Light!
Brilliant light!
Blinding light!
Eye-killing light!
Light that tears metal and cuts through the earth!
The verdant leaves of plants shattered in the light, turning to dust, etched onto magnificent reliefs like murals of branches and leaves.
Water flowed in the sky, falling as rain, appearing as colorful mist in the light.
Simon's Nail pointed diagonally at the ground, and he panted slightly, the faint glow on his body dimming.
There was a huge, diagonally cut wound on Traitor Lord's body, and orange-red blood gushed out like a spring.
But he was still standing.
It seemed some stubbornness was serving as his backbone.
Blood continuously poured out.
As death drew nearer, the hatred in Traitor Lord's eyes steadily diminished. He swayed, then fell to the ground.
Simon walked with heavy steps towards the twisting, struggling Lord, his Nail scraping across the ground, like a wooden twig drawing lines in sand, pushing aside a layer of powder—these were stone fragments peeled off by the scattered sword light.
He raised his Nail and slowly plunged it into Traitor Lord's back, piercing his heart, which struggled valiantly but was powerless to resist its fate.
A large pool of blood overflowed from beneath the Lord's body. He stopped struggling, though his body still trembled slightly.
The madness had left the Traitor's eyes. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and said softly, "Well done, warrior."
Simon asked him, "Do you have any last wishes?" This was the victor's right.
"No, none… I just miss the past, when I was young… flying and hunting in the wasteland, it was truly joyful… I'm sorry…"
"No need to apologize, you don't need to apologize." Watching the Lord's gaze gradually dim, Simon gently comforted him.
"…Tell them for me, that power is not wrong…" he whispered, then suddenly twisted violently, throwing Simon aside. He stood up again; the wound no longer bled, for all the blood had drained.
"Light! The Radiance! Protect! Attack!" He let out a desperate, mournful roar like a beast losing its cub, then collapsed completely. This time, he did not rise again.
Simon was flung away, feeling disoriented in mid-air.
A large amount of Soul Energy had been drained, and he felt his mind drier than ever before, like a machine that had run out of fuel.
In the air, his gaze passed through the ceiling torn by sword light, looking at the pale green sky, where pure white root systems spread, so beautiful, so gentle. A few slender, dragonfly-like creatures flew leisurely in the corner of his vision.
The world receded, his body fell.
Simon hit the ground heavily, bouncing and rolling several times. He heard Traitor Lord's dying roar but paid little attention, simply lying on his back, panting, gazing at the pure, beautiful sky.
After a long while, he sat up, wobbled to his feet, and walked over to the Traitor. He wanted to pull out his Nail, but looking at the corpse, the long Nail like a tombstone of sin, he thought for a moment and withdrew his hand.
Now he had two Nails left on his back, the sharpest and shortest ones.
The mechanical gate was already twisted and broken, and Simon smoothly left the building.
Ahead was the location of White Lady. A small passage was filled with corpses, and white glowing root systems spread from the walls.
He reached the end, arriving at a bright, spacious cavern.
The open ground was covered with the bones of Traitor Mantises. In the center was a huge, heart-like black sphere, from which countless white roots extended.
On its surface was a circular entrance, and beside the entrance lay a knight as pure white as an elf.
Simon had never seen such a graceful and serene insect. This was Dryya, one of the five Great Knights of the Kingdom, a close attendant to the Queen, who had died from exhaustion.
Bowing his head in silent mourning, Simon felt deeply sorrowful at the death of a noble knight.
The knight's flesh might decay, but her spirit would forever guard the land.
Without disturbing Dryya's remains, Simon gently entered the heart-like sphere.
Passing through a narrow, dark corridor, he stepped into a peculiar space where light and shadow intertwined, and black and white were one.
White Lady's majestic body was tightly wrapped beneath her scaly skin, like a mermaid's body, seated serenely on a simple rock. Her vast root system radiated from her head, spreading light.
If the impressive insects Simon had seen before were lone stars in a clear night sky, she was the sun illuminating the deep sea.
Sensing the visitor, White Lady opened her eyes, a pair of gem-like eyes that were, however, lifeless and hollow.
Gentle words slowly flowed from the Lady's mouth; the pheromones she released made one feel incredibly comfortable.
"An unexpected guest has arrived. Who are you?"
Simon respectfully replied, "I am a bug of Hallownest seeking the power of a Vessel. I humbly request three root segments from you. I need three masks!"
"So, a warrior. I can feel your courage. So pure and strong. If the King were here, he would surely knight you. The seal has problems, and bugs who seek solutions are full of wisdom. As Queen, I must fulfill the pleas of my subjects. You will receive what you desire, if you can accomplish all of this."
Simon laid out his entire plan, including making masks to protect Nati and Paya, challenging the power of the Void, and ultimately, The Radiance.
His wild and extremely bold ideals greatly impressed White Lady.
"You are not a true knight, but you are more noble than any knight. This is a great path; success leads to great achievements, failure to oblivion. Not everyone can muster the courage to fight back against a god, but you have, so confident, so noble."
White Lady gently swayed her hair-like root system, and three pure white, lustrous root segments detached, floating before Simon.
"You will receive the nourishment of the roots, warrior. Before you embark on your journey, I need to remind you, this is not your destiny!"
Simon put away the root segments, laughing freely, "Destiny is often not given, but actively sought."
White Lady closed her eyes, exhaling softly, "Truly a strong one!"
Simon bowed in farewell and left the sphere.
...
Based on his in-game experience, Queen's Gardens had a secret passage directly to Deepnest, and it was extremely close to the Weaver. Simon's next goal was to find the secret passage, as the Gardens were much safer than Deepnest.
After Traitor Lord's defeat, a small number of the Traitor Mantises hiding in the shadows remained in the corners of the Gardens, but most gradually left Queen's Gardens. No one knew where they would go; when the mission of revenge failed, the disillusioned had no choice but to face the outcome of scattering like the wind and clouds.
As for Mantis Petra, they lacked intellect and could not understand what failure was, or perhaps never even harbored thoughts of revenge. They would continue to multiply here, forever throwing their wind scythes at outsiders.
Another story concluded. Simon planned to first convey the news of Traitor Lord's demise to the Mantis Tribe before making other plans.