(Lilith POV)
As I stepped out of the portal, I was greeted by my adorable short king.
And he looked rather... mad.
"Is something wrong, dear?" I asked Lulu.
He only frowned before taking a deep breath and spoke.
"Lily... what did you do to the students?" he asked me while wearing his adorable white suit.
"Well, I simply... took out the trash, as the kids say."
"Lily... I know you're mad... but we can't just take our anger out on everyone that pissed us off... we need to be a good example for Charlie... for Stygian."
"And I am... look, Lulu, I know what I did may have been... extreme, but what would you have done if one of our children was hurt or worse... killed?"
"I... I... I would have done something far worse," he says, looking down, almost ashamed at what he said.
I move closer to him and use my hands to cup both his cheeks.
"I know you feel terrible, Lucy... I do too, but if our subjects got away with this... they might get the idea to revolt against us or worse, start a war with Heaven."
Lucy pulled away from me.
"No, I will not have a war with Heaven... not while Charlie and Stygian are still so young. They still have their whole lives to look forward to... I don't want them to end up like me," he said, looking at a portrait of all of them together.
I walked over to him and lifted him off the ground, carrying him in my arms bridal style.
"Lily!?" he says, surprised by my gesture.
"Don't worry, dear, they'll be fine. So long as we're all together... we'll be fine," I say before kissing him.
This lasted for a few minutes — our tongues connecting with each other, twisting and curling, fighting for dominance.
But in the end, Lucy fell to his queen. Once we separated, I carried him to our bedroom where we would... continue the battle.
"Hey, Lilith, I was wondering... I think we should get another portrait taken of all of us... you know, with our son included."
"I think that's a wonderful idea. Once he wakes up, we'll take as many as you want. But... for now..." I threw him on the bed and locked the doors behind me.
"Let's spend some... quality time together~" I say, ripping his clothes.
He gulped, and his handsome face turned bright red.
"Yes... mommy."
---
(Stygian POV)
Great... just great.
I've been stuck in the White Palace for a few days now, but it's not all bad. I've been training myself to better improve my combat capabilities and learning how to actually fly.
The White Lady has also been teaching me how to utilize the soul the King gave me. Apparently, it can infinitely generate souls to power the spells I will be using in the future.
And the best part? Learning isn't all too different from chemistry — having different sigils will result in different effects, so mixing and matching would result in completely new outcomes.
And thanks to the book the White Lady gave me, I can continue to study these different sigils to grow even stronger.
"Stygian, come with me."
I looked over to my side and saw the Pale King calling me over.
I got up from my bench and walked over to him. We walked through the castle's corridors, not really talking with each other. Once we finally reached our destination, he turned to me.
"Do you know why I kept you here in the Dream Realm for so long?"
"To train me?"
"Close... but in truth, I wanted to spend some time with you."
"Oh..." I say, surprised someone like him would want something like that.
"Yes, I know it may seem ridiculous that someone who you barely know wants to spend time with you... but in truth, I wanted to apologize," he says, looking at a window, avoiding my gaze.
"Apologize? For what? You've been nothing but kind to me," I say, trying to cheer him up.
"And that same kindness doomed my children. Have I ever told you why I had children?"
"Not really."
"Well... long ago, when Hallownest was still in its infancy, a plague began to spread, infecting the minds of its inhabitants. They turned into feral and mindless beasts that attacked anyone who got too close, and the worst part — there was no cure."
The King suddenly turned to me and placed a finger on my head. My vision darkened, and not a moment later, I saw visions of what had happened.
"The Radiance... she was jealous of me. But more than jealousy, she was heartbroken. Her own creations abandoned her... leaving her for me."
"I didn't know of her existence at the time, but if I had known... maybe then I wouldn't have sacrificed my own children."
I finally decided to cut in and ask,
"What do you mean, sacrifice?"
"The White Lady and I made thousands of children in the hopes that one would be able to... contain the Radiance. But with each one, they all failed."
He grabbed something out of his pocket — it was a locket. He didn't open it, only held it in his hands tightly.
"I discarded my children to the Void to hide my failure. I didn't want the citizens to worry that their only hope of salvation was quickly fading. But one day, that salvation came."
He opened the locket, and it revealed a photo of the Pale King, the White Lady, and two others I didn't know of — but one looked exactly like me.
"You see, this is my son. He was called the Hollow Knight. He had no mind to think, no will to break, no voice to cry suffering. In all cases, he was the perfect vessel."
His grip tightened around the locket before speaking once more.
"But I made a mistake. I took care of him. I trained him... I loved him. And in the end, it was my greatest failure."
He closed the locket and placed it back in his robe before looking straight at me.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Your Majesty."
"Pay no mind to it. But I simply have one request for you."
"Anything."
He got a bit closer to me and opened his arms, hugging me.
"Please... live your life. Don't make the same mistakes I did. And most of all, remember — no cost is too great for the ones you love most."
I hugged him back, and for the first time in a long while, I felt something stir within me — almost like pride.
When the hug finally ended and we separated, he placed his hand on my head, and I felt myself falling asleep.
My eyes closed, and the castle began to fade.
And just as quickly, my eyes snapped open, and I was now in... a hospital?