Chapter 10: Him
Darkness. That's what I was surrounded in for all I could tell. My eyes were shut and wherever I was, the temperature was so unbearably hot that I didn't bother to open them. It wasn't hot and humid like a rainforest, nor was it like a desert environment. Instead, it was more like I was on the surface of the sun. I could barely breathe in the hot, disgusting air and my skin felt like melting rubber. The revolting stench of brimstone invaded my nostrils like an aromatic virus. My wrists were burning like they were being branded, but I lacked the motivation to move or scream in the pain I was experiencing. I decided to open my eyes finally just so that I could see my surroundings.
I was in Hell. I know that sounds over-exaggerated, but I think the words 'unbearably hot' and 'brimstone' kind of hinted at that. My hands were shackled to a ceiling made up of some sort of dark, red rock. I was hanging high enough in the air that I was overlooking an ocean of boiling lava down below. The lava was the only thing underneath of me. The molten lava was at least two hundred feet below, but if the rusty shackles locked around my wrists broke, I would've plunged straight down into the molten rock.
I looked around my insufferable atmosphere. Many odd creatures were flying through the dark realm as if to boast about their freedom. But one of them was flying toward me like it was in a hurry. The monster had a soft, white, and wet appearance that resembled a liquefying marshmallow. Multiple tentacles of the same texture were dangling behind it as it glided toward me. Its black, round eyes targeted my hanging body and its mouth opened wide revealing very few sharp teeth in just the sides of the mouth. A pulsed frequency came roaring out of that creature's mouth that was very similar to the cry of the Creeper I slaughtered. I just couldn't have any luck of getting away and staying away from monsters.
"Halt!" commanded a loud voice of authority. A voice? The monster came to a stop in front of my face and a man stood upon the creature. He wore a full set of iron armor excluding a helmet, but it wasn't your typical suit of armor. It was glowing a bright red as if it had just been molded five seconds ago. The man looked like a normal human being. He had short, brown hair and he had all four of his limbs. He didn't have any scaly demon wings like a dragon or anything. He looked similar to… me. In fact, he wasn't similar; he was identical. I was practically looking into a mirror!
But his eyes were different. They weren't glowing like Emmet's were before he threw me into the portal, but they were blank and pure white. No irises. No pupils. No soul. You can tell a lot about someone just by looking into their eyes. Unexpectedly, the monster dried up and crumbled into dust. The blank-eyed man landed onto a rocky floor that he mysteriously materialized out of the same material as the ceiling. He began to walk toward me unrushed and calm. He snapped his fingers and the shackles and chains restraining me in the air disappeared. I dropped to the new floor and it burned my skin. I cried out loud in mercy. If I died in Hell, then I died in vain. To die in vain is the worst death a man can die.
"You're perfect." That phrase. It was the same phrase Dr. M said before throwing me into the portal.
"Y-you," I stuttered trying not to cry.
"M-m-m-me?" he mocked in laughter. "Oh, I get it. You think I'm Dr. Matlock!" He broke into a harsh hilarity that almost couldn't be stopped. "Wow, you're funny, Steve. You're a funny guy. Are you a comedian?" I was in so much pain. Before, I was afraid of Death. But then, I didn't think the idea of it was too bad.
"Who are you?" I asked patiently waiting for a serious answer. I began coughing deafeningly to the point that I was puking blood.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he presented. "I am the son of the King whom has many names; Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, King of Darkness, the Wither King. I am the son of Him. I am the Prince of Darkness. I am your brother. I am Herobrine!" I tried to push myself back up, but my hands slipped and I was flat on the floor. It made perfect sense; he was evil and his eyes were blank like Dr. M had described. He was the clone that went berserk!
"You are no brother of mine!" I rejected feeling insulted.
"Oh, but we are!" he passionately exclaimed. "I am DC-66! We were born into the same world with the same DNA. You are my lesser sibling for I was born with the powers of my true father, the Wither King!"
"What do you want with me?" I questioned with frustration and pain.
"Hmm… nothing seems to get by you," he pointed out. He finished his statement with a laugh and began to pace around me in a circle. "I must tell you several things just to make myself clearer than the obstructions before you."
"You ARE the obstruction," I insulted. I don't trust anyone who claims to be the son of Satan himself. His sickening smile faded and a frown replaced it. Then, he pugnaciously kicked me hard in the stomach. He knelt down on one knee, grabbed my neck, and turned my head up to him.
"Well, I guess even I can make mistakes," he stated. "You're not perfect. You're… decent. But you are also ignorant. I can fix that for you, brother." He pushed me back about four meters and tiny, rock splinters dug into my flesh as I slid across the rocky landscape. Imagine someone taking tiny nails and heating them in an oven till they are glowing red hot. Now, imagine that someone jabbing each nail into your skin. My pain was that times fifty.
"Listen, Steve," he began angered, "Don't screw with me! You should be thanking me. I've been helping you out since you woke up in the freezer! But keep treating me like this and I'll find a way to put you back! Maybe I'll do something worse!"
"What's worse?"
"What would you prefer; would you rather be a frozen dinner, or well cooked?" I understood his little pun. What he meant to ask was whether I wanted to be thrown back in the cryogenic freezer, or dropped in the lava within the depths of Hell.
"Why don't you choose?" I asked.
"Hmm… Good question. To tell you the truth, I want neither."
"Then what DO you want?" I questioned losing my patience.
"I'm getting to that."
"Well, get to it!" I ordered. Then he kicked me again.
"Hey, I'm the guy who makes the orders around here. In the Overworld, you can do as you please, but this is the Netherworld. When you're in the Nether, your ass is mine!" He resumed his pacing around me. I never felt so much pain in my life! But I didn't give up completely. I lifted my head back up as blood dripped from the top of my forehead and from my mouth.
"How are you helping me? What did you do for me?" I asked him through hatred.
"… Curious, are we? I helped you in several ways. Don't you remember? After waking up from your cold sleep, you broke out of the freezer. Then, you tried to find something to open the big, iron door." I don't know how he knew all of that, but he was spot-on accurate.
As he continued to speak, I watched his eyes. One can tell a lot about a person just by looking them in the eyes. "You found a rusty, piece of metal from the cage in the other room. Wouldn't you say it's kind of strange that the metal scrap fit in the keyhole perfectly? And isn't it even stranger that the metal, as rusty as it was, didn't even break when you twisted it" I thought back to that moment. He was right! That metal scrap should've broken or something when I twisted it in the keyhole!
"How did you-?"
"Because I can see everything!" he interrupted using his accurate prediction that I would ask that question. "Look into my eyes!" He knelt back down to my level and we stared into each other's eyes. His were white and shiny like they were made of porcelain. My eyes are dark blue, almost royal blue. "What do you see?"
"I see the son of Satan," I answered. He didn't approve of my reply, so he smashed my head in with his fist.
"You know what? I have a fantastic idea!" he exclaimed with enthusiastic sarcasm. "How about you just call me Herobrine, or I can just keep on kicking, punching, and torturing you if you call me by any other name. Do we have a deal?" I didn't answer. I was in far too much pain to say anything. I was flat on the floor. "Good! I'm glad we're on the same page!" he said assuming that I had agreed in silence.
He stood back up and restarted his pacing exercise. "Now, Steve, I have a task for you to complete for me. It's not as much of a job as it is a bargain. Hmm… Hell! Even that isn't the right word. It's more of an opportunity!"
"What is your bidding, my master?" I asked with a faint grin, regardless of my suffering. I had to be a little optimistic, even if it meant insulting Herobrine. He didn't kick me though. Herobrine just laughed.
"I see that you made a Star Wars reference there. I may be thousands of years old, but I remember everything that happens through any course of time. You're funny that way!" He laughed again and said, "But let's get down to business here. I need to know, before I ask you to do what I want you to do, that you'll accept whatever job I'm ordering for you to do. Now, will you take the job?" I looked back up at him with blood dripping from my reddened mouth. I wanted to die right there. But I had to think about it. What if I say "No"? Will he kill me? Will he take my soul if I refuse the job or whatever? What's the job that he wants me to do for him? Why can't he do it himself?
I wasn't sure what I'd get out of it, but I didn't want to die in Hell. "I'll do it." I said.
"…What!?" Herobrine asked surprised. "Great! That's fantastic!"
"So what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to find the Divine Underground Artifacts."
"Artifacts?" I questioned with eccentricity. "What are the Divine Underground Artifacts?"
"They are 5,000-year-old artifacts that were created, hidden, and possessed with divine powers by the Creator Himself. There are supposedly three of these artifacts total, but there are only ancient scrolls with recorded information about two of them. You must first find the Sword of Destruction."
"What does this sword do?"
"Obviously, it destroys things!" he said obnoxiously. "But this sword doesn't just slash and kill; it completely annihilates its targets! In other words, when the sword cuts the flesh of another being, that being will disappear from all of existence!"
"What about the other artifact?"
"It's known as the Ring of Creation. It can create anything! I know. It has a very short description, but it's the almighty powers of God that are contained inside of those artifacts. I want them, Steve! I need them!"
I finally stood up all dizzy from my hellish beatings. "Why?" I asked. "Why do you, the son of the Devil, need the powers of God? It's not like you can destroy Him!"
"Foolish child!" he yelled in my face. "I'm perfectly aware that I can't destroy Him, but I can overtake his creations. His worlds."
"By the way, how else did you help me?" I quizzed.
"Remember crazy, old Gammal? The old guy who told you that you saved Frailnight from Creepers? He didn't see you. He saw me! I made you look like a hero!" Herobrine seemed to know everything. I didn't need to ask much more. "Now that you've accepted the job of finding the artifacts, I will do a little something for you in return. I will give you all of your memories."
"My memories!? My past!?" I was overjoyed. I would get to find out what I did wrong that ruined the world and I was going to fix it.
"Yes, yes Steve," he replied. I didn't like that he was calling me Steve, but he was offering my memories! I had to do the job no matter what!
"Good luck, brother. Find those Divine Underground Artifacts! If you are to surrender from your quest for the artifacts, then I will find a way to torture you and the people you love for all eternity!" he yelled. Then, the same portal I had entered the Netherworld through reopened in the ground and I fell into darkness.