@@gendor5199 If it helps, the next is the Ghost of Sparta 😁 Appreciate the support! Hope you enjoy what the channel provides.

@@KrixTheGamer Believe me, I really wanted this series to end happily. Call it "experience" and acceptance, perchance.

@Scarletspiderofyoutube Huh. Being canonized post-nuclear war is definitely unexpected haha

@@expychristianI wonder if there’s still a pope in Europe?

You sure are! Appreciate it, nonetheless.

Thank you! I love both games.

If it's any indication, I kind of have a vendetta against Zote haha Such an annoying boss fight. If anything, it's props to Team Cherry for turning a bug into an actual character that can stir emotion in players.

Fair enough, I tried to leave it as Team Cherry did: open-ended. I wouldn't be surprised if it is either Hollow Knight or the Knight. What I DO wonder is what Silksong has in store here, since Team Cherry basically said every ending is a possibility for continuity. Nonetheless, I appreciate the comment! Thank you, kindly.

I understand! I'm trying to improve how I can better condense a lot of lore and history into these kinds of videos. It was around 60+ hours of gameplay and exploration that I had collected over the course of playing the game; while also simultaneously telling a story. Appreciate the honesty.

Your complaint was unfocused and rambled a bit and also seemed like you were trying to maximize the word count. Something about stones and glass houses.

My thoughts near-exactly! Some of the "gods" can be classified as god-like, but a lot of them are just creatures with a stronger evolution or adaptation compared to the rest of their species. It's a very unique way of fleshing out the bug-dominant setting of Hallownest as a form of an ecosystem as opposed to a kingdom in complete cadence to a human civilization, but it does end up being the straw that breaks the camel's back (or the back of the Godseeker in this case).

Max Derrat made a good video regarding that. I recommend it. As for me, I can only imagine that he was as militaristic and "brutal" as most tribals were at the time, especially if Caesar had already had multiple tribes under his army. Near losing his life and regaining his faith definitely helped him to foster a more collective demeanor, but make no mistake: Joshua can and WILL fight like his life depended on it. I suppose you could also consider that Joshua Graham fights to protect his new life and people, while the Legate fought to conquer and dominate. Just my thoughts.

I posed it as such, but yes. God CAN be a role model, alongside many other role models we may have from other people (ie. Think of a certain athlete, arts-person, etc). I posed it in the sense that we can take inspiration for our own destinies and paths from the people we believe in.

@expychristian a god, is a role model that they can bestow upon their beliefs and ideologies, and in turn, they worship and praise the god.

@SmallOneEyedKing Well said! In principle, that can be true, and there's certainly a root there between divinity and mortality when it comes to having God as your role model.

No worries, happy to provide! And thank you for the comment; to me, the idea of "gods" introduced in Hallownest always had intrigued me, given the obvious facets pointing to either a false godhood or some unique way that the creatures were deified. Really, things like the Void and the Radiance represent more elemental forces rather than pure "gods." Also that's an interesting perspective; come to think of it, the Kingsoul does break in order for the Void Heart to show itself, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Void is what and how the Pale King was able to take power in the first place.

Saw the trailer while making the video; got sad. Silksong looks amazing, but we're still left in the dark :( Glad I could offer a rarity in content!

Zote's somethin' alright xd

Fair point! In (my personal) theory, they were considered Higher Beings in principle. They were vastly different in ability and capacity compared to the rest of the bugs of Hallownest, so while they weren't worshipped in the same vein as the Pale King (save for Herrah), I feel they would've been considered Higher Beings by their lesser contemporaries because of the length of which they fulfilled their duties and influenced the bugs around them. Just my theory, though! And by dream borne, I was referring to how the Kingsoul became the Void Heart through the dream sequence of the Abyss. Not dream borne as in its made entirely of dreams (hence the fragments from the Lady and the Palace). Just to clarify!

Thank you, haha Finding those red and blue pots definitely took some time for me. Glad you enjoyed the vid! I did my best and I really love the game, so this was definitely a passion project!

Thank you! I seem to be having a penchant for these kinds of games as of recent, haha I appreciate the comment!

Appreciate the sub! And although I don't necessarily speak on the behalf of all the small channels who produce content akin to mine, but we all do our best with what we got and what we receive! Thank you for the support.

@@expychristian yeah, I'm thankful to youtube for reccomending me really good content from a lot of small channels as of late. My sub count is going up real fast- lol- can't wait to see what you do in the future!

@cupcakejack7375 Stayed blessed! I'm certain that we are all trying our best amongst your sub list, haha. And thank you again for the support and encouragement! I got projects churning and I can't wait to share 'em!

He's something alright.

@@expychristian he is the Invincible, Fearless, Sensual, Mysterious, Enchanting, Vigorous, Diligent, Overwhelming, Gorgeous, Passionate, Terrifying, Beautiful, Powerful, Grey Prince Zote.

​@Nebulius_the_uuhhhh And above all that, he's annoying xd Gave me so much trouble in Godhome.

@@expychristian honestly, GIT GUD

@@Nebulius_the_uuhhhh I'm TrYInG 😭😭😭

Thanks, my dude! Good luck on the grind! I'm not gonna lie: I really thought I would have a one-and-done walk through because I was struggling with the difficulty, but making this video made realise the great experiences I've had from playing the game (minus the Zote and Uumuu fights) and I wouldn't mind going through it again.

@@expychristian the way you described and explained the plot and lore of the game gave me chills, dude. i had already known all this stuff, but your storytelling made me feel like i was like.. it felt so immersive, i felt like i was experiencing the game for the first time again. great work my man!

@@alexiaatheducc Thank you, sincerely. It's in the channel's "brand": "Telling the stories underneath the stories." But on a more personal note, I love doing this kind of longform-style. The lore is always great, but I feel there's always something that can be unraveled besides the plot and its relationships to cutscenes and game mechanics. Storytelling is what and how I approach most of my videos (at least starting from late last year). And I do want to improve always in writing and voice-acting, so, yeah it meshes into videos like these. Thank you again. Happy to provide, joyful to do. Glad you enjoyed this video!

That's what I also was thinking of, not exactly how you put it, but around the same vibe. Without either Pale King nor Radiance, the bugs would've just been bugs. But because of the two, they were able to advance like as humans, while also inevitably suffering plague and the collapse of a civilization like as humans. Not to mention neither Void nor Radiance are actual "good" guys. Merely elemental forces that formed part of their universe.

@@expychristianthat’s actually the opposite of true, because the radiance was already in power before the Pale King came. The moths who worshipped her were in Hallownest before it was made into Hallownest. The moths abandoned the Radiance to worship the Pale King, which is what caused the Radiance’s vengeance. Point being, had the Pale King not come, the Radiance would very much be in power

@maximillion322 Fair. My mindset going into the Radiance-King conflict is that of these powerful elemental forces that have granted different measures of power to the bugs beneath them and how the absence of one, the other, or both, has caused the abject collapse of Hallownest. Hallownest with the Radiance, I'm certain, was fine. But once the bugs got more advanced through the Pale King, they forgot the Radiance, and this sparked the whole story of Hollow Knight. Neglect and ignorance, as well as the hubris of Hallownest, is what makes up the game's setting.

@@expychristian I’m of the opinion that it actually reflects on the Pale King kinda similarly to Gwyn from Dark Souls, where the whole thing he’s trying to prevent is just the world returning to the state it was in before he came. It speaks to his hubris in trying to make his civilization last forever that once he’s gone, everything he built will eventually crumble. We don’t know what happened to the Pale King but one way or another he’s not around anymore by the time of the story. If he were, he probably could’ve just done whatever he did the first time to hold back the radiance when he first arrived in Hallownest. And that’s the other thing: the lore tablet’s claim that Hallownest is the “last and only civilization” is an outright lie. The Mantises, Spinners, Moss, Bees and most importantly the Moths, were all around before the Pale King, having fully developed societies of their own. Point being that the Pale King just isn’t as big of a deal as he thinks he is, making his whole attempt to fight both the void and the radiance just exercises in hubris.

@@maximillion322 And I believe that is one of the best ways of looking at that relationship that the Pale King has established with the world around him. He gave Hallownest that means of advancing themselves beyond the primitive state of most bugs and tried to ensure an eternal kingdom where he stood at the top while simultaneously helping his vassals. Yet, this is in ignorance of other tribes who've operated independently longer than he has. It's one big cycle of making something temporal into something eternal. Great comment.

Thank you! I can't say it enough, but I do my best and hope for the best concerning the channel while also trying to improve however I can! Appreciate the encouragment! Helps to keep me going. I got more for the future planned 'round these parts, haha

Thank you, kindly! I do my best, hoping for the best! And I like Mossbag; his content helped to provide some fire for me to better flesh out this video! It was also a challenge to fit in what I could argue was over 40+ hours worth of lore and content into a 30 or so minute video, haha It's a small world for us Hollow Knight fans, ain't it? Glad you enjoyed the video! Feel free to stick 'round, I got more planned!

@@expychristian Im ALWAYS surprised how this Lil indie game is still relevant after like 7yrs modders and youtubers still make High quality content about this game like what else is there to discuss other than some really cool mods I genuinely thought the lore of hk could not get any better and also everyone in this community is a F-ing masochist lol

@@ThatDwag69 That is also what surprised me. This game is legendary on its own in nearly-every aspect. But the community, who likely believes that Absolute Radiance is a cakewalk, decided to make mods like Pale Court or Inferno Nightmare Grimm. Goes to show the dedication of community spawned from a game that had so much passion put into its creation. And I personally felt drawn to the lore of the "Gods" in Hollow Knight because I felt there was something missing about them. Hence this video's inception!

@@expychristian Pale court is like THE best hk mod I belive all the hk youtubers have at least made a single vid on it and also PPL are doing any rad 3x in a row and also all the colloseum mods like trial of the masachist (which is completely true btw) and even MORE like ancient aspid gods of batte like tc release silksong or the community has gone already insane

@@ThatDwag69 People want either to test their combat prowess or try and unveil the lost history of Hallownest. I suppose it's a double-edged way to invest into the game, haha

Thank you for the sub! I'm not gonna lie, I kept seeing people make memes about Gorb ascending, and I was confused UNTIL I FOUGHT HIM IN GODHOME AND HE WOULDN'T GET DOWN. Plus, it's hilarious just hearing him murmuring "incantations" mid-fight like a Cartoon Network villain, haha

@@expychristianhe also say ascend with gorb

​@@Nebulius_the_uuhhhhascend with Gorb (until he literally disappears into the ceiling)

@@expychristian gorb

Happy to provide! And thank you for the comment! This one took some time so I opted to just go all in and make it as best as I could with all of the limitations of my workplace. Always trying to find improvements wherever I can.

Appreciate it, friend! I do my best.

'Ppreciate it, mate xd

Thank you, kindly.

Blasphemous, I feel, is the distant Spanish-speaking cousin 😅

@@expychristian Hehehe,that was good. Indeed,the twin brother wasn't a correct term for the two game sagas.

@@expychristian Who do you think Pyramid Head is? Ten Piedad?

@@sakellarioudimitris7439 Piedad combined with Esdras!

@@expychristian Nah 🤣

Fair enough. I did mean that script-part as in "Joshua Graham is being influenced by his mistakes and it's channeling into a very unrighteous wrath." But! To your point, there's plenty of stories from scripture where the unfaithful or challenged in faith are able to discover a renewed strength in their faith as a result of being tested or simply making a mistake. Goes to show that even being pious and believing has its trials and tribulations. Good pointer there.

I'm happy for you. It's like the Prodigal Son story that the writers of Joshua Graham used as inspiration. Sometimes we have to face our mistakes and own up to our years of spiritual immaturity to rediscover what faith really means for us. Happy to hear that you've found your faith!

The lettering in-game confused me. I do appreciate the correction!

@@expychristian no worries. It definitely got me at first. But that is how U's were written back in the day. Hence why although it's technically double v, we pronounce it double you. Sorry if I came off mean, that was honestly my only gripe with your video. Loved this video, keep up the fantastic work!

Good question! It seems that the "Miracle" is the universal abstract force that makes up the elements of the world in the game. In-game, the High Wills refer to the Miracle in a past-tense, even saying that their world, the Other Side of the Dream, was there before they were. So compared to the Miracle, the High Wills are actually "younger." The High Wills use the Miracle as a sort of divine filter, in order to twist the faith of Cvstodia's people and make it their source of life. So the Miracle came beforehand, while the High Wills use it while they were alive to keep themselves sustained.

Because even if The Penitent One defeats the High Wills, the Miracle remains, and it has a plan of trying to incarnate itself, meaning it has a consciousness, which could mean it is a formless entity that seems more powerful that the Miracle. Also, the heaven in Blasphemous 2 is even more confusing to me since that means there is powers beyond that of the Miracle

@@expychristian So the Miracle could be more like a primordial force than a conscious being per say then. Kind of like the concept of pleroma in gnosticism, or Chaos in greek Mythology. And the High Wills are the concept of a Tulpa, of an idea or concept that comes to life through belief and use the primordial force of the Miracle as a tool to keep themselves alive and powerful. Also the Incarnate Devotion could be again the prayer and belief of that little boy fueling again another God and entity to appear. In this universe, any prayer and any belief comes to life from what it seems in the most literal and primal sense, and is very interesting. Loved both games and have a very interesting Lovecraftian Catolichism of a cosmology and religion that is just fascinating to me.

@divad7137 I think (and want to believe) that any DLC with Blasphemous 2 will give a conclusive answer to that heaven you're referring to. I believe the Miracle is trying to keep itself "alive" because the High Wills have used it for so long. They've been the most powerful and longest wielders of the Miracle. The general theory I've seen is that the Miracle is regenerating a physical form of itself because of the influence of the High Wills. Since people started praying to the Miracle again, it would, in theory, revive the High Wills and therefore start the whole cycle once again. However! Clearly, there's another force greater than the High Wills that does not want the High Wills doing it's thing again. Hence the plot line of Blasphemous 2 (if you follow the true ending) and the presence of people like Anunciada.

@divad7137 I would say yes to all of those things. It's the most "grounded" way of breaking down the Miracle and all it's appendages (High Wills included). I will note that the High Wills seem to have a personality and motives separate from the faith of the people (though their intentions are definitely because of what the people wanted to believe in the Miracle for), but largely speaking the concepts of pleroma and Tulpa you mentioned are the most logical, evidence-based perception of what the Miracle and High Wills are. I loved the games. I've seen that 1 is still considered better and I can see why: the sort of Silent Hill mystery of the Miracle is what made it so dreadful to even think about, even as it helped the main characters. Nonetheless, a perfect blend of eldritch mythos and irl Catholic-Renaissance. And I'm glad you enjoyed it too. Appreciate the questions!

And depending on the ending you choose, whatever that fire is may be dramatically different. I imagine the "burning" is forever his redemption.