Simon arrived at the Merchant Bugs Village again, but the Merchant Bugs seemed to be immersed in a sorrowful mood.
Seeing this, Simon knew that the Infection might have already brought harm to these bugs.
He walked into the village, and the usual laughter was gone.
Many bugs were gathered in front of a small house, its door tightly shut.
Light shone from inside, but it wasn't the pink glow that these Merchant Bugs loved; it was a pale orange, the light of candles.
"Who passed away?" he softly asked a Merchant Bug who was weeping nearby.
"It's Sapa, he died." This bug seemed to have been close to the deceased, and now a strong sadness emanated from him.
"Oh, I can't believe it, how could he have died?"
"How did he die?"
"We're not sure, we found his body outside the village, he seemed to have died from exhaustion!"
"May I pay my respects?"
"Wait a moment, his family is still inside, dressing him.
Oh, Sapa, you must leave beautifully…" This Merchant Bug's words were incomplete due to his sobs.
After a long wait, the door suddenly opened, and two elderly Merchant Bugs emerged from inside.
Their skin was dull, and their faces were filled with deep sorrow.
"Dear brothers and sisters, beloved juniors, we must solemnly announce unfortunate news.
Your good friend, our good child, loyal and brave, loving life, innocent and adorable Sapa, left us not long ago.
He fell into eternal sleep, following our creator—the White King…"
Simon thought, "Is the White King the creator of bugs? I'm not sure, the history of Hallownest is too fragmented, I shouldn't jump to conclusions too soon."
"...Sapa always had a dream, hoping to travel all over Hallownest, make friends.
He wanted to be a free bug, but now, he has suffered such hardship!
Poor Sapa, if he had a spirit, he would weep for his own fate…"
The old Merchant Bugs continued with many eulogies, and the listeners also cried loudly.
Finally, they stepped aside, indicating that relatives and friends could view Sapa's remains.
Simon followed the mournful stream of bugs into the house.
Inside, candles were lit everywhere, illuminating the room, but not the small bug in the stone coffin.
Sapa's death was truly too sad, as if his insides had been hollowed out by some monster, leaving only a thin skin, spread at the bottom of the coffin, in the deep shadow like the wings of death.
His parents must have tried their best to dress his remains beautifully.
They used many jewels and various valuables, which reflected charming light, but Sapa did not gain any splendor from them.
The decorative effect of the jewels was not evident on him at all; instead, it made him look exactly like an ugly jewel cushion, becoming a silent mockery that highlighted his pathetic appearance.
It was simply unbearable to look at.
Simon vaguely smelled a pungent, rotten odor emanating from Sapa's remains.
He walked to the side of the deceased's parents, first expressing his comfort and sorrow, then asked if their child's body had ever been stained with an unnatural orange-red thick fluid.
"Yes, we spent a lot of effort to remove those disgusting sticky fluids from our child's body.
It was truly disgusting, emitting a very unfriendly smell, like decaying blood."
Simon nodded and said, "Then, both of you, I may know what killed Sapa."
"Oh! What!" The two bugs' exclamations attracted the attention of all the bugs, who stared at Simon.
"It's the Infection! A plague expanding in dreams, it infected Sapa!"
The bugs immediately erupted into a clamor, exchanging views and experiences loudly.
It turned out that during this time, many bugs had seen a bright light in their dreams, which was very unusual, never happened before.
They just ignored this light, so they were not affected.
Simon secretly nodded.
There were indeed changes, and now it could be basically confirmed that The Radiance's seal had leaked.
Facing the unknown risks, the Merchant Bugs were at a loss and all expressed their desire for Simon to guide them to a clear path.
Simon said to arrange the funeral first, and the bugs proceeded with the funeral ceremony distractedly.
Sapa was buried in the village's cemetery.
There were many gravestones here, and walking up to them, one could see lines of epitaphs.
On some individual graves, the souls formed by the deceased's lingering dreams floated, swaying slightly in the wind, like a flag.
Simon found the Merchant Bug who had commissioned him to investigate the Gruz anomaly and told him that an unknown warrior had killed the Gruz Mother, so the Gruz were striving for a new queen to mature.
This Merchant Bug gave Simon one hundred geo as promised and mentioned that before Simon arrived at the village, another warrior had also been there.
He wore a helmet-like mask, looked very small and cute.
He didn't stay long, rested for a bit, and then headed towards Blue Lake.
And the Gruz anomaly occurred after that warrior arrived.
Upon receiving this news, Simon vaguely guessed that a Hollow Knight had gone to the Resting Grounds.
That was quite a long time ago.
He probably wouldn't see this Knight now if he went to the Resting Grounds.
Just as he was about to set off quickly, a group of Merchant Bugs found him, hoping to learn more about the cause of the Infection from Simon.
"Of course, no problem.
At this time, it is very correct to make more bugs aware of the Infection and be prepared." Simon had promised them beforehand to talk about the Infection, so he would certainly not break his word.
So he spoke about the existence of The Radiance and the speculation about the seal leaking, reminding these bugs to pay close attention to their dreams and not be misled by that light.
The Merchant Bugs did not expect the matter to be so serious, even involving a crisis of civilizational destruction, and immediately panicked, beginning to discuss countermeasures.
Soon, several highly respected old Merchant Bugs came before Simon, sincerely hoping that he would accept a long-term commission, which was to contact more warriors and make more bugs aware of the threat of the Infection, in order to build up strength for a future counterattack.
Simon did not expect that these bugs, who played the role of merchants, had no short-sighted, shallow, or greedy dispositions at all; instead, they were filled with a sense of mission, believing that the rise and fall of the world were everyone's responsibility.
While lamenting the Merchant Bugs' noble righteousness, Simon also said, without hesitation, "Such a matter, you don't need to commission me; I would do it anyway.
However, I must remind everyone that Hallownest is too desolate now, and simply uniting will not solve the problem.
What we need is to find that fated Hollow Knight who will end the Infection crisis!"
"What if we can't find him?"
"If we can't find the Hollow Knight, then I will solve everything!" Simon's tone was confident and firm, carrying the weight of a promise that would be kept.