Hollow Knight: Hallownest

"Today is a good day to visit the graves, a good day~"

The gravedigger held a shovel, hummed a little tune, and enthusiastically struggled with the ground beneath him.

Although it may sound a bit offensive, the money Geo earned during this period was almost enough to cover half of his life savings.

Is this what it means when good things happen to you?

Thinking of this, the gravedigger's eyes lit up and he dug even harder.

The corpses piled up in the cemetery have long found their final resting place, with neatly arranged tombstones. Fewer relatives and friends come to pay tribute to the dead insects. Life has returned to normal and everyone is busy. The sadness brought by death has been gradually dispersed in the bustle of the insect swarm. Only a few scattered figures are still standing in front of the tombstones to mourn, remembering a time that has disappeared.

The guards stationed at Hallownest's entrance to the outside world had already received orders to open the sealed gates of Hallownest as soon as the plague subsided. Strong winds began to blow from the cave towards Dirtmouth, dispelling the dead silence that had previously shrouded the place.

Outside the gate, the empty long bridge connecting the Crystal Mountain and the Howling Cliffs was now filled with many figures coming and going. Miners were carrying pickaxes, travelers were carrying bags, long-necked weevils were nodding their heads slightly, pulling the wooden carts behind them, moving slowly across the bridge, leaving neat ruts.

Everything seems like the scene of recovery from winter to spring. Although they come and go in a hurry and are busy, every insect has a more or less happy smile on its face, washing away the tragedy bit by bit.

"Alas, after realizing that a part of my insect life had suddenly and meaninglessly disappeared, I felt empty inside. I haven't been able to sleep much these past few days. I had to get up in the middle of the night to find something to do, always thinking about making up for the lost days."

"Oh! No wonder you have such dark circles under your eyes. I thought you changed your personality and started to like smoky makeup."

"..."

"Don't talk about you. We are all like this. The damn plague has stolen so much of our time. But fortunately, it has disappeared and we are free again!"

"Tsk, we are so unlucky. I heard that a selection contest was held in the main city a while ago. As long as you have some ability to sign up, you have a great chance of being selected as a sentinel even if you rank low. The survivors there are really lucky. I always feel that our luck has fallen on those guys."

"Those who are suffering from drought will die of drought, and those who are suffering from flood will die of flood."

On the long bridge, a few travelers leaned against the bridge, overlooking the scenery of Dirtmouth and chatting casually.

"It's actually not that bad. I've heard about that incident as well. The scale is smaller than the guard selection competition, and no knight has shown up. It can be considered an official folk competition, so there's no need to feel so sorry."

"Is that so? That's fine... Hey, what do you think? Will the first guard selection competition after the disaster reconstruction be different from the previous ones? Will there be something special?"

The other travelers all turned their heads and looked at the one who was speaking, with doubtful looks on their faces.

"What do you mean?"

"That's it..." The eyes of the traveler who was being watched sparkled, as if he remembered something. The picture was vaguely reflected in his pupils, revealing an admiring look: "Knight Trials."

The Knight Trials, the most widely circulated and dazzling competition in the history of Hallownest. It was in that competition that the five knights who represented the pinnacle of military power were born, and there has been no one to surpass them since then.

The other travelers didn't react much. They grinned and said, "I think your brain hasn't recovered yet. You are dreaming and confused."

"Even if the competition you mentioned is held, who would dare to participate?"

Another travel bug nodded in agreement: "Have you forgotten the champion who almost crushed all the teams in the last guard selection competition? Even a warrior of that level couldn't last more than a few rounds against a knight, let alone now."

After this was said, the remaining insects expressed their agreement. Even the insect who proposed the idea nodded in agreement. He was not annoyed at being refuted. Instead, he looked more serious and said something that the other insects thought was a fantasy.

"So you misunderstood what I meant. I meant the civil war among the Five Knights."

“Haven’t you ever compared them in your heart? The elusive Knight Drya and the powerful Knight Hegmer. Although I have only seen these two, I am still curious about who is stronger. Besides, I can also have a chance to feast my eyes on the five knights, hehehe…”

These words also aroused the comrades' imagination, but soon one of them shook his head and sneered: "This is even more unrealistic than dreaming. Do you really think that every knight is as idle as us and would play a special exhibition match for you?"

"According to the scene you described, you probably only get to see legendary warriors like them once in your lifetime. Obviously, we have missed it."

"Ugh--"

The travelers all sighed, full of regret and emotion, with a kind of sadness that "people say that flowers in Luoyang are in full bloom, but spring is not here when I come."

The conversation suddenly fell silent, and the only sound left in the ears was the clattering sound of the bug cart's wheels rolling over the uneven road.

Suddenly, the traveler looked up at the sky, holding his head with one hand and thinking: "Tell me, is there really no warrior more powerful than the Five Knights in this land?"

"Obviously, they were just one of the countless people in the world."

"Hey, isn't that a bit too philosophical?"

The travel bug beside him joked, but seeing that he didn't reply, he shrugged after a moment of silence and continued, "According to your logic, maybe there are indeed some warriors who can rival the Five Knights, but they are too low-key and don't want to show up?"

The companions also looked up at the sky like the traveling insect. The strong wind blew through the white particles, like a small meteor shower.

"Come on, if you have that kind of ability, why don't you go and make a name for yourself, but instead hide away in a place where no one knows about you?"

"How can a bug be so stupid..."

Before he could finish his words, a strange cry suddenly came from the traveling insect, which scared the other insects.

"Fuck! What the hell are you yelling at?!"

"I thought of it!"

The screaming Traveling Bug looked at the companion who first raised his head and patted his shoulder: "I have an idea of ​​a warrior who may be able to rival the Five Knights!"

The other travelers were startled after hearing this, and all turned their eyes to him, waiting for the next part.

"Who?"

"Prince, with the knights' instruction, your skills may even surpass yours!"

Snap! Snap! Snap! —

Several slaps landed on the traveler's head. The other traveler's eyes were all the same, as if they were looking at a mentally retarded person.

"Why did you hit me?!"

"Nonsense, you're a prince, but you're not a princess. If you want to make up a story, you should base it on reality. When have you ever heard of a king giving birth to a child?"

"It can't be a prince falling from the sky, right?"

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Under the long bridge.

The gravedigger stood in an open area of ​​the cemetery, looked at the hole he had just dug, smiled with satisfaction, wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's call it a day for today... huh?"

Just as he was about to pick up the shovel and leave, he suddenly felt a strong penetrating shock under his feet, almost causing him to stumble and fall.

Turning around, I saw a mound of earth suddenly rising at the bottom of the pit in front of me. This was not the end yet, as the second strong tremor followed in a moment. The mound of earth and the pit suddenly rose and exploded, like a mud fountain.

In a trance, the gravedigger sitting on the ground seemed to see two figures, one black and one white. They...

Straight into the sky!