Beneath That Lofty Black Dome

Throughout this journey, the Little Knight died again and again, repeatedly killing its Shade to be reborn, setting out once more, and defeating bosses it had once thought it could never beat in this lifetime.

They opened new maps, listened to the stories told by newly encountered bugs, or rested briefly on the bench in Dirtmouth, listening to Zote ramble about his "Fifty-Seven Precepts," before picking up the Nail and setting out again after their short respite.

Along the way, players crossed the Fungal Wastes, which were filled with fungal spores. Dim yellow spores blanketed the entire wasteland.

Below the fungal lands, everyone arrived at Mantis Village.

Every Mantis guard in Mantis Village was a valiant warrior, and at the end of the village, everyone encountered the three Mantis Lords.

After the first Hollow Knight player uploaded a video of their battle against the Mantis Lords, it immediately caused a huge stir online.

It was clearly a brutal beginner-filtering fight, yet it drew countless players back into the game.

When it arrived beneath the thrones of the three Mantis Lords from above, the Little Knight tilted its head slightly upward to face the three lofty rulers.

It drew its slender Nail from behind its back, its piercing whistle through the air mingling with the solemn sound of the wind.

After finishing all of Hollow Knight, one would realize that the Little Knight only drew its Nail in two scenes.

Once during the battle against the three Mantis Lords, and once when fighting Troupe Master Grimm.

The Mantis Lords' animations were excellent. From awakening upon their sleeping thrones when the Little Knight arrived, to straightening themselves and offering the greatest respect when it drew its Nail to challenge them, these details let players feel the bearing and glory of the mantises as a warrior race.

And when the Little Knight drew its Nail, the Mantis Lords rose, and the BGM began, everyone felt their cells tremble in that instant.

The player who recorded the video wrote a very short caption.

He said, "When you fight the three Mantis Lords, they use your repeated failures to tell you that you suck. But at the same time, they tell you that only by becoming stronger can you survive in this seemingly gentle underground world."

The bench after failure was far away, and after reviving, players had to walk through Mantis Village all over again every time.

Yet players still looked forward to every battle.

The three Mantis Lords' moves were highly patterned, precise and methodical.

The moment they moved, you knew what kind of attack they would make, and your mind immediately understood how to deal with it.

It was just like a duel between masters in a wuxia novel, every move countered with another.

The Mothwing Cloak swept through the air, shadows gathered once more, Mantis spikes spun through the sky, the Sisters of Battle flashed and dashed, the Monarch Wings spread and beat, Nails clashed against spikes...

Accompanied by solemn yet stirring background music, even the most grueling battle became impossible to stop. This was the true essence of the three sisters' art of defending their dignity: fight to the end within the rhythm!

The three Mantis Lords' attacks landed on the beat. Once you found the rhythm by listening to the music, the battle could even become like a rhythm game.

After defeating the Mantis Lords, players would also receive an achievement.

[Respect]

After defeating the three Mantis Lords, they would stand upon their thrones and offer us their respect. Even when we returned to Mantis Village, all the Mantis warriors would no longer actively attack the Little Knight and would show their respect.

The entire Mantis tribe would treat you with utmost respect and no longer attack the protagonist. Sometimes, being able to accept defeat was also a kind of pride. The entirety of Mantis Village was made up of warriors who held pride as their creed.

Mantis Village only appeared in the early to midgame. After experiencing the chaos and madness of countless Hallownest creatures, the mantises truly made people feel respect, just as the achievement said.

That eternally fervent and untamed warrior race ultimately became one of the few forms of life in Hallownest that allowed people to sense the light of reason.

Below the video, another player left their own comment.

"After fighting passionately to the end and earning the mantises' respect, the golden gate on the left opened. I thought what awaited me was the treasure the mantises had stored away for years, but... inside was the place that made my scalp tingle the most in the entire game."

The gate on the left opened, and we gained the right to enter Deepnest.

Before getting a lamp, Deepnest was truly terrifying. There was no light here, and the road ahead could not be seen.

When all of Hallownest fell into the plague, Mantis Village resisted the Infection while also fulfilling its duty of preventing Deepnest from expanding.

Their brother, the Traitor Lord, and his followers had willingly accepted the Infection and were exiled by the Mantis Lords.

According to tradition, the Lords and the other warriors of Mantis Village had to stop the beasts of Deepnest from trying to enter Mantis Village and kill any invaders who entered it.

Killing enemies invading from Deepnest was an important part of the armistice agreement between the Mantis tribe and the Kingdom of Hallownest. Although Hallownest had become a wasteland due to the plague, they still honored the old agreement.

The Mantis Lords and all their people were proud warriors who protected their own territory.

Here, the leaders personally guarded the entrance to Deepnest. Defeat them, and you could head into Deepnest.

This battle video against the Mantis Lords was quite messy, and the video creator openly admitted that they had already fought it many times.

But even after fighting it so many times, they still secretly healed two Masks whenever there was an opening between attacks.

After this video, Hollow Knight's player count soared, because countless people wanted to have a thrilling battle with the Mantis Lords and venture into the strange, dark depths of Deepnest.

After the Mantis Lords, everyone discovered that there was nothing difficult left in this game.

When they felt the Mantis Lords' salute, that sense of accomplishment was truly incomparable.

At that moment, players wanted to continue and witness Hallownest's glory once more.

First Game News later published a game review:

[That designer seemed completely unconcerned that players would become dissatisfied because of this, and the players experienced the game just as the designer had envisioned, immersing themselves in the joy of getting lost and then suddenly seeing the light.

The feeling of finding a way through after exploring, as well as the sense of gradually approaching the truth, were also part of Hollow Knight's charm.]

No one told you what to do, and no one told you what you needed to do. Yet through constant exploration, you could clearly understand what you needed to do and where you were about to go.

The feeling was marvelous, but once you began the game, you would be drawn in by that kingdom of insects.

Every area of the map had its own exclusive BGM.

What Silver had said before was repeatedly pondered over by players and regarded as sacred scripture.

He had said that a game's quality could be judged by its BGM alone.

Every scene and every boss in the game had its own exclusive music, and the Godseeker's loud chorus was especially breathtaking.

When you rode the elevator down from above into the City of Tears, the whole city was raining, dim and lightless, as though its former prosperity had faded away and only decay remained. As the BGM sounded in your ears, all you could feel was that a painful, sorrowful journey that simply could not be stopped was beginning.

At the center of the City of Tears stood a memorial to the Hollow Knight.

[Beneath that lofty black dome.]

[His sacrifice shall keep Hallownest eternal.]