Hero's Bane

Chapter 40: Fall

Edited 4/24/2022

Herobrine quickly sidestepped the rushing mortal, he had planed to kill the man as he got close enough; but he decided he'd just wait until the miner lost his steam. As to why? He didn't even know.

…

Steve staggered as he missed and swung the sword back only to slice through air, he now saw Herobrine ducked low with one hand on the ground. The hero sprang up and moved his sword onto the other and made the miner's arm reel away painfully, he then spun on one of his heels before bringing the bottom of his boot right up into the man's jaw; sending the miner flying upwards from a strong roundhouse kick.

Steve winced and held his cheek as his world now painfully spun, the kick gave him an instant strong headache. He flew upright for a few good seconds, he went up so high and stared in horror as he now fell back towards the ground with terror. The hero suddenly leapt up and grabbed onto the miner's shoulder before forcing the look-alike downwards and landing on the man's back with his feet as they collided onto the ground.

"Aaaggggkkk!" Steve coughed aloud when he impacted the dirt and he thought he heard something crack under the weight, he was getting beat; badly. He was feeling pain though the blade's enchanting power was suppose to limit it, this meant that his physical condition was deteriorating too rapidly and at too great of a degree.

The pressure on his back lightened up and Steve made an effort to crawl onto his hands and knees as he gasped for breath, but a kick at his ribcage had him tumbling away until his roll stopped a few yards out. He was hoping during his charge that Herobrine would thrust his blade forward and that was when the miner would make a dive with his blade at the being's heels in a surprise attack; but he didn't expect Herobrine to just dodge and miss out on the opportunity to strike. Now Steve was in a bad condition and without anymore tricks planned. "I can't- …do this." Steve growled at himself as he pushed upwards and staggered a little as he stood. His head hurt, his back and chest ached greatly, his limbs were tingling, his knees felt weak and wobbly. He was only the verge of crumbling and here comes Herobrine again now walking towards him with the sword held out and ready to kill. "I can't!" Steve screamed as he regained his footing, the ancient hero wasn't stopping. His situation was looking to be a grim one, fast.

He could suddenly see an image of Nigel sitting in a wooden chair in front of him and staring back intently with a serious expression. He saw the old man's mouth move but he couldn't hear anything but a low droning sound. Was he imagining it? The low muttering cleared up as the man continued to speak, his voice became comprehensible.

...

"You must drop all doubt in your mind if you are to achieve this unfeasible feat. You must Give it all. Give your heart and soul into the swings of your blade, give everything you got! You must never forget what you are fighting for!"

...

Steve nodded to himself as Nigel faded. "You're right. This pain is nothing. I will die if I must, but I have to win. I've made promises and I must fulfill them." He quietly said to himself as he looked down at the sword. There in his hand was the last hope he had, he remembered what Nigel had said to him and what he had to fight for. The sacrifices he had to make. Everybody depended on him; Nigel, Warren, Luna, the village, his mother and sister, the plagued people, Lionel, Notch, and even Herobrine. No he couldn't fail now, so much weighed on him, everyone's happiness weighed on him. Steve's hand gripped onto the hilt tighter and he coiled his other empty fist, his head hung low as the steps neared.

"I can't lose." He muttered softly and the steps ahead stopped.

…

Herobrine stopped in his advance and stared at the mortal as a strange wave of energy filled the air, a light red aura surrounded the area as more seconds passed. It was all too familiar to the hero, this energy was the kind he used to have when slaying mobs long ago but it wasn't as strong or visibly noticeable. Of course he never needed that much effort in his battles, but with a mere human creating this aura it was hard to grasp the concept; only he himself should be able to do so not this miner.

The energy however just kept growing and the miner's heaving chest had calmed, the sword was no longer sapping the miner's strength or showing no kind of negative effect on his body, it was if the human had actually mastered the blade. Impossible! Herobrine glared, he only thought that those who had true power could control it, but here was a simple human now possessing his sword and not being effected with it's curse. The miner was harnessing power only meant for someone who possessed such power in their blood. There was no exception for humans, not even for Steve. Enough with surprises, Herobrine pulled his blade up and dashed right at the miner. Playtime was over.

…

"I WON'T LOSE!" Steve's head lifted upright and he instantly braced himself; he deflected the other diamond blade as it came at him with incredible speed. His eyes went wide as he stared at the surprised super being, even Herobrine appeared to be astonished from this block. He almost couldn't believe he managed to do that, the attack was so fast but his hand willed itself enough to move in front of the opposing blade just as fast as it came at him. Steve made a few steps backwards and watched as Herobrine only stood there and seethed, he was angry and he seemed a little shocked. Steve himself was stunned too, not only did he feel strength returning to him but this strange force rushed through his veins and he could feel strange energy return to his aching muscles. His reflexes were improving fast even with his hindering injury and this surprise boost and agility wasn't from adrenaline.

Herobrine lunged forward again and swiftly winged his enchanted sword into Steve's, progressively making each strike stronger with the miner taking a step back. Steve held his sword tightly with each powerful lash, it hurt his arm a little with each hit from above but the pain in his wielding arm was dissipating enough to ignore it. As if time had slowed during the repeating lashes he could see Herobrine re-angle his weapon and make a different attack, Steve instantly copied his double and blocked out those strikes, every last one of them. It was quite frightening seeing the opposing sword come flying at him, but it was relieving to see his razor edge stopping the other before it got to it's target. He noticed that Herobrine was slowing with his growing frustration so Steve finally chose to get on the offense and attempt to hit for himself, he knew it would be hard; almost impossible even but he had to defeat the hero one way or another and words sure wouldn't win it.

He started to make his own fast slashes in between Herobrine's assault, only having his own counter attacks blocked. Herobrine swiftly sent his blade downward then brought it back up causing a sharp metallic scrape as he made Steve's sword move up in the process. This was now an open chance that the hero needed, he landed a good punch to the miner's ribcage and sent the mortal smacking onto the ground.

Steve coughed loudly and grasped his shirt and constricted the fabric as he wheezed for fresh air after having it forced out, he made one quick glance up to see an enraged man bringing a sword right down at him. Steve held his breath as he rolled away for the second time, leaving the other sword to impale the ground. He rushed back onto his feet and charged at Herobrine again, still nervous but not quite ready to back down. His sword struck the other and he pulled it back only to deflect a counterstrike from Herobrine's, the hero then made a powerful swing at the miner and it was blocked. The two continued these powerful lashes back and forth but their strikes were nearly dead even in power, they weren't getting anywhere.

…

"Give everything you got!"

…

Steve heard the old man shout in his head. "I am!" He screamed in between strikes, the ancient being only lifted his head slightly to the human talking to himself. What Nigel had said had his mind in a rush. Those words? They were … familiar.

…

"Give everything you got-"

-And fight a good fight-

-Till the very end."

…

Steve felt a twisting sensation in his chest, this voice he heard now was his father's and he couldn't help but remember the last words his dad had said to him. It was also the last time he'd ever see him alive right before his father left the house to defend the family home from monsters, never to return. He took a deep breath and swiftly swung his sword horizontally while putting himself at risk for an open attack, but he was just quick enough to get Herobrine to evade with a jump backwards, he heard a light chink from the attempted assault and this somewhat reassuring for his next attack.

…

"TILL THE VERY ENDDDDDDD!" The mortal had appeared to lose any fear of Herobrine and that not only puzzled the being but the last words he shouted were again from Lionel's old saying. It made him mad. He yanked his blade up as Steve jumped high and brought his blade onto the being's. Herobrine felt his arm shift down a lot and he got a pulse from …pain? He couldn't believe it, a twinge of hurt vibrated all the way from his forearm and shoulder muscles down to the core of his bones and it was startling that Steve could manage it. A mere weak man with strong will at most had caused pain to him? The dull ache only lasted for a few seconds but feeling this infliction made Herobrine's frown deepen to a dark sneer, it wasn't possible for him to be on the receiving end of pain for he was the one that deals it.

Herobrine angrily moved his opponent away with one large shove at the other sword, he now stood several feet away quietly before he closed his eyes clinched onto his weapon with a constricted grasp. He refused to be bested by any mortal, let alone allowing himself to take anymore damage or allow the mortal to create any. This man should have fallen already. Herobrine was done with surprises, it was time to end this for good.

He would not lose, not ever! He would not receive the same fate as he had before! He would not be banished, nor defeated! Never Again!

…

This isn't good. Steve anxiously thought with the fear returning to him, something in the air felt ...off. The man before him now had his eyes closed and Steve even thought he could feel a tremble coming from the ground. The wind picked up and blew more violently as Herobrine growled, it subsided almost instantaneously. Steve could see the sword the being held now producing a deep blue aura that lightly surrounded the entire area, he also saw that of a faint red one that he assumed was his but it was mostly gone or faded into the blue. Was that a sign his confidence waning again?

Suddenly both of the auras in the air instantly dispersed, leaving the sky completely clear overhead as even the thin clouds above dissipated from an invisible force. The ancient Hero at the other end of the opening slowly pried his eyes and they were brighter than ever, just as they were in the vision where he apparently lost control a long time ago.

…

Herobrine felt the rage grow intensely, his insides boiled like magma under the Nether's oceans and everything within eyesight was beginning to fade out with a blinding haze. The sword he held fed him more anger and it shot bolts of energy out that coursed through his body, everything was becoming hard to see until white was all that was left; white and the slightly grayish outlines of the trees and a slightly more darker figure now standing in his blank line of vision.

…

Herobrine suddenly disappeared out of sight within a second of blinking and Steve could feel a strange presence coming from his backside, Herobrine was there. He spun on his heels and saw a cyan flash coming straight for him at his midsection, he quickly evaded the spearing blade having a flicker of turquoise slide across his trailing shirt and watching as the fabric sliced a little from an invisible force. Steve took a few steps back and glanced at his sides, Herobrine was faster now and presumably more powerful with harnessing power from the sword; just as Steve himself had done with the one in his hand. He had no idea where the god-like man could be, not even his heightened senses could detect the man; he could only hear sounds from all over the place. He turned to his side after hearing a branch snap in that direction, but there was nothing there. Footsteps from the other end made him spin only to see nothing again.

"Gahhhh!" Steve went plummeting to the ground after feeling a strong impact slamming into his spine, luckily before he fell he forced himself into a roll to avoid a possible strike that could get him killed. As he rolled onto his knees he could feel that heated wave that the hero now had radiating from him, it was like a current of heat from the pit of the Nether nipping at his side. He quickly leaned away from another metallic flash come swooshing by. He quickly grabbed the side of his arm and held it as a powerful stinging sensation followed, blood seeped from between his fingers and he took a quick glance at it to see a wide lesion that he couldn't really feel until now.

Another swish came from his left and he leaned right as fast as he could, he could barely even see the opposing sword. Steve quickly grasped the side of his neck after another sting formed. He was lucky to have evaded that slash or otherwise he may have lost his head right then and there. Steve held the weapon tightly as he felt the intense heat coming from the spot ahead of him. He made a guess and moved his sword up only to have a strong force landing on it. He struggled to hold back the pressure that Herobrine was forcing down on him, the blade felt so heavy and the intense glow from the hero's eyes really made it hard for Steve to come up with an idea to escape his current situation.

The heavy weight quickly disappeared as Steve and his weapon were pushed nearly all the way to the ground, with this freedom the miner shot back up and remained still after seeing the Herobrine was gone again.

Out of nowhere Steve felt himself being struck with a blunt power; one good wallop landed on the side of his cheek and he flew outwards until he tumbled onto some thick grasses. A powerful clamp from the back of his neck had him squirming and he moved his arms back as he was lifted; using his free arm to try and tear himself from the tight grasp and he winged the sword behind though his distance with the weapon was strictly limited. Even with power from his blade the hand clasped around him was as strong as obsidian, not even digging his nails into the flesh did anything to help.

He shook in terror as deep heated breaths hit the back of his neck, low growls and snarls like he couldn't believe filled his ears. They sounded monstrous, even more menacing than all of the other aspects of Herobrine he already knew of. Either Herobrine had lost it or he was a real monster. But he couldn't be. People made him that way and he had to remember that, the old hero needed to know that.

"It's not your fault!" Steve abruptly broke the tense silence, Herobrine was more different in this state and Steve highly doubted words would work, but his options were again limited. There was hope, though it was frail. He then felt the grip tighten around his neck, the pinch became unbearable as it continued to compress with second after second. "No no no no no no! No!" He screamed and finally realized that he could of just slashed the hero's arm with the sword in his hand. He moved it up and attempted to cut himself loose, but before he could he felt a the weapon vibrate in his hand as the other blade struck it back, then he felt himself being thrown onto the ground mercilessly.

He smacked face forward onto the grass and he spat out some coppery tasting saliva before turning onto his back to see the powerful being glaring down at him. A heavy foot landed on his stomach and the blade moved down towards him at a slow pace. He could see it again, he could see what had happened the night before flashing in his mind, but this time he wouldn't be spared. Then again? He actually had his sword in his hand, all he could do now was deflect as many of the attacks as he could and just hope he can find some way to get the man off.

The miner swung the sword upright and batted the other back but Herobrine sneered and winged the blade down into the other and sent Steve's arm reeling back onto the ground. The man grimaced from the strong knock back as his wound stretched, the strength he had was fading along with his confidence. Everything at this point seemed bleak.

Herobrine rose his sword up then positioned it in a piercing position right over the miner's lower torso, right above the stomach.

Steve trembled terribly. He imagined that Herobrine was going to stab him in the stomach but something in his gut told him that it wasn't the only place he'd be jabbed in, he had a feeling he would live through most of it to feel it until his body physically couldn't handle anymore. He could almost envision his corpse now, there was a wound in his neck, his stomach, and a gaping hole on his chest as well as a few various places. He screamed in his spot, watching as the ancient being only towered above him with narrowed bright eyes and visible clinched teeth. The blade above moved back, ready to spear him. He closed his eyes tightly and waited for the imminent.

…

He could see Herobrine alone on that green hill just sitting there staring at his hand in confusion, Steve thought he was going to see Lionel walk up from behind and place a hand on the other's shoulder like he imagined before; but Herobrine suddenly growled and clinched his fist in rage. The hill crumbled as the man stood up and trudged down it, his eyes glowed fiercely.

…

"-Till the very end." A self-assured voice whispered as the hero glared then vanished.

…

"NOOOOOOO! I WON'T DIE HERE!" Steve lifted his pained wielding arm and swung the blade outwards as hard as he could to stop the piercing blade, however; with his eyes shut and with the incomparable speed of Herobrine; he didn't expect to hit anything but air for the hero would probably block the hit or evade. His hand would go weak and stop after getting wounded by one painful stab that was likely to happen in the next second.

…

…

But he felt nothing spear into him … nothing as his sword ran across a rough surface with a short shrill screech and then over a more softer surface until it fell on his other side. The heavy weight on his stomach disappeared to his surprise.

Steve daringly pried his eyes open after not receiving the first jab that would initiate his slow and painful death, he noticed that he hit something. He probably grazed the other sword which would explain the metallic scrape, but he wasn't sure what it was until his eyes opened and then widened at the weapon at the far right end of his chest only a half an inch away from covered flesh. The more shocking sight was that of the man before him.

The ancient hero moved his sword back to his side and only stood there quietly and stared long and hard at the huge open wound now on his stomach, the intense glow in his orbs dimmed out to a more dull lighted white. He seemed to be back to his more sane state.

Steve couldn't believe it and he crawled backwards in a rush away from the wounded being several feet, still not sure what had just happened. He wasn't out of danger yet, but one of them were going to be.

…

Herobrine stumbled backwards while gawking at the large gash across his lower torso, pain flooded the area and he immediately tried to grasp the new wound only to end up making the pain grow once he touched the tender spot. He wailed loudly with a roar as he removed his arm and studied the deep lesion, his eyes then went wide after long moments of observing.

It wasn't healing.

The white glow and intense tenderness that normally followed injuries was missing, in fact the wound only seemed to bleed out even more as he stared at it. He raised his head up and stared at the miner with the enchanted sword in his hand still on the ground.

How did this happen? The powerful man winced and staggered back a few more steps, watching as crimson soaked the fabric surrounding his shirt. How did the miner hit him? How did he slash the immortal's stomach? The miner wasn't fast enough, he couldn't be? This human couldn't have! Unless… luck? His own faltering might be the reason. He couldn't remember what he did while blinded in fury but he must have slipped up someway or another. But even so, it was very unlikely of him. He shouldn't of lost control of himself in the first place.

Those questions lingered in the being's thoughts until new ones of the weapon that caused the damage came to mind.

That blade, how could a cut from it stop the immortal's own power? It didn't make any sense. It was forged with some of his own blood infused with it, but I didn't make sense as to why his body didn't sense the gash the sword made. His powerful blood should be mending the wound right this instant, but as seconds passed the pain intensified but with no glow. The soft sound of one footstep brushing through grass made the hero immediately snap his head up and that's when Steve froze in his new place a few yards away.

"Herobrine?" Steve gawked as he moved a hand up and inched ever closer to the being, trying to get closer with the blade in his hand and seeming highly aghast from his action.

Herobrine instantly sensed the mortal's slow movements and he took one step back with a dark sneer, he was wounded and he could feel his strength fade with each passing second and he hated it. The being looked once more at the large gash, his blood had flowed down his shirt and onto his pants and now heavy globules dropped to the ground and painted it red. The flow wasn't lightening up to much of his distress, but instead was getting worse. It's like his body couldn't detect the injury, so his transcendent life fluid was now flowing freely and the pain only grew to add to the dire situation.

He couldn't believe it. His own faltering yet again with the miner's dumb luck had screwed the powerful man once again, this time could be his last. Herobrine didn't even think it was even possible for one such as himself to actually die, but the longer he stood in the spot the more realistic the possibility became. He had seen mortals bleed out plenty of times and that was how many of them died when they fell victim to him or the mobs. He burned in the depths of the Nether's magma oceans for years but his blood was still in his body and it continued to heal and replace that which singed off, but without his blood actually being there, there was nothing to heal and nothing to replace. Was it possible for him to actually … die?

He looked back towards Steve and noticed how bad his eyesight had now become. The man was starting to blur in and out with the diamond weapon still in hand, the man didn't look happy or smug; just shocked and maybe even sick.

"Herobrine? I'm-" Steve took a step forward and that was when the powerful being took another step back with a broken guttural noise, he winced from his movement.

Herobrine couldn't believe his impossible situation. He was supposed to best the miner and finish him off, not slip his posture and get slashed by a 'seemingly fast and feeble' swing. He should be killing the man now, he shall pay for this pain. Herobrine held his hand out and lifted his sword upwards, he scowled deeply after struggling to hold it upright, he lightly shook the weapon from the weakness growing in his arm and now he couldn't even get the energy from the sword to flow. Here he was shaking, losing his vision, and now becoming weaker by the minute. Just pathetic! He tried to flash away from his spot but he couldn't muster the concentrated energy to do so, if he couldn't do something as simple as that then he was in for some trouble.

The miner started after him in a slow stride, that was when the old hero spun on his heels and ran. He couldn't believe he was running away now, that he was running as if he was the prey although he was supposed to be the predator. But this pain was becoming too much to tolerate, it wasn't a pain he was familiar with and he was progressively losing energy as well as consciousness. He had never felt this kind of debility before, each step made the wound stretch to his displeasure and he was becoming lightheaded and ill. He felt pathetic and helpless, the human Steve will most certainly pay for this once he recovers.

…

"Wait!" Steve shouted as he cased after Herobrine. He couldn't imagine that he even made such a cut on the being and now he was 'chasing' him? The miner felt so out of place but he also felt bad for injuring Herobrine like he did, he was only following his instincts and raising the sword up at the last minute was just an attempt to protect himself. He noticed that the large wound on Herobrine's stomach wasn't healing and that wasn't good, well except for Steve partially. But still, it was unusual; especially after seeing a large puddle of blood at the man's feet and the new trail of the crimson he made in his escape.

The miner weaved through the dense oak trees, going as fast as he possibly could to keep up with the illusive hero. He watched as the injured being made swift turns around the large tree trunks, slowly fading out of sight through the woods. For a moment he actually thought the being was on the verge of disappearing and so Steve tightly clenched onto the blade and willed for the sword to make him go faster, he didn't know if Herobrine could die from his lesion but he wasn't about to let that happen, not when he was trying so hard to save the guy. Luckily, the blood trail was all he needed to find Herobrine but the being could pull a swift trick so he needed to keep the man in his eyesight.

"Herobrine!"

…

Herobrine came into a large open clearing out in the woods, this was unfortunate for the next tree line was at least a quarter a mile away. If he was going to safely recover then he needed to go to his place of power in the Nether and avoid the mortal; especially since the man had mastered the sword and would probably use his new found strength to silence the powerful man while he could. The ex-hero could hear the human calling his name as he ran, almost sounding worried and scared but he wouldn't fall for that deceptive act. That man would not hold good intentions for he would finish the hero off and free 'his people' of torment, he would be rid of this 'curse' as he had heard the man say once.

He focused deeply and held his wound as he started to slow down, he was using the remains of his fading power to pull the heat out of the air from the area and concentrate it into one spot just ahead. It was a long shot to get it to work but he had to try and succeed or the mortal will win. A small patch of violet fog began to form on the ground several yards away, the hero smiled faintly as he neared it. All he had to do was make it there to his fortress or even just the barren landscape within, just as long as he went to the Nether and the mortal didn't.

It was a place he could heal in peace. He ran straight into the forming swirls but it wasn't thickening or heating up like it was supposed to, he tried to pull more of the fog ahead of him but the purple mists only dispersed outwards and faded out to a light gray. His smile was replaced with a deep frown, he was loosing energy quick and his limbs were going numb. This was the first time he ever felt his own heart pump so loudly in ribcage, he felt drained. This weakness was sort of reminiscent during his paralysis but there was also something new this time, something different that he had never felt before. He was growing so tried like he had only wanted to close his eyes and sleep, he only ever slept to pass time and to calm his mind but even then it wasn't something trying to literally strip him of power or force him out of consciousness.

Attempting to ignore the signs of weakness; he kept trying to focus on the heated clouds but he still couldn't concentrate enough power to completely form the frameless portal, not when his eyes tried to close. His breaths became deeper and it was getting harder to breath, he slowed his pace immensely and reduced his stride to a sluggish walk. Everything within his line of sight danced with a ghostly double in circles, his world spun and he suddenly found himself lying on his back on the ground. He looked up at his injury and carefully covered it with his palm before letting his head fall back down with a pained groan. He stared up at the night sky and watched the stars glistened, the sounds of soft footsteps cushioned by the tall grass neared him and he softly snarled and barred his teeth in defense.

…

Steve had watched as Herobrine ran across an open field before spinning and then finally collapsing onto the ground, the hero only laid there and took deep gasping breaths. He wailed loudly after leaning his head up and placing a hand over the endlessly bleeding wound. Steve cautiously approached the immortal with his sword drawn but low at his side, he heard a soft growl come from the grounded man. The hero laid there and slowly turned his head towards the nearing human and gazed quietly with an expression of deep contempt.

The impossible had just happened…

Herobrine had actually-

Fell.