Hero's Bane:
Chapter 34: Body And Soul
Edited 4/19/2022
Steve ambled through the door and stood at the doorway until the pig moseyed it's way in, moving like it had not a care in the word. The miner closed it behind the swine and dropped the wooden blocks that he collected onto the crafting table next to the wheat, he then made his way over to the bed. He fell face-forward onto the mattress and his pillow and sighed into the fabric. He was now fairly exhausted, feeling as though his limbs had been overworked and even worn out from the vision. Chopping wood alone made his arms stiffen up but everything he just went through in a dream pushed him more than he thought. His mind was also worn-out, he had seen so much and he didn't even know how to process everything he just witnessed. It felt and seemed so real, like a living nightmare.
He forced himself to turn onto his back and stare at up the ceiling, though he was chilled by the freezing air lowing through his window; he wasn't feeling so cold. Just imaging the intense heat he felt made him burn, remembering the molten rock and fire definitely didn't help the fire that figuratively burned inside of him. The sound of the fire's crackle from the Netherrack in the fireplace made him burn from the inside out, he didn't like the feeling and he guessed that the old hero probably didn't either since he was literally sealed in that awful place, quite possibly for years and fell into the flaming liquid only to stay in it for Notch knows how long.
The hooded men and their bizarrely chanted words made the miner realize that they were sealing away Herobrine in the Netherworld, just as Nigel and Warren exclaimed in their history lessons. If what he had saw is what truly happened to Herobrine, then it was no wonder that the being hated humans so much; Nigel even said that they killed his only friend Lionel before his very eyes. All of this punishment for the death of a royal child? It was horrible, the hero didn't deserve such punishment, Lionel greatly defended Herobrine's case so why was the retribution taken so far?
The Ruler of the fortress must have been senseless and so cold to do what he did, he let a great hero that had protected the fortress to suffer for so long for a small calamity that Herobrine probably felt great guilt for. And to think that he could put himself into other's perspectives after watching the being fall and then have several of his bones along with his arm splintering from the impact, right before taking incinerating balls of fire; just to top it off with drowning in lava? Well this would be the second most vivid time he would see through another's eyes, but not necessarily through Herobrine's eyes; only with his own and being right there to watch him in the dangerous realm. Feeling the extreme heat was a startling standpoint alone.
A small grunt and nudge at his arm made Steve tilt his head to see the pig looking up at him. It poked it's snout at the miner, prodding for the man's attention. Steve moved his hand over and petted the pig and it stood perfectly still to receive the soothing head massage.
"I don't know what to do anymore Pork Chop." He began with his eyes half-lidded, sadness marking his lapis blue irises; a deep frown on his face. "I want to save Nigel, but now I want to help Herobrine even more than ever. If I leave to return to the fortress then Nigel will die for sure, ... and I would as well. If I die fighting for Nigel then Herobrine will be left here in this maddened and murderous state forever. I've already promised to save the old man so I can't go to the shrine now, plus there's no way I can convince the hero that I'm just trying to help him. What should I do?" He raised a brow as the pig continued to move it's head around underneath the miner's palm, keeping it's eyes closed with the nice attention it was getting and completely ignoring the question with it's simple mind.
"Uh, never mind then. … … But come to think of it?" Steve said as he tapped a finger on his chin in thought. "I never did try to tell Herobrine personally that I wanted to help him, so maybe I still have a shot at making everything right and getting Nigel out of this alive as well?" He said more loudly, now gazing through the broken window at his bedside. The light was nearly gone now and the snow only continued to fall, shrouding his vision with a powdery grayish-white cloak and making trees several feet away fade out. "I can try to persuade him that I only have good intentions in asking Notch for power to help him, that's about all I can do now. I doubt it'll work since it obviously involves Notch; but that doesn't mean I can't try."
…
Herobrine slowly paced across the Nertherbrick overpass with a deep scowl on his face. In his recollection; he kept telling himself that he wanted Lionel to be there, to show his brother what has truly happened to him even though he knew the man was already long gone. He wanted to clearly justify his reasons for his seeded hatred and murderous intent on humans of the world for, Lionel to understand and accept, at least in his mind. But instead of the sentinel, the human Steve took his place. He didn't want that miner to be there, but he somehow managed to force that man into his memory, it was an unconscious decision on his part. Perhaps trying to pull a no longer existing Lionel in there only pulled in the closest 'existing' person in his place, and that would be the miner. How could the mortal make him loose his focus this easily?
Though Steve wasn't Lionel; the man did act in a way that would certainly represent his friend's own actions, this not only confused the powerful being but it angered him. All humans were alike except for Lionel, but now he had to throw Steve into the mix for his actions; though they proved useless and he hated it. He never expected for the miner to run over and try to grab his arm, he probably attempted to move his broken bone into the right place before healing, of course in the memory he couldn't touch him and he definitely did not want to be touched. Then the human threw himself in the way of danger for nothing, the ghast's fireball wouldn't of hit the man even if he wished it. Plus he saved him from the burning pit and tried to save him in a nightmare, but the hero wasn't there as himself nor in any real danger in that specific dream. But back to the Nether; Herobrine couldn't stop the replaying the historic event over in his mind, although; since that mortal was there and pathetically trying to defend him he had to end it.
He was actually slightly relieved to end it there because this was a memory that would last for years with nothing but pain, misery, and being completely helpless to everything for a very long time. It was a pathetic time of his that he despised, he was in a way weaker than he's ever been. He couldn't believe that, he allowed himself to receive the punishment only to have it progress so far to have everything taken away from him. Of course he never intended on reliving the full memory in the first place, but upon returning to this place he could definitely see his first hour being here in the hostile environment. However, this pitiable memory would have never came up in the first place if the mortal hadn't reminded him of his friend or the past.
Regardless of Steve's chivalric and yet failed attempts; he still had to destroy the miner. It was the only way to ensure his existence would continue without disruption. After all, no mortal can be trusted for they are hardwired to be just like their creator; traitorous, cruel, judgmental, and selfish.
…
"I never intended for Notch to 'kill' him-." The human looked up at the being with deep saddened blue eyes. "Only for the god to stop him from this madness! To calm-"
…
The being narrowed his eyes and picked his pace up into a light sprint. Like the human was never wanting to get rid of him but only stop his eternal tormenting of other souls. Unbelievable. The only way for Notch to ever stop the demi-god would be to destroy him, that is what the being thought and clarified with nothing but seriousness in his mind. That creator wouldn't show mercy, no. He wouldn't show any during the hero's trails or punishment and he even turned away and forsaken him and leave him in the Nether for all eternity to suffer. And what was that 'To calm-' thing all about? Who was Steve wanting to calm? Herobrine himself? The hero snorted at the idea, it wouldn't ever happen either. He wasn't going to be calm while Notch slowly pulls him apart, that had weakness and submission written all over the idea and Herobrine was far from the desire of compliance and defeat with his greatest enemy.
Herobrine slowed his run to a casual walk as he neared the end of the Nertherbrick bridge that led into the massive nether fortress, he finally stopped and glanced down at the brown islands below, they were much larger then last time he visited or so he remembered. Struck with a sudden realization; he grabbed the rim of the overpass and leaped over to fall far down below onto a mound of dark sand and soil. As he landed; the sand shifted slowly underneath his feet and low soft human-like moans and wails escaped from the ground from the impact. He carefully watched as what looked like human faces moved around in the mound, each dreadful expression warped with every step he took in his examination. He didn't feel not one ounce of remorse nor pity for the weeping forms swirling about, they all deserved the same fate. Every- last- one-. Herobrine grinded his heels with a few more steps forward, he couldn't stand the sight of the deformed pained faces staring back at him and the rough stride illustrated his anger well. The islands of soulsand and soulsoil were definitely smaller than last time and that wasn't good, the souls were being used up a lot faster than he imagined.
A fist coiled tightly at his side. He had let that human distract him for too long and now he was running out of souls that he was supposed to be collecting from his victims. He raised an empty fist in the air and his diamond sword materialized in between his fingers and palm. He held the blade high and the blue aura around it quickly faded out into a lighter ashen color as streams of bright white shot forth out of the blade and into the sand. Particles from nearby soulsoil collected together in the air with the light and formed more soulsand onto the pile, louder and more painful screams and cries filled his ears as the light left his blade. The brightness faded and the aura turned back into a deep blue shade as the last beam immersed into the sands. It wasn't enough and Herobrine sneered at what little he had gathered recently. He had forgotten about his duties that lie beyond the realm, he was going to have to face the human soon and very soon at this rate. The mortal was nothing but a distraction! He decided he'd allow the miner just a little more time, then he'll finish what he started and continue his harvest the souls of humans and definitely those who foolishly try to summon him.
He overlooked the sea of lava, trying to remove his focus from the new stressor that was created. He closed his eyes and went deep into a meditative state, trying to keep himself composed and collected for he had plenty of time left to gather more essences of humans. He removed his interest from the dilemma, he had other things to concern about at the moment. It should be nighttime back at the overworld by now.
…
The miner had fallen asleep on the bed with his arm still draped loosely over the edge from petting his companion until he dozed off into deeper sleep. He laid there motionless, only with the rise and fall of his chest being his only movement.
Pork Chop stood at the bedside staring at the sleeping form, but it's eyes were no longer a deep dark color; but pure white that had a soft glow coming from it instead. It stared at Steve blankly for awhile until a heavy groan came from outside the house, it immediately snapped it's head towards the deep gargling sound and then trotted over to the gaping hole in the wall to get a glimpse at to whatever was the cause of the noise.
Two zombies stumbled up the snow and tree covered hill towards the only beacon of light in the night, light meant living creatures or humans and therefore food.
The pig watched quietly as the zombies drew nearer and nearer, it moved it's head back to see the mortal still asleep surprisingly with the loud zombie moans. Now looking back at the approaching undead, Pork Chop stood quietly inside of the hole as one of the undead reached out with both arms to the house and it. The swine backed up a little but it didn't move far, it wouldn't leave the miner exposed.
A low gust of wind blew and in the same instant; a cyan colored object shot through the air at an incredible speed and pierced into the side of the zombie's head. The mob immediately toppled to it's side from the sheer force and flinched it's arms as a shadowed figure came up from behind it and yanked the item out of it's skull.
Herobrine jerked the blade to his side, making the putrid smelling and brown colored blood fly off of his blade and onto the snow. Then he spun around and landed a powerful punch to the other zombie's head and had instantly snapped it's rotting neck to one side until bone cracked, the corpse grew very limp as it rolled down the incline and stopped against a tree trunk at the bottom of the hill.
Hero quietly pushed passed the now white-eyed pig and walked through the hole to find the mortal sleeping soundly on the bed, the man was not even perturbed by the vicious sounds of spiders and more zombies outside of his window. The miner had to be pretty exhausted if he was sleeping through all of the alarming calls of the mobs and it would be better if he stayed in the deep slumber. Herobrine raised his empty hand up to the man's head and his eyes flashed for a brief moment.
Loud bangs instantly shifted his attention and he moved away from the bedside to the door to kick it open with a few zombies flying back from the burst. Herobrine took one step back then propelled himself out the doorway in a swift sprint, then as he reached the green flesh eaters he swung his blade through the torso of one, dark blood and bits of flesh flew from the powerful jab. The zombie moved it's arms about with deep growls, trying to fight of it's attacker but then hero used the blade to lift the skewered undead up before spinning on his heels and swinging the mob around in circles. He finally let the corpse slip off of the weapon and it crashed into the other standing zombie causing both to crumple to the ground. The powerful being jumped up high and landed on top of the undead to bring the blade across their bodies, slicing through flesh with ease and permanently silencing the zombies. Herobrine quickly vanished away from the carnage and reappeared on top of the house to kick a crawling spider off that was trying to fit itself down through one of the holes.
The arachnid screeched loudly as it fell and started to climb back up only to have a boot painfully smashing into it's face. The now wounded spider fell off again and landed on it's back. It swung to it's side to get up and this time it scurried off into the tree line from defeat, three of it's eyes had had been crushed. A creeper nearby also retreated back into the woods, afraid of the now blazing white eyes piercing the clear moonless night. Other various mobs also left the area, being sure not to be seen and risk getting attacked or killed by the enigmatic man.
Herobrine jumped off the edge of the roof and landed gracefully on the thick snow, not at all winded or tired from the small display of his power. He walked back over to the door and peered inside to see the pig now staring up at him from the miner's side silently. Herobrine pulled the door closed and walked across the deserted hillside, glad he kept an eye on the mortal. Even from the Nether he had eyes everywhere, even if had to use the pig; but at least now he could keep track of the miner. For now anyways. He walked through the darkness and looked up at the stars as he strode on his way, the sky had cleared up and presented it's cast of tiny glistening specks in the brisk air. He felt rather calm and he didn't even know why.
…
The miner yawned loudly as he stretched his arms above his head and softly bumped them against the wall, now lazily leaning up he sees the swine next to his bedside asleep on the floor. "Morning Pork Chop." He smiled as he moved a hand down and patted the animal on it's side. The pig grunted a little then sat up, looking at him with big dark eyes. "I can't believe you're still here… unless you just want more food that is?" He chuckled to himself and the pig stood up on it's four legs and trotted through the hole.
Steve yawned once more then got out of bed to see the sun gracing him with it's beautiful bright waves. He had a great night, he dreamed that he found tons of diamonds while mining and for once he didn't have a nightmare or strange dream. He grinned after thinking about those many times he searched deep underground for those precious ores, good times. He hadn't went out mining in a while now and he sort of missed that feeling of striking gold or diamond after a long day's work. Steve's smile then faded. He knew that he was progressively getting more stronger; he was healing well with each passing hour and he could feel it, which meant that he needed to get outside and train for the big fight. It could be at any moment since the old hero nor Lionel ever mentioned the time or day that it would happen, but first, he had a few things to do on his own agenda.
Throughout the morning Steve moved about and worked on several projects he had planned out. He first drank one potion of regeneration despite the bad taste to have energy for the day, he only had one more of those left along with two potions of healing, two bottles of water, and the unlabeled mystery concoction; but he decided to save those for later. He then grinded the wheat down to powder and added water, he rolled the mush multiple times before placing the newly made bundles of dough into the furnace to cook. He had enough for a couple loafs, some to save so that he would have food later since fishing wasn't something he wanted to waste time in doing. He then spent an hour or so chopping up wooden planks that he gathered yesterday to fill in the gaps of the walls and ceiling, he made sure that the wood fit perfectly in place so that no mobs or strong winds would knock it apart.
The finished result of the shack was quite nice to his surprise, it was considerably much more warmer inside now. Though there was a slight chill as well, small breezes of frosted air still blew in from the broken and cracked windows. It was going to take longer to fix that problem, but he knew that he wouldn't get the sufficient time from Herobrine to do so; they were left alone. He also placed a lit torch near his bed and another at the door to give that side of the house more light now that the 'skylights' were covered over. With the bread now finished baking; he placed a few loafs into his chest pack before eating one himself slowly, savoring the delicious taste. He hadn't had such fresh food in a while and this small meal boosted his confidence and filled his stomach.
As he finished the warm loaf he heard a small knock come from the door and that mildly frightened the man with the light abrupt noise, he approached the door frame with caution and peeked out the window to see the pig bumping it's head into the wood. Steve sighed in relief and opened the door and the creature hung it's nose in the air while stepping inside. "Back for my food again I see." The miner patted the swine on the head as it moved about, sniffing for the delightful aroma of bread
"You can't have my fresh bread but I do have some leftover wheat you can have." The man walked over to his chest and pulled out a generous amount in his hand and held it out to the approaching creature. "Here you go." He kneeled down for the pig to reach the food and it pulled the stack out of the miner's hand before gobbling it down in several large bites. "You sure are hungry. Where have you been at all morning?"
The pig only lifted it's head and stared quietly at him.
"I guess it doesn't matter, just as long as you are hear now." He gently rubbed the back of his head and beamed. "Well, I've been busy all morning but I still have to train while I can, so you can stay here in this safe warm place if you want." He moved to the side of his bed and fished out his bag to take a torch before grabbing his scabbard lying underneath the mattress. "I have to go find a cave today." He said with nervousness. He knew he had to prepare for battle and what better way then with the mobs that dwelled in the dark? It wasn't an easy feeling and these mobs were stronger than the ones he was used to fighting, but if he couldn't kill any of them then he wouldn't be no match for Herobrine. He wasn't a match for the hero for starters, not even close from what he could tell through previous encounters; but if he could just fight hard enough then maybe the guy would be satisfied. Or he at least hoped.
Or if he could talk to the being and then maybe he wouldn't need to fight at all. The good possibilities however, were limited.
Steve walked out the door but left it open for the pig, though the creature followed him out. "So you want to stay outside? Alright." Steve closed the door after the animal and then started on his little expedition for a cave, he sprinted away from the pig so that the creature wouldn't follow him to the dangerous places beneath the surface. He ran down the hill in the opposite direction of the stream and towards the fortress, there was bound to be a cave somewhere at the bottom of the steep slope with all of the surfaced stone around.
He hopped down a natural staircase of dirt and stone until he made it to lower grounds. He began his dash around the stone mound and kept his eyes peeled for any hole in the surface. He mostly saw nothing but white in his search and he didn't want to stray too far from the house or a certain being wouldn't be so happy. Steve walked around and kept his eyes on the hillside, he had to stay close. It wasn't long before he found a dip in the ground, it was hard to spot at first but now approaching it he saw it clearly, the gap was a lot bigger than he expected. The miner backed away from the edge he now stood on after nearly slipping and cautiously looked down to a see a cavern down below the small overhang. He was relieved that he didn't have to go far from the house to fight monsters, wouldn't want the hero confusing him for trying to make a run to the stronghold. That would of a been a very bad decision, and not only for him but for his friend as well. "Here I go." Steve carefully moved along the outcropping until he found a quick safe way down on the other side.
He took a deep breath of cold air and stared hard at darkness before him, he didn't know what he was going to run into down in there but he just hoped for the best and prepared himself for worst. Herobrine could be down there, ready to ambush him for all he knew and the idea was far from a comforting one. He pulled out his flint and steel and took a moment to light the torch and draw out his iron sword. As much as he wanted to use the enchanted diamond blade; he couldn't risk his health unless he ran into Herobrine, otherwise, he'd give his best shot at killing mobs on his own strength alone. That would be real training. "Into the deep I suppose." He quietly said to himself with a shrug.
As he took his first step he felt a nudge at his leg and he halted to see Pork Chop now standing at his side. "Pork Chop?" He blinked and then gave a scolding expression as he shook his head. "I have to go down there, so you stay put up here where it is safe." He blandly stated to the pig though he knew the creature couldn't understand him. He could always hope though.
He felt a strength growing inside of him as he gazed into the elongated cavern, he was determined to make it back out of the place in one piece and before night. He had survived Herobrine a few times so mobs should be easy in compared, then again; Herobrine hesitated and allowed him to live. Mobs however; were a different story, most monsters acted before they think and others don't even have the brain to think with. It was now easier to step forward because none of the cave dwellers could ever compare to the one and only Herobrine. Deep down inside Steve felt power, confidence; and now eagerness. If his father and great grandfathers fought so bravely then so could he. Lionel was also right, he did have a family principle to keep.
Steve carefully walked over the slippery iced stone and began his decent into the ground, holding both sword and torch tightly in his hands. He wasn't too excited about finding monsters but he didn't have much of an option unless he was already skilled; though he knew he wasn't. Nigel's life waged on this fight and he needed to be ready to take on the most powerful being, he needed practice. He stopped several yards after hearing the pig grunt in a distressing fashion, he looked back up to see the pig move from one side to other before taking one step down into the dark.
"Stay up there!" Steve shouted, quite concerned about his companion. "I'll be back before nightfall, so just stay put!"
The pig stopped moving around frantically and turned around facing away from the miner, remaining that way for a little over a minute as the man stared. Steve watched the pig but it just stood still to his surprise. 'Maybe it'll stay put then? Who knew a pig could be so smart… or loyal?' He thought to himself as he turned back towards the tunnel and continued down into it's depths, he was soon getting a strange feeling again like he was being watched, but he wouldn't let that stop him. Steve gulped a bit of the anxiety he had and pressed forward with resolve; seriously hoping that Herobrine wouldn't attack him just yet.
Two small white eyes at the mouth of the cave gazed at the miner's back now disappearing into the black passageway, the pig remained idle for a few short seconds before trotting downwards into the cave slowly and keeping a constant white gaze ahead.