Hero's Bane

Chapter 56: Put Your Best Foot Forward

Edited 5/2/2022

Steve glanced at his blade once more and nodded as he looked back at the immortal. "Okay. This isn't going to be easy, but I can try." He said with a hint of doubt in his tone of voice. It was hard enough to dodge fast flaming spheres flying at him, it would be even harder to slay the mob with a dull blade that was more of an accessory of luck than a weapon; but now he really didn't have a choice.

"Fight as if your life depends on it, face your punishment accordingly and prove to me that you can atone for your lie, to amend that gap in my trust that you just put in it." The White-Eyed man narrowed his eyes as the miner looked back at him again with a innocent expression.

"But I had no choice to come out here, that mob-" He started.

"No excuse. I told you it was unwise to leave the main floor but you did not listen. You brought this upon yourself." Herobrine interrupted with a scowl. He didn't actually expect the miner to go back on his word after all the man done to prove that he was trustworthy, it would have been a sad excuse to slay the miner here and now. "It's time to focus on your target and so face your punishment. Defeat the Blaze."

"I will!" Steve shouted back with more conviction from the being's words, somewhat mad that Herobrine wouldn't even give him the chance to explain that he had no choice in the matter to leap from a hole in the building and land painfully with the blazing creature in pursuit of him. He could have just stayed in that hallway and burned to death. Steve tightened his grasp around his weapon with both hands and held firm despite his growing exhaustion. Herobrine was mad at him for leaving the fortress though it wasn't his fault, but he still had to redeem himself for inadvertently puncturing a hole in powerful man's trust.

"Good." Herobrine lowered his head. He disappeared from his spot and reappeared on the other side of the mob; blocking an entrance to the fortress, this made it head back in Steve's direction with fright of the White-Eyed being.

Steve gulped silently as the mob made it's heavy metallic wheeze and focused in on him and only him once it started back towards him on the bridge, it glared at him with it's unnatural dark colored orbs for eyes. The fire rods spinning around it spun more faster and it immediately slung a glop of bright flames towards the human.

Steve quickly dove to the side and rolled a block away, hearing the clanging sounds getting near; he pushed himself up onto his feet and waited for the next fireball. He held the heavy stone weapon firmly and lifted it to the fire mob now hovering even closer in his direction, the blade was heavier than he remembered; but then again he wasn't used to carrying a weapon since it had been a while now that he wielded it and he was in an environment that just seemed to sap the life and energy right out of him. He could feel the tattered leather covered handle in his hand shift uncomfortably by the weight of the weapon and tear just a little. It didn't help that the slight moisture building up between his fingers was making it harder to keep a solid grip, the sword was really old and barely in one piece.

Steve steadied his breath and waited patiently. The Blaze heading towards him made a deep winded noise, the same kind that the man remembered when it first attacked him. He watched as the mob's flaming rods pick up in speed and glow brighter as they spun around the eyed ball of fire, it looked like it had gone fully hostile; completely ignoring the fact that Herobrine was just behind it. 'So it fears Herobrine and won't attack him, but it becomes immediately hostile when the greater threat is no longer around it or in sight?' Steve thought to himself as he observed. Watching the fear instilled fire beast suddenly become aggressive without Herobrine's presence was interesting to say the least, but Steve had to keep his focus on the fight and not on something like observations.

A fireball suddenly shot at the miner and he sidestepped it, just enough to avoid it though he could feel the heat grazing a past his side. He was surprised his shirt hadn't caught aflame or he would burning alive, stopping to drop and roll to extinguish the fire would have opened up a big opportunity for the blaze to pelt him with more of it's biting flames so he was lucky so far. He wasn't quite sure of what to do now but avoid the flying fire, he knew he had to use his sword considering it was his only weapon to kill it but still; the closer the mob got, the harder it was to evade all of the fire flying at him and it made the idea of running at it to be a reckless one. Sadly, he didn't have a bow nor a choice. He only had a few steps to step back but he couldn't risk stepping off the edge of the broken bridge so the only thing he could do was move forward and closer to the monster to just strike it and hope that he can dodge it's attacks.

He straightened his aching back and slung the sword to his side before making a slow stride towards the creature that Herobrine called a Blaze, as he neared more fireballs came flying at him and he evaded them despite his growing fatigue. It didn't seem that Herobrine was going to help him since the being in front of the door-less frame only stood there and watched with his ridged posture.

Steve got within several blocks of the creature and stopped as a speeding fireball nailed him in the stomach, the air left him from the strong force and he felt the heat instantly gnaw at his flesh. He quickly drew breath and patted away the spreading fire on his shirt, his shirt was stained with some kind of oil from the ball of flames and it burned with ease. This made it difficult to put out the fire, Steve got slight burns on his hands and wrists from trying to suffocate the flames. He quickly managed to pat them out but a large charcoal-colored spot remained where the blazing oil orb hit him, he was lucky to get the fire out before it ate at his skin. He looked back up after painfully ousting the fire to see Herobrine at the other end of the overpass with his arms at his side and a foot put forward; looking as if he was about to step in and intervene. And was there a hint of concern on his face? The miner thought.

The Blaze floated in it's place and started to throw more fire at the miner. Steve saw more flaming orbs coming at him and quick, so instead of trying to dodge him he then chose to bat away at them with his sword. It did little to snuff them out considering the burning orbs were globs of oil, striking them only made the flames disperse and burn his arms from the rain of fire. He flinched as a oiled spot landed on his forearm and singed the surface of his flesh, it did not deter him from moving forward though. Steve picked up his speed and coughed roughly as he got closer to the Blaze, it's nasty fumes stung his eyes but he didn't care. He was up and close now so there was no turning back, it was either hit it now or burn alive in a hasty retreat.

Steve evaded another fireball and brought his sword from his side and swung it into one of the rods that cradled the mob. A loud metallic sound clanked loudly in his ears, the rod had snapped in half and fell to the Nertherbrick floor as two burning pieces. He immediately jumped back as one of the burning rods swung close by his face, the heat radiating from it was intense.

The miner ducked as fire flew over his head and he sprung up and made another strike to a blazing rod, clashing the old stone against the fire lit dowel. The sound resembled that of a sword clash, like two blades clinking together from a swift powerful strike. Steve luckily broke through another rod and made the creature back away, it shot fire at him again in retaliation and the miner lurched to his side to avoid the fireballs. He leaned back up and saw that the Blaze's head was more exposed, the flaming dowels rotated around the mob but they left a huge open gap for a strike. With two rods missing from the mob's eye level it would be now easier to jab the monster's head and possibly kill it.

With this idea in mind, Steve quickened in his evasive movements and sprinted towards the retreating mob with his lucky sword held at his side. He knew it would be risky to stab the blade into the monster considering it had plenty of rods left; two for sure that he could easily get hit by but he was so close to victory so why not?

He shouted out loud as he closed the distance between them and drove the dull blade straight ahead and pierced the flaming core between the eyes, he cloud feel his skin lightly sting by the floating rod that hovered only inches by his face. All of the Blaze's fire rods had abruptly stopped spinning after he stabbed the creature, then the fire died down and it fell to the Nertherbrick surface as the remains of the mob burst into flames.

Steve felt the wind knocked out of him as a force pushed him away from the wave of fire, he staggered back and landed on his rear to see Herobrine for just a slight second before he disappeared as the flames dispersed outward coated the spot on the bridge in fire. The being then reappeared only inches away to his right with his eyes glued to the flickering flames a few blocks away.

"You have successfully defeated the mob, consider your punishment over." Herobrine kept his gaze on the remaining flames from the slain mob, seeming rather content with his softer tone in the miner's head. "You were fortunate that the glob of fire that hit you was a small one, otherwise you would not have won." The god-like entity finally moved an eye down to the miner.

Steve sighed and looked at his sword. "This is a lucky sword you know. Not only is this thing older than dirt but it's gave me stokes of luck at the most crucial of times that I needed it. This could be considered an instant I believe?"

"There is no such thing as luck, it is all chance. You seem to be favored by chance."

"Luck is too real, you just don't seem to have much of it." These words made Herobrine fully turn around. "I can say that neither do I since I get into critical positions all the time. Like the time I found my first large vein of diamonds and a Creeper popped up out of nowhere and destroyed the ore vein and nearly killed me. Or the time I got trapped in a mineshaft with tons of cave spiders and had gotten poisoned by one. I was lucky to survive that. … Or the whole coming into this land and having everything go against me. Or like getting burnt by the Blaze mob."

"Alright, I get it." Herobrine rolled his eyes in annoyance. "But earlier? What made you think you were going to get by it anyways? You would have caught fire or the mob could have easily knocked you off of the bridge and down into the lava below. You shouldn't have even been down here in the first place."

"I had no choice!" Steve abruptly shouted in his defense. "I didn't have any weapons and I can't completely cross the broken bridge, but I couldn't stand there and die either. I would have been fine if I didn't stumble across the creature in the first place and then have to jump from that hole up there."

The miner quickly pointed and watched as Herobrine looked up with a deep frown on his face, he even seemed to lightly gape before removing his gaze.

"That's why I am down here. I was just walking around on the floor that you told me to stay on and I eventually came upon the mob and it followed me and I ran around until I hit a dead end, I thought that it was it for me when I couldn't get around it. But then I saw that hole and I had a decision to make and it was risky to jump from up there, but I was probably going to die if I didn't. I was lucky to survive the fall. Not to mention that I am still hurting all over from my horrible landing."

"Oh, then the fault is mine." Herobrine looked back up with discontent and maybe a little guilt even. "That hole is probably how the Blaze got in in the first place, I should have repaired all damages as soon as I spotted them but I never cared enough to do so. Those fire beasts are too territorial and have taken residence in my fortress, I should have ended that habit of theirs a long time ago." The being sighed in the miner's thoughts and looked back at him. "I-"

"You don't have to apologize." Steve quickly cut the being off and gestured. "I mean, I don't blame you for automatically assuming these things considering your distrust in all humans. Besides, you have probably forgot about the hole a long time ago so it's not really your fault."

Herobrine shook his head. "It is. I scanned the main floor for any mobs for your own protection, however; I neglected to look carefully enough and had missed the fortress's damages that would allow the mobs in. You were injured from my neglectfulness, then further ill-treated by my tide of punishment that you did not even deserve. I put my full trust in you." He said more quietly.

"I really don't see it much as punishment but rather a rigorous training exercise." Steve then rubbed the back of his neck and looked up in nervousness. "I am beat though, so is it possible that we can go back in the fortress now?" He asked with his eyes now fixed on the giant white mob soaring above, it quietly whined and flew over like he wasn't there. Even with Herobrine at his side; he felt uneasy with having the most deadliest of Nether mobs being so close and whimpering with it's deceitful expression of sorrow.

"Come then. We'll head back to the throne room." Herobrine lightly commanded and walked up to the flaming oils and remnants of the blaze, he raised a hand up over the fire then swiftly swung his arm to the side; making the fire instantly die down until it was barely noticeable. He cleared the fire blocking the path and continued through with Steve in tow.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, finally making it back into the fortress and into the safety of the narrow Nertherbrick walls.

"I am surprised that you were able to defeat the Blaze, they are very dangerous and their accuracy with their fire is mostly spot on." The demi-god broke the silence in the miner's head and caused him to slightly jump from the sudden words.

"Then it has to be luck that I defeated it without burning alive. Well that and with your help of pushing me away from the bursting mob." Steve quickened his pace until he was walking side by side of the being. He held the sword in his hands and traced his fingers across the long crack in the blade, still slightly surprised that the sword held up against the metal-like rods that the Blaze creature had. He swung the sword with most of his remaining strength and even managed to pierce the fire mob with the dulled tip and kill it. Maybe he was just lucky that the mob could have been made of some frail structure of molten rock or something, otherwise he wouldn't have killed it so easily. But breaking the metal rods and staying in one piece? It was made of stone, stone cannot trump iron or any metal for that matter, or at least it isn't supposed to.

"If you must ever face one again then do not pierce it like you did the one back there." Herobrine nodded his head back behind them. "It's easier to kill them that way but the pressure going through their forms make them explode. So next encounter; just smash all of their rods, without them it cannot stay lit and will suffocate and put itself out. The oxygen is very thin here as you are well aware of; so in order to support themselves they need to keep the rods flowing around them. Break them and you will not have to worry."

"It's that simple?" Steve stopped for a second but continued forward with swift steps to catch back up. "But if it's that simple then why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

Herobrine remained quite as he made a sharp turn and walked up a set of stairs, as he reached the top he stopped and glared ahead at the many forms congregating in his pathway.

Steve raced up the steps and immediately slowed down before he even made it to the top of the staircase. Loud and deep guttural grunts echoed through the hallway along with the familiar tapping sound of hooves, whatever was making the strange and frightening sounds obviously sounded like a pig with it's snorts and grunts but it was more warped with unnatural and monstrous tones that erupted from the creature's throat.

The miner slowed his steps but continued since the old hero waited for him at the top of the stairway, he daringly looked up the stairs and his eyes widened from the grotesque silhouettes blocking up the corridor. As he made it to the top step he could see the beasts more clearly and they were anything but a pleasant sight for his eyes. It wasn't the sight of the creatures that made him nearly trip in disbelief but the nasty odor that filled his nose. The combined smell of burnt flesh and meat with a repugnant odor of decay instantly made his stomach churn and knees grow weak.

The creatures looked just like pigs but if they walked upright, had a loincloth, tusks, and a golden sword in it's warped hoof-hand. Steve grimaced as he thought about the pig like beings. Most of them were missing parts of their skulls and torsos with some of their ears completely missing. A lot of their skin appeared to be burnt or decaying in places which explained the repulsive smell of death. Others had parts of their skulls exposed with empty eye sockets, giving them not only a nasty look but an intimidating one as well. It didn't help that all of them were holding sharp swords made of what looked like gold.

"You have nothing to fear about these mobs, they look bad but they practically harmless. Maybe even friendly? Or at least the friendliest you'll find in this world."

Steve raised a brow and held his stone sword close. "Are you sure? They seem-"

"As long as you don't provoke them that is. Keep your sword low and make no attempts to attack the zombie piglins."

"Zombie piglins?" The miner repeated.

Herobrine continued to walk ahead. "They are filthy unintelligent creatures, and when they come into the fortress they usually come in large numbers and block my path. It gets very annoying. … The smell is also annoying." He said with disgust as he passed a single one that was separated from the bunch.

The miner held his nose and carefully eyed the warped pig mob as he passed by, keeping his sword ready should the single one decide to attack.

"They are docile for now but attacking one of their own will be a mistake you will regret. They are the second type of mobs in this world that care for their own kind, normal piglins being the second. I am surprised that they care for anything since they are nearly brain-dead and lack souls."

"Their like zombies and people but also like pigs?"

"Beyond question. But these pigs can wield swords and work together to bring down other mobs. Don't make sudden movements and definitely don't hit one." The super being stepped around them with ease while the human struggled to get by them, trying not to incite them into a violent behavior. "If you stumble upon the non zombiefied versions of them then you better run or get some gold and quick; they are far more easily provoked and have a dangerous desire for gold."

"Oh great, no gold on me." Steve sighed, just another mob he had to watch out for. As he stepped around a few of the rotting creatures he found himself being trapped between several zombie piglins grunting and walking around aimlessly in small circles, keeping him somewhat pinned. The smell was even more rancid up close, some of their raised swords were coming too close to him and it was making really uncomfortable. "Just let me through?" He asked to the dense beings, hoping that they had some kind of understanding that he just wanted to get by.

One of the pigs blocking his path only stood there and stared blankly at him, snorting g a few times and then grunting as other zombie pig-like men bumped into it.

Steve started to think about his little swine friend back in the Overworld, the same pig that stood in front of him had part of it's face missing but it also had a piece of it's ear on it's right side missing like it had been bit off. It was sad to think of Pork Chop and practically see it in something as appalling as the upright decaying mob, it reminded him of how much he really missed the Overworld and his family and friends. He didn't need the reminder since it hurt him on the inside but it was defiantly there. Steve suddenly blinked and shook his head after he realized he was staring at the pig-man for too long, the creature had also been shoved away by Herobrine.

"I know you don't want to rouse them into a frenzy, but simply shoving past them will not upset them so come on."

Steve nodded and pushed past the remaining zombified Piglins and finally made it to the other side of the horde. He sighed in relief and sped up a little to match Herobrine's pace.

"Worthless creatures, all they do is stand idle until something ruins their peace." The old hero snorted but continued his unhurried stride.

"Well, at least they aren't completely hostile like the Blaze I fought right? I would rather have those nasty smelling zombie Pig-men then a Blaze."

"There are plenty more of Blazes in this world, many more on the lower floors, on the bridges, and even on the stronghold's battlements. I didn't tell you how to defeat them earlier because I was infuriated at you, I thought you deliberately broke my trust but that did not seem to be the case once the battle was over. I was foolish to blame you after I neglected to ensure your safety in the fortress, you wouldn't have interrupted my sleep and got even more injured than you already are."

Steve faintly smiled. "It happened but it's over now. It's alright Brine, just leave it in the past. I'm fine, tired but fine."

Herobrine instantly stopped in his tracks after he heard that name, that one nickname that Lionel often used. The miner noticed that the hero had stopped and he looked back at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Herobrine deeply frowned. "Just thinking."

"Well it's not your fault so you don't have to beat yourself up with it."

"You are easy to forget things that many would hold a grudge over."

"Not everyone will hold grudges though there are probably many who would, like yourself." He said blankly. "But, then there's people like me who can just forget and forgive. I can move on, I can't keep hate and resentment, I can't dwell on something that has already passed. My dad had a principle about that. So did my grandpa and I don't remember much of my great grandfather; but we all overcame our tribulations and our enemies and focus on the more important things like the future and what it brings." Steve smiled despite the confused look on Herobrine's face.

"For instance I used to be friends with another miner. I wouldn't say he was the friendliest of people, but we had something in common. We needed to help our families and so we started to mine together, he kept an eye on my back and I kept one on his. We worked together for a few months and I thought I could really trust him after all the hordes of mobs we fought through, he was a pretty good fighter and had plenty friends that often worked with us and made the mineshafts more safer. Anyways, we searched around for rich ore mines and we eventually heard of a rumored cavern that was loaded. So we soon set out in search for the valuable ore mine and found it, but we were too exhausted from our travel to start mining right away so we stayed at a village not to far from the site. But when morning came he canceled the expedition; saying it was very dangerous despite the rumors of tons of diamonds and emeralds. He said that the villagers avoid the place entirely out of fear, there were monsters everywhere in the cavern and I believed him."

Herobrine kept his focus on the human but remained quiet to not disturb the telling of his story, it was interesting so far.

"We ditched the site and decided to mine in more smaller cave a mile or so from the rich cavern, sadly it wasn't yielding enough for me so I strayed from our small band of miners and mined elsewhere for the day. I practically wasted it only finding nothing but stone and a few chunks of coal ores in a hollowed out hillside. The next day however; word spread around the village closest to our exploring site and they said that three men walked through with tons of ores, and most of them were diamonds. I was shocked because the villagers said that they mined in the open cavern that was labeled 'dangerous', but I was told by my supposed 'friend' that it was too dangerous to mine and he said that no one was going to mine in there." Steve sighed heavily. "But he did without my acknowledgement though he knew I needed some ores for my family."

"You were conned. Deceived." The being sneered.

"Yeah." The miner shrugged. "He has been avoiding me ever since I confronted him." Steve ran a hand through his hair. "I missed out on good ores that could have possibly paid off the debt of my family back in Oakridge. My mom and my sister wouldn't have to work so hard everyday to keep the bills paid with other bills topping it. The price of food is up and taxes mostly used for the repairs of the village's walls are getting more costly. I left home when I was nineteen and became a full fledged miner to help my mother pay off the family house. I don't have a real home of my own now that I left, but I still want to support my family. I just travel around nowadays, mining for valuable ores and trading with merchants for emeralds, trying to help pay off the debt my father left us. I've always wanted to build my own house and maybe a really safe one for my mother and sister so they don't have to worry about financial problems and possibly getting kicked out of the village. That's why I had planned to come into the land of that fortress, rumors of untouched and undiscovered caves filled to the brim with gems and metals. It was too appealing to resist."

"So you mine simply because you have no choice in the matter?" Herobrine inquired.

Steve softly chuckled. "Ha ha, not quite, I do love mining for the job that it is; but it's not like I'm forced. It's just the best paying job there is, but also the most dangerous; a lot of people rather be crafters or shopkeepers and blacksmiths. Mining is my favorite hobby; getting to dig deep and find and explore open caverns and underground ancient fortresses. It's even better to strike that precious stone that seems to shine in the darkest of caves."

"What about this deceiver or 'friend'? What did you do to him?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" The being repeated with a raised brow, seeming surprised after the miner was betrayed and did nothing about the betrayal. -He let his enemy walk free?-

"Absolutely nothing." Steve smiled. "I hated him for a short while but eventually I forgave him, I don't speak with him anymore though. Sometimes thinking back on that day puts me in a sour mood but I cannot change the past nor do anything to change it. I was played back then, but that's in the past now and I have more important things to worry about. I now have to travel around and mine in hopes of finding enough ores to pay the bills." Steve paused and frowned. "Or … I used to… anyways. But that is why I came to the valley in the first place. I was a traveling miner and one day I ran into this weird guy. He wasn't the brightest of people that I have met, or so he appeared. He was about my height, bald, had a scraggly beard, and had an odd taste in old clothes. He seemed relaxed and acted as if he didn't have anything to fear, he simply placed a hand upon my shoulder and told me of a fabled land that held many riches of ancient valuables and ores all buried deep within unexplored caverns. He didn't tell me that you pretty much roamed the land and killed everybody on site though."

"So that is your reason for intruding my territory? Because you only wanted to mine and not take on or destroy me?" Herobrine lightly gaped.

"I didn't even believe that you existed at the time, I didn't even believe in the villagers or my new friends at first. You were apart of an old tale that my mom used to tell me to get me to stay in bed at night, I first had intentions to truly destroy you when I found out that you were real and evil." Steve gulped nervously as Herobrine shot a small glare at him. "But that changed to… just to stop you if I could. I heard a few stories about you but Nigel seemed to be the only one who had the most accurate information on your past and the only one who made you out to be someone who was misunderstood and tormented. Only after seeing your memories for myself did I only want to help you."

"I don't need help." The powerful man looked away with his arms now crossed with white eyes narrowed.

"Only if you don't want it, but you need to really ask yourself that."

Herobrine slightly titled his head at the miner as they turned another corner, he kept a watchful gaze on the man's expression but it never changed to his surprise. The miner kept a serious look on his face but that expression fell as he readjusted the heavy sword in his hands. Herobrine stopped and held out his hand.

"Herobrine?" Steve cautiously asked as something fizzled in the being's palm and formed. He felt relief as the object took the form of a scabbard, his scabbard.

"Here, it'll make carrying that useless sword a little easier." He handed it to Steve and the miner fastened the brown leather belt of the scabbard around his waist.

"It's not useless!" Steve quickly defended the lucky blade before sheathing the damaged weapon into it's wood and iron casing.

"It's made of stone."

"It saved my life and it was used to fight and beat the Blaze. Besides, it gives me luck." Steve countered though he knew that iron was better and enchanted diamond made by an immortal was way better.

The two continued down the hall towards a set of stairs that lead up, Herobrine still seemed confused as to why the miner liked the poor excuse of a sword so much. "Why is that blade so special? It's old, worn, cracked all the way through and on the verge of breaking, and let's not forget to mention that it's made of weak old stone."

"It's a family heirloom. My dad worked on sharpening it back when he was still alive, he made almost as good a new. He was a great blacksmith but he liked being a miner and preferred to be one since he loved to get out of the house and explore caves." Steve started and he placed a hand on the hilt. "Before he gave it to me he used it in the most critical of situations only so that he could preserve it and pass it down like his father did."

"Then what happened to it? It looks far out of shape and that long crack in it, how did that get there? It looks like you haven't been taking much care of it."

Steve frowned and looked away in shame, he was always told to take great care of it though it wasn't his until after the death of his father. His dad told him that it was going to be passed down to him next and that once he gets it to preserve it, but the split formed before he could even receive it. "The crack got put there a long time ago, I can't repair it without possibly breaking the blade. I could fill in the fracture with molten Iron but I don't want to risk getting the old stone too hot and make it crack more or completely fall apart. Ever since that night, it's been there and it's an old reminder."

He looked back at Herobrine to see him looking intently at him, curiosity obviously displayed on his expression.

"It happened a long time ago, back when I was young." He started and unsheathed the sword and handed it over to the being to look at, Herobrine took it and eyed it carefully seeming even more interested in the 'useless' weapon. "My dad wasn't much of a fighter, but he always gave it his all in his battles with mobs. That was sort of our motto ya know? Give everything you got, and fight a good fight, till the very end." He said with a small smile.

The old hero stopped in his tracks and glanced back up as Steve finished Lionel's old saying, he was still sort of baffled that the miner knew of that motto. He chose to remain quiet as the miner continued his story, they then continued to walk again.

"This was back before our village had cobblestone walls built up, so every night we had hostile mobs roaming around close to our houses and the village guards were practically cowards so they almost always stayed indoors. Our settlement was too 'poor' to make iron golems at the time so we had cowards defending us." He added with annoyance. "Anyway, on one specific night there were tons of mobs. A lot more than usual and most of them were zombies, the undead huddled around every door of most of the houses and beat and banged on them. I woke up when they started to beat on ours and I woke up my brother who seemed to sleep through the loud bangs. We came out of our room to see dad trying to barricade the door with thick wooden planks as mom moved the couch to unveil our hidden trap door to the basement. She held our little sister and walked down the ladder. Our dad told us to take shelter in the basement as he ran into his room and pulled out an iron sword. We did as he told us to and went down and waited with mom as he went through the backdoor to our fenced in yard to fight some of them off."

"Then what happened?" Herobrine asked as they ascended the staircase and arrived back to the throne room.

"About twenty or so minutes later dad came back down and wiped the sweat off of his head and took a minute to rest, the heavy forceful knocks at our door had stopped by then. He said that he's taken out a good number around the house but there was something moving around in the shadows of the outside of woodlands nearby and it carried a weapon. He speculated that it was an skeleton warrior, a rare skeletal mob that uses swords instead of bows. He told us that the iron sword he used had broke and that we were out of good weapons. But he also told us that he had the stone blade and that taking out the remaining mobs would be an easy feat after he rests up enough.

He wanted to ensure not only our safety from the mobs, but the whole village because though he wasn't a hired guard he still protected everyone. Several minutes passed and he shot up out of the chair and walked over to an old chest we had sitting in the corner. He wiped away the dust and pulled out the stone sword, he then gave us one glance over and headed back upstairs. I had a bad feeling about him leaving again though, not that he was taking a risk by using a stone weapon but because something in my gut told me that something bad was about to happen to my dad."

Steve paused and looked up once he saw that they were back in the throne room.

"Continue." Herobrine commanded, seeming even more interested in the blade's history.

Steve made a small nod. "Well, after he rested up he climbed back up the ladder and I chased after and grabbed him by the leg and told him that he shouldn't go, but he shook me off and told me to wait. He said that he would be right back, that there were people out there that needed help. My older brother also seemed to share this concern that I had for our dad and he bolted up to the stepladder before mom could even grab him. My mother then grabbed me by the arm and told me to stay put, but as soon as I heard the door up above open I quickly jerked from her grasp, she couldn't hold onto me and my little sister. I knew something bad was going to happen so I raced up the steps and ran over to our living room window to where my brother was. We peered outside and saw the form of our dad running towards the woods under the pale moon light with the sword in his hands. It was hard to see him with some clouds blocking out the night's light but we soon saw him soon clashing swords with another figure and we watched in horror as the mob repeatedly struck him down with it's own blade. Our dad blocked some of the moves and other times… he couldn't move fast enough." The miner said with a heavy heart, feeling sorrow swell up in his chest from the unforgettable memory of his father's silhouette take blow after blow by a mob's blade. He could only imagine the gashes and cuts across his father's body as they were made.

…

"My brother and I … we sat there and watched dad take multiple strikes to his body." Steve paused and looked away from the being, bad images flooded his mind and he hoped that Herobrine wasn't looking in to see what he had seen. "We cried out… we prayed to Notch that he would take the pain and win, come back to the house safely. … But that was only but a wish. My brother Anthony, he- he screamed out loudly as our father appeared to fall on his back in defeat, and without a second thought; he bolted through the front door with a wooden axe that we used to chop wood and he ran into the darkness with tears streaming down his face. … … I- I was screaming out myself; for dad and for him, and then I chose to go after him and to our fallen father but I felt a hand clasp around my wrist and looked back to see my mother weeping with a hand over her mouth. She wouldn't say anything as she stared out the window and then her eyes went wide and as I looked back I saw the silhouetted mob shove a blade through the center of my brother's chest and jerk it out mercilessly." The miner squeezed his eyes shut and tightly clinched his fists, trying to fight the tears that threatened to form near his tear ducts.

Herobrine was at a loss for words. He had peered into the miner's mind and watched the entire scene unfold, though he really shouldn't have since it seemed just disrespectful to see a memory that was so painful to the guy. He couldn't decipher the forms in dark considering he was only looking through a blurry memory, but Steve's brother and father were obviously slain. The memory ended as the boy's mother hauled him to his feet and pulled him towards the hole in the floor. He really couldn't think of anything to say but he felt bad for the miner; which was a rare thing to feel for anyone but himself.

The being silently handed the blade back over to Steve who wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Here." He said quietly while facing away.

The mortal took the sword and stared at the crack as the edges of his eyes dried. "There's more sentimental value in it then the luck." He inhaled deeply then lightly exhaled. He then re-sheathed the weapon and turned to face the being.

"How is it lucky? Your father died with it in his hands."

"It's not the luck he had that night, but more of the luck I get from using it nowadays. It's held up and stayed in one piece for so long despite the weathering and damages, it also gives me hope. Keeps that old saying running fresh through my mind and if it ever comes to it then I want to go down with giving everything I got until I can take no more. With it, I'll put my best foot forward and give everything and fight the fight that's worth dying for. For him, for my brother, for my family and my friends. Even for you if I could?"

"That is very noble of you. Lionel was very noble at heart too, he even tried to save his enemies when they attempted to kill him. He wouldn't let me kill the assassins that got after him once the first rebellion started. He was a lot like you and he always wanted to help me when I needed it, even the times when I didn't need it. He was a very good friend and I hated to watch him die, just as much as I hated watching your father and brother run to their deaths..." Herobrine moved his gaze to the floor. "We have more things in common then I thought."

The miner wasn't surprised that Herobrine got into his head to see his horrible memory but then again he had seen plenty of the being's and most of them were of torture and not dying to end the pain. He was surprised however; by the fact that Herobrine could feel bad for his fallen family members though he hated all humans.

The being coiled his empty hand and looked over his shoulder to see the miner now walking over to a Nertherbrick pillar. The miner sighed as he turned around and sat down at the base of the dark red column, the burning Nertherbrick above highlighted his features with a warm glow. His eyes were fixed on the sheath that laid next to him.

"Steve?" Herobrine called out.

The miner instantly looked in his direction.

"You are different from most humans I have observed over time, probably the only one who has ever come to understand me just as much if not more than Lionel. You are not Lionel and you'd never be able to replace him." The ancient hero looked away for a second. "But, you are like him. Maybe close to his level, I am not quite sure where you really stand when it comes to someone like him, but- I know that I can trust you and I know intentions are proper. For that I shall consider you a f-."

Herobrine was suddenly cut off from a great quake that shook the entire fortress and caused the being to stumble and fall face forward and down onto a knee. A large horde of Piglins ran from a side corridor and grunted loudly in fear as they stormed by the White-Eyed being and down the set of stairs. Herobrine sneered as the horde of the mobs shoved passed him and he quickly disappeared from his spot and reappeared next to Steve as the rest of the scrambling mobs fled downwards.

"What's going on?!" Steve shot up onto his feet and looked up as trails of Nertherbrick dust fell from the high ceiling.

The rumbling stopped for a brief moment before the stronghold shook again but more violently, which made the two men stagger from the shifting surface and they struggled to keep balance. Whatever was causing the quake was coming from up above an in the first tower. Knowing this Herobrine replaced his confused expression with a more darker one. He had a feeling that something like this was going to happen, but he didn't expect it so soon.

"Stay here Mortal and do not move!" Herobrine's echoing voice grew more threatening as he commanded the human.

With the powerful man calling him Mortal again; Steve knew that something wasn't right and it clearly disturbed White-Eyed being to no end. He quickly nodded with the being looking down at him with narrowed bright eyes.

"Do not leave that spot or you will die slowly on my blade! Do I make myself clear?!" He said with rage in every single word, the glowing intensity of the being's eyes didn't do anything but terrify the miner more.

Steve nodded again and sat back down next to the pillar, trying to swallow the fear that was taking over. "I promi- promise." He stuttered and took shallow breaths as the sneering man glared down at him and made him feel like there was a heavy weight on his shoulders.

Without another word to be said; Herobrine looked up at the ceiling with a deep scowl and vanished from his spot.