The Abyss lies below Hallownest, placing it at the southern-most area in Hollow Knight. After you explore this level, your Knight will come out even stronger and more powerful than he was when he arrived here.
Table Of Contents
Going to The Abyss
From the King’s Station, take the Stag Station and ride it to the Hidden Station. Once you arrive, rest at the bench first, then use Crystal Heart facing left to get to the central area of the Ancient Basin.
Once you reach the other side, drop down, walk to your left, and drop down again. Keep heading further down from here. Watch out for the Shadow Creepers that are crawling on the walls on your way down. At the bottom, you’ll see a tall gate. This gate will open now that you’ve acquired the King’s Brand from Kingdom’s Edge. Head inside and you’ll arrive at The Abyss.
Nowhere To Go But Down
When you enter The Abyss, you’ll immediately see a massive chasm in front of you. What you’ll want to do here is carefully descend carefully from platform to platform to reach the very bottom of The Abyss while avoiding the spikes and the Shadow Creepers.
When you finally reach the very bottom, start walking to your left. A Shade creature might pop up here. This enemy is called the Sibling. Be careful with them as they deal two masks of damage.
Acquiring the Abyss Shriek
Keep pressing on to the left until you reach the very end of the path. You’ll find yourself in a room with rock formations that look like faces with gaping mouths and a pedestal in the middle. Stand on this pedestal and perform Howling Wraith. This will transform the spell into the Abyss Shriek, a much more powerful variation that uses the same amount of Soul.
Acquiring the Shade Cloak
Once this is done, head back to the right, continue past the bottom of the chasm, and into the next section. Keep heading right. Jump from platform to platform while carefully avoiding the Void Tendrils that are sprouting from the void below. Continue onto the next section.
Continue until you start seeing floating platforms. Begin ascending from here. There are multiple Siblings in this area so watch out for them, too. At the top of this tower, head inside and you’ll see a lever on the ground. Strike the lever and that will activate this tower, which turns out to be a lighthouse.
Once done, head back outside and return to the very bottom. Use Crystal Heart towards the right to reach the other side. Continue walking to the next room.
In the next room, keep walking until you’re facing a tall wall with an opening at the bottom. Instead of taking the bottom path, jump and climb up. Keep heading east once you reach the top. You’ll eventually find a large statue of a bug holding up a basin that’s overflowing with liquid void. Hop into the basin and you’ll acquire the Shade Cloak.
The Shade Cloak is an upgrade to your Mothwing Cloak. With this new ability, you can dash through projectiles and enemies without receiving damage. This also allows you to dash through Shade Gates, an environmental obstacle made of Void which you can find in certain places of Hallownest. Take note that the Shade Cloak has a cooldown of 2 seconds. You can still dash while the Shade Cloak is on cooldown, but it will be rid of its effects, making it function like the Mothwing Cloak.
Climbing Back Up
From here, walk to your left and dash your way through the Void Tendrils, which can’t damage you now. You’ll spot an Arcane Egg on the ground. You can sell this item to Relic Seeker Lemm for 1,200 Geos. Proceed west and make your way back to the bottom of the chasm at the center of The Abyss.
Once you reach this area, begin making your way up. Once again, remain wary of the Shadow Creepers and the spikes on some platforms. When you reach the very top, you’ll find Hornet standing at the platform next to the entrance. Interact with her before moving forward.
Make your way back to the Hidden Station Stag Station and you’re done with The Abyss. Well… for now, anyway. After acquiring the Shade Cloak and the Howling Shriek, the Knight is now as powerful as he can be.
Rest on a bench for now. Visit shops, face Warrior Dreams, farm Geos, or whichever. Take all the time you need before moving forward because the next step is to finally face one of the three Dreamers, which you’ll find in one of the most terrifying places in Hollow Knight: Deepnest.
