"Before I leave this Kingdom, I'd like to see where all that water comes from. What a sight it must be!"
All you have to follow is a single, offhanded comment and a hunch—a hope—but apparently that's enough. You trot into the cavernous room housing the Blue Lake... and there, sitting at the shore, is Quirrel. He stares out over the luminous water, either completely oblivious or (more likely) politely ignoring you as you implode with the force of your own relief.
Your approach when you make it is hesitant, if not tentative— you know he doesn't blame you for what you had to do to his Madam Monomon, whatever she'd been to him, but the ache of regret over it is so strong that it's impossible not to think it might live in his heart as well. But when you approach, he turns and smiles to see you, just as he always has— still with an echo of the exhaustion he'd worn after giving up Monomon's mask, but somehow also still full of the same wonderous joy you'd seen in him every other time you'd crossed paths while exploring.
"Again we meet, my short friend. Here at last, I feel at peace. Twice I've seen this world, and though my service may have stripped the first experience from me, I'm thankful I could witness its beauty again.
Hallownest is a vast and wondrous thing, but with as many wonders as it holds, I've seen none quite so intriguing as you."
You have no words for the feeling that wells up in your chest, your head at the fondness in his voice. You know a farewell when you hear one— and he's solved the mystery of his relationship with Hallownest. For all that the kingdom might have meant to who he used to be... who he is now is an explorer. An adventurer. Despite what the tablets scattered throughout the land claim, there are kingdoms to explore beyond Hallownest. His own adventure doesn't end here.
Unlike yours.
But before you can try to figure out how to untangle that feeling, how to respond, he laughs.
"Ha. My flattery returns only silent stoicism. I like that. ...I like that very much."
His dear, creaky voice drops to something shy of a whisper, as he turns back to the glow of the lake.
"...Incredible..."
Desperate, unwilling to let that be the last words you hear from him and full of some ache you still can't quite name, you pull out the familiar weight of the Dream Nail. It whispers to you, and when you pull back and strike with its insubstantial blade at Quirrel's unprotected back, his thoughts do too:
To live an age, yet remember so little... Perhaps I should be thankful?
All tragedy erased. I see only wonders...
...you can't take that from him.
You can't try to ask him to stay.
There is only one thing you can do.
Quietly, you settle down next to him, and share one final moment enjoying the beauty of the dead kingdom together.
the blue lake
All you have to follow is a single, offhanded comment and a hunch—a hope—but apparently that's enough. You trot into the cavernous room housing the Blue Lake... and there, sitting at the shore, is Quirrel. He stares out over the luminous water, either completely oblivious or (more likely) politely ignoring you as you implode with the force of your own relief.
Your approach when you make it is hesitant, if not tentative— you know he doesn't blame you for what you had to do to his Madam Monomon, whatever she'd been to him, but the ache of regret over it is so strong that it's impossible not to think it might live in his heart as well. But when you approach, he turns and smiles to see you, just as he always has— still with an echo of the exhaustion he'd worn after giving up Monomon's mask, but somehow also still full of the same wonderous joy you'd seen in him every other time you'd crossed paths while exploring.
"Again we meet, my short friend. Here at last, I feel at peace. Twice I've seen this world, and though my service may have stripped the first experience from me, I'm thankful I could witness its beauty again.
Hallownest is a vast and wondrous thing, but with as many wonders as it holds, I've seen none quite so intriguing as you."
You have no words for the feeling that wells up in your chest, your head at the fondness in his voice. You know a farewell when you hear one— and he's solved the mystery of his relationship with Hallownest. For all that the kingdom might have meant to who he used to be... who he is now is an explorer. An adventurer. Despite what the tablets scattered throughout the land claim, there are kingdoms to explore beyond Hallownest. His own adventure doesn't end here.
Unlike yours.
But before you can try to figure out how to untangle that feeling, how to respond, he laughs.
"Ha. My flattery returns only silent stoicism. I like that. ...I like that very much."
His dear, creaky voice drops to something shy of a whisper, as he turns back to the glow of the lake.
"...Incredible..."
Desperate, unwilling to let that be the last words you hear from him and full of some ache you still can't quite name, you pull out the familiar weight of the Dream Nail. It whispers to you, and when you pull back and strike with its insubstantial blade at Quirrel's unprotected back, his thoughts do too:
All tragedy erased. I see only wonders...
...you can't take that from him.
You can't try to ask him to stay.
There is only one thing you can do.
Quietly, you settle down next to him, and share one final moment enjoying the beauty of the dead kingdom together.