Hero's Bane

Chapter 22: Is Wrong

Edited 4/13/2022

Darkness had surrounded Steve after feeling a heavy pressure weighing on his head and shoulders, it was a recognizable feeling he had felt once before but it was a completely different this time. In the black that encircled him; he could hear muffled voices shouting, the tones grew louder and more define with each second and yet he couldn't distinguish any of the voices or completely make out what any of them were saying.

The shouts sounded hostile and bitter, now this was starting to seem familiar and he didn't like it one bit. Here he was in this darkness but he felt something brush against him. He quickly shrunk back in fear, unsure of what was touching him. A minute passed and now he had more things brushing up against him nearly on all sides but what ever was making the contact wasn't directly assaulting him at least.

"What's going on?!" The miner shouted, but received no answer.

The blackness that obscured his vision slowly began to lighten to his surprise, but instead of fading into white it faded into a pallet of warms colors and moving forms of what looked like people. Steve blinked and shook his head over and over, hoping that doing so would clear up the haze and slowly he found himself surrounded by blurry beings.

"People?" He asked quietly to himself. It was now clear that he was standing in a large crowd of enraged villagers, that explained the voices. He was completely enclosed by idle bodies that raised their arms in the air and shook fists, torches, and even weapons of various sorts. Steve turned to each side to notice that all of the people around him were facing in a single direction, he couldn't see too well with all of arms and bodies blocking out his sight but this mass of angry men and women was definitely starting to seem pretty familiar. A small object quickly flew above his head and Steve watched it as it disappeared over the crowd, then another.

"Murderer!" A lady in an old-fashioned brown dress to his side screamed in anger, she then reached down to pick up a small stone before chucking it over the other enraged civilians.

Steve could suddenly understand all of the voices around him, they were all bursting with rage. So many words of hate and resentment filled his ears, it was then when everything was coming back to him. Steve started to push himself through the congested crowd towards a large stone column that stood high and blocked out the setting sun, he received a few weird looks and rude comments from the people he accidentally bumped into but chose to continue disregarding the bad remarks.

"Hey!" A random man in the mass grabbed Steve by the shoulder and spun him around after the miner had inadvertently stepped on his heel. "Watch it klutz!"

"Uh? Sorry!" Steve said with light sincerity before turning back to weave through more bodies, something in his gut told him to get to the front of the crowd pronto. The more further he made it through the crowd the more of the stone column he could see, and it wasn't long before he caught a glimpse of glowing orbs piercing the shadowed stake. Steve froze in his place and his eyes widened after he made it closer to the pillar.

… ...

"Herobrine?" He quietly asked while gaping up at the being restrained to the stone, but his own voice was drowned out by the angry crowd labeling the half god as a monster and murderer. Everything was coming back to him now and he feared looking into those white eyes, afraid that he'd be attacked somehow if he did but he couldn't help himself. Those eyes though, weren't trained on the miner specifically, the focus was on the entire crowd before him and Steve was just another speck in the sea of people.

He watched as Herobrine grimaced, then the being closed his eyes and sharply wailed in pain out loud. Steve's gaze moved downward to the immortal's torso and that was where he saw blood seeping from several wounds that trailed down his shirt and even down to his pants. Bright threads of light glowed from the gashes, once the glow died down that is when a sharp object was plunged into the being to replace the healed one.

"Gaaahhhhhaaaahhh!" Herobrine let out an anguished scream as another blade impaled him below his ribcage, he violently jerked his head from side to side unable to escape the sharp pain.

Steve watched in horror as the god-like man twitched from stabbing pains, unable to move anything but his head, neck, and his mouth to illustrate his suffering. A few stray tears streamed down his cheeks and he hissed from more wounds being made over and over, his expression took the miner by surprise. Though his eyes beamed intensely, he had a strong look of remorse and indignation across his features. It looked as though he was almost begging, pleading for the people to stop, but of course his screams fell on deaf ears of enraged civilians.

"Notch damned you beast!" A woman screamed in contempt from behind.

"Demon! How dare you kill innocent children?!" A man shouted after her, now throwing a rock at the detained.

The Hero hung his head low as he scanned the crowd carefully with a soft gaze, almost as if he was searching for someone or expecting somebody. He flinched from more rocks pelting his face and chest but kept his inspecting eyes on the lookout.

Steve ducked down behind a couple of people waving torches in the air, not wanting to be seen. He was still greatly terrified by the paralyzed being and was afraid that something bad would happen if he was somehow spotted.

"Errrrraaaahhhhhhaaaa!" A loud cry filled the air and Steve poked his head around to see Herobrine hissing with a contorted expression as two men standing at his sides him took turns jabbing their swords into the hero's chest. So much blood drained from the growing wound and pattered to the stone ground, pooling up quickly with each drop. They were relentless, attacking Herobrine like they were out for revenge. Not only did they both stab him, but the two men took turns swinging fists across the ex-hero's face and also socking him in the eyes.

"No." He felt it. Steve didn't know how or why, but after seeing the attacks, the stones, and the blood before him; he just imagined it as if he was in Herobrine's place. It was almost as if he was there before. That pain. He grimaced and coiled in on himself with a toothy scowl, he could almost feel it again. Then it hit him and he blinked before returning his gaze to the tormented. Steve suddenly remembered being in a dream in which he was the one hanging high and having people all around him to bring about his suffering. But it was a dream though, so this was a dream as well? He wondered. Everything just felt so real that he really couldn't tell.

The hero whimpered quietly, trying to fight the acute sharpness that was being continuously made, but that soft cry turned into a loud unsettling roar after one of the men took a torch and drove it into one of Herobrine's slowly healing gashes.

The cry sent shivers all up and down his spine and he looked away as one of the men repeatedly pressed the flames into now exposed flesh. Steve couldn't take it anymore, that last howl was far too much to bear and he found himself moving towards the tortured man that he feared more than any other. He shoved through the bodies of the crowd, a few of the people pushed back and spat nasty words at him from their furious tempers. He fought the mass of humans despite the negativity and made his way in the direction of the strung-up Hero. As he reached a small open spot in front of Herobrine he bravely shoved away at the men with their sharp swords in their hands, nearly taking a few cuts in the process.

"Get away from him!" The miner shouted, jostling around with a few other guys who had wielded spears and pickaxes. They moved too close and Steve felt himself go into protective mode. One of the men nearly speared the miner with his lance but Steve sidestepped the speeding weapon at the last moment and kicked the aggressor away, then he quickly evaded another oncoming attack from a villager with an axe. Steve put a bit of space between him and the crowd and pulled out the diamond blade, he swung it around wildly to make the attackers back away.

"Back off! This is too much!" He shouted out and gained a short moment of near silence, some people whispered despite the abrupt quietness. He gazed around at the mass and shook his head. "This isn't justice, it's cruelty!" He shouted with his arms held out at his sides, still wondering exactly why he was defending Herobrine of all people. Then again, what the people were doing to him was so savage, it seemed so wrong; taking advantage of Herobrine's healing powers just to torture him. These vile actions were coming from people, not evil mobs.

"Have a sense of humanity people, public torture like this is so messed up! Does this make you better than him?" He pointed back at Herobrine. "You spill his blood knowing that he can't die like this, doing this isn't getting even; it's making him a living pin cushion to take your frustrations out on him. But it's disgustingly cruel people! Can't you see that?"

"Traitor!" One from the horde abruptly shouted and threw a rock, it struck Steve right on his forehead and just above his left eye. He grasped at the pained spot but swung the blade up and around to deflect a few of the stones that came flying at him and Herobrine.

"Cruelty for cruelty!" A woman shouted in protest.

"Monsters deserve worse!"

"Traitors too!"

Another stone pelted his cheek at an angle and it cut his skin. Another larger one struck his chest, making the miner briefly stop and rub the tender spot. Most of the attacks were now being directed at him. "If that makes you feel better than fine. That's right, leave him alone and attack me instead! You've done enough to him! It's no wonder why he hates us!" Steve brandished the sword as several charging men in iron armor funneled through the crowd with loud marching footfalls and chinking metal sounds, they stopped once they confronted the miner.

One of the sentries took a step out of line, he raised his spear to his side then pulled out a scroll from his chest plate and rolled it open as he began to read. "Lionel, you are hereby under arrest for conspiring against the Sovereign's commands, you have broken the law for the fourth time and in doing so you have been officially stripped from your duties of being a royal sentinel and royal house guard permanently. You are to remain silent and cooperate with us or we will be forced to execute you on the spot. Come quietly to the dungeon and you'll get a fair trial."

"Execution? I didn't do anything wrong!" He defended with a narrowed gaze. "All of this…?" He gestured at the stone pillar without actually looking back at it. "This is WRONG!" Steve shouted in anger and confusion. "And what do you mean Royal guard? I'm not a guard."

"Sorry Lionel. The Sovereign's decree cannot be relieved, not even for a royal guardsmen. Oh-, but that's right? You aren't a royal sentinel anymore are you?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"I never was!" Steve countered.

"Punishment for not cooperating for common criminals can result in death by our choosing, now throw down your weapon and surrender or face dire consequences!"

His grip on the blade's handle tightened and he whipped the blade back at his side, readying it if necessary. "I refuse! I haven't done anything bad for starters, and Herobrine doesn't deserve this! Oh- … And I'm not Lionel, I'm Steve!"

"Stttteeeeeevvvvvvvveeee..."

A deep powerful voice echoed in his head and he turned back to see blazing white eyes staring back down at him intently. Steve instantly shuddered after having those powerful eyes bore through his soul, Herobrine's eyes. He stared back into them with fright, wondering why he gone and done what he just did. In the process of his state of shock; he had lost his rigid posture and this created a small opening for a swift unexpected attack.

"Then pay with your blood!" One of the guards barked aloud, loud enough to be distinguished against the gathering voices.

Steve whirled his head back around to see the guardsman and a lance coming straight at him. He had absolutely no time to react and waited the very short seconds it would take before he'd be skewered alive, but as soon as the sharp end of the javelin reached him; everything went black.

…

His white eyes moved from the painting and then down to the unconscious miner. Thanks to the human he was swept up into a powerful memory and forced to relive it again, only this time with the miner in tow. Herobrine didn't expect anything to actually change in the recollection, Lionel was supposed to show up at one point but the miner surprisingly beat him to it. This 'Steve' had to go and abruptly break from the crowd to defend him, which caused the vision to shift and play out differently then what the hero remembered.

Once again, he was puzzled. The mortal's reasons for coming to the fortress were to eliminate him but after being drawled back into the compelling memory, he had noticed that the miner was trying to protect him; which was the exact opposite of his reasons of being on this landmark. Also, when the mortal had risked his own skin for him back in the cave. This human was just entirely unpredictable and too complicated to fully understand.

It was at that moment that he noticed the sound of loud pounding heartbeats, he turned his attention to the thumping noise and saw the old man quickly slip behind one of the stone support beams. Herobrine paid no mind to the weaker mortal, he wasn't any threat.

He gazed down at the human again. Steve laid splayed out on the floor, his face was hidden by an arm but he was indeed alive and breathing though his heart pumped rather slowly than the other's. Herobrine contemplated on what to do with him now. It took some time and deep thinking but he found that he was possibly having trouble killing the mortal because of his recent and yet unexplained actions.

The human nearly fell in lava to help the wicked hero, and this 'save' from further torment was 'after' the mortal almost got killed by the one he then tried to save. And now in this interactive memory the man risked his life to stop the ordeal. Had the memory continued, the mortal's body would of sustained great damage from itself, thus put the human's life in peril.

The hesitant strikes to kill Steve all comes down to being indebted to the man, it was simple as that. There was a debt that needed to be paid and Hero thought he fully paid it off by stopping the vision. However, being alleviated of his torment from the lava was another liability, another debt to pay before finishing the miner off for good. The mortal lives, for now.

Herobrine quietly huffed and softly narrowed his eyes at Steve. He couldn't kill the man… yet, not until the debt was repaid in full. Unlike selfish and deceitful humans, he had a sense of honor and code. He would never allow himself to fall to the same level as those pathetic dishonorable depraved mortals, that is unless he's killing them of course; he can be far more worse and cruel and they'll deserve absolutely no mercy from him.

Only after it was that he found a way to get even would he be able to deliver the stroke of death, but that was at another time. Soon he hoped. His eyes moved over to the sheathed blade, it was his but he didn't want it back just yet. He decided to allow the human to wield it for now, wondering if the man could master it's strange force long enough to actually do something.

He faced away from the motionless one and made his way down towards the main hall, slowing his steps in deciding what he should do to stop the men from reaching the temple.

A small gasp made him stop and snap his head to the side and that is when he saw Nigel standing up against the wall with his hands up in surrender, staring at the god-like man with a calm and yet serious expression. Herobrine was amazed that the old man could hide his fear behind that look, though most of that fear didn't derive from the hero himself but more for the miner still lying on the floor. He pushed the thoughts of what he could do aside and continued down into the corridor, utilizing his time to form an amusing plot in stopping the mortals.

…

After watching the old hero disappear into darkness, Nigel quickly limped over to the man lying on the ground and leaned down to shake the miner's shoulder, hoping to get a response. "Steven? Are you alright? Come on chap!" He grew anxious after his attempts failed then placed a hand and the man's wrist. He breathed better after feeling a slight pulse. "I don't know what happened Steve, but whether it was fight or just sheer luck, I'm glad you're still alive."

Nigel took a seat on the floor next to the miner and gazed at the painting on the wall, waiting for his friend to wake.

…

…

Steve gasped and quickly jolted up and off of the floor and onto his feet, pulling out the diamond sword and looking around frantically.

"Calm down boy! It's okay, everything is alright. You are in no danger, at least not now!" Nigel moved up and grabbed Steve's wrist and the man shot an odd fixed glance at him.

"Nigel?" He asked, blinking.

The old man sighed in relief and released his grip, putting on a weak grin. "My goodness, I didn't know when you were ever going to wake up."

"That… that was a dream?" Steve quietly asked and scanned around once more before taking a deep breath in his own relief.

"Yes, I've been trying to wake you up for at least five minutes but you were not responsive at all! I was almost afraid that you weren't going to come around, I thought Herobrine got you for good. But you were breathing calmly, so it was only a matter of time before you'd wake. Though I was still concerned for your health, it's good that patience pays after all."

"Herobrine?!" Steve spun around with the blade ready but found nothing but an empty space and a dark crevice in the wall.

"It's alright now, he's gone."

"He was here?!" Steve gawked at the older man, Nigel nodded and then moved over to pick up the torch then stood. "But in my dream, he was there."

Nigel lowly chuckled. "It may come as a shock to you after I tell you this, but he was definitely here not too long ago."

"Why? How?!"

"Calm down, just give me a minute to explain now." The adventurer showed a more relaxed posture with a small smile, hoping to bring the miner to a more calm mental state. "So! While you were gazing perpetually at the painting, I went to check the main halls for monsters. There of course were a few zombies and skeletons and I knew I couldn't take them on my own, so I made my way back and that was when I saw Herobrine… standing only a foot behind you with a gleaming diamond blade in hand, ready to cut you down mercilessly where you stood."

He paused as the miner shuddered and stared at him wide eyed, now looking more frantic than before. So much for putting the guy at ease. Perhaps telling the event like it is wasn't the most calming way. "I wanted to scream or shout out to you, but I just so struck with terror from the scene that I couldn't speak; all I could do was hold my breath and watch."

"That couldn't of happened." Steve shook his head in denial, not wanting to believe. "I would of known! I can sense him!"

"But you didn't. Not this time I'm afraid. I wouldn't lie to you Steve, you know that." He said with a serious frown forming across his lips. "I know what I saw, and believe me when I say he was there." Steve's eyes widened. "But no harm was done!" Nigel quickly added, not wanting to concern the man too much.

"Then how am I here?"

"I'm not sure. When he brought the sword down to slice through your neck and chest… he just stopped."

"Stopped?" Steve's blinked twice from shock and bewilderment.

"Why yes, even I had trouble believing it myself you know. I thought you were done for sure, but that's not even the strangest part. He tried to do it again but failed to cut you down for some reason, like he was wanted to but something about you kept changing his mind. I remember that you muttered something and then Hero got irritated and raised the blade once more, this time with the intent to kill; even his sword glowed brightly out of his annoyance. He was just about to actually pull off the murder until you fell to your knees, after that he just quit."

"Quit?" The miner whispered, seeming very confused.

"Yes, instead of hacking away like a madman, he brought a hand up to the back of your head and his eyes glowed before you went out like a doused torch. And once that happened he just plainly stared at the painting for what felt like the longest time, like he was lost in it. Several minutes later he finally moved and left, giving me a non-hostile glance on the way out." The old man chuckled to himself and shook his head in skepticism. "It's amazing what he did with his sword though, he made it fade into dust and it vanished into thin air, a rather small impressive display of his power; a marvelous spectacle to behold if I do say so myself. I'll be sure to write that in my notes later, so remind me if I forget."

"That doesn't make sense! I have his sword!" Steve said as he held out the weapon.

"You do, but that one Herobrine wielded had a blazing blue aura of sparks, unlike the barely visible red aura that comes from the one you still have in your possession."

Steve held up the blade over his head. It still shimmered and shined, illuminating the darkness around it along with a radiating faint reddish glow. "This sword is Herobrine's, there's no doubt about it."

"I believe it truly is, but apparently he has more."

Steve returned his gaze to the old man. "Then why didn't he take it back?" He stared at Nigel with a puzzled look and the elder plainly shrugged.