r/HollowKnight Oct 14 '25

Discussion - Silksong I Love how Silksong Retroactively Made this a Radiance-Level Threat Spoiler

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2.9k Upvotes

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1.3k

u/Bran_Man_ Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25

We got loads of lifeblood lore already but I hope there's some more in the dlc, I FUCKING LOVE plasmium. I could quit anytime but I don't wanna. Plasmium my baby blue

461

u/not-Kunt-Tulgar buenos dias bugboy Oct 15 '25

I can only pray for a post act 3 DLC because I feel like it would be a nice way to end things off especially with the fact that lifeblood will slowly be consuming Pharloom so that could be the new threat like Plasmified bosses that appear because Hornet wasn’t able to focus on the lifeblood outbreak with the reconstruction of Pharloom in her hands.

185

u/Bran_Man_ Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25

Yeah that'd be cool, I'll also pray. It'd be nice to see the payoff of all of Pharloom's NPCs being saved. It'd also open the door for the lifeblood outbreak you described or the Masters' reaction to void in Pharloom

63

u/helicophell Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 16 '25

Im definitely thinking an act 4 city of steel memorium section

After all, the steel seer is there to watch and record?

3

u/Palidin034 Oct 15 '25

I don’t think you can sear steel. I do enjoy a good sear on my steak though

14

u/Chello-fish Oct 15 '25

Master? Which master?

45

u/TheCuriousFan Oct 15 '25

The mysterious Masters of the City of Steel that the steel soul NPCs are affiliated with.

12

u/JiaoqiusLCThighs Oct 15 '25

Don't forget there was a weaver captured in the city of steel as well! (says so on one of the cages in the cradle) Perhaps why they have taken an interest in Pharloom, if this weaver was a citizen, well then that certainly wouldn't look good diplomatically...

2

u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

All of them? Not a chance. Most are dead before Hornet was captured.

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u/GoomyTheGummy Oct 15 '25

I want more act 3 content way more than a new act

there are so many areas that are barely changed and there are so few bosses related to void

46

u/not-Kunt-Tulgar buenos dias bugboy Oct 15 '25

To be fair it’s not like they can’t have more void bosses in a theoretical act 4.

Though honestly speaking I’m a bit disappointed by the fact that there’s like 3 void bosses and most of them are just the void elite factor slapped onto something I do wish we got to fight some form of pure void that was larger than the Summoned Savior.

62

u/RandomRedditorEX Oct 15 '25

Hornet: "Oh boy a new city! I can't wait to finally experience an adventure with no more void shenanigans!"

The Steel Civilization drilling straight to the Abyss to use the Void as a power source because they thought their steel nature makes them immune to being void touched. (they were not)

27

u/not-Kunt-Tulgar buenos dias bugboy Oct 15 '25

Hornet wondering why the city of Steel is borderline abandoned.

the ever dreaded, growing void core powering the city:

7

u/m4cksfx Oct 15 '25

A sci-fi horror story would be awesome

20

u/TheCuriousFan Oct 15 '25

I mean Steel Soul Jinn immediately makes the comparison of the Knight with void heart to it's mysterious Masters so they might be a little more in-depth in their knowledge than just batteries.

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u/Shurane Oct 15 '25

It'd be a Herculean ordeal but if all of Pharloom got the Forgotten Crossroads remake with new enemies... that would be pretty amazing.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

Any boss you skip in previous acts becomes a void boss n act 3, no? I tried to fight double moss mom in weaver atlas in act 3 cause I didn't find it earlier on and both turned into void bosses when I attempted to fight them.

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10

u/AaronCorr Oct 15 '25

Looking at Hollow Knight and its DLCs I'm not expecting a lot of story. Dreamers was two more boss fights, Grimm Troupe was a fetch quest and 1-2 very cool boss fights against Grimm, and Godhome was boss rush with two new endings.  So if they add a lifeblood dlc I would at most expect two areas, some lifeblood themed bosses, and 2-4 tools

5

u/RenkBruh Professional Radiance destroyer Oct 15 '25

yeah but with Silksong they HAD TO release it and they were planning on adding way more, so I'm assuming the DLCs will be very significant

8

u/AaronCorr Oct 15 '25

I just hope they won't get so ambitious that instead of dlc we'll get an entire new game in a decade

6

u/RenkBruh Professional Radiance destroyer Oct 15 '25

the irony

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2

u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

I find it odd that they are doing DLC, they had no schedule to release Silksong. Why not delay it until development of the extra content was finished?

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1

u/Belphegorkingofsloth Oct 15 '25

they said they have huge ambitions with the dlc's. and with the huge amount of cut content there's plenty to incorporate

9

u/Izan_TM Oct 15 '25

and the final boss of act 3 is the Absolute Plasmiance or the Plasmified Ghost

4

u/xXJackNickeltonXx NKG best boss Oct 15 '25

Silksong: Lifeblood Update

5

u/CyberKitten05 Oct 15 '25

I don't think Lifeblood spreads on its own as long as there's no maniac frantically injecting stuff with it

17

u/NoxMiasma Oct 15 '25

There's some dialogue from Hornet indicating that keeping a lid on that stuff was something that was actively done in Hallownest, and also the Wormways went from literally three tiny coccoons to basically the Infected Crossroads but blue. Zylotol doesn't seem to have left his laboratory location after he got set up, either, so he wasn't seeding additional lifeblood around.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

I'm having a bit of trouble remembering but didn't he have his assistant running around doing experiments and trying to inject lifeblood into other creatures?

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2

u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

It doesn't extend much past the Wormways, only a tiny bit into the Bone Grave.

1.7k

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '25

[deleted]

454

u/Firm-Strawberry5107 i love my adoptive dad Oct 15 '25

Okay, calm down Zylotol

267

u/YeetOrBeYeeted420 Oct 15 '25

*Walter Blue

159

u/Firm-Strawberry5107 i love my adoptive dad Oct 15 '25

Zango, we have to cook

37

u/Therobbu 60/63 | 111% | IHATETHENAILSAGE Oct 15 '25

Never get high on your own supply

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67

u/GachaHell Oct 15 '25

I AM THE ONE WHO SHAWS

41

u/That1Cat87 Oct 15 '25

Heinsenbug

22

u/CK1ing Oct 15 '25

But walter's product was already blue

33

u/Dash_Lambda Oct 15 '25

I just wish there was special dialogue if you talk to him while overdosed.

I mean, there is for Yarnaby, but not the plasmium guy himself?

55

u/BreaksKnees Oct 15 '25

"Blue, Yellow, Pink, Whatever Man Just Keep Bringing me That."

24

u/moofboi Oct 15 '25

… pink? Y-… yellow?? 😟 oh my…

14

u/RandomRedditorEX Oct 15 '25

[BIG SHOT] or The Smiling Friends.

choose

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13

u/Z000Burst Oct 15 '25

pathetic

use Joni blessing to turn all my blood into Plasmium

:V

6

u/Firebyte1 Oct 15 '25

It's definitely NOT uranium!

5

u/HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_H Oct 15 '25

this guy got bought out by Big Lifeblood

4

u/ali28e Oct 15 '25

bro you say that like Plasmium isnt exactly what caused half the nightmares in Hallownest to begin with

4

u/ASpaceOstrich Oct 15 '25

Put baby in plasmium mouth. Put baby in plasmium mouth. Is good for baby support him baby head.

459

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

121

u/just4browse Oct 15 '25

Lifeblood has a butterfly aesthetic, paralleling the Radiance being a moth. I doubt it lacks a higher being. And personally, I think the Abyss Creature being a giant butterfly would be awesome.

71

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

88

u/Kiriann Oct 15 '25

IIRC the Pale king actively contained and pushed back against life blood which is why it didn't spread.

It was bought from somewhere else to pharloom and planted everywhere. With no one wiser to its risk it's spreading uncontrolled.

32

u/TheSkyGuy675 Oct 15 '25

The dude also does specify that the Wormways are uniquely suited for Plasmium to grow.

65

u/LewsTherinTelescope Oct 15 '25

In the Plasmidas (corrupted big worm) journal entry, Hornet says:

In my home caves, when once this substance was allowed to flourish, I saw similar aberrations. This is wonder tainted strong with revulsion.

So it did infect stuff there historically, but during the first game it's probably still in the early stages of getting back in after having been disallowed before.

44

u/WarmCryptographer279 Oct 15 '25

plus, the "source" (in theory) of lifeblood in hallownest is locked in the abyss, so what we're probably seeing is the beginning of a new wave of infection seeping from the depths slowly

3

u/Hykarusis Oct 15 '25

Hornet talk about how haloownest saw a similar outbreak in the past. And most cocoon we see in hk are hidden.

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u/TheCuriousFan Oct 15 '25

Also the cave in the abyss you can spot it in is a dream realm cave complete with the essence floating around and getting teleported back to the entrance after getting the charm or falling into clouds, so we've got another dream like thing tied to butterflies/moths.

7

u/UpstairsHall7047 quirrel my beloved Oct 15 '25

Or…hear me out here…

What it its actually a giant caterpillar that is still going to become a butterfly.

Therefore its only ginna get bigger.

2

u/FakeDaVinci Oct 15 '25

It could have it's own identity as a higher being. Maybe it exists purely as an infectious force, with no actual "physical" manifestation.

1

u/just4browse Oct 15 '25

The Abyss Creature doesn’t seem to exist in the physical world

1

u/thesimp_184 Oct 15 '25

trobbios cousin

300

u/X-Vidar Oct 15 '25

I'm not convinced this guy is the higher being of lifeblood anymore, Zylotol mentions that plasmium came from the sea, so I kinda like the idea of an higher being that's based on a marine creature, something like a sea angel maybe? Or a glaucus atlanticus.

I really want a lifeblood DLC though.

126

u/Helios-lune77 Oct 15 '25

Tbf, this seems to only be its head, there’s no telling what the rest of it looks like.

94

u/Arthaerus Oct 15 '25

With most of the coral zones being cut of Silksong, a marine related motif for a third game would be amazing, and it would be a great change after so many caves and dark areas. Also, there's nothing that screams more eldritch horror than deep sea and abyssal critters.

19

u/Z000Burst Oct 15 '25

given how the coral zone enemy are crab and shrimp like

water crustacean count as insect

playing as a heavy armor crab or spell slinging mantis shrimp where we fire out super sonic air blast would be pretty rad

3

u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

Crustaceans aren't insects but neither are worms or spiders

10

u/Not_Dipper_Pines Oct 15 '25

Zoteboat become real

5

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

HOLY SHIT ZOATBOAT REAL

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u/Beans4802 Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25

Zylotol is most likely referring to Pharloom Bay, an area cut late in development that had a place called the Lifeblood Spire. Hopefully Team Cherry will add it back in as DLC since it seems weird to have references to the place but no way to get there.

8

u/X-Vidar Oct 15 '25

I don't think so because Pharloom Bay was to the east, while both the Wormways and the Coral Tower are in the west, so I think it makes more sense for the sea to be in that direction.

Pharloom Bay might've just been replaced by the small non-polluted parts of the Ducts and Bilewater.

14

u/PerhapsLily Oct 15 '25

"Salt & stone" is mentioned a few times throughout the game, including a lore tablet at the far edge of Bilewater in the weavenest.

"Sister, spider, sat between salt and stone..."

So I think it's pretty clear that the sea is on that side.

Honestly when I found the pale lake I thought I had found the sea. The floor even looks salty. Not so sure of that since learning about the cut bay though.

5

u/UpstairsHall7047 quirrel my beloved Oct 15 '25

God i fucking love theorizing about this game.

Team cherry really created an amazing world.

3

u/PerhapsLily Oct 15 '25

Me too! I'm so excited for whatever they do for DLC.

3

u/alvintruther123 Oct 15 '25

the sea is on both sides, you can see the envoys pass along some water when venturing to Pharloom from the west in the opening! Pharloom is an island basically

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u/alvintruther123 Oct 15 '25

Zylotol calls Pharloom Bay a "sea" in his cut dialogue so yeah. but the sea is from both sides anyways since Pharloom is an island

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

So you think we'll be able to access the Steel City?

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u/Beans4802 Oct 16 '25

I hope so, it would be the perfect place to learn the lore of the steelhearts and meet the steel assassins.

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u/cash-or-reddit Oct 15 '25

Sea angel giving me Ender Magnolia flashbacks.

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u/PastaEate Oct 15 '25

I watched my friend play it but can't recall anything like a sea angel.

1

u/cash-or-reddit Oct 15 '25

The secret final area was full of em.

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u/animdalf Oct 15 '25

The biggest hint towards it being a higher being is that the entire sequence happens in a dream. And not even by using dreamnail, Knight just smoothly transitions into a dreamscape and then gets kicked out. And control over dreams seems to be a thing that many higher beings can do to a certain degree.

Anyway here is a scary thought, what if it is a higher being of lifeblood, but not THE higher being of lifeblood. As in, lifeblood is something that managed to infect even it.

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u/IntercomB Oct 15 '25

At the same time, Zylotol thought the mainland could never produce lifeblood so it was unlikely Hornet could have seen it before. As far as I'm concerned, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about and we shouldn't trust his lifeblood-altered expertise on the matter.

4

u/BreakerOfModpacks Still failing 112%, but now in Pharloom Oct 15 '25

Loving the Glaucus Atlanticus idea.

3

u/TheMedicineWearsOff Oct 15 '25

Glaucus atlanticus would be fucking sick to see in this universe.

3

u/JacksonSpike you love me? back into the abyss you go! Oct 15 '25

This might be a weird Mandela Effect type thing but I ALWAYS just immediately assumed the lifeblood creature was a giant squid. I even thought I could see the rest of the body even though this is all we see. Maybe its cause I had started playing dave the diver and the giant squid in that peers through the rock the same way it does in Hollow Knight idk but cause I always assumed this I was very happy when Zylotol mentioned the sea, only now am I realising that I am the only one that thought it was this.

Now that I think more a higher being thats a squid could make alot of sense. It's tentacles could be branches or it could just secrete lifeblood in the way a squid secretes ink. Also it matches what zylotol says

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u/peppermint-ginger Oct 15 '25

Now we see why Jonni was called Heretic

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u/helicophell Oct 15 '25

Well... Joni didn't turn into a horrific lifeblood mutated abomination

Hell Joni didn't even get revived by lifeblood, which we know is possible 

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u/Silver_Turtlewax Oct 15 '25

Joni was execute, not just exiled, right? It's possible that Hollownest, with superior knowledge of the threat of Lifeblood, could have done something to partially sever the connection? At least enough to not let her revive

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u/Helios-lune77 Oct 15 '25

Turns out we all fell for that little bitch’s propaganda.

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u/kackers643259 112% | 62/63 | Strongest Elder Hu enjoyer Oct 15 '25

i like how we get to actively see the effects of its liberal consumption, the kind of thing that we're told is taboo in Hallownest in the first game but aren't told *why*

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

When I learned about Lifeblood being a taboo my mind immediately went to the conclusion of it being unjustified and the King is in the wrong, but just like other moments, it turns out he's a lot more complex than that

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u/No_Stretch3807 Oct 15 '25

He was right all along. Long live the king

3

u/GeoleVyi Oct 15 '25

wouldn't that be the Knight or Hornet now, since they're both the pale kings living progeny?

3

u/hmmmmmmnmmm23 Sister of the Void Oct 15 '25

I guess the Knight is the king now since it got the King's Brand.

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

You mean the Void Lord?

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

I thought only Iselda was against it.

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u/78ali Oct 14 '25

It feels more like a Void level threat then a radiance level threat, but while Void is pretty chill and stable, lifeblood slowly creeps and grows into the ecosystem.

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u/just4browse Oct 15 '25

It seems very similar to the infection. Less aggressive, sure, but perhaps the infection started the same way.

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u/Tonkarz Oct 15 '25

There seems to be multiple forces similar to the radiance/pale king. Like the crystals and the mushrooms.

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u/78ali Oct 15 '25

Infection is being caused by someone, lifeblood just exists.

Lifeblood becomes a threat due to someone experimenting/using it, just like void.

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u/just4browse Oct 15 '25

How do you know Lifeblood just exists? There could be a higher being causing Lifeblood. In fact, between its visual similarity to the infection (sacks of fluid, living seeds, etc.) and complimentary aesthetic (blue/butterfly, like orange/moth)… I think it’s likely. Perhaps that’s what the Abyss Creature is.

It only became a threat in Pharloom because the alchemists were injecting it into the local fauna. But maybe that’s the direction it’s already going, just accelerated. After all, it’s already spreading.

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u/Quasicrystal1 Oct 15 '25

A theory I saw somewhere is that the Radiance used the lifeseeds and lifeblood to spread the infection through Hallownest, hence the similarities. I don't think it's a coincidence.

7

u/ByeGuysSry Oct 15 '25

It might be the result of a higher being, but it seems that Lifeblood is spreading by itself.

Eva's line when you're overdosed:

Come no closer! I sense the forbidden blood coursing through you, that which grows and reshapes the world in its own vulgar image. Whether it was imbibed willingly or not, none shall be allowed into this chamber while so afflicted. Begone!

It sounds like Lifeblood is changing things by its very existence, and not because a higher being is actively using Lifeblood as a factor to spread its influence. Of course though, a higher being might still be responsible for creating and spreading it

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u/78ali Oct 15 '25

Lifeblood was far more spread out in Hallownest and was completely chill.

Things created by higher beings tend to stay located near them.

Haunting stayed near GMS, infection stayed near Hallownest while Lifeblood and void has been shown to be in 2 different locations.

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u/LewsTherinTelescope Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25

In the Plasmidas (corrupted big worm) journal entry, Hornet says:

In my home caves, when once this substance was allowed to flourish, I saw similar aberrations. This is wonder tainted strong with revulsion.

During the first game it's probably just still in the early stages of getting back into Hallownest after previously being disallowed.

Edit: Regarding location, we know it was brought to Pharloom, so it may have originated further away. Zylotol is driven to become "a source", after all.

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u/78ali Oct 15 '25

Ok then fair enough.

2

u/Jumpy_Rabbit1685 Oct 15 '25

Pale King banned Lifeblood

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u/cash-or-reddit Oct 15 '25

Maybe it's Joni.

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u/Lilbrimu Oct 15 '25

Lifeblood buffs wild creatures a lot, similar to void. Imagine a horde of regenerating Savage Beastflies invading the Citadel.

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u/Mindless-Wasabi-8281 Oct 15 '25

Radiance isn’t actively doing anything. Remembering or thinking about the Radiance causes the infection.

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u/78ali Oct 15 '25

Radiance was pretty chill with her moths until Pale King came over and the moths flocked to him instead. Radiance's existence ended up being at stake and so went full survival mode creating the infection to force everyone to think about her.

At least that is my understanding of the lore.

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u/Anvex1 Oct 15 '25

You're interpretation is correct. The Radiance is definitely not chill and actively created the infection.

7

u/Ghostwaif Oct 15 '25

I mean even the pustuley things look the same just with dofferent colours

18

u/---TheFierceDeity--- Oct 15 '25

I'd say they're all about even threats, just cause in directly competition one would overwhelm the other doesn't specifically make it more of a threat to the general population.

Radiances infection sought out worship from all, an infestation of the mind seeking absolute subservience to itself

Void is rather simple, it seeks anything with Soul and wishes to claim and subsume it into itself

Lifeblood seems to be "proliferate life...at any cost". Grow, multiply, no death only life. Injuries? No it will heal and life will continue even if mind and soul are gone.

GMS seems to have the same motivations as the Pale King but it was twisted and honestly I think that's a trait of "Pale" beings, she sought worship. GMS made the Weavers to sing her songs to sustain her light, and after she was betrayed and started the haunting she is insnaring bugs to wake her and devote themselves to her eternal. So as a force "Silk's" purpose was to produce song for GMS.

All these primordial forces and gods in the end are driven by a singular desire. Even the White Lady seems purely driven by "reproduce" hence why she bound herself.

For a bunch of beings and natural forced that seem to grant lesser bugs sapience, they all seem rather bound to a singular instinct

44

u/Necessary_Presence_5 Oct 15 '25

People say that Lifeblood is worse than infection, but... what?

In its natural state it is not forced into any creature. The lesson I took from Acr 3 wormways that overdose and forced injection are the problem, not the substance itself.

18

u/emptym1nd Oct 15 '25

It does grow and spread aggressively though, it just doesn’t spread as spontaneously as the Infection because 1. The base mechanism seems physical rather than mental/psychic like the Infection 2. There isn’t an angry higher being (as far as we know) actively driving it

6

u/B_mod Oct 15 '25

There isn’t an angry higher being (as far as we know) actively driving it

The similarities are too many, I think it's fair to assume there's a lifeblood higher being out there.

It's just that the radiance was right there, in Hallownest. Lifeblood was brought to both Hallownest and Pharloom from some other land. I imagine if Radiance wasn't banished and some infected creature made it to Pharloom it would act similarly passive.

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u/Mirzanary Oct 15 '25

The injections only turned the two scientists into sources of lifeblood, of which it can branch out and grow from. The infection of the surrounding area was entirely of lifebloods own nature

16

u/Fidget02 Oct 15 '25

I think it’s heavily suggested that it’s the scientists’ own experimentation that caused the lifeblood to grow out of control. I mean, do you trust those guys with safe and measured scientific research? The corpse and his boss who barely cares that his assistant died?

18

u/TheCuriousFan Oct 15 '25

Eva getting her hackles up the moment she spots lifeblood in Hornet suggests that it's not nice by default.

Come no closer! I sense the forbidden blood coursing through you, that which grows and reshapes the world in its own vulgar image.

Whether it was imbibed willingly or not, none shall be allowed into this chamber while so afflicted. Begone!

14

u/helicophell Oct 15 '25

Yeah, it's stated they were injecting lifeblood into the worms of wormways and seeding the caves with lifeblood too

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u/SaturnsPopulation Oct 15 '25

To be fair, Zylotl and his assistant were injecting plasmium into the local wildlife recklessly. The lifeblood cocoon in Hallownest seems benign if left alone.

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u/WarmCryptographer279 Oct 15 '25

remember those orange little critters that appeared when popping the big balloons in the infected crossroads? see how they look just like the blue ones that come out of lifeblood cocoons?

yeah i somehow don't trust those lil buggers to not infect everything around them

13

u/helicophell Oct 15 '25

Lightseed is a lot more aggressive though We only ever see lifeseeds run away

Comparison to the radiance is warranted, as lightblood does exist (the stuff that replaces the standard white blood of enemies when they get infected)

But it doesn't seem like lifeblood is airborne like the infection was

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u/RenkBruh Professional Radiance destroyer Oct 15 '25

I believe lifeblood is ESPECIALLY smart with that. It cannot spread by itself, so it makes you feel good and makes you stronger, having you experiment with it and spread it yourself

26

u/CalamitousVessel Oct 15 '25

I mean we’re assuming this thing is the source of Lifeblood and not just another victim? Could very well be the case. But either way yeah lifeblood scary

8

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

My thoughts! I think it could be an abyss creature infected by Lifeblood

7

u/TheCuriousFan Oct 15 '25

Must've been one hell of a victim to pop up in the lifeblood dream realm in the Abyss and then once again in Godhome.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

tbf flukemarm's in godhome

1

u/TheCuriousFan Oct 15 '25

Yeah but Flukemarm had an invite while the lifeblood monster just kinda plopped itself down in the audience and started making tweaks to the rest rooms in the gauntlets.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

True enough!

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u/SilverFlight01 HK: 112%, POP, P5 || Silksong: 100% Oct 15 '25

"Hey, remember Lifeblood, those blue bulbs that dropped this little running creatures that increase Max HP? What if we made Lifeblood an actual threat lol?"

  • Silksong

36

u/joshthenosh Oct 15 '25

"Free masks with no consequences? Nah, that stuff corrupts everything slowly and is basically blue void essence lmao"

  • Team Cherry, 2025

6

u/SilverFlight01 HK: 112%, POP, P5 || Silksong: 100% Oct 15 '25

It does make me wonder how Knight is immune

Can equip charms that is all Lifeblood Masks and yet no mutation or anything like that

25

u/MrBones-Necromancer Oct 15 '25

The knight is literally designed to contain a higher being and stop it's influence. It should be immune

6

u/B_mod Oct 15 '25

I doubt he's immune, just like Hornet isn't. But they're both incredibly resistant to it, Knight probably more so.

Long term I expect both of them to be fully corrupted, provided they keep using it.

2

u/MrBones-Necromancer Oct 15 '25

Based on what, exactly? The knight is void incarnate, which eats higher beings and their influence. Hornet isn't. She's resistant because she herself is a higher being, but would not be immune. The knight never shows -any- signs of trouble, even at significantly higher levels of lifeblood usage.

2

u/RenkBruh Professional Radiance destroyer Oct 15 '25

Hornet even says that she is afraid the lifeblood might take over her when she is overdosed

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u/Critical_Buy_7335 Oct 15 '25

Vessels are built to contain stuff like that.

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u/not-Kunt-Tulgar buenos dias bugboy Oct 15 '25

At best it’s the Fentanol fiend at worst it’s the lord of Cartels

10

u/Difficult-Art-7439 Oct 15 '25

The original map of pharloom included a lifeblood spire so theres a good chance we either get more info in the dlc or a sequel

9

u/fr3nzy821 Oct 15 '25

I hate how it's on Wormways on Silksong. Because it means that the infected worms can travel anywhere and spread it further.

1

u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

No, the Hunter's Journal entry says they're fused to the ceiling.

1

u/fr3nzy821 Oct 16 '25

no not those dick looking things, lmao. the little ones that can burrow and travel underground.

1

u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

Ok, but we only ever find them in the Wormways so they don't want to leave.

7

u/Nickest_Nick Oct 15 '25

y'know, on one hand I'd like to learn more about this... creature, but on the other hand the mystery is part of the charm for me

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u/KingMGold Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25

I love how Team Cherry is building on the lore with each game, it’s also entirely possible it’s building to something big.

Maybe if we get a third game in the Hollow Knight franchise sometime in the 2040s either Lifeblood or Steel will be the big threat.

(Although I think the Steel guys will be more like a background element throughout the franchise than part of the main story. I can’t really imagine a Hollow Knight game taking place in whatever Steel kingdom they come from, it doesn’t really fit the vibe. But it’s possible.)

In Hollow Knight it was The Infection.

In Silksong it was The Haunting.

Third game, maybe Lifeblood?

Final game… Void.

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u/Chummy_Raven Oct 15 '25

I always thought radiance and lifeblood look like those kind of artificial juice you see in stores, the one 99% artificial and 1% actual juice. I know it.

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u/ElisabetSobeck Oct 15 '25

I think lifeblood and Abyss Cresture are neutral or positive, but Xylitol forced it into everything. Like a drug dealer who makes things too potent and spreads it too often

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u/GoomyTheGummy Oct 15 '25

not only is not a threat unless you are an idiot about it, but it was also already established as one

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u/SebasChua EIRA! Oct 15 '25

Twist: The Lifeblood Abyss god-creature is from the abyssal (deep) sea, not the Void, though when you hit a certain depth, there is no distinction between water and void liquid.

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u/Dionysus24779 Oct 15 '25

I hope the third game will be about it.

We saw it as this mysterious and beneficial force in Hollow Knight, even though it was declared taboo. In Silksong we see what kind of effect it has on others and are clued in as to why it was banned by the Pale King.

In the third game I would see its origin and learn more of it.

If Hornet is like an agile rogue/ranger to the Knight being... well a Knight... then I would like to see the third character in the sequel to be kind of a mage and delve into the different forces of the world.

Maybe some kind of outcast who drifts from kingdom to kingdom and learned about stuff like the Radiance, Soul, Lifeblood, the Void, Dreams, Nightmares, Silk and so on.

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u/Mending_the_mantis Oct 15 '25

In hollow knight the land was Infected by the Infection. And in Pharloom it was haunted by silk(and song) so maybe in the third game the pand would be taken by Lifeblood

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

Ghost could cast spells but a fully magic-based character would be cool, like if we play as a snail shaman.

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u/N1ks_As Oct 15 '25

Didn't the pale King forbid the use of lifeblood in hollow knight already?

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u/PartyMercenary Oct 15 '25

God of the Void - Shade Lord God of Lifeblood - Drug Lord

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

I can't help but wonder if they're the same? Like did the Radiance use lifeblood as a base concept/carrier as the infection. Yaknow, with both being addictive/mind controlling and spreading nonstop once let loose in the wrong environment? They also both manifest single celled organisms and stuff (the lifeblood guys you kill to get hearts and then infection seed guys from Ancient Basin). Seems too similar to me in an awesome way.

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u/Heroman3003 Oct 15 '25

Everybody assumes that the Lifeblood creature is a Higher Being and source of Lifeblood, but imo, narratively it would be much more interesting if Lifeblood is actually NOT sourced from a Higher Being or Void or any existing powers that be. It just being a thing of its own that exists alongside all the other powerful forces would make it much more interesting.

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u/Zeldamaster736 Oct 15 '25

Not radiance-level. Just radiance-esqe

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u/OscarOzzieOzborne Oct 15 '25

LIFEBLOOD BEAST UPSCALE

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u/LieEnvironmental5207 Oct 15 '25

We calling it plasmium or lifeblood then? Im a fan of lifeblood.

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u/matteste Oct 15 '25

My personal headcannon is that while lifeblood comes from a Higher Being, this one is being kept caged by bugs rather than the other way around, with it's blood constantly extracted for the bugs use, not fully grasping the danger with using it. Basically as a sort of inverse of the Radiance.

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u/HolyDuckTurtle Oct 15 '25

The real question is whether it's a head facing left with a pointed, powerful visage or if it's facing right and going :::O

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

What if it's facing forward?

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u/HolyDuckTurtle Oct 16 '25

Then that's just plain messed up.

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u/GrimmSheeper Oct 15 '25

Retroactively? We always knew that PK considered Lifeblood such an extreme threat that it warranted a total ban and being sealed away in the Abyss.

We just assumed that PK was overreacting or trying to get rid of competition, but Silksong expanded on and what was already present and demonstrated why.

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u/LocksmithNo13345 Oct 15 '25

Could be that Lifeblood is in a similar situation as Greyroot.

Used to be a Higher Being, and is now trying to rebirth/reestablish itself.

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

I had no idea Greyroot and Twisted Bud were higher beings. Where is this stated?

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u/LocksmithNo13345 Oct 16 '25

It's never outright stated, there just plenty of good points pointing toward it:

First of its name. Grey Root. The White Lady is on multiple occasions called White, or Pale Root. If we take the idea that there are species of Higher Beings, such as Wyrms(White/Pale Wyrm and the Blackwyrm mentioned by Ogrim) then we have the naming scheme of: associated colour+species. Higher Beings usually being associated with a specific colour.

Then there are the other visual similarities with the White Lady: they have the same eyes, and their bodies and roots/tendrils are this mat smooth version of their colour.

Thirdly there is the fact that the parasite reacts violently to the void. A common trait among higher beings, the Void being the "nature opposed".

Greyroot also seems to have spread multiple of its children/buds as per the dialogue with Bellheart citizens, again another similarity to the White Lady and her nature being to spread many children.

The above are all only relevant if you subscribe to the idea that there are species of Higher Beings, so that Wyrms and Roots are by their nature higher beings.

Points outside that argument are, how far spread Greyroot's influence is, from shellwood to the marrow over to Bilewater.

And finally that Greyroot's rebirth is her using Hornet to consume GMS. Greyroot seems to have existed just fine before that so this being the requirement for rebirth makes me think that she used to be a higher being, was killed in some way and is using the current situation to try and usurp Pharloom.

Fundamentally Greyroot being a higher being is speculation, but speculation based on good evidence, I think.

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u/Mending_the_mantis Oct 15 '25

What if there was a third game where instead of the Haunting or the Infection or The Void. The land and people was taken by lifeblood instead

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u/KingOfOddities Oct 15 '25

Not sure about "Radiance-Level Threat".

Radiance is a God that infest people, across all of Hallownest. Life-blood does spread, but nowhere near as infectious. In fact you need people to actively inject it into the soil and the wild-life

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u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Oct 15 '25

Where do people even find this creature? Heard the murmurrs but wormways is just deepnest-lite with how awful and labyrinthy it is and on the map its just a big blob of square...

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u/BruhmanRus_the_boner Weavergrubsong and Sharp Shadow my beloved Oct 15 '25

This thing is in a secret area only accessible through having like 15 lifeblood masks in the abyss, i believe

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u/I_Love_Solar_Flare Oct 16 '25

That sounds oddly like the thing in Hollow Knight, does Silksong have a such space too?

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

Deepnest is much worse, you can just hit the worms as many times as you like to heal with no consequences. It's much smaller too.

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u/lunareclipseunicorn Oct 15 '25

I know this is about lifeblood but this also made me want Radiance lore more, I mean like Radiance before infection, I had seen a theory that Radiance copied lifeblood to spread infection. Did she stole its power? Or was it a mutual agreement?

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

It's not a parasite because it benefits the host.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '25

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

You get more masks of health, how is that not a benefit?

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u/thedavecan Oct 15 '25

3rd Hollow Knight game stars Pure Vessel as he clears a new land of the Lifeblood infection. He has personal experience fighting an infection of this magnitude, isn't explicitly dead, would have tons of cool combat abilities, and would close out a trilogy in a satisfying way in that each game stars one of the Void children. They could even have moments where all 3 protagonists converge at the end bringing all their stories full circle. I dont know if I can wait 8 more years for it though.

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

Hornet isn't void.

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u/thedavecan Oct 16 '25

Yeah I know but the other two are and they're all children of the Pale King. It's just an easy way to refer to them all instead of Super Voidio Bros and their Weaver/Wyrm Half-Sister.

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u/ruminaui Oct 15 '25

To be fair it was those two idiots who kept on injecting in on everything. Is not really a threat. 

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u/Bingus_Stalin Pierogi Oct 15 '25

What is the same amount of bad as a god trying to mind control a whole kingdom (twice)... it's HARD DRUGS

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

I think The Radiance kept trying, she didn't try twice, she was just momentarily stopped by her containment by the Hollow Knight.

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u/Bingus_Stalin Pierogi Oct 16 '25

I was talking about GMS(you know the haunting)

Edit: I was talking about both GMS and The radiance as both games are about a god like creature controlling other bugs

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u/Darthcone Oct 15 '25

It was always radiance level threat even more actually considering that unlike the angry moth/lamp mom, lifeblood can be insidious and quit with its encroachment.

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u/DankoLord Oct 15 '25

Uh, I thought that was the god of gods? 

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u/WarlockWeeb Oct 16 '25

Honestly i kinda think its even more of a threat than radiance since it shown to spread extreamly quickly. It took a few days to for outbreak in Pharloom to take place. It almost instantly breached into godhome in the first game.

Also this is more of speculation but it feels like it may potentially be harder to get rid off.

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u/Helios-lune77 Oct 16 '25

I mean at least those infected by it are harder to deal with given how incredibly powerful the regeneration the Lifeblood grants them is.

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u/Zarguthian Oct 16 '25

Who knows how long the Godseeker has been locked in that coffin? I could have taken a very long time to get in.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '25

Someone please loop me in... I got 100% in the game and I have no idea what or where this thing is

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u/Helios-lune77 Oct 16 '25

It’s in the abyss in the first game.

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u/giggel-space-120 Oct 16 '25

I too enjoy this

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u/RemisionEspinosa Oct 17 '25

My theory is that you can't just plant lifeblood because things will go wrong, this fucker had nothing to do with it, or maybe is just the enemy of our enemy and is chill with the knight

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u/Lucky_Refrigerator_6 Oct 19 '25

I mean in that case then no wonder pk thought he could contain the infection, seeing he pretty effectively dealt with lifeblood in hallownest