Well, I had way too much fun writing this chapter. It's, like, 2.3K as well, which is waaay longer than I usually write! Starts out slow at first, but I promise it gets more exciting!
WARNING: GORE
Reticence
They froze. The mob, who had only a few seconds ago been jostling with outraged distain, were now as still and silent as a freshly dug grave. And still the last thin echos of Ridan's voice rung through the streets, the white-eyed one's name called a thousand times.
Then the reticence reigned.
The warrior cringed, appalled at his egregious shout, yet ever so slightly hopeful that the call would be answered, that he would not have to die tonight.
That he would not have to die.
"What… What did you just say?" Parker, who like all the others had stopped dead in his tracks, stepped back a little from the crouching, soaked form at his feet. He hesitated, then gripped his sword and knelt in the lashing rain, staring at Ridan in indignation. The blonde in question was unable to meet Parker's gaze, instead casting his emerald eyes to the ground.
What have I done? All to save one life. I am… selfish.
"What did you just say?!" The burly tailor repeated. Ridan did not answer, his only thought on whether Herobrine would hear him, and what the the being would do if he did. In reality, he had no reason to believe that the man would care enough to…
No. I was a fool to even allow myself to hope for a second.
The rain ran in lazy rivulets down Parker's diamond blade, a blade that almost screamed to be released from the confines of its owner's pockmarked hand. A blade that should have already killed him, that had only halted it's deadly passage at Ridan's hasty words. Now, though, it was straining again as Parker fought against the urge to spill the mob slayer's innards all across the road. It wavered however as the whispers began, rippling through the assembled crowd like a deleterious oil slick. It was clear that, should he live, Ridan would never be able to set foot in the town again. His house would be burnt to the ground. His possessions, likewise.
Of course, there was no use worrying about that. Not when there were more pressing matters at hand.
"I knew you were tainted, Tanner, but I never would have suspected this." Parker straightened. Scowled. He appeared to take a moment to compose himself before addressing the ragged mob, refusing to even glance at the mud-covered man on the ground before him. Ridan could make out people he knew in that mob, people he had worked with, even people who he had saved from mobs on previous occasions. All enemies now. All staring at him with that peculiar form of undiluted contempt.
no-w you kno-w- ho.w I fe-el.
The fractured whisper came out of nowhere, an unwelcome intruder in the back of his mind, a foreign presence that caused him to involuntarily shiver. Startled, he whipped his head around in an effort to catch sight of the owner of that dark voice, but saw nothing. Nothing except Parker's looming silhouette, straight-backed against the dismal sky.
Parker spoke, regardless of Ridan's suspicious behaviour. "I never would have guessed you were in alliance with him. How could you, Tanner? How could you betray this village, betray us? I thought that you were an honorable man, and thus we let you stay, but… Now this. You know you should be dead, but you choose to endanger us all by calling on him for aid-"
"His name is Herobrine!" Ridan blurted, earning a few shocked gasps and a torrent of angry whispers. "Yeah, I said it. He's not the person you think he is. If any of you had ever bothered to actually listen to him…!"
Parker gritted his teeth in disgust. "I can't believe you allowed him to feed you his lies. You really believe whatever outrageous tale he told, casting him as the innocent, wronged martyr?" That last word was spat in Ridan's face.
Looking up, Ridan rubbed at the back of his neck in distress. He had no proof of Herobrine's story, after all. No proof that the whole thing was any more than a sick attempt at manipulation. No proof.
Well, it worked. Why did I have to believe him? I should have left that damn creature in the woods.
"You need to wake up. You really think that he would help you, really think that he would come rescue you like your knight in shining armour? You think he cares about you? Why don't we put your… faith to the test."
A blade. Suddenly, a diamond blade was at Ridan's throat, Parker's hot breath at his ear. The blonde dared not move; a small pearl of crimson leaked from the tiny scratch the sword made and rolled down his throat. The crowd, still. Silent. Reticent once again, this time in acute apprehension. Silent until Parker spoke.
"Herobrine! Show yourself if you really care!"
Ridan, panicked, struggled at this, struggled until a strong, muscled arm wrapped around his waist to hold him still.
"Let me go!"
"Show yourself and prove me wrong!"
A woman in the crowd stepped forward, her mismatched eyes - one green, one silver - brimming over with tears. Circe. She stopped a couple of metres away, however, trepidation and mistrust preventing her from continuing. Ridan refused to look at her for fear of what he might see, what she might think of him now.
Circe. I am sorry.
"Show yourself, demon, and-"
Parker did not finish his sentence. He trailed off as a tepid black mist blew through the otherwise deserted streets, a mist that flexed and writhed, a malevolent entity seeking only one thing.
"What the actual Nether is that…?"
Ridan cringed, gripping Parker's forearm in a fruitless attempt to free himself. He knew exactly what was about to happen.
A lone figure stepped out of the fog, silhouetted, trailing the dense smog behind it like a vast cloak of ash. It's presence dominated the space around, while two blazing white orbs narrowed in long-awaited sadistic pleasure.
And Herobrine smiled.
He was wearing the clothes he had worn when Ridan had dragged him home that fateful night. The crumpled cyan shirt and dark blue jeans, both heavily ripped and bloodstained. Ridan, shocked, noticed that there were no bandages around the being's stomach any more, and the wound shone with a bright yellow iridescence.
Healing.
Herobrine was barefoot, but his soles did not appear to touch the ground. Instead he paraded in on a cancerous slick of black energy that flowed across the ground before him, and lapped hungrily at the flimsy wooden buildings around. The blatant show of power was quite impressive, all in all, but Ridan have been around the white-eyed-one long enough to see the pain. See how much this ostentatious, vulgar display was costing him.
A social gathering, it seems. How… quaint.
The voice was not like Herobrine's usual quiet, low mutter. It was not out loud, not in any way physical at all, but a burning, if you will, at the base of one's cranium that spoke volumes of his cruelty, of his desire to crush and burn and consume and-
"Herobrine, stop! Please!" Once again, Ridan struggled.
Once again, he failed.
"You promised!"
Herobrine did not even look at him, instead treating Parker to the full fury of his burning gaze. The being's features twisted into a brutal, barbarous grin, savagely relishing the power that had been denied to him so long. He was weak, yes. Weak, but in no way helpless. In no way beaten.
Parker's trembling intensified; his rugged face was slack-jawed with astonishment yet the diamond sword remained firmly pressed to Ridan's bare throat. He shook with terror as the being of myth before him drifted forwards on a malevolent wreath of darkness.
"W-what do you want, demon?"
The answer to Parker's timid inquiry was obvious, painfully so; Herobrine did not say a word, instead simply reaching out with one pale hand. A hand that, ever so slightly, brushed against the raw scar tissue across his waist before being outstretched. It was evident to Ridan that Herobrine, as powerful as he was, was still healing and in a great deal of discomfort. Some of the villagers present were guards, strong and fit, with weapons on their person. There was no guarantee that Herobrine would be able to take them all on in his current state.
So why had the being risked it all?
Slowly, Parker stared down at the entrapped young adult he held at sword point, realising his advantage. Sure, Herobrine may have been stronger than him, stronger maybe than all the guards combined, but they had something the demon wanted.
Ridan.
"I guess you heard him, after all, Herobrine. Well I won't let you claim another. I won't let you keep him alive when Tanner is truly destined to die." His blade pressed further into Ridan's exposed neck, and the blonde cried out, but not from the sword's pressure. He cried out at a sudden searing pain in his forearm, emanating from the infected - still untreated - scratches. They had turned a hideous shade of black, greenish veins spreading out and up to his shoulder from the point of contamination.
The infection had reached his final stage.
Move aside, mortal. Without my aid, the blonde will die.
Parker took a deep breath; there was no way in the Nether he'd willingly give Herobrine what he wanted. The sick freak would probably turn Ridan into some kind of mindless slave, after all. In Parker's mind, it was a whole lot kinder on the mob slayer if he died quickly and painlessly.
"No."
Ridan, through his pain, could not really perceive much of what happened next. A shape reared up from behind Herobrine with a large knife; Ridan attempted to shout a warning but a rough, calloused hand clamped over his mouth. The agony was becoming hard to bear, yet he refused to close his eyes in defeat.
He refused to look away when Herobrine batted the dagger out of that nameless villager's grasp and wrenched his head to one side with a sickening crack.
No sooner had the being let the body fall when three more sword-wielding tower guards advanced, contempt burning brightly in their eyes like a raging wildfire. Herobrine ducked a reckless swing aimed at his head, driving his powerful fist into the man's gut. Ridan could have sworn that he heard one of the being's fingers snap in doing so, but Herobrine did not seem to reveal any pain to the watching crowd. When the guard refused to go down, Herobrine sent a palmed fist slamming into his opponent's nose, most likely sending a jagged sliver of bone straight into the brain.
He fell, dead.
Stepping over to the first guard's body, Herobrine snatched up the dagger he had originally been attacked with, balancing it with a practised hand upon his palm.
The next mortal hesitated. Hesitated for a mere fraction of a second, but that miniscule moment was time enough for Herobrine to hurl the dagger with deadly precision right into the exact centre of the man's forehead.
Run now, mortals, and no one else shall die tonight.
Parker snarled, flinging the groaning Ridan down behind him and retrieving his own diamond blade.
"This has gone on far enough."
So focused was Herobrine on his new adversary that he forgot about the third guard, dismissing him as no threat. The being was quickly reminded of the guard's presence, however, when the human in question landed a steel-toed boot into the sword wound on his back. Herobrine stumbled, gasping in surprise, then whirled and splayed both his hands wide. The human found himself lifted off his feet by the white-eyed one's dark power and hurled headfirst into the sturdy bricks of the town well.
Something broke. It was not the bricks.
This distraction gave Parker the opportunity he so needed; with a cry of triumph, he plunged his diamond weapon into Herobrine's unprotected back.
Did you really think that I would be stopped with that pathetic twig of a sword?
He was in pain. A lot of pain; Herobrine could feel himself slowing, shutting down yet again for healing. But he could show that. He couldn't stop. Not now.
Slowly, Herobrine turned, the blade still lodged deep within his stomach. At a speed that no eye could perceive, the being seized Parker by the throat and lifted him clear off the ground. Parker kicked out, clawed at Herobrine's arms in panic, yet nothing could shift the iron grip, nothing could prevent his inevitable fate.
Nothing except a gentle tugging on the hem of Herobrine's trousers.
Ridan couldn't really see through the pain anymore. His infected arm had become a dead thing, a cold, vile, unresponsive slab of meat. Useless. The mob slayer's left arm, however, was still functioning, so he reached out and grabbed the ragged bottom of Herobrine's trouser leg.
"Please… He has… family… Don't k…"
An expression of pure shock flashed across Herobrine's face. He hastily dropped Parker, who lay coughing into the grey mud, ignored by the frightened crowd. The being crouched beside Ridan's still form and seized the spare dagger from his belt, holding the blade over his own palm.
I can save him.
But what if these mortals learn of the cure? I can't-
I shouldn't-
I can save him.
Quickly, Herobrine drew the dagger across his hand, letting his own crimson blood splash onto the scratches across Ridan's arm. His self-inflicted wound closed several times and he was forced to reopen it, forced to keep the hemoglobin flowing, but there wasn't enough. Ridan was unconscious and it wasn't enough.
Not nearly enough.
He needed more, more of his blood to cure an infection this terrifyingly established. Herobrine had only ever healed one other person like this, a person who was only barely tainted, yet the blood loss had damn near killed him.
I need more.
Unfortunately for him, Herobrine got exactly what he wanted.
"You're gonna die, you white-eyed monster." Parker was no longer on the ground. No longer beaten. With a satisfied grin, he brought his crystal blade high into the air.
And it came down.
Down, straight through Herobrine's upper torso. A torrent of blood soaked into Ridan's putrid wounds.
And Herobrine's pain-filled world went dark.
...
Sorry.
Review answers (MY GOD THERE'S A LOT OF THESE)-
IHateCliffhangerz - Welp, here's another one! I always end up smiling when I write these, too, and especially when I read the reviews! Smiley face for you too!
katlover12 - Thank you! More is here!
DreamDusk - I think I just ended us all then! Another cliffe! Looks like Herobrine heard Ridan after all, but it didn't really do him much good. I guess things can only go downhill form this point OR CAN THEY?! :O
pikamia555 - Ohhh, I didn't actually know that. I've been a littl lax when it comes to keeping up with Hero's Bane updates. I shall go read it! :)
BlackDragon41 - OH MAH GAWD. This is a big review. Before I answer it, I just want to take the time to say THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY CRAP! I love your fics so much; the most recent chapter of Give Up The Fight was simply exquisite! I swear I didn't copy the name of your sword; my swords were originally going to be called Herobane and Herofall, but I decided Nightfall would be a better name for the second one.
Winterspark - Sorry! Can't help it! Thank you for reviewing anyway!
NotAnArtist7890 - It probably did, to be honest. I'm taking a break from comicking, so writing is pretty much the only thing I'm doing at the moment! I hope you survived long enough to read this chapter!
Guest - EEEE I WANNA SEE IT SO BADLY! If you want, you can post the fanart on the official Baserbeanz Facebook page, so I can see it! I'll be sure to share it anywhere I can and give you a ton of credit! (The link to the Facebook page is on my profile!)
Noobypro12 - Thanks! I might not use them all as some of them are a bit OP, but I'll use some!
TheDeadGirlRisen - Hey, guess what? ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! I'm so sorry! Please try not to scream in your lesson!
Guest (Again) - WOW. Fanart for Data Shock ALREADY?! That thing's been going for what, about a week?! Well, you can also post that on my Facebook page, if you like! (Refer to my answer to your other review above, if you haven't read it). As Sage is the main character in Data Shock, I don't think he'll be in Corrupted, at least he won't be a main character. I might give him a little cameo though!
MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE INSANE
AWESOME, BUT INSANE
THAT TOOK ME, LIKE, HALF AN HOUR TO ANSWER THOSE
I LOVE IT