Hero's Bane

Chapter 43: Of A Monster

Edited 4/24/2022

The miner raised his head in confusion. First, he was stabbed and then blinded by Herobrine only to have Lionel visiting him again after the attack in his mind or dream. It was strange but he was glad to have a more friendlier face looking up at him, however; the sentinel's expression wasn't so welcoming.

"Why? I just don't get it?" Lionel shook his head back and forth and turned his attention away from the miner as he approached. "All this time you were only- … only tending to m- his wound and-?" He finally faced the injured miner after taking a few steps closer to the pinned human. "I don't understand you." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. All he could remember feeling in his sleep was pain, but it was only the human cleaning the injury; not intentionally intensifying it.

Steve took a deep breath which only resulted in a rough cough as he tried to speak.

"I thought you wanted to get rid of him, maybe even get back at him but how if-?"

"I-" Steve deeply inhaled. "I wanted to st-stop him- from creating the pain, the torture. Not just for innocent people, but for him too." Steve coughed again. "I wanted to help."

"Help?!" Lionel immediately interrupted with his blue eyes narrowing. "See this is why I can't understand you mortal!" His tone darkened. "I know you had intentions to remove him from the start so do not lie about that!" He finished by swinging an arm out to show his enraged posture.

"I wanted to at first, that's no lie." The miner started quietly. "I was willing to do just about anything to stop Herobrine, even if it meant fighting him or calling Notch to get rid of him in some way; anything to save my new friends and the many that suffer from the being." The miner lowered his head and looked at the ground from the guilt, but he then lifted his head with a more sincere apologetic expression across his features. "He was a monster back then, when I- saw him different-…" Steve coughed loudly again and spat out some blood and wiped away a warm dribble from his mouth with his weak arm. "Differently. That was before I knew the real Herobrine, the one that suffered greatly and went mad from betrayal and pain. I was told old stories long ago about a wicked monster that hunted people down and slaughter them for game, then I learned it was because he grew bored of them after helping them for a while and so he slaughtered an innocent child for a public reaction to change things up a bit. Herobrine eventually came back and killed for revenge, but that wasn't the same story from what I've seen and experienced here."

"You don't know the real Herobrine. Besides, those stories are nothing but lies!" Lionel hissed.

"Yeah, I know that now."

"Then why do you continue to do this- this pointless quest of yours? Why not run away? Why didn't you take the opportunities to escape when I gave them to you?! Now you are here dying for nothing, nothing at all! Was really helping your enemy worth it?"

Steve winced as he tried to relax but the sword's presence was making it very difficult, hanging in the air was also proving to be very discomforting. "He's still alive so yes, I must have done something right. At least that part was worth it… but my promises will go unfulfilled, I will fail everyone… including him." He whispered and his head hung low as did his eyelids from the combination of his waning life and the realization of his failure, his failure was a great one and nothing good but saving Herobrine at the end came out of it. The super being was still going to deliver his wrath and many more innocent people will suffer, but he did at least give it his all during the final fight and won surprisingly though it was by accident and bad luck; so there was some sort of closure. Steve blinked as the armored man begin to speak again, he noticed that the land around him was becoming dark like night but there wasn't no moon or stars, just a pitch black cloak eating away the land and sky out in the distance and it spread across the horizon.

Lionel shook his head back and forth. "Why try and help him? He's tried to kill you since you came here and he wasn't going to show any mercy in the last battle, so why show some yourself? No one should spare the one trying to take their life, it's plain idiocy!" The sentinel coiled a fist, but kept it at his side.

The miner's eyes were still fixed on the black as it surrounded on all sides of him, the trees on the outskirts of the grasslands turned into a deep charcoal color before breaking into big chunks with what looked like ashes chipping off in a low draft and floating until they vanished into tiny particles. Just watching it made the miner shiver and now he was getting cold. Why was he feeling so cold?

Lionel shook exhaled loudly from anger and impatience. "Did you not hear me? You have yet to answer the question, I must know the answer. You aren't like other humans, so tell me why would you help and save the one trying to kill you? Was it pity? He hates pity!"

It was getting hard to keep his eyes open and his chest was seizing up; slowing his breathing and making it even more difficult, though it was already hard enough with a sharp object penetrating through one of his lungs. Is this what death is like? 'I can't die yet… I have promises that need to be kept.' Steve thought to himself before finally removing his attention away from the darkening sky that was now fully black, he looked back down at the guardsman and he appeared to be furious with him and he was somehow glowing? Steve blinked again but he noticed that the area around the man was remaining in full color why everything else within several yards also darkened. He didn't like this spreading darkness.

"Answer me damn it!" The man sneered but his narrowed eyes softened as the miner moved a hand back onto the blade and pulled at it.

"Will yo-you help me?" Steve asked quietly. "Is it possible for you to-?" He grimaced as he tightened his hand around the sword's sharp length and pulled away at it. The miner threw his head back and gasped loudly as the sword slashed his palm, he had a feeling that maybe if he could just remove the weapon then maybe Lionel could help him somehow. So he looked back down at the enchanted sword and persisted on pulling at it, he then moved his other arm up and clasped onto the blade before tugging on the sharp end with both hands.

…

Lionel quickly looked away as the miner continued to jerk at the blade, just the concept of the human doing that brought up a nasty memory that he never wanted to recall ever again, it was hard to repress it but he managed after remembering who it was that was hanging there.

…

Steve's attempts didn't seem to get him anywhere and it was becoming rather obvious, it was like the sword was set in stone; permanently stuck in that spot in the air and now so was the miner. It took him another few good tugs to realize this, the sword hasn't even budged in the slightest. It was getting too hard to concentrate with his growing migraine and loss of awareness, plus he was just injuring himself more and it took so long to figure it out though he should have know immediately that it would be pointless. "Why am I doing this?!" Steve asked himself aloud. "Aren't I going to die anyways?" He continued to pull despite the obvious logic.

…

The Sentinel looked back after hearing the mortal shout. The human was becoming delusional, presumably from blood loss outside of his mind which would explain the darkness closing over the two. "Answer my question." He asked more calmly.

"Because… Because, it's not his fa-fault." Steve finally stopped his endeavor and let one arm fall to his side, it was taking too much energy to remove the sword and now he could barely keep his other hand on the weapon with his waning strength. "I don't blame him for… killing others, not after the memories I've s-een."

"Why would you believe in something you've seen without actually being there, isn't there any doubt that you were only imagining things?"

The miner nodded and forced his closing eyes open. "I don't know, and I had a little doubt that it was all dreams when they first started, but I be-believe it now. Especially after seeing those last memories, though all of the dreams and memories seemed real; I just felt that maybe they were considering who created them. It had to have been you and Herobrine. Herobrine was in so much pain, I am unsure if he purposely showed me or not, but he did and that is what mattered. I believe everything you told me too in these dreams. Besides, in that last memory- you were there weren't you? When he lost control and killed-?"

"I was there." He cut off the miner and looked down at the ground where the blood pooled with a blank expression. "Even if it wasn't his fault, he's your enemy and you're his." Lionel then looked back up. "So answer my question. Why spare and help your enemy? He was clearly going to kill you and it wasn't going to be a quick and painless death, so why help him and allow him another chance to kill you?"

"I was hoping for…"

"A conformity? Truce?"

"No, an understanding. To show him that not all hum- I mean- people are bad. I wanted to build a trust. A frie-"

"No one should trust their enemies. You made yourself an adversary of his by your actions."

…

The miner had closed his heavy eyes as the man before him doubled and swayed from side to side in an unnatural fluid-like motion.

…

Lionel noticed how tired the human was becoming, he was out of time. "Are you still alive?"

…

"We didn't have to… be enemies. I never wanted to be. Herobrine was just too closed off from mis-mistrust? Yeah it was mistrust I think." He coughed roughly and partially opened his eyes. Lionel no longer had a moving double but it was pretty hard to see the details of his armor or facial features since they were blurring in and out.

"Trust does not come lightly. It will take much more than words to gain reliance from me." He said quietly before turning on his heels and facing away from the dying man. "Your time is just about up. You were an interesting mortal that I know, but you are also my enemy. This is goodbye human. I admire you for your courage, strength, and willpower for these traits are very much like Lionel's, almost exact. However, for my own sake I must go and you must perish." He began to walk away.

'Wait what?' Steve was confused from what the sentinel was saying but he didn't ponder on it for long. His only remaining friend was going to leave him to die and now his body was getting colder and he was getting tired. "Lionel, wait! I don't want to die!" A single tear rolled down the side of his face as his distant grandfather and friend walked away. "Please, don't let me die." He whispered.

…

Lionel tried to ignore the human's pleas as he walked onwards, he still had questions that needed answers but they would just have to stay unanswered. The human was his enemy and had even broken his pride from being defeated in battle by the human.

The sentinel's skin glowed intensely and the shining skin and armor chunks flaked off and dissolved as the pieces floated into the air. He was done talking and Lionel's form was the only way he could talk to the human since his voice was sealed in every other way that he could think of. Now he was Herobrine again, he had no doubt in his mind that the miner would be left in absolute silence from the shock of finally seeing through the impersonation. That would make leaving the miner a little better, but of course he could always just leave at any given time. However since the human was still hanging on, it just compelled him to stay a little longer out of respect for a 'decent' adversary. He didn't hear a word muttered from the miner, just a barely audible gasp.

Then the mortal had to go and say his name in that way, that dreadful and agonizing way that helped that tragic memory arise once again. He had to go, now. Instead he only turned his head towards the dying man.

…

His eyes were growing heavy and the image of Lionel suddenly started to fade and shift out to a man in a cyan shirt with blue plants. Steve held his breath for a few moments out of shock, then that name rolled off of his lips. "Herobrine?"

Herobrine stopped and tilted his head to the side and Steve instantly shuddered after seeing a blank white eye looking back at him from a side glance.

"You- you're Lio-Lionel?" He gaped while the world around him began to darken into a deep black, his chest hurt so badly and he was gradually losing focus on the fading and remaining landscape around him. "Those visions… they were you? Were they always you?" All those times that he saw the sentinel; the connections, those warnings, the protecting, the anger, the questions? None of it made sense to the miner but Herobrine had some reason unbeknownst to him. But why impersonate his old deceased friend? And why would he warn and protect the one he tried to kill? It made no sense.

"Why?" He felt his arm grow weak and his grip on the blade weakened, then his lingering hand slipped off to fall along his side; even his head was becoming too heavy to hold and it hung low as everything faded into pitch black. The only light that remained was that surrounding Herobrine, the being himself seemed to make the color of the land that he walked on remain in perfect shape and form as everything else scattered into tiny particles of black dust and vanished into the growing dark void.

Herobrine began to walk further away, taking the warm light with him and leaving Steve in the cold darkness that just weighed so heavy and froze him to the core.

"He-Herob-rin-ne-…" Steve muttered as his breath grew more shallow, his heart was starting to strain and it hurt with each slow pump in his ribcage. Everything was becoming difficult to do. Even something as simple as breathing and thinking became hard. "I-I don't want to- to- die He-ro-" He muttered, delusions from the lack of oxygen and focus made Steve nearly forget who Herobrine truly was now. The man effortlessly brought a shaking hand to reach up at the powerful being of the nightmare realm getting further away, too far away. "Ple-ase?"

Herobrine turned back and watched as the miner's eyes stared emptily at him and a reaching bleeding hand fall limp. Blood loss from reality was making everything in the man's consciousness blacken and fade into nothingness, only the Hero's powerful influence was keeping the man's subconscious from shutting down completely; at least for a short time. Herobrine could easily sense the miner's life slip ever so closer to the edge of death with the light of Steve's mind fading away.

"He-He…ro. Bri-rine." Steve's mouth stuttered while his mind began it's final collapse. His eyes were nearly closed, only partially open enough to see a sliver of deep blue hiding behind globules of clear fluid.

…

Those eyes. Those familiar eyes.

...

Herobrine turned around and walked back towards the floating pained mortal, making the dying man softly flinch from the sudden light and warmth returning to him. Hero stood a foot away from Steve, gazing at the man on the brink of death. The once erratic heartbeat was now slow and becoming slower by the second, even his breaths had become so low and more shallow that even Herobrine had trouble hearing it clearly.

For the first time in what felt like forever, his heart wrenched from the sight of the miner's dying gaze. … Those dying eyes. … Herobrine quickly looked away to recollect himself, this wasn't Lionel; though the hanging human's expression looked so similar to his at one point that not even the hero himself could compose his own thoughts. He couldn't hold back that most painful memory anymore.

…

…

He could see Lionel laying on the ground a few feet away from him in the tall grass, he was nearly motionless, occasionally reaching out to the blade through his chest that kept him pinned to the ground. The man tried a couple times to yank it out and whimpered from the painful movements he made, lightly moving around and causing the sharp sword to cut into more flesh.

He did finally manage to get a good grip onto the blade and lightly pull, he slashed his palm to pieces through the damaged gauntlet as he tugged; but he was making some progress after watching the blade's length wiggle a bit. He squeezed the weapon more as his own blood made the grip more difficult to hold tightly, he gritted his teeth and swallowed the pain. "I've… almost go-t it…" He raised his head up to see his progress. "… I- wil-will keep my prom-ise! ... I WON'T DIE HERE!" He then moved up his other hand and coiled it around the iron long sword and pulled. He fiercely sneered in his resolve and gritted his teeth. Blood then seeped from the corners of his mouth and his breaths became short and ragged with small snorts in his efforts, but even in his rapidly deteriorating condition he didn't stop trying.

Herobrine growled and had shown concern mixed with anger on his facial features, as if he was trying to tell Lionel to stop his foolish endeavor for it would only make him suffer more; but the man had continued with his eagerness and ignored him. It was then when the human's hands had slipped and this had made the wrong kind of movement too far, the sword sliced deeper into his upper chest cavity; causing the wound to widen and the pain to grow even more intense.

Lionel screamed loudly at the top of his lungs and leaned his head back down and dropped his arms to his sides in defeat, he had finally given up. The sentinel cried out from the tenderness of his wound and his broken spirit. He had finally quit from the pain and from the failed effort to remove the blade that trapped him to the ground. It was over, he had made a solemn oath to never quit again when he became a sentinel, now he had gone and broke it. Herobrine knew this but he couldn't speak. The pain was too much to bare and Lionel was struggling to breath now. His breathing became rough and stinging tears flooded his eyes and ran down the sides of his face. His heart struggled to beat with each small breath he took, that slow dreadful beat pounded in the Hero's ears and he couldn't do anything to save his dying friend… his dying brother just feet away yet completely out of reach.

Lionel stretched his right arm out towards his brother, turning his head carefully to the side a bit as he reached out with the remaining strength he had left. His fingers were just a few inches too far from Herobrine and only landed on the grass next to him, the guy couldn't reach back even if he wanted and this was a bitter disappointment for the sentinel's last moments with him.

…

"I'm s-sorry, I couldn't keep-" The sentinel winced and fully tilted his head towards the hero. "Ke-keep-p it. ..." Lionel stared for a long minute with Herobrine staring back with tears falling from his eyes, the guard then removed his pained gaze from his brother and stared up into the sky with submission as his eyes started to lose focus, gazing blankly at nothing but the drifting clouds above. It seemed as though even the deep bluish color was fading from those now lackluster orbs. His body became stiff within a minute of silent breathing, his eyelids soon dropped midway. He took one more deep breath.

"I'm… sorry-." He softly whimpered before closing his heavy eyelids for the final time. "Forgive me- … Herobrine."

…

…

That voice and those final words echoed throughout his mind, a broken tone he never wanted to remember again; but now it was fresh in is head as it was the day he heard it muttered.

Herobrine returned his attention back to the mortal and then removed his focus from the mortal's glazed eyes to the impaled sword that held him in the air. The blade was put there by him and the human was dying because of it. But still, Herobrine oddly found himself reaching up to the sword and taking a grip on the handle. So much he wished that the miner was Lionel, so much he wished that he could of saved his brother and freed him of his excruciatingly drawn out death.

As he took a hold onto the handle; Steve started to squirm a bit after feeling the weapon shift ever so faintly, wincing from the sudden vibration. Noticing this- the hero swiftly jerked it out of the man's torso, being so careful and precise with his yank that he'd wouldn't cut into the human no more. As the blade left the body the darkness around Steve suddenly burst into an intensifying white and Hero faded out of Steve's mind.

…

Herobrine had pulled the sword out of the miner in reality as he had in Steve's mind and the man's body dropped onto the wooden floor with a loud sickening thud, landing on his side with his face partially visible. The human somehow kept an eye partially open, staring up at the demi-god with surprise from the action he just did. Somehow still alive, conscious, and clinging to life by a thread. Blood continued to seep from the corner of his mouth and his gaping wound, coating the floor with more crimson fast.

Herobrine moved a foot forward and lightly tapped at the human's shoulder until he nudged the miner to roll onto his back, the mortal was too weak to fight back or crawl away.

Steve gurgled on his own copper-tasting saliva when a strong pain shot through his chest from the small movement. He curled up then sprawled outwards, any kind of shift he made just made the pain grow and spread. He winced and whimpered, trying to place a hand over the wound but it was too tender to touch and he recoiled from the sharp ache after daringly tracing a few fingers over the bloodied lesion.

Herobrine held his glowing sword tightly, still wondering why he was doing any of this. Remembering what he was about to do to the human as he had done once before to his dearest friend and brother so long ago. Herobrine really contemplated on doing it, he wanted the mortal dead but he found that dying mound at he feet to be too much to ignore in mirroring Lionel's final moments. He decided he'll spare the human for now and as the mortal did for him, this way they would be even. It was a debt, sort of. He decided that he didn't care if Steve watched, the man would die eventually but not now at least nor in this fashion.

He raised his other hand, then the sword up midway. This movement made the miner gasp and shiver in his spot in terror. Herobrine stopped for a moment to gaze at the human but then continued to raise them up. He placed the bladed ends of the sword right in his palm and he stared at his reflection in the sword's gleaming surface.

…

Steve watched as Herobrine stared at his sword before he clenched his hand on the sharp end, having the sharp razor-edge resting in the center of his palm. The old hero suddenly clenched tighter then pulled the blade through his grasp and he grimaced from the action. Steve wondered why he did that for, it made no sense to cut himself like that and with an enchanted blade.

…

A small trail of crimson flowed down his lightly trembling hand and Herobrine removed the sword and raised his injured palm over the miner's wound. A single drop of blood pooled and clung to the underside of his palm.

…

Steve stared at the drop of blood, scared and confused as of what Herobrine was doing or about to do. He could see the self made cut on the being's palm seal and fade into flesh within seconds, the ends of the graze had alighted in white before fading away with the cut itself. It confused him that the small wound healed so quickly unlike the one on he being's stomach made by the other sword.

Herobrine lightly moved his hand and the dark red droplet fell from his palm and it landed directly in the center of Steve's deep wound.

"GAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Steve screamed at the top of his lungs from the ever powerful growing sensation now taking over his chest, he arched from the pain and then rolled onto his side. The second the drop landed in his wound he felt a hot and intense burn and it grew quickly, making him feel as though he was set aflame and had the Nether burning right through his torso from the inside out.

He winced and tears streamed down the sides of his face from the tenderness and sensitivity of the slightest flow of air, he felt miserable and the pain began to grow even more agonizing by the second as if it was spreading throughout his entire body.

His heartbeat picked up and beat rapidly and loudly in his ribcage, his body convulsed from the sudden rush of the hot blood flooding through his veins. Steve sucked in air in rapid breaths as he was suddenly able to breathe better. The powerful throbbing was becoming too much to handle, too much to tolerate. Every nerve in his body pulsed violently as if he was getting shocked by lightning and burning in lava at the same time. He flailed about on the floor, trying to do anything to lessen the pain but he couldn't do anything or find any position that was comfortable, any movement made himself hurt even more and he couldn't find himself being still. It was like his insides burned and pulled apart and this searing pain never seemed to end.

…

Herobrine stared down at the man's wound, it glowed along the ends of gapping hole and began to seal along the edges at a slow rate. He expected that the healing would be slow for a human as it has for others once before, but he wondered if he had made his decision too late though. If the man didn't heal fast enough then he may just die, but it also goes for the man's own body and his will to survive.

He shouldn't of even made this decision.

The human finally rolled back onto his back and that was when Herobrine gently placed a foot on Steve's abdomen and held him down from moving and rolling anymore, this insured that the wound wouldn't open back up or widen from the man's movements.

…

The miner blinked as he stared up at the hero now blurring in and out.

The pain persisted for a few more minutes until an intense white pain overcame Steve and he blacked out on the floor, it was just too much to take and he was too exhausted from his screams.

…

The side of the miner's head met the floor with his eyes closed. Herobrine just stood there and gazed at the unconscious man, he almost couldn't believe that he had just saved the human that was so close to the edge of death. Was it pity? He really didn't want to think on it, pity was weak. He was not weak, no mortal deserved this sympathy, well- except for one but he was long gone. This new one however; he owed for not finishing the hero off and for aiding in his healing. He didn't think that he really owed the miner anything since the man caused the injury, but at least now the two were even. What to do with the mortal now was something he didn't consider since he didn't plan on saving the man from the beginning. He honestly just wanted the man gone.

Herobrine heard guttural moans, screeches, and burbling sounds coming from outside of the shack, some of the mobs must have caught a whiff of the blood and were probably wanting to feast on the miner's body. He took one last look at the unconscious mortal then stepped out of the small building and slammed the door shut, his eyes glowed fiercely in the night as he stood there; this made most of the surrounding mobs in that area turn and flee from the powerful display of invisible energy. All except for a few zombies near a window.

He trudged towards the gruesome creatures then slashed his sword across their torsos, making two of the fiends topple over into a messy heap that stained the snow with a putrid brown color. He then teleported behind a fiend that stumbled towards the small house, the zombie went flying over the house and down the hill on the other side from one powerful kick. Herobrine snorted from his frustration and anger, then his eyes shot towards the window on the other side of the house to see a tall black figure standing there.

The Endermen next to the window peered once more into the small building and then glanced back over to Herobrine, it had one glowing eye. The tall dark mob bravely stared in the powerful being's direction with a confused expression, it narrowed it's mauve eye and revealed its teeth in a defensive hiss as the being stepped towards it. But before Herobrine got too close the mob flashed away and out of sight.

The ancient hero huffed before walking into the woods and vanishing behind the mass of trees.