| “ | The bugs of Hallownest were twisted out of shape by that ancient sickness. First they fell into deep slumber, then they awoke with broken minds, and then their bodies started to deform... | „ |
| ~ The Hunter describing the Infection. |
The Infected are the main enemies of Hollow Knight, serving both as bosses and regular enemies. The are bugs who have been brainwashed by the Infection - also known as the Bright Light, The Plague and the Ancient Sickness - caused by the god of light and dreams, the Radiance. Bugs are infected through their dreams, slowly losing their free will until they eventually succumb to being mindless, violent shells. A bug can be saved before becoming fully infected during this process though, as seen with Bretta and Nailsage Sly. The Infection is the main driving force of the game, being the reason why the now ruined kingdom of Hallownest fell in the first place.
Appearance[]
Infected bugs usually have the same appearance as before their infection, but with orange pupils. As the infection spreads, the eyes will become mostly of fully orange, and large globs of an orange substance overtakes the body. Eventually, the infection will overtake the host completely and kill them, as seen with the Moss Prophet, the Glowing Womb Aspid, and - in Steel Soul mode - Tuk. When attacked, infected bugs "bleed" this orange substance. Areas heavily effected with the infection have large, pulsating orange globs and tendrils overtaking it, and orange smoke in the air. While bugs are the most commonly afflicted, the infection can also spread to jellyfish, plants and fungi.
History[]
When the Pale King arrived and established his own kingdom named Hallownest, the bugs who lived there abandoned their old god the Radiance in favor of him, with only a few of the moths remembering their former deity. This enraged the Radiance, who began to invade the dreams of bugs to slowly corrupt them by planting false hopes in their minds. Soon, the Radiance's influence would entirely consume these bugs' minds, causing them to revert to primal instincts and beginning the first wave of the plague.
Soon the infection spread through Hallownest, even inflicting some members of Deepnest, the Hive, and the Mushroom Clan. The wills of the Mantis Tribe were too strong for the ailment to get to them, though. However, one of the Tribe's leaders turned against his three sisters and, along with several other mantises, willingly took in the infection, believing it would make them stronger.
Meanwhile, the citizens of Hallownest tried all they could to combat the disease, with one group going against the Pale King's wishes to experiment with Soul, believing enough of it would be enough to protect themselves. Many bugs had their souls drained in these experiments, which ultimately proved fruitless, as soon all of those studying it, including their leader, fell to the sickness as well. The kingdom's capital, the City of Tears, was locked off in an attempt to keep the infection out, though this too was unsuccessful, and lead to the city's residents resorting to cannibalism.
Soon the Pale King devised a plan to seal the Radiance inside a perfectly hollow being with no feeling or mind she could corrupt, using the Void below the kingdom to do this. He and Hallownest's queen the White Lady then had many eggs together, which they dropped into the Abyss that housed the Void. There, the Void's essence merged with the eggs, and out of them hatched thousands upon thousands of children with the ability to harness its power. Only one of these was chosen however, deemed the Hollow Knight and trained for its future containment of the Radiance, while its many siblings were abandoned in the now sealed-off Abyss.
As an extra measure of protection, the Pale King also enlisted the help of Monomon the Teacher, Lurian the Watcher and Hera the Beast to create an extra seal, at the cost of being put into a permanent sleep. He then sealed the Radiance inside the Hollow Knight and kept them chained up and sealed away within the Temple of the Black Egg, with the three dreamers placing a seal that could only be broken by entering their dreams and killing them.
Despite all the effort though, the plan failed, as the Hollow Knight wasn't truly hollow, and eventually the Radiance would infect them before continuing her destruction of the kingdom. Out of options, the Pale King sealed himself and his White Palace away in the world of dreams, completely giving up on his crumbling kingdom. As the infection would spread unopposed, Hallownest quickly fell apart completely, with few residing in it being able to avoid succumbing to the plague.
An unknown amount of time later, the Knight - one of the Hollow Knight's siblings that managed to escape the Abyss and leave the kingdom - returns to break the seals and destroy the Radiance. With the help of the Dream Nail, the Knight is able to enter the dreams of Hera, Lurian and Monomon, killing them and breaking their seals on the Temple of the Black Egg.
Once they break all the seals, the Knight goes to confront the Hollow Knight. Their sibling is initially hostile towards them and tries to kill them, but as the battle progresses the Hollow Knight grows weaker, beginning to stab themself with their own nail, either to stop the Radiance's control over them, or just to put themself out of their misery. From here, three different endings can occur. If the Hollow Knight is fought without obtaining the Void Heart first, then they'll be defeated as normal, and afterwards the Knight will seal the Radiance within themself before the Temple seals them in, now becoming the new Hollow Knight.
If the Void Heart is obtained before the battle, then as the battle nears its end, the two siblings' half-sister Hornet joins in the fight, subduing the Hollow Knight briefly with silk to give the Knight to chance to use the Dream Nail on them to fight The Radiance directly. If the Knight ignores her and keeps fighting, she'll soon be knocked away, and the Hollow Knight is defeated as normal once more. A similar ending as before is then gotten, but with Hornet present, she now adds a seal to the Temple just as the three Dreamers had. If the Knight uses the Dream Nail however, they'll be transported to the Hollow Knight's mindscape, where they confront the Radiance. After a difficult battle, the Radiance is destroyed by the Knight, the Hollow Knight, and their siblings pulling her into the Void, putting an end to the infection at long last.
In the Godmaster DLC, two more endings exclusive to the new Godhome mode were added to the game. In both, after defeating harder versions of all previous bosses, the Knight fights the Absolute Radiance. Upon defeating her, the Knight then transforms into the Shade Lord and destroyed her single-handedly. After which, the infection once more disappears, and the Hollow Knight is free, soon being encountered by Hornet out side the Temple as she watches the remains of the infection dissipate. Both endings are the same up to this point, with one difference being that normally, the Shade Lord is now lose in Hallownest, but giving the Godseeker a Delicate Flower, the flower will cause the Shade Lord to suddenly vanish.
Quotes[]
Dialog given by most infected enemies when struck with the Dream Nail:
| “ | ...Light... Danger... | „ |
| “ | ...Safe... Dark... | „ |
| “ | ...Hungry... Hungry... | „ |
| “ | ...Scared... | „ |
| “ | ...Eat... When... | „ |
| “ | ...Kill... Hurt... | „ |
| “ | ...Away. Away... | „ |
| “ | ...Pain... | „ |
Trivia[]
- When an infected boss is killed, the Radiance's scream can be heard.
- The Infection apparently has a sweet scent and flavor.
- After either gaining the Monarch Wings or killing one of the Dreamers, the Forgotten Crossroads will become overrun by infection, due to the area housing the Temple of the Black Egg.
External Links[]
The Infection — Hollow Knight Wiki
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Hollow Knight The Infected Other Hollow Knight: Silksong | ||