Tribal

12

Ghost returned to the room and opened the door. He looked in, seeing Acacia sleeping soundly, and prepared to leave when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello again, my child," said the Shade Lord. Ghost knew that voice all too well. He walked into the room, closed the door behind him, and saw the shadowy figure in the corner.

"Hello. What do you want?" Ghost knew he couldn't trust the demon.

"Is it so wrong for a parent to wish to see their child?" The Shade Lord asked slyly.

"I am not your child. The void may be a part of my being, but you are no parent of mine," Ghost said spitefully.

"The void runs through your veins. I am the lord of the void. You belong to me," the Shade Lord asserted, becoming agitated at Ghost's retorts.

"Why are you here, Shade? Why are you here really?" Ghost was determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Hmph, fine. You're no fun, but I will tell you. This mantis lord has fallen under my influence. I cast an illusion and made her think that a group of insects were trying to assault her. And I made her kill them," Shade laughed at the end of his statement. Ghost was horrified. So, that was the truth. Did she know? Did she think he wouldn't believe her if she told the truth? Of course, she would think that—a shadow made her kill innocent bugs? Such an idea was insane. But if she thought she was killing in self-defense, why was she exiled? Shade knew what Ghost was thinking and answered his question.

"I influenced her thoughts and made her lash out in violence against her fellow lord. She has been exiled. Hopefully permanently," Shade said, laughing hysterically. Ghost was enraged by this.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? She is likely to be a fugitive now! You've effectively ruined her life!" Ghost was incredibly enraged by what Shade was saying.

"I know! It's hilarious!" Shade continued laughing. Ghost hated them. With a passion. Ghost heard Acacia move around in bed and looked over to her. She was waking up. He turned back to the corner that Shade had been standing in, but Shade was gone. Ghost quickly began to leave when Acacia called to him.

"Wait," she spoke softly. "Don't leave." He could tell she needed him, so he took a chair and sat next to the bed. "You see him too, don't you?" Acacia pointed to the corner where Shade had been standing.

"Yes, I do," Ghost confirmed. "Do you know what he did?" Ghost needed her to be honest.

"I... Yes, I know. He cast an illusion, I know I killed innocent people, and I know that he made me attack my fellow lords," Acacia said, saddened. Ghost now knew the whole story. He knew how horrible the demon was. They would stop at nothing until they had what they wanted, whatever it was. He didn't know how to help, but he would do his best.

"I can't tell you what to do or how to stop him, but I can try to help to the best of my ability. Just stay here, and I promise that I will keep you safe," Ghost assured her.

"What is he?" Acacia had many questions.

"It's less a 'he' and more a 'they.' The Shade Lord is a collective of void beings given a mind, will, and voice. A single void creature by itself can destroy a small village. The Shade Lord is what happens when a multitude of void creatures merge into one being. A long time ago, the previous king of this land, The Pale King, sought to create an empty vessel—no mind to think, no will to break, no voice to cry suffering, child of Wyrm and Root. The savior of Hallownest, The Hollow Knight. The Pale King, Wyrm, my father, had billions of children with The White Lady, Root, and he placed the eggs in the void to be infected with its absence. Many of his 'experiments' failed. Many children had minds, wills, thoughts, and voices. He cast his 'failed' children back into the void when they weren't the perfect vessel," Ghost explained.