Pure, Pale Love

by bpacc437

Summary:

Emotions left unspoken never go away. They just swirl inside of us, taking darker, heavier forms until they are finally expressed.

The Pure Vessel and Pale King have always hid any emotions they've felt for one another. But as the Pure Vessel reaches their prime form, both fear the emotions raging inside of them may be too much to control.

As they're about to learn, they are.

Notes:

Hey everyone! This is my first fic on Ao3. Before we get started, just know there’s some plot in this bug porn. If you only want to read PK and PV bonk it, skip to the dotted line far down. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Pure Love

One day, when they were still young, the Pale King took the Pure Vessel to the Overlook. The Overlook was a hidden terrace high in the White Palace, inaccessible to anyone but the Pale King and his most trusted confidantes.

From the Overlook, the Pale King and Pure Vessel could see everything. The Palace grounds below teemed with activity, with dozens of royal attendants scurrying about their own business. The White Lady’s chamber glowed a brilliant white, the roots of the Queen expanding up and outward over the Palace.

The Pale King would say he didn’t know why he brought the Pure Vessel here. They were supposed to be a pure, thoughtless being. Why show them something that only one with thoughts could appreciate?

But deep down, the Pale King had a suspicion on why he’d done it. He, on some level he could never express aloud, cared for the Pure Vessel. This was a place he shared with those special to him, those he trusted. Maybe bringing the Vessel here was a way to admit his feelings for his creation. A way for him to be honest with himself.

There, on the Overlook, the King looked over his Palace. Then, his eyes drifted down to his Vessel, small in stature. Then, to his surprise, the Vessel looked back to him. Stared directly into his eyes. The two shared a gaze for a moment, before the King realized what he was doing and returned his gaze to the kingdom.

Years later, the Pure Vessel would look back at this moment as the moment they failed in their mission. The moment they became impure.

At first, the thing inside the Pure Vessel’s head was nothing more than a vague impression of a thought. It was like the half-formed mental impressions of someone in a half-sleep, far too amorphous to be tangible, but too grounded to be lost.

But as the years rolled on, this thing metamorphosed into a full blown thought. The Pure Vessel came to love their father. But, like the King, they were unable to voice this emotion. They still saw themselves as pure, and worried that admitting impurity would devastate their father. So, the Vessel bottled the emotions inside.

This proved to be a losing battle. There were so many times the Vessel had caught themselves acting impure that it was a miracle that the King didn’t catch on.

Or perhaps, it’s better to say that it was a miracle the King didn’t do anything once he caught on. He’d had suspicions since the night on the Overlook. But these suspicions were buried deep inside.

Not just because of the implications of what it would mean for Hallownest and himself if the Pure Vessel wasn’t actually Pure, but because he knew what the White Lady would want him to do with the Vessel if they had failed. The same thing they had done with every other failed vessel.

He knew on some level that he could never dispose of the Pure Vessel in that way. Something about the mere thought repulsed him.

Eventually, the Pure Vessel began sneaking books out of the library, teaching themselves how to read and write. The library keepers knew this, the Vessel was a bad thief. But they kept their mouths shut, not just because they saw it as not their business, but because they knew how badly the King would react if they learned the truth.

One day, after the Pure Vessel had reached maturity, they found a book about sex. It was a sexual education book, and covered just about everything one could ever want to know about the subject. The Vessel was enraptured by the book, and everything it had to say about this completely alien subject. The King had taught the Vessel combat and social skills.

But, for obvious reasons, the Pale King had not, in fact, taught the Pure Vessel sex ed.

The Vessel had had no real conception of sex until now. It was described in the opening of the book as, “A thing that bugs who love another very much do.” The Pure Vessel thought about the King for a moment before reading on.

Eventually, while reading the book in their chamber, they got to a part of the book containing infographics of all different sexual poses. Lots of them. Just, an absurd amount. The Pure Vessel found one particularly interesting, an image of one bug pounding another who was bending over a bed at the waist. The Vessel stared at it for a while, then fell into a daydream.

In the dream, it was the Pale King who was on the bed, and the Vessel who was standing tall, preparing to pound him in the ass. At this, the Vessel found a new emotion rising in them, one for which they had no name. Then, they felt something emerging at their crotch. Reaching down with a hand, they found that out of a slit had emerged an appendage similar to what the book described as a phallus. It was something of a cross between a bug phallus and the void tentacles they were able to summon on command. But, oddly enough, they had no control over this one.

Reaching down, the Vessel ran their hand up and down the shaft of the thing. They shivered as the new feeling came over them in waves. They remembered what this was from earlier in the book. It was masturbation.

The Pure Vessel gripped their cock, applying a small amount of pressure as they moved their hand up and down. Their mind moved back to the image of them and the Pale King on the bed. They imagined inserting their shaft into the King’s ass, of pounding him like the bug in the photograph was being pounded.

Their grip tightened and their pace increased as they imagined finally being able to voice these emotions for their father, of being able to show their love for him. With one final jerk, the Vessel came, thinking of shooting their own load inside the Pale King. The cum stained the pages of the book, and some of it got on the mattress too. The book was never returned, but the Vessel did get a chance to rinse the sheets before anyone saw them.

During this same span of time, the King was wrangling with their own thoughts regarding the Vessel. He was suffering from the intense cognitive dissonance of loving someone while also having to believe that he felt nothing for them.

These feelings came to a head one day during a training session. They were having the Pure Vessel fight a Kingsmould, a challenge that he was sure they could overcome. Then, something happened that took the King entirely off-guard.

The Kingsmould swung its axe at the Pure Vessel. The Vessel blocked, but the next blow was already upon them. To escape its horizontal arc, the Pure Vessel jumped.

As the Vessel leapt into the air, the blinding light that fills all the palace grounds entirely illuminated their figure. Time seemed to slow as the King watched their Vessel arc their body gracefully across the sky, every bit of their curved form refracting in the light.

The King took in their regal horns, lithe midsection, tender arms, and the long, slender legs that the King suddenly wished would wrap around him in a loving-

He rushed from the courtyard into the nearby restroom, slammed the door shut behind him, and almost retched. Gazing into the mirror above the sink, the King saw himself as a base beast. Part of himself tried to justify the image he had made in his mind as an intrusive thought, nothing more. But the logical part of his brain knew these feelings were true. The erection bulging under his cloak proved it.

He, the Pale King of Hallownest, had just had lustful thoughts about his own spawn. The spawn he must never love. Must never show affection for, let alone fuck. What had happened to him? What had given rise to this vile feeling?

On some level, he knew the answer. Knew that he had always loved the Pure Vessel and cherished them as one of his own. Knew that he had so viscously bottled up these emotions that they had no choice but to gather in thicker and thicker clouds within his soul. Repressed emotions never go away. They just take on different, more extreme forms until they are finally voiced.

But where did this knowledge get him? He still couldn’t openly love the Pure Vessel. And he certainly couldn’t tell anyone that he wanted to fuck them. The White Lady, despite her outward acceptance of his dalliance, grew noticeably distant from him for weeks after the fact. And that was for a deal that was part of saving the Kingdom! Not for having a random fling with their own spawn! If he told her, she’d be broken.

So, the Pale King retreated once more to the option he had always fled to regarding the Pure Vessel: repression. He just had to contain these feelings until they were sealed away, and then he would never have to think about them again.

This would not last long.

One night, the Pure Vessel decided that they could not take this anymore. This awful feeling of repression, this constant weight on everything they did, had to be broken. They decided they would write a letter to the King. One where they laid both their impurity and love of him out. They sat down at their desk, and began to write.

However, as is often the case with these sorts of things, an unlocked door ruined everything. The King, being in the area of the Palace wherein the Vessel lived, decided to stop by their room. The King, inwardly, was hoping to find either some sign of purity or impurity. Something that would break his paralysis regarding the Vessel for him.

When the King entered, the Vessel tried to hide the letter. But they dropped it on the floor, and before they could pick it up, the King managed to read the words, “Dear father,” and “I love you.”

The King fled. This was what he wanted, conclusive evidence one way or another about the purity of the Vessel. But, when faced with this evidence, he immediately regretted seeing it. The letter was damning, but what got to him more was the Vessel’s reaction. That panicked reaction was not the reaction of a Pure being.

The Vessel chased after him, afraid that they had already messed everything up.

The King decided to hide in the private quarters. It was here that the King had had his dalliance with Herrah, where Lurien had thrown some of his most epic fornications. But, more importantly right now, it was a place the Pure Vessel didn’t know about. And, therefore, hopefully, could not reach.

The King locked the entrance to the quarters behind him, and fled into a room at the end of the hall. The Vessel had heard him slam the door and lock it. They tried the door before kicking it down in a fit of panic. They searched every door, until coming to the last one. The one where their father was hiding.

Inside, the King heard the locked knob jiggle, and knew they were trapped. Vessels didn’t have to eat, sleep, or drink. He had to do all three of those things. He would have to come out eventually an-

The King silenced himself. Why was he acting like this? He’s the King of Hallownest, he should be acting like it. Not running from his problems like a coward.

It was mostly false bravado, but it gave the Pale King the courage to open the door to the room, to face the source of his fears directly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Pure Vessel fell on the Pale King in a hug. The King could only let out a small “What?” at this, then realized something. The Vessel felt the same way about him that he felt about the Vessel. Why else chase him through these halls, therefore totally outting themselves as being impure? Without realizing it, their arms found themselves around the Pure Vessel.

Then, their faces met one another. The King didn’t even have time to realize what he was doing. He knew this was horrible, what he was doing, what he internally wanted to do. But after so long of repressing himself, he couldn’t stop it. The Pure Vessel didn’t have a mouth to kiss, but they got creative.

Early in their combat training, they had tried to use a shriek ability that released void energy above them. They stopped when they realized it technically gave them a voice to cry suffering, but they held onto it. Now, they used it not to shriek, but to open a small hole on the front of their mask to the void within.

They formed a small, tongue-like appendage, and met the King’s tongue with it. The King saw this, and let out a small laugh. How creative their Knight was! Then, he wrapped his tongue around the Vessel’s, and they explored each other's mouths. The kiss lasted a long while, the two of them draped around one another in the frame of that door.

The Vessel’s mouth was like the peaceful liquid of the abyss, pressing in warmly on all sides. The King let out a small moan as his tongue explored it, probing its depths. The King’s mouth was fleshy, soft, and warm, and the sensation of exploring it lit the Vessel on fire. They wanted to have sex with the Pale King, and they wanted it badly. Their erection emerged, and brushed against the King.

The King’s looking down, found it oddly comforting to have his own twisted emotions reflected. So he was not alone in sharing these thoughts. His own erection swelled, brushing against the Vessel.

The two broke the kiss, and looked into one another’s eyes. It was obvious what they both wanted. So, they walked into the room and locked the door behind them.

The private room was a small, square thing. It contained a king-size bed in the middle, and a more average-sized one towards the wall.

The King laid belly-down on the bed, and invited the Vessel to step forward. Even now, part of the Pale King’s brain still protested against this. The Pure Vessel was their spawn! They were supposed to seal the Radiance and save the kingdom through their purity!

But as the Vessel approached, and the reality of the coming sex hit him, the King stopped caring. They had wanted this for years, and nothing was going to get in the way of it now.

The Pale Vessel grabbed one of the Pale King’s thighs with one hand, while leading their member to his ass with the other. The King thought for a moment about the size of his new partner. He had gotten a good look at it in the doorway. It was much, much larger than one would expect.

The King spent a moment wondering how it would all fit, considering that it seemed almost as large as him. He wasn’t able to finish this thought, however, as his Vessel quickly inserted the tip of their cock into his ass.

A gasp left the King’s mouth as the Vessel slid into him. They slid in slowly, obviously savoring the feelings of sex. It struck the Vessel that this was their original fantasy, reading that book of bug sex, to bend their father over a bed and fuck him senseless. It took a lot of self-restraint to not slam deep into him. But the Vessel remembered what the book had said about making anal sex pleasurable, and moved in slowly.

The King was barely keeping himself together. The emotions of love and connection with the Pure Vessel, so long denied, were now being made reality. Despite this, the King was trying to act calm and regal.

It was a bit of an absurd act, after his fleeing from the Pure Vessel. But it let the Pale King tell himself that he was still a dignified royal even as he was letting himself be fucked by his own spawn.

The Pure Vessel continued moving deeper inside the Pale King, their cock alight with pleasure before unknown to them. They were thinking of all the years where they had to hide their love from the Pale King, how it was all being paid off here. They got ahead of themselves, and slammed the rest of their dick into the King’ ass.

The King let out a gasp that turned into a moan. The largeness of his partner hadn’t truly hit him until now. The Vessel’s cock was the largest he’d taken. His demeanor began to crack as the Vessel pulled back, preparing for another thrust. Before they were all the way out, they slammed back in again, sending a lightning strike of pleasure up their cock. Then, the thrusts started coming quicker.

The King’s composure crumbled quickly. He ran a hand down to his own cock and started jerking himself off. He was telling his vessel under deep gasps and moans to fuck him harder. The Vessel was eager to do so. The King was on fire now, pleasure overriding his senses as his mouth ceased to make words. He was only moaning now, one hand gripping the bed sheets as the other stroked his own dick.

The Pure Vessel was filled with emotions and feelings entirely new in their intensity. Every thrust felt like an orgasm, rocking them to their core. The Vessel gripped both hands on their father’s thighs and slammed against him hard. Their head was entirely full of the pleasure of the moment.

Soon, the two of them felt an orgasm beginning to build. The last of the Pale King’s royal attitude vanished as he screamed for the Pure Vessel to breed him. The Vessel gripped his father’s thighs hard as they slammed one last time against him, cumming. The orgasm overtook every emotion, every thought, and every sense. If they had a mouth, they would be screaming with pleasure.

The Pale King came right after, his own orgasm exploding out of him in a way he hadn’t felt in centuries. He heard his own moans escape his mouth, and was stunned at how animalistic they sounded.

The Pure Vessel pulled back again, still coming, and prepared to slam back in. The King was just trying to regain control of himself when the Vessel slammed into him. A scream erupted out of the King’s mouth, echoing throughout the chamber and beyond. The feeling of the Vessel’s cum exploding into him was too overwhelming to take. This triggered a second orgasm from the King, which further blinded him with pleasure.

The Vessel, through the pleasure, was slightly shocked at how much cum they were pumping out. They had had heavy orgasms in the past, but this eclipsed them all. It was a heavenly feeling, unlike anything they had ever experienced. This went on for what felt like an eternity, the Pure Vessel locked into the ass of their beloved father.

The Pure Vessel was unable to vocally express their pleasure, but as the orgasms slowed, the Pale King was moaning more than enough for the both of them. His regal demeanor and right manners had vanished, leaving only an animal who wanted nothing more than for his Vessel to use him as their own personal cumdump.

As the pleasure started to die down, the Pale King noticed that his abdomen had expanded considerably. He didn’t know why at first, until he realized that it had expanded to accommodate the sheer amount of cum the Pure Vessel had pumped into him over the course of the first orgasm.

Surely they were finished? The Pale King thought. No creature, whether they be bug, beast, or god, would be able to go for a round two after pumping something like that out.

As always with the Pure Vessel, the King was wrong. The Vessel was still standing at the base of the bed, still hilted inside their father. They were looking at the ceiling, their chest rising and falling with large breaths. Whatever pleasure the King had felt during his orgasm, the Vessel’s surely eclipsed it. They must have desired this even more than he had.

Then, after a few moments, they looked towards their father with pure love in their eyes. At this look, the King found himself re-ignited, giving his Vessel a motion that said, If you want more, I’m prepared.

At this, the Pure Vessel rapidly leaned down and planted another kiss on the King’s mouth, moving their hands to his sides. The Vessel, with one short movement, flipped their father over onto their back. They briefly removed their cock from the King, as their arms re-adjusted his form.

Now, the Vessel stood tall, looking directly down into the eyes of their father. Their head was still reeling from the orgasm they had just experienced. But they wanted more. Now. The Pale King knew what position was coming next, and raised his legs so the Pure Vessel could hook their arms around them. The Pure Vessel hooked their left arm around the leg in front of it. The right arm instead moved to take the King’s cock in its grasp.

Their grip was firm, but the King wasn’t about to complain. The Vessel began with slow movements up and down the shaft. The movement was awkward - this was their first time giving someone else a handjob after all - but it still set the King on fire. The Vessel experimented with the pressure they put on the cock, trying to find how to pleasure their father the best. Eventually, they found a level of pressure that seemed to please the King the most, and settled on it.

The Vessel was now picking up the pace of their jerking. The King had become so absorbed in the handjob that he forgot this was only half of the fun. The Pure Vessel briefly unhooked their left hand from the King’s thigh to lead their cock back into their father. Then they thrust. Hard.

The King felt the air leave his body as the entire length of the Vessel’s cock entered him at once. He hardly had time to gather himself before the second slam came. Then the third.

The Vessel, hooking their arm around the King’s leg once more, wasn’t spending any time on foreplay now. In the span of a second, the Vessel would thrust in, remove themselves, and slam again. Each thrust into their father’s ass sent another spike of pleasure through their body, their cock burning with a pleasure unmatched in all Hallownest. Their head, once empty, was now entirely filled with carnal pleasure and love for their father.

The King’s wasn’t moaning anymore, their head was too full with the sex he was having to do even that. Hardly even breathing now, the King let the Vessel pound them time after time. The King no longer cared how debased he must look, abdomen swelled with the cum of their own spawn while he looked on in mindless pleasure.

At this moment, the King wanted to do nothing, wanted to be nothing, other than to be a cumdump for the Vessel. They wanted this pleasure to continue forever.

The Vessel was jerking the King rapidly now. The King could tell from this that the next orgasm was short at hand. The Pure Vessel pounded and pumped the King’s even quicker, but then slowed. The next three thrusts came slower, but the force they contained eclipsed everything that came before. The first thrust came down so hard it stung the King’s ass, the pain sending a new surge of pleasure through him.

The second sent the Pure Vessel and Pale King’s heads reeling. Both felt what was about to happen and were shaking in anticipation of it.

The third was the one that carried the orgasm. As the Pure Vessel hilted inside of the Pale King, they thrust their head towards the ceiling, cum bursting out of their cock. The Pale King immediately felt the intensity of this orgasm, and the feeling of the Vessel’s cum flooding him sent him over the edge too. The King’s cum completely covered the bulge in his abdomen, and his chest. Some of it even splashed up onto his head and face.

The feelings filling the Vessel were indescribable. It was pleasure beyond words, the kind of feeling that temporarily removes someone’s ability to speak or think. They began making smaller thrusts into their father, each thrust renewing the waves of cum and topping up on the pleasure filling their every sense. An entire lifetime of repressed emotion let out in an orgasm.

The Pale King was too blinded by pleasure. When he would awake the day after, the King would be startled at the amount of cum covering him - most of it his. Nothing he had ever felt in his eons of living had ever felt like this. Every sense was obliterated, every thought made subservient to the Vessel he had once wanted to be pure.

As the Vessel finished, they could only stand at the foot of the bed, eyes still turned towards the ceiling. As they looked down, they saw the King in what could only be described as a bed of cum. His abdomen had expanded to an absurd degree.

The Vessel knew the King had changed their form in the past, and that their current one came with a degree of plasticity, but this was beyond anything they’d seen. It spoke to how powerful the King’s own orgasm was that his cum had somehow surpassed it to stain his chest and face.

The King was laying in a pool of cum. His legs, arms, and chest were all partially submerged in the sticky substance, with only the pillow stopping his head from being soaked in it.

The King’s head was rolled back, his breathing heavy. It took him a full minute to look up and speak to the Vessel. He simply said, “In all my thousands of years of living, I have never experienced anything as wondrous as that.”

Then he collapsed in exhaustion. The Vessel leaned down and took the King in their arms. In truth, they were exhausted, too. They moved to the guest bed at the side of the wall, and laid the King down. Then, they crawled in after them. Pulling up the blanket over the both of them, the Pure Vessel felt a deep satisfaction and happiness that they had never quite felt before. They had finally voiced their love for the Pale King, and could rest easy knowing they returned it.

As the Pure Vessel began to doze off, they nuzzled up to the King. Placing their head on his head, the Vessel fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 2: Schism

Summary:

The White Lady begins to suspect that the Pale King is cheating on her. Her investigation of the affair leads her down a dark path.

Notes:

Like with the last chapter, I've placed a dotted line at the point where the plot mostly ends and the porn begins. Jump down to it if you're only here for the kinky bug threesome.

The White Lady paced back and forth, thinking about her husband. She was almost entirely certain now that he was being unfaithful.

It all began that one day he said he was going to check up on the Pure Vessel. It should’ve been a short trip, but he instead had vanished for the entire night. When he showed back up the following afternoon, he did little to ease her suspicions. He gave her a shady-sounding story about how he’d gotten swallowed up in some drama between two royals, and that it took him the entire night to unravel the mess.

When she pressed him for details on this drama, he dodged the question, saying that it was just a little trifle the Queen of Hallownest shouldn’t bother herself over.

Maybe she would have believed him if this had been a one-off fiasco. But it hadn’t been. Most nights now, the King would go out on what he vaguely postured as official business. He would be gone the whole night, then emerge the next morning suspiciously clean. As if he’d taken hours beforehand to clean every last bit of dirt and grime from his clothes and body.

She didn’t want to believe it. Her wyrm had promised her that he was utterly devoted to her. He had promised her that the dalliance with Herrah was a one-off thing driven by necessity, and that something like it would never happen again. She could understand that. He needed Herrah to be a Dreamer, and sex was the only way to get her to be one.

But the White Lady honestly doubted that this new affair was brought on by necessity. If it was, the King would be honest with her about if. If he was trying to hide it, then that meant it could only be trouble.

The White Lady sighed and looked down at herself. Her body shined with a pale glow, her thick chest and midsection leading to a pair of wide thighs. Her legs stood straight, stout, and strong. Her head was thick with smaller branches that reached out in all directions. In time, she would plant them around the grounds, leaving them to grow into the large white roots that dominated the Palace. Was she… was she not good enough for him anymore?

She dashed the thought from her head. She lied to herself, told herself that there must be some hidden explanation for the King’s behavior. Maybe there really was some official business he needed to take care of?

...She couldn’t make herself believe it. She spent some time running down the list of potential suspects in her head. Lurien? He did have a very obvious crush on the Pale King. No. He’s too shy to make a move, and the King was somehow oblivious to his affections. Marissa? Maybe. She was a very popular singer, and the White Lady had to admit, a very attractive one as well.

But wouldn’t news of that have leaked already? She could hear the phantom shouts of Hallownest’s criers, calling out “PALE KING CAUGHT IN BED WITH FAMOUS SINGER MARISSA! IS HE FIT TO LEAD?” The King was quite bad at keeping secrets. The White Lady couldn’t imagine he’d be able to keep that hidden.

Emilitia? No. She drove the Pale King up the wall with her incessant laughter and sadism.

Then the White Lady hit on a possibility that chilled her to the core. A possibility that initially seemed laughable, but made a distressing amount of sense the more she thought of it.

The Pure Vessel.

She ran the horrid possibility through her head time and time again, but she refused to believe it. No, her Wyrm would never. It would be a complete betrayal, both of his vows to her as a husband, and to the very laws of nature by mating with his own spawn.

Yet, it was the only one that made any sense. For several reasons. For one, there was the way the two of them had been acting around one another as of late. The Pale King had usually at least attempted to keep his obvious feelings for the Vessel a secret. But something had changed around the time this affair started. He started hugging the Vessel in public, offering them flowers, and spoke sweet words to them whenever he got the chance.

The Vessel was better at hiding their feelings for the King, but not good enough. They shot looks at him constantly, always had their hands on him when he was within range, and had once even given him what the White Lady could’ve sworn was a kiss on the lips when they thought she wasn’t looking. She had told herself that this last one was a misunderstanding, that she had just seen something that looked like a kiss.

But, honestly, putting it in context with everything else, it was obviously a kiss.

The White Lady had believed for a while that the Vessel wasn’t pure. They acted like a fully sentient, alive bug too often for her to see them as empty. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with them if they were impure. She knew the King thought she’d want them thrown away, but she didn’t see the value in that. They were a fully trained knight at this point, capable of fending off any foe. Why toss them away?

Also, the White Lady had to admit, she cared for the Vessel. She had raised them like one of her own, the only Vessel she had actually gotten a chance to care for. Her love for the Vessel wasn’t as deep as the King’s was, but it existed nonetheless.

But, getting back to the point, the possibility of the Pure Vessel being the homewrecker was too strong to deny. It even lined up with what the Pale King had said the night of the first session, that he was going to check on the Pure Vessel. The new openness the two showed towards one another, the fact that that openness started when the affair began, the fact that the Pale King had admitted to being in the Vessel’s room on the night it all started. It all made sense.

The White Lady was disgusted. How could her husband cheat on her with their own spawn? She thought of the Vessel taking her husband in their arms, laying him down on a bed, raising his ass into the air, and-

The Lady checked herself. She wasn’t disgusted at herself for thinking about that, it was just how her brain worked. Her libido was so incredibly high that she wanted to fuck at any given moment, a desire that often manifested in errant thoughts and desires. She wanted to breed with almost everyone. She often had these thoughts about the Pure Vessel, actually. She had to admit, they were a deeply handsome bug. She could see them wrapping themselves around her, legs-

She checked herself again. She often didn’t even get pleasure from these visions. They just invaded her mind and made her swat them away. Hallownest’s top psychologists would’ve easily clocked this as the behavior and thought patterns of a nymphomaniac, but she didn’t even think anything was wrong with herself. She just had a high libido, she thought.

Regardless, she would get to the bottom of this tonight. When the King snuck out, she would trail him at a distance. She would follow him through the halls of the palace until she found where he made love at. Then, she would bust him.

Night came. And, like clockwork, the King told her that he was going out on official business. Did he truly think he was clever? The White Lady thought. Tonight is the night this ends.

Stalking him through the halls, she tried her hardest to not make any sound. She was so large that it was difficult to keep quiet, but she managed. The King crept onwards until he reached the private quarters. The White Lady wanted to slap herself. It was so obvious! Of course he’d go here! Some time ago, someone had kicked open the front door to the quarters. Repair bugs had patched it up, but it was obviously new compared to everything else in the area. She watched as he opened the door and strolled down the corridor, not a care in the world.

The Pale King wasn’t even thinking of his wife as he opened the door to the chamber at the end of the hall and shut it. The Vessel was already on their bed, the room already cleaned by the King’s private cleaners, who honestly weren’t getting paid enough for the amount of bug cum they had to mop up.

The Vessel lit up when they saw their father. They were already naked, body in a resting position. The King smiled at them and removed their robe. “Are you ready for another night of love, my Vessel?” He spoke, voice shaky with excitement.

The Vessel nodded. As the King approached the bed, he thought about his genuine love for the Vessel. There was something special about his relationship with his spawn. Beyond the obvious, I mean. He felt a deep, real connection with them that he hadn’t felt with the Lady in years. Nothing had been the same between the King and Queen since the Vessel experiments. The Queen, despite her love for the King, always seemed ashamed.

Their lovemaking wasn’t what it used to be. Before, it was bright, lively, and beautiful. Now, it felt more like an obligation than love. It was like signing paperwork, or going to a job you hate. It was something they did because it was expected. Because it was routine.

Their lovemaking with the Vessel had that spark. It wasn’t just a spark though, it was a raging inferno. He felt like nothing else when he was with the Vessel. It was a transcendent love, one that takes its participants to places unknown. His love for the Vessel was so deep that it seemed to fill up his entire being. He wanted to be with them always.

The Pure Vessel felt the same way for their father, only moreso. It was their first time experiencing love. It was a deep, obsessive love that filled their every waking moment. It was strange to say, but they felt an ownership over the King. Their fantasies had turned from merely making love to the King to marrying him. They wanted to wake up every morning with the King at their side, to go to bed with him in their arms every night.

They wanted the King to belong to them so, so badly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the White Lady had seen the way the two moved towards one another on the bed, she would’ve seen these emotions writ large on their faces. But she had waited until the King was well inside before daring to creep up to the door. The King, in his rush, had forgotten to lock it. The White Lady opened it a crack, and looked inside.

All of her worst suspicions were instantly confirmed. The Pale King was on top of the Pure Vessel, naked. He sat on their chest, lowering his head down to their head. The Vessel made a hole in their shell as they had done before, and created the void tendril they would use to kiss their father with.

The Lady looked on in terror as the Pale King and Pure Vessel kissed one another deeply. Their tongues exploring one another’s mouths. The Pure Vessel placed their hands on their father’s ass, their cock already emerging from their loins. The Pale King was soon rock hard as well. The two leaned closer to one another, mouths and bodies pressing down hard.

So it was true. It was all true. The White Lady was being cheated on over her own spawn. She couldn’t believe it. Yet, deep inside of herself, the White Lady felt that familiar fire in her loins. She was turned on.

The King broke the kiss, moving down to the Vessel’s cock. He stroked it with both hands, leading his mouth to the tip.

The King took the head of the shaft in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue. The White Lady watched, frozen to the spot as her husband took her own spawn's cock in his mouth, soon moving his head down the shaft.

The sight of this set the White Lady on fire. She couldn’t help herself anymore. She moved a hand down to her cunt and began fingering herself. She had tried to tell herself that her thoughts surrounding the Pure Vessel and Pale King’s lovemaking was just a product of libido. But that was untenable now. She was undeniably super turned on by what she was seeing.

She couldn’t deny it anymore. She didn’t just care for the Vessel, she wanted to fuck them. Badly. She had wanted to for years, but had told herself that it was just errant thoughts and desires. No. She wanted that void dick. And she needed it. Now.

As the King took the entire shaft in his mouth, the White Lady let out a moan loud enough to alert the duo to her presence. She tried to turn and run, but she tripped and ended up stumbling through the door.

“MY..! MY QUEEN!” The Pale King stammered. This was bad. He had totally forgotten about her, and now she was here. He was certain she was going to do unspeakable things to him now.

Instead, the White Lady, now overtaken by her lust, shoved the Pale King out of the way and moved her mouth to the Vessel’s cock. The Vessel was taken by surprise, but they were not averse to this turn of events. On occasion, they had had lustful thoughts of the White Lady. They were not as common or intense as the thoughts they had over their father, but they existed. They still saw sex simply as something “bugs who love each other very much” do, so they didn’t even realize how messed up the whole situation was.

The Vessel nodded at the White Lady, causing her to take the Vessel’s cock in her mouth at once. She moaned whorishly as the cock filled her mouth and throat. The Vessel started making small thrusts into her mouth, which just sent her lust running higher. The White Lady had felt her mind slipping since she saw the kiss, but she was well and truly descending into lust now.

She moved her head up and down the shaft rapidly, squeezing it with the sides of her mouth. The Pale King sat a short distance away, watching the display confusedly. The White Lady was still giving head to the Vessel, when she caught the King’s eye. She had initially planned to keep him out of this, as a way of “getting back” at him for cheating.

Now, even her rage melted away in the flames of lust. “Wyrm, come to us!” The Pale King crept towards the cock with a bit of hesitation. By the time he reached it, however, he realized the truth. The Pure Vessel had taken the White Lady under the same spell they’d taken him under when they first made love.

Ethics, morality, society, the Vessel had a way of just making it all melt away. When the King was in bed with the Vessel, it was as if the world beyond the bedsheets faded, leaving only two bodies on an island seated in infinite blackness. It was the dizzying love the Pale King had for their spawn, combined with the Vessel’s passionate, utterly devoted lovemaking, that cast this spell on him. That made him forget shame, regret, and remorse.

And now, the White Lady was under that spell too. The spell worked on her not because of love, though she did care for the Vessel. The spell worked on her because the White Lady had no self-control when it came to sex, and she found the Vessel very attractive. She had tried incredibly hard to not cheat on the Pale King. But all it took was one chance to have sex with someone she desired for her will to fall away, to leave nothing but the feral, desperately horny animal she was.

The White Lady took the cock on the right side of the Vessel, while the king took the side opposite. The White Lady poked her tongue out of her mouth, and placed it at the bottom of the Vessel’s shaft. Then, she started running her tongue up the cock. A shiver ran through the Vessel as the Lady’s tongue rolled along. When she reached the top, she reversed the motion, bringing her mouth back down again.

The Pale King, after a few moments, brought his own tongue back to the Vessel’s cock. He worked to reflect his wife’s motions, so that when the Lady would drag her tongue up the shaft, the King would pull his own down. This movement electrified the Vessel, their head filling with a new kind of delight. Experiencing the love of both their mother and father at the same time was almost too much for their mind to bear, especially after decades and decades of intense repression.

The King was the first of the two to take the shaft in his mouth. He brought his hands up to it, playing with it while he teased the tip of the phallus with his tongue. The White Lady, in response, brought her hands to the cock too. The King traded the cock to the White Lady as the both of them continued working the thing with their hands.

A small spot of dread erupted inside of the King. This was crossing lines that had been left uncrossed even when he first made love to the Vessel. He was double-teaming his own spawn with his wife, the same wife he had cheated on with said spawn. A part of him knew this was unforgivable, and that it would be a black spot on his soul for the rest of eternity.

But, at that moment, he didn’t care. This bliss warming his insides was worth more than any shame, any regret.

The White Lady’s famous nymphomania had overridden all of her thoughts. She always lost herself like this when having sex. She didn’t even have that black spot inside her mind, telling her that she’d crossed a threshold. Her mind was all sex, all pleasure. The potential aftershocks of this event on her own soul were of no concern to her now.

The Vessel didn’t know or care that this was wrong. They had gathered from the way their father talked about their actions that what they were doing was of great shame. But they didn’t understand or know why. The book told them that sex was something bugs who loved one another very much did, and did they not love their father and mother? They would have screamed their pleasure without shame, if they could’ve.

The King was humping the bed sheets, the friction of the fabric against their cock filling them with fire. The White Lady felt herself so on-edge that it felt like even the slightest nudge would’ve sent her careening into an orgasm. The moans of the couple filled the air, just as they used to do during their own lovemaking.

The White Lady removed her own hands from the cock and then gently shoved the King’s away. Then, she took the entire thing in her mouth. She gracefully massaged the Vessel’s cock with her mouth, running her tongue along its length. She felt that she was very close to an orgasm now, finally moving a hand down to her cunt to finger herself. Whorish moans escaped her mouth, echoing off the walls of the room and out into the halls beyond.

The Pure Vessel placed one hand on the top of their mother’s head, and the other on the top of their beloved father’s. They were nudging the King closer to the shaft. The King knew what this meant, they were about to cum. The Queen saw this small motion, and correctly interpreted what it meant. They removed the cock from their mouth, firmly gripping one hand of it with a hand.

The King took up the other side, hand working in tandem with the Lady’s to jerk their Vessel off. The Vessel was jerking their thighs now, only seconds away. The King and Lady took their mouths to the head of the cock, planting their mouths on it as they jerked one final time.

The Pure Vessel bucked wildly as they came, the Pale King being the first one to take the shaft. The King gulped down gallon after gallon of the Vessel’s cum, savoring its familiar taste and texture. The King knew that the Vessel’s orgasms were more than large enough for him to share. The King removed his mouth from the phallus, with the White Lady instantly replacing him.

She instantly took the shaft down to its hilt. She looked the Vessel dead in the eye with a look that said, “Abuse me. Fill me with your seed.” The Pure Vessel grabbed her head with both hands and held it down, rapidly thrusting their cock into her mouth. The King felt a pang of jealousy, that his wife would be facefucked by his Vessel instead of him. Still, the King found himself jerking off to the sight.

The White Lady’s cries were muffled by the cock and the gallons of cum she was swallowing, but from what the King could hear through the mess, she sounded truly animalistic. She was cumming time after time, a pool of cum forming below her. She shot a look at her husband that said, “Well? Are you just gonna sit there?” She raised her ass into the air, still cumming.

The King instantly jumped on the White Lady, leading his cock into her tight ass. He pounded her ass like a feral animal, not getting more than a few thrusts in before cuming. The three of them were orgasming all together now, with the addition of the Pale King to the trio instantly re-igniting the flames of the other too.

The Vessel’s thighs kept smacking against the mouth of their mother as the facefucking continued. They looked up and found their father’s eyes. They looked deep into one another as they fucked the White Lady from both ends. It went on for what seemed like hours, the Lady’s abdomen growing large with the cum of her husband and spawn.

The first orgasm was beginning to fade, but all three of them felt that this was just a beginning. The Pure Vessel removed their cock from the White Lady’s mouth, wanting to try a different hole now. The Lady was a mindless pool of pleasure at the hands of her husband and Vessel, not quite knowing what she wanted. Just knowing that she wanted more.

After a few moments, her thoughts gathered to the point where she was able to tell the Vessel was going for her cunt next. She mindlessly rolled herself over, pinning the Pale King beneath her in the process.

She immediately felt her mistake, and tried to roll over again. But, to her surprise, the King tried to pull her onto him again. “I-is this what you really want, dear husband?” She asked, a bit shocked by this turn of events.

A muffled “Yes, my Queen” was her response. As she rolled once more onto her back, she felt the King’s small form pinned beneath her.

The physical closeness this position afforded appealed to the Pale King. Also, frankly, the pain and discomfort he got from being placed in such a position turned him on. He re-inserted himself into his Queen and began pumping.

The Pure Vessel threw themselves on their mother the first second they were able. Their entire body rested on the Lady’s massive form as they began pounding. The White Lady let out a small shriek of pleasure as the Vessel completely entered her at once. They were slapping against her tight cunt, filling her in places she hadn’t been filled in years. Another set of whorish moans escapes the White Lady’s mouth, only barely audible to the King trapped below.

The King was pressed hard against the bed. The combined weight of the Lady and Vessel on top of him was enough to almost totally pin him to the spot. Only the bottoms of his legs and the length of his cock were visible to the Vessel on top. The King was thrusting rapidly into the White Lady, letting out moans audible even through her bulk.

The Pale King was filling the Queen’s ass, while the Vessel pounded away at her cunt. Through an act of chance, the two of them were alternating their thrusts. When the Vessel pulled out, the King thrust in. The White Lady was never given a moment to rest, keeping her topped up on the animalistic lust filling her being.

The Lady’s mind was entirely gone for the time being. Being pounded by both her husband and Vessel at once proved too much for her mind to process. The only thing she was able to think, or to feel, was the carnal fire she felt at this moment. The only sounds that escaped her mouth were long, deep moans.

The King wasn’t too far behind her. His mind was also going, too full of the sex he was having to think of anything else. He’d experienced this every time he’d had sex with his Vessel before, but something about the intensity of this felt different, somehow. As if this time, he might sink below the waves and never emerge again. Much to the King’s excitement and distress, he realized that he didn’t care if that were to happen anymore.

The Pure Vessel’s thrusts were growing more forceful, audibly slapping against the bulk of the White Lady. Each thrust was like a lightning strike of pleasure, lighting up the Vessel’s entire being. They felt another orgasm building, their thrusts slowing as it approached. The King and Queen felt their orgasms approaching as well, the King’s cock a red-hot rod of pleasure, and the White Lady’s cunt burning with an intensity unknown to her for centuries.

The Pure Vessel pulled entirely out of the Queen. Then, with one final thrust, they hilted inside of her, and came. They felt the same wild, untamed orgasm explode out of them that they felt the first time they fucked their father. Gripping the sides of the White Lady, the Vessel continued thrusting, slamming into her time and time again, each slam bringing with it a new explosion of orgasmic delight.

The Queen felt as if every inch of her insides were being fucked. The feeling of the Vessel’s cum bursting into her set her off on her own orgasm. Any semblance of logic or thought still remaining inside the Lady’s head utterly evaporated as she let out scream after scream of delight. The Pale King heard his Lady’s screams, bringing him to the edge. And with one last thrust, he came in her ass.

The White Lady was being filled in both holes, an untold amount of cum being pumped into her from both her husband and Vessel. The three of them kept cumming together, over and over again. The moans of one would trigger another orgasm in another, which in turn would inspire an orgasm from yet another member of the trio. The three of them were kept for what seemed like hours in a cycle of orgasms, a cycle that had no end.

The White Lady’s abdomen had swelled to an almost hilarious degree, the cum of her spawn and husband pumping her to the breaking point.

Yet, as the cycle finally ended, the three of them felt that they still were not done.

As the Pure Vessel unhilted from her, the White Lady rolled over, submerging her stomach in the pool of cum that covered the bed, and freeing the Pale King.

At the sight of the Pale King resting on top of the White Lady, the Pure Vessel was filled with a second wind. They realized, with a shudder of anticipation, that they hadn’t even had a chance to fuck their father this session. After pounding tree cunt for what felt like hours on end, the Vessel now had a taste for the familiar ass of their father.

The Pure Vessel lowered themselves down, and planted a kiss on the King’s cheek. The King, with his last remaining mental willpower, knew what this meant. The Vessel was going to mount them now. They let out a debased moan in anticipation, readying themselves to fuck the White Lady’s ass once more while their Vessel filled them. Once more, he found himself in that headspace where he wanted nothing more than for his Vessel to use him as a cumdump.

The King’s cock swelled once more to an even greater length, a second wind filling him totally new in its strength. The White Lady looked back, and with determined eyes, simply shot a look that said, “Fuck me. Now.”

The King plunged back into the White Lady, feeling parts of her that he hadn’t felt maybe ever. The Pure Vessel inserted their cock into their cumdump. The Vessel inserted it all at once, knowing their toy could take it.

At this familiar feeling, the feeling of the Vessel’s cock filling them up, the King lost himself. He began thrusting furiously into the White Lady, some part of him pretending that it was the Vessel’s ass he was fucking. The Pure Vessel fucked the King viciously, feeling a strange desire to let their cumhole know that he belonged to them, not to the White Lady.

The White Lady couldn’t even begin to think of what her partners were dreaming about if she wanted to. Her mind was a white blur, her loins a raging fire without end. The King slapped against her, his entire body pressed against her form. The King stopped letting out moans as his brain ceased to function as anything other than a thrusting cumdump.

The Pale King and Pure Vessel didn’t even have to try to sync up their thrusts, they seemed to naturally sync up on their own. As if they were on the same frequency.

The Vessel was internally gleeful to watch their father descend into this mood once more. The Vessel loved their father, and they wanted to own him, body and soul. The deep, unshakable love they felt for the King solidified within them a sense of ownership. This was their King. Their toy. Their cumhole. Seeing the King slide once more into this position filled them with an intense pleasure, an orgasm rising in their loins.

The Vessel was the first to cum this time. One sharp thrust against their beloved father’s ass sent cum bursting out of their cock. But instead of pausing briefly after the first thrust, like they usually did, they just kept pounding at an increased intensity. The Pure Vessel was so lost in pleasure that even they lost their ability to think as they came into their father.

The only thing they could think of was their love of the Pale King, and their deep desire to own him entirely. They wanted to marry the Pale King, to take him as their own, and then to use him like this every night.

The King only lasted a few seconds under this assault before he came as well, filling the White Lady once more with his cum. The King could vaguely tell that he was being used as a toy, and he loved it. He gripped the White Lady’s ass with both hands, and pounded it fiercely. They tricked themselves into thinking that the Lady’s ass was the ass of the Vessel as they came. As he shot off into the White Lady, he cried out in bliss, “YES! MY VESSEL!”

This ever-so-slightly shook the White Lady out of her stupor. In the moments before the cum filled her, she choked out, “My king… what did you say?” Did… did the King truly prefer the Vessel as a mate to her?

But these thoughts were swallowed up by the King’s cum as he filled her. She regressed once more into that animalistic mindset, wanting only to be filled by her love. Her own orgasm overtook her, the Lady crying out in bliss as her cum further filled the sheets below the trio.

The three of them kept cumming into one another, again and again. The Vessel’s orgasm, however, was by far the wildest. Even after the other two had started to die down, the Vessel was still pounding their father at an orgasmic intensity. The King met the familiar feeling of his abdomen expanding as the Vessel filled them. But the Vessel wasn’t done there.

The Vessel pounded their toy of a father over and over. They kept cumming and cumming until their father was more filled than they had ever been during their previous sessions. Even their first time making love didn’t compare to this. The Vessel was lit up in a way completely alien to them. They didn’t feel like they could stop cumming, even if they wanted to.

Finally, the King felt his form beginning to reach its breaking point. His form had a high degree of plasticity, but this was pushing that past its limits. The King had never been filled like this. Never. Not in his aeons of living. He moaned whorishly, a series of orgasms running out of him.

By this point, the White Lady was done with her orgasm, and felt her mind returning to her. But the Pure Vessel just kept on it. The White Lady looked back at the two of them. Then, she was filled with silent terror. A terror born of jealousy. As she watched the Pale King’s face, and listened to his moans as he was filled, she realized that her fears had been correct. The Pale King did prefer the Vessel to her as a mate. She had lost. To her own spawn.

There was no arousal powerful enough to overwrite this betrayal in the Lady’s mind. The Vessel finally finished, one final thrust filling their father to the absolute maximum that he could take. The King was on the verge of passing out. The Vessel removed themselves from the King’s ass, and took him in their arms.

The King, now falling into a deep exhaustion-fueled sleep, gave their Vessel a long, passionate kiss. In the bliss of the orgasm, the King had forgotten that the Queen was even there. The Pure Vessel returned the kiss, taking the King over to the bed on the side of the room. The King finally nodded off. As they tucked the King in and crawled in after him, hands wrapped around the incredibly large bulge in his abdomen, the Vessel saw the White Lady shooting them daggers with her eyes.

The Vessel shot her a victorious look back. A look that said, “He’s mine now.” The White Lady, filled with anger and disgust, got up and left the room. As she stepped outside, she began to cry. Tears rolled down her face in large orbs, dropping and shattering on the floor below.

The Pure Vessel cozied up against their father. They were convinced they loved the Pale King more than the White Lady ever could now, and that the King loved them more than he loved the White Lady.

Their father. The one they loved. The one they desired. The one they owned.

Chapter 3: Comfort

Summary:

The White Lady finds comfort from an unexpected source.

Notes:

Same deal as the other chapters in that there's a dotted line where the plot ends and the porn begins, if you only want to read the hot Tree on Moth Action.

The White Lady couldn’t fall asleep, she was waiting for tears that would not come. She sat alone in her chamber, deep inside the Queen’s Gardens. This was where she lived now. She had packed her things and left the very night of her tryst with the Pale King and Pure Vessel. The night she realized she had lost her husband to the Vessel. Her own spawn.

Due to her bureaucratic responsibilities as the Queen of Hallownest, the White Lady still traveled to the White Palace daily. She couldn’t stand the place. Every pillar, every hallway seemed to hold a memory of her beloved wyrm. To walk the Palace halls was to be assailed with memories of the King. Memories of the days where they walked side-by-side, when their love for one another was as vast as the planes beyond the Kingdom.

These memories mocked her. To remember her King now, to remember these good times, felt like an insult. Every memory was chased by the reminder that she had lost her husband, that they would never be together like that ever again.

This feeling was itself chased by her own guilt over her actions that night. She had walked in on her husband cheating on her with their own progeny, and instead of being disgusted or horrified, she had joined in. She had let the Vessel pound her time and time again, filling her in all of her holes.

She hadn’t even taken precautions to prevent the Vessel from making her pregnant. If it wasn’t for the Morning-After medication she had found tucked away in a drawer, she would likely be giving birth to the Vessel’s own progeny right now.

What disturbed her most of all, however, was how much she had enjoyed it. She had enjoyed her threesome with the Pale King and Pure Vessel more than any other sexual encounter she’d had in centuries. Even now, just thinking of the encounter sent her mind wild, taking her directly back to that night on the bed, Vessel hilted inside of her cunt while her husband pounded her ass…

She felt a tremendous amount of anger and resentment towards everyone involved in that tryst. But she saved her most toxic bile for herself. She wanted to bind her body, blind herself, seal herself inside her chamber, and never step outside ever again.

These feelings of disgust and hatred were only intensified whenever she saw the King and Vessel walking the halls of the Palace. They didn’t even try to hide their love for one another anymore. They spent what seemed like every waking moment together now. They held hands and locked eyes as they walked through the halls, gifted each other frequent kisses, and gave one another gifts in broad daylight. Also, as the White Lady learned through Palace gossip, they slept in the same bed every night. The bed she used to share with the King. Her bed. She had no doubt they were fucking one another every night. The King was being bedded by their own spawn in the bed he used to share with her. She had been entirely replaced.

The White Lady had decided that, someday soon, she would stop coming to the Palace entirely. Every second within its walls was an eternity of mental anguish.

She wondered with spite whether the Vessel would soon take her position in the bureaucracy of this cursed Kingdom, too. Part of her still thought that the King would never be so brazen as to officially end his union with her just so he could marry his own spawn. That would cause this affair to go even more public than it already was. And as it stood, everyone in the Palace already knew. They kept their tongues tied, but the disgust they all felt at this relationship was palpable.

If all of Hallownest learned of the King’s actions, his ability to rule would come under serious question.

But, she thought, she had also thought that the King was not so brazen as to fuck his Vessel in the first place. So, who knows.

And so her mind returned to the original source of her torment. The fact that the King had chosen the Vessel over her as a mate. Thoughts of this affair filled her every waking moment, and it was starting to take a serious toll on her mental state.

A toll that grabbed the attention of the Radiance.

The Radiance floated inside of the Dream Realm, observing the small crack in the White Lady’s mental armour. Every single being in the White Palace had undergone intense mental training to protect against the Light’s assaults. This training, paired with the already incredibly difficult task of infecting a Higher Being, had dissuaded the Radiance from even trying to reach into the minds of the King and Queen.

But here it was. A way in. It had started small, but it was growing ever larger. Soon, she would be able to find her way in.

And when she did, the White Lady would pay.

The Radiance’s mind was a blur of rage. Anger was her sole emotion, her sole passion, her sole drive. The Pale King had stolen her Kingdom, and taken her followers. He had sealed her away for thousands of years, and had tried to erase her from history, while knowing that doing so would kill her entirely. The plague was borne out of anger at the King, at the Kingdom he had made on the back of her suffering. She was enjoying burning it to the ground, one bug at a time.

And now she had the opportunity to strike at him directly! She would take his wife, infect her, and turn her against him! The Radiance loved the irony of it all.

The Radiance had no idea what was going on inside of the Palace. Her only eyes into the Kingdom came from her infected subjects, and the King had been very good at keeping them out of the Palace. But she knew about the White Lady, of what she meant to the King. She was his wife, the one that mattered more than anyone else in the world to him. Beyond that, she knew… she knew…?

Actually, she didn’t think she knew much else of the White Lady. So, the Radiance built an effigy of the White Lady in her head, and made it her enemy.

She envisioned the White Lady as a cold husk, an evil Queen who abused her subjects and used her power for her own sick ends. She envisioned the Lady sending her soldiers into hopeless battles, laughing sadistically as they charged to their deaths. She thought of how the White Lady must come home every night and take out her daily frustration on her maids.

Yes. That was the White Lady! It must be.

The Radiance felt her anger swell as she dreamed up this vision of the White Lady. Yes! She would stop this evil witch. She would turn her against her husband, and have her cut down by her own guards!

She fantasized about the King taking her dying form in his arms, sobs choking his form. “My lady! Will.. will you make it?” The King chokes out.

“No… you’ve failed me, my liege…” The Lady replies, choking on her own blood. Then, she crumples to the ground, dead.

“NO!... My one reason for living! Gone from this world!” The Pale King cries pathetically. He makes a dramatic gesture before falling to his knees.

And then, the Radiance thought with sadistic glee, she would take this moment of vulnerability to take over his mind!

That’s exactly how it would go. She was certain of it. Every night the Radiance checked on the crack. It was kept spreading outward, a spiderweb of fissures across the Lady’s mind. Soon, it would only take a push to shatter it open.

The White Lady kept on her mental spiral, entirely unaware of the Radiance’s presence. She hardly left her room in the Garden’s now. She couldn’t see any reason to go outside. Besides, this bed was growing comfortable. Almost as if she could sleep on it, and drift away forever…

The Lady fell into a deep sleep before realizing it. Finally, the latticework of cracks on the Lady’s mind was large enough for the Radiance to burst through.

The Radiance gathered up a burst of magic, and shattered through. “WHITE LADY,” she screamed as she entered, “IT IS TIME TO ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIME-”

The Radiance was stopped by the feeling permeating this headspace. What… What was this feeling? It was like being suffocated on all sides. She felt hatred, despair, fear, sadness, the works. But they weren’t turned outwards, they were turned inwards. Whoever held this mind felt those emotions towards themselves. And at what a staggering intensity…

Then, the Radiance heard sobbing. She ventured deeper in, pushing through waves of ink darkness. It felt like being drowned.

Finally, the Radiance saw the Lady. She was curled up into a ball, and crying. Tears fell from her eyes and splattered on the ground, forming small puddles. Her sobs were shaking her entire form, the sounds leaving her mouth primal gasps of grief.

The Ancient Light was taken aback, her rage somehow lightening at the sight. This was the White Lady? It couldn’t be. Her anger soon redoubled, not wanting its host to lose conviction at the moment of her triumph. The Radiance caught a second wind, and quickly approached the Lady. “DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? I’VE COME TO END YOUR-”

The was silenced again as the Lady looked up. The Lady said nothing, but her eyes told everything. The Radiance saw grief and despair deep as the Abyss. Somewhere, deep inside of her, she felt an emotion that had grown foreign to her in those thousands of years of solitude, in those years of conquest and rage.

It was empathy. She had built up an image of the Lady in her head, an image that the real thing had not lived up to. She could tell, looking deep into the Lady’s eyes, that she was not an all-evil Queen.

The White Lady quietly croaked out, “I don’t care what you do to me. Just make it quick.”

The Radiance fled the Lady’s mind, finding herself back inside the Dream Realm. The hole to the Lady’s mind was still open, but…

The Light grabbed her chest with a wing. What was this vile emotion inside her? Stop! She commanded her mind. Stop! She is the enemy!

But she couldn’t stop. Deep inside of her soul, the Radiance felt a connection to the feelings of the White Lady. That hatred and hidden despair she had seen in the Lady’s eyes reminded her of herself. It was like looking into a mirror. And that final command… Did the White Lady want to die?

The Radiance was usually able to keep her distance when taking over a bug's mind. The minds of common bugs could be infected without much in the way of direct intervention.

But the mind of a God, like the White Lady? She had to get deep into that kind of mind to infect it. The Radiance’s rage had burned so brightly because she rarely had to consider the humanity of those she infected. But to see her own emotions, her own anger, her own despair, reflected so acutely in the eyes of someone she’d built up as a great evil…

Something was stirring inside of the Radiance. Her conviction was wavering for the first time in eons. She had to go back. She had to untangle these feelings, for better or for worse.

But the Lady was awake now. The crack in her mind was not enough to sneak through. She would have to wait for her to sleep again.

The White Lady wrote off the vision of the Light as a nightmare. But something about it had impacted her, too. Before she fled, the Radiance had looked at her with empathy. Was there really someone out there who could care for her now?

This thought still pestered the White Lady as she fell asleep that night. She found herself in that dark place once more, but she wasn’t crying now. She felt like she was waiting for someone.

And then she emerged out of the darkness.

Rage still burned inside the Radiance. But for the first time, she felt like she had control of it. She needed to control it, if she wanted to get to the roots of these emotions.

“Ah. So, you weren’t just a nightmare.” The White Lady looked up at the Radiance.

“PALE ONE, WHY DO YOU CRY?”

“Why should one such as yourself care? Why haven’t you infected me, forced me into your hivemind with all the others?”

“I- I DON’T-” The Radiance’s voice was faltering, losing its usual… distinct volume. “I don’t know. What I do know is that, after our first meeting, I felt things I haven’t felt in so, so long...” The sound of her own voice startled her. She realized that this was the first time she had talked without yelling in thousands of years.

“When I came to you last night,” she continued, “I looked into your eyes. And in them, I saw myself reflected.”

“What do you mean?” The White Lady was taken aback by all this. This was the Radiance. The blinding light plaguing Hallownest! Why was the Light being so nice to her?

“Please tell me, Pale one. Why do you despair? Why do you feel such hate and fear as I do?”

The White Lady was silent for a moment, and then spilled everything. About the Vessels. About the affair. About everything. Enemy or no, the Radiance was the first bug she’d been able to open up to about any of this. Who showed genuine interest and care for her emotions. She didn’t care if this was a trap or a trick. She needed this comfort.

The Radiance listened, attentive to every word the Lady said. She let out small gasps of horror as the Lady described the Vessel experiments. How she’d given birth to so many Vessels that were thrown away like trash. How the king convinced her that this was the only way. That there was no cost too great.

The Radiance was horrified by the actions of the King and Lady. But she found herself blaming a large part of what they did on her own actions. They only did the experiments to stop the plague. The plague she started and controlled. Neither one of them was blameless here.

But the Radiance was even more terrified by the later actions of the King. How he’d cheated on his wife with her own spawn. How he’d so carelessly tossed her away. The Radiance was horrified by the Queen’s admission that she partook in the tryst. But as the White Lady let out genuine tears of regret and terror at her own actions, the Radiance realized that this was the source of much of her self-hatred. These feelings certainly didn’t make up for what she did, but the fact that they existed at all put her leagues above the King in the Light’s eyes.

Then, as the Lady described with tears in her eyes how she fled the room crying, how she spent the following weeks writhing in guilt and self-hatred, how the King had moved the Vessel into her bed and fucked them there, the Radiance felt something coming from behind her eyes. As the White Lady ended her speech, saying, “Sometimes, I feel the world would be better if I never came into it,” the Radiance started to cry.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking into her fluff. The Lady, wiping her own tears from her eyes, asked, “Light, why do you cry?”

“We- We’re both victims of the King, aren’t we?”

The White Lady was stunned silent. The King had deliberately been vague whenever she asked about the Radiance’s history, but she had gathered the gist. That she had been sealed away, her own followers stolen from her. Her kingdom taken away from her. All for the King’s own hedonistic desire to create the One Eternal Kingdom. They were both victims of his avarice.

The Lady had never considered that the Light was just as real of a bug as her. She always saw her as a vague impression of a bug. Someone that was just evil inherently. No. She wasn’t. There was warmth inside of the Radiance, buried under hundreds of years of rage.

Suddenly, the Lady moved forward and wrapped the Radiance in an embrace. The Radiance’s wings wrapped around the White Lady, returning the gesture. The two of them fell onto the ground, bodies wrapped around one another.

After a few moments, the dark waves around the two started to recede. As the two cried into one another, the waves kept moving further and further back. Finally, they fell away, revealing that they were inside a dream version of the Lady’s chamber in the Queen’s garden.

Looking down, the two of them saw that they were resting on the White Lady’s bed. The Lady was the first to blush, but the Radiance’s own followed as she realized the implication of their current… position.

But neither moved. As the Radiance hugged the Lady’s naked body, however, yet another buried emotion rose in her. The Radiance looked down at the Lady, then looked into her eyes, and remarked, “Your King is a fool.”

It took a moment for the White Lady to get the implication of this phrase, but once she did, she blushed. The White Lady looked the Radiance over before commenting, “You’re quite beautiful, yourself.”

The Radiance felt the rage inside of her finally recede. Her mind was clear for the first time in eons. Right now, there was just her, and the White Lady, their naked bodies wrapped around one another.

“Do you want to…” The Radiance was unsure how to phrase this. It’d been eons since they’d done so. “...make… love…?”

The White Lady giggled at her partner's awkwardness. Right now, she felt closer to the Radiance that she’d even felt to any other bug. And, she had to admit, the Radiance was quite attractive. So, how could she say anything other than, “Yes.”

The Radiance was elated, but had no idea on how to begin. The White Lady saw the confusion on her face, and giggled. “Fear not, love. I’ll take the lead.”

The White Lady planted a kiss on the Radiance’s cheek. It startled the Ancient Light, who was still entirely unused to such shows of affection. Then, the Lady turned herself around, and laid down on the moth. The Radiance realized what she was going for, and spread her legs open accordingly.

The Lady led her mouth down to the Radiance's vagina. Leading a hand to it, she started rubbing the Radiance’s clitoris with one hand as she stroked the outer walls of her cunt with her tongue. The Radiance immediately let out a soft gasp. She hadn’t had sex in so long, it felt alien to her now.

The Lady was just getting warmed up, however. She moved her hand back, and started circling the clitoris with her tongue. She let out a soft giggle as she realized that the Radiance was already wet. The Radiance felt a soft, warm glow enveloping her entire body. It was a warm, welcoming embrace that made her feel safe and loved.

The Radiance had been so absorbed in the feelings filing her that she had forgotten about the Lady’s own needs until she gently shook her ass in front of the Radiance’s face. “Ah, uhm…” The Radiance murmured, trying to find an excuse for her inattentiveness.

The Lady only laughed. It was a laugh free of malice or hate.

But there was another problem. The Radiance had never gone down on a pussy before. She was a bit worried of messing up as she moved her lips and tongue to the Lady’s vagina. She thought to herself, I guess it just goes like… this? As she inserted her tongue into the Lady.

The Lady let out her own moan as she was entered. The Radiance was obviously new to this. But that didn’t matter much to her. The feeling of intimacy she was getting from this sex was more than enough to make up for it.

The Radiance pushed her tongue in deeper, exploring the White Lady’s pussy. The walls of her body hugged the Light’s tongue, the moth savoring the feeling of this new position. Her own clitoris was aflame as the Lady played with it. The Lady moved her hands to the clitoris, playing with it as her tongue started moving deeper into the moth.

The Lady let out her own series of soft moans as the Radiance explored her. The Light eventually pulled out a bit, and, taking notes from her partner, started playing with the tree's clitoris. The Lady was burning up inside as the Radiance fucked her. With a slight giggle, she noted that her partner was a fast learner.

The two of them were fully focused on the sex now. The Radiance was slightly smothered under the Lady’s weight, but she didn’t care. This lightness, this happiness, was worth any discomfort.

The Radiance felt something strange bubbling up inside of her loins. Her breathing grew heavier as she once more dug deeper into the Lady’s pussy. She spent a full minute wondering what it was before realizing that it was an approaching orgasm. It had been so long since she’d had an orgasm, she’d forgotten what it felt like. It felt so majestic, like nothing else she could remember.

Her moans grew louder. The Lady knew it was coming quick, and prepared herself. The moth bucked her thighs as she came, mind going blank with gentle fire. The Lady wrapped her arms around the Light’s thighs and held them close to her mouth as she drank gallon after gallon of moth cum. The Lady savored its taste, its texture. The Light had been pinned up for so long that it was little wonder that they had so much cum to give.

The Radiance moaned time after time, drowning her cries in the Lady’s pussy as she dug her tongue back in, trying to bring her partner to orgasm.

Her attempts were not in vain. The Lady was already on the verge from the gallons of cum she was downing. All it took was the moth gently playing with her clitoris for the tree to start cumming. The Lady let out a cry of pleasure as she came. Her orgasm wasn’t as physically intense as the Radiance’s, but it matched it emotionally. It had been so long since the Lady had felt this close with anyone. She was certain of it now. The Radiance was her new partner. Her new Pale King.

The Radiance drank down the Lady’s tree cum. It stained the fluff around her mouth, with much of it leaking down her face to the bed below. But the Radiance was just too happy to notice or care. She had been swallowed up in rage and despair for so long, she’d forgotten what bliss was like. What had she been fighting for? She was angry at the Pale King, not Hallownest. So why waste her Infection on the bugs of the Kingdom?

The Radiance was wrapped in a state of orgasmic bliss and peace. Peace, that’s the word for it. She felt at peace for the first time in so long.

The two of them came in one another, time after time. The Radiance’s was much more impressive in terms of cum volume. This was her first orgasm in thousands of years, and it showed. The White Lady grew heavy with moth cum as she downed wave after wave of the Light’s fluids.

After what felt like hours, the two of them finally stopped. The White Lady turned herself back upright, and laid down face-to-face with the Radiance. The two shared a final embrace as the White Lady felt herself begin to wake up.

Upon waking up, the White Lady found that her bed was soaked with cum. Looking down, her abdomen was still cumflated from the Radiance’s moth cum. She realized that some things must be able to pass between the Dream and Waking Realms with a smile.

After a second, however, a voice popped into the White Lady’s head. It was the Radiance, asking, “Dear, can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can? What are you doing?” The Lady thought back.

“I cannot be with you in the waking world, not at present at least. So I’ll be at your side in this way, if it’s alright with you.”

The White Lady grinned. “Yes, that’s quite alright with me, Light. That’s quite alright.”

Chapter 4: Through the Spyglass

Summary:

Lurien has spent his entire life chasing after the Pale King. When an opportunity presents itself to get closer to the King, Lurien can't help but take it.

Notes:

Like with the previous chapters, a dotted line separates the bug porn from the plot. If you just want to read the bug bonking, scroll down to that line.

This time, it was the Pure Vessel who took the Pale King to the Overlook. The Pale King had found the invitation on the Vessel's side of the bed when he woke up. It was a simple letter from the Vessel, discussing how they wanted to see their father at the Overlook later that day.

It was a place that recalled unhappy times. It called to mind those years of repression, where the two were unable to speak their true feelings.

But now, there was no need for them to hide their emotions for one another. They flowed as openly and honestly as a river between the two lovers, bringing them ever closer. The Pale King and Pure Vessel spent every waking moment in one another’s company, the thought of separation intolerable.

They constantly hugged, arms wrapped tightly one another the other. Often, this was accompanied by deep, passionate kissing that even the most devoted of couples would struggle to match. As they walked through the halls, they held one another’s hands as if they would fall apart if the grip was broken.

These displays of affection were public, free for the world to see. The royal bugs of the White Palace looked on in horror and disgust, but neither care. The intense love the Pale King felt for the Pure Vessel had burned away any and all shame he had once felt. There were no more personal struggles regarding his actions, no more fears he was doing the wrong thing. This love burned unlike anything he had ever experienced. He couldn’t deny it, couldn’t fight it, even if he wanted to.

And every night, the Pale King and Pure Vessel retired to the same bed, where they fucked into the early hours of the morning, their love for one another fueling every thrust and every orgasm. The King’s cries could be heard throughout the entire Palace. They were as a married couple at the height of their romance, every emotion burning bright for its significant other.

But, the Pure Vessel had realized, they were not yet married. They were about to correct that. The Vessel had gathered that what they were about to do was unprecedented. It would bring great shame to the royalty of Hallownest, and it may even cause some to doubt his ability to rule.

The Vessel didn’t care. They only wanted to be closer to the King, and this was one of the only ways they could think of to get closer to him.

The King had soon figured out what the Vessel was going to propose, and knew even on the way to the Overlook that they would say yes. How could he say no? He loved the Vessel more than he had loved anything in his entire life. The idea of a permanent union with them no longer caused the King shame or regret, but excitement.

So the King did not await his Vessel’s proposal with any fear or hesitation. When his Vessel got down on one knee, and opened a small box to reveal their half of a Kingsoul, the King collapsed on them in an instant, shouting “Yes” again and again until his voice gave out.

News of the proposal spread throughout the Palace quickly but quietly. Many Palace bureaucrats left their positions in disgust, certain now that they were working for a moral reprobate. Those that stayed had objections aplenty, but kept their tongues tied.

One poor advisor was given the task of informing the White Lady of the King’s decision. There were whispers among the citizens of the Palace that the Queen had gone mad. She was often heard talking to a voice no one could hear, a voice that only appeared after the King’s affair. These conversations continued - intensified, even - while she was asleep.

When the advisor broke the news of the Vessel’s proposal to the White Lady, she only chuckled and said, “Tell him that I have found someone better.”

Word of the proposal spread quickly, from bug to bug.

Soon, it reached the ears of Lurien the Watcher.

Lurien slumped backwards in his chair, despondent. The one who had broken the news to him had been his trusted Butler, Lumen. Lumen knew that this news would shatter his Master’s heart.

There was no one in Hallownest, barring maybe the Pure Vessel themselves, that loved the King more than Lurien. He had been infatuated with the King from the start. His elegance. His grace. The effortless way he held and conducted himself.

When Lurien first met the King, he was so excited he could hardly speak. Lurien had heard all the stories of his glory time and time again throughout his youth, the founding of Hallownest, the Battle of the Blackwyrm, and more. He was amazed by what he perceived as the King’s bravery and chivalry. He wanted to ask him everything about everything, to hear all the words the King could have to say.

He spent his early years looking up to the King as a perfect being, constantly re-reading the stories of his glory. His parents mocked and criticized their son’s interest, as they did with most everything Lurien loved. They tried to coldly mold Lurien into a model dignitary, someone who would carry on the family name once they were gone. They never showed him any love, believing it would make him weak.

When his parents were taken by the Infection during his transitionary years to adulthood, Lurien shed no tears.

As Lurien grew older, and reached maturity, little worked to temper his perception of the King. All that changed was that his affection for his idol grew deeper. It went from looking to the King as a role model to looking to him as someone else. A potential mate.

Lurien felt a keen emptiness inside. An emptiness he believed the King could fill.

Born into Hallownest royalty, Lurien had no want for societal connections. As soon as he reached maturity, he started throwing grand parties with every important bug in Hallownest in attendance. He constantly pushed for the parties to be larger, greater, desperately hoping that, one day, they would attract the interest of the Pale King.

It was during these very parties, coincidentally, that Lurien got his reputation for being an epic fornicator. Lurien tried to fill the empty gaps in his soul with sex. If the King wouldn’t show, wouldn’t give himself to the one who loved him the most, perhaps Lurien could find a substitute.

But no one worked. He fucked, but felt nothing from it aside from base animal enjoyment. That deeper love, that deeper warmth, remained distant from Lurien. The Pale King never came to any of his parties, no matter how blatant Lurien’s flirtations and invitations became.

Lurien soon used his resources and connections to cement himself as one of the de-facto leaders of the City of Tears. He constructed a tower overlooking the city, and built himself a telescope through which to view the world. He was soon nicknamed The Watcher, for how he seemed to spend every waking moment watching the world from his telescope, looking for something he could never find.

The King’s marriage to the Vessel was yet another reminder that Lurien could not have what he wanted. What he thought he needed.

Lumen moved over to his Master, gently wrapping their arms around him. “Cheer up, Watcher. There are other bugs out there for you, I’m sure of it.”

Lurien wrapped his arms around his Butler. The only person who came close to closing that gap in his soul. Lumen had been hired on a whim after he masterfully cleaned up the “aftermath” of one of Lurien’s parties pro-bono. In truth, Lumen was a clean freak.

He couldn’t stand dirt, grime, or uncleaned bodily fluids of any kind. He’d attended the party not aware that Lurien fucked like a rabbit, and was so thoroughly put off by the mess at the end of the night that he had to clean it. He just HAD to. How could he not?

And he enjoyed the cleaning. I mean, it disgusted him. But he felt a certain comfort in its simplicity. If a space was dirty, you cleaned it. Then it was bright, like new.

Lumen followed Lurien around everywhere, trying to cap off his Master’s worst impulses. He forced Lurien to do the paperwork required of a Hallownest royal, cleaned his Tower’s spaces for the first time in what seemed like years, forced him to stop holding so many useless, hollow parties.

In short, Lumen cleaned Lurien’s life up.

Lurien soon came to feel the impact his butler had on his life. His life had a certain peace to it when he was around. He went from just acknowledging Lumen’s presence, to enjoying it, to desiring it. Lurien felt odd when he wasn’t around.

Lumen soon found deeper emotions for Lurien springing up, too. The clean, dignified side of himself rebelled at the thought of his loving such a messy bug. But the rest of Lumen saw what was beneath the mess. Beneath the mess was a bright, friendly, energetic bug that anyone would be proud to have as a partner.

Lurien was a mess, but he was Lumen’s mess. Lumen soon found that he could deny it no longer, he was in love with Lurien the Watcher.

If he wasn’t so absorbed by his obsession with the Pale King, Lurien would realize the bright love blooming right in front of him.

But obsessed he was. So, when he heard the news about the King, and embraced his Butler, Lurien was internally hatching a plan to make the most of the situation.

Lumen noted his Master’s silence, and whispered, “Master, are you feeling okay?”

Lurien giggled joyously, and replied, “I’ve never felt better, my Butler.”

Oh no, Lumen thought. What was he going to do?

The next day, Lurien traveled to the White Palace and walked the halls until he met the King. The King was, as always, side by side with his Vessel. The two regarded Lurien neutrally as he approached.

“Good day, Lurien. What brings you to the Palace?” The King said. “Well, firstly, I wanted to congratulate you two!” This caught both the King and Vessel off-guard. Lurien was the first - and so far only - bug to have congratulated them on getting engaged. Everyone else was so blatantly disgusted by the whole thing that congratulating it felt wrong on a fundamental level.

Lurien dramatically hung his head in shame, “Ah, the ways we scorn pure love! Worry not, I’ve not come to chastise. I’ve instead come with a… business proposal.”

The Vessel felt something was off. But the King, oblivious as always, plowed ahead. “Sounds lovely! What do you propose?”

Lurien snuck in closer, as if he was sharing a grave secret, “I know that the Palace hasn’t responded well to your engagement. Would you be interested in… getting away for a bit? I have a spare private room in one of my buildings in the City of Tears. It’s far away from anyone, so you’d be free to spend your nights however you wish, without prying eyes gazing into you.”

The King had to admit, the atmosphere of the Palace was growing oppressive. There were judgemental eyes around every corner, and disgusted words falling from every mouth. It would be nice to get away from it for a bit.

The Pure Vessel wanted to raise an objection, but the joy written on their father’s face at this proposal was too much for them to protest. If he agreed, they’d agree.

Lurien look at the King’s face and beamed. “Well, if you’re interested, here’s a copy of the address, and the key to the room.” He handed the King a key wrapped in a small piece of paper with some words and letters written on it. “I hope we see you soon!” Lurien bowed before walking away.

The King told the Vessel that it sounded like a great escape from the Palace, and that they should try spending the night there. The Vessel reluctantly agreed.

If the Vessel knew more about the social life of Hallownest, they would’ve figured out Lurien’s game immediately. The room was within the direct eyeline of Lurien’s microscope. He’d be able to watch them fuck all night long.

The Pale King was too damned by his ignorance. Not paying Lurien any attention was now coming back to bite him. The King hardly even knew about the telescope, let alone its position corresponding to the room they’d be staying in.

So that night, the two of them entered the guest room, oblivious as to Lurien’s true game. The room was on the top floor of the building, and both its far wall and ceiling were made of glass. The curtains had been removed beforehand, meaning they were exposed from above. The room could not be seen from the ground, but Lurien would have no problem seeing it from his telescope.

The Pure Vessel was shocked that there seemed to be no trickery involved. Still, they were on guard as they took off their armor, locked the door, and led their father to the bed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lurien laughed a high, lively laugh as he saw the two of them getting ready for sex. He could see them so clearly from his telescope, it was almost as if he was in the room with them. He shouted into his dressing room, “Lumen, my friend, hurry!”

Lumen slowly opened the door and stepped out to meet Lurien, embarrassed.

“Is- is this what you wish, Master?” Lumen had changed into the dress set out for him by Lurien. It was a white gown marked by frequent vertical black lines. It was too long for Lumen’s body, dragging behind him on the floor. It came with a matching white crown rounded by a set of spikes.

Lumen was acutely aware that he was dressed as the Pale King.

“Yes! Yes! Perfect, my Butler! Perfect!” Lurien was elated, lightly stroking his cock with anticipation as he sat at his telescope. “Now, place yourself in position, hurry!” Lumen rushed over to Lurien, and bent over under his Master. He rested his head on the pile of pillows stacked high under the length of the telescope.

While Lumen did find this somewhat degrading, he told himself that he didn’t mind. He had dreamed of having sex with his Master for longer than he was willing to admit. If this was the form that would have to take, so be it.

Lurien gingerly lifted the white robe from his Butler’s backside. “My friend, are you ready?” The Watcher was quaking with anticipation.

“Yes, my Master.” Lumen replied with an easy grace.

Lurien took his cock in one hand, held Lumen’s ass with the other, and entered his Butler. Lumen let out a soft moan at the feeling of being entered. “Oh, Master…”

Lurien stroked Lumen’s back, and then placed both of his hands on his Butler’s hips. Lurien eased himself in deeper and deeper, trying to make this pleasurable for his partner. But. secretly, Lurien was already telling himself that this was the ass of the Pale King, that he was fucking his King beloved.

The fantasy only heightened as Lurien gazed through the telescope, and placed himself into the position of the Pure Vessel.

The Pure Vessel had laid down on the bed, and their father climbed on top of them. The two made out with one another for a time, each savoring the familiar taste and texture of the other’s mouth. By the time they broke the kiss, the two of them were fully erect.

The King nudged the Vessel’s cock with his ass. He re-adjusted himself so that his Vessel’s cock was at his entrance. The Vessel held the King’s ass with both hands as they lowered his ass onto their cock.

Lurien pulled out of his Butler, and then entered again, slowly, as to match the Vessel’s movements. This triggered a moan from Lumen, who had to stop himself from begging his Master to hammer him.

Lurien matched the speed of the King’s long descent down the Vessel’s cock. The Pale King and Pure Vessel liked taking their time with this position, they found that it made the orgasm pay off more.

The Pale King looked down at his Vessel. They were controlling the speed and intensity of the fucking. Even when the King was on top, they were really still the sub. Oh, how much he loved his Vessel. This warmth that engulfed him whenever they fucked was unlike anything else. He didn’t dare touch his cock, less he orgasm early.

The Vessel felt their father’s ass tight around their cock. They had fucked hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, but their lovemaking still sent shivers through their whole form. The Pure Vessel loved having control over their father like this.

They loved knowing that they could reduce him to a melting pile of moans with a single thrust. They felt that if they wanted to, they could fuck him so well that he’d permanently lose himself to pleasure, becoming their cumdump forever. Truth be told, both the Vessel and King were beginning to like the sound of that.

No duty. No society. No honor. Just two loving bodies locked together forever in a fiery embrace. The Pure Vessel hilted inside of their father at the same time Lurien hilted inside of his Butler. Lumen was crying, but not out of fear or embarrassment. He was crying of pleasure. The warmth he got out of his beloved Master filling him with his cock was taking him to a state of bliss. Oh, how he loved his Master. What a fool he’d been to deny these feelings.

Lurien was so absorbed in his fantasy that he did not hear his Butler’s sobs of happiness. Lurien was envisioning himself as the Vessel, filling the Pale King over and over again.

After a moment, the Pure Vessel started thrusting into their father. The thrusts came slowly at first, each gentle movement filling both the Vessel and King with that familiar carnal fire. The Vessel’s cock was aflame, and the King steadily jerked himself off as the Vessel bucked.

Lurien picked up his thrusts in accordance, too. Just being hilted inside was enough to reduce Lumen to tears of happiness. Being properly fucked by his Master sent him further yet. Each thrust caused Lumen to let loose a wild moan of sex, moans that Lurien incorporated into his fantasy.

“Yes.. Yes! King, scream for me!” Lurien bucked harder into his Butler, breaking pace with the Vessel.

Lumen started screaming with pleasure, his mind white with lust and love for Lurien.

The Watcher pulled in closer to the telescope, getting a better view of the action in the bedroom. He could tell that the Pale King was screaming with pleasure now, too. Each thrust into his Butler garnered a gasp of pleasure from Lurien. As he picked up the pace, and further projected himself onto the Vessel in the telescope, those gasps turned into moans.

The Pure Vessel had hugely picked up the speed of their thrusts. Their father was bouncing on top of them now, riding the Vessel’s cock with whorish moans. The King was once more losing himself, feeling himself turning into that base beast the Vessel would fill with their delicious cum.

The Vessel was overjoyed as always to be fucking their father. Their engagement had brought them even closer together, and it took them closer to a world where moments like this could be their eternity. How wonderful that sounded to them, to be able to leave the world behind and fuck their father like this forever.

The Vessel’s pace increased, so too did Lurien’s. The moans that escaped Lurien’s mouth with each thrust had now too turned into screams. Lurien was now fully absorbed by his fantasy. In that moment, Lurien truly saw that they were the Pure Vessel, fucking their beloved King senseless.

Lurien felt that he was going to cum. “Oh King… King…” he murmured as he bucked into his Butler.

Lumen felt that his Master was about to cum, and cried out, “Breed me, Master!”

Lurien, at this, bucked hard against his Butler, cumming. This caused Lumen to cum, too. The screams leaving the duo's mouths were truly animalistic. Their minds were eradicated with the first waves of cum. Lurien screamed because he saw himself as finally achieving his dream, he was finally fucking the Pale King. Lumen screamed because he was overjoyed to finally be united with his Master in this way.

Lurien continued thrusting into his Butler, wave after wave of cum exploding from his dick. The perceived fulfillment of a lifelong fantasy was bringing Lurien an orgasm that matched that of even the Pure Vessel’s. He thrust and thrust, every movement setting him on fire as he came into his King.

Lumen soon felt his abdomen expand with his Master’s cum, which only brought on new waves of orgasms on the part of the Butler.

The Pure Vessel was about to reach their own orgasm as well. The King shook with anticipation, feeling themselves on the edge of their own explosion. The Vessel did not stop thrusting, and the King did not stop bouncing, as they came. The King was used to this beloved feeling, the feeling of their Vessel’s cum filling them past their capacity.

The King’s orgasm erupted from his dick like an explosion, covering the two lovers with its slick texture. The feeling of his abdomen expanding kicked off a second wave. The feeling of their father’s cum covering them kicked off another orgasm from the Pure Vessel, which kicked off another orgasm from the King. And on it went.

Soon, the two were entirely doused in cum. But they just kept thrusting.

Up in the tower, Lurien kept fucking his Butler, the two of them now mindless with pleasure. The entire floor of the room was soaked with cum, the tower of pillows stained with its substance. With one final thrust, Lurien filled his Butler to his max capacity. His mind was a white blur of warm pleasure as he projected himself onto the Vessel.

Lumen was covered with both his own cum and the cum of his Master. But as he finished, he found that he only wanted more. He wanted Lurien to fuck him again like this right away, to use him like this every night.

However, exhaustion soon caught up to the Butler. The intensity of the sex, combined with their intense orgasm, had drained them entirely. As the waves of orgasms faded, he found that he was drifting into sleep.

Before he slipped off, however, he felt Lurien picking him up. Lurien, who had just finished from his own orgasm, looked directly into his eye, and simply said, “You did masterfully, my Butler.” Lumen grinned joyously as they slipped into sleep.

Lurien was exhausted himself. What a wonderful experience this had been! Still, he couldn’t go to bed yet. He had to watch the King and Vessel.

As he sat down at the telescope, he was shocked to see that their first orgasm was still ongoing. The King’s mouth was still open in screamed pleasure. No wonder no one in the Palace got any sleep!

Lurien wrapped his hand around his cock, and once more put himself in the place of the Vessel.

Down in the guest room, the Pale King and Pure Vessel had no idea they were being watched. They were just locked into their old lover’s embrace. As their orgasms finally ended, and they collapsed on one another, the two lovers felt only that this was just the first round of the night. Lurien realized with joy that there would be many, many more rounds to come.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Down in the Deepest, a courier approached Herrah the Beast. News of the Pale King and Pure Vessel’s engagement was now known to most in the White Palace and the City of Tears. But the further reaches of the Kingdom remained yet unaware of the blasphemy the King had committed.

At Herrah’s side rested Hornet, who had by this point well reached maturity. This had been a rare opportunity for Herrah and Hornet to be at one another’s sides. They were usually kept separate, permitted little time together. But something had changed. Hornet had been with Herrah for months, with no sign of separation in sight.

The two suspected it had something to do with this news. The courier notified Herrah that the news was… unsavory. And that she may want Hornet to leave the room. Herrah guffawed at this. “My daughter is no coward! If the news is sour enough for me, it’s sour enough for her!”

The courier wanted to send a second warning, but the look in Herrah’s eyes told them that doing that was a bad idea. So, they explained what had happened between the King and the Vessel. Upon hearing the tale, Hornet stormed out of the room. Herrah called after her to stop, but Hornet ignored her cries. Herrah was taken aback, both by the news at hand and Hornet’s reaction to it.

“He is… marrying his own spawn?”

“Yes, Lady Herrah.”

“This is troublesome. How can such a pathetic man lead this kingdom?” Herrah thanked the courier for delivering the news, and sent them away.

Out in the hallway, Hornet slammed her hand against the wall. She felt a deep anger towards the Pure Vessel and Pale King. An anger born not out of disgust or fear, but out of something more primal.

The truth was, she hated the Pure Vessel for what they had done. Not because it horrified her, or reviled her. But because she could understand why the Vessel had done what they did. Why they had loved their father so much that they would marry them in the face of the world and nature itself saying it was wrong.

Because she felt the same way about her mother.

Chapter 5: Reflection

Summary:

Hornet tries to sort out her feelings for Herrah. It gets complicated.

Hornet’s body shook wildly as she tried to collect herself. Her curled fist against the wall felt like the only thing stopping her from crumpling to the floor. The news of the Pale King and Pure Vessel’s engagement rang in her ears, over and over again, as if taunting her.

She instinctively understood why they’d decided to marry their father. Why they’d so willingly throw away all reputation, all grace, just to embrace something so vile. The envy she felt towards the Vessel flowed freely through her. They’d gotten with their father what Hornet wanted with Herrah - a forbidden union of parent and spawn.

Hornet couldn’t pinpoint the moment when the path that led her to this moment began. But she was certain that it had some small beginning in the separation the Pale King had enforced on her and her mother. Hornet’s first memories were not of Herrah and the Deepnest, but of the White Palace and the Pale King. She was trained from a young age to be the Daughter of the King, not to be the Daughter of Herrah the Beast.

The insipid socialite nonsense, traditions, histories, and banalities the King tried to force down her throat disgusted her, even at an early age. Hornet was not a socialite, yet the King tried to mold her into a model dignitary. Her life in the Palace was strictly controlled. She would go where her handlers wanted her to go when they wanted her to go there. She had little freedom.

It was utterly stifling. Hornet wanted to go out and explore Hallownest, to see all the lands of the Kingdom marked out on the map in her room.

But the King had other plans.

Hornet’s only reprieve from this endless, stifling monotony was the time she spent with Herrah. Herrah loved her daughter in a way the King never did. She understood Hornet in ways he did not. Herrah took her across Hallownest, showing her lands from the verdant halls of Greenpath, to the dusty cliffs of Kingdom’s Edge. Hornet was enraptured by every sight, and relentlessly thanked her mom for showing her the world.

Herrah showered Hornet with love and affection, trying to make up for the lack of love the King showed her. She let her daughter be her own person, explore her own interests, and live the life she wanted.

Everything Herrah did, she did to make Hornet happy. Herrah would do anything in the world to bring her daughter joy.

So, from a young age, Hornet learned to idolize her mother. To a young Hornet, she was everything right and good and beautiful in the world. Hornet loved her mother as deeply as Herrah loved her.

Which only made the periods of separation more tortuous. Hornet spent every waking moment of their separations thinking of Herrah. Wanting to be with her. Wanting Herrah to take her on new adventures. This love grew into an obsession.

An obsession that slowly took on a darker form as she reached maturity. As sexual feelings awoke in Hornet, it was only a matter of time before they collided with her obsession with her mother.

Hornet remembered the first time she masturbated to Herrah. The moment her obsession took a sharp turn for the sexual. It was after she had reached maturity. It was in the Beast’s Den, in the room below her Mother’s chamber. Hornet had told Herrah that she would be going out exploring that night, something that her mother used as a chance to hold a private night for herself.

But, after an hour, Hornet realized she’d forgotten her map. Panicking, she backtracked through the Deepnest, using her knowledge of the area to steer her home. She snuck into the Beast’s Den, not wanting her failure to become known to her mother.

And that’s when Hornet heard the moan. Herrah was masturbating in her chamber upstairs. She had no reason to think anyone was around, so she was letting her moans roll out of her freely.

It took Hornet a few moments to find out what she was listening to. Hornet felt disgust, and almost booked it from the building. But then she felt something rising in her loins. Something intense, burning bright enough to sear flesh.

Hornet ran a hand down to her cunt, and found that she was soaking wet. Part of her revolted at this, and said that Hornet needed to get out of here as fast as she could, before she crossed a line she could never uncross.

But the other part of Hornet, the part that was feeling emotions stronger than any she’d felt in her entire life, pushed her onward. Hornet leaned against the wall of the room. The hand she’d taken down to her vagina now moved closer to the lips.

Hornet played with her clit while listening to Herrah moan. She fantasized about taking Herrah to bed and spreading her lips wide open. About pushing her tongue into her mother’s cunt, shoving her face in as deep as it could go. Hornet thought about facefucking Herrah, of her dear mother eating her out while she cried Hornet’s name.

Hornet was burning in a way she’d never felt before. She shoved her fingers into her cunt, fingering herself to the beat of Herrah’s moans.

Hornet had to force herself to not scream. She wanted to scream Herrah’s name, to give this carnal flame inside of her some release. But she couldn’t make a peep, or her mother would hear. So Hornet bit her tongue and continued jacking off.

An entire pool of fluid had now gathered at Hornet’s base. Hornet was so turned on that she never stopped to think about how gross this all was. How disgusting these feelings for Herrah truly were. As her fingers massaged her pussy, all she could think of was how much she wanted to bed Herrah.

She still wasn’t thinking of that when the pressure in her loins exploded into an orgasm. Hornet allowed herself one tiny moan as white cum burst out of her, staining her black body and the floor below. She dumped buckets of the stuff onto the floor below, cumming relentlessly as she continued fingering herself to the sounds of Herrah’s moans.

When Hornet finally stopped cumming, she realized what a huge mess she’d made. Hornet quickly and quietly cleaned up the cum as best as she could. But even after her best attempts, it was still obvious that someone had masturbated here. It was especially obvious to Herrah. Though, at this point, she couldn’t say with confidence who the pervert had been.

Hornet had been ashamed of her actions that night for weeks after the fact. How could she have those thoughts about her very own mother? But that shame quickly gave way to more arousal. How couldn’t she have those thoughts about her very own mother? The one who was perfect in every way? Who never showed them anything but love and affection?

Hornet began masturbating to Herrah every night. Her every sexual thought was of her mother. Of fucking her senseless in every way that she could. It started leaking over into how she engaged with Herrah on a day-to-day basis whenever she was with her.

Hornet found herself staring at Herrah for minutes on end, only stopping when her mother asked her what was wrong. Hornet kept putting her hands on Herrah, desiring physical touch with her. Her conversations with Herrah even sometimes took on a one-sided flirtatious nature, something that Hornet didn’t even realize until her mother awkwardly pointed it out in passing.

Once, Hornet had even crept into Herrah’s chamber while she slept, and just watched her sleep, thinking of all the things she wanted to do to her on that bed.

It had been bad for months, if not years. But Hornet’s obvious feelings hit new highs when the King had sent her to Herrah’s for an extended stay at the start of his affair.

Now that the truth about the Pale King and Pure Vessel’s relationship was out, it was obvious why she’d been moved back to the Deepnest. Hornet was additional baggage on their relationship, yet another nosy bug the King and Vessel would have to navigate while conducting their affair.

She was an obstacle in the way of their love. A small one, to be sure. But an obstacle nonetheless. Sending her back to Herrah’s got her out of the way, took one more trouble off King’s head.

But the King had no idea what he was doing to Hornet by sending her to live with her mother. The only thing stopping Hornet from spilling over into total obsession was the fact that she spent so much of her life away from Herrah.

Now that she was spending every waking day with her, Hornet was finding it impossible to control her emotions. She loved Herrah so, so, so much. She wanted nothing but to be with her. It was becoming impossible for her to think of anyone else.

So bringing us back to the hallway, Hornet green with envy over the Pure Vessel’s situation. Hornet forced herself back into a straight standing position. She steadied herself, and removed her fist from the wall. Hornet’s composure re-asserted itself. “Not now Hornet,” she thought. “You need to get back in there and come up with a good excuse for why you ran away.”

But as Hornet turned back to enter the chamber, Herrah was caught at a crossroads.

When Hornet stormed out of the chamber, Herrah had decided that something needed to be done about her daughter. Her mind turned towards Hornet, and the obvious sexual feelings that her daughter held for her.

Herrah was not oblivious, as the King was. She knew what Hornet’s feelings were. She had inductively reasoned that Hornet was romantically and sexually obsessed with her. Everything from the private night incident, to the accidental flirations, to the “I-want-to-fuck-you-until-you-can’t-walk-straight”- look that Hornet constantly gave her without even realizing it made her feelings plain.

Herrah didn’t begrudge Hornet for having these feelings. She’d lived a tough, weird life. It’d make sense that she came out of it with some hangups. It did disgust Herrah, but that disgust didn’t overwhelm the genuine love she felt for her daughter. However, the Beast found herself at a crossroads as to what she should do about Hornet’s obsession.

Obviously, she couldn’t play into Hornet’s toxic feelings. She loved Hornet, and the hours she spent with her were the highlights of her life. But she didn’t love her in that way, Herrah told herself. She loved her simply as a mother loves her daughter, nothing more. She was Hornet’s mother, it would be a betrayal of nature itself to lay with her.

But every time Herrah tried to work up the conviction to tell Hornet this, she faltered. She ran through the scenario hundreds upon hundreds of times in her head. Every time, it ended with Hornet heartbroken, and sobbing.

Herrah prioritized Hornet’s happiness beyond everything else. The thought of doing something that would make her cry was beyond all reproach. Hornet had lived a hard enough life already. Why would she ever want to add more misery to the pile?

There was seemingly no way out of this mess that didn’t involve hurting Hornet. Herrah had sacrificed everything for her daughter, and now, she would have to break her hea-

“Why not just let her fuck you? It’d make her happy.”

The thought hit Herrah like a sucker punch. Did… did I really just think that? No. She thought. She couldn’t fuck her daughter. That was a terrible idea. It would forever taint my bond with her, permanently damage her ability to form healthy sexual connections, and probably haunt her into adulthood.

“But wouldn’t it make her happy? You do everything for her happiness.”

Herrah tried suppressing the thought, but it didn’t go away. “Think of how happy she’d be, living out a lifelong fantasy with the bug she loves more than most. Think of how passionately she’d make love to you, how good the sex will be-”

“NO!” Herrah’s sudden yell echoed off the walls of her chamber. If Hornet wasn’t so caught up in her own internal crisis, she would’ve heard it loud and clear. “No. I can’t think of Hornet that way. I’ve never even thought of her that way before,” Herrah lied.

Well, okay, she may have thought about her like that a few times before. But they were just intrusive thoughts! Products of the Beast’s rampant, infamous libido. Nothing more. Herrah kept lying to herself. She told herself that, in her darkest moments, she never saw Hornet’s obsession as delightful. As yet another opportunity for Herrah to get closer with her daughter.

I mean, it’s not like she willingly let Hornet jack off to her while she pretended to sleep, secretly taking joy in the happiness she was causing Horne-

Herrah slapped herself. She was the Queen of Deepnest! One of the King’s royal Dreamers! There was no place for her to be having thoughts like this, even if they did haunt her every waking moment. Always tempting her to cross the line she knew she could never cross.

The Beast didn’t know what she was going to say to her daughter when she walked back into the chamber. She would have to say something. That outburst warranted some kind of comment. But what should it be? She desperately wanted it to be a reprimand, something that would tell Hornet that she should give up on pursuing her.

But she felt like what was actually going to come out of her was a confession. A confession that she felt the way about Hornet that Hornet felt about her. An invitation to get into her bed and fuck her until she couldn’t walk straight.

But what actually came out of Herrah, when Hornet walked through the doors, was an unmade soup of language spilled flagrantly into the air. “I- um- ah, Hornet? Yes, Hornet.”

Hornet paused. This wasn’t what she expected. “Are you okay, Mother?”

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just that-” Herrah gestured vaguely around the room, “There’s something in the air tonight. Something indeed that, I, uh-”

“...Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Can you come back later tonight, there’s something I have to tell you.” The words spill out of Herrah suddenly.

Hornet stopped suddenly, filled with dread. She knew. Her mother knew everything. Hornet almost fell over, her standing form crumpling up like a piece of paper. “Yes… mother.” She chokes out.

“You’re not in trouble, I promise. Please just come and see me.”
Hornet didn’t believe her. She spent hours wondering if she should run away, or if she could face the shame of confronting Herrah with her true feelings. She ultimately decided that she would see what Herrah had to say before making any drastic decisions.

Herrah was completely tied up in conflict. What should she do? What should she do? Embrace her Beast nature? Or do what she knows is right? She rolled back and forth on her bed, caught between these two choices. The hours ticked on, and soon it was very late.

Hornet would be here any moment. There was no more time for indecision, she must choose. She thought once more about Hornet, her love for her daughter, and her secret desire to have sex with her. Herrah was resting on her side, looking towards the door, when Hornet entered.

She opened her mouth to greet her, but was shocked by what happened in the next few seconds. Hornet crossed the room with quick, easy steps, and planted a kiss on Herrah’s lips. Hornet had made her decision. She would confess everything to Herrah, be open about it all. And if Herrah punished her for it, she would turn and never look back. She could live in secrecy no longer.

Hornet was expecting the kiss to last only a moment, with Herrah reacting in a shocked and appalled manner. But then something happened that shattered Hornet’s entire plan. Herrah kissed back.

Then the two of them were holding one another’s faces, each tongue exploring the other’s mouth. Hornet was the first to moan. It was a moan of arousal, but also of disbelief. Was this really happening? Was Herrah just humoring her?

But as Herrah continued to kiss Hornet, and their faces pressed closer and closer against one another’s, Hornet realized that this was for real. At this, she started moaning her mother’s name, over and over again. It all felt so unreal, like a dream.

The kiss had taken Herrah off-guard. But it had made her choice for her. She was going to follow her feelings, no matter how disgusting or vile they were. Her tongue was almost too big for Hornet’s mouth, but neither Hornet nor Herrah seemed to mind. It was a soft, warm cave, and the size of her tongue allowed her to take it in all at once.

Hornet didn’t get to explore nearly as much of Herrah’s mouth, but she was so swept up in her fantasy becoming reality that she didn’t even begin to care. The mere feeling of Herrah’s gentle mouth against her tongue was enough to bring her to the edge of an orgasm.

The two tongue-fucked one another for half an hour, neither one wanting to break the moment. Then, the two of them pulled away from one another without any prompting, as if both knew the other was ready for the next step. Hornet gingerly removed her cloak.

The last vestige of morality inside of Hornet spoke up. “Mother, are you sure you want this?”

Herrah smiled, replying, “Hornet, I’ve wanted this for years.”

At the sign of consent, Hornet leapt on top of her mother, and immediately lunged for her cunt. Herrah was stunned by how animalistic Hornet seemed. She knew that Hornet had wanted her, but not this badly. Hornet didn’t even wait a moment before shoving her face deep into Herrah’s cunt.

Herrah cried out in shocked pleasure as Hornet dug in. It should have been a terrible feeling, her own daughter so furiously eating her out. But Herrah’s lust obliterated all disgust. She only cried out for Hornet to give her more.

Hornet’s face was pressed deep into Herrah’s pussy. Herrah was so large that Hornet was able to go much deeper into her than she would’ve been able to go into someone of her own size. Hornet tasted every part of Herrah with her tongue, blindly playing with her mother’s clit with her hand.

The inexperience of her daughter didn’t bother Herrah at all. The intensity of the sexual overflow filling the Beast drowned out any issues with Hornet’s lovemaking. She was so overtaken with love for Hornet and the feelings of sex filling her that she couldn’t only feel the fierce blaze of intense arousal.

Hornet took in the fleshy taste of Herrah, the sweet scent of sex as she buried her face deeper and deeper into her mother. Hornet’s entire body was filled with sweet sexual fire as she ate her mother senseless. She wasn’t even thinking anymore, she was letting her vile, animalistic urges control her body as she gave entirely in to pleasure.

Hornet had fantasized about this for years, and it was finally coming true. No words could express her elation. Soon, the only part of Hornet’s head that could be seen from the outside was the very tips of her horns. The feeling of her entire face being submerged in her beloved mother’s cunt sent a series of constant spikes of pleasure through Hornet’s cunt.

She didn’t even have to touch herself to be brought to her first orgasm. Herrah was getting closer to an orgasm. Herrah’s wetness intensified as her explosion approached. Her fluids soaked Hornet’s face, bringing on her daughter’s first orgasm. It exploded out of her, an unexpected shriek of pleasure escaping her mouth. Hornet didn’t stop to heed it, even as it made her entire body quiver with excitement and pleasure.

Hornet’s shriek was muffled by Herrah’s cunt, but the sound of it still brought Herrah ever closer to her explosion. She felt how passionately Hornet was eating her out, how much happiness it was bringing her, and Herrah felt any regrets she had about this melt away. It was making her daughter so happy.

So very, very happy.

Herrah started bucking as she felt her orgasm roll up. Hornet shoved her face in even deeper, her horns finally disappearing down Herrah’s cunt. Waves of orgasms were rocking over Hornet now, each one shaking her body down to its core. Her entire body was waves of carnal fire as she moved ever-deeper into Herrah.

Then, with one final buck, Herrah came. Hornet was immediately drowned in Herrah’s spider cum, but she didn’t mind. She drank down gulp after gulp of it, let it soak her body and face down to the core. Herrah’s was screaming with pleasure as she thrust her hips, time after time, feeling Hornet still eating her pussy out.

Hornet’s own explosive moans were muffled by Herrah’s bulk. If they weren’t being muffled, they’d be audible throughout all Hallownest.

As Hornet drank down gallon after gallon of her mother’s cum, she felt her abdomen expand. The feeling of Herrah’s warm cum filling her wrung yet another orgasm from the little spider. Outside of the cunt, Hornet’s body was absolutely submerged in the white stuff, hardly even visible to an onlooker.

The two were locked in a cycle of orgasms, the pleasure of the one feeding back into the pleasure of the other. Herrah’s cum filled Hornet, which caused Hornet to orgasm as she dug deeper into Herrah’s cunt. This would cause Herrah to orgasm again, and on and on it went. It felt like an eternity before either stopped.

But as Hornet removed herself from Herrah, her head feeling the outside air for the first time in what felt like ages, the only thing either party wanted was more. Hornet was caked from head to toe in her mother’s cum, a thick layer of the stuff coating her entire body. Herrah’s entire lower body was a mess, her own cum flowing freely with that of her daughters.

Herrah was hardly able to speak now, her brain was so overwhelmed with pleasure. But she was able to gesture towards the foot of the bed, where a secret compartment waited. Hornet quickly opened it, and found it packed to the brim with sex toys.

Hornet picked one out. It was a strap-on with a smaller dildo on the inner strap for the benefit of the person doing the fucking. It was meant for somebug bigger than Hornet, but Hornet was strong enough, and the straps on it thankfully adjustable enough, for the Daughter of Hallownest to use it.

Hornet beamed as she pulled it out and showed it to her mother. Herrah gave her a gesture of approval, and Hornet quickly slipped it on. She shivered as the internal dildo filled her. But she knew this was nothing compared to what was going to happen next.

Hornet leapt wildly onto Herrah, and led the strap-on into her. Herrah only had a second to compose herself before Hornet started pounding her pussy.

Herrah screamed wildly as Hornet bucked into her. Hornet was pounding her mother like a rabid animal, her entire body pressed tightly against Herrah’s. The feeling of Hornet sliding in and out of her filled Herrah with emotions beyond words.

The feeling of seeing her mother pinned beneath her, screaming to the pace of her thrusts, filled Hornet with yet another new level of unknown pleasure. She realized that she was getting a lot out of domming Herrah. She grinned. There were places she could take this with her beloved mother.

The sound of Hornet slapping against Herrah filled the Beast’s Den. Hornet’s moans were now audible to her mother, and the sound of Hornet’s happiness filled the Beast with a warmth indescribable. She loved that this was making her so happy.

But she also loved that this was beyond anything she could’ve expected from this sex. This was above anything she’d ever experienced in bed. It was above anything she’d experienced in her regular life. Whorish moans escaped her mouth as her daughter pounded her tight cunt, time after time.

Herrah was melting under Hornet. Every swing of her daughter’s hips wrung tense shrieks of sex from her. Hornet giggled, swinging in again while saying, “Enjoying yourself, mother?”

Herrah could hardly speak in full sentences anymore, her head too full of sex and fire to respond properly. She could only reply to Hornet by stumbling out, “Ho-Hornet! F-fuck me harder!”
Hornet grinned, and gripped Herrah’s sides hard as she started fucking her mother senseless. Herrah fully stopped thinking, screaming incoherent pleasure as her mind was overtaken by Hornet’s thrusts.

Herrah felt that she was going to cum again. She wanted to explode, both for her own pleasure, and for the pleasure of her daughter. She let out a series of increasingly loud moans as her orgasm rolled up to her, and she was right on the edge of it!-

But then Hornet stopped. Herrah looked down, confused. “Why did you stop?” Herrah caught a sadistic glimmer in Hornet’s eye as she looked up. “I want to hear you beg, mother,” she replied.

With any other partner, in any other situation, Herrah would have kicked her mate out of bed then and there. But her love for Hornet was so far beyond any other love, and the sex was so far beyond anything she’d ever had, that Herrah didn’t even think of disobeying. She only sobbed out, “Fuck me, please!”

Hornet teased Herrah’s cunt with the strap-on. She grinned a sadistic grin. “Come now, mother. You can do better than that.”

Herrah was desperate for Hornet’s lovemaking. “Please… please!”

“Scream for me, mother.”

“PLEASE! I want this more than anything”

Hornet entirely pulled out of Herrah. “More!”

“FUCK ME, HORNET! BREED ME!”

Hornet grinned. “That’s better.” She led the strap-on back into Herrah. After a few introductory thrusts, she started fucking her mother wildly. These thrusts fell on her mother with a weight and intensity that nothing before had matched. Herrah screamed out in pleasure, time and time again.

She didn’t even think of how fucked up it was to beg her own daughter to breed her. In fact, somewhere deep inside of her, something snapped inside Herrah the Beast.

Herrah thought of how much she wanted Hornet to impregnate her. Of how much she wanted to bear Hornet’s brood. These thoughts only manifested out of her mouth as whorish moans as Hornet fiercely bucked against her.
This time, when Herrah’s orgasm rolled up on her, Hornet didn’t stop. In fact, she gripped Herrah even harder as she fucked her beyond language. Hornet got some amount of pleasure from the dildo filling her, but the true fire in her loins came from watching her mother melt like this. Oh how she loved Herrah. She wanted to make a life together with her. Hornet was certain of it now. Herrah was her one true mate.

With one final, sharp thrust, Herrah came. Herrah’s mind was so filled with the intensity and pleasure of the sex, and of her love for Hornet, that she couldn’t even moan anymore. She just laid there and let Hornet destroy her pussy.

Hornet kept bucking wildly into Herrah, even as her mother’s cum soaked her entire body. She was covered in a second layer of Herrah’s spider cum. Then a third. Then a fourth.

Hornet let the waves of cum wash over her as she continued pounding Herrah. Hornet drank down what cum she was able as it washed over her, further expanding her abdomen. The feeling of her mother’s cum submerging her kicked off Hornet’s own series of orgasms. Hornet’s entire frame shook as pleasure unimaginable rolled over her in sticky waves.

No trace of shame or regret was left anywhere inside of Herrah. She was convinced that this was the right thing for her to do. She had made Hornet so incredibly happy tonight. As she came over her daughter, Herrah could only think of what a wonderful mate she would be.

As the second orgasm died down, Herrah and Hornet looked at one another. The two of them were a mess, covered entirely in one another’s cum. Yet, through that mess, they caught one another’s eye.

The two of them were thinking the same thing. That this was the beginning of not just a sexual relationship, but something deeper. Herrah now understood why the King had chosen to marry the Pure Vessel.

Hornet was happier than she had ever been in her entire life. She licked her mother’s cum from her lips, and thought about how wonderful it would be for this to be their life. How wonderful it would be for the two of them to become mates.

Hornet removed the strap-on, and snuggled up in bed next to her mother. Herrah embraced her daughter back. Neither cared that they had crossed a terrible threshold tonight. This was worth more than any scorn or disgust the world could throw at them.

They were sure of it.

Chapter 6: Realization

Summary:

A chance meeting with Lurien and Lumen changes the way the Pure Vessel sees the Pale King.

Lurien was drunk out of his gourd again. One of his hands was locked in a death grip around the half-finished drink sitting still on the bar table. The other hand, and the arm attached to it, hung limply at his side, as if all the life had gone out of it. His head was pressed hard against the flat wooden table. The only sign that he wasn’t asleep was the half-laughing, half-sobbing sounds escaping his mouth.

Lumen didn’t know whether to be more furious with the bartenders, or with himself. On the one hand, the bartenders should’ve cut Lurien off long before he gotten this bad. Yes, he was the beloved Watcher of the city. But that didn’t mean they had to let him drink himself to death!

Lumen was also furious with himself. He should’ve kept a better watch on Lurien, and not fallen for the Watcher’s obvious lie that he was just going outside to “get some fresh air.” He’d only been out for twenty to thirty minutes, but in that time he’d managed to drink himself into a deep stupor. Lumen approached his Master, and gently shook his shoulder. “Come now, Master Lurien. We must be getting home.”

“Luh- Luhmen?” Lurien’s slurred words were muffled against the hard tabletop.

“Yes, Master?”

“Why doeshn’t he whant me?” The Watcher’s words fought to escape a throat choked with sobs.

Ah, that explained what this was about.

The Butler would be lying if he said he didn’t see this coming. The date of the Pale King’s marriage to his new… partner was drawing ever closer. And it was becoming more and more apparent that the mad King was actually going to go through with it. But what troubled Lurien wasn’t that the King was planning on marrying his own spawn. It was that the King wasn’t going to marry him.

Lurien had spent his entire life chasing the Pale King, only to find disappointment and pain at every corner. This latest engagement was just yet another reminder that he would never have the King he desired.

Lumen was beset with troubles on all sides. Not only was Lurien a wreck, but he’d grown increasingly worried about the King and Vessel’s relationship. He’d played along with it during those first roleplay sessions with Lurien, successfully tricked himself into thinking that it didn’t bother him.

But as of late, whenever he heard news about it, the disgust and creeping dread soaked into him like rainwater. He knew that there was absolutely no way their relationship was healthy. Not just because of the incest, though that played a massive role in it. It was also because of how their relationship was revealed to the world.

For decades, the Pure Vessel was known to the public only as “The Knight.” They were a deeply enigmatic figure in the public eye, rarely talked about, and practically never seen. When they were seen, they would show no emotion, as if they were some sort of robot.

All that was known of them was that they seemed very introverted, and that they were the offspring of the Pale King and White Lady. The Royal Family categorically refused to answer any questions about their origin beyond that, giving rise to a whole host of rumors as to where they’d come from, or why the Family would try so hard to hide them from the world.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Pale King had broken off his relationship with the White Lady, and fallen in love with his offspring. The being he now insisted everyone call by their true name, “The Pure Vessel.” It had been so sudden - as if the relationship had been an act of passion spun wildly out of control.

On top of that, the White Lady had sealed herself off in her Garden, and was now apparently going mad if the rumors of her chatting with herself for days at a time were anything to go by. Lumen shuddered as the implications of this settled on him. Had the King cheated on his wife with his own offspring?

The entire thing didn’t just set off alarm bells in Lumen’s head. It set off air sirens. Oh how he wished he could just sit down with this Pure Vessel and ask them some questions, however much the answers to them would disgust him. But there would be time to think of that later. Right now, Lumen had to cheer up his Master.

He shot a glare at the bartender. “Watch him for a moment. Make sure you don’t give him one more drink, or I’ll put this place out of business.” The bartender grunted in acknowledgement. Lumen strolled to the bathroom, carrying a bulging backpack.

When he emerged, Lumen was now dressed as the Pale King. He sighed deeply as he approached Lurien. He put on his best Royal accent and proclaimed, “Oh, Watcher. It is I, your King!” Maybe giving him the connection with the “King” he wanted would improve his mood.

Lurien looked up, his drunken mood already improving. He threw his hands around Lumen in a drunken hug, muffling out, “Luhmen, ya didn’t haf to do this fah me!” The bartender just looked on, confused.

While this was unfolding in the bar, the Pure Vessel strolled the streets of the City of Tears. For once, they were alone. Their father was nowhere in sight. The Vessel had come to the City expecting another night alone with the King in that spare room Lurien had gifted them. But when they’d got to the room, they’d found only a note reading, “Vessel, I will be back shortly. I have something to attend before our meeting tonight.”

So they’d waited. And waited. But he never showed. When they waited the better part of two hours, the Vessel decided to take a quick walk around the City. It would give them something to do while waiting for the Pale King. Besides, they rarely left the Palace grounds - it would be a nice change of scenery.

But as they walked along, the King’s disappearance nagged at them. They were certain he wasn’t in danger - he was far too strong for any bug in the City of Tears to pose a threat to him. But why had they ghosted them like this? They tried to push it to the back of their mind - Father must have had his reasons.

But as they walked the City of Tears, alone for the first time in what seemed like years, they felt a keen emptiness well up inside their soul. It was a horrible emotion, one for which they had no name.

It was loneliness.

The Pure Vessel stood under a streetlight, in the pale glow of the Lumaflies. Pressing a hand to their chest, they slowly doubled over. “Stop it.” They thought. “I don’t want to feel this anymore.”

But the feeling stayed. The melancholy of the City of Tears flowed through them as the rainwater flowed through the cracks in the cobblestone.

Suddenly the thought hit them: They had nobody to lean on except their father. They had no other friends. No other companions. He was the only bug they had. Without him, they had nothing. Were nothing. The pit they felt inside wasn’t just a lack of companionship, it was a lack of self.

The Pure Vessel slumped. Father was their world. Their everything. Without him, what did they have?

They were pulled out of their reverie by the sound of a bunch of chairs collapsing to the ground. A man with a gruff voice yelled, “HEY, YOU TWO LOVEBIRDS WATCH WHAT YOU’RE DOIN’ TO MY BAR!”

The Pure Vessel rushed to investigate, largely to shove the melancholy from their mind. They entered a building with a cup full of beer painted over its entrance to find something they’d never imagined.

Lurien the Watcher and Lumen the Butler were tonguefucking each other’s mouths viciously. Lumen had foolishly downed a half-dozen cups of beer while trying to cheer Lurien up. But if there was one thing that Lumen could not handle, it was his liquor. Just a few cups was enough to bring him directly down to Lurien’s level of drunkenness.

From there, it hadn’t taken much for the two to start kissing, which had evolved to the kind of vigorous tonguefucking that was now taking place in the bar. That wasn’t too strange to the Pure Vessel, they were very familiar with that kind of kissing themselves. The strange part was that Lurien’s Butler was dressed up as… their father? And Lurien was drunkenly moaning “Oh King! Oh KING!” in between each kiss…?

The two were locked deep in a kiss when Lurien caught the Pure Vessel’s eyes. He broke the kiss suddenly, eliciting a weak disappointed moan from Lumen. “YOU.”

The Pure Vessel looked around before pointing at themselves. Me?

“Yea, you!” Lurien haphazardly sat himself down on a barstool. “Come over hea, you! Take a seet!” He padded the stool to his left gently.

The Vessel was curious now. What was going on here? And why was Lurien so upset with them? They cautiously walked into the bar and took a seat.

The sight of the Pure Vessel knocked Lumen out of his stupor instantly. He quickly walked over to the bartender and said, “Give me two of those recovery drinks, stat.” These drinks were like magic. You just had to take a sip and give it a minute, and you would sober right up. But they were as expensive as hell, even for someone like Lumen. For him to purchase two of them in one batch was no small thing.

The bartender huffed. “You sure you’re gonna pay me back for that?”

“Yes. Get them quickly.”

The bartender went to fetch them. Lumen just sat back and watched the unfolding conversation between Lurien as the Vessel.

“You, you know you…” Lurien pointed a shaky finger at the Vessel. “Youse the King’s own offspring, raight?”

The Pure Vessel nodded.

“And the K- the King. He lefht his wife, that White Laydee, for you? That reel lookah, he left her for ya?”

The Vessel nodded again.

“Tha… the Pale King… he’s not talking to aneeone now. He just wahnts to be!” Lurien did a sweeping gesture with his arms. “With you!” He brought the gesture to a close with a point.

Another nod. Was this… going somewhere sometime soon?

The comedown drinks arrived. Lumen eagerly shoved one in Lurien’s direction. “By decree of your King, I demand that you drink this at once!”

Lurien suddenly beamed with happiness. “Yes, my King!” He downed it in one gulp. Lumen took his in with small sips.

The Watcher sat silently for a minute. As he returned to sobriety, a scarlet blush exploded across his face. What in the fuck was he doing? He gets an audience with the Pure Vessel, and he uses it to mumble drunkenly about how alone they and the King were? But, if he’s in it this deep, he may as well see it through.

“I must apologize for my drunkenness, dear Vessel. I suppose, to cut to the chase, what I wanted to ask it: What is it that you have that no one else does? Why did the King sacrifice everything for his relationship with you?”

The Vessel was suddenly uncomfortable. They’d come here to escape the difficult questions of their relationship with the King, not to have them thrown back in their face! But it was a genuine question. One they had no answer for. It didn’t make sense, now that they thought about it. A loving wife, an adoring Kingdom, an entire entourage of staffers and bureaucrats who did his every desire, all of them were gone now. They’d all left the King’s life, and he’d watched them go with a bright smile. Why was he so devoted to them? What did they give him that they did not?

The Vessel could only shrug in response.

“So you don’t know? Why-” Lurien was cut off by a firm hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his Butler, still dressed as the King, with a commanding look in his eyes.

“Master, may I ask the questions?”

“Of course, my Butler.” Lurien was inwardly shocked as to his Butler’s confidence. What did they mean to ask the Vessel?

“May I have your seat as well?”

“...Sure?” Lurien replied, confused. The Watcher got up, and sat down a seat away as Lumen took his spot. He looked directly into the Vessel’s eyes.

“Pure Vessel, know that the questions I’m about to ask may be… uncomfortable. You’re free to not answer if you wish not to.”

They nodded. The Vessel knew on some level that they had to stay. That what they were on the verge of uncovering was just too major to be ignored.

“I have some questions about your relationship with the King,” began Lumen. “Firstly, how long ago did this relationship begin?”

The Vessel held up two fingers.

“So two months,” Lumen deduced. It was around two months ago that the White Lady first retreated to her Gardens. “Did you and the King have any interaction before that point? Romantically speaking, I mean.”

A negative shake of the head.

“What relationships did you have before your relationship with the King?” Pure was still. They hadn’t had any. They made a gesture indicating “No” with their arms. Lumen was uncharacteristically silent for a minute, then continued, uneasily,

“Wait. The relationship with the king - is it your first romantic relationship?”

Pure nodded. Was something… wrong with that?

“You never had any romantic relationships with friends?”

They gave another negative shake of the head. Lurien watched on, silent and unreadable.

“Did you ever have any relationships outside the family? Ever? At all?”

Pure sat silently. A dark horror grew within the center of their soul. Lumen’s own horror grew to match the Vessel’s. The next question had to be forced out of Lumen’s mouth through sheer force of will,

“Is the relationship with the King the first you’ve ever had? Ever?”

A nod. Lumen hardly forced the next question out.

“I noticed that you were always very silent on the public stage, that you never formed bonds with anyone. Did the King teach you to avoid relationships with others?”

The Vessel nodded. The King had stopped anyone from forming a bond with them, lest they become impure.

Lumen contained his overwhelming feelings of disgust, anger, and fright. He had to be strong, for his new friends sake. But a fraction of his emotions leaked out into his next question, “So, the King prevented you from forming relationships with anyone, only to enter into a sexual relationship with you when you came of age?”

Pure remained silent. After a solid minute, they gave a light nod. Had father… wronged them?

It took all of Lumen’s strength to not immediately march out the door, track down the Pale King, and beat him within an inch of his life. “Why did he do that. Did he have a reason?”

Pure nodded.

“What was it?”

The full answer would be far too hard for the Vessel to explain without words. They took a napkin from the bar table, and wrote their story down on it. They left out the part regarding the Abyss, but the rest was in there. Their being a Pure Vessel, their purpose to seal the Ancient Light of the Kingdom, all of it.

Lumen could tell the Vessel was leaving something out of it. But he wasn’t about to push. This… this was abhorrent. All of their worst fears about the Pure Vessel and Pale King’s relationship were confirmed.

The Vessel wrote on the napkin once again, on the unwritten side. They asked how could their relationship be wrong, when the love went so deep, and the sex was as great as it was?

Lumen read the note with a pensive sadness. “A relationship based on love can still be unhealthy. And as for the sex…” He almost gagged as the reality of the phrase hit him.

Lurien finally spoke up. “Vessel. If you desire, I can show you that great sex is not exclusive to the Pale King.”

“MASTER LURIEN!” Lumen was appalled. Why would Lurien say that?

As if reading his thoughts, Lurien took his Butler close, and whispered in his ear. “I know what it is like to be trapped in an unhealthy relationship with one’s own parents. If I can show this Vessel that love can exist outside their father, if I can just show them that, then maybe they can break free.”

Lumen opened his mouth to say something, but Lurien continued, in a voice that could only be called broken, “As for the King… I’ll have a lot of thinking to do about him.” How blind he’d been. He’s been so absorbed in his love of the King that he’d ignored the atrocity he’d committed in front of the entire Kingdom.

Lurien’s admiration for the King ran as deep as blood. But for the first time in his entire life, he was beginning to doubt it. He’d tricked himself into thinking that there was nothing wrong with what the King and Vessel were doing. That their relationship was unorthodox, but fine. That delusion was shattered now. His beloved King had committed a grave evil.

“Master,” Lumen butted in. “If you’re going to do this with the Vessel, I’m coming too.”

Lurien wasn’t about to reject a night of pleasure with his Butler. But the Vessel would have to agree. “Would you be fine if he joined in?” The Watcher said, pointing to Lumen.

Pure nodded. They didn’t see why not.

The bartender was just stunned at all this. Did every single bug in this Kingdom have issues? Lumen turned to him, and said plainly, “I’ll take a single group room for tonight. I’ll pay for any damages.”

“Damages?!?!?! What damages!?!?”

“Ah, you’ll see,” Lumen said as he walked with Lurien and Pure to the back bedroom.

The bedroom was dimly lit by a small collection of Lumafly lanterns hanging from the ceiling. It contained no windows, a single closet, and a single bed. The bed itself was a dingy little thing. It looked like it was only meant to hold two bugs, instead of the three it would be containing tonight.

Pure sat on the bed, anxious, excited, and deeply uneasy. They didn’t know what to think of Lumen’s words. What he said was true, that Father had isolated them from the world, and prevented them from forming any sort of relationship. And then, he had launched into a sexual relationship with them. Even the Pure Vessel, with their limited knowledge of relationships, knew how bad that sounded. But how could their relationship be wrong? Everything about it felt right, and they were certain that the King loved them as deeply as they loved the King.

But there was excitement in their mind, too. This was their second time having sex with someone who wasn’t the Pale King. The first had been during the threesome with the White Lady, and they’d greatly enjoyed that then. And then there was the matter of his Butler. What role was he going to play in all this?

Lurien gently undressed the Pure Vessel, removing their shoulder pads and cape. Pure reached out to take off Lurien’s cloak in turn, only to find that it was attached to the Watcher’s body.

“Ah, no. I must apologize, Vessel. I keep this cloak on at all times, including during sex.” The Vessel turned, shocked, to Lumen.

Lumen nodded. “It’s true! He never takes it off, except to have it cleaned. And while it’s being cleaned, he just sits alone in his room, refusing to see anyone!”

The Vessel wanted to comment on how weird this is. But then it hit them that they had sex with their father on a daily basis, so they probably had no room to talk.

Lurien continued, “Vessel, if it is alright with you, could you let us take you?”

Pure sat back, thinking. Now that they thought about it, they had never been on the bottom before. They were always the one fucking their father, not the other way around. But they weren’t averse to it, it may even be nice to be taken for a change. So, they nodded.

“Perfect.” Lurien gently laid Pure down on the bed, and turned them onto their stomach. He took his place at the bottom of the Vessel, gently jerking themselves into an erection. Lumen took his position at Pure’s head, but was a bit unnerved to see that they had no mouth.

“Friend, do you not have a mouth?” The Vessel shook their head. “Well, that explains why you’re so silent all the time. But it does pose a… challenge for our current situation.”

The Vessel shook their head once more. They opened a small hole on their shell, using the same technique they had used when they kissed the Pale King. Lumen watched the display, uneasy. Pure had explained that they were a Vessel on the napkin, so it was clear they were not a normal bug. But forming new holes on their shell? Containing Ancient Gods within their emptiness? What’s next? Forming tentacles from their arms? Or their mouth?

Regardless, it didn’t take much effort for Lumen to stroke himself into an erection. Lurien looked down at Pure, and simply asked them, “Are you ready, friend?” The Vessel nodded.

At the nod, Lurien slowly led himself into the Vessel. He shivered as his cock entered Pure’s ass. Lumen, very tentatively, inserted himself into Pure’s makeshift mouth. As he entered, he was immediately struck at how strange, yet pleasant, it felt. It felt like warm, soft water was pressing in on his cock from all sides. Yet, it had a firmness to it that liquid lacked. As if it was a soft solid. Lumen moaned as he filled Pure’s mouth.

Lurien had never felt something like this before. What he felt was similar to what Lumen was feeling, but Pure’s ass had a firmness the mouth lacked. Still, it wasn’t a bad feeling. It was actually quite pleasurable. It was just… different.

The Pure Vessel was too experiencing things they’d never felt before. Lurien and Lumen felt alien, yet welcome inside of their tall form. Lovemaking came naturally to the Vessel, especially after all their experience with the King. So it took no effort for them to become fully erect as they leaned into Lumen’s cock.

Lumen moaned louder as he grasped Pure’s horns, and started gently bucking against their mouth. Lurien grasped their thighs with both hands as he started thrusting into the Vessel, moaning slowly.

It felt wonderful for all parties involved. Pure found themselves wanting to be filled more by these two, and made a hand gesture signifying as much. In response, the two picked up the speed of their thrusts. Lumen gently stroked the Vessel’s horns as they bucked repeatedly into their mouth. Lumen was propped against the pillows on the head of the bed as Pure’s mouth pressed down on his cock in response to his thrusts.

Lurien ran his hands down the Vessel’s sides as his thrusts picked up speed and intensity. Slowly but surely, he started leaning over the Pure Vessel, bringing himself closer and closer to the bed. Gods, they were so big. Lurien knew that he shouldn’t be thinking this, but he was envious of the King for being able to enjoy this body so often.

The Watcher was soon pressed against the Vessel. He wrapped his arms around the bug in a hug. His cock was filled with bright flames as he gently but swiftly bucked against Pure’s ass.

Pure was filled with bright arousal as Lurien pressed against them. This was genuinely wonderful, like nothing they’d experienced before. It was almost as good as the sex that had with the Pale King. It didn’t have the same fierce intensity that they had with him. This was a lot softer, gentler. But in that, there was something unnamable that they’d never felt with the Pale King. It just felt right.

They would’ve let out a small moan if they could’ve. As it was, they just gripped the bedsheets tightly as they let the duo fuck them.

Soon, Pure formed a tentacle from their mouth and let it play with Lumen’s cock like a tongue. Lumen, in between moans, let out a giggle at this. He supposed that his guess that the Vessel could form tentacles from their arms wasn’t far off from the truth then, either. If they ever did this again, he’d have to let the Vessel fill him with them.

Pure ran a hand down to their cock and started jerking themselves as they were filled by Lurien and Lumen, time after time. Lurien was pressing Pure hard against the bed, his thrusts now coming swiftly. The moans escaping from his mouth were now escalating into cries as he approached an orgasm. Lumen wasn’t far behind him, his cute little thrusts gaining in speed as his own moans escalated into cries in tandem with his Masters.

The Vessel vigorously tonguefucked Lumen’s cock, running the tentacle across every part of it they could cover. They felt that they were close to an orgasm, too. They would’ve cried out to the duo to fill them if they were able. As it was, they just slammed the bed, hard, indicating that they wanted to be filled.

The duo got the message, and started fucking Pure hard as the orgasms rolled up. Lurien was all but screaming now, amazed at how much he was enjoying sex with the Vessel. Lumen was on the verge of tears as he yelled with pleasure, sure that any thrust now was going to bring about his explosion.

The Butler was the first to burst. With an adorable little cry, he exploded in the Vessel’s mouth. He bucked repeatedly into the Vessel’s mouth as cum rushed out of him. Lurien followed right after, busting in the Vessel with a sharp cry.

The feeling of being filled at both ends caused the Vessel to launch into their own orgasm. White fire blinded all three members of the parties. Lurien held Pure tightly as he pounded their tight ass, each thrust bringing about a new wave of cum. He laid a kiss on Pure’s back as he filled them, time after time.

The Vessel’s own orgasm exploded out of them, their cum soaking the bed sheets down to the bed frame. It was a strange feeling, to not orgasm into the cheeks of their beloved Father. But it wasn’t something they were averse to. Like everything else they’d experience in this threesome, it was alien, but warm.

Lurien and Lumen came into the Vessel for what seemed like hours, making their belly swell with their cum. The bed sheets were soaked down to their deepest recesses with the Vessel’s cum, their own orgasm larger than they’d ever thought it’d be from something like this. As three started to come down from their high, the only thing any of them could think was that they wanted more of this, and they wanted it now.

When Lurien asked if the Vessel wanted any more, Pure only gave a reassuring thumbs up in response.

They fucked until the early hours of the morning. Until both Lurien and Lumen fell asleep, thanking the Vessel for such a great experience. Lumen reminded them that this was proof that love could exist outside of their Father. He truly did hope that this would shake the hold that their Father held over them.

The Vessel cleaned themselves up, got back in their clothes, and went to leave the bar. As they were about to exit, the bartender spoke up. “You better not have messed that room up!”

Pure made a laughing gesture and left without doing anything else. The bartender, terrified, went back to the room, and creaked the door open. When he saw the bed utterly destroyed, so filled with cum that it gathered below the frame in light pools, he cried in frustration, almost waking up the Master and Butler resting in a heap on a chair closeby the bed.

When the Pure Vessel returned to Lurien’s guest room, he found the Pale King looking up at them angrily from beneath the covers. “Vessel! Where in the name of all creation have you been?”

Pure regarded their father with an uneasy look, now. Lumen’s words bounced around in their head. They didn’t know what to think of the bug now. Whether to trust him, or distrust hi-

“You stayed out all night, even after I went through the work of doing this for you!” A sweet, loving grin emerged across the King’s face as he pulled the sheets back to reveal that he was in a bright, red dress. The dress was cut just short enough that the King’s erect cock was visible beneath it. His voice was free of malice, his voice genuine as any they’d ever heard.

In a moment, all reservations were suppressed in the Vessel’s mind, forced to bide their time until a later date. They leapt onto the bed, and into the welcoming open arms of the King.

Chapter 7: A New Mate

Much to Dryya’s sadness, the White Lady was talking to herself again. Listening down into her Lady’s chambers, the Great Knight heard only half of a conversation, the other half only happening inside of her Queen’s head. From what she could make out, the White Lady was discussing the Infection. It sounded almost like she was asking someone to release those under the thrall of the disease.

Dryya sighed. The Lady had been acting like this for months now. It had started a short time after she had retreated to her Gardens, in the wake of her breakup with the King. Her Queen had holed herself up inside her room, rarely talking to anyone. She spent most of her days crying, or just staring at the ceiling, motionless.

Her Knight had tried to pull her out of the depths of sorrow, but to no avail. Nothing had worked. Not talking to her, not granting her precious gifts, not reminding her of the beautiful connections that she still had. Dryya had to sit back and watch as the Queen she loved decayed in front of her, while she could do nothing to stop it.

Then, one day, the tears stopped. They were replaced with words. But they weren’t words for Dryya, or even for the world outside of the White Lady. They were words for someone who didn’t exist. The Queen had started talking to an imagined figure that only she could see. She had conversations with this figure, stretching long into the night, discussing everything from her breakup with the King, to the Infection, to the world outside Hallownest. But they were only half-conversations, the other side of the discussion hidden to everyone except the Queen.

Dryya had been willing to let this slide. Everyone copes with pain differently, and there are countless bugs out there with clear minds who chat with themselves, and gain much from the discussion. But then Dryya heard the moans of sex. She had first heard them one late night shortly after the Lady’s change in mood. She had been standing guard outside of her Lady’s chamber, when she had heard a strange noise rise from deep within the egg-shaped building.

Leaning her head down the chamber, Dryya soon recognized the sound as a moan. Well, that wasn’t too strange. Perhaps the Queen was just pleasuring herself? That was an improvement from just sitting around doing literally nothing, she thought. Then she heard the White Lady call out a name.

“Radi! Please! I love you!”

Dryya immediately thrust herself down the shaft leading to the Queen’s chamber. She burst into her Queen’s room, and cried out, “My Lady! Enough is enough!”

The White Lady lurched upwards, as if startled out of a dream. She spent a few moments breathing deeply, collecting herself. Then, she turned towards her beloved guardian. “Dryya? What is the matter?”

There were tears in her Knight’s eyes as she choked out, “You know what is the matter! You’ve fallen so deep into madness that you’re… you’re making love to someone that doesn’t exist!”

The Queen looked on in silent shock. “Oh, my Knight. That’s not it. That’s not it at all. My lover does exist, just in a place you cannot see.”

“Then tell me who they are, and where I can find them. You can’t, can you?”

The White Lady opened her mouth to protest, only to realize how telling the truth would just increase Dryya’s perception of her as a madwoman. What was she going to say? “Oh, well, the Ancient Light that tried to Infect all Hallownest tried to Infect me. But we found a common spirit in the pain inflicted onto us by the Pale King, so then we fell in love!”

And what if she had the Radiance enter her mind, and show Dryya the truth? What’s to say Dryya wouldn’t just see the situation as the Radiance having taken over the Queen? Who knows how she’d react if she saw her Queen as being taken by the Infection?

No. Even though it would hurt her Knight, she couldn’t tell the truth. Not yet. Not until the Radiance had broken the Infection and had revealed her reformation to the Hallownest. Only after that would the White Lady be able to tell the truth.

But, the White Lady thought, that may take a long while. She had tried many times to convince the Radiance to break the Infection, to no avail. The Ancient Light, no matter how hard she tried, couldn’t entirely let go of her anger. Her relationship with the White Lady had done a lot to cool the Radiance’s anger, but it was nowhere near enough to put it out.

Her soul still wanted revenge. Against both the King, and the Kingdom he had created. A single healthy relationship was not enough to put out thousands of years of anger. She had been convinced to stop the spread of the Infection, but she refused to release the bugs still under its thrall. The Lady refused to give up. She told herself that she could - and would - get through to the Radiance. It would just take a bit more time…

This battle was all going on in the head of the White Lady, and inside the inaccessible walls of the Dream Realm. But all the outside world - including Dryya - saw was a mad Queen talking to someone that didn’t exist. That night, Dryya had just stared at the Lady with dead eyes. Had her Queen been so deeply traumatized by her breakup with the King that she had to invent an imaginary partner just to feel some sort of intimacy again? Why wouldn’t she reach out to anyone in the real world?

Why wouldn’t the Lady reach out to her?

Thoughts and memories clanged around Dryya’s head as she heard the White Lady chatter incessantly through the tunnel below.

Downstairs, the Queen was inside of her own head. The space inside of her head was bright and clear as she envisioned herself in the same chamber she and the Radiance had made love in when they first connected with one another.. She was giggling into the fluff of the Radiance, hugging her soft feathers. “You’re so soft, dearest Light.”

The Radiance wrapped her wings around the White Lady. “You always flatter me, my beloved Root. What would you like to do tonight?”

“Oh, Radi. You know me better than most. You know there’s only one thing I’d like to do on a night like tonight.” With this, the White Lady laid herself out on her bed, presenting herself to the Ancient Light.

It had taken the Radiance a while to adjust to the Queen’s… intense libido. The legends she’d heard were true. The White Lady, when she was in the mood, could fuck for days on end and still not be tired at the end of it. While the Ancient Light wasn’t able to entirely keep up with the Lady, at least not yet, she did her best to please her with what she had.

There was something different in the air tonight. It was clear that the two of them wanted something a bit different from what they usually did. The Radiance thought for a few moments as to what they could do, she hit on an idea. The moth had the limited ability to create objects within the Dream Realm. She had trained herself to use that ability to create blades, in case an invader attacked her within her dwelling. But now, she put that ability towards a different purpose.

She used it to create a sex toy. It was a strap-on dildo built for the Radiance. The White Lady salivated with anticipation as she watched the moth slip into it, wings fluttering. But both of them got the sense that there was still more that they could do to spice things up. The Radiance looked at her lover and said, “Do you have any ideas, Root?”

The White Lady nodded. “Watch this, my Light.” At this, the White Lady extended a smooth, rounded root from her body. It wrapped around the Radiance’s back, and posed itself at the entrance to her ass. The Radiance moaned, fluff quivering as she realized what the Lady was going to do to her. “Is this fine with you, Light?” The Radiance nodded.

“Come on then, and fuck me,” The White Lady said, gesturing towards her body with an arm. The Radiance didn’t need to be told twice. She lowered herself towards the Lady, posing the toy at the entrance to the Lady’s cunt. The White Lady and Radiance brought their faces together, and they kissed as the moth slid into her. At this, the Lady slipped the root into the Radiance’s ass.

Both moaned as they were entered by the other. The Radiance lowered her body closer to her lover, pressing her closer towards the bed. She moved in slowly, savoring the sight of the Root melting under her. The White Lady felt the tight walls of the moth around her root, it was more than large enough to please one of the Radiance’s size. She slid in gently, taking care not to harm her lover by doing more than she could take.

Then, the Radiance hilted against the White Lady. The moth wrapped her wings around the White Lady, kissing her again on the lips as she pulled back for another thrust. The Lady, in response, pulled her root out of the moth’s ass, ready to thrust in with it again. The Radiance, not wanting to keep her Lady in suspense, slapped quickly against the Lady.

In response, the Root let out a sharp cry of pleasure. She slipped her branch back into the Radiance’s ass, and started fucking her hard.

The Ancient Light held her lover tightly, locking lips with her time and time again. In between kisses, high moans rose from her mouth, echoing off the sides of the chamber. The feeling of the root filling her ass was incredible beyond words. It was just large enough to pleasure her without hurting her, and it slid in and out almost effortlessly.

The White Lady was crying out with every slap of the moth against her thighs. This feeling, being filled by someone she loved, reminded her of being with her Wyrm, before they split apart. Every slap against her burst her body with carnal fire, loins growing soaked as her lover fucked her without cease.

Dryya had crept down to the entrance of the Lady’s chamber. Without knowing fully what she was doing, she leaned hard against the wall left of the door, and reached a hand down to her cunt. She shivered as she ran a finger down her lips, before bringing her fingers back to her clit. The sound of the White Lady moaning sets her on fire, and before she knows it, she’s fingerfucking herself to the cries of her beloved Queen.

Dryya envisioned herself having sex with the White Lady, desiring the touch and attraction that her Queen was giving to her unseen lover. She mumbled “Lady, my Lady,” over and over as she ran through doing every sick and perverted thing with the White Lady, the floor below her growing wet with her fluids as her fantasy escalated.

The Radiance was plowing the White Lady now. Her wings were gripping her fiercely as her blows fell on her repeatedly. Every thrust of the moth’s hips was met with a trust deep into her ass from the White Lady’s branch, something that made the Radiance moan loudly into the mouth of her lover.

The Lady fucked her lover relentlessly with her root, her own moans growing in tandem with that of the Radiance. The two of them were growing close to an orgasm, the pressure building in their loins as they were both fucked senseless.

Outside, Dryya was trying desperately to not cry out pathetically for the White Lady. The Knight was so desperate for her, wanting badly to dive onto the Lady and shove her face into her tight cunt. She wanted to fuck the Lady for hours, days, weeks, however long it would take for her to be fully spent. Just as long as those hours were spent with her.

She could tell she was about to cum. But she held herself, she wanted to cum at the same time as the White Lady did.

Dryya did not have to wait long. The slams of the Radiance increased in intensity, each thrust wringing increasingly loud cries from the tree beneath her. The White Lady was treefucking the moth’s asshole hard, trying to make her cum as hard as she could. Finally, with one explosive thrust, the Radiance came.

Her cum exploded out of her, coating the White Lady as it dripped down onto the bed below, and from there, down onto the floor. The Ancient Light let out a series of intense cries as her mind went white with pleasure.

The feeling of her partner's orgasm sent the White Lady off on her own. She screamed out the Radiance’s name as orgasm after orgasm rocked out of her, staining the moth’s fluffy feathers. Her arms were wrapped around the Radiance, holding her close as the Radiance fucked both of them into continuous orgasms.

At the sound of the White Lady orgasming, Dryya finally let herself go. It took all of her constitution and willpower to not scream out the Lady’s name, but a high-pitched, desperate sound escaped her as she came. Dryya kept on fingering herself, wringing as many orgasms out of the Lady’s moans as she possibly could.

The Radiance and White Lady were wrapped in a tight, loving embrace, their orgasms soaking one another as they kissed each other deeply. Their minds were deeply embroiled in pleasure, all they were able to think about was their love for one another. The outside world may as well have not existed.

Dryya was the first to finish cumming. As the light lifted from her mind, she looked down and realized what a gigantic mess she had made. The White Lady would notice it for sure, unless she cleaned it up now.

The Great Knight had a spot nearby where she kept some cleaning supplies. She could be there and back in a minute. It would be a quick enough trip.

As she ascended the tunnel back to the surface, the White Lady and Radiance were coming down from their high. They just embraced and kissed one another, again and again, content and pleased with their love.

But then the White Lady brought up the Infection. “Dearest Light, if you can show me this kind of affection and love, why not the rest of Hallownest?”

The Radiance sighed. “This Kingdom locked me away and left me for dead. I love you, but I refuse to forgive this forsaken place.”

“But those were not the actions of the Kingdom. They were the actions of the King and the Moth tribe, countless years ago.”

The Ancient Light remained steadfast. “And who defended and propped up that false King for so long? Who overlooked his long list of atrocities in the name of constructing an Eternal Kingdom? You cannot convince me to let this place off freely.”

The White Lady looked on, a tad frustrated. She decided she would give up the argument for the night. Regardless, the two of them snuggled up against one another, and were almost ready to slip into a sleep when the White Lady was startled awake by a cry in the waking world.

It had been the cry of Dryya. What had happened? Was she attacked? The White Lady sat up, and gazed at the entrance to her chamber wearily.

After a few moments, Dryya appeared, flustered. The White Lady could tell that she had been pleasuring herself, but didn’t put the dots together as to what she’d been masturbating to. The White Lady looked down to see that she’d cum in the waking world too. Blushing, she covered herself. “I apologize for that, my Knight. I was having a most lewd dream. Past that, Dear Dryya, what’s wrong?”

The Great Knight responded in an overly-controlled voice. “You have a visitor, my Lady. I ran into them as I was going to grab some supplies. If you heard me cry, that was the cause.” Cum. She’d just seen the White Lady’s cum. She wanted to drink it. She wanted to throw herself on the Lady and drink every last ounce of her tree cum.

The White Lady was interested. A visitor? Aside from Dryya, and the occasional news crier, she didn’t receive visitors anymore. Hallownest wrote her off as a Queen lost to a madness brought on by grief. Who would be visiting her? Especially at this hour?

“Well, who is it?”

Dryya moved out of the door frame, and in walked the Pure Vessel.

At once, the White Lady was seized with sadness, rage, indignation, pity, and grief. She had not seen the Vessel in many weeks, and she had honestly preferred it that way. Every time she saw them, she thought of their engagement to her husband. To that horrible night, where she had lost her dear Wyrm forever.

Her emotions wanted to erupt out of her, but they only found vent as a few mere wavering words, “Hello Vessel. Why do you come?”

The Pure Vessel lacked a mouth to speak. They were unable to vocally explain to the White Lady their inner torment, that empty pit that had been brought to light by their encounter with Lurien and Lumen. In place of that, they had written a letter. They approached the Lady carefully, bowing before her as they approached. They dropped the letter into her lap before backing away.

Dryya looked on, sickened but curious. So this was the fatherfucker. The Vessel that had broken all of the rules of nature and their mother’s heart over their devotion to their father. She had only seen them a few times in person before. Up close like this, they did look mighty impressive. And yes, she had to admit, attractive. They were very attractive. But why had they come here? To apologize? It was far too late for that. She guessed that whatever reason they had centered around that letter.

The Lady looked over the letter carefully. The letter described what had happened to the Pure Vessel over the past few weeks, how they’d discovered this hole inside of themselves, how they were no longer able to see their relationship with the King as the pure, beautiful thing they saw it as from the start. It described the episode with Lurien and Lumen, and how they’d so quickly relapsed into adoration of the King after being with him for just a few seconds.

As the White Lady read it, she felt empathy deep inside of her for the Pure Vessel. She had seen them for so long as an evil homewrecker who had come out of nowhere to destroy her marriage, but her time spent with the Radiance, alongside reading the letter, smacked her with the truth. The Vessel was ultimately just one more victim of the King’s endless avarice, arrogance, and greed. “Oh, Vessel…” she murmured. “Do you want my honest thoughts on what you should do?”

Pure nodded. The White Lady continued, uneasily, “I think you should end the relationship with him, and run. Find another partner to settle down with. One with whom you can find a healthy, stable relationship.”

The Vessel tried to internalize what they were hearing. Was their relationship with Father unhealthy? And unstable? And who would they go to, if not to Father? They didn’t know how to form connections with people beside him. Was there anyone else like him, that they could be a partner to?

And then it hit them. Well, that’s easy! There’s a great partner right in front of them now! They loved the White Lady, and they knew the White Lady loved them. The Pure Vessel crossed the room and hugged the Lady. “What are you doing, Vessel?”

The Pure Vessel hugged her deeper, thinking of how lovely it would be to make love with her again. They’d upset her last time by taking Father to bed with them, though they still didn’t fully understand why. But this was their chance to make it up to her! They’d love her so much, that she’d forgive them for everything.

The White Lady, upon realizing what the Vessel wanted to do, felt a bright fire rise in her loins. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking this way, not anymore. But Gods, they were so attractive. Those long, thin legs. That lithe, lean midsection. Those gentle, eager arms…

“Lady! STOP!” The cry of the Radiance cut through her mind, bringing her back to reality. “You cannot do this! Think of how awful you've felt ever since being with them only once. If you do it again, you will never forgive yourself.”

The White Lady sat silently, caught between the Vessel and the Radiance. Between what her body wanted, and what her mind knew was the right thing to do. God, she wanted their dick so badly. They’d performed so well in bed the last time, especially with her husband at their side. Maybe she could go back with them to the Palace, and they could have another threesome. She wanted to fuck. She needed to fuck. She had to-

“Lady, it is me or the Vessel.” The Radiance’s words were hard and cold. They stunned the White Lady, and she could only respond with a meek, “What?”

“I said, it is me, or the Vessel. You cannot go down this path again. Not after all that you have done to heal. Please. You know what the right thing is.” The White Lady sat silently, body and mind feeling like they would be split in two.

Pure got up on their mother’s lap, and brought their head to her face. They were going to kiss her like they’d kissed their Father. They brought their face closer and closer to the Lady’s. Her eyes were closed, and her face unreadable. She wasn’t lowering herself to their mouth for the kiss, but that didn’t deter the Vessel. Raising their body up and up, they were soon within inches of their mother’s face, then centimeters, then-

The White Lady gently pushed away the Pure Vessel’s face. “No, dearest. This is something we cannot do. Not anymore.”

Pure was still for a moment, and then collapsed backwards. What? What had she said? They looked at her with pleading eyes.

“Vessel, I am sorry. But we cannot make love anymore. I hope that one day, you will understand why.”

But they didn’t understand. Why couldn’t they make love? Wasn’t it something that bugs who loved each other very much did? Pure loved their mother, and she loved them. They’d even had sex in the past, when she had caught Pure and the King in bed. The hastily wrote these thoughts on the back of the letter they had brought, and passed it to their Mother.

As the White Lady read it, her eyes started to blur over in tears. The Pale King had hurt this Vessel so much, and they did not even realize it. She started to respond, saying, “It’s true. I do love you, and you love me back. But it is not healthy or good for us to love one another in that way, for us to make love again. I would be exploiting you if I did. I’d be taking advantage of your ignorance, your lack of understanding of the world and relationships. I’d be acting like your father.”

Pure didn’t get it. Why couldn’t they love her? They snatched the letter again, and wrote a single sentence on it, “WE HAVE A PURE, PALE LOVE.”

The Lady read it, and tears rolled down her face. “Oh, Vessel. That is precisely why we cannot be together in that way. I-” The Lady was breaking down. Her tears were rolling into sobs, and her head was whipping into a maelstrom of despair.

The Radiance kicked in. “Lady, tell them to come back tomorrow. You cannot do this right now. Tell them to spend the night at Lurien’s if they must. You’re in no state to be the guide they need right now.”

The White Lady silently agreed. “Please, Vessel. Come back tomorrow. I hope I can explain it to you then. I cannot be who you need me to be right now.”

Dryya had watched all of this wordlessly from the doorway. The White Lady had… fucked the Vessel before? And she was just going to let them walk away when they clearly needed support? She was speechless as the Vessel wordlessly turned from their mother, and walked out of her chamber. If it wasn’t for her sworn duty to defend the Queen at all times, Dryya may have fled the Queen’s Gardens, and never returned.

As the Pure Vessel left the chamber, the White Lady wept openly. The Radiance wanted to hold her closely, to tell her that she had done the right thing. As it stood, she could only do the latter.

The Vessel, upon emerging into the bright green light of the Queen’s Gardens, felt something emerge from their eyes. The void in their eyes gathered at the sides, then rolled down their face in long, dark streaks. They didn’t understand. What was wrong with what they felt for the King? Or for their Mother? They had never felt rejection before. This disgusting emotion choked them inside.

As the Vessel strolled weakly through the Gardens, their sadness slowly turned to rage. Why couldn’t they be with their father? They loved him. Their love was pure and sincere. How could they say it was wrong, when they weren’t in their place? They refused to accept it. Nothing was wrong with their relationship with Father.

Surely someone else in this Kingdom shared their situation? Someone else who would be able to tell them that their feelings were justified, that their relationship with the King was alright? That’s all they wanted to be told. They wanted these doubts and hurts to stop. They wanted the pain to stop.

Collecting their thoughts, they recalled a story they had heard earlier that day. A story that the Queen of Deepnest had taken her daughter for a mate. They decided that they would stop there, and do it tonight.

It was there, they thought, that they would find an end to this pain.

Chapter 8: You Can't Have It Both Ways

Summary:

Lurien and Lumen get an unexpected visitor.

Lurien was at the edge of sleep when he heard the knock at the door. He stirred below his blankets, hoping that whoever it was would go away and let him rest. Lumen was still awake, and he rushed to the door, hoping that he could prevent his Master from being disturbed further. As he was opening the door, he grumbled, “Who in their right mind would come knocking this late at night?”

When Lumen saw who was standing on the threshold, he went silent. After a few moments, he called out to his Master, “Lurien, I think you should get up.”

The Watcher reluctantly got out of bed, groaning with frustration. As he walked towards the door, he whispered in a tired tone, “My Butler, unless it’s the King himself at my door, I don’t want to talk to them. I have to get my-”

As Lurien rounded the door, he went silent. There, outside the door to his quarters, was the Pale King. He stood dressed in his usual white robe, expression unreadable. Then, he bowed gracefully to the Watcher, and said, “Good evening. May I come in?”

Before Lurien or Lumen have a chance to respond, the Pale King steps inside and shuts the door behind him. He strolls into the center of the room. Lumen flinches back, but Lurien just stares at the King, silent. The Wyrm senses the uneasiness in the air, and makes a shaky attempt to defuse it, “Why the cold reception? I know that you have been dying to see me.”

Lurien, falling into the arms of a nearby couch, simply responds, “Why did you come here?”

“Well,” the King said, voice growing in confidence, “I heard about a certain incident involving you and your Butler.”

“Incident? What incident?”

“I was informed by a kindly bartender of your actions at a bar not too far away from here.” The King stops, and then leans in for emphasis, “Actions that involved the Pure Vessel.”

Lumen steps between the King and his Master, and hurriedly spits out, “My Lord, I’m not sure this is the right place or time to discuss such a thing! I assure you, Lurien was not in his right mind that night, despite my best attempts to reign him in-”

“Reign him in?” The King chuckles. “From what the bartender told me, you did the exact opposite. You got drunk, and then destroyed that poor old soul's guest room!” Lumen blushes. He even heard about that part? “But that’s not the part I’m concerned about.” the King continues, “You two can do what you wish on your own time. I’m concerned about what you said to the Pure Vessel.”

Lumen feels his core go cold. He thought of all the terrible things he’d insinuated about the King during his discussion with the Pure Vessel. And on top of that, he and Lurien had fucked the Vessel that night too, after they’d gotten engaged to the Pale King. How stupid he’d been, to not have payed the bartender to keep his mouth shut about the whole thing, and to have had sex with a newly engaged bug in the first place. Blushing, Lumen begins, “W-well, I must apologize for our actions that night. Neither me or my Master were in our right minds when we took the Vessel to be-”

“I don’t care that you and your Master took the Pure Vessel to bed. I care about what you said to them.”

At this, Lumen is silent. What? He’s angry not at what was done, but what was said? The look of confusion on Lumen’s face prompts a grin and a response from the Pale King. “Why should I feel bad about you sleeping with the Vessel? It doesn’t matter. We are bound by a pure, pale love. The Vessel can fool around with whoever they wish, I know they’ll always come back to me in the end.”

Lumen can only babble confusdenly. “Pure pale love?”

The King nodded. “Yes. The love that binds me and the Vessel together. It’s a love that I tossed away everything for. The love of my Kingdom, the love of my subjects, and the love of my wife. I would do it all again, in a single moment, for the Pure Vessel.”

The Butler weakly climbs into a nearby chair, disgust once more finding its way into his bones. The King walks up to him, places an arm around his neck, and continues, “Do you know what the Vessel did, after your little speech? They came home to me, and they fucked me with just as much heart and love as any time before or after. That’s why I’m not angry over your having sex with them. It was a futile fling that signified nothing and achieved less. But your words are what I take issue with. You put the idea in the Vessel’s head that our love is imperfect, impure.”

Lumen stares petrified into the King’s eyes. Deep within them, he can see bright anger. Lumen swallows hard, and takes a moment to collect himself. He lets the fixer inside of himself take over. This bug is broken, messy. He just has to do what he always does, and put this mess back together again. Yes, that’s what he must do. He starts, “King, surely you can see that your relationship with the Vessel is unhealthy? Think of how much you’ve taken advantage of them. They’ve never truly known anyone but you! They were isolated from all except you and the White Lady…”
The King pinches Lumen’s chin. The sign is small, but Lumen gets the point, and stops talking. “I don’t think you quite understand me, Butler.” The King begins. “I don’t care for your sentimental words about how damaging our love is, or how unhealthy it is. Nothing could be further from the truth. You haven’t been there. You haven’t felt it. The burning desire, the overpowering love. Nothing that feels like that could be wrong. There is nothing impure or wrong with my relationship with the Vessel.”

“And,” the King grins, showing off his rows of sharp teeth, “I do not appreciate other bugs filling my Vessel’s head with poison and impurity.” Lumen realizes that he is shaking. There is something dark and primal in how the King is looking at him, something that awakens the survival instincts inside of Lumen. Every part of his primal brain, trained through centuries of evolution, is telling him to run. To get away from this bug.

“What’s the matter, Butler? You had no problem speaking ill of me when I wasn’t around-”

“King, that’s enough.” Both Lumen and the Pale King turn to see Lurien arising from the couch. The two had become so absorbed in their conversation that he’d utterly faded from the scene. Lurien walks across the room to the Pale King, and places a hand on his shoulder. “I think it is about time you leave.”

The Pale King’s voice loses its edge. It becomes soft, almost even seductive. “What is the matter, Watcher? Have I upset you?”

“You will not accost my Butler. He’s done nothing wrong, and he’s right to say that what you’re doing is wrong.”

“Master Lurien…!” Lumen says in a small gasp, before the King silences him with a glare.

“Lurien, you’re a smart bug. I choose you to a Dreamer for a reason. I trust that you do not buy this scandalous narrative about me hurting the Pure Vessel…” The King walks over to Lurien, and brushes his body against the Watcher’s. “You were always my favorite of Hallownest’s nobility. I have heard how much you care about me, how much you idolize me.”

“Y-you have?” Lurien stumbles, flustered.

“Yes, indeed! It was clear how much you love me when you jumped at the chance to sacrifice yourself for my sake by becoming a Dreamer.” The Pale King parts Lurien’s cloak, and runs a hand down his long, lanky chest. “You had everything. A beautiful city. Adoring citizens. Endless parties and delights. And you were willing to throw it all away for me. Isn’t that correct?”

“Yes, it- it is!” Lurien is flushed pink. His beloved King, his eternal obsession, is in his house, laying his hands on him. It feels as if all the reservations, all the problems he’s had with the Pale King, melt away inside his soul.

“Well, that’s how I feel for the Pure Vessel. And that’s how the Pure Vessel feels for me. Would you say your love for me is wrong?”

“No! I would never!”

“Then, is the love between me and the Vessel wrong?”

“Absolutely no-”

Lumen shoots up out of his fear, and cries to his Master, “Lurien, don’t fall for what he’s saying! You know what the differences are between your love and the Ki-”

The King quiets him with a piercing glare. Lurien looks at his Butler, and goes to say something, when the Pale King kisses him on the lips. The Watcher is shocked, but wastes no time in kicking back as all negative thoughts about the King are pushed to the side. In between kisses, he murmurs, “My King, oh my King…”

Lumen wants to call out for Lurien to stop, but he knows that it’d be a pointless exercise. He felt the weakness of defeat rolling over him. This is a dream come true for his Master. His entire life, he has obsessed with the Pale King. Lurien used his obsession with the King to fill the gaps in his soul, and he wasn’t even able to have sex with anyone unless he imagined they were the Pale King.

The Pale King broke the kiss, and said, “Now, what if I were to show you my love?” Lurien, in response, nodded in rapturous excitement. The King shot Lumen a look that said “Try to take my Vessel from me, I’ll take him from you.”

Lumen wasn’t shocked. He just sat back, defeated. Lurien would never pass up the opportunity to fuck his King. He’d set up that entire business with the guest room and telescope just so he could feel like he was finally fucking his beloved King. He couldn’t believe that he actually wore that King costume…

Wait, Lumen thought. The King costume! He quietly got up, and ran to the closet where it was stored. The King and Lurien were too focused on one another to see him get up and run to the closet.

The Pale King laid belly-down on the couch. He laid down in such a way as to show off his ass to Lurien. Lurien’s cock fully emerged from his slit, and he salivated as he led it to his beloved King’s ass. He was just about to penetrate the Pale King when he heard a voice cry out, “Oh, my Lurien! Whatever are you doing?”

The King whipped his head towards the voice, and saw something truly absurd. The little Butler had come back, dressed up as him. The King just looked at him, mouth agape, all intimidation vanquished from his posture. “Is- is this some ill-timed jest? Lurien, do you see this mockery of-”

But he felt Lurien fall still and silent. Lumen ran up to the two, and hugged his Master. Lumen, voice just hardly above a whisper, said, “Master, please don’t do this… I know it hurts, to give up something you’ve chased after and loved so dearly. But you can’t let your obsessions own you.” Lumen swallowed before saying the next part. “And you know deep down that this bug only cares for you as much as he can use you.”

Upon hearing this, the King kicked out from under Lurien, sat up on the edge of the couch, and shot a look of unadulterated hate at Lumen. “Absurdity! Rank absurdity! To accuse me, your own King, of manipulating my beloved Watcher! And just after you accused me of abusing my own Vessel! You should feel absolute shame - that is, if you can feel any emotions at all!”

The Watcher sat down on the bed, facing Lumen. Lurien found himself caught between the two Kings. The Pale King once more crept up to his side, and eased himself on to Lurien’s shoulder. “Listen, Watcher. You know that I love you. This False Monarch would lead you astray, and drive a wedge between you and I. Come now,” the King planted a kiss on his cheek, “...tell me what you really think of me.”

Lurien sat silently for a few moments. And then he turned to the Pale King. “Why did you never come to my parties?”

“Hmm? What parties?”

“I held them for you. I invited every adult royal to these grand balls, and I would always pull my connections to get you into coming. But you never showed up, not once.”

The King cocked his head curiously, “Well, I am a King! I just don’t have the time to spend on such frivolous things.”

The word “frivolous” shatters Lurien’s heart. “If you care about me so, why did you never show up at my door until today?”

At this one, the King is finally lost for a response. “Well, I- ahm. I never had the time to stop by! But rest assured, I always had you at heart.”

Lurien sits completely still, something breaking inside of him. He feels it as the idealized embodiment of the King he’s clung to his entire life shatters. Then, he turns to the King and simply says, “I think it would be for the best if you leave.”

“Leave? I will do no such thing. You and I haven’t even made love yet-”

Before he can finish, Lurien picks him up in his arms. The King feels the barely contained rage and despair pulsating through Lurien’s being. His arms hold the King in a crushing embrace. The Pale King wants to object, but the anger surging through Lurien’s body tells him that it’s not a good idea.

When they reach the door, Lurien gently drops a hand from the King to turn the knob. Then, in two swift motions, he swings the door wide open and tosses the King outside into the hall beyond. The Pale King lets out a yipe of shock as he thumps against the ground and the door is slammed shut in his face.

He hears the door locking, and curses himself for being so foolish. He’d underestimated the connection between Lurien and his damn Butler. He’d been so close to bringing Lurien back under his thrall, and maintaining a key connection in the weeks ahead. But that was all up in smoke now.

He’d been completely earnest when discussing his connection with the Pure Vessel. He was certain their bond was a beautifully unbreakable thing, and he genuinely did love them. But he didn’t love that romantic Lurien. And evidently, he hadn’t faked his love for him well enough. The King sighed. He had other plans he could pursue for the time being. Before he leaves though, he may as well check out what those two are doing now that he’s left.

The King creeps up to the door, and presses an ear to it. He hears the beginning of a conversation inside.

“-thank you so much, my Butler. He saw my obsession, and used it as a weapon against me. If it wasn’t for you, he’d have pulled the wool over my eyes all over again.” Lurien stood hugging his Butler, the King’s attire having fallen off his body.

“Master…” Lurien heard his Butler make an odd noise in his embrace, and looked down to see that he was crying.

“What’s the matter, friend?”

Lumen sniffles out, “I’m sorry, I- I was just so afraid that I’d- that I’d lose you…”

Lurien hugs his Butler close, comforting him. “Now, now. I’m not going anywhere.” Lurien patted him on the back, and held him close as he sat back down on the couch where the King had been. The two of them sat there, embraced. Lurien patted Lumen’s back and stroked his head, and would do so for as long as he needed. In truth, Lurien was hurt too. He had everything he’d spent years of his life chasing there in front of him, and he had to throw it all away.

He’d put so much into the idea of the King. He thought of the perfect image of the King he’d spent years cultivating and obsessing over. Of all the parties he’d thrown for him. Of all the lengths he’d gone to try and capture his attention. That perfect image was now shattered, and he was left to consider what his obsession had really got him. And more importantly, as he looked down at Lumen, what it had almost cost him.

Sitting here, hugging Lumen, he was certain he’d made the right decision.

When Lumen had cried all of his tears away, the two just sat, embracing.

Yet, there was still an unresolved tension in the air. There was something that both of them knew the other wanted tonight. They didn’t even need to say it aloud. Lumen gently broke the hug, and then laid belly down on the bed. It didn’t take much stimulation to get Lurien back to being fully erect. Lurien laid down on top of Lumen, cock ready to fill him. Before putting his cock in, Lurien asked, “My Lumen, are you sure that you want this right now?”

His Butler nodded back, and whispered, “Yes, please.”

Lurien nodded, and slowly led his cock into Lumen. His butler moaned as he felt his Master fill him. They’d had sex before, but it was always with that King costume. It felt like the first time Lurien was really fucking Lumen. Lurien put his arms around his Butler as he thrust deeper and deeper in. He squeezed Lumen tightly as he hilted inside him, the two letting out a pair of moans.

The Watcher pulled back, burying his head in his Butler’s back, listening to his breathing and pleasured cries. Lurien feels a gentle flame filling his body, and his cock is blazing with pleasure as he fully pulls out, and thrusts back in again.

Then, Lurien is picking up the pace of his thrusts. Each thrust gets a little gasp and moan of pleasure out of Lumen. Lurien listens to him moan with each consecutive thrust. Lumen calls out to him, “Please, ah, Master- ah! More! I love you!” Lumen feels himself melting under the love of his Master.

The Watcher starts pounding his Butler, hearing the slap of his thighs against his ass. Each thrust wraps the two closer and closer together, making their love for one another more and more apparent.

Between the thrusts, Lumen asks Lurien to hold him tighter. He does, and their bodies are pressed hard against one another. The couch creaks under their lovemaking, the sound of their sex filling the quarters.

Lumen is filled with love and desire as Lurien pounds him. He’s wanted to be with Lurien for so long, and it’s all finally come true. Now he can love Lurien openly and freely, without needing to feel like he’s filling a role he cannot fill.

Lurien soon feels that he’s on the cusp of an orgasm. He shivers and moans into Lumen’s back as he feels it roll over him. Lumen cries out to him, “Master! Please!” Lurien is all too happy to grant his wish. With one final thrust, Lurien cums into his Butler. In turn, Lumen explodes, his cum soaking the couch below him.

The two are crying and moaning into one another, a gentle, easy love solidifying between the two of them. There’s not gallons of cum or rapturous screams of pleasure, but something gentle and caring beyond words.

The Pale King has been listening to all of this from outside the door, and is disgusted. So, he’d lost to that Butler in the end. Well, that doesn’t matter to him. He still has his pure, pale love. He walks away, wondering which person on his list he should give an unexpected visit next.

Inside, Lurien and Lumen couldn’t care less about the King. As the two wash out of their orgasms, they just feel a togetherness they haven’t felt in so long. But Gods, it’s been such a long day, and they’re both beat. Lurien picks his tired Butler up, and carries him back to his bedroom. The two of them lay together on the bed, and have one last embrace as they drift off into a loving sleep.

Chapter 9: What Do You Want Me to Say?

Summary:

Monomon gets a visit from the Pale King.

The knock on your door comes unexpectedly, as if emerging out of the aether. Water still drips off you from the tank you've just left. You didn’t hear anyone approaching your door, and you weren’t expecting any visitors tonight. And besides - it’s the dead hours of the night. Why come now, of all times? Sighing, you place the book you’ve been reading down on a nearby desk, and make for the door. You try to not let the annoyance slink into your voice when you ask, “Who’s there?”

You freeze when you hear the voice. “It’s me, dear Monomon.” The Pale King. You choke back a gasp as you pause. You haven’t seen him in months. Not since the affair started. And how could you face him? What he's done is inexcusable. Horrible and abhorrent on all fronts, and beyond all words. Gods, it makes you physically sick to just think about…

But what are you supposed to do? Turn him away? He’s still the King, and you’re still his Dreamer. And besides - if you don’t open now, he’ll just come back later. So, you strap on your best convincing smile, and open the door in a smooth arc. Your composure shakes a tad when you see him, small and slim, shaded in the doorway. But you guide him in with a tentacle, and shut the door behind him.

He begins before you have a chance to say anything, “My, it’s been some time since we’ve seen one another. It’s been months, I believe? We have some catching up to do, mind if I take a seat?”

You nod uneasily. “Yes, you can just take a seat at the table there.” You poke towards a long table on the far side of the room. It’s decorated with four chairs - one on each side. He sits down at one end, and you take the seat opposite. The chairs somehow manage to be both too small for the King and too small for you. You’d get up to get a larger one, but you feel somehow stuck here now. As if some unspoken force is keeping you seated. You feel your own shaky breath as you begin, “It’s fine meeting you tonight, Wyrm. Tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

The King opens his mouth, and then pauses. He’s trying to find the right way to put this. “I suppose I should just come out and ask it. Tell me friend, what do you think of my actions?”

The discomfort in the room is palpable. You squirm slightly as the words hang in the air. Out of everything in existence that you’d like to talk about, this is at the bottom of the list. You spend a moment wondering if it would be good to sugarcoat the truth, before deciding that he needs to hear it straight. You swallow, and start, “I am going to tell you the truth, King. I think your actions are monstrous. I cannot look at you the same anymore. It’s as if the once regal, loyal King I once knew has been replaced with some monster.”

You expect the King to show offense at this, but he instead lights up. “Ah, that’s good for what I want to discuss today. Could you tell me what, precisely, I’ve done wrong?”

You’re stunned for a moment at this reply. He doesn’t know what he’s done wrong? What he’s done should be obvious. It’s certainly obvious to the rest of the Kingdom. But you’re far too nice to give him the swift kick out the door he deserves, so you entertain his question. “Well, it’s difficult to know where to begin. But, to be curt, I think that you’ve acted wrong at every stage of this affair.”

The King nods, strangely collected. It slowly starts to dawn on you that he truly doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong. Disgust is replaced by curiosity. What’s going on in his mind, that he could come to that conclusion? The Wyrm says, “Well, we can take it one step at a time. Start with the first wrong that comes to mind, and we can work our way down from there.”

The words are leaving your mouth before you can catch them. “The first thing is quite obvious, my King. You made love to your own spawn, and then announced that you were entering into a union with them.”

“Yes, I’ve done both of those things. What is the problem with that?”

You are stunned once again. What is the problem? Shouldn’t that be blindingly obvious? “King, surely you jest?”

“No, I’m not. I want you to tell me, openly and honestly, what I’ve done that is wrong.”

After taking a moment to gather your thoughts, you begin, “Well, for one, you’re taking advantage of the Pure Vessel. You’ve exploited their love for you, took advantage of their lack of knowledge about sex and the world. I’m hesitant to even say that the Pure Vessel gave proper consent - how could they, when they were so sheltered? And that’s before we even talk about what the affair did to the White Lady…”

The King cuts you off, “Now, now, Monomon. Let us take this one step at a time. I’ve heard this said before, that I ‘took advantage’ of the Pure Vessel, that I ‘exploited’ them. Nothing could be further from the truth. They were the one to initiate the relationship, and they are the one who is in command whenever we have sex. They are in no way being exploited, they desire me more than anything else. And as for the White Lady-”

Part of you wants to stay silent and let him finish. But the morality in you knows that you can’t let him get away with a justification that poor. “Wait, wait, wait. I’m sorry, my King, but I must interrupt. Surely you understand that just because they initiated the relationship, that doesn’t mean they weren’t exploited? You are their Father, and you hold power over every part of their life. And for a long time, you held power over everything they learned. Does this not strike you as wrong?” The King shakes his head. “Monomon, I must ask you straight. If the Vessel felt they were truly being exploited or harmed, wouldn’t they have left me by now? It’s absurd - if they felt exploited, they would just leave me. They don’t leave me because they don’t feel exploited. They truly love me with every bit of their being. And as for what you said about the White Lady, I don’t see why it matters.”

There’s a good fifty things you want to respond to, but that final remark about the White Lady drags you off course. You want to yell at him about how someone can be exploited in a relationship even if they don’t feel exploited, and how the power the Wyrm has over the Vessel inherently makes their relationship unhealthy, but Gods, how can you let that last remark slide? “Wha- what do you mean you ‘don’t see why it matters?’”

He shrugs. “In life, things change. We change living situations, homes, friends, family, even lovers. I fell out of love with her, so I moved on to another lover. Is that truly so horrible?”

You’re left stammering for a moment. He cannot be serious. You cool yourself off, and then say in an icy voice, “Yes, cheating on your wife with your own spawn is that horrible. You didn’t even tell her the truth - rumors say that she had to walk in on you having sex with the Vessel.”

The King seems offended by this, though something about it seems inauthentic. “What a preposterous falsehood! I told her everything well in advance.”

You’re not quite buying it, but with no direct knowledge of the event, it’s not like you can call him out on it. You decide on a different avenue of attack. “Well, even if you told her everything, don’t you care about how you broke her heart? She’s holded herself up in her Garden and hasn’t come out in weeks!”

He nods solemnly. “Yes. It was emotionally difficult for her, I understand. It was hard for me, as well. I cried myself to sleep many nights over the end of our relationship. But things end - the two of us will both get over it all in time.

Really? You think. He hasn’t shown any signs of remorse for his behavior. And the way those words so easily rolled off his tongue… you don’t buy for a second that he is being genuine on this topic. Far as you can tell, his love for the Vessel is the only truly authentic part of his speech so far. Pausing for a moment, you think of another angle to take. Well, he doesn’t care about his duties as a husband. Perhaps he cares about his duties as a King?

You begin, “Fine, then. What about the impact your actions have had on the Kingdom? Your loving the Pure Vessel has absolutely rendered them Impure - ruining the plan we’ve spent years concocting. You could’ve at least sent the Vessel into the Black Egg, and bought the Kingdom some more years of hope.

At that last remark, anger flashes across the Wyrm’s face. You flinch back. You’ve seen many emotions on the King in all the years you’ve known him. Anger was never among them. It’s a slight flash across the surface of his face, but it’s enough to make your body go cold. Who could stand opposed to the anger of Divinity? He cocks his head curiously. “Should a leader lie to his people?”

You pause for a moment in response. “What do you mean?”

“Wouldn’t you agree, on principle, that it is moral and just for a leader to tell the truth to his people?” He waits a beat for emphasis, studying your face in the interim. You look on, pondering the question.

Cautiously, you say, “I don’t quite get the relevance of this to the conversation at hand.”

He replies, “Take a look at it this way, then. Imagine if I told you the tale of a leader of a far-off Kingdom, who hid the truth of a coming calamity from his people. Someone who, instead of giving his subjects time to prepare and make their own decisions as to their coming fates, robbed them of that decision entirely - simply by telling them nothing was wrong.

And what’s more, imagine that, in keeping this lie upright, this leader had to sacrifice their own offspring to a potentially eternal torment. Centuries upon centuries of torture, pain, and lonliness. What would you think of this leader, then? Both as a King, and as a Father? Your suggestion that I should sacrifice my Pure Vessel for some vague, fleeting, false hope disgusts me.”

You want to point out the false dichotomy here. There are other options available between “Sacrifice someone to give a Kingdom false hope” and “Marry your own spawn in front of a beleaguered Kingdom.” But the anger in his eyes…

Silently, you reach back into your mind. That look on the Pale King, the hatred in his voice, sets something off inside of you. The animal instincts for survival click and whir inside of you, telling you to flee, to do whatever you have to do to escape from this Wyrm. On top of that, Monomon needed to soak in her tank periodically, less she get all dried up. But his presence is what keeps you grounded here, forces you to stay still in this chair, until the conversation is done.

But maybe you’re overthinking things. You did just suggest banishing his lover to an eternal torment. Anyone would be upset at that. But that look in his eyes, the anger in his voice...

It’s just one more thing that makes you want to escape from this conversation.

You want to reply to what he’s said in a calm and cool manner. But you just can’t. You force yourself upwards, and say, “I’m going to go get a glass of water.”

The King waves you down, “No, no. There’s no reason to rush off anywhere. Sit back down, tell me the truth.”

All at once, the pressure and tension of the scene crashes inwards on you, and you snap. You feel righteous anger coursing through your veins when you shout out, “You want to know the truth? Let me tell you the truth, Wyrm! You’re a pathetic, unfaithful monster who abused the love and trust of your offspring and wife for your own sick carnal ends. You try to justify all of your wrongs with your ‘love’ of the Vessel, ignoring the pain and harm you’re causing everyone else all the while!

What you feel for your Vessel is not “love.” It is obsession and lust. How dare you sully the word “love” with your filth! I know not from where your obsession with the Pure Vessel springs - and frankly, I do not care. It could never offer a justification for your actions. You are a disgraced King, hated in the eyes of your people and confidantes. And for this hate, you have gotten nothing.”

The King bites back, “I have gotten something much more important than all of that, I have achieved love! And I will not let some lowly teacher such as yourself lecture me on my actions!”

Anger still pours out of you as you spit back, “Then why did you come here? You didn’t come here wanting someone to genuinely question you - it’s clear now you wanted confirmation, or at the very least, some wall that you could talk into without any pushback! You’ve outstayed your welcome - leave my office at once.”

“No, Monomon, I am not leaving! I ought you have you punished for speaking to the King in such a way-”

Your argument is stopped by the sound of a knock at the door. Swiftly, the Pale King gets up and swings the door open. Standing behind it is one of his attendants - one of the few to have not abandoned him since the affair began. She stands there, awkwardly, not sure how to deal with the argument she’s walked into.

“Ah! My attendant!” The King’s voice is suddenly light and breezy, as if nothing was amiss. “What news do you have to report?”

She shakily begins, “W-well my King, we’ve tracked where the Vessel ran off to. A concerned citizen spotted them walking towards the Deepnest, looking rather unwell.”

The King pats her on the shoulder. “You’ve done well, my attendant. Gather the guards, and meet me there.”

“Y-Yes King!”

Guards!? What Guards? What is he planning to do? The King turns back to shoot you a smirk before slamming the door shut. You rush up and barge against the door, fumbling with the handle desperately. But something’s been propped against the handle. Then, you hear the telltale sound of a binding being placed on the door.

You can tell from how hastily it’s inscribed that it’s not a major binding - just enough to hold the door shut for a few hours. But you can’t be cooped up in here. The King is planning something terrible, and the Pure Vessel must be warned. You hear the King’s vague jabbering as he sprints down the hall with his attendant.

Come on, there must be something to be done. You think, and think, and think. Then you strike on it. The Archives are largely abandoned - nothing but Ooma’s and the occasional librarian. But there is one bug you know you can count on. You’d cry out for him right now, but doing so would only alert the King. So you press an ear to the walls of your chamber, and listen for the sound of the metallic doors to the archive opening and closing.

And the second they close, you shout out for Quirrel.

Chapter 10: Pale Love

Summary:

The Pure Vessel's visit to the Beast's Den is interrupted.

The Pure Vessel stumbled into Deepnest, delirious with confusion and grief. They’d set out looking for answers, but had only found pain. They were unmoored from everything they thought they knew, unable to retreat into the arms of either their Mother or their Father. And so, they had made their way here, to the Deepnest, to the place where Herrah and Hornet laid in wait.

They thought about why they’d come here. Yes, Herrah and Hornet shared a relationship the same way they shared one with their Father. But where did that get them? How could the two of them possibly have the answers to the questions that were tearing them apart?

This was a waste of time. They should just forget that this all happened, and go back to the Pale King. He was loving, caring, and physically beautiful. Why had they left him in the first place? Because of the words of some flirty Butler and his Watcher? They had just filled their head with nonsense. Nothing was wrong with their relationship with Father. Nothing at all...

The tunnels closed in tight around the Pure Vessel. They were far too cramped for a being of their size. The Vessel had to crawl on their knees to fit through most of these passages. How did one as large as Herrah fit through these tunnels? The only reason they hadn’t turned around yet was because of how physically strenuous the journey through the dark had been.

Going through all of it in reverse, especially when they were so close to the Distant Village, didn’t appeal to the Pure Vessel. They could just catch a Stag Station back to the Palace once they got there. They should’ve done that in the first place, but their encounter with the White Lady had left them so rattled that they hadn’t been thinking straight.

Finally, in the distance, the Pure Vessel saw a light. They fumbled towards it, hands grasping into the loose rocks of the tunnel. They flung themselves out of the opening, and clattered to the ground below. Their fall made quite a racket, and many of the Village’s occupants poked their heads out of their dwellings so see what the commotion was. There was a total silence as everyone realized that the visitor to their Village was the Pure Vessel.

Some shuffled uneasily in their doors, others slammed their holes shut out of disgust. Others just stared on, strangely caught by the sight of one who would so openly and flagrantly violate the laws of nature itself. It was the same look they had been giving Hornet and Herrah for some time now.

Gradually, the Pure Vessel got back on their feet. They looked around, and then up into the staring eyes of the Villagers. Why were they starting, they thought. All they had done was express love for the Pale King. That’s all. Let them stare, they would return to his love soon enough.
Yet, even as they thought this, they still looked upwards towards the building at the center of the Village. They were so close to what they’d come here for, they may as well stop in, the Pure Vessel thought. In fact, the Vessel thought, I bet that this encounter will strengthen my love for Father! If their relationship is healthy, then so must be mine.

They climbed shakily from platform to platform. As they passed, the Villagers receded into their homes, sensing something uneasy in the air. It was one of those moments, the kind where everyone knew deep in their souls that something terrible was about to happen.

The Pure Vessel had just mounted the platform that held Herrah’s resting place when they heard the moans. They were coming from deep inside the building, echoing out through its many halls and corridors. They were the same kind of sounds that had escaped the King’s mouth, when they’d been fucking him senseless. They were being pulled forward now not only by curiosity, but also by lust. The Vessel didn’t even knock as they stepped inside.

Moans echoed off the walls, filling their head with a depraved lust. For a moment, they wondered if Herrah and Hornet could be the mates the White Lady had spoken of? The bugs who could replace the Pale King in their life? But they tossed that thought away, thinking once more of their commitment to Father. The King didn’t have to be replaced, because nothing was wrong with their relationship. It was the world that had taken a pure thing, and had named it dirty. Herrah and Hornet were about to show them that, they thought.

Finally, they stumbled their way towards a high door. It was decorated with ancient, majestic designs, clearly marking it as the room of royalty. The Vessel, without even thinking, stumbled inside.

As in, they literally stumbled inside. Their step caught on an uneven bit of the floor, and they clattered to the ground with all the elegance and grace of a stag beetle falling down a flight of stairs. As they landed, they heard a set of shocked shrieks, followed by the angry shouts of an older voice. “Who are you, and why have you disturbed us in our intimate hour?”

A second voice joined in, this one caked with confusion. “Mother, look! Is that the Pure Vessel?”

The first voice spoke again after a brief silence. “Indeed it is! You there, to your feet, now! I demand an explanation for why you’ve intruded on our private dwelling without proper warning.”

The Vessel shook with fear and some strange new emotion. They didn’t have a word for it, but it felt as if they’d been caught doing something that they shouldn’t be doing. Herrah and Hornet would have called this emotion “embarrassment.” Regardless, they did manage to get back upright, and they gestured towards the pair on the bed. Herrah barked again, “Well, out with it!”

Hornet reached a hand up to her Mother, as if to sooth her. “Oh, Herrah. Do you forget? They cannot speak.”

Now it was Herrah’s turn to be embarrassed. She flushed, and then stammered out an apology under her breath. “But nonetheless!” she began, “You should apologize for interrupting us, and then tell us why you’re here as best as you can.”

The first part was easy. They just bowed as gracefully as they could, looking up at the two of them with what they hoped was an apologetic enough cock of the head. If the relaxing tension in the air was anything to go by, it seemed to have worked. But the second part… How to explain something that seemed beyond words, without words?

After a moment of thinking, they rolled back to the easiest solution. They made a writing motion, and then cocked their head inquisitively. Hornet realized what they meant, and nodded back, saying, “Yes, we have pen and paper. I’ll fetch some for you now.”

As Hornet dismounted from the bed, the Pure Vessel caught a clear look at her. Her slim body was naked, but not yet slick with cum. It seemed that they had walked in before things had escalated to full fucking. Still, Herrah stared them down uneasily. Why had they come, and what did they want with her and her daughter?

Shockingly though, Hornet gestured to the Pure Vessel to follow. “Come, I’ll show you where the parchment is, in case you need to grab more.” Uneasily, they made to follow her, only for Herrah to speak up.

“No, they’ll remain right here. I don’t trust them alone in my dwelling.”

Hornet bit back. “Mother, don’t be absurd. If they meant any ill, they would have stuck while we were wrapped together. If they try anything, I will end them.”

“But Hornet-!”

“No more, Mother. If you don’t let them follow me, I won’t bed you tonight.”

Herrah was silent, stirring in her own lust and silence. She was being made subservient to Hornet once more. “Hmm, fine. Just be quick,” she grumbled.

Hornet grinned. “That’s better. Come along now, Vessel.”

The little Spider led the Pure Vessel out of the room, and down a short, thickly webbed hallway. Suddenly, she turned towards a wall, and seemed to reach into it. She pulled a hidden door outwards, and stepped inside. The Vessel just followed, lust once more rising in their cock.

Inside the door was a place that was less a closet, and more a storage room. It’s high ceiling allowed the Pure Vessel to stand fully erect with no issue. It’s walls were spacious enough to hold once such as Herrah. They realized that this must be Herrah’s storage closet. Hornet gestured to them to close the door, and they did.

As soon as the door was closed, Hornet thrust the parchment at them. “Now Vessel,” she said, “Tell me why you truly came here.” She ran a hand up the Vessel’s slim chest. “I want to know everything.”

The Pure Vessel was shocked by her forwardness, but wrote out the truth as best they could. They’d been in a relationship with the Pale King for quite some time now. They thought things were well, but then a series of encounters had opened their eyes. They were afraid that the Pale King was exploiting them, and that their love for one another was dangerous. They’d come here looking for answers. If Hornet and Herrah’s relationship was alright, their relationship with the King must be, too.

Hornet read the letter, eyes taking in the words carefully. She giggled as she finished it. She put the letter down, and looked up at the Pure Vessel. “Truthfully, I think you’re just overthinking things.”

The Pure Vessel was shocked. Hornet caught this shock, and responded to it. “Yes, that is what I believe. So, you were in this relationship, and things were going well between you and the King. And then everyone else told you that your love was Impure. It sounds like the issue lies with the people who told you your love was Impure, not yourself. Look at me, Vessel. I sleep with my Mother every night, and I am doing just fine.” Hornet smiled smugly, satisfied with her answer.

They nodded aggressively in response. So it was true! Their relationship with Father was pure! It was the world that had named it dirty! Without thinking, they hugged Hornet in a tight embrace. Hornet let out a shocked giggle as the Vessel hugged her. They were so tall, and so firmly built, that she could rest her whole body on them like a bed. Hornet thought of their slim, lithe midsection, and their long, slender legs. A moan escaped her as the Vessel pulled her close.

The Vessel, in response, felt their cock emerge from its slit. They looked down at Hornet, questioningly. Hornet was torn for a minute. She wanted their cock, desperately. Yet, her Mother was just in the other room, waiting for her return. Hornet shook her head, and thought, Herrah would never know of her betrayal, and neither would the King know of the Vessel’s. And what they didn’t know, couldn’t hurt them. If her love for Herrah was fine, then her lustful feelings for the Vessel must be fine, too.

The Vessel laid down flat on the floor, and Hornet straddled them. “So, you wish to make love to me?” Hornet asked. They nodded back, raising a hand to brush her face. Hornet grinned. “Alright, but this never leaves this room, understand?” The Pure Vessel was slightly confused by this. Why would it never need to leave this room? Why not share this love with Herrah and the Pale King? But they just wanted Hornet to ride them, so they nodded in response.

Hornet laid herself across the Vessel’s large form. She hugged them, and then moved herself down to their cock. Within moments, her cunt was positioned at the tip of the Pure Vessel’s cock. She grinned down at them, and simply thought: Why not do this? What was the worst that could happen?

It was at that moment that they heard the stomping in the outer hall. Dozens of marching footbeats proceeded through the halls, and a familiar voice rang out, “Where have you put my Vessel, Herrah the Beast?”

It was the voice of the Pale King.

Hornet and the Pure Vessel split apart immediately, and went towards the door. Hornet opened it a tiny crack, and peeked out. She opened it just in time to see the Pale King marching by, a dozen or so soldiers flanking him. She was utterly baffled. She looked to the Pure Vessel, as if expecting an explanation, only to receive a shrug in response. What was the King doing here? Did he seriously march all the way down to Deepnest with a dozen soldiers in tow over the Vessel?

After they passed, Hornet gestured the Vessel close. “You must stay here.” She said. “I’m going to go see what this is all about.” The Pure Vessel was confused. Why did they have to hide from Father? The one they loved and cared for above all else? They didn’t sense the feeling in the air that Hornet did. The sense of anger, resentment, and bloodlust that leaked from the King’s words.

But they deferred to Hornet, for now, and stayed put. Hornet clothed herself using a spare robe left in the closet, and went out. She trailed the King and his soldiers at a distance, not wanting to catch their attention. The group soon filtered into Herrah’s bedchamber, and a conversation began. It was just out of Hornet’s earshot, but as she crept closer, she could start making it out.

“-and I don’t know where the Pure Vessel is! Why would they be here?”
“I’ve heard multiple reliable reports that they headed this way. We scoured the tunnels of the Deepnest on our way here. It is impossible that we missed them. So tell me, Queen Herrah, where is my Vessel?”

Hornet crept closer. She heard better now the anger in the voice of her Mother. Herrah was very protective of her den. The Pure Vessel was lucky that she was there to cool her Mother down when they had come stumbling in. But the King of Hallownest storming in like he owned the place? It’s a miracle she hadn’t ripped the King’s head from his shoulders. The King spoke cooly and elegantly, but with a clear air of malice. He had come to reclaim his Vessel. And he wasn’t leaving until he had them.

Herrah waved a hand, fangs bared, “I don’t care what you did. All I know is that your Vessel is not here. Leave at once, or I will devour you all.”

The King raised a hand, clearly put on edge by Herrah’s threats. “Now, now. No need to say such things. We came here to resolve this peacefully.”

“Then why,” Herrah said, claws at the ready, “did you come here with such an army?”

The Pale King shivered. He was losing control of things fast. “I needed them to escort me through Hallownest. Surely you understand a King must have his escort?”

Herrah was unconvinced. Hornet wanted to stick around and hear more, but she needed to get the Pure Vessel out of here. If she got them out of here, they could end this situation without bloodshed.

She silently crept back to the closet, and gestured the Pure Vessel out with a wave of her hand. They should have escaped. Things should not have escalated from there. But things are never that simple and clean.

One of the rear guards, hearing some vague sound in the distance behind him, turned around and saw Hornet escaping with the Pure Vessel. Within moments, the guards had jumped the duo, surrounding them. The King called out for the two of them to be dragged to the throne room.

“Well well,” he said indulgently as the duo was dragged to him, “I thought that the Pure Vessel wasn’t to be found here?”

Herrah murmured something about not knowing that they’d been hiding in her Den. But the Vessel wasn’t where her attention was focused. She was focused on the safety of her daughter. “Regardless, release my daughter. She had no part in this.”
The Pale King shook his head. “No, no. I cannot do that. I am going to arrest her, along with all of the others who have tried to steal my Vessel from me-”

The King was silenced by the wave of bloodlust that covered the entire room. He looked up into Herrah’s eyes. And in them, he saw death.

“Release her.” Herrah’s voice was an icicle through the heart. Her words contained no emotion, save for the kind of tranquil rage one only experiences a few times in their lives. She raised up on her legs, and prepared to pounce.

But the King refused to budge. No one would come between him and the Vessel anymore. Her threats meant nothing, as long as he walked from here with his Vessel. The King turned to leave, and gestured for his guards to follow him.

He only had a second to dodge out of the way of the first blow. Herrah’s claw just narrowly missed his neck, slicing open his right cheek instead. The King rolled to his feet, and shot out a blade at Herrah. He had the ability to create spears and shoot them from the air or ground as the Vessel did. All of his blades had the King’s brand stamped into the side of them, a quirk that came with much training. The blade stuck Herrah in the side, but the Beast ignored it, and slammed her body into the Pale King. The air was knocked from his body as Herrah crashed into him, and it felt like he was going to be squished flat.

The King’s guards surrounding Herrah, but the Beast just whirred around, slashing out at them with her claws. The flurry of blows sent the soldiers scattering, before they were torn to bits. But the distraction gave the King the moment he needed to wiggle away, and fire off another blade.

As the two fought, Hornet called out for her Mother to slaughter the King. Her Mother’s strength was legendary, there was no way such a puny Wyrm would be the end of her. But the Pure Vessel just starred on. What was Father doing? Why had he instigated combat with Herrah? They didn’t want the King to kill Herrah, but they definitely didn’t want Herrah to kill the King either. They starred on, overwhelmed with despair and confusion.

Herrah took the blade, though she stumbled as it pierced her flesh. She roared towards the King. He rolled away, narrowly avoiding the slashing of Herrah’s claws. He turned to face her, but got caught in his own tangled robe and stumbled to the ground. The moment he went down, Herrah pounced, and fell towards the Wyrm. Her claws and fangs were bared, prepared to land the killing blow. He looked up at his coming end, and reached a desperate claw into the ground below him. Death came swiftly.

Herrah never saw the spear as it cleaved her heart in two. She was so overtaken by rage that it took a moment for her to register that her descent had been stopped, and another moment after that for her to realize that she was in pain. A dull thud of agony dropped from her mouth, followed by gagging. Her eyes dashed around, trying to find Hornet’s. Her hearing was now muted, as if all things were heard through a wall. But she saw her daughter’s mouth open, and heard the muffled scream.

The Beast tried to call out to her, but the words refused to leave her mouth, which was filled with blood. The physical pain was excruciating, but it’s nothing compared to the knowledge that she would be leaving Hornet alone. A chill settled over her, and all at once, the physical pain vanished. A blackness swallowed up her vision, leaving her alone.

She felt her life leaving her body. Her mind wandered dimly, settling on the topic of what would become of Hornet. She would be all alone in the world now, Herrah was the only close family she had. She didn’t have other friends, other allies. Herrah was all that she had.

And, Herrah realized, that was her fault. What a fool she’d been, to place her own lust above Hornet’s needs. Could Hornet even connect with others now? She did not know.

Herrah realized that if she could go back and undo all of it, she would. But the time for regrets was over. Death consumes all, and allows no grand exits. Herrah was still mulling over Hornet’s fate when the darkness swallowed her up, consuming her.

As Herrah the Beast slumped over, the King looked up gravely. He wiped her blood from his robes, and turned back to his ragged troops. He’d killed countless times over his long lifetime, he’d grown used to it. It stung, but to him, this was just how things had to be. “Such a shame. It didn’t have to end this way-”

“You killed her.” A tiny voice popped up from the center of the crowd.

The King turned to look, catching the eyes of the speaker. “What did you say?”

“You killed my Mother.” The voice was devoid of all emotion. She said it as if she was not aware of her own saying it. Her eyes were vacant, in them was reflected nonexistence.

“It had to be done, little one. In time, you will understand what we must do to love.” He nodded to his guards. “Take her away.”

A guard cradled Hornet’s limp body as they lifted her from the ground. The King then turned to the Pure Vessel, who was in a similar state of despondency. What had Father just done? Was this truly the Pale King? The one they loved, and thought they understood, above all? They reached a hand out to him, and gripped his white robe lightly. It felt the same as it always did, but they knew that they would never look at it the same way again.

What should they do? They didn’t know what to think, but they felt that they needed to get out of here. Now. Their eyes dashed left and right, but saw no exit. The King gently stroked their face, whispering, “Now, now. Everything will be alright now, love.” Turning to his guards, he began, “I will escort this one away myself-”

Suddenly, a blur cut across the room, and nearly sliced the Pale King in two. The King scared down at the gaping wound for a moment, eyes not comprehending, and then started screaming. He turned to look, and saw standing there a tall, chubby pillbug. Quirrel, Monomon’s assistant. Quirrel looked towards the King, shocked he managed to get that hit off. The King was supposedly a master combatant, but he’d been so focused on the Pure Vessel that he hadn’t seen him approach.

Quirrel had seen Herrah’s corpse, still suspended from the spike with the King’s brand on it, and instantly knew what had happened. Monomon had warned him that the King seemed dangerous, but he never could have imagined him capable of doing this….

The King grasped at his wound as one of his soldiers instantly descended on him, First Aid at the ready. The Pale King shoved his soldier away, and fired a barrage of spikes at Quirrel.

The Pure Vessel covered their eyes. They didn’t want to see it anymore. They just wanted to be away from this place, away from these bugs. They heard the sound of battle, but didn’t let themselves see anything. They were still surrounded thickly by guards. Their mission had been to capture the Pure Vessel, and they would not budge from it now that they had them. Suddenly, however, the Vessel heard the guards being tossed from their sides. They then felt a slimy appendage wrap around them, and toss them into the hallway outside the chamber.

Moving the hands from their eyes, the Vessel saw Monomon’s urgent gaze upon them. It was hard to tell in the dimness of the den, but she looked as if she were drying out. She chucked Hornet at them, and shouted, “Go, NOW!”

As if moving on instinct, the Pure Vessel held the catatonic Hornet tight, and fled for dear life. The King saw them fleeing, and screamed for the guards to catch them. But it was hopeless. Monomon blocked the exit, restraining as many guards as she could with her tentacles. It wouldn’t hold forever, but it would give enough time for the two of them to get away. Quirrel was still locked in combat with the King, but it was clear he was outmatched. Without the element of surprise, the King was the superior fighter.

One false move from Quirrel allowed the Pale King to body slam him to the ground. The King positioned a spear above his neck, and said, “You’re going to come with us, now. No more games.”

The guards had now squirmed from Monomon’s grasp, and had easily restrained her in multiple sets of chains. The rush of battle gone, the King was left with the pain in his side from the deep wound. The second Quirrel was restrained, he settled back on the ground. The guard with the First Aid sat next to him, and quickly started stitching up the wound. Quirrel had got him good, it would take days for the wound to fully heal, and that was with the Wyrm’s accelerated healing.

Once the two were restrained, the King gave orders in a shaky voice. “Take these two away. You know where to put them. And then keep them there until the Day of Reckoning comes.” The King paused, savoring the words. Monomon and Quirrel wanted to ask what the Day of Reckoning was, but the gags that had been stuffed in their mouths prevented speech.

“In fact,” the King said, voice thick with anger, “Round all of them up. All of these traitors who would seek to keep the Vessel from me. The White Lady, Dryya, Lurien and his damn Butler. All of them. Gather them all up, and toss them away. We can re-capture my Vessel and that harlot once their allies have been dealt with. Oh, and make sure not to give Monomon any of her precious water.”

Monomon choked back fear. This was what she had been worried about. What had gotten into the King? Why was he so obsessed with this Vessel, that he would go this far? But all she could do now was hope that the others managed to avoid being taken prisoner. The King could not be allowed to fulfill his plans.

Meanwhile, the Pure Vessel and Hornet rode in silence. The stag carried them wordlessly towards Dirtmouth, the tiny hamlet that acted as a sort of welcome desk to Hallownest. The King wouldn’t think to look for them there, the Vessel hoped. Hornet just sat in a wordless heap on the front seat of the Stag.

But why did they have to hide from Father? What had gotten into him?

Or, had he been this way all along?

The Vessel cried, tears of void streaking down their mask.

Chapter 11: It's Alright

Summary:

The Radiance comes to a crossroads.

The Radiance had been in the place of greatest security when the feeling of disappearance engulfed her. She lurched upright, out from beneath the covers she was snuggled beneath with the White Lady, one wing clasped against her chest, as if bracing it. She didn’t know who, and she didn’t know why, but a great presence had just been expunged. A spirit of immense fortitude and strength, erased from this world. Something terrible had happened.

As a God, a Higher Being, the Radiance was able to sense the presence of other great creatures, even from miles off. For so long, there had only been a few strong enough for her to sense in Hallownest. The King, the Lady, the Pure Vessel, Herrah, Hornet, Lurien and Monomon. If one of them had disappeared suddenly, it didn’t necessarily mean they were dead. But it absolutely meant nothing good. And with how the situation with the King had been deteriorating lately… Something about it struck all the alarm bells in her head.

She scoured with the eyes of her Infected servants as the White Lady roused from her sleep. She couldn’t see anything dramatic through their eyes. Just the same old tunnels filled with old weeds and older rocks. Still, she couldn’t shake the awful feeling. Something terrible had happened, she just knew it-

The White Lady pulled her out of her searching, placing a gentle hand on her left wing. She’d felt the disappearance too, and it concerned her. But she had to calm the Radiance down, before she did something drastic. “Come back to sleep, Radi, dear. I’m certain that it’s nothing to worry about, one of them likely just had to conceal themselves due to all this recent drama, I’m sure.”

Radiance reached a wing up, rested it on top of the Lady’s hand. “I’m aware I’m likely overthinking things. But, after all that’s happened, can one blame me for being cautious?”

The Lady brought her hand down from the Radiance’s shoulder, to her fluffy chest. She reached her other arm around the moth’s opposite side, and gripped her in a hug. Her fluff was so soft, it felt like hugging a silk cushion. Once more, the Root began, “I’m sure that it’s none of our concern. Come now, come back to bed with me.”

Shivers ran through the Radiance’s body as the Lady embraced her. She was so doughy, for being a Root. Maybe some physical time together would get her mind off things, at least for a bit. Radiance gently broke from the Lady’s grip and laid back down on the bed, face-up. Root, grinning, brought her face to Radiance’s and gave her a kiss. “Don’t worry, I’ll make you feel just fine,” she said.

The Lady left a trail of kisses on Radiance’s body as she took her face down the moth’s fluffy bulk. Already, her partner was spreading her legs, eager for the Lady to make love for her, ease the anxieties in her chest. By the time her Root managed to make it down there, they were fully open. Seeing this, the White Lady giggled, teasing Radi’s clit with her tongue. A soft moan escaped the Ancient Light, and she reached her wings down to gently stroke the Lady’s head.

A moan escaped Radi’s mouth as the Lady brought her tongue a bit lower, teasing her lips. Then, she dug her tongue inside. Radiance’s legs shook along with her wings as pleasure and lust overtook her. She couldn’t help but let out a cry of, “More, ah, more!” All of the anxieties in her head just melted away under the wonderful worming of the Lady’s tongue.

For her part, the White Lady rested her hands on the Radiance’s hips, holding her gently as she dug her tongue in further. She could’ve reached a hand down to play with her own pussy, but she wanted to focus for now on making her partner feel good. She wanted to get Radi’s mind off of that disappearance, off the things that were bothering her.

And it was working. As the Lady lapped at the Radiance’s walls, and teased her adorable clit, Radi was forgetting everything but the pleasure. The Lady was so good at this, she was definitely the fertility Goddess that she was hyped up to be.

Soft moans escaped the Ancient Light’s mouth as she gently kicked her legs, luxuriating in the love that the Lady was giving her. Whenever she was with the Lady, all of her anger, her anxieties, all of it just seemed to wash away. Radi felt comfortable around her, something that she couldn’t say about anyone else. She moaned and moaned for more as the Lady ate her, tongue reaching ever deeper into her pussy.

The White Lady stroked Radi’s sides, enjoying how plush and soft they felt. She could lay here like this for hours, loving the Radiance, giving her the emotional and mental support that she needed. After the King had deserted her, the Lady had felt more alone than she ever had been in her centuries of living. She hardly saw a reason to wake up each day, until the Radiance came into her life. Strange, how her greatest enemy had become her greatest friend. Radi had stopped her from stumbling down some dark roads, and now it was her turn to provide comfort to the Ancient Light.

Soon, the Radiance felt that she was going to cum. She moaned out louder than before, gripping the roots on the Lady’s heads with her wings. Radiance bucked her hips upward, gasping between eager breaths. Finally, with one explosive buck, she came, shooting waves of cum into the awaiting mouth of the White Lady. Any worries were far from her mind now, she was in the embrace of one she loved

Her Root drank down gallon after gallon of moth cum, adoring the sounds of love coming from her mouth. After everything the two of them had been through, maybe what they really needed was comfort and love from someone they loved.
It was a long time before the Radiance finally stopped cumming. Her slick coated the Lady’s mouth, and the bedsheets below them. It felt like a pressure had been released from her chest, and she just sat there, panting. The White Lady wiped her lips clean, asking, “Did you enjoy that, dear?” The Radiance could only nod back in return.

Outside, Dryya had just finished herself. She imagined that the Lady had been fucking her, eating her out. And, as soon as the lust had faded, and she was left with the reality of the situation, sadness once more settled on her spirit. The White Lady still refused to cast even a glance her way, she was so stuck up in her own illusions. Why, she chastised herself, was she still focused on that Root anyway? After learning what she did with the Pure Vessel, Dryya should have forsaken her duty, and walked away.

But she couldn’t. She’d tried. She’d drafted a letter saying that she was leaving Hallownest, to never return. But when push came to shove, when it came time to lay down her nail and walk away, Dryya couldn’t. She couldn’t let go of her attachment to the White Lady. So, here she stood, shaking and spent, listening to the Lady enjoying her own illusions over her trusted protector.

Dryya left briefly, to wash herself off. She returned just in time to hear footsteps approaching. She looked into the temple adjacent to where the Lady rested. She quickly smacked the mechanism that locked the gate, feeling in her gut that whatever was coming was certainly nothing good.

Sure enough, out of the passage emerged the Pale King with several of his most trusted guards. A chill ran through her as she noticed the intensity on the King’s face, a chill that only intensified when she noticed a few specks of what appeared to be unwashed blood on the base of his robe. What had the King done?

He approached alone, signaling to his guards to await his call. The King approached the gate, and rapped a knuckle on it. “Dryya, please open this gate. I have official business I need to attend to with the Lady.”

“State your business first,” the Protector replied. “I’m not under any obligation to let anyone in.”

“It’s just a simple thing, really. There’s been a scuffle in the Deepnest. Tragically, blood was spilled. I need to inform the Queen on what happened right away, for the sake of the Kingdom.”

“A scuffle? Who caused it? And who died in the aftermath?”

“It’s of no concern to you,” the King said, waving a hand. “Just open the door, I absolutely must see the White Lady.”

Dryya didn’t move a step. Instead, she leaned away from the door, and cried out with all her might, “My lady! The Pale King is here to see you!” All of the Protector’s suspicions were confirmed the moment she saw the look on the King’s face. He’d come here with no good intentions, no good will. He wanted to ambush the Queen, but why?

The King shot back in an angry whisper, “Keep your filthy mouth down! There’s no reason to shout!”

But even as the words left his mouth, he knew they were pointless. The vague chattering coming from the structure that housed the Queen had ceased. She’d heard all right, and now it was up to her to decide what to do next.

Both the White Lady and Radiance were still and silent as the call reached their ears. So, something terrible had happened after all. There was no reason for the King to come see her, the woman he’d cheated on with their own spawn. The Lady, whispering, said, “I’ll go take a peek as to what’s going on out there. If we see any trouble, we’ll come right back down here, alright?

“So be it,” was the Radiance’s reply.

Slowly, she climbed the path back out of her hut. All voices were silent, all eyes trained on the entrance to the house, to see what the Lady would do. Gradually, the Lady came to the precipice before the door, and looked out. For a few moments, all was silent, except for the deep breathing of the Radiance in her head, as if she was concentrating on something.

“Come out, my Queen,” said the King, cordially.

Reluctantly, she did so. She stepped out into her garden, into the outside world for what felt like the first time in endless ages. And there he was, the man who’d come close to destroying her. The man who’d shattered her heart, and then thrown her away like so much trash. Her large frame shook slightly as she saw him, asking, “What do you want?”

“Tell your servant here to open the door, I have matters to discuss with you,” said the King.

Dryya looked up at the Lady expectantly. She was leaving this choice to her. She looked down at her Wyrm, mustered up her strength, and replied, simply, “No.”

“No? No what?”

“No. This gate will not open for you. I never want to see you, ever again. Seeing you makes me physically ill. Leave, and never return.”

“Surely we can talk through this? There’s no reason to be unreasonable.”

The Lady was silent. She felt a pressure in her head from the Radiance. She was doing something, but the Lady didn’t know what.

“Fine, be that way. I’ll just tear this gate down to get to you.” The King formed a spike, and prepared to chuck it at the door. “Stand clear, everyone. I would hate for-”

His declaration was to remain unfinished. Before he was able to say another word, the top part of the Radiance exploded out of a portal the side of the Lady’s head, and screamed, “IF YOU LAY A SINGLE FINGER ON MY BELOVED, YOUR TORTURE WILL ECHO FOR ETERNITY IN THE SINGING FLAMES OF MY DAMNNATION!”

Everyone stumbled backwards. The sudden appearance of the Ancient Light, the one responsible for the Infection in the first place, was the last thing anyone except the Lady would’ve thought of seeing that day. Dryya collapsed on her back, looking up at the wondrous light of the Radiance. She’d only heard of the Radiance through stories told by the rare survivors of the Infection. They told of a great, blinding moth, bright as the mythical sun that supposedly blazed upon the surface, high above.

As Dryya looked upon her, she understood everything. The Lady wasn’t mad, wasn’t trapped in illusion. She’d been hiding this, her secret love, all this time. The revelation of it all stunned her silent, and she knew not what to say.

The King hid his shock well. He knew he needed to keep on a tough face, to make sure his guards didn’t go running off. He began, grinning, “So, this is what you’ve had to turn to without me, my Lady? The Ancient Light that’s Infected so many of our citizens, taken so many to the grave? You’d side with her over your own Kingdom?”

The White Lady was still trying to collect herself. Radiance had exploded out of her head so suddenly, that it’d left her reeling. Radi had mentioned she’d been trying to manifest herself in the physical plain, using the Lady’s mind as a gateway. But to achieve it so soon…?

Radiance fully extracted herself from the Lady’s head, roaring out into Hallownest proper. In the absence of a response from the Lady, she took it upon herself to berate this gnat. “I DID WHAT I DID BECAUSE YOU STOLE MY FOLLOWERS AND SEALED ME AWAY! YOU THINK YOU CAN MORALIZE ME, YOU INCESTUOUS FAILURE?”

The Lady reached an arm up, tried to comfort the Radiance. “Come now, dear. He’s not worth it. Let’s go back inside, as you said we would.”

But the King wouldn’t let that happen. He grinned wider, seeing this was getting under the Radiance’s skin. If he could throw her off, he could dispose of her, here and now. “Oh, and that justifies your slaughter of so many innocents? And if you want to call me incestuous, wait until you hear what the White Lady did at my side with the Pure Vessel!”

No words escaped Radi’s mouth in response. Just an angry, primordial scream. Instinctively, she reached her grip into the minds of the King and his guards. Normally, she wouldn’t be able to Infect those trained to resist her pulling. But they were so close to her, and their minds were so exposed due to her sudden appearance. It’d be so easy, so simple…

The King stood stalwart. His status as a Higher Being made him harder to Infect than a regular bug. He was certain that he’d be able to resist anything she threw his way. And his guards? As he saw it, if they were weak enough to fall to all this, they didn’t deserve to be members of his protection anyway.

White Lady looked on, not sure what was happening at first. When she saw the first signs of Infection arise in the King’s guards, she cried out to the Radiance, “Radi, stop! There’s no reason to infect them, it’s the King you’re angry with!” But she didn’t hear, the Radiance just wanted them to pay. For them all to pay.

Those targeted by the Radiance soon turned to run, to try and get away from her before they were turned entirely. But the Ancient Light knew this was fruitless, once she got her hook in a target, they only got away if she let them go. And she wasn’t going to let these craven cowards go.

Dryya looked on, terrified. This was the creature the Lady had chosen over her? This beast, that would so casually Infect these guards? Was this truly how things were?

Only the King stood, tall and proud, knowing that he wouldn’t be impacted by anything she did. It was a winning situation for him. He’d seen how the Lady had reacted to the Radiance Infecting his guards, and knew what is signified. So, the Lady had been trying to stop the Ancient Light from Infecting bugs by talking her out of it? How foolish. He’d gladly let a few guards die to prove a point, to shatter this foolish relationship once and for all.

Radiance felt herself giving back in to all of her dark, sadistic impulses. She reached deeper into the guards’ minds, digging deeper, taking more and more control. She’d make them pay, make them suffer. They’d regret ever stepping foot in this garden, of ever trying to harm her or her love. She’d take everything away from them, turn them into mindless ghouls, and then throw their bodies to the Garpedes. They’ll all suffer, and die, she would never ever let them go-

Her train of thought was interrupted by the feeling of someone hugging her, tightly. The Radiance looked down, and saw the face of the White Lady. The Lady looked up into her eyes, a loving pleading deep within them. “Please, Radiance,” she said. “You don’t have to do this. You’ve already Infected so many others, and it’s never made you happy. All that anger, all that rage, it’s never made you any happier. So, please…”

The Ancient Light looked down at her, angry, stressed tears rising in her own eyes. “Please, let them go. It’s the King you’re upset at, not them.”

Radiance sat still, mental tendrils still locked around the minds of those she was Infecting. She bit her tongue, and glowered at the King. It felt like her world was being suffocated on all sides, rage filling her every emotion. And then, at once, she turned upwards, and let out a scream loud enough to shake the Heavens. It echoed through all Hallownest, deafening and terrible. A scream of centuries of frustration, of impotent anger without end.

Only after it ended did the sadness flow in. Her body doubled over on the White Lady’s, and she sobbed.

Suddenly, all of the guards who’d been so close to being Infected felt the tendrils leaving their mind, felt their bodies coming back to themselves. They didn’t understand why, and it certainly didn’t make them turn back towards the Gardens. But, one and all, they were grateful for being alive.

The Pale King looked on at the display, displeased. No one ever acted how he thought they’d act. First that Butler, and now this… Under different circumstances, he’d blow this gate down, and drag those three out, back to the Palace, to await punishment. But that wouldn’t be happening today. They were three, he was one. With his guards, he might’ve stood a chance in a fight. But alone? He wouldn’t be able to take them. So, while the Lady and Radiance were swept up in their emotions, he decided to slip away, back towards the Greenpath.

Dryya saw him getting away, but didn’t know how to phrase it. She knew that she couldn’t chase down one as powerful as him all by herself. But at the same time, looking at the Lady and Radiance together, she felt like interrupting them would be just as great a mistake as going after the King. Those two were reaching something, now. Something they’d been working towards a great long time. The King could wait, if only for a few minutes. They needed this.

The Radiance cried and cried in the Lady’s arms. The anger had left her mind. For the first time in her entire life, she felt not even the slightest spark of anger, of a desire for revenge. She just wanted to be here, with the White Lady. Laying in her embrace, letting her make all the dark things of the world light.

And the White Lady sat there, hugging her, rubbing her back. Going, “It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright.”

Chapter 12: Vessels

The Pale King bit his lips and choked back a moan as he came inside the White Lady. His wife let out a small moan of pleasure as she was filled up, but it was nothing compared to the noises she used to make with him. Screams of delight, noisy enough to be heard from the Deepnest, used to leave her mouth with every thrust of his hips, but no longer. It hadn’t been that way with them for some time.

The sex wasn’t bad, per se, but all the fire of it was gone. What had used to be a carnal blaze had died down to smoldering embers. And unlike other relationships, where the source of that kind of downturn can be hard to locate, the King knew exactly what event had killed the sex in their relationship.

The Vessels.

Neither of them had wanted to go through with the Vessel plan. It was their absolute last resort, the last thing they’d tried after the Infection started cropping up, all those years ago. Breeding offspring, just to toss so many of them away? Only keeping a single one of them, for the purpose of locking them away forever with some sadistic God? The two tried to put on a brave face, and tell themselves it was for the good of the Kingdom, but it was all for nothing.

Night after night, month after month, year after year, the two had fucked every night. He’d pumped countless gallons of cum into her, rode her in every position, made love to her in every way. They made so many Vessels together, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

And he was responsible for tossing away every single one of them. Those who climbed out of the Abyss were greeted by him. Most of them rushed to hug him, or looked at him confusedly, or even tried to walk around him, only for him to grip them in his hands and chuck them back down the Abyss.

It was hard at first. He’d cried for hours the night after dealing with the first lot of Vessels to escape the Abyss. But after a long while, he began to grow numb to it. He started to see it as the business of running the Kingdom. Like doing paperwork, or having diplomatic meetings. The emotions of the act began to be smothered under the opium of routine.

That was how he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life sometimes. Endlessly throwing away his own children until the Infection came to claim him. He never honestly expected to find what he had been looking for. A Pure Vessel.

When they’d climbed out of the Abyss, they showed no signs of impurity. They’d even looked back at one of their own siblings, clinging to the walkway that hung over the dark pit below, and had turned their gaze from them. They had ignored the pleading gaze of one of their own siblings, and walked towards him instead with no function or purpose. For some time after that, the King was cautious around them. Could it really be true? Was this honestly the Pure Vessel he’d been looking for? Months, and then years of Pure behavior said to him that it was.

For the first time in many years, the King and Lady were happy. Their long nightmare was finally at an end. All they had to do now was raise the Pure Vessel, and then seal the Radiance inside of them, and all would be at peace. All he had to do was not taint them, not make them Impure. But love, like any other emotion, will find a way out, even if repressed.

He couldn’t deny himself - he loved the Pure Vessel. The King tried his hardest not to, as loving them defeated their entire purpose. But they were the only child of his to escape the Abyss and show no signs of Impurity. They were the only one he was allowed to actually raise. And while it was strange, trying to raise a bug that was supposed to be void of all emotion or thought, he tried his hardest nonetheless.

One day, he brought the Pure Vessel to the Overlook. The two of them had stood there, gazing out over the Palace grounds, taking in the beauty of the day. They, unprompted, turned to look upwards at him, and he looked back at them in turn. He often wondered if that was the moment that their purity shattered, and they became an Impure Vessel. Regardless, it was then that he first felt the strange thought that would come to consume him.

He began to think, in various words, “If I love this Vessel enough, would it make up for what I have done?”

It was a nonsensical thought, but something about it attracted him. He could… make things up to the siblings. All of the Vessels that he tossed away, he could pay them back for how badly he’d treated them. All he would have to do was love this Pure Vessel with all of his heart, treat them well enough that it paid back some of what he had done.

His affection towards the Pure Vessel grew in tandem with these thoughts. He tried his hardest to treat them as Pure, but he just couldn’t. He gave them plushies, decorated their room, hugged them when he was certain no one else was watching. He wanted to love them. He needed to love them. There was no other choice, no other option. His redemption - his worth as a bug - depended entirely on how well he treated the Pure Vessel, on how happy he made them.

Perhaps that’s why when they reached their prime form, he started to feel other things towards them. Gods, his Pure Vessel was so beautiful. They had the looks of both their Mother and Father. Their legs were so wonderfully long and lithe, and their midsection lean and strong. They had long, slender arms, and they moved so gracefully on the ground and in the air…

When he first made love to the Pure Vessel, he saw how happy the whole thing had made them. And that was when he was certain, this was the correct thing for him to do. He’d let the Vessel fuck him, turn him into their own personal cumdump. Utterly ruin and destroy him. It’s what he deserved, how he wanted to be treated after how terribly he’d treated their siblings. He’d find his redemption and happiness this way, and finally be whole again.

And that’s how it’d been, for months. He’d cut things off with that useless, impotent White Lady, and sided entirely with the Pure Vessel. He’d be their mate, marry them, settle down, and fuck endlessly. He’d make them so happy, make them feel so loved, that it’d more than pay back everything that he did to their siblings!

Things had been going so well. He was finally happy! Everything was finally well! The Pure Vessel loved him, and he loved them back. They had even proposed to him! His life was as close to perfect as it could get, and damn what everybody else thought. But no, the world couldn’t even let him have this. Things had to go wrong for him again, somehow.

All of those pathetic, meddling bugs. Lurien and his Butler, Hornet, Herrah, all of them, getting in his way. He’d finally found contentedness, only to have it taken away from him once again by dozens of stupid lesser bugs getting in the way of things that they did not understand. Why did they stand in his path? Why try to prevent his love of the Pure Vessel? Nothing was wrong with what the two of them were doing.

The King didn’t understand why everyone kept trying to get in the way of his redemption. Well, he knew on some level. He was committing a horrific act of incest, defying the very laws of nature itself. But why did that matter to them? It was none of their business. He’d finally found a way to pay back all the pain he’d given to the Vessels, a way to make up for his atrocities, and they were standing in the way of that.

He’d make things right again. Make the Pure Vessel so happy and delighted it’d more than make up for all the siblings he threw away, all the children that he sired just to throw into some black pit in his basement. When he was making love to the Pure Vessel, he was, for the first time in decades, truly happy. And they wanted to take all that away. He wouldn’t allow it.

All of them - The Lady, Radiance, Monomon, Quirrel, Lurien, Lumen - all of them had to go. They were delaying his redemption, his one true shot to make up for his horrific actions. They were getting in the way of not just his own happiness, but the happiness of the Pure Vessel. A being who had loved him more than anyone else, who had never questioned him, or their love for him.

They’d been happier than they’d ever had been with him! Then THEY had to go and pollute the Vessels mind with the idea that their relationship was unhealthy! Tell his precious beloved that their love was incorrect and impure, and that they should leave him! The thought of those fools filling his lover with those disgusting thoughts made his blood rage with fire. Telling them that the King wasn’t their perfect mate, and making him out to be some kind of monster for doing something they proposed in the first place!

Pale King clenched his fists as he walked through the City of Tears. He’d have no more of it. Enough games. Enough sneaking out in the middle of the night to see anyone else. The Vessel was happy when they were with him, wasn’t that enough?!? He felt complete when he was with them, something he couldn’t even remember feeling for so many years! No one was going to take that away from him. Not even if he had to kill for it.

By now he’d lost many of his guards. Some of them had to stay behind and look after Monomon and Quirrel, others yet bailed after their near-death experience with the Radiance. Others yet had a crisis of conscience and quit out of disgust for what they were doing. He was down now to around half a dozen guards, but that didn’t matter. He’d failed to capture Radiance and the Lady, but he wouldn’t fail this time. Lurien and his Butler were coming with him, whether they wanted to or not.

After that, he’d finally be able to turn his attention to tracking down and finding his Pure Vessel and that waif they ran off with. He’d make them look upon what happened if they tried to see anybody else, if they even thought of anybody else. They were his soulmate, the only one who made him feel complete. The King would make them see how much he cared for them.

Chapter 13: The Return

Summary:

Pure Vessel and Hornet arrive in Dirtmouth, where they meet an old moth with some words of wisdom to dispense.

It had been around an hour since the Stag had left Deepnest. In that time, the Pure Vessel had not moved an inch, their head still buried in their arms as they tried to process all that had happened. They’d been so absorbed in their grief and confusion that they hadn’t noticed Hornet stirring in the front seat of the Stag, cleaning off her robe and inspecting it for any weapons.

“I’ll kill him…” Hornet muttered, mostly to herself. “I will haunt him like a shadow, stalking his steps, until he leaves himself open. And then, I’ll strike, ripping those limbs from his scrawny body…”

Pure Vessel hadn’t even realized she was monologuing to herself until they were almost at Dirtmouth. They raised their tear-stained head, and eyed her curiously. Hornet looked back at them, not ceasing her quiet ravings.

She raised a knife from her cloak, and examined it in the dim light of the tunnel. “Don’t look at me so accusingly. I’ve never been one to grieve long. The dead have already passed, all we can do is honor them.” Hornet raised her body, shaking with endless emotions, to the top of her seat. “He stole my Mother from me. I will end his pathetic, useless life in turn.”

The Pure Vessel eyed her with great concern. She wasn’t going to kill Father, was she? They hadn’t spent much time with her, but they were siblings by his blood. Could she really have it in her, to kill their own progenitor? The darkness of the tunnel seemed to coalesce around her, as if taking her into itself. They reached a hand towards her back, seeking to get her attention.

However, just at that moment, the stag stopped, and Hornet hopped out. “Stay here, if you desire. As for myself, I will prepare to take my revenge.” Her voice shook at the last three words, before she was off in a flash, up and out of the station before they could have said a word.

—

It was a quiet day in Dirtmouth. For once, Seer was glad she was up here, and not down below the surface. She could sense something terrible was occurring down there, some great source of life and energy had been extinguished. She was an old woman, with little left except her den and regrets. She didn’t have the energy to get involved in such happenings, not anymore.

She held a makeshift bag at her side, manufactured out of grass and cloth. Seer had spent the last several weeks up here, only venturing down to her home once or twice. It wasn’t just this latest disruption of power that made her pause. She’d lived a great long many years. In that time, one picks up a strong sense of intuition. Ever since the King had started that affair with his Vessel, every part of her mind that had kept her alive all these years told her to book it. Whatever was coming from it, couldn’t be any good. So, she did. And here she was. Renting out a room in Dirtmouth until this feeling of portending doom faded.

Honestly, it was pretty nice up here. Down in her den, she was surrounded by the spirits of the dead. The entire world around her was a testament to her failure, her abandonment of the Radiance. She’d found a certain comfort in that despair. But it wasn’t until she had stepped out in the vast space of Dirtmouth, darkness stretching out into the sky forever, that she felt free. There were no signs of her failure here. No monuments to her betrayal. Instead, the sky stood open overhead, an empty mother, betraying nothing but its old cold darkness.

She gazed up into it, dropping the bag at her side. It contained various herbs and remedies she’d bartered from some aspiring merchant. Bartering was another one of those tricks she’d learned in her many years of life - one would be surprised at just how willing most were to drop their prices, when pressured.

Seer was caught up in her reverie, the sky an empty expanse where no guilt hid. She was so absorbed in it, that she even ignored her intuition, setting off alarm bells, telling her to hide away. She didn’t realize what was wrong until Hornet almost slammed into her, fists coiled up into balls of rage.

“Move out of the way!” Hornet barked, stomping along towards a weapon shop at the end of the lane. Seer saw her, and felt the intense hatred pouring off of the spider in waves. That, combined with her firm march towards the arms sale - well, it wasn’t hard to put two-and-two together. Seer felt that she should’ve stayed down, and let this icon of ill portent pass by.

Yet, as she watched Hornet traipse off, violence coiled in her movements, Seer felt that she had to say something. Seer knew what it was like - to make a decision in rash emotion, and live with the regret. She’d seen the brighter light of the King, and had abandoned her old friend and Queen, the Radiance, to worship him. That one simple move of abandonment had rippled so far, eventually sprawling off into the Infection ravaging the Kingdom. She couldn’t stop the past, but she could alter the future. So, Seer, against her better judgment, looked up, and spoke.

“And where are you off too, young spider?” Seer stood up straight as she could, gazing hard into Hornet’s eyes as she turned around.

“It is no concern of yours!” Hornet spat, already turning back towards the shop.

“Oh, but it is! Hatred such as yours never strikes only its target. It bleeds out, contaminating everything it touches. Before you walk into that store, think about what path you will head down, if you do whatever it is you are planning.” Seer was shocked by her own boldness. It’d been years since she’d given anyone a good scolding. Felt almost cathartic, after all those years alone.

Hornet scowled back, taking a step towards Seer. “You know nothing about why I choose this path! If you knew what I had been through, and who I intend to kill, you would spare me your sanctimonious bluster!”

Seer wanted to grin. This was good. Now this spider was focused on proving Seer’s view wrong, instead of carrying out her mission of revenge. “I have lived a long, storied life. I was young when the Radiance still ruled these lands! Tell me, spider. What have you seen that would drive you to such extremes.” Seer sat down at a nearby bench, patting the space next to her with a hand.

Stubbornly, Hornet refused to sit. Instead she marched back-and-forth in front of the bench, cursing, “Fine, alright! You wish to know my history? Well then, have it!”

With this, Hornet launched into a retelling of the events that had led her here. The King’s affair with his Vessel, her own relationship with Herrah. How she and Herrah had grown so close, so happy as a couple. About how the King had barged into her life, and taken the one thing she loved more than anything else, away from her.

Seer sat motionless the entire time. She should’ve been disgusted and horrified, yet as a scholar, she knew this kind of thing was all too common for Royal families. Something in the blood, perhaps, she mused.

“...And then, after he murdered my Mother, he sent us fleeing here!” Hornet said, stabbing the ground with her needle for emphasis. “Is that what you were looking for? Are you pleased now?”

“Yes, actually,” Seer said. “I’m grateful you opened up about all of this to me.” The words had been meant to be encouraging and kind, yet even as they left her mouth, Seer felt that they veered too far into sentimentality.

Hornet recoiled from the words as if catching the scent of a foul wind. “You’re grateful? Grateful to hear my Mother was killed?”

“No, no! Grateful that you talked to someone about it,” Seer said, waving her hands innocently. “Emotions, kept inside, will gradually tear one apart. What’s happened to you is unspeakable, there is no need to carry it alone.”

“Everything will be alright,” Hornet said, turning her back once more. “It’ll all turn out well, once I’ve snapped that pathetic King’s neck.”

Seer got up, and moved to block Hornet’s path forward. “No, it won’t! You will have only robbed yourself of both parents, and the guilt of it will hound you like a shadow.”

“The guilt can come later,” Hornet said, shoving Seer out of the way. “I don’t care about that, I only care about my vengeance.”

Seer was losing her. The only option left now was the honest truth. “Are you sure that what you had with Herrah was pure?”

That got Hornet’s attention. She stopped, but refused to look around. Her voice came out as a choked whisper. “Choose your next words very carefully.”

“I understand,” Seer said, “That sometimes, a connection we have with another feels sublime, even as it harms us. What your Father did was inexcusable, but you may very well end up martyring yourself for a relationship that was hollowing you out in ways that you never even realized.”

Hornet’s shoulders coiled with anger. “I am fine,” she said, turning to the table of some absent merchant sitting a few feet to her left.

“Don’t suggest Mother harmed me!” Hornet suddenly roared, grasping the table and flipping it. “I’ve turned out quite fine!” The table spilled over, sending various plants, rocks, and other knick knacks rolling over the ground. Hornet stomped her feet as she marched off.

Seer sighed, and went to clean up the table and mess on the floor. She murmured to herself as she cleaned the junk up off the floor. “Hopefully, she will see with time.”

As she cleaned, Seer heard a rather large shuffling coming from behind her. It seemed like her troubles for the day were not over yet. She stood up, and turned around, only to come face-to-face with the infamous Vessel themselves. The Pure Vessel looked down at her, and their shell was streaked with dark tears. It looked like they hadn’t stopped crying for hours.

“Oh dear,” Seer said, looking them right in the eye. “Your friend passed by a few moments ago, but she didn’t mention you were here, too. Perhaps you’d like to sit and talk? She wasn’t one for conversation.”

Pure Vessel stood silent, not knowing what to do. They eventually gave into the kind old lady’s offer, collapsing on the bench with their entire weight and body, making it groan and creak. They were so large, that there was no place left on the bench for Seer to sit, so she made do by sitting on the ground near their stooped head.

“You’ve endured quite a bit, haven’t you?” Seer said, stroking them tenderly. “I will not pretend to know the full story, but between what I’ve heard in the news, and what that spider was ranting about, it sounds like you’ve been dealt quite the bad hand.”

They nodded slowly, appreciating that this bug wasn’t staring at them strangely. Her large eyes stared right into theirs, without judgment. Pure started crying again, not knowing what to communicate to her, but just being grateful that somebody was still out here, willing to lend them an ear.

“That spider didn’t seem receptive to my words,” she said. “But perhaps you’ll be a better listener. Tell me, do you cry because of your Father?”

Pure Vessel nodded again.

“It must be quite a shock, to see someone you loved so dearly reveal such a dark side of themselves,” Seer looked down. “I can understand, you see. I used to follow that vengeful moth Goddess, the one making such a mess with this whole Infection nonsense.”

The Vessel's body tensed up. For a moment, they didn’t know if they could trust this old woman, or if she was just another one of life’s agents here to kick them while they were down. Her kind touch and gentle eyes, however, calmed their heart. Pure gestured for her to continue.

“She didn’t used to be quite so… vengeful,” Seer said, gazing up into the firmament above. “I remember how harmonious our bond was. Every thought shared, there were no boundaries between us and her love.” She looked at the Pure Vessel, and they nodded for her to continue.

“When the Infection first hit, I wondered how such a sweet thing could ever do something so terrible. But as my mind wandered over it, I began remembering the things she used to do that put what passed as my individual mind on alarm. Her distaste and distrust for outsiders. Her bouts of dark anger. Her paranoia.” Seer reached into her bag, and pulled out a container of water. She took a sip before moving on.

“The awful truth is, sometimes people can change for the worse. That darkness you catch of them out of the corner of your eye, may not be just an errant flicker. It could be the abyss that lurks within them peeking out, if only for a moment, before being swallowed again. It is the great tragedy of our kind that these warning signs are seldom ever seen in the moment. We only recognize them in retrospect.”

Pure Vessel listened, feeling something in their heart being plucked at. Deep inside, they knew that the King had never been quite right. He’d always been strangely possessive of them, even before the affair had began. Keeping them away from others, seemingly not out of any sense of keeping them Pure, but rather so he could own them, and have them by his side. Always. Was his murder of Herrah truly that out of the question, considering his past behaviors?

“But there is still one more truth I think you need to hear,” Seer said. “Do you wish to hear it?”

Pure nodded.

“Your Father doing such unholy things with you was the moment he changed. That was the moment the abyss inside of him opened up, and swallowed him whole,” Seer shook her head. “There are some lines a person must never cross, and when he laid with you, he crossed all of them. I know he must love you so dearly. But in crossing that threshold, he enacted a betrayal that will stand for a lifetime.”

The Vessel didn’t move, didn’t gesture. Didn’t do anything. But they knew inside of themselves that she was right. Before the King had laid with them, he’d had his neuroses, but he would never have dared to do the things he’d done in the past days. He’d changed. Something inside of him had flipped, and now all the worst parts of himself were open for the world to see.

Seer sat still and stroked their cheek, watching as they processed this information. Tears flowed down their mask again, but they didn’t seem to spawn from grief. Instead, Pure felt them springing forth from relief and release. One part of them still didn’t understand how something that had felt so wonderful and sublime could’ve substantiated a betrayal, but then they thought of the happy families they had seen so often, before this had all begun.

They had seen them, at the fairs and the exhibitions and the dinners and the balls. The families would gather in bunches, Mothers next to Fathers, children next to parents, kids next to other kids. In their forms they had carried something intangibly light and pure. They remembered two husbands carrying their child through a fairgrounds, eyes glowing as their child's happiness became their own.

It was something they had never had with the King. No love had even been spoken between them for so long. And the love that had developed didn’t spawn out of that unrequited, springful adoration. It had stemmed from somewhere darker within. Somewhere within the King where he had long wrestled with a personal demon, only to lose at the moment where it mattered most.

The memories of these families didn’t bring Pure joy, now. Instead, they began to fill them with sadness and regret. It had all been so unfair. They’d had normal upbringings, happy lives largely interrupted by pain and misery. Lives so distanced from anything resembling unhealthiness or- they didn’t have the word to say it, but they were searching for “abuse.” And yet, purely by the circumstances of their birth, they would have to carry the scars of their upbringing with them for as long as they lived.

The unfairness of it all upset them, and the tears came once more. Seer sat down next to them, stroking their shell whispering quiet words of love.

“Yes, it is all quite unfair, isn’t it?” Seer said. “But your life needn’t end with his failings. You control your own destiny, and only you can determine what you’ll become. I want you to live a good life. A life where all of this is some dusty footnote, and not the whole of your being. Will you do that? For me?”

Pure Vessel finally sat up, using up every bit of their strength. They held their head, which felt like it was throbbing in more ways than could be possible. Still, they nodded.

Just then, Hornet returned from the weapons shop, carrying more knives, swords, and bombs than it seemed any one bug would ever need. She ignored both Seer and the Pure Vessel as she entered the Stag Station, anger coiled in her every step.

“Ahhhh, then there is the matter of your friend there,” Seer said. She looked at Pure Vessel, and her eyes were dire. “Your spider there, I think she’s closer to falling into her own abyss than you know. You best go after her. I’d come along, but I’m but an old crone. I’ve strut and fret my hour upon the stage - I think it’s best you take your turn.”

Shakily, Pure Vessel rose to their feet. They didn’t know entirely what to think. About Father, about what Seer had said, about how this would all end. But the old moth was right - they had to catch Hornet before she fell off the edge of her own cliff. They waved to Seer, bowing gently as a way of saying thanks, and followed off after their sister.

Seer sat back, letting her old bones creak against the bench. “I’ve done all that I can,” she said. “All I can do now, is trust that they’ll do the right thing.”

Notes:

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I apologize for leaving this fic abandoned for so long. There's many reasons for the hiatus, but they're mostly messy and personal so I won't go into them here. But I swore I'd get this fic done before Silksong released. We're only a few months away from it now, God willing, so I'm making good on that promise. There's only a few chapters left of it anyhow - things are falling into place.

Chapter 14: Falling Into Place

Summary:

The paths converge, and everything moves towards its final terminus.

Lumen was drifting in and out of sleep when Lurien’s hand brushed against his head. “My Butler, are you awake?”

“Yes, Master,” Lumen said as he sat up groggily. “What is it?”

“I just wanted to apologize,” Lurien said. “For everything.”

“What would you ever have to apologize for?”

Lurien waved his hands to dismiss his servants' words. “No, no. None of that. We both know that I have acted, how shall we say, less than dignified these last few weeks.”

Lumen chucked. “Master, I don’t think you’ve ever acted dignified in all the time that I’ve known you.”

“Come now, we both know what I’m truly saying,” Lurien said, sitting down next to his Butler on their couch. “I almost abandoned you. The King played my emotions, and took advantage of the admiration I had for him. I almost fell for it! I almost left you, after everything that you have done for me.”

Lumen shifted on the couch, leaning into Lurien. “Well, what sort of Butler would I be if I left my Master just because of a little indiscretion?”

“You’re not upset? Honest and true?” Lurien’s single eye fell. He did not believe himself worthy of such mercy.

His Butler reached for a cup of now-cold coffee on the table, and sipped it thoughtfully. “I would have been, if you’ve made the wrong decision and went with the King. The important thing, in my eyes, is that you did the correct thing in the end. That’s more than most can say.”

Lurien settled his body closer into Lumen’s. “I suppose so. Though, now that the King is out of the picture for us, I imagine you’ll have less cleaning work to do.”

His companion chuckled. “Don’t be silly, Master. There are always things to clean.”

There was a sound of rushing footsteps outside of the door, and the flimsy thing was shot clean off its hinges by the blow of a massive Sentry, sending it careening across the room and into the a wall. More footsteps followed behind, at least five or six. They were moving fast, with a definite purpose and intensity.

Lurien stood up tall, and put on his strongest diplomatic voice. “What is the meaning of this intrusion? Didn’t you ever learn to knock? Now explain your presence or remove yourself from my tower, or I will-!”

The Sentry swung the flat of his sword against Lurien’s head, sending him dropping to the floor like a fat sack of meat. The guard punted him again in the chest, just to make sure that he’d be out cold.

“Master!” Lumen said, leaping to his feet and rushing for a nearby rope. The rope was attached to a bell hidden in the Watcher’s Spire. When rung, it would alert the Watcher Knights to danger, calling them to Lurien’s aid. Before he could reach it, however, a spike rose up in front of him, blocking his path forward.

“You’ve run enough,” a cold voice said from behind him. “I think it’s time to face the consequences of your actions.”

Lumen turned around slowly, raising his hands to show that he was not a threat. “How did you get past the Watcher Knights?” Lumen asked as he turned around, trying to remain calm. “They were recently told to turn away any and all visitors this evening.”

“I dispatched them,” the Pale King said, brushing some blood off his cloak. “Worry not, I didn’t kill any of them. Not yet. I plan to execute the whole lot of you together.” It was moments like these that made the King grateful that some soldiers still followed him.

Execute? The word sent a shrill shiver through Lumen’s spine. His mouth dried up. Yet, there was a silver lining to the King’s words. If he was planning to execute them all together, it meant that he wasn’t planning on killing either him or his Master here and now. It was small hope, considering the half-dozen armored guards and stout God that stood before him, but it was something.

Lumen let a bit of his fear show, hoping it would make the King see him as less of a threat. “You’re planning to execute us?”

“Yes, all of you. All of you interlopers who have gotten between me and my Vessel.” The King waved a hand, causing two of his guards to get to work binding Lurien up for easier transportation. “I’m going to kill you all one-by-one, right in front of them, so they’ll never think of trying to be with anyone but me ever again.”

Madness. There was no other word for it. The rumors had said that the King had always been somewhat possessive and protective of his child, long long before this entire incident had started. But this was on another level. It was the kind of thinking only a broken man was capable of, a man who has no hope left. A man for whom the only thing left is vengeance and anger.

“King,” Lumen said, picking his words very carefully. “Come now, try to think rationally. Your support has been dwindling, and even now you seem to have few guards who will stand by you. Executing Lurien - and I presume at least several other high ranking officials - will dry up whatever support you have left.”

“I care not,” the King said. “I am a God. A Higher Being. What hope does the Kingdom have to rise against me? Look at what the Radiance was able to accomplish with just a fraction of her power. Now imagine what I would be capable of, if I decided to rule by force.”

Lumen caught a note of fear in what he said. The King was afraid of losing control. Despite his bluster though, it was clear that losing control of the Kingdom was second in mind to losing control of his Vessel. The guards were closing in around Lumen now, who was backing himself into a corner, trying to buy just another minute or two of speaking with the King. There had never been a mess he couldn’t clean - surely the King couldn’t be different?

“You’re afraid of losing your Vessel,” Lumen said. “But think of how this… behavior must seem to them? My King, you only drive them further away.”

“Then I will pull and hold them close to me,” the King said, stepping forward with his guards. “My Pure Vessel will belong to me. They’re a Vessel, correct? Their minds work differently from ours. I’m sure that with enough plying I can make myself the only thing they’ll think of. There will only be their love for me.”

Lumen grew desperate. The walls were closing in. “But that’s not love! That’s mere control! Think of what you’re doing, my King. Don’t you care about your morality? Don’t you care about the quality of your Soul?”

At that last question, the King strolled forward and smacked Lumen across the cheek, sending him tumbling to the floor. He slammed a kick into his chest, blowing the air out of the old Butler’s lungs. “Can’t your pathetic mortal mind understand?” Pale King said, kicking again. “I don’t want your sympathy, and I don’t want your attempts to ‘fix’ me! I want my Vessel, and you two took them away from me. Now you will both face the full brunt of my law.”

“Take him away,” the King said. Two of his guards approached Lumen, roughly wrapping his body in chains that cut and chaffed against his shell. It felt like he had broken something. Lumen didn’t know what had gone wrong. Couldn’t the King see the madness that was consuming him? Everybody else could see it. Why couldn’t he?
Lumen, barely conscious, was hauled into the back of a carriage pulled along by a stag. Lurien was tossed in on top of him, as if they were both trash being chucked into a landfill. He vaguely heard the King say something about collecting the Watcher Knights before returning to the White Palace before the wheels started to turn, and the two of them were carted away through the city streets and imposing towers, carted along towards a fate unknowable.

He started to cry. Lumen had failed his Master. His tears were lost in the relentless downpour of the City of Tears, mixing with the rainfall that filled its gutters and snaked along its streets, down through the gratings, down through the piping, and down further yet into the intricate Waterways where darkness dominated.

“My Butler,” a voice from above him choked. “Why do you cry?”

“Lurien…” Lumen said, hardly able to get the words out. “I couldn’t protect you…”

“No, no,” Lurien said weakly. He’d been hurt too, but not as badly. “Do not blame yourself. You could never emerge victorious in a fight with the King.”

“It’s not that,” Lumen said, remaining silent for a minute after to let his voice rest. “I couldn’t convince him to change…”

He coughed up blood, and decided to stop talking, lest he make it worse.

Lurien remained silent as he thought, carefully stroking his Butler’s hair with a hand that was at least somewhat free. When he spoke again, it was with a delicate voice, soft as the water which flowed down from the roof of the cavern.

“My friend,” Lurien said. “I know you have a great wellspring of empathy inside of you. You’ve always loved cleaning messes. But there are some in this world whom you cannot clean, no matter how hard you try.”

“I could’ve said more!” Lumen shouted, hurting his lungs and earning a harsh shout from the guard driving the carriage.

Lurien stroked Lumen’s hair again. His own chest was hurting now, and each word hurt to speak. But he knew that his lover needed to hear this. “He is not your problem to solve, my friend. Any words you could have said would have failed. Not everybody is capable of change. Words are wasted on those who do not want to hear them.”

Lumen was silent. Lurien realized after a minute that he had fallen unconscious. His breathing was still steady, thank the Gods, but perhaps what both of them needed was rest. Lurien turned over and listened to the rain prattling against the carriage roof. To think this might be one of his last days on this planet. He didn’t know where the Pure Vessel had gone, or if they’d bother coming back for an old codger like him and his Butler.

No, the thought was ridiculous. Of course they’d be back. The only question was if they’d be successful. A chill ran through Lurien’s body as he realized the decision the Vessel would have to make. They’d have to choose between their own Father, or those that they held close. No one should ever be forced to make such a choice.

—

Hornet was looking for poisons. The Greenpath and Queen’s Gardens were full of flora and fauna conducive to slow, agonizing deaths. She’d coat her weapons with the stuff, and stab them right into the King’s heart. Ten times the amount required to kill a Boofly on each dagger. If Hornet had her way, his death would be the stuff of legends.

“Let me see,” Hornet said, bottling some acid and mixing it with reeds found around the Greenpath. “If I take this much acid, and soak it in these vines-”

“Hornet? Is that you?”

The voice made Hornet jump up and wheel around. If she’d had her weapon, it would have flown out of her hand towards the voice. It was a good thing she hadn’t been carrying her needle, as the one standing behind her had been the White Lady.

“Lady?” Hornet said. “You’re out of your temple? Didn’t you fall into psychosis?”

The White Lady stirred uneasily. “Well, you see my daughter, it wasn’t psychosis.”

“Of course it was,” Hornet said. “I can only imagine how terrible it must have been, your husband cheating on you with your child. You’re allowed to go a bit mad from something like that.”

White Lady let the implications of that statement pass her by. “I understand how it seemed to the rest of the Kingdom. But I promise I was not lost to madness. There’s an explanation.”

Hornet continued her foraging, unaware of the cursed knowledge she was about to receive. “Oh please, enlighten me. What reason could you have for talking to yourself and locking yourself up all day every-”

“My root!” Radiance said, bursting out of a portal in the side of the Lady’s head. “The King was not lying about there being a battle in the Deepnest! Herrah the Beast has been… slain…?” Her voice faded as she turned to see Hornet staring right at her, uncomprehending, as if one of the Lady’s roots had sprouted a mouth and had begun to talk. “...I shall wait in the Dream Realm,” Radiance said, slinking back into the Lady’s head.

White Lady cursed under her breath. She’d be having a very, very long talk with the Radiance later about this.

“Is this a sick joke?” Hornet said. “I lost my Mother earlier today. Father killed her, so I am out to take my vengeance. If this is an attempt at humor…”

The Lady sighed, heart aching for her poor Hornet. “Oh, my dear. I’m so sorry. I don’t have the words to describe how terrible-”

“Tell me the truth, I care not for your sympathy,” Hornet said.

“Alright. The truth is, I am in love with the Radiance. I have been for quite some time now.”

Hornet’s eyes went wide with shock and disbelief. “The Radiance? The same Radiance who Infected the Kingdom? Who killed hundreds, if not thousands so far, with her plague?”

“...She got better.”

“No.” Hornet said, picking her pack back up and walking past the White Lady as if she weren’t even there. “I have enough to think of without this nonsense! I swear to Wyrm, what has gone wrong in this Kingdom? Has everybody lost their fucking mind?”

“Daughter, wait,” White Lady said, waving to her as she went. “I know this seems… absurd. But I promise you, she has changed. She broke the Infection across all Hallownest. It’s over.”

“I’m sure,” Hornet said, plugging her ears and trying not to listen to a word more. “Let’s see if she keeps it broken, Root.”

Radiance’s voice piped up in the Lady’s head. “My Root? Didn’t she mention that she was going to take vengeance on the King?”
White Lady rubbed her temples. “Yes, but I was trying to comfort my daughter. What of it?”

“When she says that, she means she’s going to try and kill him. I understand, as I have made, erhm, similar vows.”

“Oh. Oh Gods,” White Lady said with a sigh. “Fine, let us go after her. I’m certain that we talk her down from this idea. The King must face justice, but a daughter shouldn’t be forced to kill her own father.”

Dryya hid somewhere behind, watching the entire spectacle with mute astonishment. Things had truly gotten strange here in Hallownest, somewhere along the road. Dryya didn’t yet know where she fit into things, what her role in this whole saga would culminate as. But one thing was now clear - she would have to stand by her Lady, and fulfill her vows. If they all survived that long, anyways.

—

The Pure Vessel had lost track of Hornet. Their large, lumbering body just hadn’t been able to keep up with hers as she’d gone about Hallownest, collecting supplies for her final charge on the Pale King. They’d tried to track her for a time, but had ultimately given up. They knew where she was ultimately headed anyways.

They sat at a distance, watching the White Palace glimmer in the darkness of the Ancient Basin. If they looked closely, they could just make out the Overlook amongst the towers, where all of this had started so long ago. On their back they carried a too-small nail that they had stolen from behind the back of a kindly traveling nailsmith after their meeting with Seer. If they made it through all this, they’d be sure to give it back after.

There were tracks in the dirt leading to the Palace gates. Bugs had been brought here quite recently. It was likely that they’d only been a few minutes too late to catch the King and… Do what?

Their head fell between their knees. Do what, exactly? Stab him through the chest? Try to talk him down despite having no voice to cry suffering? None of the options sounded good. All Pure knew was that something had to be done. The King kept hurting people because of them, out of some warped idea of love. He had to be stopped before he hurt more people like he had hurt Herrah. But how? What could get through to the heart of a man so deluded?

Quick footsteps were approaching. Pure stood up, and moved to block the gate leading to the White Palace. Hornet stood in front of them, armed to the teeth and glaring with all the anger in the world.

“Move.”

Pure shook their head.

“You could never understand what I feel,” Hornet said. “Could you even begin to understand my anger? My sorrow?”

The Pure Vessel nodded, and Hornet sighed in return.

“I suppose you must know something of it, with what you have gone through,” she said. “That is why it brings me no pleasure to do this.”

Hornet took a step, and it was like she became the wind in motion. She whirred around Pure, tying them up in her webs, binding them so tight that it’d be impossible to free themselves. Pure Vessel was shocked for a moment, and then started thrashing, trying to tear at the seemingly endless webs their sister had tied them in.

“I’m sorry, Vessel,” Hornet said. “I will come and untie you once the ordeal is complete. Forgive me - I do this because I must. I see no other way to feel whole again.”

With that, Hornet dashed off into the White Palace. If Hollow could’ve screamed out for her, it would have been heard from the Howling Cliffs.

Notes:

It's coming up on the end now. Just a few more chapters, and this fic will be complete. I've mapped things out, and four more chapters should be enough to finish things off. I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 15: It's Like, a Prison Break Chapter, Man.

Chains scraped against dull stone, the sound an aching deathrattle. Lumen was awake, but hadn’t opened his eyes. Waking felt like too much effort, wasn’t the black nothingness, in its own way, far lovelier? Safer? His wounds still ached, and he felt lightheaded. There were sounds both nearer and farther prickling his hearing, but Lumen shut them out. He just wanted to rest until all of this was over.

“You cannot rest forever, love,” Lurien said, nudging him with a foot. “Come now, you’ve ceased snoring, and I can always tell when you’re faking being asleep.”

“Must I get up, Master?” Lumen asked, cuddling his legs against himself for warmth. He tried to move his arms, only for awareness to seep in, informing him that they’d been chained. “It would be much easier just to rest here…”

“No, none of that talk,” a new voice said. It was strong, spry, and Lumen’s slugging mind struggled to place it. He’d certainly heard it before, at some gathering or another, hadn’t he? “You’re not giving up. If not for yourself, then for the sake of my Lady. Look at how pale she’s become!”

Curiosity, and a dim sense that there really wouldn’t be anyway to get past this other than by going through it, forced Lumen’s eyes open. Even the dull lighting of the pale cell made his eyes ache, and he tried to cover them up with what he could of his bound arms. Lurien offered part of his cloak, and Lumen graciously accepted it, viewing the world through that dark-purple cloth. It was thin enough to just make out the world beyond, even if it did leave certain key details elusive.

Turning to the other male speaker, who was placed two seats to his left, Lumen let out a small gasp. Monomon and her assistant, Quirrel, had been bound down here as well. Quirrel looked nervous, his round eyes scrunched in concentration, claw marks digging into his chains and the stone behind them. To Quirrel’s left was Monomon, breathing haggardly against the wall. They hadn’t even bothered to bind her.

Quirrel flicked his head from Lumen to Monomon. “See now why I won’t have any of that talk about giving up? Monomon has been out of her waters for far too long - it’s draining her. I know they have tanks someplace in this damned Palace for when she comes to visit, and we just need to get her there-”

“Quirrel…” Monomon said, weakly waving a tentacle. “Mind your… manners…”

He sighed. “Yes, indeed, madame. I may be stressed, but that is no reason to treat comrades with such disrespect.” He turned and looked at Lurien and Lumen, both of whom looked very weak. “My name is Quirrel. I believe we’ve met, but only in passing. Perhaps at one of your dire parties…? Regardless, we are now brothers-in-arms, prisoners trapped to the same fate unless we can escape.” Quirrel turned to Monomon, and she nodded her approval.

“Finally! A name!” Lurien said, a bit of spark coming back into his voice. “All you’ve talked about since I woke up a short bit ago is escape, I was beginning to think you hadn’t noticed us.” When Quirrel didn’t smile back, he added, “And yes, it is good to have additional allies in this fight. Now, how do you propose we escape?”

Lurien, Lumen, and Quirrel all examined the room. Hard blank stone walls, and a single sturdy-looking metal door at the side opposite their chairs. A barred window looked in from outside, though as Quirrel soon informed them, not a single bug had looked inside since they got there.

Monomon remained seated, sleeping. She’d trained for this sort of situation, being trapped outside of her tank for such a long period, that is. It helps to know what to do in cases like these when you’re a high-ranking diplomat. She slept curled up on herself, trying to conserve her energy and moisture. Her thinking was too clouded in this reduced state to be of much help. If she’d been clear-minded, she would’ve formulated an escape plan within minutes. As it was, sleep seemed to be the only thing her mind would accept.

“I’ve been clawing at these chains since I woke up,” Quirrel said. “They’re tough. The stone behind them is actually much softer, so I’ve been hard at work on that,” he said, pointing to a small alcove of stone carved out around where his chain dug into the wall.

“And they’ve provided us with no food or water?” Lurien had come to only a short while before Lumen had, perhaps ten or twenty minutes, and during that time, trying to get any conversation out of the single-mindedly determined Quirrel had been like trying to pull their chains from the stone wall.

“Nothing,” Quirrel said. “Honestly, I don’t even think anyone is left out there to hear us! I’ve seen no guards come to the door, or so much as heard anyone walking down the halls.” He reached a bleeding hand back to the stone, working away little chips of it here and there.

Lumen sat, deep in thought. He ran through the various escape scenarios one could hope for in a situation like this. Clawing or filing away the chains wouldn’t work. Breaking the stone might work, but that’d take an awful amount of time, something they didn’t have much of. If Pale King hadn’t been bluffing, and Lumen saw no reason to assume he wasn’t, they’d all soon be dragged off to be executed.

Did Quirrel know? The thought slapped him like one of Monomon’s wet tentacles. Did he know that, in just a matter of hours, they could all be executed? It didn’t seem that way. Quirrel hadn’t mentioned it, and he seemed more concerned with getting Monomon to a tank than with her being executed, something that could come at any minute, depending on if the King had gathered his other targets.

He’d known Quirrel as a kind-hearted and soft-spoken scholarly man, and yet the desperation of just being locked up had driven him to digging his hands bloody in the stone. If he knew that they were potentially only minutes away from undignified death, that his lady was far more likely to be beheaded than to dry out, Quirrel would lose it. And the last thing they needed right now was one more man too desperate to think. Grief and fear could drive men to the worst of extremes.

Lumen let out a long exhale. It’d be better to tell him the whole tale when this mess was over with, when Monomon was hopefully safe.

So, no telling Quirrel then. He jingled his mind, which was slowly coming back to itself as it realized that all was indeed not lost, trying to find other methods of escape. One of them could gnaw off an arm, he supposed, but that seemed unwise. Both arms were bound, so you’d need to chew them both off to get anywhere, and in that case the only place you’d be going would be an early grave.

No meals, so that meant no utensils to claw or scrape with. No guards to play mind games with. No secret escape techniques passed down from generation to generation, as in one of the pulpy action novels Lumen liked to sneak in before bed. There looked to be no physical way of escape at all. Lumen groaned, tuning out the babbling of Lurien and Quirrel.

Gods, this entire situation had gotten so out of hand and absurd. In all of the annals of Hallownest history, never before had something so unseemingly ever transpired. It would be one thing, if it had ended up funny, in some warped cosmic “laugh because it’s just so messed up” sort of way. But instead, it had ended up as a drama with lives on the line. Exhaustion rolled over Lumen.

It was not the physical kind of exhaustion, the kind one gets after a long run or a difficult duel. It was instead an exhaustion of the spirit and the mind. He wanted this entire misadventure to be done with. For it all to be a bad memory. For all the pain and confusion to be swept away. God damn it all, he wanted to scream. Scream from the rooftops, scream in agony and exhaustion over how this mess had gotten so far out of hand, so far away from anything it ever should have been, should have ever reasonably become.

Wait… screaming? He considered it. Indeed, his voice was the one part of his self that was entirely unbound in this cell. Lumen could do whatever he wanted with his voice, and could scream out into the halls beyond. Not even for help, mind, but just to get someone to the door outside. And if they could do that, if they could get a guard to the door, they could negotiate. Have Monomon taken to a tank, could barter for some food.

But what if the Pale King showed up? Well, if that was the case, it was too late for any of them anyways. Perhaps the King would make some mistake, and they could have even a small shot at escaping this. It would be far preferable to being chained up in any case.

“Lurien?” he said, turning to his Master.

“Yes, Lumen?” Lurien said, turning away from a conversation with Quirrel.

“I’m going to start screaming.”

“Oh. May I scream too?”

“You’re not going to ask why?”

“I assume if you’re doing it, you have your reasons. Besides, I feel like screaming, too.” Lurien said, with a nod.

“I won’t be doing that,” Quirrel said, leaning over to cover Monomon’s ears. “I don’t think it will help. Besides, my throat is too hoarse to do much more than squeak.”

Lurien and Lumen turned to one another, and for the first time since they got here, a smile spread across both of their faces. Lumen counted to three, and then opened his mouth, and began to scream.

—

Hornet rushed through the pale halls of the White Palace, cursing whatever interior decorator had decided to make everything in this place look so similar. Still, her memories of this place acted as her guide, and as she proceeded through the mostly-empty halls, only stopping now and then to incapacitate the rare guard who hadn’t run off, Hornet felt herself getting closer to her target.

She knew several places he might be hiding at. So far, none of them had turned up anything, not even a glimpse of the King. Still, every place she marked off got her that bit closer, brought her father a little bit closer to his death.
Hornet had just turned a corner when the bloody screaming ran out. It made her animal instincts jump to alert. Torture! There was no doubt about it. There were no other alternative ways to make a body create such a sound. She bolted down hallways, remembering where the prisoner cells in the White Palace were located. The screams helped guide her way, and soon, turning a corner, she was there.

With a thundering crash, she threw herself into the door, hands grasping at it, seeking to tear it off its hinges. It gave way with less effort than she would’ve thought, years of neglect having eaten away at its effectiveness. When she looked up from the cloud of dust, she expected to find bloody and bruised prisoners, hanging on to life by a thread. Instead she found Lumen and company, who looked plenty tattered but not within moments of death.

“Were you the ones screaming?” Hornet said, sighing, rubbing her temples as she approached the chains. She looked them over. Lurien and his servant were injured, but stable. Quirrel looked shocked to see her, but physically well. It was only when she saw Monomon that her eyes darkened. “Ah, I see. They left you alone down here to rot, did they?”

Hornet sliced through their chains with her needle, freeing them. She considered just leaving them all like that, and going back to her hunt, but Monomon looked too pale and weak for her to just leave here. She picked Monomon up, and only turned back for a moment to say, “I will place her in the nearest tank I can find. She should be alright. The rest of you need to leave. If any guards see you, do not hesitate.”

She stormed off, holding Monomon’s limp body in her arms.

“She took madame!” Quirrel said, shocked. “We should go after her!”

Lurien stood up, body groaning with the effort. “You know who that was, correct?”

“Of course I know who it was, that was Hornet, Herrah’s daughter!” Quirrel said, legs quaking under him. “I know she is a capable warrior. But I do not trust anyone but myself with Monomon’s protection.”

Lumen, still feeling smug from his plan having worked, smiled weakly at him. “I believe, for my part, that Hornet is right. I am not a fighter. My strength is my voice and my words - and there are no words I know of that could get through to the King.”

“Lumen…” Lurien said, voice weak.

“My Master and I shall leave,” he said. “If you truly wish to stay, which I know you do, grab a weapon and stay sharp.”

Quirrel, who was already rushing out the door, nodded at them. “I will. And stay safe. Thank you, for getting us out of there.”

Lurien and Lumen locked arms as they turned to leave.

“So, what shall we do now, Master?” Lumen said, cuddling up to his beloved.

“I say we head home, my dear. Take a nice, long bath, and let all of this wash away from us.”

“How sweet, you know how I love my cleaning.” Lumen said, feeling himself fall forwards once more into sleep. Lurien caught him, carried him in his arms.

—

“Oh no.”

“That’s… not who I think it is, is it?”

“I’m afraid it is,” White Lady said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Hornet got to them first, I see.”

Pure Vessel looked up at her embarrassedly. They’d come here to stop Hornet from slaying the King, and had instead gone and gotten themselves captured at the outset. They weren’t too good at being the hero, it seemed.

“Your step-daughter is certainly strange,” Radiance said as White Lady reached down to cut the webbing.

“Hush,” White Lady thought back as they got Hollow to their feet.

“Hollow,” she said, “you’re coming with us. We’re going to stop Hornet from making a terrible mistake. As you’ve seen, she can be quite the fighter, but I know we can get through to her without it needing to come to blows.”

She was already walking past them. White Lady wanted to say more, but time was of the essence. Every second they waited out here could be a moment Hornet spent driving her needle through the King’s heart. Still, a sharp hiss from Radiance got through to her, made her turn around, and say something, however feeble and awkward, to the child she’d once slept with.

“By the way, Hollow?” she said, putting on her kindest motherly face. “It’s good to see you.”

And it was.

Notes:

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this fic yet. As you can probably tell, I've been pretty burned out on Hollow Knight stuff for a while now, but I still made a promise to finish this fic. Only three chapters are left! I'll post chapters when they're finished. No promises on when that'll be, though. I hope soon, though I know I've failed to live up to that in the past.

Chapter 16: The Ending of Dramamine

Summary:

Everyone searches for the Overlook. Two hurt bugs talk past one another.

Pure sprinted through the entrance to the White Palace, catching up with and then overtaking the White Lady. When their mother asked where exactly they were heading, the Vessel ducked into a nearby room, found a pen and some paper, and hastily scribbled down a few words. “Overlook. Can you stall Hornet?”

The White Lady gasped, as did the Radiance, who’d put herself back in the Root’s head. “So, you believe him to be at the Overlook? I’d assumed the King would be in one of his private chambers, such as the one we… made a mistake in. Are you sure he’ll be there?”

They nodded in response, and took off. Soon as they’d gotten free, and seen the Overlook towering over the rest of the White Palace, it had all just made sense. That’s where this entire mess had started, and the King so loved his dramatic presentations. If he’d wanted to make a declaration to the entire Kingdom or world, that’d be the place to do it. Pure had no doubt that’s where he’d be – and that was their one advantage right now.

Hornet had them beat in speed, agility, and perhaps even combat ability. But she’d never had the sort of connection with the King that they’d had. Pure knew that, if they could make it to the Pale King first, there might be a way to resolve this without bloodshed.

Where was the way through, though? Not only the way through the Palace, but the way through the coming confrontation? They felt in their Void that, if push came to shove, they wouldn’t have it in them to kill their father. Not with how much he still meant to them, not with how much they did, still, even after everything, love him. Words, then? Those wouldn’t work either on the Pale King. They’d no doubt by now that everyone had tried to talk him off this path and failed. Perhaps he’d be more receptive to hearing it from his beloved Pure Vessel, but what words to use? How to write and articulate them? How to construct the sentences, and take those fragile and bulky syllables to try and communicate the infinite expanse they felt inside?

That was all assuming either they or someone else managed to get Hornet to stay her needle. As much as it pained them to admit it, Hornet was correct in her rage and anger. If someone had hurt the King like he’d hurt Herrah, Pure had to confess they’d feel that same sort of murderous desire – and be right for feeling it. Carrying through with it though, in that state… would that really make them feel better? Or would it be just another slaughter, kicking off further incidents of pain and sorrow? Yet, again, how to put all of this, how to say it in a way which made her feel and understand?

All of that could wait, they shoved it to the side. The most important thing was to make it to the Overlook before Hornet discovered it. It was only a few minutes away from here, if one took all the shortcuts and knew their way around well enough. Here’s hoping the White Lady and Radiance had a way to stall the little spider, or it might already be too late.

The White Lady watched them go until they bolted around a corner indistinguishable from the rest of the pale corners and vanished. She let her shoulders sag, and leaned against a nearby wall for support. So much was happening so fast, and now all the paths were converging. If she said or did even one wrong thing, it might mean this entire story would end with a slaughter, with further violence that would echo down the generations. And all that on top of everything else: her guilt, her sadness, the knowledge that she was responsible for all this. If she had just convinced the King to not seal the Radiance, if she’d stopped the damned experiments with the Vessels when she had the chance, none of this would have happened…

“Pull yourself together, Root,” Radiance hissed with a surprising bit of bite in her voice. “Now is not the time for reminiscence. We will have time to confront our actions after we see this through. Think, how do we find Hornet and prevent her advance? We need to purchase time for the Vessel any way we can.”

“Yes,” the Lady said, turning to progress down the hall on shaky legs. “You’re right. The time for repentance will come later. Let me think for a moment, I know this old mind of mine can find a worthwhile idea somewhere.”

Dryya, who had been following at a distance, unaware of what to do with herself, strolled right past the both of them and got right to work. “Worry not, my White Lady,” she said, “I’ll be sure to find Hornet and slow her down.”

The White Lady nodded at her as she passed. “Please stay safe, Dryya. I know I haven’t been there for you – and I’m sorry. Once this is all finished, can we start over? Would you grant me that?”

The Royal Knight shrugged. “Let us see if we all make it through this first.”

With that, Dryya was off, darting through the halls, searching for any sign of either Hornet or the Pale King. Why was she still following the Queen, after everything? Was it only her duty? Or did she still believe there was a chance for her to take her back from the Radiance? Dryya herself didn’t know which one it was – but she felt a strong desire to serve the White Lady this one final time. She would not fail her.

After Dryya left, the Lady fell into a reverie. She knew where the Overlook was, and started making her way towards it slowly, so as to not cause excessive noise with her bulk. Radiance tried to comfort her, but the words weren’t making it through. The Lady focused herself in on finding a solution. There had to be a way to find where Hornet was in this labyrinth, or at the very least, find a way to communicate with her. Right now, more than anything, she wanted to find the little spider and tell her that she was sorry. Sorry that she hadn’t done more to stop the Pale King, and sorry that they had to stop her from taking her revenge. Not because killing him was the wrong thing to do, but because Hornet killing him as she was now would only wound herself further – and not only herself.

The Lady didn’t want the King dead until she’d had a chance to process things, until she had a chance to see him and talk to him and, she didn’t know what else. Slap him? Cry on his knees? All she knew was that if the opportunity to do that was taken from her, it’d feel oddly empty. If only there was a way to enter Hornet’s mind and speak to her directly...

Wait. There totally was a way to do that.

“My Light, I believe I have an idea,” the White Lady said. “I’m putting my utmost trust in you with it.”

“I’ve proved myself worthy of it before, and I will again,” the Radiance said. “Only tell me what I must do.”

“I assume you can still enter the minds of others, correct? And that it is easier when you are closer to them and when they are… psychologically indisposed?”

The two of them had a brief discussion, and then the Radiance began to expand her mind and push it outwards, looking for a certain someone.

Elsewhere, Hornet had just finished dunking Monomon in a pool as she’d promised Quirrel. The jelly moaned softly as she soaked it all in, and the moisture returned to her body, filling her out and restoring her strength. It was clear within moments that she’d be fine – and that’s all the time Hornet spent on helping her. The moment Monomon’s safety had been guaranteed, she booked it went returned to the mission at hand. What she didn’t feel in that moment wasn’t so much relief or happiness, but a complicated agony that she had somehow used up valuable time.

How much time had she wasted? Two minutes? Ten? More? Such precious time. Moments now lost forever, while the Pale King went on living, went on probably strolling around his chambers or whatever it was that figures like him did while Herrah lay dead the Deepnest, not even given the decency of an honorable death or a burial. With every step, the injustice burned brighter in Hornet’s chest, the rage pounding her heart like a drum, pushing at the sides of her head as if, if it grew any more, it might push her boundaries right open and dissolve her.

Of course the others wanted to try and stop her – none of them could understand how this feels.

All the others wanted her to do was calm down. Calm down! As if there would ever be calm, peace, tranquility, or anything resembling those words in her life ever again! As if the man who had destroyed her life, who had defiled her childhood, left her with this broken mind, and then killed the one woman she had ever loved actually deserved anything other than the most violent, hateful, depraved death ever conceived of or executed. If she were to torture him every minute of every day for a hundred years, that might be enough. Hornet knew that if she could just hate him enough, if she could channel all her spite and anger towards the single bug who had ruined everything, she could keep going. She would fill the hole in her chest with a single blinding and all-consuming burning hatred of the Pale King.

“It won’t work.”

Hornet turned around and flung her needle into thin air, certain that the voice had come from right behind her. When nothing showed, she turned back around and kept walking.

“I attempted that. It didn’t work.”

“There is no one here with me,” Hornet chittered under her breath. “I am the only one here. Do not break now, Hornet. You’re so close to your target.”

“Will you please listen?”

She stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, balled her hand into a fist, and punched the wall next to her so hard it went straight through to the other side. “Be quiet! Cease! I can’t take any more of this absurdity! I don’t know and frankly I don’t care if you’re my mind, or some spy somewhere, but I don’t give a single damn of what you want to lecture me about. Leave me alone! Leave me to my anger, and leave me to my regret!”

Hornet stopped and leaned against the wall, taking long and ragged breaths. The ensuing silence promised that Hornet had driven away the voice, yet another figure in an endless line who’d wanted to lecture her. As if what she needed right now was a lecture about how the Pale King merely needed a hug, or whatever other nonsense claptrap they wanted to force down her throat. Hornet knew exactly what she needed – not wanted, needed. After she killed the Pale King, the hole inside her would fill, and then...

The voice roared back into her head, louder this time than ever. “STOP TRYING TO SHUT ME OUT AND LISTEN!”

Hornet’s eyes narrowed as a light filled her head. Ah, that explained what this entire intrusion was all about. Her step-mother had sent her maniac of a wife to come and infiltrate her mind, was that it? Was the plan to Infect her, giving everyone an excuse to kill her? She didn’t know why she’d expected anything less of these bugs.

“I just told you, I don’t need a lecture. Now, get out of my head, or when this is over, I am going to hunt you down, cut off your head, and-”

“PRESENT IT TO THE WHITE LADY ON A PLATTER?”

“Yes, exactly that.”

“I UNDERSTAND YOUR RAGE. THAT’S THE WHOLE REASON I WISHED TO SPEAK WITH YOU. WOULD YOU GIVE ME THAT CHANCE?”

“No.”

“NOT EVEN FOR A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME?”

Hornet shuddered, and a delirium of violent thoughts rolled through her. “Fine. How about this. You and that whore get exactly one chance to convince me. Talk to me again after this, and I will torment you both until you wished you’d never been placed on the earth.”

“THANK YOU...”

Radiance knew she had only a few seconds to formulate her thoughts. Hornet was clearly hanging by the knife’s edge, and saying the wrong thing could have disastrous consequences. She gave up trying to think of anything special – the only thing to do was to be honest. Radiance lowered her voice, and began to speak.

“...When the Pale King sealed me away, when he stole my followers from me, my entire life was nothing but anger and regret. I cannot remember almost anything of that time. It is an entire portion of my existence that is nothing but white-hot anger and despair. The only thing that kept me going, that stopped me from letting myself be erased, was the promise of revenge: the idea that, one day, I could split his head open upon that throne of his and laugh as his Kingdom burned. I bided my time, waited until he had everything he wanted. A Kingdom of legendary renown, a wife of immense beauty, a populace which adored him without question – and that’s when I struck. I felt as you did, that the only cure for my soul-sickness was to see those who so horribly wronged me suffer and that, if they suffered enough, it might fill that horrid emptiness.

It didn’t work. You say that I’m a monster. That I killed hundreds of innocent bugs. That I nearly burned down an entire Kingdom over a personal hatred. This is all true. What else is true is that not a single one of those deaths made me happier. None of them brought me closer to peace. Even now, seeing the King disgraced, seeing him all alone on the top of the world, knowing that he’s detested by those who once loved him… that isn’t why I feel closer to peace now, Hornet. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t help, to see the man who ruined me brought low. That I didn’t feel happiness and satisfaction at the idea of him losing everything once and for all – but that’s a fleeting thing, and much different from peace. I understand that now. Hornet, you need to let others in, and you need to see that what’s befallen you is not your life, but one piece of a larger whole. There is no glory in being a martyr, despite what the legends say.”

Silence hung in the air, and Hornet began to laugh. It was a real back-of-the-throat gurgling laugh, the sort of which some give when faced with a death sentence. “That’s your grand solution? Hug one another and let the man who ruined us go free? Is that seriously what you mean to tell me? That’s your grand speech?”

“No! Of course not! I believe he deserves to face the consequences of his actions, but at your hand in your darkest hour? For the sole purpose and cause of inflicting onto him the greatest misery? And before any of his other victims, such as myself or the Pure Vessel, have a chance to confront him and what he did to us?”

“It’s all about you, then? It’s not about my desire to avenge my mother, but instead about placating your feelings?”

Somewhere else in the White Palace, the White Lady got the distinct sense that Radiance had just slapped a proverbial palm over her face.

“Fine. Let me ask this in simple language,” the Light continued. “Are you naive enough to believe that killing the Pale King and robbing so many others of closure will be the end of it? That the hole inside of yourself will cease? That you’ll sit next to his slain corpse on the Palace Overlook for the coming centuries, drinking the greatest delights Hallownest has to offer? No. All you’ll be is more alone and more sad than before – and you won’t even be able to turn to the others the King wronged for assistance.”

This last part seemed to get through to Hornet, as she stopped dead and froze in the hallway like a bug held in place with pins. But instead of the emotional release both the Radiance and White Lady had been hoping for, Hornet instead began to laugh uproariously. “Incredible. You really are much dumber than I thought. The Overlook! Of course he’ll be there! Thanks for reminding me, my Ancient Light.”

She stalked away, and then threw her head back to spit some final words. “As I predicted, you had only a lecture to give. You think I’m so absurd and unhealthy for wanting him dead? Think on this: what would you do if he went on to kill more people? If he survives this, he will kill your precious White Lady. Think on that.”

Hornet spitefully laughed one last time, and shut her mind entirely, taking off down the halls to where she now knew the Pale King would be.

Radiance burst back into the White Lady’s head, and almost wept with the rage and indignity of it all. Was the only thing she was good for killing? She hadn’t talked Hornet down at all – in fact, she felt as if she had made a mistake by talking to her as she had. “Like a lecture.” It was an overwhelming and enmeshed sort of feeling she didn’t have a word for. Radiance would’ve continued drowning in it, and perhaps have given herself back over to anger if the White Lady hadn’t been there to catch her.

“My Light, what’s wrong?” the Lady said, continuing her path towards the Overlook, which was not faraway now. “What did Hornet say?”

“It’s not what she said,” the Radiance replied. “It’s what I failed to say.”

---

The Pure Vessel was being followed. They’d received enough training as a Knight to know when someone was tailing them. Part of them considered stopping and trying to apprehend whoever it was, but there was no time. They were only a couple of turns away from the Overlook, and they had to make it there before Hornet. Burst around another few corners the Vessel found themselves only one hallway away now. They were in a round circular chamber which was typically home to a couple Kingsmoulds, but was presently empty. The Pale King would be just ahead – and so would the end of all this.

Relief washed over them as they looked around. They’d certainly beaten Hornet here, it seemed. That meant they were the first to arrive, and that they had a moment to take care of whoever was tailing them. Pure rested for a moment against a wall, and pretended to be lost in thought, looking rather distracted and vulnerable, or like one would be able to sneak right past them. Once they sensed movement, Pure snapped out with their Void tendrils, attacking the spot where the disturbance had been. Instead of fishing up any of the expected suspects though, they instead found Quirrel, who was looking rather displeased at being theyhandled.

“Unhand me!” he whispered, his warriors senses feeling the nearby presence of the Pale King. “You’re the Pure Vessel, correct? If so, we are allies! I know I was following you, but that’s because I rightfully assumed you knew where you were headed. You intend to confront the Wyrm, yes? Then I will assist in the attempt. He needs to see justice.”

Pure did end up putting the chunky pillbug down, but they didn’t want him following inside. This had to be done one-on-one. Other would only inflame the King’s rage. They explained all of this, more or less, on a note they wrote on some paper. Quirrel read it, and sighed.

“Yes,” he said. “I suppose you’re right. I was the one who cut that nasty wound into his side. If he saw me, I imagine he’d be very against conversation. So your plan is for me to stand guard here, and make sure nobody enters?”

The Vessel nodded, and was about to write more when another figure burst into the chamber. This time it was another expected visitor, Dryya.

“Damn it all! Still no sign of Hornet!” She took in a deep breath, held it, and then released it slowly as if this were an alternative to screaming. “Are the two of you about to confront the Pale King?”

Quirrel came over and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m afraid you’ve been conscripted into guard duty, Royal Knight. Our friend over there will take care of the King, but we have to make sure they remain undisturbed. I’m certain that if we remain out here, Hornet will come to us soon enough.”

The Royal Knight looked the Pure Vessel over. “You intend to face that menace alone? You’re either recklessly brave or suicidal. I’d thought you’d have at least waited for the White Lady. Regardless, I am a Knight, and I do my duties as assigned. If you wish for me to stand here and guard, that’s what I shall do.”

Pure reached down, and pulled the two into a hug. There really weren’t enough words for the gratitude they were feeling. Now they’d have some proper alone time with the Pale King – they could only hope it’d be enough. They left the hug and turned towards the bright light of the entrance, shivering at the weight of what they were about to do. Quirrel and Dryya watched them go, flustered and embarrassed about the hug respectively.

One way or another, this would be the end of things.

---

“What if they fail, Master?”

“Fail? What do you mean, my beloved Butler?”

“You know full well what I mean. What if they are slain by the King, or otherwise turn on one another? What will become of us all then?”

“I assume we’ll all be properly kilt and smashed by the Wyrm’s rage, my beloved Butler.”

“Oh.”

“Yet, I believe in them. I think that they’ll find a way through. That’s what I have to hope, anyways.”

“…”

“What do you think, my Butler?”

“If they make it through, what comes after? How do you move on from something like this?”

“The only way is to live it, one step at a time. Come now, let’s get some rest.”

Notes:

I said I was gonna finish this before Silksong came out, and mama didn't raise no bitch. So here you go.

Chapter 17: FORGONE

The Overlook was the exact same as it was all those years ago. The same blinding pale light, the same white vegetation growing up from the cracks in the floor tile and hanging down from the ceiling above, and the selfsame Pale King who stood in the center of it all, looking out over his Kingdom. He looked very upset about something, it didn’t take much for Pure to figure out it had to do with the single new addition to the balcony: a series of pillories which remained unlocked end empty. Something about this sight was so absorbing to him that the Wyrm failed to see he had a visitor until the Vessel into his direct line of vision. At once, his back shot straight up as an iron rod, and he bowed to his beloved.

“My Vessel, you’ve come? I was not expecting you here so soon. I knew you’d always return to my side, one way or another. Ignore these dingy things, it appears they’ll remain useless for the time being. Come closer, stand by my side. See what I see.”

Warily, Pure came closer. They hadn’t been in a proper fight in ages, and the King was a foe of legendary renown. It would be better for all involved if this didn’t come to blows – but they didn’t trust their father anymore. Pure kept their training in mind, and set themselves on high alert, forcing the empathy and love they still felt for the King out of their head. He was to be regarded as a potential foe, and they had to be ready to snap to action at any time.

It killed them that it had to be this way.

Standing together in the same spot they’d first forged this bond in so many years ago, the two looked out over the Palace ground. The sight was also the same as it had been back then, plus or minus a few structures that had been added since that day. Back when they were young, the Pure Vessel had been amazed by the sight of all that power, the rolling expanse of the grounds and the endless buildings and swelling plant life, all accompanied by the sight of so many insects down on the ground coming and going. Now, though, they were able to see for the first time how hollow it all really was. Those buildings, which had once been so full of life and energy, were now deserted. The dangling vines and bursts of bushes which had once seemed so lively now stood to the Vessel as reminders of the White Lady, who the King had abandoned and they had helped betray. There were no bugs visible down there anymore. Everybody had gone away or fled the Kingdom entirely, even with the risk of losing their minds to the lands beyond.

All along, it had stood for a lie. An idealized version of things, and of their relationship with their family, that never really existed. Even when those buildings had been so full of life, what had they been built on but the torment of the Radiance? It was impossible now to see them as anything but another deception that the Pale King had made for everybody, including himself.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” The Pale King cleared his throat and made a sweeping gesture at it all. “All of this power, all this wealth, and everything it represents – it could still all be yours. It could all be ours. The only thing you must do is turn your back on the false words your supposed “friends” have thrust into your head. Those bugs, they aren’t your friends. Friends wouldn’t pollute your mind with such foul ideas, not even you were so happy with things as they were. Think of it, if you never met that Lurien and his Butler, you’d still be joyful as anything. I can tell you’re tormented, it’s obvious by how you’ve been running this way and that, talking to every bug you can, and avoiding spending time with your own father. It does not have to be this way. If you shove all those dirty thoughts out of your mind, you can go back to being my beloved. My Pure Vessel.”

His Pure Vessel. Those words struck their head like a mallet to a gong. At once, it all made sense. His behavior, and why he had gone so far to try and force their love back onto him. Despite all of his proclamations of love, and all his words of desire, the King still failed to see them as a full being, with the same intelligence and self-sufficiency as any other. He saw them as a Vessel to pour whatever he wanted them to be into. That’s why he’d been so upset with Lurien, Butler, Hornet, and whoever else – it’s because they’d threatened to turn his Vessel into an actual being independent of his will. Even now, after losing everything, after having everyone turn on him, after losing his wife, his friends, his confidantes, everything except his fancy Palace and his raw power over this idea, the King refused to see them as anything more than his Vessel, once and forever.

“What’s wrong? Do you need a seat? There’s a chair back there, if you need support,” the Wyrm said as the Pure Vessel sank to their knees. “Yes, yes, this is all a lot to take in, isn’t it? You’ve been pulled so deep into delusion, but it’ll be alright now. The only thing you must do is come back to your father, and submit yourself to me. I’ll clear those thoughts right out of your head – and I will take care of all of those who tore you from my side. Afterwards, we will rule the Kingdom as a couple, and nobody will ever stand in our way. What say you?”

How to respond to such a screed? He’d assumed that they were being won over by all this? That by attempting to kill their friends and by giving a big speech about how much better it was when they were ignoring and unaware of the world, he’d taken back their affection? For the first time, Pure looked at their father and felt nothing of the sort of love they’d always felt for him. In the King’s place stood a pathetic and grasping man, a cloth-swaddled child who never learned that others could exist outside of his will. Why had they never seen it before? Had he only been able to maintain that image of himself as a glorious and loving father by shutting them off from everything else?

The King had picked up the pen and paper they’d dropped when they’d gone to the ground, and placed it in their lap. “Go on! I can tell how you feel – let us make it official, and we can begin our new rule of Hallownest together. All you need do is give yourself to me.”

Pure took them up, and wrote a scant few words. They thrust it back to the Pale King like it was something diseased. He took it in ignorance and read it.

“No. No, no, no. This cannot be right. Why would you write such a thing, my Vessel? “I am my own being?” What does that mean?”

They tore off some more paper, wrote some more words, and gave them to the King, feeling as the paper passed hands that conflict was now unavoidable.

Pale King read the words, and then read them again. A shuddering rage ran through his body, and he tore the paper up into little shreds before letting the wind carry them away. “You wish to separate? Is that it? To go your own way and see the world? What a preposterous thing! Have you no care for your father? Do you not care that he only feels complete when he’d by your side? I was wrong about you – I assumed you’d been merely taken astray. That a few nice words and perhaps a few harsh punishments would be enough to bring you back to the right track. I see now how wrong I was.”

He summoned his long pale blade, and let it shimmer in the light.

“No father wants to resort to the lash, but you’ve given me no other way. I’ll beat you down, drag you into the darkest part of this Palace, and deprive your mind for however many centuries it takes for you to become Pure again, for your head to empty of thoughts. You are mine, and you will always be mine! Now, kneel!”
The Pure Vessel summoned their own blade. Ironically, in order to fight this man, they had to utterly divorce themselves from their emotions – but they would not go back. Something was cracking open inside of them now, some long-standing shell which had contained some aspect or fundamental part of their being. They would not have it forced back together.

---

It had been a good decision to station Quirrel and Dryya outside the Overlook, because no sooner had they started their discussion with the Pale King than Hornet arrived like a spider out of Hell. She sensed that her father was up ahead, and didn’t even register there were others standing in her way until Quirrel flash-stepped directly in front of her, and blocked the way. She made a leap to his right, only to find Dryya with her sword brandished. The Great Knight managed to raise her blade just in time to protect against a slash from Hornet, and then used her strength to push the spider back.

“Enough already!” Hornet roared. “Why must you, and everybody else, impede my progress? I’m finished being kind with you fools, step aside or die!”

“I apologize, Princess,” Dryya said. “But we have strict orders to not let anyone pass – especially not you. I understand your anger. Anger can be a very powerful, and even liberating emotion… but it can consume us if we’re not careful. And you seem to be consumed by it beyond seeing reason.”

Hornet didn’t waste any time with more pleasantries, launching her needle at Quirrel and forcing him to dodge. She tracked where he was going to land, and threw out spikes in at the spot. He stabbed the ground seconds before impact, and tossed himself off to the side, rolling to an uneasy landing. Hungry to punish his mistake, Hornet reached under her cloak and chucked a series of knives at the pillbug. Dryya leapt into the way and deflected every blade, before lunging towards Hornet, who was taken off-guard by her quick reflexes and startling speed.

Dryya pushed the advantage, and closed the distance until she could level a gruesome one-handed blow right at Hornet’s center. Fast on her feet, Hornet raised her needle to block the attack, but didn’t see Dryya’s free hand coming at her until it was too late. A harsh knuckle crashed directly into her face, landing a brutal haymaker which sent Hornet nearly back on her ass.

The little spider forced herself upright, and shook off the disorientation caused by the punch, but her opponents weren’t in a mood for mercy. Quirrel, executing the same technique he’d used to so gruesomely injure the Pale King, seemed to vanish into nothing. When he emerged, Hornet had a single precious second to duck a blow that would’ve taken her out of the fight and necessitated some very serious medical attention.

“In my way… In my way… You’re in my way!” Hornet growled between deep breaths. She’d been meaning to save herself for the Pale King, but she was really fucking furious now, and wanted these two measly guards done. She reached under her cloak and threw down a smoke bomb, filling up the room with pure white.

All three of them vanished in the smoke, causing Quirrel and Dryya to think the same thing: she was going to try and duck by them while they were blinded. The two of them crowded the door, listening and looking keenly for any approaching movements.

Both of them had expected for Hornet to come charging. Instead they found a barrage of overwhelming weaponry seeming to materialize in the air around them. Knives, throwing stars, sawblades, hand-held needles, and more flung at the two of them out of the fog, coming from what seemed like several directions at once. Hornet had blinded Quirrel and Dryya, and forced them into the same position, so she could bombard them with every piece of weaponry she’d stocked up on back at Dirtmouth.

Putting their back together, Quirrel and Dryya tried to stop hold back the assault, using their blades to block the weaponry. Quirrel sliced blades and knives out of the air, and Dryya deflected swords and needles – but some still got through with overwhelming ferocity. Blades flicked by their sides, cutting and drawing blood. Some of the wounds were minor, but others were more severe, like a knife which sliced right into Quirrel’s thigh and almost sent him cratering to the ground. He managed to stead himself with his blade as Dyrra stepped in to deflect the oncoming weapons, but ended up catching a nasty couple of wounds herself in her left arm and shoulder.

The blaze continued, the two bugs just barely holding it together under the assault, until, with a final slice courtesy of Qurriel, the barrage ended, and what remained of the smoke cleared up. Hornet appeared in the center of the room, positively shaking with rage. “How do you two still live? That was enough weaponry to slay an army! Now how am I supposed to kill the Pale King?”

“That’s a good question, my dear,” a new voice said from somewhere in the hall behind her. “How are you expecting to kill him, anyhow?”

Thoroughly fed up, Hornet turned around and saw the White Lady entering the room, her head held low and a light beaming from behind her eyes. “You again? Didn’t I tell your lover what would happen if you got in my way?”

The White Lady raised a hand. “Hornet, please, stop. It’s over. You’re outnumbered, and you’ve no weaponry left aside from your needle. Beyond that, look at how winded you’ve become – you can hardly stand upright. You fought well, but you need to listen to reason. It’s impossible for you to continue this crusade.”

Hornet went stock still again. “No. It’s not going to end here. I don’t care how many of you stand between me and him! I will have my revenge, no matter the odds.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” the Lady continued. “But I won’t let you get yourself killed fighting the Pale King. You’re my step-daughter, and I refuse to let you throw your life away.”

The Root closed her eyes. “Are you sure this will work?”

“It must,” Radiance replied. “I tried to reach her with my words, but perhaps only having her face the emptiness I felt is the way forward.”

Hornet didn’t wait for the White Lady to fix her shit. She lowered into a charging stance, and flash-stepped towards the Queen of Hallownest. Quirrel and Dryya watched her go, and lunged to follow, but their wounds slowed their speed. They wouldn’t make it there in time.

“None of you understand how this feels,” Hornet shouted from somewhere. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you all this, but only killing him will fill the hole in my heart. Only doing that might bring me peace! I will do what I must to secure my own happiness, even if it means slaying all of you!”

She blinked back into light directly in front of the White Lady, needle raised, the point of it stabbing directly at her chest. Hornet thought she had it until the hands of the enemy clamped down around her head, and forced her face upwards. In the Lady’s eyes she saw the bright light of the Radiance, and in that brightness, her mind was swallowed up.

When she regained consciousness, Hornet was not herself. She saw the world through the eyes of another, and when her gaze drifted downwards and she saw her fluffy torso and expansive wings, it wasn’t hard to figure out who it was.

Radiance was looking down on a congregation of moths in a temple which had built to worship her. Laying down among their number, Radiance took in their love and adoration, their gentle hums and exhortations to her glory. Their hands and bodies leaned into her fluff, and rubbed her, basking in the warmth which rolled off her in waves. The small ones fell asleep in the gentle glow of the light and the comforting heat. Voices everywhere sung her praises, told her that she mattered more than anything to them, and that nothing would ever reach her beauty. Resting there upon the ground, Radiance closed her eyes, lulled into peace by the love of her followers and the knowledge that, no matter what happened, she would have their love.

When Hornet opened “her” eyes again, Radiance was alone. Every follower had gone, and now she was alone in the Dream Realm. The light and warmth which had before seemed so inviting and calming now seemed to mock her. The ethereal space spread out forever in all directions and dimensions, nothing adorning any of it except the occasional platforms which the moths had used when visiting this place. Dream sigils floated in the air, glorious and beautiful as ever, but now with no eyes except Radiance’s own to see them. She tried to reach her followers, those who had said they’d never leave her, only to find denial at every step. Her beloved moths had trained their minds to shut her out, and now their heads returned nothing but echoes. Radiance closed her eyes, trying to contain an emotion without a name.

Her eyes opened onto an even more desolate scene. A blue-gray wasteland reached out beyond her, with not a living thing in sight. This was the only way for Radiance to see the outside world now, to even know it still existed. A single sad and lonely statue at the top of the world, where nobody would ever see it or know the glory trapped inside. No followers, no friends, not even a single bug in all of existence to lean her head on.

The desolation was complete and total. She would have called into the emptiness but there were no words for such a thing.

And in her silence grew a hatred unlike any other.

It coiled up and burned in her, a snake eating its own tail and choking on it. She let it eat her. Every day, the only thought, the only drive, was to kill the Pale King. To make him suffer. To make all of them suffer. To make each and every one of them feel as empty and cavernous as she felt then, for those years and years.

And so it came to be that when an innocent miner bug made his way up to her peak, driven by nothing but his own curiosity, she leapt on him like a caged animal suddenly being tossed a meal. Her Infection ripped into his mind, coursed through his body, and turned him within moments. Anything of the happy, loving insect he’d been before Radiance had met him melted away, and all that was left was a mindless monster. She watched as he rushed down to his fellow miners, and began to attack them while raving about the Ancient Light which remained ahead. She watched as he was cut down, and as another few brave explorers snuck up to see what had driven him so mad. From then it had all been so easy, so simple to start a chain of infections. To spread her influence throughout the Kingdom once more, turning friend against friend and family against family. All of it had felt so deliciously sweet. The high of violence carried her out of the haze. Radiance regained her energy and regained her acuity. She felt alive again as she carried out her revenge, planting the seeds which would one day grow to rend Hallownest asunder.

She committed violence after violence, and her Infection began to claim the lives of many. Dozens and dozens either caved into its symptoms, or were slain by their fellows to prevent further damage. It was after watching a particularly brawl caused by her disease that the Radiance came to a realization about herself:

This wasn’t making her happy.

She became conscious of the fact that she was feeling emotions, but none of them the important ones. There was no recovery on this road, no putting back together the smashed shards of her past. There was only further hurting and further harming which lost their luster. The emptiness came back, perhaps worse than before, the gaping gnawing at her center reminding her of all the terrible things which had happened to her, spat salt in the wounds of her rawest moments. Radiance, doubling down, tried using violence to fill herself. Her rage became even greater, her hatred all-consuming. She became so distanced from others, not really seeing them as other complete being anymore, but rather extensions of herself. Things onto which pain could be placed.

After that, the years faded into a haze of violence, a deafening cacophony of despair.

A symphony which only ended, and only softened, on that night the Radiance had met the White Lady.

This all flashed through Hornet’s head in the space of a few seconds. There were no words involved with how she experienced that desperation, and how her mind immediately linked it to her own. Nor was there language when Hornet watched Radiance’s recovery, the way she grew close to the White Lady, the fractures parts of her slowly beginning to become whole again. None of it was spoken, Hornet experienced all of it like her mind had merged with that of the Radiance – and she had felt everything that the Light had felt. She’d felt the pain, the rage, the utter violation. At the end, she’d experienced the true peace the Radiance felt during a simple moment: a scene where the White Lady pulled her into a gentle embrace without expectation.

The vision withdrew, and Hornet was back in the White Palace again with Quirrel and Dryya right on her heels. Her needle was still pointed at the Queen’s chest, placed perfectly for a lethal blow. If she put her her force into it, Hornet knew she could kill the Lady here and now, and continue on her current path of revenge. All it would require is a little thrust, a single act of will.

Instead, Hornet paused at the very last second, her needle barely penetrating the Lady’s roots.

She dropped her weapon, and got down on her knees. Hornet promised herself she’d never cry over this, and so she didn’t betray any signs of what was going on inside. She wrapped her arms around her chest, as if hoping that this would keep everything whirring around inside her where it was supposed to be. Then, able to take it no more, she snapped, and pounded the ground with both fists hard enough to shake the cobbles. Her fists beat the earth, and a sound less a cry and more a guttural exhortation of agony escaped her throat.

“Herrah!”

“Herrah, Mother, where did you go? Why did you leave me here alone?”

“What am I supposed to do with out you?”

“…”

“...Is this what you would have wanted for me?”

The White Lady and her lover knelt down a little ways away from her step-daughter, giving her space.

Everybody else moved towards the Overlook, hoping that the Pure Vessel had prevailed.

To say the battle was going badly would be an understatement to the ninth degree. The Pure Vessel had received plenty of royal training, sure, but that was nothing compared to the might of an actual God with millennia of combat experience under his belt. Not to mention, it quickly became clear that only one of them was playing for keeps. The Pale King refused to hold back, using every tool in his arsenal to crush his Vessel down to the ground, while Pure still had a hard time even imagining their beloved father in pain – let alone causing that harm.

“Is this all you’re capable of?” the Pale King said as he threw a barrage of dozens of spears at the Pure Vessel. “I should have forced you to come with me by force from the start!”

Pure deflected them best as they could, and leapt towards the King to do… what? They practically froze in air as the idea of hurting the Pale King simply refused to compute in their mind.

A blast of SOUL magic rocketed into their side, sending the Pure Vessel to the ground in a heap. They got back to their feet, and saw the King shaking his head in disappointment. What was the difference between the two of them? Why had he been so able to fight without mercy, while they struggled to even amount a decent defense?

“Do you understand now, my Vessel? Do you understand my anger?” Pale King brushed off his cloak and sighed. “No, how could you? You’ve never felt anger in your life. That’s what I always liked best about you. Anger is such a troubling emotion. It can cause us to act so out of line! You were such a great mate because you had no such rage. Everything I told you to do you did. We could still go back to those peaceful days, if only if…”

The rest of his words faded away, and Pure considered what the Wyrm had just said. Anger was an emotion still unfamiliar to the Vessel. They’d only let themselves feel flickers and bursts of it, such as during the King’s big speech earlier. Never before had Pure allowed themselves to bathe in it, to lean in deep to it, and to listen to what it had to say. Every other emotion they’d learned had helped them break free in some way. What would anger teach them? How would rage guide their way?

They closed out the world, only for a moment or two while the King was on another one of his monologues, and allowed themselves to think about being angry. What was there to be mad about, genuinely? If they stopped to think about what the Pale King had done to them, what he had done to others, and pushed every veil of sympathy out of their mind – what type of anger would they feel towards the Pale King?

…

They started shaking with rage within the first few thoughts.

The King had thrown away all of their siblings like garbage.

The King had sheltered them and kept them innocent of the world outside, only to turn tail and fuck them for his own selfish wants.

The King had raised and loved them despite knowing he was going to seal them away in eternal agony forever.

The King had taken advantage of their naivete and taken them as a mate despite knowing full well how wrong it all way.

Every new thought was like a hammer crashing against the side of their head. The din grew louder, and swallowed up everything else.

Their father had killed Herrah the Beast for no other reason than she tried to protect her daughter.

Their father had tried to kill Lurien, Lumen, and so many others. Tried to have them executed.

Their father had the fucking audacity, the gall, to sit there with that Holier-Than-Thou smile on his face, and pretend they were the crazy one. That they were the one in the wrong. That they’d somehow brought all of this on themselves by trying to live their own life. By trying to be an individual, and not just his plaything.

Their back shot straight up, their arm and legs began to quake. Before the King could finish his insipid little speech, they lunged at him with more speed than they thought possible. The Wyrm had only a second to look at them in mute astonishment before a brutal and crushing kick devastated his left side – the same part of his body which Quirrel had so viciously cut open a mere day ago. He cried out in pain, only for the Vessel to follow that up with a punch which drove the King’s face straight into the ground, shattering the cobbles of the Overlook.

Catching himself back up, the Pale King summoned a series of spears as he flung himself backwards, and the Vessel slashed through all of them. They towered over the King, closing the distance with long and confident leaps. The Wyrm threw Boofly-sized bursts of Soul at the Vessel, only to watch as they sliced and punched through them, ignoring the pain caused by the counterattack. He backed up, and summoned a spell he hadn’t used since the Battle of the Blackwyrm, a concentration of Soul magic so intense it almost seemed to split reality as it cut through the room like knives, racing towards the Pure Vessel.

Those knives cut their Void, including opening a nasty gash in their side. It would have been worse if not for their lightning-quick reflexes, but it still cut deep. They didn’t have to stop fighting though – all Pure had to do was stop and focus, channeling the Soul surging through their body to do something that now felt natural. The energy repaired their body, and closed up that wound. Strange, they hadn’t practiced that ability in years, but just now, it had felt as natural as breathing felt to others.

The bolts the King had thrown ripped apart the Overlook, sending chunks of the ceiling and nearby pillars crashing to the ground, and setting on fire some of the nearby plant life. Pale King threw everything he had at the Vessel, conjuring up Soul blasts large as a building and throwing them in rapid succession, desperately trying to do anything, everything he could to stop them in their tracks. Yet they didn’t stop, their strides were growing more confident, more assured. They were slowing down, growing injured and weaker with every attack, the assault was taking up so much of their stamina and energy – but they would not stop. The Pale King was going to hear what was on their mind.

Backed nearly to the wall, the King began to shout. “Enough! Fine, so be it! If you want to die so badly with all of your supposed friends, then die!”

He began to float in the air, and his hands hung at his sides. All of him began to glow the brightest pale Hollow had ever seen. It was clear that whatever he was about to do would level everything nearby – maybe even the entire Palace. This was the sort of attack only a God would be capable of.

The light grew so harsh it pained Pure worse than anything else so far. Getting close to the King like this seemed impossible…

Pure put one foot in front of the other, and then again, one foot in front of the other. They took a slow march through the agony, through the light that felt like thousands of knives slicing them everywhere. They marched and marched, going deeper and deeper into the light which put even that of the Radiance to shame, until finally the Pale King was in sight, just above them, a vague slight-darkness in the otherwise endless bright.

“What? How did you?” The King looked down at them and for the first time in his entire was was afraid.

The Vessel reached up an arm and grasped his leg, forcing him back down to the ground. His glow was only increasing, and it seemed as if any moment now, it’d burst out from him and incinerate all of Hallownest. Yet, for all that power, he saw something in his Vessel which made him realize the battle was over.

Then he saw an Abyss Shriek hole appear on the front of their mask.

“V-Vessel? What are you trying to say?”

They reared their head back, took in the Void equivalent of a nice and long breath, and screamed.

Every anger.

Every regret.

Every indignity.

Every sorrow.

Every weakness.

Every suffering.

All of it came out in that one obliterating shriek. They held the King’s face right up to theirs, and let loose.

The scream was heard as far away as Pharloom.

The power of it made whatever little trick the King had been about to pull seem like a gentle breeze. Except, instead of being blown out everywhere, indiscriminate and loathing, this was controlled. A direct focus of energy which only harmed the King and his precious, precious Overlook.

When the blaze ended and the flash died down, there was no more wall behind the Pale King. Just an empty hole in the side of the Palace, dripping with Void. The Wyrm hung nearly limp in their grasp, and Hollow tossed him to the ground. He looked up at them in a frame sucked dry of any and all power or fight, as if the Abyss Shriek had robbed him of some fundamental power. He raised his weak arms up over his face.

“S-Stop! Don’t kill me!”

They actually did consider it. It would’ve been so easy with the King’s weakened state to stab the blade through his chest. Hollow came up and over the Wyrm, brandishing their sword, feeling the anger rising up in them again like before. Before they could go through with any of those dark thoughts and give themselves entirely into the emptying hatred, a voice called from behind.

“Vessel! You did it!”

They turned around to find the White Lady standing there, her eyes bright. Behind her everyone else slowly trickled in. Quirrel, Dryya, and even Hornet perambulated in. It would’ve been a really heartwarming scene, but the King decided that just then was a great time to try and get away, crawling out of the hole in the wall that legendary shriek had created.

Hornet was on top of him in a second, dangling his pathetic and sad body over the gap. He gave a panicked little grasp, and Hornet cocked her head at him, as if wondering how someone this sad and pathetic had ever caused this much trouble. Her grip on his neck slackened, and it seemed for a second like he might plummet to his doom. But then Hornet shrugged and threw the drained Wyrm over her shoulder.

“No,” she said. “It’s really not worth it. You’re much too pathetic. Better to lock you up and let you live with the wreck of yourself.”

“But I-!”

Again, Hornet practically warped on top of him, this time tying him up in a ball of webbing so thick he wouldn’t be able to move a finger. The White Lady came over and hastily put a Seal of Binding on it – something that’d keep the King in place until they had a proper place to put him.

Once that mess was sorted the White Lady rushed in to hug her child. “I am so very, very proud of you, and so sorry that it came to all this. How can I…?”

They put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and the Radiance’s voice entered their head.

“Your mother is right – it has been millennia since I’ve seen such a comprehensive beating. It almost makes up for the fact that I wasn’t the one to do him in!”

“Radi,” the White Lady said like a disappointed mom.

“My oh my,” Quirrel said. “This really turned into quite the mess, didn’t it? I’m quite glad you’re all alright – but I really must go see my Lady Monomon! Who knows how she’ll react to this really historic news?”

He sprinted out, and as he left Dryya came forwards. She tugged on the Lady’s cloak and got her attention. “My Lady,” she said, “I know this is not a good time, but I want to say something. I have always adored you. Loved you, even. And I know you have eyes only for the Radiance, but, I still want to be there for you. Even if I can’t be the one to love you, then maybe I could be there for all your troubles. Carry you when you need a friend, and not a lover.”

The White Lady leaned down and pulled Dryya into a hug. “My Knight, I really have been so terrible with you, haven’t I? Of course you can be there for me. Perhaps, if the Radiance accepts it, we could do something a bit more than just be there for one another, hmm?”

“...Proceed.” Radiance said, more than a bit curious as to where this was going.

The two (well, really three) of them started up a lively and rather embarrassing dialogue, while Hornet walked over to the Pure Vessel, who was standing right where they’d been when the King had woken them up.

“Vessel, I have a question for you. I know this might be the best of times to ask it, but you are the only one I know who has suffered as I have.” She stood there next to them, her frame shaking a little as she pondered her next words.

Hollow, who was still shocked and emotionally emptied out from the battle, nodded, promising to themselves that they’d answer the best they could.

“Do you think Herrah was like the Pale King?”

They considered this, and nodded their head. She might not have been as overt a monster as he, but she’d still done so many terrible things, and left scars on Hornet that’d take years to heal.”

“...I see. Perhaps my view of things has been very limited, after all. I’ll… have to think about all this. Can I come to visit you once this all settles down?”

They knelt down to see her face-to-face, and nodded.

Hornet hugged them. It was only for a second. The briefest thing, really. But seeing and feeling that, Hollow knew that she was going to be okay.
“I must be off now,” she said, picking up the Pale King who was thrashing around quite uselessly inside of his webbed prison. “I can think of a few places to keep this trash while we sort things out. And Vessel? Let yourself feel what you must.”

She raced off, pulling the King behind her.

The White Lady left, along with her companions, and then the Pure Vessel was alone. They looked at what remained over the Overlook, and then down at where this whole mess had first started. Hollow saw themselves all those years back, when their head was like a pool of water which suddenly found itself inhabited. They remembered the confusion, the new strangeness of feeling, and above all, the complete innocence that should never have been the King’s to sully. What would they tell themselves, if they could go back? What words of wisdom or warning?

They had no writing equipment, but one of their fingers still bled. They laid down, and sketched out a few words.

“It was not your fault,

and you will remain.”

That was all.

Chapter 18: Inside Something Small There's Something Even Smaller That Wants To Leap Out

Nobody had told Pure that “leaving” was an emotion all its own. It was a complicated feeling, yet another for them to add to the ever-growing compendium inside their head. Leaving was sadness, but not entirely. There was something else in there: a sensation of possibility opening up before them which hadn’t ever existed before. It was the feeling of hundreds of doors closing behind them forever while many thousands more swung free off their hinges in the world beyond.

In the months since the Pale King’s defeat and subsequent sealing, they’d felt this day approaching from afar. They’d never really known Hallownest at all, being all cooped up in the Palace for most of their life – and their memories both inside and outside of that structure were not exactly pleasant. Hollow had found themselves unable to properly enjoy their new freedom. Every stroll through the City of Tears reminded them of that fateful night where they’d first met Lurien and Lumen, and the Palace was a cornucopia of unpleasant memories. Nor were they keen to start sweeping everything which had occurred under the rug. They’d refused to let the Overlook be repaired after the battle, wanting it to stand as a scar symbolizing the needless and stupid tragedy citizens of the Kingdom were now called The Absurdity.

It didn’t help that their relations had become… complicated.

But there would be time to face all that later today.

They didn’t have too much to pack. Lurien had crafted them various suits and other articles of clothing which they neatly packed up. There were books to take, and writing implements to drag along. Aside from that though? Not much. It’s not like there were many fuzzy keepsakes they wanted to bring with, nor did they have any need for the usual travel essentials like food and water, or proper bedding for that matter. Vessels did not have need of such things.

Silence reigned both in their room and in their entire part of the White Palace. This was another reason why Hollow was dead set on leaving: everybody treated them differently here now.

Not with open disrespect or hatred, obviously. Nobody would dare insult nobility in the Kingdom after what had happened with the Pale King.

The Pure Vessel got the message, however. The discomfort and probably disgust others felt around them was obvious in their stares, in the way their supposed subjects practically fled the room with their arrival. It was embarrassing and degrading to know that everybody they met knew about the terrible things which had happened to them, and the acts they’d been party to. An entire part of their life which by all means should have remained private was, thanks to the thoughtless actions of the Pale King, now an open spectacle and Absurdity. Everybody knew about the incest and general debauchery they’d committed, and the number of bugs willing to treat them with any sense of normalcy with that knowledge was vanishingly small. They needed to go someplace new, where their history would be a blank page.

Once they had everything together, the Pure Vessel turned to take one last look at the room which had been their own for so long. It was home, but it also couldn’t be home anymore.

They had a few people to visit before they departed from the Kingdom. Their first meeting of the day was thankfully right on their path out of the White Palace, as they needed to pass by the White Lady’s chambers on their way back to the entrance anyhow. As the Vessel came closer to the large ornate doors which separated her room from the outside world, they began to her laughter and general cheer. There was the sweet smell of baked goods in the air. Mustering up their courage for the impending difficult conversation, Hollow pushed through the gate and headed inside.

White Lady’s room had been utterly transformed from how it had used to be before everything had happened with the Pale King. Before it had been stately and respectable, with the only decorations being the high twisting pale pillars and a good amount of curling plant-life. The only furniture had been the essentials, such as a bed and various chests and drawers. Now? It was bright and full of new furnishings, from additional beds to paintings on the walls to specialty-made crystal lights. Additional tables and desks and chairs were scattered about pretty much everywhere. If there was an order to any of it, it wasn’t one the Vessel was able to discern. Also, as was mentioned earlier, it was bright. Very bright. Positively Radiant, even. Because the Radiance was there.

She’d long since tired of spending her days trapped up in the White Lady’s head. It’s been a matter of much difficulty to manifest herself in the physical world in a permanent way, but now that the Radiance and Lady had all the time in the world, they’d eventually discovered a solution. They’d attempted to explain it to the Pure Vessel a couple weeks back and the words had flowed right through them as if they were still free of thoughts. Hollow told themselves that the important thing was that their mother was happy. They leaned against a wall, waiting for the two lovebirds to notice them – they were absorbed with writing what appeared to be a sheet of music.

“You think this arrangement is the best yet?” the White Lady asked.

“I think it will stun,” Radiance replied. “More importantly, however, how do you feel?”

The Root nodded gently. “I feel wonderful, thank you for asking. I told you this piece is very important to me, but I need to stress how… freeing it feels to put everything that’s happened into music. You know how much both the situation with the Pale King and my new little secret experiment to save the Vessels of the Abyss has taken out of me. When I look at this sheet, it feels as if some of what I had inside of my chest is now out of it and onto the page.”

“When I create music with you, my Lady, I feel the same way. Something inside of me becomes lighter, somehow.”

The Pure Vessel gently tapped the wall behind them, not wanting to ruin the moment but also desiring very much to say their goodbyes. Part of them wanted to inquire about what the Lady had said about restoring the Abyss, but the raw part of their mind screamed at them to put it out of mind for now. They’d been through so much that taking on another load, especially at this late hour of their journey, would’ve threatened to buckle their back. So they silently wished the best for all their siblings and knocked again. The two lovers turned heads towards them and got all flushed and embarrassed.

“My child! When did you sneak in here?” Their mother strolled right over to them and gave them a wide hug, which the Vessel returned. Yet, they broke it off within moments – now that they’d had more time to process everything which had happened, being around her felt indescribably odd. Perhaps they felt an anger smoldering somewhere inside of themselves still, for giving into her debased urges all those nights ago, and for now stopping the madness before it had so consumed their life. The White Lady blushed awkwardly and looked to the side.

“Today is the day you’re leaving us, I’ve heard,” Radiance said, floating closer. “To think I’d feel sorrow over losing the one who was meant to entrap me!”

It was an attempt at humor, but it died in the air. The Ancient Light dropped her gaze.

“Perhaps I should be quick and to-the-point, then. I know there is a gap between us that will never entirely close, but I wished to say: I will miss you. Your mother will as well, in ways she won’t ever be able to fully say.”

Hollow’s face sunk towards the ground. There was that strange feeling again. The knowledge that leaving all of this behind would be for the best, combined with the attachment they still felt, however tortured, to what they had now. Despite everything, which had happened between the three of them, everything the Radiance had done to the Kingdom and everything the Lady done or failed to prevent happening to the Vessel, they wrote down the truth. “I will miss you too.”

They left out the words, “...but this is for the best.”

Their mother’s shoulders sagged. “The only thing I ask is that you write us. Not always, I know we don’t deserve that. But on occasion. So we can know you’re still alright. Now that the King’s gone, the Great Knights first order of business has been opening Hallownest up to the world outside again – I’m sure we’ll have mailing routes to the outside world eventually. So please, be sure to let us know you’re okay out there.”

The Pure Vessel nodded, and didn’t know if they would. They crossed the room and gave both the Radiance and White Lady a parting hug, knowing they could at least give that. Wordlessly, they were about to leave when Dryya practically kicked in the door.

“Queen, Light,” she said with a dignified air, “we will need your assistance this afternoon. Emissaries have arrived from other Kingdoms, and the Great Knights request your aid with negotiating our initial trade deals.”

“Oh goodness, not again!” White Lady said, resting her head on a hand. “Wasn’t the whole point of my stepping back and letting you five take control of the Kingdom that I wouldn’t have to deal with these things? I think it’s quite clear by now that I do not have the best impulse control.”

“And are you certain they’ve never heard of me before?” Radiance asked, butting in. “I know that news of my sealing and my subsequent… mistakes spread among the Gods, like that bastard Grimm. What if they know who I am, and react badly to finding me here?”

Dryya shrugged. “That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we come to it. But, ask yourselves this: do you really trust Ogrim with something as sensitive as trade secrets?”

“...Point taken.” Radiance said, speaking for herself and the White Lady. “Fine, we will be along in a couple of hours to take a look at things. Now, Dryya, aren’t you going to say something to our visitor?”

The Royal Knight turned and saw Hollow in the room for the first time. She’d been so sucked up in her duties that she’d neglected to notice anything else! Immediately she grew embarrassed, and stammered out an apology. The Pure Vessel gestured towards her with a casual wave, as if to say that it was not big deal, because to them it really wasn’t. If anything, they were happy that the Kingdom would be getting leadership with decidedly less… baggage.

She stuck her hand out, and offered a handshake. “Apologizes aside, I heard you’re departing Hallownest today? If so, then I wish you the best. You’re a brave and courageous individual – and I know you’ll go on to do great things. You only needs remember that you shall always have a home to yourself here in Hallownest.”

Pure shook her hand back, and bowed. Dryya bowed in return, and left.

A new awkward silence filled the air. The Vessel began to shuffle uneasily towards the door. White Lady stopped them with an abrupt shout that was meant to be word but came out more as like a single syllable. They turned to look at her, giving her a final chance to speak.

“My Vessel,” she said, pausing, and turning to look lovingly at Radiance for confidence. “...I’m sorry. None of this ever should have happened. Wherever you go next, try to live the best life you can, alright? Do what you feel you need to do to find happiness.”

They stared at her for a second, and nodded, opening up the door to leave. When they turned around for the last time, the saw their mother and the Radiance giving them a genuine wave goodbye. After everything, they still decided to wave back.

Hollow shut the door behind them and pressed their back to it, letting out a long internal sign. That’d gone better than they thought it would, but there were still a few more awkward conversations to get through by the end of the day. The next thing on their checklist was to try and track down Quirrel and Monomon. That’d be easier said than done, because those two were certainly on the move these days, constantly doing experiments with all the new resources the Great Knights had allotted them.

Thankfully though, the universe felt like throwing the Pure Vessel a bone. Instead of having to trek all the way down to the Fog Canyon, they instead found the two researchers right at the entrance of the palace, dragging along what looked like an entire trunk of paperwork in tow. Quirrel noticed them first, and gave them an excited wave.

“Ah, Vessel! I’m very glad we stumbled onto you. Monomon and I were heading into the White Palace today to help some with negotiations or something of that nature. I’ll be honest – it’s all noise to me. Monomon is the one with the ear for that sort of thing.”

“It’s true,” Monomon said with a nod from within her tank. “But I’m glad we got to see you, too. We wanted to wish you goodbye. And to tell you that we are both very proud of you.”

The Pure Vessel bowed, grateful for the kind words.

“It’s a special thing, getting to go into the outside world,” Quirrel said. “Outside there, in the wastes, it is said that bugs begin to lose their minds and return back to their feral state. Yet, our research after the King’s defeat has shown it to be a great deal more complicated than that. Certain bugs, such as Higher Beings, seem to be immune to the effects, but our results on lesser bugs have been more… mixed.”

At this, Hollow looked up.

Monomon continued for Quirrel, who was never the best at putting things delicately. “Some lesser bugs do begin to lose their memories when outside the Kingdom’s walls, but it doesn’t effect everybody, and those who do experience that sort of cognitive loss do so very unevenly. For some, they only lose a few scraps of unimportant detail here and there. For others, well, we had to bring them back within the walls within minutes of sending them out, because they’d reported losing track of who they were.”
Quirrel held his hands behind his back and tried to cut directly at the point Monomon kept dancing around. “All of which means, make sure to keep a very close eye on Lurien and Lumen out there, alright? They’ll be coming with you, after all. We’ve briefed them on all this and they still want to go, but it would make us much more comfortable with your promise.”

This was true, Lurien and his Butler would be coming with Hollow out of Hallownest. Lurien, with his love of the Pale King now having long since faded, wanted to see new things, and didn’t want to be held back by what was anymore. Lumen always went where his master lead, so it only made sense he’d be leaving too. Still though, Pure had been cautious about the idea from the start. It’d be an entirely different world out there from the parties and debauchery and general luxury of Hallownest. Were the two of them really up to such a responsibility? And now there was this added complication. They’d have to bring this up when they met with the two of them at the end of the day.

They wrote a brief letter thanking Quirrel and Monomon for all of their help, and thanking them additionally for the information regarding their friends. Monomon took the letter, smiled, and handed it to her assistant. While he read over it, she turned to address the Vessel for the last time.

“It’s very brave, what you’re doing. I know you’ve certainly heard that dozens of times over the past few weeks, but it’s true. Leaving everything you’ve ever known to go into the unknown is frightening. Especially considering that the reasons you wish to leave here are rooted in deep pain and uncertainty. You should only know that I will be rooting for you the entire way into whatever it is you end up becoming – and I know my Quirrel feels the same way.”

Quirrel walked up and shook Pure’s hand. “You’re a very unique kind of bug, Vessel, and I don’t mean that in only the obvious ways. Not many insects are capable of the sort of self-reinvention you’ve demonstrated time and time again. I’ve no doubt that wherever you end up going and whatever you end up being will be spectacular. Just make certain to hold true to who you are, now. Don’t let another Pale King try and take it away.”

Overcome with their kindness, the Pure Vessel pulled the two of them into a hug – something which seemed to be becoming a sort of pattern today. Granted, this was a bit strange because they were more hugging the tank of water Monomon was suspended in than Monomon herself, but the gesture still rung true. Quirrel and his madame laughed, and waved as the Pure Vessel said goodbye.

Well, that took care of all the easy conversations for the day. The only two left were the hard ones, and the ones Pure had been dreading for weeks now. There was their second and final discussion of the day, where they’d meet up with Lurien and Lumen at the stag which was to take them out of the Kingdom. But before all that, they still had to meet up with Hornet – and more importantly, with the King she took as her prisoner.

First though, that meant getting down to the Deepnest. They caught a ride on a nearby stag, and as it drove down towards the Distant Village, Hollow couldn’t help but wonder if they’d actually have it in them to go through with all this. It’d be easy to turn away now and head straight for the stag departing Hallownest, and to never look the King in the eye ever again – but some part of them felt this was something they had to do. They didn’t want the Pale King to spend the rest of his life waiting for their return, or thinking that he still had a chance to make things right between the two of them, because according to Hornet, that’s all the old man could think about nowadays.

They arrived in the Distant Village to find it much changed. Before it had been so drab and closed-in, a sign of how the Weavers had utterly shut themselves off from the rest of the world. Considering how the Pale King came to them to rule by sword instead of by co-operation, their distrust of him made sense. Now that he was gone though, and the Great Knights were in charge of things, negotiations between Deepnest and the White Palace had warmed considerably. Shopkeepers from elsewhere in the Kingdom had set up shops all around the place, and now bright lanterns kept much of the Village lit at all hours. Bunting and banners hung from the once-desolate sidings of the buildings, and a series of staircases lead from floor-to-floor of the dwellings.

Hollow was well-aware of the glances being shot their way as they progressed through the lanes, heading up the stairs towards the Beast’s Den, the only thing which had remained unchanged all these years. They ignored the dirty glares or awkward shuffles, and instead focused on finishing the work. Finding themselves at the entrance of the Den, they ducked to fit inside.

The Pure Vessel kept expecting to find Hornet, or for her to see them and come running. Neither found the other though, and they were left to navigate those dark and cramped corridors themselves. They’d been here enough on their many visits to see Hornet to know the general way around, but that didn’t stop them from bumbling around in a general sort of helpless way for several minutes before they found what they were looking for.

Herrah’s chamber had been converted into a prison which resembled the Black Egg. Chains hung from about everywhere, and each had a powerful Seal of Binding places upon it. They converged in the center of the room around a figure who hung suspended in the air. The Pale King was waiting for them, and no sooner had the Pure Vessel entered the room than he was already shouting for their attention.

“My Vessel, oh my Vessel! You’ve finally come back for me! I thought you were going to leave your dear old father bound in these chains forever!”

Pure bit down on the urge to turn around and leave then and there. They’d spent the night before writing a nice and long letter detailing that, in short, they didn’t like him, didn’t trust him, but they also didn’t want him to spend the rest of eternity bound. It was an olive branch which had been extended despite Hornet’s plentiful warnings; she’d made it clear the King wouldn’t listen to a thing they said.

Still though, leaving him there with no parting words felt wrong. Maybe not, after being brought so low and left behind by everyone, bound up in a prison so dreadfully lonely his captor was his only frequent company, their father would get the message. He’d accept what he’d done and apologize for everything, and then the two of them could talk, see a show, do whatever a father and his child were actually supposed to do with one another, whatever.

So they held the letter up to the eyes of the Pale King. He gasped.

“A letter! What is it – an escape plan? I know how to cut these chains. I can’t do it, with my current situation, but I certainly know a way. Or perhaps you’ve come to set things right with your beloved father? Here, hold that still, let me take a look at that.”

The Pale King read the paper from start to finish, and then read it a second time, his eyes running down the words like he was searching for the very last spark of hope. When he found none, his chest sank, and his head sunk low. He let out a long and tired sigh, as if he’d just witnessed something which had drained every last bit of patience from his conscious.
“So, you are lost to me forever then? You still won’t apologize for what you did to me? Still brainwashed by that pathetic Lurien and his Butler. Once, I expected more out of you, but not anymore.”

Pure rolled up the scroll. They were done here. No longer would they allow his words or actions to wound them.

They turned to leave, and the whole time the Pale King laid out his litany of misery.

“That’s it? You’re going to turn and leave me here? After everything I’ve done for you, after everything I have given you, you abandon me like all the rest? I’m so lonely, Vessel – what am I to do? Suffer eternally for the cost of a few mistakes? Do not pretend you haven’t sinned as I have. You’re no better. None of you are any better! Don’t think that leaving here thinks you’ve left me forever. I’ll be with you, in your dreams, in your desires, for all time. Stop! Don’t go through that door! Why do you treat me so horribly? Don’t leave me, please. Don’t-”

Immediately after leaving the room, Hollow planted themselves against the side of a wall and grasped their chest. Stupid, how could they be so stupid? After everything the King had done to them, had they really expected them to take the olive branch? It was foolish to expect him to take blame for anything, because if he did, then the guilt of it would crush him utterly. Or maybe he simply didn’t have the psychological capacity for that sort of self-introspection and guilt. It didn’t matter now anyways – they were never going to talk to that man ever again.

“I’m surprised you lasted that long,” Hornet said, coming up to lean on the wall to their side. “He’s certainly stubborn, I’ll give him that.”

Hollow looked at her and immediately felt a wave of relief. Finally, someone who had been through the same thing they’d survived. Someone who would really understand, words or no.

“He’s been like that since I chained him there with the help of the White Lady and Radiance. I’ve considered investing in ear protection so I can shut out his nonsense. Despite everything, all of the absurdity of our story, I believe that’s the strangest thing of all: that bugs like him can exist and do what they do and not realize what they’ve become.”

She pushed herself off the wall, and rummaged around in a hole in the wall before pulling out a bag of provisions and weaponry. Hornet chucked it at the Pure Vessel, who caught it with a free hand. They slung it over their shoulders, and wrote a note thanking the little spider for her assistance. Not just with this, with fashioning them supplies for their coming journey, but also for being there these past few months. For always having her door and ears open to their sufferings and complaints.

“No, I should thank you instead, Vessel,” Hornet said, taking a seat on the ground and fiddling with her needle. “Our talks these past months – they’ve truly helped. You don’t understand how warped your thinking has become until you have someone cut from the same cloth to share it with. I will miss you, but I am glad you are setting off on your own, far away from this place with all its ghosts.”

“Why don’t you come with me?” Pure wrote.

Hornet shrugged. “My duties and ties remain here. The citizenry of this place can look at me strange all they want. I know who I am, and I hold more power than they ever could. My mother may have made her… mistakes, but I won’t let all of Deepnest suffer without a true leader for that. There is only one thing I ask.”

“And what is that?”

“Would you be able to write to me? If you’re able, naturally. Don’t mistake this request for sentimentality, I merely wish to know that wherever you’ve ended up, you’re safe and doing fine for yourself.”

“I will do my best.”

“Vessel,” she said, getting to her feet, “there is one other thing. Don’t listen to or believe a word that man said in there. You’re more than he could ever be. He may have given you life, but he certainly didn’t nurture it.”

They clutched their chest and did their best to believe it. “Thank you.”

Hornet casually took off her cloak and flung it over a chair. “Now, I’m going to go down to the springs and get some proper rest. I spent all morning gathering those supplies, and listening to even the distant echo of the Pale King drained me significantly. Speaking of, if you have time, why don’t you join me in the water? I’m sure we can have much private time together before you leave.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Yes, you’re quite right. That’d be a terrible idea. Forget I said anything. I’ll accept a hug instead.”

---

“Again, no, we’re leaving. We’ve long since made up our minds about this.” Lurien crossed his arms like an orator who has just struck a decisive blow. “We appreciate your concern, but you’re not getting rid of us!”

“You can’t talk him out of it,” Lumen added. “Believe me – every royal in the Kingdom has tried to convince him otherwise.”

“But why?” Pure wrote, their fingers beginning to cramp at this late stage of the argument. “You understand the risks of leaving Hallownest, but you still wish to leave it?”

Lurien laughed. “I could ask you the same thing! You’re leaving behind every claim to royalty and power for a chance at a freer tomorrow. You could spend your many remaining days drinking the best wines and eating, well, whatever it is that Vessels eat. Speaking of, you could ever help oversee the restoration of the Abyss and the liberation of your siblings. Oh don’t give me that look – the White Lady is terrible at keeping secrets. But you and I both know why you’re leaving here, correct?”
“To escape the weight of the past.”

“Exactly! There’s too much of it here. Too many long-held grudges and hatreds and sins and debaucheries. What you need – what all three of us need really, is a fresh start. Someplace new, where every stone and creature will be as if new.”

Pure held up a hand. “And what about you, small Butler? Why would you risk your life?”

“I go where my Master leads,” Lumen said with a happy wave. “It’s not as if I could let him rush out into these dirty wastes all by himself after all. Not to mention, somebody has to keep him out of the alcohol.”

“I can hold my liquor perfectly well now,” Lurien said, elbowing his Butler in a friendly sort of way.

“We will see about that!”

The three of them were seated on a stag loaded down entirely with supplies. It was honestly a miracle the creature was able to carry everything, but the Great Knights had given them the greatest steed imaginable. It was only right to send off royalty in style. The stag kept asking them if they were done bickering yet, and it was clear that, despite his patience being great, it was not infinite.

Hollow accepted then that Lurien and Lumen would be coming with. They had only one question left for the two of them.

“What about your memories? Aren’t you worried?”

The two shook their heads.

“As long as I’m with you two, I don’t think I’ll be forgetting anything,” Lurien said.

“I was about to say the exact same thing,” Lumen added.

The Pure Vessel leaned in and gave the two of them a final hug for the day. If everything was sorted, then it was time to go. A tight feeling contracted their chest, and Hollow was well aware this was the last time they’d see the Kingdom of their birth. The last time they’d stand under these lights, with this specific darkness overhead. They leaned back and gestured for the stag to go and, without entirely knowing why, began to cry.

Lurien rested a hand on their shoulder as their bulk began to move. “Go on,” he said. “Cry as much as you need. We’ll be here.”

Lumen crept over to Hollow’s side of the stag, and rested a hand on their other shoulder, his small body being jostled and jerked around by the rapid movement of their mount. Sleeping on this, he realized as he wrapped himself in a blanket, was going to prove troublesome.

He was dragged out of the present by the enormity of the moment: the departing of one life for another. His gaze turned out towards the wasteland they were riding into.

The world beyond was a blank binary: arid annihilation below, and a depthful darkness above. Yet in that nothingness existed potential, anything that could or could not exist, beckoning from beyond that place where the two halves of the binary kissed. Lumen huddled the cloth to himself, and glanced a final time at Hallownest, before turning back to the world which waited beyond. The wild breath that met him through the threshold clung to his cheeks and whispered things of terror and beauty. 

Notes:

Thank you for reading.