Hollow Knight: The Godmaster Pantheons and What Waits at the End

Godmaster, Hollow Knight’s fourth DLC, added the Pantheons — a series of boss rush gauntlets that culminate in the Pantheon of Hallownest, a continuous run through 42 boss fights without checkpoint. At the end of the longest Pantheon sits Absolute Radiance: a superpowered version of the final boss that exists above the physical space of the game, surrounded by nothing.

Absolute Radiance’s arena is a void. No floor. No walls visible. A white platform at the bottom and a being of pure light above it. The fight uses the same mechanics as the base Radiance fight but faster, more aggressive, and with a phase that generates attacks from the entire screen simultaneously.

Completing the Pantheon of Hallownest with the Void Heart equipped — an item only obtainable through the True Ending questline — unlocks a secret final boss: Pure Vessel, the Hollow Knight in its perfect uncorrupted form. This fight is entirely separate from the Pantheon’s boss list. It exists in a hidden room accessible only by interacting with a memorial in the Pantheon hub.

Team Cherry hid a bonus boss inside their bonus content inside their bonus DLC. Pure Vessel is widely regarded as the most mechanically complete fight in the game — a version of the Hollow Knight with no infection, full awareness, and moves calibrated for players who have mastered everything that came before.