How to Obtain the Shade Soul Spell

Team Cherry’s Metroidvania action-adventure game, Hollow Knight, follows the journey of a nameless warrior called the Knight as he travels through Hallownest, which is now a kingdom in ruins because of a supernatural disease. As the Knight journeys through Hallownest, he can unlock new abilities, spells, and charms that will help him traverse through different areas of Hallownest and defeat enemies.

One of the useful spells in the game is the Shade Soul spell. This spell is the upgrade to the Vengeful Spirit spell, wherein the Knight conjures a spirit that will fly forwards and damage enemies in its path. On the other hand, the Shade Soul spell is a better version of the spell where the Knight will conjure a shadow that will fly forwards and deal bigger damage to enemies on its path. With the Shade Soul spell, the Knight will have a new way of defeating enemies in Hallownest!

Location

The Shade Soul spell is located in a room near the bottom of Soul Sanctum, which is in the middle of the City of Tears.

Before the Knight can obtain the Shade Soul spell, the Knight must first purchase the Elegant Key, which costs 800 Geo, from Sly in Dirtmouth. The Elegant Key can be bought from Sly after giving him the Shopkeeper’s Key from Crystal Peak.

After purchasing the Elegant Key, this is what the Knight must do to obtain the Shade Soul:

1. Starting from the City Storerooms Stag Station (the Stag Station in the northwestern part of the City of Tears), take the exit on the left and below.
2. In this next room, the Knight will encounter some Winged Sentries and Lance Sentries. Head to the bottom of the room and take the exit on the right.
3. Next, continue heading to the right and take the exit on the rightmost part of the room.
4. In this next room, you will find a bench. Regain health and save your progress by sitting on the bench.
5. Then, take the path on the left that leads downwards and take the exit at the bottom.
6. Next, continue heading to the right, where the Knight will encounter a Heavy Sentry. Take the exit on the rightmost part of the room. 
7. After that, continue heading to the right and, on the rightmost part of the room, take the exit that leads upwards.
8. Then, head to the left and take the exit on the left. 
9. In this next room, you will find an elevator. Ride the elevator upwards, take the path on the right, jump up the small platforms, and you will see a platform with a gate on the left side. It is worth noting that a part of the wall in the middle of the elevator’s path is breakable. Break this wall, which will be a shortcut from the previous Bench. This shortcut will be useful for when the Knight dies because of a mini-boss that the Knight will encounter next.
10. Approach and inspect the gate, then confirm on the prompt to open the gate with the Elegant Key. Once the gate is opened, enter the next room.
11. In this next room, the Knight must defeat a Soul Warrior to continue.
12. After defeating the Soul Warrior, head to the left, up the shaft, then head to the right, and you will see a figure connected to a device.
13. Finally, inspect this figure, confirm on the prompt to examine it closely, and the Knight will obtain the Shade Soul spell!

As mentioned above, the Shade Soul spell is the upgrade of the Vengeful Spirit spell. So to perform it, press the assigned CAST button without holding the UP or DOWN movement button. The fired projectile will penetrate all the objects in its path, including impenetrable parts of enemies, like shells or shields, except for fully protected enemies. The Shade Soul spell will also now penetrate through walls.

Equipping particular Charms can help increase the damage output of spells like the Shaman Stone charm, which increases the size of the Shade Soul spell’s projectile and the damage output by 33%. Additionally, equipping the Spell Twister charm lowers the cost of Soul to cast the Shade Soul spell.

Aside from that, equipping the Flukenest Charm will change the projectile of the Shade Soul spell into a horde of baby flukes that will bounce around and damage enemies. Additionally, equipping the Flukenest Charm with the Defender’s Crest Charm will change the projectile of the Shade Soul spell into one large fluke that will explode into a cloud of gas that will damage enemies.