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Are you looking for any missed Hollow Knight endings, or want to know the canon ending? This guide will help you with that. Although Hollow Knight may seem like a quite simple game, it is filled with lore with many possibilities. These different possibilities and variations in the story are presented through different endings.
Key Takeaways:
- Hollow Knight offers a rich narrative with five main endings with a bonus ending, each reflecting different player choices and experiences.
- These endings include The Hollow Knight, Sealed Siblings, Dream No More, Embrace The Void, Delicate Flower, and the bonus, Passing Of The Age.
- Some of the endings are pretty easy to obtain, while others, like Embrace The Void, can be challenging.
- All of the endings are confirmed to be canon by Team Cherry as, according to them, the player chooses their own path.
Hollow Knight is a challenging and engaging 2D adventure game with multiple endings depending on the player’s actions and choices. Some endings are easier to obtain than others, while others require additional content packs or hidden secrets.
This guide will explain how to unlock all the endings in Hollow Knight, as well as the requirements for each of those endings. Whether you are looking to learn about any ending you missed or just want to know the joke ending, this guide is for you.
There are a total of 5 main endings to Hollow Knight and a more of a joke bonus ending as well, bringing the total to 6 endings:
- The Hollow Knight
- Sealed Siblings
- Dream No More
- Embrace The Void
- Delicate Flower
- Bonus: Passing Of The Age
The Hollow Knight
| Requirements | Location |
|---|---|
|
Enter the Temple of the Black Egg after defeating the three Dreamers without having the Void Heart in possession.
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Temple of the Black Egg
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The first ending on the list is “The Hollow Knight.” It is perhaps the easiest ending to obtain in Hollow Knight. If you have completed Hollow Knight’s story, you most probably got this ending as it is the simplest to obtain, especially when you are a new player and going with the flow of the game.
As the name suggests, in this “The Hollow Knight” ending, you have to defeat The Hollow Knight while the Void Heart is not in your possession. After you have defeated The Hollow Knight, you take its place inside the Black Egg. This causes you to become the Vessel sealing the Radiance.
Through this, you, the Knight, are able to control the illness that has taken the Hallownest by preventing it from spreading. However, considering that the previous Hollow Knight was unsuccessful in his attempt, it is uncertain if the Knight will be able to take his place and finally succeed and put an end to it. For now, it might just be delaying what is inescapable.
This ending is considered to be the most tragic and least satisfying of the Hollow Knight endings, as it implies that the cycle of infection and sacrifice will continue indefinitely. The Knight has merely replaced the Hollow Knight as a temporary seal, and the Radiance will eventually break free again. The Knight’s efforts to explore Hallownest and uncover its secrets are rendered meaningless, as they end up trapped in the Black Egg for eternity.
Also Read: Hollow Knight: How To Find All The Charms (Complete Guide)
Sealed Siblings
| Requirements | Location |
|---|---|
|
Enter the Temple of the Black Egg after defeating the three Dreamers with the Void Heart in possession and let the Hollow Knight knock the Hornet unconscious.
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Temple of the Black Egg
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The Sealed Siblings’ ending is similar to The Hollow Knight’s. The series of events follow the same as the previous ending: defeat the three Dreamers and then defeat the Hollow Knight to take its place inside the Black Egg. However, what is different now is that when you defeat the Hollow Knight, you have to be in possession of the Void Heart.
This particular detail changes a lot about how the fight goes. When you are fighting the Hollow Knight, the Hornet will intervene and restrain the Hollow Knight. You will quickly have to attack it or hit it with the Dream Nail. Failing to do so will result in the Hollow Knight escaping the Hornet’s hold and proceeding to knock the Hornet unconscious.
After you have defeated the Hollow Knight and absorbed the infection, the Hornet will get sealed with the Hollow Knight in the Black Egg and will remain there until the seal is broken, which could be a very long time. This ending is also considered to be tragic and unsatisfying, as it does not solve the root cause of the infection, which is the Radiance.
The Void Heart allows the Knight to unify the void under their will, but it does not allow them to confront the Radiance directly. Instead, the Knight becomes a stronger seal than the Hollow Knight, but still a seal nonetheless. Moreover, this is clearly the worst of the two endings and the worst of the Hollow Knight endings, as the Hornet also gets sealed forever, which is something that could have been prevented.
Dream No More
| Requirements | Location |
|---|---|
|
Enter the Temple of the Black Egg after defeating the three Dreamers with the Void Heart in possession, use the Dream Nail on the Hollow Knight, and defeat the Radiance.
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Temple of the Black Egg
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This Dream No More ending stems from the Sealed Siblings ending. Follow the same path, defeat the three Dreamers, and then defeat the Hollow Knight with the Void Heart in your possession. This time, when the Hornet has been restrained by the Hollow Knight, use the Dream Nail on the Hollow Knight before the Hornet is knocked out.
Using the Dream Nail on the Hollow Knight will take you to the Radiance’s Dream, which is basically a dream version of Radiance that exists inside the Hollow Knight’s mind. At the end of the fight, the Hollow Knight’s shade returns and gives you enough of an opening to defeat the Radiance. After defeating the Radiance, it is sent to the Void.
Then the Hornet wakes up and finds the Knight’s broken shell on the floor, meaning that the Knight has returned to the Void. Later, the scene changes, and the Void Siblings can be seen descending into the ground, finally returning to their birthplace and being put to rest with the Radiance.
This ending is considered to be perhaps the best among the Hollow Knight endings, as it finally puts an end to the infection and the Radiance. The Knight uses the power of the void to destroy the Radiance and free the Hollow Knight from its torment. The Hornet survives and witnesses the Knight’s sacrifice, which also breaks the seal of the Black Egg.
Related Guide: Path of Pain Guide: Hollow Knight
Embrace The Void
| Requirements | Location |
|---|---|
|
Complete all of the Pantheons and then defeat the Radiance.
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Pantheon of Hallownest
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The Embrace The Void ending is one of the most difficult endings to achieve in Hollow Knight. This ending is unlocked by fighting through all of the Pantheons, opening up the Pantheon of Hallownest. In all the previous 3 endings, the final location has always been the Temple of the Black Egg; however, here, it takes place in the Pantheon of Hallownest.
For this ending, you must defeat the Absolute Radiance, which is a much harder version of the Radiance from the Dream No More ending and is much closer to her true form. After a tough battle with the Absolute Radiance, the Knight’s skull cracks and is then enveloped by the darkness of the Void Entity.
Moreover, the Void destroys the Absolute Radiance. Then, the Void continues to consume the Godhome and also takes the Godseeker with it. After this, the Hornet can be seen waiting outside the Black Egg and is surprised by the appearance of the Hollow Knight, after which the Hornet readies to fight.
In the end, it is assumed that the Hollow Knight is now free from the infection; however, it is uncertain if it is going to remain that way.
The ending raises many questions about the fate of Hallownest, the Godseeker, the Hollow Knight, and the Hornet. It also suggests that the void may not be as benevolent as it seems and that it may pose a new threat to the balance of the world. This is one of the more mysterious of the Hollow Knight endings.
Delicate Flower
| Requirements | Location |
|---|---|
|
Give the Delicate Flower to the Godseeker, complete all of the Pantheons, and then defeat the Radiance.
|
Pantheon of Hallownest
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The Delicate Flower ending follows almost the same series of events as the Embrace The Void ending. To achieve this ending, deliver the Delicate Flower to the Godseeker.
The Delicate Flower that you can give Godseeker is given to you by the Grey Mourner. Then do the same as before:
- Fight your way through the Pantheons.
- Go to the Pantheon of Hallownest.
- Fight the Absolute Radiance.
However, this time, everything except the Godseeker is consumed by the Void Entity. Instead, the Godseeker is covered in a white light, after which only the Delicate Flower is left behind. This Delicate Flower appears to be immune to the Void. In this ending, the Godseeker escapes the Void by being protected by the Delicate Flower; however, her fate is yet to be determined.
Bonus: Passing Of The Age
| Requirements | Location |
|---|---|
|
Obtain the Spore Shroom Charm to understand Mister Mushroom. Meet him at the following locations in order: Fungal Wastes, Kingdom’s Edge, Deepnest, Howling Cliffs, Ancient Basin, Queen’s Gardens, and King’s Pass, and then complete any ending.
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Multiple
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The Passing Of The Age is not really an actual “ending.” Still, it is supposed to be more of a bonus or humorous ending after you have defeated the game. After defeating the three Dreamers, a funny-looking mushroom called Mister Mushroom will appear across Hallownest. Mister Mushroom is an NPC that gives tips to the player and guides the player to his location.
Mister Mushroom speaks in riddles and hints and often references other games made by Team Cherry, the developers of Hollow Knight. Mister Mushroom also appears to have some connection to the lore of Hallownest, as he mentions the Pale King, the Wyrm, and the Radiance.
To obtain the ending, you will have to follow whatever location Mister Mushroom informs the player of and find the Mister Mushroom there. There are a total of seven locations throughout Hallownest where he can be found; however, you have to go in a specific order. Moreover, you need the Spore Shroom Charm, or all of his dialogues will be gibberish. The locations in order are:
- Fungal Wastes
- Kingdom’s Edge near Isma’s Grove
- Deepnest near Galien
- Howling Cliffs in Mato’s Hut
- Ancient Basin near the Monarch Wings
- Fog Canyon near Overgrown Mound
- King’s Pass
After you have met Mister Mushroom at all of these locations in the right order, continue with the game and finish it with any of the previous five endings.
After the end of the game, a cutscene will play with the Mister Mushroom flying through the sky with a very bland expression on his face, ending with a screen displaying “To Be Continued.” Perhaps this is not the last time we will see Mister Mushroom and his adventures.
Also Read: Hollow Knight Love Key: How to Unlock the Tower of Love
Wrapping Up
The big question is, which one of all the five Hollow Knight endings is the canon ending? An argument could be made for each of the endings as canon; however, no resolution would be reached as, in fact, all of the endings are canon.
Now, this may seem like an “everybody is a winner” situation, but that is not the case, as it was confirmed by Team Cherry, the developer behind Hollow Knight, in a Reddit Q&A that all of the endings are equally canon as the player chooses their path. This means that the player has the freedom to choose their own destiny and shape the outcome of Hallownest.
Each ending has its own consequences and implications, and none of them are perfect or definitive. The player may also explore different Hollow Knight endings to see how they affect the characters and the world of Hollow Knight.
The canon ending is ultimately the one that the player feels the most satisfied and connected with, as they are the ones who have experienced the journey of the Knight.
