Little Shadows - Hollow Knight AU

Chapter 00 - Silence in the Dark

A splitting headache - literally - through their mask ran a splintering crack, not larger enough to be life threatening, but enough to be bothersome.
The tiny bug sprawled out on the ground, surrounded by the masks and cloaks of bugs similar to them.

They carefully sat up and put a hand to the crack, running their small fingers along the edges. The little bug scanned their dreary surroundings. The grand scale of the mass grave made them look minuscule, they stopped tracing the crack and pulled their own cloak closer around their puny looking body; in attempt for even a fraction of comfort.

The eerie silence was suffocating, maybe even deafening.

The miniature bug pushed themselves to their feet. (if you could even call them that, being that they were so small) They looked down, realizing a fractured Nail lay at their feet, it was perfect for their size. The little bug concluded that this would now be their weapon and scooped it up, studying its sorry state.

The bug attached the Nail to a sheath on their back. They couldn't remember much, not their name, not how they got there, nor what they were supposed to do.

They tried to scream for someone, anyone, to help them. The bug was only met with the same silence, only their breath, barley audible, made it to their ears.

If their mask was not forever stuck, devoted of emotion, their face would only reflect pure fear.

They could not scream for help, they could not cry out of fear, they could not even whisper words to encourage themselves...

No name to remember...

No voice to hear...

A being left to be forgotten...

The little bug decided to escape this hellhole, the only way out seems to be up, so far up.

They began to claw at the walls, slipping down and falling onto a few masks, causing them to crunch and poke underneath the bug, they righted themselves and rubbed where the horns threated to enter the little thing's skin. Can't climb the walls, the small being thought - at least they could think. They eyed a few hanging platforms, creating a path upwards, to a possible exit!

The tiny bug hoisted themselves up onto the first platform. And then again. Higher and Higher. A different platform protruded through the wall, near the ceiling. A door awaiting the little bug. They climbed up onto the the highest platform with the door and padded towards it.

Freedom from this pit of emptiness, of despair.. Of death...

The was shut, the little bug pushed, pulled, banged, kicked, and stabbed at the door, it refused to budge. The bug sank to their knees, tired and feeling hopeless. All that desperation and exertion just to discover there was no freedom, no one would hear, no one even knew, the miniature bug slumped against the door.

They were so tired.

Everything hurt.

They were stuck, and most likely going to die.

The bug fidgeted lazily with their cloak as they felt their eye lids grow heavier.

The tiny bug's body slid down a little as they relaxed.

Exhaustion had overcome them, the little bug fell asleep to find whatever awaited them in the world of dreams.

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Word count: 529

A short chapter but had a lot of fun writing this! Thank you for reading! (P.S. I'm probably going to have a wild uploading schedule for a little bit)

Until the next chapter, Have a great day/night/morning/afternoon!
~Grey