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Hornet, with all of the patience in her, growled as she walked, her steps echoing loudly in the cavernous building. The fact that the floor let off a clicking noise each time she took a step didn’t help her grievance.
She missed Hallownest. There, she knew where everything was, from the moss creeps and fool eaters in Greenpath to the Primal Aspids and Great Hoppers in Kingdom’s Edge. Most importantly, though, no one ever dared to hunt her.
Here though, she knew nothing of Pharloom. The creatures and bugs here had consciousness, unlike the infected husks. Here, they could think and plan. Here, they could hunt her.
Frustrated and angry, Hornet kicked a bug’s corpse, letting out a growl. Here, she had nothing. She was blind to what Pharloom threw at her and despite her overcoming those obstacles thrown at her, they had left her shaken. By underestimating Pharloom, she had underestimated Lace. Hornet had barely survived her encounter with the assassin tasked to collect her.
A crack brought Hornet from her thoughts, her hand immediately flying to her needle. She looked about the room, seeing on both sides of her rows of seats. She tried to ignore the hair on her neck stand. She felt as though there were bugs in those seats staring at her, maliciously chanting for her demise. She growled once more, kicking the corpse away so it wouldn’t get in her way if she needed to run.
“Respect for the dead, this one has none,” a metallic and grave voice echoed through the building. “To not respect the dead, many this one has killed without mercy.”
In front of her was a podium where a cage stood in its bronze glory. Beside it was a statue that seemed to just stare at Hornet. Something was leaking from its eyes, something that looked disturbingly similar to the void her father had messed with.
Another crack was heard and Hornet saw as the statue reached for something behind the cage. It pulled a lever and Hornet’s path to exit the building was blocked by a bronze gate.
The statue rose, it’s body letting out large cracking noises. For such noises to be made, the statue must have sat upon that podium for ages, never moving. Hornet crouched as she stared at the statue, drawing her needle with ease.
“Burdens and failures of others, placed upon your shoulders by your own claws,” the statue said, still staring at Hornet.
Hornet’s anger grew at the statue’s claim.
Her father had failed at protecting Hallownest. No matter what he did or how hard he had tried, Hallownest still fell, succumbing to the infection. Her mother had agreed to sleep for eternity to contain the infection. Her mother’s life was wasted in the attempt to protect their people.
“Do not speak to me of such things you know nothing of!” Hornet snarled at the statue.
The statue leapt from the podium, leaving a small crater in the floor where it had landed. As it straightened itself out, Hornet could hear the groaning of metal.
“Judge we are, last of the judges to exist” the statue stated, before tensing itself. “To carry such burdens and failures you mask your guilts and failures. We, the last of the judges, shall judge your guilts.”
Hornet’s anger paused as she remembered the events at the black egg temple, holding the Hollow Knight in place with her silk while Ghost had struck them with a blade of light. She remembered seeing both of her siblings' masks split in two after she had woken. She remembered the tears she had shed. She remembered stumbling through the vast darkness to Dirtmouth and placing their masks in the cemetery.
For as long as she had known, she was the protector of Hallownest. She may not have been able to protect it from the infection, but she had been able protect it from outsiders. It had been her duty and she wore it just as proudly as Ghost had worn their charms.
“Enough from you,” Hornet snarled, pointing her needle at the Last Judge, “the only one to be judged will be you when you fall to my needle and meet with the rest of your judges.”
The body of the Last Judge groaned before it swiped up with its claws. Specific spots of the floor glowed before fire erupted from them, curving towards the Last Judge.
Hornet had hissed, the light from the fire blinding her and the heat disorienting her.
“Judged, we shall be,” The Last Judge said, standing tall and unmoving as the rings of fire disappeared. “Who is to be judged first, we shall find out.”