Deep beneath the ruins of Hallownest, where the whispers of the past coiled like mist along the broken stones, a lone figure treaded lightly. Their small, chitinous feet barely made a sound on the ancient pathways, careful not to disturb the slumbering echoes of a long-dead kingdom.
The Knight—no, not the one from the old stories, but another—stared at the remnants before them.
A shattered shell.
It rested in the cold dirt like a relic from another time, split cleanly down the center as though it had been broken from within. The pale fragments glowed faintly, etched with jagged cracks that pulsed with an eerie blue light.
Something stirred in the air. A presence.
The Knight reached out hesitantly, their clawed fingers tracing the edge of the fractured husk. It was old—older than the moss and rust that clung to the remnants of Hallownest. Older than the silence that had long settled over these halls.
And yet... something still remained within.
A hum. A whisper. A lingering will.
The Knight tightened their grip on their rusted nail. Whatever had been sealed in this container—whatever had been meant to hold something at bay—had failed.
Or worse... it had been released.
The journey had begun with a rumor.
Deep within the ruins, past the City of Tears and beyond the fog-draped wastelands, a wandering Seeker had spoken of an ancient prison—a last container, hidden away in the forgotten depths of Hallownest.
The Knight had not believed it at first. The Radiance had been vanquished. The infection was gone.
Or so they thought.
But the sight of the broken shell, the hum of something just beyond the veil of understanding... it made them doubt.
They pressed forward, deeper into the tunnels where light could not reach. The walls here were smoother than the rest of the decayed ruins, carved by precise hands long ago. Symbols of the Pale King, etched in gold, flickered faintly beneath layers of dust.
Hallownest's ruler had left many secrets behind. This was one of them.
And now, it was awake.
The air grew thick with something unseen. The shadows watched. The Knight could feel them pressing in from all sides. Not creatures—no, not anymore. Memories. Fragments of something that once was.
Then—
A sound.
A sharp, echoing chime.
The Knight barely had time to react before the air split.
From the darkness, something emerged.
A figure.
Not a bug. Not entirely.
Its body was encased in pale, cracked chitin, its hollow eyes glowing with faint, golden light. It bore no weapon, but its presence alone was suffocating.
The Last Container.
It should not have been alive.
And yet...
It took a step forward.
And whispered a single word.
"Brother?"