"Greetings, young vessel," the tree lady says.
"Greetings... knight." The giant moth spoke with a hint of disdain.
And finally, the looming figure only stared at us, looking down and unblinking.
"We can finally speak, young one," the one in the middle spoke.
"Come, we have much to talk about." Suddenly, a large castle rose from the water; it shined brilliantly, lighting portions of the void with light.
"Follow me," the middle figure said, being followed by the two others. The largest simply disappeared, sinking into the water.
I quickly followed behind, tailing them. I needed to get some answers.
As we walked inside, opening the massive doors, we were greeted by two extremely large insects. They wore bright white armor that hid their faces, and both carried large sickles.
They gave a bow and moved to the side. We walked for a few minutes before reaching a large circular table.
From there, they all took a seat. I just stood by the door before the tree lady motioned me to sit next to her.
And for some odd reason, I didn't even hesitate to sit next to her. Why did I trust her so quickly?
As I sat next to her, a root wrapped around me. Was she hugging me?
"Now that we've all been seated, let us introduce ourselves. I shall start. My name is the Pale King. I was once the ruler of Hallownest."
"I am the White Lady, wife and caretaker of all."
"I am... the Radiance, ruler of light."
"Uh, my name is Stygian," I say, a bit nervous.
"Greetings, Stygian. It is an honor to finally meet you face to face," the Pale King spoke.
"Yes, it is quite lovely to see one of my offspring again," she says, rubbing my head with one of her roots.
Wait, offspring?
I broke free from her root and got up.
"What do you mean, offspring?"
"It means they are your parents, idiot," the Radiance said, looking annoyed.
Parents... and I just got adopted.
"Fret not, for even though you have been taken in by another, you will still be our spawn," the Pale King spoke.
"And if you ever need help, we will be there to assist you," the White Lady spoke.
So... I now have two different families. Great, just great.
I looked at them, studying their features. Sure, they looked similar to me, but how did the king do it with... never mind.
I took a deep breath to calm myself. I needed to get some answers.
"Why did you bring me here?" I said, looking directly at the Pale King.
"It is simple. We want to help you."
"Help me?" I said, a bit confused.
"Yes, for you see, you may be the last of our kind."
The last? What does he mean?
"He's confused. Look at him—he doesn't know what happened to the world," the Radiance spoke.
"It would be better if he knew what happened," the White Lady spoke.
"Very well, we shall tell him our story," the Pale King spoke.
---
Long ago, in the lands of Hallownest, the White Lady and I ruled over our subjects. We elevated them from being mindless savages to thinking and compassionate bugs.
But the Radiance felt jealous that—
Hey! I wasn't jealous!
Can I continue the story, please?
...Fine.
Anyway, the Radiance preyed upon the minds of the bugs, and slowly they became mindless insects filled with nothing but rage, attacking anything that got too close.
Until one day, the Knight arrived. He defeated the Radiance and freed Hallownest from the infection.
But... this wasn't the end of the story. For you see, when the Knight defeated the Radiance and became one with the Void, it turned him into the Lord of Shade.
Slowly, he consumed everything, leaving nothing. He consumed all lands, reaching even Farloom and destroying the Terrible City.
And when all was done, all that was left was the darkness.
---
He finished his story, and I stood there thinking. What was the point of that? They're here now.
"Why tell me this?"
"You see, young one, you are the successor of the Void."
What?
"And one day, you will consume this world and everything in it."
No... no, this can't be happening. I just got here, and now I'm gonna become some all-consuming being.
"That is, if we weren't here," the White Lady spoke, breaking me free from my thoughts.
"The reason we brought you here is to give you the means to sate the Void's hunger and free you from this."
Suddenly, a white orb left the Pale King's chest and slowly flew to me. It entered my body, and I could feel something stir.
"What you have now is my very soul. This will feed the Void and prevent you from becoming slowly consumed by it."
"And this is my gift," the White Lady said, handing me a rather large book.
"Thank you." I grabbed the book and looked towards the Radiance.
"What, you expecting something? I already gave you the lantern, so don't expect much. I hate your family; I just came so I wasn't stuck in the dark void," she said before standing up and floating away.
"Well, it was nice speaking with you, but it's time for you to wake up—and always remember these words: no cost too great."
---
I awoke from my slumber, still standing inside the bedroom. As the sun slowly rose, I heard footsteps coming closer and closer.
And suddenly, the door opened, revealing Lilith holding a tray of food.
"How's my adorable little babies!" she said with a bright smile on her face.
"Two more hours, Mom," Charlie grumbled, turning and covering her face with her blanket.
"How about you, my little man? Did you sleep well?" she said, placing the tray on a table in the room.
I smiled—at least what I thought was a smile—and spoke.
"I slept well... Mom."