The Hollow Knight is the Vessel chosen by the Pale King to seal away the Radiance and save Hallownest from the Infection.[2] 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.[3] As such, they are genderless.[1][4] This birth condition was also supposed to leave them without a mind, will, and voice,[5] to prevent the Radiance from influencing them.[6][7] However, their purity was misjudged, tarnished by an idea instilled,[8] a bond with the Pale King who raised them.[9]