Hero's Bane

Chapter 50: To Withstand This Agony

Edited 4/28/2022

It had felt like he had been walking for hours, Steve continued to take deep breaths as he paced down lengthy corridors of Nertherbrick while growing more anxious with Herobrine silently leading the way. The seemingly endless hallways and multiple turns made him feel like they was walking in loops, the worst part about it was some of the paths and turns he recognized from when the hero showed him the portal back to the Overworld in his first test for trust. He memorized every single imperfection of the chipped Nertherbrick flooring and walls, every last one and he just couldn't help but look and check for each defined mark as he moved along.

He was starting to think that his mind was just working in overload now, each new hallway they turned on looked exactly the same as the last; the differences were there but they were just hardly noticeable and he strained his eyes to find all of them. Steve was forced to remember the direct location of the portal and so he retained every single flaw, turn, and staircase he saw and counted; which was a lot, but he was now mentally recounting them and walking down them more slowly then zooming through them as if was flying down them in his mind like he was earlier. How Herobrine imprinted such details and unforgettable pathways was quite the mystery, Steve found the power to be very impressive and almost kind of handy; though the pain to receive the memory was a little much to bear.

The miner sighed and wiped a bit of moisture off his forehead with the back of his hand, they still had more walking than he wanted to do; probably going the long route to see if he was strong enough to even make it to the destination as it's own little test.

The slow trek was making him feel apprehensive and very sick, he didn't know what to expect for his next test but Herobrine did say that it was going to be one of his worst fears and just knowing that made him ill. Though feeling sick was the least of his problems, he still had two others that tormented his mind. The old hero became silent after their last conversation and it was kind of unnerving not to hear the being speak into his mind for a while, the silence was starting to remind him of the time before Herobrine spoke and he could never anticipate what was going on with the powerful being. He could be planning something quite menacing right now and he wouldn't even know it, asking if the man was doing that was completely out of question. Steve was starting to wonder if their last conversation had the immortal being quiet, he would have been quiet himself if he had been rescued from a pit of lava by his enemy.

Then at last and most greatest of his concerns; the heat. He definitely didn't remember it through the forced vision, well he was experiencing it now. It was worse than his prison cell, far worse and more intense than he ever wanted it to be. Every set of stairs they descended only lead them into more hotter corridors, it was like he was slowly walking into lava but not catching aflame. The deeper they walked the more hotter it got, the heat was almost completely debilitating now. Steve had to fight the scorching temperatures just to keep up with the white-eyed man, he sweated profusely and swallowed hot air against his will in his walk. His legs were growing weaker and his body was feeling heavier but he wasn't going to stop now, he had to endure Herobrine's next hardship first and hopefully earn some more food and water that he was so deprived of.

'The heat. It's too hot, I can't stand it. Why does it have to be so hot?' Steve felt himself starting to sway and somewhat stagger in each of his steps, the temperature was making him feel like he was being cooked from the inside out. This was just agonizing compared to his prison cell, at least the cage wasn't this searing. The red hallways made him mentally groan in torment, the heat waves was one thing but seeing red just made him feel as though he was burning alive even more in an imaginary furnace. Opening his mouth in his tiring gasps had nearly dried out the moisture completely and it made him feel uncomfortable to have his throat now dry and itchy again, that was surprisingly harder to ignore than the stifling heat. The boiling temperature was very hard to tolerate, yet he kept quietly fighting it and his discomfort and tried to press his mind towards more important matters.

It wasn't much longer that the silence was really starting to get to him, so he chose to break it with a reasonable question. "Herobrine?"

The powerful man glanced back before returning his attention to the path ahead of him. "What is it miner?"

"Why? Uh. … Wait…" He took a second to reword what he was going to ask, the extreme temperature had him at the edge of exhaustion and he wasn't thinking as clearly as he should have been. "Okay, you said that I was going to answer more questions on the way to the next trial, but you've been quiet this entire time. Why is that?"

The ancient man sighed. "That would because I am thinking."

"Thinking?" The miner repeated.

"Yes. About your next test and if you will be able to withstand what I have in store for you, I have been working on it this entire time and I still am. It will be one of the greatest hardships you will ever have to endure, mostly because of a few things. I am very uncertain that you will keep this promise." He said with much discouragement, almost seeming highly disappointed with an incomplete outcome before the trial even commences.

Steve's mind was moving slow thanks to dehydration and so he took a moment to concentrate until he realized something. "Wait, you said you are still working in it?" He asked, but then it hit before he could even receive an answer. "Oh right." Steve slapped one hand onto the side of his face from his lack of remembering Herobrine's abilities. "I can't believe that I have failed to remember your 'duplicates'." He couldn't believe that he forgot that Herobrine can make powerful animated dust doubles of himself, especially after taking on a whole horde of them back at the fortress and watching Nigel appear to be killed by one. That was one of the worst experiences that he ever had and he just simply did not recall that the being could literally be in two places at once. He must really be tired or just dehydrated. Both?

"Indeed. It'll be finished soon, and we are getting closer."

"The sooner we get there the better." The miner said with a weak smile, knowing soon that he might just get to stop moving on his aching feet and rest for a moment. He lightly stared at the immortal's back and couldn't help but think why the man stopped their conversations that helped pass a little time. "You forgot to answer me Herobrine, why did we stop the question and answer session? I am just curious, there's no big reason."

"That would be because if we answered them all now then your purpose here would be finished, I would then have to kill you. We've had plenty of time to answer them all by now."

"Oh." Steve sounded dejected with his deflated tone. "Is there any way that you could answer any of mine then?" He asked cautiously, hoping not to annoy Herobrine with the small request.

"Hmmmm… I don't know? Perhaps if you withstand the trial? Maybe then."

That wasn't what the miner was hoping for, but it beat nothing so he nodded as the being tilted his head back for a short glance. He felt a little better knowing that Herobrine wasn't rushing the questions now; that meant that the being probably didn't feel like killing him and that was a huge relief for the time being, it also meant that he was going to have a little more time to hopefully befriend the powerful man… or try to get him to stop killing at the very least.

…

…

Steve was now slowly ambling behind Herobrine and struggling to stay caught up, he was growing quite weary and the next trial hasn't even been revealed yet. It was starting to look like he wasn't going to make it there, it had been almost five minutes since he last spoke to the guy. Herobrine's word for 'closer' was much further then Steve had originally thought and he was too tired now to continue counting the hallways. The miner kept his heavy head hanging low since it took energy to hold it up, he was doing anything to reserve the last of his strength and moving more slowly was one way; though he could tell that the powerful being was becoming annoyed by the man's tensing body language.

The being's arms were now folded over each other and his footsteps were more irregular and slower paced, that wasn't a good sign. But despite that Herobrine was walking normally like any human would, he seemed to be immune to the blistering heat; just walking casually like he could walk on forever in the damned place. But he wasn't human, the miner however; was. Steve felt as though he was about to fall over or pass out ay any second now, he was sweating out every last ounce of water he drank a while ago and it almost instantly evaporated so he wasn't cooling off at all. Just walking down this hallway was a test on it's own and he knew he wasn't going to be able to stand it much longer.

He slowed his steps even more as his legs wobbled, he could hear the being huff from his slowing stride. Steve gasped for cool air but was only greeted by the heated dryness that surrounded him, his body was now working triple time and it cause the human to stumble more and more with each exhausting step. He blinked as his eyes grew heavy from fatigue, Herobrine was getting further away and the Steve himself was struggling to keep up. He forced his legs into a faster pace and he instantly felt himself topple from his muscles going numb, he crashed face forward onto the smooth ground and silently yelped when his skin touched the hot surface below him.

Herobrine heard a loud thud and stopped in his tracks. "Why did you stop?" Herobrine turned around to face the miner and found the human lying on the floor, collapsed from exhaustion.

Steve panted and weakly ran the back of his hand across his forehead again. "S-sorry. …" He swallowed. "I just ne-need a sec. Alright?" He took deep breaths and then made an effort to stand only to collapse again after tripping on his own feet towards the powerful hero. He laid on the floor for a few seconds to catch his breath but the ground was really hot, it was burning him as he stayed there. No longer tolerating that heat; he used his right arm and balled his fist as he pushed himself upwards, he could feel his muscles overworking and eating away at themselves with no energy reserves to eat off of. The bread wasn't enough and the water didn't last, he needed more or something to keep him stable in his pitiful condition. Steve struggled as he moved his next arm out to fully lift off of the floor and that was when Steve felt a strong arm wrap around his waist. He winced as Herobrine lifted him up and slung him over his shoulder effortlessly, he looked at the old hero's face but Herobrine didn't pay no attention to him. "What are you doing?"

"It looks like I am going to have to carry you, or allow you to crawl all the way there. Would you prefer to drag yourself along this scorching floor or would you rather save energy and get a free trip?" He asked with one white eye trained on the weak man.

"I'd rather you pack me." Steve was quick to answer despite the awkwardness of his situation, he obviously didn't have the strength or energy to move down these sweltering hallways by himself. The corridors just felt like being inside of a very long furnace heated by streams of lava, he really wasn't going to like his next test and the was for certain; not in this scorching heat. The heat would be one big reason but the other, he still wasn't even sure of what it was though he had some pretty good guesses and none of them were good.

"I thought so. You'll need all the energy you got anyways for the trial you are about to face."

It was strange, he didn't think that the hero would pick him up and carry him. Let alone with him weighing the guy down and being a huge irritation; then again Herobrine was used to the intense heat and he was the most strongest being that the miner ever fought. "Sorry for being a burden." Steve rasped as he looked away from his carrier. After loosing his father and older brother at a young age, Steve had to start carrying his broken family and work hard to help support the remains of the household and it's small residence. Being a burden when he was the one to carry it for years made him feel out of place, he wasn't used to hindering others.

His mother was a hard laborer in the village and could barely make ends meet when working out in the wheat fields, his sister was now old enough to work but the only safe job that she could find in the town was tending to the stables and watching over the orphans. He had to get a job that would pay very well and it just happens to be one of the most dangerous, but it did pay off sometimes and he enjoyed it. But other times? Not so well. He wanted most of the burden so that they didn't have to worry about it or carry it.

The miner wondered what his mother and younger sibling were up to now, it's been almost a month since he's visited them. He also wondered if they were still working their tails off and struggling like they were on the day he left his old home. What bothered him was if they failed to make ends meet without him and got evicted from the safety of the enclosed village, they'd have nowhere to go and no protection.

This is why mining rare gems and metals like Diamond and gold was so important to Steve and why he needed a mineral enriched and untouched place to mine, he couldn't leave them empty-handed. Steve softy exhaled in shame, he's practically neglected his family for a gamble by some stranger he met along the road. His personal mission was to strike it rich and send the goods home to his mother and sibling, not get caught up in this mess with a very real legend and get an appointed seat on death row.

The very thought made the man internally wretch in sorrow and disappointment, he never took into account how much his absence would affect the remainder of his family. They must be missing him badly and wondering if he had went into a mine and never came back out. The risk was always there, no doubt about it. But he didn't ever truly notice the severity of his absence in their lives until now. What would they do to get out of debt without him? That was one thing that was hard to process in his mind; just imagining them in a makeshift house of dirt and wood and living on the outskirts of Oakridge, sleeping in the unsafe woodlands was just so hard to swallow. They couldn't defend themselves that well, he was the only one who bothered to learn how to use a sword. It was even worse to imagine them just waiting, patiently waiting on him to return with a few emeralds or golden ingots to pay off the some of the bills, praying that he didn't go out and get himself killed. … Hoping he would come back soon.

An eye of white glanced to the distressed mortal over his shoulder, but the man remained silent.

Steve swallowed a heap of hot air and squeezed his eyes shut, his chest seized up and he found it just a bit harder to breathe with the tightening feeling in his upper torso. He rose one of his dangling limp arms up and ran the side of his blocky hand over his eyes. Astonishingly, he felt a bit of moisture but he wiped it away as quick as he could.

"What is wrong mortal?"

Steve sighed but continued to gaze at the ground, he was a little surprised that Herobrine wasn't reading his thoughts; it was relieving to have some privacy. "Nothing." He simply concluded with a bland tone of voice.

Herobrine could tell that something was bothering the man, his heartbeat was now beating more rapidly and he could feel the human tense up. "You are crying human, I can smell the salt in your tears."

The miner held his breath for a second, forgetting that the old hero's senses were much sharper than human's. He mentally slapped himself and drew a deep breath. "Just thinking of my… home, my old home. Nothing else."

If he could read the miner's mind right then; he would have mostly out of curiosity, but he was using a lot of energy and focus on completing the room before they get there, he just needed a few more minutes and then could rush to get them there.

He could tell that it was more than an old wooden and or cobble structure that had the human feeling down, Lionel used to always play off his troubles with minor problems that really shouldn't have him acting the way he did. A particular situation was when he and the sentinel left on a dangerous lengthy trek to help establish small civilizations across distant lands, Lionel missed Lady Nori terribly and took days to admit it. This situation was starting to look like the same with Steve but with possibly his friends or family. "Lies. There is more to it then some replaceable dwelling."

The old hero was right, which was oddly strange and he sounded somewhat sentimental which was even more bizarre. Steve momentarily raised a brow at the being but the man didn't notice him, he was only keeping focus on moving through the maze of corridors. "You're right. It's not quite the house itself since I moved out of it a few years ago, but rather the people who still live there. They are irreplaceable."

-So he is missing his family?- Herobrine thought to himself but his train of thought changed as the human began to speak again.

"Hey Herobrine?"

"What?"

"Why is it so hot down here? I mean you would think it would be cooler down below the ocean of lava and all?" Steve asked, hoping to change the topic.

The man was quick to change the subject and that was expected, Lionel did that a lot too. "This is the last floor, underneath it is trapped magma and that is why the floors and even the hallways themselves are very hot. We are near the core of the world, sitting on a fine line of bedrock."

"Whoa!" Steve blinked and wiped away a drop sliding down the side of his face before it could evaporate. "I guess that explains why. But seriously, how did you make all of this? This fortress and these hallways so deep into the nether?"

"By hands and power. I have been burned plenty of times and you wouldn't even begin to fathom the distressing work it took, but being trapped in here and having nothing to do in this desolate place with no one to talk to is lonesome. I had to keep myself busy to stay sane, at least until I found freedom. Once it was granted to me then I came back here on my own will, returning here as a testament of my resilience and strength. I have more reasons to come but they are nothing to concern yourself with."

That was when the idea of soulsand came in, he didn't know why it was the hero's job to collect them and stick them here but he remained quiet on the subject, the last conversation on the matter didn't go so well. "It must have taken a lot of time?"

"It did. It took a year alone to instill my authority to the mobs here, before then they attacked me at every chance and I had to kill many to establish dominance over them all. Time feels like it moves very slowly here, there is no sun passing overhead to indicate the time of the day so I just created this building to pass it. I work on it every now and again but I barely stay here, I usually hunt on the surface world and reside in the empty fortress. Coming and staying here is but a once and a while thing. Staying longer than necessary would be because of you." He said while looking at the miner.

Steve rolled his eyes at the thought. "You could leave me locked in a cell here, I'm not forcing you to stay and I don't blame you for living in the Overworld."

-Pointless sympathy once again.- "I am only staying here for a short time, once you are gone then I'll return to the other fortress."

Hearing that really didn't help Steve's hopes, those words actually made him sink a little on the hero's shoulders. His heart felt heavy. "Oh, then I suppose we should just get the questions over and done with right?" He lightly gestured with a deep frown and glossy eyes. "I don't want to keep you here longer than I have to." He said with a sad expression.

Herobrine felt strangely discontented from the miner's words, he didn't know how the miner's reaction made him feel so uncomfortable; but it did. He didn't like this feeling. It wasn't misery like that of being in physical pain, but it was a sadness closely related to that of losing Conner and Lionel and it quietly ate at his consciousness that had he thought had long been buried by hate and resentment for the miner's kind. "You don't want to die that quickly do you?" He spoke into the man's head.

"No, but-"

"It's finished." Herobrine interrupted, freeing himself of undesired emotions. He could now get the next trial started so he pushed himself into a super sprint and cleared the hallways more quickly.

Steve instinctually threw an arm over the hero's chest and watched as Herobrine ran them down a few more corridors until he reached one long stretch with a single dark red door at the main end of the hallway. The room behind the barred door was darker than the red corridors and that sort of shocked him, that was the place of his next hardship and he was going to be sitting in complete darkness. He gulped as the being started towards the door. "So, that it?" He asked with apprehension. If the man's heart wasn't beating fast to begin with then it certainly was now.

Herobrine nodded and slowed his steps as he made it to the main end, he stopped once he reached within distance of the doorway and let the miner slip off of his shoulder. "Behind this door is your worst fears."

Steve stumbled as he regained his footing and eyed the darkness carefully.

"But-" Herobrine began again. "Inside is also something you desire."

"Wait, is this what I think this is?" Steve quickly searched the elongated hallway behind him and blinked repeatedly after noticing that it was eerily familiar.

"Yes. From that memory I gave you in the first test." He then reached out and shoved the door wide open then stepped into the dark room, but not without grabbing Steve by the shoulder and motioning him inside first.

Steve felt chills all up and down his spine almost instantly. He couldn't see it but he could definitely hear it, those dreadful cries and groans of trapped souls. His heart and mind raced so quickly that even the heat of the room and the ache of his muscles was easy to forget about. The worst part about being inside of this room was not knowing exactly what he was stepping on and if it was soulsand which he only believed to be from the island was now nearby. The floor didn't appear to have the grainy texture so he didn't think he was on top of the cursed sand, or at least he hoped he wasn't. He felt Herobrine's hand leave his shoulder and now he felt completely defenseless and vulnerable.

"Stay put." The ancient being said as he proceeded further into the dark, slightly lighting the way with the glow from his eyes.

Steve kept his widened eyes on the glow and watched as the outline of the man move to the center of the room. Herobrine had moved one hand up with something spherical in his palm and it suddenly caught aflame, lighting the room even more. The miner took the opportunity to glance around but could only see a huge square frame made of a dark colored stone in front of Herobrine, something about that seemed familiar. Then he watched as Herobrine slammed the round object onto the inside of the structure and then in an instant; the frame was filled with a low glowing purple substance that whirled around inside of the boxed frame and slightly snaked it's way around the now visible obsidian border. Small particles exploded as they drifted too far from the heavy looking mist.

"A por-portal?" Steve stammered as he now approached the whirling violet fog with caution and wonder, he was so fixed on it that he nearly lost his footing on a more uneven surface. "Gah!" He felt flat on his stomach and his hand hit something shifty, he looked down with squinted eyes to see his appendage now starting to sink within that familiar cold sand with an strange force trying to draw him in. "NO!" He shouted with widened eyes of horror. Steve quickly forced his aching legs to move and stand but the pull on his hand was strong and he was feeling really weak. He could feel the cold forms of souls now wrapping around his wrist and try to pull him in and he was struggling to fight it.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around his forearm then yanked his limb from the sand.

"I said to stay put mortal. You didn't give me time to tell you that this room is almost completely filled with the sand, there are a several splotches of it in the floor and they are there for a reason. Look all around you Steve." Herobrine held one of his arms up and brightened the room with a lit torch forming in his palm. He moved about the room, even stepping on the sand that seemed to ignore his presence. He waved the torch near the walls; revealing brown sand lining each side of the square room and a Nertherbrick balcony partially hovering high above one side with a dark colored fencing around it. The soulsand seemed to just stick to the walls somehow that went up at least sixteen blocks high and it even stuck to the ceiling. The tiny grains moved around in fluid motions like water as souls swam about in the murky stuff.

Steve's blue eyes widened with horror and he instantly moved his gaze down to his feet to see missing chunks in the floor that were filled with the soulsand, one patch was really close and it must have been the one that grabbed onto him. Startled, he backed away until one of his heels started to sink. He turned his head and gasped from the sight of more sand and moved backwards away from that spot on the floor until his back hit a wall. He immediately felt icy chills pricking at the back of his neck and then many cold outstretched and misshaped hands then snaked around his entire body and then started to pull him into the mourning sand. "Herobrine! Help!" Steve yelped out loud, now freaking out and trying to jerk himself away from the ghostly grasp but with only to fail with his lack of energy.

Herobrine stopped and turned around as the miner stumbled away from a spot on the floor and then back into a wall of sand. He watched as warped and elongated clawed finger's of ghastly white quickly wrap around the miner's body, then one moved over his face and mouth and suddenly jerked the human's head into the sand pile and muffled the man's loud shouts. In a flash Herobrine dropped the torch then brought a fist into the side of the wall next to Steve's body, he hit it with so much force that the souls near the man wailed aloud and released their grip on the miner. Steve was then repelled from the sand and fell to the ground gasping for breath. Herobrine then hastily pulled the miner off of the floor and moved through the portal, taking Steve with him as the sand around them shifted with the souls trying to pull themselves out of it towards the miner with stretching wraithlike hands.

Steve instantly felt cool fresh air against his skin when he fell to the ground, it was that coldness that he so desperately wanted and longed for. He sucked in as much of it as he could, feeling such a cool relief replace the toxic fumes in his lungs. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the floor of stone bricks that were tinted with a soft purple from the glowing portal nearby, these were 'stone' bricks and not that hot and sulfuric smelling Nertherbrick but cool gray-colored and dusty-smelling bricks. His blue eyes widened and then he rolled from his side and onto his stomach to now find himself at Herobrine's feet.

"Do you not know how to listen mortal?! You were to remain still! as I had instructed!" Herobrine sneered as Steve looked up. "I didn't plan to bring you here, it was supposed to be the tempting item."

"The tempting item? … Wait! Are we- where I think we are?" Steve found it slightly more easier to sit up with the relief of the heat and he couldn't see much from the darkness, but the echoing of his voice, the color of the stone flooring, and light from Herobrine's blazing eyes. The portal's soft glow was enough to make a guess.

"Yes, we are back in Overworld; inside of the fortress. You did not listen to me so now the souls are now restless from your presence, I have to give them a minute to calm before we go back in."

"I don't want to go back!" Steve shouted, his expression changed to a fearful one as Herobrine grabbed him by the neck and stared into his eyes with a deep scowl.

"You are going back mortal, the test hasn't even started yet and you made a promise to see it through so I expect that you will go back on your own or by force." He growled.

Steve looked away and wiped the beading sweat off of his forehead, he really didn't want to go back to the Nether but he never really had a choice. Promises were promises and Herobrine was Herobrine. He nodded and so Herobrine released his hold. He shivered as he thought about what just happened and what could possibly happen once he goes back in there. He used the obsidian border of the gate to pull himself up, he really felt weak but he managed to stay standing.

"You were supposed to stay in there for a while until I decided when the trial was over, this portal is a enticing item to get you to leave and escape like I know you want to."

"But you were the one to pull me here."

"I had no choice, otherwise the souls would take your body and then you'll be living a real nightmare that goes beyond your dream miner. You wouldn't even get the chance to earn my trust."

"I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his aching neck. "I just freaked out a little. That sand is… I just can't stand it." He took another deep relieving breath. "I'll go back, I made a promise to. I will earn your trust and prove that you can trust humans again. It does feel a lot better out here though."

-Then perhaps bringing him here wasn't such a big mistake? Now that he is reacquainted with fresh cool air he might find it even harder to resist going through it. Even more that the god's dammed shrine is just down the hall. Indeed.- Herobrine found himself smirking from the thought. "Good. But just to make it harder to resist coming back here; I will also mention that 'Notch's'-" He said the name with a hiss. "-Shrine, is just down this hallway here in front of you." He said, now stepping out of the miner's way.

Steve blinked then peered into the dark to see a dim cyan and greenish glow in the distance, he couldn't tell exactly what he was seeing or believing; he couldn't believe that Herobrine was showing or even mentioning the shrine to him. So… that place back there is where he could … seek the god of Minecraftia? The one shrine he was trying to get to for the longest time? He kept his gaze on the glow until Herobrine's white glare blocked out the dimmer light.

"It's been long enough mortal, it's time to go back now."

"Alright then. What do I have to do back there?" Steve looked back towards the portal, trying to appear as determined as he felt about completing the trial.

"It's simple. Well, maybe not so simple for you. All you have to do is stay in there like you did in your first cell, you will remain there for as long as I deem necessary. If you escape the room through the gateway or door then I you will never gain my trust and I will kill you. You must withstand your fear and never leave."

It didn't take much more than that to convince Steve. The miner took another deep cool breath and silently stepped back through the portal. He felt the heat wave as soon as he moved through the obsidian frame. He became weak again and almost staggered forward once he stepped down from the portal. He carefully checked the ground for the Nertherbrick flooring that was wasn't replaced with sand. Straining his eyes; he searched for a spot through the darkness, the gate's light wasn't much but it did give the Nertherbrick a lustrous mauve glow that was very distinct unlike the dull sand. He moved away from the noxious fuming violet clouds and found a small spot that was a couple blocks wide and safe from the sand and fumes that he could sit on. It wasn't enough to lay down without lying his head next to the sand but it was the biggest chunk of Nertherbrick in the room.

The torch that Herobrine previously had was gone, he assumed that it had sunk in the sands. He had to keep his eyes wide should the souls in the sands try to take him again unaware, maybe touching the sand was the only way that would cause them to become unsettled but he was going to be attentive and not risk the chance of being trapped in the dark and cold world forever.

Herobrine couldn't believe that the mortal was so quick to return to the room of his nightmares. There was something about that human's will that had astonished him. It was either the willingness to prove something or just fear of the being himself. It was starting to seem like it was more about proving him wrong, the miner did mention something about it. Herobrine leapt into the whirling mists and stepped out on the other side to find the miner a few feet away standing on the largest platform around the sand, appearing to be very terrified as he stood there motionless with his eyes glancing in every direction at the twisted faces that were barely lighted by the portal..

"Your time in here starts now. I will say when you have proved that your are trustworthy enough."

Steve quickly turned his attention to Herobrine. "How long?"

"That is for me to decide and me alone. Remember, you can escape if you wish but the consequences will be dire."

"I'm not leaving." He said quietly with his eyes slanting a little. "I made a promise. I will withstand whatever you throw at me, no matter how agonizing it may be."

Herobrine still had doubt, he just wondered how long the miner would last before he escapes his prison. "Very well then." Herobrine looked away then folded his arms and dispersed into particles of dust.

Steve stared at the spot that the being had stood at for a few moments, wondering just how long he was going to stay in the dark dreadful place. Alone. A loud growl had the miner suddenly jump in place and he searched the four walls from where it came, it didn't sound like a pained wail like most of the voices he heard, no. This one sounded mad and annoyed, it really frightened him. He looked at the moving sands and could barely make out any of the warped faces from the lack of light, the only ones he could see where the ones on his eye level and they all appeared to be miserable and in pain.

A loud shriek had the miner spin around, this one sounded like it was in intense agony. A loud cry of terror then had him spinning to his left, soon a bloodcurdling scream then had him looking up at the ceiling. More voices filled his ears the longer he stood there, he didn't know if the trapped souls could see him but they were disturbing him. He moved both of his hands over his ears and kept looking around, wishing that the ordeal would be over already.

Herobrine stood at the top of the balcony and kept his gaze upon the human, waiting for the moment that Steve would go against his word.