Hero's Bane

Chapter 51: For Trust

Edited 4/28/2022

Everywhere Steve looked he saw contorted faces of sorrow and pain slowly moving about with loud sobs and shrill wails, every face he could see was distinctly different from the other though almost all of the shapes closely resembled each other. Their cries of anguish continuously flooded his ears, many voices at once; so many that they all seemed to meld into something inhuman just continued to sound in the room to the miner's growing despair. Now that his eyes had mostly adjusted to the dark he could see more than he wanted and the portal's glow just highlighted some of those whirling faces of torment.

Steve brought one hand up to his chest and clutched the fabric over his heart tightly, he didn't know why those souls made his chest hurt but they did. Every last groan and cry made him feel weak inside, he couldn't help them no matter how much he wanted to. These were people like him once, people with their own lives, families, jobs, hobbies, goals, and dreams. Young or old, man woman and child. Innocent people who once smiled, cried, laughed. This was most likely his final destination, a tormented world of grief. The miner squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment and grimaced.

He had a nightmare of being in that sand but it was probably far worse to be in there in reality, Herobrine's presence already made the dreams life-like but it would be just agonizing to experience being in that murky stuff in real life itself.

It wasn't long before he found himself getting weaker, the heat was finally catching up to his exhausted body and now his legs were starting to give in. Steve looked down at his feet to see a pretty good spot to rest upon, it wasn't too big but he needed to conserve his energy and relax his aching and burning muscles. He slowly lowered himself down onto the hot Nertherbrick, being extra careful not to accidentally slip and touch the sand only two blocks away. Once he found a decent sitting position he pulled his knees up against him and held them close; using them to relax his heavy head on. Sleep was the first thing to cross his mind in the dark room, but the voices were too loud and too disturbing to ignore. He was too afraid to fall asleep anyway, he could have a similar nightmare of being in that sand and with actually being so close to the stuff already; would only make it feel more realistic and worse then the first.

The miner glued his eyes shut once more as he spotted a pit of the soulsand just a block away, one of the souls had stopped moving and looked directly at him with it's eyeless form; it just floated there in that one spot gazing silently with a deep frown like that of a creeper's. After a few seconds, Steve bravely peeled his eyes back to see the same soul still quietly staring. He immediately wondered if the spirit could see him, in his nightmare he could see from the sand but that was just a dream so there was no telling if those forms could actually see him. But then wouldn't they be after him then? Steve blinked and shook his head, the little soul just stayed there in that spot and as seconds passed it was becoming unnerving.

"Go away." Steve said in a soft manner. "Please leave me alone."

Help… Me...

Steve immediately lifted his head and crawled back a space in a rush. "Wha-" He stared in horror at the soul gazing back at him, he couldn't believe that it spoke to him… HIM! The voice was that of a young girl but it was distorted and sounded injured.

Please… Help me… I beg-

"I can't!" The miner quickly replied and inched back just a little more. "Just leave me alone!"

Am I … dead…?

Steve's eyes widened. "She doesn't even know that she's dead?" Steve whispered quietly to himself. Knowing that was just depressing. Herobrine must have taken her life when she wasn't aware; like she was killed in her sleep or taken by surprise or something and so now she's a lost soul, probably wondering where she was at. Just thinking about that was just heartrending. She sounded almost like a young teen, maybe one around ten or eleven years old. Steve violently swayed his head back and forth, it was painful to know that Herobrine was also taking souls of the innocent young ones. It was revolting. Knowing this kind of revelation did not do anything but shoot down his confidence in becoming friends with the powerful man, If Herobrine was cold enough to take the lives and souls of children then he was probably cold enough to take the life and soul of his friends. That thought alone plagued his mind now.

Not a moment sooner the form sank beneath the dark sands, Steve daringly edged over the sand pit and looked down for that soul but it was now nowhere to be found. He stared hard at the sand and suddenly jumped back from the surfacing of a different pained face, this one wailed loudly and then swam out of sight and into the dark corner of the room. Steve blinked and moved back quickly to the safety of his original spot, gasping for breath. He didn't expect that twisted face to just pop up like that and now his heart was racing even faster than before, he wasn't planning on getting any closer to the sand anymore.

…

Minute after minute was becoming unbearable, the cries and screams had never ceased; so it was like living in a world of never-ending horror. Just as the first soul; he heard many more unsettling words from all corners of the room, many asked for freedom, others wanted relief from pain, and a few even said they wanted revenge on their killer. One specifically said they were going to drag their killer into the sand and take their body for their own. Steve had shuddered from the thought but he knew that they couldn't take Herobrine, he was pretty much a god and nearly immortal so there wasn't any concern for Herobrine's wellbeing but there was for himself. He shook again as he remembered what had happened back at the island on the lava ocean, several of the souls tried to enter his body for their escape out of the sand. Steve felt chills run up and down his spine as he could almost feel those cold forms grabbing onto him; it was even worse that he had been almost dragged into the sand once again only a while ago, those spirits practically stunned him and froze him to the core from their ghostly touch alone. He didn't want to experience that ever again.

He brought his rested knees back up to his chest and he kept a weak grasp on them as his eyes darted around the darkness, he could barely make out forms squirming around on the walls as he looked up. He moved his gaze to the balcony made of Nertherbrick but he couldn't see anything up there from his position, he wished he was up there and away from the sand that was only a few blocks from him.

…

Herobrine quickly backed away as the miner looked towards the balcony, he didn't want the man to know he was there or otherwise it would only strengthen the human's resolve to stay more. He wanted to see if Steve had enough willpower on his own to face his fears and the urges to leave in order to keep his promise. He looked back down once more and quietly observed the miner.

The man had been silent since speaking to a trapped soul, he then seemed frightened and very alert to his surroundings more then he was before. Herobrine himself could hear some of the voices, he actually heard a lot more than Steve considering his hearing senses were more adept. Many of them annoyed him and a few daringly made threats but he didn't let them get to him, all of the souls were trapped and they could never escape. They had been punished. He quietly stood there and kept his eyes over the miner.

…

Steve wanted to leave badly. The trapped souls continued to assault his ears with negativity and pain, it didn't help that the hot temperature boiled him from the inside out. He got to the point that he couldn't even sweat anymore, all he could do was sit very still and regulate his breathing with deep breaths and try to tolerate the heat entering his lungs. The combination of the heat and the wailing soulsand was killing his determination; the two just ate away at his hopes and darkened his mood, his body and mind was slowly making it's way to the breaking point with the passing of each and every minute.

The miner shifted in his sitting position and let his numbing legs stretch out for better blood flow, he had no urge to move after that. Just moving the slightest made him feel so tired and hot. He wiped away at his forehead in response to what should have been sweat, but there was absolutely nothing to wipe away. He thought he could feel moisture but maybe his mind was only playing tricks on him. He was seriously dehydrated, his vision was starting to sway in fluid-like motions, making the room warp around. He rubbed his aching temples and shook his head get the flowing motion to stop and it did. Steve even thought he was hallucinating at one point. He thought he saw one of the souls on the walls explode into dust, he blinked and the form was back in it's place and still intact; just moaning like the rest.

Thirst was hitting him hard. His mouth was completely dry and so was his throat, all he could do was breath in dry stale air and he had to deal with it. It was even worse that he breathed in the light particles of the sand that softly floated down from some of the sand somehow sticking to the ceiling. He breathed in enough to make him gag a few times but he couldn't cough it all out. Just involuntarily sucking it up and knowing what he was breathing in made him sick to his stomach but there was nothing he could do, he would fail the trial if he was to leave so he put the idea of inhaling the sand out if his mind and dealt with it.

Water was but a wishful thought right now, he craved cool liquid so much that he didn't care if he was given dirty and putrid water, just as long as he could drink anything and sooth the dryness that was irritating him so much. His stomach also twisted to his displeasure; he was feeling pretty hungry again, enough to make him want to roll around to distract his contracting stomach. Sadly, he knew he wasn't going to be getting any anytime soon, it looks like Herobrine was going to push him to the edge of death first. He hoped that the being wouldn't leave him in the place for much longer or otherwise he wasn't going to make it, but that hope was pretty much gone now.

Steve moved his gaze from the bricks at his feet to the obsidian portal only five blocks away. It looked mystical with the purple clouds, almost enticingly cooler from the deep cool colors swirling inside of the frame. He could almost feel a cool draft coming from it, after another supposed draft of air he just couldn't deny that it was his imagination. The air wasn't actually cool enough to be considered a comfortable breeze, however; it was more welcoming than the stifling heat that was metaphorically melting his body away.

With enough willpower; Steve moved forward and attempted to stand before his legs gave out from underneath him, he absolutely no energy to move at this point and had only crashed in his efforts. After falling down he moved himself onto his side and rolled himself away from the nearest pit of soulsand until he was at least one block away from it, he then extended one arm out and gripped onto the crease of the hot Nertherbrick and pulled himself towards the cooler air. Even the heat from the floor wasn't going to stop him from reaching the obsidian frame, he was determined to at least get next to it and cool off from these less severe drafts of hot air. Going through it would only break the promise and then Herobrine would surely kill him, he hoped that being close to the portal wouldn't send out the wrong idea. He didn't intend on escaping.

…

Herobrine gripped one of the nether rails with a tight grasp. He couldn't believe it! Actually, he didn't have hopes for the human in the first place but he had some sort of expectation deep inside; a tiny glint of hope that he didn't want to admit to himself and now that was gone. He growled lowly to himself and was half tempted to jump down and stomp on the miner's hand in rage, he wanted to pick the human up and punch some sense into the man to show his irritation. That human was going to try and escape the trial.

His knuckles were white from the strong grasp of the nether rail but color slowly returned as he watched Steve drag himself little by little across the heated floor, he was moving sluggishly and practically gasping for breath with each inch he moved. Herobrine's patience was wearing thin but for some reason he stood in place thinking instead of being irrational and beating some sense into the miner. The man looked very dehydrated and he started to act unusual, likely from dehydration. That could explain why Steve was heading for the portal, he might have forgotten the task and the promise.

-So much for promises.- Herobrine thought as he steadied himself at the edge of the railings, he decided he'll wait just a little while longer since the human was moving so slow.

…

The miner finally crawled over to the frame and placed a hand upon the side of obsidian block, it was quite cooler than the red bricks under him. Surprised by this; he held his breath and lifted his head before feeling thin spinning clouds of what felt like moisture drifting by his face. It was so relieving. He drew a deep breath and his face instantly twisted from the gulp of noxious fumes. The violet fog was wretched and it smelt just like a burning chunk of Netherrack but with a heavier scent of a smoke and sulfur, it was actually very strong and it stung the insides of his lungs along with his nostrils. He leaned back down below the hovering mists and exhaled before violently coughing, trying to stop the burning sensation in his chest. Steve quickly blinked as his tear ducts produced a tiny amount of fluid, he blinked over and over again to moisturize his drying eyes.

Moving his hand back up to the obsidian; he left it hanging there, feeling a little relief from the hot bricks he had dragged himself along. He then got an idea. Steve crawled over to the side of the frame, being careful not to touch some sand that was close by and propped himself up against the dark colored stone, he immediately leaned his head back as he felt the cold blocks relieving him from the extreme temperature. He breathed in a sigh of relief but only ended up having another coughing fit, he leaned forward and brought his hand up to his face as he expelled the vile air from his chest. The fumes were toxic and burned his insides, but the coolness from the portal frame was just too heat-alleviating to remove his back from it, so he sat there and took short gulps of poisonous air and coughed every time he took in too much. It wasn't at all pleasant but he was starting to care less, his head hurt and he felt disoriented.

…

-Why are you being this foolish?!- Herobrine asked the man without actually speaking to him. Herobrine swayed his head from the miner's careless actions. Steve was sitting next to the portal instead of passing through it like Herobrine thought the man was going to do; instead he just staying up next to it and swallowing mouthfuls of hazardous fumes that would kill him faster than the heat. Of course cooler air flowed from the fortress and out through the portal so that was probably what had the human close to it but still, it was deadly and slowly poisoning the man. The miner mustn't be thinking rationally anymore if he was going to sit there and torture himself with the sulfuric and smoke puffs floating around him. That was just slow suicide. He contemplated on ending the trial but ultimately decided against it. The miner was this close to escape, he needed to see if the man was going to sit there and tolerate the fumes or finally quit and crawl through the gateway to the cold fortress on the other end.

…

Steve was starting to regret his decision in staying up against the obsidian, it was relief but the violet fog he breathed in was making his head spin more and more. The voices coming from the walls, floor, and ceiling really didn't help, it only made his head hurt more and with them swimming around it made the room appear to spin. The miner blinked a few times and shook his head, he couldn't believe that he was sitting in the misting nether fumes. Now that he had lightly cooled from the portal he was beginning to think straight until he inhaled the nasty air. He lurched forward and away from the gateway to get a somewhat 'cleaner' breath of air and then moved onto his knees and crawled at least a block away from the toxic fog.

A low groan had him snapping his head to the side to find a pit of soulsand only inches away from his hand that he used to keep himself in an upright position. "AH!" Steve quickly withdrew his heated palm and steadied himself on a small spot that was barely large enough to support his new sitting position, he had small pits of the cursed freezing grains on nearly all sides of him; only the portal and a small chunk of Nertherbrick flooring around it, along with the larger platform a few blocks away was the only place he could stand upon. He was amazed that he didn't even touch any of the sand in his crawl towards the portal in the first place, the spot he sat against was thin so he got lucky not to make a move too far in his careless daze.

Suddenly the ground beneath the miner rumbled and shook and loud ear piercing cries started to surround him. Shocked and stunned from the loud shrieks and the quaking; he covered his ears with his hands and scanned the walls and even the ceiling in fear. Something was happening to the souls and whatever it was wasn't good, that was certain. Many of the forms started to wail even louder and move down the sides of the walls and from the ceiling towards the floor in a rush, seeming very frightened. Watching it was disturbing, it started to make him wonder what was going to happen next and if he was going to be involved with the shouting spirits.

…

The being peeked over the edge again to see the human now covering his ears and looking around in fright, the noises coming from the walls was starting to pick up and it was becoming very bothersome. -Ah, then it's the time. … Wait? No. This is bad timing.- Herobrine sighed silently in aggravation. At the one time he was testing the human the beast just had to start pulling the souls? Steve definitely wasn't going to like this and that was for sure, the process of the spirits being removed was a rather painful one. Not to him anyways, but it was… annoying when they cried out. -Oh well, at least now the human will experience even more fear. If he doesn't coward out of this then I'll call it, but I doubt he'll stay much longer.-

The sand started shifting more than usual in the room and the cries of torment started to increase but something was oddly different this time around that the being had noticed. The slow process of the souls being 'changed' was even slower than it normally was and the forms in the sand all seem to be moving down the walls despite their transformations. Those souls must somehow sense the living miner and Herobrine wanted to know what they were trying to do.

He moved his white gaze to the ceiling to see a small black hole form, dots of grey and pale yellow surrounded the outsides of the gap and then the strange feeling began. Herobrine hated this feeling but it never did anything to him, he was sort of concerned that it may do something to the human. He looked down upon Steve and backed away just a little to stay out of the miner's sights should he look up again.

…

He didn't know why all of the souls in the sand started to scream in what sounded like fear, most of the pained moans were gone and replaced with terrorized cries. It was just horrifying, Steve never heard them cry on this kind of level before. It was bloodcurdling. He wanted to remain still but he just couldn't, not with a strange draw on his body. It's like he was being lifted but without actually lifting up, like gravity was no longer effecting him. He don't know what possessed him to stand but he did, his legs ached as he stood up and backed away from the sands. He daringly looked down to see many of the spirits rushing around in circles like they didn't know what to do. They all seemed to be corralling near him and not the corners of the room, he was starting to worry about his own wellbeing and if he was safe.

The sand suddenly lifted out of the pit and hovered in the air in front of the miner, the souls were then abruptly forced upwards and out of the endless grains of sand. Steve blinked in horror and gasped as the first souls floated up towards the ceiling, he looked up and gaped in disbelief as the whirling faces grew silent and swirled around in a perfect spherical shapes before then changing from a pale brown color to a deep aquamarine and hardening into an orb. The new orbs then floated up and he squinted his eyes to see them float above and into a black hole in the ceiling. The orbs disappeared into the deep black.

"Oh N-Notch. They're turning into ender pearls?" Steve said quietly to himself in shock before throwing one arm up to block any of the scattering sand particles from getting into his eyes. He's used those pearls before, never knowing that they contained 'human' souls. 'Wait, what happens when they're smashed then?' He continued to watch as souls were stripped from the freezing prison and forced into hand sized spheres and then pulled into a dark void. He just couldn't believe what was happening, he didn't know where the new forms were going or why they were being transformed but it was shocking to witness it, only after the souls reached a certain point in the air did they change. The screams they had during their transformation gave him chills that went all the way down to the bones.

Where… am I … going?

A small soul suddenly caught the miner's attention. It was the same distorted voice that he recognized from earlier, that little girl. Steve's eyes shot all around him until he spotted the little spirit drifting up while trying to fight it's way down just a block away from him.

Please, I am… confused. He-help? The little fighting spirit was suddenly lifted higher and it started to swirl in circles and it's face warped even more. It hurts! Please stop! Stop! A sharper cry erupted from the spinning form then faded out.

Steve suddenly found himself lunging up to grab the pained soul since she was within reach, but as soon as he grabbed for her she phased through his coiled palm and floated upwards. She shortly swirled with another loud cry and became completely silent once she turned into a circular hard stone. Steve froze and stared at the little shiny sphere until it was swallowed by the darkness above. He slowly retracted his freezing hand from the scattered floating particles and held it close to him. That little girl… that innocent child was gone?

Steve backed away from the sand but kept his gaze on that spot where the soul changed, he didn't know where the spirit of the girl went or any of the other souls, her pained cries kept playing over in his mind. It had him thinking that this was going to eventually be 'his' fate, only to turn into a ender pearl and go to Notch knows where; that even if he accomplished his goal he was eventually going to be like one of these souls and then… He didn't even know what would happen to him after that. He backed away until he bumped into the obsidian portal and slid down it until he was on his rear end, speechless from what he was witnessing. Those cries may just soon be his.

…

Herobrine was surprised to see the miner reach out and shove his hand into the stuff that he feared to try and grab a hold of something he isn't capable of touching. He couldn't save that soul even if he wanted to so why bother? Did that miner not realize what kind of danger he was putting himself into by doing that? Herobrine watched as the man sat next to the portal as the sands started to shift greatly from all around the room. Some of the souls were still transforming but others now seemed to be completely alerted to the human's presence and that made many of the forms try to pull from their prison like they did earlier from when he touched the sand.

Something large immediately caught his eye as it fell from the ceiling, the being quickly looked up to see the normal blocks of sand now warping and drooping from the top of the room. That had never happened before. He then looked down to see the soulsand on the walls now losing it's form and peeling from the vertical surface with many ghostly hands reaching out. The sand was somehow inching on it's own now towards the miner, appearing to be moved by the trapped souls who somehow managed to break the barriers of the sand and claw for the living body.

…

Steve was starting to panic now, the sand from around the room was now moving towards him with those fiendish wraith-like claws. Souls were still being transformed and pulled from the new growing masses, it didn't stop the majority of the spirits fighting back and trying to grab him. He quickly glanced back at the open portal and he almost stood up to go through it but he stopped in place.

No, he couldn't leave no matter what.

He was doing this for trust. The miner shook in place and shrank down to the floor in a sitting position, he was terrified. Even hands from the sand at his feet were trying to reach for him and he instinctively tried to kick one away, it passed right through the hand that was grasping onto the Nertherbrick in front of him. He pulled his knees up to his chest and held them tight as the souls in the soulsand all cried out at the same time once he tapped some of the sand with his shoe. Steve honestly didn't even know if the trust was worth it anymore, he just wanted to be somewhere else. After all, this was to be his fate once Herobrine kills him right? That thought alone made his shaking stop and his tense posture slacken, he let his legs and arms carelessly rest on the floor.

'Trust might not be worth it anymore, but I won't break my promise. I won't give up Herobrine, even if it's the end for me.' He thought to himself as he looked at the misshaped hand snaking it way closer to him. He was deathly afraid to be pulled back in there but there was no point in trying to fight it. He was weak and tired from the heat and now his morale was at an all time low. It really wouldn't matter what would happen to him now, he was as good as dead anyways so why prolong it? He couldn't change Herobrine.

"You don't want to die that quickly do you?"

Steve heard that question for the second time, the one that he had yet to answer. He tilted his head up looked towards the balcony.

"Have you lost it?" Herobrine finally moved forward and looked straight from the lifted platform to see the human now looking back up with a surprised expression on his face. "What are you doing human, exit through the portal, now!" Herobrine said with blazing white eyes.

Steve gaped for a short second before he moved his gaze back to his feet, a deep frown formed on his face. It was a trick wasn't it? He started to believe that Herobrine was going to coax him out of the room and break the deal so that he would be killed sooner. A part of him didn't want to believe it, a part of him wanted to believe that what Herobrine was saying was out of genuine concern, that being doesn't care for humans though. He kills them and steals their souls, what was happening now was their ultimate fate… and Steve's. "I can't." He said quietly though he knew the being could hear him.

The ancient being leaned over the rails. "You want to die?!" Herobrine's echoing voice in the human's head and made the screams around him drown out for a short second.

Steve kept his unfocused gaze on the nearing hand that moved ever much closer. "Why should I leave? This is where I am going to end up anyways right?" He asked softly through the soulsand cries. "Why waste time with trivial questions? I'll be dead and in here soon enough." He says keeping his eyes at his feet, he couldn't even bear to see the old hero.

Herobrine lightly gaped from the miner's words. He didn't expect that to come out of the miner's mouth, he has been trying so hard to survive all this time.

Now growling lightly he jumped over the railing and landed on the Nertherbrick in front of the portal, he took two steps towards the human before Steve suddenly glanced up and yelped.

The clawing warped hand now had Steve by his right ankle and it pulled him out of his sitting position and towards the soulsand now massing into a large mound. More hands and arms shot out of the sand and gripped onto him as he was being reeled in closer to the pile of dark dust.

Steve didn't fight back or even try to squirm out of the souls hold, he only winced and mentally prepared for the worst with an expression of acceptance of his fate.

"Wait! You have earned my trust!" Herobrine swiftly grabbed the miner by one of his dragged arms and he started to pull the miner out of the soul's surprisingly strong grasp. "The trial… is… over!" He snorted as he began to tear the miner from the souls clutches. They were stronger than he anticipated, the fact that there was a large number of them made it tough to overpower them. "If you… want to live right no-now then you'll… grab on. Otherwise… I'll end up crushing… your arms… and causing you to bleed to… death." Herobrine sneered.

Steve watched as the being was pulling him from the spirit's grasp, the being's own grasp was very tight and it was actually starting to hurt him. Herobrine just might crush his arm. He blinked and glanced at the old hero's face to see all of the seriousness that filled the expression, the furiously glowing white eyes made it even more clear. So Herobrine trusts him now? He shouldn't have felt so elated after realizing what would happen to him in the near future but that didn't matter now, what mattered now was living long enough to get answers to his questions and maybe some reconciliation if it was possible. Steve took a quick breath and moved his weak free arm forward and grasped onto Herobrine's wrist. He then held on as good as he could and even tried to pull himself from the clasping force on his foot and leg.

So he did it? He lasted long enough? He almost couldn't believe it. "It's over then?" He managed to say between his gritting teeth.

"Yes!" Herobrine shouted in the miner's head, then with one strong yank; he pulled the man loose with so much force that he freed the human and stumbled back against the portal with the back of his head smacking into it to his annoyance.

Steve sharply cried out as his temple painfully slammed into the obsidian frame. Everything was spinning after that, even the floor he now laid on. He groaned in pain and closed his eyes as everything stirred, he couldn't stand the throbbing headache he had received as he hit the portal. The throbbing was intense and he found himself blacking out. He tried to keep his eyes open but once his eyelids fell all the way he let them stay shut as everything went black.

Herobrine quickly rubbed the back of his head and searched for the miner to find him slumped on the Nertherbrick flooring. The miner's movement became sluggish until he stopped moving and passed out. To Herobrine; the pain was nothing, but to the miner it was probably great. At least now getting him out of the place was easier. He reached down hauled the man over his shoulder before jumping up onto the balcony and avoiding more grasping hands. He turned around and watched as the sand mound started to flatten out and the limbs retreating to the confines of the grainy prison, they didn't have a way to escape anymore. Herobrine ignored the crying souls and left through a hallway attached to the platform.

He couldn't believe that the miner had stayed and even risked death itself for a little trust. This was the second time he did that, only this time within a more dangerous situation with one of his biggest fears. It was no longer necessary to have doubt now, the miner had passed an even greater test. Herobrine didn't know what to do now, he never expected Steve to get this far; so what he would do now was something he had to go sit and think about. His nether throne was the perfect place for that. He quietly moved down the hallway with the human hanging limply over his shoulder.