” came a voice from behind the fountain. The red-cloaked bug walked around it and into view.

“So you know my name already. Mind giving me yours?” Link asked.

“I am Hornet, protector of this ruin. I had not expected you to make it this far. I thought you would fall to the infection long before reaching this place, tempted in your mind by some secret desire that led you here. That makes two I’ve underestimated in recent time.”

“Who’s the other?”

“The little ghost you met in Greenpath,” Hornet answered. 

Link crossed his arms. “Is there something here that Lemm hasn’t found, or did you send me here knowing I wouldn’t find anything?”

“Both. There were indeed other kingdoms that Hallownest knew of, but that knowledge would not be found here, within reach of the common bug. However, I know nothing of this ‘Hyrule’.”

She certainly knows a lot, Link thought, crossing his arms. “Who are you, really?” he asked.

“That is none of your concern. What I will tell you is that what little of this kingdom’s history I do not know is passed down by the keepers of the burial grounds above.”

Link squinted at her.

“I am not misleading you. I apologize for having done so before, but my duties have imbued me with an abundance of caution. A terrible thing is happening here. You should find your way home before then.”

“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard you say something nice,” Link said. “Alright, fine, I forgive you... Above here, huh?” He looked up at the tops of the buildings. Some were built against the cavern wall leading back toward the Fungal Wastes, while on the other side of the city the ceiling lowered, and one of the towers rose up to meet it. “Thanks, I guess,” he said, before heading in that direction.

His path took him into what seemed like a wealthier part of the city. It was gated off from the rest, and he had to use his hookshot to get in. The insides of the buildings were filled with richly colored fabrics and finely crafted artworks, and the husks there wore extravagant clothing but were quite weak, though there were towering soldiers with huge nails patrolling throughout the area. After getting into a fight that left him with a sizable bruise on his shield arm, he tried his best to avoid them.

The streets eventually led him to a Stag Station, though its lower level was flooded and unusable. The upper level did have a functioning platform, though, so Link opened it up with Geo just as he had before. He rang the bell, and the stag soon appeared.

“Link, we stand in the King’s Station!” the stag said as he arrived. “Named of course for the King of Hallownest, he who ordered the building of the stagways and stations. The King never rode the stagways himself, but I've heard he was a glorious bug to behold, bright and radiant in visage, so much so it hurt to look at him.”

“Good for him,” Link said. “Do you know anything about a burial ground somewhere above here?”

The stag nodded. “Yes, the Resting Grounds... Passengers traveled there to conduct rituals for those who had passed on. The station is still closed though, so I cannot take you. You will have to find the way there on your own first. They are not far, though, if my memory serves.”

“I figured. See you there, then.”

The stag thundered back down the tunnel, and Link left the station. It connected directly to the tower that reached the ceiling. A few floors above, past rooms full of the husks of wealthy bugs, was a large lift, its chain stretching up and out of sight. Link pulled the lever, and with a rattle the heavy machine started upward.

At the top of the lift was a short rising tunnel. A crooked sign marked the edge of the city’s jurisdiction, and only a few paces further the paved stone making up the cavern’s floor gave way to a pattern of mask-shaped tiles, which also adorned the walls and ceiling in places. Short pillars with spirals carved along their outsides lined the path, which wound upward until it came out into a large chamber, eerily still and quiet.

The space was filled with tombstones of all shapes and sizes, so densely packed that it was difficult to navigate. The mist that pervaded the chamber didn’t help, and Link thought several times that he saw it briefly form into the vague shape of a bug’s face. He was slowly making his way across when something fell from above, landing in the middle of the cavern and disturbing the mist. He approached, and saw the little knight, seemingly no worse for wear from the fall. It looked at Link, then around the cavern, and started walking.

Link followed. “You’re an odd one,” he said, more to himself than to the Knight. “Why did Hornet call you a ghost?”

The Knight, as before, gave no answer.

They continued through the misty cavern until they came across a strange monument on a raised platform. In the middle of the platform was a round stone altar of sorts, bearing a plaque, and behind the altar were three pillars, each one bearing one of the masks that adorned the black egg near the entrance to the kingdom.

The monument loomed over the rest of the graveyard, visible even at a distance. Link went ahead of the Knight to inspect the plaque’s message:

‘To protect the Vessel, the Dreamers lay sleeping.

‘Monomon the Teacher, in her Archive, surrounded by fog and mist.

‘Lurien the Watcher, in his Spire, looking over the city.

‘Herrah the Beast, in her Den, amidst the deep darkness beyond the kingdom.

‘Through their devotion, Hallownest lasts eternal.’

A lot like the message on the fountain, Link noticed.

At that moment, the Knight stepped onto the platform. Immediately, floating glyphs of white light appeared, around the platform, along with a faintly visible globe of force.

Link quickly turned around and ran to the edge of the platform. The barrier was solid, and even striking it with his sword did nothing. “We’re trapped,” he said.

The Knight seemed unconcerned with the situation, and merely stepped into the center of the platform to look at the altar and the pillars. Moments later, the barrier dissipated, unleashing its energy in the form of an immense pressure that pushed in on the two wanderers and prevented almost all movement. Link grunted in pain as his sword fell out of his grip and he collapsed onto his knees.

Three voices called out in unison, sounding distant and dreamlike: “Go no further, little shadow.”

They continued speaking, no longer in unison, though Link couldn’t tell them apart: “What compels its climb out of the darkness? What compels its return to this sacred kingdom?”

“Hey, wait-” Link stammered, barely able to speak.

“A call from beyond the Seals? By the Vessel, or by that captive light?
“Would the Seals break? They cannot be undone.
“But the Vessel weakens. That plague springs anew. They must be undone.
“Yet still our Seals remain. Our duty holds.”

“What are you-” Link rasped.
“It must be cast away.
“Our duty holds. It shall be done.”

Three ghostly figures appeared in the air above, though Link could barely see them, only making out that they were each wearing one of the masks on the monument.

“Wait! I didn’t do any-”

The figures reeled back, unleashing more energy, pressing in tighter from all sides and lifting the two of them into the air. In seconds, Link’s vision began to go dark, and the last thing he heard before he drifted into unconsciousness was “Fade away, little shadow. Fade away, and let us sleep in peace.”

When Link awoke, he was lying on his back, looking up at a pale orange sky. He groaned, then stood up, finding that he was standing on a stone platform suspended in the air. More platforms drifted by in the distance, some with pavilions on top, along with dark clouds, huge metal dream catchers, and lampposts. A soft yellow light pervaded the entire view, originating from a sun that seemed impossibly distant. The Knight was on the platform with him, and awoke at about the same time.

“What was that? Where did they send us?” Link asked. “ Why did they send us here?”

The bug simply looked up at him with its empty eyes. Link felt anger boiling up in him like it hadn’t in some time.

“Here I am, just trying to get home, and you get me stranded in another different world. They were after you! I don’t have anything to do with this! Hornet called you a ghost, they called you a shadow, just what are you?”

The Knight’s blank response just goaded him further. He picked up his sword from where it was laying nearby and swung it at the Knight, who, in a blink of the eye, pulled its nail from its back and blocked the attack with enough force to send Link’s sword flying. It nearly fell off the side of the platform and into the endless sky below, but Link managed to reach out and catch it by the blade. It bit deeply into his hand, and he shouted in pain, dropping it back onto the ground.

What am I doing? he thought, as blood dripped from his hand. He sat down on the edge of the platform and gripped the wound with his other hand, then sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t blame you. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Some hero I am.

The Knight, of course, gave no indication that it cared.

A moment later, what looked like a huge moth made purely from light appeared before them. It hovered just out of reach for several seconds before floating away. In its wake, a set of steps formed itself from the rubble floating in the air. The Knight began to follow them, and, after a moment of consideration, Link did as well.

The moth led them up and across several of the platforms before reaching one with a large statue in the middle depicting a cloaked bug with a head that also resembled a moth’s. The moth stopped before the statue and waited as the Knight approached. Link was trailing quite far behind on account of the pain of his injury.

“What a terrible fate they've visited upon you. To cast you away into this space between body and soul,” he heard the moth say. Its voice had the same distant and dreamlike sound as those of the ghostly figures, and Link could hardly make the words out.

The moth continued. “Will you accept their judgement and fade slowly away? Or will you take the weapon before you, and cut your way out of this sad, forgotten dream?” It then vanished, and in its place it left a small glowing object.

Link finally made it to the statue as the Knight was reaching out for the object. The light faded, and he saw that it was a sort of lens: a circular, stained-glass mosaic mounted on a metal handle. When the Knight touched it, a blade of light extended out from it, then began radiating energy in all directions. Link felt a pressure similar to what he’d felt at the monument in the graveyard, but the Knight looked unaffected.

“Wait!” Link shouted, realizing what was happening, but he was too late. The Knight vanished in a flash of light, leaving him behind.

The pressure abated, causing Link to fall forward. Grimacing, he raised his head back up to look at the statue, hoping for the moth to reappear. When it didn’t, he rolled onto his back with a groan and stared up at the sky. His hand was still bleeding, and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. Is that it, then? he wondered. The great hero Link, dying alone, with only a handful of people to remember him? I was hoping to go home and finally rest, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Oh well... I guess this counts as resting too...

Suddenly, he felt an excruciatingly painful burning on the back of his left hand. It was in the exact same place where the Triforce of Courage had once resided, as if his very soul was reminding him not to give up. He jolted up with a shout, but the pain was over as soon as it started. I can’t even die in peace, he mused.

He stood back up and took another look at his surroundings. No other platform in sight seemed to have any sort of distinguishing factor like the statue, and on top of that, the steps had collapsed when the moth disappeared. He rubbed his head as the dizziness worsened, then had a sudden realization. He retrieved the lens of truth, which, like the object the Knight had taken, was a circular piece of stained glass attached to a handle. It was a magic artifact capable of seeing through illusions. When he peered through, he could see the platforms and the things on them, but the sky appeared black, and the other strange things that floated in the air were gone.

So this whole place isn’t real. Definitely a dream, then, Link thought. His head was swimming now. Well, whatever. I have a dumb idea. He held the lens aloft, the same way the Knight had, and concentrated on it as hard as he could, trying to will it into manifesting a blade like the strange object had. It didn’t work and the mental strain of trying caused him to collapse to his knees, nearly passing out entirely.

Exhausted, Link leaned his forehead against the statue. “Please... come back,” he pleaded. “I just... want to go home...” The moth didn’t reappear, however, and he could feel his consciousness starting to fade.

In a final act of frustration, he smashed the lens against the statue, shattering it and sending the shards flying. To his surprise, though, they didn’t tumble off the edge of the platform into the sky, but rather stopped in midair. Glowing motes of energy, the same as those that the strange object had given off, flew into the shards from all around, suffusing them. Then, the shards flew back onto the handle and the lens repaired itself, though with a dream catcher mosaic pattern instead of the eye design it previously bore. Shining with power, the lens manifested a blade of light, and Link’s vision faded.

Chapter Text

Link woke as if from a dream.

He was lying on a pile of pillows under the soft light of a few lumafly lanterns. He was inside a tent, which was itself situated in a cramped cave with a narrow exit. He saw the face of a moth—furry and with large eyes—looking down at him.

“Ahhhh, you’ve returned. Welcome back to the waking world,” said the moth, her voice old and frail. She was wearing a dark fur cloak that concealed all but her head, and she resembled the statue from the place with the endless sky, though much smaller and thinner. “Those figures, those Dreamers... they reached out with what little power they still have and dragged you into that hidden place. You startled me quite a bit when you suddenly reappeared here.”

Link sat up and looked at his hand. The cut was gone without so much as a scar, as if it had never been there. He turned his head to the moth. “Are you—”

“The one you saw in the dream?” the moth interrupted. “Indeed. I am but an old Seer. I apologize for stranding you in the World of Dreams, but until now there has only been one Dream Nail, and my tribe has dreamed of its Wielder for a long time.”
Link got out the Lens of Truth and took a closer look at it. As he had seen before, there was now a mosaic, dream catcher pattern instead of an eye design, but there was also a vague, shimmering light inside. “This is a Dream Nail?” he asked.

“Yes... It is a talisman that can cut through the veil separating the waking world from our dreams. Not only that, but it’s just as sharp as it ever should be. I don’t know how you found it, but I am glad you escaped that hidden place.”

“Thanks for the concern,” Link said, standing up. He started toward the small cave’s exit, then stopped and turned around. “Are you one of the ones who takes care of the burial ground?”

“I am the only one now.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Do not worry about me. All penitence for old crimes. Why is it you ask?”

“I was told you would know about Hallownest’s history. Have you heard about a place called Hyrule? At this point I’m pretty much convinced I can’t get back physically, but it’s worth a shot.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” said the Seer. “But if you seek to cross vast distances and reach other worlds, you are lucky to have found a Dream Nail... The Dream World is vast, connecting the minds of all who dream. A path may exist which can bring you where you seek to go, but I doubt it is accessible to you now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know of the infection that ravages this kingdom? It is no thoughtless curse. It is the will of a forgotten light, similar to that powerful blade, but much brighter still... the light from which my tribe was born, the essence of dreams. My ancestors forsook that light in favor of the king, and in so doing, invited its vengeance on this land. That light now dominates this kingdom’s dreams, and would not allow such a path to persist. To vanquish the Radiance is the power of the Wielder.”

Link chuckled to himself. Well, what did I expect? he thought. “Alright, then. What do I need to do?”

Seer shook her head. “I know that the Dreamers maintain a lock meant to keep the light contained. It was desperate, but very clever. Only by finding them can you open the way, but that will not be enough. You do not have the power needed to defeat the Radiance, and I know of nothing which can provide it to one such as you. Perhaps you should leave the work to the other Wielder?”

“As if,” Link said.

“Then I can offer you only this: far above here, at the very top of the kingdom, lies the knowledge of my ancestors... I have not seen it myself, but perhaps something there can be of use to you.”

Link nodded and ducked out of the cave.

He emerged into the top of a deep, cylindrical chamber, with the same masks on the walls as in the graveyard. A walkway spiraled around the side of the chamber, with doorways and alcoves placed sporadically along it. One of the doorways bore a sign for a stag station, so Link made his way there. As he did, he noticed that he felt remarkably light on his feet. How long did I go without sleeping? he wondered.

When he reached the stag station, he found that it had already been opened. He rang the bell and waited for the stag to arrive.

“Ah, Link. I see you found your way to the Resting Grounds. Did you find what you were looking for?” said the Stag.

“No, and yes,” Link answered. “Can you take me to Dirtmouth?”

A few minutes later, he emerged into the little town, which was quieter now with both Zote and Tiso gone.

“You’re back again,” said Elderbug. “You were down there for a long time. I was starting to think something had gotten you.”

“Not yet,” Link replied.

“Hm. Where are you headed now?”

Link pointed up at the mountain that loomed over the horizon. “There.”

“Ahh. That mountain. There’s mines and machinery and all sorts of valuable rock forms inside. Many a traveller through Dirtmouth headed straight for it, but if you aren’t looking for treasure, what would bring you there?”

“Supposedly there’s some ancient knowledge all the way at the top.”

“Hm. There’s a lift on the side of the cliff beyond the town’s graveyard. It would take you right into the mountain, but it hasn’t worked in ages.”

“I’ll bet I can make use of it. Thanks,” Link said.

He left the town, walked past the well that opened into Hallownest, and stepped into the graveyard. Compared to the one in the resting grounds, Dirtmouth’s graveyard was quite sparse. Most of the tombstones were small and simple, and there weren’t many of them. As he made his way through, however, one of them started to softly glow, and a ghostly figure appeared above it. It was a simple round bug, but with a face and head covered in white fur.

“Ehh... Another wielding a weapon. I suppose you'll be leaving many a corpse in your wake?” said the ghost.

I guess I don’t even need to look through the lens to see ghosts now, Link thought. Or I’m just going crazy. “Why do you care?” he asked.

“I’m a gravedigger. If you won't spare thought for the dead at least consider all the extra work you force upon those in my profession.”

Link squinted. “You do realize you’re-”

The gravedigger sighed. “Do as you will, wanderer. Cut a path toward your goal. I shouldn't complain. It's your kind that keeps folks like me in business.”

Link shook his head, then sat down. “Let me play you a song,” he said, retrieving his ocarina. He brought it to his lips and began the slow, soothing melody of the Song of Healing, a song meant to ease sorrows and regrets.

When he finished, the gravedigger let out a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I remember now,” he said. “I fell into an open grave, and I couldn’t get back out. Ironic, isn’t it? Thank you, wanderer...” With that, the light faded, as did the gravedigger’s image.

Link briefly tilted his head in respect, then put the ocarina away.

Continuing forward, he soon reached the side of the cliff. As Elderbug had said, near the top the mechanism for a lift jutted out, but there was nothing on the ground that allowed the carriage to be brought down. Luckily, like most of the metal structures in Hallownest, the lift had an intricate design in the metalwork, and there were plenty of nooks and catches in the gaps between bars. Link fired his hookshot toward it, and, as he’d hoped, it snagged and pulled him up. He climbed around the lift and onto the ledge, where a tunnel opened up. An old rail, accompanied by minecarts, led inside. Pale pink crystals, ranging in size from a finger’s length to larger than Link, were growing nearby, and light of the same color filtered out of the tunnel.

He pulled a lever on the lift mechanism, which opened the door to the carriage and unlocked the gears’ motion, then went inside the tunnel. It soon opened into a much larger cavern, where crystals were growing in clusters on the walls and ceiling, and even bursting up through the floor. The path was broken up by the crystals, leaving the end of the rail hanging bent and broken over the edge. Ahead, the path reappeared, but it was soon interrupted again. Wooden support beams were frequent, however, allowing Link to use the hookshot to proceed.

The further ahead he went, the larger and more frequent the crystals became, until the surviving pieces of the path jutted out like islands of stone in a sea of sharp crystal. Soon enough, the crystal growth took over completely, covering the entire vast cavern, some of them as large as buildings. In the very distance, almost totally obscured by the light from the crystals, was the end of the path.

“Wow,” Link said, taking in the sight.

One of those flying carpets from Gerudo Desert would be nice right now, he thought. He looked around for a way across, but all he could find were some old mining tools. Well, this ceiling seems to be holding just fine everywhere else. He cut down a support beam and laid it out into the pit, placing the end in a nook between two crystals. He tested its stability, and, finding it acceptable, cut down a second beam, walked across the first, and set it down where the first one ended.

He repeated the process again, then again, nearly falling more than once. With the fifth beam he had made it roughly halfway across, and he could more clearly see the end of the cavern. He noticed Cornifer sitting at the edge of the platform, watching him intently. Three more beams brought him close enough to use the hookshot on the beams across from him, bringing him to the end of the path.

“My!” Cornifer said. “You must be rather confident in your abilities. If I tried that I would surely fall and skewer myself on those crystals!”

“I’ve done worse,” Link replied.

“I hope for your sake you don’t make a habit of it.”

“I don’t do it because I want to, trust me.”

“I see. Well, have you come to scale the mountain? I've heard tale of a summit way up there. Too far for me though and I'm not really one for heights.”

“That’s where I’m going,” Link said. “Got a map for me?”

“Of course,” said Cornifer. Link bought it and headed further into the mountain.

While the previous cavern seemed to have mostly served as a route to transport material along the rails, the tunnels soon branched into a sprawling system of mines. The abundance of wood for support allowed Link to freely use the hookshot, which was good for him because otherwise the mines would be nearly impossible to navigate. While a few places had collapsed, the main problem was that the miners had sometimes returned to an area they’d already been to and dug it out further, causing many of the tunnels to end high up in the sides of walls.

The machinery was still active, and by all accounts the mountain was more alive than anywhere else in Hallownest, with the exception of Greenpath. Husks of dead miners attacked with surprising viciousness, throwing their picks and punching wildly. Round-shelled beasts—both large and small—with crystals on their backs crawled along the walls and ceilings. Flying bugs with crystals growing from their abdomens would shoot them at him, where they grew explosively on contact with a surface. Some of the bugs had been nearly completely encased in the crystals, making them effectively immune to physical strikes, but they discharged beams of searing light which Link could redirect at them with the mirror shield.

When he got high enough, though, the mines stopped. He came into a natural cavern that was even larger than the broken minecart path. Huge, 20-foot thick pillars of stone supported the cavern’s ceiling, with stone and crystals visible far into the distance. More husks wandered through here, like the miners but with crystals on their backs and hands. One nearby extended its arm and shot a beam of light at him, which he quickly reflected.

Luckily, this cavern wasn’t completely covered with crystals as the other had been; there was enough bare stone for him to find a path through, however meandering. Eventually he found an exit, though it was high up on a ledge in the chamber’s wall and he had to climb a narrow footpath to reach it.

It led into a smaller tunnel that wound up and around the cavern, with occasional breaks in the wall bringing them back together and allowing Link to see how high he was getting. As he went higher, the crystals became more sporadic and the tunnel grew steeper until it forced him to briefly scramble up a nearly-vertical incline. He emerged into open air, with the wind blowing and the black, starless sky above him. He was standing on the mountain’s peak

Dozens of huge stones surrounded him, flat on one side and round on the other. Glowing white glyphs began appearing on the ones close to him, but unlike the similar stone he’d seen on the cliffs when entering the kingdom, they bore no words, only strange, esoteric symbols. He tried to puzzle out their meaning but had no luck.

The stones traced out a path, which was also lined by crumbling stone archways topped with spikes. It led a short distance to the very highest point on the mountain, where a towering figure loomed. Link approached, and saw that it was a statue. It was worn, cracked, and broken in places, but still striking. It looked something like a moth, but with feathery wings and three long, thin horns on its head resembling a crown, though the third horn was broken off. Just by looking, he could tell the statue was impossibly ancient.

Is this what the moths worshiped? Link wondered. He followed the statue’s gaze, off the top of the mountain and into the valley below. From such a height, the light from Dirtmouth looked like a dim and hazy speck. He looked back at the statue. It was a sad sight now, but must have been glorious when it was built. They built all this for you, then they abandoned you and forgot. I guess I can see why you’re upset.

He reached out to touch the base of the statue. As soon as his fingers made contact, he saw a blinding flash of light and heard a deafening roar. He stumbled back and fell onto the ground, then noticed a burning sensation at his side. He grabbed blindly at the cause and retrieved the Fierce Deity’s mask. Its normally dark eyes were blazing with light, but it quickly faded. You two don’t like each other, huh? he realized. Well, it’s a start.

As he descended back down the mountain, he passed an observation deck looking out from the side of the cliffs, and decided to have a look. It was built from stone and metal, resembling the architecture of the capital instead of the rest of the mines. There was a raised platform against the windows, and barrels of crystal were stored beneath it. Link stepped up the stairs onto the platform and saw Quirrel standing at the glass and staring out.

“Ahh, quite a view, no?” he said as Link neared him, barely turning his head. “I'm not surprised you survived the trek through these shimmering caverns. Did it sadden you to see those miners below, still labouring at their endless task?”

“Now that you mention it, that is pretty sad,” Link answered. 

“Even overcome, strong purpose has been imprinted upon their husks,” Quirrel said, nodding. “The crystal ore is said to contain a sort of energy, not as powerful as the soul the city dwellers harnessed but far less lethal.

“...Strange to know such ancient facts. I wonder from where my knowledge comes?”

“You know, I’ve been wanting to ask. What’s with that mask you wear on top of your head?” said Link. He recognized as one of the Dreamers’.

Quirrel took the mask off and held it in front of him. “I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have it. For some reason, the idea of parting with it always seemed unpleasant to me. It was only when I entered this kingdom that I discovered it holds considerable power. Are you suggesting the mask is the reason I know these things?”

“It’s possible. Do you recognize the names Monomon, Lurien, or Herrah?”

“Monomon... Yes, that name sounds familiar. Something is stirring in my mind, though I can’t tell what... Excuse me, Link. I feel I must go,” said Quirrel. He turned around and started walking back into the mines.

“I bet I know where,” Link said, following after him, “and I’m coming with you.”

It was a lot easier to make it through the mines going down than going up, especially since the two of them had collectively defeated most of the hostile bugs on their way up. Eventually the branching tunnels of the mines ended with a lift down into a singular passageway. A monotone, droning voice echoed toward them:

“...Bury my body... c-cover my shell,

“What meaning in darkness? Yet here I remain...

“I'll wait here forever...till light blooms again...”

“That’s not right,” Link said. He rushed into the small cave the voice was coming from. A round bug with a headlamp was robotically swinging a pick at a large mass of glowing crystal embedded in the rock.

“...Bury... body... cover... shell... Darkness. No meaning... DANGEROUS... Still, remain... LIGHT.... again...” she continued, not even noticing Link was there.

“Hey, snap out of it,” Link said, waving his hand in front of her face. He noticed a faint orange glow in her eyes.

“What’s this?” Quirrel said, entering the cave.

“Her name’s Myla, I met her a while ago. She said she came to get rich from mining these crystals. I guess that was enough to get her infected.”

“How unfortunate.”

“She’s not all the way there yet. Hold on, I’ve got an idea,” Link said. He got out his ocarina and waited until Myla’s singing came back to the beginning of the verse, then he began playing. It took some time to adjust to the slower pace of her singing, but he eventually managed to stay in time with her, playing in harmony as he’d done before.

At first, nothing happened, but after a few verses Myla began to speed back up again. A few more verses, and she had stopped leaving out words. After that, she started to vary her tone again, and sang an entire verse as she had before. Link stopped playing, and Myla’s head jerked up.

“L-Link! Hello again!” she said. “Are you still running about? I’m sorry I didn’t notice you. I was having the strangest d-dream.”

“I know,” Link replied. Myla tilted her head in confusion. “Listen, you have to stop mining and get out of here.”

“Stop mining? But w-why?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll catch the infection again and end up as one of those mindless husks,” Quirrel interjected. “That was more than just an ordinary dream you were having, lass.”

Myla looked at the crystal in the wall, and Link suddenly realized that the light inside was a noticeably warmer color than the light in the rest of the crystals. “B-but-”

“If the corpses stop moving, you can come back,” said Link. “But you might not even want to by then.”

Myla didn’t say anything. She just stared into the crystal’s light as if in a trance.

“I’m serious,” Link added.

Myla turned to him with a jerk. “A-alright,” she said, tilting her head down. She left the tunnel, walking toward the crossroads and occasionally looking back. Link watched until she was well out of sight, then found a weak point in the rock and used a bomb to collapse the cave entrance.

“She’ll be able to dig through that,” Quirrel said.

“I know, but if she gets attracted by that light again, this might be enough to make her reconsider,” Link responded.

They continued into the Crossroads, following Quirrel’s vague intuition. He led them onto a path cutting through the middle, where a large but lightly armored husk carrying a club was standing guard. It was trivial for the two of them to defeat it; they split up, it swung at Link, and Quirrel slashed it from behind.

The road ended in a large chamber with stairs in the side leading up to higher levels. A huge suit of armor, far too big for any of the bugs Link had seen, was sitting empty in the middle of the road. The ceiling above them was collapsed, leaving rubble scattered around the armor and letting them look up at the room above, but Link could also barely hear another sound, which he couldn’t quite make out, coming from a room even higher.

“I’m going to see what that is,” Link said, his curiosity getting the better of him. “You go on ahead. I can meet up with you later.”

“Very well,” Quirrel said.

Link headed up, crossing the broken floor on the second level, and entered the third level, where there were several rooms containing shelves full of old supplies. The whole structure evidently served as a warehouse of some kind. Here, he could clearly hear the sound of crying coming from one of the rooms, along with soft firelight.

Rounding the corner, he saw two small, white, fleshy creatures with large round heads and six short, stubby legs standing around a third, dead one. The firelight was coming from numerous candles throughout the room. Link could also see the light of the Dream World around the corpse of the dead creature. When the creatures noticed him, they immediately started wailing and ran away from him, bouncing off the opposite wall, then continuing to run into it.

Link ignored the two living creatures for the moment and approached the dead one. Unlike the tombstone in Dirtmouth’s graveyard, which glowed with the same light, no ghost appeared when he got near it. Perplexed, he grabbed the Dream Nail and noticed that it was slightly shimmering, seemingly reacting to the body. He concentrated and manifested the Nail’s blade, then struck the corpse. His vision briefly turned white, then he fell a short distance and landed on a stone surface.

He found himself standing on a floating platform, and while the sky was a dark blue rather than orange, it was obvious that he was back in the Dream World. Steps formed at the end of the platform, and as he started to follow them, they descended to a large building floating in the sky. When he stepped inside, he found it empty, but moments later the ceiling broke and a figure wearing the same huge set of armor he’d seen in the Crossroads fell upon him. Its face was hidden by a horned helmet, and it wielded a large mace.

The huge knight landed with a thump and almost immediately leapt toward Link, swinging its mace. Despite its size, it was quite fast, and Link hopped out of the way just in time. Weaving around falling rubble, he quickly drew his sword and shield and struck at the knight, but his sword merely bounced off its armor. That wasn’t surprising, and Link was ready to jump out of the way of the knight’s next attack, holding his shield above his head to deflect more rubble.

The only gap is the eyeholes , he noted, as the knight jumped over his head to the other side of the room. He gave up on his sword and retrieved his bow instead.

The knight charged, swinging horizontally. Link jumped over its strike, and it continued past him. Turning around, it brought its mace over its head and back down. Link jumped aside, then again as the knight repeated the same attack, and he realized that his opponent was a total novice. After the mace hit the ground, Link rushed at the knight and slammed his shield down on its hands, not doing any damage but opening the knight’s grip and causing it to drop its weapon. It was a tactic that would only work on someone who’d never been disarmed before.

As the knight scrambled to grab its weapon, Link tossed his shield aside and readied a shot from his bow. Just as he fired, though, the knight jerked its head in an unexpected direction and the shot bounced off its helmet. The knight yanked its mace in Link’s direction, hitting him square in the torso and sending him flying, dropping his bow on the way.

Gasping for breath, Link struggled to his feet. The knight had begun swinging its mace back and forth, intentionally striking the ground. This seemed to damage the chamber’s floor significantly, but more importantly it brought large amounts of rubble down on Link when he didn’t have his shield. It was painful to move at all, let alone quickly, but he managed to avoid the crumbling rocks until he could breathe again. Then, he drew his sword and made a sudden dash toward the knight, weaving around the rubble and shocking his opponent into abandoning its current tactic and swinging down at him again. He dodged the attack as closely as he could, and as the knight pulled the mace back up, he grabbed on, jumping off toward its head and preparing to thrust at its eye.

Panicked, the knight leaned so far back that it fell over, and when its mace struck the ground beside it, the floor finally gave way. Both Link and the knight fell until they landed on another large platform beneath them. Link landed with a roll and was largely unharmed by the fall, but the knight landed straight on its chest. It dropped its mace and its helmet was knocked off, revealing the face of the fleshy white creature whose corpse Link had struck with the Dream Nail. It groaned in pain and exhaustion.

“So this is your dream, then?” Link asked. The creature said nothing, so Link prepared to stab into its head, but he stopped short, unable to do it. He lowered his sword and knelt before the now-pathetic figure. “You’re the same as the gravedigger, I bet,” he said, grabbing his ocarina. He played the Song of Healing, and the creature’s expression changed from one of pain and fear to one of peace.

Link’s vision went white, and he found himself lying beside the creature’s body in the real world, only now there was a ghostly image of it floating above its corpse. It spoke in a weak, pitiful voice: “I wanted it.... the strength to protect the others... When I saw that Knight... sleeping... safe in his big armoured shell... It wasn't madness that drove me to it... I just wanted it... But... in the end? If strength cannot save you, then what can...?”

When it stopped talking, all went quiet, and Link realized that the other two had fled while he was asleep. He bowed his head slightly to the creature, but offered no answer to its question. Moments later, it faded from view, along with the light around its corpse.

When he went back downstairs, Quirrel was unsurprisingly gone. While the road ended in that room, there was a short tunnel exiting in the same direction. It was dark, but navigable. In the middle, one of the walls was collapsed, revealing a second tunnel branching off from it. A brazier full of glowing coals and a stick with a bug’s head on it were standing in the second tunnel, with the head looking somewhat like that of the silent little Knight, only with different horns.

Indulging his curiosity again, Link headed down this second tunnel. It turned several times, with the way marked by more braziers and sticks with other bugs’ heads on them. More heads, or perhaps just masks, were packed into parts of the floor. The tunnel ended at a doorway surrounded by more braziers and mounted heads.

On the other side, Link found himself in a structure supported by wood and covered on every surface by masks. There was a small hut made from what looked like a large ribcage, and beside it stood a strange-looking creature. Its totally black body was humanoid in shape, it wore a necklace of small masks, and had a large snail shell on top of its head. It was holding a staff with another bug’s head on the top.

“Oho! Who is that stepping out of the darkness?” he said in a deep but cheery voice.

“Link. Who are you?” Link replied.

“I am a snail shaman. I watch over this temple,” said the creature. “Those are some nasty looking weapons you carry. Something important has drawn you into Hallownest’s corpse, but I won’t ask what. Have you found me because you need my help? I’m afraid I can’t offer you anything, but then you already possess such tremendous power.”

Link gave him an inquisitive look.

“That mask,” said the snail shaman, motioning to the Fierce Deity’s mask. “I can sense a terrible strength about it, much stronger than the spells of my people.”

“Can you tell me anything else about it?”

The snail shaman shook his head. “Wherever that mask comes from, it’s not a place us snails have ever been. Ooohh, but I do sense something more beyond that power. Something hidden. Perhaps you could find a way to access it? Masks are not my field of expertise, but there are others who may be able to help you.”

“Where?”

“Ohohoho! No need to be so eager,” the snail shaman chuckled. “Whatever you’re seeking... it will find you!”

Chapter Text

There was a mixed feeling of dread and anticipation as Link made his way down.

With his new ability to swim through acid, he was able to enter a cavern beside the Fog Canyon, emerging onto the shore of a misty lake of acid. More of the large jellyfish-like creatures from the canyon floated over the lake, and a tower stood in the middle. It was constructed from bronze, with a circular shape and a domed roof, along with tall windows running down the sides which seemed to glow a pale green. A long covered corridor extended from the building’s side all the way to the shore, forming a bridge across the lake.

Quirrel was standing beside this corridor, looking up at the top of the archway that served as an entrance, where the same mask design as the one he wore on his head was engraved. “Doesn't this kingdom just abound with surprises? A building atop an acid lake. It feels... familiar. This building is what beckoned me to Hallownest, I’m sure,” he said when Link got close.

“I thought you would already be inside. Why are you waiting for me?” Link asked.

“These wondrous sights are made better when one sees them with a friend, don’t you think?” Quirrel answered, then sighed. “But in truth, even though I have felt called here, now that I stand before it I find myself hesitant to enter. Is it fear I wonder, or something else that holds me back?”

“It’s anxiousness. Everyone feels that when they’re about to do something important,” Link said. “I’m glad you waited though. I think we’re after the same thing.”

“Well!” Quirrel said with a chuckle. “Let’s go, then.”

The corridor was lined with windows which were illuminated from below by bronze tubes with openings on their tops emitting green light. It ended in the central chamber of the tower, which was filled with glass cylinders containing acid, in which vertical lines of magical text were constantly rising. Tiny jellyfish creatures, the size of Link’s fist or smaller, were floating around the room. Link and Quirrel tried reading some of the cylinders, but the information was in a strange format from which only slivers of meaning could be gleaned. Luckily, there were stairs in the center of the building leading down below, under the acid.

More than just a small tower, the lower part of the building was an expansive library, with three levels containing rows of the information-storing tubes, all connected by a central open chamber outlined by balconies in the higher levels. Some of the larger jellyfish creatures, the ones the size of Link’s head, were present here, along with swarms of lumaflies that occasionally buzzed with electricity.

“Incredible...” Quirrel said. Link couldn’t help but agree; the library in Hyrule Castle was miniscule compared to the scale of this place.

Still, reading the text was nearly fruitless, and Quirrel felt called further below, so they followed another set of two curving staircases, set some distance out from the central stairs, into a single chamber that was almost as tall as the three floors above combined. The floor was covered by acid, with only a ring-shaped platform to stand on, along with a connection to a doorway in the wall. A few more of the information-holding cylinders of acid stood along the walkway. The ceiling was slightly domed, and a large number of the head-sized jellyfish creatures were floating near the edges of the chamber.

Link and Quirrel made it to the bottom of the stairs and headed toward the doorway, but as they reached the edge of the ring, the acid in the middle started bubbling. Moments later, something erupted out of it and into the middle of the chamber. It was like the small jellyfish creatures: round, with short tentacles and globs of orange fluid in the middle, but it was about as tall as a small building and it crackled with energy on the inside.

It hovered ominously toward them, and they both got their weapons ready. Suddenly, its transparent skin started rippling, its tentacles flailed, and lightning shot out of it in all directions. Link dove aside, landing in the acid nearby, and Quirrel showed him his real abilities for the first time by jumping up onto the stairs above in the blink of an eye.

The creature finished discharging and resumed its slow hovering, evidently needing time between attacks. Link climbed out of the acid and hit it with his sword, but the strike just bounced off of its tough but flexible skin. It prepared to attack again, but this time the lightning was focused at Link, and he reflected it by bringing his shield up. He looked up to see Quirrel jumping around the room and looking at the creature from different angles.

“Do you feel like helping?!” Link shouted.

“Give me a moment!” Quirrel answered.

I wish I had a boomerang right now, Link thought, frustrated.

The creature was apparently intelligent enough to adapt its strategy, as the next blast of lightning it fired wasn’t aimed at Link, but rather the wall behind him. It bounced off and shot around his guard, and while he tried to jump away, it caught him on his shield arm. He shouted in pain and his arm went limp. Instantly realizing what that meant, he ran to the nearest staircase for cover before the creature could attack again.

“Any time would be nice!” he said. Quirrel didn’t answer.

The creature floated back into the middle of the chamber and fired another blast, trying to get around the stairs, but with that extra cover Link was able to make use of his shield, even with the limp arm, and protect himself.

The creature then floated above his position and he made another ineffectual swing as it passed. It readied another omnidirectional discharge, which he would have no cover from. He was about to hurl himself off the side of the stairs and back into the acid when Quirrel suddenly leapt across the room, slashing at the creature and shouting “Now!”

He had apparently hit a weak spot, as the creature deflated like a leaking waterskin and hovered motionless. Link, wasting no time, stepped onto the staircase’s railing, jumped up, and stabbed the creature’s core. He dragged the sword down through it as he fell back down, but this only caused two of the orbs inside to burst, and there were many more.

The creature soon regained its shape, and Link realized Quirrel’s method would take too long. Drawing from experience, he came up with an idea. “Quirrel, keep its attention!”

“Understood,” Quirrel said.

As Quirrel started jumping past the creature, attacking as he passed, Link ran to the opposite side of the stairs, replaced his shield on his back, and took out the hookshot with that hand, which had somewhat recovered. He aimed it at the creature’s center and fired. The hookshot’s end shot through the soft outside of the creature, penetrated one of the orbs, and pulled it to where Link was standing. He cut it with his sword and it burst like an egg yolk.

The creature noticed what had happened and started floating toward him, but it was slow enough for him to repeat the attack three more times before it got close. As it did, Quirrel shouted “Right there!” and struck it in its weak spot again. With it no longer above him. Link was able to jump off the stairs, slashing down through the middle of the remaining orbs and landing in the pool in the middle of the chamber. With the orange fluid spreading inside it and leaking out, the creature drifted slowly to the ground.

Link climbed onto the platform again, where Quirrel joined him. “Thanks for all your help,” he said. “Sorry for doubting you.”

“Worry not. You did excellently yourself,” Quirrel said. “What we seek waits in the next chamber, I can feel it.”

They walked through the doorway into another circular room, the same height as the other but not so wide. Two balconies ringing the walls made up a second and third floor, with stairs around the edges leading up. In the middle, suspended from an outcropping on the third-floor balcony, was a huge glass tank filled with acid, where the vague shape of four long tentacles floated beneath a shimmering cluster of light. More cylinders of text stood on the floor.

Quirrel went purposefully to the third floor and approached the tank, with Link following.

“I realize it’s no coincidence we arrive together,” Quirrel said.

“Oh?”

“Though much of my memory is blank, this place I recall. Within these chambers the Teacher sought to store the Kingdom's knowledge and at its core, she stored herself. To save Hallownest, the Teacher willingly became a seal, but upon herself she enacted an additional protection. Though I cannot recall its happening, I played a part in that feat. She called me here, now, to reverse that protection. All in aid of you.”

He took the mask off of his head and held it aloft. It began to glow, then the light flowed into the tank and the mask disappeared. As it did, the light in the tank took the shape of a jellyfish body topped by a long stalk with a head at the top. She wore the same mask, and from it hung a dark cloak.

“You will need a way of opening her mind. You have such a tool, yes?” Quirrel said.

Link held up the Dream Nail and nodded.

“Then do not hesitate. The choice to reform was hers, not mine. She knows what you would do and seems to welcome it.”

Link extended the Dream Nail’s blade and struck the tank with it.

He soon found himself in the Dream World, though the sky here was black, with clouds that dimly glowed orange as if lit from below. Huge horn-like structures also rose from the clouds in the distance. He was standing on a circular platform which, rather than floating, formed the top of a pillar which emerged from the clouds below. A few more such platforms made a short trail to a much larger one, atop which floated a glowing sphere formed from the same dream catcher sigils which drifted through the sky.

Link hopped across the platforms, and when he made it to the central one, the sphere of light faded, revealing the same figure as the one in the tank. Monomon, the Teacher. She floated there silently, watching him.

For some reason, Link felt that talking would be fruitless. Instead, he struck her with the Dream Nail and heard her thoughts echo in his head: ...A world forever unchanging... the Seals, must break... Better, an end...

You’d prefer if Hallownest ended rather than stand forever in such a sorry state, Link realized. He nodded. Drawing his sword, he jumped up and cut her down the middle. She reeled from the attack, and light started to fly out of her body and into Link’s. It was the power of her seal on the black egg. As Link absorbed more and more, his vision started to fade, and the last thing he saw before it went completely white was Monomon’s mask shatter.

When he awoke, Quirrel was sitting beside him, looking uncharacteristically tired. The tank was now empty.

“The Madam’s life is extinguished and with it her seal breaks. It's a heavy thing you attempt, but I've seen your prowess up close and she too believed you capable. It wasn’t you she awaited all these years, but I believe she welcomed the opportunity you provided. Allow me to rest a time. With the deed complete, I begin to feel my age,” Quirrel said.

“I guess you’ve been around since before the kingdom fell, huh?” Link said.

“And yet my time in the wastes beyond stripped most of that memory from me. Make no mistake, I am an outsider to this kingdom... There is one last place I wish to see. If you will indulge me, I would like your company.”

“Of course,” Link said. He stood, then helped Quirrel to do the same, and they left the archive together. Link felt again like someone was watching him, but he decided not to worry about it for the moment.

As they returned to the caves around the Fog Canyon and started across Hallownest again, Quirrel spoke. “Link, I have told you what I know of my own past. Would you tell me of yours? This Hyrule you seek to return to, what is it like?”

Link paused. “Hyrule is... Well, it’s nothing like here. It’s all aboveground, and the sky isn’t empty. There’s a sun, a bright ball that moves across the sky and gives off light. When the sun is up, the sky is blue, and when it goes down, there are thousands of tiny glowing points called stars.”

“How strange...” Quirrel said.

“To me, this place is strange,” Link replied. “I was born in Hyrule, but I grew up just outside it. A while ago, a companion came to help me, because Hyrule was in danger and I was in a position to save it. A lot of things happened after that, but we did it. When we were done, though, she left. I guess her job was done, but she didn’t explain herself, so I tried to find her. That’s how I eventually ended up here.”

“I see. But you don’t wish to find her anymore?”

“No, I still want to, but I can’t spend my whole life looking for her. There are other people back home that I care about, and I can’t even remember how long I’ve been gone. A few days, or a month, or maybe even longer. It’s all blurred together in my head.”

“Then I assume you’ve found something that has led you to break the—”

Quirrel broke off when he saw what was before them. They had reached the Crossroads, but they were completely different. Huge pustules of orange infection clung to the walls and floor, connected by vines. The creatures flying around were massively swollen in size, and both they and the husks were covered in infected growths.

“We were just here,” Link said.

“I suppose that, with the seals weakening, that trapped plague is seeping out more readily. We must keep our wits about us,” Quirrel replied.

Quirrel’s statement was extremely prudent, as all the creatures overtaken by the infection were more aggressive and dangerous. Some rushed at them blindly, others spewed corrosive liquid infection at them from a distance, and many of them exploded shortly after dying. Still, they were both competent fighters, and they managed to find their way across the area, even as some paths had been blocked off by huge masses of infection.

“I believe it should be somewhere in this direction,” Quirrel said when they had reached the other end of the crossroads, he began to walk along the edge of the area, looking down tunnels as he went. Eventually, he found one that went the direction he was hoping for, and they started down it.

It was only a few minutes later that they emerged into an enormous cavern—only surpassed in size by the one that housed the city—in which an expanse of beautifully blue, almost completely clear water sat, perfectly still. Only the sound of the occasional drop falling from a stalactite above echoed through the cavern. Everything else was silent.

They walked out onto the shore, right up to the edge of the water. Quirrel sat down, and Link followed suit. “Quirrel, how did you know about this?”

“Do you recall me saying that I would like to see where the rain in the capital comes from? We are sitting right above it.”

“You have an impressive sense of direction.”

Quirrel laughed. “Ahh, but this sight is more magnificent than I had hoped. Here at last, I feel at peace. Twice I've seen this world and though my service may have stripped the first experience from me, I'm thankful I could witness its beauty again.”

I wish I saw things that way, Link thought.

Quirrel turned his head away from the lake to look at Link. “Hallownest is a vast and wondrous thing, but with as many wonders as it holds, I've seen none quite so intriguing as you.”

Link was taken aback for a moment. “I’m not sure what to say to that.”

“You needn’t say a thing. Already you’ve done far more for me than I could hope to repay. My only wish now is that you make it back to the homeland you seek. I would love to see such a place for myself, but my strength is fading. I will remain here for what time I have left.”

He looked back over the lake. “...Incredible...”

Chapter Text

Eventually, Link had to leave the tranquility of the lake.

It was bitter parting with Quirrel, knowing that he would likely never see him again. They hadn’t known each other for long, but Quirrel’s presence had provided him with refreshing levity among the bleakness of Hallownest’s ruins. The feeling was made worse by the fact that, further down the shore of the lake, he found Tiso, the self-proclaimed warrior he had met in Dirtmouth.

“Ehh. Have you decided to seek the arena after all? Well, it’s not here,” he said. “Garrgh. What a calm place. It's action I want, vicious and deadly battle. This serenity is a bore.”

“You could use some serenity,” Link said, irritated.

“A real warrior seeks only his next combat. He has no need for such comforts.”

“Then leave,” said Link. He shook his head and kept walking. He was tempted to indulge Tiso’s provocation just to shut him up.

The lake was, of course, located directly above the city, which meant it was also near the Resting Grounds, and Link decided to speak with the Seer again. It didn’t take long to find her cave just past the graveyard.

“Ah, you've returned,” she said when he entered. “It seems you work quickly. I can already sense that one of the dreamers has fallen. Did you find anything of use atop the mountain?”

“I think so,” Link answered. He showed her the Fierce Deity’s mask. “Do you know anything about this? For some reason it reacted to a statue up there.”

“Ahhhh... I can sense many memories within this,” the Seer said, looking at it with her large eyes. “But it is unfamiliar to me.”

That tracks. It’s not from here, Link thought. He put the mask back away.

“Still, it is said among my tribe that the bugs of what would be Hallownest once wore masks before the coming of the king. Some still do... Perhaps something is left of their civilization? If so, it would lie in the places the kingdom never settled,” the Seer added.

“That’s more helpful than I was expecting,” Link said. “Thanks.”

He found his way to the nearby stag station and asked the Last Stag about what the Seer had said.

“Places not settled by Hallownest? Hm...” the Stag said. “I’m afraid most of my knowledge only extends as far as the stagways themselves do. But I have overheard conversations and rumors when carrying passengers.

“The king’s palace was spoken of often. Supposedly it lay beneath the capital and few ever visited it. I also heard tell of the beasts’ realm which refused the kingdom’s rule... Ah! Now I remember. Just beyond the capital there is supposedly a land covered in ash. The bugs of Hallownest avoided building there, though I don’t recall why.”

“Well that sounds like the easiest place to start. How close can you get me?” Link asked.

“As I understand, the King’s Station sits just at the edge of that land. Climb on and I will take you there.”

The Stag was quite right, as it turned out. In the flooded lower floor of the station, Link found a partially collapsed tunnel leading away from the city. He followed it for a short distance, then emerged onto a ledge on the side of a deep chasm. It looked like snow was falling, but the air wasn’t cold enough, and Link soon realized that it was actually ash or dust. Large round bugs were flying passively about the chasm.

The ledge was built into a constructed wall which had several more tunnels emerging from it, as well as pipes that drained the rainwater out of the city, letting it fall into the bottom of the chasm. The other side of the chasm had hundreds of large, round bug fossils embedded in it, and there were what looked like giant spine bones weaving in and out of the surface. A few glowing white roots hung out of the side, seemingly growing down from above. The roots became larger and more frequent higher up the wall, seemingly all growing from the same direction.

He climbed up the wall on his side of the chasm until he was close enough to use his hookshot on one of the larger roots and get to the other side. He found a passage that led in the general direction of the roots and followed it. It led into a series of caverns and smaller ravines that twisted and turned but led generally forward. There were strange mosquito-like creatures that hopped along the ground and stronger, four-eyed versions of the infection-spitting aspids that populated the crossroads. Sometimes he passed what looked like giant stone teeth of some sort jutting up from the ground.

As he went farther ahead, the layer of ash on the ground grew thicker, and the amount blowing through the caverns increased. He started to notice wind coming from the same direction as the roots, and it grew stronger the deeper he went. After climbing up through a short vertical tunnel, he emerged into a wide cavern. The wind was loud and strong, and the cavern was devoid of other creatures, save for one: Hornet was standing at the other end, staring at him. He started to jog across the cavern to her, but when he got close, she ran further in.

That same routine again? Link thought. He followed her.

The tunnel wound back down steeply, with more bones emerging from the walls on all sides. The wind was strong enough for Link to jump down fairly significant descents and have it buoy his falls. At the bottom, the tunnel opened into a moderately-sized chamber where the walls, ceiling, and floor were almost completely made up from the strange fossilized bones. Hornet was standing across from him, and when he entered, she pointed her blade at him.

“What’s this about?” Link asked.

“Your path has brought you to involve yourself in this kingdom’s fate. Already you have broken one of the Dreamers’ seals; that alone would be considered an impossible task, but I am the protector of this ruin, and I cannot allow you to interfere in its fate unless I know you are capable of facing what will come next,” Hornet answered. “Turn back now and I will not bar your way, but if you wish to continue on your current path, you must prove your strength to me.”

Link drew his sword and shield.

“Very well. I'll not hold back. My needle is lethal and I'd feel no sadness in a weakling's demise.”

With a sudden shout, she leapt across the chamber and lunged. Link braced with his shield, and her needle impacted heavily on it. She bounced back slightly and landed on her feet. Link swung down vertically at her, and she blocked by bringing her needle above her in a hanging guard. She laughed and spun it around, swinging at his head, but the attack glanced off his shield. When he countered with a thrust, she jumped back out of his range.

With a wave of her arm, Hornet threw several balls of metal spikes around her, where they stopped in midair, suspended by threads of silk stretching out to the surrounding surfaces. As Link moved forward to cut them down, she hurled her needle at him. He ducked under it, and when she pulled its thread taut, he cut upwards. The needle kept flying and she caught it. Link cut the threads holding up the spikes and they fell to the ground, except for one which was still attached to the ceiling. He batted it aside with his shield, sending it swinging away.

He advanced toward Hornet, and she did likewise. They began exchanging blows, with Hornet leveraging and swiveling her longer weapon in an attempt to get around Link’s shield, and Link trying to close the distance. Before either of them found success, though, Hornet broke off from the engagement and jumped into the air. With a shout, a storm of threads began whipping around her.

Link raised his shield and backed away, but some of the threads reached around and cut his arm and face. Still, he was grinning. The remaining ball of spikes, which had continued swinging, moved past him. He hooked it with his shield and redirected it to swing into Hornet, who was still in midair. She grunted in pain as it crashed into her, knocking her to the ground. She dropped her needle, then scrambled to her feet to grab it, but Link got there first. He slammed into her with his shield, sending her onto her back, then pressed the point of his sword against her chest.

“...So strong... How?” Hornet said, breathing heavily.

“You said you wouldn’t hold back, so neither did I,” Link replied. He returned his sword to its scabbard and reached down to help her stand. She ignored his hand and stood on her own.

“You could do it, but you need the power to withstand the bindings on that ancient foe... but first, you should know what your actions would mean.”

“You mean you want to tell me about Hallownest?”

“As best as I know it.”

“That would be nice,” Link said. “I’ve pieced some things together, but no one down here has given me the full story.”

Hornet retrieved her needle and started toward the other end of the chamber. “Follow me,” she said.

She led him down a short distance, still following the bones, until they reached what looked like the gaping mouth of an enormous white worm, large enough for at least half a dozen people to walk through, shoulder-to-shoulder. The worm’s body was covered in dragon-like scales, and pointed silver teeth reached out from the edge of its mouth.

“You stand before the corpse of the Wyrm. All the history of this kingdom is the result of its death,” Hornet said. “For that ancient creature, death was not the end. It was reborn in the form of a bug; the Pale King of Hallownest.”

“So he wasn’t just a normal bug. That explains why he was worshiped,” said Link.

Hornet seemed amused by that statement. “By all accounts, he was a god. Bugs living in Hallownest were elevated above their base instincts, given minds capable of higher thought. Without his beacon, many of the kingdom’s citizens would lose their sense of self.”

“But he made another god angry and the infection began, right?”

“I suppose the moth told you that much? Indeed, while Hallownest had an age of glory, it was a short time compared to the duration of its ruin.

“The king tried to stop the plague. He believed that a mind empty of thought or desire could contain the light and resist its temptations. He tried to create such a being using his own child.”

“The Hollow Knight?”

Hornet nodded. “The Dreamers were enlisted to help keep the infection contained. The plan was successful, for a time, but the Hollow Knight was imperfect. The infection leaked out, the kingdom fell, and the King vanished.”

“He abandoned his people, just like that? How does someone that important get away without anyone knowing about it?”

“The palace and everyone in it disappeared, all at once. Even I do not know how or where, nor can I claim to know his motives. Perhaps he saw his own doom approaching and thought to escape it.”

“Some king.”

“Regardless, what you must understand is this: Hallownest is in stasis, forever unchanging under the quiet rule of that captive light. To continue opening the seals would set it free, leaving its power unchecked. Ensure you are prepared to face it. The ghost that arrived before you has a substance different than ours. It gains sustenance from the bindings surrounding the Hollow Knight, but they would drain the likes of you or I.”

“The Seer told me something similar,” Link said. He retrieved the Fierce Deity’s Mask and tossed it lightly onto the ground between them. “I found out that this might be useful, but apparently it doesn’t have its full power. The Seer said that there was a civilization before Hallownest that wore masks, and I might be able to learn something from that.”

“That moth is not well-traveled if she believes anything but the most sparse remnants of that culture remains,” said Hornet. “Fortunately for you, I have patrolled the breadth of this land more times than I can count. Beyond the edge of the mantises’ territory lies a den of beasts. It is a place that Hallownest could never maintain any authority over. Deep inside is a creature who may help you. One of the Dreamers lies there as well.”

“So I need to go there anyway. Got it.”

“Be careful in the Deepnest, Link. It is not a hospitable place, even compared to Hallownest,” said Hornet. She sounded unusually sincere, so Link took heed of the advice.

As he made his way back across the caverns and stepped out into the ravine from which he had first entered, something fell from above and landed on the ledge across from him. He found a place where he could jump across (since there were no roots on that side for his hookshot to target) and found that it was Tiso’s dead body. Looking up, he noticed a metal grate embedded in the ceiling of the chasm. Not long after, it opened and another corpse was unceremoniously tossed out.

I guess he found the colosseum, Link thought, frowning. No glory in this.

He returned to the Last Stag and rode to the Queen’s Station, then repeated his trek through the Fungal Wastes, but instead of continuing past the entrance to the Mantis village, he went inside. The village was built in a huge vertical chamber, with dwellings made from wood and stacked on top of each other along the walls. A pit ran down the center, but the bottom was covered.

There were mantises, both the smaller flying type and the bipedal type, throughout the area. Link tried to sneak past them when he could, but he did have to kill or maim some that found him. The village lacked stairs or other methods of easily traversing its steep ledges, but one of the rooms near the top contained a shelf full of claws which were perfect for climbing. They could even grip solid rock that the hookshot couldn’t.

Taking a pair for himself, he proceeded down. At the bottom of the village was a room which took up the entire space of the chamber floor. Link entered from a hole in the floor of the room above and slid down the wall. Across from him was a shell-shaped door which blocked off a tunnel entrance, and in the center of the room were three wooden pillars, each of which had a throne carved out of the top. The middle one was taller than the others, and a fourth, broken throne sat beside them.

Sitting atop each throne was a strange-looking mantis. They had long horns on their heads, wore dark mantles, and had hands in place of the long foreclaws that the other mantis warriors possessed. They stared at Link, but didn’t move or make any sound

Link stepped into the middle of the room and looked up at them. He tilted his head toward the door. “I need to get through,” he said.

The mantises didn’t speak, but the one on the central throne gripped its wrist and flexed its hand.

I see how it is, Link thought. He drew his sword and shield, and pointed the sword’s tip up at the mantis.

Instantly, the mantis stood, and with a crack of the wrist, she let out a battle cry. A cylindrical cage rose out of the ground to surround them, and she produced a long-bladed lance from behind the throne.

With a sudden lunge, she leapt from her perch, plunging her lance at Link. He batted the attack aside with his shield and countered with a thrust, but she jumped out of his reach well before the attack got close to her. With a weapon that long, he was going to have a hard time closing the distance, and she was too fast to risk losing the protection of his shield to use his bow.

The mantis’s jump had brought her to the side of the cage, where she was hanging from the bars. With a swing of her lance, she sent a spinning blade of air flying at him. He held his shield up, and while the blade did break upon it, it hit with enough force to knock him over, then the mantis dropped to the ground and rushed forward with her lance. Turning the situation to his advantage, Link thrusted high into her attack, deflecting her lance by mere inches and cutting a gash into her abdomen as her momentum carried her forward.

With a pained cry, she recoiled and jumped back up to her throne, falling to one knee. A moment later, the other two mantises stood up, holding lances of their own, and echoed the shout of the first.

They jumped down from their thrones and landed on opposite sides of Link, charging from both directions. He turned sideways and deflected one attack with his shield while knocking the other aside with his sword. The mantises moved past him, and while one skidded to a halt and charged back at him, the other leapt into the air to drive her lance down. To avoid the second, he ran straight at the first, bracing with his shield. Her lance struck, but not hard, as she had slowed down at his approach.

She began swiveling and thrusting with her lance, prodding Link’s defenses, while the other quickly approached from behind. He knew he couldn’t defend against such an onslaught from both of them, so when the second drew near, he unleashed a magical spin attack. The energy struck both of the mantises, though it wasn’t lethally potent, and they recoiled. They both jumped onto the sides of the cage.

Like the first had done before, they each threw a blade of air, though not directly targeting Link. Rather, they followed the edge of the arena, spiraling inward. Link dove through the gap between them as they passed, and they slammed into each other. One went straight down and broke against the ground, while the other flew off and hit the side of the cage.

One of the mantises dropped down onto the ground, while the other braced to leap off of the cage, and Link had a sudden moment of clarity, realizing the pattern in their attacks. Holding his shield over his head to block the attack from above, he waited until the grounded mantis’s charge was a moment away from hitting him, then suddenly ducked and slashed to the side. His attack struck at the same time the second mantis’s lance hit his shield, and his knees buckled from the weight.

As the injured mantis cried out and returned to her throne, the other landed beside him. He desperately defended himself from her attacks as he struggled to regain stability in his stance. Once he did, though, he quickly began out-fencing her. He was no longer outnumbered, which the two mantises on the lower thrones had clearly been relying on, as they were evidently less skilled than the first. With a false retreat, he goaded her into a lunge, bringing her within reach. Deflecting with his shield, he countered with a lunge of his own and hit her in the thorax.

She fell to her knees, having sustained the worst injury of the three, but then regained her composure and returned to her throne as well. The three mantises, all still nursing their wounds, nevertheless stood and bowed in unison to Link. The cage lowered, and the door at the end of the room opened.

Link bowed back. “Thank you,” he said with slight indignation, before proceeding through.

Chapter Text

Deepnest was dark, gloomy, and extremely claustrophobic.

The only light came from a few glowing plants and mushrooms scattered through the tunnels, and he had to put his shield away so he could hold the makeshift lantern he’d made from bottled lumaflies. Just outside of the Mantis Village was a massive pile of dead bugs, most of which resembled giant silverfish, but there were also some that were round-bodied with six eyes and six legs. Mantis lances were impaled into some of the bugs in the pile, indicating that a massive assault had been repelled.

Link headed into the narrow tunnel at the end of the chamber, and was suddenly glad to have a short weapon that was suited to close quarters, as there were some points where he had to crawl to get through. The tunnels turned around in confounding ways, leading to dead ends more often than not. Masses of spiny, squirming creatures filled the larger chambers, and sometimes the floor would crumble beneath him, revealing pits full of spikes. Spiderwebs stretched from wall to wall, even in the biggest caverns.

He was caught off-guard when a bug, the same silverfish species that he had seen piled in the entrance, burrowed out of the ceiling and sprang upon him. He struggled to keep its jaws away from him until he could push it away and stab it. More of them continued to attack as he proceeded, as well as the six-eyed creatures, which, like spiders, walked along invisible silk suspended in the larger caverns. Occasionally, a giant centipede-like beast crawled along one of the narrow tunnels, and Link had to scramble out of the way of its gnashing jaws.

He couldn’t tell how long it had been when he entered a large chamber which actually seemed to have been deliberately carved out of the rock. There was a metal platform with a bench and some shelves, a large circular doorway which was blocked by rubble, and a rail along part of the ceiling. Corpses of Hallownest bugs were scattered around, and Cloth, the large club-carrying warrior Link had met in the Fungal Wastes, was slumped against the side of the platform, seemingly exhausted. When she saw him, she did little more than lift her head a few inches.

“Ah, Link, good to see you again,” she said. “This whole area swarms with deadly critters, biting, burning, scratching types. I'd thought to test my strength against them. Now that bravado has left me and all I feel is tired and sore.”

“I don’t blame you,” Link said. “I doubt you have any room to swing that massive thing around.”

Cloth nodded. “I'm taking what brief rest I can, then I'm off in search of less terrifying challenge. This nest is no place to die.”

Link nodded in agreement. “I’d do the same if I could.”

“You plan to go deeper? You’d best keep your wits about you, then. I’d hate to think of you getting chewed up down here.”

“Right... Well, I’ve been in similar places before.”

He took a brief rest as well, then descended back into the tunnels. More dead Hallownest bugs were strewn along the way, and some were infected and attacked. A few of those, after he defeated them, grew long legs and spikes and skittered at him, being infested by some parasite. He wasn’t so surprised by their coming back to life, as they had twitched after being killed, but they moved much faster than he’d anticipated, and he struggled to keep them at bay without his shield.

Further down, a large cloaked beast with six eyes and a hard, stark white plate over its face blocked his way. It hissed at him and lashed out, revealing its face plate to actually be a pair of massive claws that it had been holding in front of it as a shield. It struck hard and fast with multiple attacks, pushing Link back through the tunnel to the edge of a drop. Each time it attacked, though, it was vulnerable, and the next time it opened its arms Link ducked through its reach and stabbed it in one of its eyes, then dove past its swinging arms. He dashed down the tunnel before it could regain its wits and give chase.

Moments later, he rounded a corner and the floor crumbled beneath him. Before, he had been careful to test the ground as he went, but in running past the beast he hadn’t had time. Luckily, it wasn’t a bed of spikes that waited for him, it was a sloped descent. He tumbled down the passage, accumulating bumps and scrapes, until he hit flat ground again.

Standing up, he found himself in another passage. Moving ahead brought him to a small chamber, where a strange creature emerged partially from a hole in a wall. It had a bulbous black body with tiny legs jutting out of its underside, and its face was covered by a white mask depicting a strangely human smile.

As Link raised his sword in front of him, the creature spoke. “Oh. Please. Please. Don’t be shy,” she said. “There are some nasties about here alright. Not me. I’m a friend to all and happy to serve a traveller so bold as you.”

“Forgive me for not being so trustful,” Link replied.

“Is it information you seek? That I can provide. Yes. Oh yes. Heehee...”

Link narrowed his eyes. “Go on.”

“The village above here, home to a sad creature. Hers is a tale of tragic exchange. Cost her and her people greatly, though I suspect she bore no regret in making it.”

“Would she be the Dreamer? Herrah, I’m guessing?” Link asked.

“Oh. Oh. You know? Yes. A bargain was made for her service. Pale gift to the Nest and the Beast. The gendered child. Perhaps you’ve met her?”

“Met who?”

“Heehee, yes. I know. I know. You’re intrigued. Well I’m sorry. I’d love to tell the tale, but I’m just, I’m very, very sorry, and I haven’t eaten in some time... And oh, I’m STAA-AARVING!” The creature’s mask split down the middle and revealed four eyes and a mouth full of pointed teeth. She lunged at LInk, who quickly slashed up at her with his sword, and she retreated back into the wall of the cave.

Nice try, Link thought. So there’s a village near here, huh?

He only had to follow the cave a little bit further to find it. The passage opened up into the bottom of an enormously tall chamber. The walls of the space were covered with huge balls of spider silk, woven like yarn, and more were hanging suspended in the air in the top half of the chamber. A pool of dirty water covered the bottom.

There was enough dim light from lamps up above for Link to see without his lantern, so he put it away and set about climbing the chamber using a mantis claw and his hookshot, which could easily grip the tightly-woven balls of silk.

The suspended structures had doorways and platforms on their sides, and were evidently the dwellings of the village. They were all empty and abandoned, however, with the exception of the largest one, which had some light filtering out of the door. Link stepped inside.

The interior of the structure was one large room, which had a tiled stone floor covered in broken furniture. Two lumafly chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and depictions of a six-eyed mask adorned the walls. Link recognized the mask as one of the Dreamers’. Red cloaks and the bony white heads of bugs were scattered around.

Link inspected the remains. No part of the bugs’ bodies other than their heads were left. Did something eat you? he wondered. He took a more careful look at his surroundings and noticed an opening in the room’s ceiling. He fired his hookshot into it and it pulled him into a small corridor formed entirely from hardened silk.

He pulled his lantern back out and immediately saw another claw-faced beast looming over him. He fell onto his back to avoid its first strike, rolled out of the way as the second came down, then shot the hookshot out at the creature’s face. It didn’t strike deeply, but it was enough to make the beast retreat. He drew his sword and raised his guard, waiting as the creature hissed at him. It lashed out again, and he ducked and stabbed it with an explosive lunge. The sword sank deep into its body and it quickly died.

The tunnels were tight, winding around in labyrinthine turns to fit inside the structure. Link made his way up, through more spiders and beasts, passing a shrine with a statue of a strange creature hanging from the ceiling, and eventually came into a fairly large room filled with candles, still burning. An empty stone altar stood in the middle, and Hornet was sitting on the platform beneath it. The Knight was there as well, but was just leaving through a doorway in the opposite wall.

“You’ve come a moment too late. The ghost has already slain the Beast and lifted her seal,” Hornet said.

“What are you doing here?” Link asked.

“What indeed...” Hornet trailed off. She motioned for Link to sit beside her, and he did. After a lengthy silence, she spoke again. “You may think me stern, but I am not completely cold. We do not choose our mothers, or the circumstance into which we are born. Despite all the ills of this world, I'm thankful for the life she granted me.”
“Herrah is your mother?”

She nodded. “Forgive me for not telling you before. I did not yet feel ready.

“The Nest always resisted outside rule. Hallownest could not lay claim over this place. In truth, however, the caste was weak. Deepnest’s sire is long dead, and my mother was not of his noble bearing. When the Pale King requested aid of her, she agreed, on the condition that he grant her a child. The blood of Wyrm to strengthen the brood.”

“So, you’re a princess,” Link said.

“Of two kingdoms, though that is hardly of importance now. Neither of them are standing. I spent only a short time here with my mother, and my duty binds me to Hallownest, but this place is still my home.”

“I understand.” It was the same way Link felt about Kokiri Forest. He didn’t belong there, and he couldn’t stay, but it was where he’d grown up; a part of him would always stay there. “...Why did you send me here to kill your own mother?”

“The King’s plan failed, and now after countless ages there is a chance for another path, one that would end this world’s stasis. Allowing her to pass, and taking the burden of the future into my own hands, is how I begin to repay the debt I owe her. I’d not have obstructed this happening, even if I hadn’t sent you here, but it caused me some pain to knowingly stand idle. I am glad I don’t have to attribute that pain to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you had slain my mother, I would undoubtedly harbor some resentment for you, whether I wished it or not. I prefer the possibility of friendship, without such a barrier between us.”

“What about the Knight?”

Hornet shook her head. “That ghost is a remnant of this kingdom’s past. It does not act of its own will, and its mission will either bring it death or imprisonment. There is no companionship to be found with it. Besides, it is easier to put my feelings aside, knowing this action was not performed consciously.”

So it’s not really alive... I didn’t realize she meant ‘ghost’ so literally, Link thought. She hadn’t told him what the Knight truly was, or where it came from, but he was beginning to understand regardless. “You and the Hollow Knight are both the King’s children... How many did he have?”

Hornet didn’t respond for some time. “Leave me now, Link. Allow me a moment alone before this bedchamber becomes forever a shrine,” she finally said. “You will find the Mask Maker dwelling in the side of a ravine outside this village.”

“Sure,” Link said, not wanting to press the topic. He stood up and followed the silent bug to the room’s opposite exit, but stopped before leaving. “I’m sorry... I never knew my mother, but I can imagine how hard this must be.”

Hornet watched him leave with sudden focus.

Link soon found the ravine. In the same character as the rest of Deepnest, it was much narrower than other ravines in Hallownest, but it was surprisingly deep. He climbed for some distance until he got near the top, where there was a mass of scaffolding forming paths between both sides. On one side was a circular tunnel filled with rubble, much like the one in the room where he’d met Cloth, and on the other side was a small part of a huge, dark stone sphere bulging out of the wall. A small circular passage led into its center.

Climbing up into the tunnel, Link walked a short distance and emerged into a domed chamber. Lamps hanging from the ceiling illuminated white masks of all shapes and sizes. Some were sitting on the floor, others were hanging from the walls, and a few sat unfinished on a workbench across from the entrance. Behind the workbench was a strange creature. It was large, and while it was mostly covered by a green cloak, he could tell that it had a round body and a hunched back. Its face was covered by a four-eyed mask with a pair of horns on each of its sides. Its arms were twice as long as it was tall, and one was carving a mask out of wood with a chisel while the other was painting a fully-carved mask white.

Link was unsure of what to say. “You’re the Mask Maker... right?”

“Is it mask or face upon the creature? In Hallownest, a difficult thing it can be to decipher,” the Mask Maker said. Their voice was eccentric and bizarre.

“I noticed.”

“A wonderful thing to have, a face. Not a thing with which we are all blessed. For this kingdom’s faceless, I shall provide.”

“Well, that’s... generous,” Link said. “I have something to ask you.”

“A mask! A face! Does it need one? Does it not? To define. To focus. To exist.”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Take any mask here. A new face you can have, if you choose.”

Link sighed “I’m sick of masks.” He reached up and pulled the Mask Maker’s mask off of their face. Underneath was a surprisingly small head with a white face, small nostrils, and large, strange-looking eyes. They had no pupils, and swirled with black and white. Streaks of some black liquid ran down underneath them.

The Mask Maker spoke again, now with a much calmer voice. “You see the face beneath! Or could it just be another mask? Truth in Hallownest is always buried deep. How many layers will you pry through?”

“As many as I need to,” Link replied.

The Mask Maker laughed softly. “Faces I grant to those who’d request. Not task for I, but aid, gift to a world deserving. Mm... To change a face; to conceal it fully within another... A powerful protection that is, but one with sad consequence. The original mind is destroyed, though those of striking will may still retain a sliver of that concealed self.”

Link nodded. He understood the truth of that more than anyone. “You’re more than you let on, aren’t you?”

“Much I have seen in my time, indeed. But it is masks that concern me, and those who would wear them.”

“Can you tell me anything about this?” Link said, placing the Fierce Deity’s Mask on the bench between them.

The Mask Maker stopped carving, put the chisel down, and picked the mask up. “Dark power resides in this, but something more as well. A will I sense, though buried deep. To awaken it would require considerable strength.

“The ancient caste and the Wyrm both accessed such strength, at the bottom of the world, but it is now sealed away with his shame. Only one who bears the mantle of king could open the way now.”

“One does,” came Hornet’s voice from the tunnel, as she entered the chamber. “In fact, I would guess that it will be opening the way to that place very soon.”

“Curious, for such a coincidence to occur,” said the Mask Maker, handing the mask back to Link. “Is it fate or mere chance? This kingdom’s stasis may soon be at an end... Return if you are successful. It would interest me greatly.”

“Alright. Thanks,” Link said.

As he and hornet exited the strange stone structure, the Mask Maker went back to carving.

“There is a way to get to that place quickly,” Hornet said. “When Herrah and the King made their deal, passages were built in secret to connect the Nest to the Kingdom. Come with me.”

She led him down through Deepnest, back toward Hallownest but lower than the border with the Mantis Village. Even she seemed to get somewhat turned around, but eventually they arrived in a large, intentionally-carved chamber. Similar to the one where he’d met Cloth, there was a platform, a rail on the ceiling, and a large circular doorway. Here, however, the doorway wasn’t filled with rubble but was blocked by a metal gate bearing Hallownest’s seal. A boxy metal carriage was hanging from the rail, its closed door against the edge of the platform, and a pedestal with a slot stood on the platform nearby.

“What’s this?” Link asked. He remembered seeing something similar in the Crossroads.

“A tramway. The king ordered them built as a more luxurious alternative to the stagways. Only two were built before the kingdom fell. Even I am old enough to remember a time before they existed,” Hornet explained. She produced a small metal card from her cloak; it had the seal of Hallownest on one side and a set of indentations on the other. “Only a few of these passes were ever made. They were prohibitively expensive and required the King’s approval.” She inserted the indented side into the pedestal’s slot, and the tram’s door opened.

“And you got one for being the king’s daughter.” Link said. “Do you actually use them?”

“Occasionally,” Hornet answered. “I keep my skills sharp by traveling on foot, but I do sometimes enjoy the moment of rest that the trams offer me.”

They stepped inside. Rows of cushioned seats sat beside large windows, horns on the ceiling played gentle music, and a console stood on either end. It certainly offered more luxury than the stag. Hornet stepped up to the console pointing toward the tunnel and pressed a switch, then the tram slowly started moving. She took a seat, and Link sat across from her.

“I have told you the truth about who I am. I’d like to know the same of you now, if you are willing to tell me,” Hornet said.

Link nodded. He was silent for a moment while he thought of what to say. “I grew up with a race called the kokiri, who stay children forever. All of them have a fairy, a little glowing creature, who’s their companion for life.

“I didn’t find out until recently, but I’m not a kokiri, so I never had a fairy companion. I was always jealous of my friends for that. Then one day a fairy named Navi suddenly came to me, telling me I had a heroic destiny and all that... Well, I wanted to help people of course, but I was also just happy to finally have a fairy.” He took his hat off and started turning it over in his hands. “She helped and guided me on my journey. I got to know her better than almost anyone else in Hyrule.”

“She sounds like a valuable ally,” Hornet said.

“There’s more to it than that,” Link said with a sigh. “You’re not the first princess with divine blood I’ve met, as strange as that sounds. They say Princess Zelda is descended from a goddess, and she has all the sacred power to back that claim up. I helped her save the kingdom, but when it was over she sent me back through time so we could prevent the whole disaster from happening in the first place. That means Navi and I are the only ones who remember everything that happened.”

“It must be a special bond you share, then. My father’s knights always told me that the strongest friendships are forged in common struggle.”

“That’s right,” Link said with a nod. “Only, as soon as we returned to the past, she left without a word. By now I’ve realized it’s because her duty was to help me save Hyrule, and she probably returned to the Goddesses or whoever sent her, but, well, I didn’t understand at the time. So, I tried to go find her and stumbled into another world.”

“That’s how you found your way to Hallownest?”

“Not quite. The world I ended up in is called Termina. I met another fairy there, Tatl, and we worked together to save Termina too. She... wasn’t the same as Navi, but we still became friends. Termina is her home, though, and Hyrule is mine. She couldn’t leave, and I couldn’t stay. It was when I left Termina, trying to get back to Hyrule, that I ended up here.”

“A difficult journey indeed. I’m sorry. Had I known, I’d not have impeded your progress so readily,” Hornet said. “Still, I needed to test you. It is not an easy task you would attempt.”

“Well, I’m used to being impeded by now.”

The tram came to a stop, and the door opened. The cavern outside seemed totally devoid of color: black stones wreathed in cold mist.

Hornet led Link further down, through roads that seemed to exist completely naturally. Only a few black-shelled bugs wandered the tunnels, but even they still had the orange glow of the infection in their eyes.

They passed a fountain which Hornet informed him was in the shape of the Pale King. He had a head which bore tall spikes at the top in the shape of a crown, and his body was covered by a cloak. Corpses of Hallownest bugs clothed in white surrounded the fountain, and both they and the fountain had black streaks running down from their eyes.

“It is an effect of the place that lies beneath us. A place of darkness, not fit for our like to inhabit, but it is into that place that you must go,” Hornet said. “The last of your questions will be answered there.”

Proceeding deeper, they passed through a huge cavern filled with ruins, where Hornet said that the palace used to stand. It looked as if someone had picked the entire structure up, leaving only pieces of the bottom torn off. Hornet didn’t seem to notice, but there was a dead soldier in the middle which glowed with Dream Essence. The king must’ve fled to the Dream World, Link realized.

Further down, past beds of spines and inky black vines, they reached an open doorway. A large stone egg sat beside it, and a message appeared on it in glowing white writing when they approached:

‘Higher beings, these words are for you alone. Our pure Vessel has ascended. Beyond lies only the refuse and regret of its creation. We shall enter that place no longer.’

“This entry has been sealed since long before Hallownest’s fall. The ghost opened the way, now let us see it for ourselves,” Hornet said.

Chapter Text

Suffocating darkness awaited them.

As Link and Hornet stepped through the door, they entered what seemed like an impossibly large space. It was cylindrical in shape, with sides lined with ridges and spines, and the opposite side was so far away that it was difficult to make out the details, though the coiling black smoke which drifted through the air added to that as well. They were standing on a ledge hanging out from one side of the space, near the top. It was impossible to see the bottom through the darkness.

“The Abyss,” Hornet said, matter-of-factly.

“Good name,” Link replied.

A very narrow, very treacherous footpath wound around the walls. From the darkness, the Knight came into view, climbing with what looked like total confidence. There was something different about it; the inside of its cloak was completely dark, as if it bore a boundless emptiness of its own.

As it reached the ledge, Hornet spoke. “Ghost. I see you've faced the place of your birth, and now drape yourself in the substance of its shadow. Though our strength is born of similar source, that part of you, that crucial emptiness, I do not share. Funny then, that such darkness gives me hope. Within it, I see the chance of change.”

The little bug remained silent as ever, and simply walked out the way Link and Hornet had just come in.

“The place of its birth?” Link asked.

“The Abyss is the home of the Void, a substance that opposes light and life. Both the light of the infection, and the light of the King. It is a deadly poison, but it was also the only measure available to preserve Hallownest.”

“So the Hollow Knight and ‘ghost’, they were both born here,” Link reasoned.

Hornet nodded. “The King could not command that power himself, but by leaving an egg here, to be killed and reanimated, he could bring about a being with both his godly power and the strength of the Void. A being devoid of mind, so he believed.”

“But the Hollow Knight wasn’t perfect. And there were more imperfect vessels before it?”

Hornet gave another nod. “Accomplish whatever task it is you have here. If you survive, I will be waiting at the Black Egg Temple.”

“Right...” Link said. He started, carefully, down the path. Hornet watched for some time, then left.

While there were occasionally more ledges for him to stop and rest on, the majority of the descent was spent trying to keep his balance as he made his way slowly and painstakingly down. He couldn’t even hold onto the wall beside him for support, as the stone was so smooth that even the mantis claws couldn’t hook into it. After hours of careful climbing and several close calls, he finally reached the bottom. He hadn’t bothered to look at anything except what was directly under his feet, but that changed when he put his foot down and heard a clatter.

Looking around him, he saw the corpses of vessels—creatures like the Knight—piled so densely that most of the floor wasn’t visible. There were thousands of them filling the entire bottom of the Abyss, along with the cracked shells of their enormous black eggs. The sheer scale of death required to create such a scene couldn’t even register. So this is the King’s sacrifice... he thought.

Thick black smoke rose up from the ground nearby, then formed into a ghostly figure resembling one of the vessels. It drifted forward, wielding a spectral nail. Link slashed it with his sword before it could attack, and it collapsed into a ball and fell back down beneath the corpses, but soon more began to rise from all around him.

Making his way across the field of bodies as quickly as he could, he found a somewhat large tunnel. The corpses ended at its edge, and when he entered the spirits didn’t follow. The tunnel contained another unnatural road like what he’d seen above, and rivers of black liquid—Void, he guessed—ran along it, gathering into small ponds. When he got too close to one of these ponds, the liquid formed into a mass of writhing tendrils and lashed out at him. He tried to keep his distance, but the tunnel narrowed near the end, and the way was blocked by a puddle.

Grabbing his bow and drawing one of the blessed light arrows, Link fired into the puddle. There was a flash of golden light which seemed to cling to the Void, and to his satisfaction he was able to walk through it safely. The light faded soon after, and the tendrils resumed reaching for him as he left the tunnel.

On the other side was another expansive chamber, not nearly as tall as the first, but much wider. Link found himself standing on the rocky shore of what looked like a sea of Void, so large that he could barely see the other side. A lighthouse on the shore shone down on the sea, seemingly keeping it calm, as there were no tendrils, even when Link got close. Still, it struck him as a bad idea to try swimming in the stuff. He tried putting the tip of a finger in, and he felt the feeling start to leave it. A cold chill ran through his whole body, and he quickly pulled the finger back out.

If I still had the Zora Mask I might be able to swim across fast enough to survive, he thought. Like this, though...

Still holding his bow, he drew an ice arrow and fired it into the Void. A platform of black ice formed around it. He stepped onto the platform and pushed off of the shore, riding along until the platform drifted to a stop. He made another platform nearby and pushed off of it, though he didn’t gain as much speed as before because the other platform could float away too. He continued this process until he reached the other side of the sea. He was nearly completely out of magic when he made it, so returning the same way would be impossible.

The place where he had landed was another tunnel, though it was narrower and more twisting than the first. Pushing through tangles of black vines, he ended up in a small cave occupied by the corpse of a huge, fat bug. It sat with its masked head bowed, holding up a stone bowl in its thin, bony arms. The bowl was overflowing with a never-ending supply of Void which ran down rivulets back toward the sea.

If that isn’t important, I don’t know what is, Link thought. He climbed onto the beast’s arms, which were surprisingly solid, and stared down at the bowl. The Void inside seemed somehow more concentrated than the rest. “Here goes,” he said, dropping the Fierce Deity’s Mask Into it.

Almost immediately, the Void in the bowl bubbled violently and expanded outward. Link tried to jump away, but the Void swallowed his legs and couldn’t control them. He scraped desperately at the shell of the beast, but he couldn’t stop himself from sinking down into the Void. His vision went dark, all except for the mask, which laid before him with the essence of the Dream World pouring off of it. Before the last of his strength faded, he drew the Dream Nail and struck the mask, fading quickly into unconsciousness.

Link awoke amid a pile of rubble, staring up at a bright orange sky. The crackling sounds of dozens of small fires echoed around him. He stood up, seeing the burning wreckage of a city surrounding him. The acrid smell of smoke permeated the air, and his eyes began to water, but even so, something about the horizon was familiar to him. Some distance ahead, he noticed a broken and splintered piece of an enormous wooden circle in the rubble, somehow untouched by the flames. He was back in Clock Town, he realized.

Dreading what he’d see, he slowly turned around to face the city’s center. The clock tower, and everything around it, were gone. In their place was a towering mound of stone; Termina’s moon, embedded into the ground.

The moment he looked on it, Link heard a chorus of screaming voices coming from all directions. White spirits rose from the ruins, flying to the top of the moon, gathering together into one shining mass. The screaming quieted, and the mass of spirits took the shape of a man.

He was tall, with thick muscles and a broad frame, and carried an enormous greatsword with two coiling blades. He wore a long pointed hat and a tunic like Link’s, both of which were silver, and a chestplate adorned his torso. His long white bangs were parted on either side of his sharp face, which was adorned with red and blue tattoos. His eyes, purely white with no pupils, stared piercingly at Link.

It was the Fierce Deity, in the flesh.

Without warning, he leapt forward, raising his sword to strike. Link barely had time to grab his shield before he came crashing down. The blow was so powerful that it sent him tumbling back into the rubble. His forearm went limp, covered in a massive bruise, and his shield fell to the ground.

Link drew his sword. Golden and splendid, it paled before the might and majesty of the Fierce Deity’s towering weapon. “Why...?” he croaked.

“This is all your fault,” the Fierce Deity boomed. With a swing of his sword, he sent a beam of energy forward.

Link jumped aside, wincing in pain as wounds all over his body made themselves apparent. “What are you talking about? I saved Termina!”

“How many times did you let this happen?” said the Fierce Deity, sending out more beams as he slowly approached. “One? Five? Twenty? Do you remember?”

He lunged with a sudden thrust. Link deflected the attack, but his blade was caught between the coils of the Fierce Deity’s, who twisted it and sent Link’s sword flying out of his hand. Before Link could react, the Fierce Deity had gripped him by the neck, lifting him up without a hint of difficulty. Link struggled, but he was powerless in the face of such overwhelming strength.

“Their pain was brief, but immeasurable. Every time you made a mistake and went back, you let this world die. Even the Goddess of Time can’t erase that. Not completely,” growled the Fierce Deity, as Link gasped for breath. “All the suffering you caused, so you could be a hero .”

He threw Link to the ground. Link struggled to his knees, crawling toward his sword, before the Fierce Deity kicked him in the chest. He coughed blood.

“And you have the arrogance to think you can command my power? Insolent fool.” The Fierce Deity raised his sword above his head.

“You don’t understand my fury,” he said, as he brought the blade down.

Link stopped it. Not with his sword or his shield, but with his bare, broken shield arm. The sword cut halfway into the bone, but he didn’t notice. He was overcome with anger.

“ I don’t understand?!” he screamed, suddenly finding the strength to get to his feet. The Fierce Deity scowled in shock. “You think I don’t remember? Every time I had to go back and do things over, part of me died.”

The Fierce Deity tried to pull his sword back but Link grabbed it with his other hand, his strength swelling. His blood was running down both of its twisting blades, soaking into the Fierce Deity’s gloves.

“I kept going back so I could save them. You’d rather have me let them die?” He ripped the sword out of the Fierce Deity’s hands. The Fierce Deity grunted, then punched him. He slid backwards but kept his footing, gripping the handle of the sword which was twice his own height. Its tip fell to the ground, and he dragged it behind him as he advanced. “ I didn’t bring the moon down. I didn’t lay curses across the land. If you want someone to blame, blame the one that did .”

He swung the sword, slowly and clumsily, and the Fierce Deity stepped out of its reach.

“You’re the one that doesn’t understand. I failed the people of Hyrule twice. Once, when I let Ganondorf conquer the kingdom, then again, when I left the survivors behind to return to the past.” He kept swinging the sword, not posing any real threat, but the Fierce Deity was still unsettled. “So I wasn’t going to fail the people of Termina, too. No matter what that took.”

For a moment it seemed as if Link was the adult and the Fierce Deity was the child. He lifted the sword. “I saw my world burned. Don’t tell me I don’t understand fury.”

The sword came down, and the dream ended.

When Link opened his eyes, he was back in the cave with the corpse of the giant bug, sitting with his back to the wall. His injuries were gone. The Fierce Deity’s Mask was laying on the ground some distance away, still glowing with the light of the Dream World. The ghostly form of the Fierce Deity appeared above the mask, but his eyes and tattoos had turned black.

“I was formed from the anger of Termina’s people. Anger at the injustices they suffered. It helped you against Majora, but it was not satisfied,” the Fierce Deity explained. “Anger can never be satisfied, but it can be controlled, and it can give you strength.”

Link approached, seeing that the mask itself mirrored the black eyes and tattoos of the Fierce Deity’s figure.

“The Void is angry, too. Indiscriminate, directionless anger. It was that anger that awakened me. A small amount now dwells in the mask. It will protect you from the Void, but nothing more.”

“It won’t give me the ability to stop the infection?” Link asked. He picked the mask up, and the Fierce Deity’s figure vanished, but he continued to hear his voice in his mind.

That is up to you. The Void could be united by a strong enough will. Do you have it? the Fierce Deity said.

I don’t know, Link answered. For now I’m going back to the Mask Maker.

He returned to the sea of Void, turning the mask over in his hands. He dreaded having to put it on again. Dreaded what it might do to him. The last time he wore it he had lost himself in it, let it take control of him. It was only after he defeated Majora that he was able to muster the strength to rip it off. He took a deep breath, then placed it on his face.

Pain shot through him as his veins bulged, his flesh merging with the mask. In a flash of light he transformed, taking the Fierce Deity’s shape. Rage welled up inside him, threatening to overwhelm him and make him a prisoner in his own body, but he took heed of the Fierce Deity’s own words, focused his mind and calmed the anger, matching it with his own, until the inferno of fury became a simmering resentment.

He placed a finger in the sea once again. It felt cold, but it didn’t have any adverse effect. He jumped in and started swimming across. It didn’t take long with the strength of the Fierce Deity, but the anger threatened to swell up multiple times. He had to put active effort into keeping it quiet. When he reached the shore, he was exhausted, but not because of the swimming. He pulled the mask off and put it away.

You learn quickly, the Fierce Deity said. Master this anger and you will master this power as well.

What does that mean?

Our minds will become one, and the mask will become a part of you.

Why would I want that? Link thought, more to himself than to the Fierce Deity.

He climbed his way back out of the abyss and headed up toward the tram station. He didn’t follow the same route Hornet had taken, though, and it led him into the path of a pair of eyeless spitting creatures with mouths on the tops of their bodies. They reminded him of the like-likes from Hyrule. They weren’t easy to deal with given their constant barrage of attacks, but he managed to close the distance and cut them down. Moments later, Cloth dug her way out of the ground nearby, looking tired and sad.

“My friend, you dealt with all of those beasts?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Link said. “Why? What were you doing underground?”

“I'm ashamed to say... I was hiding,” Cloth admitted with a sigh. “Those ghastly things chased me and I ran. If you hadn't come along, who knows if I'd ever have survived.”

“I wouldn’t think they would be much of a problem for you.”
Cloth’s head hung low. “Others take me for a fearsome warrior, what with my impressive size, but this kingdom's beasts, I wonder if I'm just no match for them?...”

“There’s no shame in retreating if you can’t handle it.”

Cloth sat for a moment, then suddenly she shook her head and jumped to her feet. “Enough!” she shouted. “I cannot wallow in my weakness. I must take strength from your example! You act so confident in battle. You show no fear before your foes. I'll try my best to do the same.”

Link nodded. “A weapon wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.”

“Hah! Right you are. I must thank you, Link! I hope we will meet again,” Cloth said. She nodded to Link and then left down one of the cavern’s tunnels. Link frowned. He was worried about her, but he left her to her own choices.

He returned to the tram and rode it back into Deepnest. The second time going through that place alone was hardly easier than the first, but he eventually made it back to the Mask Maker’s Dwelling. When he entered, he saw that the Mask Maker had put on another mask—this one circular with five eyeholes—and he once again had to pull it off before they started speaking coherently.

“Have you witnessed that truth most tragic? The Wyrm’s great shame sealed away. Now this kingdom’s stasis becomes the Wyrm’s legacy.”

“How do you even know about that?” Link asked. “Actually, that’s not important. I awakened the mask. It has a will, like you said.” He placed the mask on the workbench.

The Mask Maker picked up the mask to inspect it again, then nodded, evidently having their own conversation with the Fierce Deity. After some time, they put the mask back down. “You returned from that place alive. You are indeed the one I have waited for.”

“...What?”

“Long ago I foresaw the arrival of one bearing a mask of such power. Power to unify this land and put it to rest.”

“Of course you did,” Link muttered to himself.

“Doing so will not be without cost. In taking so much control, one risks losing control of themselves. Protection from such a fate, I can grant.”

“I get the feeling it’s not so simple.”

“I’d require an item of value which defines your existence, to focus your thoughts and remind you who you are.”

“What, do you want my hat?” Link asked.

“The decision is yours. Choose trivially, and the protection will be weak. Or decline it altogether, and put yourself in the hands of fate,” the Mask Maker answered.

Link took the Fierce Deity’s Mask back. “Let me think,” he said. He stepped far enough into the tunnel to be out of the Mask Maker’s line of sight, then sat on the ground and started laying his items out in front of him. I don’t have anything like that, he thought, setting down the hookshot and his bow.

Is that truly the case? asked the Fierce Deity.

He pulled out the Dream Nail, then the Ocarina of Time. These are important, sure, but not to me personally, he answered. And it definitely isn’t your mask. You might be just as—

Suddenly, he stopped. His hand had brushed by a pouch on his belt, one that had been there so long that he’d almost forgotten about it. With a shaky breath, he opened it and retrieved its content: a simple, wooden ocarina.

You carry another instrument, the Fierce Deity said. Why?

This one’s special, Link answered. It had been a gift from Saria upon his leaving the forest. She was his closest friend among the Kokiri, who had accepted him despite his being strange and new, with no fairy. I... I can’t get rid of this.

If you are so attached to it, it seems that it would be well-suited to this purpose, said the Fierce Deity.

No way. I don’t even know if I’ll see her again. Giving this up would be—

Fool! boomed the Fierce Deity. Would you abandon any chance of it, then? Without this protection, you may never reach your home again. Do you prefer her memory to her actual presence?

Link sighed, looking over the ocarina in silence for some time. Of course not, he said. But getting rid of this feels like losing part of who I am... Just give me some time to think.

For the first time in a long while, he brought the ocarina to his lips and played a note. The sound was rustic, not as refined as the Ocarina of Time’s pure tones, but there was a pleasantness to it.

He played several more notes to warm up, then took a deep breath and began the song that Saria had taught him. It was an upbeat, energetic melody, and despite the somber circumstances, playing it brought him some comfort. He hoped that, perhaps, the song would demonstrate its old power and allow him to speak with Saria, but he knew she was much too far away.

That desire to speak with her again, though, helped him make his decision. When he finished the song, he gathered his things, stood up, and returned to the Mask Maker.

Chapter Text

Handing over the ocarina was almost too difficult to bear.

When the Mask Maker took the instrument and started unceremoniously chipping it into pieces with their chisel, Link couldn’t watch. He left the room and waited for them to finish, wondering if this would even be worthwhile.

It was a wise decision, the Fierce Deity reassured him.

How do you know? And why are you acting so calm and helpful anyway? Link asked. Aren’t you a god of rage?

I am still a god, boy, the Fierce Deity replied. Link noted to himself that the mask was younger than he was. And you have given me much to think about.

Well, I guess you don’t have to stay angry forever.

You misunderstand. My anger will never end, nor will yours, but you have shown me that it does not need to define us.

Now that’s the smartest thing you’ve said yet.

After several hours the Mask Maker called, and Link went back inside. They were once again wearing a mask, this one being slender with four eye holes in the shape of a clover and a single horn at the top. Sitting on the bench was another mask, sized for Link’s face. It was stark white like all the others, with a simple inverted teardrop shape and two eye holes.

“A new face. A wonderful thing to have. Does it need it? To define. To focus. To exist,” said the Mask Maker.

“I’ve heard that before,” Link said, pulling their mask off again. “Is this the protection you talked about?”

“It is. It was made with the treasured item.”

Link put it on his face. “I don’t feel anything.”

“It contains a powerful spell, but it will not be of use until your task is accomplished,” the Mask Maker explained. “Its use will come only when you find part of yourself has escaped your control. Take caution in using it, that your original self is not destroyed.”

“Right...” Link said, taking the mask off. “Well, thanks.”

He put the mask away and left the chamber. Only one Dreamer seal left now, he thought. I’d better get back to the city.

No, said the Fierce Deity. You are not ready yet. I sense a presence far above us. Seek it out.

I’m taking orders from you now? Link grumbled. He looked up the chasm, which still continued for a considerable distance. Well, it’s better than going all the way through Deepnest again.

As he climbed further up the chasm, moss began to appear in patches on the walls, followed by thorny vines, and the greenery soon grew to cover most of the surfaces. Lumaflies were drifting about, creating enough light for Link to put his makeshift lantern away. Near the top of the arduous climb were a pair of animated husks which were themselves overgrown with moss.

There was more scaffolding here, and he soon saw why. The floor of a building had been built across the top part of the chasm, and despite the added support, it had collapsed. He heard the buzzing wings of something flying in the room above, and peeked through the hole to see what it was. It looked like one of the young flying mantises, but instead of a stinger on its abdomen it had long foreclaws like those of the wingless adults. When it noticed him, it swung its claws and threw a blade of air at him, like the Mantis Lords had done. Link moved out of the way of the attack and shot it down with his bow, noticing that, unlike the other mantises, it was infected.

He climbed up through the collapsed floor and emerged into a large room with elegant architecture and ornate decoration. To one side, a floor-to-ceiling window looked out over an enormous, overgrown cavern filled with huge green flowers and drifting dragonfly-like bugs. To the other was a corridor. The room itself had a wide archway opening into the cavern, and the greenery had made its way inside. While things had certainly grown out of control, the plant life seemed less wild and more cultivated than in Greenpath.

Link went down the corridor, coming into a hugely expansive room, full of vines and flowers, but with an overgrown path winding through it. Must be some kind of garden, he realized, noticing that, while the plants had nearly completely overgrown their bounds, the path was flanked by sunken flower beds. This puts the garden behind Hyrule Castle to shame. Who had the money to build all this?

Finding his way around the masses of thorn vines, he climbed an elegant stairway, past some pointed, bone-like pillars, and rounded a corner to see a cluster of green tents filling the next room. More of the same flying mantises were hovering in the air, and between the tents were similar-looking wingless mantises. They were shorter than their counterparts in the Mantis Village, with bulkier frames and larger claws, and they had dark horns resembling those of the Mantis Lords. Link couldn’t help but think they looked unnatural, like their proportions were all wrong.

As soon as the mantises noticed him, they attacked. The flying ones threw their blades or swooped down at him, while the grounded ones charged or leapt at him with their claws. Link drew his sword, charged it with magic, and performed a large and powerful spin attack, killing several of the grounded mantises and injuring the others. He ducked out of the way of the flyers’ attacks, then raised his shield against a lunge from a wingless one and countered with his own, killing it. The others kept coming. He focused on the grounded ones while avoiding the attacks from the winged ones, cutting them down if they dove in too close. When he had killed all the wingless mantises, he drew his bow and quickly dealt with the remaining flyers. Like the first one, they were all infected.

The other mantises resist the infection. What happened here? Link wondered.

Perhaps they were tempted by the strength it grants them, suggested the Fierce Deity.

Well, they are tougher than the others, but they’re not much more dangerous. They don’t have any discipline.

He continued up, past a winged variation of the moss-covered bugs from Greenpath, and found a stag station. After paying the toll to open it, he rang the bell, and the Stag soon arrived.

“Ah, Link. Before you rang the bell, I'd almost forgotten this station existed,” the Stag said. “It was not often used by the common bugs, being a well-guarded retreat for our late Queen.”

That explains where the money came from, Link thought. “So this is pretty much a royal vacation home?”

The Stag nodded. “Even as overgrown as they've become, these gardens are still beautiful after all this time. I'm sure the Queen would be happy to know that.”

Link wasn’t particularly concerned with the Queen’s feelings. You said the presence you felt was above us. Is it nearby now? he asked the Fierce Deity.

No, it is much higher still, came the answer. However, now that we are here, I do sense something else. It is weaker, but very intriguing.

Alright. “I don’t need a ride right now, but thanks for the info,” Link told the Stag.

“You are most welcome,” the Stag answered. “You and the other traveller have opened many of the stations now, and I can again travel the breadth of this kingdom. I am remembering much I had forgotten. Perhaps I will soon remember the way to the Stag Nest where I was born and raised. I would like that very much.”

“Good luck with that,” Link said.

The Fierce Deity led him further up through the gardens until they reached a narrow tunnel blocked by a wall of Void. The barrier was seemingly being produced by a pair of round black stones embedded in the floor and ceiling. Link shot one of them with a light arrow and the barrier disappeared long enough for him to pass.

You could have donned the mask to pass through, said the Fierce Deity.

I already told you I don’t want to wear it, Link replied.

He heard the sounds of fighting echoing faintly from above, and, curious, followed them. When he got closer, he recognized Cloth’s voice among the hissing screams of some creature. He hurried to where the sound was coming from, arriving at a pavilion on the edge of a wild cavern. Inside, the Knight and Cloth were both engaged with a huge mantis, with the corpses of more scattered around them. The mantis was attacking relentlessly, and while the Knight was holding its own, Cloth’s movements were too slow.

Before Link could reach them to help, the mantis impaled Cloth on one of its massive claws. She grunted in pain before shouting triumphantly and swinging her club down on its head, cracking its shell and breaking one of its horns. The scene was still for a brief moment, then they both fell to the ground, dead. The Knight, seeing this, left without the slightest indication of concern.

Link was stunned. He plodded slowly into the pavilion, littered with corpses, and sat beside Cloth’s motionless body. “Well... You faced your fears, like you said you would,” he said.

Moments later, her body began to glow with Dream Essence, and her ghost appeared, standing proudly over her body. “Link! Did you see?” she said excitedly. “Now that was something! A true battle of mighty warriors. So intense. So climactic. It's really everything I could have ever hoped for.”

“You realize that you’re dead, right?” Link asked.

“Aye, but I accomplished what I set out to do. I’d once’ve stayed well clear of this traitorous tribe, but your actions showed me the truth of it. We must face down our fears or be defeated by them.”

Link looked back over the battlefield. “You did a good job.”

“Thanks for all your help, my friend. You set a valiant example. I don’t know if we’ll meet again, but I wish you luck wherever your journey takes you.” She let out a deep, contented breath. “Be on my way soon. Nola is waiting and I'm done down here. Just savoring the moment a little longer.”

“I’ll... leave you to it, then,” Link said. He stood up and walked to the edge of the pavilion, looking back once before following after the Knight.

She did what she wanted, said the Fierce Deity. You do not need to burden yourself with her death.

I know, it’s just... sometimes I forget not everyone needs to be protected.

At the other side of the cavern, glowing white roots were growing out from the wall and floor, much like the ones around the Wyrm’s corpse, though these were much thicker. He followed the roots down a tunnel and reached a small chamber. In the center was a globe of knotted dark roots, from which the white roots seemed to burst out at different points. A white-shelled bug with a feminine figure was sitting against the globe, dead, with a pile of dead mantises before her.

Next to the dead bug, there was a narrow hole leading down into the globe. As Link approached, the Knight crawled out of the hole and left back down the tunnel. Getting a closer look, Link noticed that its nail looked completely different, like dozens of metal strands curled together. It was elegant and beautiful, but looked incredibly sharp as well.

The presence is inside, said the Fierce Deity.

Link bent down and squeezed himself into the hole. I won’t fit through here in seven years, he mused.

After a short distance, the hole opened into a passage which was only slightly less cramped. It dropped straight down until it was well underground, then led forward. More glowing white roots grew up through it, weaving in and out of the walls. At the end, it opened into a more spacious chamber.

Inside was what looked like a giant cocoon. The white roots were growing out of some of the sides, where they seemed to have broken free of the cocoon’s wrapings, but most grew like hair from the pale head at the top. The creature’s face was serene and calm, with its eyes closed as if it were asleep, but they opened when Link got near. They were clouded, almost blind.

“Another arrives!” the creature said with a soft and gentle feminine voice.”I do not see well, I’m afraid, but I sense you are a stranger to this kingdom. You are not here to plunder the ruins, that much I can tell, but I also feel something at once familiar and foreign... Who are you, and what has brought you to such a place as this?”

“I’m Link, from the kingdom of Hyrule. If you’re asking why I’m in Hallownest, I got here by accident and I’m trying to get back, but if you’re asking how I found you ...” He paused, trying to decide how to explain it, then decided to just be straightforward. “Well, I have a sentient mask that can sense your presence. I’m guessing that’s what you’re feeling.”

“Oh? It found me, despite how my power is diminished? An impressive feat, that,” said the creature.

“So then who are you?” Link asked.

“Did Dryya not inform you? It was she who allowed you to pass. Was it not?”

“You mean the bug outside? I’m sorry, but I think she’s dead.”

“Truly?” the creature asked, saddened. “Small wonder why she has not visited in so long then. She was a loyal knight, and stood guard over me for so long... Ah, but that does not concern you. Forgive me for troubling you with my own sorrows. I am called the White Lady by some, and I was once the Queen of Hallownest.”

“Oh,” Link said. If she’s as godly as the King was supposed to be, that explains why the mask could sense her, he thought. “What are you doing here? I thought the King disappeared along with the palace and everyone in it.”

“We separated from each other by choice, though it was not an easy decision to bear. It is long, long that we have been apart, compared to the short time we spent together, and I have grown very weak, but there is some shame I feel for my own part in Hallownest’s perpetuation, and this method guarantees it cease,” said the White Lady.

“You mean what you did to your children?” Link asked.

“So you have seen into that place? I am not surprised,” the White Lady said with a pause. “Yes, indeed. Despite the disgust I feel at my own actions, only through these bindings can I ensure they are not repeated. I still feel that urge you see. I always will. A voracious desire to spread seeds upon the land, to propagate myself, to breed.”

“Sorry I asked,” Link remarked.

“But I understand now the familiarity I feel. It is the darkness of that place. To bring such a power here at a time when the Vessel’s strength is fading cannot be a coincidence. What is it you intend to do?”

“Well, from what I’ve been told, my best shot at getting home is to stop the infection.”

“Surely you do not mean to take the Vessel’s place? Only a being without a mind could accomplish that. In fact, it is my hope that the one that was just here will do so.”

Link shook his head, then remembered that she was blind. “No, I mean that I’m going to try to defeat the being causing it.”

“To destroy the Radiance...” the White Lady said, contemplating. “That would be a most acceptable turn of events. It is possible that one of my spawn could do it too, of course, but the chance is so slim that I had placed no hope in its coming to pass. It would require that the entirety of the Void be united under one will.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Do you understand what such a thing would entail? The Void must be made to serve one will, and one will only. Even the shades which inhabit my remaining offspring would need to be subdued.”

“What would that mean?” Link asked.

“It would mean that their physical forms would expire. The possibility of replacing the vessel would be no more. Failing to destroy the Radiance would then doom this kingdom to fall completely under her rule,” said the White Lady with a serious tone.

“So, you’re saying it’s very risky,” Link said.

“Yes, but I would not try to stop you, even if I were able. The reward for succeeding would be great, and while the price for failure is high, it has in many ways already been paid. Hallownest will never return to the shining times of old. Do as you will, traveler. It is no longer for me to decide this kingdom’s fate.”

Do you still wish to go through with this? asked the Fierce Deity, when he had climbed back out of the cocoon.

I never wished to in the first place, Link replied. But I’m still going to.

He climbed a bit higher through the gardens and found himself back in Greenpath, in an area he hadn’t been to before. He walked along the shore of an acid river until he reached a particularly large chamber, where he noticed a house perched on a high ledge. He used his hookshot to reach it.

Inside, giant nails and the faces of huge beasts were propped against the walls, while in the center was a low round table at which two large bugs were sitting. Link recognized one of them as the Nailsmith from the city. The other had a black body with red shell plating and a bony white head with three horns. It was wearing a red headband and a gray cloak attached to a fur mantle. Both of them were bent over the table with figures of other bugs in their hands. Not far away, there was an easel holding a painting of the Nailsmith’s face

“Hmm?” said the Nailsmith, looking up. “Oh, hello Link. How strange that we should meet again in a world as vast as this. Sheo, this is the traveler I spoke of, whose nail inspired me so.”

“Well met, and welcome to my home” said the other bug, bowing his head to Link. “I am Sheo.”

Link returned the gesture, then spoke to the Nailsmith. “Why are you here? I thought you were trying to create a perfect nail.”

“And I did!” said the Nailsmith. “Not long ago, in fact, and I daresay I managed to surpass even your splendid weapon. The old cracked nail of that little wanderer had more potential than I gave it credit for.”

“Right. I saw that,” Link said. “So I guess you were satisfied enough to stop working?”

“Oh, more than that. I believed my life’s work was accomplished and I had nothing more to live for. I asked for the little one to let me feel the nail’s edge strike, but it simply left. I was irritated at first, but I soon saw the wisdom in that decision,” the Nailsmith answered. He chuckled. “The world is made of more than metal and weapons. I set out exploring and found my way here.”

“He was quite distraught,” Sheo added. “On his own quest for a new calling in life. We talked, and found much in common, so now we make art together! You see, I was a Nailmaster in a previous life. Yes, the only thing that drove me was becoming stronger and honing my skills with a nail. I imagined it was my one calling in life, but that feeling faded over time. Mastering the art of creation—painting, sculpting—these things speak to my soul and bring a different kind of pleasure. Stay and join us, if you like.”

“That sounds fun, actually, but I don’t have time,” Link said.

“Mmm. Are you more interested in Sheo the Nailmaster? I can take the time to teach you, if you insist.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Sheo nodded, then stood up. He donned a paint-stained apron, then moved over to the easel and removed the painting of the Nailsmith, placing it carefully on the table. He put a new canvas on the easel, readied a few small pots of paint, and produced a brush. Soaking the brush liberally in the paint, he made several large, decisive swings. The paint splattered haphazardly onto the canvas, but when Sheo stepped back, it bore a series of images depicting a figure with a nail in various positions.

“Study these figures carefully,” Sheo said. “With discipline and focus you can draw more strength from the structure of your body. Footwork and form are of crucial importance when fighting with a nail, more so than bladework.”

Link had hardly had any formal instruction in swordplay. He learned the basics from signs in Kokiri forest, and he’d received some training from the cowardly swordsman in Clock Town, but most of what he knew he had learned from experience. He was honestly surprised he’d even survived long enough to build up the skill he had, and he had never thought about how the mechanics of his movements might be lacking.

He studied the painting closely, then spent some time trying to imitate the positions depicted. Sheo—having gone back to working on figures with the Nailsmith—corrected his positioning as he worked.

“You will need to continue working,” Sheo said after he had been through every image, “but you have already improved quite a lot. Continue these exercises and you will draw vastly more power from your strikes.”

“Thank you,” Link said, and he meant it.

“The wielding of a nail, the wielding of a brush... these things are not so different. We cut into the world so that we can peer deeper inside. For now though, I have nothing more to teach you. My brothers focused on other areas of our master’s teachings, and they can help you further if you find them. One dwells in the cliffs above and the other at the bottom of the ash swept grave on the other side of Hallownest. Whether you seek them out is up to you. Your path forwards... only you can see it. Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Link said. He nodded to the Nailsmith and left.

Following the Fierce Deity’s sense, he continued up through Greenpath and found a small tunnel, tucked out of sight of the main path, which took him out through a small crevice to the base of the windy cliffs over which he had first entered Hallownest. He was somewhat annoyed by the thought that he could have avoided climbing the cliffs if he’d known about this passageway.

We are close, said the Fierce Deity.

We’d better be, Link replied. There’s not much higher I could go.

The second time climbing the cliffs was easier now that he had the mantis claws. The Fierce Deity guided him to a particular ledge where a small cave opened in the side of the cliff. He went inside, past two metal posts, and found the corpse of a fat six-legged bug wearing a red hood and a shoddily-sewn mask.

This is the presence you felt? Link asked, now even more annoyed.

Yes and no, the Fierce Deity answered. This being’s mind is a gateway connected to that of another being, a very powerful one. That being is the one you need to find.

You can sense all of that?

Only because I am similar to that being. I am a god born from anger; it is a god born from fear.

Why do I need to find a god of fear? Link asked.

I have come to realize that you will not master anger until you first master fear.

I had the Triforce of Courage once, you know. I think I’ve got the fear thing under control.

No! said the Fierce Deity, with sudden force. You may have overcome your fear of enemies, and even your fear of death, but you have not mastered them. And you have not overcome your fear of yourself. You refuse to wear the mask except when absolutely necessary because you are afraid of what you may become. You must cast that doubt aside and be willing to take the power that you need.

Maybe I just like to stay in my own body, Link retorted.

Is that so? Open this bug’s mind, and we shall see where your fears lie.

Fine, Link said, and drew the Dream Nail.

Chapter Text

The bug’s corpse seemed to beckon him with a sinister anticipation.

When the Dream Nail struck it, motes of red light—like dream essence, but distorted and corrupted—exploded out from it. A raspy voice sounded in Link’s head: Master... my role... apart from you... apart from kin. It pains me so. It was the bug’s final thought.

It seemed as if nothing had happened, but when Link turned around, he saw that between the two twisting metal posts, there was a third, larger one. Like the others, its tendrils opened at the top like a hand. At its base was a bed of coals.

Some kind of brazier? Link wondered. I guess I should light it.

He drew his bow and shot a fire arrow into the coals. At once, sparks began flying from the top of the post. A moment later, scarlet fire erupted from all of the posts at once. The ground shook, and Link briefly heard what sounded like carnival music, but the notes struck him as foreboding.

The being has been called, said the Fierce Deity. It is over the cliffs.

In Dirtmouth? What does a god of fear want there? Link asked.

You will have to see for yourself.

So Link climbed to the top of the cliffs a second time, but when he reached the top, he noticed a doorway hidden under an overhang, which resembled the entrance to Sheo’s house.

He went inside, and found himself in a room decorated with nails and the cracked heads of giant bugs. In the room’s center, a bug identical to Sheo was sitting under a skylight in quiet meditation.

The bug looked up when Link entered. “Hm? Ah, well met! Yes, I thought I could sense the aura of a fierce warrior approaching. You certainly look like you know how to use that nail. What is your name?”

“It’s Link. Are you one of Sheo’s brothers?”

“Ah! You’ve already met my brother Sheo. Did he teach you, then? No, don’t answer, I can tell by the way you carry yourself.I am glad that he continues to bear the proud title of Nailmaster, despite his doubts. Very well, say no more. I, Nailmaster Mato, who was taught the Art of the Nail by the Great Nailsage himself, hereby accept you as my pupil! Let us begin the lesson immediately!”

“Uh, sure.”

Mato hopped to his feet and grabbed an enormous nail. “Now, we shall start by sparring. I wish to see what you already know.”

Mato launched immediately into a spirited but controlled attack, not fighting with all his strength but merely testing Link’s abilities. They fought like this for some time until Link made use of his spin attack, at which point Mato stopped.

“My pupil, you surpass my expectations!” he said. “That was the very technique I wished to teach you, or at least something similar. You even bear some additional power that I am not familiar with. But worry not, I can still teach you! Your attack can still be faster and more ferocious.”

Mato then taught Link how to move and place his weight in order to get the maximum power out of the spin. When they had finished the training, Link could complete several spins in the same time it used to take him to do one. Link also told Mato about the magic that amplified his spin attack, and Mato resolved to attempt to master it even without the help of a Great Fairy.

“Now I know how my own master felt when he passed his teachings down to us. You honor me beyond words, my pupil... Thank you,” Mato said, with a bow.

Link bowed back. “No, thank you,” he said.

After taking a short rest in Mato’s home, Link followed the circuitous footpath down from the cliffs for the second time. As he got close to Dirtmouth, he began to see red lights among the rest of the town’s glow, and when he reached it he found a large red tent sitting just outside of town. More twisted metal braziers surrounded it, and an eerie red glow emanated from the entrance, which was shaped like a face with its mouth hanging open. Two six-legged bugs with long necks and red shells flanked the door, both wearing a white mask with a vertical black line crossing down through each eye hole.They looked like more proper versions of the mask that the dead bug in the cliffs was wearing. The same ominous music could be heard from inside.

Elderbug was staring at the tent from some distance away, with an expression of both fear and worry. “Ahh, Link, you’re back again!” he said when Link had gotten near. “Look! Something strange and sinister has suddenly appeared! Ugh, it fills me with dread. I think it best I try to ignore it.”

Probably a wise decision... Link thought. He approached the tent’s entrance and tried to greet the two creatures guarding it, but all they did was motion for him to go inside, so he did.

The tent was larger on the inside than on the outside. A long hallway stretched ahead, all red with curtains hanging on the walls. Link followed it and found the source of the music at the halfway point. In a small side-room stood a humanoid bug with a burly build. It wore a mask like those of the bugs outside, as well as a dark hood and a furry red shawl. The music was coming from a smaller bug that it was holding in its hands and playing like an accordion.

“Hello?” Link said.

The bug stopped playing. “Mrmm. You called us? Speak to Master,” he said, before resuming his song.

Link frowned and continued down the corridor. At the end was a large circular chamber surrounded by raised seats. It was empty and dark, illuminated only by a few dimly-burning lanterns, but when Link entered, more lights began flying around the room and a red mist rose from the floor. The lights converged and exploded into red flame, and when it dissipated, a tall and imposing bug had appeared, complete with a spotlight.

Quite the entrance, Link thought.

The bug was slender, wreathed in a black cloak with a red inside lining. Its head was black, with two wide but short horns, and it stood facing away from Link. “So it was you who called us,” the bug said in a raspy voice. “Well met, my friend. Well met. I am Grimm, master of this troupe.

“The lantern has been lit, and your summons heeded. A fine stage you choose, this kingdom fallowed by worm and root, perfect earth upon which our Ritual shall take place. And you, my friend. Your own part is far from over.”

He turned and bowed low, and Link saw that his white face resembled the masks the other bugs were wearing, only his eyes glowed like soft red flames. “As the lantern flared your role was cast, our compact written in scarlet fire. Eager we are to see you commence, but first, some illumination is required.” He straightened back out and opened his cloak enough for another creature to fly out. It was small, with a face like Grimm’s but no horns. It had a round gray body and four wings that were little more than black tendrils. It flew to Link and began hovering in circles around him.

“Across these lands my kin now spread,” Grimm continued, “harvesting that essence peculiar to my... breed, the flame in dream. Seek my kin; claim their flame and return it to me. Together, marvels shall be achieved. But don't fret. For this task you won't travel alone. My child shall guide you to the flame and gather within itself that burning essence. Like you, the child  plays key role in this task. Only with it by your side will the flame, and my kin, reveal themselves to you.” With that, he vanished in a puff of red mist, and the spotlight went out.

He didn’t even learn my name, Link thought. He looked at the child, which seemed to have already grown attached to him. Oh boy... “Well, lead the way then,” he said.

The child started flying back out of the tent, not getting too far from Link and frequently turning around to check that he was still following. When they passed by the burly bug again, he nodded, saying “The flame. Seek it out. For Master. For our kin. Mrmm.”

The child wanted to take him through Dirtmouth, toward the Crystal Peak, but Link stopped first to check on the townsfolk. He bought some maps from Iselda, who seemed quite wary of the troupe, and he made sure that Myla hadn’t gone back underground.

When he stepped into Sly’s shop, the little bug suddenly perked up. “Hmm, you seem a little different. Something has changed in your bearing,” he said. “Ah! The way you hold your nail! You must have learned from someone very skilled... Very interesting. I wonder, do you have the passion to continue your training?”

“What’s got you so interested in that?” Link asked.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Let’s talk Geo instead.”

Link bought one of the trinkets lying around just because he felt bad for never giving Sly any business, then he set out following Grimm’s child. “I’ve got to think of a name for you,” he thought aloud.

The child led him a short ways into the crystal-lined passage through which he’d first entered the mountain. Sitting on one of the small platforms of stone was another of the troupe’s small lamps. When they got close, a small ghostly creature wearing one of the troupe’s masks appeared, picked it up, and flew into the air. Laughing and wielding the lantern like a magic staff, it started shooting small, slow balls of fire that were easy to avoid. It only took a few shots from his bow for Link to deal with it, at which point it exploded into red flame which the child eagerly absorbed.

It’s like I’m back in the Forest Temple, Link mused.

The child then took him down a long, winding path to eventually reach the storerooms of the city. There they found another creature like the first. It was more aggressive, charging Link with the burning lantern, but it was still not much of a threat.

If this is supposed to make me afraid, it’s not working very well, Link thought.

The Fierce Deity seemed amused by that. The ritual is far from over, he said.

Next, the child took him to Greenpath. When Link had defeated the creature and the child absorbed its flame, it seemed energized and began taking him back to the surface. As they went up the road through Greenpath, though, the child suddenly made an alarming sound. Link went on alert and quickly noticed something hiding in the nearby greenery. He drew his sword with a fluid motion and pointed it at where the presence was.

After several seconds, he saw six white eyes appear in the darkness of the foliage. A low, growling voice spoke: “Twice now you have foiled me. Little creature, your senses are sharp and your movements are quick... Are you a hunter, like me?”

“What are you talking about?” Link asked.

“I can feel it inside you... the urge to kill. Do you not wish to hunt the creatures of this world?”

“...You’re imagining things,” Link said. He put his sword back away and left. The child flew beside him, watching the creature until it was out of sight. “Good job back there,” Link said to it. “You may have saved my life.” It seemed pleased to hear that.

When he reached Dirtmouth again and returned to the tent, the accordion-playing bug spoke to him again. “...Mrmm. Very good. The child burns with flame. Master... is waiting for you. Mrmm.”

When Link entered the central room of the tent, Grimm reappeared. “I can feel it,” he said. “The warmth of the flame you've gathered together. A masterful opening act. The air hums with excitement. Dear child, you've done so well. Let your fire burn even brighter!” A thin black arm emerged from the folds of his cloak, and he snapped his fingers. The child burst briefly into flame, and when the fire dissipated it had grown. Its body was longer and its head had the same horns as its father.
“Beautiful, yes,” Grimm continued. “The child has grown, from idle youth to deadly companion. About these dangerous lands, its aid will no doubt be welcome. Keep hunting that scattered, scarlet essence. When the child is filled with flame once more, return to the stage and the performance will begin.” Once again, he vanished.

This time when they passed by the musician, he said nothing, merely watching them go.

The child started flying toward the cliffs, but not to the path that led to the top. Instead, it took Link straight to a sheer face and flew halfway up to where a broken ledge jutted out. Pieces of a walkway, reduced to rubble, were scattered on the ground nearby.

Must be the old way into Hallownest, Link thought. He grabbed his mantis claws and started climbing. As he reached the ledge, he found a huge archway opening into the side of the cliff, with a road leading in.

A large, round, black stone with a flat face, like the ones on the other side of the cliffs and outside the Abyss, stood nearby. When Link got close to it, a message appeared:

‘Higher beings, these words are for you alone. Beyond this point you enter the land of King and Creator. Step across this threshold and obey our laws. Bear witness to the last and only civilization, the eternal Kingdom. Hallownest’

More of the King’s arrogance, Link thought.

The road was broken and collapsed in many places, but the child only took him a short distance further. Soon enough, they found another torch sitting in the ground, and another ghost-like creature took hold of it. This one, however, was much larger than the others, and seemed to wield its torch with more confidence. Raising it above its head, it sent forth waves of flame which spiraled outward. Link ducked for cover behind a rock and waited for the fire to pass. Readying his bow, he peeked back out but found that there was only some faint essence where the creature had been.

Swiveling his head around, he searched in vain until the child hissed and spat a small ball of fire above them. Link followed it with his eyes as it flew to hit the creature. It cast another spell, sending a spray of fireballs down at him. He quickly brought his shield above his head to block the attack, then dropped it and fired an ice arrow at the creature. A cloud of steam spread from where it struck, and the creature seemed weakened as its movements slowed. Link’s next arrow struck it squarely in the center of its mask, cracking it in half and finishing it. The child again consumed the flames of the creature’s death.

“Deadly companion indeed,” Link said. Flying and breathing fire, the child reminded him of the dragon Volvagia, whom he’d faced in Hyrule’s Fire Temple. “What if I called you Vol? Do you like that name?”

The child made a noise that was something like a purr, which Link took as a sign of approval.

“Alright, then. Vol it is. I think we’re going to get along down here.”

It took quite some time to reach the next torch, as it turned out to be across the kingdom under the Resting Grounds. Though Link now knew how to effectively counter the creature guarding it, the area was much less open, which made it difficult to get a clear line of sight. In the end, it was Vol distracting it that allowed him to take the shot. Link was becoming very fond of him indeed.

The third torch was on the side of the ravine which marked the kingdom’s edge. Being in such a large area, it was easy to collect the flame.

Before they returned to Dirtmouth, however, Link remembered what Nailmaster Sheo had said and decided to see if he could find the last brother. He’d already been into the tunnels that led to the Wyrm’s corpse, but he found another set of passages at the bottom of the ravine. He had to fight his way past several huge mosquito-like creatures which hopped around hoping to crush him under their immense weight, but at the end of the tunnels he found another house like the two Nailmasters’.

Unlike the other two houses, the inside was not decorated with nails or trophies of battle, but instead with velvet curtains and a few shelves. Link almost mistook the bug occupying it for Mato, as not only did he look identical, but he was sitting in meditation in almost the exact same position.

“Hmph. How did you find me, down here where the world ends?” said the bug in a grumpy voice.

“Your brothers—”

“So you’ve been training with Mato and Sheo? How fortunate of you. And I suppose you came here to complete your training with the legendary Nailmaster Oro.”

“That’s right,” Link answered

“It is the law of the Great Nailsage that I must pass down my teachings to those who are worthy,” Oro said, almost scoffing. “But no law forbids me from exacting a payment for my time. If you truly wish to train under me, prove it with Geo.”

“Fair enough,” Link said, searching his pockets. “Not like I’ve had much use for it anyway.”

Oro focused on speed, teaching footwork that would allow one to move quickly without lowering their guard. It was especially useful, he said, for catching opponents off-guard with a quick attack when they thought they were out of reach. Oro was oddly light on his feet for his size, but he said that his techniques would be even more effective for Link.

“Hmph. I must say, you are an excellent pupil,” Oro said, when they had finished the training. “Your skill with the nail, and your thirst to become stronger... you remind me of my brothers. I have taught you all I can. Go back into the world, traveler, and leave me to my solitude.”

Not wanting to draw out the conversation any more than Oro did, Link obeyed that request. In an incredibly short time, his swordsmanship had improved immensely, and he was grateful to the Nailmasters for taking the time to work with him.

He found his way up to the King’s Station and rode the Stag back to Dirtmouth. When he stepped out into the square, he noticed that the lights in Sly’s shop were out. There was no sign on the door, though, and it was still wide open. He stepped inside and found that Sly wasn’t there, but with only a cursory investigation he found that there was an open trapdoor behind the counter, with a ladder leading below.

Link climbed down into a large basement dimly illuminated by candles. In the center was a shrine on which a huge nail was mounted. Sly was sitting before it.

“So you’re the Great Nailsage,” Link said. “You must be.”

“I had a feeling you’d return soon,” said Sly. “You have mastered the arts of my remaining pupils, and I must recognize your skill. I have a gift for you, Link.” He stood up and produced a bronze- and white-colored badge in the shape of a circle with three protrusions at the top. It somewhat resembled the Nailmasters’ heads. Revealing a set of tiny wings, he floated up briefly and pinned it onto Link’s tunic.

“As a shopkeeper I admit parting with it for free is rather difficult, but tradition decrees you too may hold the symbol. Wear it proudly, Nailmaster. You shall be the last to receive its like.”

“...Thank you,” Link said. He hadn’t been expecting anything like this.

“Off you go now. I’ve nothing more to give you. Not for free at least,” Sly said, suddenly resuming his normal demeanor.

It was then finally time to return to the troupe’s tent. For the third time, as Link entered the central chamber, Grimm appeared in a burst of red mist.

“Wonderful. Wonderful!” he said. “My kin arrive and the time has come.” He raised both his arms, lifting his cloak to reveal a slender body with a red-shelled torso. Vol flew to him and he quickly wrapped the child in the cloak’s folds. Turning away and bending inward as if to keep Vol contained, his cloak began billowing. “This searing fire... it carries well the ritual’s promise.”

The billowing stopped, and he resumed his ordinary posture. He brought a hand out from his cloak and snapped his fingers, and the whole room was brightly illuminated. Link suddenly saw that the seats surrounding the stage were packed with the same ghostly creatures that had borne the torches, all watching with eager anticipation.

“Dance with me, my friend,” Grimm continued. “The crowd awaits. Show them you are worthy of a starring role!”

Link could tell what was coming. Grimm bowed low, and Link responded in kind before drawing his sword and shield. A moment later, Grimm swept forward, his cloak forming a sharp edge which trailed behind his slashing claw. Link blocked with his shield and tried to counter, but Grimm was already following up with an uppercut that carried him high into the air, where he exploded into a shower of red flames.

Keeping his shield over his head, Link looked around the arena until he saw Grimm reappear. He opened his cloak, and three bat-like creatures composed of fire spewed out. Link charged ahead, knocking them aside with his shield, and lunged, but Grimm disappeared again just before the attack connected.

He materialized in the air again, diving at Link with his cloak twisted into the shape of a drill. Link jumped away, and Grimm gave chase as his cloak jutted out like a lance. Link only barely sidestepped, then swiped. Grimm hissed, but as the sword struck him, Link felt little resistance. Grimm’s form dissipated as he transformed into a swarm of shadowy creatures that looked like Vol. They flew around the arena before coalescing at the opposite end, where Grimm reformed.

Before Link could close the distance again, the numerous tails of Grimm’s cloak shot into the ground. A moment later, they reemerged as spikes around the arena. One of them would have struck Link in the chest and surely killed him had he not had his shield in front of him. As it was, it hit with alarming force and knocked him onto his back, dazed. The spikes retracted, and Link regained his wits just in time to roll out of the way as Grimm dove at him from the air again, then he scrambled back, hiding behind his shield from a barrage of claw swipes. The attack suddenly stopped as Grimm vanished again, and Link dove aside from a lunge which he knew would be coming from behind. He was right, and he used the brief opening to regain his footing. All the while the crowd was roaring.

Grimm launched into the air and shot his cloak tails into the ground around Link. Then, pulling them taut, he propelled himself down with great speed. His legs collided with Link’s shield, but Link had braced himself, and only buckled slightly. With a quick spin, he severed the tense threads of the cloak around him, and Grim flew back from the sudden lack of force. He flipped in midair and landed on his feet, raising his head to see Link lunging with his sword aimed squarely at his head.

Then, Grimm caught his sword, stopping the entire weight of the thrust dead in its tracks. He locked eyes with Link, and his face split open to form a mouth where before there was none, grinning maniacally.

The screaming applause of the crowd seemed to fade to silence, and Link could hear his heart nearly beating out of his chest. As his breath grew faster and shallower, he suddenly became keenly aware of how much Grimm towered over him. For the first time in what felt like ages, he was truly afraid for his life. He panicked. Grimm seemed to him a bigger threat than Ganondorf.

He pulled his sword back and hastily tried to retreat. Grim swiped once, twice, three times with his claws, but Link at least had the sense to keep his shield in front of him. It did little good, however, as in his rush to escape he tripped and fell. Grimm loomed above him, eyes burning with sinister glee as he raised his arm and his cloak wrapped around it to form a spear.

As Grimm moved to bring the weapon down, time felt like it slowed to a crawl. Link saw in his mind the faces of the people in Hyrule he was trying to return to, and suddenly remembered why he fought. What a fool I’ve been, he thought.

With a determined shout, he hurled his sword up, where it slashed Grimm across the face. Recoiling with a shrill scream, Grimm vanished and reappeared in the center of the arena, hovering well above the ground. His cloak turned blood-red and expanded to the shape of a spike-covered ball. The crowd cheered wildly as fireballs started flying out in every direction, leaving little room to avoid them.

But Link no longer had any room for doubt. He grabbed his sword and rushed forward, sometimes blocking the fireballs with his shield, sometimes diving through gaps between them, and sometimes simply allowing them to singe his skin as they passed. He reached the center of the arena, jumped up, and slashed, but his sword bounced off like the cloak was made of solid steel.

Without stopping, Link enacted a new plan. He rolled away and replaced his sword and shield on his back, kneeling with his head ducked so that the fireballs could only strike the shield. He drew his bow and readied an ice arrow, then quickly turned and fired.

It was a large target, so he didn’t need to take time to aim. The arrow penetrated only just past the tip, but was more than enough. The cloak immediately began to deflate and return to its original black color as the fireballs grew smaller and stopped completely. Grimm groaned, shuddering in midair, before exploding into mist. The crowd went silent.

A moment later, he came back, bowing like he had at the start of the fight, and the audience erupted into applause. This time, Link merely tilted his head in response.

“Bravo, my friend. Hear how the crowd adores you! They've not seen such a show in a long time,” Grimm said. He snapped his fingers, and flames gathered in the air, combining to form Vol. His horns were slightly sharper, he had a third pair of wings, and his body had grown longer and become the same shiny color of red as Grimm’s body.

“Look here! How our child has grown, nourished and strengthened by the heat of our passionate dance! The two of you will feature in many tragedies and triumphs together, I'm sure. And so our great Ritual nears its end. Will you continue to harvest the flame, even though now you surely see the path it illuminates for us? Our scarlet eyes will watch you keenly... friend.”

With those words, Grimm vanished again, the lights went out, and the chattering of the audience ceased. His voice echoed with one last message, however. “Go out into the darkness. Harvest the last lingering embers of this Kingdom. Then return to me and we will complete our dance.”

As soon as Grimm’s voice stopped, Link collapsed, his legs suddenly too shaky to hold him. As he breathed heavily, Vol drifted down next to him and made a sound of concern.

“Thanks, bud,” Link said, when he had caught his breath enough to speak. “I’m just... calming down.”

So, you have finally mastered your fear of death, said the Fierce Deity. Instead of merely fighting through it, you have turned it into a potent weapon.

Honestly, I’m just happy to be alive right now, Link answered.

Chapter Text

The music had stopped.

With that realization, Link struggled to his feet, still somewhat unsteady, and ambled down the tent’s entrance hall, where he found that the accordion-playing bug was gone.

That’s odd, he thought, but seeing as there was nothing to do about it at the moment, he moved on.

“Well, it looks like we’ve got one last round of flame-gathering ahead of us,” he said to Vol. “Let’s get to it.”

Vol began to lead Link into Hallownest again, this time taking him down through the Crossroads and into the Fungal Wastes.They descended, skirting the edges of the Mantises’ territory—who now bowed to Link instead of attacking him—and came to a gorge where the air was especially thick with the smell of spores.

When he found the torch, the creature that appeared to guard it was even larger than those before, with a red-colored body and glowing eyes, but Link was newly resolute in his actions. As the creature summoned pillars of fire from beneath him, he stepped nimbly out of the way, fired an ice arrow, and followed it quickly with a jump slash, slicing the creature’s mask in half. Vol fed on the flames of its death and they continued onward.

Next, they passed through the sewers, which Link was not happy to revisit (although Ogrim was quite glad to see him again), and descended through the broken elevator shaft to an equally-broken road, where they found the next torch. This guardian was much more difficult to deal with, owing to the limited space to stand in the passageway, but Vol proved his growth by latching onto it with his teeth to give Link a clear shot.

For the final flame, Vol led him to Deepnest (taking the long way back through the Mantis Village since Link had no tram pass of his own) for what he hoped would be his last visit to the place. Vol’s help greatly eased the travel, however, as he could often spot enemies before Link did and give him a significant advantage with his fireballs. They trekked all the way to the hanging village, where Vol flew into one of the smaller buildings.

Inside was a pile of dead Hallownest bugs, all wrapped in silk like a spider’s prey. The torch was there too, but instead of being guarded by another ghost-like creature, it was held by the burly accordion-playing bug from the tent.

“Mrmm. You came,” he said, as Link entered. “I am Brumm, servant of the troupe. The red flame I've gathered from this dead Kingdom. You would claim it... for our Master. For his final act. The Ritual plays itself out once more. We are like the notes in an old, old song. You and me. Mrmm. Endless, repeating songs of sacrifice, of servitude. For the Ritual. For the troupe. For the Master. Even this child was born into invisible chains. Mrmm. So we serve... Thus it has ever been. Yes? Take the flame then, it is why you came here.”

He held the torch up, and the flames flew out to be absorbed by Vol, leaving the room almost totally dark.

“What do you mean about servitude and chains?” Link asked. “Are you trapped in the troupe?”

“Mrmm. It is not merely by fortune that we meet here, in the darkest, furthest reaches of the world, where my Master's scarlet eyes can not see us,” Brumm answered. “Yes, we kin are slaves to the ritual, bound to the troupe for eternity. Mrmm. But a song that never ends... is no song at all. You take part in the Ritual, yet I sense you truly have no Master. Is it so? Perhaps together we can banish that livid flame and let this dead Kingdom rest in peace.”

“Would that give you your freedom?”

“Mrmm. Perhaps.”

Link looked up at Vol, hovering over his shoulder. “And what would happen to the rest of the troupe?” he asked.

“Gone. Never to return to this kingdom. But afterwards... impossible to know. Mrmm. More rituals in other lands, perhaps, or fading away forever.”

“I...” Link trailed off.

“If you wish to silence the endless song... Mrmm, meet me where it began... But if you return to the Master and complete the Ritual... Mrmm. As long as you do it without regret, I will bear you no hatred,” Brumm said. He stepped out of the building, leaving Link and Vol alone.

Link followed and sat on the edge of the doorway. Vol floated down and lay beside him.

“You haven’t done anything wrong yet,” Link said. “Even if the rest of the troupe is evil, I can’t set Brumm free without putting you in danger... But, you’ll grow up to replace your father one day, won’t you? Will you be keeping innocent bugs prisoner too?”

He sighed, and sat in thought for some time, not knowing what to do. He wondered why Brumm couldn’t just leave if he wanted to. Was he being threatened? Or was it some kind of magical binding? If it were, he probably wouldn’t be able to defy Grimm at all, but he clearly had at least some autonomy.

Then he remembered the words of the Mask Maker: ‘To change a face; to conceal it fully within another... A powerful protection that is, but one with sad consequence. The original mind is destroyed, though those of striking will may still retain a sliver of that concealed self.’

The mask! That was what kept him in the troupe, whether he realized it or not. Well, I know how to deal with masks like that, Link thought, making up his mind.

He stood up and set off for the cliffs. Fortunately, he found that there was actually a disused stag station in the side of the village, and the Stag was just as eager as he was to get them both out of Deepnest. Link rode to Greenpath and quickly found his way back to the cave where the lantern stood. Brumm was waiting beside it, holding his unlit torch.

“So you followed me here, to where the Ritual began. You would join me in breaking it then?” Brumm said.

“No,” Link answered.

“No? Then why have you come here?”

“Because I can still help you,” Link said. “Trust me, it’ll do more good this way. Now, tell me about that mask you’re wearing.”

“Mrmm. I have always worn this. It is a sign of my allegiance to the troupe.”

“I thought so. I bet I can get you out of the troupe, but I can’t say what’ll happen to your mind. You might be a completely different person afterward. Are you okay with that?”

“If it means freedom, then yes. But the ritual will continue. Mrmm. Others will take my place.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Link said. “I promise you, I won’t let Vol grow up to be like Grimm. If I’m going to be raising him, I’m going to do it right.”

“Mrmm. Very well,” said Brumm. “I am ready.”

Link nodded, grabbed the Ocarina of Time, and started playing the Song of Healing. Brumm’s posture began to soften, and when the song finished there was a flash of light as his mask and hood fell to the ground. When the light faded, Brumm had changed. Under his hood was a white head with small eyes and nostrils. His body had a blue shell under his red shawl, and his arms had lost their bulk, becoming just as skinny as most other bugs’ limbs. He was looking around, seemingly confused.

“Ah. Hello!” he said, his voice now cheery and upbeat. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Link. You don’t remember me?”

He thought for a moment. “I’m afraid I don’t remember much of anything, though this burning lantern does stir something in me. In any case, my name is Nymm. I’m pleased to meet you, or meet you again, as it seems. It must have been the sand and the wind outside that dulled my mind. I can’t imagine how long I must have traveled to forget the origin entirely.”

“Well, never mind,” Link said, scooping up the fallen mask and putting it away. “I have to go. There’s a town on the other side of these cliffs if you need somewhere to stay.”

“Thank you, Link. I think I’ll head there shortly.”

Link knew it would take some time for Nymm to get over the cliffs without mantis claws, and trusted that he would have enough time to finish the ritual before that happened. He went straight to Dirtmouth and into the troupe’s tent, but found it empty. Even when he reached the central stage, Grimm didn’t appear, and it remained dark.

There was, however, a second hallway across from the first which had seemingly opened up in the wall. Link followed it, and at the end he found Grimm asleep, wrapped in his cloak and suspended from the ceiling like a bat. Red essence floated around him.

So this is how the ritual ends, Link thought, retrieving the Dream Nail.

Wait, said the Fierce Deity. He is the King of Nightmares. He will be many times more powerful in his mind than he is in this world. You need my power.

Link remembered how he had almost died fighting Grimm before. Even if he hadn’t panicked, it would still have been a close battle. He sighed. The mask was right. He’d have no chance on his own against a version of Grimm with all the power of the Nightmare Realm. Alright, he said, grabbing the mask.

Remember, do not hide from this power. Embrace your anger, focus it like you did your fear, and you will be strengthened beyond all measure, said the Fierce Deity, before Link put the mask on.

Once again, he endured the painful transformation into the Fierce Deity, and felt rage welling up inside him. He suppressed it long enough to draw the Dream Nail and strike Grimm with it, then fell unconscious.

He woke with a start in what seemed to be the same place, but both Grimm and Vol were gone. Fighting not to lose himself in the mask’s burning fury, he went back down the hallway. He heard the sound of a heartbeat ahead, getting louder as he approached. Be began to pass by thick tubes made from sewn-together cloth of various shades of red, then the hallway itself became the same.

When the passage ended and opened up into a huge chamber, he saw the source of the sound. Hanging from the ceiling was a giant mass of patchwork resembling a cluster of glaring bug faces stuck together, and it was beating like a heart, though slowly and weakly. On either side of the room, peering out of the darkness, were the same ghostly creatures that had guarded the final set of flames.

Suddenly, with a sound of something being struck, a large gash appeared on the front of the heart, with red light leaking out. Two more strikes followed as the gash widened, and finally scarlet fire began pouring out. Link saw Grimm’s silhouette among the flames, and he gripped the immense sword on his back.

As the flames stopped, Grimm materialized before him. His cloak and horns were now bright red, and he seemed to radiate heat by his very presence. There was no pretence of politeness; he did not bow, which was just as well to Link.

Grimm charged, and Link swung his sword. Their blows bounced off of each other, but Grimm had gotten faster. With his other hand, he raked his claws up, scratching Link’s face and flying into the air before exploding into a wave of fire. Link cut through the flames with a beam from his sword, then looked for where Grimm would appear next, but he didn’t. The spikes from his cloak shot out of the ground without warning, and one of them grazed Link’s arm. He grimaced, fighting to suppress the anger that the pain instilled.

As the spikes retracted, Grimm appeared above him, wreathed in flame, and descended. He hurried to counter with an upward swing, but he was too slow. Grimm’s pointed cloak struck him in the middle of his chestplate. It didn’t go through, but it left a dent and made him stumble. When Grimm’s next attack came, he barely had time to get his sword up and block it.

I’m concentrating too much on controlling myself to fight, Link thought.

Realizing he had no choice, he let go of his hold on the rage and allowed his emotions to control him. When Grimm reappeared behind him, he spun around quickly and attacked with renewed ferocity, interrupting Grimm’s strike and forcing him to defend himself with his cloak. He kept swinging, recklessly and with abandon, but couldn’t break through the shields that the cloak formed into. Then Grimm vanished.

He appeared again some distance away, opening his cloak to release a swarm of flaming bat creatures. Link cut through them with ease, but the flames were hiding Grimm from his vision, and when they dispersed he saw the Nightmare King hovering in the air with his cloak fluttering.

Shouting in rage, Link started swinging wildly, sending beams of energy from his sword to hit the unmoving target, but he didn’t notice the heat rising from beneath him. Suddenly, fire burst up from the ground below his feet in a towering pillar. The godlike resilience of the Fierce Deity meant that it didn’t kill him, but he was still badly burned. The heart started beating faster as light poured out from its eyes and its wound.

The pain helped him regain his composure just enough to realize that this approach wasn’t working either. When he went berserk and stopped paying attention to anything except attacking his opponent, it made him predictable and left him vulnerable. And while suppressing his anger completely was fine when he was merely traveling, it would not serve him in combat.

What he needed was focus. To utilize the strength and speed his anger granted him, but without losing his head.

He started by bringing his fury back down. He quickly stepped away from the subsequent pillars of flame that followed him instead of continuing to attack, but when Grimm dove at him, he let out a cry and threw himself fully into an upward thrust. He hit his mark, and Grimm barely had time to disperse into a swarm before he took a fatal wound. Not only that, but Link suddenly found it much easier to control himself.

This was how Link turned the fight in his favor. He let his anger build while he was defending or evading, then unleashed it all at once when he moved to attack. His strikes became more potent with the concentrated power he could let out, and it was easier to hold the rage back when he knew it would soon have an outlet. Every time Grimm tried to attack from a new direction, Link could turn and strike faster than Grimm could reach him, and even though he wasn’t landing any direct hits, the pure strength in his blows was wearing Grimm down.

Soon, Grimm resorted to the same technique of expanding his cloak into a ball with which he’d ended the previous fight, but instead of balls of fire flying out, the flames came in massive waves. There was no way to avoid them, Link would simply have to end the fight before they killed him.

He knew a normal attack would have no effect, but magic could at least do some damage. With that in mind, he pulled his sword back, readying a massive swing as he built and focused his rage along the blade’s edge. One wave of fire passed, then another, but his grip didn’t waver. Screaming in defiance, he swung the sword with all his might, and a massive spinning disk of energy launched forward. It collided squarely with Grimm and cut a large slit across the cloak. It shrank, Grimm fell, and as fire started bursting out of the wound on the now fiercely-beating heart, Link charged and impaled him squarely in the chest.

The flames grew so bright that everything except Grimm himself faded from view. With a final cry, he crumbled to pieces, and the dream ended.

Author's Note: Also, I made a quick sketch of this fight because I think the matchup is cool.

Chapter Text

When Link awoke, the troupe’s tent was gone.

The only sign that the troupe had ever been in Dirtmouth was Vol, who was laying down a short distance away. His wings, which had before been mere tendrils, were now leathery, like those of a bat. Those wings would eventually grow into a cloak like Grimm’s, Link realized. When Vol opened his eyes a moment later, Link saw that they now glowed with the same fire that Grimm had possessed.

Upon waking, Vol growled and flew back from Link, who suddenly remembered that he was still in the form of the Fierce Deity. That’s weird, he thought. Normally it’s impossible not to notice that. The anger that accompanied the donning of the mask was there, but it was low and steady, not trying to flare out of control. He was in control of himself.

“Don’t worry, Vol. It’s still me,” he said. “I’m going to look like this for a little while. There’s one last thing for me to do, and I need to get used to this feeling.”

Vol hesitated, then made his strange purring noise and returned to Link’s side.

They heard accordion music as they neared Dirtmouth, and Link was happy to know that Nymm had made it there. Not wanting to disturb any of the townsfolk with the Fierce Deity’s appearance, though, he went around the town and descended into the well once again. As he landed on the disease-ridden streets, he heard Hornet’s voice from the direction of the temple.

“So this is the power that mask hid,” she said. “Even with my dull senses I could feel your presence. You exude Soul with every movement. I am reminded of my father.”

“Soul?” Link asked.

“It is the force which animates living things. Greater Beings overflow with it and it grants them power, and there are those, like our vessel, who can extract it from those they kill. Foolish bugs of the capital tried to replicate that ability, and it brought them ruin,” Hornet explained. “You may call it something different, but it is what we call Soul, and I would not mistake the impression it gives.”

Link’s feelings and those of the mask were becoming less distinct, so once Hornet mentioned that, Link did indeed feel the presence of some kind of power beneath him, in the general direction of the city. He understood now what the mask meant when it said could feel the White Lady and Grimm. This power, though, felt like the same thing he used to create his sword beams. However, he also felt a much weaker presence in the same place, which he would not have noticed had the presence of so much Soul not brought his attention there.

I guess there’s time for a little detour, he thought.

“I’m on my way back to the Abyss,” he told Hornet. “If nothing goes wrong, I’ll be joining you soon.”

Hornet nodded, and turned to return to the temple.

Getting to the city didn’t take long; there was a lift from the Crossroads which had been switched on recently. It ended at the storage rooms, which were connected by one of the city’s many suspended walkways with the very tower from which Link could feel the large amount of Soul. It was also, he noted, the same tower which quirrel had told him the Knight went into when they had met in the city.

Crossing over to the tower, Link passed through an ornate-looking doorway into a room where hundreds of the stone journals that the bugs of Hallownest used were piled up. Among them lay the corpse of a large bug with an equally large head in which three white gems were embedded. It was evidently killed with a nail.

Link climbed up through several more rooms, passing broken glass jars and more dead bugs, until he was eventually attacked by a live one. It hovered in the air and fired globs of gel-like energy from its forehead, but died to a single sword beam. Not much further, he found one of the glass jars intact. Inside, a few balls of pure white energy were swirling around. Out of curiosity, he broke the jar himself, and the balls of energy flew into his chest. He felt a brief burst of vitality and knew that this was Soul. He wondered where the bugs of the tower had gotten it from.

He continued up the tower, passing plenty of dead bugs, a few living ones, and lots of ooze-like creatures which seemed to have once been among the soul-manipulating bugs. They had the same white gems in their foreheads, but they were much larger, like they had swollen up. At the very top of the tower, a doorway opened onto the roof of a lower level. It was made of glass, but only a few shards at the edges were left of it; the rest had been shattered, letting the rain pour into the room below. The water was only a few inches high, so Link knew that the roof had been broken recently.

He jumped down into the room, where, to his horror, hundreds of dead bugs—the small ones from the city, not the Soul-users—were piled against the walls.

So this is how they got all their Soul, he thought. Pulling it out of any innocent bug they could get their hands on. It was sickening.

One of the bugs was more recently killed than the rest. It was one of the Soul-users, but it was larger, and it wore a deep blue cloak and a red mantle which distinguished it from the others. Its body was glowing with dream essence.

Seems I’ve found that second presence. It must be the one who was in charge of this place, Link thought. “Wait here, Vol,” he said, drawing the Dream Nail and striking the bug.

He appeared in the Dream World on a floating platform. A copy of the tower’s top floated before him, and as he stepped forward a walkway formed from the nearby floating rubble. He walked through part of the tower and out onto the roof, which was not broken here. A moment later, the bug appeared above him in a burst of soul and with a deep, haughty laugh.

Link had no intention of giving this bug a fair fight, nor of playing the Song of Healing to ease his soul. He was enraged by the scale of death he had inflicted on the bugs of the city. Before he could take any action, Link pulled him down by the cape, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed his face into the roof. It shattered instantly under the strength of the Fierce Deity, and they both fell into the corpse-filled room below. Not loosening his grip, Link landed on his feet and slammed the bug’s face down again. The gems on his forehead cracked, infected ooze ran down his face like blood, and his body went limp.

The dream ended, and Link woke up back in the real world. A spectral figure of the bug, deflated like a balloon, hung over his corpse.

“In my dreams I could see it. The Kingdom's salvation, the cure for the plague... the answer was in the soul that animates our bodies,” the spirit said. “But the King... why?! He opposed everything I did... His jealousy... his madness... by standing against me he robbed me of my immortality! Now the King and his Kingdom are dead... but I... will live forever.”

The spirit faded, and the light of the essence along with it. Link just shook his head in disgust. “Come on, Vol. Let’s go,” he said.

Link reached the Abyss shortly thereafter. He told Vol to wait at the top, then jumped in, as he didn’t need to worry about falling while he was in the form of the Fierce Deity. When he landed at the bottom, he saw the Knight there, too. A hole opened in the ground before it, and it jumped in.

Link didn’t follow after it, but instead continued on to the shore of the sea of Void. He could feel something, faintly, deep underneath the surface, and he knew what he had to do. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then jumped in.

The mask’s new connection to the Void not only stopped it from draining Link’s life, it also kept him from drowning in the dark liquid. He sank for what felt like hours in complete darkness, unable to even see his hand in front of his face. Suddenly, though, he realized that he was back in his normal form again, or at least he seemed to be. He could no longer tell whether anything he was experiencing was real.

His feet touched down on something that he couldn’t see, but when he turned around he saw the Fierce Deity standing some distance away, as if there was no Void between them at all. He looked down, and he could see his own body—that of a young boy—as well.

“You have mastered both fear and anger, and turned them into tools to aid you,” the Fierce Deity said, bowing his head. He swung his sword out, and Link did the same. The flats of their blades smacked into each other between them. “You have proven yourself more than worthy. Take my power, once and for all. It is yours, forever.”

He slowly faded into white light, which ran down Link’s sword and into his body. Their minds became one; all the Fierce Deity’s anger, but also all of his wisdom, were now part of Link.

The blackness of the void faded, and Link found himself at the top of the Abyss, though everything around him looked hazy. He was witnessing a memory.

Beside him stood the King. He was not nearly as imposing as his statues suggested, being only barely taller than Link, but his regal white form shone against the darkness. Vessels climbed up the walls of the Abyss to stand before him, but every single one he cast back down, sending them falling to their inevitable doom. Link could hear echoes of his thoughts:

No cost too great.

No mind to think.

No will to break.

No voice to cry suffering.

Born of God and Void.

At last a vessel stood before him with a look of utter emptiness. The King stared at it, and as he did, the Knight jumped up and grabbed the edge of the platform. The King paid it no mind, evidently satisfied with the one standing before him, he turned to leave the Abyss, and the vessel followed. But then it stopped. Hesitating for a moment, it looked back at the Knight, holding onto the ledge, who reached out as if to ask for help.

Then it turned back around and followed the King out.

Knight lost its grip and plummeted back down into the Abyss, then the vision abruptly ended.

You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams, came the King’s thoughts once more.

You are the Vessel.

You are the Hollow Knight.

Then Link understood that the King’s plan was always doomed to fail. That single moment of hesitation meant that the Hollow Knight had never really been hollow. Buried somewhere deep down, it had the semblance of a mind, the slightest hint of sympathy for others. The Knight, too, had originally been no different, but wandering the wastelands beyond Hallownest for ages had worn its mind away like it had Quirrel’s memories.

The next thing Link knew, he was standing on the piled corpses of dead vessels, looking across at the only living one: the one who’d fallen. The Knight. Void seemed to be dripping off of its cloak, and the shades of all the other vessels were watching the two intensely.

“So, this is it,” Link said. “Only one of us can take control of the Void. Judging by how you seem to feel nothing even after uncovering that memory, I’d say you have a fair shot at taking the Hollow Knight’s place, or even defeating the Radiance yourself. But I won’t take a chance like that. I know I can do this, but I need your strength first.”

The Knight drew its nail, and Link drew his sword and shield.

Immediately, the Knight shot a blast of Void from its chest. Link raised his shield, but the Void passed through both it and his body, and a searing pain shot through him as he felt his life being drained. The Knight dashed forward to follow up, and Link forced his body to move through the pain, meeting the Knight’s nail with his sword. He punched with the edge of his shield, and the Knight jumped over the attack. Its cloak briefly turned into a glowing white pair of wings, then it slammed forcefully into the ground, sending a Void shockwave out around it. Link jumped back out of the way, then made use of Oro’s teaching to close the distance again with a lunge. The Knight transformed briefly into pure Void, and the attack harmlessly passed through it.

They began exchanging blows with their weapons. While Link was taller with more reach and had a shield, the Knight was physically stronger—being the offspring of what amounted to gods—and its blows wore on Link’s stamina. It wasn’t unusually heavy for its size, however, and a firm kick sent it tumbling back. It regained its footing just in time to block a downward slice from Link, but with a twist of his arm and body he reached down around the blade and struck it in the head. It staggered, and Link wrested its nail out of its hand and struck again with his pommel.

The Knight fell onto its back with a small crack on its forehead, and Link raised his sword to deal the finishing blow, but suddenly a cacophony of shrill screams rang out as faces made from Soul and Void rose out of the Knight. Link threw himself backwards just in time, landing on his back amid the sharp bony bodies that made up the ground.

He took the brief moment in which the knight was retrieving its nail to clear his head. At the end of the day, the Knight was another swordsman. No matter how many strange monsters he had faced, he remembered how to win a swordfight. He clambered back up and renewed his stance.

Holding his shield well in front of him but low enough to avoid obscuring his sight, he advanced on the Knightl. Its nail was short, so he could get close without being in much danger. He made a careful thrust, and the Knight jumped over him, swinging down. It bounced off Link’s shield, and as soon as it landed, he stabbed it right where the crack in its head already was. His sword sank deep inside, and the crack ran down the middle until its split the Knight’s head in half.

Shaking, the Knight’s body melted away into Void, leaving only the broken head behind.

The eyes of the observing shades faded, one by one, and the darkness swallowed him once more. Suddenly he could once again feel the cold Void pressing in on him from all sides. Then, he felt something inside him. A writhing, chaotic mess of rage, fear, and hatred. It grew, spreading through his body to the tips of his fingers. It filled him completely, but it did not consume him. The Void was discordant, while he was focused. He was in control.

Slowly, the Void’s aimless lashing out stopped. He bent it to obey his will until it acted as one body. Most of it drained away, and a small portion soaked in to join the mask in becoming part of him, taking refuge in some dark corner of his mind.

Link woke up in a cramped chamber made entirely from vessel corpses. The broken head of the Knight was sitting next to him, beside a huge black egg with Void vines connecting to it. As he stood up, he noticed that his tunic and hat had become more muted in color. He felt a reservoir of Soul suffusing his body, though it wasn’t the nearly-limitless supply which the Fierce Deity had.

He started crawling through the narrow, twisting tunnels that wound through the vessel corpses, looking for a way out. Along the way, shades of vessels rose out of the surfaces, but they all simply watched him without attacking. When he eventually pulled himself out from the bodies, he found Vol waiting for him.

“I thought I told you to wait at the top,” Link said. When Vol growled back at him, he suddenly had a troubling thought. “How long was I gone for?”

Vol made his best approximation of a whimper.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea it would take so long. Come on. Let’s get back to the temple before Hornet assumes the worst.”

That plan didn’t last long, as Link’s control of the Void soon helped him sense something new in the area, a presence with traces of Void clinging to it. Feeling obligated to investigate for some reason, he followed it through the caves until he reached the corpse of another vessel. It had three horns, all of different sizes, and the top of its head was missing, creating a bowl shape. There were lights of essence emanating off of it.

“I’ll be right back,” he told Vol. “I mean it this time.”

He hit the corpse with the Dream Nail, and again arrived on a platform in the Dream World. He followed a materializing path to a copy of the room he’d found the vessel corpse in. Huge bubbles of infection were crowding the area, and the vessel itself had its hollow head filled with the infection.

An infected vessel, Link thought. Should be good practice for the Hollow Knight.

The vessel screamed when it noticed him, flying straight at him with its nail flailing wildly. Link blocked the attack easily, but the vessel was moving past him too fast to strike back. It skidded to a halt behind him, then leapt into the air and slammed itself down at the ground. Link hopped out of the way. When it landed, the sudden change in momentum sent balls of infection spraying out of its head. One of them hit Link’s shield, sliding down and leaving streaks of orange slime.

Link approached, and the vessel swung its nail haphazardly in his direction. The infection which was puppeting its body evidently had no knowledge of the weapon’s proper use. Link blocked with his sword, and in the short time where the two weapons were locked in a bind, he brought his shield down on the vessel’s arm. The nail went clattering out of its hand. Link thrusted his sword, but the vessel dashed backward out of his reach.

It started wildly shaking its head, spraying out more globs of infection. Link moved back far enough for them to not reach him, drew his bow, and fired. The arrow flew straight through the vessel’s empty eye socket and pierced the infection in its head. It popped like a balloon, and the orange fluid started leaking out as the vessel’s body went limp.

Link woke up to the sight of the vessel’s ghost floating above its body, head empty of infection. It tilted its head as if to say thanks, then vanished.

“Rest in peace,” Link said. “All of you. This’ll be over soon, one way or another.”

Chapter Text

The Temple of the Black Egg was glowing with the infection’s orange light.

Huge pustules and vines filled the inside, seemingly growing out of the sides of the egg itself. All three of the dreamers’ masks were gone—the Knight had taken care of Lurien—leaving three indentations in the egg’s stone door. Hornet was standing beside it with her characteristic poise.

“I had begun to think you would not return,” she said. “But I can see you were changed by what you experienced there. I believe you are the best chance this kingdom has of ridding itself of this plague. If you fail, however, all will be lost.”

“I know, and I don’t intend to let you down,” Link said. He touched the door to the egg, and in a flash of white light, it vanished.

“I won’t be joining you in this,” Hornet said. “You may have gained the power to enter that place, but its bindings would drain me. I’ll not risk my life in your attempt, though if the moment presents I’ll aid as I’m able.”
“Right,” said Link. He motioned toward Vol. “I imagine he’s the same. Would you watch over him while I’m inside?”

Hornet nodded, and Link told Vol to stay with her.

He stepped through the doorway and emerged into a space that seemed impossibly vast. Unlike the Abyss, which had walls that could be seen, however distant they were, the inside of the egg was completely dark. When he took another step forward, though, glowing white glyphs began to appear on the ground, outlining a path forward. He started to follow it, and the glyphs continued to appear a few paces ahead of him. More glyphs, arranged into pillars, appeared on either side, some of them quite far away. He passed by chains, as well as more vines and pustules.

Soon, another doorway came into view, as if there was a second egg inside the first one. The infection growing around it was more concentrated, and noxious air flowed steadily out. Inside, the darkness faded, and Link entered a circular chamber with a domed ceiling. It looked to be made of stone. Infection grew along the edges of the chamber, but not in the middle. Four chains were anchored to the ground around the chamber, running through loops on the ceiling and meeting above the center, where a figure was suspended.

The figure was large and clad in dark armor so that the only visible part of it was its head, which was shaped like Hornet’s but with protrusions along the inside edges of its horns. Its eyes glowed orange, a crack ran down the middle of its face, and a long, worn-out nail was stuck in the ground beneath it. It was the Hollow Knight, a fully-grown vessel and the container of the infection.

The Hollow Knight’s gaze followed Link as he entered the room and approached one of the chains. With a few swipes of his sword, he severed it, and a magic seal around the Hollow Knight’s body broke. He did the same for the other chains, and while those were not the only ones holding it, their magical bindings were crucial. When the last one broke, the Hollow Knight let out a strange, discordant roar. The remaining chains shattered along with its armor, and it fell to the ground.

It wore a torn, ragged cloak with a dark green color. Its limbs and torso were long and thin, but with a certain firmness about them. It was missing its left arm, however, and was apparently weakened by its ages of imprisonment. It collapsed onto its knees and stayed there for a moment, then grabbed its nail. With a cry louder than the first, it stood, dragging its nail limply along the ground. Infectious air was seeping off of it.

It began its attack by swinging its nail repeatedly, with alarming speed but little precision. It was no issue for Link to deflect the onslaught and get within reach, slashing at one of its legs before moving away. Itt lunged after him, and he rolled aside to slice it across the back. With each hit, he felt more Soul entering his body.

He attacked again, but the Hollow Knight turned around and blocked it, then countered with a downward cut which slammed hard into Link’s shield. Concentrating the Soul inside him, Link swung his sword and a beam of force flew out, hitting the Hollow Knight right in the crack on its head. It stumbled, screamed, then jumped backwards and drove its nail into the ground. Jets of burning yellow light twisted with Void started shooting up from the floor. Link rushed forward while avoiding them, but before he reached the Hollow Knight, its chest bulged in several swollen orange cysts and globs of infection burst out of it. They sprayed across the chamber, bubbling away wherever they landed. Link raised his shield and kept charging. The burning infection splashed droplets onto his arms, but he ignored the pain, jumped up, and slashed straight across the Hollow knight’s chest. It fell to its knees as the infection spilled out.

Link raised his sword to bring it down on the Hollow Knight’s head, but as he did, it stood back up and, ignoring him completely, impaled itself on its own nail. Infection sprayed out of the wound. Then it pulled the nail out and did it again, then three more times. The cysts began to grow again, larger this time, and it rose into the air as if they were pulling it up. More globs of infection rained down, and at the same time the Hollow Knight’s body jerked back and forth like an invisible hand was yanking it around. Suddenly, it slammed down into the ground, and Link barely managed to roll away. He turned around, swinging, and his sword clashed with its nail. It prepared to attack again, but faltered and fell. It was becoming too weak to even stand.

With a scream, it raised its nail to stab itself again, but before it could, Hornet’s needle came flying in through the door and struck the crack on its head. Tugging on the thread, Hornet followed her weapon, slamming into the Hollow Knight’s head and plunging her needle further in. Strings wrapped around its body, restraining it, and it fell to its knees again. From the point where Hornet’s needle had struck, dream essence began leaking out.

“Go now! This may be your only chance!” Hornet shouted.

Link understood immediately. He drew the Dream Nail and brought it down on the Hollow Knight’s head.

He arrived in the Dream World on a large round platform poking just above the clouds. Horn-like spires jutted out around it, and, looming too large and near, a bright yellow sun shone down. With his new senses, he could tell immediately that that sun was the being he’d come to face: the source of the infection, the Radiance.

Shortly after he arrived, a pair of wings spread out from the sun, as if the Radiance were acknowledging his presence. There was a sound like a discordant hum, and in a flash of light the sun was gone and the Radiance floated above him. She looked like nothing he had ever seen. Her body was somewhat round, with her head only rising slightly above it, and both were covered in white fur. Her wings were made up of dozens of individual fuzzy tentacles. Her legs—if they could be called that—seemed to be made from metal, and they extended unmoving from the bottom of her body. Three spikes emerged from the top of her head like a crown, and her eyes, like two miniature suns, sat within a dark depression which made up her face.

She was looking down at him, seemingly with disdain, and her presence was overbearing. Link didn’t quiver or hesitate, though. He drew his bow, and as he pulled an arrow out of his quiver and placed the back against the bowstring, small tendrils of Void appeared and wrapped themselves around the arrowhead.

How about that, he thought.

The Radiance attacked the next instant. Orbs of light materialized in the air above the platform and started flying down at him. He tried to get out of the way, but they followed his movements, so he had to outrun them. By suddenly changing directions, though, he caused them to overshoot. He aimed his bow and fired, but the Radiance teleported away before the arrow reached her.

As the orbs dissipated, they were replaced by a cluster of huge white nails which appeared around the Radiance and began darting down at Link. They were faster than the orbs, but they didn’t change directions, so Link was able to step around them as they slammed into the platform’s floor. He quickly fired an arrow, and it struck a tentacle in one of the Radiance’s wings. It withered to black around where the arrow struck, color drained from most of the rest of the tentacle, and it went limp.

The Radiance cried out in rage, and beams of light shot out from her face in multiple directions. Link quickly turned around and ducked, using the mirror shield on his back to reflect them away. Seeing this, the Radiance stopped and, with a focused glare, unleashed a wave of energy in an expanding spherical shell around her. At the same time, points of light appeared on the surface of the platform, and moments later, spikes started emerging from them, with one stabbing Link in the ankle. He winced and pulled his foot off of it, jumping lightly away as more jutted up.

The energy wave was almost upon him, and with no way to avoid it, he readied his bow. Taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and concentrating, he fired at where he felt the Radiance’s presence. The arrow passed straight through the moving wall, and the Void left an expanding hole for Link to jump through. The arrow continued and struck true, hitting the Radiance right in the face. There was a flash and a screeching sound as the Void and the Radiance’s light clashed. When it passed, the Radiance was still intact, with the arrow nowhere to be seen, but she was greatly angered.

With her wings fluttering wildly, more great nails appeared around her, far more than before, and spikes emerged from the ground at the edges of the platform, creeping inward as more rows extended. The swords started shooting in from all sides so it was impossible to block them all with his shield, but at the same time a huge mass of Void started to rise from the clouds below, reaching up to the edge of the platform. The Radiance seemed disturbed by this.

Link pushed himself to avoid the falling nails, moving faster than he knew he could. More and more of them came as the Radiance grew desperate. The floor spikes closed in, and soon there was nowhere to move to . Just as a cluster of nails reached him from all directions, something strange happened. Link’s vision suddenly seemed distant and hazy, like he was looking down a dark tunnel through his own eyes. He lost all feeling, as if he were floating outside his body, and he sensed a presence that was unlike that of the Radiance. It felt dark and malicious.

He watched the nails move at a snail’s pace. They must have passed straight through his body, but he didn’t feel it. He heard the muffled sound of them clashing together, saw them vanish, then he suddenly felt himself pulled violently back into his body. The Radiance was just as surprised as he was; she had put everything into that attack, and there were no more nails coming.

Before she could summon more, Link sent another arrow at her. It clashed with her light again, but this time had more effect, as she collapsed onto the platform. The rising Void reached out with thorny tendrils to hold her down. She raised her head, panicking, and with a flash of light and a cry she vanished.

She reappeared high above the platform, and the Void began to follow. Parts of it solidified into stones large enough for Link to stand on, floating above the mass as it rose to the Radiance’s new position. The sky seemed to be growing darker.

The Radiance screamed with rage. She used everything she could, summoning nails and orbs, firing beams of light, but Link jumped from one perch to another, deftly avoiding the attacks as the Void continued to rise, until a nail came whipping past and knocked his bow out of his hands. It tumbled into the Void and sank out of sight. Scowling, Link drew his sword and shield. The Void responded to his need, and pillars rose above the rest of the dark mass, bringing the small platforms with them. He ran along them and jumped, slashing his sword across the Radiance’s body before she could teleport away. Instead of blood, the wound shed essence.

With another scream, the Radiance fled even higher, and large beams started shooting down from below. As Link deflected them with the mirror shield, the Void beneath him rose faster and faster. He saw the shades of the vessels in the Abyss floating out of it, all looking straight up at the Radiance’s light. When he drew close, he used all the Soul he had left and swung. A large disk of energy flew out to strike the Radiance squarely in the center.

That final hit was too much damage for her to withstand. As essence scattered around her, she floated still in the air with the only motion being the fluttering of her wings. The Void reached up to her, and two shades rose above the rest. One was the Hollow Knight itself, and the other was the Knight. They reached up, gripping the edge of the Radiance’s face, and pulled. In an outburst of essence, they ripped it open, revealing a globe of yellow light beneath. An ear-splitting shriek rang out as the Radiance struggled, but more tendrils of Void reached up, wrapping around her and keeping her from moving.

Link leapt, jumping the remaining distance between himself and the Radiance, and plunged his sword down into the globe. Light exploded outward, and the Void started to pull the Radiance down into itself as the sky went dark. A final surge of essence escaped, and then there was nothing.

Chapter Text

Link awoke in the Black Egg’s chamber.

Hornet lay unconscious nearby, but the Hollow Knight was nowhere to be seen. The orange vines and massive pustules of the infection were shrinking and turning black around them. A moment later, the very walls of the chamber started to dissolve away. Liquid Void dripped from the stone, while black smoke came off in wisps. Soon, the entire structure was gone, leaving only a round indent in the floor of the temple as the Void drained down through the stone. Link could feel, deep below, the presences of the vessels’ shades in the Abyss disappearing. With their purpose fulfilled, they could finally rest.

Vol flitted down from somewhere near the temple’s entrance and clung to Link’s chest, growling softly. Link sat up and scratched him gently on the head. “Good to see you, buddy,” he said.

A moment later, Hornet twitched, and soon she was awake as well. She stood and looked down at Link. “Seeing as I am still alive, I would hazard to guess that you were successful,” she said.

Link nodded grimly. “The Radiance got swallowed up by the Void. She was... afraid. Terrified, even. She wanted to exist.”

Hornet was silent for some time. She looked around the temple, now devoid of any signs of the infection, and thought. “...I have lost count of how long it has been since my sibling was sealed here,” she finally began. “Ever since then, the kingdom has been frozen in time. It grew ever more decayed and ruined, but its remnants could never be wiped away completely. Nothing new could be built on top.

“It is the nature of the world that nothing can last forever. My father resisted that reality, was willing to pay any price to make his kingdom eternal. He is gone now. My mother is, too. The world they ruled in no longer exists. They were fragments of the past, lingering beyond their own time. As was the Radiance.”

“I know,” said Link. “Her infection killed millions of innocents. She had to go. It just... reminds me of something, that’s all.”

Hornet picked up her needle from where it sat beside her and made her way to the temple’s exit. “I must make a sweep of the kingdom to ensure that nothing is wrong. I wish you luck finding your home, Link,” she said before leaving.

Link soon left as well, coming out into the now infection-free crossroads. The husks of Hallownest bugs no longer moved, and the wild bugs who had previously been overcome by infection were dead. It was eerily quiet.

He climbed back out of the well and into Dirtmouth, where he could hear Nymm’s music from the square. Before he reached it, though, he passed by Zote, standing near the edge of town. A deep red helmet the size of his entire body sat next to him, and he was talking to nobody about how great he was. Link shook his head as he walked by.

In the square, Nymm was playing his accordion-bug while Elderbug happily listened. Myla, who had before been in one of the houses, always looking longingly at the well through the window, was there as well. She sat on the bench and bobbed her head back and forth to the music.

“Ah ha! Link! Look, that creepy carnival has vanished and town's returned to its former self, nice and quiet as I like it. Good riddance I say. And we’ve gained a new addition to the square!”

Nymm stopped playing and waved. “Hello again Link. How marvellous to see a friendly face, in such a sad town.”

“So you know him already, then?” said Elderbug. “I found the fellow just outside of town. Seemed a little confused at first. Claims to be from far away, though he’s hazy on the details.”

“Everyone here has been very welcoming, but still I find this place a little melancholy, what with the wind, and the darkness, and the sense of decline... I was hoping my music could go some way to livening up the place,” said Nymm. “This is as upbeat a tune as I know, but I must admit, even it falls a little on the sadder side. Please know I play it with joy. Being in this town, beside such good company as yourself, I feel remarkably, refreshingly content.”

“I think it’s a sentiment we all share. That sickly air wafting out of the caverns has stopped, and I feel as though a weight has been lifted from my mind,” Elderbug added.

“That reminds me,” Link started. “Myla, how are you feeling?”

“M-me? I feel much b-b-better, actually!” Myla answered. “I-I kept w-waiting for you to t-tell me I could go back to mining, but s-suddenly I don’t want to as m-m-much. Nymm’s music is w-wonderful! I think I might start s-singing along.”

Link nodded in satisfaction and decided to join them for a bit as well. He grabbed his ocarina and worked out a complement to Nymm’s tune. Myla only hummed along at first, but she soon started singing some improvised lyrics about Dirtmouth, Hallownest, and mining.

After a few minutes, Link left them and entered the map shop. Iselda was behind the counter as usual, but Cornifer was there as well, sleeping in the bunk which was mounted on the wall behind her, and snoring loudly.

“Hello, Link,” Iselda said. “Cornifer’s finally finished mapping out all of Hallownest and he’s home at last, but look at him, he's exhausted. He always does this, furiously charts a place, then collapses once he's done. He'll be sleeping for some time I imagine, so even with him home, I'm still lost for company.”

“Must be rough,” Link said.
“Ahhh, but I do love the bug, even his faults,” Iselda said with a sigh. “Seeing his passion for maps, it's something of an inspiration. Corny keeps asking me to join him on his adventures and I've always declined. Maybe next time I should accept the offer?”

“The ruins should be a lot safer now.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be worried about that. But excuse my rambling. I can sell you the last of the maps you don’t have, if that’s what you came for.”

Link bought them eagerly, then went into the Stag Station and rang the bell. The Last Stag came thundering down the tunnel and stopped in front of him. “Link!” he said excitedly. “I’ve found it! The Stag Nest, where I was born and raised. I've yet to go there again. My duty binds me to travel only where I am called, but if you wished to see it yourself, I could take you there. None may remain to welcome us, but the nest is still a sight to behold! Give me the word, and we will go there at once.”

“Of course,” Link said. “I won’t keep you from seeing your home; I know how that feels.”

The Stag set off as soon as Link was secure on his back, obviously thrilled. He passed through numerous forking paths in the tunnels until finally entering one, hidden in a dark corner, which went up rather than down. They came into a Stag Station with a broken bell, and Link dismounted.

“Here we are,” said the Stag. “Being back in my old home... I feel the weight of my long life bearing down on me. I carry it proudly, though. Wherever I travel, the memories of my family and my kind come with me.”

“Are you going to go in?” Link asked.

The Stag shook his head. “I have a duty to remain with the Stagways. You will have my gratitude if you tell me of what you find.”

Leaving the station, Link proceeded down a long corridor. There were bells hanging on straps from the ceiling, and lumaflies were drifting around, their lanterns broken. He passed through a large room filled with dead stags, dozens of them, all fitted out with seats like their living counterpart wore. There was a lift large enough for several stags, but it wasn’t working. Luckily, there was a smaller one nearby which remained operational. It carried him up into another large chamber. On one side, an arched doorway looked out from what looked like a high point in the cliffs, and on the other was a smaller, more natural cave.

Link went inside, where several dozen large eggs were scattered across the floor. It seemed that the young stags inside had died before hatching, all except one. A single egg in the center was broken and empty, and the presence of a faint residue indicated its occupant had only hatched recently. It was a refreshing sight.

“What do you think of my old home?” asked the Stag, when Link returned. “It was full of life, once. Stags coming and going, swapping stories of the places they'd been and the passengers they'd met.”

“I’ve got good news for you,” Link said, and explained what he’d seen.
“Is that so? One of the eggs has hatched?” the Stag said with excitement. “For a long time now, I've considered myself the only one of my kind remaining. The last stag. But being in the Nest again... yes, there's something in the air. A smell, or a warmth, or a presence perhaps? Other stags must have made their way out into the wider world. Yes, I will hold onto that hope. My kin, still alive, still out there, journeying beyond these lands.

“But for me, I could never abandon the stagways,” he added with a mix of sadness and contentment. “Not as long as passengers still need them. I can tell you still have important work to do. I will be your companion as long as my old body still serves. Let us enjoy the old stagways of this kingdom together a little longer.”

“Fine by me,” Link said, climbing back onto his back.

He had the Old Stag take him to the Resting Grounds, where he went into the Seer’s cave. It was empty

Found closure for your people, huh? Couldn’t you stick around long enough to help me get home? he thought. Just my luck again.

He turned around and went down through the Resting Grounds, past the fields of ancient headstones, and reached the shore of the Blue Lake. He walked along it slowly until he found the point where he’d left Quirrel. All that was left was his nail, sticking out of the sand. Link sat beside it and looked out over the water. Vol laid down next to him, wrapping himself in his wings. They stayed there for a long time, and Link felt a sense of peace wash over him.

We did it, Quirrel, he thought. Your sacrifice paid off.

Eventually, he heard Hornet’s now-familiar voice from behind. “You’re still here,” she said. A few moments later, she was standing next to him. “I thought you were eager to return to your homeland.”

“That moth told me I needed to defeat the Radiance to get there, but she didn’t tell me what to do once I did that. And now she’s gone,” Link answered. “I don’t know if she tricked me, or forgot to mention it, or just didn’t know, but it looks like I’m stuck here for a while longer.”

“My condolences.”

“I’ll find a way. I always do. In the meantime, though... well, this isn’t too bad.”

Hornet sat on the shore next to him, and they both enjoyed the silence together.