Hollow Knight

The Hollow Knight is one of the main bosses in Hollow Knight. They are central to the Knight's journey and the story of Hallownest. The Pure Vessel is their uninfected form.

Lore
The Hollow Knight is the Vessel chosen by the Pale King to seal away the Radiance and save Hallownest from the Infection. Like their siblings, they are the child of the King and Queen of Hallownest, birthed in the Abyss to be infused with the power of the Void. As such, they are genderless. This birth condition was also supposed to leave them without a mind, will and voice, to prevent the Radiance from influencing them. However their purity was misjudged, tarnished by an idea instilled, a bond with the Pale King who raised them.

Regardless of their impurity, the Hollow Knight was trained and raised, eventually becoming a fully grown Vessel. The Radiance was sealed within them, and they were chained within the Temple of the Black Egg where they were expected to contain the Infection for eternity. However because of the aforementioned impurities, the Radiance could still exert influence. It ultimately resulted in the resurgence of the Infection and the Kingdom falling into ruin.

Over time, the Hollow Knight disappeared from the fallen Kingdom's memory. Only the Memorial in the middle of the City of Tears testifies of their sacrifice to save Hallownest.

Hollow Knight
After some time, the Radiance's power broke out of the Hollow Knight, cracking their shell and fully infecting them. This event was the catalyst that brought the Knight back to Hallownest. The Knight can free and fight the Hollow Knight after killing the three Dreamers who sealed the Black Egg's entrance.

The fate of the Hollow Knight is linked to the end of the Knight's journey. By killing the Hollow Knight, the Knight takes their place in sealing the Radiance. By entering instead their mind with the help of Hornet, the Knight can kill the Radiance. At the end of this fight, the Hollow Knight's Shade appears and opens up a weak point on her head, allowing the Knight to land the finishing blows. The two siblings then return to the Void together.

The Hollow Knight is also inherently part of the Godseeker's ritual. She seeks to attune the Radiance to Godhome through the Hollow Knight. In doing so, she summons instead the Pure Vessel, their uninfected form. Once the Knight defeats the Pure Vessel in the Pantheon of the Knight, the Radiance reaches Godhome.

After the Knight defeats the Absolute Radiance at the peak of the Pantheon of Hallownest, the Infection vanishes from Hallownest. The Hollow Knight can then be seen walking out of the Black Egg, freed from the Infection. They are met outside by a startled Hornet.

Behaviour and Tactics
The Hollow Knight is one of two final bosses of the game.

Upon breaking the seals on the temple by destroying the three Dreamers, the Knight is allowed entrance in order to fight this boss. To begin the fight, the Knight must break the four chains holding the Hollow Knight.

The Hollow Knight fight happens over 4 Phases. Each Phase is marked by the Hollow Knight standing still, turning their head skyward and roaring. This roar stuns The Knight. The fight changes with each phase.

In Phase 1, the Hollow Knight has three attacks: Triple Slash, Lunge, and Parry. The attacks come regularly. The Hollow Knight will back dash, teleport, and leap around the arena between attacks.

In Phase 2 of the fight, the Hollow Knight gains two more attacks (Barrage and Diving Flame Pillar) and the Hollow Knight moves and attacks with greater frequency.

In Phase 3, the Hollow Knight begins stabbing themselves. The Hollow Knight gains two more attacks (Outbreak and Bouncing Balloon) but they also slow down: rarely leaping or teleporting and their attacks come less often.

In Phase 4, the Hollow Knight can barely move. They can no longer teleport or leap anymore and can hardly swing their Nail. Only two attacks are used in the phase: the Bouncing Balloon and Deterioration.

The main weakness of the Hollow Knight is that they are vulnerable to attacks from above. During a Lunge or Triple Slash, jump above their head and Nail bounce a few times while they finish the attack. If they try to Parry, dash away before they counter-attack.

There are safe zones amongst the blobs during the Barrage and Explosion Attacks so pay attention and move into safe zones. Dashing can often overshoot a safe zone, so walking is usually the safer option.

During the Bouncing Balloon Attack, the Hollow Knight will attempt to home in on the Knight. They will have trouble tracking if the Knight constantly changes direction. Dodge the first slam, then dash under them when they rise for a new slam, then reverse again after they come down and repeat.

During the Diving Flame Pillar Attack, the pillars will briefly charge on the floor before erupting, showing where it is safe to stand. When the Hollow Knight jumps and readies their Nail, start looking for a safe zone immediately after dodging the downward strike.

The Hollow Knight's teleport will usually position them far away from the Knight, so using Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul during this time is useful to get hits in before they charge another attack. Moving too far from the Hollow Knight makes it more likely they will teleport close to the Knight, so be careful running away to heal.

Under normal circumstances, the Hollow Knight is immune to the Dream Nail and will not grant any SOUL on a successful hit.

Depending on the Knight's progress, one of two endings will play out after the fight. After the ending, the Knight will spawn at the last Bench rested at. The Hollow Knight can be dream nailed at the start of phase 4 if the Knight has the Void Heart, initiating the fight with The Radiance.

Trivia

 * The Hollow Knight can be found at a younger age during three other points within the game, during the Birthplace cutscene, the Path of Pain cutscene, and the Pantheon of the Knight cutscene.
 * It is uncertain as to why the Hollow Knight begins to stab themselves halfway through the fight. There are two distinct possibilities:
 * The Hollow Knight is able to take back some control from The Radiance and attempts to end their own life.
 * The Radiance makes the Hollow Knight stab themselves in order to be able to use more infection-based attacks.


 * The Hollow Knight fight is one of four fights in the game where an NPC aids the Knight; the other three are Traitor Lord with Cloth, Uumuu with Quirrel and The Radiance with the aid of The Hollow Knight.
 * The "idea instilled" which caused the impurity of the Hollow Knight may have been the father-child bond between The Pale King and the Hollow Knight, as is shown in a cutscene at the end of the Path of Pain. However, the Birthplace cutscene might imply that the Hollow Knight was impure from the moment they were born.
 * Even though their Shade has two arms, the Hollow Knight is never shown with a second arm during the battle.
 * Pure Vessel, the Hollow Knight's prime form, has both arms, suggesting that the Hollow Knight lost an arm after being infected.
 * The Hollow Knight, along with Pure Vessel, is the only boss whose title appears at the top-centre of the screen.
 * After the Knight absorbs the infection from The Hollow Knight, a bright silhouette of The Radiance can be seen for a split second as the Hollow Knight lets out their final roar before dying.
 * The Hollow Knight has cut Dream Nail dialogue which is the following:
 * ...Kill...
 * ...Shall blaze free...
 * ...This Vessel, broken...fails...
 * ...Dawn...Shall break...
 * ...No mind, the usurper...Only strength...
 * ...Kill the usurper...Our light it would suffocate...
 * ...Father?...