Ancient Gods

In the world of Hollow Knight, there were great entities known as higher beings, though most people called them ancient gods or true gods.

The god of light and instinct-Radiance.

The god of order and mind-the Pale King, Wyrm.

The goddess of creation and birth-the White Lady.

The god of moss and vitality-Unn.

The god of void and shadow-

And above reality, in that unfathomable, eternal space, there existed another ancient god:

The vast skies of dreams past were torn apart,

One realm forever set aside.

In depths beyond sight,

Pulsing scarlet, slumbering terror.

The god of flame and fear-Nightmare's Heart.

To rule over reality and other worlds, this god created the Nightmare Kin, who could cross through space. Their leader would become the vessel for the god's flame-the Nightmare King.

Grimm had been the previous Nightmare King. As for the new one...

Shen Yu looked at the Grimm Hatchling flying back and forth through the air, babbling away.

The nightmare's future looked pretty bleak.

Creak! [Data Deleted] writhed, countless pieces of "CENSORED" churning as they surrounded Shen Yu and the others.

Just then, the Grimm Hatchling suddenly stopped in midair, his scarlet eyes turning toward the creature below.

Thump! A deep heartbeat suddenly echoed through the space, like the beat of a drum from unfathomable depths. Each pulse shook the soul.

Scorching heat spread around the Grimm Hatchling. Wisps of ominous red light seeped from his eyes as he stared at [Data Deleted] below.

The countless pieces of "CENSORED" extending from [Data Deleted] fell limp to the floor. Its grotesque form curled inward slightly and backed against the wall.

Seeing this, the Grimm Hatchling chirped, his eyes curving into crescents again, then flew onto [Data Deleted] and started chowing down.

So why weren't you this badass in the game? Was it because there was nothing to eat, so you just slacked off?

Shen Yu calmed the trembling in his heart as he watched the Grimm Hatchling gnaw on [Data Deleted].

[Data Deleted] squirmed uneasily, the parts bitten off regenerating rapidly until a bizarre balance was reached.

Shen Yu yawned at the sight. Holding the Little Knight, he found a spot without bloodstains and sat down, intending to rest for a while. Then he abruptly felt an inexplicable gaze upon him.

Shen Yu immediately turned around, but all he saw was little Grimm chowing down and the flames dancing over his body. Yet those flames looked remarkably like an eye-an eye from depths beyond sight...

Finally, it was over. The employee clinging to Ron's waist sighed in relief, let go, and rubbed their shoulders before asking the others,

"What should we have for lunch?"

"I remember the cafeteria's serving steak today."

"Steak? I'm sick of that stuff. How about trying the fried chicken legs?"

"Are you nuts?" Another employee dry-heaved a few times. "With K Corp's regenerating production line?

"They cut meat off live chickens, then inject healing ampules to restore their bodies and keep producing meat in a loop. Aren't you afraid you'll mutate after eating it?"

"Why are you getting so worked up? Isn't our Regeneration Reactor made from the same stuff, along with the old healing bullets? You haven't turned into a monster."

"I'm telling you, someone just died!" Ron cut in coldly.

"Ron, you're back to normal?" An employee turned around and spread their hands. "People die in this company every day. What's the big deal?"

Those words sent a sudden shock through Ron's heart, and his right hand began to tremble involuntarily.

That's right. People died in this company every day. What was the point of saving them? They would die eventually anyway.

If... if this company didn't exist...

Ron suddenly gave a low chuckle, slipped away from the arguing crowd, and turned toward the containment room.

But just as he raised the weapon in his right hand, intending to destroy the reinforced door, a message suddenly came over the loudspeaker:

Employee Shen Yu has completed Repression work on [Data Deleted].

Ron froze instantly, utterly bewildered. "What? Completed Repression work on what?"

Almost every employee in the company went blank, all wondering whether something was wrong with their ears:

You could perform Repression on that thing?!!

The Grimm Hatchling burped, left [Data Deleted], and circled Shen Yu and the Little Knight, chirping happily.

When Shen Yu held out his hand, the Grimm Hatchling closed his eyes and nuzzled his palm.

Shen Yu couldn't help commenting:

"You're a servant of the god of fear. Is it really okay for you to be this cute?"

All right, the Meltdown had been resolved perfectly, without any casualties.

Uh... Shen Yu glanced at [Data Deleted], huddled in the corner. Ahem, that wasn't important. The point was, it was time for lunch.

As for questions like how [Data Deleted] tasted or how he felt after eating it, time was short, so Shen Yu would have to ask the Grimm Hatchling later.

To avoid being exposed, Shen Yu had the Little Knight swap out his Charm, sending the Grimm Hatchling back to the Nightmare World. Then he pulled open the containment room door with the Little Knight in his arms.

He found a crowd of employees gathered outside, with Ron at the very front.

You made up that quickly? Puzzled, Shen Yu stepped forward with a smile.

"Hey, you're all still here."

The instant Shen Yu took a step, everyone backed away together, their trembling E.G.O. weapons aimed at him. One agitated employee shouted:

"Stay back!"

"?"

What happened? Shen Yu was instantly dumbfounded. He looked himself over and noticed his wristwatch flashing. When he raised it, he saw a message:

Employee Shen Yu has successfully completed Repression work on [Data Deleted].

"About that..." Just as Shen Yu was about to explain, an unfamiliar electronic voice rang out through the corridor:

"Employee S1111, cease all resistance immediately and submit to investigation."

Soon afterward, Shen Yu was sitting inside a containment room. The suppressor overhead creaked, and a mechanical electronic voice came from beside him:

"As a level-one employee, why were you able to remain lucid after seeing [Data Deleted]?"

Shen Yu went over the [Data Deleted] file he had read earlier, then replied:

"Maybe my resistance to cognitive degradation is relatively high." Shen Yu spread his hands. "I've been like this since I was little. Nothing really puts me under mental strain."

"Second question: how did you complete Repression work on [Data Deleted]?"

"You mean that? Just like usual. Although I couldn't comprehend its existence, it had a tendency toward slaughter and division. All I had to do was suppress its instincts."

The other end of the communicator fell silent. A file was pulled up on the computer:

Employee ID: S1111. Name: Shen Yu.

Place of birth: Backstreets, District 23. Occupation: Monsterform Office, Grade 9 Fixer.

"Have you heard of this office?" The blond employee in front of the screen turned to ask the colleague delivering a report.

"No idea." The other employee spread their hands. "Who remembers those low-level offices? Here, the report."

"What's his condition?"

"Everything's normal. He's a normal human."

"No, no, no." The blond employee tossed his beautiful hair and said:

"Abnormalities are extremely dangerous. To be absolutely certain, I think we should perform a vivisection. At worst, we can use healing ampules to put him back together afterward."

"That's far too disrespectful," the other employee objected.

"What does it matter? We can erase his memory afterward. Employees are just consumables."

The blond employee said it offhandedly and submitted a request to his superiors to vivisect Shen Yu.

While waiting for approval, the blond employee picked up a mirror and admired his hair from every angle. "Tsk, tsk. How can hair be this beautiful? It's truly a gift from heaven."

"Without this hair, I'd rather die."

Then a message from the manager appeared on his screen. After he opened it and read a few lines, the mirror suddenly slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor with a crack.

"Request denied. Release Shen Yu immediately. Also, your name is Ted, correct? You've been demoted. Go shave your head and join Wu Ke in managing Bald Ball."