Then there was light... or not?

I had just experienced quite the day, to make a long story short I died. You see I was killed by... I actually can't recall... why can't I remember? 

No seriously I have no idea how I died right now, regardless I should be dead... yet I don't feel dead? I can still think and feel right now... that being said I don't feel quite alive either.

I can see... nothing, I can't even call it darkness because it doesn't feel like the normal type of darkness you'd see if it's night or in a dark room.

I am quite literally seeing and feeling... pure nothing. How long have I been here? how long will I be like this? Well I am not quite sure but I feel... different somehow in a way that's hard to describe. 

I can't even remember my original name... I feel empty yet also not... after awhile I even start to feel comfortable in this abyss I'm in... feels kind of nostalgic in a way as well for some reason.

I start to wonder if my family misses me by now, are they even still alive depending on how long I've been here? 

Time seems to blur together in this Void or more specifically it most likely doesn't exist.

I do remember I was a big geek with stuff like comics and video games and anime back when I was alive so I'm pretty familiar with certain concepts of this kind of stuff. 

I don't even sleep in this space... I just am... I can only think... closest thing I can get to sleeping is just when I space out at times and just simply exist.

How did I get here? is this the afterlife? eternal nothing?... is this Hell? I don't think I've been bad enough for that. I was never the morally greatest person but I also wasn't a terrible person either from what I remember. 

Eventually after who knows how long... I begin to see a light, the first light I've seen in I don't know when! The light is... getting bigger? no... I was getting closer to this light. 

I start to feel excited, finally something new! something besides just this black void at long last. The closer I get to this light the more I'm eventually is able to make out... stars. 

Finally I gets close enough that as I enter this light I figure out that it was an entire universe. Full of galaxies full of stars and planets and all kinds of things... it was so beautiful to look at that I might have almost cried if he was still capable of doing so. 

At incredible speeds I passed by so many stars and planets that I could only gets glimpses of some of them. I can feel myself being drawn to a specific place in this universe suddenly as I'm pulled there. 

I see that I am heading towards a Galaxy as I zip past more stars until I enter a solar system towards a planet that looks like earth. 

Am I finally going home? before I can think anymore I black out and lose consciousness. 

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I regain consciousness much later as I look around to see myself in what looks like a dark cave, I stand up and notice an odd weight as... why can't I speak?

I just tried to speak but I can't... why can't I speak?! I... have no mouth?!

My hands... these aren't my hands... they look too black... and what's with this grey cloak I'm wearing? 

I feel around my body and get more surprised once I feel my head... this is not how a human head should feel... do I have horns now?

Oh my gosh my hand just went through a hole in my head! two holes? two holes on my face with nothing in them? 

I feel something resting on my back as I take out what looks like a dull... sword? I think that's what this might be... ok what is going on here? 

I take a breather despite not being able to actually breath right now because of the lack of mouth, after thinking I decide to push forward cause I won't figure out anything if I'm just sitting here. 

I see a brittle looking wall in my way so I try using my blade to slash it open and it works. Then I keep moving as I see a little... bug creature crawling towards me? I don't like the look it's giving me so I swing my blade a few times and kill it as some orange blood comes out of it after. 

This feels familiar... have I seen this from somewhere? Also after killing that bug creature I felt some kind of energy enter me... feels odd. 

I keep moving through the caves as I kill a few more hostile bugs in the way, they thankfully aren't too hard or dangerous to deal with. I find out that my body is also pretty nimble now as I jump over some obstacles and come across this odd sign?

I hear a voice in my head as the sign informs me of something about using my soul to achieve feats of what others can only dream. Soul... is this perhaps related to the energy I felt I was getting whenever I killed those bugs? 

I keep moving and along the way get struck by this fly thing, I kill the bug in annoyance and decide to test what I read earlier by trying to focus on that weird energy I've been absorbing. It works as I'm able to channel it into my body to heal the little damage I got from the fly to feel good as new. 

I keep moving through the cave and eventually climb up to another sign that has some... surprising information as I hear it talk about a land coming up called Hollownest. 

Hollownest... could it be? I think I might know where I am... and things are starting to click into place. Before I conclude anything I need to be sure so I keep moving ahead. 

I come upon a very large door and bash it with my blade until it finally breaks open... wow I'm strong now. I walk through and see a cliff... normally this would be a terrible idea but if this is what I think it is... I jump off the cliff side. 

I fall down until I land on the ground below, the fall actually didn't hurt that much surprisingly. I keep moving as eventually I come upon some lights and fine myself in what seems to be a small town. 

Dirtmouth: The fading town

I see an elder bug who all but confirms for me where I am... somehow I am in Hollow Knight. I am in the world of a game that should be fiction but low and behold it's real and I'm here... not only that I think I'm the main character of the game.

Going off the changes in my body I am now the little guy that some fans refer to as Ghost... I'm just a vessel with a soul made of Void or Nothingness now... I am unsure how to feel about that. 

I don't feel uncomfortable that being said... ok well my new body is a little jarring yes but as far as my soul or lack there of... i dunno... feels right somehow. 

I wonder how a vessel that has no soul is able to use soul energy though? then again I only get that energy when I strike foes to gain some or take a hit from them... perhaps my unique void soul copied the energy somehow? Or maybe it's because of my vessel body? Questions for later I guess. 

I walk up to the old bug as he takes notice of me and speaks

"Ho there traveler, I'm afraid there's only me to offer welcome. Our town has fallen quiet you see"

He gestures over to the end of the town

"The other residents have all disappeared, headed down that well one by one into the caverns below"

He tells me a little more about the town and a brief history lesson as i walk over to a bench after and sit down on it. I relax on the bench for a bit as I organize my thoughts and think about my next move here.

I am somehow in Hollow Knight as Ghost now... is there a way I could either get back home or somewhere else besides here? I don't wanna be stuck in this world forever even if the adventure might be fun. 

I think back to what I remember of the game and... there may be a possible way. In one ending of the game Ghost becomes something like a God doesn't he? Fully embracing the power of the void... the void given shape and focus. 

It's a long shot but... if I aim for going that route then maybe once I ascend to that level of power I can finally leave this world? I think that's what I shall do then, I will find a way to reach my apotheosis and gain the power to be free to go where I want to go! 

I will find the way to use the true power of the void which my soul is apparently made of now however that works. I will ascend and then be free to go where I wish at last.

There will be challenges in my way but I don't care, bring them on! I will face all the foes in my way until I can slay the being known as the Radiance! For now though... I am weak, but soon... soon I will get stronger. 

I don't feel as scared as I should be, I can still feel emotions don't get it wrong but... it's almost like a lot of them are more muted than they normally would be... I assume this is cause of my nothingness soul and all.

I hope eventually I can find a way to get a human body again... I don't wanna be stuck as a little Vessel bug forever. 

After giving myself a game plan I leap off the bench and run right for that well! Forgotten crossroads here I come! 

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*Time skip*

Soooo I got cocky and died, thankfully I wasn't able to stay dead and I could respawn my vessel at the last place I had been but from now on I'm gonna be more carful and not underestimate any of the creatures here. 

Honestly even in my weaker state I don't think I can actually ever die, after all how do you kill a soul of nothing? 

My body can however very much die but at least I can respawn with it... actually how does that work? Something else to look into later perhaps. 

As I explored the crossroads I met Quirrel by the black egg and became acquainted with him. I also met the map maker Cornifer and using some coins I've been picking up along the way I purchased a map from him so I could keep track of the areas I've explored better. 

Some may wonder how I was able to hold the items I collected without pockets, well here's the thing... turns out a soul of void makes a useful inventory of sorts. 

Using the empty eyes on my face I simple store all my coins or items like my map inside my head... kind of funny now that I think about it. 

I later back track to the shop in Dirtmouth to meet Cornifer's wife and purchase some supplies from her to mark or add things to my map if needed. 

I have to stay I have been enjoying exploring around this place in person and not through a screen, I'm a person who gets Wanderlust a lot so I like to wander around and explore new places. 

Which is ironic considering in my old life I liked to stay inside and either play games or watch anime or read books... I guess that counts since I was exploring new lands in the sense I was immersing myself in those stories and their worlds. 

And here I am in one of those stories now... oh lord there's gonna be some bosses I just remembered that I will not like having to fight.

Hmm... if this world that was once fiction exists then... do others exist too out there? Oh that would be fun, maybe eventually I can find a way to travel to those worlds too! 

I get back on track and enter a room where I face the first boss the Gruz Mother, she wasn't too hard to deal with as I just had to stay out of her way when she tired to charge me. 

I was able to finally slay her after enough slashes as her young burst out of her in a very gross fashion so I quickly took care of them. I felt kind of bad for her since she was simply a victim of the infection but alas she was a threat that was in my way. 

I meet a little guy named Sly and invite him back to the Village as I head back to dirtmouth. Once back at the village I buy my first charm and then sit down on that bench again to rest myself and think. 

I fill out my map for what I've found so far and then pin the wayward compass charm I got on the inside of my cloak. Now I'll never be able to lose track of where I am as long as I have a map to check my location. 

...wish I could hum a tune while I rest but sadly I still can't, no voice to cry my suffering and all. 

Well if memory serves right then the next place I wanna look for will be Greenpath next I think, I sure hope I can learn some soul magic soon enough cause that would be sweet. 

To make stuff easier for myself I'm going to refer to my soul of void as my shade now, while soul energy I'm going to keep the name for. So I'll call my void soul just my shade as to not get it confused with soul energy. 

This is just the beginning... soon I will find and gain what I need. For now though I might as well enjoy the journey at least a little. 

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*To be continued*