this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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... the Void! I couldn't have been happier to see it expanded upon in Silksong, it's probably my favorite aspect of the worldbuilding, but we still know almost nothing about it.

Feel free to share any fun ideas or theories! I also have a few questions I'd love to get this communities thoughts on:

  1. Is there one huge mass of Void that reaches to Hallownest, Pharloom & possibly other kingdoms, but still ultimately just one finite body of "liquid"? Or is it below everything?

  2. Is there anything solid below, and if so, how deep does it go? (e.g. in relation to the depth of GMSs cocoon)

  3. Is the surface everywhere generally on the same elevation? Some small openings below Hallownest are at slightly different heights, but not by much. Below Pharloom AFAIK it's either the same, or all the same height.

  4. Are the Void Tendrils creatures living inside the body of liquid? Or are they manifestations of the Void itself? If they are creatures, were they born like that, or did they turn into that form?

  5. When the White Lady mentions the Void in the Red Memory, she says:

    Witness, the first light. The only means we possess to resist that void with which our family is forever linked.

    Does "our family" here refer to the Pale King, White Lady, Hornet etc., or is it referring to Pale beings in general?

  6. Do you think the creation of Pale beings is somehow related to the creation of the Void? I have a feeling the contrast is deliberate.

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[–] NONE_dc@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)
  1. Is there one huge mass of Void that reaches to Hallownest, Pharloom & possibly other kingdoms, but still ultimately just one finite body of "liquid"?

I like to think so, that the Void is a single entity that expands throughout the center of the world of Hollow Knight.

  1. Is there anything solid below, and if so, how deep does it go? (e.g. in relation to the depth of GMS's cocoon)

If there is something below the Void, it would be great if it turned out to be the origin of the Pale beings. Like, immersed in an almost infinite sea of Void lies a pale, pristine core that is where all Pale beings are born, or at least where they get their divinity. That could explain the relative compatibility between the Void and the Pale beings.

  1. Are the Void Tendrils creatures living inside the body of liquid? Or are they manifestations of the Void itself? If they are creatures, were they born like that, or did they turn into that form?

I seem to remember that, if not in Silksong or the original Hollow Knight, in the hunting journal the Tendrils were described as part of a single entity and a manifestation of its natural aggressiveness.

[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Love the image of the pristine core! I imagine it'd look similar to Brightvein.

[–] CarrieForle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not a theorist, but on the fifth question. I think 'my family' here just means White lady, Pale king, and Hornet. It would make sense if they were Godseekers or the shrooms (in fungal wastes), since it's explicitly told they shared a mind. We don't see anything like that in either game. Team Cherry is also very considerate with their choice of word. It would make more sense for White Lady to say 'my kind' instead if that were the case.

But either way. It's impossible to tell until we see another pale being that has no connection to the pale being we already know.

[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Thanks for the response!

Team Cherry is also very considerate with their choice of word. It would make more sense for White Lady to say 'my kind' instead if that were the case.

That's actually what gave me the idea - Hornet and the White Lady aren't genetically related. Since there is nothing metaphysically linking Hornet to the Void besides her half siblings, maybe "our family" being "forever linked" with it could relate to Paleness.

The Snail Shamans also specifically wanted to see GMS be destroyed by the Void, which strengthens this idea.

But either way. It's impossible to tell until we see another pale being that has no connection to the pale being we already know.

We do in Silksong! Hornet explicitly calls GMS a Pale being, e.g. in the dialogue with the Green Prince.

[–] CarrieForle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We do in Silksong! Hornet explicitly calls GMS a Pale being, e.g. in the dialogue with the Green Prince.

Guess I gotta do a refresh go of Silksong again 🫠

I looked at the dialogs again. And yeah our family probably just means pale being. Since Snail Shamans refer GMS as pale kin. The bugs of Hollow Knight probably view family differently than us.

On a side note, before your comment, I always thought the thing that is 'forever linked' is the Everbloom. That's what happened when you're not good at English haha.

[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Great point with the Snail Shamans, the "pale kin" certainly supports the "Pale family" theory!

On a side note, before your comment, I always thought the thing that is 'forever linked' is the Everbloom. That's what happened when you're not good at English haha.

Very understandable, it's not the type of speech you encounter every day. Prior experience with Souls games certainly helps with that!

Though it would still make sense either way. I'm convinced that the "first light" and the "Paleness" are directly linked, and the Void is probably more or less directly related too.

My current head canon is that someone, probably the Steel Masters, attempted some kind of "ascension ritual" that's similar to what the Soul Master attempted, only much larger in scale. Something prompted them to try and create their own light - and it worked, it created beings that shine bright enough to bask whole kingdoms in their pale light. But the mass sacrifice transformed the victims into a thoughtless mass that only wishes to extinguish any light it can find...

[–] BunScientist@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
  1. I believe it's a single thing mostly, maybe not an ocean necessarily, but something that has spread through tunnels in the ground and so. I do believe it's in every kingdom, the HK hunter's notes on the shade suggest that the void might be something that's some sort of left over from all bugs.

  2. Probably yes, void might have not always been there, or perhaps not as plentiful, and I reject hollow planet ideas so.

  3. No, and iirc team cherry said that HK took place all in a cave, so even Dirthmouth wouldn't be part of the surface (though perhaps close, if we are to assume Silksong's surface is actually a surface and the color scheme means something). Oh wait, I think you are talking about the surface of the void... I suppose it would mostly be since liquids do that, but that personally bothers me, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some separate "oceans" of void, but still not too far from one another that void creatures can still go from one to the other if they desire, unclear.

  4. They are void given form, if we are to believe the game. I assume void has a "limited" ability to turn into something, but it clearly can be molded into something else, the tendril might just be its default shape when it stops being liquidy.

  5. Hmmm I interpreted this as the king, the while lady and hornet, to an extent it might even extend to the siblings since the flower doesn't seem to repel void just by tough (the knight holds it fine) but by aggression. Pale beings seem rather selfish from one another (radiance and the pale king) so I doubt she talks about the pale beings in general, she would probably say "our kind" or something like that.

  6. As I said I think void comes from regular bugs, Jiji mentions regrets, so perhaps it's something like their twisted, regretful soul when they die, idk, but I don't think its creation is tied to the creation of pale beings. That said, pale beings being the reason so many bugs just die from left to right may or may not increase the spread of void?

[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

You just gave me a fascinating idea with your last point! What if the City of Steel can somehow harness Void as energy, almost like burning oil?

We know that either Pale or higher beings are generally under the influence of the Masters of the Steel NPCs, and we know that Pale beings have a natural inclination towards ruling over bugs by taking over whole kingdoms. We also know that Steel NPCs have some limited control over the Void through magic, e.g. being able to summon it.

What if the whole cycle (Pale being arrives in kingdom, takes over, eventually causes ruin & regret) is wanted, or even caused, by the City of Steel?