Irredeemable

Fire

With nowhere to turn to start their search, Gravel simply kept walking. The resting grounds, the forgotten crossroads, even the fungal wastes were all forgettable to them. The only thing worth remembering was their destination, Inge. Where exactly that destination was, they had no idea. Despite how every other scene they had encountered would be forgotten easily, what they saw next, never would.

During their journey, they had seen many settlements. However, they never dared to enter them. Hornet or her guards may be searching for them, or worse yet, the king himself. While all of the settlements they had encountered were surprises to them, save for a small village in the crossroads, none surprised them more than the tower of a home that they found in Greenpath. Nobody had ever attempted to settle here beside the mosskin. Yet, the home's location wasn't it's most surprising feature; it was on fire.

Gravel had seen fire before; it was a favorite tactic of six, who frequently used it to force runaways to leave any shelter they inhabited. However, something was off about this fire. Instead of the normal orange glow, this fire glowed a horrible bright gold. It was almost more light than fire, but there was no mistaking the way the flames danced in the wind.

They knew that if nothing was done about the fire, it would spread to the rest of Greenpath. While they had nothing to douse the flames with, they did know of an alternative approach. If they dug a wide enough trench between the fire and shrubbery, it should prevent the flames from spreading.

They got to work, digging at the ground with their fists. When they realized that they were taking too long, they panicked. Not knowing what else to solve a problem with, they drew their nail and used it like a shovel. The work was slow, but just fast enough. It was a good thing they were a vessel, otherwise they would have definitely tired out by the time they finished.

As they displaced the last pile of dirt, they prepared to leave and hope for the best. Yet, those plans were interrupted by a low, quiet, cry for help from inside the tower. The first pieces of the once proud structure had already begun to fall. Going in to help whoever may be trapped would be foolish. Despite this blatant truth, they couldn't seem to leave. It was as if a voice inside them was telling them to stay. No, the voice told them to help.

They entered the burning tower. The bright fire crackled loudly, almost drowning out the desperate pleas of the building's resident. As Gravel made their way through, fighting the blindness of the light and heat of the flame, the building continued to crumble. Pieces of wall and various furnitures fell around them, including a rather heavy bookshelf, way higher above. Looking up, Gravel found a staircase wrapping its way up the curved walls of the spire.

They flew up the stairs as fast as they could. At the top, they were greeted with the collapsed form of the tower's owner. He looked a lot like one of the old nail smiths, although it was clear they weren't the one from the city. He had longer arms and a wider build. 'Had' was a key word, as one of his arms had apparently been lopped off, as had a foot. Removing the chandelier from the smith, Gravel did their best to escort him back down the stairs. Once at the bottom, they finally found their way out the door.

"They took it." Was all the smith would say.

When Gravel tilted their head, the smith elaborated.

"Vessel. You have saved me. At least from the fire. I know I have little time left. You deserve an explanation for your bravery."

After coughing for a few moments, he continued.

"After the battle of the black egg, I went in, to see if I could perhaps salvage the mighty blade of the Hollow Knight. Instead, I found what would be my undoing. I am unsure of whether this is the product of the Hollow Knight itself, or the ghost who slayed it."

Once again the smith experienced a coughing fit. He apologized and continued.

"The seekers came. I had little warning. I could only grab my wonderful pure nail, I had spent so long forging, oh how it shined with it's elegant form and sharp blade, or what I ultimately had to take. I did it for the good of Hallownest."

The smith experienced one last round of coughing before finishing his tale.

"They took my blade. They attacked me with it. Once they had decided I was no longer in possession of what they were after, they set the place ablaze and left without another word."

Gravel was stunned. The Hollow Knight had been destroyed, as had the Radiance by process of elimination, and now an unknown group of terrorists had tried, or more accurately succeeded, as the smith claimed, in killing someone and burning their home, all in search of some... thing. What could possibly be valuable enough to warrant such an attack?

The smith spoke for the last time.

"My time here is over. I will not survive, but at least I have felt the slice of my blade. Vessel, I am sorry, but I must trust you with this task. Do. Not. Let them. Take it. The fate of Hallownest now rests firmly upon your shoulders. Thank you."

The smith firmly pressed something into Gravel's hand before finally going limp and falling back, near their still burning home. Hesitantly, Gravel decided it would be best to know what they were working with. They slowly opened their hand and stared at its contents in a state of pure shock. In their palm was a charm they were all too familiar with and never wanted to see again. They quickly closed their hand around the kingsoul charm.

That's it for this chapter! I'm sorry this took so long to get out, but I didn't really know where I wanted to go with this story until yesterday, so here it is. I have a bit more planned out now, so hopefully updates will be more regular from here on out. Please don't hold me to that though, as I have no idea what might happen between now and when this story is finished. With that said, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter!