Vessel

No sleep for you

Disclosure: This chapter's cover-art is not my own. This great drawing was created by reddit user SaltyOnSteam. Now on to the story. :)

Following the knight's encounter with the lost kin, they seemed more driven to use the dreamnail, and almost seemed to know who to use it on. Their first target? Much to Mala's disgruntlement, the soul tyrant would be the knight's first victim.

Arriving once again in the city of tears, we looked for the soul sanctum. Mala eventually had to lead us to it, because the city is absolutely massive. Once inside, it didn't take long to find the soul master, or rather his remains. The knight used the dreamnail, and immediately fell into a deep slumber.

Waiting for them was agony. Mala seemed to have very mixed emotions about what was happening in front of us. Within a minute, they seemed to contemplate both hugging the knight, and stabbing them four hundred fifty six times in quick succession. Trying to be a good friend, if nothing else, I asked them about it.

"I know that they must do this, but my every instinct tells me to protect him. His methods were questionable, yes, but in all honesty, he was a good bug. He only took their soul to cure the infection, and he still never got any sleep. He could always hear their voices, pleading for their lives."

I supposed now wasn't the time to tell Mala that the soul master had actually been chasing immortality. Either way, Mala's behavior made sense, considering that they were watching a father figure's corpse. And on top of that, an angry little vessel, was beating up his ghost.

Soon, the knight woke up. They handed me the dreamnail to see the tyrant, but I handed it to Mala, who deserved the closure it would bring. At first, Mala was confused as to why they held the dreamnail, but then they looked towards the corpse.

"Marrus." They said, hesitantly. "I am sorry, for I was too weak to save you and the others. I failed, in the one thing I did." The soul master thought for a moment, before responding. "Mala, there's nothing you could have done. The infection is beyond soul. Death was our only out."

The soul master continued. "Mala, you have become more powerful than some of this sanctum's students could even dream of. The key is not us, it is inside the hollow knight's brain. That, is the only way  to stop this infection."

Mala then watched, as the soul master looked up, and disappeared. They returned the dreamnail to the knight. The remaining dream boss presented no problems for the knight, and they defeated the failed Champion, with ease. What a show off. Yet, the knight seemed unsatisfied, as though there was still more to do. Suddenly, I realized what they were after; dream warriors, like Xero.

Strangely, the dream warriors all went surprisingly quick, including Markoth. I made a mental note to have the knight attempt ascended and radiant Markoth on the switch when I got back home. That should be pretty funny. At the end, two dream warriors remained. They're going to be fun. Our first stop would be the howling cliffs.

Sorry to cut this one so short, I ran out of things to right, and figured that instead of just sitting on it, waiting for ideas for another week, I'd just go ahead and release what I have. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter!