I still remember the first time I fell into The Slab in Hollow Knight: Silksong. It was 2026, and I was replaying the game on a fresh save. Most guides call The Slab a late-game area, but I had heard whispers that you could reach it much earlier by letting a Wardenfly kidnap you. That sounded too strange to ignore, so I decided to become a prisoner on purpose. What followed was one of the most tense, rewarding detours I have ever taken in Hallownest's sequel. If you want to break into The Slab early, recover your gear, and escape with your dignity intact, this is the story of how I did it.

Why I Let Myself Get Captured

The Slab sits behind the Choral Chambers, and the normal route is long. But the Wardenfly method skips most of that. The trick is to find a Wardenfly with a cage. These flying enemies only spawn with cages if you have not yet entered The Slab legitimately. I learned that the hard way after killing one in a panic. Do not make my mistake: do not kill the Wardenfly. If you do, it may not respawn, and you will have to wait until you can walk in through Choral Chambers.

I found my caged Wardenfly after entering and re-entering Deep Docks several times. The spawn locations seem at least partly random, but these are the places I and other players have seen them:

When the Wardenfly finally appeared, I attacked it once or twice to get its attention, then stopped. It flew upward, raised its cage, and prepared to slam down. I stood directly underneath. The screen transitioned, and I woke up inside The Slab.

The Organic Route: Walking In Through Choral Chambers

If the Wardenfly refuses to spawn, you can still reach The Slab by progressing normally. Once you reach the Choral Chambers, look for the entrance on the western side of the map. You will walk down a long, ominous hallway before emerging in The Slab proper. This route is safer because you will be better prepared, but it takes much longer. I only used it on a later run when I wanted to explore with my full kit.

Waking Up With Nothing

I spawned inside the same cage that caught me. I mashed buttons until the cage fell apart. Then I realized the true horror: no needle, no map, no clothes. Just Hornet, exposed and vulnerable. My goal became simple: recover my equipment and get out.

I dropped to the bottom of the room and headed left. I wall jumped off the low ceiling, attacked the ceiling to expose a passage, and climbed into a corridor heading left. In the next room, I wall jumped to the upper platform and looked up. A group of bugs was huddled around my equipment. I could not do anything yet, so I continued left. I fell along the right wall until I found an exit.

In the next room, enemies confronted me. I tried fighting unarmed, but it was miserable. I recommend jumping over them and running right until you see a hole in the floor. Fall through it. Walk left until you see a glowing item. That is the Key of Indolent. I grabbed it, headed right, and opened the locked gate.

Finding the Slab Map and a Bench

I headed right through the next room, following the sign for the bench. I met Grindle again, rested, and set my save point. From the bench, I went right, hopped over a small ledge, and found a hidden corridor. At the end was a dead bug holding The Slab map. That map changed everything. I could finally see the prison's shape.

Recovering My Equipment and the Key of Heretic

I returned to the room before the bench and dropped to the bottom. I saw another giant lock that my Key of Indolent could not open, so I headed right. I found a lock I could open and entered a room with multiple pressure plates. The rightmost plate shuts the door and summons enemies. I jumped over it, then used the other traps to eliminate the bugs.

Next, I wall jumped to the top of a room while avoiding spikes. This area was freezing cold. Because I had no clothes, I had to warm myself at glowing furnaces to avoid damage. I headed left, paused at a furnace, dropped down, warmed up again, crossed spikes, and found another furnace. Eventually, I dropped through a hole beneath a furnace and unlocked another bench.

Then I headed right and dropped all the way down. I followed the path until I was right above the room where my equipment was held. I looked down and saw one of the enemies wearing my dress and parading around with my needle. I waited until he was directly beneath me, attacked the platform, and landed on his head. His neck broke, and I stole my equipment back in one satisfying blow.

I defeated the remaining enemies. One dropped the Key of Heretic, the next item I needed to escape.

Escaping The Slab via the Bellway

I exited right, unlocked another bench, and used the Key of Heretic to open a gate. I dropped to the bottom of the next room, exited left, and used the Key of Indolent on another gate. I dropped through the floor, went right, and eventually reached the room before the first bench. I defeated the enemy there, dropped to the bottom, and used the Key of Heretic to unlock the drawbridge. I stood on it and fell into a new area.

I landed on another drawbridge and attacked the lever to my left. It opened, and I fell onto a third drawbridge. I headed left, noted the sign for the Bellway station, and dropped through a hole. The enemies here drop Rosaries, so I farmed a few. I followed the path, passed a lock I could not open yet, dropped through two holes, unlocked a bench on the right, and spent 50 Rosaries to unlock the Bellway station.

At that point, I was free. I could fast travel out of The Slab and return later for missed loot. It felt incredible to turn a prison into a checkpoint.

Optional: The Key of Apostate

There is a third key, the Key of Apostate, but it is not inside The Slab. It is in the Putrified Ducts area northwest of Bilewater. From the Bilehaven bench, I headed left and upward, then left past the Huntress. The key was hidden in a small alcove in the upper-left corner of the room. With it, I could return to The Slab at any point in my 2026 journey and explore freely with all my gear.

Final Thoughts

Getting captured by a Wardenfly is still one of the wildest shortcuts in Hollow Knight: Silksong. It is risky, it is disorienting, and it strips you of everything. But if you keep calm, find the keys, and warm yourself at every furnace, you can escape The Slab long before the game expects you to. In 2026, I would do it all over again. Just remember: do not kill the Wardenfly. 🐝