Hollow Knight: Hallownest

After leaving his body, Worm stood alone in the ashes, feeling the strong wind scraping against his cheeks, each wisp bringing back his memories.

The majestic power of separation, migration, and abandonment of the original body descended... It seemed as if all the major decisions in the past had not been considered too much, and they were just done as soon as they thought of it. Looking back now, perhaps this seemingly frivolous action came from one's own strong strength.

But now a more powerful being appeared before him, causing many things to deviate from his expectations. Even if he wanted to correct them, he was powerless to do anything.

Worm sighed deeply. He had not felt the emotion of 'confusion' for a long time. He hated this feeling of being neither up nor down because it made him feel like he had fallen into the mortal world, which undermined his nobility as a god.

In fact, it was very simple to get rid of all this. He just had to give up Holy Nest, the place where he had poured a hundred years of hard work.

A hundred years is not a long time for a god; it can even be said to be a blink of an eye. As long as he is willing to leave here and recuperate in another place, he can still rebuild another holy nest of his somewhere else.

Everything, as long as he wants.

Tick, tick, tick...

The friction sound of the compacted ashes extended outward for a time, and Worm walked slowly, step by step, back the way he came.

Following the confusion, there was a loneliness that came from nowhere. He really wanted to say something, but he had no one to talk to. After thinking about it, he was the only one.

Badong did not expect Worm's sudden arrival. He had just adjusted his body and was about to take a rest in the corridor when he heard footsteps coming from the outside of the corridor.

As for that damn king, instead of ignoring him, Badong would rather let him do as he pleases and make some superficial efforts to please him in order to avoid more trouble. After all, his life pursuits are simple and few people would come to this desolate place to disturb him.

"Badong, talk to me."

Worm went straight to the point and sat cross-legged in front of Badong.

The latter was silent for a moment, then moved his body unnaturally and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Did I disturb you? Wait a minute, I'll leave now..."

As he said this, he curled up his body and squeezed towards the outside of the corridor, but after spending a long time, he didn't move very far, and felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

"I'm afraid it'll take me a while to..."

Wurm ignored his words and asked something else: "Badong, how long have you been here?"

"how long?"

Badong paused, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

"It started when you first saw me. I had just arrived here and I saw you fall. Sigh, I remember I was quite slim at that time. Time is merciless..."

"Yeah, I remember you were less than one-tenth of your current size."

Worm raised the corners of his mouth and smiled, a rare moment.

He didn't know why, but he felt relaxed after just a few words with Badong. Perhaps it was the latter's non-confrontational mentality, or maybe he didn't have the same special respect for him as the White Lady and the Knight, which made his shoulders feel a little pressured.

He really couldn't believe that he was not angry at Badong's self-esteem and affront. Perhaps it was because he had witnessed his coming, which was more significant than that of Holy Nest.

"Oh, I shouldn't have been so greedy in the first place. Now I can't leave even if I want to."

Worm knew what he was talking about. After he abandoned his divine body, the power of his divine body did not completely dissipate. Instead, it acted on this barren land, causing it to continuously rain white ashes.

Those ashes were full of his divine power. Although the amount was extremely small, Badong took too long to absorb it, causing his body to become more bloated.

This also surprised him a little. After absorbing so much of his divine power, only his body changed. It must be said that Badong's physical fitness might be far beyond his imagination.

"You misunderstood. I wasn't asking about the time we met, but about you..."

"How long have you been here?"

"It's been a long time..." Badong did not hide anything and answered honestly: "Before you came, before this land was burned to ashes by the flames of war, but if you ask me how long it was, I can't remember."

Worm's expression froze, and shock shone in his eyes.

He had thought that the lifespan of Badong would be much longer than that of ordinary insects, but he never expected it to be to this extent.

Then he scanned Badong from top to bottom again, and after using his divine power to detect it, the result was even more shocking.

Although Badong looks old, the fire of life burning in his body is still strong, as if he is in...

Childhood!

"You, how did you do that?"

Badong knew what Worm meant. He looked so frail, so how could he have remained safe and sound in that turbulent era?

In fact, he had long been accustomed to finding his own peace in the midst of disputes, even though some insects had said that he was just escaping...

But, who cares?

This land has always been like this, one person takes over and another takes the stage. If I really wanted to get involved in the disputes, I would probably have turned into a pile of dry bones long ago.

This is Badong's creed for insect life, it is better to have less trouble than more. He himself feels that he has a kind of "let him be strong, I will just let the breeze blow over the hills" style.

After hearing what he said, Worm lowered his eyes and said nothing. After a long while, he forced a wry smile.

Yes, if you can care about nothing, the pressure will definitely be much less, and it is even possible for it to disappear completely.

But his goal has never been to keep himself out of trouble. He hopes that the people of Holy Nest can be like Badong, at least not affected by the war.

"It's a pity that most bugs don't have your abilities, and their fate is never in their own hands."

"Thousands of years have passed, and it is still a cycle after all. It's just that I don't have the power to contend with him."

The bitterness in Worm's eyes was undisguised. Although he knew that Badong could not help him, at this moment he just wanted to say something to make himself feel better.

Badong glanced at him and said nonchalantly, "If you can't compete, then you can't compete. It has nothing to do with you."

"It has nothing to do with me?"

Worm shook his head and smiled helplessly: "If it has nothing to do with me... then who does it have to do with?"

Badong spoke very naturally, but his words made Worm's body tremble suddenly!

"You can't fight back, which means saving Hallownest is not your destiny. And if Hallownest is destined to be saved..."

"Then it has something to do with the bug that saved her."