I think that Steel Seer Zi’s dialogue might be meant to recontextualize the first game: What if the Pale King was forced to abandon his old, huge body for his new, much smaller one by the City of Steel?

First, let’s look at some of her lines:

…Bug… Higher… It has come seeking… Zi is found… She is awoken.

Immediately, we can tell that “children of steel” (as Hornet calls her in response) can recognize Pale Beings very easily, so the same probably goes for her Masters.

And you… a creature in half… Pale It… Bug It… old… stubborn… alone… You too are observed.

Quickly after, we learn that they have been observing and following Hornet for a long time, too.

…Creature, higher… Its meeting. Zi’s awakening… It is not chance… It has been sent to Zi, yes? By Masters served?.. To retrieve her vassal lost?

Here, she directly tells us that she thinks Hornet is serving her Masters, so there’s a good chance other Pale Beings serve them too.

If we decline her wish, her next words are:

[1] Pale It… You would reject the role? Are you not tamed, bound, by Masters?.. You would know… obedience is essential.
[2] Recall, the fate of those who defy… Even you higher… Especially you higher…
[3] …Compression… We have suffered it. We would never wish it upon another.

Now, although we of course have no idea what Compression truly means, all we know for sure is that Zi went through it, and that it seems very bad. But line 2 implies that Zi assumes Hornet knows what it is & has seen the results of a higher being undergoing compression herself. Zi might be wrong, but if she isn’t, there’s nothing we’ve seen that fits the bill more than the image of an enormous Pale Wyrm being turned into a small bug!

As a reminder, here’s what the egg of the Pale King looked like in Hollow Knight. There isn’t really any evidence here supporting the theory, but I’m not sure Team Cherry was planning that far ahead.

The lore in Hollow Knight implies that the Pale King chose to do this, but that might just be what he was telling his subjects - because if he’s ultimately serving Masters even higher than himself, how much of a King is he really?

What do you think?