I sat on the wooden floor with Herobrine's limp form resting on me. His head laid heavily on my shoulder and his breathing was starting to become regular again. For the past four hundred and six seconds, which I think is about seven minutes, his breathing has been shallow. His body quivering lightly every few seconds. With every moment I began to worry. If whatever is in this castle is enough to make Herobrine faint, then I'm doomed. I reached over and touched his arm. I could feel that whatever it was that had infected him was moving at a fairly steady pace. It wasn't slow and it wasn't fast but the infection was certainly about to cover his elbow.

"This is not good." I sighed to myself.

"hmmmm- mmmm." He hummed tiredly. Herobrine must have heard me. Immediately I sat up and spun around on my knees so I was looking at him face on. Slowly, his eyes opened revealing a dim, but lively glow. "St-eve?"

I smiled, silently thanking the gods. "How are you feeling?" I asked as I arranged him into a more comfortable position. He grunted and closed his eyes for a short moment.

"Better than not. But we should keep moving" he tried to stand and faltered but he managed to catch himself.

"What if you pass out again?" I offered an arm for support but he refused,

"I'll be fine. I've had worse… I think." He walked slowly towards the next room "Feels like Nether though." I heard him sigh as he straightened his posture and gestured for me to follow. "Are you coming?"

The air was stale and the inconsistent steps next to me were unsettling. I was curious. Ever since he started acting strange, I've wanted to know why. Then again… anyone would want to ask, right?

"What is it? The reason why you're weaker, I mean."

He stopped and thought about it. Maybe it's affecting his memory too?

"It's like an old, energy. I haven't felt it in years but I know that the last time I did, I was weaker. This on my arm. It looks like a wither effect. But I'm not sure. I haven't seen a Wither in a nearly a century and all the Wither skeletons don't seem to get along with me so… I banished them to the darkest corner of the Nether." He almost seemed sad in saying it. Scared too. But as he continued moving, I could tell his undying bravery wasn't tainted.

"Right-o. So all this is because of the Wither?" I asked when he passed me and took the lead.

"I don't know. But that's what it seems like." He sighed and stood up straighter. "We need to keep going."

The faint pitter of rain echoed through the castle walls and was impossible to ignore. Herobrine's steps become more in sync and his breathing sounded better. Every so often I could see him making sparks in his hands. It seemed his left hand summoned fire better than his right. In response to the failure he kept mumbling foreign curses under his breath.

Herobrine held his arm out and stopped me in my tracks. He was looking around quickly, obviously sensing something that I couldn't. Slowly a dim white glow appeared behind us and caught Herobrine's attention. The room began lighting up all around us and the sound of something slithering became more audible. We could see clearly and the sight before us was more frightening that anything I'd ever seen.

White eyes illuminated the ash grey nose of the creatures. Their heads were large and their mouths were lined with rows upon rows of vicious, snarling teeth. They had snake like bodies covered in singed scales that disintegrated with the slightest breeze, and they screeched sickeningly in threat.

Herobrine beside me was staring blankly at the largest one while it stared back. Slowly, I reached for my pick and guarded his back. Our breaths turned into clouds around us as the temperature dropped even colder than before. Herobrine's eye's brightened as he regained composure and his hands lit up with flames. His strength seemed to have returned… for now at least.

He raised his arm, ready to throw fireballs at the snakes and I held my pick up, waiting to defend the inevitable attack. With the flick of his wrist a spray of fire was sent across the room and the snakes rebelled. He punched and swung, while the snakes whipped and slithered around us. They dragged soot along the ground behind them, filling the air with a foul smell. With every foe I fought, another appeared. The onslaught was vicious and tiring. The snakes were like no mobs I'd ever seen or encountered before. The attacks slowed but grew in strength. Slowly, we fought off the snakes. The last of them retreated after they realized we weren't giving up.

After catching my breath, I realized Herobrine was hunched over and holding his arm.

"You okay?" I asked him. He glanced at me and huffed.

"You should see yourself." I looked down and saw my shirt covered in rips and tears. There was bloodstains here and there too. Suddenly I realized I had a dull ache all over.

"Hehe. I see your point." I shook the blood off of my pick and hooked it on my belt before reaching out for him. "How's your arm, I meant."

He stood up right and considered his answer. "It's not any better." He lifted it up to show me, although the only light was coming from his eyes. "But it's not worse. So that's good."

I could clearly see that the infection hadn't moved, and he seemed to be doing alright. He was certainly fighting back the infection well. I guess his immortality has to be thanked for that. I smiled and turned around. I couldn't see anything within a few blocks from where I was, and that light was flickering. I panicked, and turned to stare at Herobrine.

"Stupid soot. It's all in my eyes!" He was rubbing them roughly and blinking the water out. He took a second to look at me and kept blinking. Finally, he seemed to have fixed his problem. "That's better. I can see know." He smiled and started walking ahead. His eyes lighting the path. "Let's go find this king."

I was about to follow, then hesitated. "What about those things that attacked us? Have you seen them before?"

He hummed, trying to think. "Yes and no."

I tilted my head. Not amused with his cryptic answer.

"Yes. I've seen something like them." He grumbled. "But that was nearly two centuries ago. They were banished with all the other Withers. Aside from the loyal ones of course." He mumbled the end of sentence. "But… they weren't like this. They were small. Probably no bigger than your forearm." He lifted his arm for comparison but was immediately about his condition and how it wasn't any better. He huffed and began to walk again.

I watched as he slowly became distant. Then, I heard a loud, 'CRACK'.

Right before my eyes, Herobrine had disappeared completely.

Hey.

I am really sorry about how long this took to update. I had lost a lot of motivation and couldn't think of what to write. Not to mention, I had a ton a family/friends visiting one after one and I couldn't find the time.

This isn't my most favourite chapter... I really would rather it be different but I have no other ideas.

But, I hope you all enjoy.

-L