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This Villain was proposed and approved by Villains Wiki's Pure Evil Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this villain from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a futile "heroic" attempt of redemption) and the user will have high chances of being | ||
| “ | The light, forgotten. The plague, the infection, the madness that haunts the corpses of Hallownest... the light that screams out from the eyes of this dead Kingdom. What is the source? I suppose mere mortals like myself will never understand. | „ |
| ~ The Hunter's Journal entry on the Radiance. |
| “ | ...ANCIENT ENEMY... ...I DO NOT FEAR YOU... ...LET ME BE FREE... ...I WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN... ...DAWN WILL BREAK... ...THE LIGHT CANNOT BE CONSUMED... |
„ |
| ~ The Radiance's Dream Nail dialogue. |
The Radiance is the main antagonist of the 2017 indie videogame Hollow Knight.
A powerful and destructive entity, the Radiance is the being responsible for ruling the Moth tribe before the creation of Hallownest, while also the one responsible for causing the Infection as punishment for the bugs abandoning her laws. Using the Infection as a weapon of mass destruction, she seeks to destroy all wisdom of Hallownest until there is no competition in her rule.
Personality[]
| “ | For quiet retreat did I climb up here, away from spitting creatures. Ormmph... Yes. High up. Away from simple minds, lost to light. Theirs is a different kind of unity. Rejection of the Wyrm's attempt at order. I resist the light's allure. Union it may offer, but also a mind bereft of thought... To instinct alone a bug is reduced...Hrrm... | „ |
| ~ Bardoon to the Knight on the creatures the Radiance infects. |
The Radiance once ruled the land that eventually became Hallownest. She was connected to her creation, the Moth tribe, via dream essence. Once the Pale King came along and granted the bugs of Hallownest free will in exchange for servitude, the moths forgot the Radiance, sealing her away, and worshipped the Pale King instead.
Enraged that her people stopped worshipping her, she used her powers as a higher being to influence the bugs of Hallownest, which led to the Infection. A powerful plague that would invade the dreams of a bug, the Infection would slowly overtake bugs, causing them to grow stronger while also erasing their free will. During this process, it is said that a voice calls to the victim, implying the Radiance directly influences and manipulates the bugs of Hallownest to serve her.
The Radiance exhibits great persistence in her goal and while her ultimate goal is freedom from her prison, she shows little regard for the lesser bugs which she may kill in the process.
In her boss fight, her Dreamnail dialogue hints at the Radiance's defiance towards the Void, her ancient enemy. Along with this, she claims she will not be forgotten. Interestingly, her Dreamnail dialogue has all letters written in capitals, similarly to infected creatures, showing she outright manipulates the thoughts of the people she infects. This is also implies she is very egoistical and insecure god who afraid of being forgetten. Her reasons to be power hungry and adored,making her very pathetic in some ways.
At the end of the day, the Radiance is nothing more than a heartless, envious monster. Like all Higher Beings, she seeks to bring bugs into her thrall in order to strengthen her influence. However, the brutal nature and methods which she uses to do so sets her apart from other Higher Beings as being exceptionally cruel.
Biography[]
Origin[]
| “ | The folk of my tribe were born from a light. Light similar to Essence, similar to that powerful blade, though much brighter still. They were content to bask in that light and honoured it... for a time. But another light appeared in our world... A wyrm that took the form of a king. How fickle my ancestors must have been. They forsook the light that spawned them. Turned their backs to it... Forgot it even. And so this kingdom was born from that betrayal. But the memories of that ancient light still lingered, hush whispers of faith... Until all of Hallownest began to dream of that forgotten light. | „ |
| ~ The Seer to The Knight on the Radiance's origins. |
At one point in the past, a Higher Being created a race of highly intelligent moths. The moths came to worship the being, referring to her as "The Radiance". But later, a new Higher Being known as the Pale Wyrm arrived and created a kingdom called Hallownest. Most of the Moths willingly forsook their creator, sealing her away, and followed the Pale Wyrm instead, though some continued to worship the Radiance in secret. The Wyrm used his power to grant most bugs intelligence and allowed all of his followers to live in peace, in exchange for their servitude. Once the kingdom of Hallownest was formed, the Wyrm transformed into the being now known as the Pale King. During his reign, the Pale King discovered the Void which resided deep in the Abyss.
Upon realizing that all of her followers had turned against her, the Radiance grew extremely wrathful and sought to regain control of her followers by entering their dreams and draining all of their memories away until their minds were nothing but burning, raging light. While most are killed by this process, the rest are turned into zombie-like entities, starting a disease known as "The Infection". When infected, the bugs' memories are reverted back to their original primal hive mind instincts, but due to the Radiance's malevolent influences, they grew hostile and slaughtered everything in their path.
As a means to save his endangered kingdom, the Pale King attempted to find a solution and eventually had the idea of Vessels, undead beings made of Void intended to be so empty that they could completely contain the Radiance's power, though almost all resulted in failures as they were not completely hollow. The Pale King discarded thousands of Vessels back into the Abyss for they were not hollow enough. Eventually, one Vessel ultimately succeeded in sealing the Radiance inside its body and took shelter in a giant cocoon referred to as the Black Egg, earning the title "The Hollow Knight". Once the Hollow Knight was sealed inside the egg, three intelligent bugs volunteered to become Dreamers by sealing the entrance to the egg to prevent the egg from being opened prematurely, maintained by the Dreamers' eternal sleep. The presumed last surviving Vessel, the Knight (the playable main character), left Hallownest as their primary purpose was already fulfilled. The Pale King and his White Palace mysteriously vanished while Hallownest recovered from the Infection, seemingly gone for good.
However, as time went on, the Radiance's presence returned through the Black Egg as the Hollow Knight failed to be completely hollow of thought and the Radiance was able to take advantage. Despite being trapped within the Hollow Knight, she managed to crack through its shell and spread influences within the bugs' minds, causing the Infection to return. The Knight, sensing the return of the Infection and the weakening of the Hollow Knight, returns to the kingdom and sets off to confront the Hollow Knight and stop the Radiance from destroying the rest of Hallownest.
Endings[]
Depending on the Knight's progress through the game, three different endings can occur (in the base game). The Radiance herself only appears at the end of the third ending. However, due to the Hollow Knight being the Vessel imprisoning her, she plays a major unseen role in all three. In the other two endings, the Knight absorbs the Dreamers into themself to gain access to the Black Egg, where inside they battle and defeat the Hollow Knight, becoming the new Vessel to seal the Infection. In one of the two other endings, Hornet is incidentally sealed in the Black Egg as well, inadvertently becoming a Dreamer to her own imprisonment; with her unreachable, the Infection can never be stopped if it ever comes back.
The Radiance herself only appears during the third ending "Dream No More". In order to obtain this ending, the Knight must not only absorb the three Dreamers, but also collect the two parts of the Kingsoul charm by awakening their Dream Nail with enough dream essence to collect one piece from the White Palace (which is now sealed away in the dream realm and can only be accessed by the awakened dream nail) and collect the Shade Cloak from the Abyss in order to bypass the Abyss Gate in the Queen's Gardens, defeat the Traitor Lord and find the White Lady, who has the other piece of the Kingsoul. The Knight must then bring the Kingsoul to the Abyss where it will become the Void Heart.
During the final moments with the Hollow Knight fight, Hornet joins in and temporarily stuns the Hollow Knight, allowing the Knight to use the Dream Nail on the Hollow Knight to enter its dream. This will bring the Knight to the Hollow Knight's dream, where they engage the Radiance in a fight to the death. As the Knight inflicts enough damage on the Radiance, the shades of the Knight's fallen Vessel siblings, including the Hollow Knight itself, flow into the Dream Realm and eventually corner the Radiance. The Knight sacrifices their physical body and reverts to their shade to deal the finishing blows before joining their siblings in dragging the Radiance down into the Void, finally killing her and ending the Infection once and for all. The remaining shades returned to the Void with their purposes fulfilled for good.
Godmaster[]
In the Godmaster DLC, the Godseeker arrives from a foreign land to Hallownest in order to attune to the various "gods" which reside there. After the Knight completes the Pantheon of the Knight and defeats the Pure Vessel, the Godseeker succeeds at using the Hollow Knight to attune to the Radiance, bringing her into Godhome where she is unshackled from the Hollow Knight's seal.
The Radiance serves as the final boss of the mode, in her true and primal form: Absolute Radiance. As Absolute Radiance, she appears as the final opponent of the Pantheon of Hallownest. After defeating the Pure Vessel once again, the Knight is immediately suddenly warped to the top of the Godhome realm, where Absolute Radiance resides. The only difference in her appearance is a larger halo of light emitting from her. The battle against her is similar to the regular Radiance, although all of her attacks and spells are cast at a faster pace. Also, the final phase is altered, where she now warps across the room and summons orbs of light before the Knight can deal the final blow.
When defeated, none of the Vessels or the Hollow Knight aid the Knight in finishing off Absolute Radiance. Instead, the Knight transforms into a massive monster made of Void called "Void Given Focus", which grabs Absolute Radiance and effortlessly kills her by slashing at her repetitively with their claws, causing her to shatter into dream essence. Void then leaks out of the Godseeker in the Junk Pit. The scene ends without showing what happens next. If the Delicate Flower was given to the Godseeker prior to this, the flower causes the Godseeker and the Void to disappear.
In the Hall of Gods, defeating Absolute Radiance causes her to simply burst into dream essence, as the Radiance in the Hall of Gods is merely an imprint of the true Radiance.
Appearance[]
The Radiance resembles a white moth with multiple gray tentacles by her side that act as wings. She has yellow glowing eyes and three spear-like spikes atop her head resembling a crown. Her legs appear to be made up of two appendages. Her insides appear to be made of pure dream essence, as a number of said essence can be seen pouring out of her eyes when the Hollow Knight tears it open, allowing the Knight access to her weak spot.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The Radiance's physical form is mentioned as a blinding light throughout the game; however, her physical form only appears briefly when the Hollow Knight is killed.
- The Radiance is not required to complete the Hunter's Journal, despite having an entry.
- A statue of the Radiance can be found at Hallownest's Crown located at the top of the Crystal Mines, looking down at Dirtmouth. A piece of Pale Ore can be found at the base, and Dream Nailing the statue displays the words "...Remember... Light...".
- The Radiance is one of the two bosses that must be challenged to battle, the other being the Mantis Lords. While the Mantis Lords will have to be challenged every time, the Radiance will attack the Knight directly upon entering the arena following the first attempt.
- The Radiance is the only boss who can kill the Knight in the Dream Realm. All other bosses based in the Dream Realm that defeat the Knight will only cause them to be sent out of the fight and wake up in the physical world unharmed.
- A common joke amongst the Hollow Knight community is associating the Radiance with the term "floof" due to her appearance, which some fans find cute. The Radiance is also unable to harm the Knight through physical contact, usually associated with her being fluffy.
External Link[]
- The Radiance on the Pure Evil Wiki
- The Radiance on the Hollow Knight Wiki
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 Villains
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Hollow Knight The Infected Other Hollow Knight: Silksong | ||
 Villains
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Bosses Seven Deadly Sins The Harbringers Final Bosses Other The Legend of Bum-bo The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Warp Zones | ||