Hero's Bane

Chapter 6: Be Prepared for Anything

Edited 4/6/2022

Herobrine's wicked smile grew as the miner began to physically quiver in fear, the man's hand was visibly trembling even with a sharp weapon in it. The human though- was holding his ground and not making the fatal mistake that many before him have done numerous times, it was both interesting and somewhat irritating. The man was mentally weak and probably wasn't about to play his game but Herobrine could change that, or change up the game entirely. The weak ones were the most amusing to toy with after all.

The powerful entity again moved closer to the miner and raised a hand up to the back of Steve's head, barely an inch from him. Herobrine's eyes glowed brightly and the Endermen swiftly yanked Luna off to the side and away from the strange power the demon emitted.

It was only seconds but Steve could swear that it felt like an eternity with the one and only Herobrine glaring straight through him. He wanted to run, fight, or do anything but just stand there and wait for probable death. His fingers coiled, he lightly shook, beads of sweat rolled down the the sides of his face as he waited anxiously for something to happen.

He soon quickly found that couldn't move, even his trembling had stopped. Steve couldn't force his legs to step forward, they were numb and cold. Even his eyes were forced to remain in place and he couldn't figure out why, his entire body was somehow trapped in a petrified state. He wanted to call out for Luna since he could no longer see or hear her, but no words could escape him, not with a foreign wave of energy hanging in the stale air. He suddenly felt a strange pulse from the back of his head, it stirred and grew and to think Stealth gave him a strong migraine. So many thoughts and images instantly rushed through his mind, those of pain, death, isolation and suffering. He didn't know where they came from but it was thoughts he couldn't simply push aside, thoughts that couldn't control, thought that weren't his.

…

One thought in particular though was a mere image of Steve standing alone in an empty space surrounded by a world of black. He cautiously looked around in fear, sweat beaded his forehead and his breaths were short and rapid. Steve saw himself standing there but without actually being present and he knew something bad was about to happen to his double.

Loud screeching sounds that could only be defined as that of spiders could be heard from every side of him almost instantly. The replica of the miner began to panic as the darkness that bounded him was suddenly lit by the red shining eyes of large deep teal colored arachnids. The man tried to run but several of the eight-legged mobs pounced at him at once and pinned him down. Many more gathered around and they viciously bit and tore at his flesh with their poisonous fangs, Steve was getting brutally mauled alive by cave spiders.

In his mind he tried to fight them off but struggled greatly, he managed to strike one of them in the eyes but it wasn't enough to stop it. It seemed that no matter what he tried to do or even when he landed a few hits that they still overpowered him and continued their ravenous attack. But shortly after the mauling had begun it had come to a stop, something strange was starting to happen.

The spiders had stopped after doing enough damage and then slowly backed away, folding their legs and floating in a recognizable arrangement of that of a square. They began to blur and fade into gray, deforming and reforming into block-like shapes all around him. All of them shifted into small squares and connected together becoming hard and rough like rock. Bedrock, that is what they had transformed into and they had encased the miner in a small prison of indestructible stone.

The clone pulled himself up and tried to punch away at the solid rock despite the graven wounds that covered his body. He pulled himself away from the cold surface and stumbled over to the other side of the darkened room and tried the same method to get out but he couldn't even break a chip off of the enclosure. He vigorously punched and kicked at the walls but only injured himself further, he had failed and went and done more harm to his body. Steve pounded his fist as hard as he could once more, crying out in pain and failure. The man strained to breathe, noticing the air was quickly thinning out. He shortly collapsed down onto his knees from the lack of air and growing weakness, the poison was slowly eroding away his now feeble and broken body.

…

A loud clang came from Steve's sword when it hit the ground, the torch also dropped and rolled a few inches away, barely staying lit when it trailed over a damp surface. Steve grasped the sides of his head and winced from an unbelievable pain. He forced his eyes open and another quick flash of white sent him into darkness, his mind went blank and he felt the energy slowly drain from his body. He unconsciously blinked and the pain was suddenly gone and he could focus again.

"Steve!" Luna shouted, finally ripping out of Stealth's protective grasp with her eyes trained on nothing but the man, she hurried over to the miner who was now down on his knees and breathing heavily.

Steve looked around him, careful to not make the mistake of looking behind. He noticed that he was on the ground and his torch and sword were no longer in his hands, he hurriedly scooped them up.

"Are you okay?" Luna grabbed his shoulder and helped him off the cold stone.

Steve shakily stood up and wobbled a bit, gaining balance when Stealth grabbed his arm. "What in the Nether just happened?" He asked as rubbed his aching head.

Lunaris shook her head. "Something bad. I'm not sure what he's doing to you but it definitely isn't good." She said calmly. "We need to go, now!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, towards a darkened cavern only several feet away.

"Wait! Something isn't right!" He shouted while lightly pulling back, noticing that the friendly Endermen wasn't following. "Where's Stealth?"

Luna snapped her head back and stopped in her tracks. "St- Stealth?" Tears formed in her widened eyes and rolled down her cheeks, her face was frozen in shock.

Steve daringly looked back and he felt the air in his lungs vanish, his heart stopped for a second as he saw the large black figure yank itself away from a sword that had impaled it's stomach.

"Vllluuuaaaawwwwwhhhh!" Stealth loudly shrieked. He slowly staggered backwards until his back hit against the stone wall. He tried to use it to prop himself up but he slid from his side and smacked the ground twitching and wailing.

"STEALTH!" Luna ran towards her wounded companion until a shadowy figure slashed a diamond blade across the side of her abdomen. She fell face forward in silence, breathless from the surprise assault.

"LUNA!" Steve screamed but his cry was cut short as Herobrine appeared before him and just as quickly disappeared. Steve frantically glanced around from all sides, fearful of what White Eyes was about to do next.

A dark chuckle came from behind but Steve couldn't look back, not when he saw the same blade that cut down his friends was now protruding from his own chest cavity. Herobrine jerked it out and Steve felt himself stumbling forwards as warm crimson spread across his shirt. He was silent in shock and was left gaping with an expression of horror; the realization that this was it.

He placed a shaking hand on his upper torso and moved it back up to see it coated in red, his knees grew weak, his stomach twisted in knots. His heart slowed it's rapid beat and Steve crashed against the ground, still staring at the liquid on his fingertips.

"Wake up-." A dark menacing voice chuckled.

Steve moved his attention from his hand and looked up and saw nothing but glowing white eyes staring down at him. The miner tried to move but coiled his form as pain flooded his chest, his vision was starting to fade in and out. It was getting harder to breathe.

"Am I going to die?" He quietly asks himself.

"Wake up!" The voiced commanded, this time louder.

Steve fought the unbearable growing ache, both that of physical and mental pain and began to lift himself off the ground despite the darkening haze that was now starting to cloud his mind. "Go away." He snarled, leaning up and moving onto all fours to keep himself stable. When he moved he could no longer suck in air.

Herobrine frowned.

"Go away!" He choked, holding his bleeding wound and wincing from his movements.

"Wake up." Herobrine whispered again but softly.

"Wake up!" An even louder voice called over the demon's, it sounded more subtle and worrying. "Wake up!"

Everything went black and the sides of the ravine started to spin.

"WAKE UP! … Please?"

"Wha-?" The miner's eyes snap open when a warm hand pinched his shoulder. He bravely turned his head and there was Luna; clutched to his arm with tears in her eyes.

Luna's eyes widened when she looked up and saw the miner's confused and tried face. Her frantic features were soon replaced with that of relief. "Oh thank Notch, you're awake and alive." She whispered. She heavily sighed and sat back, whipping away the tears and sweat.

Steve noticed he was on his knees and alive and so was Luna and Stealth was right by her side. 'How can this be?!' He thought to himself. He watched them die and he should be… dead? He quickly looked down at his chest and impulsively moved a hand over it to feel nothing but his sweat-soaked shirt and his rapid heartbeat.

He sighed and leaned back, that was until he had forgotten about the monster. He sat back up and sealed his eyes shut.

"It's okay," Luna shook him out of it. "He's gone Steve, he's gone." Her voice was fairly reassuring.

"How do you kno-"

"Stealth can sense him and even look at him during his game since he's a mob and not human, Herobrine hates him though, just like any other human but he's not an initial target."

"Vluuurrrp." Stealth burbled, kicking the torch that laid at his feet closer to the man.

Steve shot for the dimming torch and the sword that laid at his side. "But you and Stealth… the pa-pain." He stuttered. "It was real, it happened!"

"What happened?"

"You- you and Stealth, I watched you-" He paused, afraid to tell Luna that he saw her cruelly cut down. "You died."

"I did?" She raised a brow. "Oh! You must have had a nightmare."

Steve blinked. "But I was awake! How could I?"

The young woman sighed. "Herobrine is capable of a lot of frightening things, even lulling his victims into a comatose state. I think he might of forced you unconsciousness then invaded your mind. At first, I didn't know why Stealth threw us aside but I knew Herobrine was going for you after I realized that Stealth didn't grab you too."

"No, I think he knew I was targeted. But it's a good thing you got out of there, or otherwise you might have had the morbid visions I did and even an attack on you."

"I've had plenty of attacks from Herobrine in my dreams, trust me. Our entire village has, but not once has anything like 'this' has ever happen to anyone I ever knew. I mean- what you went through terrorized me. I don't know if you know this but- about two minutes ago while I was trying to wake you… you had stopped breathing. Your head fell forward and your chest became still." She gave him a worried look and tugged at his arm. "I really thought he had killed you."

Steve stared at her in horror, he lost his breath in that 'dream' and he felt himself… dying?

"Your chest seized up and your heart slowed to a stop. I was afraid that you were going to die right in front of me, but I guess that you were only in a strange catatonic state instead. I tried wake you but you just sat there stiff as a board and then suddenly you were awake."

"It was so- real." Steve laid his sword at his side and placed a hand over his heart. "I felt every bit of it." He whispered to himself, still feeling it beat wildly against his ribcage. "The spider bites, the straining to breathe, the sword piercing my chest... all of it."

"Well it didn't happen in reality and we should thank Notch for that, but you're okay now. We all are." She tried to console.

Steve grabbed his blade and steadily pushed himself up onto his feet, he felt drained of energy but he couldn't rest, not here and not now. He lent a hand down to Luna and pulled her up with what strength he still had. "Thanks for getting me down here Luna, but you need to get the surface soon should 'he' decide to return for another round."

"Right." She muttered, looking away. "I should of warned you of him and what he's capable of, I should of told you he was behind us the second I felt his presence. But I didn't." Luna said looking away. "I should of told you about his game sooner, but I didn't! I was too afraid, I was reliving those nightmares again."

"Nightmares?"

She looked back at the miner and nodded. "Of my childhood. That freezing dark presence he put into the air… reminds me of that night when he took my parents away from me." She lightly sniffed, holding back more tears threatening to form. "Just another sick game he plays to torture us."

Steve stared at her, realizing just how traumatized she truly was, which would explain her courageous attitude to find and kill Herobrine to just fall flat into cowardice once he made an appearance.

"I want revenge, so badly. But I cannot, no matter how much I train or how good I become… I'll always be too afraid. There's just something about him that makes my knees go weak and feel so fearful that I can't even move half of the time. I was even too afraid to even help you when he singled you out, I abandoned you for my own sake. I just sat there in Stealth's arms and let that monster drag you to the brink of death." Tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

Steve placed an hand on her shoulder nad swayed his head back and forth. "It's not your fault, you did warn me. It would be my fault; I let him take over."

"No it wouldn't!" The archer protested loudly.

"Yes it would!" He took a deep breath and calmed his tone, taking a step forward. "I'm the one who wanted to come down here, to go into Antecedent Element. I was the one who lit a torch in your village last night."

"You did what-?" She asked with a surprised expression.

"Yeah, this attack on us is my fault. Don't blame yourself. He was clearly after me and he would be since I'm about to go into that haunted land."

Lunaris brushed his hand off and gazed at the ground. "Even if you didn't, Herobrine would still attack us, all of us, just like he will for the rest of our lives."

The miner's eyes light narrowed. "Not if I can do something about it, I'm probably his primary target right now. And as bad as it sounds- and as much as it makes my knees shake-, I- I can't back down. I made promises."

"Steve?" She called out, looking back up.

"Stealth?"

The Endermen looked down at him with a passive expression.

"Take her out of here, Herobrine shouldn't be too far away. Take her now. Protect her."

"Vlluurrpphh vlluurrpphh." The friender-men nodded and walked over to Luna's side, he crouched down to embrace her in a strong and comforting grip.

"Wait? Steve!" She yelled as she felt the small black and purple clouds whirl around her body. "You don't have to do this if you can't!"

"I don't have a choice now, I'm pretty much marked like every single person in your town. I just know it. Oh and thank you for helping me out, I should know what to expect from this point on."

"But."

"Don't worry about me." Steve forced a small fearful smile. "I made a promise to come back and I will. You'll see." He reassured. "It's a promise to you and Warren and even Mark." He turned his back to them. "Go! Now!" He shouted, readying his blade and torch in hands. The fake smile was soon gone and replaced with a tense frown.

Stealth burbled once more before zipping himself and Lunaris away and out of sight.

"I will return." He clinched the sword in his hand tightly after having that feeling of being watched came upon him again. Herobrine was still nearby and it was a startling notion to have that monster gazing at him but he couldn't back down nor turn back. He was definitely too scared to turn back towards the open half of the ravine, he didn't want to risk seeing that spine-chilling double staring at him with those vile glowing eyes.

He took a deep breath then marched straight into the cavern ahead of him, really hoping that Herobrine wouldn't take the chance to attack with his back turned. He kept his eyes wide open and his senses sharp, he had to be prepared for anything that lurked in the darkness that he was about to venture into.

Herobrine watched as the miner continued on and into the cave, into 'his' domain. The human wasn't as weak as he had originally thought and it was interesting. The miner had put up quite the fight during Herobrine's terror phase, though it was all fake the man had fought seemingly real pain and even fear itself to tell the White-eyed man to back off. The human was even close to real death; his body killing itself in believing that everything that was happening to him was really happening, so the miner fought death too?

Herobrine was going to have much more fun with this one, at least for a little while. He thought.