The plaza was vast, and the rain was heavy. Simon watched as raindrops converged into streams, cascading freely over the statues, spreading across the plaza's ground, and gathering into small rivulets in the cracks of the paving stones, reflecting the cool light, shining silvery like ice.
This scene was like a dream he had, a dream about his homeland.
There, too, it rained perennially. Pedestrians and man-made structures alike faced the descending drops. Umbrellas crackled under the impact, interspersed with erratic winds that blew raindrops into the small space beneath the umbrellas, wetting the clothes of passersby, or even their faces.
This was by no means a pleasant experience, but it was memorable enough to be etched in one's heart.
Simon lost himself in the rain, his jumbled thoughts gradually clearing. He seemed to have found a great motivation to continue moving forward in this life. This realization made the terrifying energy hidden within his soul feel more intimate, and its control became smoother.
Sometimes, inner cultivation can also bring about real-world changes.
Simon roused his spirits and began to search for the Soul Sanctum.
He vaguely remembered that beneath the Soul Sanctum, there was a Collector who bought antiques, such as Wanderer's Journals, Hallownest Seals, King's Idols, and of course, the most precious Arcane Eggs. The prices were fair, making him a relatively decent bug.
The Collector's small shop had a signpost. Simon found the signpost, and sure enough, it was beneath a strangely shaped tall tower.
This tower seemed to be merged with the upper platform, likely a spliced work of two buildings. If all went as expected, the building on the upper platform would be the Soul Sanctum.
He entered the tall tower, took the elevator upstairs, and arrived at the Collector's hut.
The Collector was a peculiar-looking bug, with two horns, one long and one short. His beard-like facial structures were unusually luxuriant, trailing directly to the ground. He looked like a strange old man in a large cloak, but his voice was still quite young.
"Another guest has arrived, welcome," he said, neither enthusiastic nor cold.
Simon asked him, "Has anyone else been here recently?"
The Collector sighed, seemingly exasperated by Simon's curiosity, but he still patiently answered the question, "Recently, a small one often comes. He always finds many things like Wanderer's Journals, so many that my shop is almost too full to stack them."
"A small one? Does he wear a very large mask and have two horns on his head?"
"You know him?"
Simon's answer was ambiguous, "In a sense, yes, I know him, but he doesn't know me."
"That's truly strange. Guest, this shop regularly buys antiques, those useless trinkets. If you have any, I will buy them at a reasonable price."
"What a pity, I don't. Is the Soul Sanctum up there?"
"Ah, yes. It's been much quieter there recently, I don't know what happened. Go if you wish, but be careful."
The Collector was unwilling to say more to Simon and turned to go into the back room.
Simon also felt that he had been a bit hasty and impolite. He had truly been distracted, and hearing news of the Little Knight made him very happy.
True players develop an empathetic reaction to the protagonist in games, identifying with the protagonist's role, and thus strongly relating to them. Simon loved the protagonist of Hollow Knight, the Little Knight, immensely. If he had the ability, he would do his best to help the Little Knight and share his tragic fate.
According to the Collector, it seemed the Little Knight had already been to the Soul Sanctum. Would he still be there? Or had he already moved on to the next destination?
With a sense of anticipation, Simon hurried up the tower.
Along the way, it was indeed very quiet. The reanimated bug husks lay on the ground, seemingly killed once again. The wounds were clean and sharp, making Simon overjoyed. This precise, deadly, yet slightly lacking swordplay was definitely the Hollow Knight's!
The Little Knight, being delicate and weak, indeed didn't inflict much pain when striking.
Along the way, all the mechanical doors were wide open, and Simon moved unimpeded, quickly arriving at the much-anticipated Soul Sanctum.
The Sanctum's gate was very unique, semi-oval, with a decorative top featuring a proud-faced bug. It seemed that all bugs from the Soul Sanctum had this haughty, downturned-mouth expression.
Upon entering, there was a large hall with various documents scattered on the floor. Simon picked one up to read; it recorded research on Soul Energy.
A quick glance revealed numerous barbaric and crude techniques, such as forced extraction of living souls, extraction of Soul Energy from bug eggs, and soul fusion. Looking at the experimental subjects, equated to livestock in the documents, with hundreds of lives taken in a single experiment, it was truly shocking.
Simon was already mentally prepared for this, having seen these things when absorbing the memories of the Soul Warriors in the Colosseum.
The Soul Sanctum played a very evil and extreme role in the kingdom. Although its original intention was to develop technology to resist The Radiance's infection, the Soul Master, the Sanctum's head, was secretly corrupted by The Radiance and began to disregard human life in pursuit of immortality.
The Hallownest leader, the White King, discovered the Soul Master's plot and rejected his research.
But now it seemed the Soul Master had indeed achieved a certain degree of immortality. After the White King's death, the Soul Sanctum resumed its operations, and even more unscrupulously.
From Simon's perspective, this story offered nothing new or refreshing; in the game, it was just one of countless tragedies. Yet, it was these deranged researchers who possessed the most advanced methods for utilizing Soul Energy.
Simon knew he would have to spend some time here. For safety, he decided to first explore the entire Soul Sanctum.
The Sanctum contained many corpses of Soul Warriors and Soul Twisters, as well as the shed skin of Mistakes and Follies.
As he delved deeper into the heart of the Sanctum, the corpses became more numerous. Life had largely vanished here, except for the Mistakes and Follies.
These disgusting, slug-like creatures were almost a symbol of the Sanctum, omnipresent, appearing from the void, then frantically rushing at intruders, only to be easily killed.
In the corners, there were many scattered documents, special instruments, and the long-dead bodies of many bugs.
In transparent containers, similar to large kerosene lamps, pure Soul Energy swirled. These were extracted from the corpses scattered on the ground, pure energy that could be absorbed and utilized.
In a sense, Soul Energy is no different from electricity or steam.
But everyone who uses Soul Energy carries a heavy burden of blood debt.
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