A blizzard raged.
Pure, pale root systems grew wantonly.
Gleaming white light feathers drifted down, one after another.
Tusk-like stone pillars shot up into the sky.
On the wide snowy ground, two proud warriors stood in confrontation.
The agile princess in a red dress stood with her back to the silent Hollow Knight.
She pointed her long needle backward, signaling him to stop advancing.
"So, you intend to dig into deeper truths? Such truths are not something the weak can bear."
She turned to face the Hollow Knight directly.
"You must prove to me that you are worthy of facing the truth. I will not hold back. My needle is very lethal, and I will not grieve for the death of the weak.
Prove to me that you can accept the past of this Kingdom and take responsibility for its future."
She bent down, transparent silk threads dancing at the tail of her long needle.
The Little Knight drew his Nail.
"Kill!"
Flying Needle!
Hornet swung her long needle, shooting it towards the Little Knight.
"Clang!" Blocked.
Hornet pulled the silk thread in her hand, and the long needle flew back, while the Little Knight's cloak spread open like moth wings behind him, charging forward.
The short Nail slashed, but the sharp sword energy extended for an extremely long distance; this was the effect of the Charm, Mark of Pride, from the Mantis Tribe.
Hornet jumped to dodge, and in mid-air, she raised her hand and flung out continuous silk threads, piercing everywhere like iron chains. On the threads, sharp spike mechanisms exploded, shooting out a sky full of fine needles.
The Little Knight crouched, and a transparent shell sphere enveloped him. For a moment, the sound of rain hitting a window pane rang out in a continuous din; this was the Baldur Shell, blocking all the needle attacks.
Hornet dove with her needle, like a hawk pouncing on a rabbit. The Little Knight retreated a few steps, easily dodging.
The Nail continued to slash, and Hornet was forced to retreat step by step.
"Aidino!" Hornet shouted, and a circle of rapidly surging silk threads burst out around her body, like a swirling maelstrom; any enemy caught in it would be torn apart.
The Little Knight jumped, but not high enough. The next moment, just before the silk threads were about to cut his body.
A pair of pristine white light wings extended, and the Little Knight flew higher into the sky.
This was the Monarch Wings, allowing the holder to double jump in the air.
"Hmph!" Hornet retracted her silk threads and hurled her long needle into the air. This slender Nail, like a javelin, was filled with silent, lethal power, its trajectory across the sky like a bird flying through the clouds.
The Little Knight dove down, cutting the long needle in the nick of time, using the force to fly higher.
Hornet jumped, grasped the long needle in mid-air, and thrust it directly at the Little Knight, relentlessly pursuing him with a dense, net-like series of attacks.
The Little Knight transformed into a solid mass of white light, diving downwards. Hornet felt a great danger, but ultimately failed to dodge the rapid strike.
The light landed, and a torrent of ethereal shadows burst open like a flower.
This was the spell Descending Dark, formerly the Soul Master's Desolate Dive. Later, the Little Knight encountered a Snail Shaman trapped in crystal at Crystal Peak. After shattering the crystal cage, the Shaman transformed into black light and merged with the Little Knight, upgrading Desolate Dive to the more powerful Descending Dark.
After taking such a blow, Hornet scattered a sky full of silk threads and spike mechanisms to block the Little Knight's attack, then jumped aside, gathering Soul Energy to heal her injuries. She also possessed a Vessel mask, just like Lu Zhengkang.
The Little Knight, taking advantage of the invulnerability granted by Descending Dark's ethereal state, summoned a forward-charging shadow. The black energy wave emitted destructive power, pushing away the blizzard and striking Hornet directly.
Hornet was forced to interrupt her gathering and dodge the Shade Soul strike.
Lu Zhengkang once saw a dissected Snail Shaman in a laboratory in the Soul Sanctum; this Shade Soul was that Shaman's spell, taken by the Little Knight.
Hornet was at a disadvantage and knew that if she didn't go all out, it would be difficult to turn the tide. She didn't want a mutually destructive battle, and at the same time, she greatly acknowledged the Little Knight's strength, so she simply stopped fighting.
"…So powerful… If you wish it, you can achieve it.
But after knowing this tragic truth, can you still wield your Nail? What if you knew your own origins?"
The Little Knight remained silent and resolute. Hornet looked at him, as if seeing a mountain stronghold, one that would never fall.
She praised, "Then go forth, ghost of Hallownest! Advance. Go and imprint that mark on your shell, and then become king."
With that, she lightly jumped, thrusting her long needle into the distance and pulling herself away with the silk thread, graceful and agile.
The Little Knight retracted his Nail and continued forward, stepping onto the platform below, arriving at a grotesque ruin.
The entire ruin extended backward into the deep darkness, starting from an unknown point.
The ruin was covered everywhere with giant, gleaming silver fangs. The giant spikes at the very front extended outwards, surrounding the central gap, like a giant insect with an open mouth, waiting for its prey to walk inside.
This was the Cast-Off Shell, said to be related to the White King.
Entering it was like entering the petrified intestines of some ancient creature, or like a dried pupa shell, with layers of bands forming this long structure.
The Little Knight stood at the entrance, taking out a crystal device from his in my arms. This Crystal Heart was taken from a giant, ancient mining golem in Crystal Peak, and was also a necessary item for the Super Dash.
A huge amount of energy surged out, forming a crystal band around the Little Knight. The next moment, charging complete, the crystal band shattered, and the Little Knight was launched forward by the Crystal Heart at a dangerously high speed.
He dashed deep into the ruin without losing speed, then stopped guiding the Crystal Heart, his speed drastically decreasing. He drifted forward a short distance due to inertia before stopping and landing on the ground.
This was the deepest part of the Cast-Off Shell.
A structure like a shattered egg, lit with sealed glyphs, in which a four-pronged white short halberd was placed.
The Little Knight reached out and grasped the short halberd; this was the king's brand.
It marked the wielder as the King of Hallownest.
"Hallownest will welcome a new ruler.
The Kingdom's gates will open." This was a prophecy.
As the king's brand was removed.
The Cast-Off Shell began to collapse.
The Little Knight dashed outwards, but before reaching the exit, he was knocked to the ground by the heavy shell layer pressing down from above, deeply buried beneath thick layers of snow.
…
Not long after.
Hornet rushed into the snow, pulled the Little Knight out, placed him on the ground, and flew away.
The Little Knight got up, gazing at Hornet's retreating back.
It was time to go to the appointed place.
Before the Deepnest gate, deep within Kingdom's Edge, the gazes of the two warriors met invisibly.
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