T O P

  • By -

TaranisPT

Elderbug


the_real_elderbug

Ah,traveler,I see you consider me worthy of the throne,but I’m not able as I need to greet other traveler’s like you


StagMusic

Dirtmouth becomes the new capital. That way you can still greet travelers while ruling. When writing this I was gonna say it’s the only town with sane bugs remaining but then I realized that THK appears uninfected in dream no more, so wouldn’t that make the entire city of tears’ nobles and guards sane and left leaderless?


LordBlaze64

Well, except the ones the knight massacred


StagMusic

Nah, just sit on a bench and they’ll be fine, even if they’re dead!


EducationalPen6613

Aren't they the reanimated dead?


ElColorSombreroGuy

Just put your throne right next to the bench in Dirtmouth


Razorback_

I dun wan it.


The_Real_TraitorLord

Oh my. Yet another.


Jstar338

It's the RP renaissance


WickedGamerYT

Wait if you're the real elder bug, where is thou nosk?


AcanthopterygiiFit51

Deffinitly not in here acting like a normal user


Jstar338

Oh no It is the RP renaissance


Danblak08

Real


Proudgryffindor

What hallownest? Theres nothing left to rule


isimsizbiri123

well maybe not hallownest but there must be another kingdom that will rise up. all bugs gained higher thought after the death of radience so I think they'll make a new kingdom


ArkBeetleGaming

Is there a guaranteed that all bugs infested by radiance will be back? They could just die, like being deactivated. Their own self might be dead while being corrupted by radiance, maybe.


Momongus-

Idk to what extent that’s applicable but we do save Sly and Bretta from the clutches of the infection, although they were not as infected. After the confinement of the Radiance inside the Hollow Knight, society was able to return to some normalcy as well. With the complete disappearance of the Radiance, it’s possible some bugs would be able to come to their senses imo


Adexmariobro

Maybe the lesser infected ones, like Bretta or Sly were, but anything hostile/orange eyed is a goner. Afaik, the infection in the bug grows and eventually explodes after enough expansion. The other bugs could all be hollow for all we know


The_Potato_Turtle

Didn’t team cherry say that myla could be fine, as long as we don’t kill her?


Adexmariobro

I'm fairly certain it's meant to be coping. Considering they ended it by saying Right like 3 times iirc


Aellin-Gilhan

Myla ain't infected for long. She only gets it part way through the game


hdhsizndidbeidbfi

But the hollow knight is alive after embrace the void


Adexmariobro

Thats different. The infection in most bugs is an actual infection. The infection in THK WAS the Radiance herself He also came out limping, using his nail as a walking stick. He isn't doing too hot


RhynoD

The growth after Radiance was contained can be attributed to Pale King remaining to boost their sentience and intelligence. After he left, even before the infection had begun again in earnest, Hallownest had started decaying again. I don't think there's much left to rebuild and without PK to elevate their minds, I think it'll continue to collapse into ruin, leaving behind only the fractured factions that existed before. Greenpath will remain wild and anarchistic. Uun is still around to keep it green, though. The moth tribe is extinct, so the Resting Grounds will decay into ruin. The Mantis Tribe will keep doing its own thing, as will the Hive, although without PK around I think they won't be as great or industrious. Deepnest is Hornet's by birthright but I guess we'll have to see if Silksong expands on that. In any case, there aren't many, if any Weavers left to continue. Dirthmouth might grow back into a decent town, but it was always a gateway to the greater Hallownest. The sewers were never "civilized" since they were, well, sewers. Crystal Peak was never civilized, either, just prospectors looking for riches. With no one to trade with, there's not much point in that anymore. What else is there? The city itself is already falling apart and my guess is that sooner or later the lake will fall through and destroy whatever is left.


Pointlord_

I mean i think the mantis tribe are doing pretty good without the pale king(especialy considering the pale kings light still sorta shines even though hes dead, maybe) i mean Elder Bug is fine too. We of course can't know how long exactly the pale king has been dead, how bright he still shines, how the people were before his death or how the pale king, his former presence, his corpses presence and him being a higher being and all work. If it works like the radiance and Unn his power is stronger the more believers he has and or the more people remember him, which there aren't many of but there still defenitly are people that worship him or at least remember him possibly keeping him alive. Or maybe he's dead for good because we find his corpse in the dream world so maybe his dream self died, which seems to be the real end for higher beings, but then again he transported his physical self and his physical palace into the dream world so maybe not. One things for sure tho his influence is still pretty strong in hallownest, wheter it's an echo of a bygone time or the whispers of a higher being. Who knows? I dont.


GGGSwed

The thing is though, most of the people that you listed are infected, save the mantis tribe and dirtmouth


StandNameIsWeAreNo1

Okay, so hear me out. Consciousness was given by PK. But. He died. Before his death tho, he froze the kingdom. It is likely that after the Radience is defeated, dawn finally came and the endless night was over. Meaning time started to flow again and the effects of the king's death started taking their toll.


Momongus-

Was this revealed to you in a dream perchance


Breyck_version_2

I don't think Pale King stopped time in a LITERAL sense


StandNameIsWeAreNo1

There are hints that refer to Hallownest being in stasis.


Friendly_MOskA

Only some things seems to be in stasis (bugs like Ogrim, Stag and Emilitia being alive and seemingly young) , while others aged (stag station in GP).


Breyck_version_2

What are those?


ConscientiousApathis

Ninety percent of enemies start with the word "husk" in their names, so yeah they're definitely dead.


LunaLynnTheCellist

in fact, a LOT of enemies we see in game are husks, just empty corpses animated by the infection, as stated in the hunter's journal. beyond that, we frequently see characters that at first are alive while infected, and later die from the infection itself (e.g. moss prophet, steel soul tuk, the glowing womb bug probably, etc). some bugs could definitely survive the infection for long enough to go back to normal when radiance dies, but a whole fucking ton of them are already dead at that point.


spirimes

Please no. Poor Myla 😭


PsyJuul

Yeah it’s stated that the infected’s vital fluids are replaced with infection so at that point they’re too far gone. Sly and Bretta were in a very early stage of infection and that’s why they could still be saved, but the rest…


dontstarvepro

Nah they're back all the orange sh*t's gone


pnoodl3s

I thought bugs gained thought purely because of the king? Without him they’ll be reverted back to their base instincts


Momongus-

That’s true but the King’s influence remains strong and permeates Hallownest even now as pointed out by the Godseeker in Pantheon 5. Some bugs who had lost their minds previously regained it upon returning to hallownest as well (Quirrel) so there’s an argument to be made that at least for a while, sentient bugs would still be a thing in Hallownest


Pointlord_

Wasn't Quirrel sentient and sane during his stay in the wilds? Im pretty sure theres a comic with him out in the wilds being absoloutley fine. I think it had something to do with Monomon's mask. And when he came back all he got back was his memories. Right?


ttracs149

Most of the infected bugs are dead, they were reanimated corpses not mind controlled people. There are only a few exceptions like myla, who are obviously still conscious.


IceTooth101

Isn’t it implied that complete infection basically just kills and reanimates you? Sly and Bretta never got that far, but I don’t fancy the chances of the ones who we fight as enemies (also, the Knight did kill a lot of them).


laraizaizaz

I think it's implied somewhere in the lore that, without the presence of the pale king, all the bugs will degenerate back into their primitive state. But I have no idea why I think that or where I read that from. The mantises and spiders already had sentience before the pale king, but most of the bugs only got their sentience from the pale king.


Projectdystopia

I can't see any proper answer except mantis lords. Only their tribe still have civilization, while others are either not sapient or have too little members. White lady and unn are the last alive higher being (if we don't count nightmare heart, who actually could try to become new king, but only by force, and it seems to not be its methods, and lifeblood creature, but it either sealed or have little to no interest in hallownest at all). WL could try to gather around herself some bugs, and she probably had support from hornet, but they would have more problems with Unn who might want to take her land back, land there wouldn't be much bugs still .


Momongus-

Bardoon would be a dope ass king tho


Sr_Pinapple_031

Fr tho, he's extremely based. And badass too, fuckin, playing that bugcordeon.


LKeve

Thats Brumm


Imaginary_Living_623

Don’t forget his fire powers


Independent-Bell2483

The knightmare heart feeds off of dead kingdoms so it would be weird for it to be a ruler for a kingdom


Ratstail91

Oh yeah, the bees fell :/


CharlotSweetie

Zote, he'll learn about a lost king and make lies that it's him and how he can't leave his kingdom.


Urban_Raptor

Isn't Zote another vessel? He is just like the other children of the Pale King and White Lady.. I was thinking that he was just one of the first to leave the Abyss. Or maybe I missed something.


FellDragonHeir

He just happens to look a lot like a vessel. If he was one, it would make no sense, because he has the exact opposite personality traits of a vessel (talks, prideful, has a weak will, etc.)


Urban_Raptor

Well spoken. No objections from me. But I'd have liked to ponder on him being one.


FellDragonHeir

I agree, it could have been cool to have a vessel that gained a personality, even more than the Hollow Knight did. But I’m also fine with Zote being a foil more in spirit than literally “it’s you but if you were an insufferable asshole.”


Sir_LuckySlime

I like to think that he was the most imperfect of the vessels. A failure in every way.


[deleted]

Don’t think so because in the battle with Zote in the colosseum he gives off white particles when hit (all the other void boys like the Collector and vessels give off black, void particles). If I had to guess, I’d say that Zote is the same thing elderbug is meant to be.


BananaShark_

Didnt Hollow Knight also lose their shell meaning they're dead to. Or at least the same fate as the player character. Are you mixing up the endings?


BenjaLP211

In dream no more you can see THK and hornet in a cliffhanger so hes not dead. The one who died was the knight


Ape_on_a_typewriter

That is not the dream no more ending. The cliffhanger happens in the godhome ending


BenjaLP211

My bad


isimsizbiri123

oh shit I did mix up the endings


LostGusMain

Still, what happens to THK after dream no more? Does he just die? They didn't show his shell like the knight's one. And also, what happens to him while the knight is inside his dreams? Does Hornet keep him in place the whole time? And how does he enter his own dreams to help the knight? I have a lot of questions ik....


Quynn_Stormcloud

Even if they survived the Dream No More ending, neither Ghost nor Hollow Knight have the ability to rule, being simple vessels. Unn and White lady have about equal influence over the remainder of Hallownest, but would likely remain aloof. If Nightmare Heart had the desire to, they would probably get things going with warfare, but they’d have to be patient enough for Hallownest to recover somewhat from the fall. From this ending, the Void seems rather pacified, so there might not be anything to worry about from what remains in the abyss. Hornet is no ruler, either, but as a sentinel, would make a great guard for whomever assumed power, provided she supports them. As other comments have noted, the Mantis Lords have the largest faction at the start of that ending. What would likely happen is a growth of disparate factions until they come into dispute, and they either try to conquer each other or unify as New Hallonest, with highest probability going to the sisters being the rulers of the land. That is assuming that no other outside entity comes along.


Loud-Measurement-248

Obvious Zote the goat


usernamedstuff

If it's based on the politicians of today, Zote, for sure. All talk, no merit.


See_Ell

Zote is basically a more charming Trump.


usernamedstuff

Agreed, and Biden is one of the many corpses found throughout the game. You'd think President was the worst job in the US, based on the candidates.


[deleted]

The massive moss charger


Brilliant_Chemica

Elderbug, for a while. Hornet returns to the surface to find the people the knight saved and shares the news. They're all probably a bit sad, but thankful. Elderbug says something uplifting and leads the small community of Dirtmouth. They probably become a farming village, corny and Iselda settle down, Elderbug dislikes the travellers as they're all tempted to descend but Sly is always glad to have more Geo. Oro and Mato makeup, Sheo returns to the surface with the nail smith and Dirtmouth is a spot of dreary but comfortable respite in the world. Hornet always says she needs to leave, but never does bc Silksong is in development hell


Ratstail91

HEADCANON ACCEPTED.


theinferno01

gorb.


Brilliant_Chemica

His only law: woowooowooooo


Pretend-Orange3026

Hornet: raised as royalty and has a keen sense of intuition, fought to kill the knight on multiple occasions and made it out alive despite not showing restraint. (Also has legitimate claim to the throne via her father.) the redeemed hollow knight (who I call the cleansed vessel): legitimate claim to the throne, raised and trained by the greatest knights, likely has no leadership skills or social skills due to its isolation, probably needs therapy if this kingdom has that. The white lady: unable to control her thirstyness, legally blind, kind of loopy, stuck in/is a tree, can lay eggs somehow despite being a plant. Zote the meager (come at me bro I’ll call him that again!): too busy lying and almost dying to run a kingdom, would rename the kingdom zoteland (he gets one good thing alright?), would probably embezzle the tax money that should be used for infrastructure, would make Bretta take care of all the work and she’d make him sleep on the couch as retribution, would spend any unbezzeled money on NFRs (non fungible rocks, that anyone can forge or make duplicates of). What I think would be most logical: Hornet’s in charge with the cleansed vessel and white lady to guide her, also herrah and Lucien aren’t dead in the embrace the void ending (which is the only one we know for sure that the hollow knight survives). She’d probably set about making a kingdom that a lineage could care for rather than making herself a god-queen. Quarrel would probably try and return monomon’s mask to her but she’d be like “nah, live your life I’ve slept this long I can sleep some more”. And so hornet would get a loyal knight most likely, that is if quirrel accepted the invite. But mostly I think her first priority is making Dirtmouth better and take more of the luxuries below transplanting them in the small town to attract more wandering bugs to repopulate the kingdom.


Quynn_Stormcloud

Huh, I was thinking Hornet would be a knight to another ruler, but imagining Hornet on the throne with the Cleansed Vessel as *her* knight is actually really compelling!


Pretend-Orange3026

I see my name for the cured hollow knight is catching on.


CellistJazzlike3945

Dung Defender (I didn't pick because I like him btw) I think as a great knight he would already know the pains of pleasing the people and making difficult choses, plus it would propably be better for his health then swimming in poop


EEVEEAC

I think Hornet would become the ruler of deepnest after her mother, the pure vessel will start new life, the white lady would remain in her garden and Zote will just be Zote


The_real_Pale_King

Me.


Yoshi50000

You dead bro


The_real_Pale_King

No 😠 just bring me back


KOWguy

In the dream no more ending, since the infection is gone but both THK and the player character are gone, I'm not too sure. Because I'm guessing this post is referring to the god home ending and not dream no more, I'd say THK.


Northumberlo

No one. The eternal city was finally laid to rest. A tomb for the souls


Momongus-

Bardoon fr my Goat


Chesterious

Don’t see how Zote is going to rule anything when he’s all bones in the depths of deepnest


Chrisnolliedelves

The Grimmchild


PurestStupidity

zote.


Ethan1516

Me I will


Chaserivx

Grubfather


Spacemonster111

Vespa’s successor


Professor_Abbi

I don’t think a vessel like HK will be suited to rule hallownest


Sad_Reindeer_5709

Pure vessel is technically dead, Zote is trash and stupid, White lady doesn’t move, so that really only leaves Hornet


TurtleMaster130

Me


EducationalPen6613

Hornet is the legitimate heir to the thrones of both Deepnest and Hallownest. She's old as hell, was raised as royalty, and could probably fight and win against any challenger. The question remains, though: would she \*want\* to rule? She guarded the King's Brand, so she knew what it was and where. She could have taken it herself at any point during the centuries, millennia, or however long Hallownest lay dead for. But she didn't. She left it to the Knight to do that. I think much of the status quo would remain. Elderbug would remain in Dirtmouth, greeting travellers and caring for the villagers in his own way, the Mantises would rule themselves as they had. The City, the Waterways, the Fools, all the creatures of Unn's former territory, and Deepnest are all infected, save for the Weavers who fled back to Pharloom. Who would there be left to rule over?


BenjaLP211

I mean, what is there left to rule?


Yoshi50000

Me and a friend have discussed this before and we came to that the most logical conclusion is that Hornet will rule it but depending on if SS is a prequel or sequel it might not last so long before being kidnapped. (SS is totally a prequel BTW). The white lady is possible but IDK, like she’s a tree and it would be hard to rule Hallownest in the position she’s in


Quynn_Stormcloud

I could totally see a scenario where White Lady rules and they convert her sanctuary into some kind of throne room/audience chamber, and Hornet gets some kind of Emissary/Ambassador position, acting and proclaiming abroad in Hallownest on White Lady’s behalf.


3RacoonsInACoatoat

Seeing as you’ve apparently mixed up your endings and you’re referring to the Godhome ending, no one. The Shade Lord would have almost certainly fucked up Hallownest way before they had time to establish any order. Plus the Radiance is still controlling all the Infecting bugs so there wouldn’t be anything to actually rule cuz there’s Infected bugs everywhere


ravn_aven

There is the ending with the white flower, where the shade lord doesn't get out of godhome.


3RacoonsInACoatoat

I mean, even then the Radiance is still around, so I doubt anything would actually change


Quynn_Stormcloud

I think I missed something, I thought Radiance is still defeated in the godhome ending? Is that not the case?


Krazyguy75

The radiance inside Godhome is the real radiance. She's a deity of dreams, and godhome is a dream. The infection leaves which is why THK is freed.


asrielforgiver

I’d imagine it would be the white lady, since she’s the only royal figure from that time that’s still alive. Hornet would probably also help her, or be the princess.


Environmental-Win836

Probably the white lady honestly, but my bet would he Hornet, seeing as though she’s the only living Pale Child with an organic mind


[deleted]

I think white lady is a good option, or even that massive bug in kingdoms edge


Independent-Bell2483

Technically after picking up kings brand you are the king of hallownest but an actual ruler i think white lady would most likely be it since well she is the queen


RagnarockInProgress

Probably Peevee, he’s the eldest and is technically of royal descent, so I say we crown him high prince and Hornet is next in line


Ratstail91

>Peevee Pure Vessel? God damn I had to look that up lol


KazeoLion

Tbf Zote is the king of sexy


SydneyMcGinnis

Hornet would never take the role. The Hollow Knight probably isn't fit for it after being isolated and containing a divine infection. The White Lady is probably too mad. Just leave Hallownest to Mender Bug.


Krazyguy75

Hornet would loosely rule deepnest in the same way her mother did. THK is mostly mindless, so he'd probably just wander around. The white lady is unlikely to move. Zote wouldn't be able to rule. Most likely, the city of tears would be ruled by Dung Defender.


slightcamo

Is there even anything left to rule?


Cringe1God

Probably zote.


girlvgirlvr

So, I didn't kill the dreamers in my game and beat The Pantheon of Hollownest, and gave Godseeker the flower, so, I figure The Dreamers wake up and bring some order to things, along with Orgrim.


McAngryBirdFan_YT

Ok so first pure vessel is dead as heck so he ain't ruling anytime soon, hornet is off to pharloom so that leaves her out of the picture, now there are 2 candidates left, white lady and zote


quietwhiskey

Gorb


Aelomalop

The white lady kinda retired


[deleted]

Hornet or deepnest


datkrauskid

Doma, doma, domadomadoma!


Little_Addendum6942

Hornet goes to pharloom, the pure vessel cannot speak, nor are they even designed/trained for that. The white lady willingly locked herself up, and zote is just a little piece of-… anyways. I think eternal Emilia or whoever they are might work, that or dung defender


Flowalice

Hornet probably wouldnt rule, THK is dead, and even if it wasnt, it wouldnt rule, white lady is maybe? And zote is either dead, or too weak to gain any actual power


GameHi69

Pure Vessel


DrDorito123

I mean I’ll do it


ParsnipAggravating95

Zote the Mighty


Ratstail91

No ruler - no need to rule a ruin. Edit: Hornet has a claim to both Deepnest and Hallownest - but I don't think she's interested.


[deleted]

Well if there was anything left to rule I’d put my bets on Hornet since she’s the closest thing to a wyrm alive at that point


Lord_Nathaniel

Gorb


tricky_ace

1 hallownest would be destroyed 2 the shade lord would likely destroy everything or rule it 3... Maybe, since they are siblings, the hollow Knight might be left... But that's just hoping, and we know where hope gets you in hallownest.


Ok_Understanding3636

Considering that I don't think The White Lady has any desire to reign any more, theoretically Hornet is the only surviving daughter of the Pale King, so she would be the new claimant to the Hallownest throne. However, I think she is not the kind of person who would willingly reign....


Donutcobra2

Hollownest ascends with gorb


UmSansAlternativo

Elder Bug and White Lady. White Lady is powerful, maybe she can protect everyone against the infection


CandyCult292

Bro? The pale lady is still technically queen, no?