Silent City

22. The Alliance

    With the Radiance now fully manifested within the Forgotten Crossroads, it had made a definitive transformation from the Forgotten Crossroads to the Infected Crossroads. To the Radiance, this was a glorious change, for it was only a matter of time before the infection would start to leak into the city above. To Grimm, however, the infected Crossroads made him highly unsettled.

"Now that we're here..." The Radiance began, turning to Grimm after taking a good look at her work. "How long do you plan on staying here?"

"Until everyone calms down up there." Grimm says. "Can we please take a walk? At least, to somewhere other than the Crossroads. The... sheer amount of infection around here isn't pleasing to my eyes."

"Well... you better get used to it, because soon it will be everywhere." The Radiance's eyes dart around the room again.

"The more this spreads, the more insane you start to get." Grimm sighs, walking towards the door on the left. "Truly."

"I don't get more insane." She retorts, following him. "It's simply exhilarating to see everything fall into place. See, this was all just a minor setback to me regaining my Kingdom."

The Troupe Master doesn't say anything.

"Where are you planning on taking me?" The Radiance pondered. "We should stay slightly close to the entrance, just so that we can leave when all's calmed down."

"I honestly don't care, as long as it isn't the crossroads." Grimm enters the Crossroad's shaft, and stares down to the bottom. "What's your favorite place in Hallownest?"

The Radiance plants herself next to him, and stares down as well. "I've always liked the Queen's Gardens. After all, it was where the exiled Mantis Warriors decided to take up residence."

Grimm glances over at her. "Remind me what happened to them."

"Oh..." She sighs, and watches as Grimm turns into a small bat and soars down to the bottom of the shaft. She follows, and regroups with him down at the bottom. "The Mantis Lords. What prideful creatures they were. Such strong wills. Most of them remained in the mantis village located in the fungal wastes, but there were a few— they called them traitors— that succumbed to my influence because they wished to grow stronger, and they knew my power could give that to them."

Grimm considers this as the two of them walk into another room. "And... they did this on purpose?"

"They're the only ones who ever did so on purpose." She answers. "I've found that once my subjects find themselves under my influence, they rather enjoy it."

"Because they can't think otherwise." He scowls.

"Do you ever think that perhaps that's for the better?" Radi suggests. "Mortal beings don't know how to use free will. They don't consider the future. Often, it's because of their free will that they're unhappy."

"But they can't be happy without free will." Grimm considers.

"That's where you're wrong." She smiles. "Without free will, my subjects are always happy."

He considers this as the two of them vanish and reappear on the other side of an acid pool. They head down into Fog Canyon, narrowly avoiding the explosive jellyfish on their way down.

"Haven't you realized that there can't be happiness without there first being unhappiness?" Grimm proposed. "It's like... there can't be light without first darkness."

The Radiance doesn't answer this. She continues down a pathway to the teacher's archives.

"Condemning someone to eternal happiness is the same as condemning them to eternal suffering." He ponders.