Hornet was the sexual offspring of White King and Herrah, originally just a normal bug. However, to protect this princess of Hallownest, her parents bestowed upon her the Vessel's mask.
She underwent metamorphosis in a cradle from a young age, gaining immense power and the ability to use Soul. Afterwards, she learned combat techniques in the Hive.
As she grew, she honed her skills in distant lands outside Hallownest, finally maturing into a powerful warrior.
Tracing back to their origins, Hornet's deepest connection to her parents was the cradle.
Now, White King is dead and Herrah has passed, but their lives found their best continuation in Hornet. They were like two people flying a kite; now the kite has broken free of its long string, soaring alone in the cloudy sky, but the kite's shadow still remains on the ground.
Upon returning to Deepnest, Hornet found the Midwife who had helped her be born.
She lived in the Beast's Den, at the bottom of a hollow filled with silk cocoons, next to a wide lake.
Hornet gazed briefly at the deep lake water.
This water had once been polluted by the Void, making it very black, as black as ink. The good thing was that no dangerous creatures could possibly live there anymore.
Faint childhood memories surged in her mind. Although she couldn't recall the exact details, the joyful and sweet sensation was undeniable.
She used to love playing in this very lake.
Hornet turned her head. Memories, after all, were just memories. She stepped into a long, narrow cave by the lake.
Here, she was supreme; all fierce beasts and venomous insects would avoid her.
She ventured deep inside, reaching a broken wall made of piled rubble.
Beside the wall were many fragmented bug corpses, seemingly having endured horrific tearing.
Hornet took a few steps forward.
A thick, dark, long worm pushed its body out from the rubble. Its face bore a circular, bone-white mask with a slit in the middle, revealing three pairs of eyeholes. The upper two pairs were separated, while the lowest pair merged, forming an upward curving arc like a smiling mouth, resembling the face of a villain's sneer.
The Midwife was a patient with a dual personality.
"Oh, let me see, my dear, why have you come? I was wondering when you would come to see me," she sighed, her tone like a lonely old woman, while her many legs restlessly scratched. In contrast, her movements were somewhat overly exaggerated.
Hornet had not yet responded when the Midwife, sharp-eyed, spotted Simon. "Ah… is what you're carrying food for me? You're so kind, I happen to be hungry. A full stomach is the royal road to happiness… Come, give him to me."
She impatiently opened her mask, revealing an ugly face with a four-eyed giant mouth. Exposed fangs were densely arranged in two rows, constantly opening and closing. The Midwife let out a chilling pouncing sound, her body lunging forward, but she was stuck in the wall, unable to move an inch, only anxiously and futilely struggling.
Hornet was very familiar with her personality. She lightly swung a nail. The Midwife sensed danger, her mask closed, and her body abruptly retracted, burrowing back into the wall.
"Don't be afraid of me, come out," Hornet said softly, the princess's authority not to be desecrated.
The Midwife reluctantly emerged again.
"Oh, my dear, haven't you left yet? Heh heh heh, I hope I didn't scare you just now. It wouldn't look good if you cried like you did when you were little…"
Hornet snorted, "I don't have time to chat with you here. Prepare the cradle, or I'll call a swarm of bugs to stay with you."
The Midwife appeared fierce but was actually introverted and withdrawn, with a strong sense of wariness. She only trusted Herrah. Now that Herrah had passed, her world contained only strangers, and even Herrah's daughter, Hornet, was no exception.
She feared disturbance the most. Upon hearing Hornet's threat, her tone immediately became flustered, "Okay! Okay! I'll prepare it right away!"
The Midwife burrowed back into the wall, but Hornet would not burrow through walls. She went directly to the cradle room.
The cradle room was located below Herrah's bedchamber.
A Stalking Devout guarded this place. Upon seeing Hornet, it respectfully cleared the way.
Entering the room, in the small space, there were a few lamp posts emitting a dull light.
In the center hung a teardrop-shaped structure with a sharp point at the top. The upper part had intricate rib-like patterns, and several long tubes connected to it, seemingly functioning as an umbilical cord. The lower part was a fractured, bone-like bowl-shaped structure, supporting the entire cradle.
The main structure of the cradle was suspended in the air, not held by the long tubes, so it was close to the ceiling, a distance from the ground.
Several small Weavers scurried in, carrying the cradle's base with squeaks and chirps. Their claws were nimble, and they quickly replaced the base, then circled Hornet a few times before swiftly departing.
Hornet stepped forward to pull down the base, then placed Simon onto it and closed the cradle.
The Midwife was already prepared. Streams of an ethereal blue solution were transported from the long tubes into the cradle, submerging Simon's body.
This solution could be called amniotic fluid.
The water that nurtures life.
Hornet pondered for a moment, then placed the flower Simon had entrusted to her on the ground beneath the cradle. After that, she left, clutching the Little Knight's broken mask.
She was going to bury the remains.
In the empty room, the sacred flower floated up, merging into the cradle.
…
Simon was in a dream during his sleep.
He recalled his past, his childhood and adolescence.
An age of vivid imagination.
But memories in the dream were unusually blurry. He couldn't distinguish whether they were his personal experiences or simply mental constructs.
Simon walked under the trees, looking around. The sun was just right. Through the gaps in the dense branches, he could see the various colored bricks and tiles of building exteriors, receding rapidly as he walked.
He entered a deserted long alley, with green bricks and ancient tiles, and lush moss. City power lines crisscrossed above the alley, and a few sparrows perched, chirping.
The layered clouds high in the sky allowed sunlight to pass through, looking like golden-edged ice jade sculptures that formed a painting with the firmament, cropped by the walls on both sides of the alley, leaving only a long, slanted strip, very artistic.
Simon looked up, the sun blinding his eyes. He swaggered, walking uninhibitedly down the long alley, as if this road would never end.
Clean water flowed briskly in the roadside ditch, swirling over the stone bricks.
Before long, the alley ended.
The moment he exited the alley, the sky cleared.
Ahead, a pure white stag appeared on the city's busy street. Its antlers were magnificent, coiling and sprawling like the branches of two ancient trees, rising higher than the streetlights along the road.
It moved through traffic with elegant steps.
Neither showing any panic nor causing any trouble to pedestrians.
Simon feared it would be hit by a car and quickly chased after the stag.
He followed it, the stag walking ahead, he running behind.
They passed through the city, through the rubble-strewn suburbs, and over the lush bamboo mountains and forests.
The sun set in the west, and the bright moon rose.
Under the night sky, the mountains were a misty green. The stag stood on a barren hill, amidst giant rocks and cliffs, its back to the full moon, its antlers cradling the moon.
As if holding a precious pearl.
The stag stood serenely.
Simon walked up to it, reached out, and gently stroked its thick fur.
The warm fur, exuding strong vitality, allowed him to feel the surging blood beneath it.
The stag transformed into light, enveloping the young man, rising into the firmament, and becoming a second bright moon.
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