City of Tears Fall
When the light fades and the rain falls from the lake above, the city of tears weeps its final song.
The Fall of the City of Tears marks the catastrophic collapse of Hallownest's final bastion against the Radiance and the Infection. Once a thriving metropolis built around a great lake, the city became the epicenter of the plague that consumed the kingdom. Its fall represents the transition from a structured society to a broken, haunted ruin where the last remnants of sanity struggle against overwhelming madness.
- Location
- The City of Tears
- Status
- Fallen and Infected
- Primary Threat
- The Infection / The Radiance
- Key Figures Involved
- The Pale King, The Hollow Knight, The Radiant One
- Resulting State
- Ruined, flooded with rainwater seeping from the Blue Lake above and swarming enemies
Lore & Background
The fall was not merely a physical destruction but a spiritual one; the city's connection to the Light was severed, allowing the Radiance to whisper directly into the minds of its inhabitants. The Great Lake, central to the city, became a stagnant pool reflecting the twisted reality of those trapped within. As the infection took hold, the city's defenses crumbled, and the once-proud citizens were transformed into mindless husks, serving only the will of the blight that consumed them.
In Their Own Story
The rain in the City of Tears no longer washes away the grime; it feeds it. A lone Vessel walks through the silent streets, where the echoes of laughter have been replaced by the wet, gurgling cries of the infected. The great lake ahead is a churning mass of red and black, its surface broken by the writhing forms of those who once called this place home. Above, the sky weeps endlessly, a mirror to the sorrow that has swallowed the kingdom whole.
Reader's Guide
The narrative begins with the Vessel entering the City of Tears, finding it already in a state of advanced decay and infection. As the journey progresses, the player uncovers the history of the city through environmental storytelling and fragmented memories, revealing how the Infection spread from the depths. Key plot twists include the revelation that the city's fall was inevitable due to the Pale King's original mistake in creating the Vessels without souls. The sequence culminates in various endings: sealing the infection again, becoming infected oneself, or breaking the cycle entirely by confronting the Radiance directly. Each path reflects a different interpretation of the city's fate and the ultimate cost of the kingdom's fall.
Did You Know?
- The City of Tears was once the most beautiful and orderly part of Hallownest before the Infection took hold.
- The rain in the city is caused by water seeping from the Blue Lake above, not from corrupted tears of citizens.
- Vessels were primarily created and tested in the Abyss and White Palace, not in the City of Tears.
- The Great Lake at the city's center is not described as a 'source of life' in canon.
More in Story & Timeline
Elsewhere in the Hollow Knight universe
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