Hero's Bane

Chapter 41: Into The Hands

These next few chapters are dedicated to Archerthewarlock & Mochro.

Edited 4/24/2022

There he was, the legendary man known as Herobrine only several feet away lying on the ground and Steve was having a hard time believing in what had truly happened and what he was exactly seeing. He didn't expect things to actually go in his favor, let alone come out of the big fight with only minor cuts and bruises. Perhaps it was luck? He made a small glance down and saw the stone sword still sheathed at his side, it had to be a luck charm or otherwise Notch had actually given him a break.

He moved his gaze back to the grounded form and he made slow cautious steps towards the man, Steve did not have any kind of plan of what he would do now. Frankly; he didn't even expect to get this far, so now all that he could do was help Herobrine before the being bleeds to death and it wasn't going to be easy.

Steve kept his enchanted blade at his side should the powerful being decided to attempt one final attack that could get them both killed, the miner definitely didn't want that to happen, he just had to hope that Herobrine would cooperate but something told him that doing that would be unlikely. Very unlikely. He could hear quiet snarls as he got closer to the incapacitated man, two orbs of white shined up at him.

"Herobrine." Steve started softly, he paused as he saw the huge crimson puddle now forming between the blades of grass. "I can help you."

…

Herobrine hissed and patted around for his weapon supposedly nearby, however; it was no longer within reach from what he could tell, it was a few yards back where he first started to spin before collapsing. He opened his hand and attempted to call for the missing sword but nothing happened, he was too weak to even summon his blade back into his palm. His head snapped back towards Steve and Herobrine grunted as he tried to lean up, but as he did he felt his wound stretch too far and he instantly plopped back down with a loud wail in defeat. This pain was too agonizing and there was no reprieve, it was never ending.

He had lost this fight and now his life was in the hands of this mortal.

"Please, please let me help you Herobrine. I never meant to actually harm you and it was out of instinct to defend myself, I'm sorry."

Oh he sounded sincere but Herobrine knew that the human was faking it. He continued his unyielding glare though his eyes were growing heavy, his body was also becoming too weak to move, and his breathing was becoming more shallower that taking in even small gulps of air was becoming rather difficult. Why would this mortal help him when he just brought him down? No other human would waste this opportunity to kill the infamous tormentor, so why would this one? He didn't want help and he didn't need it, especially from the inflictor.

He watched as Steve now stood only two feet away, the miner sheathed the blade without trouble and with it now put away he wasn't suffering the aftereffects that was supposed to be present. That wasn't expected. The miner then reached a hand into his pocket and began to pull something out, the ancient hero growled before the items were revealed. Steve waited patiently for a moment and then finished taking out two flat rolls of gauzes and a small half full vial with dark red fluid.

"I was saving these for my injuries, but yours are much more severe than mine." He said blankly with his eyes trained on the objects.

Herobrine sneered as Steve moved down onto his knees next to him. At this point the miner was one big cyan and blue blur, but he was still too close. If the man was smart he would be using those bandages to cover his own wounds, if he was going to escape with his pathetic life from ravenous zombies then now was the time to do it before the monsters move back into the area. The hero's presence always made the mobs back off and that was from power of the finest degree, there were the occasional risk takers that he had smite for the tiny amount of amusement it provided; but most of the monsters avoided him and they were smart to. Zombies however; were more different and careless, some still approach him in aimless search for food. They had a one track mind that was either focused finding it's target, on killing it's target, or eating it's target, Steve would be one such target they couldn't resist. They are always drawn in by sounds and the smell of blood, mostly human blood. The miner had two nasty cuts; one on his neck and the other on his shoulder from what the being could make out from the blending colors, the human would definitely risk his own wellbeing if he didn't take care of his own injuries and leave soon.

The mortal attempted to reach his hand over the wound and Herobrine growled darkly with warning.

…

Steve retreated his hand back, too afraid to lift the being's shirt and pour the splash potion over the gapping injury. Even with the old hero immobilized; the miner still found it very difficult to do anything with those bright eyes observing his every move. He wished that Herobrine would just understand that his trust in people could possibly mend, he wanted the being to see that he only wanted to help him. "You know?" Steve quietly stared down at the wound. "I didn't personally know Lionel, but after all of these experiences; seeing him in my dreams, in memory flashes, and in those visions last night. Something tells me that he wouldn't want you to be like this, being this vengeful guy who isolates himself from the world and preys on innocent people. But being someone more considerate and friendly like I remember seeing in one of your memories. Trying to save Conner was such a virtuous thing though you couldn't help him in the end, his death wasn't your fault. Hearing what I believe is your real voice was the reassuring part, your tone though powerful and somewhat dark; it was clearly filled with confusion but also genuine honesty."

He looked back at Herobrine's face to see him staring back more calmly, but the man was still gasping for breath and had his fists coiled and ready to strike if he needed.

The miner softly sighed and briefly glanced away to make sure there were no mobs. "Lionel really motivates me more than anyone else to help you. With him possibly being my distant grandfather then I have more reason to help, he was your friend… your only real friend and brother." He quietly finished, knowing well that from being in Herobrine's position in the memory that Lionel was like a concerned sibling. "I made a promise to free you of the curse you've made and part of that in which I guess Notch created. I made a similar one to Lionel too, though it was only to his spirit since he is not physically here. I can't personally restore everything that was taken from you but I am going to try. Some way or another."

…

… …

"No matter what … I will make you free again Herobrine! That I promise!" That young valiant voice of his friend echoed throughout the prison chamber, that voice was definitely Lionel's as he remembered that day.

…

...

"… I- wil-will keep my prom-ise!" That same eager tone ringed in his head, it was far more pained and desperate but that peerless determination was still there. It was actually more stronger and reassuring though it came out of such a hopeless situation.

...

...

"I WON'T DIE HERE!"...

…

"I'm s-sorry I couldn't keep-" The breaths grew softer as he wheezed, tears slowly crawled down the sides of his face. "Ke-keep-p it. …." The voice was so weak now, every last word was so frail and soft, it was frayed as it was spoken; coming from a dying man on his dying breath.

… …

Those memories still plagued the hero, so many times Lionel made promises but in the end he had failed to keep any of them. His brother even failed to stay by his side like he had sworn, though his forthcoming death wasn't foreseen for he was murdered so that one he knew couldn't be kept. But perhaps it was kept in a way? Lionel did stay on Herobrine's side and eventually faced death as a result. He was a powerless man against an entire citadel, he didn't stand a chance once he hauled the hero out of the incinerating pit. That was the greatest treason amongst his 'people' and he ultimately paid the price. The other promises however, were all doomed to be unsuccessfully fulfilled and actually were.

Promises were pointless, almost all pledges to him went without accomplishment. Even those from some of the sentinels and the sovereign himself went without completing them, this miner's so called promises were false, lies like the rest.

The ancient hero felt his eyes closing unwillingly and he fought to keep them open, the human started to talk again but now all the being could hear was muffled words as the blur remained in place. It was so hard to get a good breath of air but he couldn't regulate it himself anymore, just gasping for oxygen was becoming too tiresome and it made his chest feel heavier with each intake. Everything was fading into black this time unlike the white when he looses control. His eyes blinked once more and his head rolled to the side, he let his eyelids fall over his tiring orbs. He could feel a slight breeze in the air and hear the droning sound of the miner talking, though in pain he felt peaceful and craved rest more than he ever had before.

So this is what death felt like? He thought as his mind quickly wondered into the deepest black reaches of his mind.

…

"So please just-? Huh?" Steve stopped as Herobrine's head fell to the side and he closed his eyes. That wasn't good. "Hold on Herobrine!" He yelled as he plucked the vial off of the ground in front of him and yanked the cork out. He immediately moved a hand back over the hero's shirt and waited a moment to see if this was all a ploy, but after a few good seconds he couldn't wait any longer since he didn't know if the supposed 'immortal' was going to die. He peeled the fabric back enough to reveal the entire wound. Steve felt sick after seeing the blooded mess, the gash was deeper and much more worse than he imagined.

With a shaking hand he poured the rest of the concoction onto the being's stomach and watched as the fluid sizzled when it sunk into the lesion, that wasn't natural. He could have sworn that the immortal's body had involuntarily twitched as the potion flooded the wound but at least the man was completely unconscious now, or as far as he could tell. Otherwise the powerful man would be in a lot of pain, the fizzling sound of the potion going to work on such an injury would definitely startle anyone who was in a light sleep, especially the one receiving the stinging liquid.

Steve observed the wound as the potion's fizzing died out. The cut however; wasn't glowing and the blood was still flowing freely. "Why isn't it healing?" He unconsciously asked himself aloud while looking at the blade sheathed with his stone one. He never imagined that he would be able to hit Herobrine with it though it was enchanted and gave him strength and speed, but he still wondered why this particular weapon caused such damage that couldn't be immediately healed. "This sword is like Herobrine's bane, but why?"

The miner didn't know as to why the injury still refused to heal, maybe even potions weren't strong enough for Herobrine's severe injury; but it had to be or the hero wouldn't make it. Steve bit his lip after not finding any of that healing glow so he unraveled the two rolls of gauzes and carefully wrapped the woven cloths around Herobrine's stomach in a quick fashion, being extra careful in the process not to cause further damage to the man. Partially lifting the guy to make the proper binding was a little distressing, not only did he fear Herobrine would just suddenly wake up and being so close would definitely be fatal, but the more he moved the hero around the more the red soaked through the woolen fabric.

After he finished wrapping up Herobrine, he carefully laid the guy back down and wiped the sweat off of his own forehead. He was grateful that Herobrine didn't suddenly wake up, that would have been a living nightmare; having that hand coiling tightly around his throat and choking the life out of him. Steve gulped from the reminiscent strangulating feeling returning. He didn't feel too comfortable with the idea of being so close to the unconscious guy, it was if the ancient hero would suddenly spring awake and stab him or something. "No, that's ridiculous." He quietly stated, now feeling more nervous. The powerful being has already lost enough blood so he wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon, but then again he wasn't human.

'So what to do next?' The miner folded his arms and tapped the edge of his chin in nervousness as he watched Herobrine's form just lie there soundly. He knew he couldn't just leave him here, what if the guy needed more bandages or healing potions? Steve still had one healing potion left back at the little house and one more roll of gauze in pocket, the ancient hero would certainly die if his injury wasn't attended to. It could never heal for all he knew, or maybe it would heal like a normal human's wound would; nice and slow.

Steve contemplated deeply on what he 'should' do. Now would be the perfect time to make a run to Notch's temple back at the fortress, then he could beg the Minecraftian god for Herobrine's healing; both physically and spiritually. However; it would take a full day alone to get back to the fortress and he was still fairly exhausted from the fight, so incessantly trekking and fighting through the land and the dark stronghold wasn't such a smart idea. Plus, he couldn't leave Herobrine in this state. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't take the chance that something would go horribly wrong. The fortress idea up to his point wasn't worth the risks or the countless troubles, he was lucky enough to survive Herobrine's wrath so far. As for many battles with multiple stronger than average mobs. It wasn't going to happen, not without another miracle and he didn't think he could pull off anymore.

He couldn't leave Herobrine here, not after everything he's done to try and save the man.

There was but one option left now and it disturbed Steve to the point where he had chills crawling up his spine and he immediately shivered from it. He was going to have to take the hero to the little shack, presumably Lionel's old home. It was the only 'safe' and warm place Steve knew of and it had a bed that he could lay the being on to rest and the house had his remaining supplies, but the notion of being within proximity of the god-like man for an extended period of time had him terribly concerned for his own wellbeing. Steve wanted to be able to leave the land eventually and meet back with Nigel at the village and then be able to go home to his mother and sister. He still hadn't helped the hero and accomplished his goal of calming the hero's ever powerful resentment and habit of killing and torturing people, that was something he had to fix before he could leave. Or he had to at least try despite the severe risks of falling into Herobrine's wrath should he awake.

Steve sighed heavily and turned around to get a good view of his surroundings, trying to remember where he had to go. His eyes soon landed on the blood trail across the ground, that was helpful… for him anyways. He then spotted the Herobrine's other blade not too far out. He decided that maybe he should take it and hide it should Herobrine wake up soon, hopefully the being would still be weak in his mysterious powers and re-summon it back into hand. Steve made a quick jog over to the weapon and carefully studied the shimmering sword lying in the grass, this same weapon almost killed him before and the idea of collecting it wasn't such a good one. Then he got another idea. Maybe retrieving it now could later be used as a tool to build trust between him and the ancient being? The idea sounded risky but there wasn't much options to choose from when it came to helping Herobrine recover and gain his trust. Besides, Herobrine wouldn't be easily swayed with words.

The miner leaned down and clasped his hand around the handle and lifted it off the ground, as soon as he did he felt a rush of hot energy travel up his arm like a lightning bolt. The energy was similar to the other's but it was more tense and uncontrollable, it was noticeably more powerful and wild. He was suddenly sick to his stomach from the new pressure and he clutched his head from a strong migraine forming in his brain. It took a few good seconds before he felt a surge of anger boiling from out of nowhere, he gritted his teeth and growled under this new stress.

A great sadness then mixed in with the rage and hatred made Steve stumble back towards Herobrine. He didn't know what was coming over him but he wasn't feeling too good, he needed to get the old hero to a safe place should the mobs decide to kill their weakened superior. Resentment now followed along with other types of pure negativity as he burned up in his own skin, lightly sweating and huffing for cold air though what oxygen he did take in did little good to sooth the growing heat. Was he becoming ill?

As he got closer to the unconscious man he instinctively raised the blade up, his vision danced and he sneered from irritation. He couldn't stand it, he couldn't even focus enough to know what was causing this discomfort. After a few more steps he finally made it back to Herobrine's side, Steve stared down at the form in anger. Why was he going to waste his time trying to save Herobrine anyways? The demon was only going to kill him once he awoke anyway. Steve trudged away for a moment and then back over to the hero after a short meaningless thought, he positioned the sword downwards over the man, both hands ready to plunge the sharp end into the defenseless being and finish him off. Steve's head hurt so badly, it throbbed with pounding pulses that drummed continuously in rhythm. Sweat now coated his forehead and he took deep breaths to try and cool his blazing lungs.

He was going to do it, he was enraged at his tormentor for putting him through so much trouble and near death experiences.

Herobrine deserves death.

Herobrine killed many innocents, he tortured poor Luna and Warren, and their entire village for far too long.

Herobrine had to pay!

Steve started to shake, seeing the being's calm face made him struggle to force the weapon down. Herobrine looked so peaceful and so calm, like he did in those more better memories he was forced to see. Steve blinked a few times and shook his head back and forth now realizing that something was wrong, terribly wrong. Not only was he burning up from the inside out but now he was about to kill the one he was trying so hard to save.

"The blade?" He stared at it but he didn't want to let go, it kept him drawn to it. The power flowing through it and his body was greatly desired. With this power he could defeat any monster, he felt like he could run for miles, he could explore any cavern without fear, he could save his friends, he would have absolutely no more fear… he could control mobs… anything… he could …subdue Herobrine. …Kill Herobrine.

"No! What am I thinking?!" Steve tightly squinted his eyes and slung his arms outwards; making the sword fly out of his grasp. It landed a few feet nearby and Steve only stared at it as he quickly began to cool back down, the negative emotions he was feeling was also immediately gone with the blade. It's influence was too corrupting like many enraged, sad, annoyed, iniquitous, prideful and fearful voices all whispering dark words at once; commanding him to use the power he held in his hands.

'What is with that sword?' Steve thought. He didn't plan to pick it up again that was for sure. It wasn't worth trying, not when he wouldn't be able to control his own thoughts or actions and end up killing Herobrine or becoming reckless. He doubted any mob would mess with the weapon so he decided it was best to leave it behind. For his and Herobrine's sake.

Steve kneeled down grabbed the hero's shoulder and pulled the man's upper torso up, he lifted the being up just a little more but struggled to keep the weight off of the ground. So he adjusted by laying the being back down and withdrawing his enchanted diamond sword. He tightly clinched the diamond blade's hilt. He could feel strength move from one arm to the other once again, now was for the tricky part. He angled the blade in his palm outwards and clamped his free fingers over the end of Herobrine's short sleeve, he then used his free arm and scooped it under the hero's other arm. The heavy weight seemed to lighten a lot which made carrying the immortal a little more easier but somewhat annoying.

"Won't this be fun?" He asked the motionless man with sarcasm obviously dripping from his words. "You aren't exactly light you know. And not to mention-" He sneered as he dragged Herobrine through thick grasses, the foliage seemed to make the being heavier as he was pulled over it. "It's going to- take all night- to get you out of- here!" He finally freed Herobrine from the thick grass and easily pulled him towards the woods.

Steve stopped after hearing what sounded like bones clattering together.

"You've got to be kidding me?" He spun his head around and saw a skeleton walking around in the woods, eventually getting lost behind the multiple oak and birch trees. Loud groans made the miner's head jerk back and forth to find the source of the noise, though he couldn't yet see it he definitely knew it was close by in the tree line that partially surrounded him. Steve gently laid Herobrine back down and held his sword firmly.

Soft footsteps from behind had the miner spinning on his heels to see three dark green figures stumbling towards him with their arms outstretched and mouths wide open ready to devour. Steve took a few steps back from Herobrine to try and get the fiends to turn their slow course so that he could kill them without any trouble by making Herobrine momentary bait, but he immediately noticed that the zombies weren't heading for the defenseless hero but for him. They just walked over the man like he wasn't even there. It was confusing as to why this living corpses would pass up the opportunity, but then again it must have been smart not to fall for Steve's advantage. But they were zombies so why ignore the easy meal? They were brainless weren't they?

The miner winged his sword back and made a small dash forward before sliding the blade right thorough the first zombie's lower torso, almost cutting all the way through. The undead stopped and leaned in from the partial dismemberment seeming dead with it's limbs falling, as the sword was pulled out it raised it's arms back up and made a weak lunge at him. Steve quickly stepped back and drove the sharp end right into the fiend's neck, piercing it and the another zombie behind it. With his strength; he shoved them both down with the blade and slashed it out only to have the third one come too close unnoticed.

He saw something moving in the corner of his right eye and he spun only to have two fetid hands latch onto his arm that pushed him aside. He staggered back and fell after tripping over one of the corpse's leg and the zombie came right down on top of him with him with it's mouth wipe open and dark red colored teeth ready to sink in. Steve forced his sword upwards in his fall which speared through the repugnant mob's chest, however, the creature wasn't phased with the weapon now protruding it. It forced itself on the sword to get closer to it's prey with abrupt writhing, it's nasty hands clawed downwards until it latched onto the miner's arm where it then reeled itself ever closer.

Steve was trying not to panic, he was pinned with the weight and the mob was getting too close. He pushed upwards but the zombie still had a grasp on him and it dug it's filthy nails in after the miner lifted him up. Steve then moved one of his legs and positioned the bottom of his foot on the zombie's stomach before forcefully flipping the undead off of him and rushing onto his feet. The mob moaned as it now stood back up, brown odorous fluid leaked from the gaping hole in it's chest but it was still moving just fine. The zombie turned back towards the human with slow steps that picked up as it got closer but Steve stayed still and moved the sword down and waited for the mob to get close again. The zombie outstretched it's arms and made a swipe for the human, it stopped dead in it's tracks as the diamond blade suddenly moved up in front of it. Steve had ran the sword across the fiend's torso and it split the monster's torso open, the body fell back with a low thud.

He sighed in relief and wiped his forehead, his eyes moved away from the grotesque corpse lying at his feet to now what was coming after him. He froze. Steve was terrified, killing zombies were much more easier than that of this mob now striding towards him. "Why me?" Steve took steps backwards after his last encounter with this deadly monster that had nearly killed him back at the fortress in one go.

The creeper slowed it's stride as it grew closer, the mob began that dreadful hiss as it's body began to quake and expand.

Steve sped up his pace, not once taking his eyes off of the deadly creature. The creepers explosions in this valley were much more powerful and the radius was more extensive than normal creepers, he had first hand experience and it wasn't pleasant. Unfortunately, there wasn't any thick stone pillars, no shields, or anything for that matter to shield him from the nearing explosion. He took a few more steps back and the green mob chasing after suddenly stopped in it's place, the hissing faded and it 's slightly bloated body deflated. The creature only stood there and stared, almost like it was afraid, or tamed. Steve blinked in surprise while still moving backwards; the explosive mob only stayed in that spot. Steve finally felt his heel bump into something and he instinctively looked behind and down to see Herobrine's body lying there. The miner quickly glanced back towards the creeper and noticed that it still hadn't moved. A loud screech from his side had him looking over to see a spider about seven yards away pacing back and forth in a frenzy like it wanted to attack but it wouldn't cross this kind of invisible line that the creeper seemed to also be behind.

It took a few seconds but the miner finally pieced together this little reasoning for the mobs not proceeding after him. He looked back towards Herobrine, he had to be the reason. To test this; Steve started to walk towards the agitated arachnid and the mob instantly stopped and inched in his direction slowly with it's red eyes trained on him, the miner quickly stepped back towards the ancient hero and the spider stiffened up before retreating a few feet.

They were afraid of Herobrine.

Even when he's unconscious. "But I thought Herobrine helped the mobs and even unleashed them at the village? Why would they be so afraid now?" He said to himself. The zombies weren't afraid so why were these mobs? Well, …zombies aren't very smart. That explained that reason but still? Why these mobs were scared of the near-dead hero was still beyond him, but at least this would minimize the attacks, especially from creepers.

"Vlurppp Vlurppp."

Steve instantly snapped his attention from the direction of the mobs ahead to his left side and he could see a tall dark figure standing there quietly, partially hidden by a tree trunk. He saw the glowing mauve eyes … or eye staring at him and he looked away immediately to the ground, hoping that he just didn't set himself up for another fight should these mobs not fear Herobrine.

The creature made low soft burbles but these soft sounds were made more differently, like in a pattern as if the thing was talking like a human. This familiar sound caught Steve's immediate attention and he daringly looked back at the Endermen. He gasped when he saw the figure move out from behind the tree and only stood there with it's one eye glaring down at the old hero.

"Stealth?" Steve cautiously asked. With his eyes now fully fixed on the Endermen he could see part of the mob's face was an ash gray with one of it's eyes permanently sealed shut with a long scar running down it.

The Endermen looked back up at Steve with a more passive expression. "Vlurp."

Seeing this mob lighten it's glare was relieving, but as to why it was all the way out here was still a mystery. "Why are you all the way out here? Stealth, is everything okay? Is Luna safe?" He really didn't know what to ask the creature since he wasn't sure just how much the black being could understand.

Stealth lowered it's head and hissed as it's eye landed on Herobrine for the second time.

"Stealth?" Steve questioned in nervousness, knowing well that this Endermen hated Herobrine a whole lot. He moved in front of the being and blocked the mob's line of view with both of his arms slightly angled up in a defensive position.

The Endermen made a low growl then vanished in an instant in a violet dust cloud.

Steve remained in that spot for a few good minutes but after surveying his area he didn't hear or see the Endermen anymore. That was strange. He didn't know what to expect of Stealth since their trust was thin unlike the bond it had with Luna, but he did know that he wasn't going to be attacked by the mob now. He decided to ponder on the Endermen's sudden appearance later, right now he had to focus on getting the hero to safety.

He angled the blade outwards and dragged Herobrine along through the woods, the other two mobs that were at the other end of the field soon lost interest in the human and the being and wondered off, that was relieving. As long as he didn't encounter more of those zombies then maybe he'd be fine, or so wished. He dragged the ancient hero through the dense forest, making sure to watch where he was stepping and his surroundings for nearby mobs. It took some time but he finally made it right back to their fighting area from following Herobrine's blood trail, there was a few spiders and skeletons and even a creeper out in the open and Steve immediately became aware of their presence as he stepped out of the tree line. He wasn't sure if the idea would work but he was starting to get tired, real tired, even with the enchanted sword fueling him. He was already exhausted from the fight and then he had to deal with zombies, now he has to pull Herobrine through a long cave system to get back to the snowy climate. He needed all of the energy he had left which wasn't much.

Steve took a deep breath and continued walking backwards with the unconscious hero in his grasp, he was almost too afraid to look back but he had to see if these mobs were also afraid of Herobrine. The creeper was the first to tread into the woods, the spiders then scurried up the trees and dirt walls in the surrounding area. The two archer skeletons only ignored him as he walked by, it was like the two were invisible.

Bringing Herobrine along wasn't such a bad idea after all, at least not so far from what the miner could tell. The real worry would come later once he'd awaken. He had went back into the cave lighted by redstone troches and pulled Herobrine through the long and narrow passageway, being very careful to not drop the being off of stone ledges, nor fall through a few dark crevices in the stone flooring. Steve stopped a few times to catch his breath before continuing on, luckily, he hadn't run into any mobs and now he was finally making it back through the cave exit. Steve hauled the being up the natural staircase and into the snowy landscape. The miner breathed a sigh of relief once he made it to the top and saw the moon descending on the other end of the sky, this indicated that it would be day within a couple more hours and that was always good for the miner.

Pulling the being up the slope; Steve laid Herobrine down on the snow once he reached the top and walked over to the shack's door before prying it open to feel a nice wave of warmth brush across his cold face, the smell of bread still lingered in the air from the last baked batch and that made the little hovel feel like his old home. He ran back out and pulled Herobrine right through the door, closing it behind him quickly to retain the room temperature.

"Phew!" Steve smiled and leaned against the closed door as he wiped the sweat from his neck, he had finally made it. He defeated Herobrine and had managed to the unconscious god-like man all the way back to the safety of the little shack. It was a his dumb luck that won his fight though, his smile faded as he thought about it; but at least now he could show Herobrine that people were not his enemies by helping him. That is how he wanted it to go, but only time would tell if the superhuman would change.

Steve moved out of his slumped position and walked over to his bed. It was more colder by the broken window so he grabbed the end of the bed frame and shoved it across the floor to the center of the room, a few feet directly in front of the burning Netherrack. He fixed up the sheets then walked around the bed to pick Herobrine off of the floor. He pulled the being up onto the mattress and peeled the tattered shirt to find that blood had soaked through the gauzes. The being was still bleeding out and it needed to be attended to immediately, this guy needed potions, new bandages, and even luck.

Steve heavily sighed and took a seat in a chair a few feet away, running a hand through his short sweat soaked hair while he contemplated on how to begin his operation. He had a lot of work to do.

…

…

…

He could feel it. That pain, that agonizing torture method that caused him so much suffering while being completely helpless to stop it. He couldn't move, only scream up to the dark clouded sky. Like a knife, it scraped at his flesh and caught on loose nicks that when pulled it tore the skin in and caused a warm liquid to seep from the new burning area. The scraping tenderness wouldn't cease, it wouldn't allow the torn flesh to heal. The grating feeling continued and it gnawed at his nerve endings, little razors gouged into his stomach and whirled around painfully, it was like he was being cut to pieces.

He opened his eyes.

Herobrine was tied up with thick chains to a cold stone pillar, just him hanging there with a human in front of him. The dark blurry figure stood before him, he held a sword and prodded the being's lower torso with it, roughly digging the blade end and moving it from side to side. A loud angry voice filled his ears, but he refused to look into the eyes of his enraged tormentor. He held in his cries as good as he could, it wasn't long though before the sharpness plunged in deeper and he cried out loud in loud moans when the pointy object slid across his healing wounds.

He sloshed his head from side to side, growing angry and tired of the mounting pain. He wailed out as something very hot went straight into his wound, it stung so baldy and burned like fire. He glared up at the blurry inflictor and growled, his snarl quickly turned into another scream as the sharp scraping began again.

…

…

His arm hung low as he pulled particles out of the air, minuscule shards of diamond formed into a blade hilt that he strongly grasped onto, the blade's length formed shortly after. Once he could feel the power of his sword flowing through him his eyes went wide and he quickly punched his tormentor away with one strong blow to the side of it's face, sending this human form flying right towards a wall. In a flash of light; Herobrine followed this human as it flew and stabbed the sharp enchanted blade right through the mortal's chest and into a wooden wall as the form smacked against it.

A loud scream echoed, a familiar one. It went ignored.

…

It was too fast to process, so fast that he never saw it coming. He screamed aloud after being stabbed and pinned up on the wall with a diamond blade protruding from the dead center of his chest. Steve blinked and took deep rapid breaths, still trying to process what had happened. Two very bright orbs and the man they were attached to now stood in front of him, still holding onto the blade with a death glare and a vicious scowl. Steve looked back down and saw the shimmering blade now glowing brightly as a white hazing aura filled the one room house. He heard Herobrine snort loudly and all of the lighted torches in the room died out, the Netherrack's fire shrank to a very small flame that barely produced any light. Only the ancient hero and his sword created bright light in the now darkened room.

He tried to speak… but he couldn't, not with fluids slowly flooding his lungs. He attempted to cough out the liquid out but he couldn't.

A strange feeling had flooded his system and he couldn't move, not even blink as the sword's glow matched that of Herobrine's blazing white eyes.

It was something inside of him… it pulled from his dangling limbs, and even his entire form and it tightly twisted up inside of his chest, this sensation caused him to grow cold as the warmness balled up. Then he felt a very bizarre pull on his body, though it wasn't his physical body. It was the sword. He felt himself somehow being drawn in by the sword, or a part of him was like it was taking a piece of him. Then it happened. He felt something inside of him tear.