7:12 PM
At the end of the day, when the world retreated to their stoves and dining tables, it didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop staring out the glass plane. No sound penetrated through the walls of his office, but his mind mysteriously filled in the voices of children splashing, and adults quarrelling over pointless disputes. The midnight sky of the Aether bled into the overworld, adorned by the lights of his creations. In a few years, the stocky houses and shops might grow up into tall and wide buildings, dominating the sky.
Notch owned the sky, the land and everything between and beyond. But none of that could silence his inner turmoil. Sitting here on his cushioned chair, his mind restlessly revolved around a lone house at the other edge of the Aether, going through all the rooms and windows.
The door opened. It closed, followed by a soft clink of the lock. Soft, ghostly footsteps stopped right behind him.
Thump
His table creaked under the child's weight. The clouds cleared up and the moon shone down on them, following the child wherever he went.
"You've improved the view tenfold." Notch crossed his legs, leaning into his chair. The five-year-old chuckled. "I'm thinking of bringing you here every day. To change the scene a bit. It looks beautiful with you around, Hero."
"You staring at the sky, it proves the saying, like clings to like."
Notch smiled, "Are you calling the sky monotonous?"
"A dark black expanse, huge enough to swallow everything. Monotonous is a gentle word."
The superficial smile stayed with the turmoil inside him.
"Ruminating?" The child asked. "Quite toxic, it is. Cripples a man faster than a cigarette."
"It's not that bad. You need to think at times, Hero."
With matching smiles, Hero swung his legs, causing the table to periodically creak. Hero shouldn't be out at this time. It was almost midnight, and anyone could have seen him and caused a scene. And as far as Notch knew, the humans would not react normally to his white eyes. The other gods had already made it a lot harder to handle Hero. The things they say about him, the way they treat him even if he was under the care of the creator. And he was a demi-god nonetheless. He was their kind-
How did Hero get here?
"There is this thought in my mind, Markus."
Notch hummed, maybe he could ask him that while they walked home.
"It is… I have stopped watering it with attention but it grows on my curiosity and desperation."
Turning the swivel chair, Notch looked at his younger brother, whose red fingers fiddled with the end of the blue ribbon tied around his waist. This action was a small- barely noticeable- sign of something. When Hero's tired face looked back at him, Notch knew in an instant what was about to happen. Hero leaned forward and rested his forehead against Notch's.
"I...want to be free."
"Be free?" Carefully, he tucked some of Hero's hair behind his ear. "You're already free, my dear. Do you want to do something?"
"I..I've given it time. I've given it hours of rumination yet it does nothing close to solving the problem. It leaves me tired. Hence the toxicity."
Has Hero really been thinking so much?
"So you're desperate to be 'free'?"
"But I'm supposed to be incapable of feeling this-this desperation. Then how is it..." and the question died in the fragranced air.
Notch gently stroked the child's cheek, relaxing back into his chair.
"That pull you feel, every time you look outside," They both looked out of the window, "that desperation, right?"
His frozen lips split apart in horror.
"Oh no no no. It's a good sign Hero. Trust me, dear."
Notch rose to leave, and within a second the child hopped off the table with a huff. Hero cranked his neck up to see his caretaker.
"Maybe one day, you'll be like me. A bit lost, a bit dumb and not some philosophical sage of sorts." He winked at the child and held his hand out. Hero folded his hands, looking away from Notch.
"You don't have to be so sensitive Hero." Notch lightly punched his miniature shoulder. Hero just mumbled something under his breath.
"Come on, hold my hand, or we're not going home. Or anywhere."
Hero unwillingly snaked his fingers through Notch's, still looking away. Together they walked home, talking about humans, swimming and how kids are supposed to behave.
Little did Notch know, in many years to come, those same tiny fingers would change. Change from wanting to tear everything apart and to curl around Notch's throat to holding another hand just like his.
Steve threw himself into the thick undergrowth, jumping over puddles, rocks and roots. His foot slipped, and he caught a tree, saving his head from being splattered all over the rocks. He exhaled a breath amidst the buzzing of crickets and fireflies, and instantly all the sounds fled away from the terrifying human.
"Steven!"
Behind him, herobrine dived forward, grabbing his hand and yanking him behind a rock outcrop. Looking back, they ran in the northwest direction for another ten minutes before Steven could not take it anymore. He skidded to a spot, and before Herobrine could halt, he swung his arm at full speed, like a hammered ball. With a gasp, Heorbrine's free arm grazed Steven's torso and the moment he let go of him, both held the journal with outstretched arms.
Steven met Herobrine's unnatural smile and with a shout he wrenched the book from Heorbrine's grasp, stumbling back a few steps.
"Ouch." Herobrine rubbed his wrist. "That hurts."
"Just leave me alone!" Steven held the journal close to his chest. "Piss off!"
Letting off a held breath, Herobirne's smile widened. All he did was hold his hand out to Steven.
"What? No!" Disbelief scrunched his face. "No way! I'm not-this is mine."
"I understand your situation, Steven."
"No… no no no!" He looked at the silent journal and its hidden information. "I-I need it. I found it."
Taking a step forward, Herobrine held his hand out. The grin on his face knew something Steven didn't. It compelled him to hand over the load to him, just let go of this madness. To be free
Fight it!
Electrum burned. The edges of his sight glowed orange.
"Don't move, or I'll burn it."
All motion halted. "Oh, Steven-"
"Where the hell did you even come from!?" The spine of the book pointed to him, "Notch sent you after me, didn't he?"
Herobrine's hands hung like heavy sticks by his sides. A stream of polar wind parted into distributaries around them, howling as it touched the anger-fueled fire. A muffled white light shone above them.
"Lord Notch has cut his ties with me. Then how would he possibly send me after anyone? All I am is his first creation, just like you. Both of us are."
"Both?" Steven gave a crazed smile. "Nonsense, I'm the first human. Only me. You're just some creepy doll trying to mess with me."
"I'm not lying, you know. Or you can just-" He motioned towards the path they came from.
Ugh! I wanna kill this fool!
Steven rolled his eyes, and after dusting some mud away from his pants, he began walking towards the place he should've set out to ages ago. Kil'ha Depths, one of the biggest natural Electrum Reserves.
"Steven, stop."
He paid no heed to the man behind him.
"Steven, you will die."
"I die EVERYDAY!"
"But you're my sibling."
He halted in his tracks. "What?!"
Herobrine held a periwinkle flower to him which he plucked out from a nearby bush, smiling like a whimsical child. "Ah yes! Congrats, you're an older brother!"
"What the hell?" Steven breathed out. A thousand thoughts swirled inside, trying to jump out and strangle Herobrine. He bolted towards Herobrine.
"This is the paperwork which-"
"I don't need that shit!" Steven yanked it from him and scanned through it. With every word, his eyes widened, trapped in them. The words first shattered his beliefs and echoed in his ears.
Herobrine dropped the flower, looking at Steven with expectancy.
"How?"
Herobrine gave a dry chuckle, "It's an awfully lengthy process, but I will explain it all some other time."
"Can you stop smiling?"
"Oh sure!" But the artificial smile never left his face.
Steven was already low on Electrum. He had exhausted more than half of his stores while getting hold of the journal. More than half, for what? Just to return the journal? But to make the waste of resources worth it, he needs to get something more than what he used up. Gain more than lose.
"I'm going. To Kil'ha Depths.''
Steven had a plan forming in his mind. Herobrine was going to be another burden on him. It would be worse if he were the sentimental kind, who would hunt Steven down if he did or said something wrong about Herobrine. And besides, he was just creepy.
Guess Heorbrine and his creator would be eliminated by the end of the week.
"It's pretty dangerous out there, you know."
Steven raised his eyebrow at him.
"I'll come with you."
"Sure, guess you're too eager to die."
